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Voyages Groupe Ideal's Blog (32)

What is a "Marriage Travel Time Out" and Why You May Need One

I love my husband and we are truly best friends but when we get into one of our arguments about something meaningless in a “drive me crazy” kind of way; I need to head for the hills.

Let me clarify:

I need a “Marriage Travel Time…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on May 8, 2013 at 8:30am — No Comments

Flight Delays, Lovefests, and Salty Pretzels

Flight delays are frustrating and time consuming. They send stranded passengers on a mad cycle of phone calls, emails, texts, Facebook messages, overpriced bottled water, lots of Starbucks and Auntie Annie's salty pretzels.

But there is also something beautiful that comes out of a flight delay – people bond and form friendships – almost cult like – they unite, commiserate and share deep thoughts about the weather.

Before you…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on February 1, 2013 at 9:47am — No Comments

I'D RATHER DATE MY COUCH

Everyone wants to make plans.

“Come over for dinner.”

“Let’s go for a drink.”

“Let’s go to that new restaurant where your meal is served on a piece of newspaper and they attach a GPS to your wrist so when your table is ready, they can find you and you can find your table.”

“Want to catch a movie?”

“Coffee, yeah let’s go for coffee.”

You know what?

I don’t think so.

As a matter of fact, I am…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on January 24, 2013 at 9:39am — No Comments

Why I Spent My Vacation With a Croissant in France

I arrived in a quaint village in the French countryside and checked into a charming villa arranged by my travel agent.

Once I was settled, I made my way out to the balcony. It seemed to be floating on the beautiful fields of lavender and provided a scope of a wide expanse of vineyards in the distance.

I had already decided that all I wanted to do on this vacation was spend my mornings at a local café…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on December 12, 2012 at 2:03pm — No Comments

Top 5 Things That Happen on a Girl's Road Trip

Sometimes, no matter what your sexual preference, no matter how much you love your husband or brother or neighbour; you just want to get away from it all on a girl's road trip.…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on November 14, 2012 at 11:00am — No Comments

In Italy, Returning to My Roots, One Vacation at a Time

This story is part of our series “Our Team Travels” in which our travel professionals journeys are recorded. This “OTT” is based upon Silvana Martinello, who traveled to Italy to see her family for the first time in 23 years.

Like everyone I look forward to my vacation all year and I tend to choose big, noisy, fun cities as my destination. I love New York City and Los Angeles. I prefer to spend my well- earned time off taking in a sold out…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on October 24, 2012 at 4:03pm — No Comments

Life After Losing Your Parents

When one of your parents dies, the other has to move forward in life alone.

When both of your parents die, you have to move forward in life alone.

And all of this is especially complicated and a logistic nightmare when it happens in a city other than the one where you live.

Surely you will have already had to miss work and leave the family at home; your spouse with the weight of the world while you went to visit your ailing parent. You sat by the bed wishing…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on September 12, 2012 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Corporate Road Warriors & Halitosis on Long Flights

Long flights can be rather unpleasant for us Corporate Road Warriors.

Sure you plan to catch up on your sleep and read that book you never finished but there are so many distractions like people talking loudly. It’s always one or two people on the whole plane (first class or economy – there is always one in the crowd) who start up these conversations with anyone who will listen. All you have to…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on September 3, 2012 at 9:59am — 1 Comment

Why Robert De Niro Is Not A Female Cabbie at the London Olympics

So I was watching 60 Minutes or was it Dateline or was it 20/20 or Anderson Cooper 360 or are they all really one show about slightly different views on the same stories?

Yeah so it was about the London Olympics and how the city has informed the Taxi Drivers that they will be limited in terms of their routes and where…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on August 2, 2012 at 8:44am — 3 Comments

Stuff We Say on Vacation

So you are finally on vacation. You left the office. Your automated email is in full swing. Your voice mail informs callers to dial reception or the poor soul who is left with your calls while you are away.

You’ve packed the car. You still aren’t’ sure if you brought enough clothes for the hot days or the cooler nights. You know you forgot something but can’t remember what. You couldn’t decide whether to wear your flip flops in the car or your running shoes so you took both.…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on July 28, 2012 at 8:38am — 1 Comment

Why Thank Turkey for Your Coffee Buzz?

What would life be without coffee? Well, I assume it would be quite awful.

I love everything about coffee. When I open the vacuum packed canister that keeps my Sumatra free trade organic beans safe, I breathe in the heavenly, crisp scent and from that moment my Daily Buzz begins and I am blessed.

Coffee doesn’t just stimulate my brain (which is already rather overstimulated on most days) it awakes all of my senses. I usually start my day with a strong cup of black and by…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on July 24, 2012 at 9:48am — 1 Comment

Why Saturday Night Live Trumps a Saturday Night Date

Thursday nights are the 70s version of Saturday nights (not based on any factual information but just go with it).

Thursday nights rule because who isn’t excited for Friday and what better week night to stay out just a little later enjoying good times with friends and new friends and people in general?

It’s the one week night you don’t feel as pressured to go to bed early because there is…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on July 19, 2012 at 12:00pm — No Comments

What's Under YOUR Tuscan Sun?

Okay let me put this into perspective.…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on July 18, 2012 at 10:16am — 1 Comment

The Corporate Road Warrior: Airport Lounge Me

Who doesn’t love an airline lounge when you have time on your hands and you need space from the swarms of people flocking around those tiny connected chairs in an airless waiting area of a gate?

Corporate road warriors - Let us Unite and pay tribute to the holy "lounge."

Those relaxing open spaces with giant TVs, cocktails (virgin and otherwise) and that great “hotel lobby” smell.

Sidebar - reading - optional - Hotel Lobby Smell Defined: You know when you…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on July 9, 2012 at 1:04pm — No Comments

Eat, Pray, Love & Meditate While Eating Pizza

I watched “Eat, Pray, Love” for the second time last night (okay, third - plus I read the book). Here are the effects it had upon me:

It made me hungry for Italian…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on June 29, 2012 at 4:05pm — 2 Comments

Sudden Crisis Travel - When Your Life May Change Forever

It’s 6 AM and the call comes in. It’s the only time these calls come in.

You are in one city and your family is in another. There’s been an accident and you need to get there as soon as possible.

Your head is spinning. Everything is moving at warp speed.

Questions dance through your mind. What if I don’t make it on time? How am I going to miss work? What about the kids? What do I tell them? You feel guilty for the selfish yet practical ones including –…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on June 21, 2012 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Corporate Road Warriors & Kentucky Fried Chicken

Here's the question: Who has it better? The one who takes off on a business trip every few weeks or the one who stays home with the…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on May 31, 2012 at 8:15am — No Comments

Gorillas in Your Midst

There is a saying in Rwanda, "God roams the world but comes to rest in Rwanda."…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on May 29, 2012 at 11:40am — No Comments

Travel as Medicine for Divorce

You fall in love and get married with the best of intentions. You dream of spending your lives together and often you begin to…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on May 23, 2012 at 1:21pm — No Comments

'Do You Need a Vacation?' Seriously??

So I was reading this "Do you need a vacation" Quiz in Entrepreneur Magazine and although I found it to be slightly entertaining, I thought I could do better.…

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Added by Voyages Groupe Ideal on May 10, 2012 at 11:31am — 2 Comments