Disney - March 2007

In early March we traveled to Disney World with Chris's family for a few days. I was skeptical at first because I thougth Disney was just for kids...that seems so funny to me now! I hadn't been to Disney since I was a kid, and I loved it then, and I fell in love all over again. We stayed at a Disney Vacation Club resort - Old Key West - in a two bedroom condo. We had a great time, and I couldn't wait to return for more!

Paris - January 2007

At the very end of January 2007, we booked a very last minute NYC to Paris trip! It was my first time to go to Europe, so I was beyond excited. We booked the trip Wednesday, and left on Friday, and return Tuesday. It was fast, but very fun. We also had great weather...it was in the 50s the entire time.

For activities, we did a cruise of the River Seine, climbed the Arc de Triumph, guided bus tour around Paris, and we did a trip to the Palace at Versailles. We also toured the Louvre. Unfortunately, due to jet lag, we missed our initial city tour...so we really wasted some time wandering around the city and missed some great areas (the Latin Quarter) and musuems (namely, the Museo de Orsay). But, alas, we will return! What we did see was fantastic. We booked the tours through Expedia, and they had their own little tour booking office near the Louvre so it was easy to rebook and meet our tours.

Coveniently, we were also in Paris during all the designer sales! I got a cute Gucci bag at a great price!

I felt a bit discouraged at times because the locals weren't always very, let's say, warm. I take that sort of treatment pretty personally. I am sure though that the treatment was in part just their culture and then, sadly, part hesitancy toward Americans. But that limited treatment definitely didn't cloud our trip!

Airline: Air France (JFK to CDG)

City Transportation: We took the subway most of the time, and then a few cabs

Hotel: A very small boutique a little far from the subway...it wasn't great, but it was inexpensive and seemed safe, it got decent reviews on Expedia (we bought an air + hotel package deal)

Honeymoon - French Polynesia - August 2006

In August of 2006, Chris and I traveled to French Polynesia for our honeymoon. First, we stayed two nights in the capital city, Papeete on the island of Tahiti. The island was somewhat commerical with a bustling downtown and with many large resorts nestled around it. We stayed at the Le Meridien. The beach around our hotel wasn't amazing, but we still had a good stopover. We then took a super ferry over to the island of Moorea (one can also take a short flight). The ferry took about 45 minutes. Moorea is a beautiful island, lush and tropical, and surrounded by a protective reef. We spent the first two nights in a lanai room, but then we transferred to an overwater bungalow. It was by far one of the neatest things either of us had ever seen. We could take a ladder down from our porch right into the ocean. The bungalow was large and very quiet and comfortable. While on the island we did an island tour that took us to the highest point on the island. It was an amazing view. We also took a boat trip where we swam with sting rays. There were probably 30 to 40 rays in the water with us. The water was relatively shallow, probably 4 1/2 feet deep. Chris also dared to swim with the sharks....but I chose to stay on the boat! We had a fantastic beach lunch complete with fresh tuna ceviche.

One evening we took a large catamaran out for a sunset sail. Too bad the sailors decided to go over the reef and out into the open ocean. Out of the four couples on the boat, only one person (Chris) wasn't feeling incredibly queasy. Adventure!

We also took in the culinary delites of the island. A few nights we found places to eat on the scooter we rented (we also went around the entire island on the scooter), but other nights we took advantage of free pick ups that local restaurants offered. We definitely ate some of the best food of our lives. The tuna tartare was out of this world.

It was truly an amazing trip. It was both relaxing (we spent plenty of time in the pool, relaxing in our bungalow and on the resort's beach), but we also got to see the sights of the island and immerse ourselves in a new, island culture.

Airline(s):

American from OKC to LAX

Air Tahiti Nui LAX to Papeete, Tahiti

Hotel(s):

Papeete, Tahiti - Le Meridien

Moorea - Intercontinental