Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) officials are very pleased with Alaska Airlines’ announcement to begin new non-stop seasonal service to Portland (PDX), Oregon beginning June 4, 2012 and continuing through August 25, 2012. The daily two-hour flight will depart at 11:50am from Santa Barbara and fly non-stop to Portland using a 70-passenger Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet. The introductory fare will be $99 one-way.

“We are thrilled to have new non-stop service to Portland. We hope that the community will support the service and demonstrate to Alaska that Santa Barbara-Portland is a viable market,” said Karen Ramsdell, Santa Barbara Airport Director.

“These new routes give our customers additional options to access some of the most popular summer markets out of Portland,” said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of marketing. “With these low introductory fares, summer travel between Santa Barbara and Portland has never been more affordable.”

The boat ride to the island was quite tame in comparison and by the time we got there the storm did seem to be dissipating. There we were greeted by the Darryl and Julie, the managers and some of their Fijian employees who sang a welcome song to us. We were quickly ushered to our own vale, one of only 16 on the island.

An amazing ocean view was apparent upon entering, and to our left was our sitting room and bar area and to our right was the bedroom and huge bathroom with large tub and shower.

Outside was our beautiful deck with panoramic views of the ocean and our own private plunge pool.

We were lucky that on the first afternoon the storm passed over and the sunset was beautiful; the next few days the weather was perfect and only started raining again when were leaving.

We were able to truly relax on our deck with its tremendous view, stroll on the beaches and admire the myriad of fish swimming right by the beach and pier.

I would highly recommend the Royal Davui to others. It is a perfect place to do completely nothing or participate in the water sports available. The snorkeling is fantastic and they also have a little sandbar near by that they can take you to for a private picnic. The little beaches are beautiful and you can always find a private spot to sit since there are so few guests on the island. The meals are excellent with a nice variety of dishes available featuring fresh local ingredients, especially fish. Everything is well prepared and presented with an island flair.

The photos will give you some idea of the property but I don’t think they do it justice. The Royal Davui is a very special place; the atmosphere and the charming staff are not quite captured in my shots so to discover this you will have to visit there yourself!!

AND YES  so we did have to do the drive again to Nadi because it started to rain as we were leaving so the plane could not land but at least we had a way nicer car to be driven in so it was a way more pleasant experience!!

Robust Barolo and Barbaresco wines, hyper expensive white truffles, steep hillsides covered with vineyards as far as the eye can see and time worn medieval villages standing guard atop every mountain top. That is Piedmonte, a province in northwest Italy. While not well known among American travelers it has much to offer for those interested in the finest food and wine as well as in the interesting blending of French and Italian cultures.

I am always looking for new areas in Italy for which I can design itineraries for those who have already seem the wonders of Rome, Florence and Venice. Piedmont is just such a place and has much to offer, especially at this time of year when the vendemmia is in full swing and the scent of crushed grapes perfumes the air. Rivaling the fine wines in taste and aroma are the white truffles which are also harvested in the autumn and sold to chefs from around the world at the annual truffle auction held in Alba in November.

My base for this trip was the small medieval village of Serralunga d’Alba situated in the heart of the Langhe Valley. Time seems to have passed it by and save the cars passing through, it is easy to believe that you have been transported to another century , especially when looking up toward it’s castle and tower. From here daily excursions were made to other similar towns with evocative names like Castiglione Falletto, La Morra, Montforte and Santa Vittoria. They all have their own personalities and medieval towers but one thing you will find in each are excellent tasting rooms and family run restaurants where the local fare is proudly and expertly presented.

A few days in Piedmont can easily be included in any Italian driving itinerary and one is sure to come away with fond memories of the pastoral beauty and culinary delights of this region.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton which has a beautifully peaceful location and numerous tranquil beaches close at hand. Combine that with great service and the amenities of a luxury property and you have a perfect vacation location! Two fantastic golf courses are close at hand too and also some great spots for both casual and fine dining. Having not stayed there since the renovations I was happy to find that the property is even more beautiful than before.  The rooms are exquisitely furnished and very comfortable, all with large balconies.  The new bar with the “lava rock” wall is welcoming and also quite contemporary with a casual vibe.   The service was excellent through out the property and there is no doubt that is one of THE nicest hotels to stay at on Maui!!

Montecito Village Travel OF Santa Barbara, CA JOINS LUXURY TRAVEL’S ELITE AT VIRTUOSO®’S TRAVEL MART CONFERENCE

Montecito Village Travel Attends The Industry’s Largest Luxury-Focused Travel Conference

For Networking, Training & Relationship Building

Santa Barbara, CA (August 30th, 2011) - Montecito Village Travel of Santa Barbara, CA recently attended the travel industry’s most prestigious conference, Virtuoso’s Travel Mart, which took place August 14-19 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada.  During the five-day conference, 30+ advisors from Montecito Village Travel joined nearly 1,700 other elite travel advisors and more than 1,600 executives and representatives from some of the world’s best travel companies, all of whom belong to the Virtuoso® luxury travel network.  In total, the conference attracted approximately 3,700 attendees – the largest turnout in the conference’s 23-year history – from 90 countries around the globe.

During the conference, travel advisors from Montecito Village Travel participated in more than 100 individual four-minute appointments each day with top executives from luxury hotels, resorts, spas, cruise lines, airlines, private jet and yacht companies, tour operators and inbound destination specialists.  The goal of these meetings is to build relationships and glean product and destination knowledge that will lead to better travel experiences for Montecito Village Travel’s clients.  More than 300,000 of these individual agency/travel provider appointments took place over the course of four days.

As a member of Virtuoso, Montecito Village Travel is part of the most prestigious network in luxury travel.  The group produces annual travel sales in excess of $9.6 billion, which leads to more negotiating power within the industry.  For clients of Montecito Village Travel, that clout translates to VIP treatment, special amenities and privileged access to events.

For assistance with planning your next travel experience, contact Montecito Village Travel at 805-969-5096 or mvt@ytc.com or visit www.montecitovillagetravel.com

 Read a full article all about the “Mart”  and how it is closely related to ‘Speed dating’

http://goo.gl/e8a8r

For further press information, please contact:

Chris Weatherhead     

Business Development

Montecito Village Travel

805-880-2903

chrisweatherhead@ytc.com

John Clifford International Travel Management.com

San Diego

www.internationaltravelmanagement.com

A full-time travel industry professional since 1985, John Clifford feels that connection is key when dealing with clients. With the rise of what Clifford terms the “Internet information overload,” he takes the time to craft experiences around a personal knowledge of his clients’ interests. He sees himself as an advisor who cuts the “noise and chatter” of online reviews and social media recommendations in order to deliver the unique experiences he knows his clients will really love. “I always say that the value that I add is offering wisdom, which is the advice that comes along with the information,” says Clifford. Clifford’s wisdom has served him well. After being honored in Travel Agent magazine’s “Meet the Next Generation” in 1994, he went on to become a Virtuoso travel advisor. An example of his prowess is the dream trip to Cambodia he created for a professional photographer. Including a private visit and showing at the Le Popil Photo Gallery, which focuses on Cambodian photojournalism and art, Clifford arranged visits to Lake Tonle Bati, The Killing Fields, Ta Phrom and Yeah Peau temples and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. “[My client] had ample opportunity to photograph the simple, unchanged way of life,” says Clifford. Jon Makhmaltchi of Small Luxury Hotels of the World says that Clifford is “not only a consistent top producer for the SLH brand, but also someone who is on the forefront of new design and boutique hotels, always looking out the the next big thing, long before it’s on the radar of mainstream travel magazines, or spoiled.”

To see the full article click here: http://goo.gl/wkM56

Here are a few photos of a cruise I am on currently. We are sailing from Athens to Istanbul on the Regent Mariner. Our one night stay at the Hotel Grand Bretagne was amazing and my photo from the roof top terrace does not do it justice I am afraid!! Then on the Ephesus, and of course we ended up buying a rug in Kusadasi. We spent a beautiful day sailing the Dardenelles and the Bosphorus. Yalta in the Ukraine was a very pretty spot that needless to say reminded us of it’s sister city of Santa Barbara. Also Sochi in Russia was a lovely verdant city with an incredible number of trees, shrubs and vines …..basking in a sub-tropical climate much of the year.  Our cruise included a visit to Sevastopol and a tour to the famous Valley of Death…who would have thought that such a beautiful spot was home to a ghastly scene of carnage.  We made a stop in attractive city of Odessa with an amazing Virtuoso shore excursion that included going inside the famed opera house, and then on to Constanta where we chose to go on a day excursion to the Danube Delta.  This proved to be a good choice I think because in my opinion there is nothing like a day in the countryside spotting birds and contemplating the wonders of nature!  Our last port of call was Nesbar a very cute seaside resort….rather over run with tourists though.  We spent a couple of days in Istanbul at the end of the cruise a city we have visited before.  We were fortunate enough to be in the care of Nurdan Ustman of United Travel Services so this visit was very special.  We had a private motor launch cruise on the Bosphorus, a private lunch over looking the Bosphorus and then a tour of some of some mosques we had not seen before plus a revisit to the Blue Mosque and finally down to the Basilica Cistern…..stupendous.  All of this is so easy when you have a private guide….no lines, no hassles just nothing but lots of information, good care and of course fun!  We also had a lovely fish dinner over looking the Bosphorus too ….it was so pretty to see as the sun set and the moon arose plus even a firework display due to a wedding on the little island in the Bosphorus close by to us.  All in all it was a fabulous trip made particularly good because of our private tours with UTS in Ephesus and Istanbul and also the wonderful Virtuoso excursion in Odessa.

Bridge Climb Sydney 2011

Keep in mind that I climbed this bridge after a 15 hour flight from LAX. If there was ever a time that you don’t want to do the climb…it must be when it’s the first thing you do when you land. After this climb it was time for a rest in my room at the Sydney Harbor Marriott. Check out some of the views from my spacious, newly renovated and modernized unit.

View from Marriott Harbor Hotel

I caught this amazing view of the Opera house on a casual stroll around the waterfront in Sydney. For someone like myself who doesn’t have many skills with the camera, I really feel like I did this one justice!

Glimpse of the Opera House

Of course by the time I settled in and took my “post flight, post bridge climb, arrival nap” it was time to have a few tasty adult beverages and enjoy a sunset harbor cruise.  Hope you enjoy some of the breathtaking views that I captured with my mediocre camera.

Sydney Opera House on the water

Sunset Cruise

Opera House and Harbor Bridge

There is plenty more to come on my travels to Australia. You can already imagine…if this was only day 1!! What else could come??

Day 2, off to Tasmania to witness the wonderful untouched countryside, some beautiful wildlife and to enjoy fantastic world renowned Seafood.  Here is a taste of what is to come. See ya soon.

My boy Roo...

Some photos of our recent trip to Alaska on the Crystal Symphony