Traveling Business classy

Be Business Ready!

Yeah today I’m afraid it’s Tuesday, it’s the last day of August and it’s back to business after a summer of slacking. So why not make it fun?

How, you ask? Well do you remember that smell of new school gear? Ok am I really the only loser who loved breaking-out the new pens? Or finding the best binder? What about making sure you had the right lunch box?

Come on. You know you remember. So what’s fun for adults? What have they got to entice them back to work? How about a lovely leather bag? No fear The Harbourmaster’s Sheilagh Robertson is here with her Travel Tip for Tuesday and some beautiful business accessories to help get you back into the office or off the island.

She said: “Traveling on an important business trip? Many women today are looking for business cases that are fashionable and can serve as a handbag as well.” Here are a few options before.

Lovely, red, leather, rolling Jack George's bag to fit your computer and files with fashion for $455

“At the Harbourmaster there are handbags that are perfect for carrying the new smaller “net book” computers as well as wheeled briefcases that allow one to travel with all the paperwork without straining the shoulders.”

Handy handbag/briefcase with space for computer: $365

You need something smaller? Something to carry your notes for a meeting in style? How about a organizer with a beautiful leather finish? Why be boring when you can be bright and beautiful with the red organizer below?

Land's red, leather briefcase organiser for all your necessities, including your cell phone for $175.

And of course you have to visit The Harbourmaster on the first floor of the Washington Mall near the Washington Alley, Hamilton Bermuda for more options!

Liberating Paris

If you were in Paris today 66 years ago, you’d be relieved. Why? Nazi occupation of the city had ended thanks to the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. For four years, Paris would have been under the Nazi’s spell.

Luckily the commander of the German garrison did not blow-up Paris’ landmarks or burn the city before the liberation and he signed the formal surrender this afternoon, 66 years ago. So now it’s time to see Paris. Have you seen it? Are you missing out? Yes.

Have you been before and are struggling to figure out what to do now? Good because it’s time to plan ahead and figure out September. First of all if you’re looking for somewhere to stay Tablet.com  is offering great deals for Paris until September 1 right now.

While if you’re in Paris later in the month then the Autumn Festival is the place to be. It is a festival of contemporary arts, embracing and combining different art forms. From September 13 to December, the Festival features over forty events attracting a total audience of more than 100 000. For more information check out their website.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? No? That’s all right with the amount of beer flowing at Oktoberfest there will be no need. That’s right it’s called Oktoberfest but it actually starts in September. Officially you have 24 days, 2 hours and 1 minute to visit the 177th Oktoberfest. Want to continue the countdown? Visit the beerfest’s website. So plan ahead and make sure you’ve organized your trip to Munich, Germany for a sanctioned scarfing of beer!

Next stop in September? How about London? How about combining London with a run….in a Gorilla costume? Yep on September 26th if you have been dying to break-out that costume, but haven’t had a chance too here’s your opportunity.

From 10.30 a.m. on Sunday, September 26th 1,000 Gorilla look-alikes will line-up at the Underwriting Centre ff Mincing Lane in the City of London.

In costumes better suited for the jungles, these philanthropic men and women will finish a 7 kilometre route (that’s just over 4 miles) through the heart of the City of London, over the famous bridges and past some of London’s major landmarks.

This will all be in the name of saving Gorillas and really should be a stop for anyone visiting/living in London.

Finally, and this is on a personal note because I am going to be heading here in September, Stockholm, Sweden is hosting Ozzy Osbourne at the Langholmen arena on September 7! Think I might give it a miss. Not my style and, well, I won’t be there until the end of September.

So there are your plans for September in some European destinations…..any more ideas? Heard of some good concerts to suggest? And return tomorrow for CTravel’s answers to European travel….on CTravel Thursdays.

Thursday? Wanna go to Greece?

Athens by Night

For the two of us there were four beds. We thought we had struck a deal with the ticket lady in Venice.

“Sure, sure you can have a private room.”

Now we faced four beds. We were two. We had 48 hours until we landed in Piraeus, Greece and being the backpackers we were we had hit the grocery store for our food.

We spread-out. Opened our food and ate our dinner. But I was sure. I was sure any minute we were going to have another two people knock on our door and demand their trundle beds in the prison-size ship room.

We made it to Piraeus, but it wasn’t pretty. We barely got sleep with zero space. We had a shower that sprayed the entire bathroom. So why not do the trip pretty? Why not live in a luxury that supplies designer soaps, aromatherapy scents and handmade chocolate paired with a chilled bottle of French wine?

And why not make the trip with Silversea Cruises which offer just this luxury with the combination of Venice, Trieste and Rimini in Italy with Dubrovnik, Croatia, Corfu and Athens in Greece? If you book with CTravel before August 31 you will save 60% on your fare and received $500 in onboard credits!

Not fancying Venice? Want something a little less Mediterranean? Silversea Cruises also offers a trip from Bridgetown, Barbados to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 24 for 16 days. This cruise will hit St. Lucia, Grenada, French Guiana and multiple posts in Brazil before finishing in Rio! If you book this before August 31 the total trips will cost $5,798 before airfare from Bermuda.

River cruising more your style? Looking for a vacation for next year? I mean it is August already! Well Tauck Discovery has the gift of time for their European River Cruises in 2011. For previous Tauck clients they will receive two free nights in a hotel at the beginning or end of their trip OR one on each end. New clients will get one free night!

French River Cruising

Of course you have to book before September 30, 2010, but how can you not when the chances of resting gently down the stream through French Vineyards could be a reality? For ten days at $4,490 Tauck travelers can visit Paris, Lyon and Avignon to say the least!

So what are you waiting for?? It’s CTravel Thursdays and it’s the chance to book your next amazing trip cruising in style in the Mediterranean or Carribbean…..river boating it through France in 2011!

On top of that, if you contact CTravel for your next trip you can save!

Labouring away all summer?

Sun setting on the summer

Maybe you need a break? Maybe it’s a last hurrah before kids go back to school (and need to find backpacks)? Or maybe you’ve already planned a vaca for the first weekend in September? Whatever the case is, this is time to stop labouring (well except for you momma’s to be and there are a lot of you out there right now) and enjoy some time off. I know I am!

But the Americans know how to do it best. In fact they started the holiday dedicated to workers by not working. Somehow seems backwards but there you have it.

So where did it all begin? In New York of course. On September 5, 1884 it was celebrated as a “workingman’s holiday” when workers united in a parade 10,000 strong down Broadway, NYC proudly led by Irish-American activist Peter MacGuire. None of them got fired (or too few to matter) so they did it again the following year and now even Canada gets in on the mix.

What am I going to do to celebrate Labour Day? Well, for one, I am going to be in Bermuda so probably not much. But I hope to go to New York the weekend before and maybe catch a game of….tennis?!

While it’s Labour Day and most take the time to hang with their families, the tennis elite struggle under the last hurrah of the summer sun for the U.S. Open. From August 30 to September 12 thousands of spectators will trample through New York’s Underground for a chance to see the likes of Serena Williams and the American James Blake.

Combine major city with a major sporting event and you’ll be lucky to make it out …..happy. So before you go check out these ten tips for helping you survive this tremendous event. Check them out.

Looking for something closer to home, Bermudians? Want a way to celebrate Caribbean pride? Why no head to…..Brooklyn. Yes, I wrote Brooklyn. Why? Good question. Well on Sunday, September 6 the colours, music and people descend on the streets to celebrate the West Indian Parade.

Or perhaps you’re looking for a more subtle music experience. Well America does it right with two, yes I wrote two Jazz festivals to finish their summer.

To start you off there’s the Chicago Jazz Festival or heading further North? What about Detroit? They’re in the game too with the Detroit Jazz Festival.

Or maybe you want to find the Largest Free Concert in The United States? And you want to do it on Labour Day Weekend? Try and head for Atlanta, Georgia and their Freedom Atlanta Concert. It’s the largest, free one-day outdoor concert and takes place on Saturday during Labor Day weekend at Jim R. Miller Park (new location) from about 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. with a fireworks finale. Celebrate Freedom Atlanta Website.

Catch yourself some Catfish in Georgia over Labour Day

Atlanta may be it’s capital, but why not explore a little more of Georgia and catch yourself a catfish? Yep. This quirky state celebrates the Annual Labor Day Weekend Catfish Festival. What more can you ask for?

Are you heading to America’s Capital? Labour yourself in Washington, D.C. with another free concert courtesy of The National Symphony Orchestra. This is held on the West Lawn of the U. S. Capitol each year, the Sunday before Labor Day. The annual concert is led by NSO Associate Conductor Emil de Cou and the event is part of theKennedy Center’s Prelude Festival, which includes free performances to kickoff the performing arts season in Washington, DC.

Looking for a last-minute vacation for your weekend? Why not head to Maine….Sebago Maine: For $119 a night the Park Homes on a family resort and mile of beach and 18-hole golf course. Check out this deal here.

Or go to Canada – yes they celebrate Labour Day too – for your last hurrah on these deals.

Take your chances in Chile?

Patagonia, Chile

I landed in Santiago, Chile after almost 38 hours on planes and sitting in airports such as Singapore, Tokyo and Dallas. Actually Dallas included an unintended stay-over when I slept through my departure AT the gate. Should that have told me something? Yes. I needed more sleep.

Luckily I got it in a Dallas airport hotel and the next day flew to my intended first-stop in South America – ever – Santiago. Chile. I don’t speak Spanish and I didn’t have a guidebook, but I did have the name of my hostel and a taxi service.

Golden. But where was I going to go? Chile’s long and thin and difficult to navigate by land. Especially when I landed there in their spring (late September).

Eeny, meeny….miny….moe: Patagonia. Best decision I ever made as I witnessed glaciers for the first time in my life and the most spectacular scenery at the end of the world. Well almost.

I couldn’t quite make it to Ushuaia, which names itself the most Southern city in the world, thanks to bus schedules. So I stayed in Punta Arenas and almost made it to the tip of the world. But don’t let that stop you!

Punta Arenas in Patagonia, Chile

Why not combine spa with adventure and a chance to visit tuxed-out non-flying birds? Why not spend New Years’ Eve in the luxury of a high-end cruise that will depart from Ushuaia (in Argentina) deliver you to some glaciers, cross the straight of Magellan and visit Magdela Island where 120,000 penguins await?

If that’s not your cup of tea, Chile by Sportstour, which you can book through CTravel, also offers New Years Eve in Chile’s desert and the highest in the world – the Atacama Desert. With moon-like landscapes that will mystify why not try it? Make the New Years resolution.

New Years Eve may seem miles away as we enter August, but if you’re looking for a deal in December you need to book with Windstar Cruises for their 2-for-1 deals. Take a 15-day cruise to:St. Barts, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Curacao, Aruba
Transit Panama Canal, Isla de Coiba, Quepos, Tortuga Island.

If you book by August 14 (i.e. only nine days away) one person can sail for 15-days for :$3,575 pp. It was originally $7,149 per person. Can’t think of a nicer place to be spending Christmas!

Varanasi/Robyn Skinner

Or maybe you want something sooner? Something for September? Why not travel on the only Riverboat along the Ganges between Kolkata and Varanasi, India?

The next trip for the 56-person Bengal Pandaw river cruise is September 27th. There are only ten cruises a year! Each one is 11 days, but the entire trip includes stays in Kolkata for a night and Varanasi (the holiest city in India) for two.

For more information on the Bengal Pandaw Riverboat contact Carl Paiva, CEO of CTravel at 292-3033 and for the other deals check CTravel’s website or give them a call.

And as always: check the Travel Deals’ Page for more advice.