Vegas Tips for Newbies

First time to Vegas?  You'll love it! The lights and spectacle that is Vegas will never be as bright or as exciting as the first time. You're in for a great time. Enjoy!

Here are a few tips to help you avoid those rookie mistakes:

1. Pack much less than you think. A dress (or dress shirt for the men), good walking shoes, your bathing suit and something super comfy to wear in your room when you're exhausted and hungover. Make sure you dress stylishly on the plane and for check in. Look the part.

2. Wear decent shoes on the plane. You'll walk about 10 minutes or so thru the airport to catch a cab. You'll NEED those good walking shoes the whole trip. So much walking. So much to see.

3. DON'T tell the cab driver it's your FIRST time in Vegas! They are notorious for taking you the long way.  $20 is the typical fare to the strip. Just politely ask for the direct route. If it costs you $35, they got ya.  Lesson learned.

4. Don't go overboard on day 1. Day 2 is when you have the most fun. Get up early, grab a coffee and get out there! There is so much to see and do. Hangover or not... get back in the game.

5. When you are playing slots, or table games (like blackjack) the drinks are free. Just make sure to tip your waitress a $1 or $2 every drink. She can also give you little bottles of water free. If you want a Corona, ask for a Corona. It's that easy. The better the hotel/casino, the better the drinks. Bellagio gives you double Baileys on the rocks. Just sayin.

6. Blackjack is great! Can be as cheap as $5 a hand. Just don't hit when the dealer shows a 16, PLEASE! Let the dealer bust. You still win. Also, split your 8s and Aces. Don't touch the cards, ever! To hit or stay is a subtle hand movement. Tap of the finger to hit, a flat wave to stand.  (Now you look like you know what you're doing!)

7. You can't see it all. Don't even try. I've been at least a dozen times, and I haven't seen it all. It's ever changing and evolving. You are welcome in ANY casino at ANY time. Don't feel shy about walking in the front door at Bellagio even if you are staying at the Linq. (Bellagio gardens are a MUST SEE and free. Just beyond their front door.)

8. Open Table is a fabulous app. You can find out the different restaurants nearby, their menu and available reservations. Essential in Vegas, unless you plan to eat at the food court or buffets the whole time. (Yuck)  Mon Ami Gabi is an amazing French restaurant in the Paris Hotel. It faces the Bellagio fountain show and costs less than dinner at The Keg at home. I LOVE the crepes from Aria. Giada's restaurant in the Cromwell is also amazing. Burgers at BURGR in Planet Hollywood are also excellent.

9. Walgreens and ABC stores are located on the strip and in Planet Hollywood Shops. Cheapest, best and easiest places to grab water, and booze. And sunscreen. You need sunscreen.

10. Don't plan to drink at the pools. First off, drinks are $20. More like $30 if you are Canadian. Secondly, it's hotter under the Vegas sun. Heatstroke is no joke and will ruin your vacation.

11. Free wifi is not easy to find. They don't want you hanging around in your room staring at your phone. But this is a good thing. Put your phone down and participate. Don't just Instagram it.... live it! Please either buy a roaming plan, or turn OFF your data when you leave home. Otherwise your phone bill will be a bigger regret than your drunk texting. Haha.

12. Used casino cards (from the hotel gift shop) are super cheap, super awesome souvenirs. At $2 a deck you can grab some for your coworkers!

That's it! Have fun. No 13th tip... that would be unlucky.

If you need to harness that pre-vegas excitement, start watching Vegas movies! Vegas Vacation and Oceans 11 are must see!

And if you do find my little 'escape' sign, DO take a selfie and tweet it! I love that sign. @cdntripseeker

Hotwire Surprise... but not really a surprise

Here's the thing... every time you start poking around the Internet and doing some shopping, travel or otherwise you are leaving a digital trail. That's why you suddenly see ads everywhere for Old Navy after you've browsed their site.

The other day I was checking out a few dates on Hotwire.com.  Imagine my surprise (Yes, sarcasm) when this popped up in my e-mail folder:

As a previous Hotwire user, they have my e-mail address. I'm cool with that. I'm also cool with them sending me deals, when they are legit deals. I strongly dislike "deals" that are exactly the same price as before, or a lower price PLUS additional fees that equal the original price.

This "surprise" offer, is another $15 if I book today. Basically it's a car dealer technique.... here's a little bonus to make you sign today. "Let's get this deal done!"

I checked it out, and it's still more than my original search. Which makes me believe what they say is true, every time you search travel hotels/flights the prices will go up, not down. They key to getting around that is clearing your cache or using the private browser setting.

Also good to know is that Hotwire and Expedia are the same company. They offer same hotels and similar rates etc. Think "Future Shop" and "Best Buy" when they were sibling companies.

Only you will know when you get the right price. It's about VALUE for your dollar. There is no best price or ultimate deal. You could drive yourself crazy pursuing this unicorn.

Top 5 Travel Tips: When to use Hotwire

Sometimes it feels like a dirty little secret. But I like Hotwire.com I've used it before and I'll certainly use it again. Here's why.

1. Use Hotwire when the event overshadows the accomodations. For example, if you're in town for the big game and you plan to be at the arena/stadium all day tailgating and such, your hotel is kind of irrelevant. As long as it's clean, conveniently located and saves you money for beer, it's a winner.

2. You're broke.  You might just get a 4 star AWESOME hotel, at a 2 star cool price.

3. You're trip is ON. No chance of cancellation... this is happening for sure. Then Hotwire is a good choice. If you think you might cancel, or might change plans or might "whatever" then forget it. Hotwire is when it's ON. No refunds.

4. You are not brand loyal. Once more night and Hyatt gives you elite status? Then stay with Hyatt. There are no points, no loyalty bonuses when you pick Hotwire.

5. When Hotwire keeps emailing you and dropping the price.... go with Hotwire. They want your business. They follow their Internet cookies back to you and keep trying to sweeten the deal. They've worked hard. You should take the offer and smile that smug "I got the deal" smile.

A Winnipeg Win at The Forks

I’m a mom. I multi-task. I can’t help but race from one thing to another, to another, and pack as much into a day as humanly possible. So spending a day at The Forks in Winnipeg, well, that was just a perfect fit!

I wanted to plan a special day for my son’s 13th birthday, and show him a great, stress free time. I didn’t want to be driving all over the city, so for our day together I checked us into the Inn At The Forks and planned to spend the evening at the Goldeyes game. 

Right away we put on our sneakers and took a lap of The Forks Market, checking out some of the vendors. It was hard for me to pass up the fudge, but I resisted. I knew I’d be eating perogies and cabbage rolls at the ballpark. (Yup, fabulous Ukrainian food at the ball game!) Could not spoil my appetite. 

It was nearing game time, so we walked across the parking lot, past the skate park (so cool! Did you know Tony Hawk even skated at this park and gave it the thumbs up?) and past the Canadian Human Rights Museum, and over to Shaw Park. Shaw Park is a fabulous facility. There isn’t a much better way to spend a summer night in the city. 

View from the third baseline. At Shaw Park, home of the Goldeyes.

The Goldeyes put on a great show! (And won that night too!) For $15 a ticket we had seats a few rows up on the third baseline. Between innings they had great on-field games and lots of giveaways. My son bought a ball at the gift shop and I was definitely tempted to grab a jersey. 

Then, for a single loonie, Riley had three pitches in front of a radar gun on the concourse. Who knew he could throw a ball 49mph? We both thought that was pretty cool. I would have tried it too, but I have this old elbow injury..... haha. 

After the game we went and had snacks down by the waterfront. Very few mosquitos and the campfire smell from Crab Shack’s fire pits, almost made you feel like you were camping. We felt very safe at The Forks even well after dark. 

At dawn the next day, we stumbled our sleepy walk over to the Johnson Terminal for a coconut latte from Espresso Junction. They’ve been making my favourite Winnipeg cup of coffee for over 20 years now! After grabbing a breakfast special from Danny’s and eating it on the benches down by the river, we decided to use the guest bikes from the hotel and take a bigger tour of the area. I left my camera back at the hotel so I could focus on keeping up with my teenager. We had a blast. There was way more to the river trails than I’d ever walked. The free loaner bikes (and helmets) were definitely a highlight. This was my favourite hotel perk of the year. 

Before I knew it, our time was up. It was time to check out and head back to work. But before I did, I rebooked for another family weekend. It was simply too good, to not do again! 

Danny's at The Forks, my fav breakfast spot.

So many great vantage points at The Forks. Pull up a chair and sit a spell!

Travel Senses

I simply love how a scent or a taste can take you back to the moment. I write this as I sip my Kea Lani Orange Pineapple tea and reminisce with you.  The tea smells amazing! The tea smells like Hawaii to me, fresh and light, sweetly fruity. The taste and scent of fresh pineapple is one of the most glorious treats in Hawaii and a very touristy thing to do. (That, and eat shaved ice in Hawaii, but I digress.)  I was last in Hawaii November 2014, it was Honolulu that time. But that's not where I bought this tea.

I bought the packaged tea in February, at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac. I was in the gift shop with my son and I spied this gem being cross-marketed with the Chateau's own jars of rooftop honey.  Tea and honey seemed like a brilliant idea on that cold winter's day. It was an easy decision to buy both. The humble packaged tea, and thimble sized jar of honey was a far cry from the traditional afternoon tea I'd had previously at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess in Bermuda, but I had a hunch I'd enjoy this more.

While High Tea at The Fairmont is a must-do for any traveller, and I DID it, it just wasn't me. It's a fun story though. I'd been touring downtown Bermuda and had gotten caught in the rain. My raincoat shielded my clothes, but my umbrella barely kept the wind and rain out of my hair. So, I kinda looked like a curly haired stray dog. Or that's how I felt breezing into the iconic hotel for my reservation.  Oddly enough, the doorman (a gentleman of about 80 years) gave me the most lovely compliment of my life. "May I say dear, that you look simply glorious coming in out of the rain."

Whoa. Glorious??!! Me? Wow.  I fumbled my words and said thank you. Such a lovely compliment took me aback, especially in my wet dog state, but it was certainly the highlight of my High Tea afternoon.

I sat alone and did my best to present as a lady. I took the waiter's recommendation and chose a tea and a tea service that seemed nice enough. I loved the look and presentation of the food. The tower of dainties and sandwiches looked exactly as I'd seen in photos and read on other tourist blogs.  Too bad the tea tasted like stinky perfume strained through a sweat sock.  Yuck. I held my nose and had one big gulp in order to empty my cup and appear as though I was well suited to High Tea. (But ew. I didn't like that tea at all.)  Some of the dainties and sandwiches were delicious. Some were not. My absolute favourite part was the raspberry sorbet in the tiny chocolate cup. One bite and it was more than worth the price of admission. Amazing!

Sorbet in a dark chocolate cup on Fairmont fine china. Amazing! 

I ended up sitting with and having an animated conversation with another lady whose name was also Catherine. She joined my table offering to give up hers for a couple. I enjoyed the company. Well, until she had a shouting conversation into her cell phone with her 25 year old son who was lost in New York because, it seemed, he had not followed her directions. Anyways, that was High Tea in Bermuda.   And all these memories flood back, while I sip the most glorious packaged tea from the most glorious hotel in Quebec. Sweet memories.

Mark Twain statue in the lobby.  Post High Tea.

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Re-reading this piece to spell check and edit.... well, makes it crystal clear to me that I'm pretty damn lucky. I've seen hotels and countries people dream about and I've had fussy lunches and funny travel stories to write about. And all this gratitude from a sip of tea. Priceless. 

Live      Laugh     Love     Travel     Repeat

New ADDICTIVE Travel App

If I look a little tired tomorrow morning, it's because I can't stop playing with this new APP. It's called Rome2Rio and it gives you concise travel times and ways to get from point A to point B.  It gives you the flight numbers, train routes, times and prices. Yeah.

Try it for yourself. Just order the biggest coffee you can get tomorrow.
Online (Rome2Rio.com) or as an APP from the iTunes store. And it's even free.

You're welcome.

Sports Trips

If you love seeing your favourite team live, like I do, it's a perfect time of year to plan a fall sports trip.  It's easy to do. I love NFL football, and NHL hockey so we'll look at those. But you can easily add baseball to the mix. And there's about 3 weeks a year that you could possibly get all three.

1. Grab the schedule.  Don't just look at the home games. If you are travelling anyway, keep an open mind as to location.  It might be out of your price range to see the 49ers at home, but what if you travel and see them in Phoenix?

2. Identify the cities with easy access airports. Where can you get a direct flight from your own city?
Phoenix, Denver, Chicago are easy to get to from Winnipeg and reasonably priced. (under $500 is good, a great deal would be $360)

3. Now grab the hockey schedule for your preferred city and see if any dates line up. Think Saturday night hockey and Sunday afternoon for an unforgettable weekend. If you're lucky enough to go to Phoenix, the arena and stadium are on the same property and there are several hotels in the immediate area. Too easy.

4. Check out the flight prices. Do you have Air Miles or other means to get the flights at a reduced price?

5. Hotels can be found by looking at google maps of the stadium area, or there are usually local hotels listed (and sometimes discounted) on your team's website.

6. Tickets. You can grab those of Ticket Master. They offer a guaranteed ticket resale service with their Ticket Exchange. You can pick up both NHL or NFL tickets this way.  I personally have used Stubhub.com and have always been very very happy with my tickets and have never had any problems. Any time I've picked up NFL tickets, they have come by courier in 3 days or less.

7. The last step is the countdown! How many days before the epic sports weekend? There's an app for that.

See how easy that was!  You might even see history made. (I was lucky enough to see Peyton Manning throw career touchdown #509 and break Brett Favre's record)

I can't wait to do another football trip. So much fun!