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Top 5 Pacific NW Weekend Escapes

July 10, 2015

Since it’s high tourist season in my home city, we’re calling this Pacific North West week here on Land of Marvels! We’ll be posting all about my home city of Portland as well as other great spots around the Pacific North West all week long!

I love a great weekend escape. Just being able to get away for a couple days, see a change of scenery without having to fly anywhere or spend a ton of time preparing can often be a perfect way to travel without breaking the bank or spending a ton of time away. And the Pacific NW offers some amazing spots for a weekend escape, so if you’re in this part of the world (or even if you want to just visit us), here are my top 5 Pacific NW weekend escapes!

When the weather gets too hot in Portland or we have spectacular winter weather, the locals in Portland head to the beach. Though for us, the Oregon Coast isn’t really “beach” per-say, but instead our coast features gorgeous views and incredibly blue water. We head to Cannon Beach, Seaside, or Astoria for weekend escapes and it’s the perfect spot to cool down, relax and take in the ocean views.

Eastern Oregon is our hot spot for quirky towns like Bend with great food, a lot of character and an “outdoorsy” type feel. Locals will head here for a weekend escape for a desert environment, lots of resorts and lodges to stay at and the perfect blend of artsy and outdoorsy.

Stay at: Sunriver Resort

For coastal beauty in Washington state, the San Juans are the perfect long weekend getaway. Take the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor and look for orcas jumping in and out of the water, wander the town or drive around the island and take in lavender farms and historic lighthouses. This is the West Coast’s version of Cape Cod and it’s perfect for a weekend escape in the Pacific NW.

Stay at: Swinomish Casino and Lodge

If you want to go a little bit international, head up to Vancouver BC, just a quick 2.5 hour drive North of Seattle. You’ll find a lot of culture and tradition in this famous Canadian city, and my favorite time to visit is in the Fall when the trees are changing and the city starts to quiet down after a busy Summer. Spend a weekend here and pretend you went farther out of the country than just a couple hours drive.

Stay at: L’Hermitage Hotel

For a setting with beautiful natural landscapes and great wine, head for a weekend escape to Eastern Washington state. You’ll be sure to spend your weekend here filled with long sunsets sipping a good local wine, while relaxing in a natural environment.

Stay at: Desert Winds Winery

5 Reasons to Visit Seattle

July 9, 2015

Seattle is just a stones’ throw from Portland and without traffic we can be up there in about two and a half hours. So when we’re looking to get out of the city for a day or a quick overnight, Seattle is a common escape for us. It’s bigger, is on the water and is just overall a fun and very North West city. So if you’re looking for coastal views, a large city and great local seafood, Seattle is the place to be! And here’s 5 reasons to visit Seattle…

One of the things that first brought me to Seattle were the buildings. As a design student in college, we made many a trip up to Seattle to take a look at their famous Library (shown above) and many other buildings in the city like Gehry’s Experience Music Project that are pretty well renowned in the architecture world. The unique flair of Seattle’s architecture is a must see while there.

Everyone knows the Space Needle and as such with the architecture mentioned above, Seattle is full of Landmarks. My favorite view of the Space Needle and other surrounding landmarks in Seattle is from Kerry Park, but I also love the fact that just driving around downtown Seattle you’ll see the Space Needle peaking out from every corner.

One of my absolute favorite things about the Seattle area is the proximity to so many other gorgeous landscapes as well. With the San Juans and Whidbey Island close by, you’re never far from some amazing coastal areas that are a quick car ride away.

In the mood for perusing a local food market? Pike’s Place has got to be one of the most famous markets in the world. With everything from fresh caught seafood to flowers to local vegetables, Pike’s Place a must see in Seattle. I love picking up berries and flowers when we visit to bring home with us.

Seattle has a wealth of shopping and probably would be the best shopping in the Pacific NW. Home to the first Nordstrom, a huge array of downtown shopping spots and my personal fave, Zara, I love to spend a few hours when we visit hitting spots that we don’t have in Portland.

The Best Inexpensive Destinations in Europe

July 3, 2015

Europe has always been a hot spot for tourists. It’s got everything: amazing history, wonderful architecture, charm everywhere you look and great food. But it can also be pretty expensive, especially in larger cities like London and Paris. And don’t even get me started on how expensive Scandinavia is. So if you’re looking to head to Europe but don’t want to spend as much money as you will in the more expensive spots, here are the best inexpensive destinations in Europe for you to choose from!

Portugal

You’ll be amazed at the cost of things in Portugal! Even in its famous city Lisbon, things were priced really low compared to the other European hubs. You’ll get a lot of bang for your buck in this seaside city. And the great thing here is that most of the attractions are free, so you can just wander and take in this edgy city for all it has to offer as well as Lisbon being incredibly charming with cobblestone streets and old buildings just begging to photographed.

Spain

I was blown away by how cheap Spain was compared to it’s neighbor up North, France. A huge dinner of tapas and sangria for 15 euros, ok, I’ll take that! You can eat well and enjoy a great trip in Spain for a lot less than other European hot spots. Particularly as you get out of the main hubs like Barcelona and Madrid, prices really start to go down.

Ireland

While Dublin is still a lot less expensive than its neighbor in the UK, London, where Ireland really shines in price is when you get out of the cities. The little towns in Ireland will offer so much and won’t break the bank. You’ll win in culture and your wallet!

Italy

While the larger cities in Italy like Rome and Milan still command a fairly high price point, when you get into small town Italy, the pricing will noticeably go down. Head to Verona or the little towns scattered throughout Italy and you’ll notice a pretty good price point.

Morocco

Even though it’s not in Europe, Morocco is a popular destination from Europe since it’s so close. Here you’ll find prices really are inexpensive and you can haggle for even lower ones. You’ll get lots of bang for your buck in Morocco and you’ll walk away with a unique experience too.

Snow, Mountain Passes and Fjords : Driving North in Iceland

June 12, 2015

After leaving the Kirkjufell and the Snæfellsnes peninsula, we headed back East to connect to Highway 1, which would ultimately take us up to Akureyri, our next stop on our Icelandic road trip. Our top thing on this second trip to Iceland was to see the North of the country which we didn’t get to see last trip, since it was the dead of Winter. So as we headed back to the main highway and then up North into Iceland’s countryside, we loved seeing a different side of the island.

The drive was long (we drove a total of 12 hours this day and about 1000 miles including our time on the Snæfellsnes peninsula) but getting to see so much of the country was so great. Iceland’s landscape literally changes every 10 miles or so, going from lava fields covered in moss one minute to prairie like plains the next, followed by snowy mountains looking very ominous with low lying clouds to bright blue sky and rolling hills. We loved seeing the changes and the way the country looks as you head North. I would highly recommend this drive to anyone wanting to see more of Iceland, though be sure to check the weather before making the trek up North as it can change quickly.

We stopped along the side of the road to snap photos of fjords spilling into the country with bright blue water, ominous snow clouds gathering over mountain passes and views for miles as we peaked over certain spots in the road. The drive is long but so incredibly beautiful!

Tips for Driving North in Iceland:

-Don’t forget to follow my tips on driving in Iceland, many of them were necessary on this drive!

-Bring food… there really isn’t much along many parts of this drive, so bring snacks!

-Check the weather ahead of time as you do go through a few mountain passes.

Headed to Iceland?

See all our Iceland content here.

Where to Stay in Iceland

Secrets of Booking Travel : Picking a Place

May 25, 2015

I get a lot of questions about how we book travel, the tips and tricks we employ to get good deals and make all the necessary arrangements. All this week I’ll be revealing my process for booking travel from start to finish, focusing on a different part of the process each day. So stay tuned every day this week for my secrets to booking travel!

For me, one of the hardest things about booking our travels every year is just the act of figuring out where we want to go. With an endless list of options around the world, picking a place is often the largest hurdle to get over. It’s often the first step that will define how you book the rest of your trip and which website and resources you’ll use, so when picking your next travel destination, consider the following tips to pick the best spot for you.

1. Consider what kind of trip you want.

Do you want a lay on the beach and relax kind of trip? Do you want adventure in an exotic land? Do you want amazing food? Do you want a city atmosphere? Do you want to be immersed in a different language? Ask yourself what exactly you want out of your upcoming trip. For me, this answer changes often, so many times at whatever point I’m feeling while booking, ends up being the kind of trip we end up taking.

2. Research a short list of options.

Once you know the kind of trip you’re looking for, start researching possible destinations that fit that bill. I head first to travel blogs, searching for locations based on what people I follow have enjoyed and taking a look at what times of year they visited. Next I’ll head straight to Google, searching for any information I can find on where I’m looking at. Finally when I have a shortlist of options, I’ll take a look at hotel and flights options for each option… that way I can narrow down further, if for example, one spot is going to be extra hard to get to or a certain place has an incredible hotel I really want to check out. As much information as you can get will help you narrow down your search.

Example: When we started planning our recent Spain trip, we knew we wanted to be somewhere on the Mediterranean and we wanted to be in Europe. We started thinking about a trip to Greece, which didn’t work out because of the time of year we were looking at. Then we moved onto Southern Italy and the Amalfi Coast, which didn’t work out due to timing and transportation issues. Next we moved farther West to Barcelona and hence our trip to Spain was born.

3. Look through magazines or screenshots you’ve saved of places on your list.

I keep articles from magazines on places I want to visit as well as screenshots of amazing things I see online or on Instagram. At this point, when I’m trying to decide between a few different places, I’ll take a look at what I’ve saved. Usually I’ll find more information on one of the places on my list and that might help make up my mind. Sometimes though, having no information can be intriguing too…

I keep a list of files on my computer with all the screenshots I save (of places, hotels or restaurant ides) of examples like this:

4. Choose a country.

Once you have it narrowed down to a specific place or an area, confirm which country will be your base. Even though you might see many different places within while traveling, confirm your choice country and look into different options for your trip there from the research you’ve already done. You’ll finally be able to narrow it down now, so dig a little deeper.

5. Choose your cities/stops on your trip.

Lastly you’ll want to figure out the cities and different stops within the country or area you chose which will serve as your destinations on your trip. For example, saying you want to go to Cambodia is great, but you’ll have to narrow that down. Do you want to go to Siem Reap to see the Angkor Wat temples or do you want the city environment of Phnom Penh? Figure out what stops you’ll make in each country and then delve deeper into researching each stop you plan to make. Each spot will be different so be sure to treat them as such and look into opportunities to experience each unique place you will plan on seeing.