When we made plans to visit my boyfriend’s hometown near the Loire Valley, I knew we had to spend a day chateau hopping. The Loire Valley is a beautiful region in central France with over 300 castles. It’s even a UNESCO World Heritage site. Needless to say, I couldn’t miss a chance to visit a few beautiful French castles! We woke up with the sun to get an early start to the day; the first castle was a 2-hour drive from the little village we stayed in, Chatellerault. I didn’t want to waste any sunlight in the late-November day. Our first glimpse of the massive castle was down a long tree-lined driveway still painted the color of fall. I immediately imagined myself as a sixteenth century queen making my way home from a hunt on a horse-drawn carriage. Our day exploring the must visit castles in the Loire Valley had officially begun!
2017 turned out to be a pretty pivotal year. The biggest event was making the decision to leave my job after many months of considering it. A big part of why I left was that I wanted to travel more and be near my boyfriend, who is currently in France. But looking back, I really made travel a priority in 2017. I traveled 6 months out of the year and officially have visited 17 countries to date. I finally delved back into the world of blogging and launched this site, both to document my travels and to inspire people to make travel a priority. I can’t wait to grow this blog in the next year as well as continue to travel and grow as a person.
As a habitual traveler, I get the same comments and questions all the time. One of the most common is “I wish I could travel like you.” My answer is always the same – YOU CAN. Travel is a choice – one that you have to actively pursue. There is never a perfect time to travel. Someday will never arrive if you don’t put actionable steps into place and follow through. I make travel a priority. It’s that simple! I’ve put together a cheap travel guide to help you put those steps into place. Hopefully it will inspire you to get that first foot out the door!
Chicago was my first home as a “real adult.” It was the first time I was not a student, but a full-fledged working #girlboss. I had a job, friends, met my boyfriend, and truly fell in love with the city. As a kid, I envisioned myself living in New York City: being a subway pro, jogging in central park, and grabbing coffee on a big orange couch everyday (I watched a lot of Friends). But I found that Chicago, unexpectedly, fulfilled my big city dreams. It’s definitely a more laid back, down to earth city compared to NYC, and I love it for that! You NEED to have Chicago on your travel bucket list! Here are my favorite things to do in Chicago for a first time visitor.
Ah, Monaco. You bring to mind images of luxury and fame; from the world famous Monte Carlo Casino to yachts, helicopters, and fast cars – you sure do know how to put envy in the eyes of everyone who visits. I spent one day in Monaco pretending to be rich and famous… ha, who am I kidding? I spent the day fawning over the many luxurious items I came across, from big boats to luxury apartment buildings. It was definitely a great day trip in the French Riviera. Here’s how to spend one day in Monaco!
It’s safe to say I’ve traveled quite a bit in the past 7 years. When I started vet school in St Kitts, it was my first ever international trip. I either traveled back home to DFW or internationally 3+ times per year during that time. And just in this past year I’ve traveled internationally 5 times. So I’m pretty confident in saying I’ve gotten pretty good at the whole flying experience. But with anything, practice makes perfect, and I’ve had some pretty terrible, but mostly funny in hindsight, travel horror stories. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. Buckle in; this is a long one!
Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The capital of Tuscany was the birthplace of the Renaissance and to this day is a centerpiece of culture, art, and history. It is a city not to be missed during a visit to Italy. I found the city to be much more charming and quaint compared to it’s southern sister Rome. The surrounding Tuscan hills, vineyards, and old villages make Florence a central hub to a perfect week or more in Italy. Here are 20 pictures to inspire you to visit Florence!
My plan originally for the cloudy March day was to hop on a train to Naples to visit the famed archeological site of Pompeii. But two days after landing in Rome, my jetlagged body just couldn’t fathom the idea of waking up at 6am and traveling all day. So I chose my backup plan instead, Via Appia Antica, and it was a great decision! Located just outside the center of Rome, this nature and ecological park along one of the oldest roads in Rome makes for a splendid day of exploring!
The doors opened and we pushed our way out into the sea of people at the metro station. The dingy station opened onto a busy street where we caught our first glimpse of the Roman Colosseum looming above us. It really was a spectacular sight to finally see. I imagined how it might have looked like all those centuries ago; the stands full of Romans cheering, the clink of swords crashing as mighty gladiators fought, and the emperor presiding over them all.
“Hmm, it’s not as big as I imagined,” I thought to myself. Having visited two other wonders of the world already, I expected to be blown away. Yes, it was beautiful and looked exactly how I imagined it otherwise; I just thought it would be even bigger!
