I’m really surprised to be starting my trip planning so early in the year.  I usually start trip planning about August or so for my November Trips.  However, in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are opposite of ours.  This means that our summer/fall is their winter/spring and our winter/spring is their summer/fall.  To put it more bluntly . . .  my November trip is late spring and so it’s not low season and it’s going to be hot! 

I have secured my apartment in Palermo Soho (more on that later) and I am tracking the airfares on Kayak and once it hits my target price (which I have changed a couple of times already) I will snatch them up.

My plans have also changed several times in the past month.  I went from a trip that included: Machu Picchu (Peru) to Buenos Aires (Argentina) to Iguazu Falls to Patagonia to Cordova and back to Buenos Aires.  All in 3 weeks time.    Needless to say, reality set in once I looked at the logistics.  First to go, Machu Picchu (Peru), next Patagonia, and lastly Cordova.  I reduced my trip down to Buenos Aires with a two night day trip to Iguazu Falls.  I may consider a second day trip to another nearby town.  Maybe the Wine Region, maybe the La Pampa . . . it would have to be a place that is no more than an hour’s time (by train) away from Buenos Aires.

This trip is the complete opposite of my adventures in the small town of Praiano last year.  On this trip, I’ll be among the millions (12 million to be exact) in the high octane urban city of Buenos Aires rather than among the hundreds in the slow paced town on the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

Yes, my South America Adventures will be something amazing and I’m getting pretty excited.  Now if only the airfare gods will be kind to me!  

You know I’ve gotta do it!  

There are 48 districts (neighborhoods) in Buenos Aires, so there is a lot of information to research and consider when looking for a place to call home.  Last year, Praiano fulfilled all of my expectations and it has really raised the bar for me.  Since Buenos Aires is a big, populated, high octane, urban city I want to find a location that will not only allow me to feel comfortable and safe, but that will also provide me with the opportunity to live and to experience life in this amazing city.

After a lot of reading, video watching and scouring of my favorite travel sites, I have decided that home away from home will be in the District of Palermo (Soho).  This district is located in North Buenos Aires and is considered trendy, hip and cool.  There are lots of good restaurants, cafes and bars to choose from.  I’m not a really big shopper but I might find the shopping interesting and tempting here.

And where am I considering to lay my head down at night.  There are a couple of places that I really like.  This 1 bedroom VRBO vacation rental just spoke to me the most.  It reminded me so much of the apartment I stayed at in Berlin, Germany in 2010. This place has 24 hour security, WiFi, a washer/dryer, a cool view and it is within blocks to Plaza Serrano a very popular and happening place in Palermo Soho.

In this video, the dancers perform in the colorful neighborhood (Barrio) of La Boca at the Caminito where many Tango artists can be found.

From Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, Argentina the airfare is hovering at $1,300.  To go from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls, the airfare is hovering at $430.  Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part but for some reason, I actually thought that my airfare being that I won’t be crossing the North Atlantic Ocean would be cheaper than flying to Europe.  But I guess with the gas prices sky high airfare is not as it once was.    I have paid between $900 – $1,200 for my trips to Europe so I suppose it is generally about the same price.  However, I want to see the amazing Iguazu Falls which borders the countries of Paraguay and Brazil and to get there I will have to fly and that is another $420-$430 in airfare.

I am using the popular search engine, Kayak.com, to alert me on the airfare costs for the my projected dates of travel.  I’ve set it to provide me with daily price updates, because I think even the mighty Zoltar can’t predict what the airfares will be like in the next few months.

 If only I could fly . . .

The Iguazu Falls  borders three countries, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.  It is an amazing site and one that I would love to visit.  The falls can be accessed from National Parks on the Argentina and Brazil  side, both of which are listed on the Unesco World Heritage Site.  The Argentine side has wider views of the falls and the Brazil side has a walkway that takes you to the lower base of Devil’s Throat.

Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In rage the god sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.^[2] The first European to find the falls was the Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541.

In order to see this amazing falls on the Brazilian side I would have to get a Visa.  So the question is Do I want to Samba as well as Tango? Stay tuned….

 And here’s what she is gazing upon . . .

My “must see” list has suddenly gotten quite long since I started working on my itinerary.  Priano, Positano, Capri, Paestum, Ravello, Amalfi, Scala, Atrani, Minori, Maiori, Salerno, Naples . . . I won’t even get into the long list of sights that I have added to my must see list.

As I continually update my Trip Planning Page, I’m finding out that going on vacation can be a lot of work.  Last year, I flew into Amsterdam and arrived in my destination.  Here, I am flying into Rome where I need to take a train a couple of hours away to another city, transfer to another smaller train and take two buses to my final destination.  Well, that was way too much for me and so I found an eaiser way.  I’ll take one speedy direct train to Salerno then have a driver pick me up at the train station and take me to Priano. A bit pricey but in my opinion worth every penny.

Don’t get me wrong. I am really grateful and appreciative to have this opportunity to travel and return to Italy this year.  And I am very excited to visit this beautiful part of Italy.  But on every trip that I take, I go through peaks and valleys and so needless to say I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and hitting a valley moment over the weekend while working on my transportation needs.  And then I found this wonderful Travel Channel Show by Samantha Brown on iTunes (which I purchased) .  I learned a new Italian saying…

“il dolce far nienete” – The Sweetness of Doing Nothing

Here is my new itinerary . . .  “il dolce far nienete“, Priano, Positano, Capri, Paestum, Ravello, Amalfi, Scala, Atrani, Minori, Maiori, Salerno, Naples . . .   Thank you Samantha Brown and the Travel Channel for reminding me to set aside some “il dolce far nienete” time for myself.

Honestly, I didn’t have Naples very high on my must see list, but after reading about it in my guide books and learning about a few tourist attractions, I’m going.  How could I be so close and not invest at least a full day or maybe two to seeing some of what Naples (WikiTravel) has to offer.

I’m currently doing research for this segment of my itinerary and very high on my must see list are:

Naples National Archaeological Musuem (Wikipedia)

Santa Chiara Monastery and Church (Wikipedia)

Naples Duomo-Cathedral (Wikipedia)

Spaccanapoli  (Wikipedia)

And let’s face it, I cannot leave Naples without having a slice of an authentic Pizza Margherita. Naples is of course the birthplace of the “Pizza”.

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza  (Wikipedia)

Here in the US I use a portable mobile device called a MiFi.  It is a small credit card size device that allows you (with a data plan) to create your own personal Hot Spot where you can connect up to 5 devices.  It is fast and fantastic.  I have a non contract, month to month plan for unliminted data connection through my Virgin Mobile MiFi device for $40 per month that I use when I travel locally.  I just activate it before I leave and voila.  Sometimes I even connect my phone to it because the connection is faster than my built in 3G. 

A few months ago I purchased the Novatel MiFi 2352 (which will work in both the US and in Europe).   From this video, it almost looks too easy.  Supposedly, once I purchase my SIM card (in Italy or any destination in the world), I should be able to pop the card into the device and voila.  Instant and portable WiFi.   Could it be that easy?  Well, we’ll see . . .

While doing my ritual Kayak search for a descent airfare, I stumbled onto this hilarious video by Fascinating Aida. 

So here are some helpful tips I’m trying to follow to find a fecking cheap flight:

- Travel in the off season (it just happens that November to early December is the best time for me to get away from work).

- Best days to search for cheap airfares are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at low traffic times of the day (I’ll need a good strong cup of coffee to follow this tip).

- Flexibility (try traveling on Tuesday, Wednesday and also Saturday. Avoid traveling on Friday, Sunday and Monday

- Consider flying out or into other airports. In my research, I think flying into Rome versus Naples will provide a wider itinerary selection and reasonable airfares for me and it is only a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Rome to Salerno.

- Use Website Alerts like Kayak, Airfare Watchdog for airfare sales.

- And as this video so humorously illustrates, a “cheap” flight does not necessarily mean the “best” flight.  :)  For example,  I would pay a little more for a flight on one airlines versus another, I would pay a little more for an early arrival time versus a late night arrival time, I would pay a little more for an itinerary with one rather than two stop overs, I would pay a little more to avoid a stopover at CDG airport and I would definitely pay a little more for a layover time with a bit more cushion than 50 minutes.

And so, the hunt for not just a cheap but the best airfare continues. . . .