The Trip that became the Taken Movie

What do you think of when you see this quote? 

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career ... I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

I think of Liam Neeson kicking butt in the Taken movies!

Taken 2 is set in Turkey and when I traveled to Turkey in the summer of 2014 with a group from my college, we were always making references to this movie. Well one night, our references almost became reality.

Several of the girls and I were headed back to our hotel late one night, so we took a cab ride back. This taxi ride is still one of my craziest stories, and each of the girls who were with me can attest to that. I can tell the story, but not quite as well as Lauren Christian, one of the group leaders. Her storytelling will make you feel like you were in the cab with us - it's definitely worth the watch!

I went to the wrong airport

"Uh, ma'am I can't print off your plane ticket." The ticket attendant for American Airlines was trying to help check me into my flight, but well....I was at the wrong airport. 

I'm from Colorado (whoop whoop!) and most Coloradans fly out of the Denver airport, even though there is a airport in Colorado Spring (where I'm from). I'm used to only having one airport, so moving to NYC for college where there are 3 nearby airports has been a change.

I was headed to California to visit family, and I had just assumed I was flying out of La Guardia Airport instead of the John F. Kennedy airport. Part of this mistake came from the fact that I had only flown in and out of La Guardia when coming and going from Colorado. So, I didn't even think to check my plane ticket (worse decision ever!)

Well, I ran to a cab with my two bags and told the driver to get me to La Guardia as fast as he could. I managed to get there in about 35 min rather than the usual 45 mins. It still wasn't enough time, because the other part of this story is that I had left my apartment later than I should have. That afternoon my roommate asked if I needed to leave, but I assured her that I had traveled enough in my life and I knew when to leave (ahhhh....how my pride was my downfall!).

When I got to the La Guardia airport I had about 30 min to get to my plane. I tried to hustle through the check-in process, but I wasn't assertive from the start. I got in line rather than go directly to the ticket attendant.

By the time I was checking in, I was told I would need to go to their customer service desk. I went to their desk begging for their help at this point, but they sent me to the back of the line. So by the time I did make it to the front, they said they couldn't check in any more bags, and since I had two bags I couldn't store them overhead.

So I was placed on the standby list for the next flight out to California, which was only a couple hours later. I thankfully got on to that flight, and my family and friends have never let this story go. Whenever I travel, I am still teasingly told to check which airport I'm flying out of.

I definitely was humbled by this experience and relearned vital airport tips:

1. Get to the airport with plenty of time to spare (about 2 hours) cause you never know what will happen (i.e. long security lines).

2. Pack light (if I had only brought 1 bag, they would've let me on).

3. Check your flight details way 24 hours ahead of time.

4. Be assertive because no one will know you're late or having trouble unless you say something from the start.

H20 Travel Tips

For something so essential, you'd think water would be cheap or clean. Not always - here are some travel tips you need to know about water abroad.

Don't go for the water right away!

Travel Tip 1: Don't assume it's free. Most restaurants in the U.S. will give you free tap water, but in Europe you'll usually get charged, but this water is "cleaner" water than tap. So you can double check with your water/waitress and see if they have tap water for free. Otherwise, you'll be paying for your water.

Travel Tip 2: Still or Bubbly. In Europe these are the two choices between water. "Still" or "flat" water is just plain water (its not tap though), while "bubbly" is carbonated water. Both of these waters will be served in a glass bottle - this water is safe to drink.

Travel Tip 3: Don't always drink the tap water. Even though tap water may be free at your location, it doesn't mean you should. U.S. tap water is not the same thing as Europe or Asian tap water. You can get sick from it cause your body may not be used to it or there may be some bacteria in it. I generally play it safe and buy a sealed water bottle, or I pay for the water in Europe because it won't be tap. **I drank tap water in Spain and I was fine**

Travel Tip 4: Don't forget about the ice. If you are not wanting to drink the tap water in a country, then don't use the ice.

Travel Tip 5: Be careful about what fruit you eat. Do not eat any fruit skins (i.e. peach, apple) if you don't want to drink any tap water in the country. Most of these fruits will be washed in their regular water, so just don't eat the fruit skin (or outer layer).

Overall, use discretion and it doesn't hurt to look up the drinking water for the country you're traveling too. I generally always have sealed water bottles with me (I continually buy them) just in case. Hopefully some of these travel tips will help you know what to do when a glass of water gets set before you.

A Vacation with Tour Groups or with Friends

You can be on vacation in the same country, but you'll have completely different experiences with tour groups versus just traveling with friends.

Tour Groups: 
When you hear this word, you immediately think of large buses where once the doors open, the tourists pour out. In NYC, you have to watch out for these buses or you'll get run over.

However, tour groups aren't always like this. You can find tour groups of any size or theme to fit what you want. When Mom and I were on vacation in Ireland, we were in a tour group of about 30 people. We chose this option because we wanted to explore the island, but Mom didn't want to drive on the left-hand side of the road (I was grateful for that decision!). We could've gotten around by buses, but we also didn't know much about Ireland, whereas when we went to France we already had ideas of what we wanted to see. We also wanted a smaller tour group to make some meaningful relationships.

Pro's:

• You'll never get lost
• You'll see the popular touristy sites
• You get to cut ahead of lines at museums or sites
• You don't have to do any planning = no stress
• You'll make some fun friendships with the people in your group 
• You're not alone - you will be surrounded by others who know your culture or language (this can be comforting)

Con's:

• You are not in charge of your time - you don't get to choose if you want to stay longer at a site
• You only see glimpses of the country - you don't get to dive deep in a certain town or activity 
• The people on the group can be annoying
• You usually only go to touristy sites - you don't get to see those special or unique sites that you could see by yourself

Traveling with Friends or Family: 

I've traveled with friends where one of them was an expert of the country, and this was awesome because they took us to the local spots that we wouldn't have found by ourselves. This is my personal preference while traveling. However, I've also done vacations where none of us knew anything about the country. This can lead to some really funny stories. 

Pro's: 

• You'll see or experience things you wouldn't see with tour groups
• You'll see and experience more of the real culture - you'll eat at real, local spots 
• You're in charge of what you want to see/do (this can be very liberating and also stressful)

Con's: 

• This can be stressful and may lead to more tension with your travel buddies 
• You will get lost (I find this to be fun but some people wouldn't agree with this)
• You might not get all the history or knowledge of a site that a tour group leader would provide

***You can get the best of both worlds by traveling with family and friends, and doing day trips with tour groups to certain sites/locations. Mom and I did a one day tour group to Giverny. Our guide showed us the important sites and told us the history, and at the end of the day we were on our own again.