As excited as I am about my upcoming trips to Boston and Las Vegas, they’re not among my dream destinations. If I were able to pick anywhere to visit, I’d definitely want to head back to Europe. We were there SO long ago, it seems like another lifetime ago! And being that I’ve been able to ski in North Carolina and Colorado, I’d of course have to go skiing in Europe. Some of the best skiing is in the Alps, and if you’re going to go all out with a luxury ski vacation, you of COURSE need one of these luxury villas to stay in!

Can you imagine staying in a beautiful, traditional Swiss chalet in the Alps? How about a 5 story chalet with an indoor swimming pool, 5 bedrooms, and 5 bathrooms? It can be yours for just over $3000 USD per night - that’s the kind of place that the rich and famous stay when they go to ski, no doubt! Check out the site for yourself - it’s amazing to see what kind of luxury accommodations are offered in locations around the world, from Switzerland to Australia to Africa.

I booked our airfare and hotel for Las Vegas yesterday!

I’m going to be doing a lot of traveling over the next few weeks. I’ve got Boston next week, then the 3-Day in Tampa in October, and then in November, we’re off to Las Vegas for 5 nights. Jim and I paid a little more for direct flights on Southwest, and we’re staying at one of the older hotels on the strip. He’s already talking about the places he wants to take me once we get to Las Vegas - to check out the shops at The Forum, to Ellis Island, to see a show - I’m excited!

When I was making my travel arrangements for Boston, I called a local car service to inquire about the cost of getting from Logan Airport to my destination. It’s only about a 45 minute trip, with traffic, so you can imagine my surprise when I was quoted $120 - ONE WAY! I can take the shuttle from Tampa airport just as far for under $40. And before you go saying “big city prices”, I checked rates for New York City by Googling “airport service NYC” and I found rates for a LIMO for half of what I was quoted for a regular car pick up. It makes me wish I was flying into NYC - for $70, I’d have a driver with a sign waiting for me at baggage claim, and I could ride into Manhattan in style!

I’m off to Boston in a few days for a business trip, and just remembered tonight to check Weather.com so I’d know what to pack! I was hoping for a bit of Indian summer weather, and while it’s not exactly going to be cool enough to be considered Indian summer, I’ll take it! The forecast is calling for highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the 60’s, and the humidity will be lower than here in Florida.

It’s just a quick 2 night trip, and I’m actually disappointed about that. I’ll get to see Boston - from the air, and from a car! I’ll be in meetings and such, and at dinners with people, so I won’t have time to visit any of the historic sites I’m itching to see.

I am a big fan of renting vacation homes or condos. With 5 of us in the family, if we’re staying anywhere for more than a few nights, it just makes sense. Condos and vacation rentals may cost a tad more than a hotel room, but we save money in the long run, by buying food and making breakfast and lunch on our own each day. Eating out 3 times a day for a family of 5 cuts into the vacation budget real quick. That’s why if I ever make it to Hawaii, we’ll totally be checking out something like these Kauai vacation rentals. Remax Kauai offers rentals in all of the vacation hot spots, like the Waipouli Beach Resort, as well as other cities and out of the way locations around Kauai. It’s a great place to visit for beaches, a little bit of history, and a quieter, more laid back experience than Honolulu. Kind of close to everything, but still far away…right?

These Poipu vacation rentals look amazing - just look at the waves crashing into the cliffs. I could see myself sitting on that bench for hours looking out over the ocean, or reading a book and letting the rays hit me. The condos are located on the southern tip of Kauai and have ocean views, a pool, golf, tennis, and all of the luxury of a 5 star resort, as well as plenty of room for the 5 of us to stretch out and relax!

This is a sponsored review.

Are you a last minute packer? I am. And for our trip tomorrow, the kids don’t have a clue that we’re going, so I have to pack for all of them sometime tomorrow. Usually, I tell them what to put in the suitcase, and supervise. That’s much easier than packing for 3 kids by myself. I sure hope I don’t forget something - one of the last times we went to Disney, my oldest forget her bathing suit and we spent $45 on a replacement!

I’m sad to hear that Hurricane Dean was able to inflict so much damage on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. We’ve been there several times on cruises, and I’ve always liked the area. The other times I’ve been to Mexico it was to a poorer section across the Rio Grande from El Paso. Big difference between the places where people actually live and where all of the tourists go! It’s probably not an area where most people go to vacation. And the Yucatan is a cruise ship destination, so most people only visit for a day. I’d love to go for one of these
luxury holidays in a part of Mexico I’ve never been to, so that I can veg on a beach, or lay in a hammock, and enjoy a nice cold Corona. (Or two or seven!) There are some beautiful areas in Mexico I’ve never even been close to, complete with resorts, ruins, bustling cities, desert, and even mountains. Or how about Maldives holidays? The Maldives consist of 1,200 islands nestled in the Indian Ocean. Most people in the US have never heard of it, but it’s long been a favorite of people from the UK and Europe to enjoy as a getaway. Like the Caribbean and Mexico, Maldives offers many luxury “all inclusive” packages, and the islands can be reached in less than a day from London.

With less than 24 hours til we leave for Disney World, my brain is officially in Disney mode. I woke up this morning and immediately thought about how I had just 1 more sleep til Disney!

Our plans so far include going to Ohana for dinner on Friday night, checking out the Caribbean Beach Resort, since we’ve never stayed there before, definitely hitting Magic Kingdom, and possibly squeezing in a trip to the outlet mall. I’m already drooling just thinking about the fabulous bread pudding dessert at Ohana! It’s a fun place to eat anyway, with coconut rolling contests and a wandering ukulele player, your server calling you “cousin”, and meat on skewers!

My husband dreams of going to Spain someday, so that he can participate in the running of the bulls. Me, I just dream of going to Spain. I have no intention of showing how out of shape I am by letting myself get gored by a bull! I prefer my vacations to be injury free. Should you be level headed traveler, like myself, you’re probably less interested in the running of the bulls, and more interested in seeing the sights and history of Spain, especially it’s capital city - Madrid. This is one place in Europe where you won’t find a bevy of bilingual residents, so it’s a good idea to learn a few simple Spanish phrases before you go, or purchase an English to Spanish dictionary to carry along with you.

Madrid has a long history, both religious and royal, and no trip is complete without stops at two important destinations. The first is the Royal Palace, which is a the largest in Europe, and the second is the Catedral de la Almudena, located across the street from the palace. You can easily find Madrid hotels located with walking distance of major attractions on HotelClub.com, and the site offers both cheap hotels for the budget traveler, and 5 star hotels going for as much as 419 Euros per night.

Has anyone used the new Netflix movies on your laptop feature? I’m scheduled to be in Boston in 2 weeks for a business trip, and the last time I was on a business trip, I was super bored in my hotel room each night. I’m wondering about the quality and download speed at which you can get the movies from Netflix, because it seems easier than carrying a disk along with me to watch. I think with my plan I can get 3 movies a month that way.

I use Google’s map feature quite a bit, but it annoys me at times. For instance, if I were looking at the driving directions to go from my house, to Disney World, Google attempts to send me a good 40 minutes out of the way on an interstate, deeming that it’s faster than the 2 lane back road I’d normally drive on. I’ve been both ways, and Google’s way is definitely not faster. I’d imagine that for people traveling in cities, you need more of a system than what Google can offer too. You may need to use public transportation to get where you’re going, and most public map sites don’t offer that option, forcing you to make do without.

That’s what makes Public Routes so neat - the system is smart enough to be able to give you driving directions, bus routes, walking times, and even subway information. If you’re in a major US or UK city, Public Routes can help. Maybe you need Minneapolis driving directions, or the fastest way to get from midtown Manhattan to Queens in midday? Public routes can do that, giving you a detailed map with the fastest combination of travel methods, be it on foot, or via public transportation.

Do locations where disasters and horrible events interest you? Would you willingly travel to a location where hundreds of people met their maker, in the interest of seeing history?

I would. The question came up recently when my husband and I were talking about visiting Germany or Poland. My ideal trip would include a day at one of the concentration camps, like Auschwitz-Birkenau or Bergen-Belsen. I’ve always been interested in that dark time in history, and I would have to visit one of the sites to see it all with my own two eyes, and to pay my respects to the thousands of people who were slaughtered. I’d want to see the camps to remind myself of what can happen when the wrong people gain power. When the contestants on Survivor knelt at the entrance (death gate) of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, I found myself crying in my living room. I can only imagine how moving it would be to see it in person.

My husband thinks it’s too depressing and it’s not something he would be interested in seeing.

Who do you agree with? Would you want to see something like this on a vacation? Why, or why not?

We had a bunch of my husband’s buddies over this weekend, and of course, the talk turned to their next “guy trip”. They’re thinking, Costa Rica. I’m thinking, with what money? HA! I’d be al for it if I were going too! These are the same guys my husband went to Amsterdam with back in 1999. They flew into Amsterdam, spent a few days seeing the sites, and then bought rail passes to travel through the rest of Europe. Nice, huh? Of course these guys did a lot of sleeping in train stations and hostels. They’re not exactly the type who would use an Amsterdam hotel guide to plan out anything in advance. Me? I’m exactly that type. When I plan my next trip to London, I also plan on pouring over a London hotel guide for several weeks before making my hotel selection. Where you stay, as far as location, is VERY important to me. I’ll stay at a hotel with fewer amenities, or pay a little more, simply for having a great location. The last time we visited London, we stayed in a great hotel down a side street, which happened to end at Buckingham Palace. Talk about a fabulous location! Quiet, but literally close to EVERYTHING. It was called Buckingham Palace Road for heavens sake, and in a lovely area called Westminster.

Maybe my next trip won’t be to London. No worries - there’s a Europe hotels guide to give me information on any city I could hope to ever visit!

This is a sponsored review.

Hurricane Dean is certainly doing some damage to a former vacation spot of ours. We visited Mexico, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica on a 7 night cruise in 2005, and those areas are currently being pounded hard by Dean. It’s a little ironic considering we went to Costa Maya, Mexico, instead of Cozumel because that area had been hit so hard by another storm. Those areas never seem to catch a break.

On the other hand, Florida is catching a major break this year on storms. We haven’t had a single one threaten us all hurricane season, and here it is - almost September! (Knock on wood!)

While I was at my husband’s high school reunion a few weekends ago, I met one of his old friends, who is now a missionary in Russia! I probably grilled him a little too much about his experiences, but it was so interesting. I’ve since learned that there are travel agencies that specialize in booking travel for missionaries like my husband’s friend. Golden Rule Travel is one of those agencies that assists people in booking mission flights all over the world! They even have special contracts with airlines allowing them to receive special rates for missionaries, and all of the staff were missionaries at one point or another.

The company can also offer assistance with adoption travel. Having had friends who adopted, I know how plans can change at the last minute, so Golden Rule has negotiated special agreements with the airlines to allow you to change dates at a moment’s notice. It’s good to see someone realizes how stressful that time is for new parents!

We’ve been on a Disney Cruise before, and hands down, it was one of the BEST cruises we’ve ever been on. The ship was fantastic, the staff was amazing, and the attention to detail on everything from the entertainment to the decor was super. I’m not surprised that the Disney Cruise Line was recently named one of the top cruise lines in the industry by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine!

The magazine editor’s selected cruises and the readers voted on - because Disney goes out of their way to engage the whole family on their ship, they won high honors. One reason we enjoyed the ship so much is that it had a large area devoted specifically to the kids. On another cruise line we went on, the playroom was mostly used for the babies, and my kids were shuffled from lounge to lounge for their activities. Disney had a huge play area for the kids, a big screen TV, and plenty of activities to keep them busy, but the kids were also able to just have down time to play if they wanted to do that.

Congratulations to Disney!

If you’ve searched all of the big travel sites, like Travelocity, Expedia, Cheap Tickets - and you’re just NOT finding what you require, there are plenty of other sites that offer rates for smaller chains and privately owned hotels that usually aren’t listed on the larger travel sites. You’ll pay a small booking fee ($5.99) for using LodgingHunt.com to reserve your room, but you might just find a smaller hotel that is more affordable than a large chain.

For example, the Arizona lodging on their site lists small motels in Lake Havasu for just $50 a night, or lodges just a mile from the rim of the Grand Canyon. Their Illinois lodging offers motels and hotels in Chicago and every small town you can think of! Or how about Nevada lodging? Not only will you find the big hotels of Las Vegas that go for several hundreds of dollars per night, but I also found older hotels on the strip for just $39 - now that’s how to see Las Vegas on a budget! (I always heard about people finding rooms that cheap, but I’ve never seen those hotels on the big travel websites. They’re not for everyone, but they’re definitely affordable!)

This is a sponsored review.

Have you heard of a new tour company called Adventures By Disney? The Walt Disney Company started this line in order to offer guests a Disney vacation away from the parks. The company offers a guided vacation to some atypical family vacation locations - like boating to Capri! In 2008, Adventures by Disney will be adding 8 more trips, giving families the chance to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef, hike Machu Picchu, kayak to the Pont du Gard in France, or explore the Great Wall of China.

An Adventures by Disney vacation includes family activities, as well as special events just for the children - like pizza parties and scavenger hunts - so that the adults can enjoy some alone time. Each group has 2 adventure guides who act as your mobile concierge. You’ll do more than just SEE the sights - you’ll be able to learn local arts and crafts or dances or go behind the scenes for special tours.

You may pay a bit more money for one of these tours than a traditional tour vacation, but having been on a Disney cruise, it’s worth every penny. Disney pays attention to details and really does a great job of engaging the entire family.

I absolutely love London. I’ve been there twice (with my mom in 1995, and again with my mom and husband-to-be in 1996) and found it to be delightful both times. It’s rich in history, which I so appreciate, and a very hip, fun city to visit. We enjoyed seeing the Tower of London, and a play in the theater district, and touring Buckingham Castle. Something that wasn’t there when I visited is the London Eye - you may know it as the big ferris wheel. The London Eye gives you a birds eye view of all the city has to offer, and on clear days, you can see as far as Windsor Castle, located 25 miles away. (Been there, toured that!) The eye is 135 meters high, and overlooks the banks of the Thames River, which I’ve enjoyed a river cruise on. Over 3.5 million people visit the London Eye each year, and should you wish to see it, you can easily find a London hotel within close proximity to the eye. Did you know, you can even get MARRIED on the London Eye? It’s true! Wouldn’t that be something to tell the grandkids?

The last stop on our vacation in Canada was Niagara Falls, where we stayed at the Hilton Fallsview on the Canadian side. This was, by far, the nicest hotel we stayed at during our trip to Canada. We stayed for 2 nights, from June 25th through June 26th. The hotel is located at 6361 Fallsview Boulevard in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Having never been to Niagara Falls, we had no idea what to expect. The picture on the hotel website is a *bit* misleading, as it shows nothing but trees between the hotel and the falls. While I’m sure that would be lovely, it’s not true. There are several other buildings, including a hotel, between the Hilton Fallsview and the falls. That said, we still had a fantastic view from our room of the falls. Considering the view on half of the hotel was a run down motel and a parking lot, I’d say we lucked out.

But alas - I’m getting ahead of myself!

Price: This was the best deal of our stay. We got our rooms for around $120 per night, and considering that this was quite possibly THE nicest hotel in Niagara Falls, I was quite pleased with what we paid for our stay. The price also included the breakfast buffet, which was in the hotel restaurant on one of the highest floors.

Location: You can’t beat the location of the Hilton Niagara Fallsview. If you like to gamble, you can cross through the covered walkway from the hotel to the casino across the street, without even leaving the comfort of air conditioning. The Skylon Tower and IMAX are just a block away. There is a park just 2 blocks down the hill where you can view the falls, and the dining / entertainment district is just a few blocks past that. There is plenty of dining to walk to as well.

Cleanliness: Our hotel room did smell like cigarette smoke when we checked in. We complained immediately to the front desk and asked for another room but they said they were full and couldn’t accommodate us. Considering it was only 4pm, I was more than surprised that EVERY single guest had already checked in, causing the hotel to be out of rooms. Instead, the front desk sent up a maid to spray the room with Febreeze. It helped, temporarily, but each time we entered the room we were hit with the stink. I realize this isn’t the fault of the hotel entirely, since it was a non smoking hotel, but I sure wish they had given us another room.

Other than that, the room was perfect. Beautiful bedding, clean, high end fixtures - everything was perfect. The public areas were beautifully maintained and had a rich, luxurious feeling.

Staff: See above comments about the smoky room. Also, when we checked in, at 4pm, we were told our rooms weren’t ready yet and to come back. WHAT? I hate that. The concierge desk was fabulous and a big help in booking our tours and filling us in on what Niagara had to offer.

Amenities: We specifically picked this resort because of the fabulous pool complex. We knew after 1 1/2 weeks on vacation, the kids would appreciate some down time in a great pool. And it was GREAT! There’s a huge waterfall, and an even bigger slide, plenty of seating, and the kids had a blast.

We also took advantage of the free breakfast. If you paid for the buffet, it was $10 per adult, and it is NOT worth it. For free, it was acceptable. It was a pretty lean buffet, and didn’t even have a make your own waffle machine, just some pre-made waffles out under the heat lamps. The restaurant is located on one of the highest floors of the hotel, and affords a wonderful view though. I would have liked to have had dinner there with Jim if we had more time.

The hotel also offers a free shuttle to the entertainment area, should you not wish to walk there. We took it over a few times, but ended up getting a cab back the first night since we grew tired of waiting for the shuttle.

Comfort: Cold a/c, nice sheets and a duvet - this camper was quite please!

Overall rank: On a scale of 1 to 10, the Hilton Fallsview receives a 9.