Bianca the Foodie Gets Ready to Attend the 2011 South Beach Wine & Food Festival

The South Beach Wine and Food Festival 2011 is fast approaching and I'm in the process of making the final arrangements in order to have a great time! This is one of my favorite events and it is, every year, my gift to myself.  I am fortunate enough to have air miles as well as Marriott rewards points so that I don't have to pay for either my lodging or my flight.

As far as the tickets to the events, although pricey, they benefit in part Florida International University School of Hospitality & Tourism. As the festivals website states  “To date, the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival has raised over $10 million in support of the educational programs at Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. A significant amount of the funds raised from the Festival is allocated to a construction project fund for the expansion of FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management’s existing dining room into a full service Teaching Restaurant.”

This year will be the first time that I will be on my own.  It also will be the first time I will be traveling alone since my Parkinson's diagnosis. My greatest concern was how do I maneuver alone through these events on my own, with a walker. Since my goal is to show how Parkinson’s diagnosis should not preclude me from attending events such as SOBEWFF, I knew there had to be an answer.

After thinking and praying (wishing and hoping - yes I remember Dusty Springfield!) I decided to see if I could make arrangements to have assistance from the student volunteers.

Stay tuned as I share with you this coming week the marvelous miracle of how I was able to line up some incredible FIU student volunteers and how they will assist me  chronicling this event. I hope to inspire other PD patients to "Live Life" and think "outside the box" when planing vacations!