Venice.

This post is now horrendously overdue (more than a year). But I wanted to share our adventure none the less.

When we set off on this new “living abroad” adventure, I had the goal of travelling to a new country every month.  Besides, what’s the point of readily available European travel, if you take no advantage of it all? Once per month felt indulgent without being (financially) irresponsible.

I haven’t quite hit my 1/month target, having got the “plague” in February, but 7 Months in, there are 7 countries on my list: (Edinburgh, Isle of Skye, Isle of Arran) Scotland, (Paris) France, (Lisbon) Portugal, (Amsterdam) Netherlands, (Copenhagen) Denmark – and most recently (Venice) Italy and (Barcelona) Spain.

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On Monday, March 7, we flew out of Gatwick airport, all set for Monday-Wednesday in Venice. The weather report was tragic – rain, cold, more rain – but I was beyond excited to see Venice.Years ago, I travelled with my family to Florence, Pisa and a few other smaller towns in Italy, but this would be my first trip back and my first time to Venice.

If you’re going to travel anywhere in Italy there are a few good guidelines to follow:

1. Always wear comfortable walking shoes, appropriate for the weather
2. Pick a few key sites, but don’t try and see it all
3. Coffee with breakfast, wine with lunch and dinner – you’re on vacation!
4. Try something new
5. Take suggestions from the locals, you never know what you will find

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On our first day, we walked for about 3 hours in the morning before lunch. Thankfully, I was wearing the best possible shoes for the occasion – Blundstones. Almost waterproof, really comfortable and warm.

After breakfast of coffee and pastries in the hotel, we walked from the hotel to San Marco square first thing in the morning.  Having asked our hotel the best way to get there, they also informed us that there was a political meeting in the square later that day and it would be closed to all visitors after 1pm – really glad we asked! Hitting the sights on a Tuesday meant that the Doge Palace was closed as well as most museums (another great thing to consider when travelling!). We were able to go in and wander around St. Mark’s Basilica for a little while – I would highly recommend it – and let’s face it, visiting at least one stunning church is necessary when you’re in Italy.

Just a hint, museums are not open on Tuesday’s in Venice. Just file that under – things we should have looked up before we left! But we made the most of the day, and that included a little bistro for lunch, complete with 1L of wine & carpaccio & pasta. Dinner that night was at another adorable bistro, followed by drinks (Aperol spritz) where we found the local Venetians enjoying the evening (everything else was closed).

Especially if you are travelling off season, there are a few things to consider:

1. Lots of destinations, museums etc. may have off-peak hours
2. While you won’t find the crowds necessarily, it’s still always best to book ahead for sights and landmarks. It’s really common now for attractions to include online booking and on-site ticket collection
3. Don’t “overbook” yourself, there is a lot to be discovered while wandering the city

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Carry-on Necessities.

When I was a kid, we went on a number of long family driving trips. Minnesota, New Jersey, South Dakota, Florida, we drove the entire route from Halifax to Sydney and back… and my mom ALWAYS packed us an activity box. Usually a small plastic box (to be used as an activity table) our boxes were filled with MadLibs, bingo games, colouring supplies, usually a treat or two – they were my favourite part of long trips.  Which is why I think I have been trained into over packing my carry-on – I never know what I am going to want, what forms entertainment can take – especially if the flights or trips I am on do not have a built in TV screen. (Funny how quickly we come to expect something that was not even a reality when I was a kid – for more on this see Louis C.K)

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Today, I am off with my friend Sarah (another MBA wife who is living in DC) to Venice and Barcelona.  Naturally, we were cost cutting and I am only going to be packing for 5 days in a back pack! It means that I am going to have to be slightly more discerning in terms of what I pack. Outside of the obvious, there are a few things that I will not leave home without that always make it into my carry-on.

Facial Cloths

These Boots Cucumber Cleansing Wipes are the replacement for the Life Brand ones that I would generally buy at home. They are perfect for taking makeup off or a quick cleanse when you have been out and about all day. They’re especially useful when the liquids limit puts your daily cleanser into the”not allowed” category.

Find them here.

 

Rosebud Strawberry Lip Balm

Of all of the lip products I have purchased in the past, for some reason this is the one that I have yet to lose – and for that I am thankful.  The truth is, out of all of the chapstick, lip balm options out there – this has been my favourite now for years – so naturally it is on my packing list.

Knowing how these things work, I will probably lose my Rosebud on this trip, but hey, I guess thats how things go.

 

Cozy Scarf

I have already done an ‘ode to my favourite travel shoes‘ but next to a great pair of shoes, having a great wear with everything cozy scarf is just as important. My essential is actually a turkish towel that Nick and I got for me on our honeymoon.  It washes easily, its nice and big, and the oatmeal colour I picked pretty well goes with everything. From cool nights, to cuddling up on the plane, having a scarf is definitely needed for all travel.

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Stay tuned for my next travel post – how to pack 1 small carry-on for 5 days in Europe.

 

 

Friday Favourites.Travel.

I am going to start a new series of posts for the Month of March – Friday Favourites! Products, websites, outfits, places things that inspire me… Each week I will post a new list of favourites.  First up – TRAVEL.

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I am extremely excited about next week.  I have planned a week long adventure with my friend Sarah – Venice and Barcelona! So, in honour of a new adventure starting on Monday, here is a round up of a few of my most favourite cities and adventures (so far).

Telluride Ski Trip – January 2015

Last January, Nick and I booked a ski trip to Telluride, Colorado.  It’s not the easiest place to get to, but it is truly breathtaking. Our flights were unfortunately rerouted as a result of a snow storm.  I guess that we should have predicted that flying through Chicago in the middle of winter would have been a bad idea, but we went with it anyway. Flights got changed, and we ended up driving from Denver to Telluride – 6 hours and the drive was spectacular.

Because getting to Telluride is tougher than say Aspen, it means that fewer people get there, which means shorter ski lines! We didn’t have the best snow, but we had the most amazing time on the slopes.

A few of the highlights:

New Sheridan Hotel
We stayed at the New Sheridan Hotel, possibly the most quaint, lovely and best choice you can make when staying in Telluride. I would recommend staying in the Town rather than in the village.  While they are only a gondola ride away, the old town is significantly more picturesque.

Favourite Meal
My favourite meal in Telluride was actually in the New Sheridan Hotel. We had dinner in the lounge area at the front of the restaurant. Both Nick and I had the steak frites (with the parmesan Truffle fries of course). Complete with a glass of red wine.

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BERLIN – September 2013

The summer of 2013 was a big one for us.  We moved, I started a new job at Anomaly, and we had just gotten engaged. So by the time September rolled around, our Euro-trip was a welcome break. We hit Germany-Luxembourg-Paris in the span of about 10 days, of the trip, Berlin was definitely one of my favourite stops.

A few of the highlights:
I love history (it was my minor in university), which made most of the historical spots in Berlin my favourite. I’ll spare you the history lesson, but a few attractions are “must-see” even if you’re not a history buff.

East Side Gallery
Compiled in 1990, the East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km span of the Berlin wall that has been painted by artists from around the world. The weather while we were in Berlin was amazing, which probably made our river side stroll that much more enjoyable. Either way, the East Side Gallery was amazing.

Cafe am Neuen See
Located in Berlin’s Tiergarten (think Berlin’s Central Park) complete with picnic tables, hanging lights beer and snacks, we took about 3 trips to this particular beer garden – very quickly becoming one of my favourite spots.

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TURKEY – July 2014

When we were picking locations for our honeymoon, the biggest thing we could agree on, was that we wanted to go somewhere that we might not make it back to.  We figured it would be easy to travel all over Europe when we are old and grey, and a Safari didn’t quite fit the budget. We ended up spending 4 days in Istanbul and 3 days in Cappadocia. Istanbul is an incredible city. We chose Cappadocia because it wasn’t going to be a beach, it was going to be something new entirely.

Istanbul
We spent one morning doing all of the traditional touristy things – Hagia Sofia, the Grand Bazaar, the blue mosque. We took a boat tour, a cooking class and spent hours wandering the streets of Istanbul taking it all in. I would go back in an instant.

A few of the highlights:

House Hotel Galatasaray
The hotel was incredibly beautiful – and everything we wanted for our honeymoon. Our breakfast was included and overlooked the city from the top floor restaurant. I still have day dreams about the hotel.

MUNFERIT
Our first night in Istanbul (after the nap), we went to Munferit for dinner.  It was right around the corner from our hotel, and the food was fantastic! I am still trying to remember what was in the cauliflower salad we had as an appetizer.

Cappadocia

A short flight from Istanbul, we found ourselves in Cappadocia. It is truly one of those places that you have never seen anything like.  The closest I could even get is by likening it to the Badlands in North Dakota that I remember from a family trip when I was 10, but it was still one of the most remarkable places that I have ever been.

A few of the highlights:

Argos in Cappadocia
Again, we seem to have hit the jackpot with our hotel selection.  Argos, was incredible! We spent 3 of the most relaxing, easy going days at Argos. If you’re planning a trip, this hotel was more than worth the price.

Hot Air Balloon Ride
One of the most incredible highlights of our trip was a hot air balloon ride at sunrise.  It is one of those things that you take a trip to Cappadocia for, and it was an incredible experience. I am not afraid of heights, but I did become acutely aware when we were up hundreds of feet above the ground that the only thing separating us from falling was a basket – I did get over it long enough to enjoy everything about the trip. We selected the balloon company with the highest safety and success rating, so I felt confident that they knew how to get us up and down.

Happy Travels!

Copenhagen.

This past January, Nick and I took a last minute trip to Copenhagen. It quickly became one of my favourite cities – and, thanks to some stellar recommendations from my friend Frazer, we had an amazing time and amazing food.

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It is a city I would definitely recommend visiting! So here are a few tips, tricks and places to go if you find yourself in Copenhagen.

City Travel:

You can easily take the subway from the airport into the city centre. All you need is a 4-zone ticket. We found many of the kiosks in the airport were full and had long line-ups. We walked into the metro tunnel and quickly found a free kiosk, paid for our tickets with a credit card and were on our way – easy!

Unlike Amsterdam (which felt smaller to me) you will likely want to take the bus or the subway while you are there.  EASIEST thing to do is to download the cities app – Mobilbiletter from the app store. Not only are you able to purchase bus tickets for multiple persons and trips right from your phone, it saves you the trouble from searching for a ticketing booth. We happened to be in Copenhagen in the winter, the app made a huge difference.

NOTE: Watch out for the bike lines. There is the sidewalk, bike lane and road (3 levels)- just be sure not to walk in the bike lane.

Where To Go

We only had about 36 hours to see the city, so most of our time was spent wandering between the sights.

We did however, go in and take a palace tour – we noticed that there wasn’t a lot of signage telling you where to go for the tour, so just walk-in as if you were going through the front door. Once inside, we were provided with a set of booties to cover our shoes, an the option of putting our bags and coats into lockers.

Places we Wandered

– Stroget 

One of the main shopping areas in Copenhagen there was no shortage of shops, unique Danish design and spots to stop and grab a drink or a snack

– Walked past Tivoli Gardens

It was winter, so the gardens were closed, but we were able to peek in and get a sense of the worlds first amusement park

– Nyhaven at night/First thing in the morning

Go! At night or in the morning, we were able to capture some stunning photos at first light.

Where to Eat

Our 36 hours in Copenhagen was a lot about food, and we did really well. Armed with my friend’s suggestions, I starred all of the spots she had suggested in Google Maps in my phone – this is something I am going to be doing for every trip! Not only was I able to bring up the suggestions really simply, but depending on the area we were in, I was able to find close by spots for us to stop.

Ol&Brod 

We had an amazing meal our first night at Ol&Brod. It was definitely indulgent, but oh so worth it. Pictured below are the 3 dishes we ordered to share – Roast Cauliflower, Shrimp and Steak Tartare. It is also part of the Mikkeller group, serving some amazing craft brews.

War Pigs – Texas BBQ and micro-brew in the meat packing district. We ended up eating here on our second night and kept joking that we went all the way to Copenhagen for some American BBQ – it was worth it! We ordered brisket, pickles and baked beans, and of course a few beers.

Paté Paté – we stopped in for a drink, but the food looked amazing.

Mikkeller Bar – Post dinner at Ol & Brod, there was a Mikkeller bar just a few doors down that we stopped at for another drink.

Granola – We stopped in for breakfast before a full day of touring. It was a really cute spot and the perfect way to start our day. I had the Apple, Coconut, Banana oatmeal and a coffee to warm me up.

Torvhallerne – A food market located behind Norreport in city centre, we wandered through the halls before making a decision. Smørrebrød (traditional open faced sandwich), we chose 2 options and stood at the counter to eat them as a pick me up before heading our for lunch.

GRØD – We stopped at GRØD for lunch and were not disappointed. The only dishes they server are based on porridge. I had the parmesan risotto with roasted carrots and ricotta – it was amazing.  We enjoyed the meal so much that we actually bought they English cookbook too.

Mostly, our trip was about eating and wandering, and we were not disappointed. We couldn’t make it to all of my friend’s suggestions, but the ones that we did make it to were instant favourites.  Even writing this post I am being transported back to each of those restaurants (and wishing that the food in Oxford was even close to as good as it was in Copenhagen).

 

Amsterdam.

When my sister came to visit me this fall, we took a look at a huge number of extra places to go and visit. On our shortlist was Paris, Prague, Amsterdam, Edinburgh…When it came down to it, we booked Amsterdam – mostly because the flights were cheaper.

We had an incredible visit, quickly making Amsterdam one of the favourite cities that I have ever visited.

Here is a quick recap and a few must see, must do adventures to have in Amsterdam.

Accommodation:
We chose to stay at an AirBnB (Anne Frank BnB) really close to the Anne Frank house. While it was not my most stellar Air BnB experience, we did have an incredible location within walking distance of most attractions. Although, in Amsterdam, most things are within walking or biking distance.

Getting Around:
On our first day, we rented bikes for a 50 Euro deposit and 9 Euros for the full day. Everyone bikes in Amsterdam. It was an incredibly easy way to get around, and we managed to cover a huge portion of the city further from where we were staying. Including a tour through Vondel park.

Taking the tram from the central station was also incredibly easy when we had all of our luggage, but I would not recommend doing it more than to travel with baggage. The city is incredibly easy to navigate, making the trams just a convenience than a necessity.

Eating, Drinking and Wandering:

My favourite thing to do in any city is to wander around getting lost in the sights. Amsterdam was the perfect place for that. There were, however, a few spots that we went to on purpose to wander:

• Red Light District
• De 9 Straatjes (The 9 Streets)
• Museumplein
• Nieuwmarkt
• Canal Ring
• Anne Frank house
• The Heineken Experience

Eating:

We found that every cheese shop had samples, that got dangerous after a while, as the cheese in Amsterdam – Gouda – is amazing. They have tons of flavours, and had I known I could maintain some self restraint, I would have bought some.

The streets in Jordaan are lined with cafes and little shops, but coffee to go was a little harder to come by. But once we found the Screaming Bean, we went back frequently.

We also found a great restaurant for dinner Cafe Curtis – the food was fantastic, and we even found a few more Canadians to chat with.

 

We had an amazing time in Amsterdam – I would go back.

My Perfect Travel Shoes.

If there is one thing that I have learnt while travelling – anywhere – it’s that you have to have the right footwear. My favourite thing to do in a new city (besides eat) is to wander. Get lost amongst the people, architecture and new spaces.

Generally, I will spend hours on my feet, which requires just the right shoes. I like simple clean designs, and a non-pinching, non-blister-creating shoe is a must.

More than anything I look for a few things:

• Can I wear them with multiple outfits? (colour, style etc.)
• Are they comfortable?
• Will I get the use out of them outside of travelling?
• Will they last?

Over the years I have found 2 pairs of shoes that I never leave home without. The first is the Betunia flat by Aerosoles. Before you get images of old lady shoes in mind – don’t underestimate these.

My first pair of leopard print Betunia flats travelled with me to: USA, Luxembourg, Germany, Paris, London, Vancouver, Montreal, Amsterdam – over the span of 4 years. Most of these are “walking” cities and they have never once steered me wrong. In fact, I just bought a new pair off ebay.

Erfurt, Germany

Paris, France

More recently, I bought a pair of Clarks Glove in white leather. These slip ons have all the looks of a spring/summer trendy, casual shoe, but the sole of a Clarks. They were perfect for Lisbon, and I wore them pretty much everyday this past summer. The perforated leather meant that they were breathable, but still enclosed for cooler days.

Happy Travels!

Portugal.

About a year ago, my husband’s family committed to a family trip to Portugal for my father-in-law’s 60^th birthday. With such a milestone, the goal was to have the whole family away for at least a week, if not 2 for some well deserved time off. Well, as it usually does, life got in the way. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend moved to Ottawa, started grad school, started new jobs, and unfortunately were not available to join us. Nick and I moved to England, and Nick started classes the first Monday of the trip… but we made it work. We met Nick’s parents, my brother-in-law Matt, his wife Colleen and our 9-month old nephew in Lisbon.

Nick and I flew out of Heathrow at 7:40 in the morning, arriving in Lisbon at around 10:30. While the rest of the family arrived a little later, we went from the airport to the subway to get to the train to take us to where our house was for the week. Thankfully, the Lisbon subway was pretty easy to navigate, and I had had a little practice with London and Paris recently.We stopped off for lunch before taking the train out to Estoril at a spot called Café Tatti – suggested in the Monocle guide to Lisbon. Our lunch was perfect. We ordered 3 appetizers and shared them all.

From there it was off to Estoril, where we had a late afternoon dinner and spent a quiet night in for the Canadians to adjust to the time difference.

The next day we all headed into Lisbon for some exploring. Complete with the world renowned Pasteis from Belem. I have to say, I loved Lisbon. Although, it really felt like we were only able to scratch the surface of all that the city had to offer before Nick left on Monday.

Monday was another rainy day in Lisbon, and we hiked up to get to the Sao Jorge castle and wandered around the centre of town a little more. The rain was intermittent, so I was able to snap a few great shots in between the rain.

There was so much history. The tiles were beautiful, the architecture…I think we will have to go back.

Tuesday we went to Sintra. It was amazing. I have never seen such a spectacular castle. The town of Sintra was great too, beautiful old palaces, all built up on a huge hill. My nephew didn’t love the busses though, so it made things a little more difficult taking the hop-on-hop-off busses to get up to the castle.

The birthday boy!

On Wednesday, Matt, Colleen, Blake and I walked from Estoril over to Cascais for some lunch. The walk was about 2km and the weather was spectacular!

Scotland.

When Nick and I first arrived in the UK, we knew that our flat (gotta get into the terminology here) in Oxford would not be ready for us until 1 week later. The only option that got the two of us excited was a trip. Loaded down with all of our possessions for the year however, meant that we weren’t exactly travelling light. To head for a week/weekend somewhere in Europe, meant lugging our things around. What we did was much much better.

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We’ve always had a thing for road trips. Somehow the 24-hour drive to Florida is never a big deal when it’s just the two of us in the car.

There are a few things we always do to prepare:

1. Download all of the RadioLab podcasts we may not have heard yet
2. Download an audio book or two
3. Grab a few of our favourite artists full albums – spotty service and cellphone bills some times make it unreasonable to use music streaming services

So, we rented a car at Heathrow and set off for Scotland. Our route was anything but planned, we were leaving almost everything up to the mood of the moment. A little planned spontaneity

Here is a little map of our travels – it looks like we covered a huge distance, which it was, but in comparison to the distance we would have covered in Canada, well, it doesn’t compare.

Heathrow – Edinburgh

We spent 2 nights in Edinburgh and really enjoyed touring around the city. Nick actually studied at the Uni during his third year exchange, so he acted as my tour guide. Climbing Arthur’s Seat got our first morning started in Edinburgh, and started a hiking trend for the rest of the week – we did a ton of hiking.

One of the greatest highlights was a date we had at Devil’s Advocate. Found in the Old Town area of Edinburgh, we were weaving through alleyways to find the place. When we were seated for dinner, I couldn’t decide between two of the salads that looked amazing so I ended up getting the starter portion of both. Coupled with a great glass of wine and amazing ambience, it was a great night out.

Edinburgh – Isle of Skye

In order to keep our costs down for the week, we ended up at Go Outdoors – the UK’s version of MEC – to pick up a few camping essentials. A small tent, two person sleeping bag, midge spray and a head lamp cost us around £65. We ended up getting a full 3 nights out of our gear. The first was on the Isle of Skye – and we were really really glad we bought the midge spray.

The next morning we got up and hiked a portion of Old Man Storr.

Isle of Skye – Mhor 84

The only thing we had planned or in mind was a fantastic hotel that we had booked around Glencoe called Mhor 84 Motel.

For those of you familiar, similarities could be drawn between The Drake hotels; well designed, amazing food and friendly service. We had originally only planned on staying for 1 night, but, the thought of being attacked by midges was still too fresh to head out, so we stayed another night. On our last morning we stayed for breakfast before heading out. Nick had the vegetarian breakfast and claims he would rank it top 5 all time.

If you find yourself in Scotland I would highly recommend doing a trip through Glencoe, the scenery is spectacular.

Mhor 84 – Isle of Arran

Fresh off the ferry from the mainland, our first stop was to climb Goat Fell. Not exactly the easy climb it started off as, the 2 hour trip up was spectacular, challenging, and well worth the time we spent. Packed in our bag, we also brought a few beers up to celebrate.

While in Scotland, it’s almost expected that you will find yourself in a few distilleries. If there was one that Nick was most enthusiastic about it was Arran. After Dalwhinnie, a purchase at Talisker and a tour at Arran, Nick was beyond satisfied with our tour through Scotland.

Another night of camping on Arran, we were pleased that the campsite boasted no midges.

Isle of Arran – Cotswold – Oxford

Final leg of the trip, our GPS had us drive through Glasgow on our way to Cotswold. One more night of camping would get us within about 30 minutes of Oxford to pick up our keys. But not without stopping at Churchill’s grave on our final morning of vacation – Nick has recently been reading a ton of biographies on political figures – Churchill was a must.

Scotland was the perfect way to start our year abroad.