Top 10 Reasons To Visit Northern Italy
Ten Quick Tips
Italy is not short on things to do, places to see, and things to try, but here’s my top ten favorite things about my time in Northern Italy.
Lake Como, Italy
(Click image for more about my time spent around Lake Como)
#1. Lake Como
Romance.
Milan, Italy
#2. Duomo di Milano
Massive, majestic, and worth a viewing, the floors of this cathedral are some of my favorite of any of the cathedrals I’ve toured in Europe.
Everywhere in Italy
#3. Cappuccino
My husband was proud of NOT being a coffee drinker prior to our visit to Italy, however, the cappuccino’s in Italy brought him over to the dark side ;)
Everywhere in Italy
#4. High-speed Trains
Train travel in Italy is a breeze and help make visiting multiple cities a snap!
Burano, Italy
#5. Burano Italy
A small island off the coast of Venice, Burano is known as the “lace” island, but should be known for it’s picture perfect color pallet. Spend a day visiting both Burano and Murano, and don’t forget your camera!
Everywhere in Italy
#6. The Cannoli
While available in lots of places at home, there’s something validating about having one in Italy.
Venice, Italy
(Click the image for more about my time in Venice)
#7. The Doge’s Palace
Infinitely easier to get into than St Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s palace is history rich, and well worth a half-day.
Venice, Italy
#8. Cafe Lavena
Venice is packed with tourists during the day due to the cruise ship passengers, but sitting out in from of Cafe Lavena in the evening while listening to live music and sipping a beverage or eating a sweet treat as the sun sets… it doesn’t get much better.
Bologna, Italy
(Click image for more information about my time in Bologna)
#9. Le due Torri (The Two Towers)
Bologna is a hidden gem in Italy. Largely overlooked by tourists, Bologna is a slice of authentic Italian life, mixed with the energy of being a college town, and some of the best food we ate in all of Italy!
Everywhere in Italy
#10. Caprese Salad
Unlike the pasta heavy way that Americans approach Italian food, pasta was not the center of attention at any of the restaurants we visited. Consistently available was personal pizza, caprese salad, cured meats, and other delightful things. Given the heat, I practically lived on caprese salad while we were there, because it was refreshing and light.
Questions of Comments? Leave me a note below!
Trip Planning During Covid19
Planning When Nothing Is Certain
We’re now half-way through 2020 and what feels like a lifetime of uncertainty related to Covid19. Regardless of your feelings or opinions about how to address the pandemic in your day-to-day, the fact remains that government-mandated restrictions remain. For those that had plans for big life events or experiences in 2020 holding our breath and crossing our fingers has become the only sport available to watch.
A New Set of Rules
Typically when I plan our trips abroad there are certain key factors that I just don’t challenge the wisdom of and that list starts with avoiding Europe in August. However, due to an unrelated scheduling challenge for my husband this year, the only window of time long enough to go anywhere in 2020 just so happened to be in August which I was NOT thrilled about at the start of the year. However, as everyone around the world is now used to saying, “then COVID happened.”
Trip Planning During Covid19
As much as I wish I could be an authority on the subject it’s simply not possible to build a house on shifting sands, so for those that keep asking me what is going on with my summer travel plans, this post is a chronicle of my experience while attempting to plan during a time of the unknown and unknowable.
Timeline
Back in January of 2020, we purchased roundtrip tickets on British Airways from New York to Athens Greece. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post we often purchase inexpensive flights from our hometown to more major cities offering more competitively priced international flights, so in this case, it was Southwest Airlines to the rescue!
January was a blissful time of new resolutions and nieve planning for the new year, but what it also did was to create a protective bubble around our newly booked trip to Greece which was done pre-COVID. That said, “then COVID happened” and put everything into flux. Our financial investment in both our flights and accommodations are safe because of our booking date, but then comes a variety of other things to consider and potential complications to tackle.
COVID Considerations
Government Regulated Travel Restrictions
Government-Mandated COVID Mitigation Rules
Above impact on desired activities
Travel Regulations
At the time of the writing of this post, I’m paying very close attention to International tourism regulations from Greece, the European Union, and the United States. Thankfully the EU is being very communicative about regulatory changes and making those changes available on various government websites.
As it stands the US is under a level 4 travel ban on non-essential travel, which doesn’t mean that we can’t leave but does mean that we can’t get travel insurance. The EU is slowly opening up, and fortunately for us, Greece is at the forefront of the relaxing of those regulations due to the low number of COVID cases they have been able to maintain. However, as of today Greece still requires mandatory COVID testing and multi-day quarantine of all arriving tourists. In addition to testing upon arrival, Greece is also heavily enforcing social distancing guidelines which at present is keeping indoor bars and restaurants closed, and has capped entry to many of the historical sites.
With that being said, the Greek Tourism Board has strongly implied that they expect the current restrictions to be lifted in July, and the EU is slated to release the updated guidelines July 1st, but they have not made implications such as what Greece has.
Travel Regulation Resources
The following list of websites is what I’m paying close attention to in terms of the probability of my trip, and my secondary consideration is checking with my airline to stay up to date with how they are complying with travel regulations in addition to being enrolled in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
International Flights
As mentioned above, a secondary thing to remain mindful of is how the airlines are reacting to changing regulations. A great example is one such change that has already occurred to my potential trip and the city of my layover.
My flight in August was scheduled to depart from NYC and then land in Madrid Spain before continuing on to Athens Greece. However, the partner airline that we were booked on (in this case Iberia Airlines) which then would have been departing from Spain, was canceled. The cancelation of the second leg of our flight was not a major issue, and actually was a blessing in disguise! We received the cancelation notice and immediately called customer support at British Airways where a representative immediately took our call, rebooked both legs of our flight on a British Airways flight plan through London, and had the whole process completed within ten minutes from the start of our call.
Where the above scenario becomes important, is that the cancelation of the original second leg of our trip is that it was due to restrictions between Spain and Greece, so it’s important to try and stay aware of the many moving pieces related to travel within the EU.
Needless to say, I'll be waiting with bated breath for the announcement promised for the beginning of July.
Want to join the conversation? Leave a Comment Below.
Top 10 Reasons To Visit Spain
Trip Planning Highlights
If you plan trips the way I do, you find a few things that you might want to see or do and then you plan a trip around those things. To hopefully save you some research time, here’s a short list of my top ten favorite things from my trip to Spain.
Granada Spain
(Click on image to read more about my time in Granada)
#1 - Granada
This city was hands-down my favorite city in Spain. Full of color, energy, and historical charm, Granada is somewhere worth spending four our more days.
Granada Spain
#2 - The Alhambra
Located in the already lovely city of Granada, the Alhambra Palace is a visually stunning walk through history. Be sure to designate an entire day to walking though this place, because it’s massive and you’ll not want to miss a single square inch!
Granada Spain
#3 - Traditional Flamenco Show
Taking a page from the late travel guru Anthony Bourdain, we took in a traditional flamenco show while in Granada. Shows are readily available, but decided to see one held in the historical cave buildings in the hillside above Granada.
Barcelona Spain
(Click the image to read more about my experience in Barcelona)
#4 - The Sagrada Familia
I’ve been fortunate to tour some of the most beautiful churches in Europe, but THIS one will take your breath away. I recommend the guided tour as well as booking several months in advance of your arrival.
Day Trip From Tarifa Spain
Tangier Morocco is just 45 min away by high-speed ferry from Tarifa Spain!
#5 - Day Trip to Tangier Morocco
As lovely as the southern coast of Spain is, the draw of Morocco was too much for us to resist. just a short boat trip away, organized day trips of Tangier are a great way to spend a day!
Seville Spain
#6 - Chocolate Churro’s
As odd as it may sound, churro’s with chocolate are a favorite treat in Spain. We noticed a considerable number of churro places in Seville, so I would suggest taking the time to try one while there rather than waiting to try one in another city.
Seville Spain
(Click on image to read more about my time in Seville)
#7 - Plaza de España
You might recognize this place if you were a fan of the HBO series Game of Thrones, or have researched the locations of the Worlds Fair. It’s a beautiful place to walk around, doesn’t cost anything, and is surrounded by nice parks and gardens to stroll through.
Everywhere in Spain
(We tried it for the first time in Seville)
#8 - Paella
Available all over Spain and in an endless number of different combinations and flavors, paella was a highlight of our food journey.
Everywhere in Spain
#9 - Helado (ice cream)
I’ll admit to having not been a big ice cream eater before this trip, but somewhere in the combination of the heat, the variety of flavors, and the appealing vendors everywhere you look, I got on board and haven’t looked back.
Barcelona Spain
#10 - Park Güell
Barcelona has some of the most unique architecture of anywhere i’ve ever been, and a walk through this park in Barcelona is NOT to be missed.
The Kelpies of Helix Park
Mystical Water Horses & Other Spirits
Something magical exists in Scotland and the people that live (and have lived) there, know it. Spiritualism, mysticism, and magic, or even just the belief in ghosts, are things you might expect to hear discussed among certain social groups here in the U.S., but the reference to these subjects is just part of a normal dialogue in Scotland. So the next time you’re chatting with a local while sipping on a glass of scotch in your hotel lobby and they start telling you about the ghost in the last hotel they stayed in, don’t immediately think of them as being “on the fringe,” think of them as being Scottish
The Water Kelpies of Falkirk
Less than an hour west of Edinburgh is the Helix Park of Falkirk. Not normally one to stop at roadside attractions, I would urge you to make an exception for this one. I stumbled across a picture on the internet, which I then sought out and added a stop to see in person, but if you find yourself driving west on the M9 from Edinburgh toward Glasgow, you’ll not be able to miss it!
A “Kelpie,” or in this case a “Water Kelpie,” is a shape-shifting water spirit that lives in the waters of Scotland. Most typically shown as a horse or human figure, the two kelpies at Helix Park are impressive both in size and design. You can read more about kelpies HERE.
Helix Park, just opened in 2014, is a canal connection between the Forth and Clyde Canal with the River Forth. Longboats traveling the canals can be found here.
Roadside Stops in Scotland
Ordinarily, we prefer to travel by train, but while Scotland does have train connectivity to major cities, a lot of the historical and countryside attractions can not be accessed via that method. For our visit, we picked up a rental car in Edinburgh and decided to take the scenic route.
Less than an hour away, and on our way to visit Stirling Castle, a visit to see the Kelpies is worth making a stop to see.
Questions or Comments? Leave them below!
A Harry Potter Pilgrimage
A Potterhead Visits the United Kingdom
My love of the Harry Potter franchise began somewhere between the second and fourth films, so sometime between 2002 and 2005. I wish I could say that I had read the books first, but the truth is that I was in college at the time, and let’s face it, ain't no one got time for elective reading.
Never the less, my young adult years of my 20’s and early 30’s were bombarded with the typical stresses of personal identity, romantic entanglements, and rigors of establishing a career track. Adding to the chaos, was the complications of the economic crash of 2008 and the ensuing hangover, many people of my age had just entered the workforce when it happened and had not yet established themselves with any particular employer. However, with a world uncertain and full of daily anxiety, there was Hogwarts to escape to.
In May of 2019, my husband and I took my mother-in-law on a two week trip to the United Kingdom. We started in London, where we stayed in an Airbnb that could have been lifted straight from the set of one of the films before we set off by train to spend the majority of our vacation in Scotland (read more about our experience here).
From London to Edinburgh by way of Platform 9 3/4
While the platform was set at Kings Cross Station in the books, the visual inspiration was that of London’s Euston Station, an embarrassing mix up which J.K. Rowling admitted to in a 2001 interview with the BBC (you can read more about this train experience by clicking HERE)
The Harry Potter Universe Exists in Edinburgh
Considering that much of the first book, and parts of the ensuing books, were written in Edinburgh, the city played no small part in influencing elements of the world that became home to Harry Potter. In the span of just a few short blocks, you see places that will immediately transport you to the wizarding world and where you’ll come face to face with the inspiration for many of the central characters in the story (more about Edinburgh here).
Must-See Places for Harry Potter Fans
The Elephant House - Spoon Cafe
This is where J.K. Rowling (then a very poor, single mother) would go while writing the first couple of books in the series. Many details in the books are places, names, and various other elements of the city directly located near or around this coffee shop.
The Greyfriar’s Kirkyard
More than one character in the series received a name from a headstone located in this grave yard.
Victoria Street
The odd angle of this downward sloped street was the inspiration for the name “Diagon Alley.” Full of life and color, the real-life “Victoria Street” is home to many lovely shops, at least two of which are nods to the Harry Potter series.
The Next Best Thing
Probably the closest thing to Ollivander's Wand Shop is the Museum of Context. The space itself, “No 40 Victoria St,” was formerly Robert Cresser, Brush Shop, founded in 1873, and made and sold paint brushes and brooms.
A step through the door is all that is needed to transport you to the magical world of J.K. Rowling, as the environment of the store is both a striking visual match for what you would expect to see in the world of Harry Potter, but the merchandise is also an array between officially licensed merch from the franchise, as well as actual antiques and oddities.
While there, a wand may have chosen me but I’ll never say which one.
All Aboard For Hogwarts
An absolute nerdgasm experience for me, came much later in the trip when we navigated our way further up into the Highlands. Operating for only portions of the year and running just twice daily, you can take a ride on the Jacobite train, otherwise known as the Hogwarts Express. I’ll go into more detail later in another post.
That’s All Folks
If you have questions or comments or let’s face it, just want to talk about your Harry Potter adventures, leave me a note in the comments!
How To Spend Three Days in Edinburgh
The Friendliest City in the United Kingdom
Edinburgh Scotland, the city you didn’t know that you always wanted to visit, is a delightful place for experienced and novice travelers alike.
A city with visually stunning architecture, lively mood, plenty of walkable attractions, and hands down the friendliest people in the UK, Edinburgh will charm your socks off.
Where to stay in Edinburgh
Having no shortage of accommodations, you can find everything from hostels, vacation rentals, historical boutique hotels, and familiar hotel chains here.
However, something to understand about Edinburgh is that having a car should be avoided at all costs. The charm of this city (particularly Old Town) comes at a cost to drivers, and parking is relegated to the outskirts of the city, but this is also where you’ll find most of the chain hotels. Fortunately, while hilly, the old city is very walkable and if you plant yourself centrally to the train station, you’ll not need a car.
My Recommendation For Where To Stay in Edinburgh
Old Town is lively, quirky, and highly accessible. If you don’t mind a little noise from the surrounding nightlife, the charm of this neighborhood will win you over. However, sidewalks are scant and the roads, while being very pedestrian-friendly, are largely brick or cobblestone and will do a number on your roller bags.
We stayed in a charming Airbnb and were in easy walking distance to shops, the castle, the train station, and everything else we wanted to do.
Three Days of Activities
This was my second time visiting Edinburgh and three days was still not enough time to see everything this city has to offer. However, if you’re limited on time here’s what we did.
Day 1 - Arrival
*As a general rule, regardless of what time of day you arrive in a new city, the process of arrival and accommodation check-in is often a considerable effort.
We arrived in the early evening, just as many of the shops were starting to close down for the night, so we grabbed some fish and chips and then checked into our nearby Airbnb.
Day 2 - Exploration
Probably the busiest day during our time in Edinburgh, I had drafted a list with no less than twenty-five different places that I wanted to checkout depending on how much time and energy we wanted to invest in exploration. Ultimately we didn’t hit everything on the list, but what we did achieve was a list of things that make for a great itinerary to share with you all!
Edinburgh Castle - Arrive first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds, we arrived as soon as they opened and had a wonderful experience with some of the staff working there.
2. Find the Heart of Midlothian - Located beneath your feet on the Royal Mile is a heart with a dark past. A heart-shaped mosaic set among the road bricks outside of the West Door of St Giles High Kirk, the heart is all that remains of one of the United Kingdom’s most heinous prisons, the Old Tolbooth. Local tradition is to spit on it as you pass, and if you read about the history of that prison you’ll understand why.
The royal mile is the stretch of shops and restaurants between the castle and palace
3. Walk the Royal Mile - Packed with tourists, and loaded with shops more than happy to over-charge you for mostly low-quality merchandise. The royal mile is also great for people watching and listening to local musicians.
4. Visit Victoria Street - Just off of the Royal Mile is one of the most charming streets you’ll find anywhere, and is also one of the most photographed. Walk down this uniquely angled street (which inspired “Diagon” Alley in the Harry Potter series, more for the diagonal angle at which it sets than for the shops it offers). However, some of the best shops I visited in Edinburgh were either on or just off of this street, so a visit is a MUST.
*For Harry Potter fans, a store called the “Museum of Context” is located about halfway down the hill, and is a place you’ll want to visit.
5. Buy A Hat at Fabhatrix - Located at the bottom of Victoria Street is an intersection of Cowgate and Grassmarket, where more shops and eateries worth visiting are located. So too is the Fabhatrix shop, where you can purchase a variety of different styles of headwear made right there in the shop. My husband and I both purchased wool caps that we wore throughout the rest of our trip.
6. Visit Greyfriars Bobby - Just up the street from Fabhatrix is a rather famous little cemetery called Greyfriars Kirkyard. A legend told by locals, is of a Sky Terrier named “Bobby",” who’s owner died and was buried in the Kirkyard, continued to visit his masters grave every day for fourteen years until his death. Various versions of this story exist, but what is agreed on is the love that this community had for Bobby. A pub named “Greyfriars Bobby” is located just adjacent to the kirkyard, and a bronze statue of Bobby is located just out front. Folks rub Bobby’s nose for good luck. We ate a late lunch here and had a lovely experience.
7. Enjoy the Art Scene - There is no shortage of galleries and shops in the Old Town and Cowgate area, so take your time and check some of them out. A regret I have while in this part of town was not stopping at the “Elephant House,” which is a coffee shop in which JK Rowling wrote a large amount of the first Harry Potter books. The inspiration for elements of places and character names were taken from actual places around the coffee shop itself.
8. Eat a Deep Fried Mars Bar - It’s a favorite of the locals in Edinburgh specifically.
9. Take a stroll through the Princess Street Gardens and check out the monument to Sir. Walter Scott.
10. Music can be heard everywhere in Edinburgh, including traditional bagpipes! Follow your ear and go have a wee listen.
Day 3 - Take A Day Trip to St Andrews
With so little time in Edinburgh to begin with, I struggled with whether to take this side trip or not. Ultimately the opportunity to spend an afternoon in the romantic medieval town that had captured my heart ten years earlier won out. Just a short train ride with an easy bus transfer away, St Andrews is an easy place to spend a day. Home to the very first Golf Course, the University of St Andrews (where Prince William and Kate Middleton first met), seaside castle ruins, and shops that are largely catered to locals rather than tourists (we did a lot of shopping here), it's a great place to slow down and try some Sticky Toffee Pudding after a walk through the cathedral ruins.
Just getting started
On our final day in Edinburgh, we checked out of our Airbnb and made our way once again to the train station in Old Town, but this time it was to pick up our rental car. As I’ve mentioned, you don’t want to have to mess with a car while you’re staying here, but for better access to some of the more remote points of interest in Scotland, you’ll want to have wheels.
The rental car options are all located beneath the train station, and as previously mentioned, Edinburgh is very hilly and the data signal is spotty at best. We learned the hard way that depending on our iPhone GPS was a mistake because as my brave husband quickly learned while driving a manual (from the right side of the car) our map wasn’t working and we didn’t know how to navigate ourselves out of town. My recommendations are that if you’ve never driven on the right before, be sure to spring for the GPS package that comes from the rental agency… it was a very stressful hour of guessing our way out of Edinburgh while trying to learn to drive an unfamiliar car.
All things considered
Edinburgh was a delight for both my husband and mother-in-law and didn’t disappoint as a place for a second visit by myself. I would jump at the chance to return and see the large number of things that we didn’t have time to see during this trip. All in all, Edinburgh might be one of my top three favorite cities that I’ve spent time in while abroad, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Questions or Comments? Leave me a note in the comments!
A Lot to Love About St Andrews
Lovely Seaside Retreat or Day Trip
Ten years ago I spent several days in St Andrews while visiting a friend from undergrad that was working on their master's degree at the university there. My travel buddy and I, both in our mid-late twenties, had never been abroad previously and St Andrews was our first stop of several in the United Kingdom.
St Andrews is exactly what comes to my mind when I imagine “old world charm,” but with just enough modern amenity to keep it comfortable, but is there to do in such a small place? Depending on who you talk to, St Andrews might be known for one of several different things:
The Old Course - The worlds first golf course
The University of St Andrews - Founded in 1413 and attended by royalty, is the most romantic setting for higher learning that I've ever laid eyes on.
The ruins of St Andrews Castle & Cathedral
In addition to the above, extra “cool points” must be awarded for the general vibe of this quaint village when visiting during the school term, when a youthful energy is added to an otherwise quiet (but friendly) setting.
Getting to St Andrews from Edinburgh
Simply put, the best way to get from central Edinburgh to St Andrews is by train. That said, typically when I’m traveling to a new place, I’m looking for transportation that is door to door without needing to make any changes in between. However, the train doesn’t go all the way to St Andrews, but instead requires a connecting bus.
Ordinarily, I would see the need for a further connection as a negative, however, I’ve now taken this particular train/bus combo to/from St Andrews a few times and I want to put your mind at ease by saying that it couldn’t be easier.
Starting out from Edinburgh
You’ll arrive at the train station on the day you want to travel, and just purchase your round-trip ticket right then and there.
*For an extra fee, you may also be able to purchase your connecting bus pass as well, so I would just ask at the ticket window.
Next, you'll just hop on the train bound for St Andrews by way of “Leuchars Station,” while en route, you’ll cross a bridge called the “Forth Bridge,” which crosses the Firth of Forth (you have to love Scotland).
When you arrive at Leuchars station (just 4 miles outside of St Andrews), you’ll be surprised to see that it’s just a tiny little station with a parking lot and waiting area. You’ll just get off of the train and walk to the waiting area by the parking lot, and every few minutes a city bus will come to pick up train passengers. These busses are comfortable and you’ll just need to purchase your ticket when you board the bus (remember to bring cash). Stay on the bus until you reach the bus depot, and from here you’ll have a very easy walk to wherever your heart leads you to go first in St Andrews.
A Day Trip to St Andrews
If you’re looking for a place to spend a few days relaxing, this is the place for you, but if you’re more ambitious in your desire to see and do stuff, I would suggest seeing St Andrews as a day trip instead.
We were here at the end of May, and most of the university students had already left, so the town had a somewhat “empty” feeling, as the permanent residents hadn’t quite gotten into a normal (sans students) routine yet. However, all the shops were open, the weather was beautiful, and golfers were out in force.
As I mentioned above, we arrived in the morning and spent several hours shopping here, as well as paying a visit to the edge of the Old Course, walking through parts of the University campus (it’s beautiful), touring the seaside ruins of the cathedral (both the castle and cathedral overlook the ocean), and walking along the harbor. We proceeded to have a lengthy, hearty lunch at a little pub in the city square, where I introduced my family to Sticky Toffee Pudding (yummy), and then we began making our way back to the train station to go back to Edinburgh.
Memory Lane
As we began our walk back to the bus station, I spotted the hostel which my friend and I had stayed at ten years prior. Being the nerd that I am, I had to take a picture under the sign. If you ever need a super inexpensive place to stay, you should consider a youth hostel, and I had a positive experience at St Andrews Tourist Hostel.
It was a truly wonderful day and an awesome walk down memory lane, but for now it’s time to head back to Edinburgh.
Leave me a note in the comments :)
High Tea Fit For Royalty
The Goring Hotel
On our most recent visit to the United Kingdom, we found ourselves with 24 hours in London that also coincided with my birthday. With a desire to capitalize on the occasion, we chose to celebrate with a traditional High Tea service, but the question of “where” resulted in hours of reading TripAdvisor reviews as well as other travel blogs, to try and find a place not overrun with Instagramers and fellow tourists. Ultimately, I discovered The Goring Hotel, which perfectly fulfilled my birthday wish.
Searches By A Self-Loathing Tourist
When traveling abroad, there’s a certain level of “tourist stench" which can’t be easily escaped by American travelers. We're typically larger, louder, and for a variety of reasons, showing our teeth. However, careful planning can help to mitigate a certain amount of our "cliche" behavior and provide those of us that are aware of our "presence," a more authentic experience.
With a desire for a tourist-free, high-class birthday tea, several places rose to the surface in terms of popularity among travel bloggers and Tripadvisor reviewers. Fortunately, it quickly occurred to me that I was taking these suggestions from the same people I was wanting to avoid and that I would need to broaden my search. Changing gears, I decided to research significant places of business to the royal family and as a result, found options largely unmentioned in my previous searches. Eventually, I made my way through the list to The Goring Hotel and it was love at first click.
“The closest hotel to Buckingham Palace, The Goring has been a firm Royal favorite for many years, since it first opened its doors. The coronations of George VI and Her Majesty The Queen saw the hotel filled with royalty attending these great occasions from all over the world. The Queen Mother also famously enjoyed Eggs Drumkilbo – a lobster and egg-based dish that remains one of the most popular dishes in The Dining Room.
In 1990, George Goring accepted an O.B.E. from Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace for ‘services to the hotel industry’. This was followed by the appointment of a Royal Warrant to The Goring in 2013 - the only hotel to have been awarded a Royal Warrant for hospitality services. Royal Warrants of Appointment are a mark of recognition to those who supply goods or services to the Households of Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh or His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. “
If having the warrant wasn’t cool enough, it’s also the hotel used by Kate Middleton (see HERE). Moral of the story is that if it’s good enough for royalty it’s good enough for me ;)
What To Expect
After choosing where I wanted to go, I turned my attention to details such as what the ideal time for tea is, what the dress code was, and if there was a set length of time per reservation.
Details to Know:
High Tea traditionally starts at 4 pm
Most high-end establishments (including The Goring) do have a dress code
Men are required to wear a sport coat or dinner jacket
No shorts or jeans
Reservations are 1.5 hours in length
Make your reservations in ADVANCE
High tea isn’t an inexpensive activity, and the prices typically vary by location and then there’s usually a range of tea service options. Our service was on the upper end of the spectrum, but the quality was worth every penny of the $70 price (per person) tag.
Happy Birthday to Me!
We had such an amazing experience during our time at The Goring, and despite the lack of photos (because this really wasn’t a place to act like a tourist), it was an absolute highlight of our time in London!
Questions or Comments? Leave me a note below.
24 Hours in London England
Timing is Everything
I’m a self-admitted over scheduler, but sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve got to do. Last May my husband and I jumped at the opportunity to take my mother-in-law to the United Kingdom, as she had expressed a desire to see to Scotland, and we relished the chance to show it to her.
At the top of my mind, was the very real possibility that this might be the first and last time that she will ever visit the U.K., so I wanted to make sure that the trip would provide her with experience, exposure, and memories that we could all treasure together. Which leads me to my most problematic part of planning this trip.
Flight deals proved tricky to come by in late May, as it is the very beginning of peak season, and we planned this trip just eight weeks in advance. If you’ve ever traveled to the U.K., I’m sure you’re aware of how expensive it can be. That said, our intended destination was Scotland, but we found a good flight deal into London, and given my experience traveling by train between England and Scotland ten years prior, I knew that the cost, time, and experience would be worth utilizing the alternative arrival airport, but I digress.
As I mentioned before, London is expensive, so we decided to only stay a single night and therefore limit our time there to just a little over 24 hours. London is MASSIVE, so planning a once in a life-time London experience for my mother-in-law was a challenge that called upon all of my neurotic scheduling tendencies.
The Schedule
Arrival at London Heathrow - 8:00 AM
Catch the Tube and navigate to the general area of our Airbnb (approx. 1 hr journey)
Deposit luggage at reserved baggage nanny locker - 10:00 AM
We wouldn’t be able to check into our Airbnb until 2:00 PM and needed to unencumber ourselves for sightseeing.
Get back on the Tube and travel further east to see the Tower of London and London Tower Bridge, eat lunch and then get back on the Tube to go collect luggage from baggage nanny.
Arrive exactly on time to Airbnb at 2 PM, get checked in, take showers and change, leave by 3:30 PM to arrive at Hotel for High Tea at 4 PM for FIRM reservation.
Finish tea and proceed to Piccadilly Circus to meet Photographer reserved through AirBnB experiences, for a family photoshoot at iconic London spots - 6 PM.
Photoshoot ends at 7:30 PM - The rest of the evening is free.
The next morning, go watch the changing of the Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace - 10 AM
Checkout of Airbnb at noon
Deposit luggage at Kings Cross station 12:45 PM
Visit surrounding shops and get a new photo at Harry Potter 9 3/4 spot at the station
Board the train for Edinburgh Scotland - 2 PM
Relax on the four-hour scenic trip.
Plans Change
Rare is the case with a packed schedule, that something doesn’t go wrong, and the issues cascade from one to the next. Such was the case step #4 and getting checked into our Airbnb.
Located in the West End, the location was ideally located by a major metro hub and lots of cute shops and restaurants. However, unbeknownst to us, the building it was located in was a mirror image building of one located directly in front of it. Making matters worse, is that we were unaware that the entrance to the correct building at the same address, was accessible ONLY by foot, from the alleyway behind the building at the address we arrived at. As you can imagine, we arrived exactly on time, and without a moment to spare, only to find that we were unable to enter the building located at the corresponding street address. Two frantic phone calls to the host later, we came to discover that we had to walk behind the building to a separate entrance to a mirror image building…
Finally, in the correct spot, it’s 2:30 PM and unfortunately, the previous guests had not yet checked out. Our host was there to meet us and was very apologetic, but despite being aware of our very compressed schedule and need to get changed and back out the door, insisted on giving all three of us a tarot card reading before he would complete our check-in and remove the luggage of the previous guests.
3:10 PM, finally checked in and able to get ready for our reservation, but with just 20 minutes to spare, there was no time to shower, iron clothes, or style hair. Wash travel dirt off of face, brush teeth, pull back to hide hair-tie lines from wonky high bun, wear least wrinkled outfit, basic makeup and done!
Fortunately, despite being somewhat frazzled, we arrived EXACTLY on time for tea, and it was a perfect experience. Unfortunately, the peace was to be short-lived, as we would have to dash once again just an hour and a half later to meet our photographer.
Lesson Learned
While still an ambitious use of 24 hours, there are only two things I would have done differently.
Lesson One - Book a Hotel
We booked an Airbnb due to the cost of staying in central London. Not only is the average cost per night VERY high, but there’s also a strict limit of two adults per room, which in our case of three adults, doubles the cost. However, in hindsight, the day would have run MUCH better if we had been able to check into a hotel upon our arrival and would have been worth the additional $300 which we saved by staying the Airbnb. Sometimes convenience in the face of tight scheduling is worth more than money.
Lesson Two - Limit yourself to no more than two structured “to-do’s” per day while traveling.
Our mere 24 hours (in reality it was more like 30 hours) was bogged down with twelve to-do items which included necessary things like arrival, departure, accommodation check-in, etc. All of those necessary tasks take a mental tole while traveling, so when faced with such a narrow turn around time, limit yourself as to the number of structured activities and THEN if you feel up to it, allow other experiences to naturally be added to your list, that way you don’t always feel pressed for time to make it to the next pre-planned activity.
Lesson Three - Getting photos taken while on vacation is a MUST!
This was a game-changing experience for us in terms of trip photos. It was amazing to get images of my husband and me in amazing locations without it having to be a close-range selfie, or badly composed because you begged a passing stranger to take your picture. We’ll be doing this on all trips from now on.
Questions or Comments? Leave me a note below!
My Son Sanctuary - UNESCO Site
My Son Sanctuary - UNESCO Site
An absolute NOT TO BE MISSED experience we had while in Hoi An, was taking a private half-day tour of the My Son Sanctuary. Built by the Champa people (a culture which occupied the land currently known as Vietnam) between the 4th and 14th centuries, the site is truly breathtaking. Unlike the Vietnamese who are largely Buddhist, the Champa people were Hindu and used an entirely different alphabet.
Much to our advantage, we booked an early morning private tour and were some of the very first people to arrive at the park, around 8:30 am. This was ideal in the aspect of not only being able to take better photographs but also provided a lovely stillness in which to experience it.
Sadly, the site was heavily damaged due to American bombs during the war, and given several factors, the restoration work has proved to be extremely difficult, and in some cases impossible. This site is yet another painful mark left on the country and a terrible loss to world history.
After we had completed our tour of the sanctuary, our guide took us to a tiny little village where we had lunch before setting out via boat, to visit a village known for making pottery.
Probably the most interesting temple we visited, was also located in this pottery village, as it contained a hidden artifact from the 6th century! A tree growing directly out front of the temple has grown around a statue of Ganesha, the Hindu elephant god, which as I mentioned earlier, was part of the Champa culture during the 6th century. BAM, history.
We also got the opportunity to try our hands at manipulating clay on a wheel, the whole experience was great.
Questions? Leave them below!
Tailoring Vietnam
Custom Clothing in Vietnam
This activity was one that had me excited for months leading up to our trip. Articles and blog posts about how to select a tailor, what to have made, or how long it would take, were nearly daily reads in my travel preparation phase.
Lucky for you, I’m going to make this simple and tell you that with very little effort before you leave, you can make this tailoring process easy as pie!
If You Can Dream it They Can Make it
Coats, dresses, pants, suits, whatever it is as long as you have good pictures, they can copy it. Not wanting an exact copy of something? There are magazines, books, and sample items at every tailor, and you need only to tell them what you like about a given piece, and what you want changed to meet your taste.
Fabrics are plentiful, but if it’s leather and fur that you’re seeking, these are materials that weren’t obvious at any of the tailors we visited.
I selected a half dozen items which I had long coveted, but couldn’t afford or find, and printed multiple images from online of the items (if I could find differing photos which showed elements of the construction) from the internet, and these would ultimately service as the best thing I could have done.
Selecting A Tailor in Hoi An
First off, don’t bother researching before you go. I spent HOURS reading reviews and inquiring about folks on TripAdvisor, but it’s honestly a total waste of time. You can’t go more than ten steps in any direction without finding a tailoring shop, and asking locals (or staff at your hotel) will also not be helpful because everyone gets paid for referrals there.
Frustrated by the number of “My good friend works at this or that shop,” or being given discount cards to this or that tailor because I was a “preferred” customer at some hotel or took a tour or who knows what, we decided to cast a wide net and try several.
The first shop we visited, Yaly Couture, was a chain of tailoring shops that our hotel recommended. This shop claimed that they could do body image scans and then make additional images for you using your body scans and ship to you. The scan was a joke, but the staff and shop were welcoming, and between my husband and I, ordered three suits and two button-down dress shirts.
The second shop was Bebe couture and was one of the shops which I found on the internet while researching the trip. This shop was by far the nicest showroom, had the most satellite locations, and was the most expensive. Here we ordered one suit and two pairs of dress pants.
The third shop was a moment of travel weakness, in which we were looking for directions to a particular part of town, and an all too friendly local offered to walk with us to where we needed to go. “Fortunately” this journey landed us directly in front of her very good friend’s shop. That said, being the least fancy of tailoring establishments that we had seen, I decided that it couldn’t hurt to give it shot and ordered a dress. I don’t even know the name of this particular shop, or even if it had one, as it consisted of a table just inside the door of a larger shopping market.
What was the result of all of these orders? You might be surprised to discover that the quality was the same at all three shops. Having factored in enough time to appropriately utilize the tailors during our time in Hoi An, by allowing enough time to have more than one fitting done, we very satisfied with everything we had made.
To rank the shops we visited, I would have to say that Yaly Couture was best because I liked the feel of the showroom. I liked the experience at the no-name tailor second, because it was cheapest, probably because it didn’t have a fancy showroom. I liked Bebe the least because it was the most expensive and the showroom was overwhelming.
My advice is to pick a tailoring shop that you can easily find a second time (it’s REALLY easy to confuse the shops with each other), make sure you stay at least three days (four would be better), so you can have more than one fitting, and show them pictures of what you want.
Lastly, haggle as if your life depends on it.
Five Days in Hoi An Vietnam
Some people take vacations for relaxation, while others (like myself) attempt to fill every waking second with activities in foreign places, for fear of missing out on something life-changing. Five days in Hoi An is the cure to being busy.
Planning Your Stay
While planning our time in Vietnam, the advice I found regarding the recommended amount of time to spend there varied wildly. What was consistent, however, was that if you wanted to have tailoring done while there, you should stay AT LEAST three days, which was ultimately proven to be sound advice.
That said, the first third of our trip was shaping up to be pretty busy, and had us moving locations every third night, so we decided to embrace the essence of what Hoi An was touted to be (a small fishing and beach town) and slow down for an extended stay of five days.
Getting From Hanoi to Hoi An
Normally, avid train travelers we decided to maximize our time by flying from Hanoi (in the North) to Danang (Central coastal, and the nearest airport to Hoi An), as the difference in time between traveling by train or air was more than eight hours difference. Adding to the advantage of flight, was the relatively low cost of just $60, making the travel time saved well worth the price.
After a short one and a half hour flight, we arrived at the Danang airport where we charted a private car (from one of the authorized services within the airport) to drive us the 40 minutes from Danang to Hoi An, as well as for the return service at the end of our time there. Without a doubt, we paid more to do it this way (it cost us about $80), but we appreciated the ease of having door to door service, as well as the relative security of the arrangement.
The ride from Danang was very pleasant, being almost entirely along the coast, but left us feeling good about our choice not to spend time in Danang itself, which by all appearances had a very "generic" feel from what we observed from the car. However, while I was unable to capture a quality image myself, I’ve reposted an image of an amazing bridge we saw from a distance, known as the Dragon Bridge, for obvious reasons.
Little Hoi An Hotel & Spa
We LOVED our time at this hotel, and we would stay here again for multiple reasons. There’s no shortage or lack in variety of accommodations here, but this little hotel won the day by having the BEST location, and value for money (we paid about $90 per night). It’s not a five star “western” hotel, but it’s very comfortable, very cute, and has amenities such as daily laundry service, a full-service SPA, pool, transportation to a private beach, and a great restaurant on site.
Speaking of the spa, it took us about 30 seconds after check-in to decide that we wanted to make a spa appointment. In reality, the hotel is SO much nicer than we had expected from the website and pictures, so we jumped at the offer of a two-hour couples massage with facials and full body scrubs for just $70 (yep, the total for two people), and it was magical.
The Service
Among the many qualities of the hotel which I’ve already mentioned, was the quality of the interaction we had with the staff during our stay. Not only did the front desk personnel remember us by name and assist with booking tours or making reservations with services not provided by the hotel, but the restaurant staff also referred to us by name and was aware of the details of our stay.
A somewhat comical example of their attention to detail (for which we'll be forever grateful), was a lapse in awareness of our itinerary on the fourth day (of a five-day reservation) of our stay.
On the morning of our fourth day, we began by sitting at our usual table for breakfast when our usual server came to take our orders. She proceeded to inquire as to our plans for the day but was seemingly confused when we replied that we were reluctantly preparing for our imminent departure shortly after breakfast. Fortunately, she went and confirmed this detail with the front desk and thereby helped us avoid making a mess of the day due to our case of "travel brain."
To this day, we refer to that particular day as our "extra day" in Hoi An and it brings a smile to our faces.
How Many Days Should You Stay in Hoi An?
An ongoing theme among our travels is an apparent obsession with time maximization. Some people take vacations for relaxation, while others (like myself) attempt to fill every waking second with activities in foreign places, for fear of missing out on something life-changing.
In an attempt to find a balance between these two competing travel philosophies, I opted to pad our list of desired activities with an extra day to nap or do whatever it is that people do when they don’t have a plan.
I’ll cover our various activities in other posts, but for now, you can see the way our daily schedule was broken down:
Day One - Arrival > Hotel Check-in > Commission Tailoring
Day Two - Explore Old Town Hoi An > First fitting for tailoring > Attend the Night Markets
Day Three - Private Half-Day Tour of the My Son Sanctuary > Refinement Fitting or Tailoring Pickup
Day Four - Open Day > Pickup Tailoring > Beach?
Day Five - Open Day > ??
Day Six - Morning Departure
Exploring Old Town Hoi An
Walking through the streets of Old Town was one of the highlights of my time in Vietnam. The architecture, the colorful lanterns, and the variety of shops and restaurants make turning every corner into an adventure. Something to be aware of, however, is that buses of day tourists (largely from south Korea) arrive every afternoon and transform the otherwise peaceful town into a bustling destination.
Likewise, after the sun goes down the night market opens, shifting the center of activity from one side of the river to the other. We enjoyed the night market for the stunning variety in streetfoods much of which isn’t available earlier in the day. The market itself pops-up near where the bars and “clubs” are largely clustered, making a trip to the night market a destination for your entire evening.
January in Hanoi Vietnam
When considering travel to Southeast Asia, one typically envisions a warm, humid climate filled with exotic foliage and cuisine. While all of that is true, there’s a much larger range of climate than what an inexperienced traveler to that region would expect.
When considering travel to Southeast Asia, one typically envisions a warm, humid climate filled with exotic foliage and cuisine. While all of that is true, there’s a much larger range of climate than what an inexperienced traveler to that region would expect.
In northern Vietnam, the winter months are cool and damp, with temperatures averaging in the mid to low 50 degrees Fahrenheit range. Given that we are notoriously minimal packers, this presented a bit of a challenge, which we were only able to solve by doing a little bit of shopping upon arrival.
Where to stay in Hanoi
The Old Quarter
Having spent our first night in Vietnam at a high-end hotel, we were ready to immerse ourselves in a more authentic culture or urban living in Hanoi. Sticking very closely to points of reference provided by Anthony Bourdain in his 2015 episode, featuring Hanoi.
The Old Quarter, with its French colonial architecture, and proximity to the sites we wanted to be able to walk to, made it the obvious choice for us to spend the next two days.
Budget-Friendly Accommodation or Nightmare?
As is the case on most of our trips, I’m always looking for areas that we can save a few bucks, and have generally accomplished this by carefully selecting our accommodations well in advance. Unfortunately, even with my diligence at reading reviews and crosschecking ratings between multiple booking sites, it did not prepare me for the reality of our accommodation in the old quarter.
We booked a private room at a hostel, which had amazing reviews, a perfect location, a private bathroom, and was actually on the upper end of nightly cost for the area ($38 per night… but hey, it’s Vietnam). However, when we arrived, it became immediately evident that our room was an informal addition to the rooftop of the building, and in places, the walls were nothing more than sheets of vinyl siding that had been zip-tied to the structural polls that had been added at some point and flapped when a good wind would blow.
The rough finish of the room was only amplified by the fact that it was in the low 50s, and we were already cold, but then we only had a single blanket for our bed (which was on the floor), and a heater that was insufficient to the task countering the extreme nature of our draft. Making matters infinitely worse, there was a rat, which I guess a sighting is to be expected when staying in budget accommodations in a developing country, but oh my goodness, I had never felt so much like a fish out of water, than that night we spent clinging to each other for warmth, and visually tracking that rat.
Willing to practice what we preach, we decided to stay in that hostel for the duration of our time in Hanoi, and in hindsight, I’m glad that we did. Part of traveling should be to get outside of your comfort zone and to experience the way that other people and cultures live. Not to imply that the people of Vietnam all live in shacks that have rats, but the average yearly income is $2,800. It’s us, that expect a certain level of comfort, that would feel upset by circumstances we found ourselves in, which in reality, were pretty good in contrast. This was an opportunity to experience something different, and to feel grateful for what we have back home, which is why we stayed.
What To-Do in Hanoi
I booked us a private street food tour, which I scheduled immediately following our check-in at our hostel. It can be risky to schedule things like this back to back, but I was really glad in this instance.
Our tour guide met us at our hostel, and thankfully, spoke excellent English. He was a university student and gave tours like this one, part-time for a local tour company. At any rate, after introductions, he asked us if we had tried crossing the street yet, which to us was an odd question, but in reality, we hadn’t. Up until that point, we had been picked up and dropped off in a door to door fashion, but hadn’t done any exploring. So, first things being first, he gave us our first lesson in how not to die crossing the street.
Lesson One - Step Off the Curb, and NEVER STOP MOVING
The traffic in Hanoi was overwhelming to me, a constant stream of traffic that ran like water from a faucet. Traffic signals, crosswalks, lanes, even direction, are all just “suggestions” there. Almost exclusively scooters, you’ll see families of four, all piled onto a single scooter, that will NOT stop. Traffic moving too slow? Why not pop onto the sidewalk and go around? Yep, all bets are off, and to an American faced with the need to cross one of these concrete streams of death, local intervention is worth GOLD.
Our instructions were simple, “wait until the traffic is lighter, step off the curb, walk slowly, and no matter what, do not stop.” The horrors. However, much to my surprise, it works! The stream of scooters simply goes around you, which is why you can’t stop moving because THEY don’t stop moving. It was a miracle.
Street-food Tour
My first introduction to Vietnamese food, was in 2006 when I lived in San Diego. I remember feeling so “international” while trying to explain what “Pho” was, to my mother, who lived in the Midwest.
However, with more options than just chicken pho and spring rolls, we learned a lot about the variety, and regional diversity of Vietnamese cuisine that evening.
Probably the most surprising thing that we tried, was Egg Coffee. Created during the French occupation of Vietnam, egg coffee consists of espresso, sweet and condensed milk, and egg yolk. I was concerned about this item when it was placed in front of me, but hey, you only live once? Much to our surprise, it was good! The coffee itself is served in a small espresso cup, which is placed inside a slightly larger bowl (a bath) of hot water. You take a sip and then return the coffee cup to the bowl of hot water, to keep the egg from cooling and tasting bitter. If you get the chance, be sure to try it!
Cultural Tour
After surviving our first night in our Hanoi, we kicked-off our second day with a cultural tour and made a pit stop for something warmer to wear. Our tour guide was also a student at the university, and she was full of helpful tips about how to behave in certain places, or certain situations. It was $30 well spent!
In addition to our little side trip to get sweaters, our guide took us to temple, a historical house (there’s not many left in Hanoi), a church built by the French (she asked us if it was just like Notre Dame in Paris, to which it was almost painful to disappoint her), as well as explaining many cultural practices, legends, and providing us with some popular snacks along the way.
All said and done, I would recommend the experience.
Questions or comments, leave them below!
New Years Eve in Hanoi Vietnam
After breakfast, we went back to our room with just enough time to watch the ball drop in Times Square. It was really strange watching everyone celebrate something that to us, had happened the day before, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate a second time.
Arrival in Hanoi
In a previous post, I mentioned that this trip opened my eyes to what my limitations are, as they relate to travel duration. No flight to Europe can equip you for the toll which 27 hours, three airports, and a twelve-hour time difference will do to your mental and physical state.
That said, my self-gratified attitude toward my travel skills, had aspirations of us arriving in Vietnam on New Years eve night, taking some pictures that say “we’re so awesome,” and ringing in the new year a full 12 hours before all of our friends back home would be able.
Ha!
I’ve never been more deliriously tired in my entire life, and the best we could do after landing was to try and stay awake long enough to take a shower.
JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi Vietnam
From the moment we got through customs at the airport, the staff of the JW Marriott was there assist us in our transition to being in Vietnam. My husband (the angel of hotel research), discovered while reserving our room, that they offered a private car service for picking you up from the airport, and had taken the step to arrange it before we had departed, and was THE BEST DECISION.
Completely bedraggled, we arrived at the airport and were met by both a driver and a guest service liaison, who scooped us up in a beautiful Audi and whisked us away to the hotel. It was was like being Cinderella and discovering your pumpkin carriage for the first time. We felt like royalty that was in desperate need of a shower.
Nonetheless, through the darkness of the night, we zipped along, too tired to notice anything outside of the backseat of the car. That is until we reached the long winding driveway of the hotel, which is impressive, to say the least.
There’s no place like a Marriott
Entirely focussed on the immediate necessity of a shower and bed to sleep in, I don’t recall much about my first impressions of the hotel, the check-in process, or anything before stepping into our room, but I tell you what, it could have been the delirium, but I’m pretty sure that angels began singing when we stepped through the door.
Needless to say, I took one look at that bathtub and turned the water on before I had even set down my luggage.
This very tired bird has finally landed, and just in time to watch the clock strike midnight.
Waking-up At the J.W.
After some MUCH needed rest, we were able to begin exploring our new digs, which were SO NICE. Anxious to start looking around, but VERY ready to eat something other than airplane food, our priority became making our way to the complimentary breakfast.
Happy New Year - USA
After breakfast, we went back to our room with just enough time to watch the ball drop in Times Square. It was really strange watching everyone celebrate something that to us, had happened the day before, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate a second time.
The Spa
Hotels are not typically known for their reasonably priced spa services, and neither was this one, but the difference is that after the journey we had to get there, I wanted a massage. However, the spa was fully booked and so we decided to “make do” with a hot tub and pool.
So the pool is amazing, and views from the pool-deck are awesome, but it was the hot tub we were on the hunt for…
Located inside of the locker room for both men and women, is the largest hot tub I’ve ever seen. Not being able to share the experience with my husband was a bummer, but a clothing-optional hot tub was worth it. That said, for the same reason, there are no pictures I can show you of the room containing it, but the rest of the space was great, and I took FULL advantage.
The Lobby
The lobby was lovely, and when we went to inspect it, we realized that this hotel is MASSIVE! Multiple restaurants, and conference facilities, this place is a city unto itself!
Tea Time
We had a great breakfast, then a leisurely soak, and then it was time for tea. A typical practice in Vietnam, high-tea begins in mid-afternoon and involves any number of tasty treats.
Vietnam Awaits
As lovely as it was, we didn’t fly to Vietnam to just hang out in a hotel. We were super grateful to have had such a wonderful experience for our arrival in a new country, but the next leg of our journey was going to be one of a more “authentic” nature, and containing zero stars from any hotel ranking system.
To the staff at the J.W., thank you for helping to turn two weary travelers back into humans again! If we’re ever in Hanoi again, we’ll be sure to stay here again.
Questions or comments? Leave me a comment!
Flying to Vietnam: A Survival Guide
As 2019 is rapidly drawing to a close, I thought it would be a great time to finally start posting about another area of the world, which also happens to coincide with the first anniversary of when we began this particular adventure on December 30th, of 2018.
Traveling to Southeast Asia
First off, congratulations on your choice to visit that region of the world, and potentially stepping outside of your western comfort zone.
Second, I hope you packed your compression socks.
The Flight
My husband and I are avid travelers, but mainly to Europe. Having made the six to nine-hour flight across the pond several times, I considered myself a semi-professional traveler, and since we decided to take a much-delayed honeymoon, we wanted to GO BIG!
For several reasons, Vietnam shot to the top of our list, and thanks to a deal we found through Scott’s Cheap Flights, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Backpacks at the ready, we boarded the first leg of our journey to Hanoi Vietnam, on December 30th, 2018.
From Kansas City, we flew Delta airlines to Seattle Washington, where we caught our second and longest flight, to Seoul South Korea.
After a three hour layover, we boarded our third and final flight to Hanoi, this time on Korean Air (which was a MUCH better flight experience, that I’ll come back to later in this post).
After three flights with layovers, amounting to just over 27 hours of travel, we landed in Hanoi at around 10:30 pm, on December 31st (Keep in mind that Vietnam is twelve hours ahead).
Landing in Hanoi
Half out of my mind (I can’t sleep on planes), in need of showers, and not at our most functional, I was grateful that my husband had sprung for the car service provided by our hotel (which we had booked with points). I’ve heard terrible stories about weary travelers being picked up by independent drivers/car services and then being ransomed for release, but our hotel had a very clearly identified reception area for us to meet them upon our arrival, which set us at ease.
Challenges of Extended Flight
As I said earlier in this post, I thought that my multiple trips to Europe had prepared me for the duration of travel required to fly to Southeast Asia. I was wrong, and nothing could have prepared me (other than maybe first-class, hehehe).
Adding to the general stress of being cooped up for that long, were a few factors which won't apply to everyone, but should be taken into consideration none the less.
Physical and Medical Challenges
Typically I’m a very healthy person, but due to an accident a couple of months before this trip, I was still living with a great deal of physical discomfort, stemming from a herniated disc in my back (an improvement from my initial injury of three herniated discs). Additionally, and most difficult to cope with, was that the compromised disc, was pinching my sciatic nerve, leaving me often in tears, and with little to no recourse other than to just “grin and bear it.”
Struggling to sit or stand without pain, made the idea of 27 hours without being able to lay down to mitigate that stress, more than a little horrifying. But beyond back issues, sitting for more than just a handful of hours can result in swelling of your legs, which can be uncomfortable at best, and unhealthy at worst.
Depending on which seat you’re in, it might result in getting up and down semi-regularly to let people out of your row, or could be that you avoid getting-up at all, because you have to displace as many as three people to do so, just to walk the short distance of the aisle and return to your seat just three minutes later to repeat the whole shuffle.
Plane Design
For anyone that travels, it’s no secret that in recent years, Airlines have been reducing the level of comfort to those passengers purchasing Basic Economy tickets. Generally, I welcome the reduced sticker price of these seats and don’t even bother to investigate the model of plane a given flight may be on, for a domestic flight.
However, for international flights, when you know your backside is gonna start regretting your choice to be cheap around hour four, it can be helpful to investigate the actual model of the plane before you purchase the ticket, commercial aircraft are NOT all created equal.
That being said, even the best-laid plans can change, and never is this more true than when traveling. A great example was our flight from Seattle to Seoul, which was supposed to have been on a large plane operated by Korean Air. However, at the last minute, Delta (whom we had booked our travel through) changed the plane from the partner airline to one of their own Boeing 666 planes. If you’re not familiar with the 666, it’s an older style plane, is smaller than is typically flown internationally, and was a very unwelcome surprise for the twelve-hour duration of this leg of our flight.
How-To Improve Your Inflight Experience
While most people covet the window seat, on long flights, it pays to get up and move around at least once every couple of hours. In my case, I had to get up and walk the isles in an attempt to keep my back from cramping, every 45 minutes, much to the chagrin of the passengers I had to displace each time I left my seat.
As an additional aside to this, it can be really easy to forget to drink water while on long flights. Remembering to stay hydrated, while increasing the number of times you may need to “go” during your flight, will help keep your body comfortable by the act of getting up, and will in general help you feel much less gross and irregular by the time you land.
Compression socks! While not at all fashionable, they do help keep your legs from feeling like watermelons about to burst. I would advise putting them on before boarding the plane though because it can be a challenge to do so once in your seat.
Invest in your rest, and get a good neck pillow. The typical crescent-shaped neck pillows are a total waste of money for me because I have a long neck. I spent a little more money (about $35) and got a neck-wrap, which looks like a blanket wrapped around your neck but hides a supportive neck form for one side of your neck and lower jaw. This design also packs away MUCH better than a pillow.
I’m not recommending drugs, but it’s not a bad idea to bring some over the counter options with you. I typically keep a couple of tablets of aspirin or ibuprofen, and low dose melatonin, at arms reach. The melatonin doesn’t help me sleep, but it does help me relax and feel less crampy on long flights.
Headphones can change your life. I’m guilty of being a bit of a scrooge when it comes to spending money on headphones, but on a long flight, they can help keep you from losing your mind. My husband has a nice pair of over-ear, noise-canceling, BOSE headphones, which he often uses solely for the noise-canceling function to block the loud hum of the plane engines out. I, on the other hand, have a much cheaper option of noise-canceling earbuds which cost about $50 (generic brand found on Amazon). The noise-canceling function isn’t nearly as good, and the earbuds aren’t as comfortable for prolonged wear but are MUCH better than having none, or not having any noise-canceling function at all.
Hygiene can improve your inflight disposition, so I try to make that easier on myself by not wearing makeup while traveling. Instead, I wear a tinted moisturizer, and keep a travel-size tube of it, along with facial cleansing cloths, a mini hairbrush, and a toothbrush in my purse. You can wash, brush, and re-moisturize as often as you need.
Learn some yoga poses before you go! While the thought of doing some downward dog while waiting at your gate might seem “icky,” it was my saving grace on this trip. Stretching cramped muscles, and decompressing your spine (injury or no), is a great tool to have in your traveler toolbox. Not restricted just to layovers in the airport, there are even some stretches you can do while seated on the plane! Granted you may not be as uncomfortable as I was, but I gave no F’s what other people thought I was doing, and instead did whatever it took to remain comfortable.
Per what I mentioned above regarding investigating the model of the plane before booking your trip, this is also a way to help mitigate discomfort. Planes might be changed, but if they don’t, you might have the opportunity to gain yourself an additional couple of inches of legroom, over another plane. At 5’9” both of my knees touched the seat in front of me on the 666… for twelve hours. Chew on that before you rush through the checkout process.
While I’m not making this an item on my list, I would hope that if you’re considering a trip like this, it goes without saying that comfort MUST take precedence over fashion. I wore my “laying around the house on a Sunday” outfit and just make it a point not to take pictures of myself while in travel mode.
Got Travel Tips?
I want to hear from you, things that you do or use, to improve your travel experience. Leave your comments below, and let's have a conversation :)
A French Destination Wedding
France, one of the most romantic countries in the world, is also wedding ready.
Ask just about anyone with a desire to one day get married, and they will most likely have some sort of an idea about what they want their wedding to be like, what they want to wear, or where they want it to occur. Granted these things might change between the age of eight and thirty-five, but the having of that “ideal” for your big day, is there.
Fast forward a few years, and congratulations, you finally met the right person and got engaged! Sadly, if you’re like me, those once firmly held wedding ideals, have flown the coop, and you suddenly have no idea about what you want for this long-anticipated occasion.
Location
Local, or Destination?
First thing’s first, you need a location that will then set the stage for the other choices you’ll need to make. Unfortunately, this will probably be the most difficult part of the whole process, and everyone and their dog will have opinions, so keep in mind that this is YOUR day.
Aside from the above, by the time it was my turn to tie the knot (at age 35), I had attended a lot of weddings, and while I had fun at most of them (I think), they had largely faded into a blur of bridesmaid dresses, and vanilla wedding cake.
For better or for worse, I found myself armed only with a decisive nature, and a desire to do something “else,” by having a wedding that would be unforgettable.
*Side Note: If you ask my husband about wedding planning, he’ll climb onto a soapbox about what he likes to call, “the wedding industrial complex,” which I knew existed, but didn’t understand before planning ours.
The Wedding Industry Complex
When costs for products or services become inflated due to intangible forces, unrelated to the actual cost to make or produce that item or service. Example: Cake is not expensive to make, you can even purchase a custom sheet cake at Costco for 30 people, for just $18. However, the second you ask a bakery to have cakes stacked on top of one another, it suddenly costs $800 for a product made from the same elements as the $18 Costco cake.
But back to destination hunting.
The Venue
Somewhat desperate to avoid the costly trappings of a traditional wedding, and the obligations that invariably invade that special day, we decided that the only solution was to get out of town. I don’t just mean the state, because the same issues and obligations, would still be there. And let's face it, no one enjoys taking a whole weekend to go out of town to some random city they don’t care about, for someone’s wedding, or redeeming those hard-earned air miles, to fly for this purpose.
So, the “go big or go home” strategy, was born.
Did Someone Say Europe?
Already avid travelers, my fiance and I got engaged while abroad, and have made traveling the world together, a significant element of our relationship. What could be more natural, than to have a wedding that reflects who we are as a couple, and have our wedding be an experience that we can share with everyone, by doing it in Europe?
France, one of the most romantic countries in the world, is also littered with large palatial homes, resulting from its grandiose history. Many of these mini palaces are located on vacation rental sites, like Airbnb, with VERY reasonable nightly rates. With that in mind, what could be better than a large, beautifully decorated home, where you can provide accommodations for friends or family for several days, and also have your wedding for less than the cost of a few hours rental time in a generic event space?
*Side Note: Different countries have different legal requirements for getting legally married within their borders, so be sure to research well in advance. Alternatively, you can always legally tie the knot prior or post the ceremony, which is what we did.
We settled on a home built in the 15th century, located a couple of hours south of Paris, in a small village in the Loire Valley. The house itself was large, having six bedrooms, four bathrooms, two living rooms, two kitchens, and ample space for seventeen overnight guests. Located next to a church, it had plenty of space for additional wedding guests to park on the day of the wedding, and it had a beautiful back yard that abutted a tributary of the Loire river, replete with rowboats, and fairy tale charm. Basically, the home was the idyllic setting for a romantic wedding weekend.
*Side Note: Be sure to check or contact the owner of the property you’re interested in, and explain your plans, as not all homes will allow events. That said, the owner of the house we rented, was THRILLED to have us and even gifted us with flowers and champagne.
Party Planning
Okay, so you’re probably thinking, “great, you got a good deal on the venue, but what about everything else, and how the H* do you arrange that stuff in France!?”
I’m not going to say, “easy,” but in hindsight, it kinda was.
It was really important for us to have our day be focused on what was important about the occasion, and not the package it came in. After all, a “wedding” is simply an exchange of promises between two people, and not flowers and chair rentals. We were determined to keep that in mind and create an environment, that was uncomplicated, allowing the significance of the event to take center stage.
At times, it felt like we might still slide into the trappings we were going all the way to France to avoid, but I just needed to keep reminding myself that the more details we allowed to creep into the planning process, the more that the day would become about those silly details, and not us.
“Fire the butter mints, and burn the custom napkins!”
So… It was time to take stock and get creative with what was already at our disposal.
The Guest List
A couple of fundamental elements to any party plan is A) The size of your party and B) How fancy of an outfit do you want to wear. Mostly though, it’s the number of people, and it’s truly amazing how much easier this part is, when you place a hurdle like an ocean, into the equation. Not in any way to suggest that we didn’t want to share our day with everyone that we care about, and that love us, but more like giving many of those people an easy “out,” in terms of the feelings of obligation to attend.
However, we opened our wedding arms wide and invited everyone that wanted to come to France, to come join us on the day.
The above abandonment of the usual guest list protocol had three intended and resulting consequences:
The burden of provision was greatly lifted, as compared to a wedding at home, where we would have had somewhere between 100 and 150+ guests, and the increased responsibility and costs for each of those guests.
A destination wedding like ours becomes about more than just “attending a wedding,” and becomes a vacation for your guests. Memories of your wedding will merge into those of their vacation, and in general, become a positive and memorable experience that they won't forget.
The elimination of all but the most close of friends and family, in addition to all of you being removed from your normal setting, allows you the freedom to buck other conventions, without it being as noticeable.
*Side Note: We also planned a modest, afternoon reception back home, to invite the friends and family that we’re unable to come to France, which you can read a little more about, HERE.
Necessary Elements
Um HELLO, look at the house you rented, and the setting it is in! Yes, you could layer “stuff” on top of it, but it’s so beautiful just as it is, why not let the centuries-old stone walls, green mossy grass of the yard, fig-trees, and gently moving waters of the river, be beautiful enough?
Candelabras and draperies aside, with 40 people having purchased flights to attend, we needed (at bare minimum), food for that many, so working backward from 40, catering became the second hurdle.
Time to take inventory.
Any home that can accommodate seventeen overnight guests, has furniture, and a fair amount of it at that. I reached out to the owner of our Airbnb and got an inventory of what was already at the house, and it turned out that there were several large, iron, outdoor dining sets scattered around the property (all in good usable shape), that we could simply move around for our purposes.
Further, the owner recommended a local chef (Erik Maillard), that had previously prepared meals at the home for other large group events, and who was already stocked with the appropriate sized table linens and serving ware. Score!
With no desire for the formality of a seated service, we chose to forgo the rental of additional chairs, in favor of a short, standing service, set alongside nicely appointed tables in the yard.
Table linens and floral centerpieces for the tables was all that was physically used to decorate. Simple.
Never Wear White to A Wedding
As widely accepted as that rule is, I decided to go another way.
If you notice in films or advertising campaigns, guests at classy events, all seem to magically coordinate with the decoration and themes of the events they are attending, which to me, makes the whole affair look much more polished. Not wanting anything to distract from the “vibe” of our venue, I hoped to employ this same tactic to achieve a cohesive “look” for our wedding, and thereby the same idyllic appearance in our wedding photos. With this in mind, I told all of our guests to please abide by a specific dress-code.
White, shades of white or light tan were my marching orders, and I sent everyone images for outfit inspiration. This was by far, the best idea I had, because it truly enhanced the overall curated look of the event, with minimal effort on my part to decorate the space itself.
Bridal Flowers
When thinking about how and where to procure flowers while abroad, if I didn’t want to hire a florist, there wouldn’t be any guarantee of what kind of flowers I would have access to or any guarantee of being able to find any when I would need them.
Throwing caution to the wind, I decided that this was a detail that wasn’t worth stressing about (I don’t remember the flowers at any of the weddings I’ve ever attended, so why should mine be any different?), and to just deal with it when the time came. However, I did pack ribbon and a locket with a picture of my dad (who wasn’t in France for the occasion), in anticipation of whatever flowers I would find.
Food
I hired the chef that was recommended to me, and who turned out to be a LOVELY human. Sadly, my French is terrible, and he didn’t speak great English, which made communication difficult. However, through the course of several dozen roughly translated emails in Google Translate, we were able to establish that he would be making food for forty, bring wine from a local winery, would NOT serve any shellfish (my groom is allergic), and there would be a cheese course instead of cake. Beyond that, I wasn’t able to understand what it was that he would be making.
The breezy side of me had firmly taken hold at this point, and let's face it, he was a french chef and how bad could it really be?
Additionally, at some point in our broken conversation, we discussed how to set the tables (plated or buffet, and table linens or no), I had also mentioned that I wanted room for floral centerpieces. The stars all aligned, and he had a neighbor (or friend, I’m still not sure) that was a florist that he could contract for this purpose. He said that for an extra 60€ (about $73), he would bring tasteful flowers for each table.
So, with no idea what food we would be eating (other than cheese), what the wine would taste like, or what the flowers would look like, my wedding day was basically planned. Done!
Didn’t they turn out amazing!
It’s all about the dress
Oh gosh, the dress. Another wedding expense that steams my clams, is the cost of that silly dress. I mean, I get it, “it’s the most significant dress you’ll ever wear,” but to spend $2k (or more) on a dress you only wear ONE TIME… who am I, Marie Antoinette?
Nope, it wasn’t gonna fly with me (and I do mean that literally). I went wedding dress shopping at home and had the whole champagne experience with my mother and future mother-in-law, but while I found gowns that I LOVED, it didn’t override my reservations about the expense, or about hauling it to France.
Not only would keeping track of such an item be cumbersome for someone that typically only takes a backpack when traveling, but then the pressing and floofing of it, sounded like a pain. So, revisiting the goal of the whole affair… I was reminded that a simple wedding, would require a simple dress.
Happily, I’ve been very fortunate to have some extremely talented, creative people in my orbit, one of which is a gown designer (you can find out more about her, HERE). After crafting a list of my needs, she was able to make me a custom dress, that while still being 10X more expensive than anything else I own, was designed in such a way as that I’ve actually worn it four times since my wedding (five times in total), which has greatly mitigated my gripe about the cost per wear issue.
I’d also like to qualify my comments regarding the expense of gowns, to exempt those which have been custom made, rather than mass-produced overseas. Ateliers (such as my friend) deserve to be paid for their time, which is considerable when crafting custom goods by hand.
In the end, my dress needed to achieve the following:
Make me feel like a bride
Not wrinkle
Be slim enough to be rolled up and packed into my backpack (yep, I did it)
And not be so “bridal” in style, that it couldn’t be worn for other nice events
She delivered on all four points.
No pressing needed, it was simply UN-rolled and was ready to go!
The shoes
Honestly, the shoes were almost harder to figure out than the dress. I must have bought and returned four different pairs. In addition to my dress being tea length, and therefore the shoes being on full display, was the fact that we were getting married on grass, which posed a “sinking” issue, but I didn’t want wedges or flats.
Thanks to an eavesdropping co-worker who heard me complaining about my shoe dilemma, I was introduced to heel caps (like these, HERE). Acting as snowshoes for your heels, they prevent you from sinking in the grass. GENIUS!
With that dilemma sorted out, I soon visited UAL while visiting Nashville, and found my dream wedding heels. Always looking for a deal, these just happened to be on clearance for $80 (marked down from $1200). Thanks to the heel caps, and a recently repaired strand of my grandmother's pearls, I was now fully dressed and accessorized for the big day.
The Groom
We decided that there was no need to purchase a new suite for the occasion because he already owned a lovely powder blue one, which would complement the shades of white, cream, and pink, that myself and the guests would be wearing. I did, however, have a special pocket square made from the same material as my dress, as well as commissioned a custom lapel pin (not shown) for him to wear (another talented friend, that can be found HERE), which I gifted to him on the morning of our wedding.
The Bridal Flowers Cont…
Back to my breezy plan for flowers, which TOTALLY paid off.
When we checked into our Airbnb the day before our wedding (also the day to get wedding flowers), the owner/host, met us in person to get us checked in. She was so excited to have her home be the location of our nuptials (the first ever), that she gifted me a HUGE bouquet of white lilies and roses, as well as champagne. It was these flowers that I used to make my bouquet.
My mother-in-law had a brilliant idea to save some of these flowers after the wedding and pressed them between pages of a book which I purchased while in Paris. Most of them survived the process remarkably well, and are now framed and mounted on the wall in our bedroom.
As for the Groom, the property was lined with enormous lavender plants and using the handy dandy lapel pin that I had gifted him, we simply pinned a lovely sprig of sweet-smelling lavender, to his jacket.
The Wedding Day
In the end, we flew over (on an amazing flight deal we found with Google Flights), rented the house for a weekend, had a private chef, brought our photographer (whom if you couldn’t tell from the photos, is AMAZING and can be booked HERE), and had a beautiful service for less than the cost of renting a venue and tables for four or five hours, in Kansas City.
(Picks jaw up from floor)
Of the many memorable moments from that day, quite possibly my favorite is one that happened while alone, and I feel encapsulates the magic of the day as a whole. The morning of the wedding, in the stillness of my bedroom, I had just woken up and gotten out of bed. I crossed the room to open the powder blue window shutters, to look outside at the back yard (I was concerned about rain), what I saw will forever live in my heart.
The sky was clear and blue, morning bird songs were mingled with the gentle rustling of leaves in the trees, and scattered below my window, were white doves peacefully looking for their breakfasts. It was like looking at a painting, and I remember thinking, “Of course.”
In France, I guess scenes like this happen on your wedding day.
Wedding Video
There’s more? Yep, my husband has a step-brother that’s also a VERY talented videographer. He made us a short (at our request) 3-minute wedding video, which captures the essence of our day, in a way which I feel is lost in longer wedding videos. If you’re curious, I’ve included it here, and his contact info, HERE.
Questions or comments? Leave them for me below.
My Spanish Sleeper Train Experience
First of all, I want to go on record as having said how much I enjoy train travel in Europe.
It’s what old Hollywood films are made of…almost.
First of all, I want to go on record as having said how much I enjoy train travel in Europe. It’s cost-effective, it’s comfortable, and much more liberating than being stuck in your seat on an airplane. You could argue that even with the utilization of a high-speed train, it’s still not as fast as flying, but the main difference is that you can still create memorable experiences while on a train.
No matter what, you’re gonna have to pay to sleep somewhere.
Yes, a sleeper train might sound a little pricey at first glance, but if you then consider that you would have to pay for a night at a hotel or Airbnb, I think you’ll find that whatever that cost might be, coupled with the cost of a traditional train ticket the following day, it will ultimately add up to be the same or less money.
Further, a traditional train journey, during the day, means that you’re spending the day traveling, rather than on the ground exploring an area. What if you could kill two birds with one stone, meaning that you could sleep in a bed, and wake-up where you want to be? Sleeper trains for the win!
We booked the Trenhotel provided via the Renfe service, found HERE.
A train trip includes more than your cabin or seat.
After our journey got underway, and our lengthy cabin tour (shown above), we migrated through some of the other cars on the train, until we made our way to the dining car. I don’t know why I didn’t take any pictures, but we proceeded to spend an evening that the four of us argue about to this day.
In the dining car, we set up camp in a four-person booth and proceeded to bust out a couple decks of playing cards. I thought it would be a great idea to implement a rule, where whoever won the hand we were playing, would also be saddled with buying a snack for losers of the hand, that way even if you lost, you still won a snack and therefore everyone wins. Alas, despite having a wonderful evening of snacking and playing games, the ensuing arguments about my snack purchasing rule, have been a legacy that plagues me to this day.
All is well and good until the snacks run out.
We woke up in Barcelona
We were already in Barcelona when we woke the next morning, and with all the traveling already out of the way, we were free to spend the entire day exploring the city! Well rested, and without the typical anxieties associated with jumping from city to city within a day, taking a sleeper train is something I’ll definitely do again.
Questions or Comments?
A Luggage Philosophy
If Instagram has taught us anything, it’s that having the perfect outfit for the already enviable locations that you’re visiting, is an added perk to traveling abroad, but who’s going to carry it?
Fashion show in exotic locations, or hassle-free travels?
If Instagram has taught us anything, it’s that having the perfect outfit for the already enviable locations that you’re visiting, is an added perk to traveling abroad.
However, those six pairs of shoes won't get themselves up the four flights of stairs in your beautiful, but historical, walk-up Airbnb rental in Italy. So, difficult decisions will need to made, and pairing down your ensemble is only half the struggle.
I’m a big advocate for using the metro/rail systems when traveling in Europe, which while often underground, requires climbing a lot of stairs to navigate to the appropriate platforms. In addition to the metro challenges, there are also the aforementioned stairs in your Airbnb.
The beautiful apartment buildings that we Americans all drool over in photos, typically don’t have elevators or have elevators too small to put your luggage in. Again, this results in hauling your luggage up a LOT of stairs. Even the smallest roller bag, can be cumbersome to carry when gripping a railing and ascending a mountain of stairs.
So, before you pack your bag, let's talk about what kind of trip you’re taking, and how much you’ll be changing locations.
My husband and I travel a decent amount, but I often joke with him that we’ve yet to take a true vacation in the seven years we’ve been together because our trips are marathons of activity. We typically spend no more than three days in a given location and typically travel between twelve and sixteen days, which results in a lot of jumping around, and therefore more stairs than I can shake a stick at. Therefore, I prioritize ease of travel, over Instagram ready wardrobe changes.
Luggage is a tool, and there’s an appropriate tool for every job.
As I mentioned above, I happily pack minimally, in favor of keeping my hands free when traveling. What this translates to, is using a backpack. No, not the backpack you carried in college, and no, not the backpack you’d carry into the wilderness, but an honest to goodness travel backpack. Usually in the category of luggage or travel bags, rather than as a “backpack,” these bags are sized for travelers that want to carry their bags onto their flights. Appropriately sized for most overhead bins, it’s yet another way to ease travel day stresses.
I’ve been carrying a bag from Osprey, since 2015, called the Porter. This bag has been upgraded a little since I purchased mine, but the basics of the bag are all still the same, and it’s still available on the Osprey website, HERE.
How do you pack enough for two weeks into a backpack?
Even when I’m not traveling, and have access to my entire wardrobe, I still do laundry at least once per week, so that I can wear my favorite pieces again and again. The HUGE advantage of staying in Airbnbs, in addition to the cost savings, is the access to a washing machine. Pack less, rewash, and your little backpack will become your best friend.
So serious is my belief in the above packing philosophy, that when my husband and I opted for a destination wedding, I chose a wedding dress that I could easily roll and pack into that backpack, and I have no regrets to this day.
What does a two week wardrobe in a backpack look like? That’s a subject for another post ;)
Questions? Leave them below!
A Beginners Guide to Travel Planning
Believe me, I get it. Student loans, rent, credit card debt, there’s ALWAYS going to be a million reasons why it’s not the “ideal” time to take that trip to Paris, but you only live once, and I promise that a year from now you’ll find a whole new crop of reasons why it’s not the ideal time.
I plan to see Europe, after I…
Have you ever caught yourself amid that statement? I’m certainly guilty of getting caught up in the minutia of everyday responsibilities and obligations, often blaming my lack of action towards obtaining a goal, on my finances.
Believe me, I get it. Student loans, rent, credit card debt, there’s ALWAYS going to be a million reasons why it’s not the “ideal” time to take that trip to Paris, but you only live once, and I promise that a year from now you’ll find a whole new crop of reasons why it’s not the ideal time.
“But I don’t know how to plan a trip like that.” I believe this to be at the real heart of why people don’t travel, a feeling of intimidation about the distance, and culture. The good news is that this part isn’t as hard as you might think.
How to plan a trip to Europe
Selecting A European Destination
For your first trip abroad, I recommend that you start by making a list of all the places that you’ve ever dreamed of going to. Don’t limit this list for any reason (cost, language, distance, etc.), and make a note of why you’re interested in each place (I’ll tell you why, next).
*Personal Note: My first trip abroad, was to the United Kingdom, to visit friends.
Now that you’ve got your list (free of reservations and limiting factors), you should compare all the notes you made for each place, to see if there are similarities between places (it may reveal the experience you’re secretly hoping to have).
*I made a list a couple of years ago, containing five or six places, but three of which had similar reasons (climate and architecture). This group of three similar places revealed what I was seeking in my next destination, and made the narrowing process much easier.
With your first round of eliminations made, it’s now time to compare the nuts and bolts of each place. Using criteria such as accessibility, airport connectivity, weather at the time of year you plan to travel, and then ease of access to travelers (language and/or political openness).
If that all sounds like a lot, don’t stress, I’ll break it down.
Accessibility & Public Transport
If planning a trip to another country feels stressful, driving and parking in another country are on a whole other level. While some countries have similar rules of the road, dealing with a car in most big European cities should be avoided at all costs.
Unlike the US, light rail is a staple for most urban European cities and is an inexpensive, effective way to get around. I would advise that you choose a place not only with a rail system but also stay somewhere near a station for that rail system (you can use Google Maps to help you with this). If big cities aren’t what you’re wanting to see, perhaps choose a town that’s still on the rail line but is smaller and outside of the urban hustle and bustle.
Airport Connectivity
This can have an impact on the cost of your trip, so it’s something to consider. Let’s use Paris as an example.
Did you know that Paris has two major airports? When searching for flights, you may be tempted to search the route between your closest airport and the largest airport near your destination (makes sense). Let’s say that route for your dates, returns a price of $900 round-trip, for a standard coach seat. Alternatively, you could search instead, from your home airport to the intended Country, rather than the specific airport, and find that flying into the smaller airport costs much less! Another alternative you might discover is an airport in an alternative city, a few hours away, which maybe half the cost. *Tip - Flights to Europe from the US, typically have you landing in the morning hours, which allows you time to then connect with a train. Alternatively, stay the night in your arrival city, and head out to your target city the following day!
Ease of Access
A benefit of being an American traveler is that there are relatively few hoops to jump through when we want to travel. However, starting in 2021, Americans will need to register with the ETIAS system and pay a small fee, in addition to obtaining a valid passport. This new system is not the same as a visa but will remain valid for three years, regardless of the number of trips to Europe, taken during that time.
Beyond the EU, some countries do require a visa, which can be as easy as submitting a form online, or as complex as sending written forms by courier, to an appropriate consulate. Be sure to check on requirements before booking your flights, by visiting the official government travel site, HERE.
Lastly, don’t worry too much about language barriers, particularly in large cities in Europe, speaking English is something that most service industry people can do, as it’s a trade language around the world. As a rule, I think it’s courteous to keep a cheat sheet on hand, for saying basic things, such as “please and thank you,” in the native language.
Other Resources
Often when I’m planning trips, or even formulating ideas for future trips, I watch travel shows, from well-known guides, like Rick Steve’s or Anthony Bourdain. YouTube can also be an awesome resource, which can allow you to see a place as experienced by other travelers.
Google Flights, is a wonderful tool for finding flight deals as I discussed above, and you can even set alerts for routes that you like, and it will send you an email if the prices go up or down.
Scott’s Cheap Flights is an awesome resource for finding out about flight deals in general, even with the free level membership. The only downside is that it’s not airport specific.
Accommodations
As a rule of thumb, I advise booking a traditional hotel for the day that you arrive in a new country, and also for the last day in a country. I’m never “at my best” after getting off of an overnight flight, so navigating to some random Airbnb and then figuring out the check-in process, is just more difficult than I want to deal with. Book a hotel, where even if the country you’re in is not English speaking, they’ll know how to help you get to a hotel in that city. The next day, when fully rested and showered, migrate to the more affordable Airbnb option. Likewise, being in a hotel the night before your departure can save you a headache on the day you leave. Example - Checkout is at noon, but you don’t need to be at the airport until 3 pm? No problem, it’s usually fine to leave your luggage with the hotel staff for a few hours. Alternatively, you have an early morning flight and don’t want to deal with getting to the train station with all your luggage, have someone at the hotel front desk, call you a taxi. The cost is worth the mitigation of travel day stresses.
Do you have questions or need advice? Comment below!
Milan, The Gateway to Italian Gelato
Flight deals and hotel points, just add romantic destination and you’ll have a recipe for vacation success!
Tiny cappuccinos, Caprese salads, and all the wine you could want
just some of what Italy has to offer
For some, the process of deciding where to go, once you know that you’re ready to go “abroad,” can feel daunting. On the flip side, there can be SO many places that you want to go, it can feel impossible to narrow it down to a single country. However, Italy is one of those places that even a seasoned traveler, would have a difficult time passing up an opportunity to visit, and when a really good flight deal presents itself, one needs only to say “Si!”
Our Italy story begins early in the year, when Emirates Airlines, runs their Valentine's Day specials. *Tip, for those of us that don’t live near to a major international airport, it can often be much more cost-effective, to fly to another city, and then jump across the pond from there. Emirates sometimes offers 2 for 1 flight deals, and while you may be able to find more traditional flight deals for the same or even less cost, I GUARANTEE that the flight experience won't be as nice as the coach experience on an Emirates flight.
For the price of $850, for two people (you heard me right, $425 pp), we flew round-trip from New York to Milan Italy, and we redeemed Southwest points to fly from Kansas City to New York, so it was a win-win for us. I would encourage you to sign-up for their email, so you can take advantage of this, and their other promotions.
I don’t have any photos from our flight, but it was the most elegant flight experience I’ve ever had! The flight crew was amazing, the seats were roomy and comfortable (even in coach), and the food was served with linen napkins and chilled silverware…better than some restaurant experiences.
There are a few train options to get from the airport to center of Milan, we chose the slower and cheaper option which took around an hour, but helped ease the chaos of arrival and allowed us to collect ourselves and game plan for next steps.
Milan is GORGEOUS! Also, if you’re not a coffee drinker when you arrive, you’ll be one by the time you leave.
Points are a travelers best friend.
The most expensive part of traveling isn’t the flights, it’s the accommodations. Despite the variety of affordable options available that can significantly reduce this particular pain point, there is still a benefit to nice hotels, which is priceless when travel weary.
Loyalty points are a lifesaver where hotels are concerned. To this end, I recommend putting all of your eggs in one basket where hotel chains are concerned and take advantage of available multipliers that may be offered. For us, Marriott is where it’s at, and point redemption has allowed us to stay in hotels MUCH nicer than what we could otherwise afford.
With that in mind, stumbling off of an overnight flight, groggy, in need of a shower, and luggage in tow, a nice hotel that can easily be found and has a staff that’s ready to assist you when you’re not thinking clearly, is the best way to arrive in a new place. Arriving at the Boscolo Milano was like having someone give you a glass of cold water on a hot summer day, and then offer to think for you. I struggle with decision making, until after I’ve been able to shower and change my clothes, so the fewer hoops I have to jump through after my flight lands, the better.
UPDATE: The Boscolo Milano is now the Palazzo Matteotti Milan
What trip to Milan would be complete without a visit to the Duomo?
Our time in Milan was very limited, but it would be remiss to visit such a city and not pay homage to at least one of the jewels in its crown. Fortunately for us, the Duomo di Milano was just a short walk from our hotel. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain, and the line to get inside was more than an hour-long, but the floor by itself, was more than worth the wait!
View of the Duomo from our hotel rooftop.
With our feet firmly planted on the Italian soil, and a lovely day and a half in Milan under our belts, we’re ready for our next destination, Lake Como.
Do you have questions or need advice? Comment below!
Italy - Part 1 of 4