I'm the BEST Travel Agent, EVER!

That is, in my own opinion! Just kidding, but I do think I am pretty kick a**, otherwise, why would I be in such high demand?

Okay, okay, I am just stroking my own ego here, but seriously, I must be okay at it. Lately my calendar has been extremely full with travel related planning. I work three days a week for Cathy, and almost every foreseeable Friday from now through May I will be filling in for Pat, either all day, or at least a half a day. And then there's the travel agent-related questions I get on Facebook, which I actually love answering (and for those of you still waiting to hear back from me, I promise I haven't forgotten you!).

It is probably for this reason that my brain is a little flustered at times. The other day, after I was SO excited about figuring out and booking hotel rooms, I was on cloud 8 (cloud 9 comes once EVERYTHING is taken care of). Well, I wake up the next morning to an email on my Blackberry that says FAX------. Okay, that's weird. But its on my Blackberry, so I'm not worried about opening a virus (can you get a computer virus on a Smartphone?). I open the message and this is what it says:

Open het bijgevoegde document. Dit document is naar u verstuurd via de scanner van de HP LaserJet M3027

Okay, well that's some foreign language (duh!). Let me tell you how much I love having Google on my phone (and ask anyone, I use the hell out of Google on my phone!): select and copy the text from the message, open Google in my Browser, type translate then hit paste, and VOILA!

Open the attached document. This document is sent to you via the scanner HP LaserJet M3027

Okay, so I open the attachment (still on my phone, seriously, am I crazy doing this, can you get a computer virus on your phone?) and its an invoice from the hotel in Amsterdam for a no show fee of  €140! Uh, oh! What did I do?!?!? Apparently I booked our room for that night, instead of for March! I guess when I clicked Check Rates, and a new window popped up, the dates were reset. (It kept happening to me while trying to book rooms in London through Holiday Inn Express, should have paid more attention.) I emailed the hotel, and a very nice woman emailed me back that they would refund the charge and make the reservation for the correct dates! Yay, we're back in business! BUT, this means that I need to be extra diligent at checking dates and all. This was Tueday.
 
Yesterday, I worked at the travel agency in the afternoon. I had a lady come in with her husband and two adorable daughters, wanting to book Disney. YES! I am all over this, its my specialty! We were having so much fun, discussing what all they could do, and I was blowing her mind talking about Fast Passes, that I did not realize it was 10 after 5 until Jenny came to my desk and said she had to get going! Oops! So I finished up with the lady, and packed up to go, still on my high of being the best Disney agent out there (again, just me and my big head! I know I sound conceited, but every now and then, I think I'm allowed).
 
I drive home, and when I go to get out of the car I notice the red light on my Blackberry is blinking, Somebody loves me! I open up the email and see three, THREE emails from United Airlines. My first thought is What the Heck? Wait, I booked our tickets on EasyJet earlier that day, but EasyJet has nothing to do with United. What could this be. Duh, open the message and find out! Here is what the message first said:

Subject: Your United Airlines confirmation- March 10, 2011- Orlando, FL to Washington, DC

OH MY GOD!!!! What have I done? Who did I book from Orlando to DC, and WHY would I book someone from Orlando to DC?!?!?! I was standing outside my back door, about to have a heart attack, when it occured to me, MONIQUE!!! Monique was going to book her tickets through United! Yes, that must be it! So I send Monique a text that I got her itinerary THREE times, and my phone rings, its Monique! Her roomie heard my text come through and thought I was calling, so lovely bestie that she is, she called me back, where I explained the coronary she just gave me. Enter Monique and her roomie laughing the a**es off, at my expense! Her roomie loves to laugh at me, but I allow it, because I am usually being classic Lonnie, who deserves the laughs.
 
So, very long story short, I will now proceed to read everything 18 times before I click, or over react, plus I think I will have 27 different people verify my work after I have read it 18 times, before I click. Which totally makes me the BEST TRAVEL AGENT EVER!

The Jetway and Big Ben are In Sight!

I have spent the last couple weeks working on arrangements for our trip to Europe. Since my last post, we have made leaps and bounds on decisions about where to go and what to see. After a particularly interesting conversation with Monique about Traci, and how she could get lost trying to find her way out of a wet paper sack (or in her own words, she's like an "uncharged GPS. Potential yes, but the nonetheless lacking."), we decided our trip should start in London! I absolutely love London, and I am so excited to be taking my sister there. This is a perfect place to start her crash course on Europe because, of course, they speak ENGLISH! (Well sort of, but it will be easier for her to understand than, lets sa,y starting her off where they speak FLEMISH!)

We have decided to spend 4 nights in London, then fly to Amsterdam, where we will spend 3 nights. After Traci gets her fill (which I am sure WON'T happen on this trip, unfortunately) of Holland and the Netherlands, we will train through Brussels, and on the Ghent, which happens to be the same train station for Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, and where Traci will be living for three weeks once we leave. Actually even longer, because all three of us will stay at her B&B for the last two nights before Monique and I move on to a hotel near the Brussels airport for our morning departures.

I am getting so excited about this trip, but I am completely on information overload when it comes to booking hotel rooms, looking for tours, researching sites, and everything else that planning a European vacation involves (rent a car versus take the train, etc). Its crazy to me how much work this is, and I'M A TRAVEL AGENT! I guess it really is easier booking a trip for someone else! :)

We have all of our hotel rooms reserved, so that is a load off. Most of the transportation details have been decided, so that is good too. Now comes the fun part: deciding what we are going to do in each of the cities! I have some great ideas, and we have already decided on a few sites (Madame Tussauds in London, the flower marts and cheese farms in Amsterdam, and this mini-Europe model park in Brussels), now we are just waiting for more input from Traci on what she does (and DOESN'T) want to see.

If someone had told me a year ago that I would have the opportunity to travel through Europe again with Monique, AND I'd get to bring my sister as well, I would have laughed and said yeah right! But here we are planning hopefully one of the greatest trips ever. I just hope it lives up to everything (and exceeds!) Traci is dreaming of. What better gift could I give one of my favorite people?