I put the light show on the list because I once read a blog post about it and loved the pictures posted of all the buildings lit up so beautifully. Seeing the show would also be a good reason to go visit the city in general. I like big cities (and I cannot lie…) and Hong Kong is one of the biggest of all.

Singapore Airlines made the list because I read a lot of frequent flyer blogs and forums and several of them mentioned how fantastic the Singapore service is and how they usually rank among the best airlines in the world. At the time that I wrote the list, I had never flown on any non-North American-based airline, so I was really curious what airlines in other countries were like. It turns out that Singapore really is as nice as the other bloggers say, especially in first class.

Since I like to be a tease, I’ll write more about both experiences next week. But I’ll say this much- if it wasn’t for the list, I would have missed out on the opportunity to do this trip because I wouldn’t have been looking out for it.

Happy adventuring!

My grandfather and I.

During my trip to London and France back  in March, I had to deal with something no traveller ever wants to deal with.

The death of a loved one.

My grandfather’s passing was not a surprise. He had suffered a fall earlier this year and had not been doing well since then. I did see him the weekend before I left and got to tell him one last time that I loved him.

At one point I wondered if I should cancel the trip or make changes. But both my mother and my grandmother wanted me to go. And so I went. Since my family didn’t want me to change my travel plans, I didn’t want to be notified of my grandfather’s death if it occurred. It’s not because I didn’t care- far from it. But I wasn’t going to be in a time or place where I could really go through the grieving process.

My grandfather died a day after I left. Since the trip lasted about a week, my family wanted to let me know that he had passed before I found out about it on Facebook. So they waited a couple of days while I took my flight across the English Channel and enjoyed all the other activities associated with that event.

After the event, I went back to London to spend a few days exploring the city. As I walked to Buckingham Palace, I spotted a Starbucks. Some people see their logo as the international sign for a coffee fix. I see it as the place to get my wifi fix. So I stopped and hopped online. I try not to spend too much time online while travelling, but I was coordinating with some online folks that I would soon get to know offline the next day. That’s when I got the e-mail from my dad letting me know that my grandfather had passed away.

I didn’t break down and cry. I didn’t sob. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t feel anything. Psychologists say that the first stage of grieving is shock. Thank goodness for that. I needed to stay in that moment. To put my feelings aside for a while. So I packed all my grief into a bag to unpack when I got home.

The e-mail also let me know that his funeral was going to be the next day. I was going to miss it. My family wanted to postpone it until I got back, but other circumstances prevented that.

The British have a saying: “Keep Calm and Carry On”. So that is what I did. That was all I could do. I did all the touristy things I had planned from wandering the Tower of London to posing with the red phonebooth to meeting up with friends at an English pub.

I kept calm and carried on through the airport and on the flight. I kept calm and carried on through the next day when I visited my grandmother.

And then I went to my grandfather’s grave. I couldn’t keep calm and carry on anymore. But I didn’t need to. I could finally unpack all the emotional baggage I had been carrying.

Six month later, I don’t regret one moment of my trip. I knew it was something my mom and grandmother wanted me to do, and I’m sure my grandfather would have wanted the same. I do wish I could have been there for his funeral, but it wasn’t to be.

I miss my grandfather very much, and I do expect to see him again someday. But in the meantime, I think he would be happy knowing that I’m out seeing the world. He did the same thing himself when he was younger and in the navy. It is important to grieve, but also important to live.

My first brush with fame came in 2008 when the presidential election process was in full swing. I decided to take a few days off and go explore Philadelphia for the first time. I was walking by Independence Hall one evening when I noticed that a crowd was gathering and that part of the street was blocked off. I asked a bystander what was going on and they told me that John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, was inside the building doing a speech. The crowd was hoping he would come out and shake hands afterwards. I didn’t need to be anywhere soon, so I joined in with the crowd and waited. The Secret Service soon came out and moved everyone to the sidewalk. They confirmed that McCain was there and would take a moment to greet the crowd before leaving. The Secret Service also told the crowd to keep their hands empty when reaching for McCain’s hand for a handshake.

The view of Independence Hall was obscured by security cars and news trucks, so it was hard to see what was going on. People in the crowd were getting restless. But finally people came out of the building. First out was Meredith Viera, the co-anchor of the Today Show at the time. Then the crowd went wild as McCain came out and waved. He didn’t try making a speech- even if he did, it would have been impossible to hear him over the crowd. He went down the line and did the handshake bit. Despite my 5′ 2″ frame I somehow managed to reach over the crowd and shake his hand for barely a second, and he then moved on. At the end he gave one last wave before being escorted to his car.

McCain lost the election two months later. But the experience of meeting such a prominent politician in a city known for its political history became the highlight of my Philly trip.

My second brush with fame came earlier this year in the UK. I went to a Women of Aviation event that celebrated the first time a woman flew over the English Channel. Pilots from around the world came out to the event, which involved flying over the Channel to the French side. Two of those pilots was the drummer of Pink Floyd, Nick Mason, and his wife Annette. They flew in their own beautifully-painted helicopter. Nick couldn’t stay long, but he did talk about how he became a pilot. Annette stayed as she was going to join the aerial convoy in the helicopter.

I was going to be flying in a different plane across the Channel. But plans changed and passengers were getting shuffled around. Shortly before the first plane took off, another girl asked if I wanted to fly in the helicopter with her. Fly in the

Annette Mason working the helicopter across the English Channel.

Pink Floyd helicopter? With the wife of one of the band members? Oh heck yes! Annette was every bit the rock star as she posed for the cameras with the helicopter before we loaded up.

The flight was spectacular and talking with Annette and the others in the helicopter made for good conversation. The flight lasted nearly45 minutes and went by the Cliffs of Dover, over the water and along the French countryside. At the airport, we were all treated like rock stars with media taking pictures and a large crowd welcoming us.

For one moment, I got to pretend to be a famous person too. Annette eventually had to fly back, but not before participating in some presentations and posing for many pictures.

I don’t know when I’ll run into a famous person next, but when I do, I hope it’s another memorable travel experience.

Moai on Easter Island.

This year, I visited 4 new countries (the most I’ve visited in one calendar year) along with a new continent (South America). My South America trip included a trip out to Easter Island, which was one of my goals on my bucket list. I also got to walk the halls of the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires and eat cerviche in Lima. And I kept up my habit of running off to distant countries for the weekend by getting in a quick two-day trip to Germany at the end of the year.

Domestically, I made my first trip to wine country with a visit to Napa Valley (and mark off another item on my list- a visit to In-and-Out). A lot of my cousins got married this year, so I made several road trips to Georgia. I also took my first cross-country drive across the USA. All in all, it’s been a fun travel year.

It’s also been a very good year in terms of earning miles. I’ve picked up more then 300,000 miles/points in various programs mostly due to large credit card sign-up bonuses (and without incurring any debt). I used some of those points to get myself and a friend down to South America and the rest I will probably use in the next couple of years.

So, here are the stats from the year:

Miles flown: 30,330

Miles driven: 5,728

Countries visited: Argentina, Chile, Germany, Peru

Airports visited: 12

Airline amenity kits collected: 8

Number of pretzels eaten in Germany: 6

Number of Pisco Sours drunk: 5

A map of my 2011 travels (via the Great Circle Mapper).

As for 2012, I’m starting the year off much like I did in 2011 with no major travel plans booked yet. I will be going up to New York state to see my first hockey game and spend time with friends. Beyond that, I’m thinking of booking a return trip to Asia- possibly to China or Hong Kong. I can’t wait to see what the new year brings!

Heaven in a cannoli.

Boston- Mike’s Pastry’s Chocolate-Covered Cannoli- I haven’t been to Italy, the home of the cannoli, but if there’s a better cannoli then this on this side of the Atlantic I haven’t found it yet. The creamy filling, the quality chocolate, the crispy pastry- it was heaven. Plus, the cannoli comes in a distinctive white box tied up with string for easy transportation.

North Carolina- BBQ- North Carolina has a unique style of barbeque. Most BBQ places there use a vinegar-based sauce that give the meat a nice tang. It was the first time I’d ever had vinegar-based bbq. I didn’t realize the stuff existed before I visited the state to do house repairs for a charity. Most of the bbq I had was made by neighbors living near the house that the team and I were repairing. Not only was the barbeque blissful, but it was also a welcome break from the hot work. The barbeque was almost always made with shredded pork and put between a bun. No condiments or extra sauce needed. The meat and the vinegar stood on its own. I haven’t found this style of barbeque outside of the state, so I need to make a return visit soon.

Paris- Prosciutto, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomato sandwich- I expected that Paris would have some good food. I picked up this sandwich at a local shop in my first hour in the city. The freshness and flavor of a simple ham and cheese sandwich did not disappoint.

Tokyo- Sushi on a conveyer belt- My first meal in Japan was at a traditional sushi bar where a conveyer belt ran around the perimeter of the bar. The sushi was priced based on the color of plate it was on. Every seat had a hot water tap embedded in the bar to make hot tea, and hot towels were handed out before the meal. The tea cups had pictures on the side explaining what type of fish was in each piece of sushi. The whole experience was a fun introduction to Japanese cuisine and dining traditions.

Goat meat, potatoes, rice and cabbage- tasty comfort food in a remote corner of the world.

Parkishon, Kenya- Goat and cabbage- Before coming to Kenya, I never knew that goat was an animal that could be eaten. And I’m not a huge fan of cabbage. The goat was prepared simply- just chopped into cubes, seasoned and served with rice or pasta. The cabbage was also cooked and seasoned with a spice mix that’s only available in Kenya. But the sheer remoteness of the village and the fact that a group of three women worked most of the day to prepare the meal gave me a whole new appreciation for it. It became a new kind of comfort food for me.

I haven’t been back to any of these places, so I don’t know if I’d have the same experience again. In many cases, it would be impossible to go back. And I’m okay with that. The memories I have are unique and tied to the people I got to eat with. I’m just grateful I got to experience such culinary delights in the first place.

1) Kayak- When I need to research airfare, this is the first place I go. I like the user-friendly interface that makes it easy to filter options by price, schedule, airline, etc. I also like the search calendar that allows me to see airfare for up to a month at a time. It’s handy when I’m looking at quick weekend getaways and seeing if one weekend is cheaper then another.

Kayak does have its limits. It’s not possible to  book flights directly from it, although I prefer to book directly with the airlines anyway. Kayak does have a price alert feature but unlike other sites like Travelocity, it can’t be set to alert you if the price falls below a certain price.

2) TripIt- This a fairly new tool in my kit, but the site has been around for a while. TripIt makes it easy to keep travel plans in one and share it with others. All I have to do is forward flight and hotel confirmations to TripIt and it instantly updates trip plans.

It’s a very good collaboration tool. When I went to South America earlier this year, my friend and I used TripIt to update each other on flight and hotel reservations. Since the trip involved three countries, half a dozen flights and many hotels, it was a great way to keep all the details in one spot and get a good snapshot of the overall trip. Since many of the friends I travel with don’t live near me, the site’s ease of sharing makes it much easier to plan a trip together with them.

It’s also been a good way to know when friends might be in the same city as me at the same time.

3) FlightMemory- This isn’t a planning tool, but it’s a fun way to keep track of past travel. Just plug in some previous flight info and it generates a nice map of all the flights along with some fun stats. I find it useful for tracking patterns like which airlines or routes I fly the most. And I love the maps it draws up (I’m a sucker for good maps).

4) AwardWallet- This site is designed to make it easy to track points and miles across a number of frequent flyer/traveler programs. It’s very handy being able to track the balances of multiple programs at once without having to go to several websites.

AwardWallet also has a premium version of the site called AwardWallet Plus that will provide more info such as when miles will expire. The interesting part is that there’s no set price for Plus- you pay whatever you think the service is worth.

5) Flyertalk and Milepoint- These two sites are the travel sites that I spend the most time on. They’re both internet forums that center around travel. Many of the trips I’ve taken in the last couple of years happened because of information that I found on these forums. For example, the South America trip happened because several threads on Flyertalk explained how to get a lot of British Airways miles for cheap and how to use them to visit several countries around the continent. I check and post on both forums as LizzyDragon84.

All of these sites have mobile apps except for Flightmemory. If there are other useful planning sites out there, feel free to mention them in the comments.