Euro Travel & More

I’ve always been biased when it comes  to places for scuba diving but a friend who had just come back from Club Med Dominican Republic told us that we had to book Club Med – so we are trusting his opinion and going to Club Med instead of DisneyLand.  So now we are going to have to hunt down some camera goggles so that we can film our underwater adventures plus we may be visiting some dolphins as well.  My kid is very excited about seeing a pink dolphin – she wants to swim with it.  The camera goggles will work well for us because it will keep our hands free while it films everything we do – from snorkelling to spearfishing.    I think we are going to get 2 of them – and we can get them at our local store in the mall – or wait I think it’s an online only thing – so yes, we can still buy it online.   Club Med should be a fun place for any kids too – and I’m sure we could use some sun right about  now.

So Dealfind had a deal for the Delta Hotel in Fredericton and since it was a Delta Hotel, I figured I would look a little closer into it.  This is for a 2 night stay in New Brunswick for a Premier Room Overlooking the Saint John river for $150.  Not a bad deal at all – since hotel rooms are usually about $100 at least even for Priceline and a 2 night stay with $20 food voucher – now you can’t go wrong with that can you.  But wait a minute – don’t forget to read the fine prints below – there are plenty of restrictions as you can see and after reading some reviews on the hotel – the river view is nothing that special.

Expires on 30-Jun-2012. Buy up to 5 vouchers for yourself and unlimited as gifts. Limit 5 vouchers for personal use. By reservations only, please book online at DeltaFredericton.com, enter your DealFind voucher code under “Promotional Code/IATA#” to redeem. For inquiries, please call 1.888.462.8800. Package includes 2 nights accommodation in a luxury premier room overlooking the St John’s River and a $20 voucher valid towards food, beverage and alcohol. Voucher valid from Thursday to Sunday. Subject to availability. Voucher not valid from, March 20, 2012, April 12-14, 2012, May 3-5,10-11,31, 2012 and June 1-2, 2012.  Not valid for groups. Not valid with other offers. No cash back or credit. Not valid for taxes. Cannot be redeemed before Tuesday, February 7, 2012.

We’ve collected airmiles for years now and have always heard of people cashing in on their airmiles and making use of them to travel for free.  This year we are planning to visit Disneyland with our kid – so we are also cashing in on our airmiles and flying economy to Orlando Florida and we heard that Westjet – the airline we chose to travel in – had very good seats for our trip.   They have skullcandy headphones for kids when they watch their movies on the plane.   My kid had asked me if she can bring home those skullcandy headphones after using it – and truth be told I don’t even know if we can.  I guess if she liked it so much we can buy it from the airlines or search for them for sale online.   I hope we get good seats with our airmiles – even if we don’t get the skull candy headphone for free -  a 4hrs flight and a layover of 3hrs is not exactly fun if the seats on the airplane isn’t good.

My ex-boss being a resident in Madrid, of course brought us to places where the locals go and The Plaza De Santa Ana was recommended by him and it’s a real Spaniard experience here especially in the evenings.  You don’t find a lot of tourist around and drinks and food were a lot cheaper than the places where the tourists are brought to by their tour guides.  There were outdoor cafes and bar everywhere at the Plaza De Santa Ana and folks play guitar there every night with singing and dancing – it was a very lively scene.  There are a few vendors there – who would try and sell you their touristy souvenirs and you can politely refused if you didn’t want any.   We usually stay till late in the evening – as people watching as well as the singing was really good.  If you want to experience a true spanish atmosphere – try this plaza.

The Plaza is always crowded and with lots of people.

When a friend recommended this boutique hotel to us a few years ago, she told me that if you are thinking of partying and drinking – then this is not the place for you.  This place is about relaxation, yoga, healthy eating and lots of sun and the sea.  Children are not encouraged so i’ve heard.   The family cabanas has a kitchenette – so you can cook and bbq if you want, we choose an Ocean view room and it was lovely looking out watching the sun rise and set.  But let me warn you – not to expect too much – there is no cell phone connection nor a phone available for you to call but there is Wi-fi around – but it can get weird and slow at times.  No tv in the Cabanas too – so forget about bringing your xbox 360 with you.

For those looking to revitalize or re-kindle your relationship with your spouse or to find yourself – or direction – this is really a place for you.  The hotel staff leave you alone a lot of time – the maid does clean your rooms but only ever few days but if you needed anything extra – you can always contact the front desk.

Staying at the Azucar is like going back to basics – and if you want to enjoy this dream holiday – make sure you leave your work and home affairs well taken care of – for the duration of your stay there – because you will not be able to enjoy yourself – if you don’t.  This place is powered by Solar energy – pretty neat right? So if sometimes, the power goes off a few times during the day or night – don’t get too upset.  There is no air-con in the room – but there are ceiling fans in your cabanas.

To get to the hotel – it’s about 1.5hrs of driving and I strongly advised you to rent your own car at the airport.   There are  parking space around the hotel grounds – so no worries about that – because the night security will help you park your car if necessary.  there are no restaurants within the hotel – but food is within walking distance – and there are convenient stores nearby too – for you to fill up your fridge and temporary kitchen. Azucar is right in the middle of an Eco village – so like I said – do not expect a lot of high tech gadget – enjoy the sound of the waves – and talking to your partner and fall asleep in each others arms. And yes, there are bugs and mosquitoes – so if they are attracted to you – bring your wipes and repellent.

So it’s that time of the year again – where everyone is rushing to go on vacation or getting out of the cold weather into the warm.  Some of you might be going home for Christmas as well or visiting good friends in another continent.  But before you leave home with your kids especially if you are traveling with your kids – make sure you check if there is a nearby doctor or hospital and if you are staying in a hotel if there is an in-house doctor.  That’s what I do everytime I go on vacation with my kid – I remember how flustered I was when my kid had a temperature for days – and the nearest hospital was like an hour away.  Luckily the hospital was well – equipped with medical computer cart and all the medical equipments needed for x-ray and needles else I would be really devastated.   So before you go on your Christmas vacation, check if you can find medical help nearby where you are staying before leaving and take the number and address down – you never know what might come up during your vacation.

A friend who was heading up to Paris asked me where he should go eat – a must eat – in Paris and I recommended an outdoor cafe in Paris called the Au Petit Sud Quest – located at the  Avenue de la Bourdonnais.  If you can’t find your way there – check with your hotel concierge.   The prices range from $50 – $90 per person but it will be one of the best meal you’ve eaten anywhere.

What so special about this little outdoor cafe?  first you can sit indoors if you wished but I always choose to eat outside because of the beautiful scenery and all walks of people come by here.  The service is awesome and they have a very well stocked cellar in the cafe.  I loved the way they are so personable – while everyone says that in Paris – the french just don’t want to speak in other languages – but the owner of the cafe is very nice.  I speak very little french – but they were very kind to us. The best part was that they took time to explain to us about the dish and how it was cooked.  This place is about wine, duck and foie gras  and because I loved mushroom so much – they made a nice crepe with mushroom for me.  For dessert we had the creme brulee – what else!  so if you are headed out to Paris – check out this little cafe/restaurant.

One can choose to take a scenic flight on this small planes or a helicopter ride if you don’t want to spend hours on a bus tour – which was what we did.  We figured a helicopter ride would be more fun  we were traveling with kids – but a planer ride was just as good – according to my cousins who went up in a 4 engine plane with Scenic.We chose the Grand Canyon Deluxe and it was worth every penny we paid for. They pick you from your hotel and there were quite a number of people waiting for the same tour but of course different planes and helicopter – then they showed us some safety video and we were on our way.The Scenic flew us over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and finally the Grand Canyon – so if you are in Boulder – make sure you take book a tour to see the Grand Canyon.

Many years ago before I migrated to Canada – I used to do a lot of traveling for work – little did I know that when the spouse came to visit me in Asia – he too was not really having a vacation – he was traveling to find distributors and suppliers for his business.  Looking for gadgets, bearings , games and any electronic suppliers in Asia wasn’t easy at all, but we did walked the factory streets and went to the more remote factory distributors looking for them – not with a lot of success though.  I wasn’t prepared for all the walking that’s for sure – I was in heels, but if we were to travel for work now – it would be different altogether – for I would be wearing the best flats I can find.   So if we ever go on vacation with the spouse, you can be sure his interest is only to find distributors and suppliers for his work and not for pleasure.

A yoga retreat once a year is the best gift anyone can gift to their spouse/partner or even girlfriend and boyfriend.  The Horizon Ocean View Hotel and Yoga Center is heavenly.  The owners are very friendly and they really took care of us when we were there.  Food was great and it really revitalized us completely – I remembered telling myself that we will be back – the day we checked out.

This was our cabin during our vacation – we noticed a lot of couples and some honeymooners.

This is the tea cafe – we’ve enjoyed many daylights here.

Yoga room at the Horizon.

And our own personal pool that we dipped in a couple of times a day. The resort was huge and we were fed well – in different places every evening after our surfing classes, massages and yoga classes.  We also had horse riding sessions if we chose to and surfing was another sport we tried while we were there.  The meals were provided by the resort – you just use the meal vouchers.  This place is absolutely beautiful and definitely cheap – so cheap that I want to book my next trip even before I left.  Check out their website for more info.