Girls Getaway Guide 
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Girlfriend Getaway Photos
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One Girl's Getaway to London
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 The Getaway Girl� in the News

Festival Destinations-Daytime TV 

Interested in attending a festival festivaldedicated to chocolate?  How about running away and joining the circus?  Or, how about a festival dedicated to duct tape?  To watch this recent Daytime TV Segment on Festival Destinations, click on the image above. 

 

Examiner.com

GGG to Key West CoverMany thanks to the Cleveland Travel Examiner for their recent online article, Books to take to Florida, for mentioning the Girls Getaway Guide to Key West: Leave Your Baggage at Home.  To view the article, visit http://dbhas.info/dFCXyo


Upcoming Events
  

April 1

Daytime TV Appearance

Looking for a great Spring Travel Destination?  Tune in to the Daytime TV Show today!  

 

April 1-3

Girls Getaway to Palm Beach 

With beautiful beaches, world-class restaurants, art and antiques and one-of-a-kind shopping destinations like Worth Avenue, Palm Beach is the perfect place for a Girls Getaway.  Follow our adventures as we enjoy our stay at The Brazilian Court Resort and Beach Club.

 

April 5
Orlando Woman's Conference
Join The Getaway Girl� on April 5 at the Orlando Women's Conference - a day for information, inspiration and empowerment! She will be there speaking about her Career Reinvention at The Peabody Hotel.    

 

May 1-2
Rum Renaissance Festival, Miami Beach
An international celebration that showcases more than 100 rums from the Caribbean and around the world, returns to sunny South Florida. The Getaway Girl� will learn about the unique celebration of the fine art of distilling, maturing and blending of fine cane spirits.  Tough job! 


May 11
American Business Women Association Meeting, Lakeland, FL

ABWA's Mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and to provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support and national recognition.   The Getaway Girl� will speak at their Lakeland, FL chapter meeting. 

 

May 24
Better TV Taping, NYC
Better, a nationally syndicated lifestyle TV show, aims to make your life "better" by focusing on trends and hot topics that affect your family and relationships.  Past guests include Paula Abdul, Kim Kardashian, Jerry Seinfeld, Vanessa Williams, Ivanka Trump, Naomi Judd and Maria Shriver.  Follow The Getaway Girl� on Twitter and Facebook as she travels to NYC to tape a travel segment.

August 8-9
Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Annual Conference - Naples, FL 

The Getaway Girl will speak at FPRA's 73rd Annual Conference, PR 2011: The Evolution of Public Relations, which will join PR professionals from around the region to enhance their career.  

 Girlfriend Getaway Photos


This month's Girlfriend Getaway pic was submitted by Phyllis Stoller of New York City. 
llama
She writes: "Here I am with three friends in central Colombia having lunch at a riverside restaurant with our friend 'llama.' This was taken in December 2010 on a group trip I organized for 16 of us. We are midway between Bogota and Villa de Levya."  
Visit The Getaway Girl Online 

Greetings!

Where has this year gone?  It's hard to believe it's already Spring. If you haven't already, now is a great time to start planning your Summer Vacations.  If you have questions, email us at [email protected].  We'd love to help!



One Girl's
Christmas Getaway to London     

Christmas 2010 was definitely the coldest Christmas I have ever experienced. I am from Florida and have always been with my family for the holidays in the Sunshine State.  For 2010, my red busfriend and I thought it would be fun to do a Girls Getaway to London over the holidays.  We were both single and looking for some adventure this holiday season (think the movie, "The Holiday" with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet).  With the departure date a month away, my friend and I had a falling out.  Alone in London is not at all bad, but alone in a foreign country during Christmas was something I had never experienced before.

 

While the cold weather and ruined friendship londoninitially put a damper on the trip, I found London to be a magnificent place during the holidays!  Not only is it a beautiful city, but the warmth and hospitality from Londoners more than made up for the frigidness I experienced prior to the trip.

 

Upon arriving at Gatwick and settling into my bangers and mashWandsworth area flat, I went to the neighborhood pub with my friend Andy and ordered the Bangers & Mash.  Of course these bangers didn't disappoint, and after a few drinks, I called it a night to catch up on my sleep.

 

casey big benMy first full day in London was spent seeing the sights aboard the Big Bus Tour (tickets can be purchased via www.visitbritainshop.us) where we saw all of London's best attractions, such as Tower of London, The London Eye, Trafalgar Square, St Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Di got married), Tower Bridge, Hyde Park, Haymarket, and (of course) Westminster Abbey (where Prince William will get married in April).  This hop on, hop off tour was a great way to see the city.  I tower bridgehopped off at Hyde Park to enjoy the Winter Wonderland and get a cup of Hot Mulled Wine.  I also got off at the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels (and tons of people enjoying the ice skating rink outside).

 

After the sightseeing, I realized how hungry I cockfosters signwas.  I took a north bound tube (underground) to meet my friend Sharron (a fellow travel writer I met in Montreal) and her friends in the town of Cockfosters (seriously!).  We had a great dinner and then hit one of their favorite local bars, The Orange Tree, which was appropriate for a girl from Florida.  As more friends arrived, we enjoyed cocktails and some laughs as they did their very best to teach me proper English jargon (i.e. swim costume). 

 

The next day (Dec. 24) I caught the train from Liverpool to County Somerset to my stop, Tiverton Parkway, where I connected with my girls at barfriend Beth (who I met on press trip to St. Lucia). She picked me up and showed me around her home town.  I met her friends and stopped off for a few at the local pub, then we drove to Taunton where her parents live (and where we would spend the next two nights and Christmas Day).

 

During this entire trip, I had been meeting some brit famof the nicest people who helped me find my way, gave me directions and brought me into their circle of friends as if we had known each other for 10 years.  However, Sam and Jane (Beth's parents) went above and beyond as they took in a complete stranger (me) for one of the most traditional and family-focused days of the year - Christmas.  Plus, I knew I loved Jane when I sawtallulah her Christmas tree, Tallulah.  We were later joined by Gemma and Oliver (Beth's siblings) as we opened Christmas presents (Jane and Beth had even wrapped some for me so I didn't feel left out), watched movies, enjoyed Christmas lunch, and watched the Queen's Speech (thanks Sam for making me stand up and salute her...alone). 

 

I returned to London on Boxing Day with my xclusive croppedtwo English sisters as Beth and Gemma came to stay with me for a few nights.  Although exhausted from the trip, we rallied and joined their step brother, Beau, at a London hot spot to help celebrate his friends birthday.  After this crazy night, "what happens on Boxing Day...will not be repeated."  We hung out the next day, watched chick flicks and ordered Chinese take out as we reminisced about the past few days and planned for the girls to come visit me in Florida.

 

I was sad to see Beth and Gemma leave, but I camden stableswas excited to continue exploring London.  Everyone told me I had to check out Camden Market, so I navigated my way via public transportation to the area and met my friend, Eli, there.  He gave me a great tour of the area and told me about the history and how it has evolved over the years.  I loved checking out the "stalls" in the Stables Market that housed antiques, clothes, hat, collectibles, home goods and vintage clothes.  There was so much to see and so much I wanted to buy, but I knew my suitcase was already bursting at the seams.  One of our last dress at boonstops was a boutique called Boon.  While most of the dresses were not my style, I did find one that I fell in love with.  After speaking with the clerk, I realized he didn't just work there, but he was the owner of the store and designer.  As I paid for my new find, Boon told me that Lady Gaga always stops to see him when she's in town and bought eight dresses (no meat) from him.

 

After a late lunch at Fogg's Restaurant & Bar, I said goodbye to Eli and headed back to my flat to start the packing process.  I had an early plane to catch to Dublin the next morning.

 

Although I was apprehensive about this trip duegroup girls to the unfortunate circumstances that happened before I left, I could not have asked for a better trip to a more hospitable city with some of the warmest people I've ever met.  It is true - you learn a lot about yourself when you travel alone.  In hindsight, I wouldn't have done the trip any differently.  Here's to new friends in 2011!

 

Thanks for reading! Wishing you safe travels!     Casey Dancing in St Lucia

Sincerely,   
Casey Wohl, The Getaway Girl &
Author of the Girls Getaway Guide series