Working and Travelling

It has been a busy few months working and trying to incorporate some fun travelling. I am a travel agent and I planned and went on a group cruise with my family and friends to celebrate milestone birthdays! We had the best time, there was about 20 of us. We enjoyed the many perks for sailing with a group, such as room amenities (wine, champagne, treats, room credit) and group activities.

Though we went didn’t all go on the shore tours together, we did manage to have lots of fun times on board. We all partook in cornhole, trivia, dancing, and enjoyed the many fun areas on the cruise ship. The adult pool area was a favorite, as well as the Pub.

We shared so many laughs and good times, and some people didn’t know each other (friends brought friends) when we started this journey. By the end we are all really good friends and had a fabulous time! Everyone said they would definitely go on another group cruise.

I think this experience was exactly what I needed after a long year of working and traveling for work. I got to relax and enjoy life, and travel with my family and friends. The next adventure is navigating and enjoying the upcoming holidays!

Palm Springs Adventures

Our trip to Palm Springs has been extremely relaxing. The resort we are staying at really creates the mood that you are on a relaxing vacation. We have enjoyed the pool and spa. My husband has gone to the gym everyday, the weekends are packed! On the weekends it’s very busy, but when Monday rolls around most people are gone and it’s so much better to enjoy.

We went to the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA based on many local people’s suggestion one of the days. It was a hotel with a very large casino, somewhat larger than the ones in Las Vegas. It had lots and lots of slot machines, a small amount of table games, and restaurants to choose from. We spent most of the day there because it was so big. We enjoyed playing the slots, and after we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at The Bistro. The food was very reasonably priced and delicious. I would recommend eating there if you go to this casino.

Another day we went to Augustine Casino in Coachella, CA. It was much smaller, but we enjoyed it. There wasn’t as much smoke in the air, so that was really nice. There were a lot of slots and a few table games. There is no hotel attached, and I think it’s more of a local casino.

So far we are really enjoying Palm Springs!

Palm Springs, California

I am fortunate to visit Palm Springs, California. I have always wanted to see what all the hype was about. I will be here for about 10 days, so I am very excited to get to know the area.

The hotel I am staying at is the LaQuinta Resort & Club, located right next to the mountains in the town of Palm Springs. The property is quite spread out, but the bellman can take you from your casita to the front of the hotel via golf carts if requested. Otherwise, it’s beautiful walking around the property. There are small waterfalls, beautiful vegetation, lots of pools, and lots of places to just relax and enjoy the scenery.

There is only one restaurant on property to have lunch, so we have gone in town to eat quite a bit. We visited a pizza place called Stuft, and we had the pizza and antipasto salad. We had the thick cruise pizza, and it had just the right amount of crunch. They do offer a thin crust pizza that looked good too. It really had the feel of a sports bar, and we were there on a Sunday, so we got to enjoy some football.

Later in the week we plan on going to Joshua Tree National Park amongst other places in the area. I will write about them as we visit them.

Work Life

I recently worked a meeting at a hotel in Orlando. The group had about 1,700 people attending and entailed back-to-back meetings. I worked preparing the meeting room sets. This hotel has a lot of square footage to cover and I had at least 25 meeting rooms to set and check everyday.

To say I was tired would be an understatement. The days were long and very busy. The team I worked with on the meeting were very good planners. They had done all the prework, so I just needed to expedite it onsite. Overall, it went very smoothly with very few hiccups.

The hotel was easy to work with, and that made for a better meeting. They set all the rooms properly and the meals were all ontime. The hotel staff worked very hard to make sure all the events went flawlessly.

I just wanted to give you a brief insight into some of my life.

Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota, FL

I went to Sarasota for a day visit over the weekend. The weather was warm, and the sun was shining all day! There is quite a bit to do there, and there is a great water side view.

We had lunch at Der Dutchman on the their German buffet lunch. I normally would order off the menu, but the buffet had pretty much everything on the menu and it looked good. They had a great salad bar and the Broasted Chicken was fabulous! There is a large gift shop on the 2nd floor with had everything from attire, jewelry, bags, Fall and Holiday gifts.

After lunch we drove around the town just looking at the sites. We made it down by the water to the Sarasota Bayfront and walked around the park a little bit. It was very relaxing. In front of the Bayfront was the Unconditional Surrender Statue (sailor and nurse). This was really cool to see!

There is so much to do in Sarasota you could really stay there for a few days. There is the Ringling Museum, Circus Museum and Art Museum. The Ringling is part of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus. The town has a lot to do and see regarding the Ringlings, and there is so much history about them.

We had a wonderful day driving around and seeing the sites. I definitely want to go back and visit some of the museums in town. They also have boat tours, so that would be fun to go back and do.

Travels to Germany

I recently spent 3 weeks in Germany.  I had the opportunity to explore different parts of Munich and Berlin. Both cities have a unique essence about them and offer very different experiences.

Munich is very touristy and safe. It offers people the unique German experiences most people think of when wanting to go to Germany, such as the HofBrauHouse and outdoor Beer Gardens. The Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Marienplatz offers guests the chance to watch the Glockenspiel chime (11:00 am, noon and 5:00 pm – except winter). The locals that work usually dress in the typical German outfits (dresses / shorts and lederhosen).

Berlin is more spread out and has a lot of history. Even after all these years, the locals are still dealing with the fall of the Berlin wall, and carry a lot of pain inside regarding the issues surrounding it. There are a lot of museum’s to visit, and most are well worth seeing. The Topography of Terror is a very popular museum, as it illustrates the Nazi terror between 1933-1945. Berlin has many shopping malls, but keep in mind they are closed on Sundays. Taking a boat tour is a fabulous way to enjoy the great outdoors, while floating past the great architectural buildings.

The best way we found to get around Munich and Berlin was by electric bike, which is rented through Uber, and scooters, which we rented through Lime. It’s a great way to cover a lot of distance in a short period of time.

Germany has so much to offer visitors, and you can easily spend weeks just exploring the country. The best way to make sure you see most of what the country offers is on a River Cruise around Germany. It also allows you to experience the many flavors of the German Regions. I, for one cannot wait to go back and visit different regions and locations!

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