Good thing I'm not travelling for Thanksgiving

Especially given all of the controversy surrounding the TSA's screen process.


What are your thoughts?!

My NYC Favorites

Hey all! Sorry it's been so long - work has been keeping me crazy busy and I'm without internet at home. I spent last weekend in my favorite place ever, the great state of New York, and realized I haven't written to much about my picks for a great time in NYC. Sooooo, here ya go!

Gray's Papaya - Great cheap drunk food AND great cheap (sober) lunch

La Mela - Best family style restaurant in Little Italy

Fanelli's Cafe - Great spot to grab a burger and recharge while shopping in Soho

Vosges - Best chocolate shop in the city

Gansevoort - Rooftop party!!!! :)

Hotel Venus - Patricia Field's store. One of the most interesting clothing shops you'll ever go into

Girl Props - cheap costume, funky, and even cheeky costume jewelry!

Victor's Cafe - Granted, I've only been here once, but my family has been going for years, so you know it's good Cuban food.

And that's just a few. Gotta head back to work - if I think of more I'll add 'em later!

Is the rent really that high?!

Jimmy McMillan, running for governor of New York (my lovely home state) with the platform that "the rent is too damn high," might be a bit of a hypocrite. The New York Post (questionable news source - I know) uncovered that McMillan pays $800 a month for his 1 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. This begs the question - if his rent is not that high, what is he complaining about?! Maybe he should take his platform to the state of California, where the San Jose area boasts the highest average rents in the country. According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, my current home, the Washington DC area, has the third highest average rent. The New York City area came in 6th. Some good news for McMillan, the Buffalo - Niagara Falls area had the second lowest average rent of any city. Someone may need to do some more research ;)

AirTran merging with Southwest Airlines

If you enjoy traveling like me, you're always on the lookout for the best airfare deals. Consistently, I have found cheap flights and good customer service on AirTran the past two years. The major plus is that they fly out of the airport closest to me, Reagan National. I have also flown on Southwest, but they only fly out of BWI.

Well, it seems I might be able to "move about the country," as Southwest says, more easily because they are buying AirTran. What does this mean? According to this article in the NYT, Southwest will be filling the holes in their service, which AirTran currently flies to - like Atlanta (the nation's largest airport) and the Caribbean. Since both airlines were discount rivals, prices will of course stay low.

My only question... what will happen to my AirTran rewards?!?! I'm halfway to a free one way flight!!!

CHICAGO - my other adventures

My trip to Chicago wasn't all about eating! I did do a number of other things.

Navy Pier - the first night we were there was the last Navy Pier fireworks show of the season. I'm usually not too fond of touristy places but didn't mind the nice weather and slow paced stroll down the pier. Theres lots of vendors and things to see all along the Pier - and the ferris wheel looks pretty sweet, but I did not take a ride on it. Onto the fireworks. They were awesome! Although the show was a little short, it was set to music and was pretty awesome.

Wrigley Field - Yup, Wrigley made it onto my food and adventures lists for Chicago. Went there to see the Cubs play the Mets, and although we were rooting for the Cubs, the mets won 18-5. Exciting game. And Wrigleyville is pretty awesome. The bars near the stadium have seats on top so you can see the game -- FROM THE BAR! We only stopped by 1 bar and tried a good local beer - 312.

Millenium Park - Very beautiful green space, interesting water features and fountains, and THE BEAN! Really really nice.

John Hancock Tower - we went up to the observatory first (on the 94th floor) but I'd recommend you save your money and use it on drinks at the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor. Great views of the city, tasty cocktails... and the elevator ride up is only 40 seconds! Worth facing my fear of heights for.

City architecture by night Cruise - Like I said before, I'm not too into touristy things, but I've heard so much about the architecture that I had to get past it and go on a tour cruise. We opted for the nighttime one since the city is so much nicer lit up, and it was really cool to learn all about the history of Chicago. My favorite - the Chicago Tribune building.

Side note: They don't call it the windy city for nothin'... BRING PANTS and wear them if you know it's going to be windy. It's no fun trying to walk around the city while trying to keep your skirt from blowing up.

My next trip to Chicago - I don't know when but hopefully sometime soon. Since a lot of time was spent relaxing, next time I'm definitely taking in the nightlife :)

Gettin' outta DC for a few days

I have 6 pairs of shoes and 12 outfits packed for....... 4 days in Chicago with the boy! I'll be sure to come back with lots of stories of my adventures :)

look to the right!

my tweets are now on the right sidebar of the blog. check 'em out :)

More reason to dislike American Airlines

It's a long story, but based on a certain travel experience, I have an extreme dislike for American Airlines. Here's another thing to add to the list of things I find wrong with them -- they are now charging more for the seats closest to the front exit of the plane, calling them "Express Seats."


Read more HERE

I haven't done enough traveling this year...

I'm going to Chicago Labor Day Weekend :) So excited!

I'm all for indulging in a few spirits before flying

but is this taking it too far?

Gawker's take on this WSJ story is pretty funny, but it's definitely something to think about. Yes, airports need to make more money, but is pushing booze on passengers the way to do it? I usually get to the airport a little early so I can have a drink or two before my flight, and if my layover is a few hours I'll hit up the bar closest to my departing gate, so I know they're making some good money off of me. However, I've never been on a flight that's been delayed because of a drunk unruly passenger, but I can imagine it is quite unpleasant. Do you think 24 hour alcohol sales at airports will increase the number of unruly drunk passengers?

I must admit though, last time I flew, I arrived at DFW at 8am and was quite excited to see all the bars were open ;)

PS - Gawker mentioned the lost wallet while travelling. That's the WORST.

NEW BLOG FORMAT

If you are reading this, then you know I've switched over from runraquelrun.blogspot.com (don't click it won't work) to raquelwrites.blogspot.com I figured I had a lot more to say about a lot of different topics - and this would give me a lot more freedom. Don't worry though, runraquelrun is not gone from your lives forever - all posts relating to HEALTH topics will be labelled runraquelrun. As for the other things I plan on writing about, here is how they will be tagged...

FOOD: raquelwantsseconds
FASHION: workitraquel
TRAVEL: raqstarworldtour

Hope you enjoy!

My Trip to Puerto Rico!..

I've been meaning to write about my trip for a while but things have been pretty hectic at work since I've been back. I'm just finally getting a few moments to breathe and get to all the things I've been meaning to do for a week.

I'll stop complaining - I just had the most relaxing vacation. After feeling overworked for quite some time I called my mom saying I've had enough - and that's where the idea for my trip came from. I took 3 days to get away from everything, FAR FAR AWAY, and it was so amazing I don't think I could have been stressed out even if I tried.

I had my first ever massage and facial, which were amazing. I spent as much time as possible by the pool and came back a little red :) My resort was right on the ocean so it was nice to be on the beach as well. Had myself quite a few pina coladas and some tasty Puerto Rican food. And not to sound cheesy - I felt such a sense of pride being there since I am half Puerto Rican. I feel a desire to go back and learn more about the culture. All in all a great trip.

I think it's important for everyone to take some time to themselves, whether it be going on a trip to somewhere beautiful like I did, or just a few days off of work. Though, I do recommend getting as far away from everything as possible. Just think about it, you could be here: