The Rhode Less Traveled

Holy moly, it’s been a long time since I’ve done a blog post. I’ve had a really hard time writing about travel when our lives have been put on hold since last March. I still believe we should be sticking close to home until this disease is gone, or better managed than it is today, but I can’t help to daydream about future trips. I’m feeling hopeful that we can start traveling later this year, but until then, I’ll be recapping some trips we took right before our lives changed, starting with our trip out west to Arizona.

Innings Festival

Dan bought us tickets to Innings Fest to see Dave Matthews Band (anyone surprised by that? 😂) for my birthday. Innings Fest is a baseball and music festival, two of my favorite things, in Tempe, Arizona. The festival takes place over two days with bands playing all day and night, and fun baseball activities sprinkled throughout the festival. You can buy a single day pass or a two-day pass. We bought a one day pass because we really only cared about seeing DMB. One thing that we really liked was that we were able to come and go, so once you entered the festival, you could leave if you needed to. We did since it was hot during the day and then chilly at night, and went back to our hotel to change. DMB played a great show and we met some really nice people. Looking back at these pictures I can’t believe how many people were around us, from all over the country, as COVID was quietly brewing. 😱

Desert Botanical Garden

The day after Innings Fest we went to the Desert Botanical Garden, which was really easy to get to by bus and tram from where we were staying in Tempe. The botanical garden is out in the Sonoran Desert and is filled with all different types of cacti, succulents and other desert plants. The gardens were BEAUTIFUL. We literally spent all day walking along the different trails. There is a restaurant within the gardens where we had lunch. It was a nice break from the desert sun to cool off with a refreshing drink and some food. The food was SO good. Tickets were around $60 for two adults and there was no time limit for our stay (keep in mind this was prior to covid).

Where to Stay

We stayed in Tempe at The Graduate Hotel. We were familiar with the hotel because there is one in Providence, RI and the festival was running a deal with local hotels, so we got a discounted rate because we were attending the festival. We loved the vibe of the hotel and liked that it was right across the street from ASU. We were in walking distance to the festival and downtown Tempe, which has many restaurants, bars and shops.

Arizona was a pleasant surprise. We didn’t think we’d like it as much as we did, if I’m being honest. We talk about going back and Dan even talks about moving there. 😂 I’ll be rounding up places we ate at in another post, but we actually kept to a few of the same places (I blame me being pregnant), and I’ll break down some local breweries we hit up!

As always, thanks for reading and following along on our adventures. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

-Steph, xx

I heard this phrase for the first time recently, ‘eat with your eyes.’ We all do it, when we watch the Food Network, Great British Baking Show (still need to actually watch this one), or scroll through our favorite foodie influencers’ Instagram feeds. I’ve never written about food before, but I feel compelled to share the meal we had at Darjeeling Express in London. It’s hands down one of the best meals I’ve ever experienced, and it wasn’t only because of the food.

Dan and I love food. Anyone who knows us is well aware of this little fact. We’ve been watching Chef’s Table, a show on Netflix that highlights award-winning, well renowned restaurants, owned or run by chefs who have overcome various hardships in their life and career. It’s an inspiring show (I usually cry at the end of every episode, prob also not a surprise to anyone who knows me lol), and I highly recommend checking it out if you have any appreciation for food, passion and perseverance.  Any way, we watched an episode in April that really resonated with me. It was about Asma Kahn, a second daughter, born in India, who loved to cook. I won’t get into too many details, I encourage you to watch the episode, but second daughters in traditional India are generally mourned, not celebrated, and have very little rights.  However, Asma went on to open Darjeeling Express, a Michelin Star restaurant, and hired only women, many of whom are second daughters themselves. And let me tell you, they can cook.

Breaking Bread

After we watched the episode in April, I immediately made reservations because we had already had our trip to London planned. Reservations as far in advance are highly recommended. Even then in April, I had limited options for a night in July.

The food is traditional, not like the Indian food you get over here in the U.S., and cozy. It’s comfort food at its finest. And the best part, it’s a shared menu, so you order a bunch of plates for the table. I love dining experiences like this. In my opinion, sharing a meal with those you love is one of the most intimate experiences. My fondest memories involve sharing meals with close family and friends, in both familiar and unfamiliar places.

Food Coma

It’s hard to pick one dish that was a highlight, but some of my favorites were the Tangra Chilli Prawns, Puchkas (a spicy chickpea dish) and Goat Kosha Mangsho. Also, the naan bread and Basmati rice were to die for. “Basics” but cooked so well, I dream about them today. LOL.

We went with two people in our group who never had Indian food (and were a bit hesitant to try it), and they loved it all. The shared plates gave them the opportunity to try some of the foods they wouldn’t have ordered on their own. And the white wine, oh my, the white wine. Paired perfectly with the meal and made everything go down easy.

Girl Power

The kitchen is open, so you can see the chefs cooking and let me just say, the ladies were HUSTLING. And yet, they were so appreciative of us, and you could see the love they put into their food. They wanted to cook for us and they wanted to share their culture with us through food.

If anything, I hope this post inspires you to try new food, because you really never know what you might be missing until you try it. I’ve also made it very clear to Dan that any trip to Europe will now require a stop over in London so that we can have a meal at Darjeeling Express, and I have yet to hear any objections from him because it was that good.

-Steph, xx

Today is one of the biggest travel days of the year in the U.S. ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, and it had me thinking of our trip this summer driving around Ireland, on the wrong (to us in the U.S.) side of the road.

I’m a Planner

Just ask Dan. I.plan.everything. I can’t help it (first born, Capricorn, type A), it’s in my DNA. So, before we left for our trip to Ireland, I scoured the Internet and Pinterest (go to site for travel tips & guides) for tips on driving on the other side of the road. I’ve been to places that drive on the opposite side, but was never responsible for actually driving, and this was all new to Dan. Some tips we found before our trip were helpful, and some we discovered weren’t accurate.

So, I’m breaking down what worked for us, and hint: driving on the other side of the road was not that bad (at least from the passenger seat). 😬

1.Rent the smallest car you possibly can: I cannot recommend this enough. The roads in Ireland are SMALL. So small that many times you have to pull off into the grass to let a car pass you coming from the opposite way. Don’t be that person in a huge SUV-it’s not worth it.

2. Rent an automatic car: Unless you are a pro at driving stick, I highly recommend renting an automatic car. Keep in mind, everything is on the opposite side, including the stick and the clutch. Make it easy on yourself and just rent the automatic. We were first given a stick and we asked if we could have an automatic instead, which the car rental place was happy to do.

3. Rental insurance: We usually never purchase extra insurance when we rent a car, but we had multiple people tell us to get the insurance because “accidents just happen in Ireland.” We purchased insurance through the rental company (I don’t remember how much it was…maybe $100?), and luckily, we didn’t get into any accidents. Go figure! I’m glad we had it because I feel like if we didn’t get insurance, something would have happened, but I think you should base your decision off of how much driving you will be doing, and where you’ll be parking your car most often (parking garage/lots vs. on the street).

4. LOOK LEFT. We constantly kept saying this to ourselves, since it’s so foreign to us. Luckily, the rental cars have signs in the car on the windshield that remind you to look left and to drive on the left. It started to become second nature to us and it will for you, too.

5. Fear of turning down a road and driving the wrong way: Thanks to modern technology, we used our phone as our GPS, and the good thing about a GPS, it won’t take you down a street the wrong way. I have to admit that it was the most confusing as to which side or which way we should be on the street when we were in a city. Parking on the street is a bit different over there. In the U.S., you park on the side of the street you are driving down. In Ireland, people park wherever there is an open spot, so cars are facing all different directions on both sides of the street. Driving on the open highway was easy. However, keep in mind that when you’re on the highway, the slow lane is the left lane and the fast lane is the right lane. We messed that up a couple of times. 😳

6. Roundabouts: I read horror stories about roundabouts before we left and had such anxiety as we approached our first roundabout. Honestly, roundabouts were SO easy. They make total sense, they aren’t congested like the roundabouts here in the U.S., and drivers actually follow the rules. There are so many roundabouts in Ireland and we were pros at roundabouts by the time we left.

7. To my fellow backseat drivers: Do your best to help navigate the driver and don’t yell out “YOU”RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!” if at all possible. 🤗 In my defense, I only did that once and it was when we were in a city (I said they were confusing 😂).

I hope these tips are helpful and help ease any anxiety you may have driving on the other side of the street.

If you are traveling today for the holiday, drive safe!

-Steph, xx

We decided to rent a car to drive from Dublin to Galway, and I’m so glad that we did! It wasn’t far at all, a few hours, and we got to see the countryside (so green!).

Once we hit Galway, we instantly noticed the charm of the quaint village on the water. It was SO cute! Our hotel, The Residence Hotel, was located on one of the main streets in town, Quay Street. We had no idea how great of a location it was in until we got there, and I’m so glad we stayed where we did. Quay Street has lots of restaurants, pubs and shops, and with the flag garlands hanging above the street, it made it all that much better.

Galway acted as our base for the Cliffs of Moher. You can also stay in Doolin, which is equally as cute as Galway, but with far less activity. Dan and I both said that if you wanted to avoid about an hour and a half drive from Galway to the Cliffs, you could spend the night in Doolin before your hike, but you wouldn’t need more than one night.

Hiking (a.k.a. surviving) the Cliffs of Moher

Whenever we travel, we try and find something a little bit off the beaten path, something that won’t have too many tourists, to explore and experience. Dan stumbled across Doolin Cliff Walks which is a hike up the Cliffs of Moher as opposed to going to the top of the cliffs, which is what the majority of the 4,000-5,000 people who visit the cliffs daily, do.

The idea comes from a great place. The guide, Pat Sweeney, grew up on his family farm, which is located on the cliffs along with 35 other farmers. The cliffs were his play ground growing up (God bless his mother 🙏🏻). Pat saw so many people going to the top of the cliffs and it bothered him that no one was actually “seeing the cliffs,” they were simply going to the top of them. So, he worked with the other 35 farmers and asked to lease a part of their land to make trails up the cliffs, and would then charge people to hike the cliffs, offering an experience unlike any other.

The morning of the hike we all gathered at a meeting point in Doolin. Pat went over safety, like advising us not to walk and take pictures at the same time (so very dangerous) and to follow his steps, no matter what. Pat also mentioned that in parts of the hike, there were second, alternative paths for those who were afraid of heights and didn’t feel comfortable being on the “edge.” Pat asked who was afraid of heights and I, along with two other people raised our hands. He smiled and said that we’d soon find others in the group who were afraid of heights. I shot Dan a death stare at this point, because I knew there were going to be parts of the hike that I would not be OK with. 🙄 And, I think it’s safe to say that I took home the prize for being the most afraid LOL.

We hiked for 5 hours (9km up the cliffs), sometimes literally on the edge of a sheer 600ft drop into the Atlantic Ocean. The height alone was dizzying and when we had to hop from one edge of the cliff to the next, with nothing but the Atlantic Ocean beneath us, I lost it. I questioned Dan for signing me up for this, and I questioned myself for being there (seriously, WTF!). I trusted that the guide knew the cliffs like the back of his hand, but I didn’t trust myself to take a misstep that could literally cost me my life. I cried, yelled at Dan to “get back from the edge” and practiced my yoga breathing for a good portion of the hike. I wanted to turn around, but knew that if I did, I’d have to do some of the most terrifying parts of the hike by myself, and that was simply not an option for me.

When we finally made it to the top, I was beyond relieved, I could have cried again. I had people from our group congratulate me for making it and I’m convinced that everyone knew who Dan was from the amount of times I yelled at him to get away from the edge 😂 (the thought of seeing him fall off the cliffs made me weak in the knees).

While this is something I’ll never do again in my life, there were people who thoroughly enjoyed it, including Dan. One girl from Colorado thought it was “magical” (her words, not mine 😱). I have to admit that the views we got from the hike were stunning, and I now totally understand why the view solely from the top just doesn’t do it justice. We also got some of our most favorite pictures from this hike, some that we are blowing up to hang in our house.

If this hike taught me anything, it taught me just how tough I can be (even if I do cry-it’s how I handle things, ok 🤷🏻‍♀️), and that sometimes we have to go through difficult things to see the beauty around us. 💗

Two Final PSAs:

1. I would not recommend this hike for children, like anyone under the age of 14.  About 66 people a year fall of the cliffs , and we found out that someone fell the day before our hike, and sadly, another person the day we were there. I don’t say this to scare you, I say this so that you are informed. Listen to the safety instructions-they aren’t there for nothing.

2. The hike was 10 euros a person and you pay at the end (I won’t say why, but I’m sure you can figure out the reason 😉).

-Steph, xx

We flew Aer Lingus from London to Dublin (less than a two hour flight) and really enjoyed Aer Lingus. It was the first time we flew them. The flight was not full and the flight attendant noticed when we got on the plane that we were traveling with friends and said that if the row behind us did not fill up, he’d move our friends closer to us. So nice and I feel like you never experience something like that on US domestic flights!🤗 Anyway, the row behind us ended up getting filled, and I had some big responsibilities on this flight sitting in the emergency exit row, so it’s best I did not have any distractions. 😏 Aer Lingus takes safety very seriously. I was in the middle seat but they made me move to the window seat (it was empty) in the event I had to open the emergency exit 🤣 Not sure how much help I’d actually be in that situation, but it was cute of them to genuinely think I could. 🤣🤣

Anyway, when we were coming in for landing in Dublin, I quickly realized why Ireland is often referred to as the Emerald Island. Everyone tells you how green Ireland is, but you really can’t comprehend it until you see it for yourself. Unfortunately, I did not take any pics during landing because I was sick and my ears were popping SO bad!

Dublin

I’m just going to say this now and get it out of the way- I did not like Dublin. Please don’t @ me. ✌🏻

Don’t get me wrong, the people there were lovely and the food we had was amazing, but Dublin just didn’t do it for me. I was sick as a dog in Dublin and maybe that had something to do with it, but I really felt like all there was to do in Dublin was drink. I love popping into local bars and pubs to have drinks, but I like doing that mixed in with other activities, and Dublin didn’t seem to have too many activities other than drinking (crazy Irish 😜). We spent three days in Dublin (we also spent the last night of our trip in Dublin) and I think that was the perfect amount of time.

We stayed at Brooks Hotel, which was awesome and I highly recommend it if you’re planning a visit to Dublin. Dan and I somehow got upgraded to a suite and it was amazing! It also came in handy because of how sick I was. Dan had his own space to watch TV while I slept and when I called for room service, I had a table that I could eat my dinner at. I also discovered that they have their own movie theatre (could be a good option for kids or a rainy afternoon).

I also have to say that getting around Dublin was very easy. When we landed we got a 3- day travel card at the airport, which gave us unlimited access during those three days to the bus, train, various bus tours (like hop on hop off, ghost tours) and airport travel. A tip for fellow travelers who plan on taking the bus in Dublin- you need to flag down the buses for them to stop. It doesn’t matter if you are standing at the bus stop-if you don’t flag them down, they won’t stop. Learned that one the hard way lol. 👋🏻

All the Dublin Things:

We did do all the stereotypical things people go to Dublin to do or see- Guinness, Jameson, Trinity College and we toured Kilmainham Gaol (an old jail). I recommend getting tickets in advance for all of these places, especially during high season. I’m not sure if there is an official tour of Trinity College, but the campus is open to the public and we simply walked through it while we were on our way to the train station. Jameson was better than I thought it would be. We did a secret tasting, which I recommend as it was more personalized and then had whiskey cocktails at one of the three bars they have on site. I had some kind of rhubarb whiskey cocktail that I’m still dreaming about! I don’t drink beer, but the water I had at Guinness was seriously the most delicious water I’ve ever tasted! 🙏🏻 Dan swears I was high on cold medicine, but the water supply comes from the Wicklow Mountains (I also did not know that Ireland had such beautiful mountains) and it was heaven. I wish I could have bottled up that water to take home with me LOL. 🤣

We did not tour any churches and did not visit Dublin Castle, although we did see it from the outside (kind of hard to miss). I would have liked to see Dublin Castle, but I don’t feel like I need to go back to Dublin just to see it.

Howth

The real gem of Dublin for me, and I think Dan would agree, was a small fishing village about a 20 minute train ride outside of Dublin called Howth. We got the recommendation from a local and it did not disappoint.

Howth is on a peninsula and there are hiking trails that take you all around the peninsula. The trails are listed as “light, low intensity” trails. I somewhat disagree. Again, I was still pretty sick, but I thought they were a little more strenuous. I definitely did not wear the right shoes, so that’s the one thing I’d call out about that. I definitely feel that the average person could do the hike, but make sure you wear sneakers or even hiking shoes, if you have them. I also recommend dressing in layers and packing water and snacks.

The village center (which included a Starbucks to my surprise) is lined with boutiques, cute restaurants that serve fish and chips and Guinness, and a playground that was filled with kids and their dotting parents. For me, Howth was my true introduction into Ireland and its culture.

We ended up spending the ENTIRE day in Howth and really didn’t want to leave to go back into the city. We both fantasized about buying a house in Howth and living happily ever after. While Howth is small, they seemed to have everything they needed-grocery store, florist, hardware store, shops, restaurants, etc. It seemed like the perfect place to live out your days and I find that my mind still wanders there today. I try to convince Dan we should go for a long weekend! 🙊

We spent one fabulous week in Ireland and I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface! We did a lot while we were there, so I’m going to break Ireland out into a few posts. Stay tuned for more Ireland shenanigans!

Slainte!

-Steph, xx

As I explained in my last post, we came to London because we got tickets to the first ever MLB series to be played in Europe- the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox.

For the record, no, we were not at the game where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle threw out the first pitch, and no, we were not at the game where there was a whopping 30 runs scored between both teams. 🙄 To the young kids who threw out the first pitch at Sunday’s game-you did great, and I’m sure that was a highlight of your life thus far. I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention to you at the time, I was too busy mourning over the fact that no member of the royal family showed up for Game 2. LOL😭

Anyway, now that that’s cleared up, we still saw one hell of a game! 59,059 people were in attendance for Sunday afternoon’s game and there was no shortage of pomp and circumstance.

The series was played at London Stadium, which was built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, and where today, various sports like football (soccer for us Americans), cricket and rugby are played.

The stadium was in great condition and everything about it was really organized. For example, several pedestrian bridges lead to the stadium and your seats determine which bridge you should take so that you enter closest to where you are seated. They had plenty of staff to help direct you to the appropriate bridge and our tickets clearly marked the bridge we should take. This made for a relatively fast entrance to the stadium.

Once inside the stadium, there were stands to buy merchandise, as well as food. The merchandise seemed to be a little low and we all thought that perhaps most of the merchandise had been bought during the first game on Saturday. We all ended up purchasing items that we wanted, but did notice that there were low quantities of some “hot ticket” items. It’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning on heading over there for next year’s series (they announced that next year the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox will be coming to London).

Food and drinks, however, were nothing short of low. They had some traditional baseball food like hot dogs, chicken fingers with fries, nachos, and ice-cream. Everything you would expect at a baseball game in the U.S.

But, they also had some British food. In one area of the stadium, they had a bunch of food trucks set up, some with more American food like pulled pork, but others serving fish and chips, and the Great British Fudge Company that was set up in an old two-decker bus!

And let’s not forget about Amy and mine’s highlight: Pimm’s!

I’ve read that Pimm’s is the drink of Wimbledon, similar to the mint julep being the drink of the Kentucky Derby. Regardless, you can pretty much order a Pimm’s at any bar, restaurant, and yes, to our excitement (Amy and me), at the baseball game! Below is a recipe for a traditional Pimm’s, but essentially, Pimm’s is liquor that is gin-based and infused with various herbs. (I honestly didn’t taste the gin). Amy and I merrily drank Pimm’s for the entire game, while Dan and Kyle drank beer. They had some American beers on tap that the guys enjoyed.

Insider Baseball

For the actual game itself, it was really exciting! The Yankees and Red Sox were neck and neck for a good portion of the game, and when the Yankees were ahead towards the end, the Red Sox gave it their all and almost (yeah I said it 😏), almost came back to win, but the Yankees held on. New York, New York by Frank Sinatra played loudly overhead (this song is played at the end of any Yankees home game win), and confetti was thrown in the air to celebrate the win and the end of a historic series.

I have to say that it was interesting to attend a baseball game where the host city is completely neutral, but it made for a really nice experience. Traditions from both teams were carried out throughout the game, like playing YMCA, Sweet Caroline, Shipping Up to Boston, Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the seventh inning stretch and even Wally, the Red Sox mascot, made his way across the pond.

Interesting little side note, the Britts didn’t know what cracker jacks were, and were very confused when that part of the song played during Take Me Out to the Ballgame. My dad just so happened to be eating some at the time, and so we were able to explain to the people around us what cracker jacks were. No one wanted to try any LOLOL. 🤣

There was also some sweetness to this game. I’ve been going to Yankees games with my dad since I was 2 years old. We’ve been to All-Star games, playoff games, home run derby’s, Old Timer’s Day games, and lazy Sunday afternoon games, but this was the first time being at a Yankees game overseas, and it was fun to experience it with him (even if he couldn’t keep score-apparently the Britts don’t know about that either LOL).

We had an absolute blast at the game and realized afterwards that we had pretty much spent about 10 hours at the stadium, but none of us seemed to mind because we were consumed with taking it all in. I highly recommend that if your teams, (or even if your fave teams aren’t playing) are playing in London, GO. You won’t regret it.

-Steph, xx

London is a literal dream.

Maybe it’s the architecture, maybe it’s the accent or maybe it’s the royal family (ok, it’s a lot the royal family) that sets London apart from all other cities.

We took a redeye out of Boston to Gatwick and I honestly feel that when we travel back to London (will explain why we’ll be going back in another post 😉), we’ll fly to Gatwick and not Heathrow. Gatwick is a 30 minute and £19 (total for two people) train ride to London proper. Our friends who joined us on this trip flew to Heathrow and took an almost hour cab ride that cost them £100.

Anyway, the entire reason why we went to London was because we got tickets to the Yankees/Red Sox game at London Stadium- the first time ever that the MLB has gone to Europe. I’ve been a Yankees fan my entire life, Dan a Red Sox fan and our friends (Amy and Kyle), and my dad all Yankees fans. So, we decided if we got tickets, we’d all take a trip across the pond! I’ll be recapping the game in a separate post, but our first full day in London (Sunday) was spent at the game.

Whenever we travel, we take a look on Viator.com to see what kind of tours/tickets we can purchase ahead of time so that we are guaranteed access to some of the top sightseeing attractions. Viator has always been extremely reliable, communicative and offers a wide range of different activities (all day tours, half day tours, single ticket purchases, hotel pickup, etc.). If you’re headed to a big city with lots of attractions to see, I highly recommend looking on Viator.

Monday we had tickets to tour Kensington Palace, which we purchased on Viator for about $22.50 a person. Amy and I were super excited about this since we both love everything about the royal family and secretly hoped we’d run into one lol. I’m not going to lie; Kensington Palace was not what I thought it would be. Parts of it I really enjoyed, like sketches of Princess Diana’s various dresses and gowns with her handwritten notes, and the gardens were stunning, but all in all, I’m not sure that Kensington Palace is a place to see (especially if you have limited time in London). The good part was you could spend as much time as you wanted there, and there was a café that had beer, which the guys were very happy about.

Once we were done at Kensington Palace, we strolled back into the city center through the Royal Parks. The weather was unusually sunny and warm, so we took full advantage of it.

We wanted to check out the food hall at Harrods and quickly realized we got there right at the rush of lunch hour and it was a bit out of control, but filled with an energy that I loved. The food hall in Harrods is massive, decadent, and well, royal, and has options for all different food palates. We each found something for ourselves and headed to Hyde Park where we rented chairs by the lake to rest and eat our lunch. The chairs were less than £5 for an hour and that was for 5 people (very affordable. Also, thanks Dad!).

Another tour that we booked prior to our trip through Viator was the Royal Walking Tour. This tour was a half-day tour and it was fantastic. It was a bit pricier than Kensington Palace ($95.65 a person), but it included all entrance fees and a boat ride. We had early entrance into the Crown Jewels at Tower London (we saw a real Beefeater unlock the doors guarded by military members to the jewels) and then we were first in line to view the jewels. Holy moly. The crowns are wild. Diamonds so large you think they are fake and they are mixed in with emeralds and sapphires, and so many other beautiful gems. It really had me wondering why I didn’t marry into the royal family (no offensive Dan🤣).

ALSO, the views of the Tower Bridge are AMAZING from this area. Even if you don’t book this tour, you should take the time to head to 1 Tower Hill Terrace to get some good photos of the bridge.

After we had some time to tour around the Crown Jewels, we then hopped on a boat and took a nice boat ride down the infamous Thames River to get us closer to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. Unfortunately, Buckingham Palace was not open to visitors when we went, but we were excited to see the Changing of the Guard and to take some nice photos of the Palace.

One thing I’d like to note about this tour is that we did not have much time to walk around London Tower (where the Crown Jewels are housed) because we needed to catch the boat to make sure we got to the Changing of the Guard on time. I understand there is no way around this, but in case you want to spend more than 30-45 minutes at London Tower, I would book a different tour.  

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We were all really hungry after this tour and learned from our tour guide that the Borough Market was a great outdoor market with a bunch of different food vendors, so we made our way to that area. When we travel, we love checking out the city’s food market. You can learn so much about the culture just by observing what takes place at the market. We were all in the mood for different things, so we split up and moseyed our way through the market to find food. I got pesto gnocchi from La Tua Pasta that did not disappoint. Amy picked up some fresh fruit and that was delicious, as well!

Wednesday was our last day in London and we had tickets for the London Eye. We purchased tickets ahead of time from the official London Eye website. Tickets were about $34 a person. I had done the London Eye years ago when I visited London while studying abroad, but I definitely did not remember just how high it actually was. It moves pretty slowly, it takes 30 minutes to go all the way around, but I definitely got a little bit of vertigo. Luckily, they have seating in the pod and I hung out there while everyone else took pictures LOL. The views really are worth it though! You can see Big Ben (unfortunately it was under construction while we were there), Parliament buildings, Buckingham Palace, etc.

Fair warning, the London Eye is located in an extremely touristy part of town. We noticed prices were higher for just about everything, like bottled water and having to pay to use the public restroom-although this is a common practice in Europe, this was the only area we experienced it in London.

After the London Eye, we again took to the streets and made our way to Covent Garden, another outdoor market. It was here that Amy and I left Dan and Kyle to their own devices while we enjoyed tea at Whittard’s Tea. Amy and I both really wanted to experience high tea while in London, but neither of us wanted to pay a lot of money for it. This was the perfect compromise. You can choose the level of high tea you’d like! We chose the Piccadilly Tea, which included sandwiches, scones and tea, and only cost £15 a person! You could also add a glass of Prosecco for £6.50, but we decided to stick with the tea and treats only. It was the perfect atmosphere for girl time- had quite the British feel, good food and tea, and not pretentious at all. The guys ended up crashing our little tea party at the end (including taking bites out of our sandwiches) and the ladies working at the tea bar laughed and kindly said they would refund us for half of our sandwiches 🤣. They were joking, but I’m glad they didn’t seem to mind as long as Amy and I didn’t mind.

Getting Around London and Where We Stayed

London is an extremely large city and we found it super helpful to purchase an Oyster Card which gives you access to the tube a.k.a. Underground. You can add as much money on the card as you’d like and you can add bus and tram access to your Oyster card if needed, but we did not have a need to add this. The tube will get you where you need to go (including Heathrow which we learned and used when we headed to Dublin). The best part about the Oyster Card? You can turn it in for a refund for any remaining money you have on the card on your last day. 🙌🏻 You do need to have a minimum amount of money on the card (I believe it was £5 or £10) to get the refund. It’s important to add that each person in your group needs their own Oyster Card, you cannot share a card between two people.

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We stayed at the Ambassadors Bloomsbury Hotel in the Euston neighborhood. While the hotel room was tiny (I know this is v. European) but the tiny room did us no good when the entire bathroom flooded every time we took a shower because of the way the bathroom was designed 🙄. I’m not sure I’d stay at this exact hotel again, but we all loved the area!

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Well, this is London in a nutshell (from our experience of course). We didn’t want every single day to be packed with activities, as we find some of our best moments come from discovering a part of town on a walk, or learning about a certain neighborhood from a local. We definitely could have toured Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle or taken a day trip to Stonehenge, but we were satisfied with everything that we saw and didn’t feel like we missed out on anything.

As always, thanks for reading! More to come on where we ate in London and the London Series!

Cheers.

-Steph, xx

Does anyone else seem to gain a new or maybe buried perspective on life when they fly? Maybe it’s just me, but when I’m sitting on an airplane, contained to my little seat, forced to slow down and be with my thoughts, I can’t help but think to myself how incredible it is that I’m 30+ thousand feet in the AIR, FLYING to some far off land to begin a new adventure. Somehow looking out that window, my stresses and worries disappear, and I am grateful to be exactly where I am.

I know it’s cliché, basic, and a case of ‘do it for the gram,’ but I love taking photos out of an airplane window. Whether it’s seconds after take off and all the buildings begin to shrink, or being above the clouds and watching the sun rise or sun set, or coming in for landing and seeing a city’s veins from above; there’s something in all those views that give me a newfound gratitude for the journey that I’m about to embark on, or for all the new memories I have come home with.

I also recognize and never forget how grateful I am to land safely after every flight. I know a lot of people had to show up and do their jobs with zero mistakes and I’m thankful for them. 🙏🏻

On that note, jet lag is getting the best of me and I need a coffee stat. Can’t wait to share all the things we saw, ate and experienced on our trip to the U.K.! Stay tuned!

-Steph, xx

This is a long one, so settle in friends.

Dan and I love to eat. There’s no denying that. I don’t think we classify as foodies, but we sure do enjoy food, and we typically plan our travel around where we are going to eat and what local delicacies we’re going to try.

Our first stop in Amsterdam was to FoodHallen. If anyone has been to Lisbon, it’s similar to the Time Out Market, but a bit more on the smaller side. What the market lacked in size, it made up for in flavor. We wanted to try everything, but eventually settled on splitting a Hanoi Chicken Banh Mi from vietview and got Dim Sum from Dim Sum Thing. Neither disappointed!

That night, we ate dinner at Wilde Zwijnen (Wild Boar) where we chose to be adventurous and order off of the chef’s surprise menu. We had no idea what would appear at our table throughout the four-course meal. There was one item I told Dan before our trip to Amsterdam that I just didn’t think I could stomach and that was herring. I was nervous we might get a herring dish during this “surprise” menu, but I told myself I had to go in with an open mind! The bottle of red wine we ordered helped me get to this “open mind” mentality. 😂

The first dish to come to our table: raw sea bass (phew not herring), 2nd dish: cod with HERRING CAVIAR & mussels in a cod broth. 😖 I honestly wasn’t sure if I could eat this dish. The thought of herring AND herring caviar completely threw me through a loop.

Happy to report that I ended up LOVING the dish (minus the mussels! and felt v. accomplished & proud for eating the damn herring 🤣), 3rd dish: veal with brussel sprouts, potatoes & mushrooms and for the final dish: berry tart with lychee tea ice-cream.

I think our time at Wilde Zwijnen was one of my favorite moments of the trip. We sat at a table in the front window (I explain below my love for tables in front windows) and felt super cozy taking in the rustic, inviting atmosphere I envisioned the vibe to be in Amsterdam. It was also exciting to not know what we’d be putting in our mouths until the waiters came out to explain the dish.

Keep in mind that the menu is always changing, so what you see pictured here may be completely different from what you may get if you go! If you want to experience this place, I recommend making reservations ahead of time.

Another one of my favorite stops was to Brouwerij’t IJ, a brewery located at a windmill! So cool! Once inside, the vibe was awesome! A loud and boisterous place filled with friendly faces.

I should probably mention that I don’t drink beer. It’s not because I don’t want to, believe me, I’ve tried countless amounts of beer, I just don’t like the taste. 🤷🏻‍♀️ BUT, Brouwerij’t IJ also serves wine (holla at ya girl!👍🏻) for only 2 euros! Dan and I posted up at the bar and merrily drank our beer and wine, and snacked on sausage and cheese we purchased from a little stand inside the brewery. I could have stayed there all night, but we had to leave to head to the DMB concert which was about a 20 minute tram/subway ride away.

For our last dinner in Amsterdam we took part in a traditional rice table, an elaborate Indonesian meal adapted by the Dutch that includes several small plates filled with various spicy, sticky, sweet Indonesian cuisine which is then paired with rice. I didn’t realize until we were planning our trip that Amsterdam has a strong Indonesian influence as Indonesia was once a Dutch colony! Any way, there are a bunch of places you can experience a traditional rice table dinner; we decided on Tujuh Maret.

It’s a super small space, but cozy and feels as though it’s run by your sweet grandmother and exuberant uncles. There was some confusion at first when we got there as they had given our table away to another couple, but they quickly improvised and squeezed us into a space in the front window. I love sitting at tables like this. It reminds me of when I was a little girl in NYC walking around with my family and admiring the couples sitting in the window eating their dinner; I thought nothing could be more romantic.

We dove right in to an appetizer (spring rolls) and then settled on ordering 15 sides, you can order more sides if you’d like, but since it was only the two of us, we thought 15 would be perfect. The food was divine and being able to see into the kitchen, you could literally see that the chefs cooked the food with such pride. Highly recommend this place if you’re visiting Amsterdam!

We of course also had our fair share of stroopwafels, the best being from a stand at an open market called Original Stroopwafels. Stroopwafels are made from two thin wafers with a caramel syrup filling. If you ask me, stroopwafels are appropriate any time of the day. 🙃 We also had a lovely brunch from The Breakfast Club (there are several throughout the city) and indulged in Dutch Pancakes at Pancakes, also several locations throughout the city.

Phew, that was a long one! Told ya we like food. 😋

-Steph, xx