Fotografo de Bodas, Santiago

July 26, 2011

I am in Miami. I was supposed to leave Monday night. I’m currently hoping to board a plane tomorrow at noon. We’ll see. Last night I gave up my seat on the flight in exchange for a voucher. However, today, I’m here involuntarily because there is some kind of mechanical problem with the plane. Scary. I don’t particularly want to go on a plane that they’ve been working on. But supposedly it will be fixed tomorrow and I have a flight out at noon. I’m currently staying at a hotel that American Airlines gave me a hotel voucher for. At this moment I actually have a random girl with me because she was sitting on the curb waiting for a hotel shuttle by me looking very sad. When we got to talking I found out that she was trying to get to Buenos Aires and is stuck here until Tuesday because of that damn volcanic ash. She was stressed because since hers is a “weather related” cancellation she gets no hotel voucher, nothing, and is expected to pay for her own hotel in Miami until Tuesday. So I took a fellow lost traveler in and told her she could stay with me at my free hotel. Conveniently enough, while I have no luggage, she had spare pajamas to loan me AND clean, brand new underwear to give me, so really this is just a win/win situation all around.

But that’s not the point of this post.

The point is that my life is pretty sweet. I’m lucky enough to be able to travel the world with my husband. Sometimes hotels give us free stays so we’ll blog about them. We meet all kinds of cool people on the road. I see my family more than most expats and for that I’m grateful.

Yet.

YET. It’s still not as glamorous a life as many people tend to think. Good life, yes. Glam life, not really.

Here’s my list of the dichotomy that is my life.

Glam: To go through the premium line at the airport and get to board first.
Not Glam: To get on a plane that smells like cat pee and/or old person.

Glam: Super beautiful hotels letting us stay free and giving us the VIP treatment.
Not Glam: Taking the taxi from said super beautiful hotels to whatever kind of cheap-o place we are paying for ourselves (usually somewhere in the ghetto).

Glam: A trip to England.
Not Glam: Having so much work to do that we don’t see much of London at all.

Glam: A trip to Scotland.
Not Glam: Only sleeping 1.5 hours before taking the train to Scotland in order to write blog posts to publish while we were gone.

Glam: Taking a weeks long trip to Europe.
Not Glam: Running out of clean underwear and wearing the same dresses over and over and over again.

Glam: Working from home
Not Glam: Having to sit forever in McDonald’s for the free wi-fi when the power goes out at my mom’s house, or spending hours at the Dunkin Donuts when my dad’s internet isn’t working.

Glam: Racking up the airline miles.
Not Glam: Seba’s junk getting manhandled during the opt out pat-down.

Glam: Visiting my family four times a year.
Not Glam: Sleeping on the futon in my mom’s basement.

Glam: Watching the U.S. v. Japan soccer game from the Admiral’s Club Lounge and getting tipsy off of all the free wine.
Not Glam: The U.S. losing. Wait. That has nothing to do with travel, you say? Don’t care. It’s still not glam.

By the way, I feel that the world should know, my mom called and said, “I cried because the U.S. lost but then I cried tears of joy for Japan winning after they’ve had such a hard year.”

I told her she was dead to me. Anyone would be cold hearted if they begrudged Japan their victory, but still…to celebrate it? NOT COOL MOM.

ANYWAYS.

Glam: Being upgraded to first class.
Not Glam: 8 hour layovers.

Glam: Wearing my Pradas for a night out on the town in Paris.
Not Glam: Getting blisters on my feet from walking around the Paris subway for what felt like hours, trying to figure out how to get to our hotel (with luggage in tow).

Glam: Staying at a really nice hotel on an airline voucher for free.
Not Glam: Staying at a really nice hotel because your flight was canceled and you have no way to get home that night.

Do you travel in any kind of contradictory ways? Say…fly first class and then stay in a hostel? Or sleep in five star hotels but live off of street food?

Find the best last minute holidays here.

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22 Comments

Girl. I LOVED this post. I’m glad that you decided to break it down for us and show us that all that glitters is not gold!! And how nice of you to take in that girl! I think that is so despicable that she wouldn’t at the very least get a subsidized hotel stay- I know that it’s not the airline’s fault but COME ON… It’s not like ppl are made of money, especially to pay for a pricey hotel when they weren’t expecting it! But I hear ya on the glam vs. not glam… I travel a lot, which could be glam, but trust me that the 8 hour ride on the rickety chicken bus with the baby who just threw up is NOT glam at all… The budget airline ride that makes American Airlines economy look like first class ain’t glam either… Nor is the 13 hour layover after an 11 hour flight because it was cheaper to do it that way… I’m glad that you’ve put these things into perspective!!

Comment by Oneika the Traveller — July 27, 2011 @ 4:30 am

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Dude, that should be called Hell v. Not Hell. An 8 hour bus ride with a baby who just threw up, AHHHHHH, that’s AWFUL!

And yeah, it’s not the airline’s fault but it’s not the girl’s fault she is stuck here either. And they won’t even put her on a flight back to her home in Chicago while she’s waiting the full WEEK for her re-booked flight.

Comment by Kyle — July 27, 2011 @ 7:25 am

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Hahaha – fly business class and then stay in a hostel – SO guilty of that one!

Loved this! Friends and family have always thought my nomadic lifestyle is glam but if they really knew some of the stuff we go through they’d think twice before writing me off as a spoiled brat.

Comment by Andrea — July 27, 2011 @ 5:38 am

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LOL, I know somebody else who does that too, *cough cough* you know her too

And yeah, people that don’t travel as much definitely do tend to glamorize things a bit!

Comment by Kyle — July 27, 2011 @ 7:26 am

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Who on earth would that be? I stand by my reasoning – a night spent on a plane in business doesn’t put me out of commission (both tiredness and back-wise) for a couple days like coach does, whereas a bed is a bed when it comes to sleeping in a hostel or a hotel, even if we can all agree that the luxury hotels offer is much nicer than an 8-bed dormitory. I’m glad to know Andrea doesn’t think I’m crazy!

Comment by Emily in Chile — July 31, 2011 @ 4:19 pm

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I love this!! Since I have been traveling around for 8 years people always suspect it is such a privileged life and while it is fabulous to see the world, it comes with a lot of hardship as a budget traveler! Everything you listed– I have so been there! Oh! Wouldn’t you love it to always go through the priority line ( had that for a few years when I had racked up a ton of miles and it was the shit!)Or once, I went to visit my father in London and his company had a driver at the airport holding a sign with my name– god, if only that could happen everytime I landed somewhere! ha!

Comment by Lacey — July 27, 2011 @ 8:15 am

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Yeaaaaah, I definitely love having the priority access! We’ll see how long I keep up the crazy traveling and keep it!

And a driver waiting with your name? NICE. Now that’s some serious luxury

Comment by Kyle — July 27, 2011 @ 10:00 pm

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I liked this post. I like how it doesn’t matter to you if you are halfway around the world sleeping on some acquaintance’s couch, un-glam as it may be. You are the sweetest person ever for taking in that girl. You are always reaching out to people beyond your comfort zone (like helping people with their strollers on the subway) and I really admire you for that.

Comment by Lindsey — July 27, 2011 @ 12:42 pm

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You know, I offered her to stay with me before I really thought it through and then when we both got on the shuttle I thought, oh jeez, what did I do?!? But in the end it worked out awesome, and she gave me pajamas and clean underwear and it was fun chatting so I’m really happy that it ended up working out for the best for both of us! I do reach out to people out of my comfort zone…but sometimes I don’t necessarily think about the consequences before doing that

Comment by Kyle — July 27, 2011 @ 10:03 pm

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Hahaha pobrecitaaaa! I usually don’t eat out before a trip and go shopping a few days before. And when I travel I tend to shop at the end of the trip to see how much I have left. I always have more than I expect. I sacrifice meals in fancy restaurants to stay at a nice place. Not always the 5 star hotels. Depending where and what season. I also buy food to make breakfast at the hotels, take snacks for the day, and eat one big meal around 5:00 pm. I guess I tend to get nervous that I won’t have enough $ at the end of the trip. They vary on luxury Depending how long they are. Long weekends are bad Bc I indulge from the beginning to the end. Long trips are restrictive and at the end I can splurge a little now with the low dollar I don’t think it will go too well in CLO.

Miles are def my best friend. The dinning program, eshopping mall, rental cars, credit ad debit cards… I wish I traveled more for work and accumulate more miles w someone else’s CC.

Comment by Cata — July 27, 2011 @ 8:11 pm

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Tooooootally, I end up doing the same thing….cheap in the beginning and then splurging at the end once I’ve relaxed about money. And Seba always tells me “But just because you have the money budgeted doesn’t mean you HAVE to spend it!” Because I’m always like, “Look! We have so much money left! Let’s go out to eat,” hahahahah!

Comment by Kyle — July 27, 2011 @ 10:04 pm

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Jajajaja siiiii it was meant to be spent. We should send andre and seba walking while we shop!! The problem usually is that when I have the money to spend I don’t see anything that I love, And when I’m broke everything I want it’s in my face!

Comment by Cata — July 28, 2011 @ 7:47 am

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Some of my friends criticize that I “travel soooo much” I should tell them comprared to u and Andi I don’t. I used to take lots of long wknd trips and ur life in FB always looks different than what it is. People are just jealous and don’t know what else to say. It is fun but the long waits are the worst.

Comment by Cata — July 27, 2011 @ 8:13 pm

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Haha, And I feel like compared to Andi and lots of other travel bloggers I don’t really travel the much either! IT’s all a matter of perspective….

Comment by Kyle — July 27, 2011 @ 10:04 pm

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I would travel more if I didn’t have to ask for permission to take days off! I’ve considered moving to Australia just because they get 6 weeks of vacation instead of 2!!!

Comment by Cata — July 28, 2011 @ 7:50 am

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This is awesome… given some time I could come up with a list of glam vs not glam stuff about my life a MILE long. I do have to say… even some of your “not glam” stuff isn’t THAT bad.

Comment by Dennis Pike — July 28, 2011 @ 4:50 am

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Nah, definitely none of it is that bad But it’s still not the rockstar lifestyle that some people seem to imagine it to be!

I want to hear your list!

Comment by kyle — July 28, 2011 @ 9:46 am

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You’re too funny chica! I like this post.

I’d say that my travels are always “Not Glam” because I’m a cheap ass mofo. I will spend a ton of money on food, though. You can’t skimp on the fooooood!

WW

Comment by Wayfaring Wanderer — July 28, 2011 @ 5:40 am

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LOL, yeah, splurging on a nice meal every now and again is ALWAYS vital. It’s part of the culture, hahaha!

Comment by kyle — July 28, 2011 @ 9:46 am

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One of your best blog posts to date. How about this:

Glam: Taking almost a month off to travel to Spain and Kenya.

Not Glam: On the way home your four flights include:

1. Sitting next to a baby that screams for close to seven hours.
2. Sitting next to a guy who farts every ten minutes for six hours.
3. Having to wait seven hours for a new plane because your pilot destroys the brake lines avoiding a crash with another plane during takeoff.
4. Missing your final flight because you arrive two hours after it already left. It takes you over 32 hours to get home.

…but it’s not like brushing your teeth in the airport isn’t worth it…because it is.

Comment by Kai Heeringa — July 28, 2011 @ 6:04 am

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EW.

EWWWWWW.

I got stuck on the part about the guy that farts every ten minutes.

Also, that trip back sounds INSANE.

But yeah. Kenya…worth it

Comment by kyle — July 28, 2011 @ 9:47 am

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Actually laughed too hard at your comments on your mum and Japan. Hahaha.

I haven’t got any contrsdictory travel things … but my travels don’t start until November so I’ll keep you updated then. hehe.

Loved this list.

Comment by Ceri — August 7, 2011 @ 9:12 am

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