Valerie

Travel Essentials for Black Friday

I skimmed my Amazon purchases from the last couple years and pulled out all the items I love that are currently on sale! I actually own all of these things, bought them with my own money, and would do it again. All links are affiliate links and I’ll get a small commission if you buyContinue reading “Travel Essentials for Black Friday”

Writing just because

Growing Our Travel Art Collection

I always have the hardest time choosing souvenirs. When Kevin and I traveled to London and Paris for our honeymoon in 2013, all I brought back from London was a cheap scarf and three tins of Vaseline lip balm. No regrets on the lip balm, but I definitely could have done better.

High Above the Treetops

Finally, here we are in Germany. One of the things Kevin and I discussed before our trip was whether it was preferable to travel west to east, as we did, or to start in Germany and end the week in Budapest. It was a moot discussion because we had absolutely no choice in the matter,Continue reading “High Above the Treetops”

The Hills Are Alive

Okay guys, here’s the deal. Salzburg is the loveliest place I’ve ever been and I want to go back immediately.

Home again, jiggety jig

Hello, adventurers! All right, well I fell off the wagon a bit with the daily posting. The wifi was a little spotty when I was trying to upload photos for my Day 6 update on Tuesday, the first and only time that was an issue for the whole trip. By Wednesday I was just trying to soak up everyContinue reading “Home again, jiggety jig”

Climbing Dürnstein

Remember on Friday when I thought that 56 floors was a lot to climb in one day? Oh how young and naive I was then… Welcome to Dürnstein.

Three Strudels and a Schnitzel

It’s entirely possible that what I’ll remember from Vienna was how much food I ate. Okay, that’s unlikely, but take a look at this. Counterclockwise from the top left, that’s apple strudel from the Strudelshow at Schonbrunn Palace, the spinach feta strudel I had for dinner on board our ship, the AmaViola, my apple strudelContinue reading “Three Strudels and a Schnitzel”

Country Hopping on the Danube

Our day began shortly after pulling up to the dock in Bratislava, Slovakia, this morning. Everyone on the ship broke into groups and each had a local guide to lead us on a walking tour of the city, the center of which was just a short 5 minute walk from the ship.

Exploring Budapest

We skipped today’s half-day excursion to an equestrian park in exchange for ambling around the city. While I’m so glad we did, it turns out that trying to cram the highlights of Budapest into one day is a bit rough!