bucketlist – Bucket List In A Bikini

Karen Blixen Camp: A Magical Safari Adventure In Kenya.

“Africa changes you forever, like nowhere on earth. Once you have been there, you will never be the same.” – Brian Jackman

Going on safari has always ranked very high on my bucket list! They say that trips to Africa are life changing journeys. Many trips I have taken have given me a feeling where I feel changed as a person. So needless to say I was very curious to find out what inspires people to say Africa is so life changing. I can confirm that after a little over two weeks there, it has changed my life. Never have I ever been on a trip where I had tears come to my eyes so many times. I felt as though every step I took was filled with emotions. The continent of Africa is so vast that it would be difficult to see it all in one lifetime. However I am not done with this part of the world, and as I sit here putting my pen to paper, all I can think about is when I will be able to go back.

There are so many options to choose from when you decide to plan a safari adventure. I chose the Masai Mara (also spelled Maasai Mara) North area of Kenya. The Masai Mara National Reserve is one of the finest wildlife experiences in all of Africa to track the Big Five and discover rich culture. In this area, one can have a front row seat to the Great Migration which is often dubbed “The Greatest Show On Earth”. The Great Migration sees more than 2 million animals travel from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. This reserve in Kenya shares an ecosystem with the neighboring Serengeti of Tanzania, so it is easy to combine these two countries for an extended safari. I decided to couple my safari with some beach time in Zanzibar, which is an island and also part of Tanzania. What an epic trip to combine a safari with tropical beach time!

Karen Blixen Camp

It was very important to me to stay in a place that was not over commercialized. I did not want to feel as though I was in a chain hotel for this trip. I decided on Karen Blixen Camp. Have any of my readers seen the movie “Out of Africa” starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford? Meryl Streep plays Karen Blixen in this true story that highlights the impact that Mrs. Blixen had on Kenya. When I came across the Karen Blixen Camp in my planning, I immediately knew this was where I wanted to stay. It is an eco friendly luxury camp offering a “yesteryear” experience. All 22 tents sit right on the Mara River. Throughout the day giraffes, elephants, zebras, crocodiles, baboons, and many more come to drink from the river while a large hippo pod lazes the day away. The river brings in many visitors, however the hippos are residents. My alarm clock every morning was hippos snorting in the river. Ha ha! What a way to wake up! This was the main reason I chose this camp. To be so immersed in wildlife and view game right from your tent was just a dream. Que the tears of gratitude!

Watching the wildlife and enjoying some wine right from our deck.

With so many animals around, the camp takes zero chances with safety. At night and early morning, guests are escorted from their tents to the main camp. When I wanted to leave the tent I would just ring the bell, and security came to escort me which made me feel very at ease.

Although the accommodations are truly tents, they certainly do not feel like it. They have beautiful wooden decks attached with luxurious patio furniture to enjoy your morning coffee or afternoon wine while staring at wildlife on the river. The tents themselves are very large with with a plush comfy bed, bathroom, and outdoor heated shower.

Hot outdoor shower is heaven after long days on game drives.

Yes, this is technically a tent, but it sure doesn’t feel like it.

Waking up listening to hippos snorting right outside of my tent.

The camp has a restaurant, bar, fire pit for late night parties, pool, spa, and gift shop. Although the camp only has 22 tents, the property is huge. It also houses a cooking school where students learn to become master chefs in Kenya and even graduate to cook at the camp. This brings me to the food….WOW! You will not go hungry at Karen Blixen Camp so bring your animal appetite. The food is phenomenal. Every meal I ate was superb. They serve everything from traditional Kenyan dishes to Mexican pizzas, so there is something for everyone. They also serve excellent wine and offer a full bar. The camp arranges every detail of your safari adventure for you. From flights to meals to adventuring, they tailor your safari based on your likes, and you don’t have to plan a thing.

Pool time. I love all of the amenities at Karen Blixen Camp.

Game Driving

One other huge reason I chose Karen Blixen Camp is that in this area of the Mara, the vehicles are permitted to go off-roading. In other areas available for safari, the vehicles are required to stay on the designated roads and view game from there. We were able to explore off the beaten path and pull right up next to the animals. This made this entire experience so much more exciting. Our open air vehicle was very comfortable for long days of game driving. I loved the wind in my face while out adventuring.

We were assigned Simon as our safari guide for the week. All of the staff at the camp treated us like family, and I know you can not go wrong with any guide from the Karen Blixen Camp. However, Simon holds a very special place in our hearts. He took us on early morning, afternoon, and evening rides. Each day and each time of the day was a new experience with something new to see. Simon is so knowledgeable and friendly. I feel like I learned so much about the animals, the people, and Kenya in general from him. He was so good at spotting and would drive our vehicle right up to the animals for us to view.

My guide Simon and I. He was always teaching us about the animals as we drove up to them.

On one drive we came across an elephant that had just passed away either to old age, disease, or injury. This part of Kenya takes poaching very seriously and they have great efforts in place to protect their animals. This gentle giant had become an easy meal to a huge group of hyenas that could not control their laughter and excitement. Hyenas get so excited and create so much noise when they find food that they alert other animals in the area that something appetizing is going on. Later on into the night, we decided to visit the elephant again and check the scene. A male lion was now guarding the elephant and had claimed it as his meal. No more hyenas as the lion is king. We turned off the car in the pitch black and observed the male lion up close. My heart was pounding out of my chest! It was so exciting being in the dark with the lion king. We saw many other lions on our drives throughout our safari, however this encounter was quite exhilarating. Que the tears of adrenaline!

A night ride where we sat right next to the lion king guarding his meal.

Beautiful lioness relaxing right next to our car.

I love the kitties and we were lucky enough to have a leopard walk right in front of our car one day. Leopards are one of the most elusive mammals on the planet and this beautiful creature just strolled right by us. So incredible!

The elusive leopard casually strolling by.

This part of the Mara is filled with animals. I can’t even count the number of elephants, zebras, baboons, and giraffes we saw. It seemed endless. At one point we were right in the middle of all of these animals having a true lion king moment.

On one of my favorite game drives we encountered a herd of elephants. The smallest of the bunch charged our car with his ears out. It simply doesn’t get cuter than baby elephants! Mama and siblings wanted nothing to do with us, but the baby was handling business. Ha ha! Each ride showed us something different from the circle of life. It was truly powerful and emotional to see these animals in the wild so up close.

That little baby elephant charged our car. Ha ha…so cute!

We saw so many elephants. Observing these gentle giants just never gets old.

Hot Air Balloon Ride

Seeing the Mara Conservancy from above was a true bucket list experience. This was my first time in a hot air balloon ride. I’m a bit fearful of heights so I was nervous. The Karen Blixen Camp arranged for a sunrise balloon ride with Sky Ship Company. Ali was our pilot, and my nerves were gone as soon as we took off. The ride was so smooth. I just can’t put into words the magic I saw as I flew over the Mara animals with the sun rising to a new golden morning. The tears keep coming! The balloon noise makes the animals run so it was a different experience to see them being so active as we flew right above. The ride lasted about an hour with a very exciting landing on our side dragging and bouncing. I wasn’t expecting that but it’s normal due to winds in this area. Our ride was followed up with a champagne breakfast in the bush. Someone pinch me!

Flying over the Masai Mara at sunrise in a hot air balloon.

So incredibly grateful for this trip of a lifetime.

Visit To The Local School

OMG!! I will treasure this day forever. We visited a local school of the Masai. The kids were so welcoming and sweet. They sang us songs, gave us big hugs, and wanted to take photos. We even got to have some one on one Q & A with the older students who were perfecting their English. This visit was so special, and I had tears coming down my cheeks every step of the tour from feeling so humbled and welcomed with such innocent love.

Visit To The Local Village

The visit to a local village of the Masai tribe was a true cultural experience. It was so interesting to see how the tribe lives off of the land and amongst the animals. The men in the tribe can have up to ten wives and 100 children. My husband sat down with a man of the tribe explaining that 1 wife was enough headache for him. Ha ha! He laughed at my husband and continued to show us his home that housed 7 people. I bought a beautiful necklace from one of the women who was so kind and grateful for my purchase. They live very differently than people in the USA and are content, happy, and welcoming.

Having a chat with a man of the Masai tribe who had seven wives. Tim was explaining that one wife is enough headache for him. Ha ha!

Sundowners And Meals In The Bush

Sun~down~er: An alcoholic drink taken at sunset. Picture being on game drives most of the day and pulling your vehicle up to a postcard perfect set up in the bush that includes chairs around a campfire, a full bar, and appetizers…all while out in the open with the wildlife as the sun is setting. I think I could have sundowners in the bush every night on safari!

Sundowners in the bush. Appetizers and full bar provided by the camp!

We also enjoyed a surprise breakfast in the bush by the Karen Blixen Camp. This was on our first morning and we were still taking in the fact that we were here on safari. What a special surprise to kick off this adventure.

Surprise breakfast in the bush from the camp on our first day.

On our last evening in Kenya, we booked a private dinner in the bush. This is an absolute “not to be missed” meal with the camp. We had a buffet spread for two with flowing wine, lit only by candlelight and campfire. The staff of the camp were all around us keeping an eye. I think this could have been the most romantic meal I have ever had in my life. After the time we had spent on safari, I felt so at ease and one with my surroundings. Of course I got emotional! It hit me hard on this meal that we were leaving this magical place. The tears and wine were flowing as we cheers to everything that we had seen, learned, and experienced.

Our final meal was a private candlelight dinner in the bush. Cheer to all the tears of joy!

My trip to Africa lived up to the life changing reputation. It is simply impossible to compare a trip like this to other vacations. I think the more that I travel, the more that I crave a deeper kind of travel. Don’t get me wrong, I do love sipping margaritas and relaxing poolside. However, trips like this one are so unique and bring my spirit to life. In the words of Karen Blixen, “You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions”.

In lion country. I saw so many lions on this game drive.

“You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions.” – Karen Blixen

A Few Tips To Prepare For This Trip

I flew from the USA to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. This is a long flight and a big time difference, so I opted to spend three nights in Nairobi to rest up for all the action coming up on safari.

I visited a travel health consultant at Passport Health five weeks prior to taking this trip. I learned everything I needed to know to keep me healthy on my African adventure. These travel consultants will discuss and inject recommended and required vaccinations, prescribe medications such as malaria, and advise you on mosquito repellants. True fact…I get eaten alive everywhere I travel. I followed the guidance of my health consultant and did not get one bite on my two week trip. This a game changer for future trips!

In order to enter the country of Kenya at the time of my travels, one was required to obtain a Visa, a negative PCR Covid Test (regardless of vaccination), and complete an online Health Surveillance Form. This info seems to be consistently changing, so it is best to check the embassy website for what is required prior to entry/exit.

Thank you to to the staff at the Karen Blixen Camp for some of the best travel memories of my life!!

Our guide Simon dropping us back at the airstrip at the end of the trip. He is an amazing guide and a good friend!

Tulum, Mexico: Traveling During A Pandemic To A Boho Chic Paradise.

It has been a dream of mine to take a vacation in Tulum, Mexico for some time. I have spent time in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, but had only visited Tulum for the day on past trips. I loved it so much that after spending time there on a couple of day trips, I dedicated months researching condos for sale, coming very close to purchasing one. If you look in my “About Me” section of this blog, one of my goals was to retire in Tulum. Quite a statement after only taking a couple of day trips there. I guess it’s safe to say I fell in love on my day trip visits, so you can imagine my excitement to plan a two week trip!

Tulum is located about a two hour drive south of Cancun, and close to the border of Belize. It has a very boho chic vibe with crystal clear Caribbean waters, and white powder sand beaches. It’s paradise!

Mexico has always held a very special place in my heart. I got married in Zihuatanejo, renewed my vows in Puerto Vallarta, celebrated my husband’s 40th in Cabo San Lucas, and have spent time in a total of eight different locations in Mexico.

After several cancelled and postponed trips since the pandemic hit, I was thrilled to hear that Tulum had opened up for tourism. Yes, I was nervous to travel. Yes, I was very nervous to fly. And yes, I was nervous to be out of my own country while the positive cases around the world were present. That being said, I was also VERY itchy to take a trip! After months of shelter in place (aka quarantine), I had made a choice that (for me) it was time to get back to enjoying life. It was time to start living with the virus, and not hiding from it. Certainly not questioning the seriousness of this issue. I find it to be very serious! However, fear had been controlling my mind set, and physical actions for months. I don’t feel that the fear completely left me until I arrived at my hotel in Tulum. I was overtaken by the peaceful paradise on the beautiful beach.

Accomodations

I chose to stay at the Diamante K. And let me tell you, this is not your average hotel! It fits right in with the vibe of Tulum, and delivers very boho chic accommodations. It is a beachfront hotel located in a National Park, and is just 2.5 kilometres from the ruins. It offers cabana style rooms with thatch roofs, beach club, restaurant, bar, and spa. We enjoyed a very relaxing oceanfront couples massage that was much needed after a long flight. Upon arriving, my husband and I were checked in to the most beautiful suite! Our room looked directly at the ocean. We were so close to the ocean that I could throw a rock into the water from our room. Of course my first order of business was to get a fresh squeezed spicy margarita. As I was ordering “fresh squeezed”, the bartender giggled and said that I didn’t need to order it that way as all the drinks were fresh squeezed. Ahhhh….jackpot! The food was amazing too. I ate breakfast there almost every day, and switched between the huevos divorciados (divorced eggs) and huevos rancheros. So good! Lunch and dinner were just as delicious. I had my fair share of fresh fish, ceviche, and guacamole. The food and drinks were superb, and very reasonable.

Back to our room…we had a bathroom that was completely outdoors. Outdoor showers in the jungle make me happy! I never sleep well on my first few nights of being somewhere new. So, I enjoyed the most picturesque sunrises right from my room, or I would take a few steps outside and sit oceanfront to watch the show. I’m not a morning person at home, so this was really refreshing to enjoy this time of day. The birds seem to come alive at sunrise, and are peacefully loud. It’s really nothing less than paradise. One huge bonus about this hotel is that there are no TV’s on the property. This couldn’t have come at a better time in my life. Just what the doctor ordered to take a mental break from the chaotic news going on at home in the USA.

We should have had our names engraved in these exact seats! Aside from eating and drinking here, we finished off almost every evening with a night cap while staring at the moon.

My outdoor bathroom at the Diamante K. Outdoor showers make me happy! 🙂

Transportation

The Diamante K is pretty close to the Hotel Zone, and downtown Tulum, however it is not walkable. We tried our hand at the cute beach bikes, but it was just too hot to get around this way for our liking. We then rented a little jeep that looked like a toddler toy, and broke down twice. Lastly we tried a motor bike/scooter. There are not many people that I would trust to ride on a scooter with, but my husband happens to be one I do. We rented from Tours R Us, who gave us a great deal. They had the best selection of vehicles that we had seen in our entire two week stay. They are located in the heart of the Hotel Zone, and offer much more than scooters. I highly recommend!

Tours R Us for all your transportation needs. Located in the heart of the Hotel Zone.

Hotel Zone/Downtown Tulum

A boho chic vibe is my favorite kind of vibe, which is why I probably love it so much here. Tulum is sort of a Miami-meets-jungle kind of place. There are amazing restaurants, beach clubs, and bars.

Favorite Restaurants: It is so hard to share my favorite restaurant. I literally did not have one bad meal in my entire two weeks. If f I have to choose, it would be Hartwood. We ate at so many great places but this was my favorite meal. I had tuna tostadas, a whole fish, and passion fruit spicy margaritas. Very cool ambiance and thumping chill music. If you are looking for a more casual meal, my favorite cheap eat in the Hotel Zone is the outdoor food truck bar named Tulumunchies. It has several food trucks that offer tacos, burgers, pizza, and poke bowls. We opted to eat here several times throughout the trip.

Tulum munchies — Tulumunchies surrounded by food trucks for the cheap eat win!

Favorite Bar: Hands down Clan-Destino! This is a very casual bar with a DJ, and a cenote in the middle. It tripped me out when we walked in to find people swimming in the little cenote at night. Very fun place!

Favorite Beach Club: Papaya Playa Project. This place is absolutely awesome! We came here for the day, and reserved a bed on the beach. The club has a DJ with sand as a dance floor, pool, and an awesome restaurant and bar. It wasn’t the cheapest stop, but it was one of our favorite days spent in Tulum.

ppp (1 of 1) — Papaya Playa Project. My favorite beach club!

Downtown Tulum: On nights where we felt like changing it up a bit, and spending a little less money, we would head to downtown Tulum. My favorite dinner here was at Burrito Amor. The burritos come wrapped in banana leaves, and they pride themselves on clean ingredients. Delish! This area is also where we scored all of our souvenirs to bring home.

Activities & Tours

After days of unwinding and getting to know Tulum, we were ready to do some exploring. I took a friend’s suggestion and booked a tour to the Sian Ka’an Bioreserve. This tour was booked by our hotel, through a company called Mayikal Experiences, and boy did we luck out! We had the most knowledgeable guide, who not only was a great deal, but was also a blast to spend the day with. He made sure we saw dolphins, huge turtles, and 1,000 pound bird nests. He led us snorkeling to swim with sting rays, huge schools of fish, and lobsters. The water was some of the most beautiful water I have ever seen in my life. I’m sure I have written this in past posts, but this time I mean it. Haha. It was truly crystal clear! My hubby did back flips off the back of the boat as we enjoyed our day frolicking. We finished it off with an oceanfront fresh lobster lunch. Absolutely perfect day! I can not recommend this tour, and the tour company enough! Because of Covid, Sian Ka’an would not allow tours with people who were not from the same family, so we got private! Such a great day!

sian kan 5 (1 of 1) — Perfect day at Sian Ka’an.

Can’t take a vacay without getting in the backflips.

My second choice for exploring Tulum would be to visit the cenotes. There are over 6,000 cenotes in the area available for endless exploring. We had planned to do the cenotes at the end of our trip. Don’t ask me how two weeks came and went so quickly, but all of a sudden the end of the trip had shown it’s face (to our disappointment). We ended up not wanting to trade one of our very last days of relaxation for the cenotes because we had visited them on our last trip. So we skipped it this time. If you are new to this area, exploring the centoes are a must!

Photo Ops

Tulum has some very famous photo ops. My favorite was Daniel Popper’s towering wooden sculpture Ven A La Luz, which stands at the entrance to the Ahau Hotel . Be prepared to wait in line to get this photo. Also, don’t visit in the middle of the day because the sun is right above you, and the lighting is much too bright. Go in the morning or evening. A trip to Casa Malca is sure to give you some great pics as well! This was Pablo Escobar’s mansion that was turned into an artsy hotel. Very beautiful property! I was so bummed to see that Azulik was closed. I was hoping to explore that beautiful property as well, and enjoy a sunset dinner above the trees in one of their dining nests. Next time!

Casa Malca (1 of 1) — Casa Malca. Pablo Escobar’s mansion in a previous life.

What It Was Like In Tulum During The Pandemic

I felt very safe in Tulum with the Pandemic going on. Besides the fact that being surrounded by paradise made me forget about it completely, Tulum did take lots of precautions to keep the virus at bay. All hotels, restaurants, and bars were limited to a 30% occupancy. We were required to temperature check, and wash/sanitize hands before entering most places. All of the staff we encountered in the Hotel Zone wore a mask, however tourists were not required unless entering a store-like establishment. We were required to wear a mask entering places of business in downtown Tulum. Most of the tours surrounding Tulum were open, some cenotes were open, however the ruins were closed. Because our hotel was located in a National Park (which was also closed), the only people that could come near our hotel were guests that were staying there or people who had made reservations to enjoy the facilities.

As we all know, we are living in a world that is changing by the day. What I experienced could be different by the time you read this. The best bet is to contact the hotel you are considering prior to travel to ask how the current Covid situation is in Tulum.

Tips

Here are the items I did not use on my trip: 1) High heels. Although I saw many gals very glammed up at the higher end places, I opted to stay in sandal flats. I did a lot of walking, with a lot of time spent at the beach, so heels just didn’t work for this trip. I was either barefoot or in sandals the entire time. 2) Curling iron. Save the weight in your bag and leave it at home. It’s absolutely pointless with the humidity and heat. 3) Workout bands and shoes. OOPS! I was having too much fun to workout, although yoga classes are huge in the area. 3) Really dressy clothes. I couldn’t get out of my bathing suit and cover ups. LOL! For the guys…my husband also didn’t wear anything dressy. He lived in shorts, tank tops, and flip flops.

Make sure to bring cash with you everywhere! Many businesses only accept cash.

Final Thoughts

All in all, I came to find out that although I have LOVED all of my travels in Mexico, Tulum takes the cake as my favorite. It is definitely a place that I will visit again and again. That’s saying a lot because I don’t usually like to repeat destinations.

One thing this trip deeply reminded me of was that I travel to have balance in my life. It’s important to feed your soul with what makes you happy, and for me that is traveling. I need to escape reality sometimes! With the pandemic, I was neglected balance in my life. I had been glued to the scary news every day. I was also getting way too emotionally involved in the chaos going on in the USA. This trip gave me back my balance. With no TV’s available, I was forced to listen to crashing waves in lieu of the news. And guess what??? As I’m sitting here writing this blog from back home, I have yet to turn on the news this entire week. I think I’m avoiding it at this point, as I’m still riding the mental high from this trip. Tulum gave me back my balance when I needed it most, and reminded me to enjoy my life no matter what is going on around me.

PS…YouTube video is on the way!

Greece: Land Of Party Time, Views, And Rich History…Opa!

Greece has always been at the top of my bucket list. It was #2 on my list to be exact. I assure you that I can not accurately describe in words how over the moon excited I was to take this trip! I will say this right off the bat..this certainly was not the cheapest vacation I have ever taken. I started out with a budget, and went way over. I had to take side job after side job to cover this dream of mine, but it was worth every penny.

Greece has so many islands, all which are very spread apart. Unless you are taking a cruise or traveling for a long period of time, you need to plan what islands you want to see. It isn’t one of those places that you can island hop day by day and see all there is to see, like my trip to the British Virgin Islands or Croatia (which is next up on my list to do a barbeboating trip). I had two weeks in Greece so I chose the Cyclades Islands . I decided on three stops: Mykonos, Santorini, and Athens. I was so happy with these choices! Each stop was so polar different from the other, and it really mixed things up. Mykonos was party time, Santorini was relaxing time, and Athens was a beautiful city.

route map — My route for my trip to Greece. Mykonos, Santorini, and Athens.

MYKONOS:

My stay in Ornos Beach

San Francisco to Mykonos is quite the journey. Long travel days are not ideal, but if that’s what I have to do to get to places like this, then that’s what I have to do. I will never skip a place to see in the world because the flight is too long. After a long day and night of travel, I arrived at my Ornos Suites Airbnb in Ornos Beach, Mykonos at about 2:00am. I was about 90 feet from the sand, which is why I chose Ornos Beach. It was really difficult to find Airbnb properties that were oceanfront on Mykonos. I was excited to check out my surroundings, anxious for my first Greek cocktail, and feeling a little hungry. I assumed I would have zero options at that hour. Wrong!!! All the bars and restaurants stay open super late, and are straight up crack-a-lackin all night long. Ornos Beach was beautiful and actually ended up being my favorite after I had explored the entire island. Mykonos beaches are filled with beach clubs that thump music played by world renown DJs from the day to the night to the morning. It doesn’t stop. I wouldn’t call this island the most relaxing. It was party time….all the time. Ornos Beach was just the right amount of party mixed with the ability to unwind and relax. I would say it is one of the more quiet beaches on Mykonos. It is a beach cove lined with amazing restaurants in the sand. The bars play music here, but they don’t have that beach club vibe that most of the other beaches had in Mykonos.

Scorpios

Being that I enjoyed my first meal and cocktail at 3:00am it was safe to say that I was sleeping in the next morning. A bit of an understatement as I woke up at 4:00pm panicking that I would miss my sunset table reservation at Scorpios Sunset Party. Scorpios is said to be one of the best beach clubs in Europe, and I can see why. This is by far my favorite beach club I have ever been to in my life! And it is the ONLY place to be on a Sunday. They throw their weekly sunset party on Sundays, and honestly it is a “must see” when visiting Mykonos. The music and vibe at this club were so good! Dress to impress in your sexy beach wear and get ready to see a very beautiful crowd of people. I danced the night away, which turned into dancing the morning away back at one of the bars in Ornos Beach, and then lead to watching one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen. I’m not much of a morning person so this was a huge perk of not being adjusted to the time difference just yet.

greece2 — Perfect seats to say goodbye to the sun before Scorpios turned into a full blown raging dance party.

Lohan Beach House

On day two I slept half the day away, and I rented an ATV to explore the island. I landed at Lohan Beach House. Lindsay Lohan went from Hollywood star to Beach Club Owner in Greece. Talk about reinventing yourself! This beach club has a sexy boho chic vibe with a great DJ on a beautiful beach. I want to copy her decorating style and make my home look exactly like her club. It was beautiful…you go girl!!

Mykonos Town

Mykonos Town is filled with all the classic white and blue traditional Greek homes. Wandering around here truly makes you fall in love with Greece. It also has tons of shopping, and lots of bars and restaurants. I visited Mykonos Town once in the day and once in the night. Just exploring the streets of Mykonos Town is worth the trip to Greece alone! While here, you can also check out the Windmills and Little Venice. The entire area is pretty small and walkable. At night you can choose from an array of amazing restaurants (OMG the food in Greece is so good) and do…what else…shake your booty all night long at any one of the fun bars that are everywhere. I chose to eat a seafood dinner at Nice and Easy Restaurant . It’s right on the water and the seafood was to die for!!

More beaches to see exploring on a quad.

We wanted to see every square inch of Mykonos, so we rented a quad to do more exploring. Honestly, this is a “must do” recommendation of mine. Riding a scooter or quad in Mykonos is extremely common, and it is how most tourists get around on their own. Of course you can rent a car, take the bus, or call an uber, but I really encourage you to explore on a quad at least for one day, if you are experienced enough to drive one of course. Most people don’t wear helmets, and although this was a bit scary to me, I went with it. Not only did I go with it, but I ended up getting comfortable enough to cruise around in a bikini. LOL. Driving through the mountains and seeing the most beautiful views of Greece would have been enough of an adventure, but we beach hopped the day away.

Cruising through the middle of the island on the mountain tops.

greece 7 — Typical parking lot at Mykonos beach clubs.

Elia Beach: This is the most beautiful beach on Mykonos (IMO). It was also the most relaxing on the island. Definitely the most family friendly as well. The water was crystal clear! It was absolute paradise. There is a restaurant and bar here, so you can post up for the whole day in total relaxation mode.

greece 5 — Floating in the most beautiful ocean water at Elia Beach.

Psarou Beach: This beach is where the world famous beach club Nammos is located. We had planned on spending an entire day here, but the locals talked us out of it. Although it is the most famous club in Mykonos, it is also crazy expensive. We were told to expect to spend $1,000 in our afternoon there. Although an experience to dance on tables, spray champagne on each other, and stare at multi-million dollar yachts sounded amazing, we opted to save our duckets.

Paradise Beach and Super Paradise Beach: These beaches are right next to each other but are separated. Seriously, these places were wild. They had world famous DJ’s thumping the beach while everyone, and I mean everyone, danced their butts off. I’m sure it has become clear through this blog by now that coming to Mykonos means sleep when your dead!!

greece 6 — Always a dance party. Sleep when your dead!!

ON TO THE SECOND LEG TO THE ISLAND OF SANTORINI

We took the ferry from Mykonos to Santorini, which took close to three hours. The ferry was really nice, and fast. That baby was cookin’, and it was so beautiful to see all the little Greek Islands along the way.

greece 8 — Catching a ride to the next island, Santorini.

I can’t even put into words (again) how magnificent the views on this island are. This island is straight up and straight down, but truly the most beautiful views I have ever seen. Santorini was so different from Mykonos! It is so incredibly romantic, scenic, and relaxing. I was ready for this after all that hooting and hollering in Mykonos.

My Stay in Oia

I chose to stay in a traditional cave Airbnb property in Oia. It is called Armenaki. It was awesome! It was a true cave room that had the most postcard worthy view of any other place I have ever stayed in. A cave room is exactly what it sounds like…a room that’s a cave. It was sort of a studio tube in the mountain with a bedroom, full kitchen, bathroom, and breathtaking porch. It was perfect for a couple. I love staying in hotels, but this Airbnb property was a genuine Greek experience. Let me just say that this is one of those vacations that I am so thankful I took while I am able, and in shape. The hike up/down from our cave room to town was no joke, and would never work for anyone with any sort of disability, elderly, young children, or someone who isn’t in decent shape. If you fall into any of these categories, I would suggest staying away from the mountainside properties in Oia, and recommend going to a hotel.

greece 10 — Eating breakfast on my beautiful porch in Oia, Santorini. Pinch me!

greece 25 — Making some coffee in our cave in Oia, Santorini.

Hike Oia to Fira

The hike from Oia to Fira is a must! You need to be in good shape, but it is just breathtaking! The hike is around 8 miles (one way). It is much more challenging from Oia to Fira, as it’s all uphill. If you were going Fira to Oia, you can count on a pretty easy walk downhill. I can officially say I sweat out all of those Mykonos toxins on this day. Haha! But you don’t do this hike for the work out, you do it for the views. These words come to mind: grandiose, magnificent, stunning, unbelievable, and scary. Again, just the most amazing views I have ever seen in my life. Fira is much more laid back than Oia. Oia is filled with romantic restaurants, art galleries, and very high end hotels. Fira is the Capital of Santorini and has bars, cheaper eats, great souvenir shopping, and cheaper stays. It is a really great place to stay if you don’t want to pay the Oia prices, but still want to be close by.

greece 24 — The most magnificent views on the hike from Oia to Fira.

Exploring Santorini by road.

Next up was exploring the other side of the island. We rented an ATV and ventured out to explore. I wore a helmet everywhere in Santorini. The roads were nothing like the back road feel of Mykonos, and felt much more like highways. Although a lot of people went without helmets, I did not feel safe. You’re welcome mom! 😉

greece 31 — Exploring the other side of Santorini.

Astarte Suites: I was invited to stop at the Astarte Suites to have a drink and enjoy the beautiful hotel. Huge perk to writing a Travel Blog! I initially wanted to stay at this hotel for my Santorini leg, because it simply looked like the most beautiful hotel on the island from the internet. I decided to go Airbnb, but if I had chosen a hotel, this would have been my dream place to call home for my time on the island. It was everything I imagined!!! It starts off with a stairway to heaven. It’s true! These steps have become pretty Instagram famous, and I see the stairway entrance to this hotel everywhere on the internet. Astarte Suites had a very boutique feel, yet so luxurious and high end. It was relaxing, while still playing great music that was loud enough to create a vibe, but not too loud to disrupt the peacefulness of the property. The best part was the most beautiful infinity pool overlooking the ocean. This is the definition of pool goals! And of course, the cherry on top was the swan floatie. You can never go wrong with a swan floatie!

You had me at swan floatie! Pool goals at Astarte Suites.

Red Beach: The road to Red Beach feels like you are headed to no where. If you feel like you are lost the entire time, you are on the right path to Red Beach. After questioning our directions for quite a while, we decided to ask Siri for help. Believe it or not, she got us there. This is an absolutely beautiful beach with red rock and sand. It has a restaurant and bar too, so you can post up.

Surprisingly on the right path to Red Beach.

Parissa Beach: This is a very laid back beach lined with restaurants. Most of the restaurants own umbrellas on the beach in front of their places. After a meal, they will set you up with an umbrella and chairs, and serve you drinks in the sand.

Exploring Santorini by sea

OOOOMMMMGGGG!! Exploring Santorini by sea was my favorite day of the entire Greece trip! It was the one thing I wanted to do that was somewhat of an “excursion”. The problem (which is always the problem) was that my husband hates group activities. So that leaves us always having to do days like this privately, which is usually four times the cost. We knew we wanted to rent a boat without a captain. A boat in Santorini without a captain is so over the top expensive. So I found the absolute cheapest option possible. I kid you not, this boat looked like a big dingy with a motor. It was a total piece of crap. Piece of crap that cost $400 for the day! But it didn’t matter. It was all ours for the entire day to explore the beautiful ocean around Santorini. Old Betsy did the job, and we had the most amazing day! Having the freedom to explore at our own pace was the best. We swam in caves, bobbed in the water at the volcano eating cheese and drinking wine, went to lunch at a private beach club that you can only get to by boat, and watched the sunset before heading back to the marina. It was a full day at sea, and we swam in the ocean all day long.

santorini-2 — Looking for our cave room from below.

santorini1-2 — I swam in the warm waters ALL DAY LONG. Paradise!

THIRD LEG IN ATHENS

The ferry ride from Santorini to Athens is about 5 hours. We opted for first class, which is not much more, but it was very nice to have a bit more plush of a ride for that length of time. As we arrived at our Airbnb by cab we unloaded our bags to the sidewalk. We couldn’t locate the apartment right away, and apparently weren’t paying enough attention, because bam….we got robbed. Our backpack was plucked within minutes out of our pile of stuff sitting right next to us. This bag had our computer, Ipad, credit cards, batteries, money, and worst of all, our passports. What do you do when you lose your passports and you are out of the country?

Step 1 – Call your parents for advice. LOL.

Step 2 – File a police report so that you have proof of your loss, and you can hopefully make a claim through your insurance back at home.

Step 3 – Head down to the US Embassy to have emergency passports issued.

greece 15 — Anything for a photo shoot! LOL. New Passport photos!

greece 16 — Proud to be an American in a sticky situation. The Embassy treated us like gold!

We only had three days in Athens and one of them was now designated to spending it at the Embassy. I was really thankful this happened at the end of our trip! This was completely our fault, and we know better! We consider ourselves to be very aware travelers but this goes to show you, anything can happen. Lesson learned…never again! On a more positive note, the US Embassy treated us like gold. I have to say, in a bad situation such as this, it felt pretty good to be an American.

Enjoying our final days in Greece

Athens is an absolutely beautiful city! Our Airbnb property was a penthouse apartment with a view of the Acropolis. This was the cheapest leg of the trip, and I got this penthouse for just over $100 per night. So cool to sit out on our patio enjoying some wine while staring at this beautiful site. Right below our apartment, the streets were lined with little alleyways of great bars, coffee shops, and shopping. We loved roaming around this area and getting lost in these alleys. Besides getting our bag stolen upon arrival, I never felt unsafe here. We roamed around into the wee hours of the night, and I never felt threatened.

greece 12 — Drinking wine on my patio. What a beautiful front row seat to the Acropolis!

With one day left to spare, we decided to head up to the Mont Parnes Casino on the recommendation of my aunt. I had planned to spend an entire day at the Acropolis, but we decided to sacrifice that day for the day spent at the Embassy, since we were able to stare at the Acropolis from our balcony. So we headed to the Casino to see if we could get a stroke of good luck. The gondola ride up to this casino was a bit scary, but wow what a view! Athens is huge, and we got a bird’s eye view of just how big the city really is. Once up there, we didn’t hit it big, but we ended up winning a couple hundred bucks to pay for our day of fun. It felt good! We finished our trip off with a huge shared plate of seafood spaghetti at the harbor in Athens. We cheersed a lot to how every moment of this trip was different. Opa! As always, I was feeling like I wanted a couple more days to spend here. This truly was the trip of a lifetime. Check off number two on the bucket list for Jessica Lynn!!

greece 14 — Gondola ride up to the Mont Parnes Casino in Athens.

Enjoying a huge shared plate of seafood spaghetti at the Athens harbor. Final meal in Greece!

Belize: You Betta Belize It!

Jungle or Beach??? Why not both??

Belize is located in Central America. It is a tiny country on the western edge of the Caribbean Sea. Belize is located below Mexico, east of Guatemala, and north of Honduras. Half of Belize is covered by dense jungle. Belize also has many coral reefs, cayes, and islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of these form the Belize Barrier Reef, the longest in the Western Hemisphere.

When I first began planning my trip to Belize, I read that most first timers break up their trip between the jungle and the beach. I’m very glad I listened to these reviews! Fast forward through an 8 hour plane ride, and a 2 hour drive into the jungle and I landed in the middle of the Belize rainforest in a city called Belmopan. I chose Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge to call home for this leg of the trip. It was a larger lodge in comparison to others in the area with 25 rooms and casitas, pool, bar, and a restaurant where you eat every meal.

sleeping giant — Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge

I’m typically a beach baby, and was nervous about spending time in the remote jungle. Would it be boring? It was a bit of an adjustment upon arrival….no TV, no internet, and no phone in the room. I’ve never been on a trip where I was forced to completely disconnect. I gulped down my rum welcome cocktail, and went to unpack. Now what? That first night I explored the grounds, ate ridiculously amazing food, and closed down the lodge bar. The next four days were filled with adventure, mind blowing food and cocktails (all made fresh), and forced restful recharge.

My activities included a hike through the thick jungle, a bike ride to the orange orchards, paddle boarding on the river, relaxing by the pool, a massage on the river, and a full day of adventure exploring the famous ATM Cave of Belize. ATM stands for Actun Tunichil Muknal. The ATM Cave was the top rated tour to do for adventure, and it did not disappoint. I hired a private guide for this tour which I highly recommend. If you can’t swing private, definitely ask how many people will be on the tour with you, and go with a smaller group. I saw large tours with 10 people going through in a line. They just weren’t getting that much attention from their guide. If you are 10th in the line, how can you learn anything from your guide who is leading? Plus, I had very heightened nerves on this tour. Being the 10th person in line of a tour would have been terrifying (for me). Our guide led us through 6 miles of adventure. We crossed the river (neck deep) six times, hiked, and explored the ATM Cave which you have to swim into. Once in, you climb and swim your way through two miles of total darkness with only a headlamp for sight. I literally had a minor panic attack going on for about three hours. But just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, the only way out was through. It was pretty amazing learning about the Mayan people, and what this cave meant to them. We came across many artifacts and skeletons that were human sacrifices to the gods. Our guide was Gonzo from River Rat Expeditions. He was so knowledgeable, and actually spends about three months per year living in these Belize caves doing research. He took his time educating and calming my nerves all the way through. Once out of the cave, I was on an adrenaline high. I was so proud I finished but I’m in no rush to do it again. Haha.

cave — Just completed the six miles of adventure exploring the ATM Cave.

For beginning my adventure in the jungle with the question of “will I be bored here?”, I actually began to freak out by day three that I wouldn’t fit in all there was to see. I fell in love with the jungle! I’m usually pretty attached to my phone and staying in touch with my family. For this leg, I had to forget about all of that, and it was all about exploring and recharging.

Once my stay at the jungle lodge had come to an end, I was ready to put my toes in the sand, and have more than one dining option. Five days in the jungle was perfecto, but now it was on to the beach for another nine days. I decided on Ambergris Caye. It is the largest caye (island) of Belize. From the jungle, it was a 2 hour drive to the ferry station and a 1.5 hour boat ride to Ambergris Caye. I chose Captain Morgan’s Retreat as my hotel on Ambergris Caye for the sole reason that they had true beach huts in the sand for much cheaper than your average hotel room. However, we were still part of a huge resort with all the amenities including the only Casino on the island.

OOOOHHHEEEMMMGGGEEE!!! Opening my porch door and stepping into the sand was truly paradise. When I arrived I was warned how bad the bugs were from another guest. He told me to soak myself in bug spray every day. After four days of literally getting eaten alive, I accidentally forgot my bug spray one evening, and didn’t get any bites. I ditched the spray and never had a problem again. Thanks for that sweet advice bro!

Relaxing under a palm tree off of my beach hut porch on Ambergris Caye.

The coolest thing about Ambergris Caye is that there are very few cars and the mode of transportation is by golf cart equipped with off road tires. Oh hells ya! Look out for me! I drove that golf cart up and down, and back and forth. We mostly only ate breakfast at our resort and spent the rest of the days beach and bar hopping our way around. Ambergris Caye is so lively! Whether you are eating pizza or the abundant fresh sea food they have to offer, it was always a party. Live music was everywhere. My favorite drive was a 40 minute golf cart ride to Secret Beach. It was a bumpy adventure through the center of the island to a beautiful beach with food and music. A must see (or drive) while on Ambergris Caye.

Belize is famous for it’s ocean life. I’m sadly too big of a wimp to dive but the snorkeling was the best I have ever seen with my own eyes. Belize has the second largest coral reef system in the world, with Australia’s Great Barrier Reef being the largest. If you like diving and snorkeling this is truly a wonderland, or wonderwater I guess. Our captain took us to Hol Chan Marine Reserve . As soon as you get in the water there are a gazillion fish around you. I saw huge spotted eagle rays, eels, large puffer fish, endless schools, oh ya….and sharks! Our second stop that our captain took us to was Shark Ray Alley where he chummed for sharks to come right up to the boat. My crazy husband jumped into the water to swim with them. I volunteered to be his photographer from inside the boat. 😉 The day was perfect. I wish I had spent more time exploring the reef of Belize because (not to be lame) it was magical.

Well after exploring every nook and cranny of Ambergris Caye, pigging out at all the fresh seafood restaurants, bar hopping to every bar, and hearing every live band on the island, I jumped on the ferry to explore the sister island of Ambergris Caye….Caye Caulker. It’s a 30 minute hop to this tiny island that has a super laid back vibe. There were a lot of backpackers, and simple people who love to party. If you bring more than a bathing suit, cover up, and flip flops to this island, you have over packed. You walk everywhere on Caye Caulker, and I spent most of the day at a place called the Split. A hurricane split this island in half, and they turned it into the largest place to party with a picture perfect setting. They have a bar there called the Lazy Lizard that has everything from hot bodies to grannies with fanny packs twerking and taking shots. I took the last ferry ride home to Ambergris Caye, which was a very fun ride home at night. I wished I packed a backpack and stayed overnight. One more day would have been fun to run back into the friends I made there in such a short time.

One last day on Ambergris Caye to stuff my face with fresh seafood, drink too many fresh squeezed margaritas (the ice was safe), and listen to one last performance of live reggae music (my favorite). The people of Belize are so incredibly friendly, and I always felt safe day and night. Belize was a great trip and mixing in the jungle with the beach was a twist I enjoyed more than I realized I would. I also brought home five dread locks! Lol.

Italy For A Month: How To Plan From Scratch.

So, let’s start from the very beginning…straight-up from scratch. Probably the most common question that I am asked is how I plan my trips on my own. Where do I start? Well it usually involves me staring at the computer scratching my head with a glass (ok a bottle) of vino in hand. And little by little my trips take form. I hope to write multiple blogs from this 30 day trip to Italy but for this blog, I’m going start with how to plan it. I did all of this planning on my own and felt so overwhelmed when I started. This is my story of how my Italy trip came to life.

I rarely take big trips in the summer. I always get my big break right after Christmas. I’m running out of new places on my bucket list to explore in a bikini at Christmas, so this year I opted for a summer vacation. I chose Italy. I didn’t know where the heck to start as I really had never vacationed there. I went about 20 years ago but I just drove across the border and ate lunch. Doesn’t count. As always, I was on a budget for this trip, and I knew one month in Italy isn’t cheap. Hotels were out! I went VRBO and Airbnb all the way through, and kept my budget at $200 per night. If you haven’t traveled through these two sites, you are missing out. Click on this link to join for free and get a credit for your first reservation: Airbnb They are awesome!

I was traveling with my husband and two children (ages 8 and 3). I knew it would be nice (and less expensive) for us to have a kitchen and cook at our rental vs. being in a hotel. Having to order room service for every meal gets pricey. When I’m vacationing, I’m usually planning my next trip so the more I save from one trip is more I bank for the next. Also, hotels in Italy don’t work like they do in the USA. In the states you can get a “double” room and have two double/queen beds. It is easy to stay with two small children in one room with that bed setup. In Italy, a “double” room means two twin beds. If you have four people, you need to upgrade to a suite, and I quickly found that my budget of $200 per night in the areas I wanted was simply not going to fly. VRBO and Airbnb was the answer for me!

Step 1: Plan your route. When you think of Italy, what do YOU want to see? Me personally… Venice, Rome, and Positano were at the top of my list. Then I thought, I’m going to fly all that way and when will I get to Italy again? Maybe I can do one extra week and see more? I decided on 30 days to explore but you can do this in three weeks if you are ambitious or just choose a few places and go for two weeks. There is SO much to see in Italy. So much history that you feel guilty sleeping in. You have to go, go, go, so you don’t miss a thing. I booked a longer trip to really work in relaxing too. I wanted one day to explore for every one day of relaxing.

When traveling through Italy it is best to go top to bottom or bottom to top.

I decided to go top to bottom because I knew this would be a busy trip, and I wanted to finish it off on the beach relaxing on the Amalfi Coast.

Step 2: Once you have an idea of your route, you have to check flights to make sure they will work with your itinerary. At the time of my planning, AirBerlin was the cheapest ticket from San Francisco to Italy. They were actually $500 cheaper per ticket which is a lot when traveling with four people. I later found we paid the price for that cheap ticket but we will get into that later. AirBerlin flew into Milan (top of map) and they flew out of Naples (bottom of the map). The flight out of Naples only went on one day per week so I had to plan for that. Once I figured out what my flights were, I broke the trip apart leg by leg. I decided on this route:

Lake Como: 5 nights/ Venice: 4 nights/ Florence: 5 nights/ Cinque Terre: 6 nights/ Rome: 4 nights/ Amalfi Coast: 6 nights. One month in Italy!!

Step 3: Find the VRBO/Airbnb to stay at sticking to my budget of $200 per night. This was the fun part to me. How did I choose which places to stay? I read review after review on the VRBO/Airbnb sites….like hundreds of reviews. I hate the reviews that say “it was a nice place…I highly recommend!”. Ok well thanks for those riveting details, but you didn’t say crap about the property. I want to know things. How far to restaurants and bars? Do you need a car? How does “this” area compare to “that” area? I want details people! If I can’t find exact answers to my questions through the reviews on VRBO/Airbnb, I usually Google the exact question I have with the word “Tripadvisor” after the question. If I’m between two areas to stay, I will Google “Positano vs Amalfi, which is better? Tripadvisor” Most of the answers to my questions come right up on Tripadvisor which is where I read hundreds more reviews. Tripadvisor, Oh How I love Thee! None of my trips would come to life without the reviews on this site.

Step 4: Plan transportation. I did not want to rent a car in Italy. Many people do and give reviews about their days explored with the freedom of their own schedule in their own car. Not for me. First off, the roads are pretty wicked in Italy. I consider myself to be a very bad driver on the safe roads in California. We are talking about a girl that totaled her car 3 times during her 16th year of life! Oopsie! So, driving on these winding roads that seem like they have one lane, honking as you approach a sharp turn to warn oncoming traffic that you can’t see. Hmmm, yes I don’t think this blog would have ever come to life because I probably would have died attempting to drive these roads. Another reason? When I travel, I tend to eat and drink my way through for most of my entertainment. I wanted the freedom to indulge in lots of great food accompanied but lots of great vino.

I chose all accommodations to be in the heart of the action in each destination so that I could walk everywhere or take a cheap cab ride. To get through the country we rode the Trentitalia train. One month of traveling through Italy on this train cost me less than the cabs to/from the airport. The train system is so easy, so affordable, so comfortable, so reliable, and such a nice way to travel! You get to see the country as you travel through, which was just lovely. Each ride was only about two hours with the exception of one four hour train ride. Tip: Get to the station early to buy some snacks and wine. More important tip: Have all the electronics charged for the littles so that you can enjoy those snacks and wine while riding in style.

train — Training to Cinque Terre. Sipping on vino while the kiddos play electronics.

I sprung for three long and pricey cab rides (transfers). One from the Milan airport to our first property in Lake Como. After flying for 13 hours with two small children, we just wanted to get there. The train from Milan to Lake Como isn’t as convenient as the other legs as the train we needed only left every three hours. Just didn’t want to hassle with that after a long flight. The second transfer was taking us to our last leg of the trip, Naples to Positano. When heading south to the Amalfi Coast, the train won’t take you any further than Naples which is about an hour from Positano/Amalfi (see map). We got off the train in Naples and took a private transfer (cab) to Positano. Not very cheap at $130 Euro but it beat getting off the train and walking to the nearest bus stop which was reported to be incredibly crowded. You may have to stand the entire hour plus ride on the bus and deal with pickpocketers. It was so worth the private transfer! Last high priced ride was Positano to the Naples airport. This flight left once per week, so we could not have anything go wrong and risk missing the flight. We also had to leave at 4:30AM, so the transfer allowed us to sleep the entire ride to the airport. And that’s a wrap on transportation! It was right around $700 for four people to travel through Italy for 30 days. You certainly can’t rent a car for that.

Step 5: Plan to pack. Please someone tell me how in the heck I am supposed to pack light traveling to Italy with a toddler and 8 year old for one month? There are things you need when traveling with kids…car seat, stroller, toys, electronics, etc. I have to share with you the biggest find for packing light if you have a toddler. It is Care’s Fly Safe safety restraint system. Cares Kids Fly Safe Airplane Safety Harness. This gem is FDA approved and buckles your toddler into the airplane seat just like a car seat except it’s a just a belt. Not only does it keep your little one safe but it also keeps them from running all over the plane, all while packing up into a small little carrying bag that fits in your purse.

seat belt — Little guy all comfy for his 13 hours of traveling, and I didn’t hit 20 people in the head carrying a huge car seat onto the plane. Winning!

I then purchased an airplane stroller that is specific to traveling and folding up small for planes and trains. I bought it off my Facebook for $10! Tip: I made $2,700 selling things out of my garage on Facebook that went directly to paying for this trip. I also allowed my kids to pack a scooter each. With as much walking as we planned to do in each location, I knew they would get so worn out and our days would be shortened due to exhausted kids. Instead of walking everywhere, they scooted the days away and we were able to explore as much as we wanted.

Lastly, I got three pieces of luggage that were the largest we could go without going overweight, and incurring fees on the airline. There is soooo much debate online about how big of a bag is too big of a bag to travel through Europe with. It’s really a simple answer…you can pack as large of a bag that YOU can handle. There is no one to help you up the many many stairs in between changing trains. There is no one to help you load your bag onto the train. No one to help you load the bag on ferries or cabs. And if you plan on walking after getting off the train vs. taking a cab, you will be the one lugging that bag through town. You get the point. Luckily, I married a man with big muscles. My bag was a big one, and I got to pack as many bikinis as I wanted. I don’t recommend this for everyone but it worked ok for us.

This brings me to my final plug of the trip. Remember that great deal I got on my airline tickets that was $500 cheaper per ticket than all the other airlines? Well, you get what you pay for. The airline ended up losing our son’s bag on the way there. Thank goodness it wasn’t mine! Ha ha. I can’t tell you how crazy it was to see how long the lost luggage line was at the airport in Milan. It took us about 30 mins to get through the process of reporting our lost bag and we were 2nd in line. Can you imagine how long it took the 20th person in line to get through this process? What a terrible way to kick off your trip! We were very hopeful that our bag would arrive any day on our trip, but in fact…it never came. My kids went all the way through a 30 day trip in Italy with nothing but the clothes on their back. This lost bag also had all of our liquids, including all of my beauty products. Of course we bought things along the way but it was such a pain in the butt! I later heard that this is actually a common problem when traveling to Europe (explains the super long lost luggage line) and in actuality, your bag is just sitting in the airport waiting to be delivered. Due to under staffing, there is just no one attending to these lost bags. In fact, no one even answers the phone in that area of the airport. Trust me I called a million times. Horrible! How will I make sure that this never happens again?? GPS in my luggage…DUH!

LugLoc Luggage Tracker – The Worldwide Smart Lost Baggage GSM Locator – Track The Exact Location Of Your Bag Globally (not just bluetooth like others) – Rechargeable battery that lasts 15 days

OMG, what a genius idea! You never lose track of your bag and you know where it is at all times, even if the airline claims that it is lost. I will never travel without one again! My kid’s bag was found and delivered to us two days after we arrived home in California…32 days after it was lost.

Losing the bag was devastating at first but in the end, we had so many laughs about my son going all the way through Italy with one pair of underwear and them wearing the same outfits in all our family photos.