Sounds like you live on the other side of the ocean. City breaks are very popular with Europeans. Who wouldn't want to buy an inexpensive ticket (sometimes under $100), fly under 2-3 hours, and stroll the streets of cities like Rome, Florence, London, Paris and the list can continue... ?

A city break or an extended weekend will always be better than nothing in my book!

I have concluded that London is the best base for this type of travel. It is amazing how many destinations are offered and at what cost.

The bed was an ornate cookie made to look like a bed. The blanket was a sheet of icing (or marzipan or fondant) on a cardamom shortbread type slab cookie. It was displayed in a clear plastic box--very cute I think the box might have tasted better? We didn't dare try the cowboy hat, so we left it for the housekeeper for a little snack.
I like your chili style. Did you make yours in an hour, too?
BTW--ask your fishing pals about 4 dings.

Well, it sounds like the trip to Travaasa has made an impression on most of those who attended. I'm a bit out of the loop on bed eating, but I'll Google it and see if I can learn more.

btw, big thanks to omegaet for the PM with the prize winning recipe for Vegetarian Chili.

I made a batch last night and it turned out to be pretty darn good.

I did use omegaet's advice to adjust the recipe to my taste. I substituted ground top sirloin for the tofu, added an extra Jalapeno and a half cup of tequila and a full bottle of beer. My neighbor and his wife stopped by to enjoy the chili.

She really liked it, but seemed to get sleepy shortly after eating her second helping.

Not to be a contrarian, but 'quickie' anything doesn't work for me. I want the full monty or I'll like skip it and wait until I can indulge myself. Short trips, involving air travel and the associated hassles are certainly atop my Never To Do list.

So, glad the rest of you have the capacity to do things in short spurts, but I can't join in.

Oh No about the bed....isn't it good????? The coffee was very good. Can't wait to try the throws. It has been so warm here though. Enjoy K!!!!

I don't recommend eating the "bed treats" Connie. Trust me--it's cuter than it tastes.
I brought the coffee back but have yet to brew it. I left my scottie horses at the desk for a local friend who has a new baby boy. I used my cashwere throw last night while lounging and watching TV. So soft and snuggly!

You guys are great! The Cowboy hat was eaten behind closed doors in my office! I shared the Austin Breakfast Tea with my staff. (yet we were confused with two tea bags in each container and no explanation. Spent 30 minutes discussing tea. Not a productive morning.) We still have one bag of popcorn left. The beautiful "bed" cookie is sitting on the counter. I am just waiting for a crabby moment to truly inhale it in one sitting! I just adored the food gifts and surprises each day. The Scottie Horses (K understands that one)adorn our bed. Miss MacKenzie has her eye on them and I have a feeling they might not make it through the month.
Again, this was a fantastic experience. I hope that this can happen again!

Originally Posted by jmbklj

Yes, we really enjoyed eating at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink. We also ended up eating lunch at Anthony's twice! Once at the location near FLL and once at the Delray Beach location. Thanks for the tips!

These were the two places we enjoyed the most; the others were OK, pretty touristy.

jmbklj....Michael's Genuine Food & Drink is a classic in the Design District and I never fear suggesting it to someone (did you order the fried pig ears - we've never tried them since they qualify as vegetarian)......also glad you visited Anthony's Coal Fired FLL store - that's the original:

We did a quickie 3 night trip to Paris one year over New Years and were suprised how much we were able to cram into our quickie jaunt! We also do a few quickie trips close to Philadelphia that we can drive to - doing the 2 nights in Wash DC over memorial day weekend - we had tickets for the white house tour, however, we got "sequestered out" which is a bummer since we never did the white house tour even during those dull school trips many, many years ago ;-)

Yes, we really enjoyed eating at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink. We also ended up eating lunch at Anthony's twice! Once at the location near FLL and once at the Delray Beach location. Thanks for the tips!

These were the two places we enjoyed the most; the others were OK, pretty touristy.

I looked over at the pool one morning and I saw feet in the air. I'd recognize them anywhere...

jmbklj....did you find any good places to eat in South Florida?

I love Hop On-Hop Off /bus tours - anywhere! They are great to do the first few days in any city because they give you an overall persecutive of the major attractions and then I usually decide where to focus, plus they usually give you a brief historic perspective of the city. In fact I did Ho Ho this week and you may really laugh when you hear where it was - Miami/South Beach!

It would be great if someone could post names of who's who in the group photos, at least to point out our LL Lounge buddies. I think the only one I know for sure in the group photos is bonniejoy. Could someone please do so? Thanks!

mountie, I chuckled at your use of the term 'experiment' rather than 'experience'. I guess in some sense of the term, it was an experiment:

· 10 consumers who have never met, some of whom have been doing business with the company for 8 or more years, and bringing them together in a luxury environment

· 6 of those consumers who have been active in an on-line forum for 6+ years and have established cyber identities and multiple exchanges of travel experiences. The remaining attendees have done business with the company but never actively participated in the on-line forum with the others.

· ask all participants to share their experiences in various social media forums during the weekend.

We found the weekend 'experiment/experience' enlightening.

Great fun to finally meet two other VIP couples face-to-face, as well as the other four individuals. Although we are different in many ways, we all share an enthusiasm for great travel experiences, which is a common bond through Luxury Link.

Let me assure you, Connie looks totally different when she is standing on her feet rather than her hands!

Likely Diane and Ben have returned to their Playa del Rey headquarters and begun the 'after action' evaluation. Possibly their overall assessment might be to never, never do anything like this again or maybe they decide to do a similar 'experiment/experience' in the future.

Yes, to your question about input to management. None of us were shy about sharing our thoughts and suggestions both good and bad (there were few of these) regarding Luxury Link and the possibility of future destinations.

As I recall, the only reference to Chile was to Chili as in Cookoff (which by the way, regardless of what others have written about the quality of their finished versions - we won the Vegetarian Chili Award).

Great questions, Mountie. Connie is right--it was like meeting long-lost siblings for those of us in the Lounge. We split up so often, mixed with Travaasa staff/mgment and Diane/Ben. With all the activities, I found conversations flowed in every which direction. Breakfast made for more personal time with our group. We got more inspiration for the lower Americas.

We believe in the quickies, too, since that's often the max time we have (including a generous nap for Boss). Nice quickie blog, too.
We believe in HoHos for first visit to major EU cities. The BCN was interesting in that many Gaudi sights were still a decent hike from the stops. That is one HUGE city! I hope you brought home some Spanish paprika.

We had a great time learning more about each other. Its funny how you might perceive or anticipate how someone will be after just reading posts, blogs, comments. Then, when you meet them, it is like old friends! I truly enjoyed our company! The common thread was definitely travel. Michael and I were able to get some great suggestions about places we have never visited such as Asia and Southern Africa. Wish we could do this more often!

So, how were the interactive dynamics of this experiment? I've always wondered what several experienced VIPs would do when they go together with key Luxury Link staff members.

Was there a good sharing of all the great travel stories?

I have to assume you guys had some suggestions for Luxury Link - things we have been requesting here in the lounge for some time.

How about specific countries and properties?

Did anyone stand up and ask why Chile has dropped off the map?

It's obvious everyone had a good time at Travaasa Austin, but what might be coming in the future for all of us regular auction buyers out here?

Red caps - I did not see them in the picture? Speaking of LL caps, 2 times I was supposed to get one but never did - I must be the black sheep VIP ;-)