renaissance travel at journeys

Huatulco Becomes The First Destination in the World to Receive EarthCheck Gold Certification

2011-06-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

HUATULCO, Mexico, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The coastal paradise, Huatulco in southern Mexico [Oaxaca], became the first destination in the world to receive EarthCheck’s Gold certification, in yet another display of Mexico’s sustainable tourism credentials. Previously, EarthCheck awarded Gold certification only to facilities such as resorts, and not communities such as Huatulco. Huatulco received the prestigious certification for meeting the rigorous sustainable tourism requirements of EarthCheck across a range of aspects such as environmental legislation, energy usage, water conservation, wastewater management, biodiversity, and waste reduction.

Speaking at the EarthCheck Sustainable Tourism Forum, also held this year in Huatulco, Adriana Perez Quesnel, director of the Fondo Nacional del Fomento al Turismo (FONATUR), said, “We are immensely proud to receive this certification and even more so to be the first destination in the world to do so. This achievement is a clear demonstration of how government, the private sector and local communities can work together to deliver significant benefits to the world in which we live.”

“FONATUR has driven sustainable practice in the Mexican tourism industry and has forged a vision of respect for nature conservation in Integrally Planned Resorts, to promote tourism, help strengthen the local economy and promote local traditions and culture.”

Huatulco has gained EarthCheck certification for the previous five consecutive years. As a result of the certification, Huatulco will be one of 13 global destinations featured on a new program on the Discovery Channel in 2012. The documentary will be broadcast to over 200 million people over the next two years.

“In Mexico alone, EarthCheck member organizations have saved a combined total of 26,349,880 kg of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) since data started being collected in 2003,” explained EarthCheck Ambassador, Gustavo Ramos Fumagalli. “They have also reduced water consumption by 2,196,674,635L of water, dramatically reducing pressure on natural resources in a country that is familiar with the unforgiving effects of drought.”

To meet Earth Check’s strict requirements, Huatulco constructed new water management infrastructure including:

* 17 km of storm protection channels,
* 23 re-lift stations for sewage treatment and management and
* Harvesting structures which collect storm water runoff.

In May 2011, Mexico was also recognized by the Rainforest Alliance in New York for its achievements in sustainable tourism in the Mayakoba region and the forestry practices of the Mexican government.

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 12

2011-06-20T15:51:00.000-05:00

Today was our last day in the UK, and I think one of the best. We started off the day by checking out of our hotel and walking down the street to the other hotel. We stored our bags and waited in the lobby for the pick up. It was supposed to be there at 7am but did not show up until 8am. After the pick up, he dropped us off at Victoria Coach Station for the beginning of the tour. There was 55 of us in total and one guide. I was so excited because we were going to see all of the landmarks of London that you see all the time on T.V, but now they were in person.

We started off the tour with the first stop at Westminster Abbey. We could not go inside because that would cost extra, so we stood in front and Steve, the tour guide, told us all about it. Of course it is best known for the place were princess Diana's funeral was held and were prince William got married, but it is also one of the most important Gothic biuldings in Britain and the coronation church for all of the kings and queens since 1066. It is hugh when you see it in person and just an amazing sight. Next we were off to the Tower of London, but because it was Sunday it was not open until 10am. So before it opened, Steve took us to see the Tower Bridge. This the bridge that everbody always thinks is London Bridge, but it is not. It completly opens up in the middle to let bigger boats under. It used to open several times a day years ago, but now it only opens maybe once a month.

At the Tower of London, it was very busy but we got in right away because we were a group. We were meet at the entrance by a Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater, who was going to take us on the tour. He told us all about the different buildings and towers and all of the stories that go along with them. We saw the famous ravens all over the grounds, because it is said that if the ravens were to leave the Tower of London, the kingdom and the fortress would fall. Lucky for us they were still there. The last part of the tour was the Crown Jewels. You followed a hugh line of people through the building and they show films about what you are going to see and of the kings and queens wearing the jewels. At the end you empty into a room and they are all there. It was an awesome sight to see such beautiful pieces of royality.

After the Tower, we were on the way to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We arrived just in time to see the old guard march away. How the changing works is, everyday the new guards march to the palace with a band leading them. They stand face to face with the old guard until all of the official paper work is done and then the old guard march away with the band leading them. This happens everday, at the same time, no exceptions. Steve got us in the perfect spot to see it. We were right at the gate that they march into, so I got some great pictures, and Sharon got it all on video. This is what I had always dreamed of seeing and I saw it. It's hard for me to believe that I saw it. After we went up to the front of the palace and got to see the famous balcony were William and Kate kissed.

Next we were off to see Big Ben and the House of Parliment. We did not have time to get out and look around, but I got some good pictures. The clock tower is really not called Big Ben, it is the bell inside that is Big Ben, but people just started calling the whole thing by that name and it stuck. Big Ben is the largest four faced chiming clock in the world, fun fact for you.

Next was a cruise on the River Thames. Sharon stayed on the bus for this one, because we know how well she does on boats. We docked by Big Ben and just took a short 20 minute criuse down the river to the Tower of London. It was a good opertunity to get some good shots of buildings along the river. As we were cruising, Steve was telling us all about how people hundreds of years ago would use the river for everything. it was very interesting. When we docked, it was time to grab something quick for lunch.

After lunch, we were going to St. Peters Cathedrial. I only know this church because this is were Princess Diana got married. On Sunday, tour guides are not allowed to go in the church because it is a place of worship. So Steve stood outside and told us all about it. When we got to go inside, we were only allowed in one small area because mass was going on. The last stop was at the London Eye, where we were going on a "flight". I say flight and not ride because this is not a ferris wheel but an observation wheel. You only take rides on ferris wheels. Built in 1999 on the banks of the River Thames and also knowen as the Millennium Wheel, it is the tallest wheel in Europe at 135m. We only had to line up for about 10 minutes and then we got right on. It was scary at first because they do not stop it, you have to get on while it is still going. But once you are on, it is amazing. Views from any part of the journey are amazing. Nothing in front of you, I could see Buckingham Palace perfectly and we could see almost to the edge of the city. The entire trip takes 30 minutes and before you know it, it is over. Truelly an unforgetable day, but to end it all off, we took one of the famous black cabs of London back to the hotel.

This entire trip has been a dream come true for me and i am truly grateful that I got to experience it. I would like to thank the 12 people in my group that decided to join me on this trip. You were a fabulous group and I really enjoyed each and every one of you. I have made some life long friends and can't wait to do it again.
So guys, were to next......

Westminster Abbey

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

White Tower in the Tower of London grounds

Raven

Guard at the Tower

The Changing of the Guards

Buckingham Palace

St. Pauls Cathedral

London Eye

The pod that you travel in

The palace from the "eye"

Big Ben from the "eye"

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 11

2011-06-18T16:52:00.000-05:00

Today was the last day of our tour. This morning at breakfast you could tell because everybody was just a little sad. It didn't help with the weather. When we woke up the sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be a nice day. But we spoke to soon, all day it would pour cats and dogs and then just as quick it would stop. My first thought was no problem because this was only the second day of rain out of 11. Then I remembered that we were going to be outside a lot and I thought great. And to make matters worse, I got a really bad cold 2 days ago. But I was not going to let anything get me down because we were going to Stonehenge today.

After breakfast, we were off to the city of Bath. It rained the whole way there, but as soon as we pulled into the city, it stopped. We had about 2 hours to explore, so I headed towards the Roman Baths. The line up was super long because it was a Saturday and alot of tour groups were there. It would have been too long for me to get in, but they did have one part of the smaller bath for you to see free of charge and with no line up. So I went to see that and then just explored the city. Just before we needed to be back at the bus, it started to pour hard again.

Next we were off to the city of Salisbury. Once again the whole way there it poured, but when we got to the drop off spot it stopped and the sun started to shine. The main attraction here is the huge Gothic cathedral, which inside has the Magna Carta. We started following all of the people, because once again it was really busy, and ended up in a small room. We did not know where we were but when we looked around, there was the Magna Carta in front of us. The thing is, you needed to pay admission to see it, but they thought we were with the other tour group so we got in for free. We had a bite to eat, and once again, it started to pour.

Next it was a short 15 minute drive to Stonehenge. It was raining, but as soon as it came into view, the rain stopped. It was almost as if someone up there knew that this was number 2 on my bucket list, and they stopped the rain just for me. As we drove up, there must have been over 1000 people waiting in line to buy tickets. With my tour, we didn't get to go in, but we got to stand about 50 meters away and take all the pictures we wanted. It was almost better this way, because you can not get that close to the rocks anymore, and we saw the same thing for free. I can not even think of the words to say to describe the feeling that I had seeing them in person. I have watched so many shows about them, but when you see them in person, it just took my breath away. I just stood there and stared, and even with all of the other people around, I felt like I was all alone. It was amazing and I feel very grateful that I got to see them. On the way back to the bus, I was looking for the gift shop and ran into our tour director. He said that the only way to get into the shop was to buy tickets, but he went over and talked to one of the security guards and they let us in. It was cool and we only had about 5 minutes to shop, so of course we grabbed what ever we could and headed back to the bus. And once again, it started to pour. What awesome timing we had today, I think the gods were on my side for once. Back on the bus, we found out that we were the only ones who got any merchandise.

Arriving back to London, we got to the hotel and said goodbye to everybody. Tomorrow Sharon and I are going on the full day London tour that got cancelled from before. It should be fun.

Street in Bath

Sculptures on the side of the church in Bath

Roman Bath

Church at Salisbury

Grounds of the church in Salisbury

Stonehenge

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 10

2011-06-17T15:38:00.000-05:00

Today we had a very early start. Breakfast was at 6am and we were on the road by 7am because we were taking the ferry from Ireland back to Wales. Sharon and I were at the front of the bus today, and you get to see a lot more up there. Maybe a little too much, these drivers are nuts. You think that when they see a big motor coach, they would give way for us. No they don't, they just squeeze their way in between us and the curb. It is crazy.

We boarded the ferry today in Rosslare, Ireland which is on the south east tip, at around 8:30 am and we were heading to Fishguard which is on the south west tip of Wales. Once again we drove the bus on, but this ferry was way bigger then the last one. It has been raining all day, so the Irish Sea was quite rough. Right from the start the ride was very rough. We were rolling all over the place when we were sitting in the chairs, and when you walked around, you really needed your sea legs. The crossing was about 3 and a half hours, and by the time we docked, everybody was glad to get off.

Once we landed in Wales the weather was no better. But we were not going to let this bother us. We were on our way to Cardiff to see the castle. Cardiff Castle reveals more then 2000 years of the city's history as a Roman Garrison, a Norman stronghold and in Victorian times was transformed by the Marquess of Bute and his eccentric architect William Burges into a gothic fairytale fantasy. It was too bad that it was raining today, because some parts of the castle were closed due to them not wanting it to get wet. But we were still able to see lots of things. We went into the Castle apartments and saw some bed rooms, the main dining room and the library. We then went into the Norman Keep and climbed all the way to the top to see the entire grounds. That was one of the hardest things that I have done. The stairs were the original stone spiral ones and they were very slippery because of the rain. It was very cool to see everything and now I can say that I have been in a castle.

After that we went to the hotel which is just outside the city centre of Cardiff. Tomorrow is the day that I have been waiting for for this whole trip. We are going to Stonehenge.

Ferry

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff castle

Inside the main hall

Ceiling

Dining Room

Murals

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 9

2011-06-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

The wake up call this morning was at 8am, and we needed to be on the bus by 9:30am. But when we got down to the lobby we were informed that the bus had one of it's windows broken last night. The driver had to go and get it cleaned up and a temporary one put in. So we were delayed until 10:30. Once we got the bus back we were on the way to Kilkenny where we would be stopping for lunch. Kilkenny was another medieval village, but this one actually had a castle. Took some pictures and we had some pastries in one of the cafes. We were then back on the bus to Waterford. The crystal factory is no longer running, but they still have a show room for visitors to look in. There was a lot of nice things in there, but they were all very expensive. The rest of the day is free time for us. It has been another quit day, but the next two will be very busy, so we should enjoy this while we can.

Road on the way to Kilkenny

Kilkenny

Castle at Kilkenny

Castle again

Waterford crystal show room

Item for sale

I almost bought this one

River in front of our hotel in Waterford

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 8

2011-06-15T15:54:00.000-05:00

Today was a lazy, relaxing day. We did not have to be at breakfast until 8am, so we got to sleep in a little bit. After breakfast we boarded the bus and had a sightseeing tour around Dublin. It lasted for about 2 hours. We saw lots and learned tons about the city. After the tour half of the group got off the bus to spend the rest of the day on their own. I stayed on the bus to visit the small country town of Glendalough, which means The Glen of the Two Lakes. It is only about 40 km away from Dublin, but it feels like you are a million miles away. This village is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement by St. Kevin in the 6th century. I have never seen such an amazing place in my life. It has a round tower which stands 30 meters high, it reminded me of Rapunzel's tower. It also has a Cathedral and a grave yard. I took so many pictures because every time you looked somewhere new it was even more beautiful then the last. After looking around, Sharon and I just sat at a cafe at the foot of a mountain and just took it all in. We then drove back to Dublin and had the rest of the day on our own. We did some shopping and then just relaxed for the rest of the night. It was a good day today, just what we needed after the long, busy days that we have been having. Tomorrow we are off to Waterford.

Queens University in Belfast

Performers at the Irish Cabaret

Where's Waldo? i found him in Dublin

At a park in Dublin. this cross was put here because the Pope visited and held mass here.

The tower at Glendalough

The tower and church at Glendalough

The Irish country side

Pictures

2011-06-15T13:30:00.000-05:00

Old Town in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Queen's Bedroom on the Royal Yacht Britannia

Drawing Room on the Royal Yacht Britannia

Stirling Castle

Monument for William Wallace

Ceremony of the Haggis

Haggis

Drive along the Scottish Coast Line

The stone that makes curling rocks comes from this island

Our ferry

Inside the car, and bus hold on the ferry

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 7

2011-06-15T12:44:00.000-05:00

Today we were up early and on the way to the ferry heading to Ireland. The drive along the coast line of Scotland was amazing. It made me wish that I had rented a car and was driving it myself. All of the little fishing villages that were along the way looked so cute and I just wanted to stop and look in them all. Arriving at the port, we had only had about 10 minutes to wait until we could board. I have been on other ferries before, but this one was huge. I started to get off the coach and get on the ferry along with everybody else, only to be told that we were driving onto it. That was cool driving up the huge ramp and into the car hold. They really pack the cars and buses into a tight space. We then made our way up into the main part, and it was really nice. It had 2 restaurants, a coffee shop, a casino and lots of sitting areas. The ride took about 2.5 hours, but it went by really fast. The water was really calm which helped speed up the ride.

After arriving at the port in Ireland, we got back on the bus and drove off the ferry. We drove to the city of Belfast and had a quick drive around to see some sites. Belfast is an interesting city because of all the fighting that has been occurring there for years. At one point we drove by a section of the city that still has the "segregation walls" in tact. These were used to separate the catholics from the Protestants. Next we drove on to Dublin, were we will be staying for the next two nights. Upon arriving at the hotel, we had about 45 minutes to change and get ready for the evening. Tonite we are going to a traditional Irish dinner and cabaret. We drove 45 minutes outside of Dublin to the show. The show included a really good meal of soup,chicken, Irish apple pie and of course an Irish coffee. After dinner the show began with six dancers, and two singers showing us dances and singing songs that represent the Irish culture. After that, a comedian performed for about one hour. He was really funny and the whole show was really good and a must see.

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 6

2011-06-14T17:29:00.000-05:00

Today we started by driving from Glasgow, where we are staying, to Edinburgh. We have the whole day to explore this city. Edinburgh is Scotland's capital city, and right from the start I liked this city. It is broken up into two parts, the old Town and the New Town. In the old town the streets are very narrow and are all cobble stone, and in the new part, it looks like any other city. It makes for a fascinating and diverse place. We started by having a local guide hop on the bus and show us around. We drove around for about an hour, and saw sites such as the Royal Mile, Holyroodhouse and of course Edinburgh Castle. This was my first time seeing a castle and it was amazing. It was built on an extinct volcano and is situated high above the city. What a stunning site driving around the corner and it just appears. Unfortunately, we did not have time to tour it, but that just means that I will have to come back.

After the tour, we had time on our own or you could go on one of the optional tours. I went on the optional tour to visit The Royal Yacht Britannia. This is a Yacht that the Royal family has owned from 1953 to 1997. The Royal family has used it to sail all over the world, and most of the family has used it for their honeymoons. It is a self guided audio tour that takes about an hour and a half. It was quite neat to see the yacht up close and personal and walk in the same place that the Queen and Prince William have walked in. We got to walk around all parts and see everything. After the tour, we got about 2 hours back in Edinburgh to shop. We headed right for the souvenir shops and had a lot of fun.

Tonight is the excursion to Braveheart Country were we will be joining the Scots to celebrate and commemorate their hero and national poet Robert Burns. We started by driving about 45 minutes to the village of Sterling. We stopped at the castle for some photos and a little bit of history about William Wallace. We then drove to the King Robert Hotel for the rest of the evenings entertainment. We were greeted by a bagpiper who lead us into the hotel. The host for the night was Brian Gibson (no relation). He was dressed in his traditional kilt and all of it's accessories. We were all just sitting around talking and waiting for the evening to begin, when a gentleman came up to me and said that the piper would like to see me. Right away my heart started to beat fast and I thought "no thank you", but the piper was kinda cute and i thought what the hell. I was lead into the back room with 3 other people and we were told that we had been chosen to participate in the "Ceremony of the Haggis" With a coin toss, I was the lucky one who got to carry the haggis around the room. The piper gave me instructions and the ceremony began. So I pretty much had to follow the piper around the room carrying the haggis on a silver platter. Then we stood up at the front while Brian told the story of the haggis and did the ceremony. It was a lot of fun, and something I won't soon forget. The meal was good and also the haggis was good. We all had a little bit of it and I ate it all. After dinner, the piper came back in along with a Highland dancer and we had some entertainment. Brian then told us all about Robert Burns and read some of his poems. I have to say, I have never been one for poetry, but the way that Brian was acting it out was quite enjoyable. It made me want to read more from Robert Burns. Sadly the evening came to an end and we were back on the bus to Glasgow.

Tomorrow we have any early start because we are taking the ferry to Ireland.

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 5

2011-06-12T16:11:00.000-05:00

The day started off interesting this morning. Each day we have to have our luggage outside of our door by a certain time so the bus driver can collect them all and put them on the bus. Well this morning, Sharon and I were putting the luggage outside and the door slammed shut behind us. We both looked at each other and said "I don't have a key". So we had to go down stairs to the front desk, get another one and then finish packing up. Fun stuff at 6:30 this morning. On the first day of the tour, Andrew gave us a Bingo sheet and we were to go around and meet the people on the tour and write there names on the sheet. So this morning, he called out names and we played. Guess who won, me! I got a huge chart with all of the kings and Queens of England on it. It is pretty neat.

The plan for the day was to start off by driving through the Yorkshire Dales on the way to the Lake District. We left Leeds at around 8am and started along the interstate. Before long we left the busy road and made our way onto the small, windy country roads of the Yorkshire Dales. This so far has been one of my favorite parts of the tour. I love all of the scenery along these roads. We passed so many little quaint villages and farm land full of sheep, it makes me want to move here. The roads are so small that the bus can hardly get down them, makes for a slow drive and lots of time to take pictures. Unfortunately one of the bad things about these roads is it makes people very sick. Sharon is one of those people. So for the entire drive she had her eyes closed and was thinking happy thoughts.

We finally arrived at the Lake District and what a change in landscape. You just drive around one corner and out of no where Lake Windermere appears. We got to enjoy a private 2 hour cruise on the lake in an open top boat. It was cold out on the lake, but it was a very peaceful cruise. After the cruise, we got to stop in a little village called Grasmere for lunch. What a cute little place. It is the home of a famous poet called William Wordsworth. He lived here for 9 years with his wife until their death. You can see his home and also see his grave behind the church. Most of the tour groups stop here, so it is very busy on the main street. But if you go off the beaten path, you can see what this village would have looked like hundreds of years ago. I loved this place for photography. Around every corner was a photo.

After the lunch break, we got back onto the main highway and made our way to Scotland. We stopped at a little place called Gretna Greene, which is a town just over the border. We got out and walked around a bit, and looked in the shops for a while. Then we got back on the bus and continued on to Glasgow. We did a little bit of a drive around so we could see the city, and we stopped to take pictures of a church. Then we headed straight to the hotel for dinner. The hotel is not close to anything, so we have all just stayed in and had a couple of drinks. Tomorrow we are off to Edinburgh.

Some pictures from my trip

2011-06-12T12:46:00.000-05:00

Our bus

Anne Hathaway's cottage

The group

Shakespheres House

Stratford-Upon-Avon

Again

The river Avon

York Minster

Street in the city of York

The "Shambles"

Stained glass inside the York Minster

The walls around the city of York

The Yorkshire Dales

Lake Wyndemere

Grassemere

Again

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 4

2011-06-11T16:42:00.000-05:00

The wake up call this morning was at 6:30am, but i was up and ready to go by 6am. i couldn't wait to get going. i love taking the coach tours. I just sit back and let somebody else handle all of the driving and organizing of the sites that we are going to see. We went down for breakfast at 7 and most of the group was already down in the lobby ready to go. I guess they are excited also.

After a quick continental breakfast, we boarded the coach and met our tour director Andrew Thomson, and the driver Tom (no last name, kinda like Madonna or Cher). We did role call to make sure we were all on the right tour, and we were off. The first stop for today was in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birth place of William Shakespeare. He was born here, married here, raised his family here, wrote most of his plays here and died here. He actually was born and died on the same date, just different years. The drive was about 2 hours, so along the way Andrew was talking to us. We have Canadians, Americans, Australians, a couple from South Africa and a couple on their honeymoon from New Zealand. Quite a lot of diversity on this tour.

Arriving into Stratford, we got our first glimpse of what I imagined England to look like. Small little cottages with thatched roofs, narrow streets with children playing in them, it was very cool. The first sight was Anne Hathaway's house. Sharon said "I don't really like any of her movies, but I guess i will look at her house" Actually, Anne was the wife of William Shakespeare, not an actress. Just outside of her cottage, we took a group photo and then we had a couple of minutes to look around. Back on the bus we drove through the town and Andrew pointed out some of the sites. The bus dropped us off and we had 2 hours to explore on our own. We walked up a pedestrian street with shops and restaurants along both sides. It made me think of Harry Potter and the place were he went to buy his school books. On this street is Shakespeare's birth house. You can take guided tours for a fee, but we did not have enough time for that. So instead, we just touched the outside of the house and took some pictures. It is cool to think that that house has been around for such along time and I was touching it. For lunch we went to a traditional English shop and had Shepard's pie. It was very good. Before we knew it, time was up and we had to be back on the bus. Stratford is a awesome little village, and I highly recommend it.

The next stop was York, which is a medieval walled city that was built in AD71. We had an included tour and then some free time on our own. We started the tour walking along the old walls of the city, and then made our way down the main street to the York Minster. it is main church in the city and the largest medieval structure in the United Kingdom. next we want to the "shambles' which used to be were all the butchers had there shops with all of the dead animals just hanging in the streets. The street is so narrow, that you can lean out of your window and touch the neighbors across the lane. After that we had free time to explore all of the small , narrow, windy streets. There was lots of people and we almost got lost a couple of times. York is a very cool city, but way to many people for my liking.

We then drove onto Leeds were we are staying the night. No sightseeing here though, just supper and bed. Tomorrow we are heading to the lake district, which should be beautiful.

Hopefully I will have some pictures for tomorrow

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 3

2011-06-10T09:21:00.000-05:00

This morning we woke up and had to pack right away because we were moving hotels. The tour starts at the Jurys Inn which is about a 10 minute walk away. So with luggage in tow, we headed out at 8:30am. What I didn't know was that the hotel was a 10 minute walk but all up hill. At that moment, I was really wishing that I had not packed 47 pounds of stuff.

After getting to the hotel we checked in and went back down to the lobby to await every bodies arrival. Not much to talk about today because we sat in the lobby for a total of 5 hours. But everybody arrived safe and sound and have all checked in. Most of them are exhausted from the trip, so they are resting right now. Sharon and I are going to head to the pub and relax ourselves.

Tomorrow the tour officially starts. The wake up call is at 6:30am, breakfast is at 7am and then we leave at 7:30am. I am very excited and the whole group is raring to go.

I have included some pictures for your enjoyment, since you did not have a lot to read today. Hope you enjoy.

Pub

Fish and chips

Phone Booth

London Cab

Inside the museum

Rosetta Stone

2011-06-09T14:25:00.000-05:00

Woke up this morning feeling rested and ready to go exploring . First off we went down to the breakfast room to eat. With our room reservation it was included. It was not bad, eggs, sausage, and bacon along with pastries and cold cereal. The plan for the day was to go and visit the British Museum, and just walk around and see London on foot. With map in hand, we set off for the museum.

Sharon and I are not very good at reading maps, so we were walking slow and making sure to pay attention. At first we went in the wrong direction because we could not find any street names. Once we realized that they were all on the side of the buildings, we were fine. It was fun walking because we got to see everything close up. I think alot of people walk to work because the streets were packed. We also had to be careful when we were crossing the streets because with the cars driving on the wrong side, we were always looking the wrong way when trying to cross.

Rounding a corner, the museum came into view. In front were hugh black iron gates and beyond them was a hugh crowd of people. One of the reasons why I wanted to visit the museum was because I love them, but also it is free to visit. Well for this last reason, it is popular for tourists and big tour groups. We quickly passed them and made our way in. It was breath taking inside. It was the biggest museum that I ever seen. We had a quick look around, but I wanted to go to one area in preticular, Egypt. I have always been interested in Egypt and this was my first time seeing artifacts from there. It was cool and very interesting. We spent about another hour walking around this hugh place, seeing things like the Rosetta Stone and a statue from Easter Island. It was fun and hard to believe that it was all free.

After the museum, we walked back to our hotel. Along the way we passed so many pubs that we decided to stop in one and have a drink. We must have really looked like tourists, because right away the girl started to explain the differences between "ales" and "lagers" to us. We finally decided to have a "Becks" each and sat down to enjoy. It must be something about being in England and sitting in a pub, because I all of a sudden wanted fish & chips, which I don't like back home. It was really good and seems to taste better here. After another couple of beers, we stumbled back to the hotel.

Tonite we are not sure what we are going to do. Maybe head over to the theatre district to see a show, or maybe back to the pub for more beers. Tomorrow my group from Winnipeg all arrive for our Trafalgar tour. It is going to be fun with the whole group together.

Stay tuned.....

Melissa's UK Adventure - Day 1

2011-06-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

The adventure has begun!!

When I woke up this morning and saw the forcast for Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and Toronto I thought great, rain for all 3 cities. But much to my delight, no rain for any of my flights. Last time I went to Europe, it was more like The Amazing Race then a holiday. My flight out of Toronto had mechanical issues and to make a long story short, we were late getting into Rome and almost missed our tour. This time I was not going to let that happen. I am leaving for London 3 days before, just in case. What do they say about lightning not striking twice in the same spot, well guess what, it does.

My first flight from Winnipeg to Toronto, with a stop in Thunder Bay, was with Westjet. What can I say, Westjet was awesome once again. Arrived into Toronto and we checked into Air Transat for our flight to London. This was my first time flying with Transat so I was looking forward to it. The flight was 40 minutes late because they were having trouble loading water on to the plane. I found this funny, but thought what ever, as long as I have something to drink I am fine. Finally the plane took off, and right off we could tell that something was wrong. We were not flying into the clouds, but staying close to the ground. After about 10 minutes the pilot announced that we would have to make an emergancy landing back in Toronto. They started coming around and telling us that we should get into the crash position because it was going to be a hard landing. I looked at Sharon and thought OMG not again. It turns out that a mechanic who was working on the front landing gear did not remove a pin, so the front wheel would not go in. We landed fine, and the whole plane broke out in cheers and clapping. They fixed the mistake, and after re fueling we were back in the air 2 hours late. The rest of the flight went fine. The staff on the plane were not the friendliest, but they were probably tired just like the rest of us.

Landed at the Gatwick airport at 12:15 pm, and made our way to customs. Well now that we were late coming in, the line up at customs was huge. We waited for over an hour and a half to get to the counter, only to have the agent ask us 2 questions and stamp our passports. By the time we got to the lugguage pick up area, our bags were off the carosel and on the floor.

We grabbed the luggage and went to find our transfer. I had booked the shared transfer before we left Canada to make it easier when we arrived. We found the transfer and us and 5 other people got in the van and we were off. The other people were staying at hotels in the centre of London, so they were being dropped off first. This was good because we got to see alot of the sites on the way. I knew that the Gatwick airport was far away, but i did not realize how far. It took 2.5 hours to get to the first hotel. After the long flight, this was not fun. But my first glimpse of England was awesome. It was everything that i expected and more. I got a quick view of the London Eye and Big Ben and found myself laughing like a little school girl. I can not believe that I am in London.

We got to our hotel, Travelodge Kings Cross, and were pleasently surprised. it is really nice and the staff have all been awesome. I think it has something to do with us being Canadian :) The room is small, but fine for us after the day that we have had. I had booked a London City tour for tomorrow, so I phoned to re confirm the pick up time. Wouldn't you know it, strike number 2, the tour had been cancelled due to the host being sick. So I have re booked the tour for June 19th and am keeping my fingers crossed.

Now we have to find something to do tomorrow. What can we do in London? Tune in tomorrow to find out...

P.S. I tried to include pictures, but strike number 3, it would not work. Maybe next time.

2011-06-07T18:50:00.001-05:00

NHL will bring tourists to Winnipeg!

2011-06-03T19:14:00.000-05:00

As much as we are in the business of sending people away to wonderful places for holidays, those of us in all segments of business should celebrate the return of the NHL to Winnipeg again.

I know the hoteliers are celebrating. There is no doubt in mind that occupancy rates during game nights will become consistently high.

Bars and restaurants must be doing cartwheels as those who arrive in Winnipeg early dine at one of our thousands of traditional and ethnic options.

After the game they will celebrate or drown their sorrows.

But people like us and other indirect businesses will benefit as well.

Those hotel, restaurant, and bar workers who are making more money will want to spend it, as we all do. Again there is no doubt travel will be a desired option.

They will book their trips with companies like our Renaissance Travel and they will shop before they travel at Journeys, buying products like luggage, Tilley Hats, and other travel accessories.

Companies who may find one more reason to consider investing in Winnipeg will add employees to our economy... and, from this, we will all benefit.

Young people may feel a greater reason to want to make their careers permanently in Winnipeg. And as tourists come here to see hockey they may return to see so much more of what we have to offer.

Air Canada head bullish on low-cost airline

2011-04-18T11:02:00.000-05:00

BRENT JANG — TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Apr. 15, 2011 10:00PM EDT

Calin Rovinescu is moving full speed ahead with Air Canada’s global expansion.

Air Canada’s new low-cost airline division will be launched next winter, targeting under-served destinations in Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean with non-stop service, the chief executive officer said in an interview. He is undeterred by a setback suffered Friday, when the pilots’ union cancelled its ratification vote for a tentative labour agreement

Mr. Rovinescu is staying the course amid storm clouds on the labour front, saying Canada’s largest airline must go on the offensive and compete vigorously against tour operators that have expanded in recent years.

He plans to start or enhance service to cities that are attractive to travellers wanting to save money aboard planes with economy-class seating. “Premium economy” at the front of the cabin will replace business class. The route map for the new budget carrier might include secondary overseas markets such as Casablanca, Nice, Lyon, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Dublin and Manchester.

This is something that is intended to help assure the stability and survivability of Air Canada longer-term. It will lead to job creation, salary progression and more aircraft,” he said.

Mr. Rovinescu said he is well aware of the challenges ahead, both in winning union acceptance for creating the discount leisure airline and competing against tour rivals such as Transat A.T. Inc. and Sunwing Travel.

The payoff, however, will be huge for employees and consumers, said Mr. Rovinescu, who approved an analysis last fall that later determined that the strengths and opportunities outweighed the weaknesses for launching a low-cost carrier.

At first, Air Canada will rely on four wide-body Boeing 767s for transatlantic routes and six narrow-body Airbus A319s for sun markets, aiming to increase the fleet to 50 planes by 2015. Sun destinations will be gradually rolled out, with flights originating from Central Canada and then from Western Canada

The primary goal will be to lure consumers in major Canadian cities. Smaller Canadian airports such as Abbotsford, B.C., and Hamilton “aren’t part of the plan at this stage,” unless “compelling” reasons emerge to alter the strategy, Mr. Rovinescu said.

Jetstar Airways, the low-cost subsidiary of Australia’s Qantas, is a good example of how a budget division dovetails nicely with a traditional global carrier, he said.

Up to 462 pilot jobs will be created at Air Canada’s discount arm by 2015, plus new employment for flight attendants and others, according to the airline’s internal analysis.

As the carrier steps up its quest for international leisure traffic, “this is something not to be feared by Air Canada employees in any way, shape or form,” Mr. Rovinescu said. “Some of our competitors hope that we won’t do this. It’s an untapped portion of our market.”
He declined to comment on the Air Canada Pilots Association’s decision on Friday to scrap its April 15-27 ratification vote on a tentative labour pact.

Captain Paul Strachan, president of ACPA, said the union’s master executive council will gather next Tuesday to begin examining alternatives to holding the ratification vote, including returning to the bargaining table and securing a revised labour pact for a rescheduled vote. “Democracy can be messy,” Mr. Strachan said, acknowledging that management’s proposals to run a low-cost carrier and place new hires on defined-contribution pension plans raised the ire of hundreds of pilots.

While the defined-benefit plan will continue for current ACPA members, a group of angry pilots declared it had gathered more than 1,300 supporters on a website petitioning to recall council chairman Bruce White.

Still, National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen said he remains optimistic that a revamped contract will be approved by the 3,000-member pilots’ union.

Undaunted by the cancellation of the pilot ratification vote, Mr. Rovinescu expects the low-cost carrier division to form a “big element” of Air Canada’s expansion plans over the next decade.

Mr. Rovinescu, who became Air Canada CEO during a severe cash crunch two years ago, said he refuses to coast along with a conservative corporate strategy. “We’re not going to stand still and sit on our hands,” he said. “Our business needs to evolve. We’re tackling the challenges we need to tackle to ensure long-term sustainability.”

Jamaica to crackdown on street vendors

2011-04-08T14:10:00.000-05:00

Jamaica Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has vowed to crackdown on overaggressive street vendors, especially in the new cruise port of Falmouth, where cruise passengers already have complained about harassment. He said any vendors found harassing tourists would face strict penalties.

New regulations are already in effect, following meetings in Falmouth between town officials and craft vendors. Under these new regulations vendors now must register with the Trelawny Parish Council if they want to sell their goods in Falmouth when ships are in port, and registration will be restricted to Trelawny-based craft vendors. Each vendor must pay between $23 and $28 to register and must carry a valid ID and proof of address.

In addition, there will be a limit of 75 vendors on the cruise pier and 20-25 at Water Square in town when a ship is in port. They will be rotated on a regular basis.

Previously, vendors had to register with local craft associations but outsiders from neighbouring parishes were reportedly able to infiltrate the territory of legitimate vendors.

Helen Johnston

Travel Insurance

2011-03-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

Having sold travel insurance for almost 21 years now I still find it shocking that some folks do not take insurance on their travel packages. I doubt these same individuals would neglect to pruchase home owners insurance so why take the risk on a $5000 plus trip. Anything can happen as I have witnessed over the years, unexpected illnesses, car accidents, house fires, volcanic eruptions and most recently government issued travel advisories. In todays world it just makes sense to insure your hard earned money.

One of the excuses I hear most often however is that the client has coverage through another party, be it a credit card or work plan. All I can say to that is make sure it is adequate. I read this interesting article recently and thought I would share it.

Free” Credit Card Travel Insurance is High Risk

By Milan Korcok, Editor, TravelinsuranceFile.

If you’re struggling to hold down the rising costs of your summer vacations, turning to “free” credit card travel insurance for personal or family protection can be a high risk proposition. Just because something is free, doesn’t mean it’s a good deal.

Credit cards do not provide the same protection as stand-alone, travel insurance. Even if you carry the high-end credit cards* that charge $120 to $150 annually and require a substantial household income, your emergency medical coverage is usually limited to short trips (15 to 21 days), Is not available to people over 65, and will not cover pre-existing conditions to the extent that stand-alone insurance allows.

If you carry the free credit cards or ones that require relatively low annual fees, there will be no out-of-country medical coverage. Neither will there be trip cancellation or interruption benefits, or any of the benefits offered by the stand-alone plans. Many of the free/low cost cards advertise medical emergency assistance—but that simply means they will help you find a physician or hospital in your destination area—not that they will pay for those services. They won’t. Neither will they repatriate you by air ambulance if you need it, not bring someone to your bedside, nor carry your body home if you die. You will have to make and pay for all of those arrangements on your own, and doing that in a foreign country, with its own rules and regulations, is a complicated business only professionals can handle.

If you’re on any medication, or regularly visit your physician for chronic conditions, even mild ones that appear to be under good control, like high blood pressure, or if you’re over 65, or planning a trip longer than 15 or 21 days, stand-alone travel insurance is a safer alternative. It can offer coverage for your pre-existing conditions and you can travel for up to 365 days if you wish. If you have a pre-existing condition you may have to meet some eligibility criteria or complete a medical questionnaire, but if you meet the insurer’s requirements your conditions will be covered. Credit cards don’t have the same flexibility to tailor a plan to your specific needs.

Before you count on credit cards to provide medical coverage out of the country, know precisely what their limitations are. You may be surprised.

*The high ends card include such well-known titles as Aerogard, Aventura, Infinite, Passport, Avion, World Elite and some others.

So think twice and really consider taking out the insurance on your next vacation.

Safe Journeys everyone!

Denise's Hawaii - The End

2011-03-23T15:10:00.000-05:00

Oops, a week late, but yes we did get home okay.

Technically, it took us 2 days to get home! We checked out of our hotel in Kailua-Kona Thursday morning and walked into our house in Winnipeg at suppertime Friday. It was a good trip, but at the end, you're always glad to be home.

Final Day - Thursday, March 17
The Sheraton Keahou has a checkout time of Noon, so we decided to take advantage. We slept in, took our time getting ready, finished packing the last of the clothes back into the suitcases, etc, etc. We did our usual double, triple, quadruple check of the hotel room (I once left a jacket behind in a hotel in the Netherlands when I was 10 and I never got over it!).

I'm not sure what time we finally checked out, but it was likely around 11. So, lunchtime!

I had a list of a few restaurants I wanted to try so we figured we'd stop at the first one we found. They were right near a store that I desperately needed to visit. (Yes, desperately! But more on that later.)

But between the wonky GPS and the bad maps I had bought, we just could not find these places! We drove around and around the same blocks, in and out of parking lots in case they were tucked behind other buildings. Finally, we realized we had to give up and start looking for something else. Right across the street from where we had stopped to re-group appeared to be some sort of fast food mecca. There was BK, McD's, Wendy's, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. We had successfully avoided all chains while on this trip, (including Denny's and IHOP) and there was NO WAY I was going to spoil it on the last day.... and we ended up at The Hut anyway. Ugh.

Don't get me wrong, it was delish, but I had higher hopes for us! But pricey! 1 12" two topping was $25.

After gorging ourselves on greasy, cheezy, delicious pepperoni pizza, we headed out to find my Del Sol store. Those who know me, know my Del Sol addiction. Most family souvenirs come from there. Darrin and I each fill our half of the closet with souvenir shirts from all our stops. I'm lost if I can't find one of my DS hairclips. And I've even been known to hit more than one store on the same island in case they have different styles. Yup, addict. But we just could not find this store. I was crushed, but we decided to move on. If we drove quickly, we could just make it for a coffee tour!

Above Kona is the hottest (not literally) coffee growing area around. Kona coffee is known worldwide and we were heading to the best. Mountain Thunder Coffee has their own farm, but also buys and sells to and from other farmers in the area. In 2010 Mountain Thunder won third place in the world for best coffee.

We had checked their website a couple times and verified that they offer tours every hour, on the hour. We pulled up at five minutes to 1. As we walked into the gates, we saw a group at a building right ahead of us. We figured they must have just started so we jumped in. Nope! They were half through. They don't really stick to the "on the hour" idea, they just start tours as large groups fill in. Makes sense, but it meant we took the last half of the tour from 1 to 1:30 and then we took the first half of the tour from about 2:15-2:45. Interesting way to do it, but hey, we got it done.

First the tour guide takes us to a coffee tree so we can see what the tree looks like, what the "cherries" look like and she gave us a brief history lesson of coffee. (First discovered in Ethiopia. Goat herders were the first ones to see what they could do with this plant.)

However, the beginning of the tour kept getting interrupted because Loverboy, a resident male goose, could not stand not being the centre of attention. Standing behind the group he made such a ruckus that sometimes you couldn't hear what she was saying!

After the outdoor stuff, we moved inside (sans goose) to the first area where the cherries are processed. Inside each cherry are two little beans (sort of look like peanuts). The outer layer is stripped and then the beans are sized. The bigger they are, the better they are (so they say). They go through different sorting screens and are bagged to be processed later. At this stage, the beans can sit for up to 2 years without losing any quality.

We got to see the roasting process (sadly there was a burnt batch sitting in the cooling tray when we got into the roasting room - apparently that can be up to a $1500 loss). We got to watch them bag and grind and package and prep orders to ship.

They also have an area outside where you can grab a cup of joe (free) and watch videos that have been shot at their farm including a National Geographic special, a local station show (like Shaw used to do), and an episode that Mike Rowe filmed there.

The only downside to the tour was the smell of coffee, it was everywhere. I hate the smell of coffee. :) Not that I was surprised though. I mean - it's a coffee farm and factory!

On the plus side, they had two of the sweetest cats I think I've ever met in my life. And I've met some pretty good ones!

After spending over $100 on coffee to bring home we hit the road and headed out to the chocolate factory.

Another downside of the coffee tour - we had already packed our suitcases. They were full, and I mean FULL. As in, I used the expansion zippers for the first time ever - on all THREE of them! So I had to pack the coffee into my nearly empty carry-on bag, and everytime I needed a pen, or a jacket, or money, I was "greeted" with the smell of coffee. Did I happen to mention I don't like it? The whole trip all I could smell was that coffee. I was sure the security agents at the airport were going to say something. The lady at the rental car agency did!

This chocolate factory is special as it's apparently the only one that deals with Hawaiian product from beginning to end. They grow it, harvest it, process it, package it - everything. It never leaves Hawaii until it's sold! But, another tour problem. Turns out they only give tours if you pre-book them. They don't even have the gift shop open if you didn't call first. Darn! There's goes all those creamy delicious souvenirs that may or may not actually make it back home.... yum.

So, now that we had time to kill and no other plans, we decided to make another attempt to find the Del Sol store.

Back into Kona we go and make a couple more trips down Ali'i Drive. Bingo! I saw the sign just as we turned a corner. There's no parking on Ali'i so we found a parking lot and away we went. Alas, it was not to be. They were closed! I don't think it was tsunami damage, because the store beside them (and closer to the water) was open, but who knows. There were several shops along that stretch that were shut down for flooding damage from the week before, so it's possible I guess.

Now I have to figure out how to not lose my last three hair clips until we travel south again someday, years from now. The horror!

Well, now I'm depressed and need to medicate with food. It wasn't quite dinner time, 4:30, but we did find a place that opened at 5 so we just killed time until we could get in.

Had a bit of a laugh after we ordered. The write up in the menu, and on a board outside, really made it sound like the chef/owner wanted a quality place, fresh ingredients, fusion of Hawaii and his native New Zealand and so on. Sounded really good. Well, I ordered a side of sweet potato fries... and proceeded to watch the cook search three different freezers before he finally found the bag of frozen fries that he deep-fried for my dinner! Wanted some curry mayo to go with them but the best they could offer was tartar sauce. It'll do.

I would have given my right arm for some good homemade chicken fingers, but they don't use white meat in the restaurant. Something about it "not absorbing the flavours as well" and since I don't enjoy the taste of dark meat, extra flavours or not, I skipped the chicken dishes. But Darrin had satay and really enjoyed it. He said it tasted between white and dark meat - however they achieved that!

We finished dinner before 6 and decided we'd just head over to the airport and check in really early for our 10:30 flight.

Returning the rental car to Budget was a total breeze. Considering we waited in line more than an hour to pick the Jeep up a week earlier, the drop off was like from another planet. We pulled up and a woman walked over with one of those hand-held computers/printers like couriers have. She punched in our gas and mileage, printed a little slip, and away we go. Had to have been 2 minutes.

She also asked if we'd been to a coffee farm that day because the whole Jeep oooozed coffee aroma. I was a little embarassed but she said she loved the coffee smell - and there was no coffee version of a smoking cleanup charge so we were good!

We caught the shuttle to the WestJet counter, but it turns out they weren't going to be open for another 45 minutes so we hung around the Delta counter where they had a couple benches to sit on.

Once the counter opened, 10 minutes late, it took about half an hour to get through. No problems with security, and then just chilled in the lounge until our flight was called. It was a really weird airport though. First, it's just laid out weird. You check in over here, but drop off your bags over there, and go through security somewhere else. Just trying to get to secure side you probably walk a mile from the check-in counter, depending which airline you start at.

Also, it's an open-air airport. All the counters are outside under overhangs. And the waiting areas around the gates just have a fence between you and airside. When the planes take off, they're pretty loud when you're right at the runway and there's no walls or windows to block the sound. The first plane that took off after we sat down actually startled a few people.

We got on the flight on time, made our connection in Vancouver and arrived home safe and sound. But breakfast in Vancouver broke my fast food rule again. Although, once you're back in Canada, does it really still count as vacation?

I went to get a breakfast sandwich at Tim's, and Darrin went for a breakfast platter at The Dub. I was hoping to get some onion rings for breakfast too (yes, they prepare their onion rings from the moment they open to the moment they close) but somebody forgot to buy them. I guess I survived though, because here we are, safe and sound and back to the grind.

Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you enjoyed our adventures and found the blog entertaining and informative, and hopefully not too many typos!

Final photos will be posted in the next couple days.

Please continue to check back to our blog occasionally as we try to update it whenever an agent travels.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 14 - Mauna Kea

2011-03-17T13:33:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was allllll about the mountain!

We drove the 2 hours to the Onizuka Visitor's Center via Hwy 11 and Saddle Road. The visitor's center sits at 9200 feet, and this is where you have to stop to acclimate to the higher elevation before going the rest of the way.

The peak of Mauna Kea sits at 13,976 and without proper preparation altitude sickness can be a real problem. Even with proper preparation it can.

You have to spend a minimum of 30 minutes at Onizuka before proceeding up to the top. So we wandered the store, asked questions, and read and re-read all the rules about continuing on. It's scary to read the warnings, but we made sure we had everything in place. Sunglasses, sunscreen, at least two layers of clothing, plus more available, food and water (lots of water), 4 wheel drive, and we had checked the weather beforehand, we were both over 16, and neither of us had medical conditions like heart problems or respiratory illnes. We were ready. So, when we got to the visitor’s center we did a final check. We asked him the weather at the top. In Celsius – 7 degrees, with just 5 mph winds. Hah! That’s shorts weather! But, at least we could say we didn’t take it lightly, we were ready for anything.

We were there an hour and then started up. It really didn’t seem that steep a road, but coming down could be hard on the brakes which is why you should do it in 4-wheel. It was rough though; the first half was gravel and it was ALL washboard. Further up it’s paved, but by then the vibrations had gone on for so long you thought you could still feel them!

The speed limit is 25mph, but we went 20. First, to make sure we didn’t shake the Jeep apart! But also, to make sure the climb was slow enough to try to reduce our chances of altitude sickness.

We got some amazing shots along the way of other peaks including Mauna Loa. It was cool, as always, to be above the clouds. And we even passed “Moon Valley”, where Apollo astronauts practiced driving the lunar rover. But the coolest thing was after 12000 feet. We turned a corner and the sun was behind us and lighting up everything in front and it looked to weird. The light was actually different up there. The blue of the sky, the light that hit the rocks in front of us. I can’t even describe it, but it was like it was brighter. But not just brighter, sort of, whiter. Sort of. I can’t find the right words and the pictures don’t do it justice, but it was cool. I often have the window seat when we’re flying and I’ve never noticed anything like this.

It takes 20 to 30 minutes to go up and then all of sudden there they are! There are more than a dozen observatories up there, but you can only see the inside of one, the WM Keck Observatories. I’m not sure if we visited Observatory 1 or Obervatory 2, but they have two identical ones and they can actually be used together, as one. Very cool.

There are also two that are joint efforts that Canada is part of. There’s the CFHT (Canada France Hawaii Telescope) and the James Clerk Maxwell. There are also telescopes by Caltech, University of Hawaii, NASA and others. There’s also the Smithsonian Submillimeter Array.

Once we got to the top, there is a small observing room where you can see inside the dome!

Unfortunately, it was at that point that we started to feel the altitude sickness. The only cure is to head back down to a lower elevation. If you ignore the symptoms, it could kill you, so no messing around. We snapped a couple photos and got right back in the Jeep. It’s too bad though, because the observatories aren’t quite at the peak. You need to go up a steep 200 yard trail to reach the actual summit. But, since we were both feeling ill, we had to leave immediately. Oh well, we were still over 13,000 feet!

The drive down is definitely hard on the vehicle, but we made it safe and sound and headed the two hours back to the hotel.

(Was having trouble loading pictures again the past couple days. I was finally able to add some more to days 12 & 13, even if they aren't in the right place!)

Denise's Hawaii - Day 12-13 Hilo to Kailua Kona

2011-03-16T04:26:00.005-05:00

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Yesterday was another driving day. We travelled up the way up the windward coast to the end of the road. Then turned around and came back. You'd be surprised how often you have to do that on the Big Island! Between valleys, volcanoes and ocean, there's a lot of dead ends. But there's always enough on the route to make it worthwhile.

We enjoyed numerous valleys, waterfalls, a couple of short treks and some shopping in Hilo. We enjoyed getting off the highway a couple times for beautiful detours through forests where the trees grow right over the road and block out the sun. Gorgeous!

At the end of the road was an overlook with an amazing view of sea cliffs, a lush valley

We packed a lunch and took off around 10. It was a nice, easy day, and no new sunburns.

Today we packed up and moved from the place we were staying in the Kapoho area to Keahou outside Kailua-Kona. So the morning got off to a late start while we packed up, cleaned up, fed the fish in the pond, and did double, triple and quadruple checks to make sure we hadn't left anything behind!

We were originally going to drive all over Puna checking out things around us and down the coast, but we realized we were low on gas. The nearest station was in the opposite direction of most of what we wanted to check out so we forfeited a few sites to fill the tank.

We did get to see one thing we’d wanted to check out. The neighbourhood we were in was called Kapoho, named after a town that was wiped out in 1960. Kapoho Point is the eastern-most spot on the Big Island. We could see it from our place but had never been there. It’s mostly ‘a’a (sharp, rough lava) with some pahoehoe (smooth) but it’s all tough-going for vehicles. The road to get there is a couple miles of washboard, and then it ends at some sort of tower. To get to the edge you need to off-road. The ocean is all around so you can choose almost any direction from the road. We decided to go straight ahead, which ended up being the best possible viewpoint.

New plan was to just head down highway 11 to Kona (3 hour drive) with a few stops along the way. But, as we got closer to Volcanoes National Park we decided to drop in and see if there had been any changes. Turns out they had just opened the remainder of Chain of Craters Road today. So, we headed down the road to catch the 14 miles we had missed on Sunday.

You’d think it would get boring looking at lava for 20 miles… but it really doesn’t. Every time you turn a corner there’s something new in the lava to look at. Small caves, arches, sharp lava, smooth lava, thin covering or 8 feet deep. It never gets old. Plus, at the end of the road you get great sea cliff views and great pics of the Holei Sea Arch.

We also noticed a lot of smoke coming over the hills behind us and we assumed it was from Halema'uma'u Crater since earlier on the road there was a warning along one section not to open your windows or get out of the car and you should only use recirculated air conditioning. Turns out they were two separate things. The warning about high sulfur dioxide levels was exactly what we thought it was. But the smoke we saw at the end of CoC Road was a forest fire apparently. One of the park rangers said that there was a forest fire raging over the hill that had been ignited by the latest flow of lava.

After we left the park we headed to Volcano Winery for a tour and a couple bottles for home. NOPE. Turns out they only offer one tour a day at 10am. Oops. And Darrin went to a wine tasting and said none of it was worth writing home about. So we left there quickly, and empty handed.

Next was Mauna Loa Road, which I accidentally confused with Mauna Loa Observatory Road on the complete opposite side of the mountain! But, we did get to see lava tree molds, so the drive was worth it. The molds were formed when a lava flow passed through the rainforest. The trees were so wet that the lava didn’t burn them immediately, instead, as they dried out the lava cooled around them. Then when the trees finally burned up, the lava had already hardened and left six-foot deep tubes where the trees had stood.

Our last stop before losing the sunlight was at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach. It was amazing to see 4 giant turtles resting on the beach. It was horrifying to see all the people walking up, patting them tapping them, snapping photos in their face. These guys are critically endangered and they should NOT be disturbed. Some people just don’t get it.

The rest of the drive was around the mountain. The speed limit was usually 35 or 45. For me it was like a roller coaster ride in the dark. For Darrin it was an exhausting night drive, with blind corners, hairpin turns and unmarked sections. There were no street lights (it’s rural) and minimum speeds are posted so you have to move quickly. Especially since locals who are familiar with the road start lining up behind you and can’t pass on the two-lane road around the entire volcano. That’s 30 miles of anxious cars riding up on your back to try to speed you up.

Now we’ve checked in at the Sheraton Keahou (it’s huge, we got lost trying to find our room) and tomorrow we start early.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 11 - Volcanoes

2011-03-14T03:09:00.000-05:00

Oops. Got a nasty burn today. We were driving around Volcanoes National Park and didn’t have too many plans to get out of the car today. But it didn’t even occur to me that I should have put on sunscreen to block the rays coming through the window. Burned to a crisp!

But it was a really great day.

We drove the 45 minutes to Volcanoes Park, stopping first to top up the gas tank in the village of Volcano. Gas in Hilo is $4 – at Volcano it was something like $4.50. Figures!

We started at the Visitor’s Centre to pick up the most recent park map. A large section of Crater Rim Drive has been closed for a few years due to noxious fumes streaming from the Halema’uma’u Crater.

They also advised that on Chain of Craters Road only 6 miles are open, and only from 11am-5pm. This is because of the recent activity in Pu’u O’o crater. They don’t know what it will do next or when, so they keep the public far away by closing the roads and hiking trails until it slows down. Especially after the lava fountains last week, they can’t take the chance of having people near it if it explodes again. Initially they had closed it because of air quality issues, they went from 350ppm of sulfur dioxide to over 10,000ppm when the fissure first erupted. But now the gasses have dissapated so their only worry is possible lava eruptions.

So, we grabbed our map and set out to take in everything we could around Kilauea Caldera.

First we hit the steam vents. Sometimes there are holes in the ground, and sometimes the steam escapes right through the rock. It also offered our first look at the size of Kilauea Caldera and the Halema’uma’u Crater.

Next we continued on to Kilauea Overlook. It offered views of the same, but from a different perspective, so still totally cool, and worth turning off the road for a couple minute detour.

Last on this section of road was the Jagger Museum overlook. We didn’t take advantage of the museum, but we certainly enjoyed the view. This is as close as you are allowed to get to the venting crater. This is where they closed Crater Rim Drive, and as you follow it from the overlook you can see it gets right up to the rim, so that's why the fumes are an issue.

At the museum you need to turn around and drive back to the Visitor’s Centre to check out the lower portion of Crater Rim, which also leads to Chain of Craters Road.

On the second leg, our first stop was the Kilauea Iki overlook. From this viewpoint you can start at the parking lot and hike four miles roundtrip across the crater floor. Just getting down there and back up through switchbacks and stairs is equivalent to climbing a forty storey building up and down. Then there’s the hike across an open crater, where it can get to one hundred degrees and more.

Needless to say, it wasn’t in our plans for a driving day! Darrin smashed his knee getting in the Jeep yesterday so only easy hikes for now.

After leaving the overlook, just down the road, is the Thurston Lava Tube. VERY cool.

You walk an easy path down through an ohia forest, maybe two minutes, and come to the entrance of the lava tube. It has to be 15 feet high. The first section is well-lit and full of people, but it’s cool to say you were inside a lava tube. But the best part comes after you leave that section of the tube. At the end of the first section you climb down some rocks to start the 900 foot unlit section. This one is most definitely not full of people.

We had our flashlights in hand and away we went. There was a family in front of us for a while, but as they got deeper their son got a little freaked out and they turned back once we got into the deep dark.

I knew there were people behind us, but you can’t really turn around to look, one: because it’s dark so you wouldn't see anything anyway, unless you flashed your light in their eyes, and two: because if you do you’re likely to trip or smash your head. The surface is cooled lava, so not exactly smooth as a paved road.

After a while we reached a point where there had been a ceiling collapse and it looked like we couldn’t pass further. But one guy in the group that was behind us decided to see if it really was the end. He took his iPhone for illumination and scrambled over the rocks to see if it was passable. We shone our flashlights in his path until he disappeared around a pile of rocks about 30 feet away. He called to his family once and then didn’t answer anymore. His wife sounded worried but his son seemed amused when he stopped answering them. Finally after about a minute he came back around and we all set out to cross the cavern and rejoin him in the next section of the tube.

Once we all joined up again Darrin and I somehow took the lead again and away we went. We came to another cavern but this time we decided it was probably an illusion and crossed, where we found the path continued around a corner. After a while people in back would ask occasionally if we could see the end. Sometimes it looked like the hike was over, only to find an opening. And then, we turned one corner and there it was! We all took photos, there was some little cheers, and we all joked about finally being able to say “we did it”.

Once we all helped each other take photos, we headed back out. It went so much faster now that we knew the way. Once we exited the couple behind us thanked us for sharing our light and being so helpful. Turns out we were the only ones with flashlights, just Darrin and I. That’s why they kept letting us lead!

It was so much fun, and so cool, it’s likely to be the highlight of the trip.

After Thurston Lava Tube we continued on Crater Rim and then Chain of Craters. We stopped at a ton of overlooks on the way and saw craters, different types of lava, and just all kinds of cool stuff. One dead end road had a field of lava that was caused by two different eruptions, including one fissure eruption. Sections of the fissure are still there. Of course it’s closed to the flow, it’s not live anymore, but there are places that are still several feet deep, and trees and plants grow in them now.

By this time I realized I had burned through the window and we called it a day. We were at the end of the road, so we turned around and headed home.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 10 Aerial Tour

2011-03-13T03:55:00.001-05:00

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Today started with a 5am wake up call so we could get to the airport for 7:15. It’s time for our helicopter flight!

It was Darrin’s first ever, so he was pretty stoked! He had an amazing time and shot lots of video. Unfortunately I was on the still camera and my motion sickness set in about half way through so not as many photos as I would have liked.

We started by flying over Hilo and checking out Rainbow Falls and following the Wailuku River and falls for a short way. Then we headed over to the Pu’u O’o crater to check out the latest activity. Unfortunately the lava fountain in the latest fissure eruption stopped suddenly on Thursday afternoon (which might be what caused the large series of earthquakes on Kilauea that night. But we were still able to see the vent steaming, and see where the floor of the crater had dropped that caused the latest eruption. The floor dropped something like 300 feet suddenly last week and sent a huge ash cloud up in the air. Luckily the tradewinds blow most of it out to sea so it doesn’t travel or hover populated areas too much.

After that we viewed recent and old lava flows and two really interesting neighbourhoods. One subdivision was wiped out over a period of 2 years. During that time they tried to divert it using a few different methods but they didn’t have success and over 130 homes were lost. They’ve since rebuilt some of them on top of the lava.

Another subdivision was almost completely destroyed, except for a few stands of trees, a couple sections of road, and one man’s house on a hill. He has a little oasis of about an acre, but no way in or out. He gets all his supplies by helicopter. He also turned his house into a fly-in B&B, but I’m sure it’s pricey. I wonder if the nightly charge includes the helicopter flight?!

From the airport we went to the Pan’aewa Rainforest Zoo. It’s a small zoo, with free admission, but it’s very well done. The animals are well cared for, the signs are up-to-date and most of the enclosures are a very good size. They also have a pretty good mix of birds, it’s definitely their specialty.

Then we travelled down the highway a bit to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory. Wow what a disappointment! The “tour” is walking by the windows of the factory and watching the employees work. There’s nobody explaining what you see, nobody to answer questions, and tour buses of people jammed around the window. The worst part? The factory is closed on weekends! We just stared through windows at a bunch of idle equipment. There’s a million mac nut farms around, so we’ll find another one to enjoy. Just need to pick one and we can get a real experience!

On the way home we were going to pop into the Lava Tree State Park but it turns out it closes at 5pm. We missed it by thaaaat much.

So, we went back home, fed the fish in the pond and chilled the rest of the night.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 8-9 Tsunami Watch

2011-03-12T02:23:00.001-06:00

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Well that was an interesting two days.

When we got up yesterday we returned the car and walked from the lot to Wailana Coffee House for breakfast. Then we walked back to the hotel, checked out and waited for our airport shuttle.

Shuttle arrived right on time, short trip to the airport and we got there a couple hours early. Decided to grab a drink and a bite at the restaurant in the waiting area. They only offered four drinks and five foods (wings, nachos, and three sandwiches) so we just grabbed a drink each.

The flight from Honolulu over to Kona was quick and uneventful. Unfortunately, Darrin hadn’t been feeling well all week and a cold finally got hold of him that morning. We had tickets to the Kona Brewer’s Festival Dinner at 6pm that night and we’d booked a hotel room down the coast from Kailua-Kona so we didn’t have to drive back to Hilo in the dark. But, Darrin just wasn’t feeling up to a dinner and instead wanted to simply drive to the house and rest for the remainder of the day.

So, we forfeited the room and headed out. Turns out, that was a good decision.

We finally got to the house around 8, then at 9:30 the phone rang. It was the management company calling to let us know there had been an earthquake in Japan and Hawaii was issuing a tsunami watch. She advised we should watch the TV or listen to the radio and follow any instructions.

We watched a channel out of Honolulu, for hours, constantly waiting for that update that would say everything was going to be fine. But each update said the same thing: the waves were expected to hit at 3am and they had the potential to be disastrous.

There is a disaster preparedness section in the front of the phonebook with maps that shows if you are in an inundation area. If you are located in a shaded area, you were in a low-lying or coastal location and needed to evacuate if the orders were given. Sure enough, before 11, there was a knock at the door. We would have to evacuate the area by 2am when the roads would be closed.

The Civil Defense agency had upgraded the watch to a warning and evacuations were being carried out throughout the islands. The tsunami warning sirens went off every hour on the hour, counting up to 3am.

So, we packed up everything we had just unloaded and decided we would wait for the last buoy data to come in from the Midway Islands before setting out. By 1:15 the information still hadn’t been shared from the previous set of buoys the waves had passed through and we decided not to wait… lest we get left behind.

We drove a few miles up the highway to the nearest town of Pahoa. Hilo is the nearest large centre, but considering they don’t have a good history with tsunamis we definitely didn’t want to head there. Hilo is also an inundation area so they were evacuating as well.

Once we go to Pahoa, we couldn’t remember the directions we had been given to the community centre. We drove around a bit, but no luck. We drove around the school, in case the centre was located nearby, but no luck. We finally just found a place to park on the side of the road and left the radio on while trying to catch some zzzzzs.

We slept on and off until about 6am. It’s just not that comfortable sleeping in the front seat of a Jeep! The headrest is in your way, there’s headlights in your eyes, and during the times we had the vehicle running to charge the battery the dash lights were so bright they were blinding! There was no adjustment for them unfortunately.

Around 7 the sun was up, we were awake, and people in the house behind where we had parked were leaving for work, so we thought we’d better get moving. We drove to the realty office but they were closed so we just sat in the lot. We still had the radio on, waiting for any updates saying we could return home, and getting bits of stories about damage that was done.
-Parts of Maui had been flooded
-Two houses were washed away in Kailua-Kona
-Bubba Gump’s and a hotel in Kailua-Kona had been flooded
-waves in some areas were seven feet high
-at one point a wave (island unknown) swept 100 feet inland

It seemed like Hilo had been spared. But, that wasn’t confirmed, so we sat, and sat, and sat. We were in the parking lot of a busy mall, with a gas station 20 feet behind us, but we were so exhausted we kept dozing off. Then, at 7:30 the tsunami warning was downgraded to an advisory. This meant that all the biggest waves had passed through the islands and the only thing left to be concerned about was the after-effects. There were still strong, unpredictable surges, large waves and tidal effects, so beaches were closed for the day, and people were still not allowed to return to evacuated areas.

Finally, at 9am, the evacuation order was lifted. We still didn’t have the all clear, meaning, the water was still off limits, but everyone on the Big Island could return home with the exception of Kona and the coast south of Kona. They had suffered damage that was still being assessed, including roads that had been washed away or destroyed in sections.

We drove home and happed for a few hours, and wondered if the vacation was worth it!

Also, at 11 last night, Kilauea had the biggest earthquake in something like 20 years. Kilauea has earthquakes nearly every day, sometimes several. They are usually in the 2 to 3 range and aren’t always noticed in the populated areas. But at 11pm the night of the Japan earthquake there was a series of larger quakes and one measured at over 4 on the scale and was felt all the way to the coast.

Plus with the fissure eruption last week (which stopped suddenly yesterday afternoon – maybe a relation to the earthquakes Kilauea had??) there were air quality issues as ash was released for some time.

But, it all makes for really interesting stories when we get home!!

Denise's Hawaii - Day 7 End of Honolulu

2011-03-10T00:52:00.002-06:00

Early day today. We wanted to hike Diamond Head before it got hot, so we planned to be there at 6am when the park opens. We were up at 4:50 and got there at about five after six. Already there were busloads of people pouring out into the parking lot.

It was still pitch dark and of course we forgot the flashlights in the suitcase, so we followed one of the groups and away we all went. There had to have been a couple hundred people on the trail, it was crazy.

It’s uphill all the way, no plateaus. As soon as you leave the parking lot, the climb begins. First on a cement path, then it turns into a very rough and rocky, uneven clay path. There’s a fence around a lot of sections to stop you from tumbling down the mountain, but it’s rusty so it gets all over your hands (and arms and clothes if you lean against it – oops! There goes a white shirt.)

One section is pretty rough. There are 74 steps, then a tunnel, then 99 steps and then 54 steps on a spiral staircase to the top of the tower. After the first 74 you could hear everyone puffing and panting in the tunnel, it echoed throughout. Then, when you step out of the tunnel and see there’s another huge set of stairs, you can hear everyone groan! We waited at the bottom landing with a young couple, we just needed to get a break before taking them on. But still, halfway up, I needed another break. I caught my breath for about 30 seconds, but then couldn’t get back in line! There were so many people it was just a steady stream going up the stairs. It was over a minute before there was a break in the crowd so we could keep going up.

Oh, and did I mention it was hot? The sun comes up fast, and by the time we were at the steps it was light enough out for pictures. It also made it hot and sticky. Who knew 6:20am could be over 20 degrees?

But, we made it to the top, and got some great pictures. We even got to see the sunrise, although some clouds got in the way. Now we can say “we did it”. Once is enough.

After that we went back to the hotel to drop off our bags, grab breakfast and head to Pearl Harbor. First we ate at Eggs’N’Things, unfortunately not as good today as yesterday. But still loved those potatoes!

Then we got the car and headed to Pearl Harbor. You can’t take in anything that allows concealment and you shouldn’t leave anything in your car, so that’s why we dropped off everything in our room and just left with the clothes on our backs, two cameras, and Darrin’s wallet.

Unfortunately, by this time it was after 10:30 (we missed a turn on the way and lost some time) and the site had been open for a few hours. There were no parking spots. We drove around and around for over 15 minutes, and even stalked a few people to see if they were going to their cars, but no luck. We finally had to give up. There’s nowhere else around there to legally park, so sadly it was a no-go.

Instead, we decided to take the Tantalus-Round Top Drive. We got a couple of good shots early on of Honolulu and Diamond Head Crater. I bet on a clear day the view is even more amazing. It was a tough drive at times though, the road was so narrow, and the turns so tight, there were places two cars wouldn’t get through. But that didn’t stop people from flying around like it was nothing! Probably locals who live on the mountain and are used to the drive.

In the afternoon we decided to drive to the South Shore. It was rainy, but we managed to get some good shots while protecting the lens. We stopped at the Lana’i Lookout. And then further down we saw the fishing shrine, and some fishers. Then we got to the Kalona Blowhole Lookout. Took a while, but got a couple cool shots. As the waves crash against the edge, water rushes through a tunnel in the rock and shoots up through a hole in the top of the ledge.

At this lookout you can also whale watch, as well as look for monk seals and spinner dolphins. We did see some whales, but they never breached, we just watched the blow spray for a while.

Then we drove on to Koko Crater Botanical Gardens. On the way, you can see people climbing the Koko Crater Trail – not for beginners! The gardens were peaceful and well-maintained, but we didn’t get to see much. They have several trails, but we got there late and they close as sunset so all we were able to enjoy was one short path.

We stopped at the c-store in the hotel and I found Pineapple Crush in the cooler! Pretty decent, might buy a couple for home!

Also in the hotel, they have an area near the check-in desk that displays a 95 year old canoe. It was built in 1915. It’s been restored and is in perfect condition!

Now, for the rest of the evening we just need to pack up and get ready for our flight tomorrow to Kona.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 6 close

2011-03-09T01:08:00.000-06:00

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As disappointed as I’d been with the weather messing with our plans, we’re still pretty lucky in the important things. Watching the news tonight we learned: there was a rockslide on a highway that we’d been travelling the past couple days; a pile-up on another highway we’ve travelled everyday since Saturday; a water-main break a few streets over; a fire at a hotel a couple blocks down; and union strikes at a hotel and the electric company. And, the storm we got caught in on Friday downed power lines on one the main highways and left 300 homes without power for days (partially because of the worker’s strike).

So, with all these things going on around us, we’ve been pretty darn lucky to miss each one of them. It reminds you what’s really important. Even though you want your vacation to go perfectly because you’ve paid a lot of money, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip, you’re still doing okay if you come out with your health, the people you love, and at least a couple good photos for your computer background.

(But the mosquito bites and sunburn still do suck.) :)

Darrin's Hawaii - Day 6

2011-03-08T17:07:00.002-06:00

Soooo, did nothing today.

The plan was to get up early and head to Pearl Harbour. But, majority rules (meaning: husband) and we slept in.

So, we woke up late, got ready, then moseyed over to Eggs’n’Things. It’s a pretty popular place, and sometimes you can apparently wait more than an hour for a table. We decided since we didn’t have any plans, that today would be the day we would finally wait for a table (we’d tried two other mornings but left when told the wait time).

We checked in downstairs, were told it was a 30-40 minute wait, and staked our claim on the sidewalk. After about 15 minutes we got a pager and then it was probably another 15-20 when we got called upstairs to the restaurant.

We both went for the Sweet Bread French Toast with bananas, covered in whipped cream and mac nuts. Yup, sweet enough to cause a coma. But delicious! Darrin also ordered a side of bacon ($5.75 for 4 strips!!! Even for Hawaii that’s extreme!!) and I got a side of potatoes which couldn’t have been more perfect. Topped it off with a Plantation Iced Tea, which is tea and pineapple juice.

After breakfast we grabbed drinks from the hotel bar and took a nice walk down the beach. We were out for about half an hour and it was hot, but not too crazy since it was only around 11am. Plus, the drinks helped!

After our walk we went back to the pool bar and grabbed a couple more to enjoy while sitting on the Diamond Head balcony (sun). I enjoyed the heat, but Darrin ended up moving to the Ocean Balcony which was in shade.

Then another trip down to the pool bar for a couple more and back out on the balconies. The menu at the bar only lists Strawberry and Mango Daiquiris but I asked if he could make a pineapple one and voila! Best drink in the land. Unfortunately I was so excited I took several big sips and got a cold headache that nearly knocked me off my feet. But it was worth it to have them create a new concoction that should already be on everybody's menu!

Finally, no rain. It spit a bit while we were in line for breakfast, but it was nothing. There’s supposed to be a 40% chance this afternoon, but right now the clouds are rolling in and out. For once I think we might not get soaked. (Of course, I say that every day.)

Oh, and now another trip for drinks. Darrin just came back with a six-pack. But there’s no bottle openers! Good thing I brought one. Verdict: Hapa Brown Ale is excellent, similar to Fort Garry Dark.

Besides lounging on the balcony and probably another walk on the beach, we have no plans for the rest of the day. We’ll see where the wind takes us I guess!

The only bad thing today is the mosquito bites seem to act up when I get in the sun. As soon as I get hot a couple of them really flare up. Actually, I’m quite tired of the mosquitoes. My first bite was literally when we got off the plane. Somewhere between the baggage carousel and getting in line for the shuttle one of them got me. I’m probably up to 20 now. And winter used to be my reprieve!...

Oh, and it just started raining. Just a sun shower though. Hardly anybody left the beach.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 5

2011-03-08T01:40:00.001-06:00

Today was a nice, lazy day. Lounged around, had a leisurely buffet breakfast downstairs and took our sweet time getting ready in the room. We spent some time on the balcony too, watching the action below; there were cheerleaders practicing on the beach, and hula lessons in front of the hotel.

We didn’t hit the road until late morning. We checked out Ala Moana Shopping Centre. Grabbed a few goodies at the ABC on the main level. The second level is all window shopping – Bulgari, Dior, Chanel, and Cartier. And those were just the ones around the escalator!

After that we drove out to the Plantation Village. They have different buildings, each showcasing the type of home that would be built for different ethnic labourers that came to Oahu in the early 1900’s. There were houses for Chinese, Japanese, Okinawans, Portugese, Koreans and Puerto Ricans.

Gary, our tour guide, was amazing. He was great at getting people involved and kept grabbing people to act out different bits of history. He made a couple of high school kids a picture bride and her husband; there was a Hawaiian-Okinawan girl and a Korean-Okinawan-Hawaiian man that he kept quizzing about Hawaiian and Japanese culture; a man from the South became a rich Chinese entrepreneur and Darrin was a wealthy white landowner through the whole tour. It was pretty funny, but the actual history is pretty sad. Between the picture brides, and labour contracts that were NOT in the workers favour, and people never being able to return to their home countries, it was sobering. But Gary delivered everything in a way that was still entertaining.

After that we wanted to hike the Manoa Falls Trail and drive Mt. Tantalus Round Top. Unfortunately one missed turn on the freeway and we ended up with a half hour longer trip! But, with a little recalculating on the GPS we pulled in the Manoa Falls parking lot around 4:30.

We were warned that part of the trail would be slippery since it had been raining. Even though the forecast last night and this morning said there was 0% chance of precipitation. But, believing the weatherman, and assuming the earlier rain had been a fluke, we set out sans raingear. It’s only a 40 minute hike on a well-travelled trail so it didn’t seem worth carrying both backpacks. But I should have known better. It seems to always rain here… always.

The hike up was wet and slippery, and because all the dirt is orange your socks get stained, but besides scrambling over rocks and trees here and there it was a pretty good hike and even families with kids were passing us on their way down.

The view of the falls itself was great. 100 feet straight down into a small pool. Most of the pool is filled with giant rocks and boulders now. Apparently there was a landslide in 2002 that pushed 30 tons of debris 600 feet over the cliff and down the hill. We got some great pictures and video footage and headed back down.

Two minutes into the descent and the skies opened up. It rained, hard, the entire way down.

The rental car has one of those keys that can’t get wet or the starter won’t engage so we were scrambling trying to find somewhere dry to hide it until we got to the parking lot. Mission accomplished. My travel pants have a secret pocket to deter pickpockets, so we put the keys in there, then covered it with my tank top and then my blouse. It took three layers of fabric, but we managed to keep those keys dry!

By this time though it was nearly 6 and we looked like drowned rats so we decided to call it a day and drag our sorry wet butts home to dry off.

A couple drinks from the bar and up we went to chill in front of the tv.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 4 troubles!

2011-03-07T01:38:00.000-06:00

What a day! I think we had more adventures at the hotel than out on the road today!

We checked out of the oceanfront suite this morning and left our bags at the Bell desk. They said our oceanfront room would be ready in the afternoon so we headed out for the day.

When we came back this evening we picked up our key at the front desk and headed upstairs. Opened the door and…. water everywhere. The bathroom sink had flooded everything. Looks like someone had dumped coffee grounds or something in there because there was black stuff all throughout the pool on the floor and the sink was overflowed with black water. We called downstairs and they said they would find us a new room quickly and send maintenance and housekeeping up right away.

We went to the front desk and the replacement room they gave us was three floors lower. I really loved our view on six so I had really been hoping to get something close. I asked reallllly nicely if might be possible to get higher than third. The poor desk clerk had to call the bell desk to cancel our bag delivery to our room on 3 (and previously to the first room on 6) and do some shuffling but he managed to get us fifth floor – directly under the room we left this morning! Perfect!! It is a gorgeous corner room, with two balconies and a view of Diamond Head as well as the ocean. We never checked into the third floor, but I think it was also a corner suite. And the sixth floor room that flooded was a corner with two balconies, one oceanfront and the other sort of facing beach and sort of facing the building next door.

Every person we spoke with was apologetic about the mess in the sixth floor room and they all seemed genuinely embarrassed. While it really wasn’t that big a deal because these things can happen to anyone, it was nice to know they all cared so much. Ambrose at the front desk was awesome, and then Kyle the Front Desk Supervisor called to apologize on behalf of himself and all the staff involved. What a great crew at the Outrigger Reef!

So we managed to have four rooms in one day, have our bags almost delivered twice before the third time was the charm, and dragged our carry-on and backpacks from floor to floor. But in the end, the thing I’ll remember most was how exceptional all the staff were that dealt with the problem. Front Desk members, housekeeping and maintenance, all great.

But, enough about the evening, let’s start at the beginning of the day.

We checked out a little later than we wanted to and had to ask housekeeping to come back when they arrived at 9am. We dropped our luggage off at the bell desk and loaded all of the rest of our stuff into the rental car. Grabbed a couple towels from the pool and headed east.

Today’s plan was Windward side, with possibly North Shores and a lookout enroute to the windward side.

As soon as we pulled out of the lot our tire light came on again. We went back to Dollar and explained the situation. The attendant we were dealing with thought it might be a nail causing a slow leak so he did a quick switch and we were on our way.

We headed up into the mountains on Pali Highway and turned off onto Old Pali. Wow. The trees have grown so far over portions of this road it’s almost dark. It was so lush, and the trees were huge, the philodendrons had leaves more than a foot wide. It was absolutely gorgeous.

The old Pali joins the new Pali back again just in time for the Nu’uanu Pali lookout. From this vantage point you can see a good stretch of windward coast including Mokoli’i and Kualoa Park. Just below the lookout there’s a portion of old Pali that you can hike. We only went a few minutes down to get some great shots so I don’t know how far it goes, but it’s paved so it would probably make a really great hike.

From there we caught Kamehameha Highway to Kualoa Beach for a quick swim. Unfortunately it was a bit rocky so nobody was going in the water. But, luckily for us we brought flip flops so we were able to go far out and the bottom wasn’t a problem.

After the swim we went over to the ancient fishpond, but we couldn’t get a great view.

We continued up the coast to the Polynesian Cultural Centre. But it was closed. D’oh! It was careless on my part. Originally PCC was supposed to be during the week, but because of all the rain we reorganized our schedule and I moved PCC to Sunday without even thinking. Mormons created the Polynesian Cultural Centre to share the culture of Polynesia and still run it today, so no alcohol is served on the site and the centre is closed Sundays. I didn’t even think of it when I moved our plans around – and it’s more than an hour to get there!

We decided to continue around on Kamehameha and visit the North Shore beaches to see if there was any good surfing. I don’t know exactly where we were, but at one point we turned a corner and in a valley in front of us was a wind farm! Just came up out of nowhere. It was an amazing sight. They are BIG. There was at least 7 or 8 turbines, with the lush mountains behind them. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Unfortunately the camera was in the back seat and we were going 45mph so the shot was gone before we could even think about it. It’s just one example of how Hawaii is trying to find greener ways of doing things. For energy, you see a lot of solar panels, on houses, and controlling highway signs. But the wind farm was amazing. I had no idea they had one. I don’t know if there are others on Oahu, or on other islands.

We ended up stopping at Pipeline and Banzai and the shorebreak was crazy. It was a calm sea, but not far off the beach they’d start building until they crashed on shore. There was only one surfer where we were, but swimmers and bodyboarders were everywhere, enjoying the ride.

We continued into Hale’iwa and grabbed some pizza and wings for dinner before returning to Waikiki.

One cool thing we did pass on the road, but didn’t really get to “see” was where Lost and Jurassic Park were filmed, and the resort from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Tomorrow we may try to get to the Polynesian Cultural Centre again, but we haven’t decided.

Day 3 pictures

2011-03-06T05:23:00.001-06:00

Problems with this blog AGAIN. Pictures from today's blog.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 3 Pineapples

2011-03-06T05:20:00.000-06:00

Today was a little slower going, but it all turned out great.
We were late leaving the hotel for breakfast and then had to come back anyway. We wanted to eat at Eggs’N’Things but the lineup was 40+ minutes, so we just dropped our postcards off at the USPS outlet across the street and headed back to the hotel. After breakfast we had to head back to the room to get a few things we forgot but found out our internet was down and had to wait for repair.
By this time we were two hours late to pick up our rental car so I called to confirm that everything was still fine. While confirming our reservation she told me we had been given the wrong address when it was booked. So we walked over to the new address she gave us and picked up the car. But as soon as we pulled out of the lot the tire light flashed on the dash! So we looped back around the block and they filled all the tires to the right pressure.

When we finally hit the road we were 3 hours late from my original plan. So, away we went to Dole Plantation. Unfortunately it took us a little longer to get there than it should have. I had read about a really pretty route to take that was preferable to the H2 and Kamehameha. I was trying to navigate from a bad map and he was trying to follow the GPS (which didn’t have my route in it). Needless to say we got lost twice, but never too far out of our way.
We did make it to the Dole Plantation and it was a lot of fun. Overpriced maybe, but a fun outing. The maze took us about an hour, which I think is pretty good. We had a plan and stuck to it and almost never got lost. We also went on the Pineapple Express train tour. You know, 8000 acres of pineapple fields was way less exciting than I had anticipated. But the narrative during the tour was really informative.
Back in the restaurant we tried the Dole Whip, a soft serve pineapple ice cream We got the vanilla/pineapple swirl topped with chopped pineapple. Definitely worth $4.50 on a hot day (and it’s always a hot day in Hawaii). Even though it’s been raining and dreary for three days, it’s never cool and it’s always humid. But it’s a nice break from -25!
Leaving the plantation we were going to stop at the Royal Birthstones, a sacred site where ancient Hawaiian royals would give birth. Sadly, we never did find the turnoff. They date back to the 12th century and are marked with petroglyphs, so it’s a shame we didn’t get there.

On our way back through Wahiawa we grabbed a late lunch at Maui Mike’s, which serves fire-roasted chicken and little else. It was awesome. It’s apparently a favourite with the army folk too. In our half hour there we saw five grab dinner. Schofield Barracks, Hawaii’s largest army base, is just down the highway.

We got back just in time to change and head out to our evening show. We headed to the Holiday Inn Beachcomber to catch the Magic of Polynesia show. It really was a lot of fun. Hula dancers, a singer, and Hawaii’s number one illusionist made for a pretty good 2 hours.

Afterwards, we decided to pop into the Hard Rock up the street for a couple drinks and a late night snack. Waikiki absolutely comes alive at night. There are torches all down Kalakaua and down a couple side streets like Beachwalk and Lewers. The sidewalks were full of people going to and from shows, bars, restaurants, or just window shopping. All the stores are open late and there are street performers everywhere. There was even one balloon artist who made the coolest, and cutest, little penguin. If I thought it stood any chance of making it home in one piece I would have bought it in a second. The next most interesting person out there was the corner preacher with the megaphone who told us we deserved to die for bringing our sins to Hawaii. To each his own…

We finally got back to the hotel just before midnight and finally got to see some good night sights. The clouds lifted a bit this evening and we saw stars for the first time! Not a lot, but enough to let us know that tomorrow should be a good weather day. Today was also the first time we saw a sunset; the cloud cover and been too thick and low up to now.

Enough stargazing, time to get to bed. Tomorrow we move out of this suite and into a regular oceanfront room so we need to pack up and get out! If all goes smoothly tomorrow we should be swimming in the morning and see the Polynesian cultural centre in the afternoon. Then, hopefully, we can hit the North Shore beaches and check out some surfers. We have a few here at Waikiki Beach and Grey’s Beach (in front of the hotel) but I want to see bigger waves and hard core dudes out there!

Denise's Hawaii - Day 2 Animals, Fish and Rain

2011-03-05T01:07:00.001-06:00

What a wind storm. Trying to sleep last night and the wind kept throwing around the furniture on the balcony! Chairs were moving all over and one was knocked on it’s side and then dragged around. Still slept pretty well, but noises like that definitely wake you up.

When we got up it was a bit dreary, but we weren’t worried. Ha! Famous last words.

We went to Moose McGillicuddy’s for breakfast. Mmm, mmm. Darrin had the All American Skillet and I tried the breakfast potatoes. Potato skins with eggs, bacon, cheese and green onions. Perfect! When we came out it looked like the ground was wet, so we hoped that would be it for the rain.

After breakfast we were going to walk to Waikiki Aquarium and then the zoo. But, we were running behind and didn’t want to get to the zoo after lunch at prime sun time. So we changed our plans and went to the zoo first. About 15 minutes after we got there the clouds opened up… REALLY opened up. But we continued on, soaked to the bone and really enjoyed our visit. And we never did get any sun, so burning never became an issue.

The zoo is in the process of building a brand new elephant enclosure, and it looks like it’s going to be great, I think it opens at the end of this year. There were some really cute animals, like two different miniature gazelles, a fuzzy little fox with a stuffed chimp, and a group of lemurs. Unfortunately the paths don’t drain in the zoo and a couple of exhibits weren’t approachable unless you wanted water up to your shin. Because of that, we didn’t really get to see the cheetah except when he was up on a hill and looking out of the enclosure. But it was a great trip and even though it kept raining off and on we’re glad we went.

They had some beautiful birds, big cats, several different primates, a reptile house, and savannah animals like giraffes, zebras, ostriches, etc. The hippos were totally cool, and the rinos too who were camouflaged, which caused a dad beside us a bit of trouble when it took over a full minute to point them out to his daughter! My favourite part of the zoo though was Baubles. Baubles is a “special” meerkat who has some problems, the biggest being balance. But his clan look after him and he lives a happy, if wobbly, life in the zoo.

Then, after the zoo, still dripping wet, we headed over to the Aquarium. They give you an electronic tour guide and when you reach an exhibit you punch in that number on the keypad and the narrator tells you about it. They had all the usual cool stuff, coral, jellyfish, sharks, groupers, and they’re building a new coral reef. In an outside tank they had a monk seal who was content to just bob up and down in the water.

Unfortunately we got about three pictures the whole day. We snapped a couple shortly after arriving at the zoo and then the rain never really stopped. It started just as I was about to take a picture of Diamond Head and the camera never came out of the bag again.

Ha, everything in my pocket turned to mush. I had a couple coupons and receipts and they just mashed together. And while we were walking back to the hotel we stopped and shopped along the way but had to keep handing cashiers these soggy, dripping wet bills. Most laughed, but one guy was cranky and before he gave us our change he made us wait there while he got paper towels and slowly wrapped our three bills up and patted them dry. Whatever!

Now, shopping for us consisted of grabbing some snacks for the hotel room and a couple of souvenirs. But I get the feeling some people come for a LOT more.

We passed a Coach store, Ferrari shop, three Le SportSacs, and a Louis Vuitton shop. I can’t even afford to window shop at those places…

We didn’t make it to the Wailana Coffee House today, we just wanted to get home and change into something dry. Maybe tomorrow. But for now, we ordered room service again and watched the Hilton Hawaiian fireworks from our balcony.

I’m glad it didn’t rain early morning or late in the evening. There were two weddings on the beach below our balcony today, one morning and one after sunset and I can’t imagine how upsetting it would have been to have to change the day if the rain hadn’t stopped.

We have to go pick up our rental car tomorrow and it’s about a 20 minute walk, so no sleeping in in the morning. Tomorrow is the Dole Plantation. Tonight though, we grabbed some cut pineapple from the cooler at an ABC (these stores are EVERYWHERE - on some blocks there are two or three of them!) A little snack, a little TV and then to bed.

Hawaii - Beach

2011-03-04T01:42:00.000-06:00

Night shot from our balcony.

Hawaii - Diamond Head

2011-03-04T01:40:00.001-06:00

Hawaii Outrigger Reef

2011-03-04T01:39:00.001-06:00

View of MBDRM and Master Bath from back of master bath.

Denise's Hawaii - Day 1 Travel Day

2011-03-04T01:37:00.000-06:00

Aaahhhhh.

For a travel day, it was a pretty good day. Flights both ran long, we were flying into headwinds to Vancouver and to Honolulu, but after snoozing a good portion of the first leg and some on the second, I hardly felt the 10+ hours of flying time.

We got into Honolulu in mid-afternoon, received our beautiful orchid lei greeting and caught the shuttle to the hotel.

OMG. The hotel. Outrigger Reef on the Beach. We paid for a room upgrade for a couple nights and it is A-MA-ZING. Corner room, balconies on two sides. The Master Suite has one oceanfront balcony and one that faces Diamond Head. The bathroom has a two person walk-in shower and a 2 person jet tub.

The living room/dining room is ocean front and that washroom has a tub/shower and the usual amenities.

The beach in front of the hotel is small, but that hasn’t stopped people from jumping in. Well, wading in up to their knees, the water’s rough today. It rained earlier and was cloudy for most of the afternoon/evening. But the breeze coming through the open balcony doors is so refreshing. Nice and cool. Helps beat the humidity. You step from the plane into the jetway and the humidity hits you like a wall. Didn’t think of that in my “we’re going to go hiking nearly every day” plan.

Darrin tried Moco Loco for dinner and loved it. Hawaiian dish with a bed of rice, topped with a beef patty, two eggs, onions and gravy. Not my style, but a huge dish on the islands.

The weather forecast calls for rain in Honolulu almost every day we’re here, but I’m not worried. I don’t think it rains continuously, it probably just comes and goes. They have flash flood warnings too, but that’s just in the valleys I think, because they’re steep and narrow. The girl who brought the room service up said they issue flood warnings all the time, almost every time it rains, so no big deal.

Tomorrow we’ll be around Honolulu/Waikiki with zoo, aquarium and some shopping. For dinner we’re hoping to hit a local coffee house down the street that was recommended to us; supposed to be good and cheap.

We were resetting our internal clocks for several days before we left, getting up one hour earlier each day until we hit 3am (7am Hawaii time) and it seems to have worked. It should feel like 1am (three hours past my bedtime!) but instead it just feels like I had a good full day and I could go another hour or two.

I'm having a lot of problems with the blog, so I'll upload each picture as a new post. Enjoy!

Melissa's Jamaica FAM

2010-11-08T14:05:00.000-06:00

Day 1

Arrived at the airport 2hrs earlier and it was busy. Should have been there 3hrs before like I tell all of my clients, but anyways it was fine. One thing to let your clients know is that there was no Sunquest counter. I walked back and forth looking for it, until Lisa saw me and flagged me over. You have to check in at the WS counter. Lisa said it might be different for the winter months, but she is not sure. Went thru security fine, for a change no search of my bags :) and met the other 3 ladies on the FAM. Everybody is awsome and we were laughing right away with each other, like we had knowen each other for ever. Boarded the empty flight and got a whole row to myself. The plane was empty because I think people from YWG don't know about the direct flights starting so early. Fligth was good, got to see Miami, the Florida Keys, and The Caymen Islands from my window.

Another good thing to let your clients know is that there is no food served on the flight. Even though you are flying with Sunquest, no meals are served for free, like on Sunwing or transat. Cashless cabin as well.

The flight was 4hrs and 45mintues and we landed with out a problem. Customs, however, was a problem. 12 other planes all landed at the same time as us and we all had to go thru customs at the same time. About 1hr and 30 minutes later, I was thru and in Jamaica. We went to find our luggage and it was already off the converer belt and just sitting there waiting. We were met after that for our private transfer to the hotel, Sunset Beach. We landed at around 12:30 so by the time we were on the way to the hotel is was still light out and we got a good view of Montego Bay. It is hard to describe what it looks like, but it is very poor here. I have been to Varadero and in some places this is worse then there. Alot of "shacks" were along the road, and people living in them. It makes you appreciate what you have back at home. But, even with the conditions here, the people are so friendly and happy. It is very contagious, and it makes you have a very relaxed attitude. The weather is very hot, and very humid. You sweat just standing in one place. It is very windy and cloudy because we are getting the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas. You can not swim or sit around the pools, just too windy.

The hotel was nice. I had a ocean front room for the first night. The Montreal group had arrived on Fri., so they were out looking at hotels and the Calgary & Toronto groups were not arriving until later. So we looked around the resort, got some drinks, and had something to eat. By the way, I have found my new favorite drink. Move over wine, Hello Hummingbird!!!

It is soooooo goood. It tastes like a banana milkshake, and they are very dangerous. :)

Anyways, went to bed early that night.

Day 2

The bus was picking us up at 9am to start our hotel inspections. Well, I guess what they say is true. When you are in Jamaica, everything runs on island time, because the bus was 1hr late. When it came, we drove from MBJ to Ocho Rios, about a 2 hr ride. Something good to tell clients.

Riu Ocho Rios was the first hotel. Very nice, lots of people, once you have seen one, you have seen them all, so I am told because this was my first time seeing one.

Next was the Jewel, which used to be the Sandals Dunns River. This is a very nice hotel, just like what a Sandals would be. Pretty much everything is included.

Next was the Sunset Jamaica Grande. This is an okay hotel. Water slide looks very nice, but the rooms are very small. It would be hard to fit 2 adults and 2 children in 1 room.

Next was Rooms on the Beach. Basic hotel, nothing fancy to say, but expensive hotel.

Next was Couple Tower Isle. Very nice also, like a Sandals. Only couples can stay here, but they are very gay friendly. Your clients just have to let the front desk staff know, and they will make you feel comfortable. This resort also has it's own island which is "au natural", but we did not get to check that out. :(

Next was the Couples San Souci. Very nice. It is built into the side of the hill, so lots of stairs. The resort is on 32 acres of land, so it was alot of walking. And of course they make this are last hotel.

We then went to our new hotel, Breezes Runaway Bay. It is nice, but this time I got the gardenview. That night we all had supper at the Italian a la carte restaurant. It was very good. After supper we went to check out the live band that was playing and we danced alittle and then went to bed.

Day 3

So far today, we got up and went to Dunns River Falls. I did not go in the falls, but they were awsome to see. Most of our group did, so I was the offical picture taker. Let me tell you the stairs on the side of the falls, are just as hard as the falls. We are now back at the hotel and we are off to the Gran Bahia tonite for drinks and dinner.

Talk to you all later,

Part 3 of My Trip to Portugal Nov 1-4

2010-11-04T15:26:00.000-05:00

Today is a beautiful day and everyone in the town is getting ready to go to the cemetary for All Sanints Day. Some people will gather at the chappell first for a church service and then they walk through the village following the priest to the cemetary that is much different from our tradition in North America. The grave sites here are all marble and above ground with pictures of the deceased. The families put candles and beautiful flowers on the family graves. The priest walks through the cemetary and prays for all the deceased and their families which takes about an hour in Portuguese.
This afternoon we visit with family and friends in the Portuguese style.
Nov 2
Today is market day in Espinho that is about a 45 minute drive from Vale Maoir where there is everything you need to buy there. Flowers, fish, meat, vegetables and more important to me was the clothing, jeans, leather botas, shoes etc. We spent most of the day there shopping, stopped for a cod fish lunch and bargained with them to get the best deal.
We get back home and then visit family for a traditional Sardine Supper at Oscars Aunties and there is a table full of wood oven, roasted Sardines on home made bread and of course homemade vinho tinto and you are not allowed to leave the table til the sardines are all eaten.
Nov 3
Today it is another beautiful sunny day about 24 C and we go to the Praia (beach)
about 30 minute drive to Praia Vagueira. We have a delicious seafood lunch and then walk the beach where the waves are so powerful I dont dare to go in the ocean but Oscar ventures in eventhough it is not quite as warm as the meditteranian.
After a beautiful day at the beach we visit friends on the other side of the village for a octopus dinner.
Nov 4
Another beautiful day as far as the weather goes about 25 C today we stay close to home and walk the village visiting cousins and friends that Oscar has not seen for many years. Tonight we are at good friends Casa enjoying fresh caught fish from the river and sharing life experiences. Til tomorrow Obrigado

Part 2 of My Trip to Portugal Oct 29-31

2010-10-31T15:52:00.000-05:00

Friday there has been lots of rain, very stormy one minute and then the sun comes out for a while, the wind blows and it rains again. Lisbon has had lots of flooding, but here in the village in the mountains, the rain runs down the streets into the river so there is no flooding here. Went out for a very nice dinner of Roast Pork and did some shopping in Aveiro which is quite a big city about a 45 minute drive from Vale Miaor. We are back home this evening and the rain is coming down hard and pounding on the rooftops.
Oct 30
This is Saturday morning and today there is a market in the town. There is all kinds of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, lots of fish, and beautiful flowers to buy very cheap! Oscar bought me a nice pair of boots as I did not bring any with me and it has been wet. Because of the rain we opted to stay home tonight and watch some TV.
Oct 31
Today the weather is still wet but getting better and not as much rain. We walk the village and check out the gardens, orchards full of manderina, orange, lemon, fig and olive trees. We then drive to Bussaco, where we tour the gardens and grande hotel as well as the nunnery and chappell that is famous for over hundreds of years. We then take a short drive to Luso that has a famous drinking fountain where people take there water bottles and fill for free. Oscar has mentioned all over Portugal there are drinking fountains where people get there clean drinking water as well as there are still public washing holes where woman from the village take their washing to clean in the fresh water. Tonight we are visiting an old friend of Oscars, who was very surprised to see us.They have a beautiful home as well and we are enjoying a drink and a laugh tonight.
Eventhough it is Halloween in North America it is not really celebrated here like we do at home.
Tomorrow is a holiday here- All Saints Day where families, relatives, friends come together at the cemetary so I will write more tomorrow.

My Trip to Portugal Oct 24

2010-10-28T10:47:00.000-05:00

Arrived into Faro on time at 710am on Sunday morning. We had good flights from Winnipeg and Toronto and came through a short line up at customs. Everything went smoothly and English is spoken in Faro by just about everyone. We picked up our Toyota Yaris from the Guerin Auto which is the car company JM Vacations uses just outside the airport.
Driving is a little different here with the smaller roads, cars and round abouts but even though it has been a few years for Oscar his driving was pretty good eventhough we missed our first turn off the highway!
Drove to Albufeiro easily on the A22, about 25 minutes away. We had to stop and ask about the location of the hotel, Solaqua as it was not on the map we had.
We were tired from travelling but washed up and went to the beach as it was about 27 C. The beach is about a 15 minute walk from our hotel but worth every step. The beach called Monica beach was beautiful and lined with white aparthotels. Oscar went for a swim in the ocean while I sun tanned and took a nap. On our way back to the hotel we picked up a few groceries and stopped for a couple of cervasas.
After a long first day we had a good night sleep. The apartment hotel is quite spacious with a separate bedroom, living room and full kitchen.
Our second day we drove to Portimao and spent half a day on the Praia De Roche. It also was a stunning beach with the rock formation from the ocean we had to go down about a hundred steps to the beach.
After the beach we drove to the marina and had a seafood and rice lunch very delicious and continues to a open square with cafes and had our afternoon expresso and capuccino.
After a good day we drove back to our town of Albufeira for one more night until we drive north to Aveiro the next day. We managed to find ourselves a couple of bars to have a drink and talk with some locals that most of which were British people that own apartments by the beach.
October 26
Packed up and drove for about 4 1/2 hours on the super highway A2, where you pay a toll to travel on. We bypassed Lisboa and on to Santarem and then through some villages until we arrived in Oscars home town on Val Mioar in a valley. Oscars mom was in the garden when we arrived and even though she does not speak much English everyone kisses you on each cheek the portuguese way! And she said welcome to the Old Country.
I have to admit it is the old country and a simpler way of life for most people here. Where you feed your chickens and rabbits in the backyard until the day you want to have them for dinner! We walked around the village after dinner and stopped in at a few relatives who were surprised to see Oscar!. Of course lots of home made wine and his cousins were making sausage! Everyone has a fireplace in their kitchens to cook and to keep the homes warm.
The streets are very narrow and you have to watch for the traffic as they still like to go fast!~
October 28 Thursday
It is a beautiful day woke up and had a good cafe and toast, had some washing to do in the big wash tub with the well water from the pump. I have a picture to show the old way.
Drove around to a few small villages and Oscar has been showing me his old schools, waterfalls, fishing holes and places he used to go as a boy.
We are in town with his mom and then will go home for dinner. So far Portugal is beautiful and definately people live a different lifestyle. I will talk again soon of our travels...Chow for now!

Welcome to Orlando

2010-10-21T11:36:00.001-05:00

Note to Self: Pre-Purchased Seat Selection whenever POSSIBLE!

My journey began at 315 a.m. with the ear-piercing shriek of my alarm clock. I stumbled from my warm bed into the dark morning, showered, dressed and finished packing my bag. Yes I managed to fit all into one suitcase weighing in at only 43 lbs. My pre-ordered cab was on time and I arrived at the airport to be checked in by a friendly and most helpful Westjet agent. The flight left only a few minutes past the scheduled departure and it was a smooth restful flight to Toronto. Thanks to the male flight crew on board (at least that's what they told us) we arrived 15 minutes early. This was my first time connecting through Toronto to the US and I have to admit I was a but worried about the whole process but with the hour and 45 minutes in between flights we made it with time to spare. There was a bit of panic felt by all when after having retrieved our luggage from a special transit area we were met by a line-up of about 100 people or more waiting at US customs but they moved us through very quickly.

This is where my journey took a turn and hence the note to self above. Being cheap myself I had never thought about purchasing seat selection. Why pay when you can get it for free 24 hours in advance. However if one forgets to go on-line 24 hours in advance and attempts to check-in only 7 hours prior to departure there are more than likely not going to be any great seats left available. I was left with the choice of 2 middle seats, I chose 4 E. A very large man boarded the plane and proceeded to sit beside me, or should I say on me. I find it terribly unfair that even though we more than likely paid the exact same fare, he received 1.25 seats and I only .75 of a seat. Not only was I forced to squeeze these child bearing hips into 3/4 of a seat but the man had obviously not showered in a week. It was almost unbearable and I prayed for a quick flight. I was never so happy to get of a plane and breathe fresh air after this excruciating 2.5 hour flight.

Once of the plane you follow the signs to the shuttle tram and once on board are taken to a different terminal where you will await your luggage. From the luggage carousel we were only about 100 feet from the Meats Transportation desk where I picked up my transfer to the hotel. The cost of round trip transportation was only $33 and for us it was a pleasant 20 minute drive to the Beautiful Hyatt Grand Cypress. Our driver was friendly and shared some interesting area information with us on the way, including a recommendation for the Mexican restaurant next door where we enjoyed a delicious Steak Fajita on Tuesday night at a very reasonable cost.

The hotel itself is magnificent and if it wasn't for all the wonderful attractions available in Orlando there really would be no reason for leaving the resort. There is a large atrium for the lobby, with small ponds, exquisite carvings and statues and 2 lovely tropical birds to greet you as you walk by. The grounds are immaculate, with lush greenery, colorful flowers and lakes and waterways meandering throughout. The pool is large and framed on my side by a man made rocky outcropping. You can actually swim into these narrow caves through water falls. The sound of the water cascading over the rocks is quite soothing. They have towels available at their activity hut where you can also rent paddle boats or bicycles. The rock climbing wall looks like a real challenge, perhaps we'll try it this weekend. Supposedly there are alligators living in the man made lake on the property so I am not sure about the boats. But I definitely either want to rent bikes or take a walk around the 5 miles or so they have of trails around the property.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out Disney World is located next door and I can clearly see Epcot Center from my balcony as well as the nightly fireworks display at about 9pm. I am looking forward to some free time so I can take advantage of a few of the attractions in and around the area.

Stay tuned for more from Orlando.

The key to a relaxing vacation

2010-07-03T12:35:00.001-05:00

I think the key to a relaxing vacation is to plan nothing! We have made no major plans thus far and have spent a heck of a lot of time just lounging around the house and yard and if we do end up going out it's a last minute decision and therefore causes no stress. We do what we feel like when we feel like it. The kids seem to enjoy themselves no matter what is going on. They are content playing water balloon wars ($1 for 1000 at Dollorama) or just running through the backyard sprinkler. I discovered this on my recent cruise where we had chosen open dining and chose not to pre book our excursions. Again we ate when we were hungry and we took out time exploring each port on our own terms. We did end up booking a few excursions but did so the day before and knew we were up to it.

So now that I have discovered the secret I am enjoying myself much more. We are loving Sarnia so much that we have informed the grand-parents that we will purchase their home when they are ready to move into the retirement home. No rush though. The weather here has been fantastic this week, sunny skys, warm winds and the humidity has been relatively low. Today and tomorrow it is supposed to creep back up to 31 with a humidex bringing it to 40. We plan to keep cool at the water park and pool down at Tecumseh Park, the local swimming quarters, $3.75 for the whole family. It also has a skate park and play park attached.

Canada Day was a fantastic celebration here in Sarnia. The day began with a short drive and long hike down to Cantera Park where we grabbed a great spot under a big tree and set up camp for the morning. The Canada Day Parade came right by us and ended in the middle of the park at around 12 noon. I couldn't get over how many of the town folks came to watch, the streets were lined for blocks! In the park they had a large field set up with booths selling crafts, clothing, jewellery and more as well as a wide variety of foods from around town. We wandered a bit until the kids came across a Henna Tattoo booth and we ended up waiting while they all got temporary tattoos by a local artist. Cantera Beach is right in the park so we headed over to play in the sand and surf. The waves are HUGE and the kids enjoyed body surfing for the remainder of the afternoon.

They ended the day with fireworks down on the shores of the St Claire River just after the sun had set over Port Huron. I hadn't planned on going as I was more than exhausted from our day in the sun but I am so glad we did as it was an spectacular display of lights.

Last night we took a walk down by the Bridge. It's a lovely park with a winding path along the river banks and under the Blue Water Bridge (takes you to the USA). You can plant yourself on one of many park benches and watch the sunset, or the kids can let loose on the playground, feed the Trout at the fish hatchery or indulge yourself with an order of famous "chips" from the chip truck. If you are feeling really gutsy you can join some of the local youth and take a swim up river. They jump in at the opening to the river and the very strong current carries them quickly down the river where you must swim hard to get yourself back to shore. Perhaps next visit I'll try :)

That's all for today, remember less planning, more relaxing.

Summer in Southern Ontario

2010-06-30T20:41:00.001-05:00

Complete and utter relaxation.... ah this is the life. Yesterday we took it easy with a trip to the local play ground in the morning and a visit to the charming downtown area in the afternoon. The kids enjoyed shopping at the local mall too. We are quickly becoming adept at getting around this lovely town.

Today we spent the morning at the Mike Weir Beach Park just north of town. The temperatures have been really mild since we arrived and I thought the kids quite brave when they ventured into the lake. I made an attempt but it felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice cubes over me! But when the sun came out it was beautiful and we all had a great time.

One of the best things about being on vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's is that free babysitting is provided. We took advantage of this fantastic amenity and my husband and I had a romantic date night tonight. Our gift card from East Side Mario's was put to good use finally. We've been hanging onto this birthday gift for over a year as there are no East Side Mario's in Winnipeg. It was a delicious dinner, Chris had ribs and I the scallop fettucini carbonera and then we finished off with the Chocolate Vesuvius (lave cakes with ice-cream). It was a clear and warm evening so we headed down to the Bridge for a relaxing stroll along the St Claire River and Lake Huron.

I am excited about the festivities planned for tomorrow, Canada Day. The day begins with a parade from downtown to Cantera Park where there will be ethnic foods and goodies served and crafts for sale and rides for the kids.

Safe Journeys everyone.

Summer Vacation in Sarnia

2010-06-28T19:35:00.000-05:00

I rode an elephant today, right here in Southern Ontario, no need to even leave Canada! We are having a great time here in Sarnia, arrived after a 4 1/2 hour drive from Mackinaw City yesterday. And I have to say there is just nothing like home cooked meals after a few days on the road! Grandma Ellis is such a good cook, homemade jams, fresh apple cake, yummy chocolate chip cookies...I am going to have to get up early each morning and take the dog for a 10 mile hike to keep the weight off!

We had to drive into Burlington this morning, about 2-3 hours by car, to pick up the children. And after googling attractions in Southern Ontario we decided the African Lion Safari Park between Burlington and Cambridge. It was a bit pricey, $30 per adult and $24 per child plus $5 each to ride the bus around instead of taking our new van. Monkeys tend to take souvenirs such as wind shield wipers and bumpers from your vehicles. But it was totally worth it as you can see by the pictures. There is a 45 minute drive through the wild animal park where we saw lions, giraffes, rhinos, monkeys to name a few. We also managed to take in the miniature train ride and a boat ride to visit various monkey species on these islands through out the park. Time didn't allow us to see the Elephant Show (they supposedly play soccer) or the Birds of Prey show, but we did get to ride the elephants and that was a highlight.

We are back now at Grandma and Grandpa's and have just finished a delicious meal of chicken fajitas and apple cake with ice-cream. The weather has cooled down and we are now able to sit outside without melting. The humidity is over the top here most days!

Tomorrow....the Beach!

Road Trip Adventures - Day 2

2010-06-26T22:41:00.002-05:00

We were able to get out of Duluth fairly quickly this morning, not alot of traffic to deal with on a Saturday morning. The terrain became much more hilly and the forests denser as we head East along the number 2. We decided to cut an hour of our original route (thanks to Google for letting us know about this) and took the 28 along the shore line of Lake Superior. I find it hilarious that these quaint little towns all seem to have a claim to fame landmark, like the Giant Ox in Bemidji Minnesota, or others like the largest running chain saw in the world, the largest hat, the largest Santa, etc. I can't count how many we passed these past two days.

After two Barbie movies, 3 pages of picture find, 10 games of eye spy, we stopped for lunch in Bruce Crossing, a town of 600 people. The food was delicious and the waitress very pleasant. A quick walk with the dog and we were back on the road. One thing we didn't take into consideration was that we jumped ahead one hour as we passed into a different time zone. We didn't arrive at our destination until after 7 p.m.

The weather improved as we drew closer to Mackinaw City though and by the time we arrived it was a beautiful sunny evening! After spending a few minutes tracking my reservation down (they accidentally made it for September not June) they found us a lovely room on the second floor over looking the lake. The Days Inn Lakeside is nice enough, great location, close to the main street which is so pretty. The rate is $150 for the night, again they allow dogs, we have a balcony overlooking the water and this too will provide a complimentary breakfast in the morning. I just wish we could spend more time here as we really didn't get the chance to see it all and it really has a lot of charm. We walked two blocks to a great little Italian Restaurant called Nonna Lisa's where I had a gigantic bowl of Fettuccine Alfredo for $15.99. Wish I could have ordered half but it was very good none the less. I also was delighted to find out the adjoining coffee shop serves Starbucks! Guess where we are stopping before we begin our final leg of this fun-filled road trip to Sarnia?

We will continue on in Sarnia tomorrow night!

Day 1- Head Out on the Highway...Lookin for Adventure

2010-06-26T22:09:00.002-05:00

I was magically transported back to my childhood as we packed the van and headed down Highway 59 into the good ol' US of A. The only thing missing was my older brother tormenting me in the back seat and my mother threatening both of us that she was about to "turn this car around" and the vacation would be over before it began. But I did always love our family road trips over the border growing up and was excited as my family now departed for our first 3 day driving trek to Sarnia Ontario.

It is so remarkably easy now to plan your route and I am at a loss as to how we use to do this pre- Google. When I first began planning this a few weeks ago, I used Google Maps to plan the easiest and quickest driving route and then evenly distributing this route over three days was able to decide which towns we would be staying in each night. Duluth, Minnesota was a our first over night stay and again using Google I was able to find a decent and cheap hotel with an amazing water park for only $124 CAD (at par) for the night and they allow dogs (as most hotels do down here). The Edgewater Hotel and Waterpark was everything we needed to keep us entertained for an evening. That low nightly rate included entrance to the waterpark, discount coupon for dinner by the pool (pizza) and a lovely continental breakfast the following morning. Duluth is not the prettiest town I've ever passed through but it was pleasant and the people were friendly. Traffic was a bit of a nightmare as it seems every bridge and street we needed to take was under construction and we felt like we were in a maze at time!

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was a delightful coffee shop directly across from the Edgewater Hotel called Dunns Bros Coffee. Day two began with a delicious Decaf Caramel Machiato to take with me on the road as we head to our next stop, Mackinaw City, Michigan.

Stay tuned for more for road trip adventures!

Day 7 – Ketchikan, Alaska

2010-06-04T01:57:00.003-05:00

I did it!! I went zip-lining and it was exhilarating. They picked me up at 7:30 am and we drove the 5 minutes to the base of the Bear Creek Mountain where we boarded a Uni-Mog to take us up the steep incline. We were suited up with our harnesses and helmets and had to walk about 100 feet up to the first tree platform. Once you are hooked up the rig it’s easy, I never feared for my safety at all. You feel very secure and it really was fantastic zipping through the 6 lines down to the slide. We crossed one suspension bridge and ended it all with a 250 foot slide to the bottom.

I would say that Ketchikan was definitely my favorite town on this cruise. It is incredibly quaint with loads of shopping available. We stopped at the Good Coffee shop and had a tasty Latte to keep us warm as we walked around Creek Street. It was a charming part of town, formerly the Red Light District, built on stilts. The area is full of history and culture. We were able to complete our souvenir shopping, with half price Jade and Bamboo T-Shirts. I would love to have spent more time in this port.

Alas we left at 1:00 pm and are headed for Victoria where we arrive tomorrow at 6:00 pm. It’s hard to believe our 7 day cruise is almost over. It’s been an amazing time and I am definitely going to cruise again. Thanks to Holland America, this has been a wonderful experience.

Day 6 - Stika, Alaska

2010-06-03T01:56:00.001-05:00

We awoke this morning to the most spectacular scenery and the day only got better as it went on. We had a delicous fruit crepe on the Lido Deck for breakfast and then headed out on our private tour. The boat picked us up right from the ship as we were tendered in the bay. Within minutes of taking off, we stopped to watch as 2 hump back whales rolled in and out of the water, amazing! We continued on to Silver Bay, along the way saw starfish coating the rocks along the shore, a bald eagle on it’s nest, supposedly there were eaglets in the nest, and then onto the Salmon Haterchy. I never expected to be so facianted by this process. We saw another bald eagle family at the hatchery and watched as they tagged and then release the baby salmon into the ocean. On the way back to town we were again entertained by another 3 hump back whales within about 50 feet of the boat. The team on board were so informative and we all had a great time.

We were taken to town to the community center where we had a wonderful boxed lunch and learned about the two different tribes in the area, Raven Clan and Eagle Clan, and about there culture and heritage. After lunch we were off to visit the Russion Cathedral and then had the afternoon to explore the town and do some more souvenier shopping. I much prefer the town of Sitka to Juneau, a little prettier and abit more to see and do.

Tonight was the last formal dinner and they don’t dissapoint. I had escargot to begin the meal, then a spinach salad with mushrooms and bacon, main course was steak and Lobster (right in the shell) and finished off with the Baked Alaska (I can’t get enough of it!). We walked it all off though, doing 4 laps around the lower promenade. It was a windy and cold night but we were able to spot atleast 20 hump back whales around the ship, truly amazing.

Tomorrow is the big day in Ketchekan and our Zip Lining Adventure. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow night!

Day 5 - Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

2010-06-03T01:54:00.009-05:00

We had a great day at sea today, arriving at Hubbard Glacier at approximately 12 noon. It truly was spectacular, and I am not sure I can find the words to describe it’s beauty. This tide water glacier is 7 miles wide, 350 feet above water and 250 below the water. We were lucky that for one we are on a smaller ship , the Rotterdam, and secondly they refer to our captain as Captain Courageous. It manouvered our ship to about 2 kms from the glacier face where it feels like you can reach out and touch it. You actually lose all perspective when you are near this giant wall of ice. And the calving was incredible, it sounds similar to thunder on the prairies. There would be an explosive sound and then you would see a chunck of ice break off the glaciers face and crach into the water creating a huge wave. We were there with a park ranger and native elder on board to tell us all about the area and it’s traditions.

As we headed back out from the glacier the skies cleared and it was the most beautiful evening. Chris and I hosted the Ensemble Cocktail party which was a lot of fun. Then 14 of us had dinner again at the main dining area. And again the meal was delicisous. I just can’t get over how incredible the food and service is on the ship. We met the captain and the hotel manager both of whom were down to earth and pleasure to speak with.

We spent the rest of the evening dancing in the Ocean Bar where they had a delightful jazz band playing.

Tomorrow of to Sitka for our Ensemble hosted shore excursion!

Day 4 - Juneau, Alaska

2010-06-03T01:17:00.001-05:00

I awoke this morning with good intentions, I had signed up for a spin class ($12 per class) in the gym for 8:00 a.m. thinking this would ease the guilt I have been feeling about the abundance of desserts I have enjoyed thus far. Now to get to the gym I had to walk through the Lido Deck where the most magnificent breakfast is served every morning. I was so hungry and it all smelled so wonderful that I in the end decided to skip spin class and and have my favorite eggs benedict, one with mushrooms the other spinach, accompanied by freshly squeezed orange juice and a bowl of fresh fruit. I have to say I think I made the right decision. I did however manage to partake in a yoga class later in the morning which I am feeling now 24 hours later.

We had a great day in Juneau, where we stopped from 12 noon until 9 pm yesterday. All though there are numerous shore excursion to be taken, all looking very interesting, we decided to take a day off and just enjoy wandering through the town and it’s shops. We stopped for a bite to eat and a drink at the famous Red Dog Salon and did a lot of our souvenier shopping. Our feet began to feel it after a couple hours so we came back on the boat and enjoyed the sunny afternoon up on deck reading and relaxing.

It’s nice sometimes to stay on board when everyone else is gone, you have the whole place to yourselves. We ended up dining at the Caneletto Italian restaurant, no extra charge for that one, and had a lovely dinner overlooking the port of Juneau as the sun sank slowely behine the mountains. As we pulled away from port that night we relaxed in a hot tub on the Lido Deck. There were a total of 4 other ships in the harbour that day, which is about what you can expect daily according to a local merhcant.

I tried to make it to the midnight buffet again last night with no luck, the days are just to long and action packed to stay awake that long.

Stay tuned for more from Hubbard Glacier tonight!

Day 3 - Alaska

2010-05-31T01:13:00.000-05:00

I awoke this morning to the feeling that I was going to roll right out of bed. We had run into rough water conditions overnight and can still feel them now as we get ready for bed. Supposedly this is not the norm and they have advised us it should settle down some time later tonight. Luckily I was not affected adversely by the rocking motion, took a little getting used to, especially walking in a straight line, but overall not bad at all. We also had gained a wave pool on the Lido Deck and you had to be careful not to get soaked as the water gushed over the edges of the pool as the boat rocked to and fro.

Today we were at sea all day as we passed the Queen Charlotte Islands, land was nowhere to found until late this afternoon. We spent the day relaxing and exploring the ship. I believe we finally have our bearings and can move about the ship with ease. I took in a seminar on Detox for Weight Loss this afternoon and then rode the elliptical for about half hour. I didn’t fell as guilty for all the delectable treats I have eaten throughout the day. I have also discovered the Explorers Café and am very impressed with their lattes and even purchased a coffee card today, 10 lattes for $26.00, not bad at all.

The ship is filled with the most amazing art work and historic pieces. You could spend days just taking it all in. We came across Chinese sculptures dating back to 220 A.D. and Japanese Samurai armor from the 1700’s. There was the most fascinating cabinet from 1700 century Italy, with parquet inlay. The detailing is beautiful. Everywhere you look they have stunning paintings with some available for purchase.

Tonight was the formal evening and 14 of us in my group met for dinner in the main dining room, La Fontaine for a late meal at 8:00 pm. I just love the serving staff on board; they are such a pleasure to be around, witty and so friendly, they do make the meal such fun. I started off with Jumbo Shrimp, Yukon potato and yellow tomato soup, fresh Alaskan King Crab legs soaked in butter and ended off with the Baked Alaskan with caramel toffee sauce. I can see why the average person gains 7-14 pounds on a 7 day cruise. I have decided that I am going to try and take advantage of the complimentary gym, and take the stairs as much as I can and also eat a light lunch so we can treat ourselves at supper time!

Tomorrow is a full day as I have signed up for spin class at 8:00 am and Yoga at 9:00 am and we will be arriving in Juneau, the Alaskan Capital, at 12:00 noon. We plan on exploring the town on our own in lieu of a shore excursion.

We’ll tell you all about it tomorrow night 

Day 2 - Alaska

2010-05-30T00:49:00.000-05:00

Still being on Winnipeg time I was up at 6 am today, looked out the window to see a new ship had arrived in port right across the street from the lovely Marriott Waterfront. I slept like a baby; the beds were large and incredibly comfortable. After a quick shower we headed downstairs to the deli in the lobby for a deliciously simple breakfast of sausage and egg muffin accompanied by a bowl of fresh fruit. For the two of is it cost $16 which wasn’t bad in comparison to the bistro and surrounding area diners.

We decided to head over to Pike’s Place Market after finishing our meal for my morning Caramel Macchiato. To my surprise it turns out that this particular Starbucks was in fact the first Starbucks to open, ever! What a special treat, the staff put on a real show, with one in particular standing on a platform basically entertaining all of us with interesting Starbucks trivia. The building itself was over a 100 years old with the original flooring. And they still use the original machines, not the automated ones you see in all the other stores. This requires them to make each espresso shot individually, takes about 10 times as long but was well worth the wait. Chris and I both picked up travel mugs emblazoned with Pike’s Place, The First Starbucks Store.

It was a fairly easy process getting over to the boat; we paid $7 each for a shuttle to Pier 91. And I have to say that I could get very used to the service you receive everywhere you go here. It seems almost everyone you come across from the hotel staff, serving staff and cruise line employees are so incredibly friendly and seem genuinely happy to see you. Our luggage was collected directly from the shuttle and magically appeared in our cabin by about 2:30 pm. We boarded the ship at about 1:00 pm and grabbed a bite to eat on the Lido Deck, what a choice of foods there were. I can see why most folks gain weight on these trips! Thank goodness for the all the stairs you can climb getting from deck to deck.

An afternoon nap and a hot shower revived us and we were off to dinner in the Main Dining Room. We opted for the Open Dining plan and I’m really enjoying it. You can eat anytime from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. We showed up at about 7:00 pm and were given a beeper and sent to the lounge to wait for a table to come available. We were seated by 7:30 pm in this very elegant dining room. Our servers were so charming, and dinner was fantastic! I started off with Scallop Ceviche, then barbeque pork ribs with buttermilk mashed potatoes and finished off the meal with Apple Strudel with vanilla cream sauce. We decided to skip the show tonight and went for a walk on deck instead.

It’s 10:00 pm and I am totally exhausted. Our cabin is spacious and comfortable and I am looking forward to a good night sleep so I can take advantage of all the activities tomorrow for our day at sea. Perhaps Tai Chi on deck or a digital photo class.

I’ll let you know what I decide tomorrow night 

Paula's Journey to Alaska

2010-05-28T23:12:00.001-05:00

Our first day of this dream vacation is coming to an end as we unwind here in our beautiful room at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront.

We began the day with an hour delay in Winnipeg due to the intense lightning storm that blew through the city at 5 am this morning. Our flight was smooth once we did get off the ground and the amazingly friendly and very witty flight crew on board Westjet 307 made our two and a half hour flight a pleasant one. We arrived in Vancouver, retrieved our luggage and had enough time to grab a quick Bacon'n'egger and Decaf Caramel Machiato before boarding the Quick Shuttle headed for Seattle Washington. I was unsure whether this was the best way to get here but the motorcoach was very comfortable and not having to fight the holiday traffic in the Seattle area was a blessing. We also breezed through customs in about half the time it would have taken had we driven ourselves.

The Marriott Waterfront is a lovely hotel, directly across from Pier 66 (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Norwegian all cruise from here) and about one block from the famous Pikes Place Market. We spent a couple of hours wandering through this open air market taking in all the wondeful handmade artifacts being sold here. The fresh cut flowers were amazing and so inexpensive. We stopped in at Kells Irish Pub for a delicious meal, traditional shepherds pie and a freshly baked apple tart, made with Washington Apples, and fresh whipped cream. I was able to work off this big meal walking up and down some of the steepest hills I've come across.

We are looking forward to an early start in the morning and hope to get another good walk in (to Starbucks!) before we head to Pier 91 (Holland America and Princess use this one) to board our ship, HAL's Rotterdam, for our 7 day Alaskan Cruise.

Stay tuned for more on my journey to Alaska.

What’s new with WESTJET……..

2010-05-12T15:14:00.000-05:00

• Summer Brochure is out…Come see us at the corner or Donald and Wardlaw, Monday through Saturday.

• $200.00 Summer Early Booking Bonus on all 7 night summer vacation packages through WestJet Vacations, please ask us for full details and rules.

• 24 hour Careantee….Book any WestJet Airlines or WestJet Vacations package and cancel for a full refund, no questions asked when booked and cancelled within 24 hours.

• NEW Aircraft….5 new 737-800 series aircrafts have been gracing the runways around Canada. These new aircraft are larger; holding 166 new leather, ergonomically designed seats offering an additional 2 inches of legroom and a larger TV screen. Try one out today….get flying.

• Las Vegas DIRECT from Winnipeg, 2 days a week. Did you know WestJet Vacations is the # 1 Tour Operator into Las Vegas from Canada…..now there’s a little food for thought. Fuzzy dice anyone……I’m feeling lucky!

• Book on line any of your Westjet Vacation packages at http://www.renaissancetravel.ca/ or by calling 204-942-5000 or toll free 1-800-859-6354 or email us at info@renaissancetravel.ca
Safe Journeys Everyone!

Laura's Journey to Costa Rica

2010-05-11T13:33:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to say Hi! Made it to Costa Rica just fine although it was a bit of a long day of travel.

The resort, Riu Guanacaste, is really quite lovely despite being large. I don´t really like big resorts but this one is nice. There are not a lot of people here either which is also kind of great. The fringe benefit of travelling in off season. The staff are really good and you don´t have to wait for anything, which can be good or bad depending on how many drinks they are serving you!

It is super hot here. And quite windy. I highly recommend sunscreen that is not of the spray variety because it seems to end up everywhere but on the places you want it, which is why I have a bit of a sunburn on my back right now. The ocean is really nice, big waves. The volcanic sand is really hot so you have to do a bit of a sprint or you will burn the feet.

I took a long walk on the beach today and actually saw a little family of baby turtles, some were not alive but I think that there were a few that were okay. My first turtle sighting!

We are off to do a boat tour of Palo Verde tomorrow and I hope that we will see a few animals, birds, etc. On Wednesday we are going to Nicaragua.

Quebec City with Ron and Rae

2010-05-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

Arriving in Quebec City, I think it's 1608!

We arrived at the airport about 1pm yesterday.

We were driven downtown by one of the conference organizers of SKAL, an International hospitality organization I belong to. He acted as our tour guide giving us the lay of the land and recommending places to visit beyond the city one we have seen the sights here.

As we drive up to the Chateau Frontenac, perched on a hillside overlooking the St Lawrence River, I am struck by the power of the structure and its sense of history in this even older historic city.

It's still present history in buildings and landscape have had it designated an United Nations Heritage City.

This truly is an amazing hotel, modern but overflowing with the memories of days gone by where the rich and famous, as they still do, flooded this city.

An hour later, after we have a chance to unpack a bit and freshen up, we are sitting in an outdoor patio of a traditional restaurant. Because it is a late lunch we don't go crazy with French cuisine.

My wife Rae has a simple Caesar salad, but I cannot come to Quebec without having a smoked meat sandwich.

Believe me you can buy smoked meat sandwiches around the world, but I guarantee you they don't taste as good as those created in this province.

We have a free day today so we have rented a car to head out to the Island of Orleans and beyond.

Tonight we will dine French style...and I will report on our discovery.

Good Hotel Deals Are Out There Again

2010-04-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

I received a question about hotel prices in Canada given that fact Canada has not seen the hoped for upswing in US visitors as a result of a still stagnant economy.

In doing my research I found the results of a study undertaken by hotels.ca.

According to them, the average hotel room rate fell by eight per cent last year.

Called the Hotel Price Index, the study clearly spoke to the fact corporate travellers have not yet returned to the travel patterns of previous years.

The highest average prices in the country were in Quebec City and Halifax, not seen as major corporate destinations. Toronto, traditionally an extremely strong market serving corporate meetings and conferences, showed an average room rate of only $135, eighth on their list.

Likewise, other primarily tourist destinations like Lake Louise and Mont Tremblant were the most expensive.

This may bode well for the tourist industry this year, which has benefited from Canadians being willing to take vacations in their own country even as U.S. and overseas visitations were down.

There is some speculation hotel prices will go up this year. There may be optimism at the present time and, as long as forward bookings hold, new higher prices will stay. But should occupancy levels not meet expectations, the usual price war that comes in periods of tough economies will likely surface full-blown again.

Ron's Mediterranean Cruise... in Niagara Falls

2010-04-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

Yes it would have been a cruise to remember.

Departing from Venice, our port stops included Dubrovnik, Pula, Olympia, Korfu, and Sicily, just to name a few. Yes I am sorry we got grounded by the volcanic ash like thousands of others, stuck in Toronto for the weekend. But, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

My wife had never been to either the Falls or Niagara on the Lake, so she really looked forward to the trip with a lot of anticipation.

At first it looked like rain might ruin the day, like rising and falling ash had ruined our bigger journey.

But as we drove, the drops became fewer, and by the time we reached Niagara Falls they had completely stopped.

It was not a warm day, but we were able to totally enjoy ourselves, enthralled in the majesty of a scene that has brought millions of tourists to Canada over the years.

It is still a honeymoon capital of the world.

We wound our way on the quieter backroads to Niagara on the Lake, passing vineyards and fruit orchards, whose blossoms would only tease us as they waited for the warmer weather to create the day Ontarians call Blossom Sunday.

As we enter Niagara on the Lake, my wife really does get excited about the heritage nature of the buildings, and the sense of calm and serenity they seem to communicate.

We walk up and down the main street for several hours. We enjoy lunch and an ice cream, even though it really was too cold to enjoy walking around with the frozen cone.

We buy a few items (well perhaps more than a few) in the shops and work our way back to the QEW highway by driving along Lakeshore Road, a scenic but emotional drive for me having lived there for a period of time in my early 20's

I have been lucky!

I have travelled through many parts of this great country called Canada. And while I would have preferred to have been in Europe this time, I am pleased for the discovery my wife made, as we opened the doors to another wonderful piece of this exceptional nation.

Like always, whenever I go to a place, whether I have been there before or not, I always wonder when I will be back. And hope I can fulfill the promise to myself that I will return.

Ron's Mediterranean Cruise.... not

2010-04-20T11:34:00.000-05:00

Grounded Down and Struck Out by Ash in the Sky...

4 Peaks and Valleys in Emotions from a Volcano Ruined Vacation!

Thousands of Canadians over the past few days have been stranded on one side of the Atlantic or the other as European airports closed and remained so for days.

I was one of those passengers, looking forward to a Mediterranean cruise on the Silversea Silver Wind out of Venice scheduled to sail on Tuesday April 19.

As a travel agent I have seen and helped dozens of people stranded by weather delays, most often caused by blizzards or wind storms.

Today I now have a much greater appreciation for what our clients have felt as they looked for means, any means, to get them to their destinations as close as possible to the initial scheduled times.

1. Excitement

It was to be an exceptional vacation; the first time my sister and brother-in-law, and my wife and I would have an extended holiday together. We planned our excursions, excited about the options in which we all shared an interest.

Before we boarded our cruise ship we would have had a day in Venice to experience the canals, the art, and the lifestyle of this water-bound city.

Before the trip, our wives shopped together to find the outfits that would be stunning during the formal nights.

It was going to be an exceptional journey, and the enthusiasm mounted with each conversation.

2. Disbelief

As I am shaving early Thursday, before we head the airport to catch our Winnipeg-Toronto flight which will connect us to our overseas flights, I hear the first report about the eruption in Iceland. The story does report that there is volcanic ash spewing into the air, but Iceland, I conclude, is a long way from Frankfurt.

Two hours later we land in Toronto and make our way to the departure lounge. As we walk I note from the departure monitors that some flights bound for Europe are going to be delayed, but not ours.

It’s really Heathrow flights that are most affected and we are certain that we will still be able to take off, even if the flight should end up being delayed somewhat.

Television broadcasts are starting to awake us to a different reality.

Exactly 3 hours before our scheduled departure time the word is official. The flight is cancelled, we will be put up in a hotel for one night, and we should call the 800 reservations number of Air Canada to rebook.

3. Hope

We are not that worried because of the one day buffer we had built into our plans, appreciating now how lucky we were to have done that. Venice can wait until the end of the journey.

The phone lines to Air Canada are backed up with callers on hold. Each wait on the line is longer than the one before, until my last call takes over an hour to be answered. The call centre staff were exceptional, using their best training to communicate empathy and understanding.
“We will try to reroute you through Rome or Zurich, because those airports are still open”. Almost as the AC agent speaks both of those airports are shut down.

Two days later we know that, not only will be not make cruise embarkation, but we will not even be able to join it enroute.

Even though we were preparing ourselves for this eventuality, the disappointment is crushing.

4. Resignation

Air Canada puts us on the next available flight back to Winnipeg. I have been on hold for approximately 8 hours over the past three days. I am now ready to go back home.

We walk into the empty house feeling happy we will not be cooped up for yet another night in a hotel room not of our choosing. Air Canada put us up for one night and we didn’t move because of the mistaken belief our layover would be a short one.

At home we get together with our would-be travelling companions, my sister and brother-in-law, for a commiseration dinner.

We drink a lot and cry in our wine, so to speak.

And as the evening progresses more and more of the conversation leads to rescheduling our original or a similar itinerary as soon as possible.

France Flight Update

2010-04-15T15:27:00.000-05:00

CDG & 23 Other French Airports Closing Due to Volcanic Ash Cloud

Airports in northern France including Charles de Gaulle are closing in stages this afternoon and evening due to the spreading cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland volcanic eruption. Major transatlantic and European flight disruptions are expected to continue through Friday. Air Transat has advised that flights between Canada and the U.K. and France are delayed until further notice. At this time, flights bound for Italy are expected to depart on schedule.

...courtesy of OpenJaw

Volacano Causes Continent Wide Delays

2010-04-15T12:59:00.002-05:00

As you've likely heard, an Icelandic volcano released an ash cloud high into the atmosphere last night. The cloud is floating across Europe and more than a dozen airports have shut down flights since engines and ash don't mix (KLM flight in '89).

Our own Ron Pradinuk, on his way to catch a cruise in Venice, is stuck in Pearson, waiting to find out if his flight tonight to Frankfurt is a go or no go.

Beyond the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of travellers affected by this, the issues in Iceland have been somewhat overlooked.

The section below comes courtesy of a Yahoo news story.

By Jill Lawless,Robert Barr, The Associated Press
In Iceland, hundreds of people have fled rising floodwaters since the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacier erupted Wednesday for the second time in less than a month. As water gushed down the mountainside, rivers rose up to 10 feet (3 metres) by Wednesday night, slicing the island nation's main road in half.

The volcano still spewed ash and steam Thursday, but the floods had subsided. Some ash was falling on uninhabited areas, but most was being blown by westerly winds toward northern Europe, including Britain, about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometres) away.

"It is likely that the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some days or weeks. But where it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather," said Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office. "It depends how the wind carries the ash."

The ash cloud did not disrupt operations at Iceland's Keflavik airport or caused problems in the capital of Reykjavik, but has affected the southeastern part of the island, said meteorologist Thorsteinn Jonsson. In one area, visibility was reduced to 150 metres (yards) Thursday, he said, and farmers were advised to keep livestock indoors to protect them from eating the abrasive ash.

Cuba Insurance

2010-04-13T11:20:00.000-05:00

INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS TO CUBA

The Government of Cuba decided last February 16, that all travelers, foreign and Cubans living abroad, coming to the island from May 1, 2010 and thereafter shall take out a medical insurance policy.

To meet such requirement, travelers shall have a travel insurance which covers medical expenses or a policy for medical expenses with coverage in Cuba.

The insurance policy should be bought at the country of departure. Travelers, who, exceptionally, do not have insurance at arrival, could obtain insurance and assistance from Cuban insurance companies at the airport, port or marina.

Travel insurance from Cuban insurance companies and most international insurance companies receive travel assistance services in Cuba from Asistur S.A, available 24 hours all year round.

Experience shows that over 80% of visitors to Cuba have insurance coverage, from companies at their countries of origin covering their medical expenses in Cuba.

Travelers that upon the arrival are subject to control, shall present a policy, insurance certificate or travelling assistance card valid for the time span they will stay in Cuba.

Visitors to Cuba will not only find the natural beauty of the island and the proverbial hospitality of its people, but also absolute safety, which includes, of course, welfare and health. In case of any medical emergency, the Cuban health system guarantees the necessary medical care through a network of clinics and hospitals, covering every corner of the island. Primary health care is provided in most of the hotels.

For more information when planning your trip to Cuba please, visit our web site or any Cuba embassy or consulate next to you, or any Cuban Tourism Office.

Likewise, you can visit (http://www.cubatravel.cu/) or Asistur insurance company at (http://www.asistur.cu/).

We have also provided, below, a letter from RBC Insurance.

UPDATE: Medical Insurance Imposed for Travellers to Cuba

As you know, the Cuban government recently advised that beginning May 1, 2010, visitors entering Cuba will be required to buy health insurance.

At this time, Cuba does not have a published list of recognized insurance providers, nor do we have confirmation that a list will be provided. The latest information from Cuba indicates that travellers coming to the island should take out travel medical insurance at the home country of departure. Upon demand after their arrival, travellers shall present an insurance policy, insurance certificate or travelling assistance card valid for travel medical insurance for their total duration of stay in Cuba. Please be sure that your clients travel with their Confirmation of Coverage document and that they have it available upon their arrival in Cuba. This document identifies their effective date of coverage and departure date, the insurance product purchased and displays Assured Assistance Inc. as the emergency medical provider.

Now more than ever, the RBC Insurance® travel medical coverage is critical to ensuring your clients can travel with confidence.

RBC Insurance has extensive experience in working with Asistur, the Cuban government’s assistance agency, to assist and settle claims for your valued clients travelling to Cuba.

Should we receive further details, we will provide you with an additional update.

Thank you.

Simon Gilmartin
National VP, Group & Travel Sales
RBC Insurance Company of Canada

Signature Announces New Program

2010-04-12T14:07:00.000-05:00

Signature Vacations has announced that Sunwing Airlines will be its exclusive flying partner for the Winter 2010/11 season.

Signature guests will be treated to an “Elite” service with Sunwing, including a choice of hot meals, in-flight entertainment with free headsets and a bon voyage glass of champagne all aboard Boeing 737-800 series aircraft.

Signature is offering direct service from 29 gateways next winter, with new additions including London, Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sept Iles, Val D’or, Quebec City, Bagotville, Deer Lake, Gander, Saint John, and Charlottetown.

New destinations include Los Cabos, Mazatlan, Panama and St. Lucia. Much of the fall flying program is available to book, with the rest of the winter season launching in the coming days.

Luggage Restrictions Eased

2010-04-08T09:33:00.000-05:00

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Carry on Luggage Restrictions Eased to U.S.

It took a while but it happened.

As of today Canadian passengers travelling to the United States can again carry two pieces of luggage on board, as announced by Transport Minister John Baird.

Transport Canada restricted travellers bound for the U.S. to one carry-on item after the December 25, 2009, event in which Umar Abdulmutallab tried, but did not succeed, in bringing down a passenger jet going to Detroit. He had explosives hidden in his underwear which lead to the introduction of new body screening devices in major airports. "The Government of Canada is unwavering in our commitment to implement the most effective measures possible for a safe and secure aviation system, while upholding a level of comfort and convenience for air travellers," Baird said in a press release. "With more robust air security measures in place for passengers, we are able to remove the temporary carry-on baggage restrictions put into place following the December terrorist attack." Full body scanners were quickly put in place in all of Canada's larger international airports to screen U.S. bound passengers.

Baird said the federal government is also "strengthening explosive trace detection" and plans to develop a passenger behaviour observation program.

As of today, passengers flying to the U.S. will be permitted to bring two carry-on bags and one personal item, such as a purse.

Skyservice Replacements

2010-04-06T11:31:00.002-05:00

Tour Operators Replace Skyservice with New Airlines...For this year anyway

The season was winding down to a close as Skyservice Airlines was pulled into bankruptcy.

It was impressive the way tour operators which were using Skyservice Airlines moved to bring their clients back home with hardly a blip beyond the first 24-48 hours.

Signature Vacations, Nolitours and Transat Holidays, and Sunwing Vacations along with the few flights Sunwing was using Skyservice for found new carriers, and now they have announced new airline agreements for the next little while, and I suspect to the end of the sun destination season.

Nolitours and Air Transit will use a combination of their own Air Transat and Sunwing. Signature Vacations will use a combination of Sunwing, their new parent so to speak, and Westjet Airlines. Sunquest, will use a combination of Canjet, EnerJet, Sunwing, and Westjet for the short term but have announced a long term deal with Jazz, the spinoff company of Air Canada.

Next year's carriers remain unclear but predictably Signature Vacations passengers will be flying on Sunwing aircraft for the most part. Similarly Nolitours and Transat Holidays will likely use their own Air Transat more frequently. Sunquest has lined up with Jazz on that long term deal and since it was parent company Thomas Cook that put the final nail in the Skyservice coffin, it is perhaps not surprising that they are the first to announce permanent arrangements.

There still will be some aircraft sharing in smaller markets but I think next year will bring much more of a vertical integration that in the past.

Breaking News

2010-03-31T13:37:00.002-05:00

Another day of crisis management in the travel industry as yet another airline dissappears from our radar. The goodnews is this shouldn't affect any one adversly as the Tour Operators are protecting clients on varying airlines. They are contacting clients in destination directly and advising them of their new return travel arrangements. I can think of worse things than being forced to spend an extra day in sunny Mexico :)

Here is the lastest report from Sunquest Vacations regarding Sky Service Airlines.

"Skyservice Airlines was placed into receivership by the Ontario Court earlier today and has ceased operations with immediate effect. We are pleased to announce that we have organized replacement flights for all of our customers who might otherwise have been affected.

Sunquest did not have any ownership interest in Skyservice. Skyservice was an independent supplier to Sunquest and since 1995 it has operated aircraft for Sunquest and other tour operators between Canada and destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico. The only Sunquest flights affected by the Skyservice shut-down originate in Toronto or Winnipeg, and represent less than a third of the remaining flights for Sunquest’s winter program which ends April 30, 2010. No flights were scheduled for today and replacement flights for the month of April have been arranged with other carriers, principally Air Transat and Enerjet.

Seventy percent of our remaining April winter flights are not affected and none of our customers on flights after May 1, 2010 are affected.

Currently, we are focused on minimizing disruption to customers, not only those currently in destination but also those scheduled to travel over the coming days and weeks. Since it is late in the winter season, a relatively small number of our passengers were booked on Skyservice flights and we have the capability to respond effectively to this situation. Sunquest representatives both here in Canada and in destination are moving quickly to contact everyone to provide updated flight details. We expect to have reached all those customers by the end of the day.

We have also increased our support centre staffing and hours of operation to provide you with information for all individual passengers. Details will also be available at www.sunquestagent.ca.

The loss of Skyservice is regrettable for the Canadian travel industry and for us here at Thomas Cook and Sunquest in particular. However, we have long-established relationships with a number of flying partners and we are able to turn to these partners to quickly and seamlessly arrange alternate flights for our customers scheduled to travel with Skyservice."

Safe Journeys Everyone, until next time.

How Great is Paris?

2010-03-25T09:24:00.002-05:00

Flying in on a cool, sunny day gave us our first glimpse of Paris laid out below. My excitement must have shown as I ooh-ed and ah-ed at views of the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysee and the Arc de Triomph. A Parisian lady beside us smiled and wished us a ‘joyful discovery’ of her city. At the airport we found information on taking a bus to the Paris Opera close to our hotel for 9 euros each. Our hotel was supposed to be only 1.5 km away, so we started towards Montmartre. When hauling your baggage uphill, nothing is very close. Map in hand, a few wrong turns and forty five minutes later we were in our hotel. A small dumpy hotel is supposed to have character, right? Our hotel prided itself on its elevator and telephones. The elevator did not work and I found the phone under the bed on our last day.

Mission one was to find a place for supper and explore the local terrain. Our first stroll revealed that we were staying in a sleazy part of the city. Our hotel brochure proudly proclaimed that we were only 200 meters from the Moulin Rouge, but left out the proximity to sex shops, sex clubs, strip joints, and something called Sexorama. Elenore would not let me find out more about that.

Fortunately, we were soon passing art shops, elegant apartments and cafes out of a postcard. We chose our restaurant and feasted on salad, onion soup and roast duck. Wonderful!! We topped off our first evening with a long climb up the stairs to Sacre Coeur Basilica, just over a hundred years old (new for Paris) and a masterpiece of 19th century architecture. The night view of the city from the front steps and gardens was beyond expectation. We even caught a glimpse of the Eiffel tower all lit up.

The next day we walked downhill from our hotel to Trinity church, a baroque work of art and after a short visit, continued up to the Paris Opera with its golden dome. I could go on and on about beautiful the streets, gorgeous churches and the old world charm of everything including little corner grocery stores (did I mention they sell amazing Bordeaux wines for around 4 Euros?). Alas, the Paris Opera is under repair and had no performances during our stay. Don Carlo was playing at the Bastille Opera, but only had a couple of isolated tickets at 165 Euros. We decided we would use those Euros to eat and drink instead, starting with a delightful lunch in a Brasserie on the way to the Arc de Triomph. Of course we passed through the Tuilliery Gardens (mostly naked trees in winter) and all the way up the Champs Elysee to get there.

We’d been so enthralled with all the sights that we hadn’t noticed our stressed feet until after lunch, so decided to take the metro (subway) back downtown to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. Well....., you won’t believe it, we got lost. It truly is a labyrinth down there. Thanks to a kind Parisian, we made our way to the correct track and found our destination.

I don’t want this to be just a tourist’s description of Paris because my words cannot express how much fun we had. Paris alone could take up one ‘On the Road’ a day, so here’s just a quick list of some of the other things we did and our general impressions:
Walked the Left Bank (day and night)
Walked the Right Bank (day and Night)
Took busses and the metro and actually got pretty good at getting around.
Visited the Musee D’Orsay (feasted our eyes on many impressionist art works including works of Monet, Degas, Manet, Pissaro, Toulouse Lautrec, ...
Went to a piano concert of Chopin and Shubert in the Latin Quarter’s Eglise St. Julian Le Pauvre the oldest church in Paris.
Took the train to the Palace of Versailles and picnicked in the gardens.
Went to a play “How to become Parisian in One Hour” in the Bastille quarter.
Went to a noon hour soprano, alto, organ concert of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater in the Trinity Church. (Found a piece of heaven for a little while).
Went to a Brahms Requiem concert in the ancient church of St Severin... Unfortunately we arrived to find that the poster was for 2009 so we went to a nice restaurant, walked around the Latin Quarter, then had wine /tea in a café with a perfect view of Notre Dame Cathedral all lit up.
Oh la la! I almost forgot the Louvre. A week would not be enough, so on our one day, we focused on Egyptian and Mesopotamian antiquities, the Mona Lisa, then did an in depth study of Rubens.
We ate well, drank well (did I mention the wonderful red wines?) and slept well. It turned out our hotel was clean, centrally located, and had a good bed-so it serves the budget minded. The Parisian people, waiters, servers, were wonderful and always helpful. Perhaps due to my ability to speak some French or that the winter season is less stressful, we found the myths about their arrogance to be completely inaccurate.

After six blissful days, we headed to Toronto on Air France. It was a whirlwind of delight and there is still so much more to see. We must return for another visit.

Ron's Gone Fishun'

2010-03-24T14:22:00.004-05:00

Fly in Fishing for the Ultimate Relaxation

Every summer I go fishing as often as I can.

When people ask why I do so, I tell them that I really don't like fishing. I like bouncing around in the boat on the water. But after a while that can get boring so I am forced to reel in a few fish.

Yes I am hooked on fishing.

It is outdoors, away from the world, my mind can think or stay in a hypnotic state...and I seem to have the control over which.

The cares of the world a either hidden away or solved.

Most of this fishing is in Lake of the Woods, Ontario a few minutes away from my cottage in Sioux Narrows. It is an excellent fishing lake. So why go to a fly in lodge when I catch so many fish anyway? It is the ultimate social and fishing experience. You bond with old friends, you meet new ones, you are treated like a king, and you can catch really big fish...that you happily release because of the quanitity you are catching anyway.

Last year it was Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge. What an exceptional experience in a first class lodge, managed by to notch operators, Pit and Julie Turenne. They currently are travelling through the States and will be hosting "shore lunch" fish frys in both Winnipeg and Brandon. I recommend them. If you are interested check them out on http://www.aikenslake.com/

And don't forget about our weekly contest celebrating our 10th Anniversary.

To enter our contest go to http://www.journeystravelgear.com/. No obligation. A new draw begins each Friday at 4pm CST.

Up for grabs this week... a discount certificate for a September long weekend booking for 2 with Aikens Lake Lodge.

Keep angling...and a good philosophy for fishing and life is keep only what you can eat today...they'll still be there tomorrow.

Ron's goin' to TO

2010-03-16T14:50:00.001-05:00

Toronto...Here I Come

One of the more enjoyable tasks I take on in a volunteer capacity is to sit as the Manitoba/Saskatchewan representative on an Independent Retailer committee with the Retail Council of Canada.

I came into the travel products business from an advertising and travel agency background, but with no actual retail experience. Starting Journeys Travel & Leisure SuperCentre was a bold, if not crazy, move.

We combined a wide series of travel products and travel related services under one big roof...and opened with a lot of publicity and fanfare in May of 2000. It was a good first year, for a new business, and we were looking for considerable growth in year 2. Along came 9/11 and we really thought we weren't going to make it. We survived and because of all our aggressive marketing, I suppose, I was invited to join RCCC and sit on a local 'advisory' panel. I met some of the biggest players in the city whose companies frequently had stores across Canada.

At first RCCC seemed to be only composed of big companies, but I soon met more members and realized the small 'players' need more help than the big ones. In becoming involved I have become a perfect thief, stealing ideas from people and companies for whom I had and have great respect. I will be in Toronto to try to create programs that small companies like mine can take advantage of going forward. I will meet with other entrepreneurs and likely steal some more.

All this has helped us reach our 10th anniversary celebration. If you don't know much about us go to www.journeystravelgear.com. Feel free to enter our weekly contest. No purchase necessary...no obligation...just visit us and look around. Check out the destination stories, the travel tips, and the radio shows. And thank you for reading.

Ron's Vegas Golf

2010-03-12T14:53:00.005-06:00

Shots from Badlands golf day

The Badlands made for Good Golf

This past week around the Travel Goods Association trade show, I managed to get in two games of golf.

I golfed twice at the 27 hole Badlands courses, designed by Chi Chi Rodriguez and Johnny Miller.

Situated just outside of Las Vegas, for half the holes the best advice is keep the driver in the bag. This course is about communing with the desert through its canyons, arroyos, and washes. At first look I didn't think I was going to quite appreciate the challenge...or the beauty. But take my word, this is a beautiful course to golf on, in no small part because it is different.

Every hole can be a challenge. Yet if you think it through, none of them are all that difficult. Placement not power is the key...and it was a really nice series of tracks to drive around.

Mountain ranges are in the background and there are lots of birds and small wildlife on the course.

If you're heading to Las Vegas, give the Badlands a try...I think you will like the courses a lot as I did.

Ron's Vegas getaway

2010-03-12T14:38:00.002-06:00

Pictures from my room at the Aria

A Little More Las Vegas

I had a really enjoyable trip to Las Vegas, staying at the Aria, golfing at the Badlands, and buying unique travel products at the Travel Goods Show.

On this Sunday's radio show I will interview someone from the Aria and talk about the future of that great new developement that it is a part of. Listen live on Sunday noon CST on www.cjob.com. Remember you can also listen to the show, or previous shows, before the end of the next day at the latest on http://journeystravelgear.com/journeys_travel_show.cfm. without commercials.

You can also enter our online 10th anniversary contest on the site. No purchase necessary.

Tunisia Travels

2010-03-05T14:38:00.000-06:00

It is getting late; we must get to our camp before dark. Our bus takes us to Zafrane, the edge of the desert, where eight of us squeeze into a large 4X4 SUV for a half hour desert journey. The “road” is a ploughed trail that snakes around large dunes and bumps over small ones. Often the trail virtually disappears and the SUV fights its way through knee deep sand drifts before rejoining the trail. Much like a winter drive in Manitoba after a snowstorm, the ride is fun and scary. We arrive at the Mehari encampment just before sunset. The full moon is rising, and we are in awe. I do my best to take a few pictures in the fading light.

So why would we each pay twenty Tunisian dinar extra to stay in a bush camp risking sand storms, scorpions and poisonous vipers instead of choosing a comfy hotel in Douz where we could watch satellite TV? Can you see Elenore and me doing it any other way? All in all, the camp is quite civilized. Each couple gets their own tent, although a thatched hut is an option. A nearby fixed building has toilets and cold showers. Across the compound past the small swimming pool is a large kitchen tent as well as a smaller bar tent. The ‘hallways’ from bedroom to kitchen to bar are paths of the softest Sahara sand. We’ll never again know what ‘sand-colored’ means as we watch the hues change in the play of light.

After communing with our fellow travellers over a glass of wine in the bar, we enjoy another typical Berber meal which includes egg deep-fried in light pastry and roast lamb. The real feast is a full moon walk. In the spotlight from above, we stand on the tallest dune and sing a round of “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” then breathe the warm night air and observe village lights in the distance. Below us, a Bedouin (likely a camp staff member) gathers palm fronds and stacks them for a bonfire. We have to leave at five thirty the next morning and sadly forego fun around the fire to squeeze in a short sleep lulled by cricket song.

We leave reluctantly the next morning, but enjoy the play of light across the sand as the sun rises and the spectacular moon show ends. The delights of the morning include: a drive from Kebili to Tozeur across the Chot El Jerid salt plains and a four by four trip into the Atlas Mountain to explore the mountain oasis at Chebika.

Spain

2010-03-03T10:14:00.001-06:00

Early rise, breakfast and coffee in our room before heading out by bus (a new experience) to the modernist side of town to see the buildings of famous turn of the century architect and inventor Antonio Gaudi. Casa Battllo, our first stop, is a family house turned into a museum. We wait in line and pay 18 Euros each to get in. Seems expensive, but what a worthwhile introduction to an amazing man, his intellect and his works of form, function and fantasy.

We followed that up with lunch at Cacao Sampaka, the XO cognac of chocolate shops. The nearby La Pedrera is an apartment building renovated by Gaudi in 1905 which provided our afternoon entertainment. Then an early supper as our final stop before returning back to the Hotel by Metro subway. We had to rest for our big evening of Opera.

There is a dark side to Barcelona, and you can find it in the metros and all places where naive tourists with big fat wallets convene. The Metro is an underground place of hustle, bustle, and people of all shapes, sizes and economic status all coming and going in and out of fast trains. Some of those people are opportunists.

Elenore and I learned our lesson a few years ago in Athens. I naively exposed my wealth, and the location of my wallet while buying train tickets. I was pick-pocketed and lost all my money, Id, visa and bank cards. Fortunately at the time, Elenore had my passport. It was a violation that resulted in a painful loss of innocence, the scars of which resulted in travel wisdom. Expensive lessons are the most remembered lessons.

Well, it was our friend Stefan’s turn to be educated. As we entered the subway train, a commotion occurred, a young well dressed man dropped his cell phone, people bumped into each other as the doors of the train beeped loudly while trying to close. Then all of a sudden the commotion was over, two or three people in the doorway were gone, the door was closed. Our first clue that something was wrong was Annette’s untypical shout, “Damn!” The train was moving and Stefan’s wallet was gone.

The post crime activities and costs are extremely inconvenient and rarely documented. They involve phone calls through foreign operators to cancel credit and bank cards, arrangements for replacements, the expense of replacing hotel keys, and a lock smith to open and replace safety deposit box keys, transportation to and from the police station to fill out reports, time waiting for translators. If travel documents are involved it becomes even more expensive and complicated.

Elenore and I went to the opera alone; Annette and Stefan hoped to join us for the second act. The two of us got back on the horse and took the Metro downtown. Thousands of people mingled on La Rambla, our path to the Liceu, one of the world’s top opera houses. What a beautiful theatre! What a beautiful performance of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, enhanced by English subtitles displayed on a small monitor at each seat. Wonderful to understand what’s going on in this four hour production (5 hours including intermission). My one disappointment was that the tenor Richard Margison was replaced at the last minute. He is an acquaintance from my days at Manitoba Opera and the main reason we chose this opportunity. It was still a great cultural experience and I am glad we were motivated to go.

Our friends showed up for the second act in good spirits. They were chuckling about the police officer who’d exclaimed that if only they’d told him sooner, he would have gotten them there in time for the first act. The opera is that important! I give our friends a lot of credit for moving on past their hardship.

The next few days in Barcelona were wonderful with more exploration, good food, street music and great sights. For art lovers, the Picasso museum is a must. Another Gaudi fantasy is the Sagrada Familia, a church that is still being built after over one hundred years.

We left Barcelona the way we came, by Renfe (train) using our last two bus tickets.
Barcelona is a city of contrasts the old and new, the rich and poor, the Gothic churches and fantastical Modernist architecture, Renaissance art and of course Picasso’s cubist view of the world. It is a place close to our hearts. We will return.

Tunisia Travels

2010-03-02T17:29:00.001-06:00

We arrange a two day custom tour to the South. In our small bus, eight Canadians, a driver and an English/French speaking guide. (I am including the names of the places if you want, follow the trail on Google Earth.) An hour and a half ride brings us to El Jem, the site of an impressive Roman Coliseum that rivals the one in Rome. It is smaller but in better condition.

Our journey continues south through endless acres of olive groves, past Tunisia’s second largest city, Sfax, then a coastal drive to Gabes. As we turn inland towards our “late” lunch in Matmata, the countryside gets rougher and dryer. We see the occasional oasis with its signature cluster of date palms, but mostly we are mesmerized by sunbaked sedimentary rock, dusty and cruelly dry even now in the Tunisian winter.

Matmata is home to Berber people who still live in underground cave dwellings. As in any place where it is hard to eke a living from the harsh landscape, the youth leave for cities or tourist resorts. Like us, they want electricity and running water, perhaps a satellite dish to supplement their cell phone connections. We consider it a novelty to visit a home where Elenore has to work for her lunch.

We are treated to a real Berber lunch nearby in a cave hotel where some of the original Star Wars movie was filmed. Good spicy couscous and cabbage with a morsel of lamb eaten in a unique atmosphere.

Our journey takes us inland now towards Douz, the Tunisian gateway to the Sahara.
The Sahara covers one third of Tunisia. In this part of the world, camels and date palms groves are the outward demonstration of wealth, so I was quite flattered to be offered two thousand camels in exchange for Elenore. We decide to rent a couple of camels before making our final decision on the deal.

A desert experience is the highest on my wishlist for this trip and I am not disappointed. In spite of being walked along like a kid on a pony ride, my time on the camel exceeds expectation. For a few moments I am Lawrence of Arabia looking out over the endless Sahara, reliving a past life as a desert dweller, a freedom fighter of Dune, Roland on a camel and totally thrilled.

Tunisia Travels

2010-02-26T16:39:00.001-06:00

Monday we transferred to the El Mouradi Palace about a twenty minute hike from Port El Kantaoui. We went from four star all-inclusive to five star half-board. I question the five stars. The resort is huge and appears to be an older hotel, with smaller rooms, smaller chairs, smaller lobby (although just as elegant) and smaller pool. The Internet is slow and costs eight dollars an hour, so we will be off the grid much of the time. We were spoiled with all-inclusive free internet.
We no longer get free drinks and the port is the only place to get wine so our first priority was established. On our two kilometre walk, it became clear we were going in the right direction. Trails of tourists returned dangling plastic bags heavy with wine bottles. The “nouveau old” port funded by Kuwaiti money is clean and touristy, also a great destination for a barefoot walk on the beach.

It is a tough life, however we appreciate the variation in buffet food, as well as the twenty kilometres of beach and our easy access to the stretch of sugary sand.

Nearby Sousse is a delight. It cost less than 50 cents to get there by bus. The medina, though not as big as the one in Tunis, is full of interesting sights including the Ribat (an ancient fort of 859 vintage), the great Mosque, Turkish baths, an elegant old home converted into a museum, minarets- traditional square Tunisian brick and one fancy Turkish octagon- and of course shops and shops and salesmen. We’re not reacting so they’re having more trouble pegging our nationality to advance their sales pitch.

Tunisia Travels

2010-02-25T16:26:00.002-06:00

On our quest to find the real Tunisia, we took some interesting tours. Travels to the temple of Minerva and ancient Dougga exposed us to the countryside, small towns and Roman ruins complete with aqueducts built over two thousand years ago and still functioning. In a van with driver, guide, and one other couple we covered over 450 kilometres in one day. We passed miles of olive groves, wheat fields resplendent in the green of early spring, rugged mountains gouged by marble quarries. Off the main highway, the back roads are rough. And you thought Winnipeg had potholes! The roads are shared by cars, trucks, sheep and people on donkeys. Some rode side-saddle while talking on a cell phone!

Every town large or small has one or more mosques with tall minaret standing above the other buildings. The first call to prayer I heard gave me the shivers.

Our next tour was with a “large group” to the remains of ancient Carthage, and the pretty tourist town Sidi Bousaid. Well.... although it did not improve our opinion of large bus tours, we did see some interesting ancient artifacts, museums and more tourist areas.

My favorite tour was the one we did on our own.
We figured out how to take the people’s transportation, the bus, to Tunis. Walking out of the bus station we were hijacked by a friendly cab driver who took us to the “Champs Elysee” of Tunis near the great Medina. This main street is very European with coffee shops and restaurants on both sides. But the real adventure was the Medina. It is an oval-shaped walled city originally built in the eighth century. We crossed the boundary from Europe into Arabia and entered an area of 270 hectares where more than 100,000 people live- an alien world. The Medina houses one-tenth of Tunis’s population in a maze of narrow streets, pathways sometimes only five feet wide, much of it covered. Shops- selling clothes, bolts of cloth, jewelery, hookahs, food, pastries, art, absolutely everything you could ever imagine- crowd into the narrow space. It felt like entering an ant hill or beehive. Thousands of Tunisians, not tourists, were shopping, selling, eating and chatting. We got lost more than once, but people always pointed us in the right direction. It was a great experience. We made it back to the hotel safely with smiles on our faces.

Spanish Costa Del Sol

2010-02-24T13:51:00.008-06:00

Here we are on the road again. Actually much of it so far has been in the air. Winnipeg to Toronto: we spent a couple of days hosted by brother Georges. The highlights included visiting friends, eating, drinking, listening to opera and a fresh (cool damp zero Celsius, with a big wind off the lake, not the dry cold of Winnipeg) walk along the “Beaches” boardwalk with a great view of the Toronto skyline.

Toronto to Paris, Paris to Malaga, Spain: I am starting to like being searched and prodded. The personal attention makes me feel important. Both of us had our carry on swabbed for potentially explosive materials- nice to know we don’t look like innocent seniors. The seven hours swaddled in an Air France economy seat was the closest thing to tightness of the womb I’ve felt for a long time. To be fair, the flights were uneventful. Perhaps I should lose a few pounds before I succumb to economy travel again.

Paris airport is huge. The ½ hour walk between terminals to make our Spain connection was refreshing after the long flight. Compared to getting into the US, passport control was easy. Good thing we walked there fast so we could wait two hours. A pleasant and short flight over beautiful mountains and brilliant costal views brought us to Malaga. Easy disembarking with no customs (!), a twenty minute shuttle ride and we were at our hotel, the beautiful Sunset Beach Club in the town of Benalmadena. We were bagged, could hardly talk sense (that was Roland ), and happy to be here (that was both of us).

We stayed awake until 7 local time by walking and exploring then slept for fifteen hours. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager. (Since I never sleep more than 6 hours on a good night- it was a miracle- E) What a difference a good night sleep makes. We love our suite (even Elenore’s mother would like the high class marble floors and cleanliness) A full hot breakfast is included here. Half the fun of exploring a new place when you don’t speak the language is finding food. Mission accomplished, we found several supermercados . Supper for the next couple of days is handled. Did I mention that the local Spanish wines are delicious and inexpensive? Some bottles for under a Euro. I am a snob; I prefer one that costs 3.50. We have been here just over a day so who knows what delights are waiting for us.

Our first impression is that this place is like Mexico except cleaner and the buildings built to higher standards. Still Spanish- what a surprise.

We have been in Spain for a week and (as cautious as we are about jumping to conclusions) we love it. The weather has been cool with occasional sunny breaks. Although no blizzard, we experienced quite a rain storm. The waves on the Mediterranean were crashing on shore and it was a magnificent sight to see. The Costa del Sol of Spain has had more rain in the last month than anyone can remember. The tide has turned. Yesterday was clear and today is promising to be as sunny and warmer (18 to 20 degrees C).

If travelling is learning, that’s what we’ve been doing: how to shop for food, choose a good wine, get around safely, take the local bus, take the train, get to the nearby markets, find a bathroom, make new friends, get back to our hotel, build up your stamina walking, what are the nearby quality entertainment opportunities, what are the important Spanish phrases. Our first outing was a self managed guide around the old part of Malaga. It involved taking a bus, visiting the third largest cathedral in Spain, a Picasso museum, and an ancient Moor fort.

We have been following a philosophy of explore one day, rest the next. “Rest” often means lots of walking along the shore and exploring locally. Our next excursion was to Mijas, a beautiful white village on the side of a nearby mountain with a side trip to the popular Fuengirola market. After one and a half hours waiting at a bus stop watching everybody in Benalmandinas drive by in full busses, a British couple took us under their wing. We followed them by local bus to the train station, enjoyed a train ride to Fuengirola, and a long walk to the market. This is where the first disaster of our trip struck. It happened at a small churros cafe. Churros are fried bread fingers that you dip into a cup of melted chocolate. They had no more chocolate!!! In our usual intrepid way, we used sugar for dipping- yum! After touring the market our new British friends, David and Sue led us to the bus station to catch a ride to Mijas.

Well, it was cold and rainy. We had fun exploring for a couple of hours. Found a bus on our own, and made it back to our hotel before dark.

The next few days, we explored more the local area, some of it in the rain. Our planned trip to Morocco fell through, so we had to have fun here. More shopping, making friends, sea food restaurants, and a fantastic Spanish Ballet concert at a nearby casino. The Spanish dance troop dazzled us with sights, sounds and precision. The second half of the show included a Spanish trio with guitar, singer and percussion to accompany the dancing. We walked home after midnight, “high” from the event.

Saturday, Jan 30th, 2010
A sunny and cool day was perfect for the guided tour of ‘The Rock’ known as Gibraltar. Our multilingual guide chattered in English, French and Spanish, enough bad jokes for the whole hour and a half drive along spectacular coastline. As we approached our destination, I was amazed. Gibraltar looks just like the pictures!
The Spanish border police did a quick walk through the bus. We weren’t sure what he was looking for, but not to be outdone, the British police walked through as well, just to verify we all had passports. We’d been told many times to bring them and they did eject one passenger from the bus for trying to get across with only a driver’s license.

After the border crossing, we had a green light, so proceeded to drive across the airport runway. Yes, you read that correctly. Gibraltar is 300% bigger than before WWII because Canadian military engineers made tunnels throughout the rock for defence purposes. The runway was built with reclaimed rock. A traffic light controls vehicle and pedestrian traffic. As we crossed we could only hope that the airplane side had a red light.

We transferred to a smaller tour bus and an even funnier driver/guide. He would switch between a fluent made-up French, Spanish and a hilarious British accent as part of his impeccable English. The small bus was just the right size to squeeze through the extremely narrow roads. I am sure there was at least a centimetre on each side when we went through some of the tunnels. The tour was quick and informative. I tried to take some pictures on the move but was disappointed in their quality.

The tour’s highlights included:
Europa Point, view of Atlantic Ocean on the right, the Mediterranean Sea on the left with amazing views of the Spanish and Moroccan coastlines. Wow.

St Michael’s Cave, a damp cavern with colored lights shining on ancient stalagmites and stalactites.

Barbary Apes (tailless rock monkeys) who entertained us near the cave entrance. When they weren’t sunning themselves, they’d leap on cars or busses and even onto one poor frightened young tourist’s head.

Sunday Jan 31st, 2010.
A warm and sunny Sunday, our day of rest. Perfect for a bus ride up to nearby Benalmadena Pueblo for easy exploration, coffee in a picturesque square on the side of a mountain overlooking the Costa Del Sol. Well! We thought we had figured out the bus schedule. After waiting 45 minutes, we decided to walk. After all, how far could it be? It was visible in the distance however, street names in this town are hidden quite well and the map we had was useless. We asked directions twice and both times were told to take the bus. Up and up we walked. After two hours, we had our picnic lunch on a bench about three quarters of the way up. We were done, “let’s take a bus back”. Of course there were none, so we walked back down. Not bad, it only took us an hour, and very few blisters.

Monday, a new day of rest. This time we had a better understanding of the bus schedules, and there were actual busses. We had a great ride up, an easy exploration in a quaint pueblo, coffee in a picturesque square, and when we decide to return, the bus was right there. Sometimes the angels travel with you and sometime they don’t. When they don’t, stay home.

Tour of Granada

2010-02-24T10:21:00.002-06:00

An early rise for a tour to Granada. Sometimes you are at the beginning of the pickup schedule, sometimes you are the last. This time we got the first choice of seats, however also got to enjoy going to other hotels for an hour and a half picking up customers. As the Bible says “those who are first shall be last” so we had a repeat of this tour on the ride home. The twelve hour tour breaks down into 6 hours driving and 6 hours in Granada. OK, no more complaining. When the sun came up we were driving through the beautiful Malaga mountain range. After about forty minutes the bus stopped for a quick coffee break. The countryside was even more beautiful once coffee cravings were sated. As we approached Granada, the snow covered peaks of the Sierra Madre Mountains shimmered in the distance.

Our first stop was Alhambra, a walled city built and occupied by the conquering Muslims from 700 to the late 1400’s. It was the seat of power. The Sultans and Spanish Royalty lived there so the grounds reflect a combined beauty and style of two cultures. It was exciting to stand in the room where Christopher Columbus was given his charter to sail to America by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492.
The place is so full of history and stories I won’t re-write them here.

Next stop was downtown Granada. How do you spend one hour in a city that is so beautiful and steeped in history? Well...you do it fast! We walked quickly through quaint narrow streets, found an ancient church and cathedral that were closed. Most of Spain shuts down for siesta between 2:00 and 5:00 pm, a fact which always has to figure into touring plans.

In our rush, we got a little lost and had to ask for directions a few times. We made it back to the meeting place just in time to catch our bus back. The day reminded us that as much as tours have their place and make traveling and exploring easy, they are also very limiting. Elenore and I prefer our exploration to be less structured which usually results in more adventure. Most places like Grenada deserve more time to savour the culture and atmosphere. The good news is that we have another place we would love to return to.

Tunisia Travels

2010-02-22T08:40:00.004-06:00

Tunisia! We had an easy flight from Barcelona and a safe transfer from Tunis to Yasmine Hammamet. We are staying in the classy El Mouradi hotel with a view of the pool and mountains in the distance. The beach across the street is lovely.

Yasmine Hammamet is a ‘built for tourists’ resort town about thirty minutes by local bus from Hammamet. Kind of like Nuevo Vallarta is to Puerto Vallarta. Near our hotel there is even a “new” ancient looking medina (maze-like shopping area with narrow streets). It is clean and artificial, however it has real vendors that are almost desperate for business. It is winter, the weather has been cool and rainy, and the economic crisis here is huge with over eleven percent unemployment. In spite of the challenges, the people have been warm and friendly.

The culture here is different from any other we have experienced. The people are strong and passionate. Our challenge has been getting a feel for the many unwritten rules. The country is ninety eight percent Islamic, one percent Christian and one percent Jewish. My French and Elenore’s German are coming in handy. English works only as a last resort mostly with younger people. As polite Canadians, we are easy prey for aggressive sales people luring us into their shops by any means necessary. Our first week was an education.

Wedding in Paradise

2010-02-18T15:04:00.005-06:00

Hi Paula! Nice to hear from you! Everything was awesome and we are sad that we had to come home! Thanks for ALL your help and quick responses to our emails and for assisting with my group booking. Everyone was happy with everything and had a fantastic time! The weather was perfect the whole time we were there-just rained on the day that we left!After communicating back and forth with the wonderful wedding co-ordinator at the hotel, she had advised us on the Saturday- the day before leaving-via email, about the construction of the beach. She sent us actual pictures of the beach being closed and the huge Cat trucks beginning the re-building of the beach and explained to us what was happening and what to expect. Word traveled around very quickly to most of my group and after reading many news articles on the net about the re-construction of the beach along Playa, we knew that it was real and that we werent going to have a beach for the first few days. The wedding co-ordinator was so good with providing other options for us that in the end...turned out beautifully.

We arrived at the Wpg airport exactly 3 hours prior to flight time and surprisingly, there was a long long line up-which moved pretty swiftly. We were not able to sit together as a group on the plane going to Cancun- we were in fact all spread thru-out. No big deal though as I think most of us wanted a little shut-eye on the plane. The Signature signs were very easy to see at the airport in Cancun and as busy as that airport was, we all managed to get on the bus quite quickly. The rep on the bus to the hotel was very funny and informative.

Upon arrival to the Hotel, we did receive our welcome cocktail as outlined, as well as welcome gift in rooms. Some of us, including myself, didnt receive bathrobes in the room-not a huge deal as they were quick to bring some in for us a couple days later when we needed them. My husband and I received our fruit basket in the room, but no bottle of wine as indicated- but really we didnt mind as there was plenty of excitement around the hotel to be worried about that. Our friends all put money together and upgraded us to the presidential suite on our last night. It was a huge beautiful, fully loaded room that overlooked the amazing ocean! Something I wish I would have had on the day of our wedding, as myself and bridesmaids could have gotten ready there together. I had some friends that upgraded to the Junior Ocean View suites and they loved it! for $50 a night more, it would be nice for a romantic get-away! Our Signature room was just great for us, as we like to keep it simple and of course hardly spent time in the room.

The hotel and staff was wonderful. Because the beach was under construction, the hotel had a sign posted in the lobby that welcomed you to visit the other Iberostar resort(s), with free shuttle and use of their facilities and of course access to the beach! Our very nice and informative Signature rep at the hotel also mentioned that if anyone was not happy at the Iberostar Tucan (because of beach) then they were willing to move you to the Iberostar Paraiso/Playa...... at no charge. No one in our group left but it was nice to have that option. The Signature rep at the Hotel, Elaine was so accomodating to all of us and very personable too! It was nice to hear about the excursions and all the exclusive perks by booking with Signature-(getting your money back for cancelations)

The hotel was amazing and would recommend it to anyone of all ages and lifestyles. Our group was very diverse in age, lifestyles and personalties that I found it very satisfying that Everyone had a good time. The Tucan was not too big of a hotel nor not too small-just perfect. We visited the other Iberostar grand hotel(s) and got to experience the larger hotels on a much bigger scale, and we all liked that the Tucan was just the right size- as we always saw people in our group and it didnt take long to walk to the beach or pool or lobby etc. The night shows were amazing and the Star Friends entertainment group, just fantastic. The Staff at the hotel seemed very humble and appreciative of the guests and always remembered you, which was nice. The beach did open up on the last day that we were there, so we did get to swim one last time in the gorgeous turqoise water and new, bigger beach! The seven days that we were there, were so action packed, we wish we could have stayed longer. Even though the beach was not accessible at our resort, we still had plenty to do- like go to the other resort, excursions, shopping in Playa Del Carmen! It was awesome!

We are back now in Winnipeg, married and planning for the next event. We have another couple who came with us on the trip and ironically both caught the garter/bouquet, and are now wanting to plan their wedding in Mexico, and at the same resort! We can' t wait to go back and enjoy the new beach and of course explore more of the area. Thank you so so much for your help in planning our safe and successful trip.