Are you thinking about taking a dream vacation in Florence or Tuscany? Can you imagine yourself now, walking towards the famous Ponte Vecchio (below) in the early evening as the lights are starting to reflect off the river Arno. Or sipping a glass of fine Chianti while relaxing on a balmy evening and watching the sun set over the beautiful city of Florence?

If you are like me, you probably love this pre-trip stage - planning all the sights that you want to see while in Florence and Tuscany, looking at hotels or apartments to stay in while you are there, booking your flights, looking at photos.... the list goes on and on!
I try to visit Italy at least once a year, and Florence remains one of my most loved destinations.
One of my best trips to Tuscany was staying in the heart of Florence for 5 days of sightseeing with lovely Italian food and wine, followed by a week in a villa in the heart of the Tuscan countryside.
Alternate days were spent relaxing by the swimming pool and visiting towns and villages in Tuscany, including Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano, Volterra, Lucca and some of the remotest spots of the Tuscan countryside.
If you are planning your own trip to Florence or Tuscany, or if you'd just like to learn a little more before you decide to go, read on and let me be your virtual tour guide to Florence and Tuscany!

Our trip started at the beginning of September - a great time to go to Italy as you beat the summer crowds and the weather is still good but not too hot. We flew into Pisa, which has a bigger airport than Florence, but is still very handy for getting to Florence, as its just a 1hr journey by train
In Florence we spent a wonderful few days relaxing, walking and sightseeing. If you like art galleries and museums you will be spoilt for choice in Florence, with the Uffizi Gallery, home to the finest collection of Renaissance paintings in the world with over 1700 paintings and 300 sculptures, the Vasari Corridor, Palazzo Pitti, the Bargello museum, Galleria Dell' Accademia and many more.
If you are not a museum lover, there are still plenty of things to do in Florence. We climbed the 463 steps into the cupula of the Doumo for great views of Florence, wandered around looking at the sculptures in the Piazza della Signoria, stopped for a cappucino and some people watching, crossed the Ponte Vecchio and took a walk in Boboli gardens.
You can see a view of from the to of the Doumo's cupula in the photo below - this is not a climb recommended if you suffer from vertigo!

If you would like to get some ideas of what to do when you are in Florence, plus see some more photographs of the sights and get some money saving tips, please sign up for my FREE "Florence Tips by Email".
I'll tell you a bit more about the places to visit in Florence, Italy and you will also find out:
Which towns and villages besides Florence can I visit?Should I hire a car in Italy?Is it easy to travel around by train or bus in Tuscany?How to get free brochures to help you plan day trips in TuscanyWhat is the best time of the year to go to Tuscany?Where are the best places to stay in Florence without breaking the bank?
After spending a few days in Florence walking, eating, sightseeing and museum going we hired a car and drove to our home for the next week - a villa in a beautiful remote spot of the countryside in Tuscany.
A week of pure bliss followed - alternate days of relaxing by the pool in the sunshine and sampling the delights of Tuscan food and wine, then visiting the many different towns and villages that Tuscany has to offer.
Siena was one of the highlights of the trip, with it's black and white striped Duomo and huge sunny Piazza del Campo (below). Other great spots for sightseeing included Pisa with its famous leaning tower, Volterra, perched upon a high hill, surrounded with lush countryside, Lucca with its 4km city wall and San Gimignano with its ancient Medieval Towers.

While on this trip and many of my other previous trips to Florence and Tuscany I took plentiful pages of notes on these not to be missed Italian Eateries, sightseeing spots, hotels and lesser known places to visit.
I am sure like me, you probably want to try and make sure that every day of your planned vacation will be perfect - you want to be spending my hard earned money wisely, staying in the nicest possible hotels within your budget, eating in the best restaurants, visiting all the most interesting sights and relaxing as much as possible.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Budget Travel Guide

The Product: The Budget Travel Guide is for students, young people, families, and anyone else who wants to travel as much as you can without draining your bank account. Travel does not have to be something you save for all year, it can be something you can afford to de every single month!

Inside, you will find valuable information on saving as much money as possible on everything from flight and hotels to cruises and special package deals.

Here is just some of the information you will learn in Budget Travel:

The absolute best times of year to take that vacation to guarantee you get the lowest prices.

The single biggest money saver in travel. What it is and how you can take advantage of it.

Two key things that can have a huge impact on the cost of your vacation.

The best places to visit in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. There are places that are dirt cheap to visit in a specific season.

How to get HUGE discounts on hotels.

What days of the week have the cheapest prices on flights.

Simple tricks you can use to save big money on airline tickets. These are 100% legal, and almost no one knows about them.

Best times to travel to Europe, Mexican beaches, Caribbean islands, Asia, Egypt, and more.

How to do your homework and recognize great deals when you see them so you can take advantage of them right away. There are last minute deals out there that are just insane, and you need to know where to look and what to look for in these deals.

How to get the best bargains on package deals.

How to go on cheap round the world adventures.

How to get bargains on cruises.

Exactly where to find these amazing travel bargains. Companies often have special deals, but if you don't know where to look, you'll never hear about them.

How to get notified of special deals and bargains before everyone else hears about them.

How to get special deals and discounts if you're a student or are under 26.

How to get free hotel nights, free wine, and other cool incentives.

How to save money on food, car rental, and other important things once you get to your destination.

How to save money on family vacations.

And more....

View the original article here

Monday, April 25, 2011

Is the cost of your wedding putting the honeymoon of your dreams out of reach? Not to worry; if you already have all the kitchenware and bedding you need, and if you have generous friends and family, your problem might be solved by setting up a honeymoon registry.
A honeymoon registry is much like a wedding registry. Just as a wedding registry allows you to create a list of gifts you would prefer to receive at your wedding, a honeymoon registry allows you to create a list of places you would like to go and things you would like to do on your honeymoon. The honeymoon registry enables your wedding guests to purchase portions of your honeymoon. Yes, your guests could just contribute cash toward your honeymoon, but somehow giving a particular portion of the honeymoon--dinner at a fancy restaurant, or a carriage ride, for example--is more meaningful.
Type the phrase "honeymoon registry" into your favorite search engine, and you'll get thousands of results. There are three basic kinds of honeymoon registries:

• Registries that require you to book your travel through the travel agency offering the registry.

• Registries that allow you to book your travel either through the sponsoring travel agency (or other affiliated travel agencies), through the travel agency of your choice, or on your own. Usually these registries charge an extra fee or higher service charge if you choose not to book travel through the registry's parent travel agency.

• Registries that are not affiliated with any travel agencies, requiring you to make travel arrangements on your own or through a travel agency of your choice.

If a honeymoon registry sounds like the perfect solution for you, then here is a quick guide to choosing, creating, and using one:
1. Choosing the honeymoon registry
Search for the term "honeymoon registry" on your favorite search engine, and you'll come up with plenty of results. How do you choose the one that's best for you? Here are a few basic tips:


Take a "virtual tour" of several different registries. Start by looking for the registry's FAQ page, then look at a few examples of honeymoon registries.

Look for professionalism. Does the site provide a thorough explanation of its services, including all fees and service charges? Does it explain who you can contact or what you can do if you run into problems? If the honeymoon registry is run by a travel agency, does the FAQ explain the company's policy for cancelled or delayed travel?

Contact couples who have actually used the registry. You can find couples by looking up old honeymoon registries and doing a web search for their e-mail addresses. Or look for e-mail addresses associated with wedding home pages hosted by the registry service. Send a friendly e-mail explaining your situation and asking for advice; most couples will be happy to offer their advice.

Talk to someone from the registry service, either by phone or e-mail. If the registry service falls short on customer service when you're signing up, don't expect better service if a problem arises.


2. Creating the honeymoon
First, you submit some basic personal information--your names, the date of the wedding, contact information, and so on. Then you create your registry, which is an itemized list of all your honeymoon expenses. Some registries charge a setup fee, usually between $100-$150; others charge nothing to the wedding couple, but charge wedding guests a "service fee" when they buy part of the honeymoon. Most honeymoon registry websites allow you to create your registry right away over the web. Other sites put you in touch (by phone or e-mail) with a representative who helps you create your registry.
What can you list on your registry? If you can buy it, you can list it. Typical registries list transportation, lodging, activities, special amenities, and meals. Expensive items are usually broken down so guests can choose to pay only a portion of the item. For example, a honeymoon registry might list 10 gifts of $100 each toward your $1000 airfare expense.
Some honeymoon registries allow you to personalize your registry with a message to your guests and descriptions of the different parts of your honeymoon, perhaps even allowing you to upload pictures to the registry.
3. Announcing the honeymoon registry
Once your registry is set up, you need to let your wedding guests know that it exists. Many registries will provide you with printed cards announcing the registry and its web address; you can either mail them with the wedding invitation or separately. Some registries will e-mail your wedding guests if you provide their addresses.
The more tactful approach is to let your guests know about your registry indirectly. Let your parents, close friends, or wedding party members know that you have a honeymoon registry; they can pass the word along to guests. Or create a wedding web page with up-to-date information for guests, and include a link to your registry on that page. You can then list the address of your wedding web page in your invitation without directly bringing up the issue of gifts.
4. Buying gifts from the honeymoon registry
Guests look up your registry by typing your last name(s) into a search box on the registry website. After reading what you want, they click on the item(s) they want to buy and pay for the items over the website. Most registries also allow guests to purchase items by phone.
The gift-giver usually receives a certificate that is either sent to the wedding couple or to the giver (to hand on to the couple in person); some registries charge a fee to mail this certificate. Other registries notify the couple of the gift by e-mail. On any registry, you can track how many gifts you have received simply by logging into the registry.
It's important to note that most registries require guests to pay a service charge for the privilege of contributing to your honeymoon. The service charge is a percentage of the cost of the gift; the registries we surveyed had service charges ranging from 3.5% to 15%. So if a guest wants to pay $100 toward your airfare and the honeymoon registry website imposes a 10% service charge, she will end up spending $110.
5. Paying for the honeymoon
The wedding couple are ultimately responsible for paying for their honeymoon expenses. That means that any portion of the honeymoon that must be paid prior to the wedding (airfare, room deposits and so on) comes out of your pocket. Some or all of those expenses might be picked up by your guests, although most couples' honeymoon expenses are not completely covered by their registry. It's wise not to plan a more extravagant honeymoon than you can pay for yourselves.
Whatever money wedding guests contribute toward the honeymoon is placed in a holding account. The registry sends the couple a check (or electronically deposits the funds into their account) on a predetermined date, usually a week before the wedding. Even though the wedding guests paid for certain parts of the honeymoon, the couple is really free to use the money for anything they want.
6. Thanking guests
It's important to write thank-you notes to guests who bought part of the honeymoon (just as you would write thank-you notes for any wedding gift). It might actually be fun to thank guests for the honeymoon, though, because you can describe your experience in the note--you might even include a picture.







Jerry Windley-Daoust runs the Creative Honeymoon Ideas website, where you can learn more about honeymoon registries, including a side-by-side comparison of six popular honeymoon registries.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Historical Sights, Nightlife, Tips on Where to Go, Where to Stay, Shopping, Currency, and More
 Laura McKenzie, noted travel expert shares her knowledge with you in this entertaining and informative series of travel videocassettes.ahahaha,ok it is a VHS tape which, for those of you who are not familiar with the term VHS it is a rectangular plastic box which when inserted into another rectangular box produced pictures (kinda like a square CD).
 Laura has helped thousands see the world and make the most of their vacations. This video travel guide to Hong Kong includes Kowloon, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Aberdeen, Repulse Bay, Macau and more! You'll see the Kowloon Peninsula at the southern tip of China, famous for its "Golden Mile" of shopping, nightlife, jade markets and the "Sun Dynasty Village". Cross "Fragrant Harbor" to Hong Kong Island to visit the colorful older district of Wan Chai with its fascinating markets, sampan restaurants and bustling Causeway Bay. You'll see the magnificent floating restaurants moored off Aberdeen, the sunny beaches of Repulse Bay, the mythical Tiger Balm Gardens and much, much more. Perfect for armchair traveling, planning your upcoming vacation or business trip, or reminiscing about the trips you've already taken.
Price: $75.00

Click here to buy from Amazon

Thursday, February 24, 2011