Girls Getaway Guide 
In This Issue
The Getaway Girl® News
The Getaway Girl® Online
Upcoming Events
Career Reinvention: Find Your Inner Getaway Girl
Submit Your Photo
Girls Getaway to The South of France
Join Our Mailing List 

 The Getaway Girl® in the News

 

Voluntourism Getaways - Daytime TV Show

voluntourism  

Here are some suggestions from The Getaway Girl® during her recent Daytime TV Show segment.  To view, click on image above.   

 

Top Travel Destinations for 2012 - Daytime TV Show  

 top travel     

Where are some of the best places to visit in 2012 and why should you go there?  Check out these Top Travel Destinations for 2012 recommendations from The Getaway Girl®!  

 

Heartbeat Radio for Women-Weekly Travel Segments 

Heartbeat Radio Gender media is nothing new and in the past three years there has been a proliferation of internet sites that focus on women and also stream women's talk shows.   

 

Heartbeat Radio believes in creating positive strides and fulfilling the heart and soul needs of listeners...to connect with women as we share many of the same emotions and challenges. Women are society's caregivers.

Why radio for women? Well why not? Women are instrumental in shaping the world and play a significant role as we are responsible for making the mold from which our leaders and all others rise. There is something special too about the 'sisterhood' and how many of us see life in the larger scheme of things.

The format comprises Adult Contemporary, with a flavor of Pop and R&B music and throughout the day informative segments and talk shows deal primarily with issues that affect the lifestyles of women. Produced segments and talk shows include topics such as parenting, gender issues, relationship building, motivation, health, beauty, fashion, career advice, financial wisdom, culinary skills, etiquette, romance, biographies, book reviews, as well as travel with Casey Wohl, Heartbeat's Travel Correspondent.

Tune in every Thursday at 9:30 AM (EST) and Sundays at noon (EST) for the latest travel information with Casey Wohl, The Getaway Girl®. You can listen online at www.HeartbeatRadioUSA.com. You can also download episodes here.  
Visit The Getaway Girl® Online 

Upcoming Events

February 27: Spring Break Travel Deals - Daytime TV Show
Every year, several destinations offer incredible Spring Break Travel Deals.  And this year is no different.  The Getaway Girl® Casey Wohl's travel recommendation will air on February 27.  To check dates and times in your city, visit www.DaytimeOnline.tv.

March 24-April 5
Girls Getaway to Italy   Nothing like a tour of Italy's finest to rev your taste buds and help you find your inner Italian chef.  With Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice on the list of places to visit, we are sure to have one amazing trip!  

April 20-29
Girls Getaway to Queensland, Australia  
PADI, the world's largest scuba diver training organization, is hosting a trip to dive the Great Barrier Reef.  To get scuba certified, we'll complete eLearning and confined water dives locally, and will be able to complete open water dives on the trip.  In addition to diving, we will participate in other activities such as Jungle Surfing, spa treatments at Palm Cove, and a Dreamtime Walk through Mossman Gorge in Daintree National Park. G'day, mate! 
Career Reinvention: Find Your Inner Getaway Girl

 What if both your personal and professional lives were both turned upside down in just a few months? What would you do? How would you cope?

For Casey Wohl, The Getaway Girl®, the best therapy was to combine her two passions: travel and her girlfriends. During her travels, she found an exciting, unfilled niche in the travel industry as no one was writing city-specific travel guides for women. Casey thought she could help fill that niche and check off an item on her bucket list of writing a book. After forming Gray Dog Publishing, she wrote and published her first book, the Girls Getaway Guide to Orlando: Leave Your Baggage at Home®. Two months after it was published, Barnes & Noble called her requesting copies of the book for their stores. And the rest is history...


Fast forward a few years and thousands of travel miles later, the requests started coming in for Casey to appear on TV, radio and online to serve as a "been there, done that" travel expert. After her own Career Reinvention, she now helps other people find their true passion and "reinvent" themselves both professionally and personally.

A naturally-gifted speaker, Casey's sense of humor, honesty and direct approach have received outstanding reviews from her audiences nationwide, whether youth, business professionals or women's groups. She tailors her message in new and vibrant ways by combining her passion, personal and professional experiences and travels to engage and entertain audiences.

Casey's popularity is reflective of her natural talent for relationship-building and innate ability to connect with people of all ages and walks of life. She is excited about challenging people to achieve greatness and she loves sharing her insider tips to getting there.

Casey is a seasoned public relations professional who has done everything from organize a press conference for the President of the United States to executing an international media and crisis communications campaign for Florida's citrus industry after a series of hurricanes severely damaged the coveted citrus crop and trees. She holds a M.A in Communications from the University of Florida and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Rollins College.

For more information about Casey's Speaking Engagement and Opportunities, visit the

Submit Your Photo: Girlfriend Getaway to Mexico
mexico aqua aerobics
Phyllis Stoller submitted this photo of her aqua aerobics class taken during a Girlfriend Getaway to Mexico. 

She writes: "In January, 15 friends joined up for a group discount to a budget spa: Ixtapan Spa, in colonial Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico.   The Spa Classic package included exercise, walks, weight loss diet and holistic/organic spa treatments.   A bargain price for the single supplement meant we all took single rooms as a treat for this girls getaway.  Ixtapan Spa is 65 miles from Mexico City, and an hour from silver capital,Taxco.  Hotel-offered excursions are cheap.  We also wandered Ixtapan de la Sal safely buying linens, silver, campy bags with Frida Kahlo icons, Mexican vanilla.   You can stroll comfortably in the town, even as a woman solo."

Greetings!


Some of this year's top travel destinations are topping lists because of the unique and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities they are offering.  To find out what they are, watch The Getaway Girl's recent Daytime TV Show segment.     


Girl Getaway to The South of France        

 

With 300 days of sunshine per year, 560+ miles of group on pontooncoastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts, 3,000 restaurants, countless casinos, incredible shopping (from Versace to Gucci) and the Cannes Film Festival, its no wonder that the French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur) was one of the first modern resort areas and is still a popular vacation destination.  Located on the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, the French Riviera is the perfect place for a Girlfriend Getaway.   

pontoonOn the famous Boulevard de La Croisette in the heart of downtown Cannes, next to the beautiful sandy beach is the iconic Hotel Martinez, which would be our luxurious home for the next two nights.  Stars such as Eva Longoria, Benicio del Toro, Tim Burton, Woody Allen, Javier Bardeem, Naomie Watts, Meg Ryan, Lionel Richie, Pharrel Williams and Mila Jovovitch have all stayed at the Hotel Martinez, so (of course) we felt right at home as we each checked into our own suite with an outdoor terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
zplageThe Hotel's own private beach, Zplage, is just steps across the boulevard from the front door and evokes a laid back atmosphere in the daytime with sun loungers on the pontoon, as well as delicious food and drinks.  At night in the summer, Zplage turns into a Cannes hot spot with music (focusing on disco and seventies), cocktails and a tapas menu.  

After lunch at Zplage's waterfront restaurant, we were spatreated to our choice of spa treatments.  I chose the one-hour Lancaster Facial Absolute Oxygen Sensation.  For most facials, you must chose either moisture or anti-aging.  However, with this treatment options, you no longer have to choose. This beauty ritual does it all, responding precisely to what your skin needs with in-depth re-oxygenation and regeneration of the skin. After our spa treatments, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at the Zplage Beach Club with our own sun loungers on the pontoon and a bottle of rose wine. I quickly found out that in the French Riviera, they don't ask if you want wine, they simply ask you what color wine you want.

After some relaxation in our luxurious rooms, our HM bedroomevening began with champagne at the hotel bar, Bar l'Amiral that features live music and both indoor and outdoor seating, and was followed by dinner at the Bistro Le Relais Restaurant.  We all turned in early as we were still trying to adapt to the time change. 
group on boatThe next morning we left the hotel's pontoon, boarded our private boat and made our way to Saint-Honorat Island, which is located off the Bay of Cannes, opposite the Martinez Hotel.  In the year 405 on this parcel of land in the middle of the sea, a monk named Saint Honorat established a place for the monastic life.  In 1869, the island saw the arrival of the first Cistercian monks from the monastery of Senanque.  Today, 20 monks reside there and maintain a vineyard, Lerins Abbey, which produces about 40,000-50,000 bottles per year.  The monks of Saint-Honorat (or Monk Island as I called it) are earning acclaim for their wines.  We were fortunate enough to enjoy a private wine tasting while at the island.  

After working up an appetite tasting wine, we enjoyed little fishlunch at the island restaurant La Tonnelle, which involved more wine (and some very small fish; a French delicacy), then returned to Cannes by boat.  The French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast, so the boat ride provided close views of some incredible yachts. The Riviera hosts 50% of the world's super yacht fleet, with 90% of all super yachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime.

Once back, we toured the old town of Cannes "Le Suquet" with its interesting history, lovely narrow streets and amazing views from the top of the Musee de la Castre.  After a hotel tour (including the 10,700 square foot suite; one of the largest in Europe), we enjoyed a delectable dinner at La Palme d'Or Restaurant, a two-star Michelin restaurant featuring appetizerChef Christian Sinicropi.  This was one of the most decadent meals I have ever eaten with the presentation just as spectacular as the food.  In fact, the chef and his wife make all of the  serving dishes by hand so they create the exact type of presentation for each entree.  We started with the Dublin Bay Prawn, marinated and roasted, as a tartare seasoned with sour and smoked flavors with splits of black truffle, purple Hollandaise sauce, basil leaves and combawa citrus fruits, and a cubic of beetroot gazpacho.  Our entree was The Cheek of Veal, preserved and served with young carrots with mimosa seasoning and zests of citrus fruits.  After that, we were presented with a selection of cheeses, a pre-dessert, then the restaurant's signature dessert, The Chocolate 'Palme d'Or' that is creamy and crispy golden Jivara chocolate with a Tonka bean ice cream.  And if that was not enough, we enjoyed herb tea steamed right in front of us after the herbs were hand cut from the plant.  To top it off, we enjoyed fireworks over the Mediterranean Sea thanks to a Russian wedding reception that was taking place on the beach just outside our table's balcony. Then, on our way out of the restaurant, we received a parting gift....more dessert!

After dinner, Nubia, Lara and I made our way to La Chunga, a piano bar/club located just across the street from our hotel, for a night on the town.  After all, we were in Cannes on a Saturday night.  One minute we are outside with our cocktails, the next minute we are inside and someone is pouring us champagne out of a huge bottle that is on fire.  Welcome to the party!  The party ended for me when an angry (and very intoxicated) French woman threw champagne on me.  It was very dramatic; like something out of a movie!

As we woke up the next morning to transfer to another luxurious hotel, the Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice, some of us were moving quite slowly as the festivities from the previous evening had caught up with us. Nice is the largest city in the French Riviera and home of France's third-largest airport.  Upon arrival at our new hotel, we had lunch dessert nicewith Liliana, the hotel's sales & marketing manager, at Le 3e located inside the hotel.  Although food wasn't the most important thing to me at the time, our server made the experience absolutely wonderful and the food was delicious.   

 

After lunch we drove to the ancient town of Eze to casey makes perfumeGalimard Perfumeria where we got to make our own perfume and learn about the making of and history of perfumes.   Caroline, a trained perfumer, helped us mix and concoct the perfect scent for each one of us during a six-step smelling, measuring and mixing process. 

The next morning was full of exploration as we were viewescorted by Olivia and Liliana around Old Town with our first stop at Castle Hill.   First the Greek Acropolis, then the medieval stronghold before the population settled at its foot to form what is now the Old Town.  The Castle Hill, which is 270 feet high, is a wonderful place to stroll. We enjoyed the incredible panorama over the city from Terrasse Frédéric Nietzsche, located on the highest point of the Castle Hill Park.  After our hike up Castle Hill, we toured the Lascaris Palace, which was the residence of the Vintimille family from 1657 to the French Revolution.  This historic building was restored after 1963 to become a museum, and it now houses antique instruments.  All of Old Town is a spice storelovely setting of Baroque architecture, delectable restaurants and a maze of narrow streets lined with amazing shops and boutiques.  One of our favorites, Girofle et Cannelle, sells all types of salts and peppers in a very interactive manner.

We stopped at the wine cellar Cave Bianchi, which was started in 1860 and is one of the oldest wine cellars in Nice, for a wine tasting and sampled French wines in the same caves as Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.  Franck gave us a great overview of the history of wine and the current wine revolution that began in 1985.   He explained that the current revolution in wine is rose wines, as the "pink wave" started in St Tropez 20 years ago and has moved to London then New York City then San Francisco and now throughout the rest of the world.  He made the profound statement that, "wine is the one thing you can taste that can remind you of a place or time as it evokes memories." 

After the tasting, we enjoyed an outdoor lunch at Le Grand Balcon followed by shopping at Cours jewelrySaleya, one of the busiest parts of Old Nice with an antique market on Mondays.  After a quick stop at Alziari, a well-known olive oil store, we made our way back to the hotel and prepared for our farewell French Riviera dinner at La Petite Maison with Monsieur Christophe Aldunate, the hotel's general manager, and Liliana who told us this was one of the best restaurants in all of Nice, and Bono's (of the band U2) favorite place to eat when in town.  It is very popular with celebrities and people of influence.  In fact, Barbara Streisand was there a week before we dined there, and Dita Von Teese, a popular burlesque dancer, was eating there while we were there.  Along with the terrific food, great company and honest host/owner, we were thrilled last dinnerwhen Akon's "Sexy Bitch" song started playing and the staff escorted an ignited sign that read "Welcome to Nice!" to our table.  It was the perfect way to end our perfect trip to the French Riviera.  Many thanks to Concorde Hotels and Laura Davidson PR for hosting an amazing and completely unforgettable trip.  Merci!  

end of trip 

Thanks for reading! Wishing you safe travels!    

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