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QueenBeady

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  • The Manhattan Room onboard NCL Breakaway

    As I write I am currently sat in the Manhattan Room onboard the NCL Breakaway. I know how rude of me to have my phone at the table, but truth has it, I am still waiting for my dinner guests to arrive as they are currently trying out the amazing high ropes & climbing wall. So whilst I’m sat here I can write to my hearts content. A truly amazing menu is on offer & I really don’t know what to do with myself? The restaurant has a really suave & sophisticated feel too it without it being over pretentious. The jazz & blues singer is keeping me entertained whilst I still decide on my menu choice. I haven’t even explored half the ship yet, with eighteen decks & less than 24 hours on board, the mind boggles how you’d even find everything within a weeks cruise. So rather than be rude, ill post a full blog when I get home with plenty of photos. In the meantime can you help me choose my evening meal?

  • A windy night in a caravan!

    A windy night in a caravan!

    So last night was the night we would be relatively tortured in these 60mph winds by staying in a Haven Caravan at Primrose Valley, Filey.

    The day started with tea, coffe & Millie’s cookies… This certainly got me excited. I still have no idea how I haven’t tried one of those delicious, moist, warm cookies before in my life? Next time I see a Millie’s Cookies I am going to get me one of those!

    The itinerary for the day was to go “speed dating” with the suppliers & tour operators. We did this by going into six different caravans and having a good old chinwag about their products they can offer.

    We met Tony from Great Rail Journeys who has a fantastic persona, lovely guy! This company offer tailor made and escorted trips on the railways of the world. It sounds perfect for our Coach clients who are looking for something different.

    Nicky Yates from Attraction World was her usual bubbly & happy self, giving us a great reminder of how great the product is and the diversity of tickets for all destinations.

    Disney were also present, two lovely girls who talked us through all things Disney, which I was more than happy to listen to. Having been to Paris & Florida it was great to listen about the benefits of a Disney cruise. They even have “wave phones” so families can split up on the ship & still be able to contact one another, what a brilliant idea? Something l will definitely taking back to the shop & selling confidently.

    Jewel in the Crown were present, having travelled with them before on my own holidays it was great to see an insight into the mindset of the company & what they are about. It is only a small team of 11 but they offer some amazing deals to Turkey & Goa.

    Classic Collection the luxury tour operator. They are amazing at what they do & really give the clients that extra “wow factor” for example one of the reps will be waiting for the travel clients with bottles of water on arrival at the airport. They still have the old school wallets with travel guides sent to the clients. If you are looking for something special then these guys can really help.

    The gentleman from Balkan Holidays really opened my eyes to the likes of Bulgaria which is somewhere I try not to sell or wouldn’t travel to myself. I’ve never seen it as a “cultural” area that I would enjoy, especially the club 18-30 area of Sunny Beach! The resort of Nessebar is a unesco heritage site & you can get waterfront restaurants where you could pick up a three course meal & drinks for roughly £10pp! It’s very good for those like myself, who enjoy authentic Greece. It will definitely be somewhere that I will think about in the future.

    After lunch Louise Tansey from Bourne Leisure went through their products such as Haven, Butlins & Warner Hotels. I’ve always been sceptical of these holiday arrangements purely because of the types of people they attract etc. but it’s great to see that do many people are enjoying some of the new attractions. Can you believe at one of buntlins main resorts will have fish swimming under the inside pool? How cool is that?!

    Overall it was a fun experience, we even got to enjoy the hospitality of the caravans & the Mash and Barrell pub where food & drink flowed. What it is to be a travel agent?

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  • To buy or to rent?

    To buy or to rent?

    Having just picked up my copy of Company’s April 2013 edition I was overcome to write a blog with regards to Lena de Casparis column about choosing to rent rather than buy.

    I assume living in London is the epicentre of cool bars, chic nails bars & oozes that unique appeal but for those who don’t live in one of the most over priced cities in Europe I urge you not to give up saving for your dream home yet.

    At 21 I broke the norm by buying my first house with my now fiancé. Pretty sweet huh? I never look back & think “what a mistake it was to give up renting.” It has given me a real sense of achievement & I never forget it. There are ways now that can help the first time buyer in whatever location you want. We were lucky with our beautiful little home in the countryside with great links to Leeds & Harrogate, two of the most uber cool towns in the Uk. Living on the golden triangle also makes it so much sweeter.

    Our money is paving the way to being all ours and not dead money. We achieved this by buying a house on a shared equity scheme. We only pay 60% of the house price but its all ours. Luckily for these schemes we could put down a 5% deposit. This made it affordable and didn’t break the bank. We can enjoy life at the same time as owning a home. We are still holidaying every year, enjoy delicious meals out, I can get my nails done every month & we are saving for our wedding in 2014. So what I say to all you people out there is, buying your own home is not all doom & gloom. Just go over your options & make sure its right for you before you commit to such a BIG purchase. I love my home sweet home and so should you.

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  • ABC’s of Travel

    A: Age you went on your first international trip: The age of six months, good old P&O ferry crossing to Amsterdam to visit family friends.

    B:Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where: Suprisingly enough my first taste of beer came at six months (a bit of ”froff” as I liked to say to my Gwadad!) but seriously, my favourite beer has to be Mythos from Greece. Light, crisp and oh-so refreshing!

    C: Cuisine (favorite): Greek food for places I’ve travelled to, but would seriously like to get some traditional thai rather than from our local restaraunt.

    D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why: Every destination I travel to holds a certain piece of my heart, but I feel a real connection with City destinations such as Amsterdam or Kefalonia which is one of the most beautiful destinations I have ever travelled to.

    E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”: Swimming with wild dolphins in the Red Sea, unforgettable experience as I conquered a huge fear & got to swim with some of the most beautiful creatures on this planet.

     

    F: Favorite mode of transportation: Planes, Trains, Trams, Ferries….. anything that means I can travel!

    G: Greatest feeling while traveling: Forgetting everyday life & living your dream.

    H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to: Turkey, 50 degrees celcius in July 2011.

    I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where: Everywhere I have been offers some little tit bit of unique hospitality. The best has to be Turkey as they will tend to your every need.

    J: Journey that took the longest: Dubai or Florida.

    K: Keepsake from your travels: Everywhere I travel to since the age of 17 I always buy a fridge magnet for when we get back.

    L: Let-down sight, why and where: Dubai, I had dreamt of travelling there as a little girl & it just did not live up to it’s expectations.

    M: Moment where you fell in love with travel: The moment I got into the travel industry, instant!

    N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in: The Eden American Amsterdam

    O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?: Everything I just always want to capture every single moment. I love quirky photos. 

    P: Passport stamps, how many and from where? Five, 2 x Turkey, once to Egpyt, once for Dubai & once for Florida.

    Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:  Erotic museum, Amsterdam

    R: Recommended sight, event or experience: Swimming with wild dolphins.

    S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling: Accommdation, don’t like to rough it & also fooood 🙂

    T: Touristy thing you’ve done: Anything you can think of for the places I have travelled to. Mainly for Amsterdam it was Anne Frank Museum, Canal boat ride, Madame Tussauds, Erotic Museum etc etc!

     

    U: Unforgettable travel memory: Swimming with dolphins

    V: Visas, how many and for where? Everywhere I have had my passport stamped, Turkey, Egypt, US & Dubai

    W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where? Don’t really drink wine abroad! Cocktails for me 😉

    X: eXcellent view and from where?: From our apartment in Kefalonia, Villa Mare

    Y: Years spent traveling?: Since the age of six months, but travelling on my own since the age of 17.

    Z: Zealous sports fans and where?: Luckily never had to experience that!

  • Introduction – Big, bad World

    I thought I’d start a blog to document the planning of our European Road Trip next year. Of course something like this takes a lot of time & planning but being in the Travel industry this is a big juicy challenge for me to get my teeth into.

    I must be mad, I spend all day planning holidaymakers trips and yet, I still come home and search for my own holiday. Travel is 24/7 for me & I didn’t quite realise just how much of a difference it would make to my life. I wouldn’t say my passion began at an early age, in fact I never really showed much interest in it until about the age of sixteen, I decided to take Leisure & Tourism as one of my GCSE subjects. Often seen as a bit of ”dossa” subject I thrived off learning about just how tourist attractions marketed themselves & developed a love for the Leisure and Tourism sector quite rapidly, getting myself CC grades at GCSE I had wished I had achieved a much higher grade.

    Going into Sixth form I didn’t let my grade affect my love for the subject so I then took Travel & Tourism, again only attaining C grades at AS level.

    I wasn’t about to give up on my passion, but I was on Sixth form. After much gruelling debates & discussions I took the decision to leave. It was a hard decision but I knew that staying in a ”school” environment just wasn’t right for me & I would never excel sitting and listening to teachers practice and preach. I was ready for the Big Bad World.

    As if by a miracle I was given the opportunity to start a Modern Apprenticeship at a large multiple retailer. The moment I stepped in through the doors for my first day, the peaceful music & the smell of coconut in the oil burners I knew that this is where I wanted to be. Starting in the late July 2007 people swarmed the shop in heat looking for a ”last minute deal” for the summer holiday rush. Listening intrepidly to all my colleagues spiel of their last adventures and why so & so would be a good place for this 4.5 family was mesmerising. I would go on many training days where all my valuable travel knowledge was attained but little did I know then that actually travelling the world would be the most beneficial factor of my job!

    After outgrowing the nest & being offered a job much closer to home I began work as a Junior Travel Consultant at a local independant travel agent. This is where I was given my first opportunity to travel. I was sent on an educational to Dubai in the May of 2009, bewildered at the sky high buildings and the blistering heat, it was one of the only places I had ever said I wanted to travel to as a young child. I had never been so dissapointed in my entire life. I can hand on heart say this is the only time I have ever been ripped to shreds over a place I have travelled to. After staying here a year the heartless (expletive here!) went and made me redundant the day before my 20th birthday! I was now completley and utterly distraught. I had a house to pay for, a dog to feed and I had also lost one of the loves of my life. Travel.

    Luckily a family friend of my supportive boyfriend managed to get me a job at a local solicitors. It was okay, it paid the bills, fed us, but I couldn’t explain just how much I loved working in Travel. Nobody got my passion.

    Again, as if by a miracle I walked past a travel agents in the February 2010 just up the road from the solicitors & there it was ”Assistant Manager/Travel Advisor required full time. Apply within” and now I’m here sat writing this blog still, luckily, employed by that very travel agents.

    So, it has been a turbulent time in my career in Travel, but one I wouldn’t change. I’m looking forward to carrying on travelling the world & being able to tell my stories and share my experiences with anyone who will listen.

    Thankyou Big Bad World!