jetsetters: @2travelaholics - part two

Happy Wine Wednesday! We may have celebrated a day early, but it was Christmas in Rockville last night and the romantic & hubs just had one of those Tuesdays, so who are you to judge? Hm? Luckily, Mr. T of @2travelaholics is here to cure our hangovers. Want to know something cute? Mr. & Mrs. answered their questions separately, and when they compared notes, they realized their responses seriously overlapped. Collective “AWWWW!” please. Thank you.

Don’t forget to keep tabs on 2travelaholics on twitter and their blog because their next trip is going to be AHHH-MAZING.

Favorite Place: Prague, Czech Republic.

More importantly, favorite meal: Sushi. As pescetarians, we love eating fish.

The moment you caught the travel bug: During summer vacations when I was growing up, my family would always travel. Most of this was domestic travel, but as a result I’ve been to every state in the continental US. One of these days I’ll make it Alaska and Hawaii. So it’s hard to nail down a moment, as much as my family just ingrained it in my brain that traveling was important.

First experience traveling alone: I studied abroad in Prague between 2001-2003. During that time I traveled pretty extensively by myself. Most of this was done using a Eurail Flexipass. I went everywhere from Madrid to Helsinki to Milan using it. And while I would usually make friends with people I would meet in hostels or along the way, the great majority of my time was spent traveling by myself.

Ever been (or thought you’ve been) in imminent danger while traveling?: Once in Paris I ran into trouble. I was traveling with a photographer who, after a long night of drinking wine, thought it was a good idea to take a picture of a hooker. It was night time and it seemed like a cool, moody picture. When she asked if I thought it would be ok, I shrugged. I didn’t want to ask permission, but figured it wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, my friend forgot to turn off the camera’s flash and the hooker shouted at us the instant it went off. Within seconds, we found ourselves surrounded by several hookers clawing at us. My friend quickly handed me the camera and I tucked it in one of my jacket’s pockets, when all of a sudden I heard the hookers start screaming for their pimp. I decided this wasn’t enough to get stabbed or shot over so I handed over the camera. One of the hookers ripped out the film and smash the camera on the ground. But yes, for a second there, I thought we might be killed.

Worst hotel/hostel experience: I had a bad experience in a hostel I stayed in, in Honduras. It was a closet of room that had six beds in it. Since everyone was living on a diet of beans and other high fiber foods, the room turned into a symphony of snores and farts at night. Not the easiest way to get to sleep.

Best hotel/hostel experience: A tiny hostel in Seoul. I can’t even remember its name, but I had a great time there. The place was super cheap and in a great section of town.

Favorite family vacation: Almost 20 years ago, my family relocated from Connecticut to New Mexico. While we had a moving company transport almost everything, my mom, brother, and my mom’s parents took off early and drove cross country. I went with them, but my dad hung around the house and supervised the moving company. When we arrived in Oklahoma, I ended up flying back to meet up with my dad and re-drive the route with him so he wouldn’t have to drive alone. A very cool trip that was more for moving than admiring the scenery, but fun nevertheless.

Must-have packing item: Duct tape. That stuff can repair just about anything.

Most unbelievable travel experience: Kangaroo Island. It was a pristine island off the coast of Adelaide, Australia. It had penguins, sea lions, koalas and, of course, kangaroos. At night, there was no pollution (and maybe no ozone layer) so you couldn’t count the number of stars, there was just too many. Jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Favorite “I can’t believe I’m doing this” moment: Snorkeling above the Great Barrier Reef.

Place you can’t wait to return to: Prague. Even though it is becoming more Westernized, more expensive and just changing in general, there is still a magical quality to the city that I love.

Place you can’t be paid to return to: London, England. Expensive, unfriendly and overrated.

Any exciting trips coming up?: Our year-long round-the-world trip will take us to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and South/Central America.

Dream vacation: Probably our round-the-world trip. We won’t be able to fit in everything, but I doubt we’ll have another trip that will last that long, well, for a while.

Favorite tourist attraction: Eiffel Tower. Touristy or not, I had one of the coolest, accidental-awesome experiences there. Some years ago, before everyone had a phone and email on demand, found myself in Paris. I had heard a friend of mine was shooting for being in Paris around that same time, but we never set a day/time/place to meet up. With my love of photography, I wanted to get the cityscape changing from daylight to nighttime, so I arrived at the tower a hour or two before the sun went down, and hung around waiting for the sun to set. As I waited, I bumped into my friend, which only adds to my love of the tower.

Favorite “I’m trying not to look like a tourist” attraction: The Las Vegas Strip. I grew up there and often go back, but there is no way you can go down to the Strip and not look like a tourist.

Favorite travel photo: Coming out of a cave in Kangaroo Island, Australia.

Want to be our next jetsetter? tell us!