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6 Dec '11

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3-devide-lines

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I'm a New York native who left my home to explore the world slowly and thoroughly. I’m just a little obsessed with photography, scuba diving, and reading guidebooks to countries I have no immediate plans to visit.

I 🤍 (and miss you!) New York Just about a mont

I 🤍 (and miss you!) New York

Just about a month ago I spent a farewell weekend in New York, knowing, or at least thinking at the time, that it would be my last few days in the city until October — four month away from the place I’ve been spending much (most?) of my time lately.

It was an epic send off, and if you scroll to the very end you’ll see New York really left it’s mark on me! 😅

It was a crazy three nights where I had a fun reunion with the high school crew, took my niece who just moved to the city for a fun boozy brunch, and then had an epic New York night that started on a Williamsburg hotel rooftop and wound around to a Puerto Rican dive bar and landed at a Red Hook rave.

Running on fumes, and forever running late, I told my Lyft driver the next morning that I would get them whatever they wanted if they drove me through a McDonald’s drive through en route to the train station 😂 only to find all day breakfast was cancelled by 2020 (how many petitions must I sign?!) 😫 So at this point I’m both shaky hungry AND super late, and as I ran like a psycho person to not miss my train to Philadelphia, I tripped on my oversized suitcases and fell down the escalator, with one of my bags and I tumbling down to the train platform together.

Half a dozen bruises, an escalator rash a sprained labrum and a bruised rib later, I still have a daily reminder of why I need to slow the F down every time I try to raise my right arm above shoulder height 😅

I thought about just writing a glossy tribute to New York but I think tripping down a subterranean tunnel and giving myself an injury that will take months to heal after a three day fun bender is mucho more appropriate caption.

New York I love you you chaotic twisted city that’s finally back to never sleeping 🙌🏻 See ya in October… or maybe sooner 🙃

Diving in… to the future of coral conservation 💦🌎🐙

Did you know…

• Coral is an animal?
• Although reefs have survived the last five mass extinctions, they can no longer keep up with the speed of global environmental changes caused by human activity, and we have lost more than half of the world’s coral reefs in the last 30 years?
• Without immediate action, all shallow water coral reefs are projected to vanish by the end of this century?
• Coral reefs protect coastlines from storms and erosion, provide jobs for local communities, are a source of food and new medicines, and over half a billion people depend on reefs for food, income, and protection?

Pretty intense, huh? And yet, in the last few years as I’ve taken my own deep dive into coral restoration and visited projects, attended seminars and taken courses all over the world from Thailand to Florida to the Dominican Republic and beyond, I have found myself wildly inspired by the spirit of dedication, creativity, and collaboration in this field.

On my recent trip to DR, I was lucky enough to dive the coral nursery of @waveofchange with Macarena Blanco, the young female director of science at @iberostar — brava for every part of that sentence!

They use extremely similar methods to @coralrestorationfoundation, who I am sharing my current retreat with on my stories right now.

It’s unclear what the future holds for our beautiful oceans. And I’m so glad that so many brilliant people far wiser than I are dedicating their energy to answering that question. But I do feel quite sure that the first step is for every single one of us to start to care!

And whatever gets you there, from visiting a coral lab at your hotel on vacation to watching an eye-opening Netflix documentary to reading this post on Instagram, we’re one tiny step closer.

Love you, ocean blue!

Vibe check post ✨ How’s everyone feeling about

Vibe check post ✨ How’s everyone feeling about travel right now? 
I’ve had some crazy highs lately, times I think wow, we made it! I’m back to running @wanderwomenretreats that fill my heart with joy, I’m back to working campaigns like this one where I was able to bring my lil sis along like the old days, I’m back to a packed calendar of back-to-back flights and adventures and work and opportunities.

But, there are plenty of reminders that the world is still healing and not everywhere is as lucky as we are to be relatively open and operating. One of my bachelorettes and one of my weddings were rescheduled for next year. Israel just announced that they were not opening August 1st as planned, canceling my trip there in a few weeks and really bruising my heart in the process. And I’m on the brink of cancelling my own birthday trip for this year, centered around Dia De Los Muertos, as it seems unlikely Oaxaca will move forward with full-blown celebrations.

I do think I’m going to stick to my plan to go to England pre-retreats, though I am bummed they haven’t lifted the quarantine for vaccinated travelers. Oh well, I can spend five days snuggling with my friends (your hosts don’t have to quarantine with you, luckily) and then have a few days of freedom!

I’m also really in the thick of booking my two and a half weeks in France post-retreats, and just manifesting that it stays open-armed! (Tips for Nice, St. Tropez, Languedoc, Narbonne, Champagne, Paris… hit me up!)

Mostly I am beside myself with excitement over my Middle East retreats. So many friends I can’t wait to hug, foods I can’t wait to eat, and incredible guests I can’t wait to meet!

I guess, overall, I’m just riding the waves, staying flexible, seeing what happens, and while I do often find myself wistful where the days when the world seemed limitless, I know I’m happiest when I focus on what’s right in front of me in the moment.

Now, tell me what’s up with you and your travels!

Let’s create a #WaveofChange! 🌊 I’ve been

Let’s create a #WaveofChange! 🌊

I’ve been in the tourism industry long enough to have gotten pretty jaded about hotels claims to be “eco” — cool, you don’t change the towels every day.

So, I found myself almost giddy as I started researching the @WaveofChange movement — @Iberostar’s commitment to going green, based on three pillars: total elimination of single-use plastics, responsible fish consumption, and effort to improve coastal health.

The progressive they’ve made already is incredible, but their long term goals are truly impressive:

♻️ Single-use plastic free by 2020, waste free with 0KG to landfills by 2025, and carbon neutral by 2030!

🐙 Seafood consumption is 100% responsible by 2025!

🐠 All ecosystems that surround Iberostar properties are improving in ecological health alongside profitable tourism by 2030!

Can you imagine if every all-inclusive on earth committed to serving food and beverages without single use plastics? Can you imagine if every restaurant on earth committed to MSC and ASC* certification standards? Can you imagine if every multi-National chain committed to carbon neutrality?

This wave would become a tsunami ✨

Grateful for spending a #WorldOceansDay planting mangroves, cleaning a beach, diving a coral nursery (that’s a post of its own!) and being inspired by truly industry disrupting ideas.

Thanks, #iberostar 🙏🏻

What’s most important to YOU when choosing accom

What’s most important to YOU when choosing accommodation?
Location, price, amenities, design, ethos?

I loved the design of this modern, beachside resort, one of many in the @iberostar complex in Bávaro, Dominican Republic!

When it comes to hotels, I look for bright, modern, and fun! (And TBH, adults-only if possible 😅) I’m very much inspired by my surroundings and have been known to take the art off the walls in an Airbnb if I don’t like it 🤣

Luckily the rooms here left me smitten! 💛

I feel like luxury level is less of a deal breaker for me. I’d rather stay at a fun + funky design hostel than a fancy but stuffy luxury resort. I’m just always looking for something unique!

What’s your big decision maker when it comes to searching for the perfect place to stay?

Me encanta Punta Cana 🇩🇴 Is that me trying

Me encanta Punta Cana 🇩🇴

Is that me trying to rhyme en español? Sure is 🤪

When a project opportunity landed in my inbox that would bring me back to the Dominican Republic to discover a new coast for #WorldOceansDay, I simply couldn’t say no! (Despite, of course, my prior insistence that I was totally maxed out for all summer work and travel 😅).

I spent four beautiful days at @iberostar learning about their inspiring @waveofchange program — and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

I visit all-inclusives pretty rarely, maybe once every two or three years. That said, I totally understand their popularity in the travel industry for multi-generational trips, big groups, even just those times when you truly need to turn your brain off and relax!

After seeing the major industry-changing initiatives at @iberostar, this is going to be my go-to recommendation of choice when asked about all-inclusives! I was truly wow-ed by their initiatives, and can only imagine what we could achieve if more big brands would follow suit 👏🏻

Are you into all-inclusives? It sure is fun spending the day pool hopping and ordering a cabaña-side piña colada without looking at a bill 🤪

Honoring my mom 🌻💛 For my mom’s birthday

Honoring my mom 🌻💛

For my mom’s birthday this year, we were honored to celebrate the very first Kathryn Allen Day of Service with @unityhouse_dv.

Service was truly her passion and I can’t think of a better way to have honored her legacy than gathering with her closest friends and getting dirty landscaping her favorite community service organization’s domestic violence shelter.

It meant so much to me to spend the day surrounded by people who loved her, in a place she poured her heart into, doing something she loved, hearing stories of her legendary generosity and “can do” attitude.

Grief is certainly not a race to get to a finish line or a test to get an A on, but this was a day where I felt like yes, this is exactly where I’m meant to be — and she’s looking down smiling.

When my mom died I felt like I lost my North Star, but lately I realize she’s still there, guiding me to be the most patient, giving, altruistic version of myself. To find beauty in the chaos.

Happy belated birthday, mama ✨

Netflix obsessions, high school confessions, and r

Netflix obsessions, high school confessions, and random personal reflections ahead ✨:

Lately I’ve been watching Cheer, the docu-series on a professional cheer squad in Texas and wow, does it bring my back to my high school days, when it is probably of little surprise to anyone, I was a competitive cheerleader!

As a kid, my parents tried to get me into every sport… soccer, lacrosse, basketball, I hated them all. Swimming and gymnastics were the only things I ever really vaguely enjoyed. Gym class was my literal nightmare and I dreaded the annual physical fitness tests!

In middle school I saw cheerleaders stunting (when they toss each other around in the air, for the uninitiated) and I was immediately hooked. I signed up for both my school’s cheer squad (which I kind of hated because I had to watch a football game, ha) and a competition squad. My mom, a staunch feminist, was horrified and boycotted my practices and competitions for many seasons. (All the moms thought it was wild that my dad was the one who would take me, ha — a solo dad at a cheerleading competition was a pretty rare sight, at least back then!)

However, she eventually softened. This year, I found an email she had written my coach and kept a copy of that had me laughing so hard. She explained to my coach that she had been super skeptical of cheerleading but profusely thanked her for everything she had done for me and the team, and specially said something along the lines of, “Alex has never been a physically motivated person and tends to give up immediately when something is hard (editor’s note: 🤣), but today at practice I saw her fall out of that pyramid and get spooked but you coached her back up, and she really pushed herself. I was a very proud and grateful mom.”

How times have changed! Today I’m a yoga instructor, a group fitness groupie, and an aerial arts enthusiast! Aerial was my adult version of cheer, I think — it is an enormous creative and physical outlet, it gets me in the best shape of my life, it introduces me to incredible people, and it makes me want to dance and play!

Continued in comments ✌🏻

Martha’s Vineyard: my first @wanderwomenretreats

Martha’s Vineyard: my first @wanderwomenretreats back in business after a fourteen month hiatus, my first retreat of 2021, my first long awaited collaboration with @highflyingretreats! 🙌🏻

@brennabradbury and I were so honored to so quickly release and sell out this retreat after having to postpone our Tel Aviv retreat once again to 2022.

We planned a weekend full of yoga and aerial in the most beautiful studio, exploring this surprising island, eating gorgeous food, and celebrating togetherness!

While we had a lot of challenges thrown our way — historically low temperatures and rainfall for Memorial Day weekend, a crippling labor shortage on the island, scheduling issues and beyond — the weekend for me was a testament to how thankful I am to be back facing them!

Because at the end of the weekend we sat around my kitchen table and took part in our retreat tradition of sharing our challenges and highlights… and what I heard was gratitude. Gratitude for our health and the joy of moving our bodies, gratitude for being together and learning from each other, gratitude for these creative outlets, gratitude for exploring new places (even in the rain.)

Thank you to our amazing gift bag sponsors including @giligear, who provided us with eco-friendly (and rain proof, ha!) yoga mat bags made from recycled ocean plastics, and @greenblanky, who lovingly creates pieces of art for every retreat I run!

Thank you to each and every one of our guests for teaching me something new, for bringing the metaphorical sunshine, and for allowing me the privilege of showing you one of my island homes!

@brennabradbury and I met on a trapeze line in the Dominican Republic in 2018 and she’s become both a mentor and a soul sister so quickly — while I’m throwing thanks around, gosh am I grateful to the universe for putting us two sticker-loving, aerial-obsessed, entrepreneurial-minded, cocktail-hour queens in each other’s paths! Love you Brenna, here’s to the first of many!

Watch out world. We’re back, baby ✨

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