So I was procrastinating a bit on work and looking at one of my favorite travel sites, travelandleisure.com. They always have fun Top 10 lists and most times with great photos also! This one was Best Secret Dining Places.
My favorite was this place in Austin, Texas. These two business partners hold a dinner for 30 people once a month in different locations, from flower-filler nurseries to private residences. The fun part is that they chose 30 random people from a mailing list of over 1,500 people! Most times strangers, the group gathers in the secret location to enjoy a four-course dinner with cocktails.
“We get a huge amount of satisfaction out of welcoming a table full of often strangers and watching them mingle, become more comfortable with each other, and enjoy a great meal,” says Calvert.- travel and leisure
That sounds like so much fun! I would love to do something like that! Travel across the country to eat a great meal with a bunch of strangers.
But check out some of the other great secret dinner clubs!!
http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/worlds-best-secret-dining-clubs/1
12.07.2008
12.03.2008
St. Maarten
St. Maarten is a small island in the Caribbean. I went once when I was very young, maybe 7 or 8. My grandparents have timeshare there. They would go every year for weeks, sometimes twice a year. They haven't been able to go for the past few years because my grandfather got sick and couldn't travel.
But it is a place I have always wanted to go back too. In my memory it is a picture perfect paradise. Sunny days playing on the beaches and swimming in the clear blue water. So I was doing some research today.
So I started looking into it and I only want to go more! My grandmother has been talking about going soon with my whole family. I hope we go soon! As a kid I remeber walking out of our apartment at the Sea Palace and walking out the back door of the lobby right onto the sandy beach! I remember walking up and down the boardwalk and shopping. Now that i'm older I was looking into the nightlife and adventure stuff!!
One website was saying the best way to find what your looking for is to talk to the locals- they know how to have fun and where to go! It also said the island is made of over 100 different nationalities! That must be such an interesting dynamic of people!
I gotta go!
But it is a place I have always wanted to go back too. In my memory it is a picture perfect paradise. Sunny days playing on the beaches and swimming in the clear blue water. So I was doing some research today.
So I started looking into it and I only want to go more! My grandmother has been talking about going soon with my whole family. I hope we go soon! As a kid I remeber walking out of our apartment at the Sea Palace and walking out the back door of the lobby right onto the sandy beach! I remember walking up and down the boardwalk and shopping. Now that i'm older I was looking into the nightlife and adventure stuff!!
One website was saying the best way to find what your looking for is to talk to the locals- they know how to have fun and where to go! It also said the island is made of over 100 different nationalities! That must be such an interesting dynamic of people!
I gotta go!
Lifestyles
So this post may seem a little different, its just a quick anecdote to show you how different people and cultures can be.
While working for Contiki last year I talked to a lot of people about traveling! One person who contacted me through facebook with some questions sent me a quick hello today. Thanks to the new facebook chat feature we were able to talk a bit about whats going on in our lives. He is from Australia, a place I'm just dying to go to!
Well we started talking and he told me about how he has just packed up one day and moved to England to get a job. He's working in a bar in Birmingham. He's saving up to travel more around Europe. He said he has no definite plans though but a long list of places to visit! He was even thinking about taking a tour for part of it. What an exciting way to go!
It was just really nice to talk and get excited with someone about the world. I wish him the best of luck!!
While working for Contiki last year I talked to a lot of people about traveling! One person who contacted me through facebook with some questions sent me a quick hello today. Thanks to the new facebook chat feature we were able to talk a bit about whats going on in our lives. He is from Australia, a place I'm just dying to go to!
Well we started talking and he told me about how he has just packed up one day and moved to England to get a job. He's working in a bar in Birmingham. He's saving up to travel more around Europe. He said he has no definite plans though but a long list of places to visit! He was even thinking about taking a tour for part of it. What an exciting way to go!
It was just really nice to talk and get excited with someone about the world. I wish him the best of luck!!
Cruises
Now when I think traveling I typically don't think of cruises. They aren't the first thing that comes to mind for me because I think about destination. For me it is about a place and its landscapes and the people and traditions and culture. All of those things make traveling more exciting for me!
I find that there is a difference between traveling to explore and experience the world and vacationing to get away from your world for a little while.
Both I think are fabulous, but very different. I think a great way to get away and go on a vacation is a cruise. I myself have never gone on a cruise, but while working for Collette this summer I did some research on cruise lines and the packages they offer. It was the first time I really looked into them and I have to say they looked like a lot of fun!
Some of the more economy friendly companies are Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines. If you go to their websites you can look at their itineraries and all of the fun excursions possible too. I would like to do a Caribbean cruise myself but they have ones that go all around Europe, South America, Australia, Mexico, the Panama canal and many others as well. But I think so of the Tropical destinations look great!
The websites are really helpful and interactive too. You can look at everything from pricing and room location on the ship to the land and shore excursions to the actual layout of the different ships. Some cool excursions in the Caribbean cruises are things like beaches, walking tours, snorkeling, and dolphin swims.
And I love checking out the different rooms and entertainment they have right on the boat. Nightclubs, pools, bars, casinos and ice rinks?! It's incredible!
Something to definitely look into. I think cruises had a reputation for being something old people do but with ships like that there is something for everyone!
I find that there is a difference between traveling to explore and experience the world and vacationing to get away from your world for a little while.
Both I think are fabulous, but very different. I think a great way to get away and go on a vacation is a cruise. I myself have never gone on a cruise, but while working for Collette this summer I did some research on cruise lines and the packages they offer. It was the first time I really looked into them and I have to say they looked like a lot of fun!
Some of the more economy friendly companies are Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines. If you go to their websites you can look at their itineraries and all of the fun excursions possible too. I would like to do a Caribbean cruise myself but they have ones that go all around Europe, South America, Australia, Mexico, the Panama canal and many others as well. But I think so of the Tropical destinations look great!
The websites are really helpful and interactive too. You can look at everything from pricing and room location on the ship to the land and shore excursions to the actual layout of the different ships. Some cool excursions in the Caribbean cruises are things like beaches, walking tours, snorkeling, and dolphin swims.
And I love checking out the different rooms and entertainment they have right on the boat. Nightclubs, pools, bars, casinos and ice rinks?! It's incredible!
Something to definitely look into. I think cruises had a reputation for being something old people do but with ships like that there is something for everyone!
An Asian Adventure
I was checking out what is new with Contiki these days and they are adding new tours. They have a whole new territory for them which is Asia. I was looking at some itineraries through Thailand and it looks beautiful!
Reading through the trip details it seems like they would be a lot different from their ever popular European trips. It looks like you really get a great sense of the culture with the destination and city stops. I love being able to soak up the culture of a foreign place. People do things so differently around he world, it is something I am always very curious about. I thought it was cool to see hat their excursions were things like Thai cooking classes and river cruises. I think that those are a little different than the norm, which is always exciting!
Hmmm elephant rides through the jungles of Thailand. I think I'll add it to my list of things to do before I die...
Reading through the trip details it seems like they would be a lot different from their ever popular European trips. It looks like you really get a great sense of the culture with the destination and city stops. I love being able to soak up the culture of a foreign place. People do things so differently around he world, it is something I am always very curious about. I thought it was cool to see hat their excursions were things like Thai cooking classes and river cruises. I think that those are a little different than the norm, which is always exciting!
Hmmm elephant rides through the jungles of Thailand. I think I'll add it to my list of things to do before I die...
STA Traveler
STA Travel is another great company to know as a student traveler. I worked with them while i was a marketing intern for Contiki. STA is more of a travel agency, so they sell everything from flights to hotels to full tour packages like Contiki trips. They usually have great deals on them too. I get the eNewsletters to keep me posted on what they're doing.
They also have this great internship program in the summer. They send one intern around the world! The winner this past summer was Pat Blute. You can check out where he went and his experience on the website. The runner up, Kristen, was actually a friend of mine who just graduated from URI. She is an amazing girl and had a great entry video. You should watch that too!
But check them out and if you are into writing nd marketing as well you should start making your video because thousands apply!
They also have this great internship program in the summer. They send one intern around the world! The winner this past summer was Pat Blute. You can check out where he went and his experience on the website. The runner up, Kristen, was actually a friend of mine who just graduated from URI. She is an amazing girl and had a great entry video. You should watch that too!
But check them out and if you are into writing nd marketing as well you should start making your video because thousands apply!
12.02.2008
Oberammergau
"Oberamma-what?!??!"
Thats what I first said when I heard the word. It was as work this past summer while working for Collette Vacations. My boss asked me to reorganize the oberammergau file folders and thats where my learning began.
Oberammergau's Passion Play is an event held in a small town in Bavaria every 10 years from the month of May until October. It is play telling the story of Jesus and it is actually put on by the native townsmen as tradition every 10 years starting in the 1630's. The play started during the time of the Blutonic plague. The towns people of Oberamergau vowed to God that they would put on this play every 10 years if they were kept safe from the plague. Not a single person in the villiage fell victum to the play and so the tradition lives on. The play itself has a running time of seven hours! It is the story of the life and death of Jesus. They serve a meal during the intermission though and usually include accomdations in ticket prices.
Then next time this is going on will be in 2010. But people are already booking their trips!! Collette offers 7 different tours that stop through the town for the play. If your interested I would definitly recamend checking out their itineraries.
Thats what I first said when I heard the word. It was as work this past summer while working for Collette Vacations. My boss asked me to reorganize the oberammergau file folders and thats where my learning began.
Oberammergau's Passion Play is an event held in a small town in Bavaria every 10 years from the month of May until October. It is play telling the story of Jesus and it is actually put on by the native townsmen as tradition every 10 years starting in the 1630's. The play started during the time of the Blutonic plague. The towns people of Oberamergau vowed to God that they would put on this play every 10 years if they were kept safe from the plague. Not a single person in the villiage fell victum to the play and so the tradition lives on. The play itself has a running time of seven hours! It is the story of the life and death of Jesus. They serve a meal during the intermission though and usually include accomdations in ticket prices.
Then next time this is going on will be in 2010. But people are already booking their trips!! Collette offers 7 different tours that stop through the town for the play. If your interested I would definitly recamend checking out their itineraries.
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