Thursday, July 3, 2008

Happy Equal Rights Day!

OOPS! I meant Happy Independence Day:) Happy Equal Rights Day was June 17th for California. Thank goodness our marriage licenses don't have residency requirements attached to them! I am expecting many of you to come to my beautiful state between now and November.

Congratulations to all of my friends who are planning their weddings and I really hope many of you take a look at the Wedding/Honeymoon Cruise we have planned for Oct. 2008. (the information is on my web site) What an amazing journey this will be, as 25 lucky couples say their vows and many, many more help them celebrate during the reception and cruise that follow.

This year has been crazy! I have started my own travel business - no more working FOR other people - just working WITH them, for a change. It's been exciting, nerve-wracking, scary and quite the learning experience, but I know it's the right thing to do. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I think the most dificult part of the past 4 months has been planning incredible trips for my clients and NOT BEING ABLE TO GO MYSELF! I have such a bad case of "want to go somewhere" blues.

We've changed our November trip and now we are going to London, Amsterdam and Paris - with a day in Brussels. I cannot wait. We'll have 5 nights in London with some day tours, plus time on our own to explore. Then we take the train to Amsterdam, stopping in Brussels for most of the day. I'm dying to get my hands on some pommes frites and chocolates:) After our day in Brussels, we continue on to Amsterdam for 3 nights in our hotel overlooking a canal - then back on the train to Paris for 4 nights. It's going to be so special seeing these beautiful cities decorated for the holidays. Email or give me a call if you are interested in joining us for this adventure - we still have some space left.

Gotta go! We're in the middle of tweaking my web site and I have much to do!

Ciao for now and remember... Life is too short to stay home!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

It's been too long!

I can't believe we're on the downside of February already! I haven't posted anything in ages. I got caught up in the holidays - then we passed the flu bug of the moment around to each other - then I got very busy helping people plan their travel arrangements for 2008.

Next to going myself, I love planning trips. I live vicariously and pretend I am taking each and every vacation. This year has been particularly interesting, as my friends and clients are not only returning to old favorites, but also choosing new and different places to visit. The Amazon - Hawaii - Venice - Bucharest - Istanbul - Berlin - Barbados - Amsterdam - Prague - Paris - Las Vegas - I could go on and on. Bike tours in Berlin - Marie Antoinette in Paris and Versailles - pink dolphins and pirranha fishing in Amazonia - the Spice Market in Istanbul - private car tours through Transylvania - train rides through the Alps. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?! And it's only February...:)

Our trip in November, from Budapest to Prague, is filling up fast. I've been to Vienna and gone along the Danube, but I've never visited Budapest and Prague. What beautiful, interesting cities they are. Most of us are going to arrive in Budapest a day early and leave Prague a couple days late, so we'll have extra time to really look around.

I'm finally getting my website re-done for 2008 and we're going to have some great vacations and trip ideas lined up. Write and tell me what your dream vacation is or tell me about a place you'd love to revisit. I'm thinking about putting together a cooking tour - some sightseeing - shopping in local markets - cooking and eating with a professional chef. Sounds fun to me!

Well...I have work to do, so I'm signing off for now.

Debbi (the Vacation Diva)

Friday, November 16, 2007

Dancing to beautiful, friendly Mexico

We just got back from a wonderful week on the Dawn Princess. We took dance lessons onboard- learned to salsa, rhumba, cha cha and kind of foxtrot. Those Dancing with the Stars people make it look easy! We sipped tequila and watched the sunsets - ate chips & salsa in old tree-lined plazas - watched a beautiful girl from Copala carve a scene into a piece of porchote wood - wandered the malecon in Puerto Vallarta - bought early Christmas gifts in Mazatlan - and RELAXED. The weather was perfect - the company even better. The cruises to Mexico are so inexpensive, it's almost silly NOT to go, especially this time of year. If it sounds interesting to you - email me!