4:30am this morning the alarm sounded and normally I would shudder at the thought of getting up at that ungodly hour but we were waking up super early to start our six day vacation in the Caribbean.  The airport was hopping at 6:30am with weekend holiday travelers getting a jump start on their Memorial Day weekend.  We grabbed a quick breakfast and boarded the almost full flight.  Two seats were vacant and lucky for us, one was next to us so we had plenty of room to spread out.  A read of a few magazine, a nice snooze, and a couple of games of chess and the flight flew by.  Before we knew it we were arriving in tropical paradise.  We checked into our hotel, quickly unpacked and grabbed a nice lunch overlooking the beach.  With a couple of hours of prime sun still shining we settled into two lounge chairs poolside to begin the start of our vacation of R&R.  This evening we are heading to Papiamento, a 19th century Aruban Manor with a poolside garden for our first dinner of the trip.

On the train this morning I was glancing at the Wall Steet Journal and read an article that said starting next month, five of the six major airlines will be charging up to $25 for a second bag.  Several months ago airlines started charging for extra leg room on JetBlue  and now carriers are charging for a second bag.  Both are in efforts to offset rising fuel costs.  However, I can’t help but wonder, if fuel prices eventually fall back at some point, will the airlines repeal these fees.  My gutt tells me no! 

While some may feel like these charges are targeting the leisure traveler they are hitting the business traveler as well.  But, I really feel for families traveling who are yet again going to incur additional charges.  Checking strollers, car seats and extra bags are definitely going to make some people really re-think flying.  It just might make more sense to drive even with the rising cost for gas.    And its no better for the business traveler who is often lugging trunks and other big bags for trade shows and the like.  They are going to get hit with additional cost too.  And companies today are all in cost cutting modes, scaling back travel and tweaking their policies so I’m sure they aren’t happy about the extra charges either.  At some point, enough is enough and in my opinion, its enough already! 

Yesterday, DailyCandy published a great article on all the great reasons to visit Budapest this summer.  First off, while the dollar makes Europe outrageously expensive for Americans, Hungary is still one of the few destinations that is affordable.  DailyCandy highlighted several hotels, restaurants, cafes and sights to visit and I have to say they were spot on with their recommendations. 

As a frequent visitor to Budapest I would add the following suggestions to their already fabulous list:

Hotels:  Le Meridien, Corinthian Grand Hotel Royal

Dining: Cafe Kor, Gundel, Ocean, Cyrano

Things to See: Castle District, Jewish Quater and Museum, House of Parliament, Market Place, Heroes Square, Hotel Gellert

Budapest is one of the most amazing cities I’ve been to.  There is so much economic stimulous and business expansion that things are constantly growing and changing.  It is amazing to see the incredible growth and development in this city and across the country.  If you haven’t been to Hungry, or Eastern Eurpope, do yourself a favor and head there.  Off season, in the spring or the fall is the best time to visit to avoid the crowds but still enjoy the beautiful weather. 

As everyone who reads this blog or knows me and Darren, Las Vegas is our favorite destination.  I have been there more times than I can count on my fingers and toes and Darren isn’t exactly far behind me either.   We usually try to hit Vegas a couple of times a year, but as I was trying to plan our spring Vegas getaway, I couldn’t help but notice that the prices from New York to Las Vegas on all the airlines has soared – more so than the cost for other routes.  Pricing several different weekends in May and June, tickets on JetBlue from JFK to McCarran Airport were $650+ per round trip ticket.  That is just outrageous for a few day getaway.  While I know fuel costs are driving prices up, round trip tickets to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean are significantly cheaper.  As a result, we ended up booking a week-long trip to Aruba rather than a four day weekend getaway to Vegas.  While we were disappointed we weren’t heading out to the dessert, we simply couldn’t justify the high price for the limited time we would be there. 

We dont’ seem to be alone in our thinking.  A Wall Street Journal article today sited the soaring fuel prices and the fact the ‘red eye’ flights from Vegas aren’t getting as much traffic as they once did.  The number of overnight flights have been scaled back therefore driving up the cost and demand for the remaining flights.  Certain markets have seen a significant decrease or the overall elimination of direct flights to the city.  It’s a shame because Vegas thrives on visitors but even as a loyal lover of Vegas, there comes a time where the cost outways the benefit.  For the same amount of money we will be on the beach in the Caribbean by day and gambling in the casinos by night.  Excellent food, beautiful weather and a relaxing getaway awaits us….. Vegas will have to wait….

We want to wish all our friends and readers that celebrate Easter a very happy holiday and enjoy the day with your family.  For the past few days, Darren has been in Myrtle Beach golfing with my dad and brother, living the high-life from one golf course to another and lots of great dinners.  Since he’s been out of town, Mom and I decided to take advantage of the weekend and did some of our own bonding.  We spent most of it shopping and seeing all the new spring fashions in the stores.  Lots of bright colors and colorful dresses.  Shoes are also very bright but extremely high.  I feel the need for band-aids already!  We had some success but not quite as much as I was hoping for.  We also spent some time pampering ourselves with a green tea pedicure that made our feet feel like we were walking on air afterwards.  An hour of pure heaven on our feet – especially the massage.  One evening we watched our wedding video again and no matter how many times we see it – we just love it.  Everyone looked fabulous and appeared to be having the time of their lives which was wonderful.  I don’t think I will ever get tired of watching it.  We were reliving every magical moment.  JoVon photography really did an amazing job.  The men return this afternoon from their golf getaway so life will return to normal but we both enjoyed the last few days and the quality time we each got to spend with family.  Hope everyone is enjoying time with their family today.  Happy Easter to all!

Darren and I just booked a trip to the Caribbean for May and I was really surprised to find out that beloved JetBlue is charging a minimum of $10 per flight if you are seated in the emergency row or rows with extra leg room.  I was really shocked and disappointed to read that starting April 1st this new policy will go into effect.  Extra-leg room and the mini tv’s were two of the features that attracted me to the airline but now that they are increasing their fees for the legroom I have to take a pause and think is it really worth it????  In our case, we are paying $20 per ticket due to our destination.  I know it is not a lot of money, but its a matter of principle.  I only learned of the fee after I selected our flights and was in the final stages of booking our tickets.  While making our seat selection all of a sudden a small dialogue box came  up and informed me that the seats we selected would result in additional charge.  I was surprised to read this but in order for us to sit together, we had no choice but to pay the additional fee.  I was definitely a little annoyed.  First airlines cut out food, then they stopped supplying passengers with pillows and covers on cross-country flights and now they are asking customers to pay for extra legroom.   In my opinion, enough is enough already. 

information on viagra for woman buy levitra levitra without prescription viagra soft tabs and order pfizer viagra shipment online approval no doctor buy cialis online cheap generic viagra levitra cialis cialis cialis soft tabs online pharmacy ed medications female cialis soft tabs alternative viagra soft tabs no prescription discount viagra

Loyal Seinfeld fans, will remember the ‘Summer of George’….well, this year Darren and I will be having the ‘Summer of Dave’.  We already feel the excitement mounting as the Dave Matthews Band summer concert tour dates were released early this morning.  Within moments of receiving the tour information we were on the phone reviewing the schedule and planning our shows.  Moments later, Darren was blogging about it on his website.  The Summer 2008 tour doesn’t have as many local venues as we hoped but we will definitely be headed up to Saratoga for their perfomances at SPAC and possibly head out to Hershey, Pennsylvania.  It will be the perfect way to kick off our summer and reminisce a little about our first weekend away together back in June 2006 to see the band perform.  There are other performances that we are considering including a trip out to Arizona in August.  It would be very appropriate to see the band perform on what will be our one year anniversary weekend especially if they end up playing ‘Crush’, which is our wedding song.  The fact that they are performing in Phoenix is an added bonus since that is where we started our honeymoon adventure last summer.  I can feel it already….its going to be an amazing summer!   

Over the years, I’ve done my fair share of traveling especially overseas.  When I arrive at a new destination, I am usually struggling with the local customs, especially tipping practices.  I usually consult my Fodor’s or Frommer’s guide for help but sometimes the information is a bit vague.  From the moment I arrive in a new country I’m usually faced with the tipping dilemna as well as the foreign language hurdle – how much should I give the taxi driver?  What about the bellman who brings my bag to my room?  I don’t want to under tip or over tip or insult someone if tipping is unacceptable.  I usually don’t have tons of local currency, let alone smaller change with me so I always seem to be at a loss.   CNN however, recently published a few “tips” on common tipping practices since they vary greatly from country to country. 

Here are some of their suggested tips:

From my own travel experiences, Amsterdam and Rome are much like Paris.  In Budapest, service is usually included by the restaurant but check your bill and for taxis, 10 percent is about right.  Whereever you travel to though, try to read up on customary practices but also speak to your hotel conceirge.  They should be able to give you all the ‘do’s and don’ts’. 

Late afternoon on Friday, Darren and I hit the road and drove to Bromley Mountain in Vermont for another weekend getaway in the snow and the mountains. We were really looking forward to the trip especially since our January escape was ruined because of my battle with the flu. In an effort to beat the rush hour traffic and the impending snow that was predicted for Vermont, we headed out of work on the earlier side and managed to make it there just before 8pm. Just as we pulled into the parking lot for the Manchester Bar & Grill the first flakes started to fall. We enjoyed a nice, casual dinner at this chalet style restaurant where the menu is a mix of sandwiches, salads and steaks. As we left the restaurant a couple of inches of snow had already fallen and the forecast was calling for up to a foot. We nestled into our condo for the evening watching the snow fall and a movie.

Saturday morning we awoke to more than a foot of snow and more was still coming down. The wind was whipping and the snow was heavy. The conditions were great for the experienced skier since the trails were not groomed and the heavy snow was still coming down. Darren tackled the slopes while I tackled the deep snow and the treacherous drive into Manchester. I made a massage appointment and a facial at the Equinox Resort & Spa and indulged in some pampering while Darren got in some good runs. Later in the day, I picked Darren up and we spent the rest of the afternoon chilling and playing some Scrabble (I beat his butt!).

Amidst periodic snow squalls, we ventured back into Manchester for dinner at the Sirloin Saloon, a ‘fine dining’ experience in a rustic, casual atmosphere which serves up a mix of steak and seafood. We loved this place! Darren had the prime rib and I ordered the stuffed grilled shrimp. Both dishes were delicious and came with a fresh salad bar and warm, fresh bread. Even with a bottle of wine and dessert, our meal was incredibly reasonable. We will definitely be back!

This morning we woke up to bright sunshine. Darren took in a few runs as I packed up the house. We stopped at Sherrie’s Cafe – a favorite of ours – for a late breakfast before hitting the road. It was great and we know we will be returning. For now though, its back to work and back to being ‘a city slickers’.