​Is there anything nicer than opening a bottle of wine, taking in its fragrant aromas, enjoying its delicious taste and remembering the far away destination where you purchased it? If you are in a destination with great vineyards then buying wine as part of your vacation or honeymoon is a wonderful experience. I often include a tour and tasting at one of these vineyards. It can be difficult to enjoy a visit of this kind without also wanting to bring home at least a few bottles to enjoy later.

​The trick, though, is just how to go about traveling home with the wine you purchased, and without causing it to lose some of its charms or even to end up a broken bottle of wine instead of a vintage to enjoy weeks or months later. ​

​Whether you’re going for a couple of weeks or even for months together, there are some foundational things that are critical to making travel with someone else successful.  Ashlea Halpern is an editor at Traveler magazine who recently spent a year globe trotting with her boyfriend. Here are some of her best tips for making it work so you can come back from your journey stronger than ever. 

I've been talking a LOT about food the last few weeks.  What can I say - Florence has a lot of great food to talk about.  Unfortunately, all of that pasta can add up around your waistline, even with all of the walking that you'll do.  The last thing I ever want to do on vacation is think about working out, especially in a gym.  I'd rather spend that time enjoying my vacation...or eating gelato.  However, I've come across a great workout routine that you can do anywhere.
 
​Disclaimer - I'm not a doctor or personal trainer.  I didn't design this workout but a fitness expert did.

There are a lot of great packing tips out there to help you pack light while remembering to take everything that you need.  However, when you're heading to a cold weather destination, it's a little bit of a different ballgame.  Especially if that cold weather place is sometimes very cold, windy and snowy but sometimes that very same place is sunny, calm and almost warm.  How on earth do you pack everything that you need but stay under the 50 pound luggage weight limit so you're not stuck paying an extra fee at the airport? 

They have a saying in Iceland - "There is no such thing as bad weather.  There is only bad clothing and bad attitudes!"  While I can't help with your attitude, I hope I can help with your clothing!  Read on for five of my favorite tips to help you pack for your next cold weather vacation.

April's Clients of the Month are Kristina and Sean G.  Kristina and Sean are both very successful and busy professionals.  Kristina commutes into New York City for her work and Sean is a sales manager for a Fortune 500 company.  They came to me for help in planning their honeymoon.  Kristina and Sean weren't looking for the typical relaxing beach honeymoon though - they wanted adventure, they wanted amazing scenery, in a word, they wanted Iceland!

Planning for your dream vacation can be so exciting — where you’re going to stay, what you’ll see, the shows you’ll take in, all the amazing food you’ll eat. 
 
But what about all your travel documents? Are they all in order?

When you decide to travel from the US to Europe, you will likely have a couple of options.  Leave in the evening, fly overnight and land in the morning OR leave in the morning, fly all day and land in the evening.  I personally would rather book the overnight flight or red eye.  I see it as getting an extra day of vacation.  You can leave late on a Friday night, land early on Saturday and have most of the day at your destination or you can leave on a Saturday morning, land Saturday night and have time to find your hotel and maybe grab a bite to eat.

However, it's no surprise that red eyes are not fun.  I can usually catch a nap on a plane without a problem but there is a big difference between a nap and trying to get close to a full nights sleep.  A coach seat on any airplane is a far cry from the Ritz Carlton but there are ways to make your experience a little better.  This is an overview of what has worked for me.