Another interesting read I found on Mashable - one of my favorite sites!
Common Tourist Scams
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
More Travel Tips
I came across this read this morning 10 Travel Tips That You Must Know For Having A Good Flight
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
More Travel Tips!
I'm a big fan of the website Mashable
Here are Tourist Scams To Watch Out For This Summer
Here are more tips I stumbled upon I thought I'd share:
Travel Tips for Having A Good Flight
Here are Tourist Scams To Watch Out For This Summer
Here are more tips I stumbled upon I thought I'd share:
Travel Tips for Having A Good Flight
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
More Las Vegas
A year went by and I never did update about my 2013 trip to Las Vegas. I'll summarize, but will tell you more about this year's trip that I just went on last week.
Flashback to April 2013...
The weather in Chicago was terrible, in fact I came home after the trip to my suburb of Lisle practically under water - it was on the news and everything. Lucky for me I live on the higher point of town and didn't flood or anything but I always like to get out of town in the spring to avoid this stuff for a short time. Only this time the weather was in the mid-80s and dropped to low 60s when we paid a visit.
What to do in Las Vegas when it's not pool weather???
Well, the pools open in March in LV. I saw the change in weather before we left so I did some fast thinking....
Rent A Car!!!
People think it's silly to rent a car there but really, there are SO many sights to see off the strip, you'd be surprised. Even if you rent a car for a day like we did, you really get your money's worth, plus it saves on cab fare. I will admit driving Las Vegas Blvd is a big of a headache, but if you come from a city, you'll be right at home, though that is something you don't really want on a vacation.
We were staying at the Venetian and like other hotels, they had a car rental agency on site which happened to be Avis. You can get car rental discounts all over the place, the best I found was a promo code from my employer so I used that. I want to say our compact car was about $60 for 24 hours and it was just perfect...and so was the car. A VW Beetle. I was pretty psyched to drive it! It was pretty fun compared to my SUV back home.
If you're looking to do something during the day off the beaten path there is Red Rock Resort, Casino, & Spa, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, Mt. Charleston, and Valley of Fire just to name a few. I've visited the 9 mile scenic drive at Red Rock Canyon, visited Hoover Dam & Mt Charleston in 1999 while visiting the first time, and Valley of Fire this particular trip. While driving into Valley of Fire there is a nice little Indian Reservation casino which also has a gift shop selling alcohol, snacks, fireworks, tobacco...you name it!
Valley of Fire was a great scenic drive. It was worth every penny to rent a car and drive out here and check it out.
The drive itself is very scenic too, though it's not an actual path like Red Rock Canyon that you follow
As you could see, it wasn't ideal Las Vegas weather...but we made the most of it.
And again, we saved on cab rides as we had breakfast at Peppermill
After our drive to Valley of Fire we drove to the Hard Rock Casino, and later on drove out to Freemont Street before returning our car for the night back at the hotel. I wrote up reviews of all the great places I visited that trip on yelp and created a yelp list so check it out at: My Las Vegas Yelp List
May 2014
Although we really enjoyed our visit at the Venetian, we decided to upgrade our suite and booked the 2 bedroom Hospitality Suite at The Mirage this time. I will admit, it was pretty fab...
Another suggestion I have about Las Vegas is to get on email lists for hotels that you are looking to stay at, if you are booking air and hotel separate...sometimes it costs about the same as booking a package. If you are booking separate (I get an air fare voucher every year) you will get email promos from hotels pretty often. The Mirage has the AAA discount as well. We booked at a 20% off rate along with $25 room service credit so we got our morning coffee sent up to us! I've mentioned other suggestions about traveling here in previous posts so if you're a new reader, be sure to check those out too.
I also reviewed all of the places I stayed at this time as well on Yelp so be sure to check those out too for suggestions. There is a really great off the strip Italian Restaurant that I suggest there called Battista's Hole in the Wall
And as I've mentioned before - I always find something new to do here with each visit because this place just doesn't get old. The new hot spot just opened this year called The Linq which is located next to the Flamingo. This is home to the new tourist attraction The High Roller
You get the idea! :)
I also checked out Sigfriend & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat because I've been hooked on playing Las Vegas Slots on Facebook and on my phone - where you can earn FREE stuff in Vegas like buffet passes, drinks, hotel discounts and more! I've used these the past two visits so it's worth it to play that particular game every now and then.
I need to start counting down the days till next year's trip for sure...because I miss it already!
Flashback to April 2013...
The weather in Chicago was terrible, in fact I came home after the trip to my suburb of Lisle practically under water - it was on the news and everything. Lucky for me I live on the higher point of town and didn't flood or anything but I always like to get out of town in the spring to avoid this stuff for a short time. Only this time the weather was in the mid-80s and dropped to low 60s when we paid a visit.
What to do in Las Vegas when it's not pool weather???
Well, the pools open in March in LV. I saw the change in weather before we left so I did some fast thinking....
Rent A Car!!!
People think it's silly to rent a car there but really, there are SO many sights to see off the strip, you'd be surprised. Even if you rent a car for a day like we did, you really get your money's worth, plus it saves on cab fare. I will admit driving Las Vegas Blvd is a big of a headache, but if you come from a city, you'll be right at home, though that is something you don't really want on a vacation.
We were staying at the Venetian and like other hotels, they had a car rental agency on site which happened to be Avis. You can get car rental discounts all over the place, the best I found was a promo code from my employer so I used that. I want to say our compact car was about $60 for 24 hours and it was just perfect...and so was the car. A VW Beetle. I was pretty psyched to drive it! It was pretty fun compared to my SUV back home.
If you're looking to do something during the day off the beaten path there is Red Rock Resort, Casino, & Spa, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, Mt. Charleston, and Valley of Fire just to name a few. I've visited the 9 mile scenic drive at Red Rock Canyon, visited Hoover Dam & Mt Charleston in 1999 while visiting the first time, and Valley of Fire this particular trip. While driving into Valley of Fire there is a nice little Indian Reservation casino which also has a gift shop selling alcohol, snacks, fireworks, tobacco...you name it!
And again, we saved on cab rides as we had breakfast at Peppermill
After our drive to Valley of Fire we drove to the Hard Rock Casino, and later on drove out to Freemont Street before returning our car for the night back at the hotel. I wrote up reviews of all the great places I visited that trip on yelp and created a yelp list so check it out at: My Las Vegas Yelp List
May 2014
Although we really enjoyed our visit at the Venetian, we decided to upgrade our suite and booked the 2 bedroom Hospitality Suite at The Mirage this time. I will admit, it was pretty fab...
Another suggestion I have about Las Vegas is to get on email lists for hotels that you are looking to stay at, if you are booking air and hotel separate...sometimes it costs about the same as booking a package. If you are booking separate (I get an air fare voucher every year) you will get email promos from hotels pretty often. The Mirage has the AAA discount as well. We booked at a 20% off rate along with $25 room service credit so we got our morning coffee sent up to us! I've mentioned other suggestions about traveling here in previous posts so if you're a new reader, be sure to check those out too.
I also reviewed all of the places I stayed at this time as well on Yelp so be sure to check those out too for suggestions. There is a really great off the strip Italian Restaurant that I suggest there called Battista's Hole in the Wall
And as I've mentioned before - I always find something new to do here with each visit because this place just doesn't get old. The new hot spot just opened this year called The Linq which is located next to the Flamingo. This is home to the new tourist attraction The High Roller
I also checked out Sigfriend & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat because I've been hooked on playing Las Vegas Slots on Facebook and on my phone - where you can earn FREE stuff in Vegas like buffet passes, drinks, hotel discounts and more! I've used these the past two visits so it's worth it to play that particular game every now and then.
I need to start counting down the days till next year's trip for sure...because I miss it already!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Vacation Car Rental Tips
I have to say...I, never pre-pay for gas, bought the extra insurance a few times only to learn it's just a waste of money. And sadly, passed up all of the gas stations on a road leading into McCarran Airport in Las Vegas and forced to pay them for the gas we didn't put in there...lesson learned, fill up in advance! Here are more good tips I just discovered online:
10-things-not-to-do-when-renting-a-car
10-things-not-to-do-when-renting-a-car
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Memphis, an unforgettable roadtrip
It's been too long since I posted anything on this page, and it's due to the fact I haven't really been anywhere. I went to Las Vegas in April and I still need to blog about that trip, as I've mentioned before every trip to Vegas is different.
I rounded up the spare change I've been saving, got some friends together and we drove down to Memphis from October 20th-22nd (Sunday-Tuesday). 3 Days & 2 nights - the perfect amount of time to escape reality for a bit.
The cruise down 57 through Illinois is typical flat land, Illinois, at least till you get around the Carbondale area, then it gets pretty but then pretty boring again through Missouri and Arkansas. I will say there are plenty of rest stops along the way so the 8+ hours in the car didn't seem that bad. Also, there are LOTS of wineries in Southern Illinois so that made for a stop as well....on the way back.
For more detailed reviews of the places I mention, be sure to visit my yelp page at http://janinek77.yelp.com
I've never been to a waffle house and having visited Tennessee before I just wanted to go to one. A co-worker told me it's not a big deal but I had to see for myself. This route does not pass a Waffle House, until you're basically crossing over from Arkansas to Tennessee in a town called West Memphis, Arkansas but of course we stopped there. After our Waffle House stop we made our way to our hotel which was pretty much off the first exit into Memphis, and the state of Tennessee. We stayed at the Comfort Inn in downtown Memphis.
Our first night we hit up Beale Street right away - grabbed a pre-dinner drink at Coyote Ugly. Apparently "happy hour" last HOURS so we grabbed a $3 happy hour margarita and then headed over to Gus' Fried Chicken which was AMAZING! Move over KFC & Popeyes because Chicago needs one of these! For a Sunday night I'd say Beale Street had an older crowd - nothing wild & crazy and that was fine. Oh, if you're looking for something wild and crazy...Silky O'Sullivans has "The Diver" - a drink made up of wine, beer, and shots, perhaps the kitchen sink too, I'm not sure but look this up, it's for real!
The next morning after having a pretty decent breakfast in our hotel we headed out to Graceland which was a hop, skip, & a jump from downtown Memphis. Before Graceland we went to The Peabody to see the ducks. http://www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody-ducks/ that is their story. If you plan this into your agenda and want a good spot because it goes fast, meaning those duck come running in...get there early for this experience. We spent pretty much the entire day there doing the Platinum tour. Yeah, I like Elvis and all but I think my parents would dig this place a lot more than I did. There is something for every Elvis lover in your life in the many gift shops on the property too. After Graceland we were famished and hit up Automatic Slim's for appetizers and killer $5 martinis. After resting up at our hotel we hit up Beale Street for drinks and dinner one last time. We had to try BBQ for dinner as this area is well known for BBQ and http://www.hogsfly.com/TheRestaurant.php was recommended to me by a few people here and down there but they were closed during our visit (closed Sundays & Mondays) so we opted for "The Pig on Beale". We were not disappointed. After dinner we grabbed a drink, did our souvenir shopping and made our way back to the hotel. Again, not exactly happening on a Monday night but we still had our fun.
The next day we were thinking of going to the Memphis Zoo but decided to just head back and make a few stops on the way. On the way home we visited Carbondale, and hit up a winery, being Star View Vineyards. Lucky for us it was free tasting day (and every week day) so we pretty much tried everything they had to offer. We picked one of the bunch and it happened to be a good one! I didn't realize there is an entire wine trail down in Southern Illinois - might have to make a separate trip out of that spot.
I was told all sorts of things about Memphis before visiting - good & bad. I'm from Chicago so if you look up the crime statistics, we're way up there so you just need to use common sense when visiting whether it's here or any city, or anywhere in which you're a tourist. The one thing while visiting Beale Street that got annoying was the people asking for money. Here in Chicago I'm used to it...I keep walking but it seems the tourists stick out down there like a sore thumb and they're hit up, a LOT. Of course it all starts out as casual conversation leading into asking for money, a donation, something or other and well...handle it as you'd like. That was the only downfall to the trip, that got a little old but we were only there 3 days. Walking around downtown it didn't happen, only in the Beale Street area.
I rounded up the spare change I've been saving, got some friends together and we drove down to Memphis from October 20th-22nd (Sunday-Tuesday). 3 Days & 2 nights - the perfect amount of time to escape reality for a bit.
The cruise down 57 through Illinois is typical flat land, Illinois, at least till you get around the Carbondale area, then it gets pretty but then pretty boring again through Missouri and Arkansas. I will say there are plenty of rest stops along the way so the 8+ hours in the car didn't seem that bad. Also, there are LOTS of wineries in Southern Illinois so that made for a stop as well....on the way back.
For more detailed reviews of the places I mention, be sure to visit my yelp page at http://janinek77.yelp.com
I've never been to a waffle house and having visited Tennessee before I just wanted to go to one. A co-worker told me it's not a big deal but I had to see for myself. This route does not pass a Waffle House, until you're basically crossing over from Arkansas to Tennessee in a town called West Memphis, Arkansas but of course we stopped there. After our Waffle House stop we made our way to our hotel which was pretty much off the first exit into Memphis, and the state of Tennessee. We stayed at the Comfort Inn in downtown Memphis.
Our first night we hit up Beale Street right away - grabbed a pre-dinner drink at Coyote Ugly. Apparently "happy hour" last HOURS so we grabbed a $3 happy hour margarita and then headed over to Gus' Fried Chicken which was AMAZING! Move over KFC & Popeyes because Chicago needs one of these! For a Sunday night I'd say Beale Street had an older crowd - nothing wild & crazy and that was fine. Oh, if you're looking for something wild and crazy...Silky O'Sullivans has "The Diver" - a drink made up of wine, beer, and shots, perhaps the kitchen sink too, I'm not sure but look this up, it's for real!
The next morning after having a pretty decent breakfast in our hotel we headed out to Graceland which was a hop, skip, & a jump from downtown Memphis. Before Graceland we went to The Peabody to see the ducks. http://www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody-ducks/ that is their story. If you plan this into your agenda and want a good spot because it goes fast, meaning those duck come running in...get there early for this experience. We spent pretty much the entire day there doing the Platinum tour. Yeah, I like Elvis and all but I think my parents would dig this place a lot more than I did. There is something for every Elvis lover in your life in the many gift shops on the property too. After Graceland we were famished and hit up Automatic Slim's for appetizers and killer $5 martinis. After resting up at our hotel we hit up Beale Street for drinks and dinner one last time. We had to try BBQ for dinner as this area is well known for BBQ and http://www.hogsfly.com/TheRestaurant.php was recommended to me by a few people here and down there but they were closed during our visit (closed Sundays & Mondays) so we opted for "The Pig on Beale". We were not disappointed. After dinner we grabbed a drink, did our souvenir shopping and made our way back to the hotel. Again, not exactly happening on a Monday night but we still had our fun.
The next day we were thinking of going to the Memphis Zoo but decided to just head back and make a few stops on the way. On the way home we visited Carbondale, and hit up a winery, being Star View Vineyards. Lucky for us it was free tasting day (and every week day) so we pretty much tried everything they had to offer. We picked one of the bunch and it happened to be a good one! I didn't realize there is an entire wine trail down in Southern Illinois - might have to make a separate trip out of that spot.
I was told all sorts of things about Memphis before visiting - good & bad. I'm from Chicago so if you look up the crime statistics, we're way up there so you just need to use common sense when visiting whether it's here or any city, or anywhere in which you're a tourist. The one thing while visiting Beale Street that got annoying was the people asking for money. Here in Chicago I'm used to it...I keep walking but it seems the tourists stick out down there like a sore thumb and they're hit up, a LOT. Of course it all starts out as casual conversation leading into asking for money, a donation, something or other and well...handle it as you'd like. That was the only downfall to the trip, that got a little old but we were only there 3 days. Walking around downtown it didn't happen, only in the Beale Street area.
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