Destination Focus – Italy By: Stephanie Mansell, October 2015 In July, Coby and I had the opportunity to travel to Italy to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. During our two weeks there, we visited Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Rome, and Positano. It was a very busy two weeks but we felt like we got to see all of the main sites we were hoping to see and really got a good feel for what Italy has to offer! Each city was unique in its own way! After our private water taxi, we arrived at our first hotel in Venice. We spent our time there strolling through the tiny alleys and watching the Gondolas go by. It was so nice to walk around without cars or buses anywhere. One day, we hopped around to the surrounding islands by boat and visited Murano Island – famous for Murano glass. Next, we went to Florence. We were there only 1 night but loved what we saw. We had our favorite meals in Florence and Coby enjoyed Steak Florentine at Buca Lapi – it was incredible. We also got to visit Michelangelo’s Statue of David before getting a car and heading into the Tuscan countryside.[...]
For several years it has been on my “bucket list” to travel to Peru and visit the famous Machu Picchu. I was drawn to the history, culture and opportunity to hike the Inca Trail. Since I turned 40 this past summer, it seemed like a great way to mark the milestone and do something that I had never done before. I contacted GAdventures, a trusted partner of ours, to help with my trip. GAdevntures is a Canadian based company and offers a wide variety of options in Peru. They offer small group tours worldwide. They are known for immersing clients into local culture, using local vendors and products and contributing to the communities that they bring guests. Their business model intrigues me and I was excited to experience their company first hand. I had to say I was a bit nervous about a “group tour” as I had never gone on one. In addition, when hiking the Inca Trail and camping together for four days, I knew there was no escape. I need not have worried, as our group was fourteen wonderful people representing five different countries. Our guides were the ultimate professionals. They truly loved their country and were[...]
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Destination Focus – Paris By: Tracy Murphy, March 2016 I heard a popular country music singer say on the radio this morning that his family would not be joining him for an overseas tour because, “the world is crazy”. It was only a week after the terrorist attacks in Paris that I had to make the decision on whether or not my 15 year old daughter and I would take a scheduled trip to Paris for a week. After much discussion with my husband, we decided that we would still go. Many people thought it was not a wise decision for me to take Emma to Paris. They agreed with the famous singer that the world is crazy. I agree that the world is crazy in some ways. It is crazy beautiful to see the sun peak through the clouds and shine perfectly on the graves of the soldiers that fought against the Nazi regime in World War II. What an honor and a privilege to hear some of their stories and pay our respects, as well as he incredible connection this visit made with what Emma is learning in her world history class this year. It was crazy to[...]
