August 1, 2026 • 54 mins
What transforms a vacation from ordinary to extraordinary?
In this episode of A Life Less Ordinary, The Wishing Well's travel experts, Terrie Dean and Harry Reif, explore one of the most important secrets to planning an unforgettable trip: choosing a landmark that inspires you and building your entire travel experience around it.
From the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Great Wall of China to Vatican City, the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty, Machu Picchu, and the Pyramids of Giza, discover why iconic destinations capture our imagination and how they can serve as the foundation for meaningful, life-changing travel experiences.
You'll hear personal travel stories, learn how landmarks become the anchor for a dream vacation, and follow a luxury Paris itinerary that turns a simple visit to the Eiffel Tower into an extraordinary journey filled with private tours, gourmet dining, river cruises, art, history, and unforgettable memories.
Whether you're planning your next vacation, creating a bucket list, or simply dreaming about seeing the world's most famous landmarks, this episode offers expert travel insights and inspiration to help you design a trip you'll remember forever. Topics covered:
In this episode of A Life Less Ordinary, The Wishing Well's travel experts, Terrie Dean and Harry Reif, explore one of the most important secrets to planning an unforgettable trip: choosing a landmark that inspires you and building your entire travel experience around it.
From the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Great Wall of China to Vatican City, the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty, Machu Picchu, and the Pyramids of Giza, discover why iconic destinations capture our imagination and how they can serve as the foundation for meaningful, life-changing travel experiences.
You'll hear personal travel stories, learn how landmarks become the anchor for a dream vacation, and follow a luxury Paris itinerary that turns a simple visit to the Eiffel Tower into an extraordinary journey filled with private tours, gourmet dining, river cruises, art, history, and unforgettable memories.
Whether you're planning your next vacation, creating a bucket list, or simply dreaming about seeing the world's most famous landmarks, this episode offers expert travel insights and inspiration to help you design a trip you'll remember forever. Topics covered:
- How to choose the perfect travel landmark
- Turning bucket-list destinations into complete vacation experiences
- The Eiffel Tower, Vatican City, Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, and more
- Luxury travel planning tips from experienced travel advisors
- Why meaningful travel begins with a dream
- Creating memories that last a lifetime
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary, the travel showing podcast from
your friends at the wishing Well two forty three f
Avenue in Harrisonburg and online at the wishing Well Don
PiZZ The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge, travel
agency and a lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel showing podcast
hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty years of
experience in the travel industry to help guide you to
(00:21):
great experiences in your travel, whether it be around the block,
around the country, or around the world. Now, let's bring
in Terry Dean and say.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hello, Hey Chris, Hello, Helloa, Harry it is.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It's always good to be with you on a Saturday morning.
Let's say hi to Harry as well.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Well, thank you sir. It's a good week. Indeed, we've been.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Doing a little celebrating around here.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Chris birthday week.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Oh we talked about that last week. I'm sorry, I said,
I sorry. Last week I didn't know, and then I
didn't remember to even wish you a happy birthday this week.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It is okay, you get every opportunity right now.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Let me do it. Happy birthday, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yes you also, it's both of us.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Oh, I didn't realize I'm the worst friend.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Actually mine was the twenty fourth, Harry's was the twenty eighth,
and we were celebrating around the office and actually, I
have to have Harry tell you about a most amazing
gift that we prepared for him and gifted to him
here at the wishing well. Harry, what did you get?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
This is travel history, Chris, Okay.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
This goes back to the time when airline tickets were
actually on paper, on multipart forms.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Do you remember that.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, I think maybe one or two flights. I had
to do that back long.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Long long ago. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
They'd write an airline ticket and if you were going
to four destinations, this one ticket would show all four
of those destinations and they would rip them off one
coupon at a time, kind of like I don't know,
going to the grocery store or something like that. You
take out one coupon for each segment of that trip.
But the most important part about that and this gift,
(02:05):
relates to the fact that one airline would collect the
money for that ticket from the travel agent that actually
wrote it, and they did that by using the old
fashioned charge machines that had a plate in there and
it would have that airlines insignia on it and a
little coding number. Well, Terry managed somehow to collect about
(02:28):
a dozen of those. It's either twelve or fourteen of
those important plates that were guarded like gold by travel
agents at that time, because that's who got charge for
the ticket, and she framed them for me and I
have a history. And it's got some airline names that
(02:48):
some of the listeners may remember.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
I'm going to start with just a couple of them
in there.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
It's got airlines like branef Airlines, Northeast Airlines, not Northwest
Northwest Oorians, but Northeast Airlines, Air Florida of course, it's
got United Airlines, Piedmont Airlines. But the one in there
that really caught my eye and is a very famous,
famous luxury airline. Can you think back and remember who
(03:17):
I might be thinking of. This was like the way
to fly back in the sixties and the seventies.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
I mean, p Am, that's it.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, a good job. Yeah, it's got a pan Am
plate which is very very rare.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And for those that are in the know, Chris, if
you are an airline aviation officionado, these were referred to
as airline validation plates, that's the official term for them,
and they are quite collectible right now. They are to
people in the airline industry or who have ever served
(03:52):
in any capacity in the aviation industry or in the
travel industry. They are to travel agents or people like
that what baseball cards are to sports enthusiasts. So they're
quite collectible.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And the pan ams like a Mickey Mantle card. Okay,
I believe that, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So anyway, it was a fun, fun week.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
So that's hanging in my office now, alongside my plaque
from the old chairman of Eastern Airlines, Frank Borman, thanking
me for my business.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Do you have the machine to put those in so
you can actually, you know, do the.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We don't have the machine to go with it, but
they'll never be used again, I can promise you that.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Yeah, those are for paper tickets. It was very very
very interesting and very nostalgic. And I opened that up
and I thought, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Remember though, so exciting.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Well, and the compilation of all of those took about
five years to collect all of those. Oh wow, to
finally get them all together, So it really is kind
of a neat thing to see them framed and up
and you know, just kind of reminisce a little bit.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Well, we were celebrating here in the Carmichael House this
week as well. My step son's birthday was on Wednesday.
His is on the twenty ninth, and Becca and my
anniversary was on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Oh well, happy anniversary and happy birthday.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
So between the four of us, we've got the whole
week booked out.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Got a lot of celebrations going on, don't we We're
going to go now we talk about travels, Yeah, which
is my next favorite.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
So our show today, it's entitled The Keys to a
Great Vacation. It's the first of a multi part series,
which I always enjoyed doing these because I feel like
we can get a little deeper into the conversation. We
can not worry about the time as much because we
can keep this conversation going on for a couple of weeks.
So what is this series going to be about?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, so we're going to really sort of and I
say this a lot here on this show, but it's
kind of important, I think, to people who travel Chris
to sometimes not just throw a dart, although there can
be some satisfaction in that sometimes, but to Actually, you know,
(06:09):
I'm all about planning. I think planning is a great
tool to engage when you're talking about travel and you
have to start somewhere. So we're going to do as
I said, what I talk about a lot here, and
that's peel this onion back to really help people understand
(06:32):
the basic steps in preparing and getting ready for a
trip with some things that you may not have ever
thought about starting before or the places to start before.
And we're today's show. We're going to cover two of
those in particular. We're going to start with landmarks and
(06:55):
how you might choose a landmark and then build an
entire trip around that. And then our second segment in
this show today is going to be how to build
a vacation around that dream. Because most vacations, most great vacations,
(07:16):
as Chris you well know, for the ones even that
you've taken, they start with a dream. So that's what
our show is going to be about today.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
This is going to be like a higher level college
course sort of.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, it's sort of a masterclass in designing and building
the ultimate vacation experience.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Well, let's get into it.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Yeah, as folks are sitting around on Saturday morning, or
if you're listening to the podcast on Sunday morning or
some other time. This is a great chance for you
to take out a note pad, take a couple notes,
and by the time Terry's done this morning, you're going
to hear kind of a formula for how to put
everything together and how to make sure that when you
(08:02):
do take your vacation you get the best bang for
the buck. You're going to have something that's really special
when you finish with this plan that she's going to
share with us today.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Well, I've got my note pet out and I'm ready
to take some notes.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Starry wonderful.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Okay, So I've been thinking Chris lately about and that's
how I sort of landed on this series and what
we should be talking about right now on a Life
Less Ordinary. But I've been thinking a lot about what
really makes a great vacation unforgettable. Is it the luxury hotel,
(08:38):
Is it the incredible food? Is it perfect weather? Well?
Sometimes yeah, sometimes, But if I'm being completely honest, I
think it's often something a lot simpler. It's that one
place that you've dreamed about seeing for years, maybe for
(09:01):
your entire life, and you know, exactly what I'm talking about.
Maybe it's sitting beneath the Eiffel Tower when the lights
start to sparkle and you've never been to Paris before.
Maybe it's watching the sunrise over Manchu Pichu. Maybe it's
looking up at the Great Pyramids of Egypt, as Harry
found himself doing. Or maybe finally walking through the ancient
(09:25):
streets of Rome if you've never been there before, that
could really be a big desire for you. For every traveler, though, Chris,
there's that one image that sort of quietly takes up
residence in your imagination and it sort of whispers to you.
It's like one day, one day, I'm going to do that.
(09:49):
And for me, I got to tell you that place
was the Cigaretta Familia in Barcelona. I had actually seen
the photographs, I had watched a lot of documentaries. I'd
read about Antonio Goudi's extraordinary vision, and to be sure,
(10:10):
this was an artist, magnificent, magnificent, he was amazing. But nothing,
and I mean truly nothing actually prepared me for the
moment that I walked through the doors of the Cigaretta Familia.
I remember stopping when I walked inside almost immediately. I
(10:36):
wasn't taking pictures, I wasn't talking. I think I was speechless.
I just stood there and I watched Chris. This sunlight
just absolutely pour through these magnificent stained glass windows, and
they are all, by the way, so perfectly perched in
(10:59):
the cigratta f amelia to capture that sunlight. That's what
they do. That's what this artist, Gouty, he was a master,
But that filled this entire cathedral with the most amazing
colors that really almost danced inside that cathedral. It was
(11:20):
one of those rare moments when you realize that there's
no photograph, no picture that is ever ever going to
capture what you are feeling. And that's when it struck me.
Sometimes we don't travel simply to visit a destination. Sometimes
(11:40):
we travel to meet that dream that we've been carrying
around for years and years. And I think that's why
landmarks hold such incredible power over us. They give us
something to anticipate, long before we've packed a suitcase or
even boarded the airplane. They're the places we save as
(12:03):
our screen backgrounds. We circle them in travel magazines, and
we pin them on our vision boards, and they become
those little promises we make to ourselves that I said before, Someday,
someday we promise ourselves I'm going to stand right there.
(12:24):
And there's another beautiful thing that happens when you finally do.
You instantly become connected with millions of other travelers who
have stood in the exact same place that you just did.
Doesn't matter if they're from Virginia, Brazil, Australia, Japan, South Africa.
(12:49):
Somebody smiles and says, I've been there. You post that
picture on your social media page, and that's what you're getting.
You get comments from people literally all over the gloe.
So now you're part of a really special community, a
club really, and immediately you understand one another. So now
(13:10):
travel Chris has given you, what else, a common language.
So from that practical standpoint, landmark destinations are also some
of the easiest vacations to plan. Think about it. Cities
are actually built around the world's great landmarks, and they've
(13:31):
welcomed visitors for generations. The transportation is easy to navigate
to them, Guided tours are plentiful, and there's always a
tour operator that's willing to help you out. The historic
sites surrounding them are well interpreted, and you've got the
things that we all crave once we get there. Restaurants
(13:53):
and hotels and museums and local experiences. They've all been
grown around those remarkable places, so it makes them really
wonderfully accessible, even for first time international travelers. And in
a lot of ways, these destinations almost seem to say,
come on, we'll help you discover something really extraordinary. And
(14:16):
I love that, especially if you're just beginning to explore
the world. But probably what I love the most is
what happens after you come home, because years later, somebody's
going to mention Paris or Barcelona or the Grand Canyon,
and all of a sudden, you're smiling before you even
(14:37):
realize it, because you're no longer remembering a monument, you
are remembering exactly how you felt standing there. Because landmarks
aren't just places we visit, their moments that become part
(14:58):
of our own story. We weave that story then into
our lives, into our memories. So let me ask you something, Chris.
If somebody handed you an airline ticket today and said
you can go anywhere in the world, but you can
only choose one landmark you've always dreamed of seeing.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Where would you go Vatican City.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I knew it.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Vatican City. Yeah, it's that drawl of Rome and probably
your love for the spiritual life that you live in
some way you have a regard for the Pope. I
think that's amazing. But what's the image that's been quietly
living in your imagination all these years?
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So this goes back to my grandmother when I was
I don't know, five years old. I guess when Pope
John Paul the First was elected, and I remember or
Grandma having the TV on. It was if I felt
like it was nighttime. My memory might be completely shot,
it's been so many years, but I just remember how
(16:09):
excited she was and we were watching this man come
out onto a balcony. I didn't understand. I was too
young to really understand what was happening. I think based
on how Grandma talked, I thought the Pope was being
delivered by God. You know, he wasn't just a man
who was elected to that position. And because of that,
throughout my lifetime, I've always had a and I love history.
(16:31):
I love learning about things, so I love watching all
that goes into that experience. And I would love to
go see Saint Peter's Basilica. I want to tour the
crips and I want to go up on the roof.
There's a cafe on the roof. I want to try
to find all the little bumblebees that are hidden everywhere,
(16:51):
because the pope who had the basilica torn down and
rebuilt that was in his crest, so he has bumble
bees hidden in it everything. To me, that would just
be it. I want to go, hopefully around Easter or Christmas,
so that I get that really over the top experience.
And while i'm there, maybe tour Rome.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Yeah. And what's great about what you just did is
and thank you. I mean you kind of bear your
soul a little bit when we talk about these places
that have been in our dreams. And that's really more
than any travel brochure can ever do for you, because
it's only once you get there that all of those
(17:35):
dreams suddenly remarkably become a reality, and you wind up
pinching yourself and saying, am I really here? Is this it?
And you wind up thinking this is way way better
than I ever thought it could be. And that's why
(17:55):
I wanted to start this particular very important series. I
think of the keys to a great vacation with landmarks,
because what we find inside there are really sometimes the
answers to our dreams. We plant ourselves somewhere on this
(18:18):
fabulous planet we call Earth, and we want to explore it,
and we want to explore it in a way that
few people have. And the great part about once you
are able to actually not just put your finger on
the landmark on a map, but puts your feet on
the soil surrounding that landmark, is that it will never
(18:41):
be experienced by you the same way it will by
perhaps the several hundred other people who are there. This
is your experience, this is your moment, this is your journey,
and I want us to take a quick thirty second
(19:01):
break right now. When we come back, we're going to
turn Harry loose with some of the world's most extraordinary landmarks,
and I want him to also share some of his
personal experiences with some of those landmarks why they were
on his list of places to see. And I want
(19:24):
our listeners to also find themselves perhaps in some of
these landmark areas as well, maybe even planning their own
destinational experience.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and help you avoid pitfalls
it can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll plan your
trip and have your back as you travel. All of
this without support or so called convenience fees. We're on
the web at tho wishing Well dot viz or call
us at five four zero nine zero eight to two
(20:00):
three three three s five four zero nine zero eight
two three three three. The Washingwell really does make dreams
come true.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Yeah, welcome back to a life less ordinary, The Shovel
Show and podcast from your friends at the wishing Well.
You can find them on ne f Avenue in Harrisonburg,
also online at the Wishingwell dot biz or a get
m A call at five four oh nine oh eight
twenty three thirty three. Our show this week is entitled
The Keys to a Great Vacation and this is gonna
be a multi episode series as we talk about how
(20:31):
to plan those great vacations. One of the keys is landmarks.
We talked about finding that location that is going to
be the destination of your dreams, something that you have
pictured in your mind and now you want to go.
We mentioned the Eiffel Tower, I mentioned Vatican city. It
(20:51):
seems to be terry that these are great jump offs
to a wonderful vacation, because maybe you've been dreaming about
going to the Eiffel t But there's more in Paris
than just standing in front of the Eiffel Tower and
having your picture, or going up to the top and
having lunch in the restaurant.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Absolutely, And you know what reality comes from actually realizing
a dream based on building a trip from a landmark,
is that you can build an entire vacation experience around
that one first, simple, necessary choice. And it's so funny.
(21:32):
Very rarely do people just go and select a landmark,
turn around and come home, although I do have one
particular client who is famous for doing that. He will
pick a famous place that he wants to go somewhere
on the globe. He will put his finger on it
and say I want to go there. He will go.
(21:53):
He will stay there for one day, do what he
needs to do. His most recent trip was to Mongolia,
where he went just to take the picture of the
doacky horses that are bred and only available to see
anywhere else in the world. They are in Mongolia.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
This guy sounds fun.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Oh he's he It's very interesting. Yeah, yeah, I mean
he's very serious about what he wants to do and
how he wants to spend his time. And he goes,
he does what he needs to do, and he turns
around and comes right back. I'll never forget the day
that he went to Tahiti. One day, he flew over
(22:34):
to Tahiti, crossed the International date Line, went over to
Tahiti only to take a picture of the Southern Cross.
That's what he wanted to do. He took that picture,
and he turned around and came right back home. Talk
about jet lag. He was a time traveler, he is, indeed,
and it's not something that I would recommend. Although what
(22:55):
a fun way to use Landmark as a way to
get some traveling, some really good traveling.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, And the second part of our show today, I
want you all who are listening to us today, which,
by the way, thank you so much for coming in
and being so faithful with us every Saturday. We just
love knowing that you're there. But our second half of
our show today is going to be how to actually
build a vacation around these dreams, So I want you
(23:24):
to stick around. But we do want to talk more
about what some of these global landmarks are. And so
one of the first ones that I want to jump
off with, and one that we're going to be taking
a closer look at, one that we're going to be
building a vacation around, is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Now,
(23:46):
you know, it's said to just be a tall iron tower,
was built in eighteen eighty nine, and it lights up
at night, but it's so so much more than that.
It's a place where people fall in love, a place
where people get engaged. It's a place where people celebrate
some milestone move in their life, something remarkable that's happened.
(24:11):
I had a client who just finished her final treatments
of cancer and found out that she was in total remission,
and the first place she wanted to go, Chris, was
the Eiffel Tower, and she did, and we built this
amazing trip around that celebration. The next one, of course,
(24:32):
that we couldn't fail to talk about, is the Great
Wall of China. It's not just a long, ancient wall
built to protect northern borders. It's a lot more than that,
isn't it, Harry?
Speaker 3 (24:44):
It sure is.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
And we talked a while back, Chris about my sister
and some of her travels in one of our earlier episodes, Well,
while she was going through her bout with cancer, she
wanted to feel in control, and so her wish was
to visit the Great Wall of China and to stand
on the Great Wall of China to feel the power
(25:07):
that was behind that wall. That monument's just a big, old,
ancient wall built to protect the northern borders of China,
but to her it represented power, and she wanted to
take time and stand on that wall, walk on that
wall a little bit and experience that power. And I
don't know if that was part of her inspiration during
(25:27):
her fight with cancer, but that was her anchor for
her trip.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
The other one that really comes to mind when we
talk about symbols and landmarks has to be one associated
with somebody that we all knew and loved. I think
anybody who followed the royal family ever was familiar with
Princess Diana, and who can forget the iconic picture of
(25:54):
her when things weren't going especially well in her life,
I would say, sitting alone in front of the taj
Mahal in India, a beautiful white marble building. It was
actually built as a symbol of love, but that the
dream of love sadly did not come to fruition with
(26:19):
that building. But that landmark is still there and we
still have feelings about that, and probably even more so
because somebody like Princess Diana brought it to all of
our attention. The next one that is probably a very
famous iconic landmark would have to be located right here
(26:43):
in our own homeland, right here in the United States.
And Harry, what can you tell us about the Statue
of Liberty.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Well, when you think about iconic landmarks in the United States,
if the Statue of Liberty isn't very close to or
at the top of your list, I'd be very surprised.
It's a symbol. It's a symbol to Americans, it's a
symbol to people that came to America. My father came
to America and that was the first thing he saw
as he arrived from Europe.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
He saw the Statue of Liberty. And I don't know
what went through his mind exactly when he saw that,
or what goes through the mind of other people when
they saw that. But when I go and visit the
Statue of Liberty, and I've seen her many times, and
I keep returning this giant copper statue sitting out in
the middle of the harbor there outside of New York.
You feel kind of a connection with a lot of
(27:35):
the people that make and made the United States, and
you feel the dreams that they had coming in. That's
the kind of emotion that that goes with all of
these iconic kinds of places that we're talking about. I
want to switch to another one, the Pyramids of Giza.
I went to Egypt several years ago, and I went there,
(27:59):
actually went there not knowing exactly what I wanted to do,
but I knew I wanted to see the pyramids. I'd
seen them in pictures and they didn't look that spectacular.
They were fantastic, but they didn't look anywhere near as
spectacular as what it looks like in person. And I
was fascinated by the Geezer Pyramid so much so that
(28:24):
Terry talked about how you use them as an anchor
point and jump off to other things. I returned and
I had breakfast the next morning. I've seen sunrises so
many sunrises in my life. We talked about birthdays earlier,
lots of sunrises. But when I got to that pyramid,
and I had breakfast there one morning and watched the
(28:45):
sunrise from the perspective of halfway up that pyramid. It's
a memory that I'm going to carry with me forever.
And I ended up returning and just building my trip
around that. I did the Pyramid, I did the Egyptian Museum,
I took a ride on a camel, I got on
(29:06):
board one of those you know, the horses there that
stand up on their hind legs. It just became the
pyramid became my anchor. And just as you and Terry
were talking about earlier, the rest of my trip was
built all around that one monument.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
You know, Terry, I was as we're talking to the
Statue of Liberty specifically got me thinking when Harry said
what our ancestors thought or felt when they first saw
the Statue of Liberty, and I thought, oh boy, you know,
they didn't have social media now. They saw pictures back then,
maybe in their newspaper or I don't know if National
(29:44):
Geographic would have been something they would have seen internationally,
but it would have been something that would have been
awe inspiring. It's like we cannot believe we're finally here,
or finally seeing it, and so that takes me down
sort of a rabbit hole of how social media now
starts to drive our dreams of where we want to
(30:07):
go because we've seen all of these locations that we're
talking about. Some of us have seen so many pictures
and we feel like we've been there. Yeah, and it's
driving our desire to actually go there, so we can,
you know, as Harry said, take those memories with us forever.
And so I really enjoy how as we discuss each
(30:27):
one of these landmarks, I'm sort of going back into
my memory bank, going, oh, yeah, I would have loved
to go on to see the tash Mahal or the
Great Wall of China, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
You know, you brought up something very important, Chris. You
said that these people who first came to view the
Statue of Liberty, they didn't have social media. Then they
didn't have maybe they didn't even have photographs. Maybe just
maybe they didn't even have pictures or the ability to
(30:59):
see it. What they had was word of mouth. And
that's why I think shows like this A Lifeless Ordinary
are so important because we have the great privilege when
we sit here on this show with you week after week,
Saturday after Saturday, to actually be that word of mouth.
We get to paint the picture for those who may
(31:22):
have travel in their hearts and their souls, and as
a dream to be able to paint these pictures with
the words we bring to the show every Saturday here
on a Life less Ordinary, to let people know how
important and what these places really are and mean.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
And as you listen to the places that we're talking about,
these are just the teasers, Chris, These are just some
examples of places that we're talking about. And if we've
done our job this morning, I think listeners are saying,
I can identify with that one, I can identify with
this other one, or maybe I can identify with a
couple of them. And hopefully we're setting the stage for
(32:04):
what's going to come next and the rest of this
show and in the rest of this series to figure
out Okay, great, now I know what my desirable place is,
what my monument is, I know how to think about that.
I know what I'm thinking about. Let me figure out
how to get there. Do you have a couple of
other teasers.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
Terry, We do.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Yeah, I've got a couple of other landmarks that I
wanted to just lay down before we go to our
next break here, Chris, But I think you identified the Vatican.
I think that's probably it could have been at the
top of the list today, honestly, because I have a
lot of people where that is in fact, their most
(32:43):
desired landmark, if not bucket list trip. But along with that,
in the same city, you've got the Great Colosseum, and
anybody who's ever watched the Olympic Games, once they harken
back to the history of the Olympic Games and how
that all took place and the arenas where those public
(33:03):
games were played, you can't not feel motivated to want
to visit Italy and Rome, in particular to see the
coliseum where those games all took place, because that's the
original home. That's the original home of these Olympic Games.
And then you've got Machu Picchu in Peru, old city
(33:26):
built high, high up in the mountains by the Inca people.
You would not even believe that it was possible to
build what we see when we go there. Imagine building
your entire travel experience around that or any one of
these landmarks that we've talked about. People do it all
(33:51):
the time. We're going to take a quick thirty second
break again, Chris, and when we come back, we are
going to teach you how to build a vacation around
these dreams.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and helps you avoid pitfalls
that can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll plan your
trip and have your back as you travel. All of
this without support or so called convenience fees. We're on
the web at the wishing Well dot biz or call
us at five four zero nine zero eight two three
(34:28):
eight three three. That's five four zero nine zero eight
two three three three. The wishing Well really does make
dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Hey, welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary, The Travels
showing podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well Every Saturday.
We like to talk about travel. Actually, we love to
talk about travel. It's Terry and Harry's life and I
love being a part of this every Saturday morning. If
you would like to talk to Harry or Terry about
anything you've heard on our show today or any of
(34:57):
the past episodes of A Lifeless Ordinary, give them a
call five four O nine A twenty three thirty three.
You can also stop by and say hi. They're on
f Avenue in Harrisonburg or find them on the wishing
Well dot biz. And our show today is entitled The
Keys to a Great Vacation. We've been talking landmarks, and
now we're going to discuss how to build a great
(35:19):
vacation around a dream.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
We sure are, Chris, and you know I said, and
I promised that we were going to be doing this
around the Eiffel Tower. I'm going to say one dream,
a thousand possibilities, because honestly, when you talk about something
as iconic as the Eiffel Tower, it could be the
fulfillment of anybody's dream. And as I said, you could
(35:44):
stand right next to somebody else who put their finger
on that spot on the globe, and while you're standing
there with hundreds of other people, your feet, same soil,
people next to you would have a completely different dream
and a different experience from what they're going to do.
But we've talked about choosing a landmark. We want to
(36:07):
take the next step now, and we want to do
that together. Because here's what I've learned after spending really
a lifetime kind of helping people travel the world. And yeah,
I was thinking about that the other day, Chris. I've
done this for over half of my life. Travel has
been a part of me and my story for over
(36:32):
half of my life, and I've loved it every minute
of it. But that's why I know choosing the landmark
is actually the easy part. The real magic begins when
you ask one simple question after that, what kind of
story do I want to live once I get there?
(36:56):
So I want to imagine for just a minute that
you've decided your dream is the Eiffel Tower, not because
everybody else said you should see it, but because every
time you've looked at a photo of Paris, something inside
you quietly said what I said before, one day, some day,
(37:19):
I'm going to be there. Well, imagine if today is
that day. Your airplane is going to touch down at
Charles de gaul Airport. You've got a private driver and
a limo waiting for you. When you get off. You're
not rushing, you're not searching for transportation, nobody's wondering where
(37:41):
to go next. All you have is the excitement of
knowing that in less than one hour you are about
to meet the dream you've been carrying around for all
these years. So you pull into the beautiful Shangri Law Paris.
(38:02):
That's actually one of our outstanding Virtuoso Partner hotels. And
by the way, I will tell you it is the
hotel that is located the closest to the Eiffel Tower.
As a matter of fact, you play your cards right,
you book it correctly, and you open your curtains and
you are staring at the Eiffel Tower. You check in,
(38:27):
you walk to your room and there she is, the
Eiffel Tower. It's standing quietly across that Paris skyline as
if it was waiting for your arrival all the time.
And you haven't even unpacked your suitcase yet, and Paris
has already rewarded you for saying I can do that. Now.
(38:51):
Tell you what if it was me, I wouldn't rush
off trying to see everything from this point. I would
slow down, probably enjoy a nice glass of French champagne.
I'd take in that view, because the best vacations aren't races.
(39:12):
They are meant to be savored like that champagne. An
evening begins to fall in. Your first experience couldn't be
more perfect. You're gonna step on board a beautifully restored
Mahogany yacht. You got a private cruise waiting for you
(39:33):
along the Sane River. An old boy Paris starts to glow.
You've got these historic bridges that drift over your head
as you sail down the Seine, and the city's architecture
reflects on the water. And then without warning, boom, the
(39:57):
Eiffel Tower comes alive. Everything it's golden illumination. Everything about
it is glowing. It's joined by nearly twenty thousand sparkling
lights for five magical minutes every hour on the hour.
It is breathtaking. And here's something I've noticed, almost everybody
(40:22):
when that happens, they stop talking, not because there's nothing
to say, but because some moments just deserve silence. And
the following morning, you finally meet that landmark that brought
you halfway around the world. But instead of standing in
(40:43):
long lines, you have arranged a privately guided visit with
somebody who knows every fascinating story behind this remarkable structure.
Did you know that Gustave Eiffel unveiled this tower in
eighteen eighty nine. Many Parisians thought it was absolutely dreadful.
(41:08):
They thought it was the ugliest thing that Paris had
ever seen. They thought a lot about that, regarding the
Louver as well, But nevertheless, people will still travel halfway
around the world Chris, to go see this remarkable, dreadful sight,
(41:28):
and then they want it torn down. When they had
first seen it in eighteen eighty nine, they actually wanted
the Eiffel Tower to be torn down, Believe it or not.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
Was it was?
Speaker 1 (41:40):
It was it built for a world expo, Yes, it was,
And I thought the plan was once the expo was done,
it was supposed to get hauled off as scrap metal.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
It was, it was, but then it wasn't. And aren't
we glad? I mean, man, I wouldn't have anything to
talk about today, for sure if it wasn't for that
great piece of metal. But today it's actually one of
the most recognizable landmarks any where on earth. And history's
(42:11):
got a wonderful way of changing our perspectives, doesn't it.
And then I'm not done yet. I am not done yet.
This trip is not over. Then there's lunch, but not
just lunch, Chris. Lunch inside the Eiffel Tower itself. Le
Jules Verne is one of Paris's most coveted dining experiences
(42:34):
and reservations can be incredibly difficult to secure. I will
tell you the lady that I referred to that was
celebrating being cancer free and in total remission, this is
exactly what she wanted to do, and I got her
in there. That was part of the dream. You gotta
do it. Imagine enjoying this extraordinary French cuisine while Paris
(43:00):
wretches endlessly beneath your table. That is not just a meal,
that's a memory. And one of my favorite things about
Paris is that it rewards curiosity. Steps just a few
streets away from the crowds, and suddenly you are wandering
through quiet courtyards. You're discovering family owned boutiques. There's some wonderful,
(43:26):
little elegant cafes and patisseries and hidden corners that most
visitors never even know exist. And those chris are often
the moments people are going to remember the most. Now,
if shopping happens to be your passion, well, this is
where the wishing well gets to have a little fun too,
(43:47):
because I want you to imagine spending your last afternoon
with your own private shopping consultant, somebody who knows the
legendary fashion houses, hidden department stores and boutiques, and the
places that Parisians quietly treasure themselves. I just read recently
(44:11):
that Armey is a very famous Parisian brand. They produce
a lot of purses for women that are very very
expensive eight thousand dollars and up the burken pocketbooks, and
that you can't really call them pocketbooks, can you? If
they're made by Armee, they are purses, and they are
(44:35):
works of art, and they are one of a kind,
and they are originals. Well, we can actually take you
on a private, by invitation only shopping spree into where
those are manufactured, so that you can actually buy one
for yourself. You're not just buying beautiful things, You're collecting
(44:56):
pieces of a city you are never going to forget.
And of course Paris is also home to some of
the world's greatest art. We know that. Imagine walking through
the Louver after hours. Well we can get you there.
We can get you in there, standing face to face
with a Mona Lisa without that usual sea of people
(45:18):
surrounding you. As a matter of fact, we know people, Chris,
we know people at the Wishing Well, and we can
get you in either before hours or after hours at
the Louver. That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (45:31):
And one of the things that you're talking about here
that I think is important also is that it's not
just these exclusive experiences when you're standing at the Eiffel Tower.
When I visited the Eiffel Tower, I enjoyed just being
along the river and watching the artists. They're drawing caricatures,
they're drawing you pictures of the scenery around there. They're drawing,
(45:55):
and they're drawing, and they're drawing anything and everything. And
of course they're selling those paintings too, And so you
don't have to have a vacation that's exclusive kinds of
experiences only you can mix that day to day kind
of strolling along the river there the sin and doing
(46:17):
these extraordinary things Terry, that you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
Too absolutely, I mean, and we talk about art. That's
a great place to view all of that.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Terry. Do you plan the landmark first, let everything else
fall into place, or do you build the full itinerary
and try to fit the landmark in.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
Perfect question for today's show, Chris. Yes, I'm going to say,
you know, people start with a lot of different things.
You know, they start with family and talk about that
with their friends or their family members. Where do you
want to go in that kind of thing. But yes,
for the purposes of the Keys to a Great Vacation
and this series that we're devoting to this, Yeah, you
(46:58):
want to start with the landmark, you absolutely do.
Speaker 4 (47:01):
It's the anchor for the vacation. And then you take
off on things you know much. I explained, you know,
when I visited the you know, the Pyramid, I didn't
know all the things I wanted to do until I
got there looked around. The Eiffel Tower is the same
kind of thing I didn't know. I wanted to just
sit and enjoy a pastry, some macrons, macaroons and macrons,
(47:23):
the pastries, all of the good food Chris food, food, food,
but sip a glass of wine and enjoy pastry and
just watch things happen around you. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
And just when you think Pears couldn't possibly surprise you anymore, imagine, Chris,
You're going to lift off by helicopter toward Versalles. Eiffel
Tower kind of fades into the distance and now you're
over top of those magnificent gardens at the palace. That's
going to unfold just under you. It's like a fairy tale.
(47:58):
And by the time you arrive, you haven't simply reached
another destination. You've actually stepped into French history and one
experience that I would say you encourage everybody to consider
spending at least a morning with a French pastry shift.
You got to do it. I mean, learning to create
those wonderful macaroons or elegant pastries. It isn't just entertaining.
(48:22):
It's personal because years from now, when you're standing in
your own kitchen and you're baking those same recipes for
your own kids or friends or family, you're going to
be transported right back there to Paris, especially if it's
what you learned to make there. And to me, that's
exactly what travel should do. It should follow you home.
(48:43):
As your final evening arrives in Paris, I want you
to picture yourself enjoying. Now your final dinner on a
rooftop terrace, Eiffel Tower begins again. It's evening sparkle one
last time. You're watching it. The music drifts through the
Paris air and the city is just glowing beneath you.
(49:07):
You raise your glass, and not because the vacation is ending,
but because you're going to remember this moment for the
rest of your life. And you know what I love
most about this entire journey, Chris, None of it. None
of it began with choosing a hotel, or an airline
(49:29):
or even a travel package. It began with one simple decision.
It began with this sentence, I've always wanted to see
the Eiffel Tower. Everything else just grew from that dream.
And that's exactly how we build unforgettable vacations at the
(49:54):
Wishing Wheel. You bring us the dream, and we are
going to help you write your story. I promise you.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
We've only got a couple of minutes left. Terry, this
question might be a little too deep. Why do you
think people build their vacations around dreams? What are they
really seeking?
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Because we have a void inside of us, we're curious,
and when we have that void, we look for all
kinds of ways to fill it. That's why we read magazines,
that's why we watch YouTube videos, that's why we learn more.
That's why some people have an unsatiable appetite about learning.
(50:33):
Is because there's that void that we're trying to fill
and travel if it can fulfill a dream for you,
At least, Chris, one void in life is filled.
Speaker 1 (50:47):
So I don't know if you've heard the saying don't
meet your celebrity crush because they'll let you down. They're
never as exciting when you meet them as you thought
they were going to be. How do you balance your
dream expectations with the practical constraints like your time, budget
and unfortunately crowds.
Speaker 2 (51:05):
Yeah, well, I'm a total weirdo when it comes to travel.
I have the highest expectations of anybody who's probably ever
packed a suitcase, and I will tell you I have
never been disappointed. My expectations are through the roof and
I would say to anybody keep them up there, you know,
don't settle, don't settle, make those dreams count. Once you
get on the ground, that's exactly where those dreams can
(51:28):
be made. But you have a part in that.
Speaker 1 (51:31):
And can I add that you should use a professional
travel agent like yourself.
Speaker 2 (51:36):
To make you do that's shameless, but thank you to make.
Speaker 1 (51:39):
Sure your plans are actually going to be productive.
Speaker 4 (51:43):
Yeah, and when you think about the question that you
just asked Chris about, you know, you show up and
you may need to fill in the blank somewhere. Think
of it as you know, a picture or something that
you got in the coloring book. They give you something
to start with, and it's up to you the things
that are interesting to you. Maybe it's history, maybe it's food,
maybe it's some of both. Maybe it's meeting some people.
(52:05):
Maybe it's talking to Parisians and asking them some questions
to find out if what they're telling you on TV
is you know, is the truth and the whole truth,
or maybe there's another side to Parisians seeing things that
you didn't expect to see, the unexpected sites in the alleys,
the cafes, the boutiques, all the things that we're talking about.
(52:28):
The vacation is going to be structured, but it's always
going to have enough room for you to fill in
and color in the pieces to make it truly personal,
so when you come home you have the things to
remember that we're so special for you.
Speaker 1 (52:44):
We mentioned when we started this episode that this is
going to be a series with the Keys to a
Great Vacation, and our next episode, Terry, what keys should
we expect to talk about?
Speaker 2 (52:56):
Yeah, we're going to talk about some very unusual choice
perhaps in hotels, and how a hotel can make and
break a vacation. We're going to talk about maybe even
some boutique cruising, something that people may not have thought
about but can be a very important key to the vacation.
Speaker 1 (53:16):
Terry, how do we get in touch with you if
we want more information?
Speaker 2 (53:19):
We're easy to find at the wishing Well. Two forty
three f Avenue is our location in Harsonburg, Virginia. You
can call us at five four oh nine oh eight
two three three three or look us up on the web.
We're at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
This has been a Life Less Ordinary the travel show
and podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well. There
are two forty three f Avenue in Harrisonbury. If you
have any questions on topics discussed today, please reach out
to the wishing Well online at the Wishingwell dot biz
or call five four oh nine oh eight twenty three
thirty three. Past episodes are available on the iHeartRadio Lab
(53:54):
and we'll see you again next Saturday morning at ten
for a Life Less Ordinary from the wishing Well
This is a Lifeless Ordinary, the travel showing podcast from
your friends at the wishing Well two forty three f
Avenue in Harrisonburg and online at the wishing Well Don
PiZZ The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge, travel
agency and a lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel showing podcast
hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty years of
experience in the travel industry to help guide you to
(00:21):
great experiences in your travel, whether it be around the block,
around the country, or around the world. Now, let's bring
in Terry Dean and say.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hello, Hey Chris, Hello, Helloa, Harry it is.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It's always good to be with you on a Saturday morning.
Let's say hi to Harry as well.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Well, thank you sir. It's a good week. Indeed, we've been.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Doing a little celebrating around here.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Chris birthday week.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Oh we talked about that last week. I'm sorry, I said,
I sorry. Last week I didn't know, and then I
didn't remember to even wish you a happy birthday this week.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It is okay, you get every opportunity right now.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Let me do it. Happy birthday, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yes you also, it's both of us.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Oh, I didn't realize I'm the worst friend.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Actually mine was the twenty fourth, Harry's was the twenty eighth,
and we were celebrating around the office and actually, I
have to have Harry tell you about a most amazing
gift that we prepared for him and gifted to him
here at the wishing well. Harry, what did you get?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
This is travel history, Chris, Okay.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
This goes back to the time when airline tickets were
actually on paper, on multipart forms.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Do you remember that.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, I think maybe one or two flights. I had
to do that back long.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Long long ago. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
They'd write an airline ticket and if you were going
to four destinations, this one ticket would show all four
of those destinations and they would rip them off one
coupon at a time, kind of like I don't know,
going to the grocery store or something like that. You
take out one coupon for each segment of that trip.
But the most important part about that and this gift,
(02:05):
relates to the fact that one airline would collect the
money for that ticket from the travel agent that actually
wrote it, and they did that by using the old
fashioned charge machines that had a plate in there and
it would have that airlines insignia on it and a
little coding number. Well, Terry managed somehow to collect about
(02:28):
a dozen of those. It's either twelve or fourteen of
those important plates that were guarded like gold by travel
agents at that time, because that's who got charge for
the ticket, and she framed them for me and I
have a history. And it's got some airline names that
(02:48):
some of the listeners may remember.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
I'm going to start with just a couple of them
in there.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
It's got airlines like branef Airlines, Northeast Airlines, not Northwest
Northwest Oorians, but Northeast Airlines, Air Florida of course, it's
got United Airlines, Piedmont Airlines. But the one in there
that really caught my eye and is a very famous,
famous luxury airline. Can you think back and remember who
(03:17):
I might be thinking of. This was like the way
to fly back in the sixties and the seventies.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
I mean, p Am, that's it.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, a good job. Yeah, it's got a pan Am
plate which is very very rare.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And for those that are in the know, Chris, if
you are an airline aviation officionado, these were referred to
as airline validation plates, that's the official term for them,
and they are quite collectible right now. They are to
people in the airline industry or who have ever served
(03:52):
in any capacity in the aviation industry or in the
travel industry. They are to travel agents or people like
that what baseball cards are to sports enthusiasts. So they're
quite collectible.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And the pan ams like a Mickey Mantle card. Okay,
I believe that, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So anyway, it was a fun, fun week.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
So that's hanging in my office now, alongside my plaque
from the old chairman of Eastern Airlines, Frank Borman, thanking
me for my business.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Do you have the machine to put those in so
you can actually, you know, do the.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We don't have the machine to go with it, but
they'll never be used again, I can promise you that.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Yeah, those are for paper tickets. It was very very
very interesting and very nostalgic. And I opened that up
and I thought, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Remember though, so exciting.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Well, and the compilation of all of those took about
five years to collect all of those. Oh wow, to
finally get them all together, So it really is kind
of a neat thing to see them framed and up
and you know, just kind of reminisce a little bit.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Well, we were celebrating here in the Carmichael House this
week as well. My step son's birthday was on Wednesday.
His is on the twenty ninth, and Becca and my
anniversary was on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Oh well, happy anniversary and happy birthday.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
So between the four of us, we've got the whole
week booked out.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Got a lot of celebrations going on, don't we We're
going to go now we talk about travels, Yeah, which
is my next favorite.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
So our show today, it's entitled The Keys to a
Great Vacation. It's the first of a multi part series,
which I always enjoyed doing these because I feel like
we can get a little deeper into the conversation. We
can not worry about the time as much because we
can keep this conversation going on for a couple of weeks.
So what is this series going to be about?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, so we're going to really sort of and I
say this a lot here on this show, but it's
kind of important, I think, to people who travel Chris
to sometimes not just throw a dart, although there can
be some satisfaction in that sometimes, but to Actually, you know,
(06:09):
I'm all about planning. I think planning is a great
tool to engage when you're talking about travel and you
have to start somewhere. So we're going to do as
I said, what I talk about a lot here, and
that's peel this onion back to really help people understand
(06:32):
the basic steps in preparing and getting ready for a
trip with some things that you may not have ever
thought about starting before or the places to start before.
And we're today's show. We're going to cover two of
those in particular. We're going to start with landmarks and
(06:55):
how you might choose a landmark and then build an
entire trip around that. And then our second segment in
this show today is going to be how to build
a vacation around that dream. Because most vacations, most great vacations,
(07:16):
as Chris you well know, for the ones even that
you've taken, they start with a dream. So that's what
our show is going to be about today.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
This is going to be like a higher level college
course sort of.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, it's sort of a masterclass in designing and building
the ultimate vacation experience.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Well, let's get into it.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Yeah, as folks are sitting around on Saturday morning, or
if you're listening to the podcast on Sunday morning or
some other time. This is a great chance for you
to take out a note pad, take a couple notes,
and by the time Terry's done this morning, you're going
to hear kind of a formula for how to put
everything together and how to make sure that when you
(08:02):
do take your vacation you get the best bang for
the buck. You're going to have something that's really special
when you finish with this plan that she's going to
share with us today.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Well, I've got my note pet out and I'm ready
to take some notes.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Starry wonderful.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Okay, So I've been thinking Chris lately about and that's
how I sort of landed on this series and what
we should be talking about right now on a Life
Less Ordinary. But I've been thinking a lot about what
really makes a great vacation unforgettable. Is it the luxury hotel,
(08:38):
Is it the incredible food? Is it perfect weather? Well?
Sometimes yeah, sometimes, But if I'm being completely honest, I
think it's often something a lot simpler. It's that one
place that you've dreamed about seeing for years, maybe for
(09:01):
your entire life, and you know, exactly what I'm talking about.
Maybe it's sitting beneath the Eiffel Tower when the lights
start to sparkle and you've never been to Paris before.
Maybe it's watching the sunrise over Manchu Pichu. Maybe it's
looking up at the Great Pyramids of Egypt, as Harry
found himself doing. Or maybe finally walking through the ancient
(09:25):
streets of Rome if you've never been there before, that
could really be a big desire for you. For every traveler, though, Chris,
there's that one image that sort of quietly takes up
residence in your imagination and it sort of whispers to you.
It's like one day, one day, I'm going to do that.
(09:49):
And for me, I got to tell you that place
was the Cigaretta Familia in Barcelona. I had actually seen
the photographs, I had watched a lot of documentaries. I'd
read about Antonio Goudi's extraordinary vision, and to be sure,
(10:10):
this was an artist, magnificent, magnificent, he was amazing. But nothing,
and I mean truly nothing actually prepared me for the
moment that I walked through the doors of the Cigaretta Familia.
I remember stopping when I walked inside almost immediately. I
(10:36):
wasn't taking pictures, I wasn't talking. I think I was speechless.
I just stood there and I watched Chris. This sunlight
just absolutely pour through these magnificent stained glass windows, and
they are all, by the way, so perfectly perched in
(10:59):
the cigratta f amelia to capture that sunlight. That's what
they do. That's what this artist, Gouty, he was a master,
But that filled this entire cathedral with the most amazing
colors that really almost danced inside that cathedral. It was
(11:20):
one of those rare moments when you realize that there's
no photograph, no picture that is ever ever going to
capture what you are feeling. And that's when it struck me.
Sometimes we don't travel simply to visit a destination. Sometimes
(11:40):
we travel to meet that dream that we've been carrying
around for years and years. And I think that's why
landmarks hold such incredible power over us. They give us
something to anticipate, long before we've packed a suitcase or
even boarded the airplane. They're the places we save as
(12:03):
our screen backgrounds. We circle them in travel magazines, and
we pin them on our vision boards, and they become
those little promises we make to ourselves that I said before, Someday,
someday we promise ourselves I'm going to stand right there.
(12:24):
And there's another beautiful thing that happens when you finally do.
You instantly become connected with millions of other travelers who
have stood in the exact same place that you just did.
Doesn't matter if they're from Virginia, Brazil, Australia, Japan, South Africa.
(12:49):
Somebody smiles and says, I've been there. You post that
picture on your social media page, and that's what you're getting.
You get comments from people literally all over the gloe.
So now you're part of a really special community, a
club really, and immediately you understand one another. So now
(13:10):
travel Chris has given you, what else, a common language.
So from that practical standpoint, landmark destinations are also some
of the easiest vacations to plan. Think about it. Cities
are actually built around the world's great landmarks, and they've
(13:31):
welcomed visitors for generations. The transportation is easy to navigate
to them, Guided tours are plentiful, and there's always a
tour operator that's willing to help you out. The historic
sites surrounding them are well interpreted, and you've got the
things that we all crave once we get there. Restaurants
(13:53):
and hotels and museums and local experiences. They've all been
grown around those remarkable places, so it makes them really
wonderfully accessible, even for first time international travelers. And in
a lot of ways, these destinations almost seem to say,
come on, we'll help you discover something really extraordinary. And
(14:16):
I love that, especially if you're just beginning to explore
the world. But probably what I love the most is
what happens after you come home, because years later, somebody's
going to mention Paris or Barcelona or the Grand Canyon,
and all of a sudden, you're smiling before you even
(14:37):
realize it, because you're no longer remembering a monument, you
are remembering exactly how you felt standing there. Because landmarks
aren't just places we visit, their moments that become part
(14:58):
of our own story. We weave that story then into
our lives, into our memories. So let me ask you something, Chris.
If somebody handed you an airline ticket today and said
you can go anywhere in the world, but you can
only choose one landmark you've always dreamed of seeing.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Where would you go Vatican City.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I knew it.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Vatican City. Yeah, it's that drawl of Rome and probably
your love for the spiritual life that you live in
some way you have a regard for the Pope. I
think that's amazing. But what's the image that's been quietly
living in your imagination all these years?
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So this goes back to my grandmother when I was
I don't know, five years old. I guess when Pope
John Paul the First was elected, and I remember or
Grandma having the TV on. It was if I felt
like it was nighttime. My memory might be completely shot,
it's been so many years, but I just remember how
(16:09):
excited she was and we were watching this man come
out onto a balcony. I didn't understand. I was too
young to really understand what was happening. I think based
on how Grandma talked, I thought the Pope was being
delivered by God. You know, he wasn't just a man
who was elected to that position. And because of that,
throughout my lifetime, I've always had a and I love history.
(16:31):
I love learning about things, so I love watching all
that goes into that experience. And I would love to
go see Saint Peter's Basilica. I want to tour the
crips and I want to go up on the roof.
There's a cafe on the roof. I want to try
to find all the little bumblebees that are hidden everywhere,
(16:51):
because the pope who had the basilica torn down and
rebuilt that was in his crest, so he has bumble
bees hidden in it everything. To me, that would just
be it. I want to go, hopefully around Easter or Christmas,
so that I get that really over the top experience.
And while i'm there, maybe tour Rome.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Yeah. And what's great about what you just did is
and thank you. I mean you kind of bear your
soul a little bit when we talk about these places
that have been in our dreams. And that's really more
than any travel brochure can ever do for you, because
it's only once you get there that all of those
(17:35):
dreams suddenly remarkably become a reality, and you wind up
pinching yourself and saying, am I really here? Is this it?
And you wind up thinking this is way way better
than I ever thought it could be. And that's why
(17:55):
I wanted to start this particular very important series. I
think of the keys to a great vacation with landmarks,
because what we find inside there are really sometimes the
answers to our dreams. We plant ourselves somewhere on this
(18:18):
fabulous planet we call Earth, and we want to explore it,
and we want to explore it in a way that
few people have. And the great part about once you
are able to actually not just put your finger on
the landmark on a map, but puts your feet on
the soil surrounding that landmark, is that it will never
(18:41):
be experienced by you the same way it will by
perhaps the several hundred other people who are there. This
is your experience, this is your moment, this is your journey,
and I want us to take a quick thirty second
(19:01):
break right now. When we come back, we're going to
turn Harry loose with some of the world's most extraordinary landmarks,
and I want him to also share some of his
personal experiences with some of those landmarks why they were
on his list of places to see. And I want
(19:24):
our listeners to also find themselves perhaps in some of
these landmark areas as well, maybe even planning their own
destinational experience.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and help you avoid pitfalls
it can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll plan your
trip and have your back as you travel. All of
this without support or so called convenience fees. We're on
the web at tho wishing Well dot viz or call
us at five four zero nine zero eight to two
(20:00):
three three three s five four zero nine zero eight
two three three three. The Washingwell really does make dreams
come true.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Yeah, welcome back to a life less ordinary, The Shovel
Show and podcast from your friends at the wishing Well.
You can find them on ne f Avenue in Harrisonburg,
also online at the Wishingwell dot biz or a get
m A call at five four oh nine oh eight
twenty three thirty three. Our show this week is entitled
The Keys to a Great Vacation and this is gonna
be a multi episode series as we talk about how
(20:31):
to plan those great vacations. One of the keys is landmarks.
We talked about finding that location that is going to
be the destination of your dreams, something that you have
pictured in your mind and now you want to go.
We mentioned the Eiffel Tower, I mentioned Vatican city. It
(20:51):
seems to be terry that these are great jump offs
to a wonderful vacation, because maybe you've been dreaming about
going to the Eiffel t But there's more in Paris
than just standing in front of the Eiffel Tower and
having your picture, or going up to the top and
having lunch in the restaurant.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Absolutely, And you know what reality comes from actually realizing
a dream based on building a trip from a landmark,
is that you can build an entire vacation experience around
that one first, simple, necessary choice. And it's so funny.
(21:32):
Very rarely do people just go and select a landmark,
turn around and come home, although I do have one
particular client who is famous for doing that. He will
pick a famous place that he wants to go somewhere
on the globe. He will put his finger on it
and say I want to go there. He will go.
(21:53):
He will stay there for one day, do what he
needs to do. His most recent trip was to Mongolia,
where he went just to take the picture of the
doacky horses that are bred and only available to see
anywhere else in the world. They are in Mongolia.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
This guy sounds fun.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Oh he's he It's very interesting. Yeah, yeah, I mean
he's very serious about what he wants to do and
how he wants to spend his time. And he goes,
he does what he needs to do, and he turns
around and comes right back. I'll never forget the day
that he went to Tahiti. One day, he flew over
(22:34):
to Tahiti, crossed the International date Line, went over to
Tahiti only to take a picture of the Southern Cross.
That's what he wanted to do. He took that picture,
and he turned around and came right back home. Talk
about jet lag. He was a time traveler, he is, indeed,
and it's not something that I would recommend. Although what
(22:55):
a fun way to use Landmark as a way to
get some traveling, some really good traveling.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, And the second part of our show today, I
want you all who are listening to us today, which,
by the way, thank you so much for coming in
and being so faithful with us every Saturday. We just
love knowing that you're there. But our second half of
our show today is going to be how to actually
build a vacation around these dreams, So I want you
(23:24):
to stick around. But we do want to talk more
about what some of these global landmarks are. And so
one of the first ones that I want to jump
off with, and one that we're going to be taking
a closer look at, one that we're going to be
building a vacation around, is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Now,
(23:46):
you know, it's said to just be a tall iron tower,
was built in eighteen eighty nine, and it lights up
at night, but it's so so much more than that.
It's a place where people fall in love, a place
where people get engaged. It's a place where people celebrate
some milestone move in their life, something remarkable that's happened.
(24:11):
I had a client who just finished her final treatments
of cancer and found out that she was in total remission,
and the first place she wanted to go, Chris, was
the Eiffel Tower, and she did, and we built this
amazing trip around that celebration. The next one, of course,
(24:32):
that we couldn't fail to talk about, is the Great
Wall of China. It's not just a long, ancient wall
built to protect northern borders. It's a lot more than that,
isn't it, Harry?
Speaker 3 (24:44):
It sure is.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
And we talked a while back, Chris about my sister
and some of her travels in one of our earlier episodes, Well,
while she was going through her bout with cancer, she
wanted to feel in control, and so her wish was
to visit the Great Wall of China and to stand
on the Great Wall of China to feel the power
(25:07):
that was behind that wall. That monument's just a big, old,
ancient wall built to protect the northern borders of China,
but to her it represented power, and she wanted to
take time and stand on that wall, walk on that
wall a little bit and experience that power. And I
don't know if that was part of her inspiration during
(25:27):
her fight with cancer, but that was her anchor for
her trip.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
The other one that really comes to mind when we
talk about symbols and landmarks has to be one associated
with somebody that we all knew and loved. I think
anybody who followed the royal family ever was familiar with
Princess Diana, and who can forget the iconic picture of
(25:54):
her when things weren't going especially well in her life,
I would say, sitting alone in front of the taj
Mahal in India, a beautiful white marble building. It was
actually built as a symbol of love, but that the
dream of love sadly did not come to fruition with
(26:19):
that building. But that landmark is still there and we
still have feelings about that, and probably even more so
because somebody like Princess Diana brought it to all of
our attention. The next one that is probably a very
famous iconic landmark would have to be located right here
(26:43):
in our own homeland, right here in the United States.
And Harry, what can you tell us about the Statue
of Liberty.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Well, when you think about iconic landmarks in the United States,
if the Statue of Liberty isn't very close to or
at the top of your list, I'd be very surprised.
It's a symbol. It's a symbol to Americans, it's a
symbol to people that came to America. My father came
to America and that was the first thing he saw
as he arrived from Europe.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
He saw the Statue of Liberty. And I don't know
what went through his mind exactly when he saw that,
or what goes through the mind of other people when
they saw that. But when I go and visit the
Statue of Liberty, and I've seen her many times, and
I keep returning this giant copper statue sitting out in
the middle of the harbor there outside of New York.
You feel kind of a connection with a lot of
(27:35):
the people that make and made the United States, and
you feel the dreams that they had coming in. That's
the kind of emotion that that goes with all of
these iconic kinds of places that we're talking about. I
want to switch to another one, the Pyramids of Giza.
I went to Egypt several years ago, and I went there,
(27:59):
actually went there not knowing exactly what I wanted to do,
but I knew I wanted to see the pyramids. I'd
seen them in pictures and they didn't look that spectacular.
They were fantastic, but they didn't look anywhere near as
spectacular as what it looks like in person. And I
was fascinated by the Geezer Pyramid so much so that
(28:24):
Terry talked about how you use them as an anchor
point and jump off to other things. I returned and
I had breakfast the next morning. I've seen sunrises so
many sunrises in my life. We talked about birthdays earlier,
lots of sunrises. But when I got to that pyramid,
and I had breakfast there one morning and watched the
(28:45):
sunrise from the perspective of halfway up that pyramid. It's
a memory that I'm going to carry with me forever.
And I ended up returning and just building my trip
around that. I did the Pyramid, I did the Egyptian Museum,
I took a ride on a camel, I got on
(29:06):
board one of those you know, the horses there that
stand up on their hind legs. It just became the
pyramid became my anchor. And just as you and Terry
were talking about earlier, the rest of my trip was
built all around that one monument.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
You know, Terry, I was as we're talking to the
Statue of Liberty specifically got me thinking when Harry said
what our ancestors thought or felt when they first saw
the Statue of Liberty, and I thought, oh boy, you know,
they didn't have social media now. They saw pictures back then,
maybe in their newspaper or I don't know if National
(29:44):
Geographic would have been something they would have seen internationally,
but it would have been something that would have been
awe inspiring. It's like we cannot believe we're finally here,
or finally seeing it, and so that takes me down
sort of a rabbit hole of how social media now
starts to drive our dreams of where we want to
(30:07):
go because we've seen all of these locations that we're
talking about. Some of us have seen so many pictures
and we feel like we've been there. Yeah, and it's
driving our desire to actually go there, so we can,
you know, as Harry said, take those memories with us forever.
And so I really enjoy how as we discuss each
(30:27):
one of these landmarks, I'm sort of going back into
my memory bank, going, oh, yeah, I would have loved
to go on to see the tash Mahal or the
Great Wall of China, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
You know, you brought up something very important, Chris. You
said that these people who first came to view the
Statue of Liberty, they didn't have social media. Then they
didn't have maybe they didn't even have photographs. Maybe just
maybe they didn't even have pictures or the ability to
(30:59):
see it. What they had was word of mouth. And
that's why I think shows like this A Lifeless Ordinary
are so important because we have the great privilege when
we sit here on this show with you week after week,
Saturday after Saturday, to actually be that word of mouth.
We get to paint the picture for those who may
(31:22):
have travel in their hearts and their souls, and as
a dream to be able to paint these pictures with
the words we bring to the show every Saturday here
on a Life less Ordinary, to let people know how
important and what these places really are and mean.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
And as you listen to the places that we're talking about,
these are just the teasers, Chris, These are just some
examples of places that we're talking about. And if we've
done our job this morning, I think listeners are saying,
I can identify with that one, I can identify with
this other one, or maybe I can identify with a
couple of them. And hopefully we're setting the stage for
(32:04):
what's going to come next and the rest of this
show and in the rest of this series to figure
out Okay, great, now I know what my desirable place is,
what my monument is, I know how to think about that.
I know what I'm thinking about. Let me figure out
how to get there. Do you have a couple of
other teasers.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
Terry, We do.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Yeah, I've got a couple of other landmarks that I
wanted to just lay down before we go to our
next break here, Chris, But I think you identified the Vatican.
I think that's probably it could have been at the
top of the list today, honestly, because I have a
lot of people where that is in fact, their most
(32:43):
desired landmark, if not bucket list trip. But along with that,
in the same city, you've got the Great Colosseum, and
anybody who's ever watched the Olympic Games, once they harken
back to the history of the Olympic Games and how
that all took place and the arenas where those public
(33:03):
games were played, you can't not feel motivated to want
to visit Italy and Rome, in particular to see the
coliseum where those games all took place, because that's the
original home. That's the original home of these Olympic Games.
And then you've got Machu Picchu in Peru, old city
(33:26):
built high, high up in the mountains by the Inca people.
You would not even believe that it was possible to
build what we see when we go there. Imagine building
your entire travel experience around that or any one of
these landmarks that we've talked about. People do it all
(33:51):
the time. We're going to take a quick thirty second
break again, Chris, and when we come back, we are
going to teach you how to build a vacation around
these dreams.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and helps you avoid pitfalls
that can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll plan your
trip and have your back as you travel. All of
this without support or so called convenience fees. We're on
the web at the wishing Well dot biz or call
us at five four zero nine zero eight two three
(34:28):
eight three three. That's five four zero nine zero eight
two three three three. The wishing Well really does make
dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Hey, welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary, The Travels
showing podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well Every Saturday.
We like to talk about travel. Actually, we love to
talk about travel. It's Terry and Harry's life and I
love being a part of this every Saturday morning. If
you would like to talk to Harry or Terry about
anything you've heard on our show today or any of
(34:57):
the past episodes of A Lifeless Ordinary, give them a
call five four O nine A twenty three thirty three.
You can also stop by and say hi. They're on
f Avenue in Harrisonburg or find them on the wishing
Well dot biz. And our show today is entitled The
Keys to a Great Vacation. We've been talking landmarks, and
now we're going to discuss how to build a great
(35:19):
vacation around a dream.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
We sure are, Chris, and you know I said, and
I promised that we were going to be doing this
around the Eiffel Tower. I'm going to say one dream,
a thousand possibilities, because honestly, when you talk about something
as iconic as the Eiffel Tower, it could be the
fulfillment of anybody's dream. And as I said, you could
(35:44):
stand right next to somebody else who put their finger
on that spot on the globe, and while you're standing
there with hundreds of other people, your feet, same soil,
people next to you would have a completely different dream
and a different experience from what they're going to do.
But we've talked about choosing a landmark. We want to
(36:07):
take the next step now, and we want to do
that together. Because here's what I've learned after spending really
a lifetime kind of helping people travel the world. And yeah,
I was thinking about that the other day, Chris. I've
done this for over half of my life. Travel has
been a part of me and my story for over
(36:32):
half of my life, and I've loved it every minute
of it. But that's why I know choosing the landmark
is actually the easy part. The real magic begins when
you ask one simple question after that, what kind of
story do I want to live once I get there?
(36:56):
So I want to imagine for just a minute that
you've decided your dream is the Eiffel Tower, not because
everybody else said you should see it, but because every
time you've looked at a photo of Paris, something inside
you quietly said what I said before, one day, some day,
(37:19):
I'm going to be there. Well, imagine if today is
that day. Your airplane is going to touch down at
Charles de gaul Airport. You've got a private driver and
a limo waiting for you. When you get off. You're
not rushing, you're not searching for transportation, nobody's wondering where
(37:41):
to go next. All you have is the excitement of
knowing that in less than one hour you are about
to meet the dream you've been carrying around for all
these years. So you pull into the beautiful Shangri Law Paris.
(38:02):
That's actually one of our outstanding Virtuoso Partner hotels. And
by the way, I will tell you it is the
hotel that is located the closest to the Eiffel Tower.
As a matter of fact, you play your cards right,
you book it correctly, and you open your curtains and
you are staring at the Eiffel Tower. You check in,
(38:27):
you walk to your room and there she is, the
Eiffel Tower. It's standing quietly across that Paris skyline as
if it was waiting for your arrival all the time.
And you haven't even unpacked your suitcase yet, and Paris
has already rewarded you for saying I can do that. Now.
(38:51):
Tell you what if it was me, I wouldn't rush
off trying to see everything from this point. I would
slow down, probably enjoy a nice glass of French champagne.
I'd take in that view, because the best vacations aren't races.
(39:12):
They are meant to be savored like that champagne. An
evening begins to fall in. Your first experience couldn't be
more perfect. You're gonna step on board a beautifully restored
Mahogany yacht. You got a private cruise waiting for you
(39:33):
along the Sane River. An old boy Paris starts to glow.
You've got these historic bridges that drift over your head
as you sail down the Seine, and the city's architecture
reflects on the water. And then without warning, boom, the
(39:57):
Eiffel Tower comes alive. Everything it's golden illumination. Everything about
it is glowing. It's joined by nearly twenty thousand sparkling
lights for five magical minutes every hour on the hour.
It is breathtaking. And here's something I've noticed, almost everybody
(40:22):
when that happens, they stop talking, not because there's nothing
to say, but because some moments just deserve silence. And
the following morning, you finally meet that landmark that brought
you halfway around the world. But instead of standing in
(40:43):
long lines, you have arranged a privately guided visit with
somebody who knows every fascinating story behind this remarkable structure.
Did you know that Gustave Eiffel unveiled this tower in
eighteen eighty nine. Many Parisians thought it was absolutely dreadful.
(41:08):
They thought it was the ugliest thing that Paris had
ever seen. They thought a lot about that, regarding the
Louver as well, But nevertheless, people will still travel halfway
around the world Chris, to go see this remarkable, dreadful sight,
(41:28):
and then they want it torn down. When they had
first seen it in eighteen eighty nine, they actually wanted
the Eiffel Tower to be torn down, Believe it or not.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
Was it was?
Speaker 1 (41:40):
It was it built for a world expo, Yes, it was,
And I thought the plan was once the expo was done,
it was supposed to get hauled off as scrap metal.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
It was, it was, but then it wasn't. And aren't
we glad? I mean, man, I wouldn't have anything to
talk about today, for sure if it wasn't for that
great piece of metal. But today it's actually one of
the most recognizable landmarks any where on earth. And history's
(42:11):
got a wonderful way of changing our perspectives, doesn't it.
And then I'm not done yet. I am not done yet.
This trip is not over. Then there's lunch, but not
just lunch, Chris. Lunch inside the Eiffel Tower itself. Le
Jules Verne is one of Paris's most coveted dining experiences
(42:34):
and reservations can be incredibly difficult to secure. I will
tell you the lady that I referred to that was
celebrating being cancer free and in total remission, this is
exactly what she wanted to do, and I got her
in there. That was part of the dream. You gotta
do it. Imagine enjoying this extraordinary French cuisine while Paris
(43:00):
wretches endlessly beneath your table. That is not just a meal,
that's a memory. And one of my favorite things about
Paris is that it rewards curiosity. Steps just a few
streets away from the crowds, and suddenly you are wandering
through quiet courtyards. You're discovering family owned boutiques. There's some wonderful,
(43:26):
little elegant cafes and patisseries and hidden corners that most
visitors never even know exist. And those chris are often
the moments people are going to remember the most. Now,
if shopping happens to be your passion, well, this is
where the wishing well gets to have a little fun too,
(43:47):
because I want you to imagine spending your last afternoon
with your own private shopping consultant, somebody who knows the
legendary fashion houses, hidden department stores and boutiques, and the
places that Parisians quietly treasure themselves. I just read recently
(44:11):
that Armey is a very famous Parisian brand. They produce
a lot of purses for women that are very very
expensive eight thousand dollars and up the burken pocketbooks, and
that you can't really call them pocketbooks, can you? If
they're made by Armee, they are purses, and they are
(44:35):
works of art, and they are one of a kind,
and they are originals. Well, we can actually take you
on a private, by invitation only shopping spree into where
those are manufactured, so that you can actually buy one
for yourself. You're not just buying beautiful things, You're collecting
(44:56):
pieces of a city you are never going to forget.
And of course Paris is also home to some of
the world's greatest art. We know that. Imagine walking through
the Louver after hours. Well we can get you there.
We can get you in there, standing face to face
with a Mona Lisa without that usual sea of people
(45:18):
surrounding you. As a matter of fact, we know people, Chris,
we know people at the Wishing Well, and we can
get you in either before hours or after hours at
the Louver. That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (45:31):
And one of the things that you're talking about here
that I think is important also is that it's not
just these exclusive experiences when you're standing at the Eiffel Tower.
When I visited the Eiffel Tower, I enjoyed just being
along the river and watching the artists. They're drawing caricatures,
they're drawing you pictures of the scenery around there. They're drawing,
(45:55):
and they're drawing, and they're drawing anything and everything. And
of course they're selling those paintings too, And so you
don't have to have a vacation that's exclusive kinds of
experiences only you can mix that day to day kind
of strolling along the river there the sin and doing
(46:17):
these extraordinary things Terry, that you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
Too absolutely, I mean, and we talk about art. That's
a great place to view all of that.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Terry. Do you plan the landmark first, let everything else
fall into place, or do you build the full itinerary
and try to fit the landmark in.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
Perfect question for today's show, Chris. Yes, I'm going to say,
you know, people start with a lot of different things.
You know, they start with family and talk about that
with their friends or their family members. Where do you
want to go in that kind of thing. But yes,
for the purposes of the Keys to a Great Vacation
and this series that we're devoting to this, Yeah, you
(46:58):
want to start with the landmark, you absolutely do.
Speaker 4 (47:01):
It's the anchor for the vacation. And then you take
off on things you know much. I explained, you know,
when I visited the you know, the Pyramid, I didn't
know all the things I wanted to do until I
got there looked around. The Eiffel Tower is the same
kind of thing I didn't know. I wanted to just
sit and enjoy a pastry, some macrons, macaroons and macrons,
(47:23):
the pastries, all of the good food Chris food, food, food,
but sip a glass of wine and enjoy pastry and
just watch things happen around you. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
And just when you think Pears couldn't possibly surprise you anymore, imagine, Chris,
You're going to lift off by helicopter toward Versalles. Eiffel
Tower kind of fades into the distance and now you're
over top of those magnificent gardens at the palace. That's
going to unfold just under you. It's like a fairy tale.
(47:58):
And by the time you arrive, you haven't simply reached
another destination. You've actually stepped into French history and one
experience that I would say you encourage everybody to consider
spending at least a morning with a French pastry shift.
You got to do it. I mean, learning to create
those wonderful macaroons or elegant pastries. It isn't just entertaining.
(48:22):
It's personal because years from now, when you're standing in
your own kitchen and you're baking those same recipes for
your own kids or friends or family, you're going to
be transported right back there to Paris, especially if it's
what you learned to make there. And to me, that's
exactly what travel should do. It should follow you home.
(48:43):
As your final evening arrives in Paris, I want you
to picture yourself enjoying. Now your final dinner on a
rooftop terrace, Eiffel Tower begins again. It's evening sparkle one
last time. You're watching it. The music drifts through the
Paris air and the city is just glowing beneath you.
(49:07):
You raise your glass, and not because the vacation is ending,
but because you're going to remember this moment for the
rest of your life. And you know what I love
most about this entire journey, Chris, None of it. None
of it began with choosing a hotel, or an airline
(49:29):
or even a travel package. It began with one simple decision.
It began with this sentence, I've always wanted to see
the Eiffel Tower. Everything else just grew from that dream.
And that's exactly how we build unforgettable vacations at the
(49:54):
Wishing Wheel. You bring us the dream, and we are
going to help you write your story. I promise you.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
We've only got a couple of minutes left. Terry, this
question might be a little too deep. Why do you
think people build their vacations around dreams? What are they
really seeking?
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Because we have a void inside of us, we're curious,
and when we have that void, we look for all
kinds of ways to fill it. That's why we read magazines,
that's why we watch YouTube videos, that's why we learn more.
That's why some people have an unsatiable appetite about learning.
(50:33):
Is because there's that void that we're trying to fill
and travel if it can fulfill a dream for you,
At least, Chris, one void in life is filled.
Speaker 1 (50:47):
So I don't know if you've heard the saying don't
meet your celebrity crush because they'll let you down. They're
never as exciting when you meet them as you thought
they were going to be. How do you balance your
dream expectations with the practical constraints like your time, budget
and unfortunately crowds.
Speaker 2 (51:05):
Yeah, well, I'm a total weirdo when it comes to travel.
I have the highest expectations of anybody who's probably ever
packed a suitcase, and I will tell you I have
never been disappointed. My expectations are through the roof and
I would say to anybody keep them up there, you know,
don't settle, don't settle, make those dreams count. Once you
get on the ground, that's exactly where those dreams can
(51:28):
be made. But you have a part in that.
Speaker 1 (51:31):
And can I add that you should use a professional
travel agent like yourself.
Speaker 2 (51:36):
To make you do that's shameless, but thank you to make.
Speaker 1 (51:39):
Sure your plans are actually going to be productive.
Speaker 4 (51:43):
Yeah, and when you think about the question that you
just asked Chris about, you know, you show up and
you may need to fill in the blank somewhere. Think
of it as you know, a picture or something that
you got in the coloring book. They give you something
to start with, and it's up to you the things
that are interesting to you. Maybe it's history, maybe it's food,
maybe it's some of both. Maybe it's meeting some people.
(52:05):
Maybe it's talking to Parisians and asking them some questions
to find out if what they're telling you on TV
is you know, is the truth and the whole truth,
or maybe there's another side to Parisians seeing things that
you didn't expect to see, the unexpected sites in the alleys,
the cafes, the boutiques, all the things that we're talking about.
(52:28):
The vacation is going to be structured, but it's always
going to have enough room for you to fill in
and color in the pieces to make it truly personal,
so when you come home you have the things to
remember that we're so special for you.
Speaker 1 (52:44):
We mentioned when we started this episode that this is
going to be a series with the Keys to a
Great Vacation, and our next episode, Terry, what keys should
we expect to talk about?
Speaker 2 (52:56):
Yeah, we're going to talk about some very unusual choice
perhaps in hotels, and how a hotel can make and
break a vacation. We're going to talk about maybe even
some boutique cruising, something that people may not have thought
about but can be a very important key to the vacation.
Speaker 1 (53:16):
Terry, how do we get in touch with you if
we want more information?
Speaker 2 (53:19):
We're easy to find at the wishing Well. Two forty
three f Avenue is our location in Harsonburg, Virginia. You
can call us at five four oh nine oh eight
two three three three or look us up on the web.
We're at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
This has been a Life Less Ordinary the travel show
and podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well. There
are two forty three f Avenue in Harrisonbury. If you
have any questions on topics discussed today, please reach out
to the wishing Well online at the Wishingwell dot biz
or call five four oh nine oh eight twenty three
thirty three. Past episodes are available on the iHeartRadio Lab
(53:54):
and we'll see you again next Saturday morning at ten
for a Life Less Ordinary from the wishing Well
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