I went to a French Immersion school from kindergarten through grade twelve and because of it, I am pretty fluent in the language. I decided that I was going to mix the two things I love, being French and traveling, and try to find a job in Europe.

I looked up a translation company London and sent in a resume and an application. It did not take long before I had someone call me and offer to pay my airfare there just to have an interview. Of course I said yes and I took a flight the very next day.

I was hired right away and I flew home and had only three weeks to pack all of my stuff and send it to London to my new flat. I am loving the job, loving my home and loving the whole experience. I can see me being here for many years, much to my mom’s dismay, but she will either have to get used to it or move here to be with me.

It was my first flight on my own and I managed to get myself severely lost. While I was having nightmares about getting on the wrong flight, I got lost in the airport. I did not want to ask for help because I would sound like a child and this trip was all about proving how grown up I was. I had to show everybody that I was ready to be treated like an adult.

I sure was not acting like one, when I gave up and locked myself in a bathroom stall for a good cry. Someone soon came and knocked on the door to find out if I was alright. I came out and told her that I was lost and was probably going to miss my connecting flight. She gave me a hug and said that she would help me find where I needed to go.

We left the bathroom and found someone who worked for the Philadelphia airport transportation. She told me that he would take me to where I needed to be. I got to my flight just in the nick of time and made it to my dad’s. I never told anyone about it; I just pretended to be all grown up. But, that hug from my dad was the safest thing I had felt all day.

One of my good friends from college is getting married this week in Temecula, California.  To be honest, I had never heard of the place until I received the wedding invitation, but I thought that I should do some research before I went.

I took a look online for information about the city of Temecula.  I found that it was a city surrounded my wineries.  Being an avid wine connoisseur, I thought that I would have a perfect opportunity to taste test the many wines of the region after the wedding.

I was sure to print out a map of Temecula for when I was going to be there so I wouldn’t get lost.

I have also decided that I will look at some Temecula real estate down there as potential investment properties - then I can write some of the trip off.

So, all I have to do now, is figure out what kind of present I am going to buy them…. maybe my wife has some ideas.

I have to say that our trip to Europe was one of the most monumental moments of my life.  It was quite amazing to see the places that we had studied in school, and those few places that I have dreamed about all my life (think Stonehenge).

But going on the trip wasn’t free, and there was a price attached to it.  We had to save up our money for a long time, and work a little extra on the weekends so that we could go. 
Sure, this meant that we would have less social time with our friends, but with our dreams in sight, we made a commitment to do what was needed to be done, to get where we wanted to go.

Alright, that wasn’t our only secret.  In fact, I would say that the most cost savings were done by my wife.  You see, she is a bit of a bargain hunter, and she had been scouring the web for cheap car rentals.  She was able to find cheap car hire Italy, cheap car hire Switzerland, and cheap car hire Ireland.

Did those savings add up?

You bet.  In fact, thanks to her finding us good deals, we were able to stay an extra week, and come home with some money left in our bank accounts.

It is crazy trying to get a car rental Miami. I didn’t think to book it in advance and when my plane landed, the airport was crazy busy and there were line ups like you wouldn’t believe at all of the car rental terminal places. I was wondering if it was always like this or if I had come on a bad day.

I decided to ask my buddy about it, as he was always going to Miami for business trips and I figured he would have told me about this if it were something that happened on a regular basis. I decided against the car rentals Miami for the moment and caught a cab instead.

A few days later, when I needed a car rental Tampa, I had a much easier time. The line ups were short and the staff was prompt and courteous. I had a much nicer time and I thought I would be glad to do more business here and forego Miami all together.

I am planning my first vacation abroad and am so excited. I have never done anything like this before, so when I was asked by a friend if I wanted to join her on a purchasing trip to Europe for her business, I jumped at the chance. I am going as her assistant and I know that there is a lot of work involved, but I also know it will be great to see another part of the world.

Our first stop will be in Italy, where we will be buying Italian leather for imported sofas. I have always dreamed of going to Italy and she said if everything goes according to schedule, we will have enough time left to go sightseeing for a couple of days, before we move travel to Greece.

Greece is a place that everyone dreams of going to at some point in their life. We are going to have a lot more time in Greece. Hopefully a full week after we are finished with business. I am going today to have my passport photo taken and I have never been more excited about anything in my whole life - I can’t wait to travel to Europe.

As I was tucking my two-year-old into bed, for the third time, tonight, it crossed my mind that I really need a vacation without the kids. I don’t know when the last time is that my husband and I had any time alone together and I thought it would be great if we could plan to have a weekend away.

I was mentioning this to my friend and she suggested that we go to Las Vegas. I thought this would be a little pricier than we could afford and I told her this. She suggested that since it was slow season there, I should ask about Las Vegas hotel discounts.

I did a quick search for Excalibur offer codes (one of my dream hotels to stay at) and was blown away at the amount and number of discounts offered. These were definitely prices that we could afford and I was now getting excited about actually doing and not just saying.

The MGM Grand offer codes (another one of my dream hotels) I found will make our trip a lot more affordable and within our budget. My husband will be home from work in a few hours, and once I show him the numbers, I am sure he will agree that this is a wonderful idea. If he needs extra convincing, he can put the kids to bed tomorrow night. All three times!

I had the most wonderful opportunity to host a couple from Spain in my home for two weeks. They run a small holiday rentals business in Spain and were coming here, both for business and also to get a much needed break after the busy tourist season. I did not know this couple, but we had mutual friends, who, for health reasons, were not able to open up their home and asked me if I could.

I did not hesitate and am so glad that they came. I learned so much about their culture and their business. I even got to brush up on my Spanish and, after two weeks, it is not half bad. As part of their business involves motorhome rentals, they were interested in looking at some of the new models we had available over here. I was happy to help out in any way possible and took them to quite a few different dealerships.

Their trip came to an end all too soon. They have become very dear friends to me and I am going to miss them so much. Maybe not for too long, though, as they have told me that during the slow time, when their villa rentals are not all booked, they would love to host me in their country.

Our family has made plans to go to Disney World.  We have never gone on a trip like this before, so I wanted to do some research before we committed to the trip.

I went online and looked for one of my favorite sources of information: forums.  I was lucky enough to find the Disney World forum - and it had all the information I needed.

I found out that the Disney World Resort Hotels were rated in the top ten hotels in the country.  They cater to families - and the prices really were not too high.  Most people that commented about the hotels had positive things to say.

I also found out that Universal Studios was really close to where we would be staying.  Ever since it opened, I have dreamed of going there, and now is my chance.

All we have to do now is book our trip through our travel agent.  Then we can count down the days till we can go - I just can’t wait!

I have wanted to travel to Thailand for years - and this year my wish will come true.  Today I booked the flight and hotels online today - and I can’t wait.

My trip is going to start in the beautiful Koh Samui - a veritable tropical paradise.  Beaches, sun, and sand will greet me when I get there - the perfect recipe for relaxation.  Now, going on a trip, I cannot expect to sleep on the beach so I have booked a couple of nights at Koh Samui hotels.  I have picked a few different ones, so that I can experience the resort from different perspectives.

Halfway through the trip, I am going to change scenery a bit, and stay at the Chaweng Beach.  I have a couple of Chaweng Beach hotels lined up, so I can experience everything they have to offer.

Even though it will be weird to be at the beach instead of making snowmen for Christmas, I think the change will be good.  Guess I can leave the parka at home…