A long time ago, in a land far, far away…

(Seriously, we were in France!)

A boy took a girl to Paris. The boy and the girl were in love, and this was their first big trip together. They had never been to Europe, and the trip was exciting. They spent quiet nights in cafes, and days trekking through museums, hand in hand. One night, the boy took the girl to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and all of Paris lay before them, lit up brightly. The girl tingled with anxiety and apprehension, because she knew the boy wanted to marry her. She knew the boy planned to propose soon. She knew that the boy had been to a jeweler to see about a ring before they left for their trip to Europe. She hoped with every breath in her body that tonight would be “the night”.

The boy and the girl admired the lights of Paris, and the night sky, and then…

Nothing happened. The boy and the girl went back to their hotel, and then flew back home. It turned out that the ring wasn’t ready before the trip, so the boy couldn’t propose on the top of the Eiffel Tower, in the middle of the most romantic city in the world. Of course, the girl didn’t know this at the time. She wondered if she had body odor, or some other affliction preventing the boy from asking her to marry him.

That’s why I prefer to live vicariously through romance novels. Boys in romance novels never leave the ring at the jewelers, like my husband did. HA! He tried hard, but he just couldn’t get it together in time for our trip. Romance novels typically have the perfect ending to a tale like mine!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Europeans are lucky! So many countries and cultures, within just a few hundred or thousand miles from each other. If I lived in London, you can bet your bippy I’d be booking summer flights to Crete or a weekend in Spain. Holiday Hypermarket has loads of cheap package holidays and well priced flights for exotic locales all over. They can set you up with a tour from companies like First Choice Holidays, Thomson and Thomas Cook, or you can make your own package by booking the hotel of your choice and the best flights for you.

Is it too soon for me to take another vacation?

I need to take pictures of my souvenirs so that I can share them here, but for now, I’ll just tell you about my most favorite thing that we bought. We had just come off the Metro in Montreal by McGill and St. Catherine, and there was a lady on the corner selling art. (Just like in Paris!) She told us that her husband drew the pictures, and then she added color to them with watercolors. We fell in love with a picture of Notre Dame (the one in Montreal, not Paris) and thought it would be the perfect souvenir for us. Adding to that, the lady had on the SAME exact pair of Skechers that Catherine and I were wearing that day, so we knew it was meant to be. Not only did we compliment her on the art, but on her choice of footwear as well!

Someday this week, I’ll make it out to the store to get the picture framed, and then we’ll need to find a place in our house for it.

We’re off for vacation tomorrow! My husband suggested that he and I not cram out things into one suitcase, so that we have plenty of room for goodies to bring home. I was in shock - Jim, suggesting we BUY things on vacation? So fill me in - what should I look for in Canada to bring back? Maple syrup? Hockey memorabilia? A Mountie of my very own? Is there any one particular souvenir that sums up the Canadian experience?

While he was out shopping yesterday, Jim stopped at another Target and bought the kids luggage. He found some neat sets that consisted of a small pilot case that fits into a larger case, so we’ve got 2 size options now for our trip. I wanted each of the kids to have their own suitcase, on wheels, so that when we’re trucking through the airport they could each be responsible for pulling their own weight, so to speak!

Jim had the bright idea for us to get matching t-shirts for our vacation. Isn’t he cute? (Reminds me of Clark Griswold, in a lot of ways…LOL!) We’ve done the matching thing before, for our Disney cruise. I had a dress and the girls had matching dresses, and Jim and the boys had matching Hawaiian shirts - all courtesy of the Disney store.

Since we’re going to Toronto and Montreal and our vacation is kind of hockey centered, he decided that we should have hockey t-shirts. Last night I logged onto the net and searched around for some deals, and found out that the NHL shop at shop.nhl.com was having a sweet sale. I ordered us each a Tampa Bay Lightning shirt (black for Jim and Matthew, pink for us girls) and then I ordered each of us a Montreal Canadiens t-shirt (all red). Won’t we be cute? (Or nauseating? You decide.)

Side note: Why do the Montreal Canadiens spell “Canadiens” with an “E”? Should it be CanadiAns? What’s that all about? Just like they add a “U” to color and favor, they’re removing A’s and replacing them with E’s. Crazy people.

When we packed on Thursday night to go away for the weekend, my oldest daughter neglected to pack her bathing suit. No big deal, we ran into the store at our resort to pick one up. The only problem was that they had adult bathing suits, and bathing suits for little girls and boys, but nothing for teens or preteens. Same issue at the theme parks. So finally, we went over to Downtown Disney and went into the store to buy one. Holy sticker shock, Batman! They had bathing suits for teens and preteens, but it was all name brand stuff. We ended up getting her a really cute Roxy bathing suit, but it cost $44! Eeek!

What’s your favorite place to stay when you go to Orlando? Do you stay on Disney property, or do you go for a hotel closer to Universal, or Orlando? Do you rent an Orlando vacation home, or stay with friends? On our last few trips, we’ve stayed on Disney property. Depending on when you visit, you’ll pay a little more for this, but you can usually find a deal if you’re an annual passholder or of Florida resident. For us, we do it because we love having the Disney transportation system available, we love the pools and the theming of the resorts, and we love not having to leave property and make a drive back to our hotel!

I have a blogging buddy who was lucky enough to visit Hawaii recently, and the pictures…well, suffice to say, drool worthy. I’m not a big beach person, but Hawaii is so much more than just beach. There are volcanoes, and culture, a rich history, great good, and fabulous sights to take in. And you can see all of those neat things from one of these Kauai condos, some of which are right on the beach! Picture it - waking up in the morning, grabbing a hot cup of Kona, and stepping out onto the most beautiful beaches in the world, with the Pacific Ocean gently lapping at your toes. Amazing, isn’t it? My interest in going to Hawaii was really peaked after I read the book called “Molokai”, which was about the community located at Molokai. I’m a sucker for a vacation that involves a history lesson. I’d love to be able to go for a few weeks, staying at Kauai condos one week, and a new location the next, and visiting all of the islands during my trip. Snorkling, seeing the beautiful waterfalls, walking through the forests…what a dream vacation!

Growing Ecotourism Industry In Hawaii Protects Environmental Assets While Increasing Profits
Ecotourism is nature and culture based tourism that is ecologically sustainable and supports the well being of local communities. Commercial entities have become a positive influence on the environment because they promote a tourism industry that is environmentally and culturally sensitive while increasing profits. The availability of vacation accommodations through online resources such as HawaiianBeachRentals.com affords tourists the opportunity to plan a customized, environmentally-friendly vacation.

Maui, HI (PRWeb) December 30, 2006 — According to the Hawaii Ecotourism Association (HEA), ecotourism is nature and culture based tourism that is ecologically sustainable and supports the well being of local communities. Commercial entities have become a positive influence on the environment because they promote a tourism industry that is environmentally and culturally sensitive while increasing profits. The availability of vacation accommodations through online resources such as HawaiianBeachRentals.com affords tourists the opportunity to plan customized, environmentally-friendly Hawaii vacations.

Recent statistics published in dBusinessNews reveal that visitor expenditures in Maui totaled 3.1 billion dollars in 2005 and 2.9 billion dollars in 2004. Maui’s tourism sector is sound and growing, as evidenced by the fact that hotel occupancy is well above average for the Hawaiian Islands. Since Maui’s economy is tourism-based, practicing ecotourism protects valuable environmental assets while luring savvy travelers to experience the raw beauty of a Pacific Island. Visiting an online vacation site is the simplest way to plan a customized trip to Maui or Kauai based on the principles of ecotourism. Jeff Berzolla of Hawaiian Beach Rentals states that, “We have traditionally specialized in providing our customers with alternative trips to Hawaii allowing them to stay in unique places and helping them coordinate the details of their dream vacation, be it romantic, active or relaxation focused. Also, our staff enjoys living and playing in Hawaii. Time off is often spent visiting the units we rent to our customers, whether they’re Maui vacation rentals or condos on Kauai, to better understand the Islands and the beautiful paradise we share with the world.”

According to Wayne Nastri, the western regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than 95 million dollars has been committed to Hawaii within the past year to correct environmental violations while preventing future pollution. Clearly, capitalists and tree huggers are now teaming up as opposed to being at odds, finding it more progressive and profitable to protect the environment rather than exploit it. Environmentally responsible hotels known as “green hotels” use energy and natural resources in environmentally-friendly ways and give visitors a realistic Hawaiian experience without compromising the world around them. As a result, breathtaking natural wonders such as the majestic Na Pali coast can be found just steps away from many Kauai vacation rentals. Hawaiian vacations offer hiking, boating, snorkeling and whale watching in an unaffected, natural habitat. Since it is the incredible flora and fauna of Hawaii that lures vacationers, it is in the best interest of big business to protect the environment to keep the visitors coming back.

According to a recent poll of HEA members, to be considered as genuinely engaging in ecotourism, Hawaii travel operators need to minimize the negative impact on Hawaii’s natural environment, cultural heritage and local communities, as well as maximize the positive impact on these factors. Additionally, rental operators must foster an appreciation of Hawaii’s sense of place among staff and visitors. The spirit of the land is referred to as “aina” in Hawaii. Kauai condo rentals and hotels are sensitive to this “aina” because they are built with special care to have the least impact possible on the precious local land and wildlife. Securing such accommodations is easy with the online help of informed locals. Jeff Berzolla further says, “We like working with folks that have a passion for travel and want a customized experience that only a local person can help coordinate. Hawaiian Beach Rentals offers accommodations such as vacation homes, condos and hotels, as well as airfare and car rentals to customers wanting to travel to Hawaii. We want to help our customers have a unique experience in Hawaii so we can show them what Aloha is all about. Our services include the most up to date local information about Hawaii and the ability for customers to quickly and easily pay for their vacation online via a secure payment process.”

A savvy traveler seeking information about ecotourism-based excursions to Maui and Kauai can visit HawaiianBeachRentals.com for additional details. Take advantage of technology to plan the most unique, socially-conscious trip of a lifetime!

We’ve been researching hotels online this week for our trip in June. I’m leaning towards staying in condo hotels. Even if you pay a little more up front, the extra space and having a small kitchen in your room is SO worth it. It’s very easy to stop at a local grocery store and buy lunch meat and breakfast foods, so that you can avoid eating out 3 times a day. I like eating out…until I need to do it for every meal, all week long.

Ooh, speaking of food - anything I absolutely gotta try while I’m in Canada? Local delicacies?

We just bought points in a vacation timeshare through Disney, but maybe you’re not a Disney person. Trust me, I know it takes a special kind of person to want to go back there again and again and again! There are lots of non Disney options out there if you’re interested in this type of vacation, and one is called a Vacation International Points. When you buy into one of these groups, you get the benefit of not just having one particular condo, in one particular week. Instead you get to choose from a number of resorts, around the world.

If you vacation like we do, it’s a good plan. By the time this is paid off, we’ll still be enjoying vacations for a LOT more years. In fact, our KIDS will be enjoying these vacations, and maybe our grandkids also!

One of the other things I’d like to do, as far as planning for my retirement travel (besides our newly purchased Disney Vacation Club points) would be to buy a little land in the mountains. This website, Retire Asheville really illustrates how lovely the mountains of North Carolina are. The valley of Asheville gives you all of the views, with less of the harsh winter conditions, and there are tons of places to ski, camp, hike, fish, and enjoy other outdoor activities. We’ve been to the mountains in North Carolina a few times, and we just can’t get enough of the national parks and the laid back lifestyle.

A lot of people are planning retirements there, especially given how bad the hurricanes have been here in Florida the past few years, so now is the perfect time to buy, before prices go up. You can buy a house, or buy a little piece of land to sit on few a few years. That’s what I’d like to do - buy the land, pay it off, and then build a cabin. In the months when you’re not using your mountain home, you can even rent it out to earn extra income, since there are plenty of people who want to vacation in Asheville.

We just made a huge purchase. And in the next 2 months, as soon as our closing is done, we’ll “own” a piece of the Disney magic. Yep, we just joined the Disney Vacation Club! We’ve thought about doing it for years, and it’s finally happening. Our home resort will be the brand new Animal Kingdom Villas located at Animal Kingdom Lodge (our favorite resort!). I put down the down payment today (thank you, PayPerPost, for the cash!) and things will be moving right along. I don’t know if we’ll use our points this year, since we’ve got a big vacation planned for June, but we live so close to Disney that I can see fitting a trip in sometime in the near future.

A few years ago, I had the chance to visit my friend Kim in Salt Lake City, Utah. I went out to assist with her daughter’s wedding weekend, and due to the short length of my stay, I only got to visit Salt Lake. I’ve heard about Park City, Utah, and I think that the Sundance Film Festival was held there recently…am I right? I know that some of the Olympic Winter Games were done there as well. Anyway, I do have friends who HAVE been there, and it looks like such a neat little town. Not sure what Park City lodging goes for, but I’ll be the skiing is amazing! You can browse the site linked above to not only find lodging in Park City (condo rentals - a home away from home) but also Deer Valley rentals as well.

Slopes, here I come! Well, maybe I’ll wait til winter

When I do travel, I’m always trying to find cheap souvenirs. When I was little, my parents had a glass bowl of matchbooks from all of the places that we had been to, from bars on Bourbon Street to my cousin’s wedding in New Jersey. I’ve taken coasters from pubs in Ireland. On the 3-Day walk in Philadelphia, we stopped at Geno’s for a cheese steak. I didn’t have room to carry a t-shirt, but the guy who took my order started handing out logo pens to all of the walkers in line - neat little souvenir! I also have cups from Disney resorts, and even a framed print of the Animal Kingdom Lodge in my dining room. I love to be reminded of the places we’ve been

Since this IS a shopping blog, I’m sure some of you out there reading this that hate credit. Others love it. I have a love / hate relationship with credit cards myself. Hated being in debt, love NOT being in debt. LOL! Credit cards are good when you can be disciplined with them. The best thing I’ve used my credit card for lately was booking our airfare to Detroit in June. Now, Detroit may not sound like a vacation hot spot, but we’re just flying in there - not staying! We’re planning on driving to Toronto and Montreal and spending a week in Canada altogether. I found a sweet deal on the airfare a few months ago and used one of my 0 interest credit cards to buy it. We’ve never been to Canada, so the whole family is excited about this trip. And the nice thing is that if we needed to charge a rental car or anything else, we could move that balance to one of our 0 balance transfer credit cards when we return home. Free vacation with cheap credit cards. Sort of. LOL!

I used to believe that all water was created equal. Bottled water and tap water tasted the same to me, until I started drinking tap water in my travels. Bleah! All tap water is NOT created equal, and some tap water is downright disgusting. And you shouldn’t even drink it in certain countries, unless you’re interested in a little intestinal distress. That’s where portable water filters come in handy. Not only can you make tap water taste better, but you can make it safe to drink as well.

While we were at Disney this weekend, Jim and I went to the Disney Vacation Club offices at the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa to hear the presentation. We went in knowing a lot about the DVC, because we had requested info via mail before, I’ve researched it online, and my sister and Jim’s boss are all members. Anyone out there a member also? I’m glad we waited til now to seriously look into it, because the new villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge will have rooms that sleep 5 - perfect for us should we wanted to use our vacation club points for a Disney trip. The similar rooms at the other resorts only do 4 guests, so that’s a big reason for us to choose AKL over another home resort. I’m going to have my own Disney vacation home!

and I didn’t come home with a single thing for my kids! Worst mother ever, eh?

When we were at Boardwalk on Saturday night, I went into the store there, looking for something to bring home. And yes, I said store. Disney touts Boardwalk as this big attraction with entertainment and things to do, but there’s only ONE place to shop there. Technically, there’s a candy store also, and I know I could have found something there for the kids, but the line was 20 people deep. Seriously. And I know my kids didn’t want anything from the ESPN club, where we are dinner.

While I was on my walk, I toured a room at the Boardwalk Villas - cute! A beachy-ish theme with cute decor, sort of a North Carolina furniture style…I don’t think I’d like staying there, since a lot of the rooms overlook the boardwalk. Kind of noisy at night, I would think.

I’m not sure if I’ll be around to blog this weekend - my husband and I are off for a little weekend of Florida vacation fun! We’re celebrating our anniversary in the same place we honeymooned - Orlando. Since we’re not taking the kids, we’ll be stopping at Downtown Disney to get a few trinkets to bring back home for them…which is what we did on our honeymoon! We went to the Christmas shop and got Catherine a special baby’s first Christmas ornament for our tree, and a family ornament as well…awww!