41: Ultimate Guide: Honeymoon Planning Dos and Don'ts

Summary

Podcast Summary: Happy Wife Happy Life - Episode 41: Ultimate Guide: Honeymoon Planning Dos and Don'ts

Release Date: November 4, 2024

Hosts: Kendahl Landreth and Jordan Myrick
Guest: Nicole, a Professional Honeymoon Planner from Fora Travel Agency

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1. Introduction

In Episode 41 of Happy Wife Happy Life, hosts Kendahl Landreth and Jordan Myrick delve into the intricate world of honeymoon planning. To provide expert insights, they welcome Nicole, a seasoned honeymoon planner from Fora Travel Agency. Together, they explore the dos and don'ts of crafting the perfect honeymoon experience.

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2. Guest Introduction: Nicole, the Honeymoon Planner

Nicole brings a wealth of knowledge from her background in travel editorial and her current role at Fora. She emphasizes the resurgence of travel agents, attributing it to the overwhelming abundance of information online and the specialized knowledge professionals offer.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [02:01]: "Travel agents are making a comeback because there's too much information online, and it's hard to find those niche, authentic experiences by yourself."

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3. The Rise of Travel Planning

Nicole discusses how Fora Travel Agency stands out by offering tailored travel experiences that prioritize sustainability and support local businesses. She highlights the challenges travelers face in verifying the authenticity of eco-friendly claims and the difficulty in accessing insider knowledge without professional assistance.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [03:08]: "The reason travel agents are making a comeback is because it's really hard to find authentic, sustainable experiences on your own."

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4. How Travel Planners Operate

Nicole explains the financial structure behind travel planning. She outlines that travel planners like herself earn commissions from hotels and various experiences they book for clients. Additionally, for comprehensive itinerary planning, planners may charge a daily planning fee.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [11:40]: "If we're planning the whole itinerary, restaurants, car services, every single detail, we charge a planning fee that's different per person based on experience and lots of different things."

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5. Planning the Hosts' Honeymoon: Trip to Japan

Nicole presents three meticulously crafted honeymoon itineraries for Kendahl and Jordan, each catering to different budgets and durations. The primary focus is on Japan, offering a blend of relaxation and adventure.

Itinerary Details:

• Tokyo: Four nights exploring boutique hotels like K5 and Hotel Okura, visiting unique attractions such as the Cup Noodles Factory and wasabi farms in Okutama.
• Osaka: A one-night stay to experience Osaka Castle and indulge in the city's renowned cuisine.
• Naoshima: The art island known for contemporary art installations and Tadao Ando architecture.
• Kyoto: Including visits to Fushimi Inari Shrine, tea tasting in Uji, and exploring historic sites like Nara.
• Hakone: Finalizing the trip with a stay at exclusive ryokans like Gorakadan and Fukudaya, offering traditional Japanese experiences.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [15:08]: "I want to make sure you have some downtime, balancing between hiking up mountains and enjoying a peaceful ryokan with a kaiseki dinner."

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6. Tips for Honeymoon Planning

a. Making It Unique:
Nicole advises couples to choose destinations they've never visited before and align with both partners' bucket lists to ensure the honeymoon feels special and personalized.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [46:43]: "Make it special by going somewhere you neither of you has ever been before and that you are both really excited to go to."

b. Balancing Couple's Expectations:
She emphasizes the importance of integrating both relaxation and adventure activities to cater to differing interests within the couple.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [54:20]: "Every single day can have a balance in it, or if it can't, spread out the adventurous and relaxing activities throughout the trip."

c. Common Regrets and Avoidance:
Nicole notes that while couples rarely have major regrets, some wish they had stayed longer or spent more on certain experiences. She also highlights the value of having on-the-ground support to handle unforeseen issues.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [56:40]: "If money is no object, you can do anywhere really, really well. If you have no money, consider off-season Europe or Las Vegas for budget-friendly options."

d. Queer-Friendly Destinations:
For LGBTQ+ couples, Nicole recommends destinations known for their inclusivity and safety, such as Western Europe, certain parts of the Caribbean, and Thailand.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [51:54]: "Australia, New Zealand, most of Western Europe, and a lot of Caribbean destinations are very LGBTQ friendly."

e. Budget vs. Luxury Honeymoons:
Nicole provides guidance on planning both budget-conscious and opulent honeymoons, suggesting cost-effective destinations without compromising experiences and outlining high-end options for those wanting the ultimate luxury.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [66:13]: "For a luxury honeymoon, consider Eastern Europe or Bhutan for unique and opulent experiences."

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7. Audience Questions

The hosts address several audience-submitted questions, enhancing the episode's interactive nature.

a. How to Make Your Honeymoon Feel Different:
Nicole reiterates the importance of personalization and choosing destinations that resonate uniquely with the couple.

b. Safe Queer-Friendly International Travel Destinations:
Nicole lists Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe, parts of the Caribbean, and Thailand as top choices for LGBTQ+ travelers seeking safety and inclusivity.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [51:54]: "Thailand's Situation, huge 'homo tie.' That's how I sell it."

c. Best Budget and Luxury Honeymoon Destinations:
From Costa Rica and Nicaragua for budget trips to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe for luxury experiences, Nicole offers a range of options catering to different financial plans.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [60:13]: "Costa Rica and Nicaragua are excellent budget-friendly options, while Scandinavia offers a luxurious experience with opportunities to see the Northern Lights."

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8. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a heartfelt thanks to Nicole for her invaluable insights. Kendahl and Jordan express their excitement about their planned honeymoon in Japan, crediting Nicole for simplifying the process and alleviating their planning stress. They encourage listeners to reach out to Nicole for their honeymoon planning needs and remind them to engage with the podcast through reviews and social media.

Notable Quote:
Kendall Landru [70:48]: "This is amazing. We are going to the wasabi factory, and you are so knowledgeable and good."

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Key Takeaways:

• Professional Planning Eases Stress: Utilizing a travel planner can significantly reduce the overwhelm associated with organizing a honeymoon, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience.

• Personalization is Crucial: Tailoring the honeymoon to fit both partners' interests and desires creates a unique and memorable trip.

• Balance Activity and Relaxation: Incorporating a mix of adventurous and relaxing activities caters to different preferences within the couple, enhancing the overall experience.

• Inclusivity Matters: Choosing queer-friendly destinations ensures a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ couples.

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For those looking to plan their perfect honeymoon, this episode offers a comprehensive guide filled with expert advice, practical tips, and relatable humor. Whether you're a first-time traveler or a seasoned adventurer, Kendahl, Jordan, and Nicole provide valuable insights to help you create a honeymoon that's as unique as your love story.

Transcript

[Kendall Landru]

Imagine what's possible when learning doesn't get in the way of life. At Capella University, our game changing flexpath learning format lets you set your own deadline so you can learn at a time and pace that works for you. It's an education you can tailor to your schedule. That means you don't have to put your life on hold to pursue your professional goals. Instead, enjoy learning your way and earn your degree without missing a beat. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at capella. Edu. Welcome to Happy Wife, Happy Life, where your hosts. I'm Kendall Landru.

[Jordan Myrick]

And I'm Jordan Myrick.

[Kendall Landru]

And we are two incredibly unqualified but.

[Jordan Myrick]

Deeply in love comedians who are here to help you with all things relationship. And today we are talking honeymoon planning with an actual honeymoon planner, Nicole.

[Nicole]

Hi.

[Kendall Landru]

Hey.

[Nicole]

Can I just say that's the cutest intro I've ever heard in my life.

[Jordan Myrick]

So sweet.

[Kendall Landru]

And you see a lot of intros.

[Nicole]

I like to see Belize. I'm an intro pro. Okay.

[Kendall Landru]

Thank you so much. We really practice it. We really try to get it when guests are here. We really try to do it really good.

[Nicole]

I can really tell. I'm so excited.

[Kendall Landru]

When we're alone, we have to do like eight takes and we like argue during it.

[Jordan Myrick]

But we're trying to. When we're trying to be professional, we're like, let's get it.

[Nicole]

You put it together, it's more polished.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes.

[Nicole]

Okay, I get that.

[Kendall Landru]

Thank you so much for coming.

[Nicole]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Jordan Myrick]

We're so excited. We found you through. You work for a travel agency.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

Called Fora and I had seen them on TikTok everywhere and I noticed that they were doing a lot of cool niche stuff. Like they were like, oh, you have $3,000 and want to go on a vacation to the Caribbean. Here's where you should go. You are going on a vacation where you want to stay at and patronize mostly like black owned businesses. Like, things like that. It was like all different types of categories of things that seem so cool that I hadn't seen other places really tackle. And a lot of people will say the travel agent is dead. And I think it was for a while and it feels like it's back and I love it.

[Nicole]

It is so awesome. And I think you touched on, like something that we all get really excited about all of. I mean, I am legally allowed to speak for everyone at fora, so the collective we. No, but I think a lot of us get really excited about Finding those niche things. Like you said, we really want to make sure that, you know, everything is very sustainable on our trip, but we really want to make sure that we're exploring. Exploring small businesses on our trip. We love that. And really, like, that's the kind of stuff that we dig into and research and, like, find. And the reason that I think travel agents are making a comeback right now is because that's really hard to find by yourself online. Unless you do this for a job, like, quit your job, and then you'll be able to do that, like, but otherwise, there's just not enough time in the day and. And you don't have the sort of, like, resources and relationships that the rest of that. That we have as advisors to be like, hey, what was that thing that you went to in Italy? And it was owned by the guy who's been there for two, you know, family have been there for 200 years, and, you know, that kind of thing. Like, I have that on my WhatsApp.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

And so that's why I think we're making a comeback. Like, there's too much information online.

[Kendall Landru]

That's what I was gonna. There's so much information. And also, you never know what's real or what's like, okay, it looks like this here, but how does it look like in real life? And even more than time, I'm terrible at planning. Jordan is definitely the planner in this relationship, but when I try, I get annoyed because I'm going to a resort website, and they're like, we are eco friendly. And I'm like, so I can't just look for that. I know. Have to deep dive and see if you're actually eco friendly. And then I have to even know what to look for. I don't know what's fully eco friendly. I'm not a scientist. And I have to be like, well, I have to know how to tell if you're lying to me. It's too much. It's way too much.

[Jordan Myrick]

We do have to do our episodal disclaimer that Kendall is not a scientist.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm not a scientist.

[Jordan Myrick]

People always remind everyone, and we just have to remind everyone every episode that she is not, in fact, a scientific. Right.

[Nicole]

No. I think that's really, really important to remember is that you're studying.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm so close.

[Nicole]

I am so close, but not there yet. And I think that's really big of you to admit that.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, but it's just so much information.

[Nicole]

No, it's so much information. I think post Covid also A lot of things are no longer true. So if you find an article from 2019, a lot of that stuff is closed, changed, moved, whatever. Like, so not only do you have to then find out if they're lying to you about how sustainable they are, but also you have to go, oh, this article was from 2018.

[Kendall Landru]

Right.

[Nicole]

This is all probably a lie or untrue or just no longer. Yeah, no longer the case or I feel like.

[Kendall Landru]

And I don't know if you find this true, but we just working in social media, it's like, you know, what will do well on social media. So I feel like when you're in a, when you're a travel blogger too, you'll be like, well, I could show this like local hole in the wall that's so awesome. Or I could show this classic tourist attraction that I know is gonna get so many views. Do you feel like people miss out on the tinier, cooler niche things?

[Nicole]

Well, so my background actually is in editorial. I was a travel editor for a long time and so I know for a fact, unfortunately that a lot of these lists of like the 10 best x, y and Z are either. You know, I was, as a freelance writer even I was given certain places to include in the piece. So it wasn't just my experience written down. So that's why you see a lot of these restaurants on every single list is not only are you given them, but also sometimes you. These editors can't pay writers enough to actually go and experience everything anymore. So they're actually just copy and pasted. So even if you're reading 17 lists, probably 13 of them are going to be the exact same. So you're going to think, well, those are the best restaurants. I have to go to those places. They're not like, I mean, maybe two of them are, but it's really hard to dig deeper and deeper for the actual real information.

[Jordan Myrick]

So when did you transition from editorial travel to being an actual travel agent?

[Nicole]

So I joined for almost two years ago, which, like, in the real world is not a long time. But in fora land, I'm like this veteran og Like, I've been there, you know, I'm like, okay, I'll show you the ropes. But I was in editorial in a lot of different fields for a long time. So I was an arts editor as a travel editor, and then most recently I was a style editor. And I had a one year contract. And when that ended, like, I loved fashion and I love style and all that stuff. But when that ended, I was like, oh, I Don't think I'm right for the fashion community. I miss my travel people. And around the same time, I just, like, stumbled on fora. And I thought, well, I can write all the time anyway. I can, you know, But I'd. I'd rather. I'd rather go back to travel in, like, this new way and truly hit the ground running. I could not believe how, like, people were just coming out of the woodwork, like, oh, I'm planning my 40th birthday to Oaxaca. What restaurants do you know? And I was like, I could actually plan your whole trip now. And so it. It just, like, steamrolled from there.

[Kendall Landru]

Wow.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landru]

So do you plan. Would you say, is there a percentage of your travel planning that you do for honeymoons? Is it a lot of honeymoons?

[Nicole]

It's a lot of honeymoons. I would say I'm probably. Let's see. It's a lot of honeymoons. It's a lot of couples leaving the kids for the first time. So that's its own sort of special couples getaway. And then a lot of families. Yeah. I would say those are like the three big buckets that I. That I plan.

[Jordan Myrick]

And I'm just curious, is there a place that you like to plan a trip to the least and a place you'd like to plan a trip to the most or like, a type of trip, Anything like that, that feels like most. Your bag and most, like, I'm sick of doing something.

[Nicole]

Yeah, that's such a good question. I. Somewhere I'm sick of planning. There's not, like a. There's not a country that I'm not interested in planning, but I'm not the right person for your, like, outdoorsy, backpacking, spelunking. Is that the right.

[Jordan Myrick]

You know what I mean?

[Nicole]

Like, I don't know. Clearly, that's the number one word that comes to mind because it sounds so ridiculous.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sure.

[Nicole]

So I am not the person for that. I have planned that. I can totally research it. I have all the right partners to do it. But when you're like, hey, what hiking shoes should I bring? I'm like, I don't know that.

[Kendall Landru]

So you get that detailed. Like, on a. Maybe not a hiking trip, are you telling people, like, what they should be wearing to places?

[Nicole]

Sometimes. Sometimes people will reach out, like, you know, we'll have planned the whole itinerary, and everything's done. Check, check, check, and final documents are on their way and all that stuff. And then I'll get a panicked email from someone in the family being like.

[Jordan Myrick]

What do I pack how many panties should I bring to Argentina?

[Nicole]

And I'm like, well, Argentina specifically? That's a great question. Yeah, let me expand. Yeah. No, but it's, it's. I, you know, so it really depends. It's like part of my job is therapy for sure. Because there's a lot of, like, I don't. I, you know, I have three checked bags or, you know, help me rekindle the love for my life. It's like, there's so many things to go into, like, why are you traveling that are really personal.

[Kendall Landru]

So that's stressful. I think a lot. Like, yeah, you know, we're lucky in our jobs. We get to travel a lot. But I think for most people and like, when I was growing up, it's like, well, once every six years we go on a trip, so better make it good. And then when you're on this trip, we're all like, we're sick. And like, yeah, push through because we have to make this the best week of our lives.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landru]

What's like your tip for people dealing with those feelings or how do you calm down people who are feeling those feelings?

[Nicole]

I feel like actually that's one of the great things about working with an advisor. Not to be like, so here's my list of like, pro advisor tips. But it actually is because when we plan it for you and like, take everything off of your plate, it takes that pressure off. So, like, all the lead up anticipation is just the fun, exciting anticipation. And then if you get sick, like, we'll send something up to your hotel room and we'll make sure that you get like all nice and cozy and kids kid gloves from the hotel. And, you know, it'll be a nicer. As much as we possibly can do. It'll be a nicer experience. But obviously we don't want you to get sick. But no, I think we take the pressure off because it's on us. Like, if it goes badly, I mean, I'll get emails about bad weather and, you know, I'm like, well, I can actually control that. But I forgot, you know, it's like I can't control the rain in Copenhagen.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes.

[Nicole]

However, I can make sure that you have a really cool option for an indoor activity this afternoon since that sucked so much or whatever it is. So, yeah, we take the pressure off, which is nice.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, I know the people are curious.

[Nicole]

Tommy, how do you get paid? Thank you for asking this question. I would like to bust this wide open.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

So we get paid a number of different ways and we just like cobble it all together. So hotels pay us commission. So if you get a travel advisor and you say, I just want you to book my hotel for me, you are spending the exact same amount that you would have if you booked it directly or on any. It's the exact same amount, does not cost anything extra.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay.

[Nicole]

The hotel pays our commission. Yes. The same is true for a number of, I will not say all, but a number of like experiences and car services and things like that. Like if we contract out certain people, when they're the right fit for your budget, your destination, your whatever, they'll also pay our commission. So those are like the two main buckets and then the third one is a planning fee. So if we're planning the whole itinerary, restaurants, car services, every single detail in one, you know, itinerary, then we, you know, advisors charge a planning fee. And it's different per person based on experience and lots of different things.

[Jordan Myrick]

Is it normally a flat fee or is it a percentage of the overall trip?

[Nicole]

People do it in really different ways. So for full transparency, I'm $100 per day of travel. That's the way that I organize it. It's not because every single day is going to be jam packed and all that kind of stuff, but I do it that way because a seven day trip is a lot more complex to plan than a three day trip. And so the compensation should be different. And so that's how I've organized it in my brain.

[Kendall Landru]

This is very eye opening to not out myself. In my head, a travel planner costs $50,000. Yeah.

[Nicole]

But that's why I'm so glad you asked because that's what everyone thinks. And so my friends sometimes won't come to me and they're like, yeah, but you probably charge too much. And I'm like, I charge zero. So no, please come to me, I'll do it, you know. Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

In my mind I was like, oh, it's like a real estate agent. And then I was like, huh? In what way? Because a real estate agent gets.

[Kendall Landru]

Sells houses.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sells houses and like gets a portion of the house.

[Nicole]

What?

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, I was like, I don't know why I'm thinking of it in those terms because that actually doesn't make sense at all. So I was like, I have to ask. And I feel like people definitely want to know. And I feel like if people knew that they were not paying extra and you were just getting a commission from the hotel or whatever, people would be jazzed to work with someone as nice and Friendly and helpful as you.

[Nicole]

Thank you.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's just my thought.

[Nicole]

No, but it's true. Because it's like, we get you perks, right? So I've had friends who are like, but I didn't want to bother you or, you know, I just booked it really quickly. It took two seconds, and I'm like, yes, absolutely. You're paying the same amount. I totally get that. No problem. But we get you all these, like, fun perks, and if something goes wrong, I get to be the one. I get to be the bad cop to the hotel. Right. I get to hunt the hotel down because they haven't returned your deposit yet or whatever it is. Right. Like, you worry about zero. I have that relationship. And so, like, not only do you get upgrades and welcome amenities and, like, all the cute things when you get there, it's also like, you know, I had a client who lost her engagement ring in a hotel room, and I was like, I'm on it. You know, like, I'll help with all that stuff.

[Jordan Myrick]

Wow, that's so nice to know. Speaking of help with all that stuff, you've planned us two potential honeymoons.

[Kendall Landru]

Can you believe this?

[Nicole]

Okay, spoiler. There's three in here.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, my God.

[Nicole]

Okay, so I got really excited.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Yeah, it's literally one more that we talked about in our meeting. Let me read what this says. So you and I had a zoom call.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

We chatted about some things that Kendall and I were interested. You said you were going to do two. Now you've done three. This says three itineraries in Japan, created and curated for Kendall and Jordan on three different budgets ranging from $15,000 to $35,000. The shortest of these is 10 days. The longest is 21 days. All three itineraries have your specific likes and dislikes in mind. I'm going to start crying. I'm, like, so excited.

[Nicole]

That was my goal. I came on this show hoping to make you cry. That's all I want.

[Jordan Myrick]

It's going to work.

[Kendall Landru]

This is so exciting because we really are planning our honeymoon. Like, this is not just. This is really so exciting. And we, I feel like, are an interesting duo to travel together.

[Jordan Myrick]

I can't wait to hear why.

[Kendall Landru]

Go on. Yeah, I think we like a lot of the same things, but I think we also have a little bit of a different travel tempo. You know what I mean? Like, I'm a little slower paced. I don't know what's wrong with me, but for some reason in my head, I could travel 24 hour plane ride and still be fine just staying in the hotel for five days. Like, I love to relax, but I also, I feel like we've met in the middle where I've learned to want to explore more and you've learned to relax a little more.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes. And I had never relaxed until I met Kendall.

[Kendall Landru]

Ever. I'm like, I was like, let's go to a beach and just end. Would be like, and do what? And I'd be like, and sit there four days. And they'd be like, that's crazy.

[Jordan Myrick]

And I'd be like, when do we take a surfing lesson? Kendall would be like, you don't have to do that.

[Nicole]

You actually can skip it. I'm allowing you to skip it. You know what? I really appreciate that. I think you guys are a perfect match. I love that you've balanced each other out. Thank you. I approve. You have my blessing and I approve.

[Jordan Myrick]

We want it and we've been waiting.

[Kendall Landru]

That's why we haven't gotten married yet. We literally been waiting.

[Jordan Myrick]

You're very cool and nice and we do want your approval.

[Nicole]

Great.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay, first page.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Kendall Landru]

Do you want to take us through it a little bit, explain some of your thought process? Totally. We want to pick your brain. I'm so excited.

[Nicole]

I'm so excited. I could talk about this literally all day long. There is no time limit for me on talking about travel. So the way that I put this together is like, this is the kind of proposal that I would send to a client digitally normally, and it would be with a little bit more like, typically I'll have specific dates or I'll have, you know, a more specific budget. And so this is a little bit more nebulous than what my like, might normally be, you know, presented. But my thought process here is like, I wanted to give you guys really cool hotels that are like boutique and modern and interesting and in great locations in Tokyo too. And really every everywhere to explore all the different stops that you're going to go on. And so like the 10 day trip is for couple, someone, whomever who's never been to Japan before. So that is more like Tokyo, Kyoto and maybe one more stop. The trip that I did more like geared towards you guys is second, third, fourth time to Japan, more stops, 21 days and like digging in a little bit deeper. So you, you know, maybe you've seen Imperial palace, maybe you've done Team Lab in Tokyo, maybe you've done some of these like heavy hitters. So I added like Naoshima, the Art island and some cool Ryokan and Stuff like that. So that's, that's like the overarching, I think, amazing. That's my pitch. That's my elevator pitch. On your honeymoon.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm so excited because we, like, went back and forth for so long. Like, we could not decide on a honeymoon location.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landru]

And we truly, like, I think three times decided. We're like, looked each other in the eyes and we're like, this is it.

[Nicole]

It's this.

[Kendall Landru]

This is where we're going. And then the next day we'd be like, it's. It isn't though, is it? We don't want to go there because it's such, like a honeymoon. We hope to travel to all these places, but a honeymoon feels so specific where we were. Like, we want it to feel relaxing, but we also want to, you know, be adventurous. And we don't want, like, I don't want to be. Because it's gonna be a longer trip and it's, like, rare that you get to go on such a long trip. So I was like, I don't want to be in a place where I'm just lounging for 30 day, like 21 days. That's insane. Yeah, but we, so. But we don't want to be so hot. You know, there were so many things.

[Jordan Myrick]

That was a big thing. We were like, we are going to Thailand, and then we went to Mexico for like three days for Kendall's birthday. And I was so hot the whole time. I was like, I can't go on a two week vacation like this where I'm supposed to be like, chill. And you're, like, excited that you just got married to me. Do you know what I mean? Like, we can go to Thailand another time.

[Kendall Landru]

Like, touch Jordan on any vacation. You know, I'm like, we can have a vacation where we're so hot that I'm like, don't touch me and get away from me and don't speak to me.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm too hot.

[Nicole]

No, that is what a honeymoon typically is. Like, don't touch me.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes.

[Nicole]

Away from me.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, the honeymoon. I'm like, I want to be cold so I can be like, you know, whatever. Not that this would be, but I just think that. So there was a lot of decisions. So we finally decided on Japan. I think part what drew it to us is we feel like in our experience, Japan, it's very relaxing because it's so easy to navigate it. Do you feel like that's.

[Nicole]

That is super interesting for me to hear that you find Japan easy to navigate. And I don't mean that. Hang on, let me, let me. I mean that in. In so far as like, planning and deciding where to go. The trains are very easy to navigate.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's more so what we mean.

[Nicole]

The bullet trains, so easy navigate.

[Jordan Myrick]

The public transportation is so easy and clear. It's. People are around to help you if you need help. It's safe, you know, it's gay friendly. In our experience, like, it was very nice.

[Kendall Landru]

Yes.

[Nicole]

Where did you guys go on your first Japan trip?

[Jordan Myrick]

We went to Tokyo and Kyoto.

[Nicole]

Okay. And how long was Your first trip?

[Kendall Landru]

2 and a half weeks.

[Jordan Myrick]

But one of the good. No.

[Kendall Landru]

Oh, sorry.

[Jordan Myrick]

We were. It was a.

[Nicole]

It was. You're wrong.

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, no, she is, unfortunately, but not.

[Kendall Landru]

We weren't in Japan the whole time.

[Jordan Myrick]

We were not. We were in Taiwan for half of that. So we were only in Japan for about seven days.

[Nicole]

Okay. Okay.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

So you split between the two cities and then you were like, okay, we gotta. We're. We're done.

[Jordan Myrick]

Honestly, not even. We were in Tokyo almost the entire time and for like 48 hours went to Kyoto.

[Nicole]

Got it. Okay.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

Okay.

[Kendall Landru]

But you find it a little hard to navigate.

[Nicole]

No, it's not that. It's that I find, like starting a trip to Japan is, I think the. The best and hardest thing about Japan is that the more you research it, the more you're like, oh, I need a thousand days there. Like, it's. There's so much to do. There's so much to see. Some of it is farther than you think, so it's a flight away. Some of it is close. Like, it's just hard to navigate in terms of planning. Not once you're there. Once you're there, it's. It's safe and clean and easy.

[Kendall Landru]

But I guess we wouldn't have to worry about it because you'd be doing it.

[Nicole]

Exactly.

[Kendall Landru]

Another Japan.

[Nicole]

Yeah, exactly.

[Kendall Landru]

Another Japan.

[Nicole]

You get a Japan trip.

[Kendall Landru]

You get a Japan trip.

[Jordan Myrick]

Wow. Okay, we're on this next page.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm so excited.

[Jordan Myrick]

How do you want to move through this?

[Nicole]

Yeah, so, I mean, we can kind of just go through and like. And I mean, so I. I have. The way I have it running is I put you guys in Tokyo for four nights.

[Kendall Landru]

Great.

[Nicole]

I listed a bunch of hotels that are really cool. Like the K5 is this newer boutique hotel. It's super chic. It's in the. Kind of in the financial district, but really central, so you can still make it everywhere really easily. The Hotel Okura is super cool because it was built originally in the 60s and so they refurbished everything, which originally had, like, major backlash, but they kept the 1960s, like, lobby vibe and just refurbed it.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's cool.

[Nicole]

So it's this rad 60s, mid century modern, really cool place. There's an Okura museum in it. It's really cool. That kind of stuff is fun. I put some like, you know, classic and, you know, secondary classic things to do in your four days in Tokyo. So one of my favorite things, I mean, definitely I've sent families there, but I think, like, cool people who are adults and not with children also might want to go there. The cup noodles factory.

[Jordan Myrick]

So we actually already have that on our list. So that shows that you know us well.

[Nicole]

You know.

[Jordan Myrick]

We said, we gotta go, you gotta go. We got a honeymoon cup noodle that we did.

[Nicole]

Design your own. Eat it.

[Kendall Landru]

On our 50th anniversary. Come on.

[Nicole]

I guess it'll last. Yeah, it's a little disconcerting. It tastes like we just made it yesterday.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sealed.

[Nicole]

It's sealed.

[Kendall Landru]

That's so fun.

[Nicole]

So that's really fun. And then there's these wasabi farms that you can go visit outside of Tokyo in a place called Okutama, which I might be butchering. Like, actually for the record on all of this, I might be butchering forward these names, like, just moving forward. I am not trying to be an asshole. I am just not sure how to speak Japanese. But you can go and see how wasabi is grown and learn how to harvest it and how it's made. And like, that's really fun. That's a day trip from Tokyo. So if you were to have. If you were like, we've been to Tokyo, we've spent five nights there or whatever. And. And I said, well, why don't we do four nights and one day will be a day trip outside of Tokyo because, like, that's a really fun experience.

[Kendall Landru]

And we love to learn.

[Jordan Myrick]

We love to learn.

[Kendall Landru]

I don't remember any of it. Jordan will remember someday, a fact they learned six years ago. Once I'm out of there, I'm like, couldn't tell you a single thing about wasabi. But I. When I'm there, I'm like, this is.

[Jordan Myrick]

The best day of the world. But then I hold it for you. And then sometimes you' like, remember that thing we learned? And then you point at me and.

[Nicole]

Then I say, oh, my God. Does everyone come in here and just go like, oh, oh, my God, no.

[Kendall Landru]

Everyone is usually so rude.

[Jordan Myrick]

I know. Well, a lot of. A lot of our guests are friends who are also Comedians, so they're assholes. It's just nice to have, like, a beautiful, smart woman come on and be like, you guys seem so cool. I'm like, you are so cool.

[Nicole]

You're so cool. I also actually think that comedians are the coolest people. I'm just always very like, we think.

[Jordan Myrick]

Wedding planners are the most fun.

[Kendall Landru]

We always say that.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, you're 100% wrong, but that's very sweet. That's very sweet. That is so.

[Kendall Landru]

Because of wasabi, I'm like, that we got to do that, right?

[Nicole]

How fun is that?

[Jordan Myrick]

I also love wasabi.

[Kendall Landru]

I, you know, weirdly, I love wasabi, and I don't like spicy foods, but at all. Like, I, I, I wish I liked them, but I just absolutely can't. It makes me so sick, and I get so scared. Wasabi, I think, feels like doing cocaine.

[Nicole]

Okay.

[Jordan Myrick]

It feels like, There you go.

[Kendall Landru]

Take it. And it's like, whoa, for like, a second and it's done.

[Jordan Myrick]

It's like that requiem for a dream scene where his, like, pupils get really big and like, yeah, feels like doing.

[Nicole]

I feel like you should stop snorting wasabi.

[Kendall Landru]

Yes.

[Nicole]

But I don't. I feel like I value not how.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, a lot of things feel like.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, my nose is very messed up.

[Nicole]

I actually was just having this conversation, like, real tangent here about types of spicy, because I am like you, I cannot do spicy. I feel like it's a real stain on my, like, record as an eater is that I cannot do spicy food. And it's really embarrassing. Except for wasabi and horseradish and, like, that kind of spicy. But there's, like, chili spicy that I'm like, don't even, I can't even look at it. I can't smell it. I can't even consider it. Horseradish, wasabi. Give it. I will. I love it.

[Kendall Landru]

It's because, to me, the spice doesn't. It's not like, I'm, like, too spicy. It hurts. It makes me nauseous. So when I have even, like, a hot Cheeto, I can't.

[Nicole]

Like, I've never had a hot Cheetos. Don't you? That's because I know already, like, I know my limitations. And it's hot cheetos.

[Kendall Landru]

Yes.

[Nicole]

That's on the other side of the line.

[Kendall Landru]

But I think I can have things that are debatably much spicier, but just a different. It's a different spice. It's not that lingering, like, deep spice.

[Nicole]

It's not a touchy of a hot Cheeto. It's not a tongue spicy. It's like a sinus is spicy. And that's. I can do sinuses spicy, apparently 100%. I'm so glad that that's the sentence I just said. Sinuses spicy.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's correct.

[Kendall Landru]

I years in college, I did like eight ginger shots a day because I was like unwell in college mentally. And I think maybe that stuck with me. And now I can do nasal spicy.

[Nicole]

Okay. So I think it's a strong theory.

[Kendall Landru]

If you're looking for restaurants, nasal spice.

[Jordan Myrick]

Is good for me.

[Nicole]

If you're looking for nasal spicy restaurants. Yes, I got you.

[Jordan Myrick]

It's own category.

[Nicole]

It is its own category. But that's so fun. So then after Tokyo and after the definite yes on the wasabi farm, I suggest a bullet train to Osaka just for one night, which is for two reasons. First, because it gets you closer to Naoshima, which is the art island, which is a real trek to get to like. It's a train, it's a plane, It's a ferry, not a plane. Sorry. It's a train, a car, a ferry. Okay, so it's a track, but it's really worth it. Osaka breaks up the journey, which is really nice. You go see the castle. There's some great food in Osaka. It's another big city. So I don't think you need more than a night. But you know, it's a nice little journey. Then you get to Naoshima, which again, I might be absolutely butchering. No, I think it's like massive art installations everywhere. Tadao Ando. Architecture all over, art museums. And it's this little speck of an island that just is filled with contemporary art and museums and stuff. So it's really cool and unique. Kind of once in a lifetime. Because I think once you go, you're like, that took a long time. Like, that took me a lot to get there. I saw it like, check. I don't think I need to go do that again unless you're really passionate. I don't know. And then after that, I really liked the idea of like, okay, we've done Tokyo, we've done Osaka, we have the art island. Bring it way down and go to like, there's this town called Satoda that doesn't have a lot in it, but is very historic and very cool and very calm and quiet on the water. And there's a ryokan there that is this new brand started by one of the original founders of the Amman hotels. But this is like a really cool, super low key, quiet wellness Focused ryokan in this small town that's like mine. And it's like a historic house kind of thing. And so you go and it's like bathing and eating. And that's pretty much the whole thing is like bathing, eating, bathing, eating.

[Kendall Landru]

That's like, I love to bathe and I love to eat.

[Nicole]

Me too. This is my favorite. I was like, everyone has to go here now. So that's.

[Kendall Landru]

We do. I, I love this because. And I. We've talked a little bit about this too. Where I was like, I want to go more into the country a little bit. Because traveling. What are you laughing at?

[Jordan Myrick]

You always make that gesture. I want to go into the country. And every time we talk about Japan and going. Because that's how I just go out. And I'm like, okay, it's a good visual. Well, it's weird now.

[Kendall Landru]

We were, we were in London last year for work and I was like, it is funny traveling now. I'm very new to traveling in general, so maybe it's always been this.

[Nicole]

Oh, okay.

[Kendall Landru]

But it feels like it's, it feels like in current day traveling is kind of funny because you go so far and then you're in another country, which is cool. But all the stores are the same. Like, I remember us walking down this like, street in London and It was like five guys, McDonald's, a Ross.

[Jordan Myrick]

Like.

[Kendall Landru]

And I was like, okay, this is my street. Like, I live on this street. And so. Which is also great. And obviously there's a bunch of different things as well about each country. But we live in cities. Like, that's where we've all. We've lived in New York, we've lived here. And so we're always surrounded by that hustle and bustle, which is always so fun to go see because all the cool stuff sometimes is there.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landru]

But I was like, I'm craving to go to a country and really get into like visiting. Get into it?

[Nicole]

Yeah, really get into it. It was a little disappointing that you didn't do it.

[Jordan Myrick]

I was waiting for it.

[Nicole]

I like it.

[Jordan Myrick]

I wasn't complaining. It's very visual. I like it.

[Kendall Landru]

I was just like, I want to, you know, if I was traveling, if someone's like, where should I travel in America? You know, maybe I wouldn't. There's so many places besides New York and LA and Chicago that I would be like, you should try going to Salt Lake City, Utah or somewhere.

[Nicole]

And I think the other thing is that obviously all of the massive international airports are in major cities. So you do have to essentially go in and out of those places to get to the countryside.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

Which is then also why a lot of people don't go. Right. Because you're getting to Tokyo. You've gotten that far. You're like, now I have to get on another train, another plane, another whatever. Like, I'm already here. I'm just gonna stay in the city. Or I've never been. I'm coming one time and I'm gonna go to the major city. But I'm with you. I'm like, I don't. If I see a blue bottle, I'm gonna fucking explode. I can't take it. I mean, it's. And by the way, I love blue bottle. I'm not saying that I don't love it. I'll take a. I love Ross. I love Ross.

[Jordan Myrick]

There's nothing wrong with either of them.

[Nicole]

There's nothing wrong with either of them. I love a New Orleans. But like, I don't want one when I'm in London or Japan or whatever. I really want to not even know what I'm ordering. Like, ideally, I want you to just be like, here's a crazy looking dish. Try it. Like, that's the ideal to me. But yeah. So I feel like that's also what I like to do with any. Actually, any Japan itinerary. If it's first time with kids, without kids, doesn't matter. Is like, have at least one overnight somewhere that's a little bit. Not just Tokyo, Kyoto. It could be Hakone for like a ryokan and you have like a kaiseki dinner. And then you're back on the train, you know, like, it could just be one night. That's fine. Yeah, I love that. But I think that's really fun because you do want to like, have the memory of some like a picture in the background that does not have a McDonald's in it or whatever.

[Kendall Landru]

But then we have fun with that too. Like, I mean, we love to go to a new country. Like, we gotta try the McDonald's. We gotta get. We want to go to the cup of Noodles factory. But then it's fun to go out and be like, oh, this is how not just city. City dwellers live.

[Nicole]

City dwellers.

[Kendall Landru]

How amazing. The cowboys around here. I love that.

[Nicole]

No, do you know what's funny? I was in Morocco earlier this year and I was in Fez. And it is so different. The way that life works there is so different. And it was. It took kind of all of us. That was a first stop on this work trip where we were, you know, a bunch of advisors traveling together to see hotels and new destinations and meet with a bunch of people. And the first, like, day or two, we were like, people live like this in 2024. We are not in, like, you know, some simulation of looking at how life once was. Like, this is how people in FEZ live. And it's so cool and so beautiful and just so different. And, like, it felt really revitalizing to be somewhere where there was not one single recognizable sign or, like, place. And then, by the way. Yeah, I love, like, a Starbucks in another country. I want to go. I was in Hong Kong. I went to the Starbucks and I had all their red bean pastries. Those are delicious. I love that. No shade to that. Yeah, I want both.

[Kendall Landru]

Yes, 100%.

[Jordan Myrick]

And you should have both.

[Nicole]

Thank you. Okay, then I have you guys on the bullet train to Miyajima, which, you know, might again, not be pronounced that way. And this is, like, this is a town that's really, really cool. And again, a little bit of, like, a deeper cut outside of Hiroshima. So you would stay here in a really old ryokan with an onsen, which is like, the hot springs, go for a day trip into Hiroshima, see the Peace park, and really, you know, experience Hiroshima. But then stay in Miyajima, where you have wild deer on the street. And the town is known for its, like, oysters and great food. And it's just like, this really cool town to walk around in. So that. That is really cool. And then there's the Torii gate that at high tide, looks like it's floating, but otherwise it's. It's actually not, obviously. But follow me for more architectural tips.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, can I ask for the people at home, please, that maybe are not familiar. Can you explain what a ryokan is and what an onsen is?

[Nicole]

So glad you asked. An onsen is a hot springs or a natural bath or just like a bathing house. Bath house. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn, so a ryokan does not have to have an onsen, but lots of ryokans have onsens.

[Jordan Myrick]

Great. Good job.

[Kendall Landru]

You know, one time we went to an onsen in Taiwan, and we got a massage before we went into the onsen. Couples massage. And Jordan snored so loud that I was like. I almost had to ask the lady what we should do because it was me getting my massage. And then the two masseuses and I. It was the loud. You don't. Jordan doesn't snore. I've never heard Jordan snore. It made me be like, have you just never marry at least relax. It was very laughing loudest snore I've ever heard.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm rarely at peace. And the one time I was at peace, you have to bring it up all the time and make fun of it.

[Kendall Landru]

And there was an elephant in the room where I was like, I'm enjoying my massage. But I keep wanting to be like, do you guys hear that? Sorry. My wife is the loudest snorer ever. So that's my onsen experience. But very fun.

[Nicole]

What's the best time of day to get a deal? All day with Jack in the box's all day big deal meal. You get to choose from four. Four entrees like the supreme croissant and five tasty sides, plus a drink starting at $5. So hurry in or take your time. You've got all day at Jack. Every bite's a big deal.

[Jordan Myrick]

You're unbelievable.

[Nicole]

I. I like that and I hope it happens again on this.

[Kendall Landru]

I do too. I'm sure it will.

[Jordan Myrick]

I've only had like one massage in my life. And it was that time.

[Nicole]

And it was that time. And now. But now you're maybe self conscious about it. I don't know. I hope not.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, you'll never be able to.

[Jordan Myrick]

So embarrassing. Comebacking stuff all the time. Believe it.

[Kendall Landru]

Because they've never snored. So to go from never hearing them snore to like, truly an old man in their recliner with a beer was what it was giving. I was like, what has happened?

[Nicole]

Just full football Sunday beer, lazy boy vibes. That's amazing.

[Kendall Landru]

Different climate, different climate.

[Jordan Myrick]

The Taiwan air is just different.

[Nicole]

The Taiwanese air is known for making you snore.

[Jordan Myrick]

I have no clue. I can't explain it, but it was great and I loved it. And I'll do it again. I'll do it again.

[Nicole]

I will do it again.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm not sorry.

[Nicole]

Then after you've snored in the onsen experience.

[Jordan Myrick]

Thank you for budgeting that in.

[Nicole]

Yes. No, there's plenty of time for that. You'll be on the bullet train to Kyoto where you'll do all the really cool Kyoto stuff. And again, if you've been before, there's really rad day trips. So you can go to Nara, which is the most kind of famous side trip from Kyoto. The original, I think first or one of the oldest permanent, I mean, one of the oldest capitals in Japan and now has all the wild deer roaming around. And so it's this really cool, historic Place you go for the day, see the deer, go back to Kyoto. Or there's another day trip that I've sent clients on that they have really loved, which is to Uji, which is known for its green tea. And so you go and you do like a tea tasting experience. And you do, you know, and it's really naturally stunning, you know, beautiful place as well. But those are the two day trips that I recommend. And then I love tea. Do you, Are you, you're a big tea person?

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, you love green tea.

[Kendall Landru]

I like green tea.

[Jordan Myrick]

I like tea in general.

[Kendall Landru]

I don't have my shit together enough to be a tea drinker fully, because I usually am just like slamming a Diet Coke out the house. But I like tea. I wish I drank more tea.

[Jordan Myrick]

You like green tea and you like matcha.

[Kendall Landru]

I do. I, I. One thing is kind of different, but I just love traveling as an American, because everything is so impressive to me 100%. Because I feel like in America they'll be like a famous. Be like, you gotta go see the world famous diner. It was opened in 1987.

[Nicole]

And we're like, first McDonald's.

[Kendall Landru]

And there's like, they're like, it's a museum where you can see stuff from the late 90s. And you're like, that's so old. And when we went to London last year, they were like, this restaurant opened in 1703. And I was like, that can't be true. Like that. And so even, like, traveling is just so fun because everything's impressive.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sometimes Kendall will be like. Like, she'll hear the year that something was made or founded, and she'll be like, what do they mean by that?

[Kendall Landru]

I'm like, what?

[Nicole]

That's not a reality.

[Jordan Myrick]

What do you mean by that?

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, because it's too amazing to me. I'm like, okay, Nar, this is amazing.

[Nicole]

This blew my mind. Like, I read this similarly. I read this like three times just to make sure I had it right. Like, on three different sites. I fact checked, like, a very fine way, you know what I mean? Nara was the capital in the year 710.

[Kendall Landru]

Like, what is that?

[Nicole]

What? Yeah, that means 700 when we were in triple digits. Like, what are you talking about?

[Kendall Landru]

And what does that mean? 710 years BC which is.

[Jordan Myrick]

I would say, when was Jesus? That's always my question. I say, when did Jesus happen?

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, this was 710 years after Christ.

[Nicole]

After Christ?

[Kendall Landru]

What does that even mean?

[Nicole]

Like, I can't fathom that. Do you know what I mean? Like, my brain Goes as far back as, like, you know, the Industrial Revolution. Like, I don't have. I have turn of the century, and then it gets pretty far fuzzy after that. Like, we could talk Renaissance, medieval times a little bit, but, like, seven, ten.

[Jordan Myrick]

Wild to me, it's all clumped together.

[Nicole]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

The dinosaurs, then Bridgerton and Jesus. And then Bridgerton was a couple years later, and then hot summer night. Yeah. Blondie. Right. And then now we're here.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, that is.

[Nicole]

I think that's the timeline. Like, if you had little dots, it would be like, dinosaurs, Bridgerton, Blondie. This podcast, Kesha.

[Jordan Myrick]

This podcast.

[Kendall Landru]

Similar.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah. We're younger than Kesha.

[Nicole]

They're closer together. Yeah. Yeah. So we're. We're in Kyoto, which is also very old, and, like, again, wanted to do some of the real heavy hitters, the great stuff, and then some really unique things, like, oh, another really cool day trip that I sent to someone, but they didn't end up going on. It was. There's this cool bladesmith outside of Kyoto, like, in the mountains. And you can go see how he makes, like, kitchen knives, like chef's knives, but also swords.

[Kendall Landru]

Can you buy a knife?

[Jordan Myrick]

I was gonna say we can't do that because Kendall would buy a sword.

[Kendall Landru]

I would not buy a sword.

[Jordan Myrick]

If you saw.

[Kendall Landru]

That's a real misread on me. I don't have any desire to own a sword.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm telling you right now. If we were in the mountains of Japan and a man was handcrafted swords.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

And gave you a sword and you were allowed to play with it.

[Kendall Landru]

I don't like to buy. I'll tell you.

[Jordan Myrick]

It's not about the sword. It's not about the sword. It's about the experience.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm a person. If I go to, like, one of those markets where people aren't making handcrafts, I'm like, going to each person who hasn't had a visitor and, like, spending $100 on a thing. I'm like, this is the most hideous thing I've ever seen. I don't want this, but I guess I have to buy it.

[Nicole]

Like, but a. For effort, ma'am. You know, like, you also love something.

[Jordan Myrick]

That feels exclusive and unique. You love something that's, like, of the place in which we are in. I think we would walk away with two to three swords.

[Nicole]

Yeah, two, three.

[Kendall Landru]

But knives, we always try to. We're like, we want to buy our knives from Japan. Like, we love getting knives, so that would be a great place to go.

[Nicole]

Okay, well, you don't have to go to the bladesmith. You can go to Kappabashi in Tokyo, which is the, like, kitchenwares part of town, and you can just get a kitchen knife there. And then it's like, not. Because the experience is not exactly inexpensive. And then on top of that, it's like a handmade in front of you, like, sword. So it's cool, you know, but it's really cool.

[Kendall Landru]

I like that.

[Nicole]

It's really cool. I was like, that's the thing also about me is that I get bummed when people don't do the experiences that, like, I want them to do. I'm like, no, but go to the bladesmith also. Pay for it. Go to the bladesmith. Pay for it. No, I'm not going. I just need you to go. Listen to me, please.

[Jordan Myrick]

Absolutely.

[Nicole]

So you're in Kyoto. You will this time do Fushimi Inari Shrine, because you said you missed it last time. And we have all the tips on, like, go in the morning and start at the top and go down instead of going, you know, up and like, that kind of thing. So we'll have all that in there. You can do this cool dying experience where you learn how to do, like, Japanese indigo dyeing and stuff. Not dyeing, but dying. I was like, I love that.

[Kendall Landru]

You're like, you in a coffin on the temple. I'm like, that feels offensive, but interesting.

[Nicole]

Yeah, not that kind of dyeing.

[Kendall Landru]

You're dyeing what then?

[Nicole]

Like, fabrics. You're dyeing fabrics with, like, indigo dye and, like, some traditional technique. And it's really cool. Yeah, it looks really cool. I haven't done it, but it looks really cool. I love that. So we have that. And I put hotels there as well. Similar vibe as the ones in Tokyo. And then there is this. There's two really cool ryokan that I put as the very last stop, or maybe second to last stop, which again, is, like, after Kyoto and roaming around a little bit. Like, bring it back down either before you fly home or before one or two more nights in Tokyo, depending on how you want to, like, cut up the end of the trip. In Hakone, there's one that everyone loves that, you know, I get requests for a lot from clients wanting to go to Japan, which is Gorakadan, which is a beautiful ryokan. Really amazing food, super special, really interesting spot. And then there's one called fukudaya, which is 140 years old. Like, please have your mind blown. 140 years old.

[Kendall Landru]

That's crazy.

[Nicole]

It's crazy.

[Kendall Landru]

How are people running businesses? 140 years ago, to me, 140 years ago, people were just sitting and like drinking alcohol and it was pitch black, dark, and there was dust on everything. That's all I picked picture. I, like, can't imagine people being like, hey, let's head over to a hotel. I'm like, what? Right, a hotel. You need to like, shear a sheep. I don't know. I just like, how do you have time for vacation 140 years ago?

[Nicole]

100. 100 with you. This is on the shores of like, Biwa, so you have like views of Mount Fuji. And it typically they do one group per stay, so you only can stay from. I think they cap the nights. I think it's like two nights. They have one group per stay. So you go in there and it is like the service and all of the things are for you and you alone. But it's not like an Airbnb. It's a fully staffed.

[Kendall Landru]

How did they sustain this?

[Nicole]

I have absolutely no idea because actually it's not even like that expensive. It's not some thousands of dollars a night situation. So I don't know. But it's incredibly beautiful and super cool and I'm kind of obsessed with it. So then you could either fly out of Osaka, which is closer, or go back to Tokyo. Fly out of Tokyo if you have the wherewithal to like train, plane, or spend a night or two in Tokyo and then fly out.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, wow.

[Nicole]

So there's your honeymoon. Get packing.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, and I'm seeing on the last page, it says if we did all of this, it would be like 30 to $35,000.

[Nicole]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Wow. And then we're seeing. My God, we got alt versions.

[Kendall Landru]

This is amazing.

[Nicole]

And the alt versions are for like a mid range to a lower budget, shorter trip, and then also options for people who've never been to Japan before. So, yeah, these ones are like hotels that are slightly less expensive but still really cool, boutique, safe, etc. And then side trips that are like a little bit easier to access and yeah, more hotel options.

[Jordan Myrick]

Now, I have a question. Could we share a digital version of this on our Patreon?

[Nicole]

Absolutely. Yeah, I would love that.

[Jordan Myrick]

Wow, that would be incredible. Yeah. So we'll share a digital version of this on our Patreon and also will everywhere include Nicole's contact information. So whether you just want to book a singular hotel or plan a whole trip, you can get in touch with her because we're going to be doing this more.

[Kendall Landru]

We are going to get into audience questions. We asked our. Our fans on Instagram.

[Jordan Myrick]

You're going to see a fan. Is fan too strong, my friend.

[Kendall Landru]

I asked my friends.

[Nicole]

No, you asked your fans. Like, you have fans. I am one of them. Own the fandom. Own that. You have a fandom.

[Jordan Myrick]

Kendall's like, I don't want to be presumptuous. They just follow us on social media and listen.

[Nicole]

I don't know.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm so sorry. We asked our fans on Instagram what questions they had about honeymoons, honeymoon planning. Because it's a lot. I thank God. Don't have to. Jordan's a big planner, and now I have you. Thank God. But I'm like, if. If it was up to me, we would be at a Sandals resort every other week. So I can help you, Please.

[Nicole]

I mean, no shade to Sandals. We love a Sandals. But, like, please let me help you. It's cool.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm like, take your places. Such a skill. It is such a thing. I think it's like, people are like, well, I'll just do it. And it's like, because you can't. Because it says you can't do your own brain surgery. It's very similar.

[Nicole]

Really similar.

[Kendall Landru]

We asked everyone on Instagram what questions they had. And if you want to ask questions for future episodes, make sure to go to our Instagram. It's hwhlpodcast on Instagram. And if you want to send us longer worded questions about anything you can think of, we have an email@hwhlpod questions.

[Jordan Myrick]

Gmail.Com and we always post the questions on our Patreon as well. And if you're not a member of our Patreon, go there to check it out. I mean, first of all, you'll get this. This is, I don't know, worth a hundred thousand dollars.

[Nicole]

It is already a hundred thousand dollars.

[Jordan Myrick]

So it feels like that already makes it worth it to just get a year subscription to the Patreon. But we do free episodes. We do ad free episodes. We do discounted tickets to our live shows. We also just chat gab. We're sending out Christmas cards this year. Secular Christmas. Like holiday cards?

[Kendall Landru]

Yes, yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

You know, not religious Christmas cards, more just holiday cards in general. They're all like, God bless you, Christ back in Christmas from Happy Wife, Happy Life podcast.

[Nicole]

It's a Christ back in Christmas.

[Jordan Myrick]

But yes, you can join. You can send us your. Your info and we'll send you a holiday card.

[Kendall Landru]

Here's the questions. Here we go.

[Jordan Myrick]

All right. We got so many of these. So we'll power through them.

[Nicole]

Yay. I'm so excited.

[Jordan Myrick]

We got a lot of good questions.

[Nicole]

Okay, cool. I'm so excited.

[Jordan Myrick]

How do you make your honeymoon feel different from any other vac? And does it need to.

[Nicole]

Oh, that's a good one. Okay. My first thought is it depends on how often you travel together. So if you're really intrepid travelers and you've been to far flung places and you've been to weekend trips and whatever, it's probably not going to feel that different from the rest of your travels. And that's totally fine. If you don't travel a lot together. I think make it special by going somewhere you neither of you has ever been before and that you are both really excited to go to. I mean, I know that sounds obvious, but I think a lot of people might be like, well, you know, Japan is really hot right now, or Costa Rica. Everyone's going to Costa Rica. We should go there. It's like, don't. You don't need to follow that. Go where you've always wanted to go. You know, find your bucket list and then like the top, the closest to the top on both. Like, pick that place and then go there.

[Jordan Myrick]

I think something that we are planning to do to. To make it feel a little more special is first of all, it's gonna be long because Kendall and I aren't having a wedding, so we're just having a honeymoon. By the way, thank you. So it's like we can spend a little more time and money on the honeymoon because there is no wedding. You're looking at me confused. You know this.

[Kendall Landru]

I thought we were having a wedding.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'm just kidding.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm just listening.

[Nicole]

It. It.

[Jordan Myrick]

So for us, it's like the length. Having a longer trip than we would normally take feels very honeymoon esque to us. And then I also think, as silly as this sounds, me being relaxed, at least for a portion of the trip makes it feel like a honeymoon because.

[Kendall Landru]

Normally so different from normal.

[Jordan Myrick]

Because normally I'm not relaxed and Kendall's always relaxed. But normally when we go somewhere, I'm doing a lot of strategizing. I'm doing a lot of looking over my shoulder. I'm doing a lot of like, what's that? Where's the next thing? I'm looking at a map. I'm doing this like. So Kendall was like, I want to be able to have some of the trip where you are also snoring. Relaxed, snoring. You gotta get out.

[Nicole]

Loudly snoring.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

So I Think for us, those are two things that totally made it feel different.

[Nicole]

And I think, you know, the other thing I would say, and I talk about this with a lot of couples going on their honeymoon, is you do not have to do. If you want to do the private dining experience on the beach, where it's, you know, hotels do a lot of private dining experiences. Right. And they will set you up with a table by yourselves at the end of a long pier or whatever, if you want that. And that's like, in your vision of what your honeymoon is. Great. But there is absolutely nowhere in the honeymoon planning, you know, sort of contract that says that it has to be this, like, you know, rose petal romance. It can be hiking in Peru for all I care. Just make it special for the two of you and a place where you guys can be, you know, celebrating yourselves and each other. Yeah, I love that.

[Jordan Myrick]

All right, next question. What. What's the longest honeymoon you've ever facilitated or heard of?

[Nicole]

Ooh, that's a good question. Facilitate. Like, longest honeymoon I've planned has probably been a little over two weeks. A little over two weeks. And so. No, I mean, we're Americans, right? Like, we don't. Most of my clients are American. And, like, Americans don't take long holidays. So. Yeah, I think the longest was, like, about 16 days. I think the longest, again, it really depends on, like, where you're going and how well you travel together, because not every happy couple can happily travel together for a really long time. So it's super dependent. But I would say if you can do two weeks, that's like a really nice getaway.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah. Do you find.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sorry.

[Kendall Landru]

And I know we're spe. I'm so bad about elongating all the questions, but I have more questions, please. When we went and picked out our engagement room rings together, I remember the woman being like, well, yeah, people fight a lot here. Like, there's a lot. There's some fighting that happens when you're picking out engagement rings, which we were like, that's so funny.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landru]

And she was like, well, usually not the engagement rings, but the wedding. Like when people are picking out the wedding rings.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Kendall Landru]

So. And because it's close to the wedding, you're stressed out. And I feel like people are probably planning their honeymoon getting closer to the wedding. Do you find there is a lot of fighting? This is just me wanting.

[Nicole]

Being nosy, but no, 100%. And I told you, like, a lot of my job is therapy as well, and so I wouldn't so much say Fighting. Because a lot of people, like, a lot of what I do is either over the phone or on email. Right. I'm not with people in person a lot, so a lot of what I get are like these very passive aggressive. Like. Well, he decided that actually, you know, like, I'll see a lot of that. And I'm like, hey, no problem. Like, I'm like. Or she's whatever. Like, there's a lot of. Right, Read between the lines. Passive aggression. I don't see a lot of fighting.

[Kendall Landru]

I guess that makes sense. Unless they were sending from two separate. Both their emails separately. Fighting with each other.

[Nicole]

That was kind of wild. Which I have been caught, like, on an email between a couple before, but it's been thankfully not. Or not actually thankfully kind of. Unfortunately, there was not that juicy. It was more like debating which hotel. And I was like, where's this gonna go? And then it went nowhere.

[Jordan Myrick]

And they were like, I know.

[Nicole]

I was like, get madder. Come on.

[Jordan Myrick]

Oh, that sucks. I'm sorry.

[Nicole]

I know. Thank you. I appreciate the solidarity.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah. People want to know, what are some of the best queer friendly international travel destinations?

[Nicole]

Okay. Okay. So in my research, what I found is that we really would like to focus on Australia, New Zealand, most of Western Europe. We can do a lot domestically in the US A lot of Caribbean. Not all, but a lot of Caribbean. I find a lot of the tourist destinations in Mexico very LGBTQ friendly. Yeah, that's where I would start. I think the places that I typically would not start with would be, you know, unfortunately for them, Middle Eastern countries, you know, certain African countries, I think are just not quite there yet.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sure. Now, what about places in Asia? I know Thailand is supposed to be big LGBTQ friendly, Big gay.

[Nicole]

They're big gay.

[Jordan Myrick]

Huge homo.

[Nicole]

Thailand situation, huge homo tie. That's how I sell it. I love that.

[Jordan Myrick]

And I would buy it.

[Nicole]

Huge homo tie.

[Jordan Myrick]

I would buy it based on that.

[Kendall Landru]

I have a question, which may be one of these questions. So what is it? But it's just, what in the US do you. Are you like, if someone's like, I gotta stay in the U.S. maybe they don't have as much time or they just really want to go to. I don't know, where's the place you're like, in the US this is a really underrated honeymoon destination.

[Nicole]

Oh, that's a really good question. It depends on what you're into. Like, outdoorsy, I would say like a Montana, Idaho. Sun Valley, you know, Colorado. There's a place in Colorado called Dunton Hot Springs. That is like this old western townie hot springs resort thing, but it's tiny and boutique. Oh my God, I'm obsessed with it. Like, that would be really cool. Yeah, it really depends. There's a cool place outside of Nashville. You can fly into Nashville and go 30 minutes outside the city to this like farm and inn called south hall that feels secluded and feels very farmy and countryside.

[Kendall Landru]

Can you ride a horse? Horse?

[Nicole]

Oh, I think so.

[Kendall Landru]

I want to go.

[Nicole]

Don't quote me on that.

[Jordan Myrick]

But I can ride a horse in our neighborhood.

[Kendall Landru]

Well, but I don't. And maybe that's. Maybe if I had it handed to.

[Nicole]

Me, it would be easier to do in Tennessee. I want to ride a horse with a cowgirl hat on Silver Lake.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Jordan Myrick]

Thank you.

[Nicole]

But like, then you can go to dinner in Nashville. Like there's, you know, it depends. It depends on what you're into. Really, really different. I mean, Napa, obviously. Right? So. Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay.

[Kendall Landru]

I was curious. That's great.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, no, that's good. It wasn't on here. How do you balance differences in a couple's expectations for a vacation? Example, one of us wants adventures and one of us wants relaxing.

[Nicole]

I would balance it by doing actually what I myself did on my honeymoon. I'm divorced now, but when we went on honeymoon, we went to. Well, actually this is not my honeymoon. That's a lie. This was right before we got married. Pre wedding trip to Peru. And I was the lay arounder and he was the zoomer arounder. And so we would go on a hike, like in the morning one day we went on a hike at Huayna Picchu. And it was for me, the non hiker, very intense. Like I was being lapped by kids on their field trip. But I was like, you know, that was like an intense, outdoorsy experience. And then that evening was New Year's Eve and I had booked us on the Hiram Bingham Orient Express train and we had this like slow, luxurious, you know, multi course dinner and all this kind of stuff. So I think it literally is the word balance is like every single day can have a balance in it, or if it can't every single day, then like Monday you're hiking to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town. And then Tuesday you're going to the Winelands and you're relaxing. And so it's just a matter of spreading out, you know, and making sure that the relaxed person feels like they have some downtime.

[Kendall Landru]

Good practice for your marriage.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

I think you have to treat your partner if they are Adventurous, like some kind of herding dog. I think you need to.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Take them out, get them really tired in the morning, have them run around, ask them to do a bunch of tasks.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Be like, run down to the front desk. Get me this. Go get me some ice. Hey, I heard there were. You could see people paragliding off the other side of the hotel. Run over there. So really wear them out.

[Kendall Landru]

Do what? My mom's always. Take him to the water. My mom always said, if you've got kids, take them to the water, tire them out.

[Nicole]

I was just gonna say this sounds like me with my son. I'm always like, oh, maybe let me time you.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

How fast can you do it? I want to tell you. I bet you could beat that time.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

Try again. Like, I mean, it's all just like, go, go, go, go, go. And then, oh, you're tired. Great.

[Kendall Landru]

Oh, man. But I had so much more I wanted to do.

[Nicole]

It's all strategy. Yeah, exactly. It's all strategy. It's a solid strategy. Do it in the morning, get it out of the way, and then the rest of the day can be a fireplace and a book and a glass of wine.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah. Do you find that couples typically have a biggest regret, a common regret after their honeymoon? Ooh.

[Nicole]

A common regret after their honeymoon. I won't. No, I wouldn't say that. There's, like, one common thing that I get from honeymooners, especially. Cause, by the way, if there was, I would not be very good at my job. If I was just like.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, I was gonna say no regrets with four of.

[Nicole]

Or even just something where you're like.

[Jordan Myrick]

People are like, I wish we had stayed longer, or, oh, I wish we had splurged a little more on XYZ or something like that. You know, there is.

[Nicole]

There's. Okay in that way. Yes, absolutely. There is one thing that I get a lot, and it is that I work with a lot of partners on the ground all over the world, wherever you are. And a lot of people fancy themselves, whether they are or not, really excellent world travelers. And they're like, we don't need that person's help. Help on the ground. Because sometimes not all of them, but sometimes these groups that I work with, they're considered sort of booking agents or destination management companies. Sometimes they charge an extra fee to be your, like, concierge on the ground. Right. So people bristle at that, and they go like, well, I don't need you to hold my hand while I'm there. You've already planned my Whole itinerary, like, when I get there, I'll be fine. I have it all right here. I have you. And I'm like, I'm not in your time zone.

[Kendall Landru]

Right, Right.

[Nicole]

I'm gonna charge you a concierge fee. If you text me all the time you need them and you want them, I'm gonna say 85% of the time, people go, I don't need it. And 100% of the time, by day two, they're like, you know what? That actually would be really nice. And I'm like, yeah. And then if they don't do that, they come back and they go, it would have really helped if we had that thing. And I'm like, I know.

[Kendall Landru]

Wait, so would that be a person? Not you, but another person is there, and they're, like, in contact with them or they're with them physically?

[Nicole]

No, no, no. In contact with them. So, like, typically, you'll get a WhatsApp. Someone on WhatsApp. It'll be a group chat with you and whoever else you want on the WhatsApp. Like, on your trip. They're in that time zone. They speak that language. They're on the ground. They have helped me book your entire itinerary. So instead of me, like, Google translating train booking websites, which I have done, they book it so that they're in the time zone. They know everything that you're about to do, so that when you get there, there is someone on the ground in Tokyo going, hey, welcome to Tokyo. I saw your flight was delayed. I hope everything's okay. I. I've sent a printout of your itinerary to your hotel room. Like, you know, tomorrow morning. I've delayed your breakfast an hour because I thought you might be tired. Like, it's that kind of thing. Or it's like you're in Italy and you are too tired to go to that dinner reservation, and you can't remember. Like, I mean, my itineraries have all the information, you know, like the restaurant phone numbers and whatever. But if you don't want to sit down in your hotel room and call a phone number to an Italian restaurant, say you're intimidated, you don't speak the language, whatever. All you do is you text that number and you go hiking, you cancel a reservation, and it's done for you. So it's that kind of thing that I think before you go, you're like, yeah. And then you get there and you go, fuck, I have to call this restaurant and try and gobble together something in, like, broken English, Italian and yeah, totally.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's good to know.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay, I'm gonna throw out some scenarios to you and you are gonna give me one word for what destination first comes to your mind for these scenarios. Okay.

[Nicole]

One word is clearly my forte.

[Jordan Myrick]

I mean, well, yeah, us too. It's an impossible challenge. How could anyone ever just say one word?

[Kendall Landru]

I'm going to say a word and then I'm going to go. You know what I think about that?

[Nicole]

Yeah, 100%.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Best budget place to visit in April. So like late spring with a naturey vibe. So budget April, nature anywhere in the world.

[Nicole]

I have two answers for this. Don't hate me. It's Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

[Jordan Myrick]

Perfect. Okay. Okay. Any specific cities or just those two at large?

[Nicole]

No, specifically I would say you fly into Liberia. Okay, hot tip. Fly into Liberia for both, which is in Costa Rica and it's in the north of Costa Rica. So you can just drive up into Nicaragua, which makes that really easy. Nicaragua, very safe, very budget, very cool and jungly and awesome. And you can stay at this place called Morgan's Rock on the water. And it's like jungly and tree housey. And what does the water look like?

[Kendall Landru]

There's a balloon. Yeah, yeah, I'm looking for. I told. For our honeymoon. I said I want Gatorade blue. Gatorade blue water. Well, not here, but it's somewhere. Yeah, yeah, I'm trying to get somewhere with Gatorade blue water.

[Nicole]

Heard that's our next trip. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then Costa Rica, I would say also like either in the north or go down the peninsula to like Nosara or Santa Teresa and go surfing and just be like really chill barefoot.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah, I love that.

[Nicole]

Okay, see, one word. I did it.

[Jordan Myrick]

You did it in one word. It was perfect. Best places in America to honeymoon in December for an introverted couple. Us December introverts.

[Nicole]

Us December introverts. I love that they included introverts. Too many answers for this California road trip.

[Kendall Landru]

Ooh, fun.

[Jordan Myrick]

Up the coast.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Beautiful.

[Kendall Landru]

That's a good one.

[Jordan Myrick]

Absolutely beautiful. Starting where? Ending where?

[Nicole]

Either or you start at the top and end at the bottom. Or vice versa. You pick.

[Jordan Myrick]

And top is sf.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

And bottom is la. La. Okay.

[Kendall Landru]

If you want to go a little farther to my hometown, it's got some cute.

[Nicole]

Where's your hometown? What's your hometown?

[Kendall Landru]

It's called Grass Valley.

[Nicole]

Oh, my God. I'm born and raised in la. I've never heard of Grass Valley.

[Kendall Landru]

A lot of people, it's very small. Gold mining town.

[Nicole]

How cool.

[Kendall Landru]

Is that. It's very cute. They filmed a Hallmark movie there one time.

[Nicole]

Okay, so we're starting in San Francisco and we're ending in Grass Valley.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah, that's bulky.

[Jordan Myrick]

Road trip. And you will love it. Two to three weeks under $10,000. Mountains and waterfalls. America.

[Nicole]

Oh, my God.

[Jordan Myrick]

I'll also let you do one. That's not America.

[Nicole]

Okay, great. Because that's also Costa Rica. Okay, we're going to Costa Rica. You guys are going to Costa Rica Or Nicaragua or Panama. Not mountainy, but. But cool and, you know. Right. Budget. Okay. Domestic.

[Jordan Myrick]

Two to three weeks in America. 10K.

[Kendall Landru]

Introvert or extrovert?

[Jordan Myrick]

They seem adventurous. They seem adventurous. Mountains and waterfalls.

[Nicole]

Mountains and waterfalls does seem adventurous or. Or introverted because there's not many people there.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's true.

[Nicole]

Okay, I'm going. I'm going. National park system. I'm going off season. Yosemite and. Or Yellowstone. Which is the other one I was gonna say. Or. Okay. There's no waterfalls. But Sedona is rad. I love Sedona.

[Kendall Landru]

Love Sedona.

[Nicole]

New Mexico. I'm obsessed with New Mexico. I mean, Taos. Just roaming around anywhere in Santa Fe is so cool.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

That'S what I got.

[Kendall Landru]

That's perfect.

[Jordan Myrick]

I loved it. Tropical resort lesbians.

[Nicole]

Tropical resort lesbian.

[Kendall Landru]

That's how they identify.

[Jordan Myrick]

That's their gender and their sexuality. Tropical resort lesbians.

[Nicole]

I am a tropical resort lesbian. That's amazing.

[Jordan Myrick]

They did say they wanted to feel safe for them.

[Nicole]

Okay. Tropical resort safe. Lesbians.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

Okay, great.

[Jordan Myrick]

I think safe specifically for lesbians. Maybe not safe in general for just everybody. Yeah.

[Nicole]

Everyone else is.

[Jordan Myrick]

Everyone else is unsafe.

[Kendall Landru]

But the lesbians are safe. And that was very important. Important to them.

[Nicole]

If I may, sidebar really quickly. I did listen to one of your episodes where I heard a phrase that now I would like to use. Celeste. Celebs. Lesbians. I want to use it in a sentence.

[Kendall Landru]

You just do.

[Nicole]

Are these celesbians? That's my sentence. I'm trying to use it.

[Jordan Myrick]

You used it perfectly.

[Nicole]

I love that. Say that word so much. It's a good word. So it's such a good one.

[Kendall Landru]

Because it really is real. When you're gay, there are lesbians in the community that you're like. They are the most famous. Like, that's Meryl Streep. And if you were to ask, like, anyone else, they'd be like, that's a random woman. No one knows who that is. Well.

[Nicole]

And there.

[Jordan Myrick]

There are famous lesbians. Like Sarah Paulson.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Jordan Myrick]

Is a celebrity lesbian. But then There are Celes, but there.

[Kendall Landru]

Are also benchwarmers on the WNBA who I'm like, that's the most famous person that's ever existed.

[Jordan Myrick]

Sure.

[Kendall Landru]

And people are like, no, they're not.

[Nicole]

No, ma'am. No, ma'am. Okay, so let's say they're the lesbians and they want to be safe in a tropical resort.

[Jordan Myrick]

Yes.

[Nicole]

Okay. I am going to go. Where are we going? We're going to maybe we're going to like Curacao. We're going to Puerto Rico. We're going to maybe the Bahamas. We're going to Aruba. We're going to Cabo or Cancun. Sure. Outside, you know, we don't need to go hotel zone. I mean, not because it's not safe, but just because we're cooler than that. Yeah. And then what else? I would. That's where I'm starting. That's where I'm starting. Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that. Okay. Straight, Heard of them. Adventurous, cold, 15k.

[Nicole]

Straight, adventurous, cold, 15k. You are going to Scandinavia. Oh, you are going to like Swedish Lapland or up in the fjords and you're gonna go see the northern lights. And I mean like Finland, Sweden, out in the countryside. You can do a lot on that budget. Like a lot.

[Kendall Landru]

That's so fun.

[Nicole]

Yeah. That's where you're going.

[Jordan Myrick]

I want to know if you have no money, like you're really bare bones in it.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

What is the best, cheapest honeymoon you can think of? And if money is not an object, what is the best, most opulent honeymoon you can think of? They can even just be destinations. They don't have to be. But it's just like if people are watching this saying I have no money, like what the hell are you talking about? The lowest end of the budget is a fifteen thousand dollar honeymoon.

[Kendall Landru]

And then there's someone listening who says, I have more money than anyone ever.

[Nicole]

And then there's someone listening to it. What are all these poor people talking about?

[Kendall Landru]

Exactly.

[Nicole]

Okay. Yeah. So I think cheap honeymoon or like no budget on that side honeymoon. Where are we going? We are going to. Maybe we're going to Europe in the off season. So this is my first thought is that you could do like a cold weather Italy. I mean, unfortunately that's still gonna be like a. Probably like a $10,000 trip. Actually. Let me, let me think about that one. Let me think about that. What about Las Vegas? Definitely Las Vegas. You could do Las Vegas. You could do, I mean domestic, if we want to talk domestic.

[Kendall Landru]

Sure.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Give us a Domestic trip.

[Nicole]

Absolutely. You could do. I mean, again, Colorado, New Mexico would be a super dreamy budget honeymoon, especially because it does feel like you're in a really other place. It's not a massive city, Santa Fe. I mean, there's the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival in October, which is really cool and fun. There's a lot of really unique things to do. I think my answer is New Mexico. I think you go to New Mexico.

[Kendall Landru]

We just went there, and it was incredible.

[Nicole]

I really am obsessed with it. Like, and you can go outside of Santa Fe to, like, that chapel where they dry all the chilies. And, like, that's free. You just rent a car. I mean, you'll get a rental car. And then you drive out of the city, and then, you know, you go see these roasted chilies and you go see this chapel. And, like, the drives are so beautiful. Yeah, that's my answer is New Mexican.

[Kendall Landru]

Go.

[Nicole]

That's where we're going.

[Jordan Myrick]

I love that.

[Nicole]

And then if money is no object and we are going on honeymoon, then I say, I mean, really, you can do anywhere really, really well when money is no object.

[Jordan Myrick]

But you have to pick.

[Nicole]

But I have to pick.

[Kendall Landru]

It's too hard.

[Jordan Myrick]

If money's no object for you, where would you go?

[Nicole]

If money was no object for me, I would go to. Where would I go? I would probably do. Okay. Top of mind for me right now is more Eastern Europe. So I'm really excited to go to, like, Austria, Slovenia. So what I. My dream version of this trip, if anyone from Belmond is listening, is to take the Venice Simplon Orient Express from, like, say, Paris to Vienna, Do Vienna, Salzburg, and then go into Slovenia and stay in, like, a castle.

[Jordan Myrick]

Because that's the place right now.

[Nicole]

That's the place, right?

[Jordan Myrick]

That is the place right now.

[Nicole]

Hot. Hot right now. So that's. I'm really excited about that. I'm desperate to get to Bhutan, and I would want to do that, like, really nicely. You know, I'd want to go, like, the Amman Six Senses route.

[Jordan Myrick]

And now for Kendall. Where's Bhutan?

[Nicole]

Bhutan.

[Kendall Landru]

Honestly, thank you so much. Because I didn't know, but I didn't know if it was. I was gonna ask. Cause usually I'm good about asking. But I was like, what if it's so bad to ask? Cause it's so.

[Nicole]

Absolutely not so bad to ask. It's in Southeast Asia. Great. And so you fly through Bangkok to get to Bhutan.

[Kendall Landru]

Great.

[Nicole]

And it's in the mountains.

[Kendall Landru]

Cool. Oh, that's so nice.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah. I'm Trying to stay in a castle. I didn't know that.

[Nicole]

Like, you just said that. No. Yeah. I want to go stay in a castle. Do you know where you can go stay in a castle for? Not that much, actually, is Ireland. Like, Ireland and Scotland have thousands and thousands and thousands of castles.

[Kendall Landru]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

They don't even know what to do with them.

[Nicole]

They genuinely don't know what to do with them. You can go squat there. Seats in castles, Heads and beds. Yeah. Wow. Ireland is your less expensive castle destination.

[Kendall Landru]

I love that.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Jordan Myrick]

Okay. Wow.

[Kendall Landru]

Well, I feel like we've done new woman. I feel like I've learned so much.

[Jordan Myrick]

I feel like we planned our honeymoon. I feel like we've planned other people's honeymoons.

[Nicole]

I hope so. I hope you planned, like, lots of honeymoons today.

[Kendall Landru]

This is amazing. And you're so knowledgeable and good. This is so amazing. I think it is like one of the. We. We went to, like, a wedding some a while ago, and they were talking about wedding planners. And I feel like similarly, I at first would've been like, who needs a wedding planner?

[Nicole]

I can Google it. Yeah.

[Kendall Landru]

And then as they're talking, you're like, I can't do that. Yeah, I wouldn't.

[Jordan Myrick]

Or I don't want to do that.

[Kendall Landru]

Mostly, I don't want to do that. And then also there's things where it's like, well, you save money in a lot of ways because I'm an idiot. I'm spending the most on something that's like, not even that good. Cause I'm just like, I don't know what's like. There's so many things that I would never know. So this is just so exciting. And we are going to that wasabi factory.

[Jordan Myrick]

It's a farm farm. And I can't wait to go see.

[Kendall Landru]

I'm so American. I said factory.

[Nicole]

Wasabi is free range. Don't worry. Out in the woods.

[Jordan Myrick]

Well, this has been incredible.

[Nicole]

Thank you so much fun. Thank you guys.

[Jordan Myrick]

And we're gonna include all of your contact information in the bio of this video. So you can scroll down, you can click, you can contact Nicole, and as always, thanks for listening. Happy Monday. Like, Comment. Subscribe. You can help us pay for this honeymoon by simply listening to this episode or watching this video. It's all you have to do. It costs you zero money.

[Kendall Landru]

And if you're on Apple podcasts or Spotify, make sure to give us a little review. We appreciate it so much. And thank you so much for being here.

[Nicole]

Thank you so much for having me. This is so much fun.

[Jordan Myrick]

This is so fun. And thank you, Spotify. We're recording the Spotify offices. And we absolutely love you.

[Kendall Landru]

We do.

[Jordan Myrick]

All right.

[Kendall Landru]

We're going to go on honeymoon with Spotify.

[Nicole]

Let's just do it.

[Jordan Myrick]

Us, Spotify and you.

[Kendall Landru]

Let's. All.

[Jordan Myrick]

Right.

[Nicole]

The country.

[Jordan Myrick]

Thank you for watching the episode. Goodbye.