There’s a diverse mix of people and culture within the vibrant city of Sydney. I didn’t really know what to expect when arriving in Sydney. The highlight for most from an architectural perspective was the Opera House overlooking Sydney harbor. Looking at it at night gives you an entirely different perspective. You can capture more of the detail in the way the brightness of it contracts with the dark sky. …
The Expedia portal that Chase clients use to redeem points and book travel has been down since last night. As a frequent flyer and someone who redeems Chase Ultimate rewards often this is a major inconvenience. I took advantage of the $1500 roundtrip business class mistake fare from Chicago to Sydney. I was attempting to use Chase points for air travel within Australia and New Zealand last night and this …
Our trip to Amsterdam was such a nice surprise. It took years to convince my wife to go to Amsterdam. Her impression of Amsterdam was the red-light district and marijuana in a nutshell. It was pretty high on my list and I was happy we finally made the trip. Amsterdam is a very central walkable city. Transportation is very accessible and there are so many areas you can easily walk …
My wife and I visited Florence this summer. Although it was not originally planned as part of our trip to Switzerland, I scheduled a three day stop because it’s my wife’s favorite city to visit. Florence has lots of character and is a walkable city. We stayed steps away from El Duomo, a magnificent church, however it does not compare to El Duomo in Milan. It’s an incredibly long wait …
The Cinque Terre is the perfect place to practice turning off your cell phone and disconnecting for a few days. It is located between Genoa and Pisa. The area is full of mountains and little valleys. The valleys have small villages, each with their own traditions. The simple life here is in strong contrast to the nearby glitzy resorts. If you want sun, sea and natural surroundings, then you have …
Having never been to Switzerland before I was excited to explore it’s great mountains, cities, and lake shores. While everyone raves, and rightfully so, about it’s peaks, I found it’s lake shores to be the most beautiful. Our 6 days in Switzerland included a quick stop in Zurich, Luzern, a few days in Lauterbrunnen, nestled between the some of Switzerlands great peaks, a day trip to Bern, and my favorite …
My Montreal & Quebec vacation was a good trip. My favorite sight in Montreal was Notre Dame, a big fancy church which is a must see! Another great sight was the Pointe-à-Callière Museum of archeology which had an interesting film about the history of Montreal. Its always about the food Montreal had really good food and I mean really good food. We went to a restaurant that had French Onion soup …
Most people accept that airport security checks are part of traveling. If you’ve ridden on a plane, you know that you will have to take off your shoes and belt. You will need to drink your fancy water. And anything electronic, like a computer or your phone, will go in a plastic tub. The idea is to catch terrorists before they can board a plane and prevent skyjackers from taking …
In a recent trip to Europe I flew business class using points on Delta from New York to Zurich and on American Airlines from Milan to New York. In both cases the seating configuration of the lie flat beds were the same, “1-2-1”. This gave me an opportunity to compare food, service, and amenities. Delta’s JFK Lounge I arrived at JFK almost 3 hours prior to the flight so that …
Discover hidden jungles, ancient castles and happening night markets with one of the best cards for travelers. You can plan that dream vacation or save on business travel through the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. To get these benefits and perks, you just have to pay a $450 annual fee. The card offers benefits like a $300 travel rebate, so your annual fee is earned back in time. If you actually …