Key West, the best place to visit

Key West is simply the best place you could visit, bottom line. All the perks of island living without having to step on a boat or pack your passport. However if you do have a passport, bring it to City Hall and they will stamp it with the Conch Republic Stamp. Just a four hour drive south from my home in South Florida, its the southernmost point in the continental United States. Sun, ocean waves, cold beer and a laid back evolved island atmosphere make for a great time. Last year I celebrated my "Dirty 30" and rang in the New Year here along with Key West's famous drag queen Sushi. Who dropped from a giant shoe at midnight. Key West is known for its Fantasy Fest celebration Halloween weekend. However the best time to visit is The Conch Republic Independence Celebration weekend around mind April. This is the best time to feel the true spirit of Key West and its citizens. Twice by accident, years apart I came on this weekend and now its my favorite time to visit. Key West got the name Conch Republic after if broke from the United States April 23rd 1982 in protest of illegal search of cars on the major artery in and out of the island. The Documentary Cocaine Cowboys about the Miami drug trade takes place around the same time(fun fact). Foxy's Favorites in Key West. Best Food: Hogfish, a seafood dive restaurant off the beaten path. Best View: Louis Backyard, a restaurant near the southern most point. A bit pricey but good food and a great view. Best Hotel: Southernmost Hotel Connection. includes several hotels on a manmade private beach, cool pools, hopping pool bars and a beachfront café. They are pricy so I stay at the cheaper ones across the street that gives you access to the pools and beach. I have also stayed at one of their bed and breakfast hotels on the property. Best Breakfast/Brunch: Southernmost Café. Best Dessert: Better Than Sex Dessert Restaurant. Best Bar: Garden Of Eden. This is a rooftop clothing optional bar above Bull Bar. Yes I said clothing optional. They do body painting here, a Key West staple. Best activity: Fury Sunset booze cruise. Key West is also known for the amazing sunset. Best places to see the sunset are on a Booze cruise or wine tasting sunset sail. On land the best places are Mallory Square and top of the highest hotel La Concha.

Viva Las Vegas! Foxy's Favoriates

One of my most favorite places in the world is Las Vegas. I like to think of it as Disney World for grown ups. Sin City has something for everyone, even a non gambling Vegas history nerd like me. On my first trip a few years ago I stayed in an apartment off the strip for 8 days, than on subsequent trips I stayed in hotels on the strip and shortened the trip to about 4 days. Pictures do this city no justice. One of the must do things in Vegas is simply walk around in every hotel on the strip. Each hotel has spent millions of dollars to out do one another over and over again. Every hotel has a magnificent theme such as Paris, Venice and New York. Everything you have heard about the buffets and food in general is true. All hotels are linked together making walking around easy especially during the hot Nevada summer. Vegas is very safe, you wont even see a peace of garbage on the sidewalk or chipped paint on the side of a building. The shows alone could keep a non gambler busy for days. Foxy's Favorites t Best dinner Buffett: The Auria Hotel, Crab legs are scored by what seems like a laser which enables you to eat more faster and wine is included. Best Brunch: Bellagio buffet Best Cheap breakfast: The Orleans buffet Best Lunch: "The Bobbie" from Capriotti's Sandwich Shop. The Bobby is homemade pulled turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayo all on a sub. I normally would never recommend a franchise restaurant but that Thanksgiving sub is truly amazing, plus they have about 20 locations around Vegas. Best late night hang out: The Fireside Longue in the Peppermill. You can sit in the booth Sharon Stone sat in or sip the "girly" drink Anthony Bourdain ordered at the bar. Best Bar: Minus 5 Ice bar located in Mandalay Bay and The Monte Carlo. This bar is made all of ice, and the glasses are even solid blocks of ice. They give you a parka and boots to put on while in the bar. This bar is more of a novelty but fun none the less. Drinks are expensive and its cold! Best Show: "O" tickets are expensive but well worth the money. Best Budget friendly Show: Zumanity. This show really represents the spirit of Las Vegas. Night Life: On my first trip I googled "vegas club promoters" and found one that got me into any club I wanted for free. I am not into the club scene but really wanted to go to the ionic Playboy Club. The promoter got me and some friends on the guest list to 3 clubs over 2 days. Melissa's Must Do's: Visit the Grand Canyon. I rented a car and drove the 4 hrs one way and back. See the Bellagio Fountains at night. Take touristy pics at the Las Vegas sign. Located near the airport its a park type area with parking spaces. See the view of the strip from the top of the Stratosphere. Also the location of the best adrenalin seeking rides. Visit Fremont Street, location of the old Las Vegas strip. Redone to attract tourists but still has a lot of old Vegas feel. Have authentic gelato at the Venetian Hotel. Ride the New York Cab rollercoaster at New York,New York hotel. Visit the Sign Bone Yard: This is where signs from the old Vegas are laid to rest. Recommended reading for the flight When the Mob ran Vegas by Steve Fischer. Awesome book about 50's and 60's vegas

Date a boy who travels.....

A few months ago I came across a Huff Post story titled "Date a boy who travels". I liked it so much it brought tears to my eyes. I have read the article about a dozen times now, every time it renews the feeling in my heart that my MR right is out there. This time I went on to read the comments made in response to the article. I should have not done that. Every comment was about how every boy who travels is a trust fund hippie loser. Obviously written by jealous ignorant people. Comment after comment about how only rich people could possibly travel. That has not been my experience at all, nor am I rich. Everyone I have met has been a hardworking middle class person with a dream made reality due to hard work. Everyone I have met is just like myself. We collect memories and experiences not things. How else could you live out of a bag for weeks to months at a time. I live in a one bedroom apartment, drive an old Hyundai that is paid off and work 2 jobs as a nurse. My passion for traveling the world surpasses my want for the newest gadget. I don't have cable and don't even own a computer. All my blogging is done from a 5yr old netbook.(fun fact) When you have a passion burning in your heart you find a way to make it work. Someone who dreams every night about family and kids will find a way to make that work. We just dream of traveling instead of those typical things society says we should want. Everyone in this country has access to education and makes life decisions based on what they want and deem obtainable. Travel like collage is not an immediate gratification it takes hard work and sacrifice to save the money. I save all year long for that one trip per year. A girl can have everything just not all at once.

Religion & Spirituality: Foxys views

I often get an odd look and rude comment when people whom though they know me learn I am both religious and spiritual. Yes people do apparently still judge you based on these topics still till this day.These comments hurt me to the core. How could I not believe in a higher power when I see miracles everyday for a living and, also see immense sadness almost daily. How could I run a 1/2 marathon or walk in the footsteps of Cesar at the Roman Forum and not know a god exists. I have seen unexplainable miracles happen to people of every religion, no one religion over the other. Traveling in of its self has benefited me spirituality. I've seen buildings and art works older than Christianity. For these reasons I believe there is only one religion that we all observe differently. Extremes a side, every religion has them. Through all our differences we are all human, the higher species. I would consider myself more spiritual than religious. Coming from a New York Italian Catholic family and being raised Christian. I focus more on my personal relationship with god than conforming to any one organized religion. I know in my heart the difference between right and wrong and what god wants for me. Sometimes like everyone I still need some guidance and the feeling of being a part of a community is a basic human need.

Training for my first 1/2 marathon, Disney Princess 13.1

On the "oh shit I am turning 30 bucket list" right next to travel Paris was: Run and finish the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon. It took only two months to get to Paris but it took eight months of training to run the 1/2 marathon. It proved to be one of the hardest most rewarding things I have ever done. At the start of training I was only able to run three seconds at a time, before getting bored and out of breath. Did I mention I hate running?? Before taking on the 13.1 I did a ton of research. I came across a few books by Jeff Galloway an Olympic runner. These books helped me immensely, His run/walk/run method was exactly what I needed to train and finish the 1/2 marathon. I downloaded a free app and started run/walk/running my way to the finish line. As I got bored with the routine I would add more time to the run portion. In February 2014 I finished the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon injury free. My greatest accomplishment since graduating Nursing school. The experience taught me so much about myself as well as challenged my knowledge on nutrition and chafing. Long story short... you don't know chafing until you have run a 1/2 marathon or greater... bottom line Foxy's advice: When running any Disney race, If at all possible submit your timing to get into a good corral. Or else you will be stuck running around thousands of walkers like me, in the back. Staying at a Disney resort gives you free transportation at 4am to the race and at 6am for your family .I stayed at one of the cheaper ones off site. Training advice Follow a program that has you running every other day and building up miles slowly. I made a vision bard with the program I was following and glued inspirational pictures, words and quotes. This helped me really picture myself crossing that finish line. Non running days are Cross training days, perfect for playing sports or going to hot yoga. You are suppose to do weight training on these days but I chose to play softball, kickball and do Hot yoga. All things I regularly do anyway. Hot yoga wound up being the best cross training activity I could have done to prepare for running in the Florida heat. Most people at some point will have to do weight training to build up muscles to withstand running that distance. I started having severe lower back pain, that was alleviated by weight training of my lower back and new shoes. Speaking of shoes get evaluated by a professional at a running store. My lower back pain was largely due to wearing the wrong shoes for my gait. best $120 I ever spent. I highly recommend sports messages, Epson salt baths and a daily NSAID for soreness. At one point I had four sports messages in one week. Best supplements Being the nerdy nurse I am, I did lots of research on sports nutrition. The best 2 supplements I found are Accelerade sports drink (before and during) and Endurox muscle recovery (after). These supplements made a huge impact on my endurance and muscle soreness. I use them for all high impact sports days and sometimes after a really long strenuous shift at work. I also used Quench gum to keep my mouth moist and GU Gels and chews. Your sports bra is the best hiding place for your gels. For chafing I recommend Gold Bod spray powder, Body glide and good old fashioned Vaseline. Carbs the night before and protein the morning of. Think everyone knows that. My breakfast of choice is Greek yogurt, a hard boiled egg and a banana. The same breakfast I have every morning at work. Do not try anything new the morning of the race or during the race, or you will be sorry.

Contiki vs Topdeck

My next bucket list destination is the Greek Islands. One year to the day of my last trip I will be arriving in Athens, Greece (October 2014). I chose to go with Topdeck for this trip. Topdeck has a tour better suited to me for less money. The Contiki tour is either 8 or 12 days, living on a cruise ship for the island hopping portion and spends 4 days in Athens. Topdeck offers 10 days all on land between Athens and 3 Greek Islands, spending only 3 days in Athens. This tour just appealed to me more. Traveling is about experiencing culture and that seems hard to do when all your meals and nights are spent on a cruise ship. It's important for me to emerge myself in the culture as much as possible when traveling. From the reviews I have read online it seems Topdeck is the same type of tour with one exception.... the age limit is 39 instead of 35. This is a major pro because at 31 I am always the oldest girl on the tour. Only problem was when I went to book with my travel agent he tried to talk me out of Topdeck and go with Contiki. he said "its a product you know". So beware it seems Conkiki offers better commission for travel agents. That would explain the lower price. Also its an Australian company with offices in Australia and London, so you will have to call your credit card company when booking for it to go through. Topdeck required you to have travelers insurance which cost me $96.00 and covers everything from cancelation, loss baggage, life insurance and emergency evacuation. Small price to pay for peace of mind. With topdeck you have to find your own airfare but that's fine because I always do anyway about 3 months before. With Contiki you are able to book and lock in your trip with airfare for a deposit, full payment due 30 days before the trip.

Contiki Italian Espresso Tour 2013 Review

10 months after my first Contiki Tour I was back in Europe, this time Italy. With the sir name Fontana it was especially important for me to see this awesome country. The Tour started as they all do, meet your tour in the hotel lobby followed by dinner and bonding over way to many drinks and dancing in Rome. Our flight arrived at 9am putting us at the hotel early enough to nap and shower before the 5pm meeting with the tour. This was especially cool considering the hotel check in time wasn't until 3pm. Every hotel on this tour had the smallest bathroom with smallest shower I have ever seen. Welcome to European living Foxy! Non of the public bathrooms had toilet seats and you had to pay 1 euro to use them. This is a common practice in Europe as well as a sitting fee and bread fee when having dinner. Not a big deal considering most of your dinners are with the contiki group and that's all covered. The Italian coffee is espresso and when ordering one finish it in one shot and leave to avoid the "sitting fee." More than once a few of us had lunch in the alley on the ground. These differences are all part of the experience. The tour was mid October making it the perfect time of year, light jacket in the mornings is all you needed. The tour wound up being 80% Americans, Australians, Canadians, and South Africans (just a guess). We also had about 10 couples honeymooning. I would not recommend Contiki for every honeymoon couple considering the hotels are not that great and you don't get a lot of free time or privacy. All of our couples were super cool so I doubt they cared. Two of the couples are now pregnant so apparently there was free time...lol The tour guide "Christina Contiki" was #fantastico. She was so knowledgeable, and pleasant. She truly loves her job and it shows. She went out of her way to recommend and even put tickets on her personal credit card for the free time activities. When leaving one of the clubs all you had to say was " Christina Contiki" to the bouncer and he would get you a cab and even tell the driver what hotel to take you to. She went out of her way to make sure we were safe. After the cab drama in Paris on my previous trip it was reassuring and allowed me to enjoy the night. We did everything the brochure promised and more. Christina had optional activities we could do as a group and dinners arranged for a set price. This was especially awesome for me because I prefer to stay in a group and meet people. Every night at dinner I would sit at a different table to mingle. The group dinners were good but could have been better. People who went off on their own had better food experiences, sure they also paid a lot more as well. If you are adventurous and love Italian food I recommend venturing off on your own. The walking tours of Florence and Venice were nice but I could have done the same "walking tour" in a small group for free. Melissa's must dos: Coliseum Roman Forum Sistine Chapel Vatican City THE DAVID!!! in Florence (on free day) Group photo in Florence Gondola ride in Venice Bellini in Venice preferably at Harry's bar St Marks square Venice Murano Glass factory Venice Leaning tower od Pisa My favorite city on the tour was Florence. I loved everything about this city. Venice was my least favorite I felt it was to touristy. people who have spent more time in Venice had better experiences. I recommend staying an extra day in Venice if possible. Just to wonder around and explore the culture. This tour really only spends one good day in Venice. When the tour ended in venice I took the free transfer back to Rome. The free transfer is the contiki bus all the way back, takes about 6 hrs. Guess the bus has to go back to Rome anyway. About 10 out of the 50 of us took the free transfer to catch our flights the next morning. This gave us an extra night to explore Rome in a smaller group. we all went to dinner and walked around the city. Contiki arranged the extra night in the same hotel for $80. I still recommend staying in Venice if possible. Cons The only cons are that some of the activities seemed to be more of sales pitches to get you to spend money at that particular place. Leather making demo was just an excuse to get you in the store to spend money, same as the glass blowing demo and wine tour. Not sure if the tour guide or contiki makes commission but it sure seems so. Europe has strict driving rules so you take stops at old towns that seem pretty pointless. Think its a chance for the driver to take a break and eat. Sitting fees at restaurants paying to use the public bathroom no toilet seats anywhere Can only fit half your American body in the hotel showers at a time Best Pro of them all: Meeting 50 new friends from all over the world. We are all still in contact and have plans on meeting soon. As a general rule Contiki travelers are the coolest, craziest people you will ever meet.

Contiki London/Paris Review

Contiki London/Paris Winter 2013 was my first trip, so its only fitting that I would make it my first official blog entry. Like many I had always wanted to travel but was full of excuses as to why I couldn't. A friend of mine whom is well traveled told me about Contiki Tours. Traveling with a tour that gives you a roommate solved the excuse of having no one to travel with. With my 30th birthday approaching I was running out of time to take suck a trip. Two months before the dreaded three-zero I quit my job as a staff nurse and took a position as a travel nurse. With the vacation time I had accrued at my old job I paid in full for my dream trip. My lifelong dream was to see the Eiffel tower. First stop was London England. I had no idea how in love with this city I would fall. As an American it was so fascinating to see where our ancestors came from. That first night we all met in the hotel lobby, had dinner and took a walking tour of the local pubs. It was cold and raining. Everything you think of when you think of London weather. The tour consisted of 50 of us. 90% Australians, a few Canadians, South Africans and Americans. The group bonded right away over warm beer at the local pub. My roommate was a 21 year old Australian college student whom wound up being way more responsible than I. These types of tours have something for everyone. Yes those other reviews are true saying there is a lot of drinking and hook ups. But not everyone was into that scene and you are free to choose. My old age caught up with me so I did a little of both. While in London we went to the Roman Bath Houses, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, rode the London Eye and even saw a show. Before we knew it we were on a trolley to Paris France. My fondest memory was riding in the coach with Candle in the Wind playing through the tunnel Princess Diana died. The end of the tunnel was our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. I was so happy and overwhelmed I cried. Next stop was right to the top of the tower of course. For 10 euro a few of us got a glass of champagne at the top and just took in the view while sipping the champagne. In the following days we saw Moulin Rogue, Caste of Versailles, Saw the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, got lost on the subway and went on a wild cab ride to the wrong hotel. On the free day the girls chose to go shopping and eat macrons while the boys went to the Catacombs. This tour was a 10 out of 10. It surpassed everything I could have ever imagined. My only complaint is that it was to short. The tour offers a Paris or Rome extension. I recommend doing the Paris extension and leaving Rome to another trip. A year later I am still in contact daily with many people I met on this tour.