Industry Certifications

CLIA Accredited Cruise Counselor – April 1996

Certified Cruises, Inc. Agent – August 2007

Travel Agent Academy – Presently enrolled

College of Disney Knowledge – Disney Specialist – December 1996

ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents) – since 1994

NACTA (National Association of Certified Travel Agents – May 2008

Royal Caribbean WOW Training – Feburary 2008

HSMI Groups and Meetings – September 2000, 2001, 2007

American Express Achieving Customer Loyalty – July 1995

Professional Skills

Air Line GDS Systems – Apollo, Sabre, Worldspan

TRAMS – July 1994

Professional Associations

CLIA – January 1995

IATAN (International Airline Travel Agent Network) – since April 1995

Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce – October 2007

Very Important Professionals – February 2008

iReferPro.com Member – March 2008

BLOC (Business Leaders of Our Community) – March 2008

Travel Lady Cruises, always providing you with TLC!

Terry’s Professional Certifications

My first 12 years of life I lived in the United States, then my father was offered a position overseas at the American Embassy in New Delhi, India. Dad had to meet some people before we moved there so that is when I really started traveling, first stop was Rome, Italy. My family flew non- stop on TWA from Dulles Airport in Virginia to Rome. It was my older brothers, mine and my little sisters first airplane ride. While growing up in the sixties when we took a trip we always went by car, so taking a plane ride was a big event to us.

My parents made sure we had our books from school with us and she home schooled us while we traveled but most of our education on these first trips were world history, geography, current events and world politics. Before we started our travels, while we waited for our household goods to be packed up, my parents put up a HUGE world map on the dining room wall. This was for us to chart where we were to be traveling to before we settled in New Delhi for my fathers assignment there at the American Embassy.  

My father loved languages, he used to say a novice at many lanuages but a master of none. This wasn’t entirely true,  so he taught us how to say simple phrases to people while we were traveling, such as hello, good bye, thank you, please, how are you and to ask someone if they spoke English.  Over the years I still find these simple phrases very useful even here in my own hometown now that our communities are filled with neighbors from around the globe.

In Rome, we lived in a huge apartment. At least to me at 12 years old it seemed huge. The ceilings were probably only 12- 14 feet tall but they seemed 30 feet tall. There were two bedrooms a living room, large bathrooms and small eating area. There were the tallest  windows there, that even today, 30 plus years later I would say were the most wonderful windows to look out of. They were tall and thin and had wooden shutters to cover them. There was a ledge that was wide enough for me to stand on and they opened out to street below. We were on one of the top floors of the building and yet not far from the street below – maybe one or two stories. It was from those large windows I would see my very first palm tree and watch all the small Italian cars go around and around their traffic circles. It was from those windows we heard our neighbors call out to each other and watched many sunsets over such a beautiful European city.

There was even a small car parked up the front steps entering our building one night, because there was no more street parking available. People walking by would always shout out a friendly hello and send a wave of their hand as well. The warmth and friendliness always struck me as though I was a part of this city.

My mom wanted to see so many sights while we were in Rome and so we tromped about the city at times while my father was in meetings. We saw the Trevi Fountain ( and threw in coins), the Spanish Steps and went shopping. Then we explored with him to see the Coliseum , the Forum, the Pantheon and Vatican City and other sights, which was good because he could understand and speak to the people around us.

I don’t know if it is just my memory or not, but I don’t ever remember going out to eat for dinner anywhere else but this one restaurant in particular. I remember getting small snacks and breakfasts at different places but dinner was always at the same restaurant. I asked my Dad years ago for the name of the resturant again and I wrote it down, just in case I ever went back to Rome. I am not sure I would ever be able to find the name or the restaurant but it was an adventure all in it’s own. We would walk down, what would now be categorized as an alley and the door would be missed, if you were not looking for it carefully. When you walked in the walls were thick with wood beams and there were alcoves for diners. The tables were set up for family style and the plates and pictures and items decorating the walls were from generations and generations of families. I felt like every night was a celebration with family even though we could only say please and thank you in Italian!  The food was magnificent, and nothing like the Italian dishes my Irish mother served at home. We gathered there night after night and got to learn a few more phrases and got to know some very wonderful people. They treated us like family. They teased us, they laughed with us and for a short time made us a part of their family. These people told us where to see the real Rome and not just where the tourists went. They told us stories of their families and showed us where their children were baptised and where their families were buried.

That first trip to Rome and meeting those people formed what is now my tendacies to want to learn about the places I travel to from the people who live and work there. To hear their stories and learn about the rich histories of the places I have the grace to visit. I have not yet returned to Rome in all these years, but it is on my list. I want to once again capture the wide eyed innocence and experiance the warmth of the open arms of the people of Italy.   

I don’t know if my brother and sister have these same memories of Rome or if over the years I have romanticised this some. I do know that when I help people book their travel to new places, I hope I have started them on the road to many, many wonderful memories to cherish.

Travel Lady Cruises, always providing you with TLC!

Insights into Terry’s travels… Rome, Italy

Terry

Travel Lady Cruises, always providing you with TLC!

Hello world!