a lifestyle, family and travel blog
I can't believe it's been four years since I last visited Seattle. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to live in Seattle. People think I'm crazy because of how gray and rainy Seattle is said to be. Our trip was really no different but I just love the Pacific Northwest. I spot checked and most of our itinerary still seems relevant so hopefully it's useful if you ever find yourself up that way.
We just got home from the most incredible anniversary trip to Oregon! The Pacific-Northwest has long been a favorite destination of mine and Kevin has never been so it seemed like the perfect getaway to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. Of course we're also in the midst of COVID-19 so we needed to find a destination that would allow us entry without a quarantine period coming from Chicago.
September 2018 - A Wedding Celebration in Budapest! Our most recent trip to Budapest was short & sweet [again]! We flew over to celebrate the marriage of a dear friend over Labor Day Weekend in 2018 [only three weeks before our own wedding, a little crazy in hindsight]. It was an incredible four day event [...]
Finally getting around to writing up our most recent [recent = three years ago] trip to Florence. I guess that's what happens when you come away from the trip engaged and moving to California - LOL! I believe this was my third trip to Florence but also my favorite because we had the chance to explore some of Tuscany which is absolutely beautiful. I always "joke" with Kevin about wanting to retire there on an old vineyard one day. I'd say he's still warming up to the idea.
My first trip to Canada was to celebrate the wedding of our dear friends, Zrria and Jon. Although the actual wedding was in Kitchener, we extended our trip to explore Toronto, a city very similar in size and makeup as Chicago.
As I mentioned in my earlier Tulum post, I instantly fell in love with this crunchy, eco-chic, boutique beach town located just south of Cancun. When it came time to pick a destination for my Bachelorette party, I couldn't shake visions of me and my besties sipping frozen beverages on Tulum's picturesque beaches or dancing the night away in a jungle bar under the stars. And so, we were off to Tulum!
Like most people, we've had to cancel several trips due to COVID-19 and have been dying to get out of our city condo and travel somewhere - anywhere. Knowing the virus is still very much at large and airline travel is primarily for essential needs only, we needed to find somewhere within driving distance. Emerald Isle is a bit of stretch since it's a good 15 hour trip from Chicago but sun, sand and salt water were all trip requirements and geographically speaking, we weren't going to find anything much closer. Besides, Kevin and I never scare away from a good road trip.
Never have I visited a spot that so many claim as their "favorite place EVER." It is for this sole reason that we elected to stay on the island of Capri for two days over the popular day trip alternative from one of the neighboring Amalfi Coast towns.
Pronounced (CHINK-weh TAY-reh). I hate to say it but I had pretty low expectations for Cinque Terre. Of course all the colorful, cliff dwelling towns are picturesque but everything I had read talked about how uncomfortably packed the five small fishing towns are with tourists, the unwelcome cruise ship ports and the threat of imposing tourism limits. I was pleasantly surprised when Cinque Terre turned out to be one of my favorite stops in Italy!
Kevin and I love taking small spontaneous weekend trips that require absolutely zero planning or preparation. Sometimes it totally backfires on us (cough *our first night on Catalina Island* cough) but other times I feel like it's the best way to truly experience a new city with no expectations or biases.
KARA VALLARI 