Latest / Dishing with Stephanie's Dish / Michael Kenney from Defined Destinations

Transcript

Michael Kenney from Defined Destinations · Dishing with Stephanie's Dish

0:13
SPEAKER_00: Hello,
0:13
SPEAKER_00: everybody,
0:13
SPEAKER_00: and welcome to Ditching with Stephanie's Dish,
0:16
SPEAKER_00: the podcast where we talk about food.
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A lot of times we talk to cookbook authors and kind of
0:21
understand their process and
0:22
SPEAKER_00: what they're doing.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm just noticing my hair is real bedhead, but it is what it is, friends.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: In this particular episode, I want to talk to my friend Michael Kenney.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: He is from Define Destinations.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: He owns his own business, and it's a travel company.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: And Michael and I met a
0:39
SPEAKER_00: about three years ago now, and we have done a number of trips together.
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SPEAKER_00: And we are planning our April trip, which is gonna be to Turkey.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: And we have a lot of different cities that we're gonna visit.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that I've heard from a lot of people
0:54
They all know we're going to Turkey and they want to hear about
0:56
it and they're
0:57
SPEAKER_00: excited to know about the destination,
0:59
SPEAKER_00: but they're nervous about signing up for the trip.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: So I said to Michael, let's just talk.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Let's do a podcast where we give people an idea of what to expect,
1:08
SPEAKER_00: where we're going,
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SPEAKER_00: what kind of things we're going to see.
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SPEAKER_00: My friend Todd Walker, coincidentally, he's in Turkey right now.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: And he said, and he's been, he travels all over.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: He works for the Viking Cruise Lines,
1:22
doing trips for them and helping to write about them and help
1:26
people experience
1:27
SPEAKER_00: them.
1:27
He sent me a text and he said,
1:30
Turkey is in his top three places he's ever been.
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SPEAKER_00: He's just super hot on it.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: He's like, you are crazy.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: Totally going at the exact right time because he's like,
1:38
SPEAKER_00: people are just starting to learn about it.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: But there's so many cool things.
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SPEAKER_00: He said it's a trip like nothing he's ever experienced before.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: So Michael, I'm excited to talk to you about it.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: And people ask me like, well, why did you pick Turkey?
1:52
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, why not?
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SPEAKER_00: I have always, I met a guy 20 years ago in Paris that was from Turkey.
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SPEAKER_00: And first of all, he was gorgeous.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: So let's just go there.
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SPEAKER_00: But second of all,
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SPEAKER_00: he really like,
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he just was telling me about where he lived and what Turkey was
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like and what the
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SPEAKER_00: food was like.
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And he talked to me about the spice trail and kind of how
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people came in through Istanbul.
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SPEAKER_00: And then
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crossed over into Italy and into Spain and it made me feel like
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wow okay Turkey is
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this very Mediterranean feeling place with tons of culture and
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I've always wanted
2:29
SPEAKER_00: to go there so I picked it Michael.
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Why did you allow me to pick Turkey knowing that it would be a
2:35
destination that
2:35
SPEAKER_00: would be harder to sell for people?
2:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's what's great.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: And thanks for having me on, Stephanie.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: It's always a blast to travel with you and with your listeners.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: We've built some really great bonds with the people, which has been fun.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: So even our latest trip to Sicily, what a blast and great people.
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SPEAKER_01: But going back to why we choose this and with Turkey...
3:00
SPEAKER_01: And that's what's great about you.
3:01
SPEAKER_01: It's like you're willing to try some new areas.
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SPEAKER_01: And a lot of people are like, well, I've heard of Turkey.
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SPEAKER_01: I don't know much about it.
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SPEAKER_01: And I think that's where we both kind of glammed on like,
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SPEAKER_01: let's go and let's have this experience.
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SPEAKER_01: And we've been putting group trips together for 27 years.
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And we have some great partners and some Turkish partners too
3:22
that can really open up the eyes.
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I know several people that have been to Istanbul and everyone's
3:29
heard of Istanbul.
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SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, it's a top five city on earth for a lot of people.
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SPEAKER_01: and you're probably wondering why.
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So I encourage you to kind of jump in,
3:37
look at our website,
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do a little research on that.
3:40
SPEAKER_01: But Turkey is so much more than that.
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SPEAKER_01: They have absolutely stunning beaches,
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SPEAKER_01: their food culture,
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SPEAKER_01: their spices,
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SPEAKER_01: the seaside communities,
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SPEAKER_01: the Roman ruins.
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SPEAKER_01: They have so much in different little pockets.
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SPEAKER_01: So Turkey offers,
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SPEAKER_01: and I think that's what maybe gravitated you and I both to it,
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SPEAKER_01: just the diversity.
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SPEAKER_01: still a little of that wonder, like, what's really, what's in Turkey?
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SPEAKER_01: And I think,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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we talked about a little earlier before the podcast about some
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of the places,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: that are kind of,
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SPEAKER_01: overrun with tourists and definitely Turkey is not there.
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SPEAKER_01: It will be at some point.
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So it's kind of fun to get on maybe the ground level to get to
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some of these places
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SPEAKER_01: and not just Istanbul,
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SPEAKER_01: because it is busy.
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But some of the other places that we're going to go from
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Ephesus to Kavdukia or
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SPEAKER_01: Pamukkale,
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there's so many different places that are on this trip that
4:40
you've never even heard
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SPEAKER_01: of.
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SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of like, well, I haven't really heard of that.
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Go look at our website,
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go do the research on the internet and see what it's so
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amazing.
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SPEAKER_01: The Europeans,
4:50
SPEAKER_01: they know of Turkey really,
4:52
SPEAKER_01: really well because it's a quick flight and they absolutely love it.
4:55
I'm in Europe nine times a year and the folks that I talk with
5:00
over there,
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SPEAKER_01: they absolutely love it.
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SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of like a discovery trip for Americans.
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SPEAKER_01: And what's great about our trip, it's fully guided.
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SPEAKER_01: We have 31 meals included.
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SPEAKER_01: We have the inner flight inside Turkey included.
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SPEAKER_01: So there's really no out of pocket expense for that.
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So you can really sit back and relax and take in the best of
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Turkey with our local guides.
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and there's just so much and i think that's what's going to be
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kind of fun to to go
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discover this place in our group is going to be no more than 15
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people it's a small
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group experience so you can really relax and enjoy that and i
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know folks that maybe
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well what's a group tour you know i think you even mentioned
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that too for some
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SPEAKER_01: people like well what do you do it's
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SPEAKER_01: Again, we've kind of handled everything.
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We've taken care of the hotels,
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the buses,
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the cooking class that we're going to do.
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SPEAKER_01: I mean, you might want to touch on that later on.
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SPEAKER_01: But we've taken all of that,
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SPEAKER_01: these best of experiences,
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and put it in one itinerary so you can sit back and relax and
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know that you're
5:58
SPEAKER_01: going to see the best of Turkey.
6:00
I think explaining my husband Kurt's sort of transformation is
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good to hear.
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SPEAKER_00: My husband is an independent person.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: He's owned his own business.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: He's a sailor.
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SPEAKER_00: He has no interest really in group travel.
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Like when I brought it up to him and that I was going to start
6:19
leading trips,
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SPEAKER_00: he was like,
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SPEAKER_00: why would you want to do that?
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SPEAKER_00: Why would you want to be with people you don't even know?
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SPEAKER_00: Like he is just anti-group travel as a rule.
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SPEAKER_00: And he came on our first trip.
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He wanted to come with us when we went to Cambodia and we went
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to Vietnam.
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SPEAKER_00: He knew that he would never plan a trip to Asia on his own.
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SPEAKER_00: So he thought,
6:39
SPEAKER_00: well,
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I'll go along on this group travel and I'll just suck up the
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group travel part
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SPEAKER_00: because I get to go to this cool destination.
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SPEAKER_00: Well, what happened is he loved it.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: He liked group travel.
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SPEAKER_00: He liked meeting new people.
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He liked not being the person that had to be in charge of
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making sure that we got
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SPEAKER_00: our luggage to the room and that we made it to the right flights and
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SPEAKER_00: And that he had to carry all the stuff and all the itinerary.
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SPEAKER_00: He kind of liked that he wasn't responsible for all that.
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SPEAKER_00: And he liked the food.
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SPEAKER_00: He liked meeting the people.
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He liked not having to be in a city he'd never been in and
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figure out exactly where
7:18
SPEAKER_00: we were going to eat every single meal.
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SPEAKER_00: We had flexibility, obviously, on these trips.
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SPEAKER_00: We want it to be your trip.
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SPEAKER_00: In our Sicily experience,
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SPEAKER_00: you mentioned a couple of times,
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SPEAKER_00: like,
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SPEAKER_00: if this doesn't feel like something you want to do,
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SPEAKER_00: then don't do it.
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SPEAKER_00: Do something else for the day.
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SPEAKER_00: We can help you orchestrate other things.
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SPEAKER_00: He really loved the idea that he didn't have to do everything.
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And in fact,
7:41
when we did our cooking class in Sicily,
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which was amazing,
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by the way,
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SPEAKER_00: We learned to make arancini, which they call arancino.
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SPEAKER_00: We made a thing called a pinello,
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SPEAKER_00: which was a chickpea pancake that they eat in a sandwich,
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SPEAKER_00: which was kind of different.
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SPEAKER_00: But Kurt didn't want to do the cooking class.
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SPEAKER_00: He was like, you know what?
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SPEAKER_00: I think I'm just going to go walk around the city.
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SPEAKER_00: So him and another friend peeled off and like that's.
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the joy of these trips we plan everything but if you're tired
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or if you just want a
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day of rest you can do that too um we really try to make it so
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that we know it's
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your experience we're not as interested in you just being
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forced to come along on
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things that you're not interested in we're interested in your
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experience we want
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you to have a good time so if kurt johnson can get turned on to
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group travel i feel
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SPEAKER_00: like seriously anyone can
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SPEAKER_01: No, that's well said.
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SPEAKER_01: I would have never guessed that about Kurt initially,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: and I wouldn't call him an introvert by any means,
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SPEAKER_01: but I think we get,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: a lot of people like that with Kurt,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: maybe their husband or their wife drags them on a trip and they're like,
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SPEAKER_01: you know what,
8:46
SPEAKER_01: this is actually pretty cool,
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SPEAKER_01: especially for the person that maybe is doing typically all the planning.
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SPEAKER_01: And it's stressful.
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You know,
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we do all that for you,
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but you can really,
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again,
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sit back and enjoy.
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SPEAKER_01: You spend a lot of money to go on these trips, and that's what we want.
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SPEAKER_01: So we want you to feel like you have that freedom,
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SPEAKER_01: too,
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SPEAKER_01: when we set up our hotels in nice central locations.
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SPEAKER_01: in safe areas too that you can go out and explore.
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SPEAKER_01: So we encourage you to do that.
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SPEAKER_01: But honestly,
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we feel pretty good that the pace of these trips are designed
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really well,
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SPEAKER_01: that you have that flexibility.
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SPEAKER_01: Because we want you,
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SPEAKER_01: yes,
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SPEAKER_01: you're in a group,
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SPEAKER_01: even a small group,
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but we want to make it feel like you're having these
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experiences with a friend or a
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SPEAKER_01: family member that's with you too,
9:28
SPEAKER_01: that you feel like you're having these little
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SPEAKER_01: exploring trips, but it's all kind of put together already for you.
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SPEAKER_01: But again,
9:37
SPEAKER_01: we have time for you to go exploring,
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SPEAKER_01: to have these other experiences,
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SPEAKER_01: which is really,
9:43
SPEAKER_01: really important.
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SPEAKER_01: Balance is so important.
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SPEAKER_01: Over 27 years, I think we've really
9:48
We focus on that so we know that people are comfortable having
9:52
that free time to explore.
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SPEAKER_01: But again, having the framework of an itinerary with experiences.
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SPEAKER_01: Typically,
9:59
we might do a city tour in the morning and then have the rest
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of your day free to
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SPEAKER_01: have your own exploring.
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SPEAKER_01: And then maybe,
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SPEAKER_01: especially for this trip,
10:06
SPEAKER_01: with the 31 meals that we'll meet up and have dinner in a place.
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And again,
10:11
they have all been curated with our local team,
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too,
10:14
in the area that
10:15
you're going to have foods local from the area in great mom,
10:18
pa type of restaurants.
10:20
So sometimes it's stressful when you're trying to figure out
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where am I going to go eat?
10:25
SPEAKER_01: What should I do?
10:26
SPEAKER_01: I want to make sure the dinner is going to be great.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: We've got that taken care of so you can sit back and relax.
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And again,
10:31
we know most of you probably have not heard of a lot of these
10:35
places.
10:35
SPEAKER_01: Please, we implore you to go and take a look at the itinerary.
10:39
SPEAKER_01: Do a little research because I guarantee it in a few years from now,
10:43
These are going to be mainstream and you'll be able to go
10:46
explore and see these
10:47
SPEAKER_01: places before they're overly busy.
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SPEAKER_01: So take a look at this itinerary.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: I was impressed because when I first was thinking about Turkey,
10:56
I went on a map and I didn't realize like when I started going
11:00
to Croatia,
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SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize how close Croatia is to Italy,
11:05
that literally they share a sea and that a lot of Italians use
11:09
Croatia as their
11:10
SPEAKER_00: summer vacation spot.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't also realize that Turkey and Italy are very close and
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SPEAKER_00: And that a lot of Europeans,
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SPEAKER_00: because they've got EasyJet there,
11:21
SPEAKER_00: that's an Italian airline,
11:23
SPEAKER_00: they're going to Turkey like we would be going to Palm Springs.
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SPEAKER_00: I mean, a lot of Europeans are experiencing Turkey.
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And it's just not a destination that a lot of Americans are
11:33
familiar with.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: But a lot of people are going there and having fun, doing fun things.
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SPEAKER_00: This it's been so fun for me to watch my friend Todd Walker,
11:42
SPEAKER_00: because he went to Cappadocia,
11:44
SPEAKER_00: which is a city that we're going to go to.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: And they have all these fairy houses that are like these stone.
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SPEAKER_00: They look like dunce caps, sort of.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: They're these weird structures.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: And he actually spent the night in one of them.
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SPEAKER_00: He did a hot air balloon ride there,
12:02
SPEAKER_00: which is part of our itinerary if someone wants to add that on.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: I know Kurt's going to do that.
12:07
It's like he went and he had all this video of it where there's
12:11
140 hot air
12:12
SPEAKER_00: balloons going up kind of all at once out of this city.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: It just looks so completely cool.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: And then...
12:18
SPEAKER_00: the huge market.
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SPEAKER_00: There's like the world's largest market.
12:23
So all of these trips,
12:25
I always end up with a group of great women shoppers.
12:28
And I'm like,
12:29
okay,
12:29
bring an extra bag,
12:30
ladies,
12:31
because you're going to come home with a rug.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: You're going to come home with all of these spices.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: There's 4,000 stalls in the Grand Market in Istanbul.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Did you know that?
12:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the Grand Bazaar.
12:40
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know exactly how many, but yeah, it's massive.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: So just that,
12:45
like I love getting into a market and just like seeing all the
12:49
different things,
12:50
SPEAKER_00: feeling all the different spices.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: In Sicily, we had an opportunity to go to the market.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: And afterwards,
12:57
we had our local guide that kind of takes you around and shows
13:00
you where everything
13:01
SPEAKER_00: is and gives you a sense of maybe what to look for at the market.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: And then we split up.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: And Kurt and I,
13:07
he just wanted to drink beer in the market and kind of
13:09
experience feeling in the
13:11
SPEAKER_00: market.
13:11
So we went and got sandwiches,
13:13
but a bunch of other people like shop till they dropped.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Like they had huge shopping bags full of stuff.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: So if your jam is shopping, great.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: If your jam is just sitting and taking in the culture, great.
13:23
Like you can also learn more about a city by spending time with
13:27
the city guides
13:28
SPEAKER_00: that are with us.
13:29
They're always having lunch with us and we have a bus driver
13:33
that we get to know in
13:34
SPEAKER_00: certain trips and
13:35
It really just,
13:36
we just got back from Sicily and we had such a great
13:38
experience.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: We had such a great trip.
13:40
It was probably one of my favorite groups because a lot of the
13:44
folks had traveled
13:44
SPEAKER_00: with us before.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: So we really knew each other too.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: It's, um, group travel is really fun.
13:50
SPEAKER_00: I'm just, I don't know.
13:51
I'm really jazzed about it and I'm jazzed about Turkey and I
13:53
want people to come.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: If you could describe Ephesus,
13:57
SPEAKER_00: cause that's a place that I haven't been before and you have,
14:00
SPEAKER_00: what is that like?
14:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:02
SPEAKER_01: Um, Ephesus, uh,
14:05
SPEAKER_01: It was built by the Romans in the time of Christ, so 2,000 years ago.
14:12
SPEAKER_01: You're walking through.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: It's unbelievable.
14:14
It's not like when you're at the Roman Colosseum or that area
14:17
around there.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: That's actually it feels like it's in more in ruins, if you will.
14:21
But you're like in this village,
14:24
this Roman village that you can think of the apostles walk.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: Maybe if you're,
14:29
SPEAKER_01: you know,
14:29
SPEAKER_01: religious Mary,
14:31
SPEAKER_01: Jesus's mother has walked in the still the stone streets are there.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: You know,
14:36
SPEAKER_01: a lot of the buildings are in ruins,
14:37
SPEAKER_01: but the library,
14:38
SPEAKER_01: the whole front facade is still there.
14:40
SPEAKER_01: It's unreal.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: It feels like you're just being brought back in time.
14:44
SPEAKER_01: And there's truly nothing like Ephesus,
14:46
SPEAKER_01: which is just right outside of the village of Kusadasi or city in Turkey.
14:51
But it's like the,
14:53
again,
14:54
if I could have an analogy,
14:55
like you're in Rome,
14:56
but to another level that it's it's much more i would say
15:00
intact still in ruins but
15:01
intact but it is this this village that it's in hibernation so
15:05
walking these
15:06
streets and we have these local guides as you touched on too
15:09
that kind of can bring
15:10
everything to to to life so you know you're not looking through
15:14
your your book and
15:15
SPEAKER_01: trying to like well what is this
15:16
SPEAKER_01: You listen to an audio guide or our local guide speaking about that.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: So you're learning about the history.
15:23
SPEAKER_01: But Ephesus is unbelievable.
15:25
And we're not going to see,
15:27
there's other ruins and more Roman sites throughout this trip.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: So you'll really get, you know, a history.
15:35
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't say a deep dive.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: They touch on it.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: So you're not like, oh, this is so boring.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: But you even said it's,
15:40
SPEAKER_01: A trip like this is great for shoppers if you want to shop.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: I'm not a shopper.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: I like to do what Kurt does.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: Sit down, maybe have a beer, and take it all in and do nothing.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: Just take in the people walking around, the smells.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: There's truly nothing like it.
15:55
And again,
15:56
I think this trip to Turkey really offers that potpourri of
16:00
different experiences.
16:01
SPEAKER_01: So if you're a foodie,
16:02
SPEAKER_01: if you're into photography,
16:04
SPEAKER_01: to culture,
16:05
SPEAKER_01: to history,
16:06
SPEAKER_01: this trip really ticks all the boxes and I guarantee it,
16:10
SPEAKER_01: you'll love it.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: You'll love the trip,
16:13
SPEAKER_01: but then even at the end,
16:14
there's a great chance you're going to make lifelong friends on
16:18
a trip like this
16:19
SPEAKER_01: too.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: So it really ticks a box of experiences.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: So hopefully April is a great time to go too.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: The temperatures you can expect
16:27
SPEAKER_01: you know, low 70s, you know, 50s, 60s at night.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: So it's really comfortable,
16:32
not like in the summer when it's really busy and it gets busy
16:35
with the Europeans
16:36
SPEAKER_01: and the temperature's hotter.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: This April time is a great time to visit for sure.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Can you talk a little bit about what the food is like?
16:46
SPEAKER_00: Like, I have an idea, but I don't really know.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Like, is it Mediterranean?
16:50
SPEAKER_00: Is it like meat and pomegranates and couscous?
16:56
SPEAKER_01: Yep, you're nailing it right now.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: No, it is like that.
16:59
So I think,
17:01
I encourage,
17:02
again,
17:02
people to look online,
17:03
too,
17:03
to see what some of these are.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: But you maybe have heard of,
17:05
SPEAKER_01: you know,
17:06
SPEAKER_01: baklava or,
17:07
SPEAKER_01: you know,
17:08
SPEAKER_01: kebabs,
17:09
SPEAKER_01: the lamb,
17:09
SPEAKER_01: the beef,
17:10
SPEAKER_01: the chicken.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: They have, you know, the different kebabs, lots of different spices.
17:15
SPEAKER_01: Ganache, Esme, you know, like fried dishes, too.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: But then a lot of cooked on open fires.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: But I would say, I wouldn't necessarily say it's comfort food.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: Like German, you know, and having...
17:26
you know some of the staples that you might know but still
17:29
something that's not too
17:30
odd it's probably more closer to home than maybe some of the
17:33
french food you would
17:34
see but you'll you'll see a lot of lamb the beef i said some of
17:38
the fried foods um
17:39
lots of you know from your turkish delights and different
17:42
things like that so i
17:43
think even when we're walking around in the market you'll get
17:46
that and then we'll
17:47
at our dinners have different meals as well that will infuse
17:51
some of these
17:51
SPEAKER_01: different experiences.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: So it won't be something completely foreign,
17:55
SPEAKER_01: but it'll be comfortable enough that I think you'll enjoy it.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: But it definitely be a nice array of different experiences with the food.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: I haven't told you this,
18:04
SPEAKER_00: but one of the places,
18:05
SPEAKER_00: and I don't know where I'm going to do this,
18:07
SPEAKER_00: but I am going to find,
18:09
have you ever been to a haman or done the spa experience where
18:16
you lay on hot
18:17
marble and it's sort of like a sauna and you get sweaty and
18:22
then you go into a room
18:24
SPEAKER_00: and
18:25
And they like brush you with salt and scrubby things and like
18:31
completely clean you.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: It's a Muslim tradition.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: And it's the most amazing thing I've ever done.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: I did this in Athens and I loved it so much.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: We went three times while we were in Athens.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to find a spa that does this there.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: I don't know in what city or where we are,
18:47
SPEAKER_00: but I know a local guide can help me when we get there.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: Both Kurt and I, it was just the most amazing, relaxing experience.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Just someone scrubbing you with all these different herbs and salts.
18:59
They have weird little brushes that your eyes are closed and
19:02
you can't even like
19:04
one of them was this big puffy like pillow feeling that was
19:08
running across the top
19:09
SPEAKER_00: of your body.
19:10
SPEAKER_00: It was so weird, but so great.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I haven't done it.
19:14
SPEAKER_01: I've seen them.
19:15
I've done like the part that we're just going to like in the
19:18
sauna or the steam bath.
19:19
SPEAKER_01: That's it.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: I haven't had the full rub down yet.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: Maybe on this Turkish trip.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's great.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: I'll do it.
19:27
SPEAKER_01: No, it'll be fun.
19:28
SPEAKER_01: But no, it's very popular over there, the Turkish Mons, to do that.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: So there definitely will be that opportunity.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: I will all give it a shot.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: You know, it'll be interesting to have someone scrub me down with salt.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: But hey, life's about having experiences.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: And I'm for it.
19:42
SPEAKER_01: But I'm glad you enjoyed that.
19:44
SPEAKER_01: But yes, they definitely have that.
19:45
SPEAKER_01: And you'll have that opportunity.
19:47
SPEAKER_01: If you want, again, it's always, it's up to you.
19:50
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to make anyone go get naked and do this,
19:52
SPEAKER_00: but if you want to get naked and do this,
19:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you,
19:55
SPEAKER_00: it's amazing.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: And they probably,
19:57
SPEAKER_00: actually,
19:57
they wear bathing suits because they're pretty modest or
20:01
they'll have like a
20:01
SPEAKER_00: separate women's area and a separate men's area.
20:04
When we did it in Athens,
20:06
it was men and women together and we wore bathing suits.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: And then when you got into the private room,
20:10
you could take your bathing suit off and they were very modest
20:13
and helpful.
20:14
SPEAKER_01: So being comfortable.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's that's great.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: Well, that'll be maybe we'll get a whole group and do that.
20:20
SPEAKER_01: It's so great.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: It's just like it was one of the best things I've ever done.
20:23
And I I like spas and massage and I've done a lot of weird
20:27
things like that.
20:28
SPEAKER_00: This was like just amazing.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm excited.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: I hope that people will join us.
20:33
The way it works is you can find all the itinerary on Defined
20:37
Destinations website.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: We'll link that in the show notes here.
20:42
You can see each particular day and what city you'll be in and
20:46
what you'll be doing
20:47
SPEAKER_00: and what's included.
20:48
I would imagine in most of these breakfast is included because
20:51
that's typically a
20:52
SPEAKER_00: sort of European thing to do.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: And then, as Michael said, a lot of the meals are included.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: I do think when you're breaking open a new destination,
21:01
SPEAKER_00: it's important to kind of give people a sense of what they're going to be
21:06
SPEAKER_00: experiencing.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: And food is obviously a big part of that.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: And food is a big part of my journey on this trip.
21:12
Turkish Delights,
21:12
if you've never had them,
21:14
they're like this beautiful little jelly.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Turkish coffee is very different.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: It's a much more intense coffee experience.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: So if you're a coffee drinker, you'll learn a lot.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: Also, olive oil is very much present in Turkey, like
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Again, I keep comparing it to Italy, but it is right across the water.
21:32
So there's a lot of different olive oils that are used in
21:36
Turkey,
21:36
a lot of different spices.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: We're going to have fun.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: So the way this works is you can go online,
21:41
SPEAKER_00: you can put your deposit down and full payment is due,
21:46
SPEAKER_00: I think,
21:47
SPEAKER_00: in January for this trip.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: You can book your own travel if you want to, meaning
21:53
SPEAKER_00: Get your airfare to get to where we're going to meet for the trip.
21:56
Or you can use Michael's Got a Service that can help you book
21:59
all your airfare.
22:01
I personally like to control my airfare because I like to have
22:04
the miles and I like
22:05
SPEAKER_00: to know exactly how I'm going to set things up on my itinerary.
22:09
Kurt and I also like to get there like a day or two in advance
22:13
just to get
22:13
acclimated a little bit before the rest of you guys come so
22:16
that I'm not super jet
22:18
SPEAKER_00: lagged.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: I'm on fire by the time you arrive.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, we do.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: There's going to be a lot of beautiful wine,
22:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm assuming,
22:27
SPEAKER_00: too,
22:28
SPEAKER_00: because that's something that there's a great grape destination there.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: You don't know about Turkish wines yet, but you will.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: They exist.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: There's actually quite a lot of them.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: And that's how it works.
22:39
Michael,
22:39
you've got a special offer just to get people that may be on
22:42
the fence a little bit.
22:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, we're excited.
22:45
SPEAKER_01: The trip again is April 9th through the 20th.
22:49
And again,
22:49
go online,
22:50
just take a look at the website,
22:52
look at some of the pictures.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: You'll absolutely love it.
22:55
And then even all the things that we've talked about that
22:57
aren't even mentioned in
22:58
SPEAKER_01: the itinerary.
22:59
SPEAKER_01: There's so many fun things.
23:00
SPEAKER_01: But if you're listening to this and you're new to register,
23:03
SPEAKER_01: you'll get $200 off per person if you register for the trip.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: Final payment is January 1st.
23:11
SPEAKER_01: So just think about that.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: So this would be a great gift for a loved one.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: Hey, we're going to go to Turkey and I hear more and more people are
23:19
SPEAKER_01: Justin C.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: They want to have a travel experience,
23:21
SPEAKER_01: rather than having tangible things about having experiences,
23:25
SPEAKER_01: especially with ones he love so hopefully this trip to Turkey,
23:27
SPEAKER_01: if you want to try something new.
23:28
SPEAKER_01: Justin C.
23:29
And have just an amazing experience about a place you maybe
23:32
haven't heard too much
23:33
about I think you'll absolutely love it so just go to define
23:36
destinations calm
23:37
SPEAKER_01: like.
23:38
SPEAKER_01: Stephanie said, she'll have the link there too.
23:40
SPEAKER_01: Again, it's April 9th through the 20th.
23:42
SPEAKER_01: You can register right there.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: If you need help with the airfare, we're happy to do that.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: So we make it pretty easy for you on that end.
23:49
SPEAKER_01: So we're going to have a blast with a great group of people.
23:52
And hopefully,
23:54
you'll want to join this small group of no more than 15 people.
23:57
Is this the time that we tell people that are listening to
24:01
maybe stay tuned?
24:03
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we do have a pretty epic October trip planned.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I mean, go for it.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: We don't have all the dates totally confirmed, but we're, yeah, go ahead.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, we're working on one of the trips.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: So I have taken people to Spain.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: I've taken people to Croatia.
24:25
SPEAKER_00: I've taken people to Cambodia, Thailand, and now Turkey.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: And the trip was really magical and people loved it.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: And I have a huge fondness for Croatia.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I've been there a lot.
24:39
And there were a lot of people that wanted to go on that trip
24:42
that didn't get the
24:43
SPEAKER_00: opportunity because it's a luxury experience.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: It's a luxury yacht.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: It's small rooms or not small rooms.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: It's a small ship with actually the rooms were quite big.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:53
for a for a boat and so we had so many people that wanted to do
24:57
that itinerary
24:58
again michael said hey how about we do it again but i'll add a
25:02
couple of new things
25:03
so that it's a new experience for you too stephanie because
25:07
there is um i've never
25:08
been to zagreb which seems probably uh surprising since i've
25:13
been to croatia so
25:13
many times and there's a bunch of these finger lakes what do
25:17
they call those is it
25:17
SPEAKER_01: the plasic lakes yeah the plavice uh lakes national park yep
25:23
SPEAKER_00: The national parks in Croatia are legendary.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: If you,
25:26
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
25:27
Mijet has one of the most beautiful national parks on it with a
25:30
monastery in the
25:30
SPEAKER_00: middle of this lake.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: So we are going to be taking another small group.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: It'll be smallish.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: I think we had 28 on our last group.
25:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, enough to fill the boat and the boat only can sleep like 34.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: So it's a small experience on that.
25:46
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I'm excited to go back to that again.
25:48
SPEAKER_01: That's been one of our hot sellers, our Croatia trip.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: So with the Zagreb and the Blavice lakes and then our seven night cruise.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: the Croatia trip will be great.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: So maybe you want to do two trips,
26:00
SPEAKER_01: our beautiful Turkey trip in the spring,
26:02
SPEAKER_01: and then come October,
26:03
SPEAKER_01: we'll have this amazing trip to Croatia.
26:06
SPEAKER_01: So go out and have experiences, and hopefully you'll want to join us.
26:09
I think you'll find great value,
26:11
great meals,
26:12
and great people to travel with.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening and you want to explore Michael's other trips,
26:19
SPEAKER_00: because he takes trips with other people,
26:21
SPEAKER_00: not just me,
26:22
SPEAKER_00: and also he just guides trips himself.
26:24
Just tell him that you're a friend of Stephanie's Dish so that
26:27
he knows that you
26:27
SPEAKER_00: came from my referral.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: But just like,
26:30
SPEAKER_00: yeah,
26:31
if you want to sign up for a Christmas market or you're
26:34
interested in heading to
26:35
SPEAKER_00: the Amalfi Coast.
26:37
traveling with defined destinations is a really great
26:39
opportunity they do it
26:40
extremely well I have traveled a lot and so I've had some good
26:45
experiences and some
26:46
not so good experiences so I know that when you travel with
26:49
Michael you're in good
26:50
hands I'm still just missing our guide Peter who was with us on
26:54
our last Sicilian
26:55
trip who turns out has been your friend for like 25 years I
26:59
just miss him he's such
27:00
SPEAKER_00: a character I loved him so much
27:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's great.
27:03
SPEAKER_01: Peter's a good friend of mine.
27:05
He's our Austrian guy,
27:06
but he's got family in Italy and does some of our Central
27:11
European trips.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: But again, like you said it too, again, it's more than just the sites.
27:15
SPEAKER_01: You're building relationships, even if you're not even looking for that.
27:19
But it's fun to recall all the good people you've met and the
27:22
fun experiences
27:23
SPEAKER_01: you've had along the way.
27:25
SPEAKER_01: I love what I do, and hopefully it shows in our trips.
27:28
SPEAKER_01: It's all about having a great experience with great people.
27:31
We encourage you,
27:32
and you've been such a great part of the Define Destinations
27:35
family.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Stephanie.
27:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love it.
27:38
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't forget if I didn't.
27:40
SPEAKER_00: People know I would have kicked you to the curb long ago.
27:44
SPEAKER_00: And you've even converted Kurt, so I mean.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's great.
27:48
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's about having fun, and that's what we do.
27:52
SPEAKER_01: And we'd love to have you on any of our trips.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: All right, you guys.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: So I'll put all that information that you need in the links below.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: We are going to Turkey and I hope you come.
28:02
That's all I can say because I'm going to probably be talking
28:05
about it nonstop
28:06
SPEAKER_00: because I'm so excited.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: I'm looking forward to it.
28:09
SPEAKER_01: Thanks again.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Michael.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Bye-bye.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Bye.