Jen Ruiz is a lawyer turned travel blogger, content creator, Tedx speaker and author of 5 Amazon best sellers! In her newest book “12 Trips in 12 Months”, she shares how she experiences the world as a solo female traveler and shares how to find your own Travel Magic!

As we sip on a surprisingly delicious wine from Washington state we talk about: 

• Her quest for love as she travels the globe
• How lucky many of us are to be able to travel
• Her take on the word “Influencer” and why she’s proud to be one
• We swap gorilla trekking stories... spoiler: we had very different experience

You can check out her websites and sign up for travel tips and deals!

jenonajetplane.com

12tripsin12months.com

Follow her AWESOME Instagram@jenonajetplane

Find this week’s Sip Spotlight from the Columbia Valley, WA: Luke 2020 Syrah

If you need a unique and crowd-pleasing wine for the holidays. try my Sollevato Sangiovese ...(yes I'm biased, I make it)! Use code PODLISTENER for 10% off your order. I can ship to most states in the US!

You NEED some delicious California Olive Oil from our awesome sponsor American Olive Farmer. Use code SipWithNikki for $10 off your order!

If you'd like to Support the Podcast, you can buy me a glass of wine and get a shoutout on a future episode.

Please leave a RATING or a REVIEW (on your podcast listening platform), or thumbs up and subscribe (on YouTube!)

Questions? Comments? Guest requests? nikki@sipwithnikki.com

It helps me have that traditional credibility so that when people question me or when people really look down on what you do, because it is very common in this field for people to just discredit you and think, Oh, you're just an influencer.

You just want free stuff.

You're like a leech on society.

I thought as a lawyer, I had the most hated job, but apparently

from one to another, like, geez.

Well, hello and welcome to this week's Sip with Nikki.

I'm your host, Nikki Lamberti.

If you're new to our community, so happy that you're here.

Welcome to the party.

And if you are an avid listener like Tracy, who just became an angel by supporting the podcast, I see you and I celebrate you and thank you for listening week after week.

You bought me a glass of wine, Tracy.

So thanks.

For those of you who know me, whether it's in real life or getting to know me through the podcast this last year, you know that there are three things that I'm very passionate about.

Wine, obviously.

Food, kind of go together.

And travel.

And so when I came across Jen Rui's Instagram account, I was enamored and inspired and immediately thought, I need to have her as a guest on the podcast and we need to be friends, which I hope we are now.

Jen is a lawyer turned travel blogger.

And in her most recent book, 12 Trips in 12 Months, Make Your Own Solo Travel Magic, she talks about how in the year, of her 29th, about to turn 30th birthday, she decided to, while working full time as an attorney, take 12 trips in 12 months.

And being the high achiever that she is, she wound up actually taking 20 trips in 12 months.

All over the world now, Jen's previous books, which are all Amazon bestsellers are things like affordable flight guide and how to travel with a full time job.

So she has multiple websites, which I'll share in the show notes today.

to help people like us who love to travel, find the most economic ways to do it, the best flight deals.

And she also talks a lot about solo female travel, and it's something that she's passionate about.

What I love about Jen is her spirit and her energy.

And in her book, she talks about her quest for love, because she's still single, and it's heartwarming and heartwarming.

funny, and she and I have a great conversation.

So we recorded remotely, but what you'll hear is I sent Jen a bottle of wine.

No, not my wine, Solovato, something different that has a story to it.

And she and I actually in this week's Sip Spotlight, taste this wine together and talk about it while she shares the rollercoaster that has been leaving a full time professional career.

career to make travel and content creation and working on travel guides like Photos and Lonely Planet, her life's work, and it's really fascinating.

You'll hear us talk about the word influencer, which she certainly is, and both some of the positive and negative connotations to that word.

We also talk about some more serious topics like the privilege that many of us have to travel.

Based on where we were born and access to passports.

And I really enjoyed that part of the conversation.

We share a common story about our gorilla trekking experiences in, uh, Rwanda for her and Uganda for me.

And it's pretty hysterical.

And yes, spoiler alert, as you're learning about me, Joy falls out of my face as I recall my story.

And she and I had very different gorilla experiences.

All right, all right.

I'm getting excited and giving away too much.

So here we go with Jen Ruiz, a.

k.

a.

Jen on a Jet Plane.

So Jen, thank you so much for being here with me today.

Thank you for having me.

I'm excited to be here.

I literally have pages of notes, but I'm going to have to really focus it in because since you and I got connected and since you've been on my radar, not only have I read your book, but your social media, I really try not to go down the Instagram rabbit hole.

And every time I open up your Instagram, I'm like, where did 35 minutes go?

It's amazing.

And we're going to talk about that, but you've been busy.

So I guess my first question for you is what is it like to squeeze a lifetime of adventure into one year?

Go.

Yeah, that's such a

great question.

Thank you so much for the kind words.

I really appreciate that For me, that was actually a travel challenge that I took that sparked this Entire now travel career.

I used to practice the law and I went through, you know, the, the timeline, the way that you should, I went from undergrad to law school, I graduated and I worked for a judge for a year.

I passed the bar, you know, I worked as an attorney and I realized that my twenties were quickly going by and we're almost over at the time that I approached my 29th birthday, right?

I have one year left and I really hadn't.

enjoyed my 20s in the same way that most people do, and I know that I'm still young.

I'm 36 now.

Yes, other decades, you're still young, but there really is something definitive about the 20s being your like kind of crazy, young, wild, and free, uninhibited, not really an adult yet era.

And so I felt like I hadn't played that justice.

So I set out to take a travel challenge as a way to send out my 20s in style and as a way to really celebrate myself where I felt like I had just done nothing but really work for a decade.

Yeah, you were busy in your 20s.

So, like, you get a pass there.

You were, you know, studying and passing the bar and doing a lot of things that a lot of us in our 20s were not doing at that time.

So, congratulations on that.

And then, yeah, I love in the book with 12 Trips in 12 Months, Make Your Own Solo Travel Magic.

Amazon Reader's Favorites is a big award that you've received.

Yes, I have

received three.

Three book awards, two Reader's Favorite Awards, and I just recently received an International Latino Book Awards for Dwarf Trips in Dualmont.

Congratulations.

Thank you

so much.

Would 29 year olds, you think that you'd be sitting here doing all of these podcasts and live streams and TV appearances being a published author?

With multiple books under your belt.

I mean, how does that even sink in right now?

Yeah, it's been a journey

and

it

still

feels like there's so much more to do, because I think that that's the case for anybody that is an overachiever perfectionist, right?

You achieve one goal and you immediately set the next one for yourself.

But I have taken time, particularly this year, because it was a lot with launching my book and having the book tour and the media tour to really appreciate how much work it takes to get to this point.

Publishing is not an industry that is.

It's super accessible for a lot of people.

It still is an industry where there is a lot of gatekeeping that you have to get through before you can get a traditional book deal.

So my first five books were actually self published because I had an audience and I thought I can get this content out there.

But with my memoir, this was my first memoir.

My other five books were more instructional, you know, things that I felt very confident in.

Speaking about, but a story's a little bit different.

So I knew I wanted a professional team behind me.

And it took four years from the time that I began, you know, pitching this book to the time that it was actually published, then I just finished the initial three month launch.

So there's a lot that goes into it.

And I have taken time to be like, wow, this is.

was a big goal that I brought to fruition.

And yeah, I think that that's one of the best ways to build confidence, right?

Is to keep promises to yourself and to actually see things through that you have in your heart that you feel compelled to create.

I

feel like you and I have so much in common, which is why when I started seeing your social media and reading your book, just so many of the things and like what you just said really resonated with me.

And I was like, I need to talk to Jen.

We need to be friends.

First and foremost, you grew up in Philly.

Is that right?

I'm from central New Jersey, a town called Mattawano, and to Rutgers in New Brunswick.

So we're kind of from nearby worlds.

My question is, did you grow up traveling?

Was that seed planted early on or did it really develop more in your early adulthood?

My mom was a teacher.

And so I learned that places could be fun, even if it didn't fit what maybe people think of the traditional definition of traveling.

So she always had summers off, and she was too strict to send us to any kind of camp.

Like, dream on, we could never do sleepovers, let alone be gone for three months.

Like, we're broke and we don't do those things.

Um, uh, and so instead, And so instead of that, we really made these local experiences into adventures during our kind of homeschool summer camp.

I went to regular school, but like during the summer that she was following, that's what it felt like.

I'm so grateful for that, right?

Because there is, I think we both are having instilled in us that sense of natural curiosity.

And so.

Yeah.

So.

We would go to Amish country, you know, have delicious ice cream that was hand churned, you know, go to the different schools there to learn about how they function without electricity and some of these other modern amenities.

In Pennsylvania, we have the Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater House.

So I saw that house, you know, as a young girl that was just, you know, Learning about architecture and what is this?

And who is Frank Lloyd Wright?

You know, and now I see his works all over the world.

And so, yes, I think I did travel, but maybe not in the traditional way, right?

Like I wasn't in Aspen on my ski vacation and I'm not in France at the Eiffel Tower, but we're doing things and we're having small adventures.

And then when I did graduate high school, my mom and I took our first trip to Europe.

And so that was a really great introduction to international travel for me.

Where was that first trip with your book?

Yeah, we did a two week tour.

This was before social media, like really before cell phones kind of thing.

We had walkie talkies actually, because I was like, we're going to need to talk to each other.

So I got these walkie talkies and together we can communicate.

Like, I love it.

I love it.

And I had a Europe for Dummies book.

And that's how I got us around.

Cause we had booked through Trafalgar at the time with AAA.

And it was good.

It was a two week Venice, Rome, Switzerland, Paris, London.

So like all of the highlights.

It was a wonderful, wonderful trip, but I did learn that I could navigate us around better, and that we could see more with less crowds if we went by the book and like ditched the tour group.

And the tips like that, that you share in the book, and I know on both of your websites, so jenonajetplane.

com, but also 12 Trips in 12 Months, You have newsletters and trainings and freebies that people can sign up for that'll really give some of that guidance.

Plus your previous books that were much more like you said, kind of how to, whether it's still low female travel or how to travel with a full time job.

I mean, I just need to go deep in all of those.

I started backwards.

I started with 12 trips in 12 months and now I need to go back and catch up on all of your other books.

But it seems to me that one of your passions is truly not only figuring these things out for yourself to make the impossible possible and travel when you had the full time job and finding the crazy flights and deals, but it seems like you really enjoy telling other people how to do that.

I do and I think I have a particular soft spot for women.

That's why I specialize in solo female travel because there's so many women around the world who don't feel like they have the same freedom to just get up and go somewhere.

And I think we have such strong passport privilege.

I found myself just by virtue of being born in Puerto Rico.

I was born a U S citizen.

I have a U S passport.

It's really easy for me to get places.

So just by luck of where I was born, I have things really easy for me and that I can travel unencumbered for the most part.

And.

I think I feel like I owe it to other women in the world who don't feel that way, who feel really scared to travel alone, who have a lot of societal restrictions on their ability to travel or learn.

I feel the same way about learning.

And that's why I went all the way through and got the highest degree I could possibly get, because it's such a privilege to be able to learn.

And there's so many women all over the world who don't have access to that.

to just completely open whatever you want to learn education.

And so I really wanted to take advantage of that and learn as much as possible.

And similarly, I want to travel and see as much as possible because there's so many women who don't have that ability.

And because I'm the first person in my family who's been able to do this.

So I feel like I'm breaking barriers and not getting the chance to really show women that it is possible.

You can do so safely.

You can do so intelligently.

You can do so in a way that enriches you personally, emotionally, spiritually.

So yes, I do think it's something that I feel passionate about.

I get almost a little bit emotional when you speak about just having the privilege that we do to travel.

And then, like you said, so many women, whether it's big circumstance because of not having access to a passport or travel, or even You and I both know so many

people, women here in the U S that we've grown up with in their twenties and thirties and forties and fifties, who would never, ever go on a trip by themselves, right?

I'm like you, I have always traveled and I have often traveled alone.

Initially when I was with recruitment with Disney, I was traveling, like hopping on a plane and going all over the country by myself, have done international travel by myself.

And again, I think this is why I'm so intrigued with you and your story, because I see a lot of parallels between us.

But I think it's so amazing that you are exposing this and kind of demystifying it and, and also sharing very tactical things.

Like one of your posts, I was just looking at as places that I felt safe as a solo traveler.

So thank you for doing that as someone who like you has been blessed and privileged for not only education and travel, but also really passionate about it.

I just love when I hear people finally getting over the hurdle and taking that big trip and.

Even more so if they do it on their own.

I mean, you and I both know women, men, I don't care what, who won't even go to the movies or to their local restaurant down the street by themselves, right?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

So, and

I do have a lot of male followers as well.

I don't really, but I feel like I have a soft spot for women in general because like a man can go to the movies on his own.

And nobody thinks twice about it.

But like a woman goes to the movies on its own.

It's like, she's weird.

Why is she by herself?

We're like, you know?

And so I do feel like there is sometimes this double standard for women.

Same thing with like eating by herself, right?

You know, and that's what terrifies so many women is going to eat by yourself.

And will people judge me?

Will they think that I'm lame?

That I couldn't find anybody else to come with me?

That like I'm antisocial.

They're just so panicked about being judged.

And as women, we have these worries all the time.

We're worried about being judged.

safety and we're worried about being judged and being in.

So it's constantly, right?

Constantly thinking, like, what time am I leaving this bar?

What's that going to be like?

Is there going to be somebody waiting?

Do I know where I'm going?

What's my safe transport?

Like, you know, and when I'm sitting at the bar, is that going to be dangerous?

Is somebody going to potentially, like, spike my drink?

Like so many things that women have to think about

in the book.

Some of your most fun and interesting stories came from those nights where you were out at restaurants by yourself making eyes at the musician or having the bartender make you drinks across the bar.

Like that's where you meet people.

I actually just did a podcast a couple episodes back about why to sit at the bar.

Like what happens when you sit at the bar, you meet people, you talk to people, you share a glass, not the same glass, but like a bottle into a glass of wine with people, things that don't necessarily happen when we are at, you know, a table.

Right.

So I just, I love that.

And I love some of your stories that you've shared about what's happened from those.

Probably was scarier in the beginning and now probably seems quite natural to you.

Is that fair?

Absolutely.

Because that, that is

what happens.

It's a completely different vibe when you're sitting somewhere that.

Is telling people to approach you and I have made a lot of friends, you know It doesn't even have to be a romantic thing Whereas when you're sitting on the table You're in your own little bubble and it's going to be rare that people are going to come and break that bubble So it is

a different energy and any way that you travels up to you so if you want to go travel solo and not talk to a single other human and just like be in museums all day, just you and the paintings, like in silence, you know, that's okay.

You can totally do that.

And I found that that solo travel magic, that element of the surprise and what is going to happen and where is this night going to lead?

It does involve being open to the possibilities.

You use one of my favorite words and it's not going to be a surprise, magic.

I mean, it's right on the cover of your book and your subtitle and you talk about solo travel magic.

And again, you know, I've worked for Disney for many, many years.

And I think you said you are a Disney fan.

Yes.

Yes.

Like I'm noticing little crumbs in your book, just little Disney references that are in there, which is so fun.

But yeah, I love the word magic.

And I use that when it comes to food and wine and travel all the time.

What do you think are some of the unexpected benefits from traveling by yourself?

I don't think that any one way to travel is better than another, right?

I think don't put labels on it.

If people are getting that in their comfort zone.

Awesome, but there's pros and cons with every type of travel and one of the biggest pros of solo travel that I think is underestimated is that you don't have a buffer.

You don't have somebody that's there taking in that experience with you, processing it after, that's talking about it with you.

If something happens and you run out of cash, they have currency to back you up.

Like that's A buffer.

It's somebody that's cushioning you from the bluntness of being somewhere foreign on your own.

It's kind of a safety blanket of sorts, and there's something so wonderful about that, right?

Like, traveling in a couple, and you have your own little world, and you're experiencing it together, doing a mother daughter trip.

There's nothing wrong with having that, but when you don't have that, you will have more immersion.

in your destination.

You have to just by default, right?

Because if you're done, you just saw, you know, the Acropolis Museum and then you get into your taxi.

If you're there with your partner or whoever you're traveling with, you're talking about it with them in your language.

You're maybe saying two words to the taxi driver and then you go to your hotel room.

It's just a different way of traveling.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Speaking of mother daughter trips, when I started going deep on your highlight bubbles on your Instagram of all of your amazing travels, and I think this one's fairly recent, you just did guerrilla trekking in Rwanda.

So my mom and I did guerrilla trekking in Uganda.

I was like, I have to ask her about this because I feel like you and I and my mom and some of my girlfriends who we did it together are in a pretty small club of people who have sat.

In the presence of gorillas.

I can't even talk about this without crying and maybe you can relate, but I don't want to talk about my experience.

How was your experience?

And would you do it again?

I laugh because like I tell you that while I was sitting there in the mountain part of this club, I was wondering what the heck was I thinking?

And why am I here?

Who

does this?

How did I get here?

Girl, I have that often in my brain.

So I hear that same

voice It was a really difficult hike for me The stinging nettles were very tough and I did not realize that, you know I thought I had prepared

but I didn't realize that the material of the pants that you wear is important So I had just like these light greasy hiking pants like nothing paper.

So these stinging nettles You through and it felt like I had to just keep walking through walls and walls of stinging nettles to reach these girls.

And so to get there, I had like itchy welts all over my body and I was not really enjoying that I was in a lot of pain and discomfort, so I'm like, this is really awful and so the fact that I still have to keep going through this willingly, like, no, like everything in your body is like, stinging.

So it was a really hard hike for me

you have to work for it You have to work for that one hour in their presence, right?

but then but then what then you get there and I

got there and I was slightly terrified because

So I got charged by a gorilla twice While this was happening, because we had a really unique situation.

There was a newborn baby gorilla that was just born like a few hours ago.

So everybody in the family was super rowdy.

And then apparently the teenagers, they're not supposed to meet with anybody.

The only one that's supposed to meet with the female gorillas is the dominant male silverback.

One guy, but because there was this distraction and there's this unique event happening, This teenager had kind of broken away and was trying to meet with one of the gorillas while everybody else was distracted Which they will do sometimes so that was the first Gorilla interaction we had

with the teenagers that were away from everybody and were trying to get it on And so this teenager was was like trying to really prove himself and trying to show himself to be very masculine So like mission accomplished I can it worked But The lady in the treetops, he partially charged me.

And so it was a quite terrifying experience.

So, I'm just like, I'm just like, Oh, I feel like

I lost my gene.

Okay, our experiences were very different.

So, I was crying but it was peaceful.

There were six of us, my mom and I, and then four of my very close girlfriends who are avid travelers.

They're gonna just eat you up and all your books and all your things.

Just, you have a whole new fan club, just so you know, with my travel group.

And we hiked for, I think it was almost six hours before we got to them.

So no stinging nettles in Uganda in the Bwindi forest, but like sliding down and flying.

And, you know, and we were like super prepared with the shoes and the clothes and the gloves and all that stuff.

But the funny story is for us, you get a porter, like a local person who is sort of your porter to walk with you and they can carry like your,

but I gladly did.

I was the only one in the group that accepted the porter.

We did because we're all big camera nerds.

And I know you have your beautiful camera, like that you like to shoot with.

And we have different lenses and we had.

video and then you have water and whatever.

So they're really there to carry your bags and, you know, help you with your equipment.

And as we start off at the beginning of what we don't know yet is going to be a six hour trek, you know, you're like stepping over like a crooked brook and, and Caleb was my porter and he'd give me his hand.

I'm like, no, no, no, I'm good.

Like I do Peloton, like I do yoga, like, like I'm fine.

This is fine.

And then fast forward 45 minutes later, as I'm falling down the hillside and Caleb is like pushing me from the booty up to get me over this rock.

And like, we wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

Right?

So the ego goes away very quickly when you're in a situation like that.

But then after six hours, we finally get into the presence of them and we sit down and the tears are just streaming down my face.

Not because of stinging nettles, but because I studied animal behavior and all this stuff.

So this was like a big bucket list moment for me.

I want her to be Dian Fossey.

I want her to be Jane Goodall.

And I'm sitting there and the tears are pouring down and Caleb says to me, I think he thought I was scared.

Right.

And he's like.

Do not be afraid.

It's okay.

Take pictures because I was frozen.

I couldn't even breathe, but I wasn't crying out of fear.

Now I wasn't being charged.

They were very peaceful, but I was crying out of just awe.

Like one of those moments where you're like, I cannot believe this is me in this place right now in this moment.

Like you see me like getting emotional about it.

So when I saw that you had done that, even though we had different experiences, I, I had to ask you about that because it's such a unique experience that so few people on the planet have had, right?

It was a crazy experience, but yeah, it sounds like yours was a little more amped up than mine was.

Is that a one and done for you?

Check it off the list.

Or if you ever had the opportunity again, would you do it

again?

But honestly, I think it's going to be hard to top the newborn baby.

I think, like, we started at such a ridiculous, like insane thing that very rarely happens that I think it would

be hard.

Yeah.

Hard to doubt.

Yep.

Staying on the theme of Africa for just a moment, another destination I want to ask you about, because I haven't done this yet, but it's on my radar, is Giraffe Manor.

And can you give us just a quick overview of what your experience was like?

So, Giraffe Manor is In Kenya outside of Nairobi and it was started I believe in the early 1900s.

It has a certain number of rooms, I believe half dozen to a dozen or so.

And everybody pays an insane amount of money and books years in advance to go there is because you can feed the resident giraffes there.

From your window, there are Rothschild giraffes, and it's simultaneously a conservation center.

So the giraffes are born there.

They live there.

So you have a population of about a dozen giraffes there.

They frequent the nearby giraffe center that is open to the public during the day.

And so that is like an educational place.

And then At by the clock when those people go home the giraffes they follow the food and then they come back to giraffe manor They have you know Their dinner that they're fed by you and then they go and they like live their lives And then they come back super early in the morning because

they know again you have food So the minute that sun cracks they're like hello I'm here for my crunchies And so they come to your window and you feed the giraffes from your window and the breakfast table and get these amazing photos

It's so awesome.

So I definitely encourage everyone.

First of all, they need to be following Jen on a jet plane on Instagram, but you guys check out the highlight bubbles.

I'm such a dork.

Not great with Instagram.

This is where I show my age, but that's what it's called, like the highlight bubble, right?

You're

on point.

All of those circles.

Okay, that you have one for every destination.

Yeah, I do sound like an almost 50 year old when I speak like that, but the one on giraffe manor is amazing, which leads me to my next question.

When you were on the swing, feeding the giraffe, and then this seems to be a theme as I look at you and all these locations, girl, your wardrobe and some of the things that you are wearing In these places, whether

it's traditional garb or just like gorgeous flowing dress, when you're looking at your billboard in Times Square, talk to me a little bit about just the fashion choices and how you decide what you're going to wear.

First,

thank you so much, because my mom makes fun of my fashion choices sometimes, where, you know, I'm like, Oh, I'm gonna wear a shirt.

And she's like, don't wear one of your costumes.

And I'm messing around in the whole closet of costumes, right, which is this attire that I've gotten from around the world.

And maybe when you walk around in the U.

S.

It's not your everyday attire and you would stand out but I love it because it's custom crafted It's hand beaded or embroidered.

I love these pieces and I maybe don't look as attractive as like a modern 2024 woman.

I understand but I just love these things so much it makes me really happy to buy these things when I'm traveling.

Clothing is one of my favorite souvenirs.

I have beautiful dresses from Egypt, from Qatar, you know, the hand embroidered one I have from Mexico, a traditional dress there.

I just love it.

Well, I think it's amazing because it's authentic.

It reminds you of your travel.

It supports the local economy.

And when I have gone to, to many places, especially internationally, my love is a little bit more jewelry.

So I love to buy rings and things, especially Africa.

I just bought an awesome ring in Athens that I love so much.

So I can relate to that.

Last question before wine is the followup question, travel blogger, writer, influencer, you know, so much of what you do when you're traveling is you, you are making it public because that's now what you do for a living.

Right.

Do you feel pressure to have to look good or look a certain way when you're traveling?

Yes, and

I think that that's just part of the job.

And if you didn't want it to be your job, it doesn't have to be.

I could just be traveling for fun, but I don't think people understand.

And I think there is that misunderstanding where people think that because you're, you know, recording things that you're not really fully in the moment, but they don't realize that it is really important for me to record these things because I'm not there.

Okay.

For my personal enjoyment.

I'm there to produce content.

I'm there for work.

And even if it's a trip where I'm not working with a brand, even if I'm not there on assignment could lead to potential future assignments and future money.

Like that income.

Yeah, exactly.

And I wish that I could disconnect when I travel, but for that reason, I can't do that.

If I'm going somewhere and I pay for the money and I'm on the flight and I, you know, I've now traveled across the world to be here, I I need to get British from here because this is what I do.

I'm in travel marketing.

And so I just accepted that that's the job.

And so My relapsation is being home, but I do love the job I do enjoy what I do and I think i'm good at it.

I'm good at finding businesses I'm good at you know, I I think I think you might be good at it.

Thank you I mean, I think we all question ourselves, but I just finished like edits to the voters 2025 guidebook to puerto rico And I added like 40 businesses to that book and I was thinking, you know This is really such a privilege because I know these businesses.

I know these business owners and I'm in a position to get them this increased disability to really help their bottom line and to help them, you know, stay in business and thrive.

So I take what I do seriously.

And I know that for a lot of people, it could just be like, Oh, she's just an influencer.

She's taking things on her phone.

And I think that that's why I've worked so hard to get those traditional measures.

Of success, like my travel journalism awards, my byline, my work on these guidebooks, I just accepted a position with lonely planet that I'm going to be working with over the next six months.

I saw that.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

But it's really, it's partially because of that, because it helps me have that traditional credibility so that when people question me or when people.

Really look down on what you do because it is very common in this field for people to just discredit you and think, Oh, you're just an influencer.

You just want free stuff.

You're like a leech on society.

I thought as a lawyer I had the most hated job, but apparently

From

one to another like Geez, like I make wine and hire people for Disney.

Like there's a lot of love towards what I do, girl.

So yeah, I can, I can totally understand that with law.

I mean, but influencer too, and again, I'm joking about my age, but I'm right on the cusp where even the term influencer, and I have 50 episodes of a podcast, I have a website, I have a newsletter, so yeah, I'm an influencer.

But do I use that term?

I don't know.

It's still got some charge to it, right?

So what I love about what you just said, first of all, you're proud of it.

You don't apologize for it.

You're good at it, but you also just made me think of another layer of what influencer means.

When you talked about the guide for Puerto Rico and the privilege that you have to promote those local businesses, that's influence.

That's not necessarily Instagram highlight bubble, super fun, all that influencing that we think of.

I'm the.

Superficial definition of that word, but how cool that you get to influence that people will find these places in the world, experience them, support these local businesses.

Like that's a whole nother layer of influence and that's pretty freaking awesome.

So congrats on that.

Now let's have some wine, shall we?

So as I told you as we were prepping for this obviously with me being a winemaker and a wine Educator in addition to loving travel and reading and being a foodie because all those things kind of go together We have a segment on every one of my podcasts called a sip spotlight

And you and I, through the magic of wine.

com, which shipped to you and shipped to me and just in the nick of time, we both got the same bottle of wine in front of us.

I asked you, Hey, we're going to taste a wine together.

Are there any certain parts of the world or types of wine that you are passionate about?

And you said New Zealand and upstate New York and you said Washington, keep me honest with those the three.

And I was like, Oh, this is going to be fun because she's not like Bordeaux and Burgundy and Napa.

Like these were a little bit more off the beaten path, which again, as someone whose wine is my life.

So I picked a Syrah from the Columbia Valley in Washington.

But before we even taste it, tell me why Washington.

We touched a little bit

on the idea that you don't have to travel far to travel.

And I think, especially for solo female travelers.

During a domestic trip a long weekend domestic trip solo is such a great way to break into solo travel And there's so many amazing places here in the u.

s So washington state I visited on a press trip to bellingham washington, which is where rick steves is from And I went to during their tulip festival because

the Skagit Valley has an annual tulip festival where they have these bulbs from the Netherlands and they have these flower fields that look like the Netherlands.

So it's a little known, really nice wine region.

So that's

why I picked it.

I love it.

When you previously, either on your recent trip to Washington, or it sounds like in the past, have you done any wine tasting in Washington?

Is that something you like to do when you travel?

Yes.

I go on these trips a lot.

I go for tours and boards, and they like to highlight these local wineries.

Yes, I've done a lot of different wine tasting, winery visits, you know, wine cellars, and these really fancy cellar rooms.

I've really gotten into wine tasting.

All depth of the process.

And so I think that when you go places, it's a way that people just like to capture.

What is it that we have here?

Cause wine is dependent on how your agriculture is, you know, different wine is going to be better in different places.

And I think also people really take a lot of pride in the wine that they can produce.

And so I think that it's just a really fun way to discover a destination.

And you know, I did the wine tasting and the cheese tasting in upstate New York cause they have the Finger Lakes trails there.

So.

Yes.

Yes.

I've done a lot of wine tasting to answer your question.

Yay.

Again, this is why we're fast friends.

And maybe one day you'll come out here and I'll show you around Napa and Sonoma where I live.

Or maybe we'll just have a rendezvous in like Tuscany or, you know, another wine region in the world.

And I'll show you my world even more deeply, which is wine.

And so I love that you.

As a traveler, as a citizen of the world, you get that wine is very much reflective of the place, the people, the agriculture, it's super local.

So this one, this Syrah, when I started saying, okay, I'm gonna look at Washington wines and I've been on a Syrah kick lately.

And then I started looking at Sarawak producers, and I'm going to be totally transparent.

Even as someone who's certified in wine, wine making, all these things, the name grabbed me on this one.

The name is Luke because it's my daughter's name.

But then I read further about, it which is why I decided to choose it.

W A H L U K E, Wahluke, is actually an A V A or a region within the Columbia Valley, and it's a Native American term, which means the watering place.

This is from the Wahluke Slope in Columbia Valley, and from what I understand, it's a very hot climate.

There's over 5, 000 acres of vineyard planted there.

And I also really love that this was like a 25 bottle of wine.

And in my world where I live, work every day and make wine, it's one of the most expensive places on the planet is Napa in Sonoma, where I am and our pricing gets very carried away for multiple reasons.

It's, we just have an expensive part.

So I'm always on the lookout for these gems.

under 30.

So I hope that this lives up to that expectation, but I loved the price point.

So you have already had a couple sips of this.

Please don't feel any pressure to be like wine, nerdy vocabulary, whatever.

But just tell me like, as Jen who likes wine, what do you think of this?

I feel like

this is like the Fabio of wine.

So is it okay if I read the back of it?

It's just a really quick description.

I, I love, yes, I was gonna do that.

So yes, absolutely.

You do that.

Why you sip?

Why you sip?

It's sexy.

It is, right?

It's sexy.

Yeah, I'll sip your B.

Totally.

Go.

Luke, 2020, Serah.

The true depth of a man's character is often unknowable, but one conversation was enough to convince me that Luke was an imitation of no one.

He revealed himself slowly, like a freed wind emerging from the shadow of a mountain.

Undeniably complex, bold and determined, but unabashedly generous.

I feel like that was sexy, right?

He's like the Fabio.

You're looking for Luke's phone number now, right?

Like sexy mountain man Luke.

Still single or has there been an update since I finished the book?

I am still single.

The sequel is going to begin with getting dumped on my 35th birthday on a sponsored cruise by my boyfriend of two years.

The same day my Facebook was hacked.

But, it's gonna be a really fine sequel.

I feel like I need to take a sip of wine and digest what you just said with you, and then we'll Yeah, Mae was literally Mr.

Right.

I couldn't make this up.

You can't say the punchline like that when I have wine in my mouth, Jen.

Almost lost my Luke.

Oh my god, girl.

Well, I can't wait for the sequel, cause it sounds like it's been an eternity plus.

But back to this.

Sexy beast.

So, do you drink Syrah, typically?

Is it something that you enjoy?

You know,

I don't

think that it's high

up on my list of wines to look for.

I do think as far as like red goes, it's kind of a sub varietal of red that isn't as sexy as like a Cab or Merlot.

So I don't know that it's like high up on my radar, and I think that that's a mistake.

Because, I have been stealthily sipping this wine because a little bit addicted.

It's like a Pringles where like after you take your first sip, you're like, Oh, that was really smooth.

Actually didn't leave like any kind of aftertaste.

That was really subtle.

And I feel really like nice and warm inside.

I want more of that feeling.

So it's filled.

addictive Syrah.

It's why I'm sitting

here like, Yay.

As someone who believes that wine does bring a lot of joy to people.

That makes my heart happy.

You're with you right there.

And I have to tell you, that's why I sent you Syrah because most wine drinkers.

Seurat is not high up on their list.

People just don't know a lot about it.

You don't see it as much as the standards that we all know.

Beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, if I'm just talking reds, it's just kind of lesser known.

But then I think once people know it, they're like, Oh.

Oh.

So what Syrah is known for, the wine itself, if you think about it, yeah, there's fruitiness to it, but there's like a meatiness, there's a savoriness, which is probably one of the things that's egging you on to take another sip.

This is not just a fruit bomb in the glass, right?

So smoky, peppery, meaty, savory.

Like if you think of, if you were sitting down at a sushi bar right now and you had a little thing of soy sauce and you think of what soy sauce would smell like, smell your wine.

Right, there's almost that sort of umami, salty, savory, that is just a character that Sarah's known for.

And translation, why this all matters, is that's why people love Sarah with anything off the grill.

Anything with smoke or char, it's a barbecue wine, ribs, a smash burger.

If we were doing this in person, and I'll do this for you when we meet, and I make the charcuterie board that I love to make so much with soppressata and prosciutto and salami and all the cured meats of my Italian people.

This wine with those things is so beautiful because they nod to each other as far as the smoky savoriness of the wine and the smoky savoriness of the food.

So I sent you two bottles, right?

Okay, good.

Because I knew you'd open one and probably finish it, you know, whenever you finish it.

But I wanted you to have another one, hopefully in the case that you liked it, so that next time you do cook something fun like that or have a barbecue or whatever, try this with that because it's I love it.

It's perfect.

The color's beautiful too.

And I picked 2020 and that was kind of strategic for a few reasons.

First of all, I just really enjoy red wines that have a little bit of age on them.

I could have sent you, they had a 2021, 2022 vintage of the same wine.

But when I saw they had a 2020, I'm like, Ooh, let's do that.

Because.

One of the things I've learned with time is just even a couple of years.

It's not like this had to be in a cellar for 20 years, but just a couple of years, they just, they change and they get a little nuanced and some other layers of flavor develop.

And I think this is definitely showing that, but also for the straight reason that 2020 was a shit year.

For many of us, right?

COVID, lockdown.

I'm sure your world looked very different at that time.

And, and here in California, it was a bad wildfire year.

We almost lost the property where I work at the winery.

So anytime I can highlight something beautiful and positive that came out of a shit year like 2020, I'm like, let's drink it.

And so I also wanted to, to share that with you as well.

Cheers to that.

Cheers.

Mmm, the smell is changing too in the glass, especially I just poured some more.

Yeah, and the color is very rich.

It's definitely purple more so than red, which is so fitting because tonight is Thursday and so happens at all along premieres.

I know we mentioned the Disney connection.

Let's be nerds.

Disney Disney Plus, Agatha, love it, great show.

After we get done with this, I'll be right on time, finish my wine with the new episode.

Yes,

yes, grab some cheese or charcuterie or salami or whatever you might have, make a grilled cheese sandwich.

I don't care what it is, but I would love for you to enjoy the rest of this bottle and see how it plays with food because it's really fantastic.

So, I'm gonna put the link in the show notes.

to get this wine on wine.

com.

They can ship all over the country so that your followers and my listeners can try this wine.

I think it's an awesome steal at 25.

And thanks for being open to trying.

I'm obsessed.

Luke is definitely like your Friday night boyfriend.

You need him.

Girl, and that back label.

It's so funny that you wanted to read that because I, I had a note read the back label.

So We, we both noticed the sexiness of it.

And even on the front label, which by the way, their label was made primarily from a lot of recycled material.

Their cork is a hundred percent natural and biodegradable.

You notice there was no foil capsule on the top, that foil, that's a pain in the butt that you have to cut.

A lot of producers, including me on my own wine, Solovato, have gone away from that.

It's just a pain and it's unnecessary landfill.

So I also liked the sustainability piece that I read about this winery, Luke.

I wrote down a couple quotes from the book, 12 Trips in 12 Months, and I just would like you to expand a little bit on just one or two of them.

The first one was, it's funny how we look for the familiar and the foreign, and the foreign and the familiar.

And when I read that, highlight, highlight, highlight, highlight, like wow.

Tell me about that quote.

It's funny how we look for the familiar in the foreign and the foreign in the familiar.

So

that's actually a trend that was identified when trying to figure out how do you relate to customers?

And so I've noticed that, you know, that's why people like to eat at McDonald's all over the world because now you're somewhere foreign But you have this element of familiarity, you have your chicken nuggets, you

have your happy meal, like you have these things that make you feel like you have a sense of home, even when you're somewhere completely foreign to you.

And then similarly, you know, this is just kind of like human psychology and how we work and how we're comforted by things.

Similarly, those women that you mentioned who've never left the US who maybe feel like they're restrained, they can't go places, people look for a little bit of escape and a little bit of unfamiliar In these routine settings.

And I think that's why traveling exhibitions, you know, different things that pop up, you know, pop ups.

I went to an Emily in Paris pop up.

Like these things are fun because they bring in an element of surprise and an element of something different to your everyday setting.

So it just shakes things up a little bit.

And so it's just a basic of how we work and our, and what our human mind is seeking, either to like invigorate us or to give us a sense of comfort.

I love

it.

So those are great.

Thank you.

Quote, so thank you for for sharing that with your readers.

And then the last one was and god This is like my life.

I was like I read soul sisters here They say that when you make up your mind on something the universe conspires to help you get it.

Talk to me about that

Yeah It's really tricky because energy work is ongoing.

I've always appreciated the difference in how my energy will get me different results, but it's taken me years.

And even now at 36, I'm still grappling with it.

How do I best harness this superpower?

That is my energy for good.

And so I feel like.

When you're, your energy needs to be managed in that same way.

And that's why I noticed with solo travel magic.

And I noticed that traveling was a hack to getting my energy to be really positive, really wonderful.

Like draw people towards me because I'm generally very happy when I'm traveling.

And when I'm at home, I'm like worried and anxious.

And you know, people are repelling away from me from that, like frantic energy.

So.

This has been really hard for me to learn because this is not something that I can just sit in a textbook and see clearly in front of me.

We're talking about intangible things, and yet at the same time I feel like it's almost more important.

Because once you master energy and how you approach life and, you know, where you're coming to think your entire life changes, I really believe that the key for me to finding somebody is for me to shift my energy from focusing on not having found someone at 36 to.

Focus on how much love I'm already surrounded with.

Reaffirming and redoing your thought processes and like, sitting in gratitude and meditating to try to harness that energy and focus yourself so that you can bring forward the life that you really want to live.

And it is.

So hard.

Like, I don't think anybody really explained this to me.

And I think I'm a strong manifester.

I think I put my mind on things and things come about, but I just realized that there's so much of that that comes down to your ability to really target and focus what you want and target your thoughts and, you know, train your thoughts.

There's so much internal work.

Like I would rather.

Work out at the gym three hours a day than have to do like this internal work because it's so much harder Look

and it's vulnerable.

It's vulnerable in a different way The gym is vulnerable too, but it's it's vulnerable in a different way, right?

And I think that's again in the in the short time that i've known of you and now know you through our conversation today I think it's very apparent about you that that positive energy and that manifestation.

I mean, look at the things that you've done after you already had that first career.

And now I'm going to like put on my 48 year old hat and I'm sure you have many women and elders and mom and.

aunties and people in your life who are giving you this advice.

But one of the things, when I read about your struggles of Mr.

Wright and the cruise, and I was married and I found what I thought was the one on more of the typical timeline.

I was married at 28 and it was great.

And then it wasn't.

And then I moved out here by myself and started over and took some time alone and traveled.

So I give this advice gingerly, but it'll come and I'm almost happy for that you have this time.

And that you haven't found him yet, because I feel like you're manifesting it.

But look at how lucky this person, whether it's Dark and Brooding Luke from the Wine Label or whoever he is, how lucky is this person going to be to be with you when you've had the life experience that you've had?

You've influenced people in the way that you have.

It's coming, girl.

And let me tell you, when we rush for it, it isn't always what we wanted anyway.

So just.

Keep doing what you're doing as someone who really found it much better the second time around.

Take your time because it's, it'll be worth it in the end as I'm sure you know, but man, just keep doing what you're doing because you're inspiring so many people, including me.

So thank you.

Nikki.

Yeah, that's the message I keep getting.

And I think I've spent so much time worried about am I going to get here?

I really want to take moments to remember that I'm supposed to be enjoying the journey.

This is supposed to be.

the best times.

And I agree with you.

I think if I had a crystal ball that was like, Jen, you're going to meet Mr.

Wright and you're going to be able to have your babies and everything's going to work out on this date.

I would totally be able to enjoy from now to that date so much easier, right?

I think it's just the element of worrying that it won't happen.

But If I'm being honest, I second everything that you're saying.

I actually think everything has happened in the timeline it's supposed to.

I have personally tried to be more cognizant of that and be like, enjoy the specialness of this moment that you've been gifted right now.

Yeah.

You have packed more Travel and bucket list moments into 36 years.

You've done more in that time than so many people on this planet will ever do in a lifetime as far as what they've seen.

So that's amazing.

And kudos to you.

I'm so excited to know you.

I'm excited to cross paths with you one day and drink wine with you in person.

And just.

Um, and I'm going to be talking to you about, um, how you can get more of your future, your past, hear more of your future.

So thank you for doing what you're doing.

Thank you,

Nikki.

Thank you so much for your

expertise and the lovely gift and for sending Luke my way.

Anything else that my listeners need to know about you and how they can get more of you?

Just that I really

want people to be able to, you know, Travel on their own and to not just look at me and be like, that's great for Jen.

And so one of the things that I've offered as a bonus for anybody who completes the webinar on 12 trips and 12 months.

com and then emails me is a free digital copy of one of my self published books.

So hopefully it tackles whatever that excuse is.

I have the affordable flight guide.

When you're like, I can't afford to travel.

I have the solo female travel book.

If you don't have anybody to go with you, I have the 25 ways to work from home.

If you'd like to have a remote job so you can travel more.

So that's my gift to you and hope.

Hopefully it gives you the tools that you need to be able to, you know, for anybody listening to be able to say, you know, this is actually applicable and it can work for me as well.

Awesome.

Thank you for sharing all of that.

Cheers to you.

So no excuses, right?

You're solo.

You have a full time job.

You can't figure out how to do it affordably.

Jen clearly has all of the tips and all of the solutions.

So check out 12 trips in 12 months.

com and also her Jen on a jet plane website where you can actually sign up for the newsletter, which I've done, and she will send you travel deals and alerts.

So that you can take these things from being just a dream to a reality.

Travel, drink the wine, eat the food, meet the people.

This is what life is all about, right?

It was such a pleasure talking with her and I'm more inspired than ever to plan my next trip.

I'll put the link in the show notes for that beautiful Luke Syrah from the Columbia Valley in Washington.

It was really delicious.

Michael and I finished that bottle the next night with our chicken nachos and it was a killer pairing.

25.

Wine.

com.

Again, they'll be able to ship it.

anywhere around the country.

Speaking of that, there are many of you now listening to the podcast around the world.

And while wine.

com may not be able to ship wine to you, I just want to say hello people in 37 different countries at the time of this recording.

I see you, including someone in Turkey who listened to four episodes today.

I love it.

I love that we are reaching around the globe and all sipping together.

As always, if you are enjoying the podcast, leave us a rating, a review.

If you're listening on YouTube, be sure to like and subscribe.

And shameless plug, if you are looking for that perfect holiday wine to be on your table, my Solovato Sangiovese is not quite sold out yet.

I'll put the link in the show notes for you to purchase it just in time for the holidays.

And use the code PODLISTENER for 10 percent off your order.

I'm looking forward to sipping with you next week, but until then, sip well.

Music (2): I'm

Du du du da Wa wa wa Wa wa wa wa La, la, la, la, la, la.

La, la, la, la, la.

Ooh, ooh.

Ooh, ooh.

Babada, bada.

Ba, babadada, bada, dada da.

Babada, bada, da, da, da daaa

lady.