For McCool Travel’s 41st travel profile, I am happy to present Carole Rosenblat. Get this, Carole invites people (readers of DropMeAnywhere.com) to vote on where in the world she will go next. Sound crazy? Or wonderful? Either way, you will want to check it out. Her current vote is which ancient civilization to visit. One previous vote was which “St.” place to visit. Fascinating.
Carole’s bio (in her words):
“With twenty years experience working in the travel industry on board cruise ships, in hotels, as an international tour manager, a camping/adventure tour guide and managing logistics for corporate meetings and events around the world, Carole is now working on her latest project www.DropMeAnywhere.com, which is about travel with minimal planning. Readers become Virtual Travel Buddies when they vote on where she goes without a plan. It’s informational travel humor. While on location, she finds a local organization or project to volunteer with and profile on her philanthropic site www.Rebel-With-A-Cause.org. She also shares her snarky view on life and current events on www.MyOwnAdventure.wordpress.
Carole Rosenblat
Hometown
Oak Park, MI, a suburb of Detroit (instead of 8 Mile, I grew up at 9 Mile)
Always in my luggage…
Bathing Suit—it takes up so little room and you never know when you might need it; corkscrew—isn’t it obvious?; earplugs!
3 favorite home-away-from-home places…
Istanbul, Ireland, Botswana.
A favorite travel memory is…
I was wandering in Krakow with no destination in mind (I do this a lot and highly recommend it) and came upon a fairly non-descript building near the central square. I walked in and heard music coming from upstairs. I climbed the stairs and was told I was in a former castle and the Krakow Stringed quartet was playing a small concert (on folding chairs). As it was nearly intermission, they offered me a half-priced ticket and a glass of wine. My most recent travel memories as part of Drop Me Anywhere have been ending up in a dungeon in St. John’s Newfoundland, spending a night at a nudist RV resort in Oregon, and volunteering on a film crew with three drag queens to promote Limerick, Ireland’s Pride Week. I never know where my readers will send me!
3 favorite travel brands…
- SeatGuru
- Lonely Planet
- GlobeConvert (it’s a really helpful app for traveling)
3 money-saving travel tactics I use are…
- Reserve a rental car (to be sure you have one) but then bid on a name your own price site a couple days before.
- Stop by Groupon or another similar site for the city you’re visiting to find some local deals.
- If I see a restaurant that looks like I could get food poisoning, that’s my kind of place. It normally has great local food and is pretty cheap (and I’ve only had food poisoning twice).
3 ways that I have fun while traveling are…
- Meeting people is my number one way to have fun – I go against mom’s advice and talk to strangers
- Take time to wander without a destination in mind, you may find some amazing things
- Get out of your comfort zone and try new things – I’m a bit of an adrenaline addict (skydived twice, scuba dived, ziplined, rappelling, ultra-lighting, olympic bobsled run, etc). Oh, and I’m a big fan of bicycle tours around a city. You get further than walking and don’t see the city from a bus window.
8 word (or less) travel mantra…
Don’t worry about planning, just go!
My favorite non-travel website…
Twitter (great way to connect with suppliers, locations and fellow travelers), Facebook (a great way to keep in touch with friends around the world), PBS (I use the iPad app), and Ted.com (I hope to do a TedTalk one day).
most memorable souvenir …
I’m not really a shopper, but I do like picking up food items from other places. I’ll have to forgo that, though, as I’ll be selling my house to travel and write my book. I consider my memories my greatest souvenir.
favorite cheap eat …
There’s this little stand at one of the entrances of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. It has tiny chairs and tables and serves great shawarma!
recent discovery …
I just started playing with RetailMeNot.com which gave me a great coupon code for an air/hotel combo on my other newest discovery, CheapOAir.
I am fortunate to have met …
So many in my travels – famous (I once told Jim Belushi where to get magic mushrooms in Tortola) and not famous – for me, travel is more about the people I meet than anyone else.
I would like to meet …
George Clooney, I mean, really. But not just for the obvious reasons. He’s also an amazing humanitarian.
Thank you very much, Carole.
Follow Carole on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Drop Me Anywhere.
Check out McCool Travel’s previous profiles. McCool Travel presents tips from travel experts in our 5 Minutes interview series—featuring travel industry giants, super frequent travelers, and adventurous persons. Previous 5 Minutes post: Nyssa C.
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Being a Krakow gal, I love Carole’s story about wandering the Old Town! I love to do it every time I’m back, but not necessarily with the same results. 😉
Thank you, Pola.