TravelStories Episode 45: An Expedition into the Unknown

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Episode 45: Show Notes.

We’re always looking to try new things, but our recent trip to Colombia and Spain unlocked new levels of exploring the unknown! We centered the trip around 1 single itinerary, and didn’t have our flights home until more than halfway through the trip. Our exploration of two cities begins in the one with higher altitude than we’re used to: Bogotá, Colombia, and we explain how we devised our itinerary and why we insisted on flying LATAM. We assess the Priority Pass restaurant options at Houston Airport, how Bogotá welcomed us (and especially Thomas!) with a feast of local delights, what hotel hopping is like in Colombia, the attractions and activities of Colombia’s sprawling capital, and the exercise one can get traversing the El Dorado airport lounge. Then, we unpack everything that happened on our flight to our second destination, Madrid, with a brief interlude to the recent spate of airline alliance dissolutions. We discuss our first experience of AC Hotels by Marriot, how exploring new areas in Madrid led to a wonderful steak dinner for Trevor’s birthday, why we changed flights multiple times and what these changes cost, and why many hotels are choosing to consistently shuffle their inventories. To end, we detail the trip home via Germany on Lufthansa First Class, why Lufthansa’s onboard lavatory system always leaves us scratching our heads, the joys of Global Entry’s Mobile App, and an important event to look forward to on the 9th of December, 2024.

Key Points From This Episode:

[0:00:57] A tale of two cities and a diversity of altitudes.
[0:01:41] No holiday left behind.
[0:02:49] How we devised our itinerary for Columbia, and why we insisted on flying LATAM.
[0:05:43] From Bogotá to Madrid, and every other flight in between.
[0:10:34] The Priority Pass restaurants that we visited at the Houston airport before departure.
[0:15:16] Arriving in Bogotá, the Grand Hyatt, and a feast of local delights.
[0:19:36] Hotel hopping in South America, and our experience of the JW Marriot.
[0:25:09] The Salt Cathedral, Monserrate Hill, and other attractions and activities in Bogotá.
[0:36:28] Why we loved the El Dorado lounge and everything from our flight to Madrid.
[0:42:21] How airlines divorce themselves from their alliances.
[0:43:43] Landing in Madrid and trying something different – the Hyatt Madrid Residences.
[0:48:00] Exploring new areas of Madrid, and Trevor’s delightful steakhouse birthday dinner.
[0:51:14] A new hotel brand experience: AC Hotels by Marriot.
[0:55:48] Discussing the modern shuffle of hotel inventories.
[0:59:30] The many flight changes from our trip and what they cost.
[1:01:44] Luxury remote stand experiences, Lufthansa First Class, and friendly faces abroad.
[1:06:02] Unpacking Lufthansa’s lavatory system and unmatched onboard service
[1:13:30] Why we hope for the return of mobile lounges, and the joys of the DFW Mobile App.
[1:22:10] What you can look forward to on the 9th of December in Arlington, Virginia.

Quotes:

“[Bogotá] reminded me my of first trip to Bangkok and having pomelo; rose apple, and all these tropical fruits that you don’t find here in North America — that’s part of the joy of traveling; going to other environments; other places and being able to experience the local product.” — @TKtweetsKim [0:18:30]

“For better or for worse, I feel like Bogotá is a city of ‘glad I did it once and checked the box.’” — @tmount [0:29:17]

“LATAM, for the price of the ticket, I felt like we got very good value, but I don’t see that as a ‘go out of my way to do.’” — @tmount [0:41:10]

“The thing that insulates us is we do have this miles and points hobby that helps quite a lot – we can at least utilize other currencies other than dollars or euros to help shoulder some of the burden of that financial cost.” — @TKtweetsKim[0:54:30]

“Sometimes, you’ve just got to accept [paying more to change flights] to get the experiences you want.” — @tmount [1:01:37]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

LATAM Airlines

Priority Pass

Emirates

Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar

Hyatt Regency Madrid Residences

Trevor Mountcastle on X

137 episoder

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