Our First Day in Santiago Chile

We are finally in Chile. I am excited to be joined by Maria Luisa Varelas of LAN Airlins, Lauren Jacob of Reid Travel, Sam McClure of Small World Travel, Jody Bear of Bear & Bear Travel and Wendy Conlan of ProTravel. All of these agents are great Ker & Downey supporters and we are excited to show them thebeauty of Chile.

We arrived in Santiago Chile at 7am this morning after an 8 hour flight on LAN. We were lucky enough to fly Premium Business Classand had wonderful seats that flattened out into beds. The food was good and it was nice to nap. Our wonderful guide Patricia met us and after clearing customs and immigration we picked up our luggage and were off to our vehicle, a nice 10 seater Mercedes Bus. It took around 30 minutesto get thethe W Hotel located in El Golf, a lovely neighborhood in Santiago. The W is an amazing hotel and I am staying in the Wow Corner Room with a huge sunken tub in the room and a great view of the Andes. I slept for a couple of hours and then we all metup at 12 for an inspection of the hotel and lunch. Apparently Beyonce stayed here in February, so we got to see the room she stayed in and the cabana she enjoyed at the pool! The lunch was amazing, nice wine pairing and we were joined by the GM and Marketing Manager.

After lunch we headed for a quick tour of Santiago and saw thePresidential Palace, Palace De Arms, St. Lucia Hill and other significant Chilean historical sites. Here are some of our photos from the day.

Dinner was delicious tonight. We went to Aqui Esta Coco - an amazing seafood restaurant and worth a visit. I had an amazing salmon carpaccio, conger stew and some kind of crazy meringue desert. Yum! Of course it was all paired with amazing Chilean wine! I'll have to go on a diet when I get home!

Tomorrow we are off to the wine valley. Have a great night!!

Defining Moments in Travel

Traveling with my job at Ker & Downey has given me an wonderful opportunity to see the world. Here are my defining moments in Travel. I found them to be Inspirational, Transformative and Life Changing!

1. Climbing inside the Pyramids of Giza - Egypt 2007


2. Hiking through Petra - Jordan 2007


3. Climbing up Machu Pichu - Peru 2008


4. Flying over Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe 2004


5. Tiger Safari - India 2006


6. Seeing the Taj Mahal - India 2006


7. Game Drive in the Serengeti - Tanzania 2005


8. Elephant Interaction in the Okavango Delta - Botswana 2009


9. Walking Safari in South Luangwa - Zambia 2009


10. Visiting a Samburu Village - Kenya 2005

What are your defining moments?

Chile in October

I am getting very excited about my upcoming trip to Chile in October. I will joined by four of our top travel agents, as well as Maria Luisa with LAN Airlines. We will be visiting Santiago, the Atacama Desert as well as Patagonia. Chile is such a long country and has so much to offer, that even though I was in Chile last year, I am going to visit totally different areas.

We are being very well taken care of. Business Class on LAN Airlines the whole way through and we are staying in some of the most amazing properties while there.

Here is a look at our itinerary:

10/4/10 - Depart Miami

10/5/10 - Santiago - W Hotel - City Tour

10/6/10 - Santiago - W Hotel - Colchuagua Wine Valley

10/7/10 - San Pedro de Atacama - Alto Atacama

10/8/10 - San Pedro de Atacama - Alto Atacama

10/9/10 - Santiago - San Cristobel Towers

10/10/10 - Puerto Natales - Remota Lodge

10/11/10 - Puerto Natales - Remota Lodge

10/12/10 - Depart

I'll make sure to post pics and update you on our daily activities while there.

The Bride & Groom

We had such beautiful weather for our wedding day and had so much fun. Here is our favorite photo.

My Crazy Friends!

The Wedding was full of colorful and wonderful people. Here are a few pictures of my friends Dustin and Zack dressed up as Dumb & Dumber!

The Reserve at Oak Bowery

We got married at The Reserve at Oak Bowery - an amazing Antebellum Plantation House www.oakboweryreserve.com

The following photos were taken by our wonderful photographer David Wiseman http://www.davidwisemanphotography.com/

It was the most beautiful Spring Day - blue sky, blossoms, green buds and a slight breeze.

Getting Ready for the Wedding

So the morning of the wedding was very exciting. I was lucky enough to have my beautiful friends Lauren and Maria do our makeup and hair. Here are some photos of us getting ready. My lovely bridesmaids are Carol, my sister and Maid of Honor, Jen, my wonderful friend, Katherine my cousin and Alice Ann, my second cousin.

March 2010 Wedding

Justin and I got married on March 27th this year. We had four days of fun, love and laughter and were so happy to be surrounded by our family and friends. The weekend started with a hilarious Hat Party on Friday Afternoon. We decided to host a Welcome Tea instead of a Rehearsal Dinner and asked our guest to wear a hat. As you can see from these photos, everyone had a fabulous time and spent the afternoon laughing and drinking tea and eating delicious food made by my Aunts and Cousin.