Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Moved to Social

Thanks for following along on our adventures. 

We are continuing to explore and have fun, but we will now be posting to:

www.facbeook.com/TheTravelGroup and www.instagram.com/TheTravelGroup

Follow along.


Monday, April 22, 2019

Easter egg hunt

Annual Easter Egg Hunt at The Travel Group. 
Everyone donates Easter treats!


Colleen won with 85, Martha came 2nd with 72! 

Thursday, August 30, 2018

How to make the perfect grilled cheese




Take a load of white bread and butter the outsides of it. 


Place it on a medium heat grill. Flip just as the the bread starts to brown and cheese starts to ooze. 


Server with a variety of ketchup's.

See our October 19th 2017 post for our personal preference. 

Monday, April 2, 2018

Easter egg hunt


    Let the annual Travel Group Easter egg hunt begin.


    In 10 minutes, 5.6kg of eggs were found and the winner was Colleen with 98 and Heena and Rami tied for 2nd each with 79! Happy Easter everyone!


Monday, March 19, 2018

Limerick Contest


In honour of St Patrick’s Day we held an office Limerick contest!



You don’t need the luck of the Irish to be a good poet!
A limerick is a form of verse, often humorous and sometimes obscene, in five-line, predominantly anapestic[1] meter with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA, in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and share a different rhyme. [2] The following example is a limerick of unknown origin:


The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.[3]

The form appeared in England in the early years of the 18th century. 

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Limerick contest


In honour of St Patrick’s Day we held an office Limerick contest!

Your Limerick must have any of these words:
Water, Sun, Teeth, Canada, Dummy, Rhine, shoe.

You don’t need the luck of the Irish to be a good poet!
A limerick is a form of verse, often humorous and sometimes obscene, in five-line, predominantly anapestic[1] meter with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA, in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and share a different rhyme. [2] The following example is a limerick of unknown origin:

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.[3]


The form appeared in England in the early years of the 18th century.


Comment below on your favorites


Rhine

There once was a man from the Rhine

Too drunk to ever walk in a line
He always tripped on his feet
Which he thought was quite neat
As the liquor kept him feeling just fine



We always enjoy  a glass of wine
Gewürztraminer from the Rhine.
But the best ones I see
Are all from BC
And some of these are so divine.

There once was a man from the Rhine
who swam the length all the time
though the water was cold
and his toes almost froze
He never complained or whined.

Water

There once was a fellow named Ike
Who was often seen riding his bike.
He drove through the water
Ran over an otter
And fell on his face in the dike.


The water was rough and as it was cold
But the tri-athletes soldiered on so bold
They powered through waves
a warm fire they craved
And a cup of hot cocoa to hold.

Sun

In Vancouver you say it is rainy
Lack of sun can make you go zany.
But stop whining and sniveling
Enough of your driveling
You’re being too much of a painy.

Teeth

There once was a man with no teeth
when his mouth was full did speak
as the food went flying
his guests were all crying
as the mush that he ate really reeked!

Dummy

In old Egypt town there are mummies
the sarcophagi all filled with dummies
the robbers, they took all the loot
gold and trinkets stuffed in their boots
which the archaeologists all thought was crummy!

shoe

There once was a man lost his shoe
He just didn’t know what to do
He looked high and low
With nowhere to go
For stores only sell them in twos!


Canada

In Canada we say sorry a lot
Cause politeness is what we were taught.
So step on my toe
Or stab me with elbow.
It’s my fault even when it is not!

The weather in Canada is very odd
A statement that is really quite broad
Whether winter or summer
It is never a bummer
Cuz the scenery you’ll always applaud









Saturday, November 25, 2017

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Happy Anniversary - wow 30 years !


Where do the years go ? 

The Travel Group celebrated 30th years in business in 2017, and to celebrate we popped some champagne and had an office party !
 

Monday, November 6, 2017

Moving fun begins

As some of you may know The Travel Group will be moving offices in December. Which is always a good time to do some purging.


Let's have a little fun !!



Submissions of the most ridiculous thing at your desk:

Small baby (winner)

  • Sock Monkey
  • Christmas tree ornaments
  • vintage business cards, remember Canadian Airlines?
  • Mr. Incredible figure


Thursday, October 19, 2017

And the winner is ...

Heinz beat French's in a tightly-fought battle. (Sorry North York, Ontario)


Monday, October 16, 2017

Heinz vs French's



Various kinds of Grilled Cheese sandwiches will be served for the judging which ketchup is superior:

Heinz 
who closed their ketchup factory in Canada

vs

French’s 
who opened a ketchup factory in Canada



Come hungry.

Monday, June 12, 2017

The Longest Day fundraiser was a giant success !



Thank you for coming out to the Longest Day event to raise money for
Saint James Music Academy


Thanks to everyone who sponsored (listed below) or participated (listed below) in our 9th annual Longest Day fundraising event. And thank you to all of those who couldn't make it, but sent a donation !

This was our best event ever in many ways. Outstanding weather, record attendance, and more than double last year's money raised for our wonderful cause, Saint James Music Academy (SJMA).
For those of you who heard Arlene's talk, you know that SJMA is more than just a music school in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. It feeds, inspires, and provides emotional support for children and young people in "Canada's poorest postal code." It is a great privilege to be able to support this tremendous organization. 

You'll be seeing new branding for our event in the future: Friends In Travel, which sums up what we are all about. Our event is one of the few opportunities for all our friends in the travel industry to get together, have fun and do a bit of good for our community at the same time. Kudos to the many travel agencies, travel companies and friends who want to support the downtown Eastside who have made this all possible.
Next year will be our event's 10th anniversary. We are planning something really big to celebrate. Stay tuned ! 

A special thanks to:
Arlene, Dee Dee and Melodie from Saint James Music Academy. Marie from Insight to Wellness, and everyone else who helped in the planning to make this day possible, you know who you are.

Thanks to all of you for making this a successful event !

Colleen, Organizer



Prizes sponsored by: Hello Fresh, Epic Rides, Westjet, APT (Australian Pacific Touring), Air Canada Vacations, Manulife Travel Insurance, Fairmont Waterfront, The Travel Group & Capilano Suspension Bridge.
 
Participating companies & groups: Aboriginal Travel Services, Air Canada, Air North, Article, APT (Australian Pacific Touring), Bayleaf, Fernweh Travel, Forbes Travel, Globus family of brands, HB Travel, Hagens Travel, Insight to Wellness, La Power, Manulife Travel Insurance, North South Travel, Outsetters Club, Pan Pacific Hotel, Playa Resorts, The Travel Group, Travel Concepts & Saint James Music Academy.



Friday, April 14, 2017

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Easter Egg Hunt

And the winner is Michele with 110 eggs. 
Followed closely by Carmen with 108 eggs


Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Tee Gee Awards for 2016


To honor The Travel Group for all their hard work in 2016, we had a party!


Tee Gee Awards for 2016
  
Arriving to a great selection of BC wines and beer, we meandered around Brix & Mortar nibbling at a lovely Charcuterie trays.



Things were mixed up this year, handing out the awards at the office. 

Not all the winners were able to be present at night.
  
Annie took the award for Account Manager again this year as well as for top insurance!
The "groupie of the year" voted by her peers was Colleen. And for the first time ever there was a three way time for the "Confucius" award. Michele, Martha & Colleen shared the win!

We enjoyed a sit down set menu, including a fabulous Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Beef Tenderloin, Risotto finishing things off with a Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta.

Another year fun year !



Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Longest Day - 8th annual

It was another successful Day!


With the attendance of about 65 people, everyone was very generous to our charities, helping us raise over $1400. This year we invited our charities to speak. And we were honored to have 3 come to represent. 

Eva & Meghan from WISH Drop in Centre. WISH Drop-in Centre helps to improve, the healthy, safety and well being of women who are involved in the Vancouver street-based sex trade.

Arlene & Dee Dee from Saint James Music Academy. SJMA belives in the power and the joy of music to change lives.
Keryn from the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre which provides a safe space for women and children.




Our luck will run out with the weather at some point, but this was not the year!  It was a blue sky with some fast moving clouds, and a breeze to keep us all cool while we ran or walked out the jetty.

Marie, starting things off with a yoga stretch including a Haka (traditional war cry, dance or challenge from the Maori people of New Zealand) She never fails to come up with something fun !
Andrew from Forbes Travel came in first, crossing the finish line with a time of 40:40, followed by the fastest walker, his co-worker, Lisa.


We added a new prize for the fastest female runner, and Kemi from North South Travel took the winning spot with a time of 49:55.
Another new addition this year was the "Team Spirit" award. We had 5 teams enter this year, some standing out more than others. 

"Forbulous" - Forbes Travel International
"Jetsetters" - North South Travel
"Westjetters" - WestJet Airlines
"Dreamliners....Cuz we fly it" - Air Canada
"We kNOSE Travel" - The Travel Group

North South took the win with their matching shirts and a large team of 9.




The wildest hat is always a very hard prize to pick, each year the hats get better, but sometimes the simple ones can win too! Cindy and Michael with their simple paper hats and Regine with her gold gladiator hat took the win!













It was another year of great success, and I am already planning 2017 !
We look forward to seeing you again next year ! 
~ Colleen

A special thanks to our 2016 sponsorsCapilano suspension bridge for their day passes, Park'n Fly, Trooper for their signed CD & Photo. Manulife for their donation. The Listel Hotel for a gift certificate, and EpricRides for ride passes. And The Fairmont Waterfront & The Travel Group for donating for the Team Spirit award. 




Thursday, May 26, 2016

Water Bomb Challenge

It's Water Bomb Day ! 

Define: Drink a gallon (4 L) of water in one day.


The gallon's are starting to empty, and there is a line up for the loo ! 



Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Do you want to feel like a Canadian ?



We had the pleasure of being invited to The Listel hotel’s new restaurant Timber.  Timber is a Canadian themed restaurant, which is inspired by plaid, cedar and beavers. I think it will be a great experience for those out of towners who want to learn about a Canadian.



Timber Gastropub is not a serious place; they offer Canadian comfort foods like poutine, bison burgers and doughnut holes.  Rotating local craft beer on tap and a selection BC wines.  Their décor is, with a lack of a better word, “Canadian”. There is a stuffed beaver at reception, as well as a Canadian goose. The staff wear plaid shirts with leather belts making you think of lumber jacks!  A lot of their furniture is reused cedar trees among many other things. 

For special events they offer an outdoor fire pit, and you can often see them smoking something wonderful in their onsite smoker.


The Bannock, spicy maple and haskap berry chutney is excellent. Bannock is a main staple of First Nations Food and to experience being Canadian; you’ll want to try this one.  The Timber Bits are a fun one too!









~ Colleen, The Travel Group