Hi. So, it's been awhile. hahaha Obviously a lot has happened in the past, what ... 2 years ?  For whatever reason I decided I'm going to try to start blogging again. So here goes. I won't go into anything real huge now I'll just start with something fun! I've been looking at a lot of travel blogs during the day when I have free moments. I saw this travel-themed survey 'ABC's of Travel' and though it would be neat to fill it out. It was so fun!! It made me happy to think about some of my fondest travel memories I've had. Yay.

A: AGE you went on your first international trip
I went to Rome, Italy for 4 weeks to study Italian in a language school right after high school

B: Best (foreign) BEER you’ve ever tasted
Butterbeer at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter @ Universal Studios       J I don’t drink real beer

C: CUISINE (favorite)
My favorite thing to eat is freshly baked bread. So for that reason it would probably should be French, but I love so may Italian dishes so that is maybe the truer answer.

D: Most and least favorite DESTINATIONS
Most Favorite: Basque Country. San Sebastian, Biarritz, St. Jean de la Luz… all amazing.
Least Favorite: Belize. Everyone there just felt really shifty. We did not feel very safe.

E: EVENT you experienced that made you say “wow”.
Climbing to the top of St Peter’s Basilica and seeing the amazing views and Vatican City and Rome. I fell in love with travel at that moment.

F: FAVORITE mode of transportation
Renting a scooter and zooming around!

G: GREATEST feeling while traveling
Learning something new about a different culture and being able to appreciate it.  

H: HOTTEST place you’ve traveled to

Thailand was stinkin' hot.

I: INCREDIBLE service you’ve received and where
Seoul, Korea. The girl that led the tour was incredibly kind and friendly and even emailed me photos because I had forgot my camera. [This is a photo of me enjoying a traditional Korean meal :) ]

J: JOURNEY that took the longest

Coming home from SE Asia. Bangkok to Seoul… 4.5 hrs,  10 hr layover, Seoul to LAX… 11 hrs, LAX to SLCL… 2 hours.

K: KEEPSAKE from your travels
I don’t buy trinkets very often but I like to keep city maps that I used. I especially like it when they are kind of torn and battered because it means I used it a lot and got to see a lot of things J

L: LET-DOWN site; why and where
I can’t really think of a good one. Getting my purse stolen while in an H&M in Madrid was not a high point. But that’s not really a let-down. Just a crappy misfortune.

M: MOMENT that you fell in love with travel
Same as my ‘wow’ moment. But another one was relaxing on a yacht in the Bahamas while the wind was blowing through my face and seeing the most gorgeous blue water ever.

N: NICEST hotel you’ve stayed in
I tend to go the cheap route. Probably the nicest would be the Gaylord Texan right here in Grapevine, or maybe the Animal  Kingdom Hotel at Disney World.

O: OBSESSION- what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while you travel?
Anything that is weird or makes me laugh. Like huge posters all around Bangkok of the Thai King doing random stuff like playing the Saxophone.

P: PASSPORT STAMPS- How many and from where?
I love my passport. I will be so sad if they have to completely erase all the stamps when I sent it in to get my renewal/name change. I think I have probably somewhere around 30.

Q: QUIRKIEST attraction you visited and where?
It’s really not that quirky because it’s very on the beaten path for anyone travelling to SE Asia, but seeing the ‘elephant farm’ in Chaing Mai where they train the elephants to play soccer or paint pictures is really quite funny.  


R: RECOMMENDED site, event or experience
Snorkeling in the Florida Keys. So so so beautiful and amazing!

S: SPLURGE- something you have no problem spending money on while you’re traveling
Food. I love trying everything.  

T: TOURISTY thing you’ve done
Vang Vieng in Laos -- tubing down the river and stopping along the way to have a snack at the bars and play on their rope swings. Pretty dang touristy but it was so much fun.

U: UNFORGETTABLE travel memory
The best road trip ever.  Spending a week in Laguna Beach with 3 awesome friends and laughing more than I have in my whole life, maybe more than I will ever again!

V: VISAS- How many and from where?
4 – Brazil, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. The Coolest looking one is the Cambodian.

W: WINE- Best glass of wine you’ve had, and where
I don’t drink wine. But a memorable ‘virgin’ beverage was freshly squeezed passion fruit juice in Hawaii.

X: EXCELLENT view and from where?
Riding on a bus through the mountains Laos and seeing the beautiful green countryside.

Y: YEARS spent traveling
8

Z: ZEALOUS sports fans and from where?
I’m not really a sports fan but in Brazil they have a ton a national pride and they seem pretty gung-ho about their soccer teams down there.