Dear Santa

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Unfortunately I had to work an all day double shift but it didn't put me in a grinch-like mood that I thought I would be in. And it was partly because I got this in the mail...a letter from Santa from the Arctic Circle! He must have gotten my memo that I've been good this year.

I love the little things in life that come at unexpected moments and always seem to make you day just a little bit brighter =)

Earlier this year I made a trip to Santa's home...and no, not the North Pole which is actually a diversion from his real residence in Rovaniemi, Finland (and no, I'm no joking at all). I had my doubts when I found this fun fact out too so I felt it was only necessary that I fly there and make sure. And I was proved wrong! After a very looooong journey (almost 20 hours one way from SF to Lapland, Finland) we landed in the small town of Rovaniemi, a winter wonderland that I didn't even know existed until a couple weeks before my trip. And to my surprise their small claim to fame was being Santa's residence. It was amazing gallivanting around Santa's Village and having one of main means of transport be reindeers...so I you want to read more on my adventures in Lapland, Finland...CLICK HERE...and be redirected to my sister blog, The Long Weekenders.

Happy holidays everyone, bring on the New Year!!!

happy holidays...

Christmas in Union Square, SF

If the Christmas bug hasn't bit you yet...check out The Long Weekenders holiday blog...CLICK HERE guaranteed to lighten your holiday spirit. xoxo

A bitter sweet parting

I just got back from a two week training session in Atlanta for my new job. Initially I just wanted to get it done and over with, and saw it as just a free trip out of state. Even though the courses were rough and I felt like I was in college again (but with more rules/restraints) I surprisingly had an great time. Given, it was also the longest 2 weeks of my life, at one point I even thought I lived in ATL! 

SFO ladies

Air Trans operations tower in ATL

the view from operations atl

DC, who dyes his beard everyday to match his outfit, talk about setting trends

But I thought I'd share some food for thought. It's amazing how you can meet a group of strangers with completely different backgrounds and instantly be able to spend 24 hours a day with them for 2 weeks and not want to strangle them. And to top it off, being able to come out of the experience feeling like you've known each other your whole lives. It's a good feeling, and I'm grateful for them and the learning experience. But now it's back to reality, and I'm looking forward to feeling like Christmas since the holiday spirit hasn't hit me yet this year. Ciao for now!

Shopping as a sport

Ahhh, the madness of Black Friday is finally Over... and if you're like me you may have extended your shopping binge to the rest of the weekend and then blamed the unnecessary spending on the devil that was obviously disguised as the holiday sales... and then decided to also give in to Cyber Monday, oops... At least I can cross most of my Christmas gift list off.

Although Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and calling it chaotic would be an under statement, I'm still a big fan of it. And yes I'm one of those people that start hitting the sales ridiculously early at 2am, but at least I'm not hardcore enough to camp out days before. Every year I get in an average of 3 shove/snatch contests or tug-of-wars, and I definitely think that Black Friday shopping should be considered a sport. But this year was surprisingly calm, and the damage to my wallet wasn't catastrophic like previous years. This is because I've gone handmade this year with most of my holiday gifts, which in most cases (in my opinion) is better...it shows more thought and personality.

Check out some of these handmade goods:

-The Velvet Throne Designs: gorgeous handmade feather earrings made by my cousin, Kathelyn 

-CLE Scarves: handmade infinity scarves made by yours truly :)

If you are interested in any of these designs feel free to contact me. Happy shopping days everyone! 

P.S. While we're on the topic of shopping check out my sister blog, The Long Weekenders for our shopping blog in jolly ol' England. Cheers!

Sweet November

I hate that it feels like this year we skipped Thanksgiving and went straight to Christmas. But regardless I'm still so thankful for everything that I have. For me Thanksgiving has always been about family, food, football, and then shopping after I've recovered from my food coma. I wanted to share an interesting conversation I had with my auntie the other day:

Tita: "Cyn, do you hike?"

Me: "I could…"

Tita: "Do you want hiking sticks?"

Me: "Sure…"

Tita: "What will you use it for?"

Me: "Everest!?!"

Tita: "Oh ok, good! Make sure you take someone with you and try to go all the way to the top and take pictures"

*hands me a pair of hiking sticks

I guess I'll have to conquer Everest now…=)

I'm so grateful for such an amazing, loving, and incredibly supportive family. No matter how insane my adventures are they have always been there to encourage me follow my dreams. I'm also thankful for my opportunity to travel like I do, my extended travel family, and for the unbelievably kind people I meet on the way that help made our "trips of a lifetime" even more unforgettable. 

Bring on the turkey! Have a great gobble day everyone!

Summer's last hurrah

I know what many of you are thinking…summer ended in August/September rolled…but In San Francisco, our summer is actually in fall. Our "Indian summer"  lasted until early November this year, and what better way to spend our last days of warmth than to go to the beach? To add icing to the cake, Rip Curl's Pro Search Surf contest was held in San Francisco's Ocean Beach this year. I love surfing and was ecstatic when I found out that there was actually going to be a competition close by. San Francisco isn't exactly known for their waves, and this contest was the first of its kind in the city in over a decade. The turn out was impressive, and although I didn't get to see my favorite surfer, Kelly Slater, I had a great time watching the other surfers compete. I could't think of a more amazing way to spend the last days of summer. 

Oh, and I'm sure you're wondering who won the contest, right? The winner was Gabriel Medina, an 18 year old phenom surfer from San Paolo, Brazil. 

With Brazilian surfer, Miguel Pupo

A fangtastic Halloween

Halloween is one of my top 3 favorite holidays of the year, so you can just imagine how sad I was that I was going to miss the big festivities this year due to my 3 week trip to Eastern Europe. But no matter, I was determined to celebrate one way or another...I figured, since vampires have been all the rage the past couple years, what better than to go to the birthplace of the head honcho vamp himself, Count Dracula. So I set my eyes on Transylvania, Romania. 

In case you don't know the legend, here's a quick background: 

In 1897, Bram Stocker wrote the famous novel "Dracula" which was based in Transylvania. The main character, Count Dracula was inspired by the infamous Romanian ruler of Walachia, Vlad Tepes, better known as Vlad the Impaler. The name Dracula is derived from the Romanian word "dracul" meaning devil or dragon. Vlad wasn't a vampire but his cruelty and his "thirst for blood" made him the perfect muse. If you don't know what impaling is, it is putting the person's entire body through a large stick (from the bottom, up). Vlad took it one step further and made sure that the stick didn't hit any vital organs so that they would die a slow and painful death, sometimes it would take days for the person to die. And that's just part of the cruelty, you would cringe after hearing the other things he did, but I won't go into details here. When he was fighting the Ottoman Empire he captured 20,000 prisoners and by the time the Turks found them they had been impaled...all 20,000 of them, and they named the horrific scene "Vlad Forest." They obviously didn't call him Vlad the Impaler for nothing.

Bran Castle and Dracula's Castle are believed to be one and the same, since it has narrow corridors, secret passageways, and nooks that would make it easy to hide a vampire. Considering that the author never set foot in Transylvania, his description of the castle was uncanny to Bran Castle.

While visiting Bran (Dracula's) Castle, I felt it was only necessary to wear fangs and a cape (jacket), especially since it was so close to Halloween. But I didn't expect to terrify the group of 20 Romanian school kids that were on a field trip or accidentally making a 3-year old boy cry and hide under his mom's arms. Oops!...I swear I didn't do it on purpose, but it was definitely a good laugh for everyone else. Apparently I didn't get the memo that Halloween isn't hugely celebrated there, and many locals still believe in the legend. No wonder the castle cleared out so quickly when people started noticing the fangs!

Trying to look like the Dracula picture behind me.

with our guide, Adrian

Too bad our guide Adrian declared that I was pretty much the worse vampire ever. I guess I need more practice trying to be intimidating, constantly smiling and laughing definitely didn't help my cause.

Being in Transylvania makes it easy to get caught up in the Dracula folklore, the dramatic setting makes it a perfect place for imaginations to run wild about vampires and the supernatural. Local villagers even believe that vampires hang around on St. George's Day (April 23) and on the eve of St. Andrew (November 29). But putting aside Dracula and the stories, Transylvania is really pretty stunning. The area has a timeless quality to it that reminds me of the "far off lands" that I read about in my childhood storybooks. The Apuseni Mountain range (the "Romanian Alps") is dominant in the Transylvanian landscape, it's beautiful and gives off a mysterious vibe. The region is like a treasure chest of small colorful medieval villages with cobblestone streets, citadels, fortified churches, unbelievable castles, ancient forests, winding roads and mountain passes. It's not an easy destination to go to but definitely worth the journey. I highly recommend it as an "off the beaten path" destination and hopefully I'll be back there soon. 

Our "neck check" picture

Hope everyone's having a Happy Halloween!!!

Stats

21 days. 6 countries. 8 flights. 4 road trips (including one 14-hr drive across the entire country of Bosnia & Herzegovina, part of Croatia and into Hungary). 7 hotel changes. 2 broken suitcases. Learned and actually remembered how to say "Thank You" in 3 different languages.

Made a handful of new international friends. Visited countless castles and churches. Received a multitude of unforgettable memories. Learned 2 new life lessons. Relearned 3 old life lessons that I managed to have forgotten... 

And I'm finally home. Not gonna lie, I'm a little sad about it, but c'est la vie! Overall, another successful and amazing trip. Thank you Eastern Europe, it's been grand. 

I also wanted to share these ads for a credit card that I immediately saw when I landed at the airport in Dubrovnik, Croatia. I'm in love with them and felt they were meant for me =)

"Those whose journey never ends, belong."

"If you consider the world unexplored, you belong."

"If you see every map as an invitation, you belong."

And my personal favorite....

"If you never lose your need to wander, you belong."

Blogs on my Eastern European trip coming soon. Have a great day everyone! xoxo

Bon Voyage!

Considering how much I travel, you would think I'd be an expert packer. But unfortunately I'm not. This is just a glimpse of how my room turns into a pig pen before every trip. The longer the trip the sorrier I feel for my room. Anyways, trying to pack for a 3-week trip to Eastern Europe in just one 44 lbs suitcase is harder than it looks. Regardless, I'm super excited for my trip today! First stop...England, then off to Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Here we goooooooo...

The disaster of my room when I'm packing for a trip

Some things I never go on trip without (no matter where I go):
1. Passport
2. Travel pillow
3. At least 2 cameras, usually a DSLR and a point-and-shoot
4. Ipad
5. Foldable bag (my choice is usually one of my large Longchamp bags)
6. Refillable water bottle
7. Snacks & Green Tea bags

Why live on the edge when you can jump off it?

"Cyn, you didn't come all the way to New Zealand NOT to bungy jump! The Kiwi's invented the sport, it's only necessary that you do it here!" My auntie gives me a prep talk as I start to get cold feet. All I can think of was that she was right, and no matter how terrified I was I knew I would regret not doing it. 

I chose to do my first bungy jump at Taupo Bungy in Taupo, New Zealand (3.5 hours drive from Auckland). What attracted me to them was their location and their "water touch bungy" where they give you the option to touch the water or even completely submerge in it and everything in between. I would've chosen the complete water submersion but it was winter time in New Zealand and probably wouldn't have been the best idea, so I just asked for my arms to touch the water. 

As they strap the bungy cords to my ankles, all I can do is pray that I don't pee or throw up on myself or do both at the same time. I've never been so nervous in my life! I see my 2 younger cousins close by, being the best cheerleaders anyone can ask for and I knew there was no turning back. It was "go big or go home" time!

 

The winds swaying the cantilever platform projecting out off the cliff tops did not help to calm my nerves. I look down from the edge of the platform and it's about 47 meters to Waikato River. I try to shake out my nerves, put my arms up, tuck my chin in, take a deep breath and just jump. It lasted less than a minute but it felt like my body was being tossed up and down for much longer. When I finally stopped being thrown around like a rag doll and got to catch my breath, I look around and the realized just how beautiful the river and gorge was. Saying that this experience was AMAZING would be an understatement. 

 

I hung upside down for what seemed like forever and I remember thinking I wish I wore an undershirt. A boat came and handed me a long stick to pull myself down with. Once back on shore my body felt discombobulated, like my legs were made of jello and it didn't feel like I was on actual land. I was exhausted, and to make things worse they make you hike back up the mountain to the bungy center, which wasn't fun but I would've done the whole experience again in a heartbeat. The next time I bungy jump in New Zealand I think I'll try AJ Hackett Bungy on the Auckland Bridge. Any takers on a tandem jump? =)

For more info on New Zealand, check out my sister blog: THE LONG WEEKENDERS

Fleet Week

Early October is one of my favorite times of the year in the Bay Area. It's Indian Summer, the Blue Angels and Fleet Week come to town, and United Airlines has their Family Day at SFO which is always a good time.  Cheers to a good week ahead!

The Blue Angels parked at SFO

Crowds gathered at United Airlines Family Day

Blue Angels headed to their show in San Francisco  

United Airlines Family Day

She flies with her wings

My fascination for flying is pretty apparent, so for one of my birthday "funtivities" I decided to take the pilot's seat of a 4-seater Cessna 172 Aircraft. I took my first flight lesson at California Airways in Hayward and got paired up with an awesome instructor named Jason. Because we were delayed (the person before me decided to take their time bringing the plane back, although I can't say that I blame him) he let me try their flight stimulator for no extra charge. I had my fun picking out different flight scenarios like flying at night, landing on naval ships, and performing airplane tricks.

It was a sunny, cloudless day in the Bay Area and an absolutely perfect day to fly over the Bay, Hayward, Oakland, Sausalito, and San Francisco. During our actual flight Jason taught me the controls, some pilot lingo, and the basics of how to fly a plane. My actual air time was clocked at 45 minutes. I did most of the flying myself and I loved every minute of it!

Not a surprise, I got hooked and added "becoming a pilot" to my already impossibly long bucketlist. California Airways also included a certificate and an Official Pilots logbook...now I'm only 39 flight hours away to becoming a licensed pilot. It was definitely a worth while experience and I'll for sure be back here for my next lesson. Anyone want to join me?!

Oakland A's home

Bird's eye view of San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

AT&T Park