Ways To Keep Entertained When Flying

I love flying (do you think I would name my blog, The Frequent-Flyer, if I didn't?), but sometimes the flight feels like it is draging on forever. This is why I always pack in my carryon a few things to keep me entertained. Some of these things on my list are not things you can pack, yet they are great ways to keep yourself amused.

1. Read a Magazine- I tend to bring one or two magazines in my carryon bag because they are lightweight (although not always, I mean some Vogue's weigh a ton of bricks!), and I love how easy they are to read. If you didn't pack a magazine ask the stewardess if they have any lying around. Once on a flight from Germany to America, I managed to occupy myself with a German edition of Elle magazine for about four hours of the flight. Although I couldn't read much of the articles, since it was all in German, I still was able to understand a few words which were similar to English. Most of my time was spent oogling all the clothes displayed in the magazine though.
2. Talk To Your Seatmate- Another good way to entertain yourself is to chat with the person sitting next to you. I must caution you though, don't strike up a converstation if the person looks uninterested, they are reading, listening to their IPod, or they are trying to sleep. Anyone who starts talking to someone doing any of these activites, has automatically labeled themselves the "annoying traveler," you know the one who talks too loud, or reclines their seat back too far. If the person is not doing any of these activites then feel free to talk to your seatmate, who knows the two of you could end up having a great conversation!
3. Sleep- If you are on a long haul flight, you are bound to get sleepy at some point right, unless of course you are a vampire. I try to sleep on most of my six or seven hour flights, although I am one of those people who have a difficult time doing this. So if I cannot fall asleep I tend to just lay in a state of daydream, trying to catch a few Z's.
4. Look Out The Window- Look at the clouds passing by or at the ground below, do you spot a swimming pool or two? This is a great way to amuse yourself when flying over land, I wouldn't recomend doing this over water though, it is not a pleasent feeling. I find it interesting to have a birds eye view of everything, the world looks so different from this angle.
5. Write- Journal about how excited you are for your trip, whether or not the guy sleeping next to you has a snoring problem, or anything else which interests you. I find that writing in my journal is one of the nicests ways to spend a plane ride. It is also very relaxing especially if you are a nervous traveler, it helps to clear your mind of all your worries.
6. Listen To Your IPod- Put your IPod on shuffle, and just listen to the music, or you could do this while.... day dreaming!
7. Day Dream- I like to dream up endless possiblities of what is in store for me (if I am heading to my destination). Sometimes these are insane dreams; such as seeing Daniel Radcliffe in London, others are just wondering what it will be like to relax on the beach with a good book and a drink on hand. I tend to think of day dreams as a movie playing out in my head, only something which I can watch, so don't worry if something seems outlandish, it is only for your enjoyment!

Do you have any other suggestions for keeping yourself entertained on a long flight?
Jem

Travel+Food=Memories

I think some of my best travel memories have centered around eating food. The food which is typical to a certain area can tell a person a lot about the history and culture of a region. When you combine good food, a beautiful location, and loving the people you are with; happy memories are bound to ensue. So without further adieu, I present a few photographs where travel and food are the main subjects.

Pompeii, Italy

I swear, this must be the biggest lemon ever! My friend Jill

bought this lemon when we were in Pompeii seeing the ruines. The lemons

were sold in a little stand near one of sites, and apparently, from what

I understand they cost about ten American dollers, if not more. Although, I

think the price is totally worth it, since the next night in our hotel room in

Florence we devoured the whole thing. This type of lemon is sweet,

not sour like most, and it tastes best when its cooked (which our guide told us)

or with suger sprinkled over it. Since we did not have access to a kitchen

we chose to eat it with surgar. Yummm... This photograph, shows

just the beginning of our little "lemon adventure" as we affectionately

liked to call it. Our "lemon adventure" encompasses all our struggles

to find a knife to cut it open (it has a tough skin) and the madness

which occured as we were eating!

Fresno, California

My cousins are ranchers in California and grow cotton, grapes,

and their most abundent product, almonds. The photograph above

depicts almonds from their ranch, lying on the ground after they

have been shaken from the almond trees. While visiting the ranch

we were able to take the almonds off the trees and eat them.

 Never have I tasted anything so fresh and watery.

Almonds straight from the tree taste a lot better then the store bought (like most foods), and 

they also have more of nutty flavor. This is one of my faveourite "travel & food"

moments because it is so special to see where the food you

 are eating comes from.

Paris, France

This photograph was taken during my weekend sojourn

to the city of lights. My auntie, uncle and I were eating in

this super fancy, very typical "French" restarunt, complete with

waiters in black ties and white suit jackets. Although I

choose not to eat any of the sea food on this very large plate (other then

to sample a peice of shrimp) this photograph contains many special moments.

It reminds me of my first (and hopefully not last) trip to Paris and all the

fantastic sites I saw, and all the yummy food I ate.

Jem

Bliss

Santorini, Greece

Ahh... doesn't this look like bliss? I have always wanted to the beautiful country of Greece. Right now it is just a little dream, but the important thing is to dream. For without our dreams (travel especially) where would we be?

Jem

Disney World

I just booked my plane ticket to one of the best places in the world, disney! Yes, to some it may seem very corny, but come on, its the place where dreams are made, how can you not love it? I am going to disney with three of my friends for five days towards the end of june, its a graduation gift. One of my friends who I am going with, Ashley, family goes to disney a lot, so I am glad to be going with her because she knows the park very well, plus she's buckets of fun! I am so excited to be going to disney... the last time I was there was when I was seven and I hardly remember any of it. I can't wait for five days of pure fun!
Jem

Maps

I love looking at maps. I can remember when I was little my dad would pull out the maps whenever we would be preparing for a trip and pouring over them for hours. Many of my best childhood memories involved our travel's, pulling over on the side of the road and listening to my parents bicker over which way to go (okay, so that might not be the most fun.... but still its a memory). Now days though you can just whip out the GPS, plug in where you want to go, and not worry about it. Although this has its rewards too sometimes I do miss using a map when I am traveling by car.
Jem

Postcards

The act of receiving and sending a postcard is not lost on me. With Facebook and Email it is easy to send a message to a loved one while away on holiday. This may be a quick and easy way to tell everyone you are okay and you haven't run into any trouble but I think their is an even better way to tell people about your trip. Instead of sending an Email or Facebook message why not send postcards to your family and friends? To some extent I feel that the art of sending postcards has died out so now I am trying to revive it. People feel it is a hassle to buy a postcard, and stamp when they can just shoot out a quick email to everyone for free (unless of course you are paying for computer time). I tend to disagree with these naysayers. I like the idea of being to able to write a postcard/letter while enjoying cup of coffee or tea in a cafe in the location which I am visiting. Maybe this is a romantic idea of what postcard/letter writing should be like, but it is one which I shall always keep to such high esteem. I love, love, love to receive postcards, I think most people do. It is such a surprise to the receiver to find a postcard tucked into their daily mail of bills and magazines. I have had the extremely good fortune of receiving postcards from all around the world, places like; Israel, India, Russia, Bhutan, Peru, and more! It never ceases to surprise me, finding a postcard in the mail, and also to know that it has traveled such a long distance. I think it is neat to be the recipient of a postcard and thinking that it has come from a place which you have never visited and traveled so many miles all the way to your doorstep. It is like receiving a little piece of that country! People are more likely to save a postcard or letter then an email since it shows a sense of caring when a person takes time out of their day to write to you (at least this is what I think) when they could be exploring the sites or partying somewhere! So why not return the favor and start sending postcards to people? It won't just make the receiver feel special but it will also help you tell everyone whats on your mind about this spectacular trip your taking!
Jem

Things To Do In England

On my other blog I just wrote a post on all my favourite things British which got me thinking about my favourite things to do whilst in England. Some of these activities might be typical things a visitor must do while others are more off the beaten path.

1) Traveling by train- I think it is worth taking the train instead of a car if you are planning on going somewhere for a few days. I loved taking the train from Nottingham to London Kings Cross Station (of Harry Potter fame!). The British still understand the importance of travel by train unlike us Americans, it is such a relaxing way to see the country. Sitting, watching the countryside roll by and slowly turn into towns and cities is one of the nicest things you can do for yourself.

2)Chatsworth House- If you are in the Derbyshire area you MUST visit Chatsworth. The Estate is owned by the Duke of Devonshire and much of the house and the surrounding grounds will be open to the public for the summer starting March 14th. Chatsworth is home to such an interesting collection of artwork, literature, and also has a fascinating history. If that doesn't catch your attention, how about this; in the film Pride and Prejudice, with Keira Knightly, the house was used as Mr. Darcy's Pemberley Estate. Several of the films key scenes were shot at the house and they even have a bust of Mr. Darcy to commemorate this!

3)Topshop- Shopping is a favourite habit of mine, even more so when I am abroad. I love finding clothes which I know no one where I live will have this way I will have something unique to remember my trip by. I love popping into Harrods or Selfridges when in London, but come on not everyone can afford these expensive products (tip: if you do want to shop at these stores go during the summer sales its a bit cheaper then), which is where Topshop comes into play. If you are in London checkout the Oxford Circle store- its 5 stores of pure heaven! Although it can be a bit tricky to get around it, its rather crowed, but their are lots of other branches of the store to be found around the country.

4)Grocery shopping at Marks & Spencers, Tesco, or Sainsburys- I know this might sound a tad odd but I really like going to British Supermarkets. I think this might be because they have so much "exotic" products which you can not find in America. From a whole section of Cadbury sweets to interesting ethnic type foods, they have everything! Every time I go to England I visit one of these supermarkets and stock up on Cadbury chocolates some of my favourites include Flakes, Cadbury Milk Buttons, and Cadbury Dairy Milk candy bars. Gosh that last sentence makes me look like a piggly-wiggly, but I bring back a lot of these sweets for my family and friends, they are not all mine to keep!

So what do you think of four of my favourite activities to do while in England? What are your favourite things to do while in the UK?
Jem