We should probably keep track of our miles.

(Maybe I’ll create a contest to see who comes closest to guessing the total number of air miles logged by the CTP team! Who wants to play?)

Suffice it to say, we’ve put in a LOT of miles this year. I asked my team members to each share their list of destinations visited in 2015, along with some favorite anecdotes, meals, photos, incidents and memories.

Howard Wise has traveled to Napa, Ft. Lauderdale, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, Italy (Capri, Sorrento & the Amalfi Coast), Turkey, Greece, London, Amsterdam, a Rhine river cruise to multiple cities in Germany plus Strasbourg in France.

My best meal:

We had gone to Ristorante Donna Sofia in Sorrento to do a quick site inspection for a group dinner later that evening. The owner insisted we stay for lunch. So glad we did!  Best pasta ever – and an incredible dessert:

Dessert of the Year at the Donna Sofia in Sorrento!

Moon over Ephesus, Turkey.

Her “list” includes Napa (both for business and bachelorette party – for which she has not provided any photos!), honeymoon to Spain (Barcelona, Seville, Granada & Madrid), Turkey & Greek cruise (Istanbul, Ephesus, Symi, Santorini, Mykonos & Athens), Barcelona (on business this time!), Prague, Budapest and Vienna – with a “whoops” detour through France and Geneva (described below).

My best travel memory:
Because of James’ schedule (he’s a surgical resident), we rarely get time to travel together so we wanted to have an adventurous honeymoon trip.  Navigating our way from Barcelona to Seville to Granada to Madrid was so much fun. Spain will always be a special place for us!

My best meal(s):
I love food, so this is not an easy one! A lunch at Pantelis in Symi, Greece, included an interactive cooking demo at this small harborside restaurant named after the chef. Everyone contributed to an authentic Greek family-style lunch. The food, fun and friends created one of the best meals of 2015.

Second choice is a restaurant in Istanbul called Duble Meze Bar. I ate here with my colleagues the night before one of our incentive programs kicked off – so it was technically a “staff meeting!” The tapas-style plates were delicious and the views over the Bosporus were stunning.

My most coincidental incident:
When Howard and I were traveling back to Istanbul from Athens, waiting at the gate, he was grumbling about something or another. I told him, “If we stay positive, they might just bump us up to business class.” Moments later, they called our names and upgraded us!

My best souvenir:
My fridge magnets, of course!

My fridge magnet memories; James & the “Jesus Room” in Seville on our honeymoon; view from my room overlooking the Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona.

 

My best photo(s):

Some of my favorite photos of 2015 (clockwise, from top left): Fishing boat in Symi, Parliament in Budapest, drummers at our gala farewell in Athens, morning fog on the Danube.

So I had to figure it out by myself. Mine was the last non-stop flight of the day, and all the connecting flights that evening or the next day were either full or outrageously expensive. Trains? Nope – not an option.

The helpful lady at the airport (yes – helpful people do exist!) joked that I could rent a car and drive there. Google told me it was 16+ hours to drive to Prague. Yikes! But I was running short of options!

At the rental car counter I inquired about dropping off in Prague. Not an option.

“What about Munich?” Nope.

“Frankfurt?”

Nope. “Still Germany,” he replied.

“Ok then, what about Zurich, or Geneva?”

“Yes, you can drop off in Switzerland.” Bingo!

Back at the airline ticket counter, I booked a flight to Prague, departing from Geneva the next morning.

Back at the rental car counter, the guy asked for a credit card and my ID. Whoops! I had applied for a new license in my married name just before I left the country so my license had a big hole punched through the expiration date! He handed it back to me, saying, “We can’t rent to temporary license holders.” My heart sunk.

“But I feel bad for you and I’ll make an exception.” I almost jumped over the counter to hug him! He added a GPS device to the contract, assuming, for some reason, that I might need it. I hurried out to the car and began my first solo international travel adventure – a 7-hour drive to Geneva. My emotions alternated between excitement and panic (“What the #%*# am I doing?”). The drive was scenic and easy. No problems at border crossings. No missed turns or incidents. Close to Geneva Airport, I rented a room for the night, turned in the car the next morning and checked in with plenty of time to catch my flight.

All in all – as embarrassing as it was to miss my flight – I was proud to have found a creative solution!

Aloha from Maui!