April 25, 2017 - Travelin' Tuesday - Tanya returns from London and a look at Upcoming Trips in May & June, plus a Glance at Ireland for 2018

APOLOGIES FOR POSTING TANYA'S SCOOP LATE LAST NIGHT, BUT SHE WAS TRAVELING BACK TO SoCAL HERE'S THE LINK, IF YOU MISSED IT:
April 24, 2017 - Tanya's London Trip - Day 8 -
​Tanya Departs London for SoCal and Elisa's London Trip Recap & Review

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 27 DAYS

Vegas Baby and Ireland too?

Howdy!  Tuesday here - my favorite day on T.C., since it's the day me and my cuz chat on about our upcoming travel plans OR trips we are contemplating and have on our bucket list.

However, before, I get into this, I'd like to first mention that today is another one of those crazy celebratory days "National Mani-Pedi Day!"

Wow - I never knew this existed, but if ever a holiday was meant for me and Tanya, it is clearly one dedicated to the act of doing one's nails!!

As a matter of fact, I just indulged in a very relaxing mani on Sunday!  

So, for those of you who are not addicted to them, let me tell you what the big hubbub is all about.

The ritual is part grooming-part pampering.  It's an opportunity to give that finishing touch your fingers and tootsies, while at the same time, sitting back and relaxing for an hour or so.

I'll admit, I end each mani and mani-pedi respectively with a 20 minute back massage!  My nail spa offers massages ($1 per minute) in the privacy of a back room with relaxing music - seriously folks - how could ya not love that!!)

To me, there's nothing like the feeling of a fresh mani-pedi!!  Everything is so perfect and shiny!

Is anyone else obsessed with Gel Manicures?!?  They are the best - they last longer and there is no need to wait for drying!!

The more bling, the better!! (c) travelincousins.com

Now, I'm a color girl - not really into french or neutrals - I like fun, vibrant shades and I'm especially in love with a little bit of bling and glitter!!  I regularly get my ring finger done with glitter for that added pizzaz.  This week I went with a pink tone - what do you think?

Back to travel...

Las Vegas - May
This month I'll be heading out to Las Vegas for a few day for a girl's weekend for my annual girls' trip.

Just a few days to eat, sleep and be merry.

I'm not much of a gambler, but I do enjoy the upbeat, fun atmosphere of Las Vegas and I especially love the food!!

At present, I'm working out the details of where we'll be eating.  As far as general activities, I'm not sure either, although I am looking forward to relaxing.

If you haven't read it, please check out Tanya's wonderful article, 11 Las Vegas Must Dos for the First Timer!
I will admit, one of my favorite things to do each trip to watch the fountains dance at the Bellagio!

The "Dancing" Fountains at the Bellagio (c) travelincousins.com

I'll be finalizing my meal destinations during the coming week, so I'll be sure to keep you in the loop!

Chicago Road Trip - June

(c) travelincousins.com

The countdown as of today for our Cousins Chicago Road Trip is 62 days away!!

Although I've visited Chicago a number of times on business, I've never done all the fun, touristy things and clearly, I've had yet to visit the windy city with my girlies!

Penn's Caverns in Spring Mills, PA (credit: visitpennstate.org)

Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana (credit: en.wikipedia.org)

Gobbler's Knob, Home to Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney, PA (credit: interestingpennsylvania.com)

However, this road trip is so much more than Chicago, which we will be staying for two full days; it also includes stops in Spring Mills, PA; Sharen, PA, Cleveland, OH; South Bend, IN, Punxsutawney, PA and Milesburg, PA.

It's going to be a very down and dirty, casual trip, with frequent stops, photo ops and yes, eating as we travel west and loop back around east over the course of nine days.

​Tanya and I are pretty much done with all of our bookings for this trip.  We will be reviewing our dining destinations over the course of the next month.

NEW TRIP POSSIBILITY FOR ME...

IRELAND in March 2018???

I'm sure by now, you guys know how much I absolutely ADORE Ireland. One of my favorite countries in the world!

Well, during our time together in London, Tanya mentioned to me that she and the kids will be traveling to Ireland in March (2018) for the week leading up to and including St. Patrick's Day.

The specific destinations were not finalized as of yet, except for the definite visit to Dublin on the back end of the trip - the weekend of St. Pat's.

My cousin is the ultimate parade person and said that the St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland is the parade to end all parades and a not-to-be-missed event!! That is why she scheduled her trip at that time.

Dublin, Ireland - St. Patrick's Day parade (c) travelincousins.com

So, as we sat sipping tea and eating our goodies at The Delauney for Afternoon Tea, in Covent Garden a week ago today, the seed was planted in my head to consider putting this trip on my travel calendar for March 2018.  

In actuality, Ireland (which I visited for the first time in 2012 with the girls in tow - their first European visit) has been on my radar in recent months for a return visit.

In an attempt to make our 2012 Trip as child-friendly as possible, I opted NOT to visit Dublin and focused solely on the areas around Shannon and Kilarney.

But, my intention for my next trip was to see Dublin and do much more touring throughout the country.

As a result, my vision was to make the trip an "adult" trip, without the kiddies.

The conundrum for me is ...do I tag along with Tanya and her kiddos solo; do I plan to go the same time as Tanya with another person, to give myself more flexibility to branch off or do I wait, and plan a trip for a different time in the future.

So, this is what I am wrestling with and will need to make some decisions relatively soon since the hotels book up QUICKLY in Dublin for the St. Patrick holiday.  Decisions, Decisions!!

On a separate note, I'm trying to make some changes in myself based on a conversation I had with my girls while in London.

As many of your know, I am extremely anal retentive. I'm a perfectionist and I thrive on having things "just so."  The positive to this personality trait is that I'm also extremely dependable, reliable and have amazing follow through.  I mean what I say and I say what I mean and I can always be counted on to do what I say I will do.

Sounds great, right?  Well, here's the problem.  Because I like things just so; and I'm a total neat and order freak...I also drive my kids nuts. Dirty dishes in the sink or on the counter could literally get me yelling and screaming and I'm a stickler for having beds made and rooms in order before leaving the house.

Yes, I'm that person who washes the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher; has all my cabinets labeled and organizes her closet by color.  

For the most part, my daughters have taken after their mom - they are highly organized, have a wonderful knack for time management and are VERY driven.

So, much so, that they already have a pretty good sense of what they would like for their career path (Gianna is determined to be a doctor working in a hospital and Kelsey has wanted to be an interior designer from the time she was six years old).

That's the positive side of having an anal mom.

The negative aspect is that I'm starting to think I may have to take a chill pill and that perhaps I need to also bring a bit of flexibility into the mix so when things don't exactly work out the way I envision them to, life is still okay and mom is not a basket case.  

Sometimes, schedules cannot be kept to the exact minute and once in a while, it's okay to rush out of the house with an unmade bed or a dish in the sink (do I really believe that? Of course not!  I'm having trouble even typing it!!!)

But, after having my meltdowns in London for getting off to a "late" start two days and then talking calmly with the girls after the fact, they raised some good points - particularly Gianna.

She said, "Mom, you don't need to be so neurotic.  Things will get done; we will get where we need to be; It will all be ok." Wow! And she's only 12-1/2.

I tried to get into the psychology of how "order" keeps me calm and how disorder, disorganization and broken schedules increase my anxiety, but that didn't really get me anywhere lol.  

My take away was that it's probably time to let go, breathe and trust that life will not fall apart if things aren't tied up in a perfect little bow all the time.

So, I'm going to give it a try.  I'm going to employ the deep breath method when I feel ready to scream, carry on and obsess on what is "out of order" and focus on what is, and perhaps it will make for more smiles, laughs and fun with my girls.

I'll keep you posted on that.  You know this is not going to be easy, but it may end up having positive and lasting affects in my life and relationships!

On that note - have a great one!!!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 7 DAYS

Returning back to the States

Well folks I am now back in SoCal (for a week).
We arrived on Monday evening - just in time to jam on over - in traffic - to choir rehearsal!

​Making yesterday our last half day in the U.K. 

We hopped a flight at 2:10pm and were on our way for a 10.5 hr flight back to California and the U.S.A. 

Prior to heading out to the airport we had taken full advantage and appreciation of the "special" room over at the Georgian House in London that I had semi-surprized the kids with.

Standing outside her "special" room at the Georgian House (c)travelincousins.com

Standing at the fireplace in the "special" room (c)travelincousins.com

Why do I say "semi" surprised the kids...well because over a beautiful afternoon tea at The Savoy (my favorite), Cosette had mentioned how much she hates being surprised and would get MAD at me if I had any surprises for her.

She explained how whe would much rather have the time to mentally prepare and to get excited about whatever such surprises might be.

So rather than allow for a situation where she might get MAD at me and then I in turn would be upset with her - causing all sorts of unpleasantries - I decided to break the news to her and inform her that I had booked us a Wizards Chambers in a most sought after hotel in London - 

Plus, I also surprised her with securing SOLD OUT tickets to Warner Brothers!

The entire day would be a Potter Head's Dream Come True!!!

Fabulous decor in the "special" room (c)travelincousins.com

Sitting on the bed in the "special" room (c)travelincousins.com

Looking out (c)travelincousins.com

At breakfast time we went downstairs to the breakfast room and while the hotel offers a "special" Wizards breakfast - we had opted for the vegan breakfasts and did not get to see all of the wonderfully themed dishes.

At breakfast (c)travelincousins.com

I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance. - Steven Wright

Ready to eat (c)travelincousins.com

Since I was driving us to the airport, I wanted to be sure to give us plenty of time - at it was the drive would take us over an hour.

There was no rush or fuss and we had a lovely partial day in and around the hotel.

Once we were on our way all was good, but about 20 minutes into the drive I had to pee really really bad! 

There was no place to pull over and stop and so I suffered each and every minute that followed until arriving back at the car hire - of which I missed the entrance for and just could not wait any longer. I parked the car along the side of the road and literally ran to the the hotel to use the toilet. Whew!

Knowing that the shuttle left for the airport at 11:15a - and I did not want to wait for a later shuttle, but yet I still needed to fill the tank and had no clue where the nearest petrol station was.

I had looked up on the GPS where to go and only had 15 minutes to return. I was pretty much sweating bullets. But decided to go for it. Five minutes to the station - pump and 8 minutes back.

UGH I was cutting it quite close - especially since I had to go relive myself! 

I ran into the station to pay and was told to pump first (time waster). I pumped, and ran back in to pay and get a receipt.

Then I drove a bit like a mad woman - not knowingly scaring Cosette at the time - since she wasn't sure I could drive like a mad woman on the opposite side of the car and the opposite side of the roadways - but just know that when needed - I could drive like a mad woman in any situation!

I pulled back into the parking lot before the bus had even arrived and to assure that the driver wasn't leaving without us, I had the kids take the luggage out of the boot (the trunk) and I happened to also be blocking the drive and his path with the rental. You gotta do what ya gotta do!

The attendant had offered to park the car for me and send us on on way. Boy was I on pins and needles until taking my seat, at which point I could finally relax.

We checked in and had plenty of time before needing to be at our gate, so we decided that since breakfast was quite light that we would have some lunch before our long flight.

We ate at Wagamama and then made our way to the gate. Boarded the plane and took our seats.

We had a smooth and very comfortable flight. Watching movie after movie and attempting to nap - although there was nothing significant.

There was however at occurrence that had never happened in all of the flights that I have ever taken...
Mid-flight over the loud-speaker it was announced that someone had smoked (which is strictly prohibited and a federal offense) in the lavatory!

They had taken this quite seriously and were in search of the person who had committed this crime. I do not know what had become of this situation.

Upon our arrival getting through customs was a breeze and Dave was already looping the international arrivals terminal to pick us up.

My sweetie pie had even got me a gorgeous and fragrant welcome back bouquet!

My welcome back bouquet (c)travelincousins.com

Once loaded up we were on our way to choir rehearsal. No rest for the weary! 

The kids did wonderful - although I'm sure that they had plenty of jet-lag with it being an 8hr time difference.

Dinner was next. And I certainly wasn't up to cooking. So we headed to Veggie Grill and then finally went home to be greeted by the fam bam and try to hit the hay!

Now to unpack and get ready to pack for Hawaii. 
Ahhh the life of this Travelin' Cousin!

Until tomorrow,
​-T