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Travel Reviews, Rants, Advice & Other Dispatches from the Champagne Aisle
Welcome to my corner of the internet where travel isn’t always filtered, the opinions are very much my own, and yes—sometimes the Wi-Fi still doesn’t work, even at the $1,200-a-night resort.
This blog is part postcard, part journal, part gentle (and not-so-gentle) rant space.
And because I’m a former history teacher with opinions (and zero chill when it comes to disinformation), don’t be surprised if a post about Tuscan villas is followed by something on political hypocrisy, historical context, or why it’s time to start reading beyond the headlines.
This is where travel meets the rest of life—with humor, honesty, and the occasional eye-roll.
If you’re into luxury with a wink—and a few strong opinions—you’re in the right place.

Honest reviews of hotels, destinations, and experiences—because not everything that looks good on Instagram is worth your PTO

Practical travel advice that balances smart strategy with a love for the good life

Personal reflections on travel as a way of living, connecting, and sometimes just escaping

Occasional spicy takes on travel trends, tourist behavior, and why some people should not be allowed in business class
The Latest
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Anniversary Trip Lesson 2: Redemption Rate Trumps the Destination, Why I Stopped Overvaluing the Destination
As we continue through this series of lessons learned from booking our anniversary trip around the world, I want to discuss what I suppose will…
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What is Included in Long-Haul Business Class?
I recently helped my mother and stepfather book business class seats for their trip home from Barcelona. They are using Capital One points and transferring…
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Anniversary Vacation Booking Lesson #1: Using Credit Cards to Travel Luxuriously on a Budget
No, I am definitely not suggesting you pay for business class on credit cards and go into debt. Please don’t do that as it is…
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Booked! 10th Wedding Anniversary Vacay
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how we leveraged partner rewards to book flights to Asia. This was part of a larger upcoming…
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Transfer Partners: How we saved 10k Dollars and Hundreds of Thousands of Miles By Transferring Bank Points
Matt and I are in the early stages of planning our 10th wedding anniversary next summer. We have always discussed going on a special vacation…
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Wait, Other People Travel During the Summer Too? Solutions to Making Summer Travel More Pleasant
It is summertime so we are all subjected to persistent social media posts regarding how crowded Venice is, or how the lines to access Santorini…
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How to Thrive During a 9 Hour Delay at the Philadelphia Airport
I love living in Maine, but the problem with relying on a small regional airport for your travel is you are dealing with a small…
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Comparing the Business Class Experience on American Airlines and Air France
Flying international business class can be fun, but also very expensive. Several months ago, Matt and I took a trip to Barcelona, and we flew…
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XV Beacon Hotel Boston Review
Some time ago Matt and I had an early flight out of Boston Logan Airport. I decided to book us a hotel in Boston since…
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A Wellness Vacation: No Alcohol or Social Media and the Lesson Learned
Sorry in advance for the long post. A while ago Matt and I took a weeklong vacation to one of our favorite cities in Europe.…
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Don’t Spend a Fortune: Part 2!
Part 1 of this series explained the importance of balancing luxury with cost. You want to be able to kick back and enjoy a wonderful…
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Don’t Spend a Fortune: Luxury Travel on a Budget and Why a Realistic Budget Is Better (Part 1)
I have had conversations with a few people over the last several weeks regarding how expensive travel is. While I agreed with them, there…