Sight Seeing in Rome

The highlight of Italy finally arrived in a 100 degree package... Let's just say I may have sweat more in one day than my entire life. And I was standing still. 

I think we made a smart choice not going in July and August (although it was still hot) because we didn't have to fight through crowds! The lines existed, but weren't ridiculously long. We were happy tourists!

Day 1

After arriving in the afternoon, we planned the evening to be spent in Vatican City. Just make sure you get there before buildings close (check the times online). So as long as you get there before close, late afternoon has far less tourists and much shorter lines. 

Those dressing for hot weather, be warned: to get into St. Peter's and other religious buildings, you have to abide by a dress code: 

All pants, skirts, shorts, and other bottoms need to be knee length or longer. However, I did see most guys wearing shorts that hit just above the knee get in - maybe the guards took pity due to the heat.

Shoulders must be covered (no tanks) and obviously nothing cut too low. I saw some girls using scarfs to cover their shoulders instead of changing out of their tanks.

Day 2

Sight seeing day - bring your walking shoes. 

It is possible to see all the main sights in one day, with the cost of your feet. If you have more than 2 days in the city, spread out the sites. 

We managed to see The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Trevi Fountain (under construction and thus no water...), the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps.

It was amazing to be in a city where monuments were thousands of years old!

Day 3 the boys spent exploring some local areas, a couple more churches, and finishing the laundry. I spend day 3 in bed with some 24-hour bug! Thankfully we were all freshly laundered and healed by the next morning to depart for: 

Dubrovnik Croatia!

Driving the Italian Coast

Our stay in Italy would be shorter than France, so we pre-planned a bit more than we did for France. 2 full sight seeing days before we reached Rome were spent in Cinque Terre and a Pisa/Florence combo.

Cinque Terre

I first found out about Cinque Terre on pinterest (surprise, surprise) and fell in love with the photos. I knew I had to go there too. We stayed at a private home we found on airbnb that was about a 30-40 minute drive away. This saved us money and earned us more space in the home.

We drove to the second of the five towns, Vernazza, and parked our car. There's no way to drive into the towns, so accept the parking costs (which actually aren't that bad) and enjoy your day by walking and trains. The trains come and go in each town many times each day and for a low price take you from one town to the next.

For a Tuesday in mid-September, the towns were extremely crowded. I'm not sure what the formula is for avoiding crowds, but be warned...if the ferries aren't operating due to rough waters, the trains will be packed. And I mean shoulder to shoulder to shoulder packed.

Despite the trains, we enjoyed the day in the beautifully colored towns! 

While here, I recommend shopping, eating pizza and gelato, and taking in the scenery. You can find hiking trails as well that go between the towns if you're interested in a more athletic day.

Our favorite town was Manorola, where we climbed to the top where a cliff-side restaurant served us afternoon cappuccinos. Can you believe this was our view?

Pisa

The next day, we headed out early for a trip to Florence with a pit-stop in Pisa. Thankfully I was traveling with seasoned Europeans, because they were able to suggest only spending lunch and some photo-opp time in Pisa. Some travelers may disagree, but the crown jewel of Pisa, the Leaning Tower, only takes a short amount of time to see.

It was a nice pit-stop with amazing pizza!

Did we do the standard holding-up-the-tower pic? No...but we had fun people watching those who did!

Florence

A quick drive later, and we were in Florence! Apparently, t-bone steak is a specialty in Florence (who would've known?). We'd had our fair share of baguettes and cheese and were ready for some meat. Ask your host or reception at your hotel where they recommend. Ours suggested a nice local stop that offered a bit lower prices. Our waitress taught us a good rule of thumb is to order 250g per person or split one steak (which is what we did).

After dinner, we walked to the center of town and did some night time sight seeing! We grabbed some gelato and listened to a local musician for a magical evening.

Though we probably could've spent the morning doing some more sightseeing, we needed to take off for our next stop...Rome!

France | Cliff Jumping in Gorge du Verdon

Days 5 & 6

The highlight of our trip was the decision to go to Gorge du Verdon, in a large national park in the South of France.

We had only seen pictures and a few videos before making the choice to drive there, and we can certainly say they do not do the nature and views justice.

We stayed at a B&B just outside of Bauden, France. 

The view from our room was incredible and we spent the majority of time on our balcony. (Though we could've done without the tall grass right in the middle of our view...)

On our one full day in the area, we headed to the Gorge to rent a kayak and swim. Unfortunately, the storms in the forecast (which, may I say, never occurred) prevented the kayak rental shop from opening, but that didn't keep us out of the water.

We jumped off the cliffs and swam in the bluest freshwater I've ever seen in my life. It was magical.

Thoroughly exhausted, we took our car up the road to Moustiers Sainte-Marie, an adorable little French town carved into the mountain side. I finally found my french scarf souvenir and some delicious coffee to boot - so I would consider the stop in the town successful! Of course, we weren't tired enough from the morning swim, so we hiked up the mountainside.

The paths were friendly for the not-so-experienced hiker, but be warned...it was almost pure uphill paths. At the top, a medieval church greeted us and offered a bit of refuge from the climb.

Home from our trip now, we talk all the time about our highlights, where we would go again, where we wouldn't bother stopping at, etc.... And Gorge du Verdon always wins the competition. We will definitely be taking the entire family back someday!

Pictures don't do the beauty justice, so check out the travel vlog we shot! Scroll up and click play!


Next stop: Driving the perilous road (not for the faint of heart) to Nice to catch a bus to Italy!

Driving the South of France

Our Europe adventure continues!

After hopping on a bus in Barcelona, Spain, we arrived in Perpignan France 2.5 hours later. We followed the little conspicuous signs (that we later decided was a French-thing) and found our Europcar rental.
An insider tip: our German friends we were traveling with would of had to pay double for the same booking. We're not sure why (and we didn't want to ask!) but booking from the US saved us 150 euros.

From there we decided to "wing it". We had a few checkpoints in mind, such as Montpellier, Marseille, and Nice (where we were scheduled to drop the car to), but other than that, we spent each night setting a game plan for the next day!

Day 1
From Perpignan, we drove to the coast and followed it until we saw something of interest.
Not too much longer, we stumbled across Beziers. We found parking, took our own tour of the city on the hill, and bought picnic supplies.

Banquette, cheese, meat, and wine. After a fisherman helped us open our bottle of wine, we shared our splendors and became friends with no common language. We watched him fish and soaked in the afternoon sun.

By nightfall, we realized no wifi meant no place to sleep...
We fled to our "oasis", as we joked, of McDonald's for a coffee and free wifi.
The accommodation we found, Le Gambetta in Vias, France, was wonderful. The B&B owner greeted us warmly after the reception hours had closed. Our only complaint was the 100 Euro/night cost on our traveler's budget. However, that may have been our own fault for waiting two hours before we needed a room to book one.

Day 2
After a lovely croissant breakfast on the terrace, we departed for Sete, France. A bustling fisherman's village flowed with tourists. We did a little (chocolate) shopping and enjoyed the scenery for an hour or so before departing again.

A short while later, we arrived in Montpellier, France. The afternoon hours were spent walking the city. We found some pasta and made a picnic on a set of stairs and settled in to people-watch.
Back in the car, we kept our journey moving. After an unsuccessful time in finding a beach, we decided to head to Arles, France for the final stop for the evening.

Arles was a beautiful small town I wish we would have had more time in. It seemed shops all closed (even though it was maybe 5:30/6pm) so we settled for finding dinner and drinks instead.
A delicious Le Burger, a drink at a 3-story Irish Pub (which, sadly, I'm blanking on the name), and we found our way back to our hotel.

Day 3
And we're off to Marseille!
Traffic: Terrible.
Parking: Terrible.
City: Beautiful.
We spent all day and evening in Marseille, which I believe was a good choice. By just walking around, we visited a few monuments and churches. Marseille also has a pretty beach, although a little chilly on the day we were there. The beach is certainly not able to walk to...Thankfully we had our rental car.
At night, we decided to walk and see where the roads led us. We ended up in another Irish place (go figure), but this time, with karaoke!

1.5 Days In Barcelona, Spain

The start to our Euro-tour took off from Chicago with a 9 hour flight to Berlin. We met up with some old friends, and boarded a plain to Barcelona! 

Getting Around

Once we were in the airport, we quickly found the signs for the train and took it to the station closest to our apartment.

 A local gave us a tip: buy the T10 ticket (10 Euros = 10 uses) which can be shared among your group...saved us some money in the end!

Aside from taking the metro to different areas in the city, we just walked. Barcelona is easier to navigate than you may imagine, so unless you are completely lost, don't bother with a taxi!

Accommodation

For Barcelona, we used Airbnb.com to find somebody's apartment for rent. Airbnb is a great website if you are looking for more bang for your buck. For a full apartment (2 rooms, kitchen, living room, and bathroom) we paid 60 Euros a night. 

Tip: Airbnb is better if you plan ahead of time as the host often has to accept your request before it's certain. So if you have short notice or limited phone/wifi use, maybe use an instant booking website (like booking.com)

Sights

You can check out all the sights we chose with our limited time in the video above! 

My recommendation if you also have limited time is to choose more of the free sights (the Gaudi museum and Sagrada church are ones we chose to walk and take pictures of in place of paying 15 euro a person to get in) 

If you're a beach goer, Barcelona is the place for you. The water is incredible (even in September) and the sun is always shining. We spent only a couple hours here, but if you have more than 2 or 3 days in Barcelona, make the beach a destination.

Tip: There are many hustlers on the beach selling water, beer, mojitos, sunglasses, etc. Don't be afraid to haggle with them. The mojito man asked for 5 Euros a cup, and we got it for 2 Euros. If they say no, 1: they will most likely give in and sell it to you, and 2: another mojito man will walk by willing to take your deal.

Food

Tapas! Tapas! Tapas! 

....When in Rome...or I suppose, Barcelona!

Find a restaurant with 2/3 Euro tapas and order a few for yourself. You can share with the table (and most restaurants will offer a larger portion for a couple more euros) and order more if you are still hungry.

California | Part 3

The last few days in California!

We explored Monterey Bay and Alcatraz Island.

Part 3 Sights:

Monterey Bay Aquarium, 17-Mile Drive, Carmel CA,

Golden Gate Bridge, & Alcatraz Island

Next up: Europe!

California | Part 2

Part 2 of our California Adventures! On this leg of the journey, we headed north on Highway 1 to see the Redwoods. Then, we took a drive back south to Monterey Bay, CA and the surrounding areas.

Enjoy!

Part 2 Sights:

Highway 1, Chandelier Tree, California Redwoods,

Monterey Bay, Fisherman's Wharf

Next up: Monterey Bay & Alcatraz Island

San Fransisco | Part 1

This August I visited San Francisco, California with my family. We had an amazing time in the city and driving along the coast. I thought I'd mix it up and try my hand at film making. It's a bit rough around the edges, but it was a blast making each video.

Without further ado...here's Part 1 of the California triology...enjoy!

Part 1 Sights:

Fisherman's Wharf, the Piers (39), Sea Lions on Pier 39

The Real SF Walking Tour: Chinatown, North Beach, Downtown, Macondray Street, Lombard Street, Ghirardelli Square, The Painted Ladies, The Mission

Haight Ashbury, Union Square, & the Golden Gate Bridge

Next up: Driving Highway 1 north to the Redwoods!

What To Do In Door County, Wisconsin

I've listed just 5 of the MANY fun things to do in Door County, Wisconsin. If you're interested in some good eats, see my previous post, "What To Eat In Door County, Wisconsin"

Walk The Towns - Fish Creek, Egg Harbor, & Sister Bay

These three are my recommendations if you want to walk and shop. All three towns are along the coast of Lake Michigan, so those tired of shopping can grab an ice cream cone, and sit by the docks!

Visit ALL the Country Markets

Yes, they all sell the same essentials: cherry-flavored EVERYTHING (cheese, salsa, mustard, wine, juice, jelly, etc.), but stopping by multiple on a rainy day will keep you full and happy. All have free samples of almost everything!

State Parks: Biking & Hiking

-Peninsula State Park - west side of the peninsula

• best for biking
• has a small beach to swim, rent kayaks, paddle boats & boards,

 -Whitefish Dunes and Cave Point - east side of the peninsula

• best for hiking

Go-Karting

In: Egg Harbor, WI - Egg Harbor Fun Park

The park is recently built and in business and is therefore modern and up to date. Because it has become more popular, expect many people enjoying all of the parks amenities, and thus some lines.

In: Sister Bay, WI - Johnson's Park

This park is a little older, but the go-karts are excellent and most nights the wait is not too long. These karts are reasonably priced and offer a double-kart for young riders with their parents.

PLUS there is a mini-golf course next door.

Drive-In Theater

One of my favorite Door County past times is the Drive-In theater, Skyway Drive-In, just outside of Fish Creek. They are extremely well priced and include 2 movies. The first is generally family-friendly and the second is rated PG-13 or R. 

My family loves to pick up pizza on the way for the first showing and buy popcorn from the concessions stand for the second showing munchies.

And overall...just enjoy! It's easy to drive from town to town along the shoreline exploring and finding special places of your own.

What To Eat In Door County, Wisconsin

Door County in Wisconsin, USA is my favorite summer past time. Since I was a kid, my family has been packing up the cars either every or every other summer to travel to the peninsula. It's a great destination for almost any type of traveler as the towns offer such a wide variety of attractions, parks, and places to stay and eat.

Here are some of my favorite eats you can find in Door County, Wisconsin.

Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant & Butik 

(breakfast) 

Sister Bay, Wisconsin

          Ordering the Swedish Pancakes is a MUST here. But be prepared to wait for them...I have never been here without a 30-60 minute wait (especially for our large family), but they are worth the wait!
          Plan ahead: come about an hour before you'd like to eat, put your name on the list, and take a stroll through Sister Bay. Lake Michigan and a park are right across the street, there's shops lining the roads, and of course, you can take some pictures with the goats roaming on the roof.


Husby's Food & Spirits (lunch, dinner, pizza recommended) - Sister Bay, Wisconsin
          Husby's has a full menu, but my family always gets their pizza. I would recommend the Tree Hugger for veggie lovers (it's delish!) or the Meatza Pizza for the meat lovers. Husby's can get fairly busy on any given night, but I've never had a wait longer than 20 minutes.

JJ's of Jacksonport (lunch, dinner - Mexican/American) - Jacksonport, Wisconsin
          JJ's is just what you need if you're craving Mexican. If you're staying on the other side of the peninsula (i.e. Fish Creek, Egg Harbor, etc), then it is a 30 minute drive, but well worth it!

Joe Jo's Pizza & Gelato (lunch, dinner) - Ephraim, Wisconsin
          Major tip I've learned: order pizza for carry-out to grab on the way to the drive in theater (which is not too far away) for a snack better than popcorn and soda.

Not Licked Yet Frozen Custard (ice cream) - Fish Creek, Wisconsin
          On a warm night, take a walk (or a drive if you're not staying in Fish Creek) to get some custard. It's a bit pricey, but is yummy and unique enough to make it worth it. The best feature about Not Licked Yet is that it has a massive playground and a lot of outdoor seating for warm summer nights!

Shipwrecked Microbrewery

(burgers & beer) 

Egg Harbor, Wisconsin

          The location could not be more perfect - on the corner of a couple main roads in Egg Harbor, Shipwrecked has a beautiful outdoor seating area, porch seating area, and indoor seats for whatever your mood.
          If you're sitting outside, cross the street and walk down to the docks while your order is cooking back in the kitchen.


Country Stores (wine, cherries, pies, mustards, salsas, & much more) - any town in Door County
          Just driving from town to town, you can't miss the little country stores scattered along the road. On a rainy day (because there's always bound to be at least one), I suggest enjoying the drive and stopping at a handful of stores.
          A lot of the stores will have complementary locally made wine tastings and almost every store has free samples of all their products. Door County is known for their cherries, so you must try the cherry flavored goodies, especially the salsas and mustards!

How I Saved Hundreds On My Flight To Europe

I put a lot of effort into finding the cheapest flight for my upcoming trip to Europe. I researched what days were best to buy, to fly, what months were cheapest, what airlines were cheapest....you get the picture. I think I've learned a few tricks to help find the best price:

1. Use comparison websites...

As I've mentioned, I'm quite addicted to Kayak.com. I've looked at a lot of different comparison-travel sites, but this one's my fav. It gives you ALL the options (from cheapo airlines to high-end) and lets you choose what you want to filter out.

One of my favorite features is the "flex month" option. It looks like this: 

However, this feature seems to work best for 8 or less days at a destination as it forces you to choose departure and return dates that are that close to each other.

For my longer Europe trip, I utilized the "+/- 3 days" feature much more.

This is for people who have a rough idea already of what their departure and return dates will be. This feature works equally well for those with short or long trips in the plans-definitely a pro.

2. Be flexible with when you travel...

Europe is a hugely popular travel destination and changing when you visit can help decrease the cost of the plane ticket (if not the whole trip entirely!). 

Peak travel season in Europe is June, July, and August. This is when they get the most tourists due to schools being out for the summer as well as the desirable warm travel weather.

Shoulder travel season refers to the "in-between" months that will be less crowded than the summer months, but not completely empty. These months include April, May, the beginning of June, September, and October.

Low travel season includes the remaining months: November, December, January, February, and March. And reasonably so because they are the coldest - no beaches or tropical getaways here. However, if you're goal is to save major mula...maybe a winter vacation is the answer for you.

I was able to save money by changing my trip from August to September. Weather wise, it may be a little colder, but still nice enough in some areas (like southern France and Italy) to keep wearing a few summer outfits and possibly take a dip in the ocean.

3. When to buy and when to fly...24 weeks out!

Here is the key to saving the maximum amount of money... What bugged me when searching for a ticket was watching flights and price alerts - I didn't understand how one day a ticket for a certain flight cost $900 and the very next day it jumped to $1050. 

Most of you have probably heard that Tuesdays are the "day to buy", but recently, that's become untrue. I had my whole family on research duty, and my dad found an interesting article from the ARC. You can read the whole thing here, but the takeaway is to buy 24 weeks out from your departure date. AND on a Sunday. 

I tried out this method, and it worked! Although I bought my ticket 26 weeks out (because I got nervous the price would rise!) for $836, the lowest price I ever saw for the same flight was on the Sunday 24 weeks out for $829. 

Yes, it was only $7 cheaper, but that is just one flight's example.

The Best Travel Apps & Sites

Recently I've been downloading and uninstalling travel apps left and right. I've checked out dozens of websites claimed by users to be "better than the rest". And I've even checked out every travel-pintrester's "must try" lists for travel websites. 

I thought I'd share with you today the apps & sites I've found to be my fail-safes over the last few months. 

KAYAK

I've become a bit addicted to kayak lately... If you haven't seen the thousands of commercials, then I'll tell you now: Kayak (website or app) compares prices among loads of other travel sites to find you the lowest price. You can search for flights, hotels, and cars and the best part is kayak doesn't upcharge you to use their site. I'm not doing it justice in this little plug, but just take my word for it: visiting kayak is a must for saving $$$.
For my upcoming Europe trip, visiting Kayak.com became part of my daily routine. I checked prices of flights and was even able to use their +/-3 day tool to really narrow down which days were the cheapest to fly.

HOSTELWORLD

This app is a must if you're booking your stay on the road. Search by your destination, date, and number of guests. This site and app compare tons of hostels in the area and present them to you. Filter search results by price, property type, or reviews. In any given hostel on the site most likely has thousands of reviews so you can be sure you're getting what you pay for.
If you're traveling somewhere where you won't have internet, reserve your bed. If you have internet on the road, then your phone is the key to convenient last-minute booking.

TRIPADVISOR

I'm a fan of both website and app and have used them a lot. In the search bar, type in a specific destination (such as "Rome, Italy) or just a general country (ex."Italy"). Of course this website also has it's search on for hotels, flights, etc. but I primarily use it to brainstorm which cities I want to visit most. For example, a search of "Italy" will give me the top 10 destinations as reviewed and rated by users.

GOOGLE TRANSLATE

My go-to, fail-safe translator. It's a must to download if you're traveling in a country where you're not quite fluent. My favorite feature is the "speak to translate". This would definitely come in handy when you're a bad speller or just have no idea what people are saying.

And a few apps I've tested, but have not committed to yet...

GOGOBOT

This app gives you a customizable travel experience and advises you where to stay, eat, and play in any location. This app gives you the ability to read reviews of attractions and check out the pictures before you commit.

TROVER

It's basically the baby of instagram and pinterest for travelers.

Hopefully these suggestions help your travels, happy adventures!