Elite Travel & Associates

05/29/2024

EDIT: The September 8th is SOLD OUT!

Contact Susan now to reserve your cabin on the September 19th!

The Greece Trip has been updated! Due to the landslides the Byzantine Monasteries overnight trip has been replaced with 3 nights in Santorini.

05/21/2024

Is CROATIA & ITALY on your bucket list?

Yes! Join Susan this fall - October 3rd - 19th!☀️🌅

📲Call/text our office Monday - Friday from 11:00 am to 5:30 pm
(509) 222-1222

03/06/2024

Baggage Fees going up. Delta Air Lines has joined its peers in raising fees for checked bags.

The airline said the fee for the first and second checked bag went up by $5 on most domestic and short-haul international flights.

It now costs $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second.

It is Delta’s first checked bag fee hike in over five years.

The fee continues to be waived for Delta SkyMiles Medallion members and first-class fliers.

In just the past few weeks, American Airlines, United, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have all hiked checked bag fees.

02/02/2024

Want to go to Ireland & Scotland this year?

Join Susan on her annual trip to Ireland and Scotland!

Call/text us today to book your seat: 509-222-1222

02/02/2024

Join Susan for an Ireland only trip March 29-April 8th!

Call/text us today to book: 509-222-1222

01/07/2024

We are at sea today and out my balcony window I see dolphins! Super cute!

01/06/2024

Yesterday Susan and I flew to Los Angeles and this morning we boarded the Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the Grandeur. I will be posting our experiences this weekend. The ship is beautiful and the cabin is fantastic. We are in standard room, Regent is an all suites cruise line. There is a sitting area that is spacious with room to move around. The walk-in closet is separate from the bathroom. The bathroom is huge a double sink with a separate shower and soaking tub.

12/19/2023

Join Susan for an Ireland only trip March 29-April 8th

12/18/2023

Join Susan on her annual trip to Ireland and Scotland! Call today, seats will fill up fast.

11/09/2023

Reserve your spot for Africa today!

07/28/2023

07/19/2023

Ladies Trip to Bali this Fall!

Join Susan on the girls only trip to exotic Bali September 30th-October 17th, 2023

Elite Travel & Associates is a Travel Agency dedicated to serving our clients with the best travel o

04/30/2023

We are now in Ireland, one of my favorite places to be! So green and the weather has been lovely!

04/30/2023

Thought I would share some of the pictures from our group trip to Scotland & Ireland. So beautiful!
This first picture was the mural on the wall in my hotel room.

02/23/2023

5 DAYS LEFT FOR THE SALE
DATES: July 21, 22, 30 | OCT 29, 30, 31 | NOV1

02/17/2023

Yes, you can go on an 8 day river cruise for less than $3000 per person including airfare!

Have you ever dream of a river cruise through Europe? Viking River Cruises has a great sale that ends on February 28th.

Check out this all-included out-the-door pricing!
Prices are PER CABIN!

Select 2023 sailings.

Call Liz for details 509-222-1222
Email: [email protected]

01/09/2023

Explore Italy with Susan!

Contact Susan for details!
[email protected] or 509-222-1222

11/19/2022

11/19/2022

Rome in 3 short days… the last 3 days went by so fast, I am going to condense them into one post.

After I got off the cruise ship in Civitavecchia I took a speed train to the Roma Termini. It was still early so I dropped off my bags at my hotel and jumped on the hop on hop off bus and rode the entire circuit to familiarize myself with the city. When I got back to my hotel they were able to check in to my hotel and unpack. After lunch and a little window shopping I went back to my room and crashed. I woke up at 10pm hungry. Did you know that everything is open super late in Rome… well Italy in general? I could see that the restaurants outside my hotel window were still open so I popped down for a quick dinner on the sidewalk. After my margarita pizza I called it a night and went to be because the next morning I was off to the Vatican for breakfast and small group tour.

I work up at 6am so I could be at my meeting point near the Vatican before 7:10am. When I got there I was informed that my small group tour was a tour of one. This was great! We moved at my pace and I was able to ask my private guide all my questions. I saw the Vatican museums, the Sistine chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. I was able to take pictures in the museum and basilica but not in the Sistine Chapel. Apparently when they did the restoration several years ago only one Japanese company wanted to document the years long process. From what I understand that company has the copyright on the chapel so no one is allowed to take pictures. Weird. Anyway, it was beautiful… the Basilica was impressive. The largest church in the world.

After the tour my dogs were tired so I took the hop on bus back to my hotel for a quick break. After recharging my feet and phone I decided to just walk towards the city center. I went shopping and walked the Colosseum, it was so cool!I hopped back on the bus and rode it to the Spanish steps from there it was getting dark so I made my way to the Trevi Fountain and stopped on the way for gelato. The fountain was all lit up with led lights and really pretty at night. I was surprised to find that the fountain is not in a big square but rather on a corner between a bunch of stores, they really built around it. Which is true for all of Rome, centuries old monuments are built next to ‘new’ buildings everywhere.

The last day I decided to just relax and see the sights I missed and shop for Christmas presents! I pick up some great things that I hope my family will like… the big question is how will I get it all home?

11/18/2022

Rainy day in Naples, Italy ⛴️ but clear day in Sorrento!

The last stop on my cruise was in Naples but I did not plan to stay there, which turned out to be a good idea because it rained like crazy! Instead I jumped on a 40min ferry ride to Sorrento! When we docked it was overcast but not raining! Yay!

I did not have any plans, only to walk around and go shopping. When I got off the ferry it was clear that I had to find a way up the cliffs where you could see the town. Luckily there was only one road out of the area that the ferry docked so I started walking. After a few minutes I saw a set of stairs that looked like it would take me right up… and they did! Afterword Susan said that there was an elevator but I did not see one! Let’s just say that I stopped to ‘admire the view’ a lot.

I really liked Sorrento! It had narrow pedestrian only streets, cute little shops and a lot of lemon trees. I can see why they are famous for their lemoncello, the fruit trees were everywhere.

I had lunch at a restaurant with tables outside right in the middle of town and I got to people watch both tourists and those who lived there. Later in the day I had a lemon flavored gelato and wow was it tart! 🍋

At the end of the day I walked back to the ferry dock and headed back to Naples and my cruise ship. The next morning I was getting off my cruise in Civitavecchia so it was an earlier night for me!

11/17/2022

Next stop Messina, Sicily!

This stop on my Princess Cruises was really fun! First I went to a private cooking class in a real Sicilian home then I jumped on a hop on hop off bus to see the sights.

In the morning I had a scheduled pasta cooking class. My teacher’s husband Giuseppe picked me up at the cruise port. It was not part of the package but it was really kind of him. Rossela, my Cesarina teacher, did not speak much English but food has it’s own language and her husband translated the rest! I now know how to make 3 types of pasta and a great,simple sauce! I am going to add it to my thanksgivings feast this year,🤞hopefully I can do it justice!

After the 2 hours class Giuseppe dropped me off close to the action where I checked out a fantastic church. The astrological clock was beautiful. From there I paid $15 to join a hop on hop off bus that took me all over and I got to see more churches, government buildings and fountains.

I liked Messina and if I had more time I would loved to have explored more and gone to some of the other towns close by. Next time!

11/16/2022

It’s all Greek to me!

Today’s port of call was Corfu, Greece. This was probably my least favorite stop on this cruise. I’m sure that the wind conditions were mostly to blame. I had actually set up a paragliding experience so I could see the whole island but due to the wind gusts it was cancelled.

Without a plan I winged it and grabbed the hop of hop off bus. Before boarding the tour I saw that it offered 14 stops. It did not stop 14 times, it stopped twice. The narration was iffy at best and there really wasn’t much to see. I know in the past Greece has had some economic issues but there were a lot of abandoned buildings and run down public spaces…. If only I had a lawn mower. The highlight of the bus trip was the ruins of a church.

I should have gotten off at the last (second) stop, the old town where the castle/fort has been since the 13th century. Apparently it was so fortified that no one ever defeated it. As I looked at the other tourists outside I realized that they wind was making them pretty miserable so I decided to skip it, thinking I would go back later not knowing that it was the last stop and the other line was not in operation.

After I was back at the cruise terminal I decided to make it a day and went back to the ship for lunch. I swear I am eating my weight in cookies. 🍪🍪🍪

When I talked to other cruisers at dinner they said that there was some shopping and the fort was interesting. I unfortunately since it was Sunday and the end of the season not everything was open.

I think my lackluster review is colored by my disappointment for not paragliding.

11/15/2022

Hello Dubrovnik! Todays cruise port is one of Susan’s favorites!

Once off the ship I took a shuttle to Old Town and entered the walls. Just as I was strolling down the main street Susan FaceTimed me and so I got a personal walking guide. We explored old churches, the hotel they stayed at last time she was there and a hole in the wall that lead out to the sea where a restaurant is set up during the season. Unfortunately since this is the last cruise of the year it was not in operation. 🥹

We ended our tour at the top of a familiar set of stairs. Luckily I was not pelted with rotted food while someone screens ‘shame’ at me. 😬 While I was not an avid fan I can appreciate seeing the filming locations in person. Apparently you will see more of Dubrovnik in the next season of Vikings.

I spent the next few hours walking around the town, checking out the shops before I ate lunch at a restaurant on a busy corner. I shopped some more on my way out then stopped for some gelato before returning to the ship.

11/14/2022

The next stop on my Med cruise was Kotor, Montenegro. It is a smaller city in a bay with very steep mountains on all sides. It was very pretty when we pulled in on the ship. Tendered in, I took a boat to the dock where I was able to walk directly into the walled city.

After walking around it became clear that they old city had become a tourist destination with a lot of souvenir shops. If you are on the hunt for leather goods you can find many options there.

Before my trip I had read about a market just outside the walls but I could not find it. The cruise was the last of the season so I think they had shut it down.

Honestly this was a short day for me. I went back to the boat, had lunch and relaxed.

11/10/2022

Today’s port of call was Loverno, also known as Pisa/Florence. My original plan was to take the train to Florence where I had a small group tour of the and then wander around before taking the train back towards the cruise port with a stop on Pisa for an obligatory selfie of me holding up the tower. BUT Florence was so amazing that I decided to spend a little extra time there before I went back to the ship.

Did you know that Florence hold 60% of all of Italy’s art and has 62 art galleries? Yes… there was a lot to see!

I met my small group tour guide outside the Accademia a few minutes before the start of the tour. There were 9 of us in the group which was great so our guide could answer any question we had. We were given a wireless receiver with an ear bud so we could hear her talk as we walked around. You did not have to right next to her to hear what she had to say.

The Accademia was/is an art school from the 1300’s the art was originally collected so students could study and copy the pieces to learn their craft. They have many doors and alters from churches. Their most prized possessions are a series of sculptures from including unfinished sculptures that were commissioned by the Pope who cancelled the order plus the famous David statue.

I enjoy small group tours because you learn so much more when talking to an art historian. Did you know that Michelangelo enjoyed sculpting waaaaay more than painting? He accepted the commission for the statues and spent years on them before the Pope decided he would rather have the ceiling painted. When the pope requested him to come to the Vatican to paint he originally refused. It was not until soldiers were sent that he went to Rome to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Another factoid was that Michelangelo was the only sculptor in this time to free hand his works, others made clay versions first so that could plan everything before starting to carve the marble. David, considered the greatest sculpture, actually a used piece of marble that others had started on but quit because it was too narrow and lower quality with all the veining.

Next we walked through Florence in the way to the Uffizi and stopped at a few notable buildings including the Duomo, the third largets church in the world. Art was so important to the people of Florence that the church actually has their most prominent artists carved into the front of the building.

The Uffizi was the final stop on the 4 hour tour. The paintings were amazing and showed prime examples of the works produced from famous artists like DiVinci and Botticelli. Again the tour guide was great because she was able to point out the differences of painting styles when it came adding perspective and detail in the renaissance in the 15th century.

11/09/2022

All aboard the Regal Princess with for my 11 Day Grand Mediterranean Cruise! The first port of call was Toulon, France. It’s a small port city that the Navy parks their ships but I did not stay there. Instead I jumped on the train to Marseille!

The ride was 45 mins and cost about $12 each direction. Once there I walked less than a mile to the harbor. Then I jumped on the hop on hop off bus and rode it around the city. I love them because they are a great way to get around and learn about the history of your destination.

One of the stops was the Notre-Dame de la Garde, a beautiful church on top of a steep hill, the steps almost killed me! The view was amazing (and well worth it) with a 360 degree panorama of France’s 2nd largest city. The church was incredible inside with fantastic paintings and gold leafing.

My plan was to continue riding the bus around town then get lunch at a French bistro and go shopping before boarding the train back to the ship but that was delayed because a few cars were parked illegally on a narrow street. Our bus could not make the turn on the one-way street so we were stuck for a while. With no real solution or the car owners in sight several men from the tour bus got off and picked up the car and rolled it out of the way. Thank goodness it was a 2 wheel drive fiat and not a hummer. 😄

I finished the bus route then grabbed a quick lunch at a tiny pastry shop the hailed a taxi back to the train station. It was a short stay cut even shorter by the delay but it was a great opportunity to see the city!

11/06/2022

Today I board my cruise ship but before I do I stopped in a small square less than a block from my hotel for breakfast. I ordered fresh squeezed orange juice and Crepes con Crema Al Cioccolato, chocolate pancakes. As I am waiting for my food I am watching as old men operate booths that sell coins and stamps. Coins in one side and stamps on the other. It’s very peaceful.

11/05/2022

Yesterday I hopped on a series of flights and made my way to Barcelona Spain! 🇪🇸

After sleeping through the night I reset my internal clock and hit the ground running with a circuit on the hop on hop off bus. I highly recommend this for any new city you visit. It is great transportation and gives you tons of knowledge.

The highlights are the and the Las Ramblas area. The Sagrada Familia was a beautiful church but I am kicking myself for not pre-booking my entry tickets. They are now sold out for both days I am here. Las Ramblas is a street that runs though the shopping district. It has great shopping food and people watching.

Don’t just stick to Las Ramblas! My hotel was just down a side street and as I weaved my way back to the hotel through a series of small pedestrian only walkways I was amazed by the architecture.

It almost 5 pm so I am taking a short siesta before I go out again and experience Barcelona at night for Tapas!

10/10/2022

Let's go to Ireland and Scotland.