The Winter Time Blues

Is it just me, or does everybody get a little blue in January.  If I had it my way, we would skip January and February and move straight into March, where life is in bloom.  In January, Travis and I always get a little antsy for a new trip and we have a few on the brain.  Stay tuned.  But until then, enjoy this lovely Italian ocean scene to help get you out of a winter time funk. 

Where Should I Go Next?

I am always thinking of my next trip.  I am constantly looking for flight deals and Travis and I are always figuring out just how much money a certain trip will cost.  I am not so good with the budget thing (big surprise) so thankfully Travis can add quickly in his head what things will cost.  With that said, it takes some early planning for a big trip (like to Italy) and we had to make some sacrifices this past year which included less smaller trips during the year.  Here are a few places that we have been thinking about visiting this upcoming year.  Please feel free to offer suggestions if you have visited any of these places!  I would love some advice!

New York City:

New York City is a place that I have visited many times thanks to a pretty consistent girl trip with my mom and sister.  We just got back from this great place in July and had a great time taking in shows and shopping.  More on our girl trip later.  But, Travis has not visited NYC in a while and wants to visit again.  We wanted to go last fall, but decided on the big trip to Italy so we saved our money.  Now, we think we can do it this fall, so I have been looking up some flights and some places to stay and things to do.  We really want to visit in the fall (late October) because I think the weather will be beautiful.  The hardest thing about NYC is that it is really expensive.  A nice hotel in Boston or San Francisco that would cost between $150-250 would cost at least $250-250 a night in New York.  Also, food is really expensive, too.  We would definitely be spending more.  Any suggestions on decent hotels that are under $200? 

Buenos Aires:

 I am lucky enough to have visited quite a few European cities, so I really want to go somewhere different for our next big trip and to me, Buenos Aires fits the bill.  I have never been to South America, and everything I read on this Argentinean city makes me want to visit.  Here is Fodor's list of reasons to visit Buenos Aires and I am particularly excited about #3.  One of the biggest issues with visiting South America is the weather.  The best time for Travis and me to take big trips is during the summer, and in South America it is not summer, but rather winter.  For example, today it is a balmy 52 degrees.  I realize that every country south of the equator is experiencing winter right now, but when it has been over 100 degrees every day for the past two weeks it is hard to imagine wearing a coat in August.  

Okay, now I am getting into trips that if I had endless amounts of money, I would visit in the next year.  
Amsterdam:

 I have visited Amsterdam but I was only there for a few days and I was in college.  That is all I am going to say about that...

Anyway, I really want to visit Amsterdam and experience the museums (especially the Van Gogh museum) with Travis.  His favorite artist is Van Gogh and I know he would love to see his famous paintings.  Also, I was watching Ocean's Twelve, and the beginning is in Amsterdam and it looks awesome.  Maybe I could plan a trip with George Clooney and Brad Pitt.  It could happen. 

Basque Country, Spain:

 Ever since I saw Anthony Bourdain's episode of Spain on his show "No Reservations" I have been lusting over this area of Spain.  It has all things I love.  The beach, great weather, history, architecture, and great food.  I need to visit this place.  I think this trip alone is a reason that this teacher needs to get paid more.  I'll share pictures, I promise.  I'm just sayin...

Anyway, these are just a few places that I am lusting over.  I know Travis has his own list of places he wants to visit in the near future, too.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to share!  Enjoy!

Explore. Dream. Discover.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

This is a quote that Travis showed me not long ago and it inspires me explore. 

So, I am reluctantly starting a blog. I have been thinking about it for a while and I am inspired to share some things from my life. One of the main things that I plan on writing about will be travel, my favorite thing to do. The title of this blog suggests exactly what I want to write about: new places that I want to go, old places I have visited, and discoveries right here in Norman, Oklahoma and beyond. So, without further ado, I bring you my musings on life, travel, and design. Happy reading!

My favorite place in the world...for now.

I know...right?!  Pretty picturesque, I must say.  This is a town in the Cinque Terre, Italy called Riomaggiore.  And no, I did not steal this picture from the internet.  This was taken with my Sony camera.  That is how beautiful this place is.  Actually, in truth, the camera does not do a place like this justice, but I think this picture does a pretty swell job, don't you think?

The Cinque Terre translates to five lands, or five towns and is a collection of, you guessed it, five towns off the northwestern coast of Italy in a region called Liguria.  It is a newly discovered piece of Italian beauty and is filled with mostly American tourists and German hikers (who bring copious amounts of hiking gear including hiking sticks).  We purchased this book, Rick Steves' Italy:  2010, and I must say it was a wealth of handy information. Usually we stick to the classics, Frommer's and Fodor's, but the Cinque Terre doesn't have much written about it, and we needed some help.  So, we opted for "ole' Ricky boy" as he was affectionately referred to throughout the trip through Italy.

The main thing to do in the Cinque Terre is to hike the National Park that stretches across all five towns.   It takes between four and six hours to complete the entire hike that twists and turns up and down the mountains and throughout the towns.  I am not a hiker, so we opted to split up the hike into two trips.  The first hike was on day one and was between Monterosso and Vernazza and is considered the hardest.  It was most definitely difficult, but not impossible.  I am scared of heights and had a few scary visions of tumbling down the mountain into the rocky sea, but alas, I made it.  It was incredibly beautiful though and gave us amazing views of both towns and the beautiful sea.

After a hot and sweaty morning hiking we lounged on the beach in Monterosso in the afternoon.  There are two beaches in Monterosso, and we chose the one closest to our hotel.  We opted to pay the twenty euros for two chairs and an umbrella, which I thought was well worth it.  It was also very close to a bar, which made Travis very happy.

We did not stay in Riomaggiore, but rather in the biggest town called Monterosso.  Monterosso is more or less the "resort" town of the Cinque Terre as it has two beaches and is must closer to the water than Manarola or even Riomaggiore.  In Monterosso we stayed at Albergo Marina, a sweet little hotel owned by a husband and wife team.  It has a marina theme, hence the name, with nets and shells and little ocean touches all over.  The rooms were surprisingly big for European standards and had a nice bathroom and an excellent breakfast in the lemon garden on top of the hotel.  

Albergo Marina is smack dab in the middle of Old Town Monterosso, so it is within walking distance to everything, most importantly gelato shops and our favorite restaurant of the whole trip, Ciak.  Ohhhhh, Ciak.  It was so good.  Below is a fantastic picture of the chef.  We sampled the huge appetizer not really knowing what we were getting and in turn received over fifteen tiny plates of local goodies.  We discovered anchovies soaked in olive oil, stuffed mussels, deep fried anchovies, and other unidentified local specialties.  I felt very Bourdain-ish, sampling all that local fare.

We stayed in Monterosso for four nights and it was was the perfect amount of time.  It gave us time to go hiking and enjoy the beach and we were able to experience all the different restaurants in town.  Of course, Travis was contemplating buying a B&B and setting up shop by the end of the trip.  He reluctantly got on the plane back to Oklahoma and was in mourning for the next few weeks over his missed opportunity.  I highly suggest visiting this beautiful place in the world, because for now, it is my favorite.