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England Harry Potter Tours

9/16/2013

Harry Potter fans will love this themetrip! England has so many tours set up for this type of adventure based on different scenes and locations from the movies. You can join a tour or you can make your own.

We flew into Heathrow for a week vacation and instead of going straight to the hotel we ordered one of the fun little black cabs to take us around town on a Harry Potter tour that we helped create. If you are comfortable on your own driving in England, there are many resources to all the locations used in the filming, but if you are like me and do not want to try the left-side driving, most cab companies also know the route.

The little black cab company toured us around all spots Harry Potter. We were taken to see where the platform 9¾ was, the Gringott bank, the iconic red phone booth as well as the area used to film the wand shop in Diagon Alley. Not only did we get a full day of touring all around London to get our bearings, the added bonus of following in the footsteps of Harry Potter made it much more memorable.

This is a great tour idea if you are needing a ride from the airport to your hotel anyways since the price of transfers are pricey in Europe so it is a 2 for 1. It is also helpful if you fly in early and have late check in. This style of tour keeps the kids interested and your jet lag at bay while you wait for your hotel room to be ready.

Can you guess which Harry Potter scene this door is in?

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Culinary Food Tours

9/9/2013

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Foodies will delight in a culinary-inspired vacation and tours. Many big cities have walking culinary tours and even some out-of-the-way locations have caught on to this amazing opportunity to experience both the flavors and the feel of a city. Start with a food tour on vacation and you will know where to go the rest of your vacation!

*In Scottsdale, Arizona with the Arizona Food Tours company we sampled a walking tour in Old Town Scottsdale that wowed us with  amazing food, wine, and a friendly tour guide.  My favorite stops were Cowboy Ciao and 5th and Wine.

*In Miami, Florida with Miami Food Tours, our walking tour included Cuban and Peruvian food, that we not only had never tried before, but found we loved. Have you ever tried Cuban coffee? My favorite was called a Cortadito and I forever wish we had a place close to our home. They also included an architecture tour.

*In Oahu, Hawaii with Hawaii Food Tours, we had our first walk/drive tour where we walked to some of the locations and were driven to others. This tour set our trip for our future meals while we were on the Island. The highlight was a stop at Leonard's for Malasadas, also known as the Portuguese donut.

*Madrid, Spain Madrid Food Tours was another walking tour with plenty of drinks included. We stopped at the Jamon Imberico shop (also known as specialty ham) and generally just strolled with our new found friends.
Many of the tours include alcoholic drinks for the adults. Try to find a tour that highlights the local culture and area. On most of these tours, the guests usually start out timid and become fast friends by the end, especially if alcohol is involved.

Don’t be afraid to try these in your home town just assuming that you have already tried the food in your area. Often the tour guide will know the best dishes offered at a restaurant and can offer historical tips you never knew about your area. Pretend you are on an out-of-state vacation to make the most of your adventure. My culinary cousin in California also suggest trying the Avital Tour in San Francisco so I bet that is where you will find me when I visit her!

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Bar Crawling

9/4/2013

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Trying to think up a plan for a friend's get-a-way or birthday celebration? Most big cities have bar-hop tours that are geared to the young adults, but there are a few that are for all ages. Check the tours in the city you will be visiting and look at the bars on their list.
Most are pretty inexpensive for what you get and offer one drink coupon per stop. The majority are walking tours where multiple bars are close by, and if you do it early in your vacation trip, you know where to go the rest of the vacation on your nights out.

This is the type of tour where everyone is quiet in the beginning and fast friends by the end. If you are traveling in a group with married and single people this is the perfect night activity since there are usually both married and singles on the tour to mix with. This way the singles will find like minded new "friends" and not feel like the odd man/woman out.
Cannot find what you are looking for? How about make your own. You can always make a theme around your favorite beverages in search of the "perfect drink". Make a plan and theme it around that beverage. Like Tequila? Consider a margarita crawl and sample the tequilas on your adventure. The important thing to remember on this type of themed vacation idea is to stay in the thick of things and don't get stuck in one place too long. Place a time frame on each location and do your best to get everyone to stick with the plan. Make sure your hotel is close by to the bar and restaurant areas so your taxi time is limited or you can walk.

To stay in the theme of your vacation, pack fun emergency hang over kits with caffeine, hot sauce, Tylenol, Mylanta, and other hang over helpers. Collect shot glasses along the way. For the singles groups, pack a pair of “beer goggles” for fun. Many breweries and bottling plants have tours so make sure you put one on your list.

Check out these tour companies:
Pub Crawl Rome
Real London Bus
Pub Crawl New York

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Vegas Family Style

9/3/2013

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They say that Vegas has something for everyone and, while that is true, it is always a good idea to have a set plan if you are taking the kids. Vegas can be a fun family trip if you add in a few kids' activities and keep a few things in mind.
Many of the casinos are difficult to get around with kids. Anyone under 21 years old are not allowed to stand or be near the gaming floor. Some hotels are heavy with smoke and others are not kid friendly. Circus Circus is a hotel that is known to cater to kids as best as any casino can. It is a dated hotel and can be smoky, but they have a huge upstairs arcade area for hours of fun. Some of my best family vacations memories were spend playing the old-style arcade games.
Touring the M & M factory is a sweet stop and right on the strip. There is no price to go, unless you want a souvenir, but it is a fun and bright place for picture taking.
The Coke shop is another one of my favorites. For a few dollars you get a mystery selection of unique international flavors in Dixie cup sized containers. Kids, as well as adults, enjoy trying to figure out the flavors and why anyone would even drink some of them at all. Make sure to share the tasting package since it saves money and truthfully, some of the flavors taste horrible. Personally, I think that makes the tasting even more fun for kids.
In Vegas, the shows are endless as are the activities. During the day, look into the matinee shows that cater to families. There are so many choices and the prices on matinees are much less expensive. Catch a magician, a Cirque du Soliel show, or maybe a Broadway-style show while everyone else is gambling.
With some of the most spectacular hotel pools around, your family can spend hours by the pool. There is even a water park right off the strip.
Just set down with the kids and come up with a plan, though you might want to talk with them about street vendors and some of the more questionable things they might see on the strip. Also, make sure you address the adult-time issue and what is expected of them during that time. Just side notes, many of the hotels have babysitting as well to give you some time away to head downstairs and gamble at night.
www.mymm.com www.worldofcoca-cola.com www.circuscircus.com
www.cirquedusoliel.com

Serendipidy 3 high heel pump sandwich.. Located in front of Caeser's Palace. This is a great family restaurant that is like an old fashion soda shop (that also sells adult frozen hot chocolate ;-) Simply AMAZING!

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Tuscany Culinary Adventure

9/2/2013

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Yes, some people actually enjoy cooking. Foodies as well as down-home cooking couples make their vacation plans around the art of eating and learning to cook.

Ever dream of running off to Italy to learn to cook? Italy is well known for travelers looking to spread their culinary wings. In almost every city you might visit in Italy, they have unique day and week tours such as the place we visited in Florence, Italy called Good Tastes of Tuscany. This company does a fantastic job of teaching some authentic Italian cuisine and also has a hotel right on the grounds with day tours to sightsee the area as well. You can choose a one day package or a week package that includes trips to the local markets and the big sightseeing areas that Italy is known for.

If Italy is not on your list of places to go, there are many locations to head to for a culinary adventure. Of course, everyone knows France has some amazing schools as well but, honestly, most big cities both nationally and internationally have cooking classes right in hotels or cooking schools close to your hotel or home. If you are travelling from city to city, find a class in each location. Pick a theme and have some fun. Don’t forget to keep the recipes to try back at home. A great way to catch up after the vacation is to assign everyone in the group one of the recipes to bring for a pot luck.

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Travel Ideas!

England Harry Potter Tours

Culinary Food Tours

Bar Crawling

Vegas Family Style

Tuscany Culinary Adventure

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