August 2, 2016

Elisa's Daily Scoop

Change of Plans & London

Hey folks

Well, today is a bit sad for me.  I am sorry to say I needed to cancel my New Orleans Getaway this week.  Yes, I did (insert sad face).

I wish I had a really exciting reason why, but, it really comes down to the fact that I just had some very personal things to attend to and i had to make an executive decision to stay put.

My girls were, to my surprise, a bit disappointed, which they usually never are.  Moreover, they were very worried about me because I've devoted the entire summer to their horse back riding with no real vacation and relaxation for mom. 

This truly touched me.  Since my tickets are still good, and the fact that there were no penalties on the hotel, I am going to reschedule the trip for the Winter.  I'm thinking, what better place to be than in NOLA when the weather up here in New York is cold!!

I live by the belief that things always happen for a reason and that what is meant to be is meant to be, so I'm keeping a my chin up and going to get many things done here at home this week.

Me and my two jewels on Mother's Day this year.

The good news is, the girls are almost completely done with their Summer homework assignments and have done a spectacular job cleaning up their closets of old clothing and shoes that don't fit them.

I'm so happy we are going to enjoy the month of August knowing that we are pretty well set with clear heads to start the new school year in September.

On to travel talk...
Well, as you know, the cousins are doing their best - me and Tanya that is - to get a few trips on the calendar for the coming year.

Since Tanya's kids are home-schooled, she is always so accommodating to schedule our cousins trips during scheduled school vacations for my gang so we can be together!

We are working on a joint trip to coincide with Easter Vacay this coming Spring. 

I had made a promise to the girls that when they "become teenagers" - that is, for their 13th birthdays, I would take them on a trip for the special occasion. 

Gianna has been talking about how much she wants to visit London for a few years now.  So, that is on our list for Spring 2017.  I'm doing my best to find a great steal deal for this trip.

Well, when I mentioned it to Tanya, she thought it would be an amazing thing to do for Mothers & Daughters and wants to join us with Cosette!!

How cool will that be!!  So, at present, I'm scouring the internet for airfare and hotel packages and counting my airline points to make this happen so I don't disappoint my girl.

Kelsey is already thinking about her 13th, which is not due until 2019! But, she already has put me on notice that she wants to do a Disney cruise!  

I thought of an incredible theme for this trip as well!!  "Afternoon Tea in London."  

After a great deal of research, I found a number of amazing places to go and visit for daily afternoon tea.  

In fact one of these is a combination afternoon tea and bus tour!!  I told you all about it back a few months ago, but it is so interesting, I wanted to tell you again!

When I was thinking about a London Trip, I realized with so much history in this great city, my kids would probably kill themselves if we planned too much touring. 

So I found the most amazing "tour bus" that combines touring with tea.

It's called the BB Bakery Bus Afternoon Tea Tour!

​And boy does it look like a blast!!!

Afternoon Tea Bus Tour (credit: http://www.afternoontea.co.uk)

(credit: http://www.afternoontea.co.uk)

 I never heard of anything quite so original!!

​This vintage London double decker bus will drive round Central London, taking in some of the City's best sights, whilst you can indulge in the fabulous BB Afternoon Tea.

Now, I am sure the kids will have no problem enjoying see sites, learning some history while they are chowing down on some yummy goodies!!

Well, I'll be telling you more about this great trip next Travelin' Tuesday.

It's so good to have Tanya back this week!!

Don't forget to read all about her Magical Anniversary Trip coming up in a few weeks!!

Have a great one!!
-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 14 DAYS

Great Plans happening here..

Hiya everyone!

How's August going for you so far? 

Monday was pretty good over here, nothing out of the ordinary.
I went to the gym, did some shopping, unpacked some stuff from the weekend trip, took the kids to choir rehearsal, and was quite busy with choir duties while over there.

So far I think I'm doing pretty okay as President. 
(yeah I just went ahead and pat myself on the back)

Monies/deposits were collected for our 2017 Trip Back to Idaho - lots of planning on the horizon for this one!
​
We also prepped the kids and their costumes for Thursdays performance at Disney's California Adventure. It should be very busy leading up to the performance, but should be a very fun filled day afterward.

Having fun with their friends back in 2013 - the last time I went with the choir to California Adventure (c)travelincousins.com

I figure it'll also be like a warm up for our upcoming Orlando Adventures that will be filled with theme parks galore!

Where do we begin? (c)travelincousins.com

So speaking of trips, today happens to be Travelin' Tuesday and the biggest update that I've got and one that I'm most excited about is that I've booked our accommodations in St. Moritz for our Euro Ski Circuit in Feb. 2017 - it's gonna be soooo AWESOME!!!

Having a BLAST at the 2015 FIS in Vail, Colorado (c)travelincousins.com

The reason that I was/am so excited and relieved that this Famous Winter Destination has been booked is because we are going for the FIS Alpine World Championships (which was actually the inspiration for this trip) and finding a property there during those dates has definitely been a challenge.

So if you were here when I completed the booking - you would've got to see me do my little happy dance! lol

​Well on a more current travel note, we have my Magical Anniversary Trip coming up in a mere 14 days...
And as the title states, I expect it to be nothing short of Magical!

First stop - London

Me and Ben - Big Ben that is! (c)travelincousins.com

Second stop - Paris

Paris Lights (c)travelincousins.com

Third stop - Luxembourg - brand new city for me!!!

Fourth stop - Rome - in the homeland <3

I've always loved Rome (c)travelincousins.com

Fifth stop - Copenhagen - another new city for me!!

Sixth stop - Edinburgh - one of my FAVORITES

Edinburgh stole my heart! (c)travelincousins.com

Seventh stop - Inverness - another new city to check off in my book!

And the eighth is more than just a stop, it will be a cycling journey of 185 miles across the Outer Hebrides, crossing 10 islands in the archipelago. 

PC: hebrideanhopscotch.com

"This amazing cycling trip in the Outer Hebrides takes you through some of the most beautiful and unspoilt regions of Scotland, journeying past spectacular white sand beaches, rugged mountains and wild glens." - Wilderness Scotland

So as you can see, I'll be wearing many "hats" on this trip and it will have several different "flavors". 

​But as they say and I tend to agree - 

Well folks I'm thinking about booking the flights today to London for our Spring Surprise Trip, I've also gotta get to the gym - I've gotta be in shape for this quickly approaching bike ride in Scotland!

In addition, Dominic has classes this evening, I've got a few things to pick up at the mall and return that horrible backless/strapless bra that SUCKED.

And then I told the kids that we'd go to the movies tonight - the plan is to go see Ghostbusters, which everyone including individuals who don't care for remakes has done nothing but rave over it...
I'm expecting it to be good for at least a few laughs.
Somewhere in there, I've got to prepare dinner and feed this crowd!

That's about it for my Tuesday :)

• Wednesday will probably be similar.
• Thursday will be spent at California Adventure.
• And then on Friday, another weekend gets kicked off, and Dave and I will be heading up to Los Angeles for a little surprise staycation - I have no idea where we are staying, but I'm sure he picked out some thing lovely!!

​
The last time he booked us a staycation we stayed at the Historic Chateau Marmont ;) 

Swanky (c)travelincousins.com

That's all for today.

I'm signing off,
​-T