Girls Getaway Guide 
In This Issue
The Getaway Girl® News
The Getaway Girl® Online
Submit Your Photo: Turks & Caicos
"12 Days 'til Christmas" Getaway Giveaway
Girls Getaway to Milan & Lake Como
Join Our Mailing List 

 The Getaway Girl� in the News

 

The Getaway Girl Foundation - Daytime TV Show  

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With its mission "to empower women of all ages, cultures and diversity through travel and related opportunities to transform their perspective, self-confidence and quality of life," The Getaway Girl Foundation has been launched.  Watch this Daytime TV Show segment to learn more.     

  

Iconic Movie Hotels - Better TV Show

weekend Some of the most iconic movies in Hollywood take place at some of the best hotels in the world. You can experience what you see on the big screen. The Getaway Girl, Casey Wohl helps check out a few famous hotels that you can check in to today on this Better TV Show segment.  

Visit The Getaway Girl Online 

Submit Your Photo:
Girls Getaway to
Turk & Caicos 

This month's Girlfriend Getaway photo was submitted by Ginya Carnahan who was one of the lucky winner's from last year's 5th Annual '12 Days til Christmas' Getaway Giveaway.  She writes:

"We landed in Providenciales after a pleasant hour and 20 minute flight.  The airport was tiny, but adequately equipped to perform the necessary customs functions before admitting us for our visit.  A crowd of folks was equally anxious to claim their bags, grab a cab and get their vacation started.
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When we arrived at The Ocean Club, everything was in order and the staff welcomed us with friendly smiles.  'Action Jackson' escorted us to our suite, a neat-as-a-pin, spacious unit facing the most amazing beach and cove of turquoise water I had ever seen.  (I live in an area known for its beaches - but this one was truly exquisite!)
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We ditched our city clothes, donned some shorts and headed for the Cabana Bar.  Our flight schedules had precluded any lunch and we were hungry.  Fish of the day - grouper caught that morning - was my choice and it was wonderful.  Fueled and up for adventure, we hit the beach - just a few short steps from the Cabana Bar.  I was mesmerized by the beach and the water - I hope that first vision of the beach will stay in my memory forever.  Just in case it fades, I took more than 400 photos during our 4-day stay.  
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The trip was just what the doctor ordered.  We slept late, indulged in some pampering, ate fabulous meals, shopped in the small stores and enjoyed each others company.  We both brought Kindles and spent many pleasant hours by the pool or on the beach - reading with our eyes closed!

I wish to thank Casey and her Girls Getaway Guide organization for this amazing trip.  And I encourage everyone out there to register for this year's 12-day Getaway Giveaway.  I want to enter again, but will restrain myself.  Someone else deserves to have a getaway experience like I did."

 The Getaway Girl's� 6th Annual "12 Days 'til Christmas" Getaway Giveaway

logo To help people enjoy the gift of travel, the Girls Getaway Guide� is pleased to announce The Getaway Girl's� sixth annual "12 Days 'til Christmas" holiday promotion.
gg on beach In an effort to help people beat the holiday madness and Leave Your Baggage at Home�, the Girls Getaway Guide� will host a countdown to the big day. Women everywhere can visit the Girls Getaway Guide� online at GirlsGetawayGuide.net to sign up for thousands of dollars in fabulous giveaways, which are sure to provide welcome holiday cheer during this stressful time of year.
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The winners will be selected on each of  the 12 business days starting Dec. 3. Every day leading up to Christmas, a terrific Girls Getaway Guide� prize will be given away to a randomly-selected entrant.

Many thanks to the following hotels, resorts and destinations that donated vacation prizes:

Arizona Tourism Travel Center
            
Bimini Sands Resort & Marina - Bahamas

Cedars Tennis Resort & Chiles Group - Longboat Key, FL
            
Costa d'Este Beach Resort  - Vero Beach, FL  
            
Gaylord Palms Resort - Orlando, FL

Grove Park Inn - Asheville, NC

Hotel Caravelle - U.S. Virgin Islands
                        
Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa

Ocean Club Resorts - Turks & Caicos

Orlando Premium Outlets
                            
Orlando Rosen Centre

Palace Resorts - Cancun, Mexico

Quality Inn & Suites Lake Havasu - AZ

Rosen Shingle Creek - Orlando, FL

Teton Springs Lodge & Spa - Idaho
                                                            
Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali Beach - Hawaii

To view the prize details and register to win, visit www.GirlsGetawayGuide.net
Greetings!


With a recent visit to NYC a few weeks ago, it is difficult to watch the devastation that occurred due to Sandy.  The Girls Getaway Guide sends thoughts and prayer to those impacted by the storm.   

Girls Getaway to Milan &
Lake Como

From Venice, we traveled by train for approximately two hours to Milan (pronounced 'Milano' in Italian).  It is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy as well as of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area is the 5th largest in the European Union and the largest in Italy with an estimated population of more than 4.3 million. Milan is recognized as a major fashion and design center, and is home to Milan Fashion Week.  It also is home to important museums, theaters (most notably opera), and landmarks that help the city attract its 2 million visitors annually.  

From our hotel, we enjoyed a nice walk park through Parco Sempione until we found Ristorante Pizzaria Momus on Via Arco.  Momus was the perfect place for us to stop and eat lunch as we felt right at home with the local businessmen who were enjoying their lunchtime break (with some beer or vino). We all had amazing meals, and Katie enjoyed one of the largest calzones we have ever seen!

Like most cities in Italy, Milan and its surrounding area has its own regional cuisine, which, as it is typical for Lombard cuisines, uses more frequently rice than pasta, and features almost no tomato.  After lunch, we continued walk as we strolled through the streets of Milan to the city's Duomo (or duomo cathedral).  Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente (Saint Mary Nascent), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola.  The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in the Italian state territory.  It was truly a remarkable site.  

Next to the Duomo, we visited the Milanese Galleria (or Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II), galleria which is a shopping area in the center of Milan. The structure is formed by two glass-vaulted arcades intersecting in an octagon covering the street connecting Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala.  Built from 1865-1877, the arching glass and cast iron roof that covers the street was the prototype for larger glazed shopping areas.  The central octagonal space is topped with a glass dome. The Milanese Galleria was larger in scale than its predecessors and was an important step in the evolution of the modern, enclosed shopping mall. It has inspired the use of the term galleria for many other shopping arcades and malls.  While there, we said hello to Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada.
vintage After our window shopping at the Galleria, we walked back to our hotel taking in numerous boutiques and galleries along the way.  Our last stop before entering our hotel was Lipstick Vintage that was directly across the street from our hotel.  We all went crazy for the amazing vintage finds from Chanel to Gucci to Versace to Pucci.  This store has incredible things. 

The decision on where to eat for our final Italian dinner together (Donna and Katie were leaving the next morning) was an important one.  Fortunately, mom and Katie led us just around the block from our hotel to La Libera.  This quaint restaurant served delicious traditional Italian specialties, seasonal, meat and fish.  Plus we had the most amazing server ever!  She was from Austria and had two young sons.  She said she desperately needed and Girls Getaway and told us to contact her when we head to Australia. During dinner we all stated what our "high" of the trip was and what our "low" was.  For me, the high point was every new memory we created and every time the four of us laughed and loved together.  These moments are absolutely irreplaceable!
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Because the four of us had such an amazing trip together, we had already started talking about where we wanted to travel to together in 2013.  We all started to settle on Istanbul.  To cement our decision, the first book I saw when I walked into La Libera was on Istanbul.  It is fate, and we all had to take our final photo together in Italy with the book.  

As Donna and Katie left us the next morning, my mom and I boarded a train to Como to experience the beautiful Lake Como area (George Clooney has a villa here).  Once we arrived by train, we hopped in a taxi that took us to our home for our last two nights in Italy, the Hotel Terminus, that was born from the complete renovation of the first 900 buildings in Como.  It has retained the style and comfortable taste typical of the Lombard aristocracy.  Today, the Terminus serves clientele who enjoy the lovely location on the shores of Lake Como, in the heart of the city.
windowshop After checking into our hotel, we walked to the Piazza Cavour and found the perfect place to eat and sip vino, Touring Cafe.  From there, we walked through the historic streets of Como to the Duomo and shopped the markets, boutiques, stores and galleries.  Here you will find everything from leather goods to Italian silk to dried fruits and meats. 

For dinner, our hotel recommended Trattoria del Gesumin that was within walking distance of our hotel.  This family-operated restaurant provided traditional and seasonal cuisine and was just what we were looking for.  The wine and Wild Boar Bruschetta was awesome!

The next day we boarded the boat taxi for a comomap tour of Lake Como and a stop at the town of Bellagio, which known as the Pearl of Como.  This little jewel of a town lies on the narrow strip of land that divides Lake Como into two branches.  The town is famous for its traditional, narrow streets, its steep steps, its hotels, restaurants and shops, as well as for its Neo-Classical villas that are surrounded by magnificent gardens.  During our boat ride we met Angelo who is from Bellagio and now splits his time between Bellagio and Florida (how ironic).  He and his wife have a travel agency specializing in Italian vacations.  He was nice enough to invite us to join him for a cup of cappuccino and gave us advice for exploring Bellagio.  Although the weather that day was dreary and rainy, we were determined to shop and sight see in Bellagio.  From town garden we walked to Villa Melzi to see the beautiful gardens and flowers.  We didn't pay admission to enter but enjoyed our stroll and the quick glimpse of one of the region's most popular attractions.  

For our lunch, we stopped at Angelo's recommendation of Ristorante Bilacus that has been operating since 1963.  It was a relaxing and enjoyable lunch in a lovely dining room. 

We packed our things and enjoyed a fairly low key night back at Touring Cafe that turns into a hip and trendy bar for the locals. Before we turned in for the night, we thought we would have one more glass of vino at our hotel's restaurant.  As soon as we walked in, my mom and I almost fell over.  Our server looked clooney exactly like George Clooney!!!  We found out his name is Mauricio and he has been featured in several magazines as George Clooney's Italian Double.  We had a great time with Mauricio as he showed us his Clooney look-a-like materials and brought us the final treat from the Tiramisu Trail...he said it was The Best!
Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you soon.  Safe travels!    

Sincerely,    Casey Wohl, The Getaway Girl
Author of the Girls Getaway Guide series, as well as
Travel Correspondent for the Daytime TV Show & Heartbeat Radio for Women