The Beat of My Drum
The Beat of My Drum
Lisa Travels
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In this episode, I speak with travel advisor Lisa Alvarado about her experiences traveling around the world. She shares stories from her journeys and offers practical tips and tricks for making the most of your travel experiences.
Hey hey, this is J. Mendez, and you are listening to the beat of my drum. This is episode number three. And I do have special guest today, Miss Lisa Alvarado. This episode I'm going to call Lisa Travels. I'm so excited to bring Lisa onto the podcast because I love traveling, but not to the extent as my cousin here does. She's traveled the world, been to many destinations, but really I'm excited for her because of her next venture in the travel industry. And I'll let her kind of give more on that. So once again, today we're joined by Lisa Alvarado. She spent years exploring exploring the world. And now she's help helping others do the same. Please welcome Lisa, traveler, travel advisor, and adventurer to the show. How are we doing, Lisa?
SPEAKER_00Hi. John, doing pretty good today. Counting down to my next my next adventure, actually.
SPEAKER_04Love it. Tell me about your next adventure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so Friday, I'll uh start off very early and I'll head to Miami. Spend a day and a half in Miami. And then I will sail away to Turks and Caicos. I'm really looking forward to that water. That looks very refreshing, very inviting, and just really some relaxation after my uh Alaska cruise.
SPEAKER_04Awesome. So we'll get to those destinations. We'll get to you know your trip in Turks and also Alaska. But tell me, how did you get into travel and what made you like value it as part of like as part of your life? Like as something that is part of you in your life.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Yeah, I'd be happy to. Um the reason I got into travel is because of what it does for me, my well-being overall. It just there's something about travel, the excitement, the adventure, the unknown, uh, the exploration of things, and being open-minded to new tastes, new sounds, new culture, language, and and actually even making new friends, you know?
SPEAKER_04It's just I love that. I love that. So what is the trip that kind of made you fall in love with travel? Because we all have that trip that when you go, it's like, okay, this is something I haven't seen before. This is a whole new culture, climate, uh, you know, people, you know, and and for me it's it's Seattle. I when I went to Seattle, just I was taken aback at just the beauty of um you know Mount Rainier and how the climate changes from fall to winter in the matter of minutes, which which was amazing for me. So for you, what what made you fall in love with with travel or what what trip made you fall in love with travel?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. I'd have to really dig deep into uh the travel library, but I would have to say my first flight, which was to Long Island, New York on a business trip.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00And coming from a small town, um, you know, seeing the bright city lights and just um just very diverse uh melting pot. Um it was it was a bit overwhelming, but in a good way. And I to be honest with you, it was super nervous flying, but it hasn't stopped me since. And then I just from there it just uh took off.
SPEAKER_04Well, I do work with you as well. We were we we we shuttle on the way to to our our business, um our nine to five job, and uh hear a lot of stories uh about your experiences in different areas, and everyone on the van just just loves to hear your stories and also kind of share some of ours. And that's what it opens up, I think. I think that's what I felt that man, like you know, you are really all about it and and you share all of your stories, the good and the bad and the ugly, and that's part of experience, that's part of memories, and that kind of made me feel good, like okay, well I can share some of my experiences that are good and bad, because not everything is is what's on on what what you see on TV. I mean, when you go to some of these areas, there are some bad areas, so have you ever had like any kind of travel disaster or travel um issue to where like okay, this is uh not the experience I thought it would be?
SPEAKER_00I can count several, uh, but looking back, I I would would do it all over again, to be very honest with you.
SPEAKER_01I love that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um, do you want a specifics? Yeah, yeah. Okay. Sure. Well, I would say the most recent one was uh New Year's. Uh I was cruising about oh, I was doing the Virgin Voyage cruise out of Puerto Rico and hit some uh was able to visit seven different islands. I won't name them all right now, but they were beautiful and in their own way. Had a great time, even made some new friends. Um actually spent some time with my childhood friend. And um on my way back to the airport to return home, um, I was met with a you're not flying out today, no one is. Uh the air traffic uh was shut down uh by the government due to the Venezuela president being captured.
SPEAKER_01Oh wow.
SPEAKER_00And that just um that was a whole new experience. Um I've experienced, you know, weather delays, lost luggage, et cetera, et cetera, and all the typical things that happen on a trip. But this was definitely very different.
SPEAKER_04I did you get scared or what was it uh I mean, was there like confusion or did you know exactly the reason this was all going down?
SPEAKER_00I didn't know all the details because I wasn't tuned into the TV since I was on the cruise and having a different kind of fun with friends and all. So I I didn't because I didn't know the details, what I did was I immediately um called back home just to let everybody know, uh let my loved ones know that I was safe and my next um the next thing on my plate was I was going to look for a place to stay, uh a safe location. And um I was not familiar with Puerto Rico, so that was a disadvantage. However, I tapped into my um my website for hotels, et cetera. Okay. And the friendships that I made on the cruise, uh, we actually they were impacted as well. So we ended up actually bonding, made this this experience bonded us um, I guess for a lifetime, because we were able to find a hotel, a place to stay together. And um everything ended up working out. We were able to support each other throughout the whole night, um, trying to help each other look for flights back home and just really be there for each other in the time of a crisis, really. Um coincidentally, this trip that I'm taking off on Friday, I'm actually going with those two friends that I had this uh, I guess, debacle with.
SPEAKER_04And where did you meet them?
SPEAKER_00I met them um on the uh Puerto Rico cruise.
SPEAKER_04You see, Lisa, how do you do that? Because it's of course, you were born with that skill, right? But I mean, a lot of the experiences that I've heard from you are are organic friendships that you've built, which are the best friendships you can have. And what's some advice for someone that's like an extra um sorry, an introvert that wants to take a trip by themselves or or uh maybe want to um travel and meet people because these days I come across so many people that are just scared to even go up and and start a conversation with someone else regarding anything, right? So uh what what's some advice that you give to someone that has aspirations to travel by themselves?
SPEAKER_00You know, that's a great question. Um because I'm just gonna go back to to sounding cliche, but um you know, we only get this one life and there's so much beauty out there. I mean, everywhere, everywhere you go, I I can find some beauty somewhere, whether it's a culture, a food, kindness from um a certain village or um the mountains, the water, the snow falling, you know, and um music playing, different music from another country, you know. Um I would just encourage them to challenge them to take that step and go out of their comfort zone because there's so much more to see out there.
SPEAKER_04I love that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Uh for me, I don't know if you've noticed this, but a certain smell. I don't know, like there's a certain scent in different areas, or like if I go to Mexico, I could smell something in the air that it's that reminds me of when I went to Guadalajara or or I've been to um Playa de Carmen or Cancun. I'll hear I'll smell these scents and I'm like, hey, that reminds me of when I went to Mexico. Yeah. Or that reminds me when I went to New York City. It's crazy how that happens.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. It's it's all century, right? It's all century. And a lot of times, you know, they say as adults, you know, we're we're running this race of of schedules and families and and all these things, right? And we forget to release our inner kid, our inner child, right? Yeah. And and to have fun and to get back in touch with with our senses that also impact our well-being, right? I mean, how good how fun was it to just kind of be barefoot and put your you know, toes in the sand. And yeah, and then that just brings back, ignites a little bit of just joy in your day, rem taking you back to maybe it was a trip with your your parents, or you know, for my friends, my some of my good friends, their their um nostalgia hits when they visit um Disney. Disney, you know, and these are their grown adults, but it's magical for them because it ties back to their childhood.
SPEAKER_04I love that. Great. Well said. That wasn't cliche at all. That was that was very well said. So you are now a travel agent, is that correct?
SPEAKER_00Travel advisor, yes.
SPEAKER_04Independent travel advisor, Lisa Alvarado. I got some cards here, and we've been we've been talking about this on on our commute to work, but behind the scenes, you've been cooking this up for probably quite a while, and you've had um these ideas kind of floating in your head, and you've shared them with me. Um, but the fact that you're actually taking that step is is it's it's so gratifying for me to see you um do your thing, right? This is your thing, everybody's got their thing. Um, and listeners want to know, especially today, and if they want to they they usually will say that people that I know is it's it's too expensive to travel. Um what's your advice to them? Do you have um some budget saving ideas, some budget-friendly destinations? Um you know, how far should people book in advance? So, what are some of your um you know, advice? What's some of your advice is for uh someone that says it's too expensive to travel?
SPEAKER_00Sure, sure. Um, I think like anything else, you know, um, such as I want a car or I want to, you know, I want to buy a home, um, you plan, right? Uh you plan accordingly, and that's where I can come in. That's where my skills, my experience, and my constant learning in this industry, the travel industry. Um I don't know if I've shared, but I do attend conferences, I do webinars, um, as much training as I possibly can to get certified in certain certain areas so that I can be able to help my clients. Um, we also now have moved into a space of flex pay where clients can do payments, monthly payments, you know. And so that kind of alleviates having to pay for everything up front. Um, there's a lot of different things that they can do. And once um once I connect with the client, my first thing is what is important to you? What is important to you on this trip? What do you want out of it? What don't you want? What can you live without, right? And uh what is your flexibility? If you're planning this month being September and you want to travel overseas in December, okay, you know, um, we can make it happen, but what does the budget look like? And um there are some some tips to save, there are some things. Um because I'm in this travel space, I have um access to over hundreds of um accommodations, lodging hotels, etc. Nice that the public does not have access to. So that's another thing that um, you know, I'll go to work for you behind the scenes and try to research and see what may fit in your budget.
SPEAKER_04And you mention, you know, webinars and things like that. Do you do a consultation beforehand, like not just a phone call, maybe a Zoom or something that, you know, say a head of household, him and his wife want to take their family next summer somewhere? Are you can you meet with them?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, that's a great question. In fact, I just had my first group um last month on a cruise to Alaska, and I was able to to partake in that um in that voyage. Um, but prior to I did offer um several sessions, Zoom sessions, and just had them open on a dedicated day and time. And my clients were able to um join in and ask their questions. Um and then of course I can do private consultations beforehand. My services are um are free. Um so yeah.
SPEAKER_04When for me, when it comes to an ideal destination or vacation, me being the family guy that I am, don't get me wrong, I've been to Vegas quite a few times without my family, but that's another show.
SPEAKER_00We'll leave that in.
SPEAKER_04I love me some Vegas, but I keep that more so me and my wife. But for a family, tell me why a cruise is the best option if you want to go on your first trip with your family.
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, I mean, there's a lot of different ways you can travel, right? Um and it's really preference. Cruises are for me, and my experience and feedback from other clients has been that everything's on the ship that you could ask for, right? Um you've got a casino, you've got if it's a family-oriented ship, you've got um things to do with the family, you've got shows, um, there's the Disney cruise, there's um, gosh, there's the Holland, there's uh a plethora of options to choose from. But the the best thing about a cruise, in in my experience, again, is just the convenience of having everything. Your uh number of restaurants and your um versus taking a trip um and booking a hotel and then getting a car rental and Uber and all your attractions, etc.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so where I've done plenty of those, and I I do love those, uh, don't get me wrong. Very adventurous, um, but that takes definitely takes a lot more planning than per se a cruise. A cruise.
SPEAKER_04Um do you get seasick?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. Uh, you know, I used to, but I found something that works for me that I take.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Um and I don't take it every day unless I once I start feeling it, um, I I take the uh I take this pill that that helps with that. Some people wear patches, yeah. Um, and that works for them. So it just depends.
SPEAKER_04Um, so for the kids, is there like a playground or is there a water park?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh just depending on what cruise you cruise line. It depends on what cruise line you select. Okay. Yes. Um, they all and all those all the ships um may offer different uh different water parks, different attractions for the family. But yes, there's something for everybody for sure.
SPEAKER_04Great, love that. So we've talked about families. Now let's talk about this new age thing that people are doing. I mean, you've known about it for long much longer than I have, but I meet so many people at USAA where I work that they solo travel. So, and you have experience with that. Yes. So, what advice would you give someone considering traveling solo for the first time?
SPEAKER_00Uh that's a great qu very great question. I personally would, of course, leave your information with at least two trusted souls, um, your itinerary, what hotels you're going to be staying at, and um those details would help. Um and also just to have everything in order, right? All your all your um important documents in order. Um and then maybe if you can, depending on what part of the the world you're traveling to, just check in with somebody from time to time. Okay. Maybe those two trusted souls, right? Yeah. Um, whether it's an email or through WhatsApp or something, just maybe in the middle of the trip, hey, everything's great, just a pulse check. I'm moving on to my next destination, right?
SPEAKER_04When you're by yourself and on these trips, are you thinking, man, this is pretty lonely, or man, this is amazing.
SPEAKER_00Actually, this is pretty amazing. This is pretty amazing.
SPEAKER_04Kind of sell me on that because I don't see it.
SPEAKER_00Well, for example, I'll I'll use Switzerland. Um I traveled over there um alone, but I did meet up with two amazing friends. And um, but there were days that we decided to venture off different, you know, we each had a different agenda. Um, whereas my two friends wanted to hike in another area and um and spend the whole day doing that, I decided to to go shopping, right? Um, my hotels wasn't always um, I didn't room with them every night. So my hotel was completely opposite of where they were. So there was one night I remember um I want to say it was interlocking, which was towards the uh, I'll say probably towards the center of more towards the center, towards Luce uh Lucerne. And um anyhow, I I decided to to walk. You know, it was already it was a beautiful night, but I had the opportunity to FaceTime my friend and I was showing them the street sign of where I was. So um, but I think it's just it's very for me personally, it just does something for my soul.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Traveling alone. Or maybe not traveling alone, but traveling with the group and then venturing off on your own, maybe one of the days.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, for me, it just clears my mind.
SPEAKER_01I love that.
SPEAKER_00I don't have any agendas, I don't have any uh places to be, any deadlines. Because as you know, my primary job is just deadlines, yeah, you know, all day long or meetings, right? Yeah, and this is it just there's
SPEAKER_04something that it does for me it just kind of resets me and um yeah and I I have an opportunity truly be present that's what I wasn't doing in the past and for all the listeners uh new and you know um existing I would I would challenge you to the next time you're on another trip is to truly be present yeah so you you speak about these these trips where you just walk and you know you take your own walk and you know wherever you land is wherever you wherever you end up is wherever you end up whether it be shopping or hiking or looking at monuments landmarks um what can you tell me about Paris that's that might be a city I want to try out you know um we we took a my girlfriends and I from uh from Arizona so shout out to my girls from Arizona um we did I want to say like six or seven days in London and then in the middle of the trip we we took a train to to Paris.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So if you ever have an opportunity do that because the train will go um under the water there's a tunnel. Oh wow you don't feel it at all okay at least I didn't and it was definitely a nice experience but once we got there I would say try the um their sandwiches I know it sounds so simple but their bread is nothing like our the French bread you buy here. Yeah it is amazing wow it was a simple sandwich but I will never forget that sandwich and I know it sounds really funny but it was amazing. The champagne yeah good amazing okay thank you Cynthia for that champagne bottle did I say bottle I meant glass the whole bottle probably no no it was we were celebrating friendships you know um it was just it was really just nice to to be there and to immerse yourself in the culture and listen to the language and um but yeah if you get an opportunity.
SPEAKER_04So on that European trip what are the I guess what's a quick little itinerary for a European trip that you I guess I guess are we s were we starting way in the north or are we starting in the south and going like how are we doing this?
SPEAKER_00Oh my goodness um depending depending on the days right how much time you have but let's just say I mean if you've got if you can spare three weeks two weeks two weeks yeah right um and again what's important to you like for me my first trip overseas was was to Italy and I was able to go to the Vatican and not only that but take my parents and um and then on New Year's be able to hear the Pope give a prayer in in uh St. Peter Basilica you know and it you know that was an amazing trip that I'll never forget. But I would say if you can definitely go to Italy go to France London London is huge and it it's kind of one of my favorites. I I wouldn't mind going back again. Isn't it kind of like cloudy and yeah it it is I mean but you you know again you gotta make the most of it right you gotta make the most of whether it's a rainy day or or whatnot.
SPEAKER_04I mean it's crazy you say that because I've been some places like Miami's super humid and Sabrina was like man it is so humid here or New York there's so many taxis just honking at you Seattle it rains all the time when we went to Phoenix it was super hot. Yes um you know when I went to Guadalajara same thing it's just like totally not my world yeah just like the villages and the there's kind of like no rules there. It seems like everybody's just kind of doing what they want to do it's it's crazy. Uh beautiful but it's just like nobody stops at the stop sign people are are just rolling through life like crazy so nothing's enforced. No exactly that that's a little that was a little scary but I did enjoy we took a train up to tequila which is in Felisco and that was just a tequila ride the whole time. Wow and then when we got there um the city of tequila is beautiful they the way Mexico set up was what I I figured out is most of the little villages are centered around the church. The church is the center and then everywhere else is like the businesses and everything else like that.
SPEAKER_00But um what are some travel trends you're seeing right now as far as in in the industry what what are are are people driving more are people flying more like what are some trends you're seeing in the industry you know I would say it's a good mix it's a good balance um but if I had to choose one I would say flying more yeah people are definitely flying more um I get questions all the time for flights and um whether it's in state you know domestic or international um some other trends groups a lot of group travel yeah I'm seeing a lot of group travel see I've never even I really never thought that was a thing I thought that was more for like people that go on missions or stuff like that but so group travel is it group travel like they're all family family friends uh bridal showers you know a girls' trip see a lot of girls' trips yeah um see guys trips very seldom but they're there oh yeah but I um I think the guys got come on guys catch up um but yeah no there's definitely uh girls get away you know especially when they hit those milestones um yeah those are those are some trends you've heard my gripes about social media on the van and I've given given you my gripes I think for me it's just you know what I didn't like the doom scrolling you know and I just lost track of time I lose track of time and I'm I like to be productive with my day and my life but it's changed the travel game there's no doubt about it.
SPEAKER_04Uh what role has social media played in shaping modern tourism? Oh I think it's it's played a vital part of tourism I mean you have everything there from um marketing and entertainment and um uh just the that piquing that curiosity for for the next travel I like that I like that that is so true and it's and a lot of time it's it's real time you know real time live um so I think it's it's really shaped uh the travel industry and not only for travelers but if anybody out there is looking to add additional income yeah to become a travel advisor an independent travel advisor themselves there's uh a vast amount of training that's also dedicated to on the social media yeah I 100% agree I my cur curiosity about different places has been piqued a lot by you a lot by other family members and friends I know but but social media for sure I'd see a video of a random city I'm like yeah I think a few years ago I saw a a video of Niagara Falls and I'm just like drawn to it so like my my brain has always been like I'm going there and I even have it written down on January 1st I wrote it's on the other side but I wrote like destination I want to go to and on there is Niagara Falls. I love it. So like as we went through the summer uh um my daughter wanted to go to Toronto yeah um because of Drake obviously but the Niagara Falls is right there so I was like this is a perfect opportunity let's make it happen and that peaked because of social media I will say and I'm very excited to see the Niagara Falls it's gonna be pretty insane I think um to see it in real time here here in a um coming up soon so I'm excited for you I think that's gonna be a definitely a a trip you'll talk about for a long time you and the family um when when it comes to these destinations too like New York City kind of changed my perspective on a lot of things um I thought I've been to a lot of places but you you have never you have not been to somewhere unless you go to New York City. Yep it is that like wow experience yeah and um the more time goes by the more I look back and I'm like man there was still a lot I didn't do and I thought I hit all the spots. Yep. But did it did it make you nervous or does it make you nervous being in such a crowded city like um because it did me a little bit like it's everywhere I went it was just crowded.
SPEAKER_00You know the first the first trip I went actually was almost a year to date from uh the September 11th when I traveled and I'll never forget I got this amazing shot of the the twin towers. Yeah and to this day I can't I can't locate because of all my moves can't locate that photo but anyhow um let's go mom we gotta find that photo yeah so that that's not what got me I mean yes there's a lot of people absolutely um and you've you're they're fast paced they're moving fast paced especially the subway like let's go right everybody's got a place to go so it wasn't that it was more of like just the the grand the you know the lights and the just coming out of I think it was Grand Central Station and I had to take a train at night and and um I don't know what I was thinking at first time being out there. And um that's what got me it was was a little bit overwhelming was just all the lights and it was a little um yeah it was just overwhelming like a lot of noise.
SPEAKER_04A lot of noise yeah but I loved it the hotel rooms are tiny too I I didn't stay in a five star like you stayed I stayed like in a four star but then the room was tiny. I was like man uh good thing I'm a small guy it worked out fine for me but I don't see how tall people could could uh do it those everything was small yeah that's true definitely small so I'm going to Toronto and I'm gonna be using your services for the big bus. Yes thank you talked about thank you um tell me about the big bus because every major city has that now yeah so what do you like about the big bus? Because I think that's a good tip for travelers to use that.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely you know I learned early on is especially my first I think it was actually my second trip to New York. If you're going to a big city I would definitely it's very well worth it to purchase a um hop on hop off uh bus tour.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Especially if you're gonna be there a couple of days you know maybe maybe make a full day out of out of it or two days. You can there's passes for like two days in some of the bigger cities like New York because there's not enough time to see everything right. But the nice thing about it is that you're also there's someone either narrating or you can um uh use their their uh headphones yeah and listen to some of the historic um historic stories about you know New York City and Brooklyn etc um I always find it really fascinating and value added um and you can get off it you can get off at a land like every what like 10 minutes 15 minutes 15 minutes 15 minutes yeah different you know different tours have different stops and but there's so many you can go into Chinatown you can go into instead of getting a taxi or instead of taking the subway I encourage you to definitely if you've never done the subway before as an experience encourage you that but the um through my services with the Vido um I actually have those options for you in different cities.
SPEAKER_04You have a lot of options I saw boat rides helicopter rides yes um first class VIP service now I'm just no there's like everything everything so um keep that in mind listeners to um reach out to Lisa as well on that because anywhere you go she's got something for you um so that that's definitely a tip to to take from this is uh Lisa will does have the options for you to maybe save some money or just try to make it as convenient as possible for you because we know taxis are ridiculous expensive and Uber rides they're not that expensive but they add up they add up so what are you more of a taxi or uber person in a in a city uh I I my go-to is lift lift yeah okay I like lift um why do you like lift better I don't know you know I I think it's just the ease of things um I've had a better experience over time yeah I think the last Lyft driver I took he left me on the side of the road because I threw up in the back did I I might yeah it the taxi drivers in New York I love New York and New York people um it just those taxi drivers they taxi driver picked us up from uh the airport last summer when we went this guy was going in and out of traffic yeah while he's sipping an espresso a little cup of espresso in his hand and he's like is it clear he's asking me is it clear is it clear for me to go I'm like man come on don't do this to me I'm I'm from Natalia Texas my first five minutes in the greatest the biggest city in the world you're gonna ask me that come on man yeah that's a way to scare scare back is it clear is it clear I'm like man come on yeah Chicago also Chicago we took a taxi in Chicago and this guy like did a whole whip and clearly it said no U-turn this guy's like whipped and he's like alright you're here okay and Sabrina Sabrina's like never taking a whiplash bad car sick car sick yeah um have uh I guess have you been in into uh have you been to a uh destination to where you were caught by surprise of how amazing it was like you know you know you knew it was a good destination you knew it was gonna be a good trip but but you you actually end the trip thinking this might have been the best place I've ever been to it's a really great question I would say London I would say London I I didn't I think as I I didn't take the lead on that that um that trip and I I was um I think in the middle of our our grandmother was was really ill and such and so I hadn't really put a lot of effort into what we were going to do um and such.
SPEAKER_00I wasn't present at that time but once I got there I was really I was I loved it. I fell in love with London. I really did what made you love it I think just the the history the history of of the British just the British history the colonies the the um oh I can't think of his name right now but um there was a museum that I would recommend to anybody and in fact I would go back um Winston Churchill Winston Churchill okay uh amazing I I I can't say enough I probably talked my parents' ear off when I came back about that that museum but um Windsor Castle you know um the castle there's castles in there forgot about that there are castles over there having high tea at at noon with my you know with my girls I mean you were by that time were you talking like British accent after a few days were you like no no but you know what it was just it was just a really and it was a huge melting pot too I was really surprised at that melting pot of different uh different cultures yeah different races yeah wow well that's surprising to me we actually you want to hear something very interesting yeah so sorry girls if you're listening but we were had just finished the tour with um at uh the Sir uh Winston Churchill museum and we were walking around and looking for our next destination you know landmark and we saw a lot of noise happening across the street and it was um Palestinians and Israel Israel wow um it was very um it was very calm when were protest they were protesting it was very calm though it was and but we had to get to the other side so we had to like literally go through it. Oh wow and again it was it was peaceful at that time it was yeah um because I was reading some of the signs and it you know it was that was um shocking I guess you can say because I see it in the news but to see it up front and personal that's that was a little bit of a shock.
SPEAKER_04So anyhow we went about our business I think we were that day we were touring with Windsor Castle we come back next day I look at the BBC News or British news and in that section they had uh they had to call like 500 dispatch like 500 police officers etc because there was a a bomb threat uh amongst other other things so we had just escaped that um that's not in the itinerary that Lisa creates listeners but but when you travel you just don't know what's what can happen you don't know what to expect and you just always be cautious right always be cautious always be aware of your surroundings like anywhere else especially that's new uh and in a foreign country and one travel tip I would say is always especially internationally know you the US embassy information wow that's a good tip yeah that's a great tip I didn't even think about that absolutely so know the US embassy information like a like a hotline number or something number address yeah know before you go yep great know before you go um are you able to create an itinerary or schedule say I'm gonna take me and my family are gonna go on a European trip um or we go to Spain next summer do you create itineraries or best things to do like how does that work?
SPEAKER_00Yes if my clients are looking for a customization of an itinerary then I will work with them to create that for them um that saves them time uh takes the stress away from most of them and um and I do that for free at this time.
SPEAKER_04Love it do you recommend travel insurance absolutely that is a non-negotiable really absolutely did not know that Lisa absolutely you've never talked about that but I that's a question that I've always wanted to ask you I just because that that little at the bottom before you press submit on your transaction it says do you want the travel insurance?
SPEAKER_00Yes I I know it's extra and I know it's probably not I I I think that's a good thing to bring up and and always budget for the insurance not just your flight or hotel your accommodations or or cruise but also for your insurance because nothing is guaranteed as far as I mean the predictability of of things right risks that are involved that could happen. So I always protect my my travels and read the disc fully read the disclosures because there are different plans for insurance uh travel uh travel protection.
SPEAKER_04What should travelers avoid doing on their trips?
SPEAKER_00Uh if traveling internationally I would go with the bare minimum um because a lot of the places there are either cobblestone, uh uphill, um traveling and so you don't want to make the mistake like I did and be pushing and lugging luggages around from different cities to different countries, et cetera.
SPEAKER_04Travel light.
SPEAKER_00Travel light internationally. Domestically, I would say challenge yourself to try to do that. I'm still working on that. I have opportunities here. Sometimes I end up buying another bag, but uh yeah, that would be my travel tip. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Love it. We'll do a little rapid fire here.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_04Beach or mountains?
SPEAKER_00Ooh, mountains.
SPEAKER_04Mountains, okay. Carry-on or checked bag?
SPEAKER_00Oh, begrudgingly carry on.
SPEAKER_04Window or aisle seat.
SPEAKER_00Window.
SPEAKER_04Um look or hotel or Airbnb.
SPEAKER_00Ooh. Airbnb.
SPEAKER_04Airbnb. Road trip or cruise.
SPEAKER_00Ooh, John, you have good questions. Cruise.
SPEAKER_04Favorite international food. Dream destination not yet visited.
SPEAKER_00Spain.
SPEAKER_04Love it. Um, I got one. Most overrated tourist attraction.
SPEAKER_00Ooh. Ooh, you got me there, John.
SPEAKER_03You don't have to, because I know some people might think it's a good I don't know.
SPEAKER_00I think that would be perspective, but I yeah, I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_03You're gonna exempt out of that one.
SPEAKER_00I'll I'll plead the fifth.
SPEAKER_03I know you got something in mind, but it's okay. It's okay. It might be a listener's favorite destination.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it could be.
SPEAKER_00It could be, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Okay, so tell us about your upcoming trip to Turks and Caicos.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I leave um this week, uh, this Friday. Uh well, I start the journey on Friday, and I'll meet up with my two friends that I I just met a few months ago. And we are super excited. I feel like I've known them forever. Uh, so shout out to Jake and Sheena. But um, yeah, we're headed on the Virgin Voyage uh adult-only cruise line. And it'll be five nights. Um after Turks and Caicos, we will sail to the uh private resort of Bimini Beach that's um that Virgin Voyage owns.
SPEAKER_04Okay, let me stop there. Okay, so this cruise line owns their own island. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00A lot of them, yeah. A lot of a lot of the cruise lines will uh have a private island. Wow, and it's got a bar there, it's got yes, uh this one's gonna actually be um an all-day party, so it'll be a DJ, uh swim at bars, the pools, several pools, and then of course the beaches.
SPEAKER_03Take one of my DJ cards. Give them one of my DJ cards. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00I will hook you up, John.
SPEAKER_04Wow. Um, yeah, we gotta we gotta see some pictures of that.
SPEAKER_00I may not go live.
SPEAKER_04May or may not go live there. Um where do you see where do you want your business to go in the next five years? And I guess what what are your what's your vision in the next five years for your business?
SPEAKER_00Oh, great question. I actually uh I'm working towards retirement for my primary job. So this one should be my um let's play, let's have fun, you know, work very hard. So um I want to enjoy myself and um I just want to continue to to put my name out there and um along with that, I want to also have a travel podcast.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um I I don't help you with that. I need a lot of help, John. I'm I'm all about um tapping into resources to to help me grow. Totally. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's good. I love that. I love that. And that's part of the reason why I started the show because I could learn from different people different things. Yeah and this is one of them. I've learned about five or six little nuggets. I had no idea about traveling. Um so before we wrap up, work in the listeners, find your work, and follow your adventures.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Yeah, I'm on several platforms, social media, so I'm on Facebook. Um, I also have a website. So the website is lease l-isalvarado.intravel.com. And I'm also on Instagram and just recently TikTok.
SPEAKER_04TikTok as well.
SPEAKER_00TikTok.
SPEAKER_04TikTok Live at the pool party. TikTok live at the pool party. Man, that sounds amazing. So make sure you follow Lisa on all platforms. Um, you're gonna see a lot of fun stuff and a lot of um, you know, tips and tricks she's gonna give out to her travelers uh from you know her next destination, her next destination or wherever she ends up. Um I hope this conversation does inspire you to book that trip, take the adventure, and and visit that destination uh you're dreaming about. And Elisa, what you got?
SPEAKER_00I got one more thing to add. Um, one of my biggest goals um that I I did not share with you is that I've been working um for a while now, and I also am certified in faith-based travel. And so for any listeners that have either parishes or affiliated with your own church that would like to um walk where Jesus walked uh and explore other um other faith-based travels, um uh please feel free to reach out. But that is something that I'm working on. And um I look forward to hearing from from you.
SPEAKER_04Awesome. Thank you so much, Lisa, for um blessing us with your presence today and giving us all of your knowledge regarding travel. Uh I'm calling this episode Lisa Travels, because you know, the only the only way you can catch Lisa on the weekends is either on a train, a flight, or booking uh a flight somewhere around the world. And and I'm glad to to call her my cousin as well. It's it's been a pleasure hearing your stories. Hopefully, I get to hear many more on the van on the way to work. Um, but um, but yeah, um remember listeners, always march to the beat of your own drum. This is Jay Mendez, checking out