2016 was an amazing year, actually the best year of my life. It was a year of personal and professional growth. With that growth comes distraction, I admit I have isolated my self from writing because I have been so busy. Luckily, the people that read about my travels have motivated me enough to continue writing so I made it my most important resolution of 2017.
On a side note I have not stopped traveling. Actually, I traveled more in 2016 then I did in 2015. A grand total of 135,000 miles and 125 flights. Traveling is what I live for and I will not stop. This article will concentrate on my last trip to Europe in November. I got to make a lot of dreams reality and had an amazing experience with my girlfriend Vero and my best friends. Traveling with your friends is magic, it allows you to really discover people in ways you wouldn't otherwise. By the way, i'm up to 155,000 readers thank you everyone for the support and motivation!!!
On a side note I have not stopped traveling. Actually, I traveled more in 2016 then I did in 2015. A grand total of 135,000 miles and 125 flights. Traveling is what I live for and I will not stop. This article will concentrate on my last trip to Europe in November. I got to make a lot of dreams reality and had an amazing experience with my girlfriend Vero and my best friends. Traveling with your friends is magic, it allows you to really discover people in ways you wouldn't otherwise. By the way, i'm up to 155,000 readers thank you everyone for the support and motivation!!!
The Flight
One of the reasons I continue to stay loyal to American Airlines is because of the One World benefits. One World is an alliance of the largest airlines in the world, with AA miles I can book travel on all these partner airlines. On this specific trip we decided to start out with Venice, Italy. After looking at different routes and milage cost we decided to fly Air Berlin. Quick warning to everyone, NEVER BOOK BRITISH AIRWAYS on a Transatlantic flight using miles. The taxes on a round trip flight will average $500 - $1,000. You are better off paying for a full priced ticket. On this occasion we booked a one way flight from Orlando (MCO) - Venice (VCE) with a layover in Dusseldorf (DUS) and JFK in NYC for only 22,500 miles per person and $15 USD what a deal! For people that don't fly often I suggest signing up for one of AA's current credit card offers, specifically the Citi Platinum Select Card. For signing up and spending $3,000 in 3 months they will gift you 50,000 miles. Thats a free trip to Europe!
Since I am Executive Platinum this gives me One World Emerald status with all of the alliance partner airlines. As we arrived in JFK we where given invitations to the American Airlines International First Class Lounge.
This lounge is only accessible to First Class international (Traveling to Europe or Asia) ticketed passengers and One World Emerald passengers on an international ticket. The lounge was nice but nothing out of the ordinary. Self serve liquor bar and full service lunch Buffett.
I was actually pleasantly surprised that this lounge offers Taittinger. Taittinger is a great Champagne comparable in the price range of Moet & Chandon or Veuve Clicquot. We had a 4 hour layover in JFK so you can imagine we went through a few of these bottles.
After a lot of food and a lot of wine it was time to board the plane. This was an overnight flight from JFK - DUS. Flying on Air Berlin was an extremely interesting experience.
This airline is dominant to German business travelers that frequent the USA. I'm not sure if the majority of Germans hate Americans but I can surely tell you that every German on this flight hated us. We where a bit happy due to the champagne and vacation excitement (We might have been a bit loud). Thanks to the One World benefits we where upgraded to Air Berlin's XL seats on their Airbus A330. These are not business class seats but they are more spacious, recline more and have more leg space. Usually the upgrade to these seats can be in the range of $200 per person.
(You can distinguish the XL seats with the red headrests)
The XL seats came with a pillow, blanket and nice amenity package. It's always nice to have a tooth brush and basic toiletries during a long flight.
I always hate these overnight flights, I can never sleep and I always get to Europe extremely tired. We attempted to sleep but we weren't successful.
After a long long flight of watching movies we arrived in Dusseldorf. We had a short layover before our flight to Venice. It was confusing getting around the airport, the signage in english is extremely confusing. As some of you know I HATE prop planes. In the states I have to fly prop planes on occasion to fly to smaller destinations. In this case Air Berlin decided to put us on a prop plane on a 3 hour flight from Dusseldorf to Venice. I really don't know how I didn't vomit all over Veronica.
Venice, Italy
Finally! After a long Journey and total 20 hour travel time we made it to Venice! Let me give you a little warning about Venice though. You know the saying "All roads lead to Rome"? Well..... No roads lead to Venice! Literally.... If you have booked a hotel in Venice the only way to get there is by boat. You have 2 options, take a private water taxi or take the public water bus. The bus will cost you 15 euro and about 2-3 hours due to the amount of stops. The private water taxi will cost you 120 euros and will take you directly to your hotel (around 20 minutes). Also, you can only fit 4 people and 4 pieces of luggage in a water taxi. I do highly suggest you cough up the money and take the private boat, they are luxurious and crucial to the venice experience.
These taxi drivers must receive a minimum of 5 years to learn the Venetian water ways and to receive a certification its crazy! The ride was insane, he was dodging boats like bullets. After a 20 minute ride we finally arrived at our hotel, The Hilton Molino Stucky Venice.
Hotel: Hilton Molino Stucky Venice
Distance from VCE: 20 minute taxi boat ride (120 euros)
Length of stay: 2 Nights
Average nightly rate: $200 USD
This is probably the coolest hotel I have EVER stayed in, the history behind it is insane. This hotel was built in 1895, it was a flour mill owned by Giovanni Stucky. After building his wealth, Giovanni became the richest man in Venice. In 1910 Giovanni was killed by an angry employee, the flour mill continued until 1945 and eventually shut down. This building sat abandoned until 2007 when Hilton transformed it into a luxury 5 star hotel.(View of the hotel from the water taxi)
(A nicer picture of the hotel retrieved from Google.com)
When I travel I try my best to always stay at Hilton properties. Why you ask? I am a HHonors Gold member. This means that I sleep in Hilton Hotels at least 40 times in a calendar year. This gives me a large amount of benefits such as room upgrades, free breakfast, executive lounge access and so much more. As a rule of thumb I always book the cheapest room available and hope for an upgrade. In this case the upgrade was a jackpot at the Hilton Molino. I was upgraded to a King Family suite, at the time this room was selling for 1,400 euros a night.
(Retrieved from my HHonors mobile app)
This suite was the icing on the cake, I felt like I was in a movie. As we arrived we where welcomed with a bottle of champagne and a welcome letter from the hotel manager.
We where treated like royalty at this hotel, we where also given access to the executive lounge. The lounge provides free breakfast and an evening reception from 4-7 with complimentary appetizers and alcoholic beverages.
(The Lounge)
The hotel is located on the island of Giudecca. This island is about a 15 minute boat ride from the center of St.Marks square (The center of Venice).
(Piazza San Marco)
Luckily, the hotel offers a complimentary shuttle boat that runs every 20 minutes from 8am-11pm. A private water taxi to the square will run you 80 euros. To be honest Venice is a very touristy city, there is a lot of history but not enough museums or exhibits. The city mostly consists of restaurants and repetitive souvenir shops. Its a city to see but not a city to return to. Our mission for Venice was to eat as much pasta and drink as much wine as possible. The food in Venice was surprisingly cheap, in the menu below you can see the prices for personal size pizzas and pasta dishes at a nice restaurant.
To not bore you with food I will summarize our culinary experience. Our time in venice consisted off all the red wine, 10 espressos a day, Bellinis (Venice traditional drink, champagne and peach puree) and bruschetta.
What is the must do thing in Venice? Go for a gondola ride. Be prepared, it is expensive as sh*t. We paid as a group 150 euros for a 45 minute ride. The cool thing is these gondola drivers train since they are 10 years old to master the craft. A minimum of 15 years of training and usually a family generation tradition. This was a really cool experience and we had a humbling conductor. During our trip our friend Frenchie asked the driver "do you make good money doing this" he responded "I live a good happy life". After our trip we researched how much they make and it is an average of 200,000-300,000 euros a year. No wonder it's a good happy life hahaha.
Our last day in Venice we where offered a complimentary spa treatment from the hotel (Thanks Hilton!). We spent the morning relaxing before heading off to Rome.
On my past trips to Europe I've always traveled by air from country to country. On this trip we decided we should try out a high speed train. We also thought it would be pretty cool to see the Italian country side. We booked Premium cart tickets on Italia Rail for $50 USD per person. The premium cart just offers a more comfortable seating experience and free drinks. This is extremely cheap when you compare to USA transportation. The train ride from Venice to Rome lasts about 4-5 hours. The train stations are incredible and it is eye opening how many people use the trains as their daily commute.
Seating is arranged in a 2-2 configuration facing other people with a table in between.
Rome, Italy
Hotel: Rented an AirBnB (5 minutes from the Vatican)
Distance from Roma Termini Station: 5 Miles - 20 minutes (100 euro for a private van)
Length of stay: 1 Nights
Average nightly rate: $150 USD
Rome was the city that stole my heart on this trip, I really wish we could have spent more time here. Most cities have a central location of action and the outskirts are dull. Rome is the opposite, as we drove from the station to our apartment I never saw a dead spot in the city. The city is full of life and excitement, it never stops. We only had 20 hours in Rome so we had to cram everything into one day. Our first stop was the coliseum.
In between locations we had to stop and get some pizza or every one starts to get hangry(Yes... Hungry-Angry). The best pizza we ate was in Rome, unbelievable.
After the Coliseum we rushed to the Trevi Fountain because it was starting to get dark out. Also unbelievable that this was designed an constructed in 1762. Construction started in 1732 and finished in 1762. 30 years of construction!
Our last stop of the day was The Vatican. The Vatican was the most impactful, eye opening, powerful moment of the whole trip. My friends aren't religious at all, Veronica and I go to church often but I wouldn't say we are extremely religious. Let me tell you something. The feeling we all felt sitting in front of The Vatican was UNEXPLAINABLE. We all sat in a circle and reflected off each other and how blessed we are. Not only blessed to be on this trip but because of our health, our careers and our friendship. Veronica, Melissa and I where literally crying like babies. Why? I have no idea but it wouldn't stop. Mike said a nice prayer because everyone else was sobbing and reflecting and couldn't even talk. This was by far the most intense feeling I have ever felt in my life and I'm glad I got to experience it with this amazing group of people.
(The Vatican)
After the Vatican it was time to go to bed and get ready for Greece. Even though it sucks rushing through a city this amazing I believe we did a pretty good job of cramming Rome into 1 day.
Athens, Greece
We were basically forced to spend a day in Athens because it is the only city that has flights to Santorini, Greece. We figured we would make a day out of it and see what we could. We flew Ryan Air from Rome - Athens. I have heard horror stories of Ryan Air due to it being the cheapest airline in Europe, it closely relates to Spirit in the states. The base fare was around $80 USD, at first glance that seems cheap but trust me it adds up. A checked bag is 45 euro per person. There goes another $100 because we checked 2 bags. To choose a seat it was 15 euro per person. Priority check in to skip the lines was another 15 euro per person. You can see how this starts adding up quickly.
Ryan Air is a trip, during the flight they don't shut up. The pilot literally sits on the intercom the whole time selling raffle tickets, announcing perfume and duty free sales and specials. Promoting alcohol and food sales. Also, the landing on these planes is the worse. It almost seems as they let go of the throttle and just let the plane drop. Every flight on this trip on Ryan Air left me with a pounding headache for hours.
Hotel: Rented a penthouse apartment
Distance from Athens International: 10 miles (110 euro for a private van)
Length of stay: 1 Nights
Average nightly rate: $250 USD
Airport transportation is one of the most expensive things in Europe. You only have the options to do public transportation or taxis and private cars. In certain cities you don't want to risk taking a bus with all of your luggage and belongings. Traveling with a group is always good because you can split the cost.
Athens is a dead city. The city has lost %25 of its population in it's last 4 years due to the economic decline. The streets where empty and silent. There are no sounds of chatter, no sounds of cars, not even sounds of birds. We rented a penthouse apartment online and didn't really know what to expect. The apartment ended up being amazing, it had a huge patio overlooking the parthenon.
(Take a look at the portrait above the fireplace. After being in the penthouse for an hour we realized the owner is a famous greek porn star.... oops)
Our mission in Athens was to see Acropolis and visit the Plaka district. The Plaka district is the old historic neighborhood of Athens and it is located right under the Parthenon. It is really the only place to find life, it is filled with restaurants and shops. It was so sad when we arrived at Acropolis, the place was empty! One of the most historic sites in the world and its empty. The parthenon was built in 447 BC by the Romans. The Temple was built to honor the goddess Athena. They have been restoring it for the past 20 years but most of the structure still stands.
After the sunset we went to The Plaka district to have dinner. Food in Athens was extremely affordable, we found a nice restaurant and had a feast.
After dinner we went back to the apartment to get a good night's rest. Time for Santorini!
Santorini, Greece
Santorini has been a dream of mine for a long time. It was a high level goal I set for my self a long time ago. To be honest I didn't think I would be able to achieve that goal for a few more years. I am extremely blessed to have had the chance to experience this paradise. Santorini is an island you see on all the luxury magazines and publications around the world. In the summer it is a playground for wealthy Europeans. Luckily we picked the slow season and where able to rent out the Oia Mansion for a fraction of the normal rate. I will spend a bit more time writing about Santorini because it was the highlight of the trip. The Oia Mansion is a private residence that has housed royalty and celebrities since 1870. Brad Pitt and Angelina used to come her every year before their divorce. Micheal Jordan has watched the sunset on the patio with his wife. Tv shows and movies have been filmed inside the mansion and so on. The mansion in the high season rents out for an average of $8,000 a night. Lets just say we rented it for a fraction of that price and we stayed for a total of 2 nights. We came to Santorini to go all out, to have an experience of a life time. The mansion arranged private transportation from the airport and welcomed me with a chauffeur.
After a 40 minute drive we arrived in the city of Oia. Oia is the city you see in all the famous Santorini pictures. It is the city that faces the Caldera and has all of the houses stacked on top of each other. The Oia Mansion is located at the tippy top of it all with 360 degree panoramic views. We where welcomed by the mansion staff and assisted with our luggage. Upon arrival we where given a full tour of the mansion.
(Entrance of the mansion)
To say the least the mansion is a dream come true. It is the definition of world class luxury and hospitality. We had 24hr service and could ask for whatever we wanted. We asked for a decent size order of champagne and liquor. After seeing that terrace and those views we didn't want to move from our seats. We sat in the patio from 9am-midnight. Enjoying the moment and each other's company.
(Unbelievable sunset)
The next day we woke up and decided to explore the island. We walked down to Armani Bay, it is located at the bottom of the island and filled with fish markets and restaurants.
Santorini was a dream come reality. At this point in the trip it was time to split up with Mike and Melissa. They would continue to Paris and Barcelona and we would continue to Berlin. It's so hard to find people on this planet that you can find commonalities with, like purpose, like passions. Every one on this trip is like minded, we all see the value of travel, we all want to discover the world, and we all are motivated to keep growing and bettering our selves. I truly value these relationships with everything inside of me.
Berlin, Germany
To be honest I wasn't as excited about Berlin as much. Mostly due to the treatment we received form the germans on our first flight. I quickly learned that I was wrong about that first impression. Germany is a magical place, a place I could actually see myself living in. I had no option but to visit Berlin because my flight back to the states was through Air Berlin again. We also only spent one night here and crammed in as much as we could.
Hotel: Hilton Berling
Distance from Berlin Tegel: 15 miles (90 euro for a private van)
Length of stay: 2 Nights
Average nightly rate: $200 USD
For those of you that don't know Berlin is the heart of Mercedes Benz. The central manufacturing plant is located here and this is where they do most of their exporting. We stayed at The Hilton Berlin in the heart of the city.
(King city view room)
The first thing we did in Berlin is find a restaurant with local food. We asked the waiter to bring us all of the traditional food on the menu. The spread consisted of wiener schnitzel (fried veal) bratwurst (german sausage) Hamburg Salad (terrible) and moose knuckle. Every thing was delicious besides the Hamburg salad.
(The 1 liter beers where also amazing)
After eating we took a double decker bus around the city. We went to The Berlin wall which was pretty cool, it literally sits in the middle of the city. The coolest part about Berlin is the Christmas Markets. These are seasonal markets that are built in the winter season at all of the cities plazas. They are filled with food and drink stands. It was really cool to experience their culture and music at that time of the year when most people don't visit.
This was the best trip of my life. The moments I got to share and the memories I got to create with the people I love are invaluable. I go back and reflect on the moment at The Vatican and let that feeling in. I wake up every day and thank god for my blessings. That i can wake up every day with good health. That I wake up and do what I love for a living, and most importantly that I am surrounded by people that I love. I beg everyone that reads this to get out of their comfort zone. Even if it's not leaving the country or going somewhere crazy. Go somewhere that you feel uncomfortable, meet new people, eat different food. It will give you a feeling that is incomparable. People make excuse due to terrorism and attacks or whatever it may be. You wanna know what i'm doing next? Im going to the Middle East in May. Im going to go immerse my self in a culture that I am not comfortable with whatsoever. For what purpose? To cure my ignorance and to see reality. I will be flying in a $17,000 first class seat that I booked for 70,000 miles + $15.00. Stay Tuned!!!
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