October 11, 2025 • 53 mins
The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean and Harry Reif discuss this week's travel news and Hot Deals!
Think you’ve heard it all when it comes to travel tips? Think again! In Part 2 of our travel hacks series, we dive even deeper into expert-level travel strategies that most seasoned globetrotters miss. From genius packing techniques and hidden money-saving tricks to unexpected ways to upgrade your travel experience, this episode is packed with practical advice to help you travel smarter.
Whether you're planning a weekend road trip, a business journey, or a bucket-list international vacation, these lesser-known travel hacks will help you maximize comfort, minimize stress, and make the most of every moment. Tune in and discover how to transform your next trip into a smoother, more enjoyable adventure.
🎧 Listen now and level up your travel game!
Think you’ve heard it all when it comes to travel tips? Think again! In Part 2 of our travel hacks series, we dive even deeper into expert-level travel strategies that most seasoned globetrotters miss. From genius packing techniques and hidden money-saving tricks to unexpected ways to upgrade your travel experience, this episode is packed with practical advice to help you travel smarter.
Whether you're planning a weekend road trip, a business journey, or a bucket-list international vacation, these lesser-known travel hacks will help you maximize comfort, minimize stress, and make the most of every moment. Tune in and discover how to transform your next trip into a smoother, more enjoyable adventure.
🎧 Listen now and level up your travel game!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary, the travel show and podcasts
from your friends at the wishing Well two forty three
f Avenue in harsmerg and online at the wishing Well
dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:21):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And say, hello, Okay, how are you Chris. Yeah, I'm
doing okay. We're covering from a little bit of yuckiness.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
My wife works with young moms in their newborns. She
comes home and says, oh, one of my clients was sick,
and I was like yeah, and I'm like, I cannot
get sick. I've got so much stuff coming up over
the next week, and lo and behold. About three days later,
she's like calling me, I'm coming home. I don't feel well.
(00:57):
I made it about three more days and then I
was out. And then anytime I get sick, it settles
in my lungs. And for the next thirty to sixty days.
I don't know, it feels like thirty years. I will
just be coughing NonStop. And that's where I'm at right now.
I don't feel sick. I never had a temperature you know.
Overall great.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Well, I am delighted you're here. I think that comes
with the change of the seasons, you know. And that's okay.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
I'm okay because it feels gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
It doesn't feel yes, it does, and I like it.
Before we get too far, let's say hi to Harry too.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah, say to Harry more than everybody. Yeah, you're on
a different time zone, aren't you. I'm still recovering this.
I'm about eight hours off.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So well, that puts you in eight hours of Europe
eight hours or keep going.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, I've just returned from Jordan and George that's right.
We talked about that in the Holy Lands.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, oh man, are we going to spend some time
talking about that today.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
We are a little bit actually hearing I both have
been on some recent trips, so we want to share
a little bit about that with the listening audience, which,
by the way, Chris, before we jump in, I have
to say a great, big, huge, huge thank you to
all of you faithful listeners every Saturday morning to us.
I've just had some of the nicest folks come in
(02:16):
this week and tell us how much they appreciate this
show and how they look forward to us every Saturday
morning with their cup of coffee and hearing about travel
and that kind of thing. So really, from the bottom
of our hearts from Harry and I at the wishing
Well and all the folks at the wishing Well, thank you,
thank you, thank you so much. It means a lot
to us.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It surprises me when people come in and say things
like that. It also surprises me when people call us
who may not be in the area and say they've
heard about us through the show and they wanted to
call and check out. And it's like, yeah, you're the
guy in the radio with Christ and Terry. I said, yes,
I'm the guy with Christ and Terry. I'm the guy
(02:56):
what's my name that we don't know, but you're with
Chris and Terry. Even that makes me have that we
hear from people that aren't only locals. So if you're
listening from Afar, we appreciate you just as much as
if you stop in and say that you've heard us.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Yeah, and this is all about giving you information that
you can take into your world of travel. And it
is called a life less Ordinary for a reason.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
If you're new to our show, if you're just stumbling
upon us today, Terry explain how that came to be,
How we ended up with a show called a Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Well, I mean, I think there was a demand for
that after especially after COVID, people were locked up and
they craved information, and some very kind folks from the
radio station had approached me and said, you know, I
think this would be a great idea. What do you think?
And I, actually, this is not my day job, okay,
(03:56):
being a radio person having a travel podcast, this is
not my day job. So I kind of went in
kicking and screaming. But the more I realized how valuable
and important the information was that we were delivering on
a life less Ordinary, the easier that it became. Because
now what I see is not a mic in front
(04:16):
of me, but I see faces. I see the sea
of faces of people who we help on a daily
basis at the Wishing Well. And you are the ones
who come to my mind when I'm sitting here talking
to Chris and Harry in this studio, and that's why
I think the show is valuable.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yeah, and I love that you put a positive spin.
It is a life that's less ordinary, exactly exactly that.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
All right, Well, now that we know how we ended
up with a show called a lifeless Ordinary, let's talk
about some of those less ordinary things. We always start
off with the travel news. Yeah, let's do that, and
then we'll have some hot deals for you too, we do.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yep, and we are going to continue actually our show
today with some travel tips and hacks that we started
a couple of weeks ago, and so we're going to
continue that. But let's dive into some of the news
for this week. And I want to start off with
some great news that unan It is coming out with.
(05:13):
They are going to add some flights to Croatia, Italy,
Scotland and Spain next summer. Spain is very key because
that's actually where I just got back from. But unon
It is expanding it's summer twenty twenty six schedule, adding
service to these four new cities which are split Croatia, Bari, Italy, Glasgow,
(05:35):
Scotland and Santiago Di Compatello in Spain, and the airline
also adds its first service between Washington Dulles and Raykovic, Iceland.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
That used to be kind of.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
A line that was held pretty tight by Iceland Air Only,
so unone it is now going to have that service
out of Dulls themselves, and that's going to be daily
service also from Newark, New York to Seoul, South Korea.
And they're going to increase flights to Tel Aviv, Israel,
(06:09):
and that also comes into play here. Harry spent some
time over in the Middle East this past week as well,
so we're going to talk a little bit about that.
But United continues to serve all none destinations from its
largest expansion last summer, offering nearly three thousand weekly international
round trips and serving forty six cities across the Atlantic.
(06:33):
United plans to offer more than eight hundred and fifty
daily flights to and from over one hundred and fifty
international destinations, including forty one that no other US airline
even serves. So I think that's very very important news.
As of August twenty twenty five, that's just this past
(06:56):
couple of months ago, Unit had set a record for
the most passengers it has ever carried to Italy, Spain,
and Portugal at nearly one point five million passengers. That's
eleven percent more than last year. So United is kicking it, Chris.
(07:17):
They are doing a great job opening up the world
and really opening up the globe to US, one more
country at a time.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So I love that.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
The next piece of news that I want to share
because I know a lot of people head to Orlando,
they'll either pick Disney World or Universal for the holidays.
And Universal has an announcement because they are getting ready
for the holidays down in Orlando. They're going to host
holiday celebrations from November the twenty first until January fourth
(07:50):
of twenty twenty six, and they're going to feature character
inspired festivities and holiday decorps. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,
benchmus Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's, and holiday themed dining
experiences are among the attractions that you'll find there. Additional
experiences like The Grinch and Friends' Character Breakfast and the
(08:14):
Universal Holiday Tour are available for booking. These special holiday
festivities and menus are going to be available at all
eleven Universal Orlando Resort hotels with savings up to thirty
percent on bookings. Now, the reason that I found that
this was a very important piece of news to share
today is because I must have gotten probably six or
(08:38):
eight calls last week from clients who are thinking about
heading to Orlando for the holidays this year. So this
is important.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Guys.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
If you're listening, this information is for you, and access
to the in park holiday experiences is actually included with
your regular theme park admission. Can take advantage of special
offers to book an incredible getaway to enjoy all that
Universal Orlando has to offer this holiday season, including savings
(09:09):
up to that thirty percent when booking a stay of
five nights or more at one of our Universal Orlando's hotels,
plus bundled with theme park tickets to Universal Studios Florida,
Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Volcano Bay, and or Universal
Epic Universe, which we all know is the brand new
(09:31):
park there. So some great exciting news for the holidays
from Universal Studios in Orlando. Next piece of news is
one that I'm pleased to share. I always like it
when people are winning awards and we have an opportunity
to share that here on a life less ordinary and
our good friends in Canada have landed Conde Nass Travelers
(09:54):
twenty twenty five Top ten Global Rankings award. Conde As,
as you know, is a choice travel magazine from around
the world, and these annual rankings, decided by their global leaders,
place Canada at number ten, recognizing both its breathtaking landscapes
(10:16):
and the warmth of its people. And this acknowledgment adds
to a growing list of accolades for Canada this year.
They say, travelers today are craving what's real experiences that
build compassions, spark belonging and remind us of what we share.
And for Americans, Canada offers exactly that. It's a place
that welcomes you in, leaves a lasting mark, and sends
(10:38):
you home seeing the world and one another, maybe just
a little differently. And I think we can all use
a little cupful of that these days. The top countries
in the world. By the way, just so you know
who all of them were in the top ten, I'll
go in order with the bottom to the top. Canada,
(10:58):
as I said, came in at numbers ten. Congratulations to
those folks. France is number nine. Croatia it took the
number eight spot this year Ireland number seven, Turkey number six,
Spain number five, Italy number four, Portugal number three. Number
(11:19):
two was Greece. And I'll let you guys, guess who
do you think came in at the number one spot
for Conde Nast Travelers Readers' Choice Awards as the top
country in the world. It's really hot right now, I'll
tell you that. And I don't mean temperature wise. I
mean it's just a very hot, hot destination.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Oh. I'm going to guess somebody that just there was
a big personality in this country this year. Are you
talking about Italy? I am not. Italy came in at
number four, number four.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Japan.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Actually, you're right, Japan came in at number one. It
is the number one country according to Conde Nast Reader's
Choice Awards. So you know, we're seeing a lot of
interest in Japan. People are very interested and excited about
the Asian market. There's lots of reasons to go there.
And I've always said the trip to Japan that I
(12:17):
took many years ago was a life changing event for me.
So I would encourage anybody to actually take advantage of
a trip to the Asian market. If you can in,
particularly to Japan. Now something that we don't always like
to talk about, but something that I want to actually
(12:37):
throw out there for those of you who are weather watchers.
We have some tropical storms that are brewing. Jerry was
supposed to be headed for the Caribbean Islands, and US
East Coast prepared for a northeaster this weekend. However, Jerry
has now flatlined and is no longer a threat, which
is great. But the second and probably more consequential storm
(13:00):
for the travel industry is this north northeastern expected to
develop off of the East Coast through this weekend. We
of course know it's going to bring with it heavy
rain and possibly flooding all along the East Coast. Forecasters
expect cooler weather in the Northeast. We've seen that already.
I got to say my first burr this weekend. But
(13:23):
that is because the ACI Weather says that the rain
is likely to start in the Carolina's eastern Virginia and
southeastern Maryland today and Sunday morning. The stormy area could
extend all the way through the eastern mid Atlantic and
then to southern New England by Sunday night. The outer
banks of North Carolina are especially vulnerable after last week's
(13:47):
severe erosion. This storm could last into early next week
before it weakens and moves further offshore by Tuesday. Accu
weather is warning that the storm could produce major floding,
beach erosion and some power outages. I don't mind the
cool weather. I don't like the stormy weather necessarily, but
(14:09):
we do need the rain.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
That means after definitely, either right after we finished today,
I've got to run home and cut the grass. Is
that what you're telling me? Well, I think you probably
better do it with an umbrella.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I've checked the forecast. Unless something major has changed, we're
not getting much of that.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Okay, Well I like that.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Maybe you'll have a you'll have a half a prayer, Harry,
it gets your grass mode.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah. I mean I think we're getting maybe a quarter
an inch of rain through this whole thing.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Okay, well that would be that would be okay. Let
the people in North Carolina have it.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
So we do have some sales, I know, so, Harry,
I'm going to hand it over to you and let
you tell our listeners all about where they can save
some money if they're interested. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Well, one of the things I want to remind listeners of. Also,
we were talking about this earlier this week, Terry, I
did do what I promised, and that is I've added
a couple extra spaces for our trip going down to
see the Holiday lights at the Biltmore Estates. So if
anybody's listening this morning, I've got a couple extra rooms.
We're going down there November third through the sixth, and
(15:13):
there's more information about that on our website undergroup trips.
So November third through six the Buildtmore if you want
to get a head start in a Christmas spirits the
first week, the first week that the Christmas Lights.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah, that's just a magical place. We took our entire
staff down there one late summer and it was just
one of the best experiences ever.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
And you were talking about some of the things going
on at the theme parks. Well, one of the things
that I found this week that I'm interested in I'm
looking at at ski season, and as the weather's starting
to change, I think a lot of people are looking
at ski season. Our good friends at the Montage Resorts,
which are one of our favorite resorts, have a special
(15:57):
that is out there now in Big Sky Montage. Now,
if you like skiing, you're talking about over fifty eight
hundred skiable acres out there in Montana, right and kind
of the west entrance of Yellowstone. They have a deal
where if you buy four nights, you will get the
fifth night free at one of the Montage resorts. If
(16:18):
you've never been to one of their resorts, they are
at the top of the heap, I think. And when
you agree Terry Montage Resorts.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Oh my gosh, one of my favorites. Yeah, they are
what I call classic comfortable luxury.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So they've got this booking discount that's good for December
fifteenth through April fifteenth, which is ski season. You've got
to do at least a fourteen day advanced purchase. They'll
give you that extra fifth night, which is great. But
also they're throwing in a two hundred dollars Compass sports
credit per room, which you can use towards ski gear, rentals, excursions,
(16:58):
whatever you like. And that's on top of I don't
think I mentioned Montage is one of our favorite friends,
so we get the virtual so amenities properties too, So
if you're interested in that, let us know. That includes
the breakfast for two the room upgrade because you're looking
through a virtuoso agency and if you have not experienced Montage, Wow,
(17:20):
you ought to really think about them other New Year's
Eve things. I'm starting to think about New Year's Eve.
Get that from what we're talking about this morning, Chris.
New Year's Eve is on my mind already. We're getting
into fall, temperatures changing. We've got our friends at out
in Peru on the Belmont Trains. There's a luxury train.
(17:42):
If you've ever dreamt about a luxury train journey, this
is it, the Belmont Peruvian Train. You'll be the first
one to experience New Year's You start in Cusco, you
go to Puno up to our Equippa, which is a
Unesco historical site. You will ring in New Year's You
(18:04):
will be on this luxury luxury train. This is a
three day to night on board train. Food and beverage included,
sunsets that are just stunning. They have a special New
Year's cocktail party with a specially designed I am told
New Year's cocktail just for the night. Special dinners. They're
(18:26):
going to have a party, live DJ on board and
you will be the first to experience in the world. Okay,
as New Year's rings in aboard this luxury train. If
you're interested in that, there are thirty cabins available worldwide.
We have access to them at the Wishing Well, and
(18:47):
I think that would be just a fantastic once in
a lifetime kind of journey, similar to the one that
I'll be talking about a little bit later on this
morning that I was on. Those are the kinds of
things that you write down in your little date book
and you remember for the rest of your life. So
this is the Belmont train to Peru. A couple other ones.
(19:10):
One of the ones I was looking at is a
Scenic Group, which is one of our cruise lines, and
they are again a luxury cruise line. They have a
special sale that's going on through the nineteenth of this
month where they are offering two for one bears free
round trip airfares and savings on their suites as well.
(19:32):
If you've never looked at Scenic cruise lines, take a
look at them. They are an all inclusive, very spacious suites,
butler service, all kinds of activities on board, and in
addition to the normal all inclusives, Wi Fi beverages, luxury dining,
things like that, they have activities that range from wine tasting,
(19:53):
e byte tours, even private concerts. How's that for a
nice excursion activities a private concert. They are doing this
on some of their river cruises, on their yacht cruises,
and again this is a very special offer through the
nineteenth of October, so if you're interested in that, please
let us know right away. And then our friends at
(20:16):
National Geographic they are partnering with Lyndblad Expeditions and they've
got some Arctic voyages that are on sale right now,
limited number of voyages. They're going to give you an
airfare credit one thousand dollars per person. That helps a
lot with airfare. They are also offering some select discounts
(20:38):
for cabin different cabin types, and if you've never been
on a National Geographic cruise, these are especially curated cruises
with some on board and interpreters and guides that are
owning the best in the world.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
I think, Harry, this is one of the smartest partnerships
that the travel industry really has ever collaborated on. Is
National Geographic with lynn Blad Tours, two of the actually
smartest natural sustainable type companies to come together. I think
that we've ever seen. Let's not forget to share with
(21:13):
our audience as well. The sales that are going on
was Regent cruise Line right now, where they are offering
some first class for free along with your cruise purchase
that comes right along with it for absolutely no extra money,
so you're going to be able to travel for first class.
(21:33):
Regent is one of those cruise lines which we've done
groups with before. We've talked about it here on a
Life Less Ordinary. They are an all inclusive luxury small
ship cruise line. And when I say small ship, they
average about seven hundred and fifty to seven hundred and
eighty passengers only. And when I say everything is included,
(21:53):
I'm talking top notch culinary food experiences. They have cooking
classes on board, have specialists come in and do talks
about the destinations that you're visiting. And here they even
return your laundry for you free of charge. All right,
All shore excursions are included, so you pay nothing extra
(22:15):
for those, unless it's something that requires a motor and
then you might have to pay extra for a shore
excursion or if it's something a little elevated, but other
than that, in every single port, you get free excursions,
just like you do with our other good friends at Viking.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
And what's especially nice about Region is in this particular
sale is this is not limited to one or two destinations.
I look through that list, Harry, and it includes you
know Barcelona you were talking about, It includes Alaska.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Does I actually have some clients who took advantage of
that for Alaska just this week. So you know, if
you were anxious to go to Alaska. But the idea
of a long plane flight isn't exciting to you. If
you especially if you go and coach, let me tell
you first class saying bad people, It's not bad.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I've got some stories about that as we move on
into the program too. But the best story about Regent
that I love to tell people is that when you
go to Alaska, most people go up there to see
the glaciers. When you see the glaciers on Region, the
captain announced on the cruise that I was on, he said,
pick a place on board that you like, any place
(23:23):
at all, you'll see the glacier. And he turned that
small ship around two times three. He turned it around
all three hundred and sixty degrees, so everybody got to
see the glacier. From wherever they were standing on that ship.
You don't do that in those mega cruise liners, but
on an eight hundred person cruise ship with a fully
(23:44):
skilled captain, you can have that kind of experience. And
that's the Regent way of doing things. They bring the
destination to you and bring you to the destination whatever
it takes to make things happen.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah, it's going to be an exciting show today, Harry,
thanks for bringing us so, and hopefully if anybody has
any interest in any of those and you would be
anxious to have the wishing Well talk to you about
any of these deals, or really any place you want
to go. We are easy to find. You can locate
us easily enough at two forty three and f Avenue
(24:16):
in the Valley Center. They can call us at five
four h nine oh eight two three three three, or
you can always look us up on the web. We're
at the Wishingwell dot viz.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
All right, so you can use that contact information if
you want to take advantage of any of these great deals.
What I want to know is where Terry you were
the last week or so? Who was I guess two
weeks ago now? And then Harry, you mentioned that you
were in Jordan, so I want to hear about that,
and then I want to get into all the travel
tips in the hacks we did a couple of weeks
(24:49):
ago part one. This is going to be part two
of all that. We got a lot to get to.
We're going to talk about it all next year on
a Life lest Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Wishing Wells experts help. We offer fee
free travel planning with built in expertise. Listeners voted us
Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab on our website,
The Wishingwell dot biz, or let us create a trip
just for you. Stop by two forty three nef Avenue,
visit us at the Wishingwell dot biz, or call us
(25:18):
at five four zero nine zero eight two three three
three five four zero nine zero eight two three three three.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
And welcome back to a Life lesst Ordinary. We're the
travel show on podcasts that you can tune into each
week and it's from your friends at the wishing Well.
They're on nef Avenue in Harrisenberg online at the Wishingwell
dot biz, so you can give them a caf five
four oh nine O eight twenty three thirty three. Our
show today is entitled Travel Tips and Hacks, Part two,
(25:46):
and if you remember in our last episode, I think
we ran through twenty one different hacks and tips that
we can use. So we're going to pick up at
number twenty two. But before we do that, I want
to find out about your trip.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Did you go to barcel I did go to Barcelona?
Tell me about that. Did you go to what's the
Cigaretta Familia?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Yeah? Yes, So you know, this was a very interesting
kind of exercise for me to go to and it
was very deliberate on my part. I actually went with
a friend of mine and wanted to experience this as
I do as a as a tourist. Okay, not as
a travel agent, but as a tourist. And what do
I mean by that? Well, Harry can tell you and
(26:29):
agree with me probably that when travel agents are invited
many times to destinations, be it a country or a
property or whatever, they really do roll out in the
red carpet. You see what they want you to see
at the pace they want you to see it, and
in this particular experience, which is fine, you know, all
that's great, but in this particular experience. I wanted to
(26:51):
see it like you guys would. I wanted to see
this as if I had sold it to you, and
this is what you were going to see when you
got there. And the other unique thing about this particular trip,
it's what I called a semi escorted trip. What does
that mean, Well, it's not fully escorted in that I
(27:11):
was met at the airport and picked up and taken
where I met a group of fellow travelers and we
all did the same thing to that that's a fully
escorted tour. This was where I flew in independently to
the airport in Barcelona. I was picked up by a
transfer service. I was taken to my hotel and at
(27:32):
that point I was on my own to do my
own thing. Except I had pre booked some tours in advance,
and those tours had other people on them which I met.
I saw them for a few hours, and then I
was done with them for that part of my trip.
So this is really what you called a semi escorted tour.
(27:55):
It was fabulous. I did elect to take direct, nonstyle
flights into Barcelona. Because if you've been listening to me
here for a while, on a lifeless ordinary. I always
say this, I'm all about luxury, and luxury, as we know,
comes in all different shape, sizes and references to how
people like to do things. I personally like direct non
(28:17):
stop flights. I think it's the best way for my
luggage not to get lost, and once I get on
the plane and arrive, I know exactly where I'm going
to be. So I did take the direct NonStop flight
on United Airlines. We arrived in Barcelona that morning. We
were picked up in a Mercedes limousine and taken to
our hotel, which was in a great location. I would
(28:40):
say this was a more of a four star not
a five star hotel, which was perfect. The location was
walkable to where we wanted to do and see things.
One of the first things we did when we got
there was the hop On, Hop Off Tour. This is
something folks that I recommend if you want to become
familiar with any city at all that you don't know
(29:02):
much about, and you want to get a good lay
of the land and get your bearings when you get there.
I bought the two day hop On hop Off that
had a cruise on the Mediterranean with it as part
of the adventure. Loved the whole thing, so we decided
to take the hop on, hop off and do the
entire trip for the first couple of hours that we
(29:27):
were on there, and then the next day go back
and see other things. We also did a walking historical
tour of downtown Barcelona, which included a lot of the
historical sites. It was led by a historian, a graduate
of the Barcelona University, and we enjoyed that thoroughly. We
also went to a place called Matsarat, which is one
(29:49):
of the most incredible architectural natural architectural sites I have
ever seen in my life, as well as a monastery
where there are still real monks today, and the cathedral
that has been built there in homage to Christ is
(30:10):
something akin to I have never seen before. It is unbelievable,
absolutely unbelievable. If you ever have a chance to go
to Barcelona, do not miss the adventure to Matsarat and
the mountain there. It's something that you will not forget.
We then went to a Spanish village where we were
(30:30):
able to see local crafters. I always love that, you know,
when I go into a city, I really don't want
to get the typical souvenirs. I love to come home
with things that were actually locally crafted. It helps their economy,
it helps their crafters, their artisans, and it's also a
fabulous gift to give when you come back, is to say, oh,
(30:50):
I got you something that was made in Barcelona. The
other thing that we did was the part Well and
the Grotta Familia, which of course we all know is
Antonio Goudi's ode to It's his love song to Barcelona.
And actually it will be finished. So Gratta Familia has
(31:12):
been a work in progress for many, many, many many years,
and they say we'll be finished now in the year
twenty twenty seven. So altogether, just a fabulous tour. I
can highly recommend the cuisine in Spain. We were able
to enjoy tapas, and tapas, in case you don't know,
are actually small portions of food that come in all
(31:38):
different varieties, anything from stuffed grape leaves to something that
I enjoyed very much, which were ham croquettes or chicken croquettes.
The other thing that I really enjoyed in the line
of tapas was bumpas, which are actually it's a ball
of mashed potatoes stuffed with a meat kind of filling
(32:00):
and then has a wonderful sauce over and it's deep
fraud the other. Doesn't that sound wonderful? I know that
sounds like something I want to add to my own
personal dish of new things to fix. And then let's
not forget the sangria, which if you're finding that in
Barcelona anywhere, it is unlike you will find anywhere else
(32:21):
in the world. I'm sure it has fresh fruit in it.
It is light, it is wonderful, it's refreshing. The weather
in Barcelona couldn't have been better. The crowds were much
lighter in Barcelona this time of year because it's September,
so we were in shoulder season. Chris, you and I
have talked about actually dedicated entire show to shoulder season.
(32:42):
Travel here once upon a time at a lifeless ordinary,
so all together, Spain, Barcelona. Certain aspects of how you
do this with a semi escorted type tour is something
I would highly recommend to people who don't want to
be necessarily tethered to a group. But you don't want
to be on your own entirely either. It can be
(33:04):
pretty daunting to be in another country when you don't
speak the language. They do happily speak English in Barcelona,
so I didn't have any problem with that. But there
were some people who only spoke Spanish, and you know,
I knew that. But if you just kind of one
of the tips that we talked about last week was
if you just learn a little bit of the language sometime,
(33:27):
they really do appreciate that and you can get by
with that. So altogether, Chris just a great experience in Barcelona.
Would highly, highly highly recommend it.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
All Right, Harry top that it's easy because I did
Barcelona about it, I guess.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
It is about six months ago or so, so I
everything that Terry said is spot on. It's a wonderful,
wonderful city full of wonderful, wonderful things to do. So
I went a different direction and I hed Terry's vice.
Also about direct flights. I love direct flights. I think
that's the wisest thing you can do, except this time
(34:06):
I didn't. What I did is I took advantage of
a special program that the airline has out there, and
I traveled on Turkish Airlines, an airline I'd never traveled
on before. They have a program that is called a
discover Istanbul and I was on my way to Jordan
to A'man, Jordan, and I made a stop in Istanbul,
(34:28):
and this particular program that is funded by the airline
and the Tourism Bureau of Istanbul allows you to arrive,
you get off your plane, you leave your luggage at
the airport. They even have you check if you want.
They have some places where you can put your carry
on luggage and you go downstairs to a special desk
(34:49):
and get a pass and they take you on a
bus to downtown Istanbul with the tour guide tour you
through the city all the wonderful sites to see, take
you to the bizarre and the shops down there, see
the historic mosques and cathedrals, and by that time it's
about dinner time, so they feed you dinner on them
(35:13):
very traditional Turkish dinner, served with Coca cola as a
side option for one of your drinks, but everything else
was one hundred percent Turkish. Bring you back to the
airport and you get on your connecting flight and onto
your destination. So I went to Aman via Eastern Bul,
Turkey with a free tour of the city thanks to
(35:35):
Turkish Airlines. Some of the most spectacular airline experience service
I've had traveling internationally, and I know I want to
interrupt your story, Harry, but that actually what Harry just
described is one of the travel hacks that I had
on my list for us today, which is direct NonStop
flights are wonderful. They are very luxurious, but.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
A good travel hack in order for you to be
able to see another city entirely for free all those
things that you did that cost you exactly how much
zero exactly. So that's a great travel hack to know.
If you're traveling internationally and you don't mind connections, or
you have the available time or the luxury of time
(36:19):
to be able to do that, that's a fabulous travel hack.
Thanks for sharing it.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Yeah, I actually got to see two countries on one
trip for one price, so it was fantastic. I also
learned something about Turkish era, and we were talking about
this as well. I did not know this when I
started looking at this airline. They that airline serves more
countries than any other airline in the world. Of fantastic service.
(36:47):
I highly recommend. And when you talk about hacks, part
of it is you know, when you talk to someone
like Terry, like myself that does travel and travels the
way Terry's talking about as a tourist rather than as
a travel Turkish air will tell you they're the best airline,
so well, you know any other airline tell you they're
the best airline. But when you experience it, that's when
(37:08):
you can really know it and find out for yourself.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
So when you get to Jordan.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
I got to Jordan and I was staying in them
on the biggest city in Jordan, the capital city of Jordan,
and I got to spend a week there. I was
doing some work, but I was also being a tourist,
and I had an experience that I think happens every
so often for travelers, and that's a life changing experience. Chris. Really, yes,
(37:35):
every morning I woke up and looked down at this
city and thought, I am in a very very very
special place in the world, and you feel it when
you arrive there. I got to see a lot of things,
and my approach was similar to Terry's in that I
hired I was there with a couple other people. We
(37:56):
were meeting there and we decided to hire or a
driver and told him where we wanted to go, what
we wanted to see. But then asked for his recommendations.
And we're going to talk about that in our in
our hacks too. But I got to see, I think,
the highlights of the country of Jordan. I visited the
(38:17):
baptism site. I watched across the river, looked, looked across
the river, Jordan saw Israel, saw all the churches. Saw
were world history. Uh has occurred. And it was because
this driver not only told us you know, I knew
(38:39):
I wanted to visit that site, Chris, but he told
me how to visit that site. He was a Jordanian
national actually worked for the US Marines as a translator,
so his English was fantastic. If we saw sign or
something was going on in the you know, on the road,
and we said, you know, what did that say or
what's going on there, he could explain it to us
(38:59):
very very well. But he took us to that site.
We got a Jordanian guide at the site through the
Jordanian Tourism authority, took us around, explaining things in a
very very easy to understand fashion, and basically he brought
history alive. And that's what I mean when I say
(39:19):
that this was one of those life changing trips, not
just seeing great scenery like you might see in New
York City or Las Vegas, but you are seeing history,
which is a little bit different than scenery. We visited
Mountain Eboo, where Moses came and visited, and then we
visited the ancient civilization of Petra. And there's a lot
(39:44):
of people that have seen Petra and they didn't know
they were seeing Petra. But if you've ever seen the
Indiana Jones movies and the Treasury, that's Petra. You see
two mountains, not that there was a path carved between
two mountains, but you see the two mountains that are
separated with a path, and you see how that pathway
(40:07):
historically was the place to move trade from one side
of the world and you know, to another part of
the world. And to see it is I brought back pictures.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
You.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
Pictures are great and they'll help me remember it. But
the only way to see a location like Petra is
to visit a location like Petra. It is. It's not
something you can capture. Indiana Jones was a great movie,
a lot of great scenery. It looked a hundred times better,
(40:43):
and we got to meet the people there as well.
Again because we hired this tour guide for a second trip,
and he took us there. It's a three hour trip
from a mom so you got to know where you
go and you got to know how to get there.
And when he got when we arrived, he gave us
tips on what to do inside and how to navigate
(41:04):
the site most effectively. But we got to see all
of the things there, and we got to meet the people.
We got to meet some of the Bedouin people who
still inhabit that region, and it was just a fantastic
trip all, you know, all around, we got to experience
(41:25):
the cultures of Jordan. I learned. The national dish of
Jordan is something called monsam. It's a really neat meal.
It's made with things that you wouldn't think would go
together well, but they do. It's made with lamb, a yogurt, sauce,
and rice and a bread called shock. But it's also
served communal style, so sits in the middle of the
(41:49):
table and people take their portions from that. You want
a little more, you take a little more, and it's
it's just a very different cultural experience for for me
as an American to go to a different country, people
speaking different languages, different foods, different scenery, and they see
(42:12):
this every day. But when we come to a place
like this as an American, you get to understand that
there are some very, very very special places in the world.
Some of them are in the United States, and people
come to see them. But for us, it was a wonderful,
wonderful experience, and I just came back very changed, very moved.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Man. I'm jealous of both of you. Anybody wants to
know where I've been over the last two weeks, Dayton, Virginia.
I know I keep promising you that we're going to
talk travel tips and hacks. I'm going to make you
wait another thirty seconds. We'll get to the list coming
up next here on a Life less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Let the wishing Wells Experts help. We
offer fee free travel planning with built in expertise listeners
to us Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab
on our website they wishingwell dot biz, or let us
create a trip just for you. Stop by two forty
three nef Avenue, visit us at the wishingwell dot biz,
(43:12):
or call us at five four zero nine zero eighths
two three three three five four zero nine zero eights
two three three three.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
Welcome back to a life less ordinary. This is your
travel show and podcast from your friends at the wishing Well,
and they're on f Avenue in Harrisonburg online at the
wishing Well. Dop biz. All right, give them a call.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
What the heck?
Speaker 1 (43:31):
Pick up the phone old fashioned style five four oh
nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. I guarantee that
they will answer the call with a smile in their voice,
and they'll be thrilled to help you make your dreams
come true. Absolutely. Now our show today, travel Tips and Hacks.
This is part two. Go back and listen to the
previous episode for the first twenty one travel hacks where
(43:52):
a heck well, I guess twenty three because you already
gave us one Harry travel hack of have a layover
so that you can experience another city for free. Correct,
all right, so number twenty three go?
Speaker 3 (44:05):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
So, one thing that I learned, especially on my trip
to Barcelona, hery, I'm sure you probably did too, is
that packing is an art. Okay, and especially if you
only have a certain number of days and you are
trying to be very efficient with what you're doing. Packing
is really important. I'm going to say packing cubes or
what they call space bags, they.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
Will change your life. Let me tell you.
Speaker 4 (44:31):
So, being on a different time zone and everything, sometimes
you're not always thinking so clearly. When you get up
in the morning, the last thing you want to do
is try and pair tops with slacks or or whatever.
You know, it just doesn't happen so well. So what
I do is I take one of these space bags
and I put all of my underclothes, my top, my
(44:54):
bottom for the day, even my jewelry, everything that I'm
going to wear for that outfit. Put it in a bag,
put it in my suitcase, and that's it. When I
get to my destination, I take those bags out, I
lay them on a shelf, and that's what I wear
while I'm on my trip. It's amazing. And then when
you empty one laund your clothes that need laundry go
(45:15):
back in those bags and into your suitcase. And it's
a beautiful thing. When I say it's life changing, I
mean it. I've done it the other way and struggled
with that for many many years. I will never go
back to doing that. Differently. The other thing that I
would recommend to you has to do with how you
handle the noise on the planes, because if you are
(45:37):
not lucky enough to set in business or first class
on a flight where you have the lay flat seats,
and you do have either economy or Premium economy, you're
not going to lay flat. But invariably, invariably there will
be a child who's unhappy on the flight or has
a difficult time going to sleep. You need noise canceling headphones.
(46:02):
They are worth every penny. And let me tell you,
Bose has some of the best ones of those. I
think I've had mine now for about ten years. I
would highly recommend them. You recharge them, you put them in,
put a little white noise on in those while you're
on the flight. It's again worth every penny. The other
(46:24):
travel hack for your luggage is air tags. If you've
ever lost a bag, you will never travel without them again.
Now airlines are doing a much better job these days
of keeping up with those bags, and you actually get
even a notification on your cell phone if you've checked
in online and you've done all that. They will actually
(46:45):
help you track your bags as well. But air tags
are absolutely fabulous.
Speaker 3 (46:50):
Download the Airlines app to do that, Terry, and they'll
let you see your bags moving through the system. You'll
see them actually loaded onto the plane and you'll you'll
know where they Absolutely a very very easy thing to do.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
I experienced that on my last flight and it was wild.
It's like your bag is now, you know, being deep
lane or whatever. I loved it.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
Yeah. Absolutely, If they lost it.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
The air Tag's going to make it great to know
where it went exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (47:17):
So those are some great hacks. The other thing about
while you're traveling that I would really like to say
is a game changer is what you take on board
the flight with you. Now, I was actually following my
own advice that I give to my own travel clients
for my flight to Barcelona. And whether or not you're
(47:38):
in first class, business class or economy class doesn't make
a difference. I think you still need an imask, you
need those ear plugs or earbuds, noise canceling. A neck
pillow is certainly nice to have, even if you're not
flying overnight. If you're setting up in first class, it's
just nice not to have to control where your head
(47:58):
goes on the flight, you can just nod off comfortably. Also,
a lightweight blanket is kind of nice, and take a
pair of cozy socks with you so you can kick
your shoes off. These are long flights, folks, so kick
your shoes off, make sure you're as absolutely as comfortable
(48:19):
as possible, and then be sure that you take a
toothbrush and a toothpaste travel size with you because once
right before you're getting off the flight, the captain will
usually give an announcement that says we're within an hour
of landing, folks. If you need to make your last
minute restroom stop, those are great times for you to
go into the restroom, freshen up, look like a human
(48:41):
being again, brush your teeth, actually get ready for the
day because it's usually if you're flying overseas, it's the
next morning now.
Speaker 3 (48:49):
And the two things that I always pack with me
as well, I work contacts, so I'll either have a
fresh set for if your were a daily lensware, or
make sure you have a little bit of solution and
you can get the small bottles of solutions so they
fit in your one cork bag that we talked about
in the previous episode. The second thing I always carry
(49:10):
with me. I like the toothpaste and a toothbrush, but
I always carry one of those small bottles of Scope
Orlisteringe exactly whatever. Those also are part of my one
cork bag because sometimes you just don't have enough time
to get in, you know, and brush your teeth. At
least you can wrench your mouth and smell fresh, feel fresh.
Speaker 4 (49:30):
So the other things that I want to talk about
real quickly because these are things that happen on the
flight and will sometimes help you have a better flight
and enjoy it more. Bring your own snacks. The airlines
folks will charge you for those. If you're not in
business or first class, you'll want your own collapsible water
bottle or refillable water bottle. Food at airports is really pricey.
(49:54):
It's often really disappointing as well, So take with you
a small pack of nuts, a protein. Are that refillable
bottle that can really save you along the way. And
also this one. This is a great hack, folks, especially
if you are traveling overseas. Airport lounges they aren't just
for the elite. I want to say a lot of
(50:17):
these airport lounges allow for day passes. They're between thirty
and fifty dollars, and apps like Lounge Buddy or Priority
Pass they open doors to showers, meals inside those lounges,
and a little bit of piece before you might head
off for your next long flight. So I would say
a lounge pass is well worth it for the day
(50:38):
if the airline ticket that you've purchased doesn't necessarily come
with that. Let's talk for just a quick minute about
hotels and hotel accommodation hacks.
Speaker 3 (50:49):
I want you to be sure if you.
Speaker 4 (50:50):
Are staying in a city that you're unfamiliar with, but
you're staying in a great hotel, ask for that corner room, folks.
They're usually larger, they're quieter, and they are offered at
the same price, so there's no difference in the price
for that corner room. But in the end, your amenities
are far greater. Call ahead for some perks. We love
(51:13):
to do that for our clients at the Wishing Well.
Even some budget hotels might surprise you with some free upgrades,
but if you're booking a virtuoso property, those are guaranteed.
And really remember this a simple polite we're celebrating our
anniversary or we are celebrating something a birthday. Yeah, that
can work wonders for you at the check and counter,
(51:35):
and be sure to put on a smile. Those are
always great. So those are some tips that I had, Harry,
you got a couple of quick ones.
Speaker 3 (51:44):
A quick one that I would say, I endorse what
you said about the airline lounges. Those passes are worth it.
You have to look at them ahead of time. Credit
cards sometimes offer those things too. I know I have
one of the cards with the Adventure card that gets
me some of those passes for free, some of those
(52:05):
lounges for free American Express cards. When you start to
look at the costs of that over time, you'll find
this very very great value. And the great thing about
those lounges they do have those snacks that you're talking about, Terry.
Speaker 4 (52:17):
I've got one last great hack. I did this when
I went to Barcelona. I was so happy. Don't feel
like just because you want some great souvenirs from the
places that you're visiting, that you have to carry those
home with you. Many of the places that you'll visit
will give you the opportunity to mail those back home
for you. I was so excited to find a hand crafted,
(52:41):
handmade ceramic olive oil caraffe over in Barcelona. But I
didn't want to carry it home. I was afraid I
was going to break it. It just arrived in the
mail yesterday. I was so happy to see it. And
those are the kind of things that you can do
that'll save you a lot. You knocked out nine ten
some ten minutes A impressed, aren't you?
Speaker 1 (53:02):
Now? How do we get in touch with you if
we want to take advantage of these tips and hacks
on our next travel.
Speaker 4 (53:08):
We are extremely easy to find, Chris. We're located at
two forty three nef Avenue in the Valley Center in Heresonburg, Virginia.
You can call us at five four oh nine oh
eight two three three three or look us up on
the web. Folks, we are at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a life less ordinary the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well dot biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app, and we'll see
again next Saturday morning at ten for a life less ordinary.
(53:48):
From the wishing Well
This is a Lifeless Ordinary, the travel show and podcasts
from your friends at the wishing Well two forty three
f Avenue in harsmerg and online at the wishing Well
dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:21):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And say, hello, Okay, how are you Chris. Yeah, I'm
doing okay. We're covering from a little bit of yuckiness.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
My wife works with young moms in their newborns. She
comes home and says, oh, one of my clients was sick,
and I was like yeah, and I'm like, I cannot
get sick. I've got so much stuff coming up over
the next week, and lo and behold. About three days later,
she's like calling me, I'm coming home. I don't feel well.
(00:57):
I made it about three more days and then I
was out. And then anytime I get sick, it settles
in my lungs. And for the next thirty to sixty days.
I don't know, it feels like thirty years. I will
just be coughing NonStop. And that's where I'm at right now.
I don't feel sick. I never had a temperature you know.
Overall great.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Well, I am delighted you're here. I think that comes
with the change of the seasons, you know. And that's okay.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
I'm okay because it feels gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
It doesn't feel yes, it does, and I like it.
Before we get too far, let's say hi to Harry too.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah, say to Harry more than everybody. Yeah, you're on
a different time zone, aren't you. I'm still recovering this.
I'm about eight hours off.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So well, that puts you in eight hours of Europe
eight hours or keep going.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, I've just returned from Jordan and George that's right.
We talked about that in the Holy Lands.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, oh man, are we going to spend some time
talking about that today.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
We are a little bit actually hearing I both have
been on some recent trips, so we want to share
a little bit about that with the listening audience, which,
by the way, Chris, before we jump in, I have
to say a great, big, huge, huge thank you to
all of you faithful listeners every Saturday morning to us.
I've just had some of the nicest folks come in
(02:16):
this week and tell us how much they appreciate this
show and how they look forward to us every Saturday
morning with their cup of coffee and hearing about travel
and that kind of thing. So really, from the bottom
of our hearts from Harry and I at the wishing
Well and all the folks at the wishing Well, thank you,
thank you, thank you so much. It means a lot
to us.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It surprises me when people come in and say things
like that. It also surprises me when people call us
who may not be in the area and say they've
heard about us through the show and they wanted to
call and check out. And it's like, yeah, you're the
guy in the radio with Christ and Terry. I said, yes,
I'm the guy with Christ and Terry. I'm the guy
(02:56):
what's my name that we don't know, but you're with
Chris and Terry. Even that makes me have that we
hear from people that aren't only locals. So if you're
listening from Afar, we appreciate you just as much as
if you stop in and say that you've heard us.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Yeah, and this is all about giving you information that
you can take into your world of travel. And it
is called a life less Ordinary for a reason.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
If you're new to our show, if you're just stumbling
upon us today, Terry explain how that came to be,
How we ended up with a show called a Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Well, I mean, I think there was a demand for
that after especially after COVID, people were locked up and
they craved information, and some very kind folks from the
radio station had approached me and said, you know, I
think this would be a great idea. What do you think?
And I, actually, this is not my day job, okay,
(03:56):
being a radio person having a travel podcast, this is
not my day job. So I kind of went in
kicking and screaming. But the more I realized how valuable
and important the information was that we were delivering on
a life less Ordinary, the easier that it became. Because
now what I see is not a mic in front
(04:16):
of me, but I see faces. I see the sea
of faces of people who we help on a daily
basis at the Wishing Well. And you are the ones
who come to my mind when I'm sitting here talking
to Chris and Harry in this studio, and that's why
I think the show is valuable.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yeah, and I love that you put a positive spin.
It is a life that's less ordinary, exactly exactly that.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
All right, Well, now that we know how we ended
up with a show called a lifeless Ordinary, let's talk
about some of those less ordinary things. We always start
off with the travel news. Yeah, let's do that, and
then we'll have some hot deals for you too, we do.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yep, and we are going to continue actually our show
today with some travel tips and hacks that we started
a couple of weeks ago, and so we're going to
continue that. But let's dive into some of the news
for this week. And I want to start off with
some great news that unan It is coming out with.
(05:13):
They are going to add some flights to Croatia, Italy,
Scotland and Spain next summer. Spain is very key because
that's actually where I just got back from. But unon
It is expanding it's summer twenty twenty six schedule, adding
service to these four new cities which are split Croatia, Bari, Italy, Glasgow,
(05:35):
Scotland and Santiago Di Compatello in Spain, and the airline
also adds its first service between Washington Dulles and Raykovic, Iceland.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
That used to be kind of.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
A line that was held pretty tight by Iceland Air Only,
so unone it is now going to have that service
out of Dulls themselves, and that's going to be daily
service also from Newark, New York to Seoul, South Korea.
And they're going to increase flights to Tel Aviv, Israel,
(06:09):
and that also comes into play here. Harry spent some
time over in the Middle East this past week as well,
so we're going to talk a little bit about that.
But United continues to serve all none destinations from its
largest expansion last summer, offering nearly three thousand weekly international
round trips and serving forty six cities across the Atlantic.
(06:33):
United plans to offer more than eight hundred and fifty
daily flights to and from over one hundred and fifty
international destinations, including forty one that no other US airline
even serves. So I think that's very very important news.
As of August twenty twenty five, that's just this past
(06:56):
couple of months ago, Unit had set a record for
the most passengers it has ever carried to Italy, Spain,
and Portugal at nearly one point five million passengers. That's
eleven percent more than last year. So United is kicking it, Chris.
(07:17):
They are doing a great job opening up the world
and really opening up the globe to US, one more
country at a time.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So I love that.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
The next piece of news that I want to share
because I know a lot of people head to Orlando,
they'll either pick Disney World or Universal for the holidays.
And Universal has an announcement because they are getting ready
for the holidays down in Orlando. They're going to host
holiday celebrations from November the twenty first until January fourth
(07:50):
of twenty twenty six, and they're going to feature character
inspired festivities and holiday decorps. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,
benchmus Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's, and holiday themed dining
experiences are among the attractions that you'll find there. Additional
experiences like The Grinch and Friends' Character Breakfast and the
(08:14):
Universal Holiday Tour are available for booking. These special holiday
festivities and menus are going to be available at all
eleven Universal Orlando Resort hotels with savings up to thirty
percent on bookings. Now, the reason that I found that
this was a very important piece of news to share
today is because I must have gotten probably six or
(08:38):
eight calls last week from clients who are thinking about
heading to Orlando for the holidays this year. So this
is important.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Guys.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
If you're listening, this information is for you, and access
to the in park holiday experiences is actually included with
your regular theme park admission. Can take advantage of special
offers to book an incredible getaway to enjoy all that
Universal Orlando has to offer this holiday season, including savings
(09:09):
up to that thirty percent when booking a stay of
five nights or more at one of our Universal Orlando's hotels,
plus bundled with theme park tickets to Universal Studios Florida,
Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Volcano Bay, and or Universal
Epic Universe, which we all know is the brand new
(09:31):
park there. So some great exciting news for the holidays
from Universal Studios in Orlando. Next piece of news is
one that I'm pleased to share. I always like it
when people are winning awards and we have an opportunity
to share that here on a life less ordinary and
our good friends in Canada have landed Conde Nass Travelers
(09:54):
twenty twenty five Top ten Global Rankings award. Conde As,
as you know, is a choice travel magazine from around
the world, and these annual rankings, decided by their global leaders,
place Canada at number ten, recognizing both its breathtaking landscapes
(10:16):
and the warmth of its people. And this acknowledgment adds
to a growing list of accolades for Canada this year.
They say, travelers today are craving what's real experiences that
build compassions, spark belonging and remind us of what we share.
And for Americans, Canada offers exactly that. It's a place
that welcomes you in, leaves a lasting mark, and sends
(10:38):
you home seeing the world and one another, maybe just
a little differently. And I think we can all use
a little cupful of that these days. The top countries
in the world. By the way, just so you know
who all of them were in the top ten, I'll
go in order with the bottom to the top. Canada,
(10:58):
as I said, came in at numbers ten. Congratulations to
those folks. France is number nine. Croatia it took the
number eight spot this year Ireland number seven, Turkey number six,
Spain number five, Italy number four, Portugal number three. Number
(11:19):
two was Greece. And I'll let you guys, guess who
do you think came in at the number one spot
for Conde Nast Travelers Readers' Choice Awards as the top
country in the world. It's really hot right now, I'll
tell you that. And I don't mean temperature wise. I
mean it's just a very hot, hot destination.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Oh. I'm going to guess somebody that just there was
a big personality in this country this year. Are you
talking about Italy? I am not. Italy came in at
number four, number four.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Japan.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Actually, you're right, Japan came in at number one. It
is the number one country according to Conde Nast Reader's
Choice Awards. So you know, we're seeing a lot of
interest in Japan. People are very interested and excited about
the Asian market. There's lots of reasons to go there.
And I've always said the trip to Japan that I
(12:17):
took many years ago was a life changing event for me.
So I would encourage anybody to actually take advantage of
a trip to the Asian market. If you can in,
particularly to Japan. Now something that we don't always like
to talk about, but something that I want to actually
(12:37):
throw out there for those of you who are weather watchers.
We have some tropical storms that are brewing. Jerry was
supposed to be headed for the Caribbean Islands, and US
East Coast prepared for a northeaster this weekend. However, Jerry
has now flatlined and is no longer a threat, which
is great. But the second and probably more consequential storm
(13:00):
for the travel industry is this north northeastern expected to
develop off of the East Coast through this weekend. We
of course know it's going to bring with it heavy
rain and possibly flooding all along the East Coast. Forecasters
expect cooler weather in the Northeast. We've seen that already.
I got to say my first burr this weekend. But
(13:23):
that is because the ACI Weather says that the rain
is likely to start in the Carolina's eastern Virginia and
southeastern Maryland today and Sunday morning. The stormy area could
extend all the way through the eastern mid Atlantic and
then to southern New England by Sunday night. The outer
banks of North Carolina are especially vulnerable after last week's
(13:47):
severe erosion. This storm could last into early next week
before it weakens and moves further offshore by Tuesday. Accu
weather is warning that the storm could produce major floding,
beach erosion and some power outages. I don't mind the
cool weather. I don't like the stormy weather necessarily, but
(14:09):
we do need the rain.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
That means after definitely, either right after we finished today,
I've got to run home and cut the grass. Is
that what you're telling me? Well, I think you probably
better do it with an umbrella.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I've checked the forecast. Unless something major has changed, we're
not getting much of that.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Okay, Well I like that.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Maybe you'll have a you'll have a half a prayer, Harry,
it gets your grass mode.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah. I mean I think we're getting maybe a quarter
an inch of rain through this whole thing.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Okay, well that would be that would be okay. Let
the people in North Carolina have it.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
So we do have some sales, I know, so, Harry,
I'm going to hand it over to you and let
you tell our listeners all about where they can save
some money if they're interested. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Well, one of the things I want to remind listeners of. Also,
we were talking about this earlier this week, Terry, I
did do what I promised, and that is I've added
a couple extra spaces for our trip going down to
see the Holiday lights at the Biltmore Estates. So if
anybody's listening this morning, I've got a couple extra rooms.
We're going down there November third through the sixth, and
(15:13):
there's more information about that on our website undergroup trips.
So November third through six the Buildtmore if you want
to get a head start in a Christmas spirits the
first week, the first week that the Christmas Lights.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah, that's just a magical place. We took our entire
staff down there one late summer and it was just
one of the best experiences ever.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
And you were talking about some of the things going
on at the theme parks. Well, one of the things
that I found this week that I'm interested in I'm
looking at at ski season, and as the weather's starting
to change, I think a lot of people are looking
at ski season. Our good friends at the Montage Resorts,
which are one of our favorite resorts, have a special
(15:57):
that is out there now in Big Sky Montage. Now,
if you like skiing, you're talking about over fifty eight
hundred skiable acres out there in Montana, right and kind
of the west entrance of Yellowstone. They have a deal
where if you buy four nights, you will get the
fifth night free at one of the Montage resorts. If
(16:18):
you've never been to one of their resorts, they are
at the top of the heap, I think. And when
you agree Terry Montage Resorts.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Oh my gosh, one of my favorites. Yeah, they are
what I call classic comfortable luxury.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So they've got this booking discount that's good for December
fifteenth through April fifteenth, which is ski season. You've got
to do at least a fourteen day advanced purchase. They'll
give you that extra fifth night, which is great. But
also they're throwing in a two hundred dollars Compass sports
credit per room, which you can use towards ski gear, rentals, excursions,
(16:58):
whatever you like. And that's on top of I don't
think I mentioned Montage is one of our favorite friends,
so we get the virtual so amenities properties too, So
if you're interested in that, let us know. That includes
the breakfast for two the room upgrade because you're looking
through a virtuoso agency and if you have not experienced Montage, Wow,
(17:20):
you ought to really think about them other New Year's
Eve things. I'm starting to think about New Year's Eve.
Get that from what we're talking about this morning, Chris.
New Year's Eve is on my mind already. We're getting
into fall, temperatures changing. We've got our friends at out
in Peru on the Belmont Trains. There's a luxury train.
(17:42):
If you've ever dreamt about a luxury train journey, this
is it, the Belmont Peruvian Train. You'll be the first
one to experience New Year's You start in Cusco, you
go to Puno up to our Equippa, which is a
Unesco historical site. You will ring in New Year's You
(18:04):
will be on this luxury luxury train. This is a
three day to night on board train. Food and beverage included,
sunsets that are just stunning. They have a special New
Year's cocktail party with a specially designed I am told
New Year's cocktail just for the night. Special dinners. They're
(18:26):
going to have a party, live DJ on board and
you will be the first to experience in the world. Okay,
as New Year's rings in aboard this luxury train. If
you're interested in that, there are thirty cabins available worldwide.
We have access to them at the Wishing Well, and
(18:47):
I think that would be just a fantastic once in
a lifetime kind of journey, similar to the one that
I'll be talking about a little bit later on this
morning that I was on. Those are the kinds of
things that you write down in your little date book
and you remember for the rest of your life. So
this is the Belmont train to Peru. A couple other ones.
(19:10):
One of the ones I was looking at is a
Scenic Group, which is one of our cruise lines, and
they are again a luxury cruise line. They have a
special sale that's going on through the nineteenth of this
month where they are offering two for one bears free
round trip airfares and savings on their suites as well.
(19:32):
If you've never looked at Scenic cruise lines, take a
look at them. They are an all inclusive, very spacious suites,
butler service, all kinds of activities on board, and in
addition to the normal all inclusives, Wi Fi beverages, luxury dining,
things like that, they have activities that range from wine tasting,
(19:53):
e byte tours, even private concerts. How's that for a
nice excursion activities a private concert. They are doing this
on some of their river cruises, on their yacht cruises,
and again this is a very special offer through the
nineteenth of October, so if you're interested in that, please
let us know right away. And then our friends at
(20:16):
National Geographic they are partnering with Lyndblad Expeditions and they've
got some Arctic voyages that are on sale right now,
limited number of voyages. They're going to give you an
airfare credit one thousand dollars per person. That helps a
lot with airfare. They are also offering some select discounts
(20:38):
for cabin different cabin types, and if you've never been
on a National Geographic cruise, these are especially curated cruises
with some on board and interpreters and guides that are
owning the best in the world.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
I think, Harry, this is one of the smartest partnerships
that the travel industry really has ever collaborated on. Is
National Geographic with lynn Blad Tours, two of the actually
smartest natural sustainable type companies to come together. I think
that we've ever seen. Let's not forget to share with
(21:13):
our audience as well. The sales that are going on
was Regent cruise Line right now, where they are offering
some first class for free along with your cruise purchase
that comes right along with it for absolutely no extra money,
so you're going to be able to travel for first class.
(21:33):
Regent is one of those cruise lines which we've done
groups with before. We've talked about it here on a
Life Less Ordinary. They are an all inclusive luxury small
ship cruise line. And when I say small ship, they
average about seven hundred and fifty to seven hundred and
eighty passengers only. And when I say everything is included,
(21:53):
I'm talking top notch culinary food experiences. They have cooking
classes on board, have specialists come in and do talks
about the destinations that you're visiting. And here they even
return your laundry for you free of charge. All right,
All shore excursions are included, so you pay nothing extra
(22:15):
for those, unless it's something that requires a motor and
then you might have to pay extra for a shore
excursion or if it's something a little elevated, but other
than that, in every single port, you get free excursions,
just like you do with our other good friends at Viking.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
And what's especially nice about Region is in this particular
sale is this is not limited to one or two destinations.
I look through that list, Harry, and it includes you
know Barcelona you were talking about, It includes Alaska.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Does I actually have some clients who took advantage of
that for Alaska just this week. So you know, if
you were anxious to go to Alaska. But the idea
of a long plane flight isn't exciting to you. If
you especially if you go and coach, let me tell
you first class saying bad people, It's not bad.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I've got some stories about that as we move on
into the program too. But the best story about Regent
that I love to tell people is that when you
go to Alaska, most people go up there to see
the glaciers. When you see the glaciers on Region, the
captain announced on the cruise that I was on, he said,
pick a place on board that you like, any place
(23:23):
at all, you'll see the glacier. And he turned that
small ship around two times three. He turned it around
all three hundred and sixty degrees, so everybody got to
see the glacier. From wherever they were standing on that ship.
You don't do that in those mega cruise liners, but
on an eight hundred person cruise ship with a fully
(23:44):
skilled captain, you can have that kind of experience. And
that's the Regent way of doing things. They bring the
destination to you and bring you to the destination whatever
it takes to make things happen.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah, it's going to be an exciting show today, Harry,
thanks for bringing us so, and hopefully if anybody has
any interest in any of those and you would be
anxious to have the wishing Well talk to you about
any of these deals, or really any place you want
to go. We are easy to find. You can locate
us easily enough at two forty three and f Avenue
(24:16):
in the Valley Center. They can call us at five
four h nine oh eight two three three three, or
you can always look us up on the web. We're
at the Wishingwell dot viz.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
All right, so you can use that contact information if
you want to take advantage of any of these great deals.
What I want to know is where Terry you were
the last week or so? Who was I guess two
weeks ago now? And then Harry, you mentioned that you
were in Jordan, so I want to hear about that,
and then I want to get into all the travel
tips in the hacks we did a couple of weeks
(24:49):
ago part one. This is going to be part two
of all that. We got a lot to get to.
We're going to talk about it all next year on
a Life lest Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Wishing Wells experts help. We offer fee
free travel planning with built in expertise. Listeners voted us
Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab on our website,
The Wishingwell dot biz, or let us create a trip
just for you. Stop by two forty three nef Avenue,
visit us at the Wishingwell dot biz, or call us
(25:18):
at five four zero nine zero eight two three three
three five four zero nine zero eight two three three three.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
And welcome back to a Life lesst Ordinary. We're the
travel show on podcasts that you can tune into each
week and it's from your friends at the wishing Well.
They're on nef Avenue in Harrisenberg online at the Wishingwell
dot biz, so you can give them a caf five
four oh nine O eight twenty three thirty three. Our
show today is entitled Travel Tips and Hacks, Part two,
(25:46):
and if you remember in our last episode, I think
we ran through twenty one different hacks and tips that
we can use. So we're going to pick up at
number twenty two. But before we do that, I want
to find out about your trip.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Did you go to barcel I did go to Barcelona?
Tell me about that. Did you go to what's the
Cigaretta Familia?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Yeah? Yes, So you know, this was a very interesting
kind of exercise for me to go to and it
was very deliberate on my part. I actually went with
a friend of mine and wanted to experience this as
I do as a as a tourist. Okay, not as
a travel agent, but as a tourist. And what do
I mean by that? Well, Harry can tell you and
(26:29):
agree with me probably that when travel agents are invited
many times to destinations, be it a country or a
property or whatever, they really do roll out in the
red carpet. You see what they want you to see
at the pace they want you to see it, and
in this particular experience, which is fine, you know, all
that's great, but in this particular experience. I wanted to
(26:51):
see it like you guys would. I wanted to see
this as if I had sold it to you, and
this is what you were going to see when you
got there. And the other unique thing about this particular trip,
it's what I called a semi escorted trip. What does
that mean, Well, it's not fully escorted in that I
(27:11):
was met at the airport and picked up and taken
where I met a group of fellow travelers and we
all did the same thing to that that's a fully
escorted tour. This was where I flew in independently to
the airport in Barcelona. I was picked up by a
transfer service. I was taken to my hotel and at
(27:32):
that point I was on my own to do my
own thing. Except I had pre booked some tours in advance,
and those tours had other people on them which I met.
I saw them for a few hours, and then I
was done with them for that part of my trip.
So this is really what you called a semi escorted tour.
(27:55):
It was fabulous. I did elect to take direct, nonstyle
flights into Barcelona. Because if you've been listening to me
here for a while, on a lifeless ordinary. I always
say this, I'm all about luxury, and luxury, as we know,
comes in all different shape, sizes and references to how
people like to do things. I personally like direct non
(28:17):
stop flights. I think it's the best way for my
luggage not to get lost, and once I get on
the plane and arrive, I know exactly where I'm going
to be. So I did take the direct NonStop flight
on United Airlines. We arrived in Barcelona that morning. We
were picked up in a Mercedes limousine and taken to
our hotel, which was in a great location. I would
(28:40):
say this was a more of a four star not
a five star hotel, which was perfect. The location was
walkable to where we wanted to do and see things.
One of the first things we did when we got
there was the hop On, Hop Off Tour. This is
something folks that I recommend if you want to become
familiar with any city at all that you don't know
(29:02):
much about, and you want to get a good lay
of the land and get your bearings when you get there.
I bought the two day hop On hop Off that
had a cruise on the Mediterranean with it as part
of the adventure. Loved the whole thing, so we decided
to take the hop on, hop off and do the
entire trip for the first couple of hours that we
(29:27):
were on there, and then the next day go back
and see other things. We also did a walking historical
tour of downtown Barcelona, which included a lot of the
historical sites. It was led by a historian, a graduate
of the Barcelona University, and we enjoyed that thoroughly. We
also went to a place called Matsarat, which is one
(29:49):
of the most incredible architectural natural architectural sites I have
ever seen in my life, as well as a monastery
where there are still real monks today, and the cathedral
that has been built there in homage to Christ is
(30:10):
something akin to I have never seen before. It is unbelievable,
absolutely unbelievable. If you ever have a chance to go
to Barcelona, do not miss the adventure to Matsarat and
the mountain there. It's something that you will not forget.
We then went to a Spanish village where we were
(30:30):
able to see local crafters. I always love that, you know,
when I go into a city, I really don't want
to get the typical souvenirs. I love to come home
with things that were actually locally crafted. It helps their economy,
it helps their crafters, their artisans, and it's also a
fabulous gift to give when you come back, is to say, oh,
(30:50):
I got you something that was made in Barcelona. The
other thing that we did was the part Well and
the Grotta Familia, which of course we all know is
Antonio Goudi's ode to It's his love song to Barcelona.
And actually it will be finished. So Gratta Familia has
(31:12):
been a work in progress for many, many, many many years,
and they say we'll be finished now in the year
twenty twenty seven. So altogether, just a fabulous tour. I
can highly recommend the cuisine in Spain. We were able
to enjoy tapas, and tapas, in case you don't know,
are actually small portions of food that come in all
(31:38):
different varieties, anything from stuffed grape leaves to something that
I enjoyed very much, which were ham croquettes or chicken croquettes.
The other thing that I really enjoyed in the line
of tapas was bumpas, which are actually it's a ball
of mashed potatoes stuffed with a meat kind of filling
(32:00):
and then has a wonderful sauce over and it's deep
fraud the other. Doesn't that sound wonderful? I know that
sounds like something I want to add to my own
personal dish of new things to fix. And then let's
not forget the sangria, which if you're finding that in
Barcelona anywhere, it is unlike you will find anywhere else
(32:21):
in the world. I'm sure it has fresh fruit in it.
It is light, it is wonderful, it's refreshing. The weather
in Barcelona couldn't have been better. The crowds were much
lighter in Barcelona this time of year because it's September,
so we were in shoulder season. Chris, you and I
have talked about actually dedicated entire show to shoulder season.
(32:42):
Travel here once upon a time at a lifeless ordinary,
so all together, Spain, Barcelona. Certain aspects of how you
do this with a semi escorted type tour is something
I would highly recommend to people who don't want to
be necessarily tethered to a group. But you don't want
to be on your own entirely either. It can be
(33:04):
pretty daunting to be in another country when you don't
speak the language. They do happily speak English in Barcelona,
so I didn't have any problem with that. But there
were some people who only spoke Spanish, and you know,
I knew that. But if you just kind of one
of the tips that we talked about last week was
if you just learn a little bit of the language sometime,
(33:27):
they really do appreciate that and you can get by
with that. So altogether, Chris just a great experience in Barcelona.
Would highly, highly highly recommend it.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
All Right, Harry top that it's easy because I did
Barcelona about it, I guess.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
It is about six months ago or so, so I
everything that Terry said is spot on. It's a wonderful,
wonderful city full of wonderful, wonderful things to do. So
I went a different direction and I hed Terry's vice.
Also about direct flights. I love direct flights. I think
that's the wisest thing you can do, except this time
(34:06):
I didn't. What I did is I took advantage of
a special program that the airline has out there, and
I traveled on Turkish Airlines, an airline I'd never traveled
on before. They have a program that is called a
discover Istanbul and I was on my way to Jordan
to A'man, Jordan, and I made a stop in Istanbul,
(34:28):
and this particular program that is funded by the airline
and the Tourism Bureau of Istanbul allows you to arrive,
you get off your plane, you leave your luggage at
the airport. They even have you check if you want.
They have some places where you can put your carry
on luggage and you go downstairs to a special desk
(34:49):
and get a pass and they take you on a
bus to downtown Istanbul with the tour guide tour you
through the city all the wonderful sites to see, take
you to the bizarre and the shops down there, see
the historic mosques and cathedrals, and by that time it's
about dinner time, so they feed you dinner on them
(35:13):
very traditional Turkish dinner, served with Coca cola as a
side option for one of your drinks, but everything else
was one hundred percent Turkish. Bring you back to the
airport and you get on your connecting flight and onto
your destination. So I went to Aman via Eastern Bul,
Turkey with a free tour of the city thanks to
(35:35):
Turkish Airlines. Some of the most spectacular airline experience service
I've had traveling internationally, and I know I want to
interrupt your story, Harry, but that actually what Harry just
described is one of the travel hacks that I had
on my list for us today, which is direct NonStop
flights are wonderful. They are very luxurious, but.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
A good travel hack in order for you to be
able to see another city entirely for free all those
things that you did that cost you exactly how much
zero exactly. So that's a great travel hack to know.
If you're traveling internationally and you don't mind connections, or
you have the available time or the luxury of time
(36:19):
to be able to do that, that's a fabulous travel hack.
Thanks for sharing it.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Yeah, I actually got to see two countries on one
trip for one price, so it was fantastic. I also
learned something about Turkish era, and we were talking about
this as well. I did not know this when I
started looking at this airline. They that airline serves more
countries than any other airline in the world. Of fantastic service.
(36:47):
I highly recommend. And when you talk about hacks, part
of it is you know, when you talk to someone
like Terry, like myself that does travel and travels the
way Terry's talking about as a tourist rather than as
a travel Turkish air will tell you they're the best airline,
so well, you know any other airline tell you they're
the best airline. But when you experience it, that's when
(37:08):
you can really know it and find out for yourself.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
So when you get to Jordan.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
I got to Jordan and I was staying in them
on the biggest city in Jordan, the capital city of Jordan,
and I got to spend a week there. I was
doing some work, but I was also being a tourist,
and I had an experience that I think happens every
so often for travelers, and that's a life changing experience. Chris. Really, yes,
(37:35):
every morning I woke up and looked down at this
city and thought, I am in a very very very
special place in the world, and you feel it when
you arrive there. I got to see a lot of things,
and my approach was similar to Terry's in that I
hired I was there with a couple other people. We
(37:56):
were meeting there and we decided to hire or a
driver and told him where we wanted to go, what
we wanted to see. But then asked for his recommendations.
And we're going to talk about that in our in
our hacks too. But I got to see, I think,
the highlights of the country of Jordan. I visited the
(38:17):
baptism site. I watched across the river, looked, looked across
the river, Jordan saw Israel, saw all the churches. Saw
were world history. Uh has occurred. And it was because
this driver not only told us you know, I knew
(38:39):
I wanted to visit that site, Chris, but he told
me how to visit that site. He was a Jordanian
national actually worked for the US Marines as a translator,
so his English was fantastic. If we saw sign or
something was going on in the you know, on the road,
and we said, you know, what did that say or
what's going on there, he could explain it to us
(38:59):
very very well. But he took us to that site.
We got a Jordanian guide at the site through the
Jordanian Tourism authority, took us around, explaining things in a
very very easy to understand fashion, and basically he brought
history alive. And that's what I mean when I say
(39:19):
that this was one of those life changing trips, not
just seeing great scenery like you might see in New
York City or Las Vegas, but you are seeing history,
which is a little bit different than scenery. We visited
Mountain Eboo, where Moses came and visited, and then we
visited the ancient civilization of Petra. And there's a lot
(39:44):
of people that have seen Petra and they didn't know
they were seeing Petra. But if you've ever seen the
Indiana Jones movies and the Treasury, that's Petra. You see
two mountains, not that there was a path carved between
two mountains, but you see the two mountains that are
separated with a path, and you see how that pathway
(40:07):
historically was the place to move trade from one side
of the world and you know, to another part of
the world. And to see it is I brought back pictures.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
You.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
Pictures are great and they'll help me remember it. But
the only way to see a location like Petra is
to visit a location like Petra. It is. It's not
something you can capture. Indiana Jones was a great movie,
a lot of great scenery. It looked a hundred times better,
(40:43):
and we got to meet the people there as well.
Again because we hired this tour guide for a second trip,
and he took us there. It's a three hour trip
from a mom so you got to know where you
go and you got to know how to get there.
And when he got when we arrived, he gave us
tips on what to do inside and how to navigate
(41:04):
the site most effectively. But we got to see all
of the things there, and we got to meet the people.
We got to meet some of the Bedouin people who
still inhabit that region, and it was just a fantastic
trip all, you know, all around, we got to experience
(41:25):
the cultures of Jordan. I learned. The national dish of
Jordan is something called monsam. It's a really neat meal.
It's made with things that you wouldn't think would go
together well, but they do. It's made with lamb, a yogurt, sauce,
and rice and a bread called shock. But it's also
served communal style, so sits in the middle of the
(41:49):
table and people take their portions from that. You want
a little more, you take a little more, and it's
it's just a very different cultural experience for for me
as an American to go to a different country, people
speaking different languages, different foods, different scenery, and they see
(42:12):
this every day. But when we come to a place
like this as an American, you get to understand that
there are some very, very very special places in the world.
Some of them are in the United States, and people
come to see them. But for us, it was a wonderful,
wonderful experience, and I just came back very changed, very moved.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Man. I'm jealous of both of you. Anybody wants to
know where I've been over the last two weeks, Dayton, Virginia.
I know I keep promising you that we're going to
talk travel tips and hacks. I'm going to make you
wait another thirty seconds. We'll get to the list coming
up next here on a Life less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
Haven't taken your summer vacation yet or do you need
just one more? Let the wishing Wells Experts help. We
offer fee free travel planning with built in expertise listeners
to us Valley's Best. Check out our group trips tab
on our website they wishingwell dot biz, or let us
create a trip just for you. Stop by two forty
three nef Avenue, visit us at the wishingwell dot biz,
(43:12):
or call us at five four zero nine zero eighths
two three three three five four zero nine zero eights
two three three three.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
Welcome back to a life less ordinary. This is your
travel show and podcast from your friends at the wishing Well,
and they're on f Avenue in Harrisonburg online at the
wishing Well. Dop biz. All right, give them a call.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
What the heck?
Speaker 1 (43:31):
Pick up the phone old fashioned style five four oh
nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. I guarantee that
they will answer the call with a smile in their voice,
and they'll be thrilled to help you make your dreams
come true. Absolutely. Now our show today, travel Tips and Hacks.
This is part two. Go back and listen to the
previous episode for the first twenty one travel hacks where
(43:52):
a heck well, I guess twenty three because you already
gave us one Harry travel hack of have a layover
so that you can experience another city for free. Correct,
all right, so number twenty three go?
Speaker 3 (44:05):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
So, one thing that I learned, especially on my trip
to Barcelona, hery, I'm sure you probably did too, is
that packing is an art. Okay, and especially if you
only have a certain number of days and you are
trying to be very efficient with what you're doing. Packing
is really important. I'm going to say packing cubes or
what they call space bags, they.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
Will change your life. Let me tell you.
Speaker 4 (44:31):
So, being on a different time zone and everything, sometimes
you're not always thinking so clearly. When you get up
in the morning, the last thing you want to do
is try and pair tops with slacks or or whatever.
You know, it just doesn't happen so well. So what
I do is I take one of these space bags
and I put all of my underclothes, my top, my
(44:54):
bottom for the day, even my jewelry, everything that I'm
going to wear for that outfit. Put it in a bag,
put it in my suitcase, and that's it. When I
get to my destination, I take those bags out, I
lay them on a shelf, and that's what I wear
while I'm on my trip. It's amazing. And then when
you empty one laund your clothes that need laundry go
(45:15):
back in those bags and into your suitcase. And it's
a beautiful thing. When I say it's life changing, I
mean it. I've done it the other way and struggled
with that for many many years. I will never go
back to doing that. Differently. The other thing that I
would recommend to you has to do with how you
handle the noise on the planes, because if you are
(45:37):
not lucky enough to set in business or first class
on a flight where you have the lay flat seats,
and you do have either economy or Premium economy, you're
not going to lay flat. But invariably, invariably there will
be a child who's unhappy on the flight or has
a difficult time going to sleep. You need noise canceling headphones.
(46:02):
They are worth every penny. And let me tell you,
Bose has some of the best ones of those. I
think I've had mine now for about ten years. I
would highly recommend them. You recharge them, you put them in,
put a little white noise on in those while you're
on the flight. It's again worth every penny. The other
(46:24):
travel hack for your luggage is air tags. If you've
ever lost a bag, you will never travel without them again.
Now airlines are doing a much better job these days
of keeping up with those bags, and you actually get
even a notification on your cell phone if you've checked
in online and you've done all that. They will actually
(46:45):
help you track your bags as well. But air tags
are absolutely fabulous.
Speaker 3 (46:50):
Download the Airlines app to do that, Terry, and they'll
let you see your bags moving through the system. You'll
see them actually loaded onto the plane and you'll you'll
know where they Absolutely a very very easy thing to do.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
I experienced that on my last flight and it was wild.
It's like your bag is now, you know, being deep
lane or whatever. I loved it.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
Yeah. Absolutely, If they lost it.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
The air Tag's going to make it great to know
where it went exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (47:17):
So those are some great hacks. The other thing about
while you're traveling that I would really like to say
is a game changer is what you take on board
the flight with you. Now, I was actually following my
own advice that I give to my own travel clients
for my flight to Barcelona. And whether or not you're
(47:38):
in first class, business class or economy class doesn't make
a difference. I think you still need an imask, you
need those ear plugs or earbuds, noise canceling. A neck
pillow is certainly nice to have, even if you're not
flying overnight. If you're setting up in first class, it's
just nice not to have to control where your head
(47:58):
goes on the flight, you can just nod off comfortably. Also,
a lightweight blanket is kind of nice, and take a
pair of cozy socks with you so you can kick
your shoes off. These are long flights, folks, so kick
your shoes off, make sure you're as absolutely as comfortable
(48:19):
as possible, and then be sure that you take a
toothbrush and a toothpaste travel size with you because once
right before you're getting off the flight, the captain will
usually give an announcement that says we're within an hour
of landing, folks. If you need to make your last
minute restroom stop, those are great times for you to
go into the restroom, freshen up, look like a human
(48:41):
being again, brush your teeth, actually get ready for the
day because it's usually if you're flying overseas, it's the
next morning now.
Speaker 3 (48:49):
And the two things that I always pack with me
as well, I work contacts, so I'll either have a
fresh set for if your were a daily lensware, or
make sure you have a little bit of solution and
you can get the small bottles of solutions so they
fit in your one cork bag that we talked about
in the previous episode. The second thing I always carry
(49:10):
with me. I like the toothpaste and a toothbrush, but
I always carry one of those small bottles of Scope
Orlisteringe exactly whatever. Those also are part of my one
cork bag because sometimes you just don't have enough time
to get in, you know, and brush your teeth. At
least you can wrench your mouth and smell fresh, feel fresh.
Speaker 4 (49:30):
So the other things that I want to talk about
real quickly because these are things that happen on the
flight and will sometimes help you have a better flight
and enjoy it more. Bring your own snacks. The airlines
folks will charge you for those. If you're not in
business or first class, you'll want your own collapsible water
bottle or refillable water bottle. Food at airports is really pricey.
(49:54):
It's often really disappointing as well, So take with you
a small pack of nuts, a protein. Are that refillable
bottle that can really save you along the way. And
also this one. This is a great hack, folks, especially
if you are traveling overseas. Airport lounges they aren't just
for the elite. I want to say a lot of
(50:17):
these airport lounges allow for day passes. They're between thirty
and fifty dollars, and apps like Lounge Buddy or Priority
Pass they open doors to showers, meals inside those lounges,
and a little bit of piece before you might head
off for your next long flight. So I would say
a lounge pass is well worth it for the day
(50:38):
if the airline ticket that you've purchased doesn't necessarily come
with that. Let's talk for just a quick minute about
hotels and hotel accommodation hacks.
Speaker 3 (50:49):
I want you to be sure if you.
Speaker 4 (50:50):
Are staying in a city that you're unfamiliar with, but
you're staying in a great hotel, ask for that corner room, folks.
They're usually larger, they're quieter, and they are offered at
the same price, so there's no difference in the price
for that corner room. But in the end, your amenities
are far greater. Call ahead for some perks. We love
(51:13):
to do that for our clients at the Wishing Well.
Even some budget hotels might surprise you with some free upgrades,
but if you're booking a virtuoso property, those are guaranteed.
And really remember this a simple polite we're celebrating our
anniversary or we are celebrating something a birthday. Yeah, that
can work wonders for you at the check and counter,
(51:35):
and be sure to put on a smile. Those are
always great. So those are some tips that I had, Harry,
you got a couple of quick ones.
Speaker 3 (51:44):
A quick one that I would say, I endorse what
you said about the airline lounges. Those passes are worth it.
You have to look at them ahead of time. Credit
cards sometimes offer those things too. I know I have
one of the cards with the Adventure card that gets
me some of those passes for free, some of those
(52:05):
lounges for free American Express cards. When you start to
look at the costs of that over time, you'll find
this very very great value. And the great thing about
those lounges they do have those snacks that you're talking about, Terry.
Speaker 4 (52:17):
I've got one last great hack. I did this when
I went to Barcelona. I was so happy. Don't feel
like just because you want some great souvenirs from the
places that you're visiting, that you have to carry those
home with you. Many of the places that you'll visit
will give you the opportunity to mail those back home
for you. I was so excited to find a hand crafted,
(52:41):
handmade ceramic olive oil caraffe over in Barcelona. But I
didn't want to carry it home. I was afraid I
was going to break it. It just arrived in the
mail yesterday. I was so happy to see it. And
those are the kind of things that you can do
that'll save you a lot. You knocked out nine ten
some ten minutes A impressed, aren't you?
Speaker 1 (53:02):
Now? How do we get in touch with you if
we want to take advantage of these tips and hacks
on our next travel.
Speaker 4 (53:08):
We are extremely easy to find, Chris. We're located at
two forty three nef Avenue in the Valley Center in Heresonburg, Virginia.
You can call us at five four oh nine oh
eight two three three three or look us up on
the web. Folks, we are at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a life less ordinary the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well dot biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app, and we'll see
again next Saturday morning at ten for a life less ordinary.
(53:48):
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