Honfleur Normandy

The beauty of the countryside and the friendly locals, as well as, the richness of the butter and cream that come from Normandy gave a warmth that is uncompared to any place I have visited.

This quaint area of France has every thing to offer from the simplest in life to its very rich and pampered resorts. We stayed at Ferme Saint Simeon, a Relais & Chateaux, which is a 5 star resort with excellent attention to detail and its guests. From our very charming and lavish country French decorated room we could watch the tide go in and out, amazed at how fast it happened.

The Harbor, the Old Dock and Sainte Catherine's Church... are among the famous places that you can see in Honfleur. On Saturdays the street market is the center of life from early morning to 1pm.

Plan at least 2 to 4 days to enjoy the quaint town as well as the countryside and – don’t forget to check out the Calvados! You will not find it unfiltered anywhere else outside of Normandy.

First Cruise

After hearing all the pros and cons of taking a cruise, we decided to take a short one, just in case. We took a three day Carnival cruise from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico and return. We boarded on Friday and returned Monday Morning. We had an excellent time, we danced every night and the cruise shows were very good. Meals were very good and crew was a delight. I would rate the cruise 3 stars and the ship and crew 4 stars. A great trip. We will cruise again.

Mandalay Bay - Las Vegas

Mandalay Bay Casino & Resort is a luxury hotel that provides exceptional service whether you are a guest in the hotel or just visiting the Casino, dining in one of the 24 restaurants or shopping at Mandalay Place. The Suite where I stayed at Mandalay was nicely furnished, and with over 700sq. ft., affords guests plenty of room. The 42” plasma screen is placed on the wall across from the end of the king bed.

The bathroom has a large tub with jets and a separate shower. The floors and walls are marble and there is plenty of room to dress, with a granite double sink vanity. The bed linens and towels are of excellent quality. The room cleaning staff is excellent as well.

Requests for more towels or anything extra, arrives almost instantly. Room service is very accurate about delivery time and they are meticulous about setting up the table that they roll your meal in on. The restaurants in the Mandalay are all excellent and provide a wide variety of cuisine. They are, of course, pricey. The place to eat for less if you don’t care about presentation and just want a decent meal is Raffles.

The location is close to the Venetian, where The Blue Man Group is playing and other shows are easy to get to, such as The Jersey Boys at the Palazzo. Tickets can be purchased at the hotel for any of the local entertainment.

Alaska Cruise - Infinity

We took a 7 day trip to Alaska on the Infinity. Celebrity Cruise Lines. We departed Seattle and visited , Ice Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria, British Columbia, and returned to Seattle. Overall I would give the vacation a 4 star rating. As for the Infinity, food was not as good as other cruises we had and the wine was very over priced. We purchased the wine package and the selections made available to us were lower quality than the rest of the wine list. Be careful with tipping, we tipped through the trip, the second to the last day, we got tip envelopes, and then on the last night we again got tip envelopes from the cabin steward. Way overboard. So the ship I would give 2 stars. I definately recommend the trip...but I would recommend another cruise lines. Contact MDM Vacations to schedule a memorable trip to Alaska.