Sunday, December 11, 2022
What a Difference a Year Makes
Hiya, ! This week's Lush Life Travel newsletter will focus on: 1. What a Difference a Year Makes 2. Carry On Luggage Sizes 3. River Cruise Corner - The Chef's
Table 4. Adventure Corner - Hard vs Soft Adventure 5. Wellness Corner - Sleep Better 6. Come with Me to Greece Jul.8.23 7. Virtuoso Life - Some Recent Issues & Newsletters 8. Preferred Hotel Programs 9. Special Offers from Lush Life, Vision/ Direct, Virtuoso Let me know if you'd like to schedule a complimentary
consultation!
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1. What a Difference a Year Makes
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My daughter sent me the date count above. March 13, 2020-December 8, 2022 was 1000 days. We've survived and endured 1000 days of CoVid. I was remembering the head space I
was in this time last year. My eldest daughter had just come down with CoVid - this was just prior to Omnicron changing how everyone thought of the pandemic. I was worried about her in Toronto, 5 hours driving away, and was planning to travel to her to try and cook meals, etc., My mom was in Newfoundland, about 6 hours flying away, and had been hospitalized with pneumonia, but Newfoundland shut down to visitors again before I could go visit her. After a wonderfully free summer of 2021, with
travel resuming, cautiously, no one in travel wanted more lockdowns last December. But Omnicron brought them. Newfoundland remained closed until the end of March. As did many other spots around the world. And this time in December last year, I was undergoing
another dizzying round of trip cancellations, refunds, future travel credits, and rebookings for clients - working desperately hard to protect my clients' travel investments (all with no revenue coming in) - all after working terribly hard to get holidays booked for late 2021 and enduring changing country entry and testing requirements that seemed to change every 5 minutes. Last December, we wondered if we'd ever get over this hump, and have the world start travelling reliably again. Vaccines, boosters, changing rules and government entry and testing requirements, changing mindsets, etc. - and we all started. 1000 days after the initial shock hit us (at least with Canada shutting down to travel), we're travelling again - and making up for lost time. I have scores
of clients in Europe right now.
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2. Carry On Luggage Sizes
Were you guys aware that different airlines have slightly different size limits for carry ons? I just had a Beis carry on delivered (my Christmas treat), and noticed it was taller than my old carry on piece. I checked specifications on AC site, and then Beis site. Apparently, I'm outside AC (and WestJet and some European airlines) spec limits but would be ok with Delta, and other American Airlines, etc. - we're talking an inch and a bit each
way. My old blue piece is on left, and my intended new black piece is on the right in the side-by-side pictures above. Apparently, the black piece is legal on Delta, but illegal with Air Canada. Last week, when I was travelling to Europe, I saw an irate lady
argue with AC gate rep that her carry on was legal size, and the AC rep pulled over their metal measuring contraption to prove it wasn’t. I'm guessing the lady might normally travel on Delta on an American airline normally. And her bag would be ok with them, but not with AC. Just fyi. Don't get caught. Sadly, I'll have to return my lovely Beis carry on bag. Maybe I'll order a check size bag instead with them (although I try never to check bags anymore.)
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3. River Cruise Corner - The Chef's Table
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The Chef’s Table onboard AmaWaterways River Cruises is terrific. A
seven course meal, pairing food and wine, in an elegant private room onboard the AMA Certo. I
tried to share photos on social media, but it's hard to capture how terrific the food and menu were - so I tried to make an Instagram reel again with the menu items captioned, and the "Be Our Guest" music overlaid. (Thanks, Disney!) And let me know if you'd like to try a river cruise. The food and wine is terrific.
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4. Adventure Corner - Hard vs Soft Adventure
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I have clients wonder about the terms hard and soft adventure, and wonder what it means.I generally say - hard requires training and special equipment, soft does not. Hard - scuba. Soft - snorkel. Hard - ride Tour de France. Soft - do a bike tour in a river cruise port. Here's an article that gives a bit more info. "Existing adventure tourism activities can be participated via two approaches, either in the form of ‘hard adventure’ or ‘soft adventure’, depending on the
characteristics as well as personal preferences of the participants. Nevertheless, the management and operationalization of the two types of experiences are quite different."
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5. Wellness Corner - Sleep Better
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I just read an article about how to sleep better. I thought it might be of interest. It’s well-established that sleep is essential to our physical and mental health. But despite its importance, a
troubling percentage of people find themselves regularly deprived of quality sleep and are notably sleepy during the day. Though there’s a wide range of causes and types of sleeping problems, expert consensus points to a handful of concrete steps that promote more restful sleep. Organizations like the CDC1, the National Institutes of Health2, the National Institute on Aging3, and the American Academy of Family Physicians4 point to
the same fundamental tips for getting better rest. For many people, trying to implement all these strategies can be overwhelming. But remember that it’s not all-or-nothing; you can start with small changes and work your way up toward healthier sleep habits, also known as sleep hygiene. To make these sleep hygiene improvements more approachable, we’ve broken them into four categories: - Creating a
Sleep-Inducing Bedroom
- Optimizing Your
Sleep Schedule
- Crafting a Pre-Bed
time Routine
- Fostering Pro-Sleep
Habits During the Day
In each category, you can find specific actions that you can take to make it easier to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up well-rested.
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6. Come with Me to Greece
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I’m headed to Greece with my family next July, and I'm inviting my clients to come along. My husband and I will act as the Azamara Virtuoso Voyages host for the July 8, 2023 sailing onboard the Azamara Quest, roundtrip Piraeus for a Greece Intensive
Voyage, for 7 days. I've already booked several clients to come along. 08 Jul 2023 - 15 Jul 2023 - Your Onboard Hosts: Sheila Gallant-Halloran, Vision Travel - Toronto, William
Halloran Besides me being the Virtuoso voyage host, and able to provide you some very special perks -like an onboard reception, a special perk that's at least an onboard credit (but there could be a special hosted excursion as well, once Virtuoso starts to offer those again) - there's also right now a really special 2 category upgrade right now. Which means you
can get a balcony cabin for the price of an interior cabin. And let me know if you want to visit Greece!
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Here are some recent Virtuoso Life issues for you to peruse. VIRTUOSO INSIDER’S GUIDE: Where to Go Next A Dispatch from the Editors: Winter (Travel) Is Coming A Dispatch from the Editors: This Year’s Best New Hotels A Dispatch from the Editors: Travel with Purpose
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8. Preferred Hotel Programs
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One of the things we love most about what we do is matching our clients tastes' with the greatest hotels in the world. And with our preferred status with these industry leading hotel brands it means our clients are instant VIP's with upgrades and special perks that you only get working with an elite partner. So, not only do we have the best rates, but more importantly you
get an exceptional experience over and above what you would booking direct or with a credit card. See the special programs I'm affiliated with below, and lLet me know if you’d like to discuss a specific hotel stay. For specific articles about why you should book with an advisor, rather than book by
yourself, see here: Why Wouldn't You Do It Yourself Booking a Cruise Yourself vs With Advisor Booking Hawaii Yourself vs Through Advisor Booking Rocky Mountaineer Yourself vs With Advisor Hotel Programs Peninsula Fan Club , Rocco Forte Knights Program , The Belmond
Bellini Club Program, Hotel Programs - Four Seasons Preferred, Dorchester Diamond Club , The Mandarin
Oriental Fan Club , Marriott Stars & Luminous , The Couture by Langham , Pearl Partner Oetker, Rosewood Elite , Accor Step & Fairmont , Preferred Hotel Program, IHG Hotel Program , Hyatt Privé Program , Small Luxury Hotels , Luminous Hotel Program , A&K 100 Club , Hilton Impresario , Jumeirah’s Passport to Luxury , The Kempinski Club 1897
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9. Some Special Travel Offers
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When You Work with Lush Life
When you work with Sheila at Lush Life Travel, you get access to our in-depth knowledge, honed over 17 years experience in travel (with another 20 years in financial services). Atop our foundation of financial risk management skills; we have layered the bricks to build a wall of travel knowledge and relationships. We leverage all of our expertise to help you live your lush life through travel.
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Live a Lush Life - Travel!
Lush regards,
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