Guest Post // Tips for Travel (On A Budget)

Happy Friday, friends! I have today off, and I'm pretty darn happy about it. Taylor and I started the day off right with coffee at our favorite new cafe, and I have plans to spend the rest of the going through my stuff for our upcoming garage sale (if you live in the Portland area, contact me and I can give you the details! It's gonna be a good one).

Anyway, I'm just stopping in to tell you all that I wrote a guest post for Jess of Foreign Room and you should go check it out! Jess is in Japan right now (jealous), so she asked me to write a travel related post...I decided to throw together some tips and tricks I've learned throughout my travels. You can read my post here. Happy weekend! xx

Spring Break // Seattle

To kick off our Spring Break Taylor and I decided to go for a quick weekend trip to Seattle with our friends Alex and Harrison. I've never had the opportunity to go to Seattle with friends, so it was fun to have a slightly different experience there than I'm used to. We explored the nightlife in Fremont, walked around downtown, had a picnic at Gas Works Park, went to the beach, ate delicious food, and played some pretty hilarious games of Cards Against Humanity. Alex's aunt and uncle were kind enough to let us stay at their house in exchange for watching their sweet pup and cats...and when they got home we got to snuggle their teeny tiny little twin girls. I almost died. Best. Weekend. Ever.

Here are a few (ok, more than a few....I couldn't narrow it down) photos from our weekend!

Walks around the arboretum, and taking silly pictures/staring deeply into each other's eyes.

Walking around the pier.

Pike Place, of course. Mostly to smell the flowers.

Our fancy home-made steak dinner.

Juno dog being sweet.

Picnic-ing at Gas Works Park.

If you'd like to see the post I did about my last visit to Seattle, you can find it right here! 

Spain Video!

Here is the last of my posts about our trip around Europe this past Summer (well, that took a while)! This is the video from our time in Spain...by this point in the trip we were taking less and less video, so this one is on the shorter/simpler side, but it's still fun to have these memories to look back on in the future! I just re-watched the other little movies we made and it made me so nostalgic for that trip! You can find our France movie here, and our Italy movie here! (The France one is my favorite :) ).

The songs in the video are "Barcelona" by Giulia y Los Telarini and "Gorrion" by Juan Serrano. Hope you like it!

A Weekend in Seattle

Hello hello, friends! Taylor and I just got back last night from spending the weekend in Seattle with my mom. We had such a great time and really didn't want to leave...Every time I go back to Seattle I fall more and more in love with the city! I lived there until I was 12, so I love going back and remembering all of the things we did there when I was younger - we drove by my old house, visited all of our old favorite spots, and got to visit with a few family friends. Here are some pictures of our short but sweet visit!

After a quick visit with my godmother on Vashon Island, our first stop was breakfast and some wandering around Pike Place Market.

After we got our fill of the market we wandered around downtown, popped into a few shops, and then rested our feet by the water and soaked in the sun. We were so lucky to get two beautiful sunny, crisp fall days.

We stopped at Golden Gardens, the beach where I insisted on having my birthday every year growing up, despite the water always being freezing cold!

Next stop was Gas Works Park, which is an old gas plant turned park. There is a big hill (best place for flying kites) that has a beautiful view of the water and downtown in the distance (the title picture for this post is the view). Was anyone else obsessed with the movie 10 Things I Hate About You when they were younger? This park is where they filmed the paint balling scene :)

On Sunday morning we went to the Ballard Farmer's Market. We walked around, tried all the samples, enjoyed yummy food/coffee, and listed to some music.

Next stop was Red Mill Burgers for lunch. I wasn't leaving Seattle before I got one of their boysenberry shakes!

We ended the trip with a walk around Greenlake - I think I spent about half my childhood here learning to ride my bike, taking swimming lessons, running around with friends, playing soccer...Perfect place to end the trip! Taylor and I are already thinking about when we can plan another visit. Anyone been to Seattle recently? What did you think?

PS If you ever visit Seattle, I would highly recommend the restaurant El Camino in Fremont for dinner. We went there and loved it - great atmosphere & service, and super yummy mole & margaritas!

Ok, off to do some shopping for a few DIY projects I want to tackle this week! xx

Eurotrip: Cadaques & Figueres, Spain

This is the last post of pictures from our Europe trip! (you can see the rest here) After Barcelona we took the bus to Cadaques for a few days to get a little R&R before we ended the trip in Paris. This was the perfect break from all the traveling and sight seeing we had been doing...and Cadaques is seriously one of the most beautiful and romantic places I have ever been in my life.

Cadaques is a tiny little fishing town just a couple hours away from Barcelona. Tourists have started to discover it so we heard lots of different languages, but it never felt too touristy. It still has a nice quaint, relaxed feel.

We spent most of our time wandering the streets and laying on the beach.  We did some walking along the water and explored a couple different little beaches.

The weather was perfect - just enough clouds and wind to keep us from burning to a crisp.  And each night we got to see a beautiful sunset with pink and purple clouds. This doesn't even look like real life, right?

On our way to Cadaques we stopped in Figueres, which is where Salvador Dalí grew up. We lugged our backpacks across the town to see the Dalí museum, which he designed himself. This was the most interesting and unique museum I've ever been to. You could spend hours in there! There are multiple floors with tons of different rooms filled with paintings and sculptures that range from being beautiful and inspiring to creepy and just plain weird! If you're going to be in the area, this museum is definitely a must see. Look how cool just the entry way was...

TO DO & SEE: There really aren’t many specific things I can recommend doing in Cadaques – this place is all about relaxing and taking a break from all of the sites! Each day we walked along the water to one of the many small beaches. It’s hard to get lost, so just walk around and explore! We also explored all of the little streets closer to town.  The white buildings and smooth, stone alleyways are so beautiful. We didn’t do this, but you can also walk a bit further (30 mins max) to Port Lligat where you can see Dalí’s house (which is also a museum). At night, wander around and listen for music! On our last night we found some music happening along the water, so we found a spot on the beach where we could enjoy the performance for free ;)

TO EAT & DRINK: Right near the center of town most of the restaurants were a little more touristy/expensive, and just didn’t look so good, so we went a little further down along the water to Riba d’en Pitxot, where there are a few different little tapas places lining the water.  They all have tables set up along the water, and it’s probably the most beautiful place I have ever eaten. Each night we tried a different restaurant and they were all amazing. Our favorite was Bar L’estable – get the pulpo and the patatas bravas. Hands down the best dishes we had in Spain. For lunch we would go to the local super market for sandwich materials, and for breakfast most mornings we went to a little bakery right downtown that had super yummy pastries.

WHERE TO STAY: This was the one place where we stayed in a hotel, because there aren't really any hostels or airbnbs in Cadaques. We stayed at Hotel Nou Estrelles, which ended up being perfect for us! This hotel was quite cheap, but also super clean, comfortable and close to the beach. Perfect if you're on a budget.  Only downside was that it was right next to a noisy bus station, but you couldn't hear anything with the window closed. The other place we looked into was Hostal Cristina, which is still on the cheaper side but is even closer to the beach (but we couldn't get a reservation).

Well, I'm off to dream about that beautiful blue ocean...hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Eurotrip: Barcelona, Spain

Our first stop in Spain was Barcelona. I had visited the South of Spain before, but hadn't made it up to Barcelona yet. We had gotten mixed reviews about Barcelona, but we absolutely loved it! We stayed in a funky little apartment in the Barrio Gotico -- I would highly recommend trying to stay in this area.

On our first day, we walked to Barceloneta beach and explored along the water. On the walk along the water to the beach we passed lots of booths with food and drinks, a wine tasting festival, and an art installation. It seems like (especially in the Summer) there are a number of events going on there, so if you travel to Barca you should look into that. Even though Barceloneta can be pretty crowded and is not all that removed from the city, we really enjoyed it. It's a fun place to lay out, enjoy the sun and do some people watching. After the beach we walked around the Barrio Gotico, found some tapas, and did some more night time exploring.

On our second day we did the Gaudí tour of Barcelona. We started with la Sagrada Familia, which is insanely beautiful. Taylor and I both want to go back to see it when it is done being built! Then, we went to Parc Guell which is a big, whimsical park that was also designed by Gaudí. We walked around and enjoyed the music of buskers scattered throughout the park and a beautiful view. After dinner we went to see a Flamenco show. Flamenco is not typically found in Northern Spain, so most of the performances found in Barcelona are pretty touristy, but I really wanted Taylor to see some Flamenco (his face lit up like a child on Christmas morning when the music started!). I asked a friend who had studied in Barcelona for a recommendation, and he told us about a place that puts on a couple of short shows a night. The show was great! On our last day we went to the Picasso Museum, which was amazing.

TO DO AND SEE: Take a walk to the beach, do a little people watching and sun bathing. Walk around the Barrio Gotico and take a look in the Cathedral. Rest your feet in Parque Ciutadella. Definitely check out all of the Gaudí sights -- Casa Batllo is one my friend recommended that we didn't get to. If you're into museums check out the Picasso Museum - there was a bit of a wait but it was so worth it. For a bit of Flamenco go to Los Tarantos. Take a quick stroll down Las Ramblas, but there's no need to spend much time there (also, don't take any valuables and watch your pockets--it's crowded and Barcelona is known for having lots of pick pockets).

TO EAT AND DRINK: Unfortunately we forgot to take down the names of all of the places we ate, so instead I'm going to give some recommendations from my friend who studied abroad in Barcelona (some we went to, others we didn't have time to check out). There are good tapas places everywhere, but my friend recommends Nou Candanchu.  Just stay away from restaurants along La Rambla and you should be all set. For coffee/desert check out Pudding. For clubbing go to Apolo (apparently this is where locals go, and Monday night is the best). There are cool bars and hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the Gracia quarter. Oh, and we can't forget churros y chocolate.  Taylor and I went to a little place right across from our apartment called Churrería Granja Ruz. Mmmmm.

Who else has been to Barcelona? What did you think? I would love to go back to Spain and explore more. Check back in the next couple of weeks for the short video we made about our time in Spain!

Italy Video

Here is the video we made about our time in Italy! The first song is "You Don't Know How Much You Can Suffer" by Jan Morks Quartet, and the second is "Tintarella di Luna" by Jenny Luna.  Enjoy!

Eurotrip: Rome, Italy

Our last stop in Italy was Rome. We had both been to Rome before and had very different experiences: I went with my family when I was younger and fell in love.  Taylor went during a school break while he was abroad and didn't have the greatest experience (let's just say his bunk bed was shaking all night long thanks to some very oblivious/intoxicated guests in the sketchy hostel he was staying in...awkward).  I was determined to change his opinion about Rome.

Rome was quite the change of pace after being in Modena and Bologna -- there were so many tourists and so many things to do that at times it was overwhelming.  We decided to only do a couple of the big sights and then explored other parts of the city where we could breathe and relax. We ended up seeing the Colosseum/Roman Forum and the Vatican/Sistine Chapel, and then dropped by Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona. 

Each day we explored a different park.  We found two different spots with beautiful views of the city - an endless landscape of buildings the colors of sand and sunsets, dotted with the occasional ruin. It's a pretty unique city to see from above.  Both parks felt like a quiet oasis above the city where we could people watch and take in the city from a different perspective. One day we took sandwiches and beer up for lunch.

We also spent a day walking around the Jewish Ghetto. It was nice to explore some quiet, pretty streets. We didn't have any particular destination in the neighborhood, so we just let ourselves get lost! On our last day, Taylor decided to get his haircut at a barber near our Airbnb, which ended up being a fun adventure. The shop was run by the sweetest old man and his wife.  Neither of them spoke any English so it was pretty funny trying to communicate with them!

TO DO & SEE: Beyond whatever tourist sights you want to see I would recommend taking walks up to see the parks I talked about above. The one near Travestere is up on Gianicolo Hill -- this one is a longer walk. There are a couple of monuments and a botanical garden to see on your way up the hill. Villa Bourghese is the park near the Spanish Steps. It is not so far removed from the city, but is a good place to go for a little break from everything.  Definitely spend some time in Trastevere -- it is full of sweet little streets and piazzas (I'm a sucker for narrow, cobblestone European streets...have you figured this out yet?) and a couple pretty churches. Like I said before, the Jewish Ghetto is also a nice place to explore.

TO EAT & DRINK: For lunch on our second day we went into a little meat and cheese shop on a side street intending to buy materials to make our own sandwiches, but the guy inside offered to make them for us. We chose everything and he threw it together for us.  We grabbed a big Perino beer and took everything up to the park. I would definitely recommend doing this for lunch over trying to find a good restaurant.  When you're out seeing tourist sights it's hard to avoid crappy/overpriced food. 

On our first night we went to a great little restaurant in Trastevere called Meridionale.  The walls are covered in old magazine clippings and it is furnished with retro, mis-matched tables and chairs.  Aside from the meal being amazing, it was also a nice place to eat because it was away from the busiest parts of the neighborhood. By far the best meal we had was at Il Duca, which is also in Trastevere. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Taylor got carbonara and I had the best lasagna of my life.  We also got fried artichoke and prociutto e melone to start.  I still dream about it. After dinner at Il Duca we popped into a tiny little convenience store to get beers and walked around the streets with the crowds of young people. We liked doing this at night rather than finding a place to get drinks, but we did go out for drinks one night in Trastevere at a place called Nylon. They had good drinks, a cool atmosphere and nice outdoor seating that was perfect for people watching. 

Oh, and I can't write a post about Rome and not mention gelato. We had amazing gelato at Il Gelato di San Crispino.  It's all homemade and doesn't have gross artificial colorings and flavorings.  We read somewhere that it's a bad sign when gelato is super colorful. 

Look back tomorrow for the video we made about our time in Italy!

Eurotrip: Modena & Bologna, Italy

After our time in Strasbourg, Taylor and I took the train to Italy to spend some time with some of his family friends in 2 smaller towns/cities in Italy. We started in Modena, and then went to Bologna. It was great to experience Italy from an Italian's perspective for a few days and get to know Taylor's old family friends -- We had the most wonderful hosts and were sad to leave! (Thank you Laura, Gianfranco, Maurizio, Massimo & Wendy!). This is a collection of pictures from both places -- they are pretty similar, but Bologna is bigger.  They both have the most beautiful sunset colored buildings and little cobblestone roads. We spent most of our time wandering around and eating lots of amazing food.

In Bologna we took a walk up a big hill along the worlds longest continuous portico to see Il Santuario di San Luca -- the view from the top was beautiful! Afterwards our hosts, Maurizio and Massimo took us for a little drive around the hills and we went to a super yummy restaurant tucked away above the city.  

Above: First, the streets of Bologna. Second, beautiful buildings in Modena. My camera was full of pictures like this -- I can't resist those colors!

Maurizio and Massimo's sweet furry daughter, Wendy. We were both pretty smitten with this pup.

>Modena

TO DO AND SEE: Modena is a super small little town--we just had one full day there which was really plenty of time to do a little exploring.  We started in the center of town and walked around from there. There are a couple of churches to take a peek into (such as the Duomo di Modena), but what we enjoyed most was just finding interesting streets to walk around and little stores to pop into (our hosts recommended walking down Via Taglio). There is a Ferrari Museum nearby for car lovers -- I guess a couple of famous car designers grew up in the area. When we were there all of the piazzas were filled with displays of super expensive cars -- there was some sort of convention going on. Didn't interest me much, but I made sure to send lots of pictures to my car obsessed brother!

TO EAT AND DRINK: We didn't actually eat out in Modena so I don't have much to say about restaurants -- We were lucky enough to have an amazing cook as our hostess! But, let me just tell you now, don't leave Italy without eating prosciutto e melone.  This is what we had for lunch on our first day, and I was addicted for the rest of the trip. In terms of places to grab a drink--we were wandering around in the rain on our one full day in Modena and stumbled across the coolest little bar called Juta Café (on Via Taglio).  It actually really reminded us of Portland--the picture above (with the quote) is from there. I would definitely recommend stopping there for a drink.

>Bologna

TO DO AND SEE:  Definitely take the walk up the portico to see San Luca.  It is a pretty long walk but definitely worth it.  Or if you have a car and want to drive up I would recommend driving around the area afterwards to find a place to eat among the hills -- unfortunately I can't remember the name of where we ate, but we passed a lot of restaurants in the area that looked nice. While we were in town we saw a lot of monuments and really beautiful churches around the city--I don't remember all of their names, but that is something you can find in a guide book! We also enjoyed walking around the student quarter--it was a nice little area to explore. Do a little shopping if that's your thing -- There is a big Zara and an H&M that is way better than ones in the U.S.  There are also quite a few boutiques that have beautiful locally designed clothes...fun to look into but a little pricey.  

TO EAT AND DRINK: Oh my goodness guys.  We had the best food ever in Bologna.  Apparently it's the place to go for Italian food. Two restaurants I would highly recommend: Casa Monica (on via San Rocco) was a little more fancy and not strictly traditional (still Italian but with a fancy twist). It's a beautiful little restaurant that is family owned. On our last night we went to a restaurant called Tratorria della Santa (on via Urbana) that was very traditional Bolognan food. I had ravioli the way it is traditionally eaten--in a broth--and an incredible tiramisu. So yummy. The food is reason enough to stop in Bologna for a day or two.  In terms of drinks, we went to this really cool place that our hosts recommended called Le Stanze (on Via Borgo di San Pietro) in the student quarter.  The drinks were pretty good but they also gave us a strange (free) plate of random (slightly stale) nibblies...Which were not so good. But it is a really neat spot---apparently it was originally the 16th-century private chapel of the Palazzo Bentivoglio so it is painted with really beautiful frescoes. They also have a couple of tables outside--great people watching spot. It sounds like the actual meals there are quite good so I would still recommend giving it a try. On our way back we stumbled upon what looked to be a pop up bar in the middle of Piazza Marco Biagi. Unfortunately we needed to get back for dinner so we couldn't stop, but it looked like a fun place to check out.  I'm not sure if it happens everyday, but if you're interested maybe drop by around dinner time--that is when they were setting up!