#choosebliss

[twotexans]

How you spend today really, really matters. Remind yourself of that. #joy #lifesblessings #choosebliss https://www.instagram.com/p/BvtsX5gH5KpccLRA5VvuR_SNVSFBdiBIxStlsA0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7twxkc9j4iix

[amyleighmercree]

And see beauty all around. #howtobehappy #inspirationalquotes #amyleighmercree #amyleighmercreequotes #loveeveryone #staypresent #liveboldly #choosebliss #begrateful 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[choosebliss]

Love standing in line for hours?  I definitely don’t.

I just spent a couple of days in Amsterdam on the beginning and end of a River Cruise through the Netherlands and Belgium.  It is such a wonderful city, but one where you definitely have some sites that are “can’t miss”.  Here are my top three things that any first-time Amsterdam traveler needs to know:

60 days in advance – If you want to visit the Anne Frank House (which I highly recommend), buy tickets online.  They open on the Anne Frank website about 2 months prior to the ticket availability. and they can sell out within a couple of days of being listed in high season.  So mark your calendar when you plan your trip (or have your amazing travel consultant do it for you).   The tickets online give you a timeframe to enter (15 minute slot) and cost 9 Euro.  

Entrance between 9am until 3:30pm is only for visitors with advance tickets.  If you are visiting and haven’t booked in advance, you can enter between 3:30-closing by standing in line.  Expect lines to be 1-3 hours in wait time (yikes!).  And, is it worth it?  The answer is yes…. it’s really moving and is a must-see for me in Amsterdam.  Get your tickets in advance and avoid the wait!

The best audio guide of a museum I’ve ever experienced – This honor is given to the Rijksmuseum, which was closed for 10 years for an enormous renovation and reopened in 2013.  This museum’s most famous work is Rembrandt’s The Night Watch… but as someone who is drawn more to modern art, I was most impressed by the layout of the building and the ease at which to explore.  Purchasing tickets online in advance (17.50 Euro) results in skipping the ticketing line, and I absolutely recommend the audio guide for 5 Euro.  There are 45 minute and 90 minute highlight tours in this multimedia guide that really guide you down each hallway and staircase as you navigate the grand building.  Even the café was beautiful, and had some tasty snacks! Don’t miss this place.

Vincent – If you can do 2 museums in one day, the Van Gogh is right next to the Rijksmuseum, and it is also so wonderful!  I even loved the gift shop.  My tip here is to go early in the morning – our tickets were at 12:30, and it was packed.  You had to wait a few minutes at each of the most famous paintings to be able to get close enough to have a look.  But the Almond Blossom and Sunflowers alone make this museum worthwhile… and it is really well set out with the paintings in chronological order through Van Gogh’s life from early career on the bottom floor to the last paintings of his life up on the fourth floor.  I would recommend buying timed tickets ahead of time (17 Euro for adults) as the lines can be very long outside, and the website shows the “quieter” times in green for the date you choose.   The audioguide here is also good (5 Euro) – the highlights take you on a good overview.

[choosebliss]

Where are people traveling this summer?

I did a little checkup on my calendar of all of the vacations I’ve planned for clients this summer, and thought you might find it interesting (and potentially inspiring)!  Between May 1 and Labor Day, I have clients traveling to close to 25 separate locations around the world... and don’t you want to know where?

The most popular summer vacation destination is actually Alaska!  I have 5 separate client groups heading to Alaska this summer on cruises - it’s a short season due to the weather there, so mid-May through mid-September is the time to go.  There are so many things to know about different ships, food, excursions and doing a cruise versus a “cruisetour” (which means the cruise plus a few days on land - if you do this, you’ve got a chance to explore Denali National Park - having a travel consultant help can be a gold mine of info!

Four spots tie for second most popular, and the photo above is Positano, Italy. 

Italy, France and the UK are the European hot spots for my clients this summer, with three families traveling to each of these.  In Italy, Florence/Tuscany and Rome top the list, with Positano and Venice also being on the agenda.  France clients are visiting Paris and the French Riviera, while UK clients are touring in London and Edinburgh.  

Peru is the other leader in this category, with three client groups heading to South America this summer to explore the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu.  Two of the families will be hiking the Inca Trail, which takes 4 days and is limited to only 500 trekkers per day.  When you consider that 150-200 of these trail permits go to porters and guides, it isn’t a surprise that these vacations need to be booked about 6 months prior to travel at a minimum when going in high season!

Many other spots to discover this summer, ranging from Belize to Switzerland to Norway for Bliss clients.  Let me know if I can help you in planning that next amazing getaway!

[choosebliss]

It’s already been a year!

When I started my travel consulting business 1 year ago (can’t believe it’s been a year!!), I did a blog post about the Top 10 reasons I left my banking career. It seems appropriate to follow up with a Top 10 of what I’ve learned as an entrepreneur in my first year...

1. Being your own IT department (with help from the Geek Squad) sucks compared to having a real IT department!

2. Don’t let others’ expectations of what your results should be define you. Setting realistic but stretch goals and challenging myself led to results far beyond what people told me to expect.

3. Always try to have a conversation with a prospective client prior to doing any work (vs communicating by email).  That conversation can tell you so much about how serious they are and about their priorities for travel.  It also would have saved me a lot of time.

4. Watching your savings decline each month as you’re ramping up your business is harder than you think it will be – even if you’ve prepared yourself well.

5. I can make a lot of people’s lives easier without charging them a dime AND run a profitable business at the same time.  How?  By understanding what type of business is a win-win for me and the client, allocating the right amount of time, and being honest with the client about my value proposition from Day 1.

6. Everything you do for the first time takes about 5 times as long as it should. Expect this a lot in the first year... but also know that things get easier quickly.

7. Karma is real. Those people who you developed relationships with and were nice to just because you are a good person?  They come out of the woodwork wanting to help you succeed.  And it feels absolutely amazing.

8. Being a financially-driven, projections and results person is a REALLY BIG asset when starting your own business. In my old job, I looked at company’s financials and projections all day long. However, the bookkeeping for my own business is a whole lot harder than I thought it would be!!

9. Sometimes the people you think will be your best clients will “pick your brain” and go book on Expedia... and that sucks.

10. Getting repeat business and referrals from clients is so very rewarding.

An enormous amount of gratitude to my clients, referral sources, friends and family for your support in this first year!  Cheers to many more!

[choosebliss]

Executing a Fantastic Summer Vacation!

On August 15, I left Washington, DC to embark on my first trip to Europe in 2 years.  This was going to be a combo trip - partly a group tour with a custom trip at the end.  I’ve always had a negative feeling about group touring mainly due to feeling herded on specific timelines through sites without really getting to enjoy the area like a local would and spend time relaxing in the cities.  Living in the DC area with millions of visitors following leaders with pink umbrellas held high probably didn’t help my perception!

Becoming a travel consultant last year opened my mind a bit as I learned about tour operators who do small group tours – some 8-12 people on average.  That sounded like a very manageable group size – no long days of driving around on motorcoaches with a few minutes to explore the area.  When I met a company called G Adventures, popular for their laid back corporate culture, choosing hotels that were located in city centers and tour guides dubbed “Chief Experience Officers”, I was really intrigued.

My kids were planning to head off on a vacation with their dad in August, so I set about looking for tours that were about a week long during a certain timeframe… and the top two choices were Moorish Spain and a Greek cruise around the islands.  I recruited a good friend to join me, and we decided on Spain for two reasons:  First, we weren’t sure about seasickness on a boat for a week; and second, we were a little afraid of being in such close quarters with 10 other people who we didn’t know.  What if we wanted to escape?!  

So what did Moorish Spain mean?  I’ll admit, I had no clue.  We would be traveling Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Grenada, Ronda and Sevilla (blog posts coming soon on individual cities, reviews and recommendations).  I had it in my head that it was a “Southern Spain” trip and was excited because all of the places would be new for me except for Madrid and Toledo.  Check out this blog post about the trip to learn a lot more about the overall theme of the trip and how the historical Moorish influence in the cities we visited left a lasting impression.

As I depart Sevilla today for a couple of nights in Barcelona (individual city review to come!) on my own, I must say that I am beyond thrilled that I chose to do this tour with G Adventures. Our guide, Carlos (a Toledo, Spain native) was a font of information about each spot we visited, taking us to local restaurants and suggesting different activities and places to spend more time on orientation walks exploring each city.  Our group was 9 individuals representing 6 different countries - can you believe that?  USA, Australia, Canada, UK, Ireland and Belgium!  We liked each other so much, we even hung out together once the tour was over. Lastly, I can’t overstate how nice it was to be able to NOT have to worry about the planning and logistics. (Sometimes when you do things for a living, you really want a break from it on your time off!)  We covered a whole lot of ground in one week, and getting from place to place was a combination of trains and buses and 5 different hotels.  Carlos took care of everything from coordinating all of our train/bus tickets to checking us in and out of the hotels.  We paid the total price and then had only meals and some extra activities to pay out of pocket ourselves.

Escorted group travel may not be for everyone, and it is REALLY important to assess your priorities before you choose a tour operator.  That’s where I can really help when it comes to planning escorted tours (did you know that it costs NOTHING more to book with me than it does to book direct?).  What kinds of accommodations would you like?  Level of activity?  Size of group?  Age of fellow travelers?  Itinerary musts?  Part of the world?  Budget? There are many qualifiers to take into consideration prior to choosing a tour that will be right for you – and I would recommend working with a consultant to compare before committing to make sure you get the best experience and bang for your buck!

[choosebliss]

Small groups... with a guide... and how it’s awesome!

I do a lot of planning for people going on vacations - obviously - and all of these people like having the details taken care of.  When I do a customized itinerary for a client, they could be visiting 1, 2, 3 or 7 cities.  It all depends on the length and style of the trip.  All of those spots include lots of variables - hotels, getting from one city to the next, day trips, restaurant reservations, walking tours, etc etc etc. 

 Sometimes you like to not only have someone plan your trip, but you want to have a guide with you.  And you want to know how much you're going to spend.  There are all kinds of ways to tour like this, but today we're going to focus on G Adventures. 

 My biggest personal issue with escorted vacations are the big groups.  I don't like feeling like a tourist, even when I am a tourist!   I like to feel like a local - go to the restaurants in Rome where the locals are eating... sit in piazzas and people watch all afternoon...

 G Adventures is a tour company that does trips focused on immersing yourself in the culture and local living.  Groups tend to be around 10 in size, with max of 16.  A local guide is with your group, guiding you during the group activities and giving you insider tips when you want to explore on your own.  They do vacations all over the world... and for all lifestyles.  They are known for being pretty simple - expect 3 star+ accommodations but nothing ritzy.  Everything from Active trips for hikers/bikers/swimmers, Yolo trips for young people looking to do a lot of travel on a limited budget and Comfort trips with upgraded hotels for those who can afford a little more. 

 Let me know if you'd ever like to talk about a G Adventures trip!  I have clients doing the France and Italy Adventure in July/August 2015 and can't wait to hear all about it - Paris-Burgundy-Avignon-Nice-Monaco-Cinque Terre-Pisa-Florence-Rome - over 14 days.  Wow!

 www.gadventures.com

[choosebliss]

Places as Memories

  What is the one place from your childhood where you went on vacation over and over again?

That place that seemed larger than life...

Where the ice cream tasted better than any you had ever eaten... 

The sunsets were prettier than any you had ever seen...

Everyone in the family got along with no bickering... okay, I'll admit that maybe I've gone a little too far with that one!

For my kids, that place is the Central Florida Gulf Coast beaches.  My side of the family lives in Tampa area, and we've gone down to the Redington and Madeira beaches since they were babies. 

When I think about the sheer number of people at any one time who are visiting, it may not sound so enticing - at least 5 families join us every year - 11 adults and 12 kids. Those are just the regulars.  We get visitors, and lots of them.  Extended family, high school and college friends with their kids... anyone and everyone is welcome, as long as you bring food!  It is a bit of barely controlled chaos.  We set up two large tents on the beach and basically camp for the day - kids are back and forth to the pool, digging for sand crabs and building forts.  Someone is always complaining about sunscreen in their eyes.  Lesson learned this year:  Do not pit the boys against girls in a water balloon fight at the forts.  12 year old baseball players have strong arms.  

Above is a picture of the Candy Kitchen, a must do place for us at the beach.  I've put some additional photos on the blog - even the bathroom walls are decorated in candy wrappers floor to ceiling.  Lines out the door every night.  Why do people go through the trouble to brave the crowds?  Because someday those kids will be in the car driving their kids to school, and a song will come on.  Maybe Jimmy Buffett "Floridays", maybe Kenny Chesney "Summertime", maybe Kid Rock "All Summer Long".  Their kids will complain about the "oldies", but the driver will be smiling.  He or she is remembering just how that mint chocolate chip cone tasted on nights at the beach at the Candy Kitchen.

So where are you going to make your memories?  Somewhere new every time to explore and learn about different places and cultures?  Or maybe a traditional spot where everything is familiar.  Whatever you choose, travel and is an experience not to be missed.

  PHOTO CREDIT :  Parker Christian (Flickr)