#FavoritePlaces Archives - Life is Better Traveling

Windmills, Lions, Beaches, OH MY!

When you think of Greece you think of the iconic white-washed walls and grey cobblestone streets. You dream of sunny weather, clear water, good food, and Greek Yia-Yia’s (Greek for Grandmother) inviting you into their home for some dancing and fun. OPA!

Well, when you visit the Islands of Greece you can get this experience minus the Yia-Yia inviting you into their home. One of my favorite Greek Islands that I visited was Mykonos. The moment we stepped into Old Town I felt like I was transported into a Greek Island photo that I see on the wall in the local Greek Restaurant. White-washed buildings with grey cobblestoned streets. The streets were just wide enough to fit a small car through, but you won’t see cars on these streets.

Mykonos offers a variety of things to do on the Island including enjoying one of the many beaches. Of course, I wanted to see the iconic windmills. The windmills look down a small part of the Island called Little Venice. Little Venice is a tiny quarter of trendy boutiques, churches and whitewashed fishermen’s houses lining the seafront in Mykonos’ Old Town.

The four signature windmills up on a hill overlooking Mykonos Town are the most well-know and signature to the Island. Capped with wood and straw, the three-story conical windmills were built by the Venetians in the 16th century to mill flour. They remained in use until the early 20th century.

Did you know that there are actually two dozen windmills on the Island? The Bonis Windmill overlooking Little Venice houses a folklore museum, while others around the Island now serve as very unusual homes. The views from the windmills over Little Venice and the harbor are stunning, especially at sunset. Sailing into harbor, the windmills are one of the first sights of Mykonos.

Even though the windmills may attract you to this Island, there are many attractions to see including the Terrace of the Lions which are dedicated to the Greek God Apollo. Originally in 600 B.C. there were up to a dozen big squatting guardian cats lining the Sacred Way. If you were to visit today you would see only seven remaining due to weathering. The current lions are replicas, with the originals preserved in the site’s museum, a short walk east of the terrace near the visitor pavilion.

If you are thinking of taking a trip to Greece you may want to consider adding Mykonos to your list of Islands that you visit. With several amazing beaches, museums, sites, and over a dozen windmills to see you will not be disappointed nor will you go away with an empty stomach!

If you are thinking of taking a European vacation, make sure to include Rome in your itinerary so you can experience the magnificent of this museum. Simply email Mary and we can start to plan.

Remember, a Life is Better Traveling Travel Agent is here to help make your next European vacation amazing!

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation. Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

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Is Hawaii safe to visit?

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Are you thinking of taking a Hawaiian vacation but aren’t sure if the recent volcano eruption will make for a bad vacation? Are you concerned all the Hawaiian Islands are affected? At Life is Better Traveling, we are here to help you get a better understanding of what is going on in Hawaii so you can make an informed decision to book that vacation.

If you haven’t been following the eruption going on the past few weeks, the beautiful volcano of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii is very active right now. This volcano is the most active of the five volcanoes that make up the Islands of Hawaii. It is located on the southern part of the Island of Hawaii, and this Island is the most southern of all the Islands. But how does this effect the other popular vacation Islands like Maui and Oahu?

Picture by: Pixabay

With increasing concerns from travelers and people who are looking to book their upcoming vacation to Hawaii, Governor David Ige and State Department of Health Director Dr. Virginia Pressler have officially released a statement to answer questions to your concerns.

Dr. Pressler commented, “The air quality for the vast majority of the Hawaiian Islands is clean and healthy. The emissions from Kilauea volcano are a non-factor for Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kauai. The weather is beautiful and warm with cooling trade winds everywhere in Hawaii and is exactly what travelers expect when coming here for a relaxing and fun vacation experience. This includes Hilo, Pahoa and the Kona and Kohala coasts on the Island of Hawaii.

“The areas where precautions are required for people are in lower Puna where lava is flowing and downwind from there on the Island of Hawaii, particularly if they have respiratory problems. Because of heavy emissions of vog, as well as occasional bursts of ash plumes from the Kilauea summit, the southeast portions of the Island are also routinely experiencing concerning conditions. Those visiting areas south of Hilo should stay alert for air quality updates, especially when wind conditions change. Fortunately, when trade winds are blowing, the vog and ash routinely move in a southwesterly direction and out to sea away from the Hawaiian Islands.”

Governor Ige stated, “Hawaii’s air quality is being closely monitored on a continuing basis by scientists, meteorologists and the Hawaii State Department of Health. This team of experts says the air quality in the Hawaiian Islands is safe for residents and visitors, except in the affected areas.

Two other topics that I want to alleviate people’s concerns about are laze and the Puna Geothermal Venture plant. Laze is a natural reaction that occurs whenever lava flows into the ocean as it is doing now and has from time to time over the past 35 years. This is all part of nature’s way of creating new land for life to grow. Laze is limited to the area where the lava meets the ocean and is not a danger to people who keep a safe distance away.

“At the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, the state is actively directing protective actions to reduce the risk from lava flows moving nearby. The underground wells have been sealed and secured minimizing the threat to the safety of people and communities.

“The bottom line is that there is no reason for travelers to avoid making their vacation plans in the Hawaiian Islands due to safety concerns because of Kilauea volcano.

Visitors will be welcomed with open arms and treated to the hospitality, aloha, warmth and natural beauty that is found everywhere in Hawaii. The only area to avoid is lower Puna where the eruption is ongoing.”

Picture by: Pixabay

For the latest update on air quality in the Hawaiian Islands, please reference the State of Hawaii Interagency Vog Information Dashboard: http://www.ivhhn.org/vog/

If you are thinking of booking your next vacation to Hawaii make sure to contact one of our Hawaiian Destination Specialists, Mary Yohannan or Sonja Hester. We are here to book all components including hotel, air, transfers, inter-Island flights, excursions, and travel protection. Don’t book it all alone, have an expert make sure you will have the most amazing time in Hawaii.

Remember, a Life is Better Traveling Travel Agent is here to help make your next vacation amazing!

What a GEM on the Adriatic Sea…

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This Old Town in port has Old World charm with one of, if not the oldest pharmacy’s in the world. This city has been a maritime city for centuries and due to its easy access to the sea, became one of the wealthiest port cities in Europe. Over the vast years Dubrovnik has seen its fair share of destruction but you wouldn’t even know from the city’s beauty and charm.

When we awoke in the morning the ship was still coming into port and we were able to get some beautiful and very scenic photos of Croatia’s coastline. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of Croatia. The stories that I heard were the days when it was part of Yugoslavia, which was not always a good time.

But the beautiful coastline melted away any apprehensions I had about visiting this country. The ship we were on was too big to dock at the port so we had to be tendered into the port by life boats. It was good to know that they worked.

Once we got off our tender we entered through the gates into Old Town. Now a word of warning: we were offered bathrooms right before going through the gates. These bathrooms were more traditional for the area, nothing more than holes in the ground with stainless steel foot-grips. Not a wonderful experience. Once we got into Old Town, modern facilities were available. So I recommend holding it if you can! Now back to walking through the gates, I felt like I had gone back in time. The light colored stone buildings one on top of the other lining the cobblestone streets was like something out of an Audrey Hepburn movie. This is not what I expected at all. It was beautiful and it looked so well preserved! We were there so early in the morning that nobody was on the streets yet except the local cats. Yes, I am a cat person so there will be pictures of cats in my blogs.

Since not much was open yet, we were told to walk around for about 30 minutes and then our tour would start. This is the point where I start walking around as fast as I can while taking in the sites. You never know where these tours are going to take you so I always sneak off to get into some stores or get some unique pictures of the architecture. There were so many narrow alleyways with steep staircases to get to the top. Each alleyway had an array of shops, restaurants, eateries, and apartments. Again, nothing was open so I couldn’t get any good shopping in yet.

The tour started in front of Onuphrius‘ Fountain. This is a beautiful large stone fountain that people congregate around through out the day to get pictures, relax, or fill up their water bottles. Which I personally would never do in a foreign country. We headed into the Franciscan Monastery which is one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe. When you walk in you can see the set up of the pharmacy and they still have some of the tools on display. We also walked the inside court yard area of the monastery, which is beautiful. The blooming flowers and well manicured garden just made for a picture perfect morning. There really isn’t much else that we ventured into here, but we did enjoy reading some of the burial markings of old monks. We then made our way back out to the fountain and down Stradun. This is the main street. There are a lot of great little stores that have anything from jewelry to knick-knacks. There was also a fresh produce market going on in the square. There were fresh figs threaded through some yarn that looked like a necklace. They were the biggest figs I have ever seen. There are many days that I kick myself for not trying them.

It was now time to leave the city center and start our bus tour. We did a lot of driving around and the scenery seemed very bare. It almost was desert-like to me but this changed when we came upon our restaurant. The restaurant was far from the port but lush with trees and a small stream going through the center of the property. The ambiance of the restaurant was beautiful and the food was really good too, typical lamb and potatoes but it hit the spot.

After leaving the restaurant we headed back to the coast but further south. We hit a nice resort area where apparently a lot of celebrities like to go for peace and relaxation. There were a lot of boats on the water but we didn’t see a lot of people swimming. The water was really choppy that day but it was this beautiful deep blue color that I have never seen before in my life. We took the mile walk around the lagoon and noticed that there were several beaches. Well, not exactly what we would call a beach. Their version of a beach at this lagoon was large rocks. Apparently you just jump off of them to get into the water. Some of the rocks had ladders attached to them so you could get back out. I think I will stick with the sand.

I call Dubrovnik a hidden gem because its’ beauty and charm were something I really didn’t expect. Places like this, the ones that truly surprise you, are the ones that remind you how much Life is Better Traveling.

I am opening up and you may be surprised.

Liz Hough on

Why I Do What I Do?

I am sharing the REAL reason why I do what I do and you may be surprised.

I recently had a friend look over my website and told me I was missing a key element, Why do I do what I do. As I started to explain to her how I became a travel consultant she stopped me and told me that it wasn’t the “Why.” So after some soul searching and a lot of thinking, I wanted to share with everyone my “Why.”

Travel is a passion of mine and it is something I absolutely love to do. When I personally travel, I get feelings of excitement, relaxation, interest, curiosity, and a bit of anxiety. When it all comes together I have created a memory that reminds me of all of these emotions.

I have traveled to 17 European countries, and in each country, I experienced what I just described. I felt excitement when we were roaming the canals of Venice and thinking this is nothing like Italy in Epcot Center (even though it is a good replica).

I felt relaxation in Scotland when my husband and I enjoyed an anniversary dinner on Rose Street in Edinburgh drinking Scottish beer. I was interested in touching a 1000-year-old entrance to a library while in Ephesus in Turkey.

I was curious what smoked lard and Palinka tasted like in a small café in Bucharest, Romania. I was anxious going up the cogwheel train to Jungfraujoch in Switzerland while my head was pounding from altitude changes. The best part of travel is that when I am not traveling and I think of those places I instantly get a smile on my face regardless of the emotion that I felt.

Was I travel consultant when I did all of those things? No. It was because of those trips, journeys, vacations that I decided I wanted to help plan those types of experiences for other people. I wanted to make sure that when someone came to me for planning a vacation to another country that we planned something amazing and unique. A journey of memories that causes emotions which can be triggered back at just the thought of them. When I plan a customized European vacation for someone there are many times an emotion from one of our trips will come up and I just get a smile on my face. So I guess in some ways my job makes me smile, a lot. What a great job to have!

It has taken a friend who had a smile and her head tilted to one side, asking my “why” to really understand why I love my job. It is the people who I plan amazing journeys with, who I now feel are friends, it is the amazing places that I get to go and experience, and it is being able to spend more time with my family that has really made me love my job.

I want to thank everyone who has planned an amazing vacation, trip, or journey with me. You have been a great support to my business and when you work with me you are also supporting my family.

Heads Up originated here.

Liz Hough on

Are you ready to pack your bags?

Favorite Place #3 – Great Britain

Many Americans prefer that their first visit to Europe be to Great Britain because the main language is English. It is an easy transition and the most people feel comfort in knowing that if something were to go wrong, they know the language and can communicate easily. One thing that we tend to feel a bit uncomfortable doing in Great Britain is driving, as they drive on the opposite side of the road and some of the lines on the roads are confusing (have you seen those squiggly lines?). A great way to get around easily, and quickly is by train. There are also several motorcoach tours with various activity levels and timeframes.

John, did you know that Great Britain is actually made up of four countries? Well, it is actually called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The island of Great Britain itself is comprised of England, Scotland, and Wales which is where I am going to pick my top 5 favorite places.

Top 5 Favorite Places in Great Britain

#5 York – York is about a four-hour drive north of London, but it is worth the drive! When you think of England and a tour with Tudor style buildings, this is that town. You can easily walk around to the various shops, enjoy a meat pie, or walk along the castle wall. My favorite part of the town is the oldest street in all England called Shambles. This street was even said to be mentioned in the 1086 book DomesDay, but to me it felt like I was walking down Diagon Alley, for all you Harry Potter fans. Crooked buildings, tight streets, crowds of people, and tiny stores make up this street and it is really something to see.

#4 Highlands – The Highlands is not a city but a region of Scotland that contains a lot of hills, lochs, and mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Great Britain, and on a clear day you can really enjoy the beauty of the surrounding area. We were there in October, typically the rainy season, but each day we had beautiful weather and clear skies, which gave us the most amazing pictures. Seeing Loch Ness was really something that I always wanted to do so standing next the Loch getting our picture taken seemed so surreal and exciting. Unfortunately Nessie decided not come out that day. Taking a boat ride on Loch Lomond was another highlight as the surrounding area is so lush and beautiful. When in Scotland, make sure not to miss out on seeing a Scottish Cow, pronounced Coo by the Scottish. Also keep an eye out for jewelry made out of Heather.

#3 London – There is one thing that I clearly remember I loved about London: the public transportation. It was very easy to get around whether we took the iconic red bus or the Underground, we were able to easily get to our destination. We decided to do all things Royal so we visited the Tower of London to see the royal crown and jewels. As much as I appreciated the jewels, I was more interested in the armor and weapons that they had cached 300 years ago! Room after room, it felt like it was never ending. We also opted to take a tour of Kensington Palace to see the Princess Diana collection. So many beautiful dresses to see but the building itself was a bit outdated and plain inside. While in London, you must take a walk in one of their many parks. You never know what type of art or activity you may come across, but on a beautiful, warm day there are plenty of activities to do. Grabbing a pint at a local pub is a must, and this was where I was introduced to Strongbow a “dry” cider produced in Great Britain. Having this on draft was a smooth as a lager and not sweet like a hard cider you would get in the states. Since we have been to London, you can now purchase Strongbow here in the states and it is now produced in several flavors. I have not had it since London, as I am afraid the formulation has changed to suit the American taste buds.

#2 Bath – Bath has been a bucket list item for me since I was a teenager. The white townhouses all lined up in a half circle, the beautiful country side, and of course, the Roman Baths. Seeing pictures of people in the early 1900’s in their bathing suits soaking in the baths hoping for some healing or enjoying the warmth of the water, is something that had me curious. The Roman bath building is quite large containing the main bath area, but there are also several springs that are equally fascinating. The water is so clear that it is hard to believe that it is unfiltered. I will warn you that there is a sulfur concentration in the water so there can be an unpleasant smell while you are there, especially in warmer weather. You can also taste the water from a special fountain found in the restaurant on site. I did not as I was told it tasted really bad, and was a darker color than they had expected. There are several archaeologists that have been digging and uncovering artifacts from hundreds of years ago. You can also view and even touch some of these pieces.

#1 Edinburgh – Edinburgh is my second favorite city in all the places that I have visited. You sense the great things that happened in this town, and because the façade of the buildings has been virtually untouched, you get this feeling of going back in time. It is very easy to get around Edinburgh but make sure to bring good walking shoes, as the Royal Mile is something to really see but hard on the feet. I really enjoyed walking through “Closes” which are alleyways that sometimes underground. Many people hang their clothes out to dry in these areas, and this is also where the saying “Heads Up” originated as they would throw their bed pan material out the window to the street below. My favorite tour was of Mary King’s Close which is an underground city that has been untouched since medieval times. Seeing how people lived at that time is sad but a good reminder of how much we have progressed in the world. Edinburgh Castle is a must and if you are there when the Military Tattoo is being held, I highly recommend seeing this show. Once you are done at the castle a stroll down the Royal Mile to get in some shopping and/or whiskey tasting is must. Once at the end, make sure to visit Holyrood Palace, home of the Queen of Scots!

I always like to end these segments with food of the region! Fish and chips can be purchased everywhere throughout Great Britain, but the best Fish and Chip places that we found were those where the construction workers would eat. Once place was just a Fish and Chip store with no seating, and it was the best Fish and Chips that I have ever had. Another interesting food that is easy and quick is the meat pie! You don’t have to get meat as there are cheese and vegetable options, but these great to get when you are hungry but want to still walk around to take in the sites. Let’s end with some Haggis! A food staple in the Scottish culture and one of the most flavorful dishes I have ever had. If you don’t know what haggis is or how it is made, skip knowing, and try it. Believe me, your taste buds will thank you!