longer pieces I write on WordPress
Pool area at Caerula Mar Resort in Andros, The Bahamas.
HOT DEALS!
Homesick-branded candles and The Bahamas have teamed up with luxury resort, Caerula Mar Club in Andros, for a four-day, three-night escape package. Enter to win. One lucky winner (and guest) will be randomly drawn on February 28. The package is worth over $2,000.
Dive at Plate Reef in Freeport, Bahamas.
HOT DEALS!
From cruises to hotels, book Freeport (Bahamas) now and get up to 50% off. Book Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line through Mar. 31 and get $200 OFF per cabin ($100 off per person), plus five free drinks, free cabin upgrade, and $25 onboard credit. The Cruise Line also has four- and six-night getaway packages that combine a fun 2-night cruise with a luxurious resort stay in Grand Bahama. Four beachside resorts have special promotional discounts through Dec. 23 (so book now!) The resorts are Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach, Pelican Bay Hotel at Lucaya, Lighthouse Pointe at Grand Lucayan and Flamingo Bay Hotel & Marina.
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows
HOT DEALS!
Time is running out to book The Village at Squaw Valley Lodging (Olympic Village, CA) winter sale and save 25% for stays from Jan. 6 – May 31, based on availability and only for Sun-Thursday and non-holiday stays. The majority of room have private balconies, fireplaces and kitchens. Standard rooms do not have those amenities.
The Winter Escape Package being offered by Caribe Royale Orlando isn’t the luxury resorts only promotional package being offered. There’s one for Florida and Georgia residents and if you hurry, there’s a Fall program Read more
Russ really lost his head over this accordionist!
In Part 5: Mozart brought music to the world, The Sound of Music rang in our heads, and the Eagle’s Nest reminded us of the destruction that greed, hatred, and supreme power can enable.
Munich is the capital of Bavaria. There are roughly one-and-a-half million people living in the city, who proudly have their own nationalistic dialect, and think of themselves as from München Bavaria, not Germany. Munich is known for its beer, Oktoberfest celebrations, museums, and international companies like the headquarters of BMW.
Where we stayed:
Eurostars Book Hotel must have been designed for people like me: readers and/or writers whose imaginations propel their lives. From the first moment we stepped inside Read more
Vineyard near Heidiland (Maienfeld) in Switzerland.
MAIENFELD, SWITZERLAND (OR HEIDILAND TO DEVOTEES!)
In Part 3: A toe dip into Stresa, Italy and a relaxing cruise around Lugano, Switzerland that explored many ancient and diverse communities.
Before leaving Switzerland behind and crossing into Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, we stopped in the border town of Maienfeld, Switzerland. For such a small area, Majenfeld holds two great distinctions of world import.
It’s the birthplace of Heidi, a story written in 1881 by Johanna Spyri. The story may have been a work of fiction, but try telling that to the international tourists who flock here to visit a theme park-like area called Heidiland to see Read more
Driving through the Simplon Pass connecting Italy and Switzerland.
In Part 2: A relaxing boat ride and two cogwheel trains later, we’d risen over 10,000 feet to gape at the Matterhorn.
We took a toe dip into Italy before re-entering Switzerland, where we would be staying in Lugano for a few days. I say a toe dip because we left the mountains briefly for Stresa, Italy, an internationally acclaimed resort town snuggled up to Lake Maggiore, and because similar to a toe dip, we weren’t invested in full immersion.
Before arriving in Stresa, we took a roadside pause on the Simplon Pass, where Napoleon had constructed a road Read more
View on our ferry ride to Andermatt.
In Part 1: Trains, boats, a fierce storm atop Mount Pilatus… and this was just the beginning of the tour!
On our way to a boat ride that was part of the day’s transportation to Zermatt, the alpine city from which many mountaineers venture to tackle the Matterhorn, we bussed through the small village of Vegas, where once Russian composer Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff lived. The gentle one-hour 45-minute minute journey on Lake Lucerne aboard the Flüelen ferry began in Vitznau, which also has the oldest cogwheel train still running. Lake Read more
The scenic natural beauty of Switzerland.
It was the trains that did it.
The idea of trains snaking slowly up to mountain peaks 7,000 feet or higher along ancient cogwheel tracks exhilarated my any-excuse-to-take-a-train husband, Russ. My stomach roiled pondering multiple train rides chugging along steep inclines, thinking about how I got nervous even holding onto the railing on the Empire State Building’s upper floor and tried looking down. He buttered me up about taking the Odysseys Unlimited Alpine Splendor tour by painting a picture of the scenic beauty we’d encounter in five countries: Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Germany. By then, I remembered we’ve climbed glaciers and volcanos, ridden cable cars up 5,000 feet, and never once did I pass out in fright. My fears morphed into anticipation.
Ride along with me on this soaring Alpine Adventure which concluded with an extension trip to Read more
Marenas Beach Resort in Sunny Isles Beach, Miami, FL
HOT DEALS!
School in Florida is back in session, but that doesn’t mean the travel deals have played hooky. In the two-and-a-half-mile white sand stretch of Sunny Isles Beach in the Miami area, a number of hotels are offering some sweet deals for getaways. For Florida residents, the Read more
Brocket Hall at Christmas
HOT DEALS!!
The holidays are fast approaching, which means you only have until August 31 to book a vintage holiday celebration at one of the main venues at the 543-acre Brocket Hall Estate in the United Kingdom. There are special menus and amenities for each venue. Brocket Hall’s butlers cater to up to 150 guests in the ballroom, Billiard room and library. With this booking by August 31, the planner receives a complimentary bedroom in Brocket Hall on the night of the party. Book the Oak Room and the planner gets a complimentary bedroom in Melbourne Lodge on the night of the party. Or, join in with your group of Read more