Where in the World are Bob and Lori ?

It's 2008! We ushered in the new year at our party with our alumni and friends. A house full of friends, our favorite Spanish and Italian foods, candlelight, and good wine are surely the marks of a great evening.

Our guide Kate from the Cinque Terre was there serving wine. She is just finishing her sommelier classes so she and Bob chose the wine. We had a good mix wines from Tuscan and Sicilian vineyards. Our guide from Sicily, Teresa was there to make the Sangria, she also is a guide in southern Spain. A couple of phone conversations with her Spanish boyfriend produced the perfect blend of wine, juice, fruit and cognac. The Sicilian meatballs were the favorite food of the night. We also had artisan-made Italian sausage in balsamico, radicchio wraps with gorgonzola and fig, roasted veggie salad, Spanish tortilla tapas, and cheese with walnuts and honey. We were accompanied by live Spanish guitar music.

The best part of the evening was catching up with friends that have traveled with us previously. Some of the people there have dubbed themselves the "Best Group Ever". They all came on a culinary tour in the Cinque Terre with us a couple of years ago. In 2007 we went to China together on an alumni only scouting trip. You guys make us feel we are livin' the life. By the way we're planning new scouting trips to South Africa, Viet Nam, Buenos Aires, Morocco, and Istanbul.

Sisters Brigit and Shelly were there from our trip to Tuscany this year. We finally got to meet Brigit's husband Andy. They reminded us of how much they love condiments and that we made up the word "Squizitissimo" (very exquisite). Paul and Susan brought us wine from their new wine and cheese company and reminded us how much we liked to hang out with them. The wine was quite good. Speaking of wine, Ed and Linda are always holding back a special bottle just for us to try with them. And Donna and Jack finished their outdoor kitchen complete with a pizza oven. They even invited us to christen it by making the first pizzas. Mother and daughter Sue and Donna have invited us to get together in a couple of weeks.

We're always saying the most surprising blessing of doing this business are the people who come on the trips with us. When we started out we thought we'd make some friends in Europe but since then we've made many interesting friendships with those of you who have traveled with us. It enriches our lives to hear about your travels, work, and dreams. Thanks to all of you who came. It was an evening to remember.

How does a weak dollar affect my travels to Europe?

I know all of us have been concerned about how the weaker dollar against the Euro will affect traveling in Europe. For the past few years, the value of the Euro has been rising against a weaker U.S. dollar. A year ago the Euro was about $1.29 and now it is up to around $1.46. So everything you need to pay for that's priced in euros has become at least 15% more expensive.
 

Some have thought that instead of booking a tour you would wing it on your own and save a few bucks. Well with these currency changes trips  to Europe can be much more expensive especially when you consider accommodations, meals, guides, transportation, sightseeing, cooking lessons, and more. Some have been thinking that you’ll wait to travel to Europe. For us this is not even an option. Traveling is one of the basic necessities of life. We’re pretty sure the body and soul requires water, food, wine, and travel. Really...Look it up.

Of course something must be done about this. There has to be a solution. The answer is us travel with us. Our trip prices are still based on the currency rate of over a year ago. Our trips are all inclusive and we haven’t taken out any of the meals or activities or lowered our standards in any way on our trips to make up for it either. We are able to keep prices down by smart negotiation with with hotels, restaurants, drivers, and others. Our friends in Europe want to continue to do business with us so they do what they can to keep prices down.  Since our trips are all inclusive (accommodations, transportation, meals, sightseeing, guide services, cooking lessons, etc.) then you’ll only end up paying more for souvenirs or personal shopping.

Besides our trips already help you to control expenses since we don’t hit you with extra “optional excursions” and “add-ons” that other companies sell you once they have you on the tour so that the initial sticker price stays low.

Will we raise our rates? We hope we can keep our prices at the current rates. But if we have to raise the prices and you've already placed your deposit you won't see an increase. If you look at the fine print of other companies you’ll see they have the right to raise the rate even after you’ve booked due to causes like the currency fluctuations. We don’t like fine print so once you pay your deposit, your 2008 trip price is locked-in and guaranteed.

Don't let a currency fluctuation keep you at home this year. You can enjoy Europe knowing that you did it the smart way. Happy travels!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain