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Cooking Trip Mistakes and Disasters
Cooking Trip Disasters and Mistakes, burns and spills etc. can happen so avoid them with the following information.
The Women’s Travel Group has returned again from the most marvelous cooking and sightseeing trip Tuscany to Tuscany which we repeat every year. Each day we cook and eat what we created either for lunch or for dinner. Some items like biscotti are also for snacking. Each afternoon we visit a charming Italian town: Lucca, Siena, Florence, San Gimignano. We also include chocolate and wine tasting venues. …
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What to Wear When You Complain at a Hotel
When you need to complain about your hotel situation, how you look can be as important as how you talk. Assuming you are traveling with minimal clothes, here is how to dress for this encounter. (We already printed a blog on How To Complain). Here is how to dress:
Pick out the most conservative shirt and or / jacket you have. Swirl around a scarf to make you look less formal but ‘dressed’. If you only have a tee shirt, then cover it nicely with the scarf.…
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Trip Waitlists; Are they for Real?
Waitlists are used by all kinds of companies to generate interest in their products. In travel, they are used for 4 reasons mainly
The obvious one is that the trip is full or at least the desired number of people have booked. This might be like our discount at Canyon Ranch, where we are only allotted a specific number if places at a special price. PS we have a waitlist on this one, so send us your name if you want to be on it.…
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Do not read newspapers
Returned home today to The New York Times on my doorstep. Having read half of the first section, I decided not to go to Asia, Mexico, Turkey or even to leave my apartment as there was a gas explosion in Manhattan. Then on line, I read the headline about London airport being closed due to fog; yikes.
Why do we allow print and other media to destroy our sense of adventure?
My belief is we are basically a skittish lot and any hint of trouble or misunderstanding is enough to keep us home. …
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Hotel Bars and Do Not's for Women Travelers
After a long day working, don’t you wish the hotel bar were less intimidating and less noisy? Tips to find the right hotel with the right amenities for women:
Living Lobbies: these are lobbies that incorporate the bar into a larger living space. So you can sit away privately from the bar and have your glass of wine.
Magazine and newspaper racks: these say, come relax and read without being bothered.
Armchairs in bar areas: armchairs let you sit alone and enjoy your drink; they insinuate you wish to be left alone.… -
'Do Not Eats' on First Day of Trips
If you do not eat these food items on your first day of an overseas trip, you will feel and look better: the photo here is from our healthy Mexican Party at Ixtapan Spa in February 2014.
1- Too many salty pretzels or other salty snacks. These can include hidden salt as in dried meats, ham, salamis as on our trip to Sicily.
2- Too much oil of any kind: hidden in roasted veggies, salads, on bread or drizzled on other dishes as hummus or on steak in our Argentina trip.… -
Comments about Women Travelers from the "Experts"???
Just back from speaking at The Times Travel Show where we had a chance to chat with many of you.
We thought you might want to hear these comments. Here are some of the outrageous misconceptions about women’s travel I heard during the panel discussions. It is 2014 folks!
One operator said they see a large increase in women booking their luxury package tours. This was evidenced in more requests for triples and quad rooms. What woman pays for a luxury tour and then asks for a quad room?…
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Tips to Recover from a Spa Vacation
Clean out the fridge except for your must have delights.
Try on clothes and feel good about how they fit.
Exercise even if you are still unpacking.
Take a long walk and do errands ambulatorially. If that is a word.
Buy cut up fruit and veggies today!If you need to choose between organizing photos and something active. Do the active bit.
Join us to Canyon Ranch for a deal price May 1-4/5 or wait till next year and Ixtapan Spa Feb.… -
The Pre-Trip 3 Day Guide
1. Re-read all the documents that came with your trip package and put them in carry on bags. Same with your insurance policy and keep the travel insurance company number handy. You might need to call them from the airport if your flight is cancelled. Solo travelers especially be diligent.
2. Check weather again in both destination and any stopover airport.
3. Re-scan the seating chart of your flight to see if a better seat turned up.
4. Starting at your head, going down to your toes, think through what you packed and what you have forgotten.…
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Travel Don'ts with Special Needs
Today I had a nice call from a woman who is planning on going to Morocco with us for Thanksgiving. She studied the itinerary and asked if she could sit in front of the bus for the one longer drive over the Atlas Mts. The answer was of course, yes.
Here are typical and atypical special needs we have been asked before:
1. Car sickness, yes sit in front.
2. Hearing impaired, yes sit near the guide so you can hear him.…
