As we often do, Kevin and I booked our flights to Switzerland on a whim. He found a great deal ($360 round trip per person from Chicago), and we grabbed it first and thought about it later. Only after that transaction went through and I had the confirmation email in my inbox did I start…
Category: Travel
What is Jet Lag Really Like?
My grandma LaVerne used to travel for work, and she claimed that there was no such thing as jet lag. She had some kind of mind-over-matter secret that kept her functioning no matter the time zone. Sadly I have not taken after her in this respect; My jet lag tends to sneak up on me…
Hidden Gem in Chicago: Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall
In 2010 I took a weekend trip from my Paris study abroad to Switzerland and Germany. In those three days I discovered käsespätzle and ordered it twice. I thought it was amazing, and I’ve been trying to find it again ever since. Käsespätzle is a traditional pasta dish from parts of Germany and Switzerland made…
Easy Things to Forget to Pack or Do Before You Travel
When I am getting ready to travel, I am usually good about remembering to pack or do most things. But there are certain ones that don’t really fit into any easy category (such as pieces that make an outfit, items for entertainment, tasks to help with planning, etc.), and I often forget them. Even on…
The Real “Turtle Beach” on Oahu (AKA Laniakea Beach)
This is the post I wish I had seen before going searching for sea turtles on Oahu. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll know I’m a major travel planner. Before we left, I had read about Oahu’s “Turtle Beach,” where you are “nearly guaranteed” to see honu, and marked it down on…
Hawaii Outfit Round-up
Time for a more vapid post. This may seem superficial, but I know I enjoy outfit round-ups when I’m trip-planning and packing, so I’m paying it forward today. We again took only carry-on bags with us on our recent trip to Hawaii. You might think that packing carry-on for warmer weather would be easier because…
2 Days on the Big Island of Hawai’i
People will tell you that you have to spend at least a week on each of the major Hawaiian islands. They’ll say that it’s not worth going for only a few days. I know, because I got a lot of that when I asked in online travel forums earlier this year. Of course these people…
How we’ve been able to go on 1-2 trips a year
When Kevin and I got married on a Mediterranean cruise in 2013, we knew we loved to travel, but we figured we’d only get to go somewhere once every few years. That’s all we saw as real-life examples; I was barely paying attention to “travel bloggers and influencers” yet, and most fellow Wisconsinites we knew…
What We Wore in Morocco in November
Morocco is a more conservative country than any we’d been to previously. It’s widely written online that men and women should keep both shoulders and knees covered when traveling there. However, we did see tourists who did not follow this “rule.” Before we left, we checked out some YouTube travel videos, which showed people in…
Our “Booked Upon Arrival” Sahara tour in Morocco – Part 2
In the last post, I left you in anticipation at the point of our trip where we were starting to see sand and camels and knew we were close to the Sahara desert! It was quite strange how suddenly the dunes appeared. It was not as gradual as I had anticipated. This is the point…
Sightseeker 