Follow my journeys around the world….
August 2018
We visited Fiesta Americana Condesa and Live Aqua today, both Le Coleccion Resorts. Live Aqua was so serene and spa like. Definitely love this adults only resort!
Fiesta Americana Condesa is a family friendly resort not far from Live Aqua.
Le Basilic is a AAA Five Diamond Restaurant at the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach. It was an amazing culinary experience!
Nice to come back to the room and have something sweet.
August 2018
Haven’t visited the hotel zone of Cancun in a few years so it was great to be back. The beaches here have always been my favorite!
I stayed The Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach, right on the point. We stayed in the Grand Club level and had an amazing Master Suite with a huge terrace overlooking the pool and turquoise water.
Breakfast in the lounge with the best view!
Beach party was so pretty, I loved the set up and it was a gorgeous night.
Shoe Butler holds your shoes before you walk into the sand. Then rinses your feet in warm water after you leave the sand! Love this!!
September 2018
Love Negril! Back again to stay at Sandals Negril on Seven Mile Beach. Totally different vibe than South Coast but both are amazing.
The resort is longer than deeper as it follows along the beach so that you are never more than a minute or two from the water.
We had a great afternoon free to enjoy the resort and the beach. Our Butler was amazing and really took care of us all day.
We had a Sandals beach party that evening so we had some appetizers and champagne before the party.
The last morning was so beautiful, just didn’t want to leave.
Goodbye Negril, I will be back.
September 2018
Always a fun place to visit. Rick’s Cafe is the place to watch cliff divers on the westernmost coast of Jamaica. It is also the place to watch the sunset with reggae music and a Red Stripe.
Too bad it was overcast and we missed the sunset but we still had a blast!
September 2018
Beaches is a family resort in Negril, on the West Coast of Jamaica. Much smaller than its sister Resort in Turks & Caicos and Ocho Rios.
September 2018
I have a love for Jamaica and the more I go the more I want to go back. The people are what makes it for me, there is something about them that is endearing. Their gorgeous island, beautiful beaches, Blue Mountain coffee, Jerk everything, Reggae Music and soothing accents might be part of the reason.
Headed to Sandals South Coast, a long, curvy and bumpy road. Had to grab a meat pie and a Red Stripe for the ride.
South Coast is beautiful and remote, there’s not much else there so people stay at the resort and enjoy all the amenities.
The next morning was beautiful and we had a great breakfast with mimosas! After that was work, we had our training session and property/room inspections.
The Overwater Bungalows are so pretty and are positioned in a heart shape in the water. They all have butlers and private decks.
Afternoon free, a big thunderstorm and great lunch. Then time for cocktails at Latitudes Overwater Bar. Dinner was fun too with an amazing French dinner!
September 2018
Aaaahhhh, beautiful and exotic St. Lucia. Home of the volcanic Pitons, hot springs and emerald green waters.
I’m here for a Sandals trip to their three properties on the island. They are so different so I am excited to explore them!
Sandals Grande St. Lucian is my favorite because it has the nicest beach and most happening of the three. Plus it has the overwater bungalows and villas!
And beachfront Rondovals with plunge pools and hot tubs.
We had a fun party on the beach and ate at Gordon’s, the food is very good.
Dinner with the General Manager at Sandals Grande St. Lucian.
We had a great time when Sandals sent us out on a full day boat trip!
What an amazing day, seeing the Pitons, snorkeling, visiting the geothermal mud hot springs and then a rum punch party!
Having fun at the pool at the Grande with my new best friends.
We went to visit Sandals Halcyon which is much more quiet and smaller.
Sandals La Toc is beautiful too and the way it is built on the cliffs gives it amazing vistas.
Helicopter ride saves you all those hairpin turns in the mountains!!
I spent some time after my visit to Sandals to visit the rest of the island. Of course the most famous resort is Jade Mountain, you see their rooms in almost every dreamy picture of the Caribbean.
Jade Mountain is a sister resort to Anse Chastanet which is gorgeous and shares the property but not as high up with the views.
Sugar Bay is another bespoke property with a quiet and comfortable setting. Buildings are beautiful but it lets the beauty of nature shine.
Royalton St. Lucia is a newer property that is modern and clean. While beautiful, I thought it lacked the charm and personality of the other properties and didn’t have any authentic St. Lucian appeal. But if you just want a beautiful resort it will be fine.
Sad to leave St. Lucia, will definitely be back soon to enjoy more of this stunning island!
June 6, 2018
It was pretty sad waking up today knowing that we were headed straight to the airport to fly home. After such amazing trip, we didn’t want it to end. Lots of great memories and friendships made, plus so many new Aussie contacts for my clients vacations Down Under.
One of the highlights of the day was finally tasting Australian meat pies. During the course of the whole trip, I wanted to have an authentic meat pie, but we never had the opportunity. So Chris got up early and ordered a whole bunch of meat pies to have delivered to the hotel. They were really good and Andrew taught us how to properly eat them. Yum!
Kangaroo balls seem to be the most popular souvenir!
Love the different flavors around the world.
Love having 3 open seats, looks like I’m sleeping four hours to Auckland!
Must eat my lamb curry first.
I don’t like sweets but this was amazing!
Thankfully I had three empty seats on the flight from Adelaide to Auckland so I ate then slept most of the way there.
We had a 4 1/2 hour layover in Auckland so we went to the lounge. We found a big area for all 12 of us and relaxed, ate, drank, talked, ate, drank, etc! It was fun until we went to the gate and were waiting and waiting and then it was past boarding time and they finally announced a delay….
Two hours later we were off and headed to LAX, just twelve hours to go!
I had to do the calculations and figure out how to get a good nights sleep when I got back. If I can sleep through my first night home, it’s minimal jet lag if any. Since we lost a night on the way home I couldn’t sleep too much, just enough to make it to bed at home. So I slept about 7 hours and had a very hard time getting up. I kept trying and falling back asleep. Finally I got up and walked around a lot, stretched, did some jumping jacks and had a cup of coffee. I watched a movie to pass the last few hours and breakfast arrived, even though it was 3pm in LA.
I always love seeing the American flag when going into Customs and Border Protection.
We all said our goodbyes in the airport and headed home. Back to work at a desk tomorrow…just love working in the field much better!
June 5, 2018
Waking up this morning, after all the fun last night was not easy. And what was even harder was knowing that we had to go winetasting at 9:30 in the morning……
I was originally very excited to check out the McLaren Vale wine tasting area outside of Adelaide. I knew once I got myself going I would be excited again, now if I could only eat breakfast.
We had a really nice Sprinter and a great driver and guide. Our first stop was d’Arenberg, place that everyone seems to know about because of quirky cute. It was founded in 1912 and now four generations of wine makers, currently Chester Osborn is in charge. Their wines are made using traditional methods, they specialize in Rhône varieties and all have quirky names.
The Cube is bizarre! But it is something you need to experience. It was built in 2003 and inspired by the complexities and puzzles of winemaking. There are 5 levels and it’s like going into a fun house! Each level is made to excite the senses with features such as a wine sensory room, a virtual fermenter, a 360degree video room, and many other tactile experiences. I could hear White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane playing in my head and felt like I fell down the rabbit hole! There is no way to explain it, you have to experience it.
We took our places at the bar On the top floor with amazing views of the Vineyards. I looked at all of the classes and our list of wines and saw that we were tasting 9 different wines, I got dizzy all over again! I made it through the first two but couldn’t do anymore. Had to sit on one of the crazy couches and close my eyes for a little while. Towards the end I was ready to try more, especially the Peppermint Paddock sparkling red!! It was yummy and a great way to end our tasting here.
On the way down we explored the Alternate Realities Museum, and the many art installations on display-even the crazy bathrooms!
Stop number two was Wirra Wirra Vineyards, established in 1894 by an eccentric Australian cricketer. The winery prospered in its early days, producing many wines including a much acclaimed Shiraz. After his death in 1926, the winery ran into disrepair and was eventually abandoned. In 1969 the winery was rebuilt from the remnants of two walls and some slate fermenting tanks. It is a beautiful vineyard with rolling green hills. One of its most famous wines is Church Block.
By number three we were so ready to eat!! Lots of wine after breakfast really builds an appetite. Longview Vineyard is a family-owned winery in Adelaide Hills set on rolling slopes reminiscent of old world estates but with distinct Australian accents.
The tasting room and restaurant were beautiful and the food was delicious.
Besides all of this, they also have four-star accommodations with gorgeous views of the vineyards.
By the time we got to the Lane Vineyard, we were getting tired. Again, another beautiful vineyard and we had a great tour with one of the winemakers and were able to sample a few of the wines right from the barrel.
I think most of us slept on the way back to the hotel, it was about 45 minutes away but we hit some traffic. Thankfully we had time to nap before our dinner tonight which was hosted by Tasmania.
After the Tasmania event, we all tried to rally and have a drink in the hotel bar. We did go to an interesting bar around the corner that was non descriptive from the outside, had a winding staircase down, dark lighting, narrow and atmospheric. There were some great whiskey and scotch choices and we all sat around talking and having fun but only lasted one drink! It was a fun but tiring day.
June 4, 2018
Waking up this morning it was nice to know that we did not have to run around for once. Today was a “regular” workday!
I loved waking up to see room service with fresh coffee and breakfast waiting for me. I didn’t even have to get out of bed.
It was a long day though, we had speed meetings with 40 of the top suppliers, attractions, activities, adventure, tourist boards, wineries, hotels, etc., etc. We moved around the room and each one had a table and we sat down and spoke with each of them between 10am and 4pm. Many of them we had already met and experienced their services in Western Australia. The others were very interesting and now I have the contacts and companies with the best reputations to book for my clients!
Thankfully we had some time to relax before the big Gala tonight. We are going to Adelaide Botanical Gardens for a really fun event with all of the agents and suppliers!
Everyone met up in the lobby and looked so nice all dressed up. We had some cocktails and waited for the bus to bring us to the gardens. The cocktail reception was held outside in a beautiful courtyard framed with huge trees. Because it is fall the colors were gorgeous and there were rustling leaves on the ground.
We had local wines and passed hors d’oeuvres while we all chatted excitedly about our adventures all over Australia. Remember, there were 4 groups total and each one explored a different area of Australia.
Dinner was delicious and a very good atmosphere, but the venue and the mood of the guests. Everyone was in a great and excited party mood.
After dinner, the bus took us back to the hotel but most of us went across the street to have another drink. It was a fun night, lots of laughs and too many drinks!