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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

First Post!

Hello, and welcome to our blog!

We recently snagged one of only three available Groupons for round-the-world airfare packages, and we thought this would be the best medium through which we could keep friends and family informed about where we are, where we've been, and what we're doing.

We just bought the Groupon a couple weeks ago, so we're very much in the planning phase... we're thinking about where we should go, what we should do, and so on.  We have some plans in the works -- for example, we've talked about going west and hitting Hawaii, Japan, China, Thailand, India, Italy, France, and Spain along the way -- but there are lots of possibilities!  Is Hawaii worth it when you can go anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere?  Does it make more sense to go east or west?  Given that Melissa has traveled in Europe and both Trevor and Melissa have traveled in Central America, should we visit the "most foreign" places first or last?  Are there any cities or countries we absolutely must visit?  We would love to hear your input -- please feel free to comment on this post.

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check back for updates as we continue to develop our plans.

Cheers,

Trevor and Melissa

Update (12/21 @ 11:57a): We're getting married in September 2012, and will be using the Groupon for our honeymoon.  So, we're looking at maybe eight to ten weeks' worth of travel, from roughly mid-September through mid-November, depending on our schedules with pending work, etc.

11 comments:

  1. Greece, Switzerland and Germany sound good.

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  2. I thought Croatia was amazing for the beaches, islands and old stone cities.

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  3. These comments are great, and really helpful! The airlines we can use (Delta, KLM, Air France, and Alitalia) definitely have their strongest coverage in Europe, so we'll look into everything that's been suggested so far. Keep 'em coming!

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  4. so many places for you to go! Other places to consider: malta, romania, prague, thailand, vietnam, laos, morroco. Obviously you can't go to them all in 8 weeks, but they're all amazing and worth considering. I'd skip the boring places that are easy to get to (ie, france, spain etc). But if you go to them, I suggest trying out places that are a little further off the beaten path (ie Biarritz, San Sebastian etc)

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  5. Australia & the Marlborough region of new Zealand ... best in the world Sauvignon Blanc wines. Then the South Pacific ... Bali Ha'i !!

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  6. Congrats Trevor!! This sounds like an AMAZING trip! (so envious!) I agree with comments above, you won't be able to go everywhere, so these are just suggestions to consider. I always try to have the most authentic experience possible so knowing someone there, or at least knowing where to go is helpful to get out of the touristy areas. And then choosing the place/activities would be dependent on what you're up for. I agree with parental units...and I haven't been there in 9 years, but if you want suggestions for places in Oz and NZ let me know- 1 week in NZ we went spelunking in a cave, whale watching, swimming with dolphins, glacier climbing, rainforest hiking, and hanging on the beach. I've heard the skydiving is pretty incredible for the more adventurous types. And check out Byron Bay on the east coast if you have a chance (easily one of mine and noah's favorite beaches in OZ). I guess I would look to go to Thailand (my sister spent 9 months there - she might suggest Chang Mai but could give you other intel). I would also want to hit up morroco, Turkey, Tibet, India, and then South America. If you want to go to the middle east, Noah and I were in Lebanon last year and loved it. The food was amazing! We have friends who live there and can give you suggestions on where to go. Also- you fly through Paris on Air France. I think that's the easiest way to get there. We also went to Sicily for a week a year and a half ago. Its not the typical Italian vacation and its stunningly beautiful. We met some friends there we still keep up with and while they don't speak much English, they're tons of fun and they'll take care of you! I don't know if you ever met Laurant and Stephanie while in Cleveland, but they are back in France now in Grenoble. Kind of mainstream, but if you know them, it could be fun to ski in the French Alps.

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  7. I have traveled a lot for my job all around the world. I can definitely say my favorite places I have been are Morocco and Spain for work.

    While I was in Morocco I traveled through Casablanca but was able to spend about a week in Marakesh. It was amazing. Go there and visit the Djema al Fnaa. Eat there. It looks a little scary but its the best and freshest (and super cheap!) food you will have there. And shop in the market. Its amazing.

    In Spain I visited Barcelona, Grenada and Cordoba. I would definitely say visit Barcelona and Grenada. Grenada was magical. Barcelona is amazing. The food in both places was to die for. Alhambra (in Grenada)is a MUST see. Its beautiful. Walk around Albyzin in Grenada. You can get lost for hours and not even realize it (don't worry the city isnt so huge you will never find yourself... plus take a map).

    The only other place I would STRONGLY recommend going is India. I have been several times with my family and to this day the most breathtaking sight I have ever had was the Taj Mahal. Go see it. In fact, if this were my trip, my goal would be to see the 7 wonders of the modern world. :)

    Happy travels... can't wait to hear all about it!

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  8. Oh and since I saw you are traveling on Delta (I really hope you get some frequent flier miles form all this by the way... for more travel!), I fly them all the time for work. One of their hubs is Amsterdam, so you might be able to eke something out of that. If you have a layover in Amsterdam for a flight that is longer than two hours (i think that i the length) they have special tours you can take into the city that are kinda nice for a quick look around.

    I have been to Romania three times this year. I f you cannot go there when its warm, do not go. Its an okay place to visit and the food was kinda sucky.

    I would also strongly recommend Vienna. Its probably the most beautiful and romantic city in Europe that i have been to. You can stroll along the downtown area for hours and see lots of neat street artists. One fond memory I have is from my last trip there when I stumbled upon a fountain that seemed tucked away and sat and watched a cellist play for about an hour. It was really really amazing... like out of a movie. Oh and the desserts are to die for. :)

    If you do you go to any of these places feel free to hit me up for places to eat, things to see and do. :)

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  9. Congrats - just read your interview on Groupon's blog. I tried to snag the deal myself, but of course didn't. I was a little confused by the deal - how much did it cost?

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  10. All of these comments are incredibly helpful -- we really appreciate the feedback. So much to consider!

    As for the price, there were two Groupon deals for a pair of economy tickets priced at $10k, and one deal for a pair of business tickets priced at $20k; each was valued at about twice that amount. We had been considering this type of honeymoon for a while, and this ended up costing a little bit less than our least-expensive alternative (we opted for economy tickets). However, we also didn't end up paying face value, through a credit card rewards program. So we actually saved even more!

    We're hoping the limitations (discussed in another post) won't alter the calculus too much... it seems like, for what we paid, we're still saving money, and we probably wouldn't have enough time to visit EVERY place we'd like to see, anyway. So we think it was still a pretty great deal. And, of course, we were lucky to get it -- it sold out within a couple minutes!

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  11. Peru, Galapagos, New Zealand, The great barrier reef, Cambodia, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Italy, France and Iceland

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