There’s nothing more exciting than finding out your pregnant. The day I took my pregnancy test (don’t get excited guys, I’m talking about last year, I’m not pregnant again) and saw those two lines pop up in less than 3 seconds, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Our sweet girl was a surprise to us, although we had been talking about trying to have a baby since I would be hitting my 30’s in October, and we felt like it was the next step for us. Her timing was perfect. After the initial shock of finding out I was pregnant, I didn’t really know what to do, because I had a friend visiting at the time and we were literally heading out for the Netherlands in a matter of minutes. I wanted to save my secret and have Derik find out first (I ... Read More
Switzerland on a Budget
Switzerland has been named year after year as one of the most expensive countries in the world (currently rated #2 with Bermuda taking the gold), so I can understand why, for the budget traveler, it can be a rather intimidating place to visit. When we found out Derik had a spontaneous four-day weekend earlier this month, we thought taking a trip down to the Swiss Alps might be just what our wanderlusting souls needed. The only problem was, we hadn’t budgeted for a trip, let alone a trip to one of the most pricey locations on the planet. *insert thinking emoji face* After a few hours of researching hotels, trains, buses, food, and locations, we decided Interlaken would be the best place for us to stay, and a good starting point to visit ... Read More
5 Reasons to Book a Yacht Charter This Summer
I would have never considered booking a yacht charter for summer vacation…until we got the chance to go on one last summer with MedSailors. I honestly thought yacht charters would totally out of our budget range, and that's why they were never in the radar. Turns out I was wrong, and I'm glad I was! We had the best time sailing the Dalmatian Coast (Croatia) for a week with Medsailors (they also have tours in Greece and Turkey), and I can't wait to tell you all about it within this next month! There are a couple different yacht charter options, you can either: rent out one for yourself (aka you are your own skipper), or you can join a company that provides skippered yachts (aka you don't have to worry about a thing). For us, skippered ... Read More
What to do in Mallorca, Spain
As winter sets in here in Alaska, memories of sandy beaches, warm weather, and tropical drinks start making their way into our thoughts as we begin to plan our 2016 travels. During our stay in Mallorca, Spain, we actually hit the tail-end of summer, and were a little bit disappointed about the weather being rainy a good 50% of the time. However, Mallorca is such a gorgeous island, we would absolutely love to go back in the spring (think of the flowers), just as summer is starting, or right smack dab in the middle of it to experience the full tropical, sun-soaked island. I'm also a bit intrigued about what winter is like on Mallorca? All that to say, I'd move to Mallorca (aka island paradise) in a second if I had the chance — come sunshine, ... Read More
Holiday Gift Guide for the Traveler and Expat
Well hello friends, and Merry Christmas! I hope you're enjoying the chaotic, joyous, holiday-filled weeks as we move on toward 2016 as I am! Derik and I been galavanting around in the good ol' US of A this holiday season, and have enjoyed reuniting with family and friends along the way. I don't know if you're like me, but I make a New Year's resolution every year to be good at buying gifts early…and it never happens. So here I sit, two weeks from Christmas, with a whole list of people to shop for. I actually enjoy getting creative gifts for others, so that's not my problem…If I'm honest with myself, I'm just a gigantic procrastinator. You know that girl in college who didn't have the 10-page paper started the night before it was ... Read More
The Best Time of Day to Post on Instagram
Instagram. One of the coolest yet most frustrating social media networks ever. It can be such a finicky child to figure out, but once you get it, you can actually do quite well when it comes to exposure, followers, and engagement. One of the things I've noticed since moving to Europe is that my typical Instagram posting times (10am and 8pm) has not done me any favors over here. Unfortunately when I post at 10am in the morning it's 4am back in New York — meaning all my US followers are dead asleep and probably won't even see my post at all as it'll be far buried by the time they wake up. Alternatively, if I post at 8pm, it's 2pm back in the U.S. and most people are right smack dab in the middle of their work day — also no bueno for ... Read More
5 Tips to Help Overcome Travel Anxiety
I've had travel anxiety ever since I was a child. Up until three years ago, I had no idea that I actually suffered from it, and blamed my "episodes" on hypoglycemia. I've always had to watch my blood sugar and make sure I'm eating right, or I might just pass out cold; anywhere at any given time. That's not the point of this post though — I just had to mention it because as a child, teen, and young adult, I always thought my shakiness, feeling of throwing up, and cold sweats had to do with hypoglycemia instead of anxiety. The symptoms I just listed were things that would happen to me right before a big event, vacation, or any sort of trip somewhere. It wasn't until Derik and I began traveling multiple times a year, for an extended period of ... Read More
8 Things I Don’t Like About Long-Term Travel
I'm the biggest advocate ever about travel, both short and long-term! There are numerous benefits and lessons to be learned from exploring the world, and I honestly believe everyone should go out and spend a year or so abroad sometime in their life. As I've mentioned before though, not everything is all majestic landscapes, yummy food, and a wonderful cultural experience -sometimes traveling and living outside your own country can be downright hard. Have you seen that meme floating around with that dog splayed out on the deck that says " I can't adult today?" Sometimes I feel that way about traveling responsibly. I am genuinely afraid of all the issues below, but at the end of the day, I have to buck up and take care of them anyway. ... Read More
The Best Times to Travel Internationally
The other week I shared a post on how to save for traveling the world. After working hard and saving those pennies, you are finally ready to take the next step and book your first (or 100th) international flight. The thing is, you don't want to blow all your money on the airplane tickets and be left with pocket change to live on right? So what are the best times to travel internationally? Remember that every country and continent has it's own 'peak season' and 'low season', and if you can work around the peak travel seasons, you should be able to find pretty reasonable prices for airplane tickets and accommodation. Travel times to avoid Christmas and New Year's- On average, the most expensive days to travel worldwide tend to be ... Read More