Istanbul, Paris, and London – May 2012

Hi, it's Brandi and in May  I met up with a tour group I put together and my first stop was Istanbul, Turkey.  I was very excited to visit Turkey and it lived up to all my expectations.  I stayed at the City Center Hotel, great location, near Taskim Square.  Great shopping and restaurant areas, all within walking distance of our hotel.  The rooftop restaurants have amazing views of Istanbul.  The Horn is beautiful at sunset.  The second day we took a ferry to one of Princes’ Islands, the smallest of the islands and it was very quaint.  We had lunch and strolled through the town.  There are no motor vehicles on the island and everyone uses horse and buggy to get around.

Day Three – I took an organized tour with She Tours.  The tour is Two Continents – half day afternoon tour – Did you know Turkey occupies two continents; Asia and Europe?  We took the Bosphorus Bridge to the Asia side of Istanbul and visited the summer residence of Ottoman Sultans, the Beylerbeyi Palace, magnificent gardens.  We also visited Camlica Hill, the highest point in Istanbul.  At the top you can see panoramic views of Istanbul and the Bosphorus but unfortunately it was pouring down rain when we were there!

Day Four – We visited all the tourist hot spots like the Blue Mosque, HippoDrome, Grand Covered Bazaar, and Topkapi Palace.  All must see’s while you are in Istanbul!

We also found it very easy to use the underground and ferry system while we were in Istanbul.  With all the street vendors, you can get a snack anywhere you go.  The ekmek (bread) is wonderful. 

Off to Paris ….  The flight on Turkish Airlines was great with all the amenities you could want in coach class.

Paris has always been my favorite place to visit in Europe and it still is J ... The city of love.... what more can I say? I’m a romantic at heart!  We stayed at the Le Meridian Etoile  - great location and the largest hotel in Paris.  After we settled into the hotel we spent the reminder of the day on a riverboat trip down the Seine.  Touring Paris on the Seine is a great way to see many of the city’s monuments, historical buildings, and bridges.  The banks of the Seine were full of people picnicking and enjoying this beautiful city.  The next morning we took a tour of Paris and all the great monuments.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at Montmartre.  There was a food and wine event that day so we made our way through the festival, trying everything made in France.  I also had a crepe with Nutella, yummy.  The Eiffel Tower is amazing at night, a must see if you're in Paris!

The Eurostar then took us from Paris to London.  We stayed at the Royal National Hotel.  Not my first choice of hotel but it was adequate for what we needed.  Good location to hop on the Tube and go throughout London.  The pizza place in this hotel is great.  The London eye gives you amazing views of the city and is great for pictures.  We did a walking tour in London, which I loved, it is much better than being on a motor coach the entire time.  We visited the Tower of London, Big Ben and Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.  We had lunch at a traditional English Pub, fish and chips was a great choice.  Try a hard cider while you’re in London.  We left right before the Queen’s Jubilee weekend of celebration and the city was beautifully decorated.  Everyone in London is getting ready for the Olympics. This was a fantastic trip and I enjoyed it all!

Sandals Grande, St. Lucia

Hello everyone,
This is Jerry and I just came back from staying 7 nights at the Sandals Grande in St Lucia. There are 3 Sandals in St Lucia and when you stay at one you can visit all of them!!
The Grande is the largest of the three with the Sandals La Toc the next and the Halcyon the smallest. If you want to stay at a little more intimate resort you should pick the Halcyon. Sandals has shuttles that run throughout the day so you can go over during the day for the activities or do like I did and just go to one of them for dinner. The Grande is located on a peninsula on Rodney Bay with the Caribbean sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.
The bay is very calm so there is little or no wave action. There are plenty of things to do there from the Hobie cat rides to Kayak to scuba diving to snorkeling. There are also two large peaks where Fort Rodney is located within walking distance that you can hike to, which I did one morning and I recommend you do in the morning because if gets very hot in the afternoon and take plenty of water with you.
The food and service  were great and the atmosphere was very laid back. I loved this resort and I would go back again in a heartbeat!

Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean

Hi!

It's Raegan and I've just returned from a 7 night Southern Caribbean Cruise aboard The Carnival Victory. We flew nonstop from Dulles to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We sailed to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maartin. The Victory is a very nice ship. The food was great and the activities aboard were endless. We especially enjoyed the Serenity adults only outdoor areas with the hottubs and hammocks. In Barbados we went snorkeling with the giant sea turtles and in St. Kitts we rode ATV's up into the mountians for spectacular views down to the sea. In St. Marten we rode a jet ski...what fun!! These are just a few of the many adventures we had on this vacation. Carnival is a great value and I can't wait for my next cruise!

New York City

Hello!

It's Raegan and earlier this month I visited New York City. We drove to Newark and, as an experiment, stayed at The Wyndham Garden Newark Airport. We took the train into the city each day. I was hoping to save a bit of money by doing this but the expense of the train and the inconvenience of not being IN the city were, in my opinion, not worth the savings. We took the hotel shuttle to Newark Airport. Then the airport tram to the train station. Then the New Jersey Transit Train into New York Penn Station ($12.50 each way per person) and then the subway to wherever we wanted to be so it was inconvenient, to say the least. It took about 90 minutes each way from hotel to final destination. Other than that hassle, though, the trip was fantastic. The weather was cool but clear and beautiful! We visited the 9/11 Memorial, Times Square and Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Avenue, South Street Seaport, Brooklyn Bridge, Greenwich Village, etc. We ate yummy New York style pizza and cheesecake and shopped til we dropped (almost literally) we walked miles! I love New York and will continue to visit every chance I get!!

Disney Earmarked Conference and Disney Fantasy

Hi it's Brandi and I just returned from visiting Mickey again! I spent 2 nights at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. This property is a moderate property that has a Southwest theme. This is the only moderate hotel with convention facilities. It is also the only moderate with a table service restaurant however I chose the quick service option and had great spicy fish tacos. I visited Magic Kingdom in the evening after my meetings and rode Pirates of the Caribbean and saw the light parade. Between the parade and fireworks they do a "Let the Memories Begin" slide/ laser show of photos submitted by this year's guests at Disney projected onto Cinderellas Castle. Next I went on the inaugural 3 night sailing of the Disney Fantasy. We had 1 day at sea and visited Disney's Castaway Cay, their private island. The Fantasy has all of the magical experiences of the rest of the Disney Cruise Line fleet such as rotational dining, fireworks at sea, amazing Disney deck parties and dedicated family night clubs as well as the fantastic children's programs. However The Fantasy has some different highlights from the other Disney ships like The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Draw Your Own Character in the Animator's Palate Dining Room and the show Aladdin. As always, Disney has exciting new activities at every turn. Like Mickey would say, "See ya real soon!"

Freeport, Bahamas

Hello! Jerry here!
I recently traveled on the new Vision Airlines from Richmond, VA nonstop to Freeport, Bahamas. I stayed for 2 nights at the Grand Lucayan Resort. I participated in the Dolphin Experience where you interact with the dolphins in the water. I toured several other resorts on the island and saw a wonderful dinner show. This is a great inexpensive option for a quick get-away.