August 23, 2007
A Tuscany getaway for the soul, mind, and spirit; plus travel web sites that
will take a little of the pain out of traveling
You can tell The Three Tomatoes are really in need of a
vacation (which is coming up none too soon) because we’ve been winsomely drawn to interesting travel destinations of late, and sharing them
with those of you who may also be pining away for some great getaway. Well here’s one more we think you’ll love, along with some
really useful web sites that might take a bit of the pain out of getting anywhere these days.
Retreat to Tuscany
Okay, so while everyone else was hanging out in the Hamptons, touring Europe, or
sipping wines in Napa, you’ve been chained to your office all summer, eating take out, or worse yet, traveling on business, getting delayed
for hours if not days in airports in cities you hate, eating junk food. If that sounds familiar, then The Tuscany Visioning Retreat in October, hosted by Dream of Italy’s Kathy McCabe, may be just what
you’re looking for.
We first met Kathy last fall, when she agreed to be one of our panel speakers at The Three
Tomatoes “La Dolce Vita” event that many of you attended. Kathy is the founder, editor and publisher of Dream of Italy, a fabulous and award winning travel newsletter which has helped thousands of travelers enjoy the best and most
authentic experiences Italy has to offer. She has given advice on Italian travel on ABC NEWS and in USA TODAY, U.S. News + World Report and
BusinessWeek, among other media outlets. She also runs The Italian Dream Concierge, a personalized trip planning service. Kathy spends
about six weeks a year in Italy seeking out undiscovered gems that meet her exacting standards.
Talk about a dream job, but one that’s also stressful and exhausting at
times! Like many of us, Kathy said there are days she barely has time to pick up her dry-cleaning. So she has teamed up with Margarita Rozenfeld, a success coach, speaker,
trainer and visionary to host The Tuscany Visioning
Retreat from October 21 to 27, 2007.
They describe this one week getaway at a great villa in Tuscany, as “a
magical place where you go to escape, yet come back having found yourself. A space to reconnect with your dreams, passion, inner peace and a sense of
possibility, all the while surrounded by the beauty, serenity, and splendor of the Tuscan countryside.” So if you’re
ready for “a journey that will delight your senses, engage your mind, reinvigorate your spirit and feed your soul”, reserve
your spot now, (space is limited) and start packing.
Easing a little of the travel pain
So once you get to wherever you’re heading for a little R&R these days,
it’s great. But as we all know, it’s the hassle of getting there that’s not. Whether it’s overpriced, over
crowded coach seats, late arrivals and departures, lost luggage or confiscated items at security (like your favorite shampoo or perfume), the hassles
of getting there can almost make you just want to stay home. So here are a few sites that take a little of the pain out of the nightmare,
some of which we’ve mentioned before, but they bear repeating, and at our ages we do tend to repeat things a lot.
Discounted First Class Tickets
According to FareCompare.com, every domestic airline offers discounted first
class tickets, called Y-Up or Q-up fares, and their web site now has a new feature that tracks over 100,000 discounted first class tickets for
travel within the United States and Canada (First Class Airline Ticket Search Tool). The
site has other great features too.
Should I Buy that Ticket Now?
We alerted you to this site a few months back because it helps to answer the
question, “Should I buy that ticket now, or wait for a better fare?” Launched last year, FareCast.com is the first airfare prediction website. It offers airfare predictions from over 75 U.S. departure cities
to top domestic destinations, with apparently 70 to 75% accuracy. Type in a destination and travel date and up pops a very cool chart showing
you where the fares have been and where they predict them go and then advises you to wait, or buy now. Finally, a reason to love statistics.
When you really need to get there on time
Okay, so now you’ve booked your flight, but what are the chances of an
on-time arrival? Well check out FlightStats before you finalize that
ticket. You just enter the flight number and it will give you the percentage of on time arrivals for that flight. We recently
tried it out for a flight we’ve already purchased tickets on, to unfortunately find it only has a 36% on time record -- wish we’d
known about FlightStats sooner. You can also check out the average security wait
at all the major airports, by terminal and concourse too on the day you’re traveling. Another great feature is its flight tracker,
which unlike a lot of the airline’s web sites trackers, is actually reliable and tracked in near real-time. The site is jammed packed
with other features too, like mileage award promotions, so check it out before you fly.
And don't forget about Seat Guru.com. Ever been stuck in a coach seat cross country that doesn't recline? Or one that's practically in the bathroom? Well
go to Seat Guru before you click your seat selection. This site provides detailed information (material, amount of legroom, location of video
monitors and exit rows, whether there's a power port for your laptop nearby, etc.) by airline and type of aircraft.
So here’s to no lines at the airport, sailing through security, first class upgrades, martinis in
flight, luggage that awaits you when you get off the plane and a car waiting to whisk you off to same great destination.
‘til next week,
The Three Tomatoes
Copyright©2007. The Three Tomatoes. All rights
reserved.
