Movies that Inspire Travel

Over the past few weeks I have watched three movies that are shot in international locations and give me the travel urge even more! (As if I already don't have it enough!)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - Walter has to go on this incredible adventure that takes him from his home in NYC to Greenland then Iceland then the Himalayas then to LA and then all the way back to NYC. A good portion of this takes place in Iceland and makes me want to visit the small country even more!

Frozen - Frozen is a cute animated film that got is inspiration from the beautiful country of Norway! Every time I see pictures of Norway's landscape it makes me want to go back there and take my husband with me so he can experience it's beauty as well!

Norway's beautiful fjords

About Time - I'll admit I wasn't too keen to see this but I did any way and I LOVED it! It shows so much of London and the U.K.'s country side and its beautiful. I loved the story too. Seeing this makes me want to see the slower side of the U.K..

Busy London!

Have you seen any of these movies? What did you think? Do movies inspire you to travel?

P.S. I like watching a movie/TV show and being able to say, "I've been there!"

When Vacation Attack!

In December 2013 Ferdinand Puentes was taking a short flight from Moloka'I to Oahu when the engine to the plane quit. He was filming the whole thing with his GroPro camera.

You can see all pictures and video by clicking this link.

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Working Out on Your Layover

Traveling can be stressful for some people, the lines, the waiting, the sitting, it can really get to a person and bring their physical health down. Some airports have realized this and decided to help a traveler out by adding gyms. And the ones that don’t have gyms… well here are some tips!

Hit the Gym

Some airports are adding gyms to their terminals! Airportgyms.com has compiled a list of gyms either in the actual airport or gyms VERY close to the airport if you have an even longer layover. DFW has one and so does LAX. These gyms appear to be connected to hotels that are on the airport ground; such as the Radisson Hotel at LAX. SFO has their own yoga room, located in terminal 2, and is free to all ticketed passengers.

Use Travelators as a Treadmill

If you find an empty travelator you can walk against the moving belt and get some serious cardio in.

{Travelator, source}

Walking Loops

Some airports have walking loops that are marked so you know the distance you have walked and you can do this over and over until your flight is called.

I also just started using this app called Nike Training, I really like it because you can choose your level and if you don't want to use weights you don't have to; just go with the motions...something perfect for an airport! I usually like to get some nice stretches and lunges in before boarding a long flight. I’m not usually dressed for it though.

{Source}

Do you ever exercise during a layover? If so what are some of your go-to moves?

Inspiration for this post from Samantha Brown.

Shutterfly & Bulldogs

Today I want to complement Shutterfly on their AWESOME customer service! Every year I create a calendar featuring my dogs and this year was no different…except I forgot to update my account and it mailed the calendar to our old house :( boo! Once I realized what happened I called them up and they didn’t even question if it was my fault they just asked for the new address and even rush shipped it FedEx to deliver before Christmas. I was so pleased! Thank you Shutterfly! I will use you again and again!

And here are pictures of my sleeping beauties! 

My sleeping babies!

Travel Without Breaking the Bank in 2014

Yahoo! Travel has compiled a list of places to travel to without breaking the bank in 2014. Here is the list:

Nicaragua: Round trip airfare will run you about $500 and your best value is travel during their green season, May through September.

{La Catedral de Granada in Nicaragua (Photo: courtesy of the Nicaraguan Tourism Board, Source}

The Azores: Only a 4 hour flight from Boston and air and hotel packages starting at $1,099 for a six night stay why wouldn't you want to visit these islands between New England and Lisbon?

French Polynesia: You can spend 5 nights at the InterContinental Moorea Resort, including air for less than $2,000!

Alberta, Canada: Banff and Jasper Nation Parks are known for having some of the lowest hotel and lift tickets in North America. Winter is the off season so go between November and May.

Waikiki, Hawaii: Anytime is a good time to go to Hawaii! Busy season is in the summer and during holidays.

{Blue waters of the Big Island, Hawaii}

Ecuador: Round trip tickets to Quito from New York and Miami have been under $500. Ecuador is a year round destination but its most busy June through August and in December during the holidays.

New York City: This city is full of free attractions to help keep you on your budget. To stay on your budget stay outside of Manhattan.

{From the Top of the Rock}

Mexico City: The city has over 175 museums and four UNESCO World Heritage sites. The best weather is in the spring between March and May.

Travel RoundUp

1 - A Boeing 747 clipped a building in Johannesburg injuring a few grounds crew.

2 - Check out these awesome pictures of London on a foggy day

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3 - A French coffee shop will sell you coffee for less if you ask for it politely.

“A coffee” costs 7e. “A coffee, please” costs 4.25e. And “Hello, a coffee please”, costs 1.40e. {Source}

4 - This one happened here in Houston; a man flying from Louisiana fell asleep on his flight to Houston and was left on the plane. He woke up to a dark plane and then called for help.

5 - This Hawaiian town is sick of tourists. See why here.

6 - Feel like you’re not getting enough paid time off? Check out these countries… I think a move is in order! 

7 - American Airlines and US Airways merged to become the world’s biggest airline! 

8 - Dubai set the world record for fireworks while welcoming in the new year!

{Source}

9 - Airline CEOs predict the next 100 year in aviation. 

10 - The best Airline club lounges...I have been to the one in IAH!

2013 is Gone, Welcome 2014

I hope everyone had a happy and safe new year! Did you accomplish all that you wanted to in 2013? Here is how I panned out: 

2013 Blogging Goals

·   Reach 250 page views a month (I know that’s not a lot compared to some of you bigger bloggers out there) Nov '12-279 views-4 posts; Dec'12-325 views-11 posts (clearly the more posts I make the more views I get). Done – I get over 1,400 pages views a month now. Sometimes over 1,700

·   Start my new series, Extreme Travelers (monthly post) 10 out of 12 isn’t bad

·   Continue the Travel RoundUp series (monthly Post) Done

·   Let you get to know me on a new Pinspiration post. This will be where I can show you some of the small projects I work on around the house from ideas that I get from Pinterest. Done

·   Travel to one of these places this year: Chicago, Washington DC, or Niagara Falls Well we didn’t do any of these. The only traveling I did this year was driving to Destin, FL with my friend from Norway. BUT… We are going to Chicago in 2014!

·   Use a Groupon Getaway Nope, didn’t check this one off

2013 Personal Goals

·   Lose weight (isn't that on everyone's list?) I was able to keep 11 pounds off since joining Weight Watchers in December 2012     

·   Read more – Surprise, surprise. I did read some books, 4 to be exact. I read Orange is the New Black, and all three Fifty Shades of Grey books. (I’m actually reading the series again!)

·   Take our baby pup, Coco, to Galveston to see how she likes the water Didn’t happen. I don’t think she is quite ready for this, maybe another year.

·   Save one entire paycheck! We need to save for a new house and our trip to Thailand! Buying a house can make it hard to save money…and we’re no longer going to Thailand. Europe here we come!

2014 Goals

For the blog I am just going to keep doing what I have been doing; keeping up with my regular posts and trying to post three days a week. We have a few trips planned for 2014 so we’re going to focus on those and we are also hoping to make it back to Hawaii if we can get some free flights using our mileage points!

Other than that this year I don’t really feel like making too many goals. Are you planning on making any goals? Any place you wish to go to this year?