Sunrise on the Sea of Cortez

October 29, 2015

Our first morning in Mexico, we awoke early. Seeing as the sun was about to rise, we threw on some clothes and headed out of our casita at the Esperanza Resort and down the short distance to the small secluded beach on the property. Looking out over the Sea of Cortez, we watched the early dawn colors fill the sky, as the sun rose over the surrounding cliff-sides and spilled a sea of pastels across the sky.

Even at 7am, the heat and humidity were sweltering, but for a moment, as Nick was taking photos, I sat on a rock on the sandy shore of the Sea of Cortez watching the sunrise at another place in the world. I’m often up for the sunrise (the perk of being a photographer’s wife), and I’m always taken aback by how peaceful the world is at the point in the day. No matter if we’re in a beautiful landscape or in the middle of a busy city, sunrise is a point in the day when the world is quiet, when few people are out and when for a moment, everything seems at peace.

Our morning watching the sunrise on the Sea of Cortez was no different and no matter the destination, I highly recommend you to get up early and watch the sun rising over the world. It’s a time of day when traveling turns into something even more magical, a time of day when we all start over, a time of day that allows you to refresh, to put aside all of yesterday and move forward into the dawn colors.

Headed to Mexico?

Take a look at the rest of our archives on Los Cabos here!

How to Know if You’re a Resort Traveler (or not)

October 27, 2015

I’ve always been drawn more toward trips rather than vacations in terms of my travels. I’ve always gone for trips where I explore cities, drive back roads through beautiful scenic areas and have a lot of control in what I do and where I go. For that exact reason, I had never really done a full “resort vacation” in my travels and really wanted to experience that side of travel to see how I liked it. When we were looking into a trip for our 10 year anniversary and my birthday this year, we decided to do a relaxing vacation instead of a “trip” somewhere to see if we liked it and to experience something different. I definitely concluded what type of traveler I am after this Mexico trip, but before I get to my own reactions, here’s how to know if you’re a resort traveler or not!

Do you like to relax, lay by the pool and read a book?

If the answer is yes, then a resort vacation is perfect for you!

Do you like to have control over where you eat and the activities you partake in?

If the answer is yes, then a resort might not be the place for you. Even though resorts tend to have multiple restaurants and activities, you definitely have more control and flexibility if you travel on your own.

Do you like hotels within cities to explore an area or far away to feel more secluded?

If you prefer hotels within a city, then a resort might not be for you. Though if you like the seclusion, choose a resort vacation for the peace and quiet.

Do you care about higher prices at a resort than you would in town?

If you don’t want to be gauged with food and drink prices, a resort might not be the place for you. In a city, you have many more choices and can choose how much you want to spend on food and drinks.

Do you like a pool, spa and other amenities in your hotel?

If so, then a resort is the place for you! Most resorts include many amenities included in your stay.

So…. am I a resort person or not?

Personally, I found out pretty quickly that I’m not a resort person. I prefer having more control over my travels, being able to choose where to eat out of a multitude of options. I also didn’t like being so far out of town in Cabo and having to take a 20 minute taxi to get anywhere (which also really added up in prices), instead of being able to walk everywhere and take it all in. I’m also not really a beach or pool person so the amenities at a resort are somewhat lost on me.

Now with that being said, I guess it does depend on the resort and location itself. For example the Oberoi Udailvilas in Udaipur, India that we stayed at a couple years ago was a resort with full amenities and amazing grounds, but also right in the city of Udaipur and very easy to go out and explore. So perhaps, my ideal situation are some of the amenities of a resort with the option to go out and explore close by the hotel.

What do you think… are you a resort traveler?

Global Food : A Night in Ireland

October 26, 2015

Something many Land of Marvels readers might not realize is that I love to cook. It’s always been a big passion of mine and baking, cooking, and hosting dinner parties is something that I love to do and try to do as much as my schedule permits. Food is also such a huge part of travel and as Nick and I have ventured around the world, we’ve fallen in love with so many cultures through their food. So in this new Land of Marvels series, as I learn to cook different cultural food from around the world, I’ll share the process and recipes here so you can have an exotic culinary adventure yourself as well! Welcome to Global Food: A Night in Ireland!

Before I get into my Mexico posts (which are starting tomorrow!), I wanted to go back a few weeks to recap another Global Food dinner party I recently hosted. My grandparents recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and in celebration of that, I hosted them and other family members at our apartment for a Night in Ireland! My grandmother’s family is from Ireland and the country has always had a great impact on our family over the years. So I thought, what better way to celebrate than with a country-themed dinner!

I drew inspiration for the menu from our trip to Ireland a couple years ago as well as some classic UK favorites from various trips. I wanted the flavors of that part of the world to really come through, as well as for the dinner to be full of classic, comforting foods with little touches of Ireland throughout.

My table-scape was gray and white with touches of deep greens throughout. Green candles, olive-green succulents for the centerpiece and green and white napkins helped set that theme. As to cooking, I started early in the day with the prep work for the vegetables, then moved onto the Soda Bread, preparing the cheeses for appetizer and roasting the vegetables for my soup course. I also prepared my leg of lamb in a marinade and then roasted it for a couple hours while everything else was finished up. Finally, it was time to pull everything together and here’s what we enjoyed for a Night in Ireland and how to replicate some of the recipes yourself!

FAQ : Where am I dying to get to?

October 21, 2015

While I catch up on my end from recent travels, I thought it might be fun to do a FAQ catch up series here this week. There are a lot of new readers around here recently and I thought you might enjoy me answering some questions I get asked a lot regarding travel!

Where am I dying to get to?

There are a few places that are at the top of my travel list at the moment. My list changes over and over, depending on the season and the year and usually there are different places that move up and down the list. At the moment though here’s where I’m dying to get to sometime soon:

Japan and China – I’m craving an exotic Oriental trip and we’re shooting to make this a reality next November and I couldn’t be more excited. We’re hoping to see Tokyo, Kyoto, Beijing and the Great Wall.

The Middle East – As I approach 30 next year, I’m really hoping to be able to make it back to the Middle East sometime soon. Egypt, Dubai, Petra and Istanbul are all high on the list and we’ve actually tried to make some of those work in the past couple years, but with all the unrest in the region, it’s hard for us to plan so far ahead to visit when you’re not sure of what might come up. Hoping we can make this happen soon!

English Countryside – I’m dying for a Fall/Winter stay in the English countryside sometime soon a la The Holiday. With a pub to walk to, countrysides to explore and lovely foliage, I could definitely hide away in the English countryside!

Peru – South America was never really high up on my list of places, but it’s been slowly creeping up there. Peru in particular I find really interesting and would love to visit my 6th continent in the meantime. Gladly, we just booked tickets for a visit to Machu Picchu and Cusco next May and I’m so excited!

Alaska – I think as Americans a lot we forget how wonderful our own country is and Alaska in general has so much untouched beauty! Whether through a cruise or a road trip, I’d love to make it up to Alaska sometime soon!

FAQ : What’s my favorite place?

October 19, 2015

We got home from Mexico last night and while I catch up on my end and get posts ready from our long weekend in Cabo, I thought it might be fun to do a FAQ catch up series here this week. There are a lot of new readers around here recently and I thought you might enjoy me answering some questions I get asked a lot regarding travel!

What’s my favorite place I’ve been to?

If you’ve been a reader here for a long time, you’ll know immediately my answer to this question: Paris! Paris is perhaps my favorite place on this planet that I’ve been to. I can’t quite explain the feeling I get in Paris, wandering the old streets, taking in the cafe culture, speaking French. There is just something about Paris that makes my heart flutter.

Perhaps it’s because Paris was always that place growing up that held dreams for me. It was that place that held my passion for travel, it’s the place that I always dreamt of going back to after visiting a few times as a kid. So when I returned, I think that that city captured me in a very unique way. It’s become for me that place in the world that I feel home, that I feel a sensation I’ve never felt anywhere else I’ve traveled.

Though I’ve traveled to many other places that I’ve fallen deeply in love with too. And maybe not on the same level as Paris, but close seconds include London (England), Udaipur (India), Sevilla (Spain), Dublin (Ireland), St. Andrews (Scotland), Iceland, and Seoul (South Korea). All of these places have touched me deeply and for reasons totally unique to each place.

My 28th Year

October 15, 2015

Today I turn 29. Today I enter the last year of my twenties. Today I leave behind one of the hardest years of my life, if not the hardest I’ve ever experienced. Today I move past all that 28 brought, good and bad, and embrace a new year ahead.

As I look back at my birthday post from last year, I feel like an entirely different person wrote that than woke up the following day. Last year on my birthday my mom had a mammogram, the next day they called her back in to tell her they had found something. Within a week our world had been turned upside down and with her breast cancer diagnosis, suddenly the Earth had shifted under me and everything changed. I remember to this day how my heart sank when I got that phone call, sitting in a hotel room up in Seattle, a moment I’ll never forget how horrible that felt. I remember feeling in such a haze those next few weeks and throughout my Mom’s battle with cancer last Fall and through the New Year, I remember days passing on the calendar but not really aware of moments, not aware of what I was doing, not aware of what was swirling around me. I wrote this post about a week after we found out and reading it now brings back so many feelings, so many emotions that in many ways feel like it just happened yesterday.

My 28th year didn’t start off well. It followed a couple months later by one of my best friend’s dad’s passing away suddenly shortly before Christmas and then in March, two days into our trip to Spain in March, my grandpa had a massive stroke. There were more moments than I would care to remember where I literally said out loud “can we please catch a break?” It felt as though the walls were closing in, as if it was one test after another, one heartbreak after another, one tear after another and another. We went from emotional highs to emotional lows, we went from seeing each other at our darkest only to grasp at any good news, to then be dragged down yet again. I’ve never in my life felt so adrift as I did during the first 6 months of my 28th year on this planet.

I’ve never felt so in need of hope, so exhausted to the point of not being able to even think about the simplest things, so emotionally drained that just saying a word seemed like too much work. I did learn throughout my 28th year though that life isn’t all about sadness, even when it seems the darkness is surrounding you. I learned there can be a surreal pink sunset at the end of a gray day and that every new day starts with the sun rising. I learned that no matter how hard life may be, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, however small and faint it might seem. I learned that when you love someone, you lay it all on the line for them and that the hardest thing in the world is not being able to help someone you love. I learned that life will always give us challenges, we’ll always have ups and downs, we’ll all feel severe heartbreak at some point, we’ll all feel loss, we’ll all feel extreme sadness and fear. But in those emotions, we get as close to pure humanity as possible on this planet and in those emotions we find our true soul.

Here we are a year later. My mom is completely healthy and back to normal routines, my grandpa with no permanent physical damage from his stroke, still here laughing and telling jokes. Here we are a year later, a year passed, a tough year, a really trying year, a draining year but we’re here. And isn’t that the most important thing? We’re here to love and laugh and live, we’re here to watch every pink sunset and hear the sound the rain makes against the trees outside your window. We’re here to watch as the seasons change, to embrace the changes within ourselves, to acknowledge that what we’ve been through might have changed something in us, but that we can’t grow without change. We’re here to embrace this incredible life we’ve been given.

No one ever said it would be easy. No one ever said it was supposed to be. No one ever said that challenges wouldn’t arise. And after a really hard 28th year on this planet, I can honestly say I’ve never grown so much as a person, or learned as much as a woman, or found so much fulfillment in the ordinary moments than I have this year. So as I turn 29 today, I’m looking forward to embracing each and every moment I have, spending time with those that I love, offering a little help to those who might need it, and to truly take in each and every moment of precious time on this incredibly beautiful planet we call home.

The Truth About Traveling : Travel Isn’t Always Amazing

October 14, 2015

Oftentimes the blog world goes on and on about how incredible travel is and I am no different, I do to. I do that here on Land of Marvels because I truly believe that, because my life has changed because of it, I have changed because of travel. But one thing I really strive to do here on Land of Marvels too is to tell the truth and be honest, about life and about travel. It’s one reason I started this Truth About Traveling series a long time ago, as a way to be open and honest about some of the harsher truths of our world and about travel.

The thing is, I genuinely love travel. But it’s also important to note that travel and seeing the world isn’t all rainbows and sunshine, just like life isn’t that way as well. It isn’t always loving the places you visit or feeling great while exploring. It isn’t always glamorous. And I’ve posted about all those things over the years. Travel can also be sort of underwhelming, it can leave you wondering what all the hype was about or why you spent time to visit when you really just didn’t like it. And that’s totally ok.

I think the biggest disservice we do to travel is not share about the gritty details that make it not so amazing sometimes too: the lack of sleep, the anxiety when you’re lost and don’t know where to head, when flights are delayed or plans are canceled. The truth about traveling is that it isn’t always amazing. And in that, sometimes we must push that aside and continue on, even when we’re underwhelmed or dissatisfied. Because at the end of the day, travel is about pushing boundaries and trying new things. It’s about seeing with your own eyes all those places that are part of our world and we aren’t ever going to love everything or feel great all the time or be totally blown away by everything. Sometimes travel isn’t going to change you or move you or show you the best the world has to offer and that’s part of the fun and part of the joy too. Sometimes travel is about showing you that we’re all human, we all see things differently and we all find awe in different things. So the next time you take that trip and come back feeling underwhelmed or disappointed, that’s ok too. The goal is to keep going, to pick yourself back up and embrace the next adventure with open arms not knowing what might be ahead.

How Much Money Do You Really Need to Travel to Europe?

October 13, 2015

When it comes to travel, it still does take money to be able to do it. No matter how many flights or hotels you get on points or miles, at the end of the day you still need money when you get to your destination or to the pay the taxes and fees on those points-booked-trips. But how much money do you really need to travel? How much do things really cost? This totally depends on where you go and how you travel, but for today, let’s talk about traveling to Europe from the US. I’m particularly looking at heading to Europe from the West Coast of the US as that’s what I do most often, so from other areas of the US it might be a bit different but generally not that much. So let’s talk about budgets and how much money do you really need to travel to Europe.

(PS, of course I’m being totally transparent here and this is from my own travels and experiences, so it will always be different than everyone in different circumstances. While we definitely save money in certain areas of travel, we also might spend more than others in other areas. So take this and adjust according to your own budgets and travel accordingly.)

FLIGHTS

Ok, starting with your transportation to get to Europe. We generally fly direct to Europe (usually to London Heathrow, Paris CDG, or Amsterdam Schipol) from either LAX or Sea-Tac airports as those are the main hubs we prefer on the West Coast. Seattle is easier for us, but it doesn’t have as many options as LAX, so we find what works best with connections and such and usually go through one or the other based on circumstances. But if we’re paying out right for flights (not using points which we’re doing more and more) we plan on around $1,000 per ticket in economy in shoulder and high season and a bit less (around $800-$900) for off season fares. Now with that said, you can find amazing deals and we do often for way less than that. With airlines like Norwegian and Iceland Air offering incredible fares from the West Coast, we use those as well to save money. (Norwegian often offers fares like $300 one way from LAX to Europe and Iceland Air flies out of Seattle and Portland for us and usually offers fares like $400-$500 one way to Europe through Iceland).

If you’re looking at Premium Economy to upgrade a bit, plan on around $1,600-$1,800 per ticket.

Another tip to save money, to get to those major hub airports like Sea-Tac or LAX (or wherever you fly out of) if you don’t live there, use miles on your loyalty airline to book your tickets there and home. We fly Alaska domestically, so we always use points for those flights to and from, that way you’re just paying the base fare from the hub airport to Europe and nothing for the connections from your home city.

HOTELS

Hotels are tricky because they are so different in cost wherever you go. But let’s stick with the main hub cities like Amsterdam, Paris and London. In big tourist cities like that you’re going to pay more. For us, we really like a good hotel so we budget more. If you don’t really care where you stay or want to opt for AirBnB or other accommodation options you can get a lot cheaper. But for us, we like to budget a little more for our experience. We budget between $150-$300 per night for hotels, based on location and our overall trip itinerary. Sometimes we’ll opt for a cheaper place in one city so we can splurge on a better hotel in another. But I try to not go much higher than $300 a night for hotel because there are so many great options out there for under that amount.

MONEY WHILE ON THE GROUND

We like to use cash when we travel, so I take out cash before we leave at my bank in the local currency. That way you aren’t charged fees from local ATM’s or currency exchanges at your destination. For the amount of money you need while on the ground in your destination, we generally budget about $1000 for a week to 10 days of travel in Europe. That will cover everything day to day: activities, tickets, food, tips, etc. Once on the ground we use only our “trip money” which we save all year in a separate savings account for trips, and that way when we get home we have nothing to pay off on our credit cards.

This also really depends on where you go, for example when in larger cities like Paris or London, we usually use all of that cash. On our recent trip through Spain and Portugal though, we came home with extra since everything was cheaper. So it totally depends on where you go.

A final tip on this, try to use up all your coins while on your trip before coming home. Often times most currency exchanges in the US and banks won’t buy back foreign coins and sometimes a handful of Euro or pound coins can add up to quite a bit considering they can be $1 or $2 per coin. So if you end up at the end with a bunch of foreign coins, use them before getting on the plane!

TOTAL EXPENSES

Ok so looking at this as if you were to pay for everything on your trip (which we hardly ever do anymore, when you factor in points and such), for a 10 day trip to Europe with airfare, hotels, activities, food, etc., we budget spending between $4,000 and $6,000 depending on time of year, length of the trip and where we’re headed.

CONSIDERATIONS / HOW TO SAVE

Now as I mentioned, we never spend that on a trip. That’s why it’s so important, if you want to travel often, to understand how to use points, loyalty programs, blogging perks and whatever else is at your disposal to cut that cost. Sometimes we walk away from a trip paying out of pocket barely anything, other times it’s a real mix of paying versus using points/rewards. I’m a big believer in using your points and miles to the most advantage and learning how to do that takes time and research. So if you want to travel but can’t afford that price tag above, don’t worry! There are lots of ways to cut that cost in half or even less and still have an incredible trip staying in nice hotels and flying good airlines. That’s what Land of Marvels is all about, helping everyone be able to travel and do it economically.

I have lots of posts about how to save throughout my archives, but if you’re curious about anything in particular, leave a question in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer it in a future post!

I Still Blog for Love

October 12, 2015

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my blog, about my place in the blogging world and how much it’s changed since I started. I actually have had a blog since I was a teenager, back then it was private and full of angst, but then it morphed into True Colours which was more of a lifestyle blog in the beginning with not much of a following, which then morphed into more of a travel blog and finally, I launched Land of Marvels this past Spring which is almost all travel-related and has gained an amazing group of readers. And throughout that span of blogging I’ve fallen in love with it. I’ve always loved writing, but blogging added a very real component to my writing, it offered me a place in an incredible community. For me, the writing and the community and the connections I’ve made have always been what propel me to keep coming back here to this space.

The blogging world though has changed a lot in the span of time I’ve been part of it. Even from when I was blogging for maybe 3 or 4 followers, I always looked up to those bloggers with 4,000 followers, thinking, wow, they’ve really made it. Now here I sit with that many followers on Bloglovin’ (plus thousands of others across social media and other reader platforms) and I now look at those bloggers with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers and wonder… is that what it means to really make it in the blogging world? There is so much competition now, so much out there about doing this or that right, so much to make us lose focus and wonder if it’s all even worth it. I’ve wondered that myself at different points. Is the time and effort I put into Land of Marvels worth it? Is the investment worth it? Is this space still special enough for to me to keep going? And the answer to all of those questions, always ends up being yes. And here’s why…

I still blog for love. I still come back to this space and love to write. I love sharing Nick’s photos. I love sharing our journeys, our search for life around the world, our exotic travels, our hard moments, our memories. I love the connection between readers and myself, I love the people I have met through blogging and being part of this incredible strong community of women I’ve met online (and some in person). I love the spirit of blogging, I love the feel of sitting here at the computer screen with music playing, looking out my window, and just letting the words flow. And I know every post isn’t amazing and that I could do a better job with SEO and marketing myself and posting on social media, but this is me and Land of Marvels has always been about my journey, the good and bad and all of me. I’m not perfect. I have a million other things going on in my life and while I do consistently post here, I don’t always have the time to commit to pushing further for more followers or marketing myself. For me, blogging has always been more about the organic journey of my life, writing my stories and connecting with all of you.

So if you’re a small blogger thinking that a certain amount of followers means you’ve made it, think again. What really means you’ve made it as a blogger is that you still come back to your space and love it, without worrying about the amount of followers or the amount of comments on your posts. For me, the day I resent this space or worry about finding the time to post or accepting free press trip after press trip just because, that’s the day I’ll quit. For me, I find blogging is the most refreshing when you still love it, when you look forward to writing, when you enjoy seeing your space day after day and it’s a priority in your life. For me, I still blog for love all these years later and that to me is the most important thing.

My Best Travel Hacks (to make travel easier)

October 8, 2015

Over the years of traveling, Nick and I have gotten really good at making travel easier. We’ve come up with a series of “travel hacks” if you will that allow us to speed through airports faster, get better deals and generally enjoy travel more because it’s easier. When we have to do things the long way like checking a bag at the airport or having go to the counter to print off boarding passes, we realize how difficult travel can be if you don’t know how to get through faster or easier. So here are my best travel hacks that I’ve come up with over the years to generally make travel easier (and quicker!).

Skip the lines – get TSA precheck and Global Entry.

If you haven’t already, go right now and sign up for Global Entry. For $100, you get 5 years of skipping lines at airports and border crossings. When you qualify for Global Entry, you are pre-screened for security so you’ll get to use TSA precheck lines at airport security, NEXUS lines at border crossings by car and when you return to the USA from abroad, you get to bypass immigration lines (which can be really long at big airports) and head straight to the Global Entry kiosk. I can’t even tell you the time we’ve saved over the years since getting Global Entry about 3 years ago. It’s the best thing we’ve ever done travel-wise!

Carry on your luggage – head straight to security.

For any trip up to 10 days (if there aren’t any other random reasons that require a checked bag) we always carry on our luggage. I can’t say enough about our Tumi hardside roller bags (which are definitely an investment but well worth it if you travel a lot) and we can pack a lot and everything we need for up to 10 days. By carrying on, you can bypass a lot in airports, plus you know everything is with you at all times and not having to worry about losing bags. My favorite thing though about carrying on luggage is that you can bypass check in at an airport and head straight to security. With mobile boarding passes (see below), you can show up to the airport way later than you can if you have to check in and wait in line. And if for some reason you have to catch another flight or plans change, you have everything with you and there is no need to worry about your checked luggage.

Use mobile boarding passes.

It’s 2015 and everyone has a smart phone, so there is no need to go to check in or a kiosk to print off your boarding pass anymore! Almost every major airline lets you check in online and on their apps and download mobile boarding passes. I love saving mine in Passbook (or I guess now it’s called Wallet) on my iPhone, that way it’s super fast to pull up when going through security. No extra paper to carry around, just your phone which you have anyways.

When you get on the plane, figure out what time it is at your destination. If it’s night, then take a melatonin and sleep. If it’s day, try to keep yourself awake so you’ll sleep when you get there.

Because we’re usually traveling someplace for not a long period of time, we want to get on local time really fast. So I always figure out the local time when getting on the airplane and then try to adjust my schedule accordingly. Sometimes it’s really hard, but if you push yourself on the plane, you’ll be ready to go for whatever schedule when you land!

Always bank your miles and then use them!

I hear all the time that people fly and don’t even bank their miles! That’s such a waste! No matter what airline you fly, even if they don’t all go to the same accounts, sign up for a loyalty account and bank those miles. You never know when you can use them for something. And if you fly with the same airline all the time and have a bunch of points in your account, don’t just let them go to waste, use them! I see people all the time with like 50,000 points in their account (or more) and don’t think they can use them for anything… when in reality you can get a lot out of that!

Bring a large scarf for a blanket.

I never travel without multiple scarves. I usually wear one and bring another big scarf to use as a blanket. Airplane blankets are static-y and gross (if you even get one), so bring your own which can double as a scarf at your destination!

Evian spray… worth it!