This has been in my draft queue for over a year, so, here:

Hotel 101, Hverfigata 10, 15-101 Reyk. $480 / night. Website

Blaa Lonid in Grindavik: $27. Website

I recommend both, heartily.

I’ve been on back to back calls since 9:30 a.m. this morning but wanted to share some big news that was just finalized on my 4:00 call.  (Had a 4:30 else would’ve blogged then.)

As some of you know, I’ve been traveling to Miami a ton for work in the past few months.  Five trips since late October, four since the first of the year, and have been there a total of three weeks this year thus far.

There’ve been a ton of changes that I can’t speak to specifically here, but my relocation that’s been on the table in theory for a while is now a done deal.

Yeah, that’s right.  I’m gettin’ all Florida on ya and livin’ the tan lifestyle.  Effective mid-May I’ll be sponging off a corporate apartment for a six month relocation.

This is not a permanent reloco and I’m keepin’ my crib on the LES.

But yeah, now I get to burn through all those “Test Drive Me” links in my delicious account.

Okay, gotta get ready for my 5:30 call.

I am tired. If you scroll to the lower left hand corner of xoxoANP! you’ll note I’ve added a couple of badges that don’t fit into my template (2.0 companies: collabo with the IAB on standard sizes, will ya?), including DOPPLR.

But I am tired, tired of getting into my hotel bed at 4 a.m., tired of being so out of it I am spacing on things like passports and laptops, tired of paying $400 for RT on the Acela, tired of having spent more days away from my home than in it during the month of February.

* * *

Business travel was so glamorous when I was 21. My first trip on a company dime was down to Virginia. After the company dinner, I remember sitting Indian-style on my hotel room’s king-size bed (swimming in floral print polyester bed spread, so large it was!) looking at my suit hanging up in the closet, TV tuned to a cable station, with the contents of the Capital One recruiting gift bag splayed out in front of me.

Finally, I thought. Finally. I’m a grown up. This is so much fun. I’ve been waiting forever for a moment like this. I’m finally free.

I now have an intimate understanding as to why so much illegal activity occurs in hotels near JFK. Intravenous drug busts, sex parties with kidnapped teens forced into prostitution, pilfering of hotel towels …

I will say that as far as hotels go, this Fairfield Inn is pretty nice. They give you a goodie bag and everything. Almost makes the fact that Rachel might bludgeon me in my sleep for my required-documents-snafu not seem so harsh.

Off to give GILFs some heart attacks on one happy island with my girl Rachel. Also crashing the honeymoon of my brother and his brand new wife (!). Also hosting FEB CLUB ARUBA.

When I return, I’ll start checking a new ethnicity box.

No brawls within my comments, yo.  You wanna wrassle, suit up and git the oil.

Flight on Iceland Air to CDG from JFK through KEF: $540 through Orbitz on the PremierPass

Taxi from CDG to my first hotel: 43E / $58

Chunnel to / from London: $579

Taxi from Kef to Reyk: $134

Yaris rental for a few hours from Reyk to Kef: $135

• Beware of the Babylon
• The Delano
• Cool chill lounge music
• The whole “traveling solo woman thing”
• Hot stone whatever

Soundtrack

Reminded by Bree’s recent post, I’m looking back at the list of places I slept in 2007, and while it’s longer and more varied than it’s ever been before in my life, it’s funny how traveling far from home has brought me that much more closer to it.

16. Greenwich, Connecticut

Related: where I slept in 2006.

On the docket for 2008:

• Miami, Florida
• Chicago, Illinois
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Aruba
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Jacksonville, Florida
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• New Haven, Connecticut

My disposable income is significantly smaller than last year, however, so there’s not going to be a lot of Hot International Travel Action.  Although on my wish list for whenever are:

• Ulan Bataar
• Zanzibar
• Odessa
• Jakarta
• Ubon Ratchathani
• Turkmenistan
• Prague

* Non-contiguous sleepy-bye in this locale