Paris in July : Day 3

July 11, 2013

I spent Sunday wandering around Paris and checking out a few things I haven’t seen before in my previous trips there.

I started my day with my Parisian ritual: a croissant and Orangina in the park behind Notre Dame. Them I headed to the Luxembourg Garden, a place I can’t believe I’ve never checked out before.

It’s a gorgeous place and I want to take Nick back there the next time we are in Paris.

Continuing on, I made my way back to Notre Dame for a long leisurely lunch at another of my favorites: Le Petit Pont Cafe. I enjoyed a sandwich mixte and watched the people going by.

Following lunch, I headed to the Right Bank, following the path of the Seine and then crossing over at the Louvre for a stroll through the Tuileries.

I stopped and grabbed a spot in the shade there and spent some time

checking email and catching up on things.

Finally I headed down past Concorde and took in another sight of the Eiffel Tower from the Right Bank, then headed up the Rue St. Honore to grab a final bag of macarons at Laduree ( a couple for me and a box of Nick’s favorite flavors to bring home to him).

Finally I headed back to my hotel, grabbed my bags and headed back to

Gare de Nord to catch my train back to London.

My couple days in Paris were lovely and while I actually prefer the city cooler and less crowded in other times of the year, it was a lovely visit to the City of Light.

Headed to Paris?

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Where to Stay in France

London and Paris in July : Day 2

July 10, 2013

I began the second day of my trip with a morning walk in London.

My train to Paris left at noon so I took advantage of being up early (from lovely jetlag) and wandered down to Buckingham palace and around the Royal Quarter.

After heading back to my hotel and then to St. Pancras to catch my train,

I arrived in Paris for the rest of the day.

I have to say, the train link between London and Paris is fabulous and having it been my first time taking it, I would totally recommend it.

After arriving in Paris, I checked into my hotel, my wonderful regular place Le Hotel Notre Dame. Then I headed out for an al fresco lunch at my favorite St. Regis on the Ile St. Louis

The city was absolutely packed and very warm so everyone was outside enjoying the sunshine.

Following lunch I made my way through St. Germain to do some

work errands and ended the journey at the Eiffel Tower to take in my favorite spot in Paris.

I ended my day by picking up macarons and a baguette on my way back to the hotel and ate them in my room while I watched the sun set behind Notre Dame Cathedrale from my window.

A perfect end to the day in my favorite place, Paris.

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London in July : Day 1

July 9, 2013

I am home from my long weekend trip to London and Paris and I’m going to start

my Day by Day posts from the trip.

While this trip was for work, I also got a chance to explore both Paris and London a bit more, if only for a short time. I traveled alone this time, which I will be doing more posts in in the coming weeks about, but ultimately realized I much rather would always travel with Nick, if possible.

Traveling without him just wasn’t the same!

On my first day of the trip, I arrived in London around mid day,

freshened up and then headed out to explore.

I wandered through Hyde Park, around Kensington and Chelsea and met up with

the lovely Betsy and Lauren to have ice cream at the V&A.

We had a fabulous time and chatted like old friends,

despite this being the first time meeting in person.

London was very warm and very crowded during my time there but I got to get all that I needed done as well as take in some sights and enjoy the city.

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What to Wear in New England in May

June 12, 2013

More What to Wear posts for more destinations here!

After our trip through New England at the end of May, the weather was less than predictable and ranged from the low 50’s to the high 70’s in just the 4 days we were there. Here’s everything that I wore and packaged for our trip when traveling through Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island in late Spring.

What I Packed:

-light raincoat with hood (I brought 2: 1 shorter and 1 longer)

-2 heavy sweaters, 1 light sweater

-skinny denim (that could be tucked into rainboots when needed)

-light scarves
-2 striped t-shirts for under sweaters and jackets
-1 light Summer jacket (no hood)

-cross body purse

-white Keds tennis shoes & white rain boots & oxfords (for dressier occasions)

-leather gloves (which came in handy in cold Maine)

What I Wore:

Travel style for New England at the end of May

Outfit Details:

Red Striped Shirt | Madewell Denim | Navy Boden Jacket (sold out) |

White Oxfords (similar) | Tan Dooney and Bourke Purse (similar)

Outfit Details:

Paige khaki jeans | Navy Raincoat (similar) | Burberry Rain Boots (Similar) |

Madewell Scarf (similar) | Ralph Lauren Orange Cross Body Purse (similar)

Outfit Details:

Madewell Denim | Madewell Jacket (similar)| Ralph Lauren Orange Cross Body Purse (similar)

Topshop World Scarf (similar) | White Converse Low Tops

Headed to New England?

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A Hotel Review of Le Meridien Nice

June 4, 2013

Le Meridien Nice – Nice, France

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This hotel was truly a joy to stay in. The views from our room were incredible as was the design and style of the hotel. Location couldn’t be beat and the service was top notch. This was actually one stay that we used a free night (on hotels.com) for and while it was more than we generally spend on hotels, it was a splurge worthwhile since we got one night pretty much free and only had to pay for the second.This is the place to go and stay if you want a lovely modern hotel with service and views that can’t be beat in Nice. Here is my honest Hotel Review of Le Meridien Nice in Nice, France.

LOVE

Check in – Check in was fast and simple. The hotel has a lovely lobby and check in is easy to find. We were checked in quickly and luggage taken directly to our room.

Room – Our room was fabulous here. Large for European standards, with a balcony and view overlooking the gardens next door and the Mediterranean. The bed was wonderful as was the little seating area with a table – so nice to have space to set things while traveling.

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Bathroom – The bathrooms were gorgeous and large. No complaints.

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Design – The design of this hotel was what made me book it in the first place and it did not disappoint in person. I prefer a more modern approach to design in hotels that I stay in and many large chain hotels tend to be more classic in their design. That’s why this hotel was a breath of fresh air. For a large chain hotel, Le Meridien in Nice was designed impeccably and the design was clean and simple but so effective and calming.

Food – We ordered room service one of the days we stayed here and enjoyed breakfast in our room overlooking the Mediterranean. The food was delicious and it came with a fantastic assortment of breads and pastries. The service was prompt and perfect.

DIDN’T LOVE

Nothing! – There was nothing we didn’t love about our stay!

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The Places I Have Called Home

June 3, 2013

While I speak a lot about Portland on this blog and a bit about my childhood abroad in Saudi Arabia, I realized I haven’t really touched much on the other places that have shaped me into who I am and those places that I have called home over the years. Each place has touched me in different ways and each place has had its own unique challenges and joys.

Places have such a way of showing us who we are, we click with some places, others not so much and there is something about where you live, the setting around you, that really creates so many lessons in our lives. I thought it was fitting to touch on each place I’ve lived and what I took away from it. As I begin, keep in mind that “home” for me has always been somewhat of a fluid concept. I don’t have a childhood home or town I can go back to and growing up, that was a struggle for me. But in the end, each place that I’ve called “home” has become a sort of connection for me I’ll always have.

1. Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia

This small ARAMCO compound situated right on the Persian Gulf on the Eastern Shore of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was my childhood home. I spent my days here at the beach with my family, swimming in blow up pools in my backyard and playing with the neighborhood kids. I grew up here among the sand dunes, the call to prayer and schwarmas in Rahima (a neighboring Saudi town). It was normal life, it was home, my first home at least.

My time in Saudi will forever shape me but the most important lesson I learned growing up as a pale, blue eyed American girl in the deserts of Saudi Arabia was tolerance and acceptance. I was different and while I knew that, I never felt like it hindered me as a child there. I met people from all over the world and grew up with them around me, they embraced me and I embraced them, no attention to their skin color or their nationality… we were all just people, trying to live the best we could.

My brother and I in our front yard in Saudi in a rare rain storm.

Interested in reading more about my childhood in Saudi Arabia?

See all of my posts on the country here!

2. Medford, Oregon, USA

When we moved back to the States, my parents chose Medford for a number of reasons. We wanted to be close to family in Oregon but far enough away to have our own lives. And they didn’t want to go from Saudi’s heat to the constant rain of Northern Oregon, so we settled in the mid-size city of Medford about 15 minutes from the California border. Medford was where I went to middle and high school, formed new relationships, and created an identity. It’s not a place I would now choose to live, but looking back, it was those years in Medford that opened my eyes to the world in ways my childhood never had. It pushed me, it challenged me. I went through deep longing for my childhood home, I found teenage freedom here and made mistakes, and I had friendships that challenged me deeply… as all teenagers do, I learned my own definitions for right and wrong. Medford for me was about lessons in personal beliefs, what I was willing to do and what I wasn’t.

Holding my first dog Maggie in Medford.

3. Portland, Oregon, USA

I moved to Portland for college and it is in this city where I reside again now, that I first truly fell in love with a place. It’s also the first place since Saudi that I really felt like “home,” like I belonged here. It’s also the city where I fell in love, got married, found myself and bought my first home. It’s a city that has taught me so much. It’s a city that showed me the rain that I love so much, a city that has held my hand through some of the hardest things in my life. It’s a city that has taught me love. I have learned patience here. I have learned that life is about so much more than jobs and money, Portland has shown me that life is about a great meal, spending time with those we love. It’s about long walks alone finding yourself and afternoons spent at coffee shops exploring your dreams. I credit Portland as the place that I really found myself, that I shaped my beliefs and the place that a little girl that grew up in the Middle East embraced the gray rainy skies of the Pacific NW.

Wandering around the Pearl District of Portland.

4. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

After college, I moved to Hawaii for a couple years to work. The islands have perhaps taught me the most of any place I’ve lived as an adult. During my time there, Nick was still in Portland and we carried on a long distance relationship. It was challenging to say the least and left many lonely nights in my apartment high above Honolulu. While my years there were tumultuous, they taught me more than I ever thought they would. Hawaii wasn’t the place for me, but it showed me things in myself I never knew existed. I learned the true meaning of endurance in Hawaii, in both my relationship and in my day to day life there. I learned that sometimes you need to take that leap and that’s perfectly okay, like jumping on the red eye flight back to Portland for the weekend 3 hours before it leaves. I learned that just because you might live somewhere most people dream of, it’s still life and while it may appear perfect on the outside, it’s probably far from it. I learned the importance of family and spent a lot of time with my parents, but also the need for the moments alone, watching the sunrise over Honolulu or a long coastal drive. I learned that it’s okay to not click with a place, but to appreciate its beauty and find the importance in other things.

The view from my apartment balcony in Honolulu.

Each place I’ve lived has truly changed me. Each place has taught me more lessons than I can count. Each place has installed something in me, and no matter where I go or what I do, I’ll carry each of them with me forever.

Exploring New England in Cape Cod & Rhode Island

May 30, 2013

The second full day of our New England trip, we drove South from Boston through Cape Cod and Rhode Island. Truthfully, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from those areas, and especially Newport, RI, I had low expectations. Wow, was I blown away! Newport turned out to be our favorite coastal area of the whole trip and what a gorgeous place it is! We’ll definitely be going back just to spend more time there.

Cape Cod was about what I expected and truthfully, after seeing Newport, I’d much rather skip Cape Cod and head straight to Rhode Island if I did it again. In Cape Cod, we made stops in Hyannis and Chatham, as well as driving through a bunch of other little towns too.

We ended the day with a stop at the Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport. It was another mandatory stop for Nick and it did not disappoint. The views were stunning.

We finally made our way back to Boston, by way of Providence for dinner. It blows me away, coming from the West Coast, how close everything is on the East Coast. The areas we went through on Cape Cod and Rhode Island were beautiful and included some of my favorite moments of the trip which I’ll touch on next week.

I’m also going to be sharing more of Nick’s photos next week after he has a chance to edit them, so stay tuned!

Hyannis, MA

Chatham, MA

Newport, RI

Exploring New England in Salem, MA & Maine

May 29, 2013

I’m just going to jump right into posts about our trip to Boston and New England over the holiday weekend a few days ago. Basically, we stayed in Boston, but drove up and down the New England coast as well as spending some time exploring the beautiful city of Boston.

Our first full day, we drove North and stopped first at the charming little town of Salem, Massachusetts. This was a stop I really wanted to make, just to see the town that has such a long history in the US of witchcraft. It was a delightful little town and we really enjoyed just wandering around and taking it all in.

Next, we jumped back in the car and headed farther North to explore the Southern part of Maine. Maine was beautiful. Somewhat how I expected, but somehow different too. The scenery though and the trees and the green: gorgeous. The drive North from Boston to Maine was lovely.

Our first stop of the day was in Kennebunkport, Maine. This little touristy town was small and unique and the home of my first ever lobster roll. It was delicious (but let’s just say by end of day 2, I was done with seafood because I’d had so much!)

After exploring the town a bit and then driving through some of the surrounding countryside, we headed up farther north to Portland, Maine. This brick city was totally different than I was expecting but we enjoyed it all the same. We enjoyed some Haddock fish and chips on the harbor and while the day was very cold and rainy, we thoroughly enjoyed this part of the state.

Our final stop of the day was the Portland Head Lighthouse. This was a stop Nick had really wanted to stop at to get some photos of (which I’ll share his photos a little later as he’s still editing them). It was freezing cold and rainy as we stopped here, but the views were amazing… rocky coasts and huge waves rushing the shore… stunning. This is the rugged beauty of Maine.

After that, we headed back to Boston (only an hour and half) and spent the evening at our hotel. More to come tomorrow on Cape Cod and Rhode Island!

Salem, Massachusetts

Photo copyright Nick Nieto Photography

Kennebunkport, Maine

Photo copyright Nick Nieto Photography

Portland, Maine

Photo copyright Nick Nieto Photography

Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine

What to Wear in Europe in the Spring

April 19, 2013

travel style for Europe in the spring what to wear

More What to Wear posts for more destinations here!

Traveling in the Spring to mainland Europe can be any sort of weather so you’ll want to pack for a variety of temperatures and layer your outfits. Some years in March we’ve had 70 degree blue sky days while other years it’s been in the 40’s, gray and rainy… so you need to be prepared for anything. And when you’re gone for a week or 10 days, you generally don’t know the weather that far in advance, so packing to prepare for what could come is important too. Here is what to wear in Europe in the Spring so that you’re prepared for any type of weather and travel style for multiple destinations in Europe. For this particular trip, we spent time in Paris, Milan, Nice, and Monaco, so here is everything I wore and the travel style I used throughout the trip.

And if you need advice for visiting different places around France, Monaco, and Italy – here is everything you’ll need to know:

France | Italy | Monaco

What to Pack:

A few options for coats/jackets – I brought 2 trench coats and 1 rain coat which served me well depending on what the weather was going to be.
Multiple scarves – This is an easy way to change up outfits, even if you’re wearing the same items like coats and jeans everyday, a different scarf can make the outfit look entirely different and keep you warm.
Layers – I usually wear a long sleeve t-shirt, a sweater, a coat and then a scarf, that way you can add or remove layers as you need to during the day when the temperatures vary a lot.
Comfortable Shoes – I live in my Converse and they are comfortable and easy to walk around cities all day.
A cross body purse – Your arm will get tired of carrying a purse around, so invest in one that also can be a good cross body bag and you’ll be thankful you did.
2 pairs of pants – I usually wear one on the plane and pack another pair so you have some variety.

What I Wore:

Outfit Details:

Gap Tan Trench Coat (similar) | Madewell Dark Denim | Tan Sweater (similar) | White Low Top Converse

Dooney & Bourke Cross Body Purse (similar)| Long Sleeve Striped Tee (similar) | Floral Scarf (similar)

Outfit Details:

Zara Blue Trench (similar) | Paige Flare Dark Denim (similar) | Navy Polka Dot Scarf (similar) |

Dooney & Bourke Cross Body Purse (similar) | White Low Top Converse

Outfit Details:

Black Calvin Kline Raincoat (similar) | Madewell Dark Denim | Scarf (similar) |

Black Leather Gloves (similar) | Cross Body Purse (similar)| White Low Top Converse

Outfit Details:

Black Calvin Kline Raincoat (similar) | Madewell Dark Denim | Scarf (similar) |

Gloves (similar) | Cross Body Purse (similar)| White Low Top Converse

Outfit Details:

Zara Blue Trench (similar) | Bandana Scarf (similar) | Cross Body Purse (similar) | Sunglasses (similar)

Outfit Details:

Zara Blue Trench (similar) | Navy Polka Dot Scarf (similar) | Madewell Dark Denim

Dooney & Bourke Cross Body Purse (similar) | White Low Top Converse

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Paris (March 2013): Day 4

April 15, 2013

To start the week and end my day by day posts from our trip,
I leave you with our last day in beautiful Paris.

Our final day in Paris is always a sad one for me and every time I’m in the city it gets harder and harder to leave! But we made our final day in Paris a good one.

We started our day with something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Every trip in Paris, we always cross the Pont de l’Archeveche behind Notre dame to get our croissants from our favorite place on the Ile St. Louis and this bridge is one that has been taken over by locks. There are many bridges in Paris that have done this, lovers lock a padlock to the bridge with their names on it and then throw the key into the Seine. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and so this trip, I brought a lock with me and our final morning we locked our love to the bridge and threw away the key into the river below.

After that, we picked up croissants on the way to Nick’s family’s hotel. It was another cold day in Paris, and actually we saw some snow flakes falling later in the day but it was clear in the morning and the sky began to open up as we walked over to the Louvre.

The Louvre for me is a place I really try to avoid after we went our first time in Paris and I’m sure someday I’ll get back there on a quiet day to enjoy it, but it’s so over crowded, people everywhere and loud that it makes it hard for me enjoy it. But we wanted to make sure my in-laws saw at least the Mona Lisa and a bit of that wing, so we ventured to the museum in the morning.

After that we parted ways and Nick and I enjoyed a lovely last day in our favorite city.

We headed first for lunch at a little Spanish restaurant I had read about in the Bastille area. It was a charming little place and totally off the beaten path. We enjoyed Spanish Tortilla, Potatoes Bravas, Paprika Chicken and bread and delicious tomato relish all ordered in French from a chalkboard daily menu they bring to your table. It was here, while we were eating this delicious lunch that we looked outside and it had started snowing.

After lunch we jumped back on the metro and made our way back to our area near Notre Dame.

We picked up a few souvenirs that we always do (we always get some Eiffel Tower keychains while in Paris) and I had really been wanting to try a place I had read about on another blog called Odette, which is basically a little shop with all different flavors of cream puffs. I wasn’t totally sold and while I liked the chocolate ones, the other flavors weren’t my favorite. But overall, it’s an adorable little shop and worth at least a visit.

We finished off the day with dinner with everyone to cap off our trip. Afterwards, Nick and I said goodbye to Paris at one of our favorite brasseries, Le Petit Pont Cafe, across the street from Notre Dame, having a cafe au lait and crepes. We watched the city light up as the evening fell and enjoyed our last moments in the City of Lights.

Paris was lovely as always this time around, and while bitterly cold, it always holds such a special part of my soul. I feel totally in sync in Paris, a feeling that I find rarer and rarer as I see more of the world.

It’s a city that I will always hold dear and until my next trip, au revoir my dear Paris.

On another final note, I’ve updated my Paris travel guide here with a new hotel and restaurant recommendations and some new activities.