Travel | Table for Five

Countries I’ve Been To & One I’d Like To Visit

June 27, 2011 By Elizabeth

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I’ve been fortunate to visit three countries – Venezuela, England, and Scotland, and there are many more on my dream vacation list. If Chris and I had the money, we would go on a huge overseas vacation!

In high school, our combined Orchestra was invited through an International program to visit Venezuela for ten days. Since I played the Oboe and was second chair in the Orchestra, I got to go, and it was a trip I’ll never forget. In pairs, we stayed with host families and every day, we traveled to a different high school around Caracas to meet the students and play a short concert. Remind me some day to tell you more about it!

After my Senior Year at MSU, I did a five-week Overseas Study program for credit towards my degree in English Lit. I did the Shakespeare program, lived in a dorm at Regent’s College in Westminster, saw Ian McKellen do Richard the III at the Royal National Theatre, went to Stratford to see A Comedy of Errors, and discussed Shakespeare with my fellow students and the prof while sitting on the banks of the Regent’s Park boating pond. At the end of the five weeks I almost didn’t want to come home!

While in London, the college arranged a weekend trip for us to Scotland. We stayed overnight at a college in Glasgow, then traveled the next day to Edinburgh where we were free to do whatever we wanted. A bunch of us had a Fodor’s Guide and we set out on a walking tour of the most amazing castle I have ever seen. We ate at a pub (thank goodness hamburgers are a universal food) before heading back to the dorm and then back to London the next day. I wished we could stay longer!

One of the countries on my dream vacation list is Italy. I’d love to do a holiday Italy -style, with a nice long trip to Rome to see the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps. And then of course Venice, with a gondola ride down a canal and a visit to St. Mark’s Square. Tuscany, Sicily, Amalfi, Lake Como – I think I would need a month to see everything I’d want to see in Italy!

And the food – can you imagine how good the food must be? Pasta, real pizza, fish, vegetables, wine, and little cups of perfect coffee – heaven! Maybe if I start saving now, we could swing an Italy holiday about the time Kaitlyn graduates from high school So, where have you always wanted to go?

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: england, italy, scotland, Travel

Fall in the City Shopping Package in Branson MO

November 8, 2010 By Elizabeth

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Geile Leon. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m heading to Chicago today for a two day blogger event! I love traveling, especially when there’s a chance to do some great shopping at the same time:) If I could, I would check out the Fall in the City Package trip to Branson, Missouri. From what I’ve heard and read, Branson started out as a place for country music performances and has evolved into a one-stop destination for not just country but also rock, gospel, musicals, comedy, and even magic shows. There’s an amusement park, camping, bed and breakfasts, museums, cruises – honestly, I don’t know how people can go for just a weekend! I think you’d have to go for at least a week to experience even a fraction of everything there. ranson is definitely not just for country music anymore!

The Fall in The City Package, which requires a two-night minimum stay, gives you two tickets on the Showboat Branson Belle for dinner and the show, two adult tickets to Silver Dollar City, a 50th Anniversary Silver Dollar City Souvenir Book and a $25 hotel food and beverage credit. For all of that, including the deluxe accomodations at a hotel like the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing, prices start at just $309.50 per night.

An even better deal is the Branson Shopping Package which includes deluxe accommodations, a breakfast buffet for two and a $25 gift card which may be used at any store in the Tanger Outlet Mall, located only three miles from the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. The Shopping Package starts at just $164 per night. The Convention Center Hotel is also minutes away from the area’s 49 theaters, outlet malls, golf courses, Table Rock Lake, Silver Dollar City, and numerous attractions.

After checking out everything there is to do in Branson, I just need to convince my family that they want to go there with me for a vacation! Check it out for yourself, and let me know in a comment if you’ve ever been to Branson.

Filed Under: Sponsored Posts Tagged With: branson, Shopping, Travel

Have excellent Lands’ End suitcase, will travel

August 29, 2010 By Elizabeth

Before I left for BlogHer, Land’s End sent me their FlightWise 22″ Carry-on Upright rolling suitcase. It’s sized to fit in the overhead bin of a plane, and comes with a heavy plastic zippered bag with 6 refillable plastic containers that meet all the TSA guidelines. The outside pockets include a padded laptop pocket and there are two zippered pockets inside.

Okay, so that’s the official info, now here’s my take on this bag – if you are going anywhere on an airplane, I highly, highly recommend this bag. I stuffed it full of four days’ worth of clothes, two pairs of shoes, the TSA liquids bag, another makeup and products bag, and my laptop, and it was easy to roll and maneuver and surprisingly easy to get in and out of the overhead bin on the planes.

The bag:

The bag stuffed with everything I took to BlogHer:

The laptop pocket:

I was surprised how easy the bag was to maneuver through the airports and also how easy it was to get it in and out of the overhead bins. And not having to carry a heavy laptop bag for the first time since I started going to blogging events was fantastic. My shoulder really appreciated it

You can certainly buy cheaper luggage, but one thing I’ve learned in the 20 years I’ve been traveling on airplanes is that you get what you pay for. Chris took our generic brand rolling suitcase on his trip to England and Holland, and by the time he got back, one of the wheels had almost worn all the way off. If that happens to your Lands’ End suitcase, you just return it or exchange it, no matter how many years you’ve had it!

Lands’ End didn’t have to ask me to be a “brand ambassador” or anything, I’ve been one practically my whole life. My Mom bought us school clothes from the LE catalog, I bought my first diaper bag from there too. With regular sales their prices are comparable to department stores with one major difference – the Lands’ End Guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with your Lands’ End purchase, you can return the item at any time, for any reason, no questions asked (just save your receipts!). No other store gives you that.

So. Heading to a blog conference? Traveling on airplanes over the holidays? Get this suitcase from Lands’ End, or browse the Luggage section of their site for other pieces that I’m sure are equally sturdy. And thank you Lands’ End for hooking me up for BlogHer! The FlightWise Upright ROCKS!

Filed Under: Shopping, Travel Tagged With: FlightWise, Lands' End, luggage, rolling suitcase, Travel