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07/26/2006
Michael - one of our founders!
TheBigDay is really Michael's baby - at least until Benjamin is born this fall. I've know Michael for more than 8 years from when we worked together at a software consulting company here in Portland. He has a love for fast motorcycles, odd cars, photography, bullet-proof software, good food and Melinda, although not necessarily in that order!
Michael not only wrote most of the software for TheBigDay, he had a chance to QA it as a genuine user last year when he and Melinda were married. Finally, he was on the other side! The honeymoon trip they took last October was fabulous - Africa and the Seychelles - and, of course, his registry was fabulous as well. With a bit of urging, he has included his registry in our samples.
Just about every summer Michael takes a week or so and heads off with friends for a motorcycle trip of some kind. This year it was to the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey where the dominant themes seem to have been speed, speed and perhaps a few wheelies! He has a great collection of pictures of the race on his blog.
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07/13/2006
Meet Michelle - and her Favorite Luxury Tahiti Hotels!
Most people in the travel business are there because they have been bitten HARD by the travel bug. Michelle is no exception! Last fall she went on a "fam" - a familiarization trip - to Tahiti. Sounds like a tough job, eh?
Since returning from the trip, Michelle has put a number of posts about Tahiti on her blog. If you want to see some amazing places to stay and things to do, take a look at some of the following: Michelle's favorite luxury Tahiti Hotels, Le Taha'a Private Island and Spa, Tahiti Travel Tips and Suggestions, and her Top Five Tahiti Travel Questions and Answers. There's a lot of good information in there - and some incredible pictures!
Still not sure of where to stay in Tahiti? Check out some of the possibilities at TheBigDay's "Travel to Tahiti..experience a true island paradise."
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07/11/2006
Favorite things to do in Paris
The very best way to see a city is to walk, and since Paris is pretty small geographically, it's not hard to do! You never know what you will come upon as you travel around on foot - turning one corner might bring a wonderful cafe, turning another, an outdoor market.
We have had some of our favorite moments meeting people in shops - a recent encounter involved a quest for jalapeno peppers. The avocados we had purchased at the outdoor market near where we stay were begging to be made into guacamole and we were looking for supplies. We checked every little market we went by and ended up in an organic veggie stand. Stumbling through a description of what we wanted (it always seems that I can only remember Spanish when in France and French when in Central America), we were handed a long, skinny pepper - not very jalapeno-ish, we thought. The shopkeeper insisted my son take a nibble, which he did, and then shook his head "no" - not hot enough. She indicated he should nibble the other end. He did -- and fire shot out of his eyeballs! He looked around for something to put it out - nothing in sight. At this point the shopkeeper was laughing herself silly and handed him a carrot to munch on. We decided to keep the pepper, but she was so amused by the whole incident that she refused payment. She must have considered the story she was going to repeat over and over enough payment. Crazy Americans!
My very favorite museum is the Cluny, the Musee National du Moyen-Age (Nation Museum of the Middle Ages). Part of the building dates back to the 3rd Century when it was a Gallic-Roman bath, including a Frigidarium which is just what you think it is - a cold room, and part dates to the 15th Century where it was a Gothic Mansion.
The Cluny is where the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries hang. This set of six pieces celebrates the senses of taste, sight, touch, smell and hearing and have an additional piece known as "to my own desire."
If you happen to be in Paris on the right Sunday in July you can join the mayhem along the Champs Elysee that is the finish of the Tour de France. We were there a couple of years ago to see Lance Armstrong win #6. The tour does several laps around at the very end, and it's a good thing because it takes several until you are able to identify where your favorite cyclist is! We quickly realized that we could tell when Armstrong was coming by listening for the applause growing louder to the left of where we were standing. Getting a good photo was another story, though. The speck of yellow in this picture on the far left is Armstrong. Good luck seeing it! The folks who were near us on the sidewalk said they had stood by the side of the road on several of the stages but found the best way to see the action was to go to a cafe somewhere and watch on TV!
After all that walking around, you'll certainly develop a bit of a thirst! One of the more unusual places to stop for 
a little something is a cafe in the basement of one of the department stores in Paris to which they have moved the interior of an old hardware store. There you can sip coffee or a soft drink, have a something to fortify yourself, and investigate old tools, etc.
If you seek a spectacular view of the city, the rooftop cafe of one of the major department stores, Samaritaine, by the Seine will prvide you with both refreshment and a panoramic view. On your way out, it's always fun to stop in several departments throughout the store to see what it holds and compare it to back home. My daughter always tries to "go native" in another country and will take a good look at what people are wearing and then hit one of the inexpensive shops to buy some local fashion so as to blend in. They say you can always tell the Americans because they have on fancy running shoes!
Of course, you must include a trip to La Tour Eiffel at some point on your visit! Daytime is best for climbing up but the tower itself looks beautiful at night when lit up. You can find information about the Eiffel Tower at the official website http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/ Near the Tour Eiffel are the tomb where Napoleon is buried and across the river are two more museums. Paris is just littered with museums!
Another gem is Le Train Bleu, the bar and restaurant at the Gare de Lyon. The paintings on the ceiling show the destinations for the various train lines that leave from the station. You can imagine what it must have been like a century ago traveling around the continent by rail. They just don't create places like this anymore.
What are your favorite places to visit in Paris?
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07/03/2006
A weekend in San Francisco
It's not every weekend that you have the opportunity to show one of the great cities of the world to people who have never been there. Last weekend another family and mine had fun showing the Karki family from Nepal around the city.
How did this all happen? In a sense it began more than 10 years ago when the Karki family decided to take in its first American student through the External Studies Program run by Pitzer College. This first student was our daughter, Amanda. She spent several months living with them in their home as a part of their family, learned to speak Nepali, worked in the fields alongside them, and ate at their table. She also traveled with other American students to Royal Chitwan park where they were charged by a rhino and up into the mountains where they were hosted by Sherpa families. When she returned, she talked about one of the girls in the family who didn't want to follow the usual path for young Nepali girls - marriage at age 13 or 14 and children soon to follow. Meena, naturally independent, was meeting women who would be her role models.
Seven other American sisters followed over the next years. Having met several of them in the last year, I can tell you that they are extraordinary women. One, Svea Closser from Marquette, Michigan, spent the whole year in Nepal and was visited by her parents around Christmas. Sally and Bruce Closser were the ones to bring Meena to the US to spend a year in the high school where Sally was a counselor. The Clossers continued to sponsor Meena with the help of several organizations in the Marquette community and numerous individuals from all over the US, and in May of 2006 she graduated with a degree in nursing from Northern Michigan University.
One of Meena's dreams was to have her parents come to Marquette to see her graduation. They began the Visa application process in the early spring of 2006, but ran into problems when the US embassy closed down during the disturbances in the capital. They finally received 5 year multiple entry Visas a day before graduation, too late to make it for the ceremony. They did arrive a week or so later, thanks to the Marquette community. The local newspaper carried an article about their visit.
When Tobi and Talia Inlender were in Marquette for Meena's graduation (Talia was one of Meena's American sisters), we decided that we would invite the family to San Francisco when they were visiting. We set a date, got the tickets, decided where we would all stay, and what we might so. All we had to do was wait for the date to roll around!
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Another gang member - David Seeberger - our Luxury Hawaii expert
Dave is the kind of guy who seems really quiet at first, but when you get to know him you really appreciate his many talents and terrific sense of humor. He's pretty new to the Portland area, too, but he knows an amazing amount about the city. I guess that's the travel agent in him - always finding the cool things to do in a destination! This week we went to witness a "Great day in hot dog history" a few blocks from our Portland office, and I took this picture of Dave alongside the world's longest hot dog and bun - it's that long light brown thing at the back of the table under the photo!
One of Dave's favorite destinations on this planet is Hawaii. He's been blogging like crazy and has a number of posts related to Hawaii, including his favorite luxury Big Island Hawaii Hotels, luxury Hawaii spa vacations, favorite luxury Maui hotels, and even the Hawaii climate! His blogs are getting a lot of readership - and he's even getting fan mail! Way to go, Dave!
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