“You have to taste a culture to understand it.” – Deborah Cater I’m glad you choose to read my weekly newsletters. They have been one of my favorite ways to virtually sit down with you, sip a cup of tea or coffee together, and just share what I am seeing

“Did you ever notice the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone?” – Erma Bombeck Have you ever noticed that kindergartners carry different things to school in their backpack compared to what teenagers carry in theirs? There are many similarities like books, paper, pencils and crayons.

“There is no greater beauty or charm than what we can find in nature.” – Todd Romano My recent trip to Africa offered so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences and chimpanzee trekking was one of them. Spending some time with our closest genetic relatives was a truly humbling experience, and it was

“Life is about creating and living experiences that are worth sharing.” – Steve Jobs Spending time with the gorillas in the wild was by far the most transformative and up-close wildlife experience I had in Africa. I stood just a few feet from these gentle giants in their forest habitat

Wishing my family, friends and clients a magical New Year’s Eve!! May this day lead you into the best New Year ever!!  2020 XOOM Tours Blog Highlights! Click and Enjoy! 👀 Eye to Eye with Africa’s “Big 5”! 👀 📷 The Greatest Gift of Travel Is… 👀 🦏 🦒 🦍Off to

A Safari Paradise! When our children were young, we enjoyed taking them to the zoo to get a firsthand glimpse of the lions, gorillas, elephants, tigers, giraffes and more. They loved seeing them in real life rather than in the books they read before bedtime. We loved witnessing the wonder and

The people that you meet! To me the best part of traveling is meeting people along the way.  Sometimes they are fellow travelers. Other times they are locals. Sometimes these people can change your trip, or even your life, in ways you’d never imagine. This is what makes each trip

Happy Thanksgiving to my family, friends and clients! I am thankful for you, not just on Thanksgiving Day! It has been a whirlwind of a month.  I can’t be more excited to share about our adventure to Uganda. It was so nice to be traveling again…and internationally! With over a

WOW! What a presentation and a whirlwind tour through the Scandinavian countries! Thank you for joining me on this virtual experience. Agueda, from Delta of Scandinavia, came to us LIVE from Copenhagen to share all the goodness that these countries have to offer! Could you feel and hear her enthusiasm

Denmark, Sweden, Norway & Finland! I am thrilled many of you are enjoying the Travel & Wine Tasting events we have been hosting over the last few months. It’s like a virtual dinner party with tasty regional cuisine and specialty beverages while we escape to a featured destination…all from the

It’s time to pack your bags and head on our next virtual vacation. Many of you enjoyed the Travel & Wine Tasting events we hosted this summer and have requested we continue. Guess where we are going on our next two adventures? First to Costa Rica then to the Scandinavian

Did You Know? The largest cruise ships serve nearly 20,000 meals a day! Yes, it’s true, between passenger and crew meals some of the largest ships put out staggering quantities of food. On a typical week long cruise passengers and crew can consume over 100 tons of food. This includes

Why do you like to travel? Do you like to discover new things? Or do you travel to learn more about yourself and the world around you? Or is it because you like being exposed to new places, people, cultures? Travel is a great way to develop a wider world

While those old song lyrics say, ‘don’t go chasing waterfalls,’ in North Carolina, it’s best to ignore this bit of advice and DO go chasing them. North Carolina has no shortage of waterfalls and amazing hikes to go along with them, ranging from falls that reach hundreds of feet to

That’s CROATIA! WOW!  What a night!!  We had a fabulous time visiting Portugal (virtually) last Thursday evening!  My friend, Jordi Vilaseca, came to us LIVE from Europe and took us on an amazing tour with breathtaking photos! What a beautiful country! Portugal is filled with exciting history, beautiful tile, cobblestone

It’s this Thursday at 8 PM EDT! WOW!  What a night!!  I am so pleased everyone enjoyed our Virtual Tour of Argentina last Thursday evening!  Loli Marino was live from Buenos Aires and took us on a tour with breathtaking photos, Julia Zuccardi, from the Zuccardi family, shared their vineyard

Join us…THIS THURSDAY, September 3rd at 8:00PM EDTM EDT! It’s time to pack your bags and head on a virtual vacation. Many of you enjoyed the Travel & Wine Tasting events we hosted in June and have requested we continue. So guess where we are going for the first of

It’s time to pack your bags and head on a virtual vacation. Many of you enjoyed the Travel & Wine Tasting events we hosted in June and have requested we continue. So guess where we are going next? 3 amazing destinations! Our first adventure on September 3rd takes us to

I am pleased that so many of you enjoyed the Travel & Wine Tasting events we hosted in June and have requested we continue.  Are you ready?  The next series we will be featuring Virtual Travel and Wine Tours to Argentina, Portugal and Croatia beginning September 3rd.  XOOM Tours makes

What is adventure? What does this word mean to you? Is it climbing up a mountain or jumping off a bungee platform in New Zealand, only to spring back up and down a few times? Is it surfing or riding a motorcycle? Is it backpacking across Europe with a group