TRIPPIN' WITH THE TRIP CHICKS®

TRIPPIN' WITH THE TRIP CHICKS®
Thanks for stopping by! The Trip Chicks® are two unconventional tour guides/travel agents with 25+ travel industry/airline years, mischief in 85+ countries, and a heap of travel (mis)adventures under our belts. Our goals? To educate, entertain, and help save you time, money, and stress on your next trip. Sometimes we digress. Happy travels!

Monday, April 25, 2011

New State Dept. Proposal Could Limit U.S. Passports


AN OPEN LETTER TO THE US STATE DEPARTMENT:

I was aghast to hear there is a possibility your office will require irrelevant personal data from U.S. passport applicants via the proposed new government Form DS-5513. The entire concept strikes me as an excuse to start a U.S. citizen future tracking system for all those applying for U.S. Passports. It is without question a bad, bad idea with major, adverse implications. How could your agency restrict or deny the right to travel freely outside our country to any American citizens who decide NOT to release such confidential information to you?

Why would your office need lifetime employment history details, information about a passport applicant's siblings, religion, the mother's address prior to an applicant's birth, etc. before granting a citizen of our country a rightful passport? The scrutiny of overseas-born persons applying to become naturalized American citizens is one thing, but forcing a law-abiding U.S. citizen to provide irrelevant data on a passport application is unreasonable. Such a practice reminds me almost of the bygone Iron Curtain era. Travel is one of our most precious freedoms as citizens, and passports are our right.

Future U.S. passport applicants are applying for passports in order to TRAVEL out of our country. Their American passport applications have nothing to do with the top secret security clearance paperwork regularly required for sensitive government positions. Our country already has the western world's lowest rate of passport holders. If your office creates additional hurdles for U.S. passport applicants by implementing Form DS-5513, I am convinced it would be an improper use of your power as our federal passport agency.

Hindering international tourism is not the U.S. State Department's role. Imagine the likely impact on our own nation's commerce if other governments worldwide followed suit with their own version of DS-5513. What would be the economic effect on inbound U.S. tourism if, for example, European or Asian travelers were required to release such confidential information to their own passport offices before their documents were processed? As someone employed in the vital travel and tourism industry here in the U.S.A., I strongly doubt any of my stateside industry colleagues would support your proposal for Form DS-5513.

I urge you to throw out this ill-conceived proposal and focus your attentions on your real mission. Restricting our travel options and breaching U.S. citizens' confidentiality are out of line, and quite frankly, I am shocked to learn you are even considering Form DS-5513....If governments around the world choose to place restrictions on which travelers can enter their countries freely, that is the prerogative of those governments. It is neither the State Department's responsibility nor right to impede an honest, law-abiding U.S. citizen's travel on the planet we share.

Sincerely,
Ann Lombardi
Tour guide, travel agent, U.S. voter, and long-time traveler

***ATTENTION U.S. Readers: April 25th (today) is the last day to voice your thoughts on passport Form DS-5513. Send an email now to: GarciaAA@state.gov

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Only 7 Days Left to Win Your Dream Trip Worth $10K!



Hope your week is off to a great start, but hey! Wouldn't it be amazing to score really big by the end of the month? Travel dreams do come true; it could happen to you....if you win the Sony $10K Getaway Giveaway to the dream destination of your choice! But don't put off writing us your virtual postcard. You don't have much time left to enter. Keep reading...

Imagine you're on your dream vacation and you're writing us a postcard from that special destination. In your card, share where you are and what you're reading. Then have some fun describing all the great things you're enjoying on your fabulous vacation. Make us green with envy. We'd love it if one of OUR readers snagged this grand prize. But remember: the contest deadline is Tuesday April 19th, only one week from today! So go ahead and fill out the entry form on the pink, black, and white Sony widget above this post. Include your information as well as your English language essay in 400 words or less. In the meantime, we'll be crossing our fingers for you. Good luck and happy travels!

~Ann Lombardi & Wendy Swartzell
The Trip Chicks®

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Travel Dreams Will Come True! It Could Happen to You...




If you're the lucky winner of the Sony® Reader™ $10K Getaway Giveaway! What's top on your bucket list? Dreaming of Antarctica, Thailand, Peru, or Switzerland? Dying to experience Tanzania, Brazil, the Galapagos, Italy, Australia, Costa Rica or...? You could soon find yourself whisked away to a place great travel memories are made. We're partnering with Sony® to give you a chance to score a whopping $10,000 for your own dream vacation.

Just write us an online postcard imagining you're already visiting that once-in-a-lifetime getaway, and yes! Then you could be on your way to vacation magic. So don't delay! You know that vacation is long overdue. What better way to plan your escape than with a $10K travel expense budget, thanks to the generosity of the good folks at Sony®. You'll also snag a Reader Pocket Edition™ for you and a friend, plus a $100 Reader™ Store Gift Card. In addition, we’ll pick one person submitting an online postcard through The Trip Chicks® blog to win a Reader Pocket Edition and a $25 Reader Store card.

Now close your eyes and dream about an eye-popping destination long on your wish list. You may enter as often as you wish, but remember: each entry must be unique. Hurry! The contest ends on April 19, 2011, and a lucky winner'll be announced by May 1, 2011. Here's what else you need to know:

How to Enter

Entry Period: April 5 – April 19, 2011

Imagine you’re enjoying your dream vacation. It could be any place on the planet. Write us a creative postcard from that special destination. Tell us where you are and what you brought along with you to read. Share what cool things you’re up to there, what you're plan to do and see, and who's your lucky travel companion. Paint us a vivid picture. If you make us envious, you will have done your job!

Winner Selection

Voting period: April 20 – April 26, 2011

Visitors to www.readergetawaygiveaway.com will vote for their favorite entries one time per entry per day during the voting period

The person whose postcard receives the most public votes by April 26th on www.readergetawaygiveaway.com will be awarded the grand prize including:

•$10,000 travel stipend
•two Reader™ Pocket Editions
•$100 in Reader™ Store gift cards

Good luck! We hope you win one for The Trip Chicks®. Happy travels!

~Ann Lombardi & Wendy Swartzell

Monday, April 4, 2011

Jewel of the North: The Land of Ice and Fire


For a really unconventional getaway, treat yourself to Iceland, the "Northern Jewel of Europe," only a six-hour flight from Orlando. The Trip Chicks did, and discovered a surreal place of ice and steam, gurgling hot springs, rugged lava fields, and welcoming Nordic people.

Home to 40 percent of Iceland's 280,000 inhabitants, the delightfully uncongested capital Reykjavik boasts an appealing mix of city attractions, clean air, pristine natural sights, international cuisine, and hot night life. Our middle-aged intuition told us to forego the latter and concentrate instead on the low-key side of Reykjavik. An imposing downtown statue of beloved native son Leif Erikson, the first European to set foot on American soil 1,000 years ago, stands guard over this northernmost world capital. Nearby, the massive Hallgrims Lutheran Church stretches heavenward and on a clear day, offers a splendid 100-mile view.

Dorothea Larusdottir, our new Icelandic friend, led us through the narrow Reykjavik backstreets, along centuries-old houses topped with corrugated iron. There's not a tree in sight, we heard, because axe-wielding Vikings chopped down forests long ago and used the wood for fuel and mighty ships.

"Ann couldn't find you in the telephone book, Dorothea," Wendy said, as we ambled through the old town. Dorothea grinned, "Let me tell you about our Icelandic family name tradition." We passed a troop of proud parents toting their newly-baptized babies, pink-cheeked cherubs in flowing white gowns.

"My family name, 'Larusdottir,' translates as daughter of Larus," Dorothea explained. "My dad's first name is ‘Larus.’ Icelandic children take their father's first name for their last name and add either 'son' or 'daughter' at the end. So, my brother's family name is slightly different from mine because it has another ending." We were surprised to find out that names in Iceland are alphabetized in the phone directory by first names rather than by last.

Our stomachs were growling noisily as we headed to the busy indoor farmers' market. There we sampled Icelandic tastebud ticklers like dried fish, morsels of lamb, and an assortment of licorice, some creatively covered with coarse salt. Open-minded as we are about food, we felt somehow a tad suspicious when Dorothea steered us to her neighbor's fish stall. "Try these," she winked, handing us four dime-sized, unidentifiable beige chunks which were skewered on toothpicks. She giggled in rapid-fire Icelandic to her pal behind the fish stand.

A small group of curious shoppers soon gathered to watch the action. We quickly downed the mysterious, ammonia-smelling cubes, without a groan or grimace. "You both are now honorary Vikings!" cheered Dorothea, surprised at our hardy American stomachs. The crowd applauded our feat. It seems we had just eaten raw, fermented shark meat, which is covered with rocks in a deep hole for two months. Then it is hung to dry in a shed for another three or four. We politely took a rain check on the "Black Death," a bitter Icelandic schnapps said to be the perfect way to cap a shark meat snack.

The next day we peeked into shops with colorful Icelandic woolens and munched on more licorice. Then it was time to explore the most photographed site in all of Iceland: the Blue Lagoon. Sharing the 30-minute cab ride with a bubbly Norwegian woman we met by chance at lunch, our excitement grew as we drove by black lunar-like lava fields sprinkled with green moss.

Not far in the distance, we spotted that much-photographed plume of thick steam. Desperate to escape the frigid air after changing into our swimsuits, we raced from the lockers to the water and quickly took the plunge. Imagine swimming in a milky blue, mineral-rich lagoon, heated by geothermal energy more than 5,000 feet underground. The slippery warm water was exquisitely soothing. Scooping up chalky clay silt from underneath our feet, we slathered it over our faces like the natives do, hoping it quickly would work its magic so we could depart as beauty queens. Around us, happy tourists and locals alike splashed, relaxed and rejuvenated. Bundled up in their insulated red jackets, lifeguards in ski caps reminded us of the Icelandic version of a scene straight out of "Baywatch."

The next day our long-awaited "Golden Circle" tour beckoned. The 8-hour daytrip whisked us away by bus from the core of the city to the heart of inner Iceland. At Thingvellir National park, site of the world's first parliament in 930 A.D., we stood at the edge of a huge rift of tectonic plates, a dramatic valley dividing North America and Eurasia. A stone's throw away were the thundering Gullfoss waterfalls and a lively geyser, one of the country's most active hot springs. Every few minutes, boiling sulphur water exploded high into the air while awestruck tourists gasped at mother nature's display.

With stunning fjords, crackling glaciers, and energetic geysers, unspoiled Iceland is a nature-lover's dream. Yet we had barely scratched the surface of this European land so close to our shores. "Takk," Iceland, for your lingering warmth and beauty. We know we will return.


IF YOU GO: www.icetourist.is
www.goiceland.org

~by Wendy Swartzell & Ann Lombardi

The Trip Chicks®