Ever enjoy a Boutique Hotel's basement restaurant in the Left Bank of Paris? We just did again this year. It's in San Francisco in the Cornell Hotel. Powell and Bush Streets. Prix Fixe dinner, four courses for $38. Country French with a marvelous wine list that only has a $10 mark up. Great wines for $20-40.Lora had the Squash soup, Endive and crab salad, steak Au Pourvie, and Grand Marnie Souffle. I had the Cervettes and and Coquettes. The wine was a Margaux. Great meal, great value all in the delightfully designed left bank atmoshere. Its called "Jeanne D'Arc. 415-421-3154. Try it.
ari

Tucson -the Mexican Food Capital of the USA

One of the reasons I was so excitedly looking forward to my trip to Tucson was the chance to go for some really authentic and good Mexican food. The city has its own version of Tex-Mex which it calls Arizona-Sonoran cuisine, the "soul food" of Arizona which was once part of the Mexican state of Sonora. No chain restaurants here but rather mom and pop places that ar handed down to future generations. Personally I was amazed by the fact that almost all the Mexican restaurants that I enjoyed some 30 years ago are still around.

Tonight I had a chimichanga at Mi Nidito, one of the older traditional restaurants in South Tucson whose claim to fame include recent diners like President Clinton, Madeline Albreight and a recent Food Network clip on Men and Food.

Did you know that the chimichanga was actually invented in Tucson? Family legend has it that restaurant founder Monica Flin of El Charro Cafe, the oldest Mexican restaurant in Tucson cussed in the kitchen when a burrito accidentally flipped into the deep fryer. Because her young nieces and nephews were in the kitchen, she changed the swear word to "chimichanga", the Spanish equivalent of "thingamagig."

Culinary tourism is such a big market here that even Grayline offers a "Best of the Barrio" tour at $85/person offering a look at Sonoran Cuisine in the heart of South Tucson. Tastings range from handmade pastries/tortillas, carne asada, Sonoran hot dogs, fresh seafood, etc.
On a more global scale, Grayline also offers a Global Tapas Tour for $91/person which features Tucson's global cuisine from Cuba, Ethiopia, Mexico and Greece.

Next time you send clients to Phoenix, don't overlook Tucson if they want to enjoy some authentic Mexican food!

Viking River Cruises

I have a story to share about Viking. About a month ago I received a call from Melvin at Viking River Cruises.  He knew I had booked a "Tulips and Windmills" cruise for my clients, the Chars, with another agent. Melvin was following up with me to inquire whether they had been satisfied with their trip as he had record of Dr. and Mrs. Char having cruised "Waterways of the Czars" in the past. I told Melvin the Chars did enjoy their trip but had noticed the menu selection for their cruise offered less choices.

I shared with Melvin some bad experiences I had in booking Viking including not being able to book "Imperial Jewels of China" as Viking released their hotel space for that sailing.  I also told him that I'd later received a phone call from my client telling me he was able to book the same sailing with Cruise.com and had to pay in full by 6 that night. This led me to call Viking to ask for the manager. The manager wouldn't take my call and I was informed that whomever paid for the cruise first would get the booking.  I ended up with the family booking; the hotel assignments and air was assigned before their departure. Next, I told Melvin that later I received numerous fam offers from Viking for "Imperial Jewels of China."  I had purchased air to Shanghai to visit family and made several calls, including some to the reps requesting to take the only a portion of the Yangtze River Cruise as I had already cruised the Yangtze River and visited both Shanghai and Beijing.  I was told that regardless, I would have to pay for the entire trip and still arrange my own flights and transfers.  I'd wanted the experience of taking Viking's new ship and seeing recent changes in the dams under construction.  In light of being denied, I was disappointed to learn that the ship didn't sail full.

At this time, Melvin informed me that surprisingly, he takes reservations and that someone else had requested a partial booking. He was able to help them without their having to pay the full amount after taking the case to his supervisor.  For 2010 sailings, Melvin stated that they are sold out into September and October but checked to offer openings that were canceled.  

For future Viking bookings, I plan to call Melvin Chua at (877) 668 4546, ext 8297.  He was most pleasant and helpful.

Great dinning.

Thanks to Velma we went to Santana Row for the Early dining diner. We went to LB Steak House and had a very nice dinner. Steak, caesar salad and pumpkin Creme Brulee. On the menu it was ~$45. We paid the $30, Plus we got two tickets to "The Christmas Story" at the SJ Rep. What a neat theater. Reminded me of West End ones in London. The play was a very warm and humorous and brought back many memories. I always wanted a BB gun. Never got one. One can still dream...
Try it before the special is gone.

Monterey

If you have not seen the SEAHORSE exibition don't miss it. Kids love it. Also you can plan ahead a find out which days they will be feeding in the big tank. Its only every thre days or so. There are some really good deals at nearby hotels with great T/A rates Sun - Thur. Great way to park the car, relax and walk to everything.

New Zealand FAM with Contiki

In late October I had the opportunity to spend 10 days in New Zealand on a FAM trip hosted by Contiki, a travel company that caters to people 18-35 years old. New Zealand is a beautiful country with lots of waterfalls, rivers, mountains and beautiful scenery We visited cities such as Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown.


New Zealand is a destination that offers many activities. We had the opportunity to participate in a Bungee jump, an air safari, a jet boat ride, rafting, sky diving and much more.

One highlight of the trip was an overnight vintage steamship to Milford Sound. The cruise was breathtaking as we passed towering cliffs and spectacular waterfalls. The cabins were very small, with four people per cabin and only one person could enter at one time. The showers were co-ed and the bathrooms were outside. Most of us slept in our clothes in case we needed to use the bathroom at night.

The highlight of the trip for me was when we visited the MINUS 5-degrees BAR.
The charge to enter the bar was $28NZ that included your boots, socks, gloves, and a hooded parka. In addition you had to purchase a drink ticket before entering. Everything in the bar was made of ice including a couch, a chair and many beautiful ice carvings. Even our glasses were made of ice.

Another highlight for me was when we went up the Skyline Gondola to experience spectacular views of Queenstown. We had dinner at the Skyline restaurant that serves a 6-course buffet.


To summarize a little about Contiki, it is a company that caters to young adults 18-35 and tries to keep the cost low while including lots of activities. Our itinerary was similar to a commercial Contiki trip. For us, many of the activities were included but we did have some optional tours that a lot of us did. All the breakfast and dinners were included but no lunches. The hotels were low end but comfortable and clean. The guide’s were very informative and the bus drivers were amazing. The activities were superb. If this was a commercially booked trip, most of the activities would be optional except for the sight seeing and the Vintage steamboat cruise.

All in all I enjoyed the trip tremendously and will definitely try to sell it.
Thank you Contiki for giving me the opportunity to finally see New Zealand.

Shark Dive Maui Hawaii

On our recent trip to Maui Linda and I visited the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium on 11/2/09. Travel Agents who show their business cards can get in for only $5.00 per person. Normal admission for Adults is $25.00, Children ages 3-12 is $18.00, and Seniors ages 65+ is $22.00 a day.
While we were walking around the aquarium and I came across a flyer that was about a Shark Dive in the Maui Ocean Center in their 750,000 gallon Shark Tank. I am a Certified Scuba Open Water Diver, and this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to dive with over 20 sharks including a Tiger shark, Hammerheads, Black Tip and White Tip reef sharks, Sandbar and Graybar reef sharks. Also in the tank are Spotted Eagle Ray, Broad Stingrays, and hundreds of tropical reef fish.
Reservations are required. When I signed up for the dive The total cost was $214.00 this included admission for Linda and I on 11/4/09. They provided the air tank and the weight belt only. You must have your dive Certification Card with you. I had to supply a wet suit, mask, BC Vest, and Regulator, which I was able to rent for about $15.00 for everything from one of the many Maui Dive Shops the night before. The dive lasted 30-40 minutes, maximum depth of 20 feet.
Linda was able to take pictures of me while I was in the tank and I also had a underwater camera thattook in the tank with me. Take a look at my pictures and video. I also received a T-shirt and a Certificate after the dive was over. We had a great time there and I would recommend this dive to any Certified Diver.

The Kapalua Villas in Maui site inspection and stay in November:

John and I stayed two nights at the Kapalua Villas in Maui on The Ridge Villas over looking the ocean. Prior to our stay we did a site inspection with Molly Elmo the assistant Manager of Kapalua Adventure Center. Molly is a sweetheart and showed us as much of the Kapalua Villas property as she could. There is three areas to stay at here; The Ridge Villas, The Golf Villas over looking the golf coarse and The Bay Villas are oceanfront villas. The Villas are two-story condos that are privately owned with full kitchen, living room and free internet. Upstairs has a very large bathroom and in it was a washer and drawer, shower, a Jacuzzi bathtub, double sinks, a walk in closet and a bedroom with a balcony overlooking the ocean. That is what ours looked like but each condo is different. We even seen a house you can rent with a pool for $4000.00 a day; it was so beautiful and 12 people could sleep in this house. There is also a Spa, Plantation House Restaurant, resort golf shop, golf academy, tennis garden, Honolua store, logo shop, adventure center, activity desk, grocery store, and they have 3 restaurants in this area. They have a free shuttle service that you can call and they will pick you up at your villa and take you to a restaurant, shopping, golfing and take back when you are ready. This is on the far north side of the island next to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The site inspection was great but staying there was wonderful. I even cooked dinner one night. This one gets A+ from me.

The Kapalua Villas Maui
500 Office Road, Lahaina, Maui
800-545-0018
kapalua.com

Linda Moore

Technology Insights

I was glancing today at my October 2009 issue of Corporate & Incentive Travel and found this gem written by Susan RoAne which might be of some value to us agents....

"When we use technology to avoid human interaction, we may save time and money but we lose out on the opportunity to build rapport, trust and connections, and the unexpected benefits that happen in the face-to-face space."

I couldn't agree more! Everyone wants the to get there (wherever that may be) in the easiest, fastest and most economical way but often this method causes your message and your brand to be overlooked. Think about mixing it up, call a few clients daily, visit a few and take every possible opportunity to speak with them in person. It'll pay off as your clients will become addicted to your personalized services which thus far the internet can't yet replicate though they are getting better all the time.

Luxury Travel Expo

Velma, Linda and John Moore and I attended a well-organized and informative Luxury Expo last week. One of the highlights was attending the Australia Reunion at the home of Jeff Adams located in the Red Rock Canyon area. We were bused there and were wined and dined. My favorite food was the large country sausage, smothered with carmelized onions on a huge bun. Most of the wines being served were from Australia.We had to take a test to win a free trip to Australia and were given t-shirts that we had to wear for the drawing at their booth the next day.

Jeff had the crew from "Thunder from Downunder" introduce themselves and invited the ladies to attend their show the following night, but that men were also allowed. We got our tickets from the Australia booth the next day and attended "Australia's Thunder from Downunder" at the Excaliber. The majority of the audience was women with a few men, including John. When the show started, you should have heard the yelling, screaming and clapping of the audience, which never stopped. During the performance, one of the "Yonder from Downunder" (wearing only a G-string) landed on our table and took off Linda's glasses. After a few shakes here and there, he returned the glasses to Linda. Linda tried to put them back on but she said they were foggy and thought she should sanitize them first. WELL - Ladies....you should ask Linda where her glasses were???? After the show, we went to XS at the Encore to attend the Expo's Cocktail Party. Drinks and desserts were flowing and the dance floor was filled to capacity. It was surely a FUN NIGHT!!!

G'Day - Marilyn Sakamoto