My Travels

Looking to use some hotel certificates in hand, I was prompted with the idea of a trip to Germany. Ocktoberfest seemed like a good idea and blazed off to Munich. A couple of firsts for me on this trip. I've never flown on Lufthansa and never been to Germany which is also the most east I have travelled on this globe. At LAX , I normally don't fly out of Tom Bradley International terminal and was pleasantly surprised how nice it was inside. I stopped over at the Star Alliance lounge in the terminal and I think it is one of the nicest lounges at LAX. I'm always a sucker for free booze and the food was filling. There was chicken fried rice and ready-made ramen bowls to be had. Definite asian influence around here.... :) This is also my first time flying on an Airbus 340-600 . I'm assuming it is the counterpart to the Boeing 747 planes. The plane overall felt cramp and I'm convinced that Germans must like really warm weather. I'm not prone to being hot t

I've headed to Hawaii for some R&R and catch up with some friends on the islands. Splitting my time between Oahu and Big Island, I landed at Oahu first. I checked into the Doubletree Alana Hotel in Waikiki. I haven't been in this hotel for a little bit and they were undergoing renovations while I was here. Probably a very large factor of why my room rate was super reasonable even for a USC football game/Labor Day Weekend. Upon arrival, I was only able to check into one of the two rooms reserved. I also found out that wireless internet is now free for high status HHonors members at all properties. Very cool! While waiting for my friend, wandered over to Puka Dogs for lunch. The only difference from the Kauai location was that the inside of the buns seemed extra toasted giving it a slight crunch. After wandering around the International Market Place and Waikiki Beach, my local friend acted as a taxi to get some hawaiian shaved ice from Waiola Market on 2135 Waiola