A Historic Gold Rush Town : Exploring Skagway, Alaska

June 20, 2018

Our final stop in Alaska was the little gold rush town of Skagway. Before the cruise, a ton of people had told us to do the train ride here that goes up into the mountains as an excursion but in reality, I’m so glad we just left the day for us to wander and get to really see the town and take it all in. Skagway is a tiny town butted up against enormous snow capped mountains and incredible scenery. The whole place felt straight out of history and the renovated town still resembles the old mining town that popped up during the gold rush way back when.

We wandered around town, grabbed lunch at the Skagway Brewery and then wandered through some shops for the perfect easy afternoon in Skagway!

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Hiking on a Glacier : Exploring the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska

June 18, 2018

When we were looking into booking excursions for our cruise to Alaska in each of the port towns we docked in, at first we were were thinking to do excursions in each of them, 3 days in a row. But upon thinking about it further, we decided against that and to only do one pre-booked excursion in Juneau. In hindsight, I’m so glad we did only one excursion because we would have been exhausted with 3 in a row and also because I am so glad we actually got to see some of the towns we docked in instead of just being whisked away elsewhere for the few hours we had on the ground in each place. One of the things I didn’t love about cruising was that we only got such a short amount of specified time in a place and on someone else’s schedule.

We docked in Juneau around midday the day we were in port there and the weather forecast was pretty horrific, freezing cold in the 40’s with rain all day. We donned all our rain gear and multiple layers and headed off the ship to meet our group for our excursion. I had booked us a trek on a glacier, literally walking on the Mendenhall Glacier just outside of Juneau for the afternoon. This trek also included a 5 mile round trip canoe ride where we did the canoe-ing and was marketed as one of Juneau’s more adventurous excursions. I think Nick thought I had gone a little crazy by booking it, but alas, in the end, we agreed it was well worth it.

The weather cleared and we had an incredible partly blue sky day trekking up Mendenhall Glacier, witnessing first hand was is happening to glaciers all over the world as they recede. We witnessed the unique blue color of the ice and the incredible landscape surrounding the glacier and lake. We went with Liquid Alaska as our tour group and all in all, I really enjoyed this part of our trip.

At one point, I said to our guide, “this can’t really be helping the glaciers to let people walk on them right?” And her response is one that resonated with me, she said “No, it’s not. But it’s not doing enough harm to make it recede any faster than it already is due to climate change and global warming. At this point, it’s about education. It’s about walking on this glacier, feeling it move, seeing its color and educating yourself and others about what’s happening to our planet.” I couldn’t agree more. We must all educate ourselves on these parts of our planet that are slipping away from us and what we can do to help. In the end, I’m glad to have witnessed the beautiful Mendenhall Glacier with my own eyes before it’s gone in the not so distant future.

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A Morning at Dawe’s Glacier in Alaska

June 15, 2018

There are some travel moments where you feel suspended for a moment against reality, when you see something that so few humans have seen, something that is part of nature all at once but could be gone or changed in the near future. That’s how our morning at the Dawe’s Glacier felt to me, suspended in reality.

When we embarked on our cruise to Alaska, after falling in love with the state a couple years ago, we knew we’d see some amazing things. And while there were definitely parts of cruising that I didn’t love, our morning at Dawe’s Glacier was the reason we did this cruise in the first place and quite simply – it’s the reason to do an Alaska cruise in general. To get to remote places like this, sometimes being on a boat or a ship are the only ways to get up close to some of the world’s most remarkable nature.

We happened to be on the right side of the ship and for whatever reason, the ship turned completely parallel to the glacier twice for us (the left side only got once). In the hour or so that we hovered in front of this magnificent glacier, we witnessed 2 different sections of the glacier breaking away and falling into the ocean, something that you can’t predict and we just happened to be lucky to see it twice while there.

There is something about witnessing nature up close, and in particular, glaciers that may not be here in a handful of years, that makes this planet so spectacular. I’ve never realized more how small we as humans are in the scope of the world as I have on my travels to places like Alaska and Iceland, places that have stunning natural environments and places that are slowly slipping away from us as the years go by and as we contribute more and more to climate change and global warming.

For me, travel is lovely exploring cities all over the world, it’s wonderful to meet people from different places, but perhaps the most stunning and breathtaking travel exercise of all is to immerse yourself in the landscapes of Earth, to see first hand what this planet offers. Because only then, seeing the bright turquoise of active glaciers and hearing the crackling and growling as chunks of ice fall around you, it’s then that you realize how small we are in the scope of the world, and yet at the same time, how much damage the human race has actually done. The morning we spent at the Dawe’s Glacier was truly a great one and watching it all from our private balcony made it all the better.

It’s so important for us to see things like glaciers, to witness them with our own eyes, to see how the Earth is changing. We must educate ourselves as travelers and understand what our impact on the world is. Part of travel is seeing the natural beauty around us and using our experiences to further educate ourselves about what we can do for the planet.

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A Stopover in Charming Ketchikan

June 13, 2018

Our first stop on our cruise to Alaska was to the little seaside town of Ketchikan. I knew a little about Ketchikan as some of our dear friends are from there, but even with what I knew, I was blown away and it was my favorite town of the cruise. With cute little pastel colored buildings, lovely little shops and amazing local artists, Ketchikan was a great first stop on our cruise up the Alaskan coast. We arrived into Ketchikan bight and early one morning and the cruise into the town was breathtaking with true beautiful Alaskan scenery.

We spent our time in port in Ketchikan just wandering the main area of the town including the cute little Creek Street area and the dockside souvenir shops and restaurants. We bought some local art and huckleberry honey and then proceeded to a chowder restaurant for some clam chowder and fresh Alaskan halibut and salmon. The day was pretty rainy, but the colorful buildings of Ketchikan made it feel so much cheerier. I was so glad we didn’t book an excursion that took us out of town on this first port day, as I loved just being able to explore all this little Alaskan town had to offer. All in all, I loved Ketchikan and loved it for our first stop on the cruise as we headed North.

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What to Wear for Dinner on an Alaska Cruise

June 11, 2018

When I was packing for our cruise to Alaska, I had a really hard time finding any information or images from people my age for what to wear for dinners, especially the formal nights. I read everywhere that Alaska cruises are much more casual than other cruises, but still, never having been on a cruise before, it was really hard to figure out what sort of outfits would work for formal dinners on our Celebrity cruise and what was appropriate and what wasn’t. In the end, what I packed was perfect and should you find yourself in the same position I did in the future, I thought it important to offer my advice specifically for what to wear for dinner on an Alaskan cruise so you have information that I didn’t!

OUTFITS FOR DINNERS

Outfit 1 – Semi-Formal/Semi-Casual – Tuxedo style navy pants with a lace top

Pants Option 1 | Pants Option 2 | Pants Option 3 | Lace Top Option 1 | Lace Top Option 2

Outfit 2 – Formal – Black Dress with Blazer

Black Dress Option 1 | Black Dress Option 2 | Black Dress Option 3 | Blazer Option 1 | Blazer Option 2

Outfit 3 – Semi-Formal/Semi-Casual – Black pixie pants with a Graphic flow-ey top

Pants Option 1 | Pants Option 2 | Top Option 1 | Top Option 2

Outfit 4 – Black dress with pearl details

Black Dress Option 1 | Black Dress Option 2

PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE ALL OVER THE PLACE IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY WEAR

Not sure what to expect for formal dinner nights on a cruise, I had read that you’ll see everything from very casual to tuxedos, and indeed, that was the case. At one of our dinners, we saw one man come in the restaurant in ripped up jeans and a white undershirt to another man in a full tuxedo – both of which were seated and no one said a thing, so it really is sort of anything goes. I found myself on the edge of overdressed most nights, but that’s how I generally feel in normal life too, so dress how you feel comfortable. In our experience, no one was turned away based on what they were wearing.

PANTS + A NICE TOP OR A DRESS ARE FINE

For women, a dress or pants/skirt and a nice top are totally fine and I wore both while on our cruise. I wore dresses for the more formal nights and then slacks and a dressy top for the “non-formal” nights to just be a little more dressed up for dinner when we went to the nicer restaurants.

FLATS ARE TOTALLY FINE (AND MOST COMMON) – NO NEED FOR HIGH HEELS

Before our cruise, I looked into the idea of bringing some heels (I barely ever wear heels in my normal life) and decided to just bring a pair of dressy black flats instead. I was worried that I’d be underdressed in flats – but that wasn’t the case at all. Again, dress how you feel comfortable. If you are more comfortable in flats – then wear flats and don’t worry about it.

YOU’LL BE INSIDE THE WHOLE TIME, SO DON’T WORRY ABOUT BEING COLD

Another thing I wasn’t sure about was if I’d need tights or jackets with my formal outfits due to the cold weather in Alaska – long story short – you’ll be inside the whole time, from your state room to the restaurant so no need to worry about being cold.

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A Complete Packing List for a Cruise to Alaska

June 8, 2018

I’ll admit, packing for our cruise to Alaska was really hard for me. It wasn’t so much what was needed for Alaska, I’ve been there before and knew generally what I’d need, it was the ship stuff that was harder for me. When we travel, we usually don’t go out to fancy dinners and don’t need a lot of dressy clothes. For the cruise, I needed not only outfits for Alaska and exploring, but also dinner outfits as well as clothes for around the ship on sea days. Plus there were random things we needed for a cruise that were different than we’d normally pack as well. It was a little daunting packing for this trip, but in the end, I narrowed it down to a complete packing list for a cruise to Alaska so if you’re headed on a similar trip, here is a complete list you can check off to make your packing easier!

Packing List for a Cruise to Alaska

Clothes:

2 Formal Dinner outfits (I have a post coming about this next week!)

2 Semi-Formal Dinner outfits

1 Flannel button up shirt – I wore this around the ship and it was perfect

1 pair of leggings – I wore these around the ship as well as layering under my pants for warmth on outings

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of cargo pants / outdoor pants – These are a great option.

1-2 waterproof jackets (make sure they really are waterproof!) – This is a great option.

1 Hat / Ear Muffs

1 pair of gloves

1 Patagonia Fleece pull over – I found this a really versatile piece to keep me warm in any cold climate

2 Long Sleeve T-shirts – I could wear these around the ship or under my Patagonia fleece to keep me warm

1 Down Puff Vest – I bought a J Crew version of this vest years ago and it’s the perfect layering piece over a sweater and under a raincoat to add an extra layer of warmth

1 Sweater – I packed a white cable knit sweater that I could wear on the ship or out under a raincoat when we were in port

1 Backpack – I bought an Anello backpack in Japan in March and it’s become my favorite travel bag and was perfect for this trip

1 Pair Waterproof boots with a rubber sole (insulated if possible) – I brought both my rubber rain boots as well as my Uggs Waterproof insulated boots (that I last wore in Iceland) and ended up really only needing the Uggs.

1 Pair Converse (or other sneaker type shoe) – I wore my converse around the ship and in port when it wasn’t raining

1 Pair of Dressy Shoes – I brought a pair of dressy black flats that went with all my dinner outfits

1 Clutch/Dressy Purse for Dinners – You’ll want a small clutch or purse to bring to dinners and I brought a glittery clutch I already had that went with all my dinner outfits

1 Swim Suit

1 Pair of Sunglasses – When it’s sunny, there can be a bad glare at sea so bring sunglasses

Miscellaneous Items:

Nightlight – the Cabins can get really dark so we brought one of our little wall plug in nightlights to help us navigate in the pitch black at night

Power Outlets – Our cabin only had 2 power outlets, so we brought an adaptor that adds a bunch more and it was super helpful

Adaptor Cord for the TV – If you want to watch your own shows off your iPad or iPhone, we always travel with an adaptor cord to plug into the TV so we can watch anything on there

Heat Packets – While I didn’t actually end up needing these, I brought with me instant heat packets in case we were out and about on an excursion and it got really cold

Cash in small Bills – Some of the ports require you to take a shuttle or tip people, so bring cash in small bills

Passports – You’ll need your passport on this cruise as you go through Canada on the way back

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What I Wish I Would Have Known before a Cruise to Alaska

June 6, 2018

Before embarking on our first cruise, I spent a great deal of time scouring the internet for tips for first time cruisers as well as specifics for cruises to Alaska. And while there was a lot out there, I had to search for individual things and they were peppered all over the internet so today, I’m rounding out the what I wish I would have known before a cruise to Alaksa in hopes that somewhere out there on the internet is a post with everything all in one place!

What I Wish I would have known before a cruise to Alaska:

Bring on bags that are light and easy to roll around when you board the ship. You’ll need to check your large luggage in before you board the ship but anything small, you can carry on with you. We both had a backpack and then one other bag to carry with us, problem was that third bag was pretty heavy and it became kind of a pain to carry it around for 3 hours before our stateroom was ready. If I did it over, I’d change that third bag out for my Tumi carry on roller bag so it would be easier to roll around and not have to carry extra weight.

Check if your stateroom is ready. Since we had never been on a cruise before, we weren’t sure about when we’d have access to our stateroom that first day. Online, I found it ranges all over from right away to late in the afternoon for when the rooms might be ready. We ended up waiting until about 1pm (after boarding around 10:30am) to check if our room was ready. And it was, however it looked like they had been ready for a while before that, so you might want to check before the time frame they tell you – you never know!

Have a large lunch when you get on board to hold you over for dinner. Again not knowing anything about cruises and what restaurants would be available for us that first day, we headed up to the main dining buffet to have lunch around 11am after boarding. And considering that there wasn’t going to be anything open for dinner until 6pm, we had a big lunch at the buffet to hold us over. The one thing that was a little hard for me to get used to on the cruise was having to stick to a strict schedule of when restaurants would open for each meal.

Only purchase a drink package if you think you’ll be drinking a lot over 7 days. Upon boarding the ship, they were selling drink packages and Nick said that we probably should get them as he went on a cruise with his family when he was a kid and remembered something about them. Having never been on a cruise myself, I didn’t realize that any drinks (even bottles of water) wouldn’t be included in my already paid for package. We opted to get 1 non-alcoholic beverage package for Nick since he drinks a lot of sparkling water and soda. Overall, I think it was probably a waste considering how much they charged and we probably wouldn’t have paid as much just buying individual drinks for Nick but it was a good learning lesson. If you’re going to drink a ton (alcoholic or not) on the cruise at restaurants, other than just plain water, you’ll want a drink package. But if you only will be buying 1 or 2 drinks per day, it’s probably not worth it.

Find a spot to nap and relax before your stateroom is ready after you board. We weren’t sure of what to do in the span of time after we boarded around 10:30am and when our room was ready around 1pm. We ended up having lunch at the buffet restaurant and then found a deck chair to just lay down and nap for a bit before going to our room. I’d recommend scoping out the ship and then just finding a place to relax for a bit.

Internet packages. Oh I have a lot to say on the internet packages on the cruise and none of them very good. We bought the cheapest internet package and it was still something like $300 for the 7 day cruise and that only included 1 device at a time! Meaning we could never use the internet at the same time the whole trip. On top of that, the internet was pretty horrible most of the time and some days was barely even usable. It felt like a rip off even spending the money on it. And then on the last day, we looked at our charges and we had suddenly been billed for another plan which was much more expensive. I called guest services and they reversed the charge, but for something we already felt ripped off on, it just added to the feeling. Long story short, don’t plan on having great access to internet on a cruise, which for us is hard when we travel, since we never really sign off of our jobs and need some access while we’re gone.

Aqua Class and Blu. So on Celebrity cruises, they have what they call their Aqua Class. It’s basically an upgrade for a larger room and some other amenities. We opted for this on our cruise for a number of reason when we were booking, thinking that we’d have special access to a bunch of other restaurants over the normal ones. Well in actuality that’s not really the case. What they mean on the website by special access is that instead of having access to eat in the Main Dining Room, the Grand Epernay, you’ll eat your meals (breakfast and dinner) at Blu which is reserved only for Aqua Class customers. We didn’t know this and showed up at the main dining room for dinner our second night on the cruise and were a little rudely turned away without actually explaining this to us. We did end up having great meals at Blu, but felt like this could have been made a little clearer.

You may not get fully seasick, but have Drammomine ready – even if it’s never bothered you before. I got slightly seasick during our cruise and while I was never physically sick, I got pretty dizzy a few times on the cruise. I also was really bothered by the vibrations in the ship, especially when going really slow. I’ve been on boats in the past and never had an issue, so bring Drammomine anyways!

Disembark with your own bags. When getting off the ship, we are always up early and wanted to be off right they started disembarking and the quickest way to do this is to disembark with your own luggage. If you have the ship take your luggage off, it could take a while longer as you’ll be put in disembarkation classes and then have to wait for your bags. We were off in 10 minutes and headed straight for our shuttle to our car and it was really easy.

If you’re leaving from Seattle, park your car at Seattle Cruise Park. We parked at Seattle Cruise Park and had a great experience with them! It was fast and easy.

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Cruising on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska : A Review

June 4, 2018

See more Reviews!

Last year when we were looking at our 2018 itinerary, we really wanted to get back to Alaska after falling in love with the state a couple years ago when we traveled to Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. We’ve always heard amazing things about cruises to Alaska, so we decided to give cruising a try! A lot of people that know us were really surprised to see us doing a cruise and were really interested to see how we would like it. In the end, I’m not sure I’m a cruise person for the long run, but we enjoyed different parts of cruising to Alaska and didn’t enjoy some others. We decided on the Celebrity Solstice cruise from Seattle which took us through Ketchikan, Juneau, the Tracy Arm Fjord and the Inside Passage, as well as Skagway and Victoria, BC. Here below is my honest review of our first time cruising to Alaska, what I loved and what I didn’t while cruising on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska.

What I Loved

Views from our Balcony – One of my favorite parts of the whole experience was being able to see so much amazing scenery from the privacy of our own balcony in our stateroom. Our balcony was large and comfortable, and had some of the best views we’ve seen. From up close at Dawe’s Glacier to the incredible scenery of the Inside Passage, the best view for us was never more than a few feet from our room and we didn’t have to push through a whole bunch of other people to get a good view or an amazing photo.

Tuscan Grille – Our first night on the cruise we ate at Tuscan Grille, one of the “pay for” restaurants on the ship. If you’re not familiar with cruising, at least on Celebrity, there are a handful of restaurants that are included in your package and then there are a few specialty restaurants that charge a cover fee (ie $45/person for everything included). Our ship had 3-4 specialty restaurants, one of which was the Tuscan Grille, a rustic Italian spot. We ate our first dinner on the ship here and lunch on the last day and it was fantastic both times. We were blown away by the quality and the offerings at Rustic Grille!

Blu – Blu is the restaurant that we ate most of our meals at. It’s the restaurant that will be your main dining room if you upgrade to Aqua Class rooms which we did. Blu was lovely and we had lots of great meals here, both breakfasts and dinners. We came to love the staff (the same each day) and the food was overall really solid and the restaurant has a nice ambience. A little note that we didn’t know as first time cruisers, you won’t eat in the main dining room if you upgrade to a suite or Aqua Class rooms as Blu will become your main dining room each day instead.

Comfortable Room + Storage – We upgraded to an Aqua Class room which gave us a little more space and a lovely balcony, along with some other perks like access to Blu and fresh tea and fruit in our room every day. The room was really comfortable and we had lots of space to store all our items all week.

Amazing Service – The item that I’d say was perhaps the best of the cruise was the service. The staff the whole week was amazing and I have nothing but great things to say about the entire staff on the Solstice!

The Captain – Perhaps a weird thing to include but I couldn’t not mention him, the Captain of our ship was so hilarious that every time he came on the loud speaker we were dying laughing. His hilariously dark sense of humor added a lightness to each day when he gave his daily briefing!

What I Didn’t Love

Not being able to explore each destination very deeply – One thing I missed on a cruise was the ability to explore as deeply and as long as we wanted in a location. While most of our trips are fairly short, we are still able to really explore a place deeply and do it on our own schedule. On a cruise, you’re limited to a specific amount of time in a place and we found it a little limiting.

Bad Wifi – We weren’t sure what to expect as far as connectivity while on the cruise and we kept our phones on airplane mode unless we were in a port the whole time. As far as wifi goes, the wifi on the ship was pretty bad and was really expensive. Nick and I both thought we’d have much better connectivity to work while away and it ended up being pretty limited.

Nothing opens early on the Ship – Nick and I both get up pretty early (5am most days) and nothing opened earlier than 6:30am on the ship. We found ourselves sort of waiting around most mornings until restaurants or coffee shops opened up. If you’re an early riser, you might find it hard on a cruise ship.

Sea Sickness – The first open sea day on our cruise, I got a light bout of sea sickness and while I don’t get sick, I did get incredibly dizzy to the point that I just had to lay down for a while. I took a dramamine and napped for a few hours and then was totally fine the rest of the time, but it definitely didn’t start the cruise super great. I’ve been on other smaller boats in much rougher water and never had an issue with sea sickness, so even if you aren’t prone to it, pack some Dramamine before you do a cruise either way!

Age gap on Cruise Ship – When we booked this Alaska cruise we knew we’d be the rarity in terms of age as the Alaska cruises tend to lean toward an older generation as the prime demographic. And that definitely was the case. Most of the activities and music and such was geared toward an older generation and we definitely felt the age gap throughout our time on the ship.

So much food – I’ll be honest, I am not one to shy away from food and love a good meal, especially when traveling but even I was feeling a little weary of so much food at the end of our cruise. Because the restaurants are only open at certain times of the day, we found ourselves having to schedule out three meals each day and each was not super light. By the end of the week, I was ready for a full on detox when we got home. On another note, there wasn’t a ton of options for really light or healthy food, especially fresh vegetables which I really missed the whole week!

Notes to Keep in Mind

Upgrade to a balcony room – By far the best tip I can give, upgrade yourself to a room with a balcony. It will completely change how you get to see the scenery… it’s well worth the extra money. And also, having access to fresh air and looking out at the horizon was a huge help for me the day I was a little sea-sick.

Buy a Dining Package – In retrospect, I would have bought a dining package when we booked the cruise now knowing that we liked the pay for restaurants so much. We also bought a non-alcolholc beverage package for Nick before boarding, which was great for him because he drinks a ton of sparkling water, but I found I didn’t need one for me but would have liked to have had a dining package to take more advantage of the specialty restaurants.

And stay tuned in the coming days for a post all about what I wish I would have known before cruising to Alaska for more tips!

Would I do a cruise again?

After my first cruise, a lot of people I know have been asking what I thought and if I’d do it again. In the end, I am glad we did this cruise to Alaska and we got to see a lot of the Southern Alaskan coastline that we might not have gotten to any other way except on a cruise. Would I do an Alaska cruise again? Probably not, once I think is enough. Would I do another cruise elsewhere in the world? Maybe. I think that certain places in the world it might be well worth doing another cruise. I would consider a cruise along the coast of Norway or perhaps a river cruise in the Amazon. But in general, I think I’d rather plan my own travels and be more on my own schedule in general.

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My Favorite Places in the World (so far…)

May 21, 2018

Casey’s Birthday weekend in Paris

Previously, I did a post on my Favorite Places in the USA and when I got to thinking about it, I don’t know that I’ve ever done a post about my very favorite places around the world, for no other reason than just really liking certain destinations. I get asked a lot by people, “where is you favorite place that you’ve been?” And that question is so hard to answer because there are so many amazing places around the world that I’ve loved, and while yes, some tug at my heartstrings more than others (hello Paris), I’ve fallen in love with so many spots around the world, I thought it high time for a favorites post.

I always like hearing the places people really love and that stick with them, so today here are my favorite places in the world, in no particular order, that I’ve seen so far and why each place is well worth a visit so you can fall in love with them too.

London

Since visiting for the first time in my adult life on our honeymoon all those years ago, London has stayed a constant favorite in our years of traveling the world. The city has an energy totally all its own, is easy to get around and is beautiful beyond belief. London is a must for anyone wanting to travel Europe and offers a distinct feel different than any other European major city.

London Archives

France

Ahhh France, my long lost love. Anyone that knows me (or that reads this blog often) knows that I adore Paris and try to make to the City of Light once every calendar year. For the first time since Nick and I got married 8 years ago, this is the first year we won’t be making it to Paris but I’ve already got it on our travel schedule next year so I’m sure I’ll survive. And while I adore Paris and spend a lot of time there every year, the rest of the country of France is just as wonderful. I have loved my visits to Provence and the Southern Coast of the country and recently fell in love with Lyon as well. The sounds of French chattering in the air as you bite into a fresh croissant, ahhh take me back!

France Archives

Japan

Japan is my France of the East. If you asked me to pick a favorite country in Asia, Japan would be it for me. It’s one of those countries that just clicks for me – I feel at home there. Maybe it’s that everything is orderly and organized, maybe it’s the most amazing ramen you’ve ever had or the clean and efficient cities or the gorgeous otherworldly landscapes. Japan is just remarkable in every way and it’s one of those places that just digs into your soul.

Japan Archives

Bali

Most of the time, if you’d ask me what type of vacation I want or what type of destination I am inclined towards, an island with beaches and a warm, humid climate probably wouldn’t be high up on the list. I’m not a beach person and I really dislike intense heat and humidity, so when we visited Bali a few years back I wasn’t sure what I would make of it. In truth, what really won me over was the spirit of Bali, the amazing soul of the locals, the incredible landscapes and the whole aura of the island. Bali is special and one of a kind, truly.

Bali Archives

Iceland

Iceland is special to me, really special actually. There is a feeling I get in Iceland like nowhere else in the world. We’ve been a handful of times over the last several years and seen most of the island, but something keeps bringing us back. We’ve been in Winter, in Spring, in Summer, in Fall and no matter when or how many times we return to Iceland, there is a magic that washes over you when you step foot on this little island. The landscapes, the tiny towns, the horses – Iceland will change you.

Iceland Archives

Peru

Before Nick’s 30th birthday a couple years ago, we had the goal of setting foot on all the continents (except Antarctica) and the one we hadn’t set foot in yet was South America. On a whim, we booked 4 days over Memorial Day in Peru and planned on stopping in Cusco and Machu Picchu. In the end, we had some flight issues on the last day and ended up with some time in Lima as well and I was totally won over on Peru as a whole during our time there. The food was amazing. The people friendly. There are llamas all over, which in my book is pretty much the best thing ever. And seeing Machu Picchu, well that was an experience of a lifetime.

Peru Archives

Amsterdam

Growing up in Saudi Arabia, we would usually fly through Amsterdam on our way back to the States when we would go back to visit family. I visited many many times as a kid and remember a very different city than it is today. When Nick and I first visited Amsterdam together a few years ago, the city was a vast contrast to the one that I visited as a kid in the best possible way. Amsterdam these days is chic, clean and gorgeous and we’ve loved each and every visit that brings us through. The row houses, the canals, the stroopwafels, Amsterdam is a true gem and has become one of my favorite cities in Europe.

Amsterdam Archives

Scotland

There is just something about a grand landscape that gets me every time and Scotland certainly meets that criteria. Our trips there have blown me away from the moment we stepped foot on Scottish soil and whether you’re headed to Edinburgh or beautiful St. Andrews or to meander your way through the Highlands and the Isle of Skye, you’ll fall in love. You’ll find incredible food, kind locals and some of the most beautiful landscapes you’ve ever seen on a trip to Scotland!

Scotland Archives

Great Ocean Road, Australia

While I really enjoyed our time in Australia a few years ago, it was the Great Ocean Road outside of Melbourne that really took the cake for me. This miles long stretch of coastal road offers some of the most amazing scenery that I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Oh and there are koalas in trees all over the place, so yea, there’s that.

Great Ocean Road Archives

Spain

I debated listing the entire country of Spain here or just my two favorite cities there: Sevilla and Barcelona, but the more I thought about it, yes the entire country needs to be listed here. Spain is one of those places that is totally all its own. The food is incredible, like really incredible. The people are lovely. And the cities are gorgeous. Sevilla literally has orange trees lining its streets. Barcelona has some of the most beautiful architecture in the entire world. The list goes on and on… so yes, if you haven’t been to Spain yet, go!

Spain Archives

Vienna

My time in Vienna has been short lived, but it still definitely deserves to be on this list. In my short stay in the city, I was overwhelmed with how much I loved it. The architecture, the old world charm, the food, Vienna is a gem in its own right and perhaps after London and Paris, might rival my favorite cities in Europe. Spend 24 hours here, eat Weiner schnitzel for every meal and drink coffee in the city’s many cafes, and I promise you’ll agree with me.

Vienna Archives

Udaipur, India

I spent a good deal of time in India as a kid since we were living in Saudi Arabia and my aunt at the time was living in India. And while my memories of India as a kid are totally different than how the country felt to me when Nick and I visited together a few years ago, the country has always stuck with me. First off, and anyone that has been to India will tell you, India is a flood of sensory information: it’s loud, it’s full of color, it’s crowded. And all at once, it’s a lot at first. But once you start to sort all if out, once you get over the fact that what would be 3 lanes of a highway in the Western world are 10 cars side by side in India, once you can filter out all the noise and just focus on the peaceful calm of the lakes in Udaipur and look out over thousands of years of history, it starts to come into focus and take you over. Udaipur is one of my favorite spots in the entire world, not only for its beauty (and yes, it’s gorgeous) but also for the different take on India that it gives visitors. Udaipur is different than so many other spots in India in the best possible way and will truly take your breath away.

Udaipur Archives

Stockholm

When I found a $300 round trip ticket to Stockholm in January a few years back and convinced Nick we should go, I was unsure of how we’d like the city in the cold Winter months of Scandinavia. Long story short: we LOVED the city and Stockholm is on the short list of places to get back to ASAP. This Swedish destination is my favorite city (so far) in Scandinavia and between the amazing architecture and the incredible food (hello Fika / cinnamons buns every day), I was blown away by how much I loved Stockholm.

Stockholm Archives

Marrakech

For years before I started traveling regularly again, Morocco was one of my “dream” destinations. The allure of the country just called to me. Maybe it was my childhood in the Middle East, craving that call to prayer and the incredible food in that part of the world. Maybe it was the allure of spice markets and souks. Whatever it was, that dream was realized when we visited Marrakech a handful of years ago. We loved our experience in the city and it’s always on the list of places we’d love to go back to. From spice markets to incredible Chicken Bastilla, Marrakech is a must see and still one of my favorite spots in the world.

Marrakech Archives

Soaring above Oregon Wine Country : A Hot Air Balloon Ride in Newberg

May 18, 2018

A couple years ago for my 30th birthday Nick had booked us a hot air ballon ride in Newberg, Oregon, about 30 minutes South of us here in Portland. Unfortunately they canceled our ride the day before we were due to fly due to weather which left us disappointed as we have been wanting to do a hot air balloon ride forever. Fast forward a year and a half and we had never gotten around to rescheduling our ride, when Nick came home with a fun surprise! He had rescheduled our ride for this past weekend and so on a warm Spring Saturday morning this week, we got up at 4am and drove down to Newberg for our first hot air balloon ride. Long story short, we loved it and I’m sure we’ll be doing many hot air balloon rides all over the world in the future!

We flew with Vista Balloons in Newberg and loved the experience with them. From start to finish, the whole experience was lovely. We watched as the balloons were filled and then as they each started taking off. We flew over the Willamette River and marveled at the beauty of soaring above Oregon wine country, vineyards and farmland, fog slowly rolling over the countryside below us. I was remarkably surprised at how smooth the ride was, how we lifted and fell so calmly. For my first hot air balloon ride, I couldn’t believe how peaceful it was up there. I know we’ll for sure be doing hot air balloon rides again in the future as we loved it so much, but for now, here’s some photos of our morning the air in a hot air balloon ride in Newberg and a little video I put together so you can experience a sense of what we did too!