I am writing this newsletter and next week’s from Conferences. On May 7th, I spoke at the Hospitality Design Expo in Las Vegas. Next week, I’ll be in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the North American Travel Journalists conference.
Conferences are one way I get the best travel information to you and keep us all up to date.
For this week’s newsletter, in our usual Culture Vulture section, I cover my surprise experience in Las Vegas, a place I have been many times, and I bet you have too. But this time was different. I had a terrific and unexpected experience in what I’m calling the other Las Vegas.
In Luxury Travel for Less, I’m covering discounts and meet-ups for solo cruisers looking for a luxury experience.
In News You Can Use, I share slides that explain the connection between the older eye, our senses, and our touch, and how we can best experience travel as we age. I think you’ll enjoy the information on the slides to judge just how age-friendly your next hotel really is.
Ask Adriane gives you tips on taking wine lessons and introduces you to French wine canal cruises.
This week’s podcast offers important insights into how one man, Bill Disselhorst, bought and created a beautiful lifestyle in Italy. His experience was turned into a feature film, Italian Wannabe, now available at international film festivals in the US and soon in Rome.
Never stop traveling
Cheers,
Adriane
P.S. Register for the June 10th webinar to discover what travel coaching is and how you can make money, travel more, and help others:
During the webinar, I will show you how to discover your next life’s mission and go through fun exercises to see where Travel Coaching may fit in.
P.P.S. Travel to Africa…Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Morocco:
Derek of Ronick Tours provided me with the top trip itinerary to Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Semra Hunter of Saharai Tours provides bespoke Morocco tours for The Ageless Traveler. I will get you in direct contact with either of them if you let me know if you want to connect. Just leave a voicemail or text here.
This Week’s Highlights
On Our Podcast
Making a Home in Italy
In Casperia, “People only cared about giving. They never cared about what they were going to get.” Bill Disselhorst
Are you dreaming of a life in Italy? Join us in our latest episode as we chat with Bill Disselhorst, who turned his dream into reality by creating a life in Casperia. Learn about his adventures, the importance of community, and the making of the film, Italian Wannabe. Bill shares practical tips for anyone looking to live abroad.
Throughout the episode, we are treated to practical tips on navigating the challenges of buying property abroad, renovating homes, and the nuances of living in a foreign country. Bill’s reflections on personal reinvention after loss provide a heartfelt perspective on resilience and the power of community support. Don’t miss this inspiring journey!
If Las Vegas is a place you’ve been so often that you feel it no longer offers any magic, or if you are not a casino and flashy show type, Vegas may not be on your visiting list. Because I visit Vegas so often for a conference, I rarely explore anymore. But I decided to approach the town with a fresh eye.
My first surprise in Vegas was in its Chinatown, a strip mall format with an unstoppable number of honky tonk-looking restaurants. There’s even a gaming establishment for kids called the Claw World, with an arcade devoted solely to those seductive machines that have you manipulate a claw to drag and grab a stuffed animal. Kids love it. Parents spend their retirement savings trying to grab a toy.
Next to Claw World is one of the best Chinese restaurants in my long love affair with the cuisine. Palette Tea Room, which can also be found in San Francisco, is the Vegas version. Enter through a nondescript door and find soft lighting, colorful lanterns, and sparkling glasses that belie the downscale exterior. The food is excellent. Like dim sum, the menu requires you to start with the dishes of interest, and the choices include wonderful chicken dumplings, duck with a separate shrimp-and-scallop sauce, and salt-and-peppered tofu. At the top of the menu, you’ll see Portuguese custard cups, which I call Tulum cakes. The chef is from Hong Kong and often enjoys Macau’s cuisine, bringing some of it back to his Chinese restaurant.
Have you tasted Peruvian food? Try Moia. You’ll have to make a reservation or get there early, as later in the night the place is jammed with locals, mostly Peruvian and South Americans. In fact, when we sat down, the waiter spoke to us in Spanish, which immediately made it seem as if it were our first language. But have No Fear, the menu is in English, and the dishes are designed by a Peruvian chef who visits frequently from Lima. The menu is beef-oriented, given the preference for BBQ. As a pescatarian, I expected minimal choice. Still, I had a wonderful whitefish dish, and seafood included octopus, scallops, and, of course, the steak with a fried egg that my husband had, which was grilled perfectly with potatoes and sweet plantains.
Spend an easy day in nature in Vegas. I know that sounds impossible, but the Spring Preserve is your destination. The Preserve spans 22 acres of protected land. It offers a butterfly walk in season, State Museums, 3.5 miles of easy nature walks, and a real education on how ancient tectonic plate shifts created an aquifer that makes Vegas possible.
Don’t miss the 8-minute video and the small live-animal section on Mojave Desert creatures. The Nevada State Museum is a winner for its historical installation, starting at the time of the woolly mammoth and leading you up an easy ramp to display showgirl costumes of today. You can also take a 3-minute train ride to a reproduced Victorian town and visit a saloon, theater, and boarding house.
Luxury Travel for Less
I speak on cruise ships, and I know they all have solo traveler meetings. You will find that on the daily schedule. I often attend the meetings to meet the passengers and find that the group may decide to eat together and even take shore excursions together. The ships provide a private space and time to meet…then the people take it from there.
Small ships, such as river cruises, often have such spaces as well, but each is different depending on the size of the ship and its layout. Plus, most ships offer apps for posting if you want to start your own group on board.
As for the ability to get a reduction on solo cabins…you bet, but:
The “waived” single supplement is usually:
Only select sailings.
Only in certain cabin categories
Capacity controlled
Often released during Wave Season (January–March)
Sometimes appears closer to departure when they want to fill cabins
Here are some sample Single Cabin Policies:
Regent Seven Seas Cruises–Often reduced supplements: occasionally waived supplements on select sailings. Get on their email list and watch “Single Supplement Specials.”
Oceania Cruises–Sometimes it offers low or waived supplements; it also adds more solo cabins. Book early on new ships.
Viking Cruises–River cruises frequently run solo promos; ocean cruises are less generous. Look for specific solo promotions
Silversea Cruises–Often caps the supplement at 25% on select voyages. Excellent for solo luxury travelers.
Seabourn Cruise Line–Regularly offers reduced solo supplements on select sailings. Best deals often go through travel advisors
Ponant–One of the most aggressive about waiving supplements entirely. Especially good for expedition cruises
AmaWaterways–Some solo cabins plus reduced supplements. River cruise leader for solos.
Avalon Waterways–Frequently waives supplements on select river cruises. Early booking matters
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises–Periodic solo deals and reduced supplements. Best during promotional windows
Regent: Offers a “Single Supplement Special” section for certain sailings.
Silversea: Sometimes caps the supplement at 25% on selected voyages.
Luxury lines can be CHEAPER for solos. Why? mainstream line = 100% supplement, but luxury line = 25% supplement. That’s why I affiliated with CruisesIt, they can determine the best deal if you call and use your exclusive The Ageless Traveler telephone number: (407) 410-8901
Here’s a must-do tip from one of the outstanding members of the Age Wise Collective to which I belong:
Join gerontologist Sally Duplantier for Wellness Wednesdays to learn practical, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.
These programs are free to The Ageless Travelers and are also recorded in case you can’t attend in real time.
