Did you know WHERE the origins of Halloween came from?

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I absolutely LOVE Halloween. It is the one time of year that everyone comes out onto the neighborhood streets and actually talks to each other. Everyone dresses up in various costumes and says “trick or treat!” But where did this neighborhood gathering tradition begin?

According to the HistoryChannel.com, Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.

November 1st marked the end of summer and the harvest. Which meant the beginning of the dark, cold winter. 2,000 years ago this time of year was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.

Throughout the years the traditions that once brought hope for a future, turned into gatherings and celebrations. In the United States, Halloween wasn’t widely accepted as the idea of witches and goblins were banned in many of the Northern states. It wasn’t until the late-1800’s when talk about it being a holiday to gather neighborhoods together to get to know each other better really took off. 

Come the turn of the century with the hay day of parties for everything, people were encouraged to have Halloween parties not just for adults but for children. Having sweets, treats, and a lot of fun and games. The wearing of costumes has transcended into today’s Halloween but instead of old day of giving out fortunes we give out treats.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Christmas Time! Plan on getting away.

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There are 114 days until Christmas!  This means you still have plenty of time to think about taking the family away for Christmas on that much needed vacation.  You are probably thinking that you can’t think about planning a Christmas vacation when your summer vacation just ended, right?  I am here to tell you, you can!  In just a few shorts weeks the dynamic in your house will be changing.  There will be homework, football or field hockey practices, school plays, early morning band practices, after school clubs, and the list goes on!  Soon you will feel like you need a vacation and planning now will have you glad you did. 

 

Now Americans typically feel guilty going away at Christmas time.  Various thoughts run through our heads like, what will the family think, who will cook the ham, and what will I do about presents?  More and more families are finding that they need a break from the hectic fall season.  Between the back to school activities, fundraisers, Black Friday planning, church activities, parties, and Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations we put up we do lot of work on top of actually going to work!  Yikes, give yourself a much needed vacation during Christmas.  Let someone else can cook the ham or buy one pre-cooked, make sure to mail the presents in advance, and put the Christmas lights on a timer.   

Taking a vacation over Christmas is becoming very popular among Americans, and I am thinking now you see why.  There may be one last thought running through your mind at this point, “But Mary what about those long lines at the airport?”  According to the Department of Transportation only 5 to 6 percent of those traveling during the holiday season use air, rail, or bus as their means of travel.  If you travel during the week instead of the weekend you will have even less people to worry about.   Are you ready to just say, “Ok family, this Christmas we are going away.”  I guarantee that excitement about the place you are going to whether it be Europe, Colorado, Caribbean, or Florida, everyone will be happy and relaxed!

 

So now are you ready to start planning your amazing Christmas vacation with the family?  There are still several great places you can book including private villas in Italy!  Call us today!

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Best Beaches on the Amalfi Coast

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The amount of inquiries to Italy last year to my travel agency increased dramatically. With many of the inquiries that come in, people want to see the iconic Amalfi Coast. Picturesque colorful towns, perched on the cliff side with beautiful sunsets. The beaches have beautiful sunsets and crystal clear water. The only problem is the beaches aren’t like what you get here in the states. The beaches on the Amalfi Coast are a mixture of sand and rock, and are much smaller. You can definitely get a good tan during certain times of the year. 

Before I get into which beaches are the best in the Amalfi coast, I want to make sure you know what the best times of year it is to go. Despite what some people think, it does get cold in Italy. People start to go to Italy the end of March, beginning of April. Around this time of year the temperature averages 50 degrees. In the September and October, the temperature averages between 65 and 75 degrees. If you plan on going swimming during any of these months, please keep in the mind the temperature. 

Here are some of the best beaches along the Amalfi Coast:

  • Spiaggia of Marina Grande in Amalfi – this beach has a central location so it can be very busy from June to September. It is very beautiful beach but due to the docks close by large number of visitors come via boat.
  • Marina Grande in Positano – this beach has the picture-perfect background of Positano. It is a smaller beach but just as perfect to spend a few hours in the sun and enjoy a cool drink.
  • Gavitella Beach in Priaiano – this is one of the smallest beaches on the Amalfi Coast coming in at only 30 meters long. It is mostly a pebble beach so don’t forget your sandals. You also have to take the stairs down to the beach which can be daunting. Once at the bottom the reward is magnificent views of Positano, the island of Li Galli and Capri! This is also one of the best beaches to view the sunset. 
  • Cavallow Morto or Cala Bellavaia of Maiori – if you are staying in Maiori you are already looking for seclusion and relaxation. If you are looking for white sandy beach, crystal clear and deep blue sea waters then this is the beach is a must. The only thing is that this beach is only accessible by boat so make sure to talk to a local fisherman to get you there.
  • Marina Piccola Beach in Sorrento – Even though Sorrento is not known for its’ beaches, there is small beach area that would be nice to spend a few hours. Next to Sorrento Port and Villa Comunale there is a small strip of volcanic sand. This stretch is occupied by both private clubs and a public area where you can enjoy crystal clear waters.  

When thinking of Italy make sure to consider the time of year you are going as it may ruin your plans to go to the beach. Call a Life is Better Traveling travel agent to help you plan so we can make sure it is the best Italy Trip for you.

Remember, Life is Better Traveling!

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Want to have Tea with the Queen? This is the time to do it…

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A visit to London wouldn’t be complete without a visit to one of England’s most famous landmarks, Buckingham Palace.  This royal palace has served as the official London residence and administrative office of the British royal family since the 19th century. However, access to the public is limited and exclusive but worthwhile for those who arrange a visit.

Year round you can always view the palace’s opulent exterior through the gates. The best time to visit Buckingham Palace is during the legendary Changing of the Guard ceremony when the royal guards change shifts. This tradition that dates back from 1689, and eventually moved to Buckingham Palace in 1837 when Queen Victoria started to use the palace. The best time to see this 45-minute ceremony would be on a Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at 11:00 am but can be canceled in bad weather. 

 If you are visiting London in the summer months, you can get a peek into some select state rooms. See the Throne Room, stroll through the palace gardens, and admire masterpieces by artists such as Rembrandt and Canaletto in Queen Victoria’s Picture Gallery. The palace interior is only open to the public during summer, from late July until the end of September, with tours running daily from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm (until 6:30 pm in September). You’ll want to book this coveted experience in advance with our travel agency.

Things to Know Before You Go from Viator.com

  •  The palace is a must for history buffs and royal enthusiasts.
  • Pair a stop at Buckingham Palace with the Changing of the Guard ceremony and afternoon tea for a quintessential London experience.
  • Tours of the palace interior are only available in summer from late June to late September, while the queen is on holiday in Scotland.
  • If the Royal Standard flag is flying atop the palace, it means the queen is in residence; otherwise, the Union Jack flag is flown.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Passport Card vs. Passport Book

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I recently read an article on Facebook about a lady whose daughter booked her and four of her friends on a week-long vacation to Turks and Caicos. The daughter booked everything through an Online Travel Agency (OTA), which I will not name, but an OTA is Expedia, Travelocity, or Hotels.com. The ladies were excited, all packed, ready to go, and at the airport the lady whose daughter booked the trip was denied boarding. She had a passport card instead of a passport book. She could not get through to the OTA so she called a local travel agency and one of their travel agents told her what to do so she could get to Turks and Caicos.

 So why couldn’t she board with a Passport Card? According the U.S. Department of State, a passport card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at, here is the big red flag, land border or sea ports-of-entry only. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air. As this lady was flying to Turks and Caicos she was required to have a passport book.

So why is there a passport card? The passport card is very convenient to have as it is the size of a driver’s license and can easily be carried around in your wallet. It is much less expensive than getting or renewing a passport book. The passport card also contains an RFID chip that according to the U.S. Department of State does not contain any personal information. When the chip is read, it “points” to your secured information in one of the government databases. Border Patrol can then access your information and photo identification. Each card comes with an RFID blocking sleeve, just in case.

If you plan on crossing the Mexican or Canadian border often, a perk of having the passport card is that you can go through Ready Lanes. These are certain lanes at the border that can expedite inspection when you are crossing the border. Not all ports of entry have these lanes, but if you are interested in learning which ones have these Ready Lanes you can visit www.travel.state.gov.

If you are an avid cruiser and leave from ports of call in the US, then having a passport card is a convenience. But next time you are flying out of the US, please keep in mind to grab that passport book on the way out of the house so you don’t get denied boarding at the airport. Having the wrong identification will surly have you starting your vacation off on the wrong foot, and could cause delays in getting you to your destination. 

If you have any questions about photo identification for travel, please contact me with any questions or visit www.travel.state.gov.

 NOTE:  Life is Better Traveling always recommends a Passport Booklet even when cruising out of a US port. Why? If something were to happen and you were left behind on the island, you would need a passport booklet to return back into the states. The Passport booklet is just a few dollars more, and is good for 10 years, so we always recommend getting a passport booklet. 

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Who are you going to call? A travel agent…

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If you love to travel you know how easy it is to book your trip online. After the kids go sleep you get on the computer, do a few hours of research, convince your significant other about the trip, then book it. The company sends you an email that you are confirmed and you get so excited. You feel a sense of relief now that you have planned the vacation. What happens next? 

What if you have questions, who do you call? Maybe you go online and do a couple more hours of research until you get frustrated then find a Facebook Group to ask questions. You post your question and get 150 different comments with some people even arguing with each other through their comments. You still don’t know the answer to your original question, and you may now even have more questions than you had before. If only there was someone to help you with all of this? CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article on the Pittsburgh Moms Blogs.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Are you hungry? Why you should take a food tour…

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 One of the best ways to really get to know a city and the sights is through a food tour. You are not only walking around the city to get to the various eateries but you are seeing the sights along the way. You might walk right past the Trevi Fountain on the way to get Gelato, or you may walk down the Champs Elysées to taste some caramels. My most favorite time is when we walk through the most hidden streets or canals of a city that I would have not seen if I hadn’t taken a food tour. Popping into a hot chocolate store in Budapest on a cold, rainy day. What a pleasant surprise. 

Another great reason to take a food tour is you may not be familiar with the cuisine in the area. I didn’t know that in Romania they served smoked lard. This is something that I would never have tried here in the states, but over there they serve it with lunch followed by a shot of Pálinka, which is a traditional fruit brandy in Eastern Europe. I was pleasantly surprised by both flavors, favoring the Pálinka over the smoked lard. 

So when you are traveling to your next destination, consider stepping out on a food tour. Get to know the sights while getting to know the local cuisine. Here are some of the most delicious food tours around the world. #1 being one of the tours that our Life is Better Traveling clients say they have loved doing. 

  1. Cooking Class and Lunch at a Tuscan Farmhouse with Local Market Tour from Florence – pick fresh ingredients at a local market and learn to cook authentic Italian food. (My clients rave about this tour!)
  2.  New Orleans Cooking Class – get to know a local chef and learn how to make some of Louisiana’s most famous soul food. 
  3.  Rome Food Tour by Sunset around Prati District – visit eateries favored by Romans in the Prati neighborhood. 
  4.  Paris Secret Food Tour: Taste of Montmartre – enjoy a variety of French favorites in one of Paris’ most charming neighborhoods.
  5.  Little Havana Food and Walking Tour in Miami – one of the best ways to enjoy this historic neighborhood and sample a taste of Cuban fare.
  6.  Madrid Tapas and Wine Tasting Tour – explore the city’s culture through tapas and wine on this guided tour.
  7.  Colonial Tramcar Restaurant Tour of Melbourne – dine on gourmet cuisine as you ride through Melbourne on a vintage 1948 tramcar.
  8.  Tapas and Wine Experience Small-Group Walking Tour – discover Catalonian food traditions in Barcelona while exploring on foot with a guide.
  9. Brussels Chocolate Walking Tour and Workshop – see some of the city landmarks on the way to a chocolate workshop led by a master chocolatier. 
  10. Tokyo by Night: Japanese Food Tour – accompany a local guide through one of Tokyo’s most well-known areas for yakitori.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Cruising Mistakes…what you should know.

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Cruising is one of the best vacations you can take. You have a floating hotel, people are waiting on you hand and foot, shows and activities, and you have all the food in the world you could desire. The best part is, ONE price! However, if you make a few mistakes, it could ruin your cruise vacation. So let’s talk about what not to do…

1.Picking the “right” cabin. – If you think that you want to save the most money and pick the cheapest cabin this could be your worst investment ever. It may not be your cup of tea being on the lowest deck near the engine. You wake up every morning to the sound of rotating motors and your cabin vibrating. This could definitely ruin your trip! Talk with your travel agent about what type of things you are looking for out of your cabin, and they can work with you in picking a great spot while still saving you money.

2. Don’t spend your money if you don’t need to! – There are many great shops on the cruise where you can purchase Duty-Free items. However, it doesn’t mean that you need to go overboard on purchasing everything onboard…no pun intended! Shopping onboard is like shopping at the outlets, ask yourself if you would get it at the outlets. If not, then pass. Also, the beverage package can be great for those who drink a lot of soda or alcohol. However, if you don’t plan on drinking that much then just pay as you go.

3. Not using the WiFi once on land. – The WiFi on ships is extremely slow. Many clients tell me that it took them 30 minutes just to get onto the page they needed, and then only had 30 minutes left to do work! Money right down the water slide…pun intended. We also recommend that once you get to your destination, find a coffee shop that has free WiFi. Here you can get a few things done and even make phone calls over the WiFi. In the Caribbean I have used Dunkin Donuts many times. 

4. Elevators, maybe pass on using them. – The glass elevators on the ships are beautiful. They allow you to see everything as you are going up or coming down. There is a huge bottleneck in getting where you need to be though, they stop on every floor where someone is waiting to get on. It may take you 10 minutes to get downstairs by using the elevator, but only a 5-minute walk. Head to the stairs to go down and save yourself some time, and you can avoid being smushed in an elevator. 

5. Forgetting the crew. – The crew is there to also make sure that your experience is amazing. Many times, they will have been on this same ship for months. They see new people every 7 to 12 days. A simple “Hello” or “Thank you” goes a long way with them. On one of the cruises that I took, I made sure to thank our stewardess every day we saw them. Every night we came back with a different towel animal on our bed with a note saying have a great night. I made them smile, and they made me smile.

Make sure keep these few things in mind when taking your next cruise and it will make for a better vacation for sure!

Did you know that Life is Better Traveling gets many EXTRAs for our clients when they book their cruise with us? That’s right! Our clients have seen $300 onboard credits, Free excursions, and even an amazing cocktail hour on the helipad of the cruise ship! Give us a call and let’s see what we can get for you!

 

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Our Lady of Paris is also known as this cathedral in Paris

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If you keep up with the news you had seen that last week one of the most iconic cathedrals in Paris succumbed to a major fire, Notre-Dame de Paris or Our Lady of Paris. This medieval cathedral begun construction in 1160 and was mostly completed by 1260. For almost 500 years continual modifications were done, but during the French Revolution much of these modifications were either damaged or destroyed. Then in the 19th Century Napoleon I had his coronation in the cathedral, and the popular book The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was released. Seeing renewed interest in the cathedral, new projects including cleaning the facade from centuries of soot of grime gave a new look to Our Lady of Paris. 

12 million people visit this cathedral every year, making it the most visited monument in Paris. People come to see the arches and buttresses of the nave, the 19th century spire, the gargoyles, and the illustration of the Last Judgement all around the outside. Once inside the cathedral, seeing the North Rose Window depicting scenes from the life is Christ is breath-taking. The massive organ originally built in 1403 but was replaced in 1730 with a much larger organ, is one of the largest organs in Europe with more than 8,000 pipes. Bells, crypts, and galleries filled with priceless materials are also things people flock this beautiful building.   

On April 15th, 2019 many people watched in horror on various news outlets as a huge fire consumed the roof of the cathedral. Watching and waiting to hear what had been damaged made many people feel like they were on pins and needles. The thought of this iconic structure and all its priceless relics being destroyed was heart-breaking. 

After a few hours, the fire-fighters finally got the fire under control before determining that if the fire had continued just a few more minutes and the worst may have happened. A week later we are finding out that most of the facade, towers, walls, buttresses, the pipe organ, and stained-glass windows remained untouched. It was also determined that many statues and relics had been removed for cleaning purposes while construction workers worked in the area where the fire started. Sections of the stone ceiling had collapsed when the iconic spire came down.

It is amazing that this structure that has been around for almost 900 years had to go through this massive fire. However, I was thankful to hear that much of this iconic, well-known cathedral will be fine. Rebuilding will be the next step, with many billionaires already pouring in pledges of hundreds of millions of Euros to restore it.  With each end comes a new beginning, so I hope this Lady of Paris has a bigger and brighter spire ahead. 

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Want to really immerse yourself in the culture? Try this….

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Catacombs…

When visiting Europe, most people tell me they want to visit famous paintings and sculptures in museums and galleries, 500-year old churches and basilicas, taste wine from some of the most respected vineyards, and enjoy new spices and food. Yes, Europe is spectacular and has all these wonderful things. No matter how many times I visit Europe, I always see something amazing and learn about a new culture. One cultural difference that I have always found fascinating were how Europeans treated their dead. Burying them in vast chambers called Catacombs. 

The very first catacombs were a system of underground tombs in Rome where the bodies of the apostles Peter and Paul were said to have been buried. Since Rome originally created these tombs, cities thereafter also called their catacombs, Roman Catacombs. It wasn’t until after the early 1800’s that each city started to name their own catacombs including the city of Paris, which infamously holds the remains of close to 2 million people. 

My first time going to visit a catacomb was to the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo in Sicily. I wasn’t sure what to expect from these 400-year old catacombs. Quite frankly, I thought I was going to walk into a dark, chilly, and smelly underground chamber of bones. I was quite surprised. These catacombs were well lit with natural light from the outside and lights inside. There was a nice walkway with railings for support. Some of the dead were dressed in their burial clothes, while others were just bones. It was quite surreal to be walking around all these bones. At the same time, I felt a sense of togetherness. A culture that was keeping all their dead together, and were allowed to visit to see them whenever they wanted. 

This experience has taught me to open my eyes to new adventures. What I see on the television or through pictures is not the same as what it is really like when you are there in person. I am sure that not everyone enjoys going through catacombs, but for me it was an experience that I will never forget. I learned about another culture’s view of the death. I learned that it was not as scary as I thought it would be and that despite many catacombs being depicted as dark, chilly underground layers, it was quite nicely displayed. 

Various European Cities are well-known for their catacombs. Besides the most well-known ones in Rome and Paris, there are some in London, Czech Republic, Austria, Spain, Ukraine, Malta, Finland and Greece. There is even a catacomb here in the US at the St. Patrick Old Cathedral located in New York City. 

I get a lot of requests where people want to immerse themselves into the culture of the country they are going to visit. I recommend that one way you can do this is to go visit the catacombs in that region. This will really give you a good glimpse into how that particular culture views deaths and takes care of their dead. 

Some recommend tours in Europe:

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!