EuroTrip

My friend/work wife and I are thinking of going on a trip to Europe this fall and doing a little hopping around while we're there. Have any of y'all ever been to any of these cities? Are there any that you recommend over another? Why?

Cinque Terre

Venice

Frankfurt
Munich

Athens

Paris

Nice

Barcelona

Croatia

Rome

Florence

Dublin

Budapest

Madrid

Mykonos

Brussels

Zurich

Copenhagen

Istanbul

Thanks for your help!!

Share:

Take Me Back!

So about this time last year, I decided I needed to go visit my parents who live overseas. I jumped right in and bought a plane ticket to Portugal, with only little hesitation (it was my first time flying overseas)!

Now the time has come to go visit again. Earlier this month, I bought a ticket to Portugal (again), but I also bought a few other tickets as well! My brother, a few of his friends, and myself are going on a little Eurotrip before my brother graduates from med school and begins residency. 

A little on last year's trip - my adventure kicked off with a 9 hour flight to Germany, a 4 hour layover, and then a 2 hour flight to Portugal. My parents were elated that I was visiting - especially since I was there for 10 days! Much of the trip was spent exploring local towns, beaches and looking at houses with my parents. Mom and I managed to take a trip to Lisbon and Sintra sometime during the middle of my stay, and my parents and I all went to Sevilla, Spain two days before I left.

This time around, I'll only be in Portugal for a total of 5 days. Visiting the parents is sandwiching an excursion in London, Amsterdam and Berlin for me, with the boys going on a slightly longer trip than my own. I am BEYOND excited to head back to Europe and explore more of the unknown (to me). 

Any tips or things I definitely need to see while over there??

Share:

Vegas

Earlier this week I mentioned that I went to Vegas for the first time ever back in April. The girls and I stayed at The Mirage and had a blast. We took so many pictures, met some amazing people and created so many memories. While I wish I could give you more details, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. 

Share:

Vegas for Beginners

I haven't been big into the club scene or staying up late for a few years now (just call me grandma), but I went to Las Vegas for the first time ever back in April to celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays. I've seen and heard more than I ever cared to about Vegas and I honestly had no idea what to expect aside from all party all the time. Less than two hours after stepping off the plane, I was at the infamous 1 OAK (a la the Kardashians', Chris Brown's and every other famous person's birthday party ever).  Needless to say, the partying didn't stop until the afternoon I left.

Before we ever got to Vegas, my friends and I were trying to figure out what activities we wanted to do while there and determine what was most important to us. While we didn't get to do everything we wanted, our weekend couldn't have been any better.

Never been to Vegas before?
Have no fear, I've got a list of things I'd suggest on your first visit!

10 Things to Do on Your First Visit to Vegas

1. Go to at least one nightclub - we went to 1 OAK, Drai's and Tao.

2. Go to at least one day party - we went to Tao Beach, Bare and Rehab.

3. See a Cirque du Soleil show - why not see a show in the Entertainment Capital of the World? The girls and I were choosing between O and Zumanity, and price made this decision much easier. Zumanity was AMAZING. It's a show that is strictly for a mature audience, but if you want some good laughs and a great time, it is a must see.

4. If you're not just a group of girls, consider getting the V Card! We got the V Card without knowing that getting onto a promoter's list would be super simple. We ended up using 2 or 3 of the passes, but the awesome thing about these passes is that they NEVER EXPIRE. So if/when I decide to go back to Vegas, I can get into many of the clubs for free!

5. If you're staying at the Mirage (or even just near the hotel), go to the Pantry and LVB Burgers and Bar. DELICIOUS. Order french toast at The Pantry.

6. Watch the Bellagio Fountain show.

7. Try your hand at gambling. Not a gambler? Neither am I, but you can't go to Vegas and not at least give it a shot. I walked away with mere change, however my friend won herself $30 off penny slots!

8. WALK THE STRIP! If nothing else piques your interest, walk the strip. It's free, it's full of interesting people and it's a great way to work off all those drinks from the night before.

9. Lay by the pool. Seriously, you'll need an ounce of rest at some point during your trip and it's not guaranteed you'll get that at night. So get some shut eye (or don't) while hanging out poolside and getting that tan.

10. Take tons of pictures! But if you post anything, make sure it's approved by everyone in the group because remember what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. 

Share:

Oh Toronto Pt. 2

This is long. You've been warned. 

The next day, my sister had to work so her husband and I set off to continue exploring the city. We met up with my parents at their hotel and stopped to chat for a bit before heading to the Ex. 

As soon as we walked into the Ex, sissy's hubs saw that Superdogs was performing so we raced to the show only to find that we had to wait until the next showing since this one had already started. With at least an hour and a half to kill, we wandered through the Ex looking at the "best in show" plants, the sand castle sculptors, and the mossy bears.

We made it out to the fair where I found the oh-so-delicious waffle ice-cream sandwich. 

Y'all. 

HEAVENLY.

After we walked around the fairgrounds, we went back inside to the Sherlock Holmes exhibit (I still need to find this picture...) and ran to Superdogs incredibly early to get some of the best seats in the house. After the 30 min show was over, we decided to leave and meet up with my sister for dinner. 

We caught the streetcar up Bathurst to College St. and walked down to Vivoli for dinner. We each got a different, delicious pizza and a drink and had such a good time. We then walked to the most unassuming bar ever - Black Hoof Cocktail Bar - where we continued to drink and make fools of ourselves. We finally decided to call it a night since the next day would be jammed full of errands and partying. 

We woke up Saturday knowing we had a lot of errands to run before the party, so we grabbed Tim Horton's and went grocery shopping. We bought food so we could host my parents for a late lunch and ordered food for brunch the next morning. My parents came by the house later in the day to eat and catch up with my sister since they had only gotten into town the night before and hadn't seen her yet, and they were leaving in the morning. 

We got all fancy around 5ish before taking an Uber to the party venue, where I proceeded to meet all 264894 of their closest friends (okay... maybe that is an exaggeration, but there were a good bit of people there). I spent most of the night talking to and dancing with my brother-in-law's brother and his girlfriend and their cousin, but I did manage to dance with my mom and sister before the night was over. After the party ended, my sister, her husband and I stayed a little bit afterwards to talk to the band before heading back home.

In the morning, my sister held brunch at the house and I headed out to the airport to catch my 2pm flight back to the States. 

And lucky for me, I got the row all to myself going home.

I'll be back Toronto.

Share:

Oh Toronto

How I love thee..

This recap will most definitely be broken up over at least two parts because I took so many pictures.

I went to Toronto back in August for my sister's post-wedding party... Basically a party for all of those who couldn't come to Atlanta for the wedding. I, however, went up there a few days early so I could explore the city.

The night I arrived, I dropped my stuff off at my sister's place and she, her husband and I walked to this delicious burger spot called Hole-E Burger. With all of us being so tired, we decided to call it a night after that and went back home to go to bed. 

The next morning, my sister and I decided to explore the city since she had taken the day off so we trudged through the rain to Tim Horton's for breakfast and hopped on the train towards the city. We window-shopped on Bloor St. and walked down to the Bata Shoe Museum. 

After the Bata Shoe Museum, we walked to the train and decided to head down to the CN Tower since the weather had gotten a little better. 

The CN Tower was INSANE. Sis and I wanted to do the SkyPod, which is an extra 33 stories above the main observation tower. Boy how did we regret that one! We got to the tippy top and wanted to go back down immediately... Too high. Too much. However, I do think everyone should at least go to the main observatory if they visit Toronto.

The Distillery District was our next stop where we shopped and then dined at El Catrin. Y'all. Such good food and such good margaritas! Apparently it's hard to get into this place, but we got there so early it didn't matter lol

Part 2 to come!

Share: