Another year comes to a close. 2015 was a weird year for us and on one hand I’m honestly so happy for this year to come to an end. We spent the better part of the year apart with Tim in Afghanistan, our 16 year old cat abruptly became sick and now is in kidney failure, and quitting my job to focus on our business full time didn’t go exactly – or at all – as planned. On the other hand and despite the constant stream of things that just seemed to go wrong, as I reflect on our 2015 year in review I have to admit that I managed to have some incredible adventures.
It was a much slower year than past years. I only visited 14 countries and added 3 new ones: Romania, Luxembourg and The Bahamas. Tim only traveled on a handful of trips with me and even though we think it’s better to travel with the one you love, life and work go on even when your husband goes off to defend your country. But between feeling incredibly lonely with my other half away and spending the better part of the summer caring and cuddling my sick kitty, I didn’t travel much other than for projects and press trips. I just didn’t have it in me.
2016 is definitely going to be another weird year for us. We can’t give you the details yet because we don’t even know all of them ourselves, but we can tell you that we’re moving and leaving Italy. And we already have a handful of projects on our calendar that will take us to at least three continents in the new year. Curious? You’ll just have to stay tuned, so make sure you’re following us on Facebook and Instagram and stopping by the blog.
Back to that 2015 year in review. This year really was the year of mishaps for me. Nothing dangerous happened like being robbed or anything that couldn’t just be laughed off later, but it was a series of stupid mistakes a frequent and professional traveler like myself should never make. So I’ve picked my favorite Instagram photos from this year’s adventures and I’ll tell you about the just dumb things that happened so you can be a much smarter cookie on your own adventures. Get ready for a laugh…
Losing My Debit Card
The worst thing that happened was definitely losing my debit card. This normally wouldn’t be a huge deal, except Tim had just gone off to Afghanistan and I was three days in to a 24 day trip to Spain and France. I don’t even honestly know how or where I lost it. I had taken cash out at an ATM in Llloret de Mar, where I was speaking at the TBEX conference, on my way to lunch with a friend.
As I opened my wallet to pay for dinner a few nights later, I immediately noticed that the slot where it always is was empty. European ATMs won’t give you the cash until you remove the card, but I even went back to the ATM to get its number and call just in case. I also went back to the restaurant where I’d had lunch to see if I’d left the card there. I went to the bank where the ATM was and asked them to check the machine just to be sure the card hadn’t somehow been sucked in to the machine. I even went to the Lloret de Mar police station to see if I’d dropped it in the street and it had been turned in. Nothing.
I had about €100 in cash and I didn’t have a PIN for any of my credit cards to use them to take cash out. Thankfully my friends Bret and Erin from Our Tasty Travels and Leah Travels both let me send them cash via PayPal and they withdrew cash for me to get through my trip.
Lesson learned: Always have at least one emergency credit card that you have a PIN for in case you need to use a credit card in order to get cash.
Losing My Contact Lens
The ombré Bay of Roses with its hidden beaches. Beautiful, no? #incostabrava
A photo posted by Luxe Adventure Traveler (@luxeadventuretrvlr) on
I apparently lost stuff a lot this year. Honestly, sometimes if my head weren’t screwed on. But this one really wasn’t my fault, I swear! After running all over smoky Lloret de Mar retracing my steps and praying I’d find my lost debit card, my eyes were completely dry when I got back to the hotel. I wear gas permeable contact lenses and when they’re dry after a long day, I know they can just fall right out of my eyes.
My hotel room had two sinks in the bathroom. The drain plug wouldn’t close in the one, so I purposely stood right over the other sink when taking my contacts out. But the contact fell out, bounced and I watched it go right down the drain of the sink that wouldn’t close. Awesome, now I was partially blind and had no money.
Lesson learned: Always pack an extra pair of contact lenses or glasses just in case.
Packing the Wrong Camera Charger
I will never wear a maxi dress or skirt again when flying. I was on the down escalator after arriving at the airport in Palermo, Sicily and an impatient Italian woman shoved past me. The bottom of my dress got caught between the moving escalator stairs and the side when she shoved me.
I was like a chained animal once I got to the bottom. In true Italian fashion, the emergency stop button was on a wall on the other side of the escalator well out of my reach. And the entire plane nearly trampled me down as the escalator continued to whir downward while just about every Italian threw up their hands and yelled words at me too inappropriate to repeat here.
Finally a British man asked me if I was okay and I showed him I was caught. He went over to press the emergency stop button and an airport worker came and cut me free with a knife. Well, that dress could go right in the rubbish bin once I got to my hotel...
Lesson learned: Don't wear long, loose clothing that can get caught in escalators when flying.
Nearly Getting Arrested
A photo posted by Luxe Adventure Traveler (@luxeadventuretrvlr) on
It's a wonder Leah would ever want to travel with me again after our road trip. Our last night was to be spent in Recanati in the Marche region. We'd left Puglia, at the very bottom of Italy in the morning, stopped for an hour or so at a beach and it was already after 7pm when we arrived in Recanati. We were exhausted.
This was also the first place that we really had any trouble finding. The way the town was laid out, you had to drive about seven kilometers around again if you missed your street. I'd already done that. Twice.
Not any closer to finding the hotel, we pulled off to the side of a one way road in an old Italian town. Traffic could still get through, but they had to slow down to pass and there wasn't honestly much traffic.
I went up to the building that was supposedly the hotel and it was had buzzers, but all of them were labeled with last names. I decided to call the hotel and get directions. An Italian woman answered and I told her I thought I was out front. I got out of the car and described the building and the door. I was apparently in the right place, but she kept telling me to ring the bell. I asked her several times to come to the door because I wasn't sure which bell.
"Just ring the bell!"
Meanwhile, a tour bus has come up the narrow road and angry honking has ensued. I can see him throwing up his arms and yelling inside the bus.
"Mamma mia! What is that noise?"
Yeah, that noise is the angry bus driver who is about to ram my brand new Mercedes right off of the little balcony that I've pulled over on to. It drops about 10 feet to another terrace below. So as I rush over to the car, frustrated beyond belief in the moment, I tell her to just come to the f*$king door.
Well, that did it. She comes flying out of the door and even the bus driver wanted to get the hell out of there. She's screaming at me that I have no reservation and why am I bothering her. I showed her my booking confirmation, but it didn't matter. She tells us we're not staying there, goes back inside and slams the door.
So Leah and I drove the remaining five hours back home to the very top of Italy.
Lesson learned: Always keep your cool even when people are being difficult and frustrating you.
The Wedding Week Disaster
Swimming with cute pink ? piggy noses! @theswimmingpigs #TheSwimmingPigs
A photo posted by Luxe Adventure Traveler (@luxeadventuretrvlr) on
Angie Away says
OH man – 2015 was not your best year! I have a good feeling about 2016 though… it HAS to be better, right? It WILL be!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Here’s hoping! We’ll be living apart again, but at least I won’t have to worry about Tim being in a dangerous place. When I do stupid things, I won’t be able to blame my mind being on other things!
Leyla says
Oh dear… I shouldn’t laugh… I mustn’t… No, really. Spkughr!! (Sound of coffee spraying over keyboard as you are cut out of the escalator…) 2016 is on its way – wait for it!!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Here’s to less mishaps in 2016!