Oh The Places We’ve Been and Will (Eventually) Go
Hello and welcome to Migrating Mixologists first ever blog post! Ariana here. MM has been navigating the weird waters of starting a travel company at precisely the same time as a global pandemic broke out. Talk about startup problems, amiright?
Jokes aside, I think it is important that the people who will one day travel with me know a bit about what makes me someone you’d a) want to go on vacation with, b) would trust with your traveling arrangements and safety, and c) want to continue your craft exploration with.
I have been bartending in New York for almost 10 years now, 12 years in the service industry total. I have managed 3 bars, created and executed 7 successful cocktail menus, help to manage a $3.4 million a year restaurant, hired and trained 8 individuals who have become respected industry professionals in the area, and have had the opportunity to be featured in a magazine.
ALSO
I traveled. Sometimes by myself, sometimes with a companion. Travels that I have coordinated flight, accommodations and activities for include Martinique, Israel two times, the Philippines, New Orleans three times, Dallas, Colorado, Philly and Boston.
THINGS HAVE GONE WONKY
In the Philippines the connecting flight from Beijing to Manila LEFT BEFORE WE TOUCHED DOWN. It was 3 am and we’d been awake for 14 hours. We ended up having to fly to Singapore, then transferring there to go to Manila.
Oslob, Cebu, Phillipines
In Tel Aviv, Israel our second AirBnb was canceled last minute. We decided to hop a bus and get an AirBnb in Jerusalem instead and it was an incredible experience. Probably the highlight of the trip.
Ein Gedi Reserve, Israel
In Martinique, almost no one spoke English. I was solo and the second AirBnb I had booked didn’t make me feel safe, so I made a call to leave. The thing about this AirBnb is that it was literally a boat… in the middle of the water. Sounds cool right? Not so much when the people you’re with are quarreling as soon as you arrive. Took that as a red flag, asked to be brought back to land, and booked another AirBnb on the spot. My things were brought to me the next day by my host, who had bruises on her arm that were not there the day before.
Macouba, Martinique
Dad if you’re reading this, I’m sorry.
So why am I sharing all of these things that have gone wrong?
The thing I love about travel is the same thing I love about being behind the bar. It teaches you to be adventurous and roll with life, but it also teaches you to trust your instincts.
The experiences that I’ve had, the times that things have gone haywire, the quick thinking, have been the greatest opportunities of my life. Because you wanna know what? I still enjoyed all of those trips. I still learned what I went there to learn and then some. And I’m still here.
I look forward to sharing more on this blog, on Instagram, and especially in real life.
Also I promise not to book any AirBnbs on boats.