Blame it on the novels that I've been enjoying recently. I am now dreaming of far away places and exciting adventures. It's already a given that when one wants to enjoy history, culture and nature, European vacation is first in line. But at the mood I'm in right now, Las Vegas travel seems to appeal to me more than any other types of vacations.

You see there's this side of me that longs to be daring sometimes. And a Vegas trip will surely satisfy my hunger for a modern-day city adventure. I missed the time when I still had a night-life, a time spent with colleagues after a long day at work. I used to have plenty of time for shopping; now I couldn't have a minute of peace whenever I go shopping with the little boy.

But oh, please don't think I'm complaining. I enjoy being where I am right now as much as I enjoy looking forward to new and great things that I'm sure will happen in time.

My inlaws arrived last Monday from their 3-week US trip. We were all so looking forward to welcoming them for two reasons--we're excited to showcase Miguel's new antics and we have bought several goodies online which were sent to their destination. Mine were a nappy bag (and a really cool one to boot!) and a mineral make up starter kit.

So you can imagine our thrill when we met them on Wednesday. They showed us their photos while recounting the stories behind each one of them. Apparently, we just learned that during one of their domestic flights, my mother-in-law fainted and collapsed while waiting at the airport. The next thing she knew she was already in a wheelchair. I wonder now if they ever thought of securing travel insurance for this trip.

They are well-travelled people and they've been to the US and Europe several times in the past, but they were young then and were surely fit for long haul travel. And although they're in their early 60's now and are evidently healthy, they're still not immune to fatigue. It is then worthy to take every precaution needed to ensure they travel safely next time.

My sister will be travelling to Paris in April. She'll be spending a week-long stay to attend a conference. I was telling her that such a long trip would be wasted if she doesn't see much of the place so she's thinking of extending her stay for some well-deserved rest and recreation. Since the first week is on the account of her company, her secretary will take charge of arranging her hotel bookings and other logistics. The extended stay, however, will be on personal account so I have the task of helping her find the best hotel deals.

Thankfully, hotel reservations can now be managed online. It saves me the hassle of having to place overseas calls and deal with reservation agents. As I was browsing the web for some hotel discounts, I chanced upon Hotel Reservations and was giddy to find they have a good selection of nice and reasonably priced hotels in France. What's good about this site is that it provides information on amenities, location maps and rates. I know how important it is for my sister to be informed of the hotel's location especially since she plans on visiting a lot of places in France in such a short time.

Online hotel reservations is also an efficient way of managing her itinerary since we can just get into the net and make changes to the reservations as necessary. Hotel Reservations.com also offers airport-to-hotel transfers. To save her the hassle of hailing a cab, she can also arrange for a car to send her off or to pick her up from wherever she plans to spend her day. Better yet, when her official business itinerary has been finalized already, I'd volunteer to research on the best places to visit in France and prepare her holiday itinerary as well. This way, she'll be able to spend her time enjoying the place rather than worrying which hotel to book next. Of course, this doesn't come without a price. I'll help her out because I'll be asking her to buy me a really nice leather bag. :)

I was telling Nico the other day how much I needed a break from my routine. Since I became a mom, there was never a day that I was away from Miguel. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. In fact, I love every minute that I spend with Miguel. But I still believe that even the most dedicated mom needs a lone time sometimes for personal improvement.

Maybe Miguel's pediatrician noticed how much we have dedicated our time into caring for Miguel that she mentioned during our last visit that we needed to take a break. She said that it seems we have forgotten to spend time with each other--Nico & I, as we focused all our efforts on the little boy. So true! So I've been thinking about the possibility of a getaway for me and Nico, and what appeals to me most is a few weeks of travel out of the country. Perhaps spend a holiday in Spain? Oh, if only we have the budget!

Anyways, the lack of funds didn't discourage me from researching about travel in Spain. I know there's much to see in such a rich, multicultural country. A former officemate in Dubai related her experience in travelling to Spain and she only had good things to say. There are quite a number of comfortable yet not so expensive accommodations available in the country. I came across Cheaper Than Hotels and saw that we can get a nice accommodation for as low as Eur50! The hotel rooms in the photos look really clean and cozy and the website provides information on location, distance from the airport, facilities and amenities. Another good thing about Cheaper Than Hotels is that they offer year-round prices which means we're not constrained by peak season rates. If we ever get to visit, we'll probably check out Malaga Hotels, Granada Hotels or Seville Hotels.