P&O Cruises have just announced that you will now be hosting wedding services, commitment ceremonies and vow renewals on all four P&O Cruises’ ships sailing from Australian Port this summer.
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From the category archives:
Youtube video
Look what I found today…
Happy cow.net. is a great resource for anyone who is interested in finding
healthy places to eat pretty much anywhere in the world.
It is simple to use…just type in the city you are visiting and up comes a list of recommendations.
Along with a google map, reviews in most cases and the menu. Another feature is you can stipulate the distance from your location so that you don’t get some an endless long list to wade through.
Now there is much more to the “happycow” you also have a heap of recipes which can be downloaded so there’s no need to travel enjoying lovely food.
You could of course always use happycow in you own city to experience how useful it may be when you travel.
If you have similar sites that you think other travellers should know about then please comment below or email me and I will review them…that way we can all enjoy even better travel experiences.
Her’s to your travel exceeding the highest expectations.
Cheers
John C Spark
Expert Travel Planner
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Today I have gone out on a limb by featuring Ben Cousins, drugs and Travel…
Check out why in my video…
Let me state right up front that I only want to highlight…
a key point Ben’s father Brian shared relating to ALL families…
and that is the need to improve communication within the family.
On a personal level I am very passionate that any family with a little
careful and thoughtful planning can significantly improve how they
communicate with each other via travel.
Travel is one of the best but least understood education tools
available to most people.
Don’t take my word though, check out if you haven’t already one very easy and fun such way in
the video. (I plan on sharing a lot more on travel and better communication
in future posts…I invite you to check in regularly)
I promise you it will work and maybe, just maybe it could be the stepping
stone to a better understanding of a family member.
If so, then I will consider going out on a limb worth while. As I have witnessed
first hand the devastating impact a drug problem can bring to families.
As always you are encouraged to share your comments.
To your family.
John C Spark
Expert Travel Planner
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The Travel diary is now getting harder to make as we are getting very tired…little did we know our 8 hour Buenos Aries layover was going to bring us fresh challenges.
Expert Travel Planner Nilla shares her feelings after a long 12 hour flight on Qantas from Sydney to Buenos Aries where we had another 8 hours before catching a flight to Lima.
Or so we thought…
Stay tuned to learn what happens 7 hours later and how we cope with this situation.
Sometimes the getting to your destination can be a little trying but really it is minor
when we consider what so many other people have to put up every day.
Enjoy good things…
always.
John C Spark
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The life of a top Travel Planner can sometimes be very stressful…so what do we do to relieve that stress?
Kelly Spinks has just returned from a quick trip to Sydney where she was a finalist in the Avis scholarship awards. Great stuff Kelly we are very proud of you.
But Kel is not feeling too well now as she managed as one can when flying to pick up a sore throat
and a decent cough somewhere along the way.
Most likely from her seat belt bucket as they are known to be a place where flu germs can be.
So I decided I would cheer her up a bit and make her a nice lunch with plenty of garlic and chilly.
Interestingly Kelly does not seem to be coughing as much since she has eaten. She probably wont get to close to her partner when she gets home either thanks to the extra garlic.
Now if you would like the recipe just let me know in the comments box below and I will write it out.
Almost all my cooking is done as one off dishes because I tend to make it up as I go so hence I don’t have the recipe ready.
If you have a proven Flu cure which you would like to share then please do in the comments box below.
Tomorrow I have a special experience from a friend in Singapore who travelled to Nepal.
Camilla is a keen travel photographer and managed to capture pictures of a eagle that were good enough to be included in National Geographic.
So please come back tomorrow and read what Camilla has to say on her Nepal experience.
So until then…
enjoy peaceful thoughts.
John C Spark
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Don’t you hate it when you get off a long flight and then you find yourself waiting around to leave the airport?
If you are travelling to Sydney then this is a high probability as you will see in my short video.
I took this video rather quickly after our limo driver told us that on some days you find yourself waiting 2 or more hours in ques.
Sam the limo driver said that early morning before 10 am and evenings from 5 to 8 pm were the worst times as that is when a lot of flights arrive and depart.
In the past I have paid $55 for the Airport to Darling Harbour taxi ride. The limo service cost between $65 and $75. Interesting that it is much quicker than a taxis too.
You can probably speculate why!!!
The thing to remember is that a limo service must be booked in advance…the bonus is they will always have a nice luxury late model car and be very professional.
I have travelled in taxis all over the world and believe me my personal experiences have not always seen me at ease with some local taxis drivers where as I am yet to have
anything but a good experiences with limo services.
Now it would wrong of me not to mention you can also catch a the shuttle bus which is only $15.
You will have to wait your turn to be dropped off as the shuttle services a number of hotels.
And finally there is the train which I have caught once and then had to drag my bags around the streets as it did not stop near my Hotel.
Well that covers more than what I intended…hope it helps the next time you go to Sydney.
Happy Travels
John C Spark
Expert Travel Planner
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Have you ever wished you could just get on a flight and instantly fall asleep until you arrive at your destination?
I have and that is exactly what happened to Nilla and I.
The only problem was we were still 4 filghts away from Macchu Picchu in Peru but at least one leg of our journey was very quick as we slept.
Day 3 dawned for us somewhere about 40 mins before we landed at Brisbane airport.
I jokingly tell people that our Qantas Captain must of been on “L” Plates as we seemed to hit every pot hole on our way across Australia. I am not even sure if they served supper as it was so bumpy.
We had 2 hours in Brisbane then we were off to Sydney.
Once I was seated and buckled in I immediately fell asleep. In fact I do not even remember the take off. Sleep was all that was on my mind. I smiled when I awoke and realised that my seat was still upright. What a waste as I was in business class and for the second flight in a row I had not even had seen the meal service.
Oh how I wish I could sleep for 12 hours which is how long our flight from Sydney to Buneos Aires was going to be!!!
Check out my short video update below. And stay tuned to learn what the Sydney harbour Bridge looks like directly from underneath.
Cheers
John C Spark
Expert Travel Planner
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This day was particularly difficult and very tiring for 2 reasons:
We had only had 3.5 hours sleep before driving the 5 hours to Perth.
Secondly, we were on day 4 of a vegetarian diet in preparation for our Peru experience.
Imagine being a keen meat eater and then going to a food and wine show unable to partake in the abundance of food and wine on offer.
I still wonder how I got through that!!!
Now in case you are asking what was I doing there in the first place if I could not enjoy the many wonderful delights on offer. That’s a fair question and the answer is that we had booked this long before we had booked our trip to Peru.
Tonight we are on a Qantas flight to Brisbane and then onto Sydney where we will stay for 2 days before connecting onto Lima via Buenos Aires.
Stay tuned especially if you would to see the Sydney harbour bridge from the bottom up.
Happy travels to you.
John C Spark
Expert Travel Planner
Happy Travel
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Last night I attended a very interesting presentation on River cruising in Europe.
And I just had to share some of what I learnt just in case you are part of the 35,000 plus Australians who can now say they have enjoyed a river cruise in Europe.
Of course it is much more than just a craze where people rushing off to Europe to be on one of these cruises.
Rather it seems to me that it is the style and freedom River Cruises like Avalon Waterways offer which is what is catching on.
Check out my short summary of the presentation in the video below and then in a day or so check in when I share what I am thinking will be about a 6 to 8 minute detailed highlights including some pictures of what you can expect from river cruises in Europe.
I think you will be very surprised by what you discover…I certainly was.
Feel free to ask me any questions or post a comment.
Cheers
John C Spark
Expert Travel Planner
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My last travel tip warned on locking your car doors when traveling…if you missed it check it out
Please understand these tips are not meant to be negative, just what I call good common travel sense which some people simple don’t have due to lack of travel experience.
This simple very inexpensive way to prevent your valuables from becoming the booty of a smart pick pocket is very very effective…almost pick pocket proof and certainly easy to implement. That way you get to enjoy the surrounds not stressing about becoming a victim.
Let me share my story of how I learnt the hard way about this technique.
While in Puno in Peru back in 2004 a group of us were walking through the very busy market.
There were thousands of people mostly shoulder to shoulder jostling between the stalls.
Next thing my wife called out yuck John that guy just spat on your back. Well my jacket actually. I turned in shock to see what sort of person would stoop to such a low act.
By the time we realised what had happened some member of the group had nudged up against me and deftly removed a $100 note from my jackets inside pocket.
It was all over in a spit sorry split second.
Don’t let this happen to you…
learn the simple steps you can take to protect your valuables no matter what distracting trick might be pulled on you. I reveal it in the video below with a demonstration of what I think is the most anti pick pocket protection going.
The good news you can get these ( you will learn in the video) in most markets in any city in the work for only a couple of dollars.
Personally I never travel without mine…and neither should you!!!
If you have any travel tips you would like to share then post them here for others to benefit.
Cheers
John C Spark
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