Breckenridge, CO

Breckenridge is a very beautiful place; however, beware of the seriously high altitude and therefore high chance of altitude sickness.

The skiing/snowboarding itself was incredible (according to my husband since I was sick the entire time from early pregnancy).  My recommendation is to give yourself plenty of time to get accustomed to the altitude and really be able to take advantage of your limited time to get on the slopes.

  

 

The adorable “downtown”, if you will, of Breckenridge is full of great restaurants and shops.  However, we had to battle a snow storm to get anywhere in those few short days there.  I’m guessing if we were there longer we would have experienced some more calm weather and had a taste for what a “normal” Breckenridge is like.

The Starbucks is large and great for a warm stop but it is really busy.

We stayed at the Marriott Grand Lodge on Peak 7 (see review below) and they have a decent but busy restaurant called Sevens.  We ate there once for convenience sake a couple times and it was pricey but all slope-side restaurants are and the portions were at least large.  It was packed but we didn’t have to wait very long.  The nachos and beer from there are featured below.

On the left you can see the eggs benedict from brunch at Blue River Bistro.  Good service, yummy food, pricey but very nice atmosphere.

We cooked in our hotel room kitchen for most of the trip but if we would have been there longer (and not sick!), we would have tried some of the following highly rated places:

• The Warming Hut
• Cuppa Joe
• Hearthstone Restaurant
• The Flatbread Pizza Co.
• Ember
• Let Petit Paris

And below… you can see some of the not-so-fun moments of our hypo-oxygenated trip…

  

 

 

And here are the highlights:

 

Marriott Grand Lodge on Peak 7 is incredible.  There is a ton to do regardless of what season you visit.  Although this makes altitude sickness even more likely as the highest resort option, it is also neat that the resort is located at the very top and it is still a very quick drive into town.

The best thing about this place is the opportunity to jump right onto the ski life (and then ski right down into the resort property).  They provide great free lockers for your gear.  My favorite feature at this place was the amazing indoor/outdoor pool/spa area – check it out:

The 2 very high quality movie theaters were also wonderful!! Make sure to book at the very beginning of your trip before the are all full!

Denver, CO: too many reasons to move there

We absolutely LOVE Denver.  Is it the industrial vibe, the mountains in the background, the close proximity to a wide range of outdoor activities year round, or the eco-friendly nature of every joint we visited?  All of the above! Orlando is unfortunately far from eco-friendly in many ways.  There are hardly and recycling bins at our restaurants, Starbucks, hospitals, etc.  It drives me crazy!  It was so refreshing to see nearly every place in town prioritize recycling and other healthy habits.  Plus, people just seem much more active here.  Lastly, there is a great coffee fanatic and “eat local, eat organic” culture.  We felt like we could move here in a heartbeat.  There are in fact many sports teams for Brandon to work for…       We are obsessed with this adorable B&B called Castle Marne B&B right outside of downtown.  Our room was very reasonable at $135 including a delicious homemade breakfast.  The customer service was spectacular and the room was pleasant, perfectly clean, and adorable.  Best of all, we had a private patio with a view of downtown and our very own hot tub!  Such a treat.  Highly, highly recommend this place!!!         The Denver airport is also fantastic.  What is there not to like about CO?         Also, the drive to pretty much anywhere is a site in itself. These were taken on our way back and forth from Denver to Breckenridge.  It was fascinating to see how the snow slowly faded on the way back to Denver.  There were a few really neat small towns sort of perched on the side of a mountain off the highway.  The one in particular I photographed has a Tommy Knocker Maple brewery (our all time favorite beer)! We met up with our dear friends from Texas (James & Ashley) on this trip.  Ironically they just moved to Boulder this week!! Can’t wait to visit them! Olive & Finch was an industrial vintage and uber healthy lunch stop downtown.  The kale salad and all of their sandwiches were scrumptious!  We also tried their fresh red juice.  Brandon said “you taste like farm” after I finished but I liked it anyway.   I mean, just look at this city.  This industrial style is right up my alley!

BOGO Flights from now until 2016? Thanks, Southwest.

Ever heard of a super sweet deal called the Companion Pass? Ever think it was only for big time spenders or big time travelers (who couldn’t possibly be completing that many flights per year on pure leisure)?

Think agaaaaain.

We Blahnik’s were recently granted a Companion Pass and my adrenaline is pumping!!! I’m so excited about this, guys. Really really. I thought I got a special kind of high from coupon stacking clearance items at Target but this right here is another level.

If you are not familiar with the pass, check out more info here.

Basically, you get to choose your companion (and this can change up to two times) to fly for free on each SW flight you book for the remainder of the year that you reach this coveted status AND the entire calendar year after that.  For our little family this means that my husband, baby and I will all 3 fly for the price of ONE fare.  Anywhere we fly with SW.  It also means we get to use those 100k Rapid Rewards toward flights (equal to four roundtrip flights for BOTH of us now).  Yowza.

This can be done by flying 100 separate flights with SW, spending tons of $ on a SW credit card and earning miles, or earning 110,000 CP eligible points. So, we have already flown on SW twice this year (about 4,000 points deposited round trip) and then we opened two SW accounts under one of our names. We did not have an open credit card so we applied for Premier and were immediately accepted and received the 50,000 Rapid Rewards (RR) points once we spent $2000 in the first 3 months. Then we applied for a RR Plus card for another 50k after spending $2000 in 3 months on that one. Then you get 1 RR per $1 spent.

So, with just the credit card rewards alone we made 104,000 points right after hitting the $2000 minimum spend for each! At this point in the calendar year we now have the 110,000 CP eligible points which makes us official!

Our cards are set for full autopay from our checking account and we have never paid interested on a cc before (and plan to continue avoiding that) so we do not pay attention to the interest rates as much as the rewards. My advice is that this rewards-focused tactic is only really okay if you are sure you’ll be disciplined enough to stick with that same plan.

With baby coming in the fall we won’t be doing a ton of traveling in the next few months BUT we will use this to fly to visit family for the holidays and then in 2015 we plan on making a lot of domestic trips.

 

Cover 3 family members for the price of 1.

Visit new places on our forever long list.

Watch our travel budget stretch farther than ever before.

Doesn’t get better than that.

Barcelona

Barcelona is an amazing city.  There is so much culture squeezed into every inch of this place.  The architecture is incredible, particularly the gothic cathedrals, and there is so much art and history to soak up.  We were very limited on time with only one day in the city so we hope to return for a full Spain/Portugal itinerary including some of central Spain some day.  I’m sure the night life here is really fun, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rented bikes and toured the city that way; what a good decision that was!  The highlight of our day was biking along the strand on the Barceloneta.  The view was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and there was plenty of room to get through on our bikes without feeling like we were winding in and out of pedestrians.

Of course you have to check out the Arc de Triomf!  I would also try and squeeze in: Barcelona Cathedral, gothic quarter, casa mila, Sagrada Familia, Columbus monument, Museu Picasso, Park Guell, Palau Guell, etc.

  

Split, Croatia

Just like Dubrovnik, Split was such a pleasant surprise.  It ended up being one of our favorite destinations of the entire trip and I think a big part of that, again, was because we had such low expectations that were quickly surpassed.  Split was overall very beautiful, clean, unique, and friendly.  There was tons to see without there actually being any specific tourist sights or monuments, etc.  We loved the casual by-the-sea feel and the outdoor dining  and ice cream available on nearly every street.

 

As you can see, the architecture was gorgeous.  There were a lot of street artists and flea markets so you could spend the entire day shopping easily. It was a beautiful breezy day and we just wandered aimlessly with friends until it was time to head back to the ship.  I would love to return to the Dalmatian coast one day and see what more there is to do in this city (and others like Dubrovnik) when you don’t have to be back on the cruise ship by a certain hour.  I believe there are a lot of natural wonders around when you go deeper into Croatia and when we return with more time I’d love to enjoy the hiking, cliff jumping, etc. that this beautiful country offers.

Athens, Greece

 

I know this sounds terrible but in all honesty, Athens was quite a disappointment.  We had such high expectations and the city ended up being very dirty and just not all that exciting.  If you’re REALLY into ruins, that is the cool part for sure.  I will make the disclaimer that I’ve heard the beaches are great and we did not get to do that.  I am so glad we had the experience of seeing what Athens is really like and, don’t get me wrong, we had a blast because we were together and on vacation.  But, it was the exact opposite of our mind-blowing time in Croatia where we came in with no expectations at those ports.  My recommendation is just not to expect much from Athens and then hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised.  I think it is definitely worth a port stop on a cruise like we did.  But I’m very glad we did not pay for a flight and hotel for several days here.  We are still eager to visit other Greek cities like Mykonos and Santorini – the ship we were on for the NCL Adriatic cruise switched itineraries every week and went to the Greek isles on the opposite week.  We met many guests who had already done the previous week’s itinerary and said the isles were SO much better than Athens.  I am very open to returning to Greece; I just won’t get excited about Athens again now that I know better.

 

We were such classic tourists this day.  We paid for the hop on, hop off bus tour and it was so worth it.  Having your tour and transportation wrapped into one reasonable price is great and there were so many stops that you could walk as much or as little as you wanted without getting far off the bus route.  And obviously the Parthenon and other ancient ruins were the highlight!

Every adventure is what you make it.  We made it fun and we enjoyed the beautiful weather and unique setting.  We just can’t put it high up on our list.

  

 

Glasgow & St Andrews, Scotland

First and foremost, this is the most bizarre airport I have ever been to:

 

It’s Orange.  Why? No clue.  But it cracked us up because every inch of this place shared this disgusting bright hue.  And we arrived in the tiniest, crappiest, overcrowded easyjet.  It was an adventure for sure.

Glasgow itself was really fun because we were there (purposefully) during the annual Highland Games.  We met up with my dad, grandparents, and dear family friends who were participants in the Games.  For those of you who don’t know, my family is Scottsih and I grew up going to games around the US because my dad was  in a pipe band along with my uncle, grandpa, and other family/friends.  It was so special to get to witness THE World Pipe Band Championship right in our native land and it was even more special because my dad’s dear friend (and former bandmate) won 1st place!!!

 

As I’ve mentioned before, we love going to cities when their big events are going on.  Sure that can make it a little harder to find a reasonably priced hotel (or a room at all in some cases) but it is such a treat to be in a city at its peak.  We’ve been to Salzburg during the music festival, Edinburgh during the FRINGE fest, Venice during the film festival, etc.  Next year we are visiting Park City during Sundance and my goal is to get to Cannes for the film fest one year.  I’d also still love to see Paris at Christmas and NYC on NYE one day.

The city was full of life but the streets were still pretty quiet during the day overall.  It was rainy/dreary but that’s expected.  Most of the other cities we visited in the UK (every time I’ve been) we were lucky enough to find sunshine.  So, it did not bother us at all.

My food recommendations if you go to Scotland (or even a highland games held in the US) are as follows:

• Fish & Chips w/ malt vinegar – especially if you can find them in their traditional form, served in newspaper!  This traditional style is very special to my grandpa.
• Meat pies & Sausage rolls if you’re a meat eater
• You gotta try haggis. Just once.  In my experience it doesn’t take more than once to see how gross it is.  But that’s just me.
• At pubs in Scotland, make sure to try the traditional breakfast (stewed tomatoes, beans, yummy runny eggs, toast, bangers (sausage; NOT Miley-related), and “white” coffee.  White coffee is basically a cafe misto and it is amaaazing.
• Stop for tea. Over and over.  And make sure to try their scones with clotted cream and jam.  Scones in the UK are far better than the dry joke of a baked good you’ll find in the US.
• I believe Sloan’s Bar & Grill is the oldest restaurant in the city and it’s in a great location right off Argyle.  We had a great meal there; Brandon loved the fish and chips there.

 

 

 

ST ANDREWS:

My man was a happy camper at the classic St Andrews course.  There isn’t all that much to see here for the average bear but for golf lovers apparently it’s a big deal 😉

 

St Andrews had a lot more to it than just the golf course, though.  We enjoyed seeing the “ruins” and the churches and strolling the adorable streets.  It was nice to be in a smaller UK town and see what life is like as opposed to the large tourist-drawing cities like London and Edinburgh.  I love all the little bakeries and shops along the streets.

One highlight was B. Janetta’s, an incredible ice cream stop in town that is apparently a favorite of Duchess Kate as well.  Price William and his bride met and dated while living here in St Andrews for school so there were a lot of things up about them throughout the town.

San Diego, CA

Our first week of marriage was spent relaxing in San Diego in late December a few years ago.  We were so exhausted from all the travel and wedding craziness (since our wedding was also out of state) and we were so excited to unwind at the quiet resort.  We picked San Diego because we could make a Marriott points trade for the Lawrence Welk Resort and it was a city we wanted to visit but knew we wouldn’t feel guilty if we spent half the week at the resort and not necessarily out on the town.  We didn’t want to do a European vacation, as an example, for a honeymoon because we knew we’d feel obligated to take advantage of every moment there.  Since our vacation coincided with Christmas, the city was pretty deserted even when we did go out.  It was also pretty rainy most of the week.  We went to see a few movies, went out to eat, and lounged in the room and resort hot tubs most of the week.  When we did leave Escondido, we spent a day in the city, a short time at Coronado Bay, and visited San Diego Zoo.

 

We stayed at the Lawrence Welks Marriott resort in the most incredible suite (especially considering how affordable it was to upgrade). Above you can see the view from our room.  We have to say the service was less than spectacular but at least the room itself was nice.  The resort is in a picturesque location in Escondido, but not an ideal location if you plan on spending your time in actual San Diego.  The restaurant at the resort was okay.  The amenities we mainly used were the hot tubs (with a fantastic view) and some of the lounge areas.  We went to a spa off property because prices were too high for our taste.  We did not utilize the golf course or other amenities but if we return during a warmer, dryer, and non-holiday season, I’m sure there would be a lot more there to entertain a family.

 

P.S. Yes, that’s a fireplace between the jacuzzi and the king size bed IN the master bedroom.  It was so cozy and romantic!

   

Our favorite meal from the week was brunch at Hash House.  The line was long to get in but the huuuuge portions or yummy food were worth the wait.  We were surprised that with such large quantities the food was still so tastey.  We definitely should have shared a meal but I was in a breakfast mood and Brandon was already craving lunch we took our leftovers back to the resort later.

We enjoyed roaming freely around downtown and viewed the open Petco Park.  As it was the week of Christmas, there were not any games going on but we enjoyed getting to see the city in such a quiet state.

We visited San Diego Zoo and somehow managed to not even take photos.  To be honest, it was kind of a disappointment.  We had in our minds that it was “the best zoo ever” because that’s what was said all growing up.  What I think is more likely is that it WAS the “best zoo ever” in the 90s but now a lot of the highlights are actually pretty outdated.  I think we just set our expectations too high.  I’m sure it would still be plenty amusing with kiddos but I would not set your hopes too high if you are going without children (or if your family is from Orlando like us and you could compare it to something like Animal Kingdom).

Coronado Bay is absolutely beautiful.  West coast beaches are so different than those I’m more used to in Florida or the Caribbean.  We didn’t spend much time at the beach as it was December and unfortunately I was not feeling well that day.  I look forward to returning during the Spring or Summer when we can actually get in the water and lay out.  It was at least a beautiful view!!

 

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Croatia is the best surprise we’ve ever encountered in our travels.  We did not know what to expect and were very pleasantly surprised by both Split and Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is so unique and amazing.  The city is surrounded by beautiful preserved medieval walls.  We felt like we were in a fairytale!

If you are coming in by port, you can walk right off the ship and into the city.  It’s not like some ports where you need a separate transfer to any activities.  You can walk around and easily spend a full day without utilizing the taxis or public transport.  There are taxi stands at all of the busier parts of the city and the bus is useful for longer stays.

As you can see above, each side street is winding and filled with a variety of staircases.  Every turn we made we were fascinated.  By going down the less traveled paths you can easily find a cafe with wifi and you are also more likely to find reasonably priced food, as opposed to the expensive cuisine on the beach (although those restaurants are often gorgeous).

Below you can see the beautiful main street, Place (aka Stradun).  There was some great ice cream and other shops, etc. that tourists enjoy.

You can get a daily, 3 day, and weekly pass in Dubrovnik to have access to all the popular museums.  Kayaking is also very popular and affordable if you’re feeling active.  There is so much beauty in the architecture and scenery in itself so we spent tons of time roaming. Then we enjoyed a small dose of “cliff” jumping at a rocky beach. Ah, these are some of my favorite memories!  Relaxing on the beautiful Dalmatian coast.

 

Firenze, Italia (Florence)

When we first arrived in Firenze, we stopped at this classic Italian ristorante for an odd-timed lunch.  We were the only ones in the restaurant!  I imagine it is very busy during normal meal times, though, as it’s right off the popular piazza Santa Maria Novella.

The Santa Maria Novella (SMN) train station was decent and the TI’s office was friendly enough.  Make sure not to get off at one of the other two Firenze stations*. From SMN, it is a short walk to most hotels, restaurants and even the Duomo.  I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our time in Florence.  It was just so much more quaint and relaxed than Rome. I could have spent weeks there indulging in pasta and gelato and staring out our hotel window at the Arno River.

We did not ever find reason to utilize the bus or taxis; everything is so close.  We loved our hotel, Hotel Bretagna, right off the Arno River and minutes away from Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery (Lungarno Corsini, 6, Firenze). You can email them for a quote at info@hotelbretagna.net.  This was the most we paid for a hotel in Europe because we wanted to splurge for one night and even got a private bathroom (while other times we shared an external bathroom to save on cost); it was 86euro which was well worth it for how well kept this place was and how perfect the location is.  You can get a double bed with shared bathroom for 45-85euro.  Wifi and luggage storage is also included.  Like most places, you can get a cash discount.  They also have last minute specials.

Below is the view from right outside the hotel and the photo on the right is the interior view from our room.  It just felt so Italian!

  

ven as exhausted as we were from a long day of travel (we missed the first train along with some other Americans because they last minute changed the

Ponte Vecchio lives up to its boring name: Old Bridge.  Similar to the Rialto in Venezia, it is disappointing in my opinion.  I prefer the other bridges surrounding it because in all reality they have the same view but you can actually take a photo because there aren’t a million other tourists and aggressive vendors around.  There is some great street art and entertainment around the entrance/exits of the bridge, especially at night, but this is the case in most piazzas as well.

El duomo is a truly remarkable site.  I was in awe!  Visiting the Duomo is free but the cupola is 6 euro.

Where to eat:

We’ve heard great things about Nerbone in the Market (popular for tripe) and Mercato Centrale (open Mon-Sat 7-14:00) north of San Lorenzo market.  Some places are cash only so make sure to ask ahead and always keep some on you for emergencies.  We loved our one fancy meal at Il Latini; they have family style samplers for 35-40euro.  Reservations are recommended and they are closed Mondays.

I’ve read that Carusso Jazz Café and Joshua tree pub have a great atmosphere and music but we did not have time to visit.

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as bad gelato, even in Italy.  Check if it is homemade, or “producione properia”.   Gelateria Carabe is fantastic and located off Via Ricasoli, 6 (also closed Mondays).  Alaska is another well known gelateria (San Polo, 1159).