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Someday We Will Travel Again… Where Do You Want To Go?
When you start thinking / dreaming about vacation travel, read through my blog posts for tips and look through some of my favorite places for suggestions of places to stay, things to do, restaurants to try, etc. (The blue words and photos below will take you to my previous blog posts with more information.)
Choosing a Travel Destination: Read this post to help you determine where you want to go. Obviously post Covid, other considerations are:
- Am I comfortable flying or do I need to pick a place where I can drive?
- What are the Covid rates where I would like to visit?
- Is the place I want to go allowing visitors and, if so, are there any requirements before or after I travel like Covid testing and / or quarantine? State and local health department websites are your best resource. Keep in mind that restrictions can change rapidly depending on local conditions. Check back for updates as your trip gets closer.
How To Get There and Where To Stay: This post will help you decide what kind of accomodations will best suit you. Post Covid, additional considerations are:
- Are the restaurants open where I’m traveling? Do I want to go out to eat in a restaurant or get take-out every night? If not, you’ll need a suite, condo or house with a kitchen.
- Am I comfortable being with groups of other people at the pool or in the lounge areas of a hotel? If not, consider a house with a private pool.
If you choose to rent a house or condo read my post How to Choose a Vacation Rental and Make it Feel Like Home or at least feel like your own space while you’re there. These tips are especially helpful if you’re staying in the same place for several weeks.
Another good reminder is to make sure your travel is fully refundable if there is a surge in Covid rates or if someone in your group becomes ill. I heard a rumor that airfare will no longer be automatically refundable / changeable after March 2021.
Below are some domestic travel destinations to consider. I’ve been to all of these places, but I didn’t write a blog post for all of them. Feel free to contact me for more information on any of these destinations by commenting below or direct messaging me.
Napa Valley 
We love combining Pebble Beach and Carmel Valley. 
Palm Springs & Palm Desert 
Charleston 
Places I’ve stayed in Arizona include Scottsdale and Sedona. 
Places I’ve stayed in Florida include: Rosemary Beach, Naples and Anna Maria Island. 
Chicago – I can’t believe I haven’t written a post about Chicago! I will write a travel guide once everything opens back up and I know what places survived the pandemic. When you are willing to fly, here are a few other places to consider.
Maui 
Turks & Caicos 
We went to Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Stockholm in one trip. 
Places I’ve stayed in Canada include: Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. 
Places I’ve stayed in Scotland include: Inverness, St. Andrews and Edinburgh. 
Spain – I visited a friend in Barcelona and Mallorca de Palma. 
Places I’ve stayed in Italy include Milan, Santa Margherita, Florence, Rome, Cortona, Maranello and Venice. 
One of my favorite beach destinations is San Jose del Cabo in Baja California. It’s a quick, direct flight for us and there are great golf courses for John. I’m dreaming of an extended stay in Italy. We’ll see when Covid allows this, but creating a Italy Trip Board on VRBO and saving Italian Villas in Umbria helps get me through the cold, frozen winter in Saint Paul and Chicago.
I’ve also read a lot of fictional books this last year that were set in the coastal towns of France, so that’s an area of interest as well.
Once you are comfortable traveling, where is your dream vacation destination?
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Book (and Cocktail) Recommendations
While everyone’s travel has come to a halt, consider ordering or downloading a book set in a beautiful, fun destination – maybe some place you’ve always wanted to visit. And, since almost everyone is looking forward to happy hour right now, I’ve suggested a cocktail to go with each location!
Nantucket / Martha’s Vineyard: read with a Nantucket Spritz (1 oz tequila, 1 oz Cointreau, 2 oz blood orange juice, 2 oz champagne – chill ingredients, combine and serve in a champagne glass)
The Nantucket Spritz photo and recipe from The Kachet Life The Nantucket Inn by Pamela Kelly (the first of four books in the Nantucket Beach Plum series) – In the first book Lisa Hodges decides to turn her large, waterfront home into a bed and breakfast.
Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (the first of two books in the Paradise series) – All of Elin’s books are based in Nantucket and I’ve enjoyed them all.
A Beautiful Place to Die: Martha’s Vineyard Mystery #1 by Philip R. Craig – If you’re more of a mystery book reader, this is a nineteen-book series.
Italy: read with a glass of Italian red wine, or an Aperol Spritz (recipe here)
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes – If you enjoyed the movie, you’ll love the book.
A Vineyard in Tuscany by Ferenc Máté – A very entertaining read about Ferenc and his wife, Candace, restoring a thirteenth-century friary, planting a vineyard and building a winery.
Living in a Foreign Language by Michael Tucker – Remember “L.A. Law” stars Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry? This book details their ups and downs buying and renovating a 350-year-old house while trying to learn Italian.
France: read with a glass of well-chilled French rosé, or a French 75 (recipe here)
A Riviera Retreat by Jennifer Bohnet – Jennifer has numerous books based in the French Riviera, all quick easy reads that will have you pulling up a map to see exactly how close Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Monaco are located. I’m definitely adding The French Riviera to my list of future travels.
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle – Peter recounts the highlights of living in a 200-year-old farmhouse at the base of the Lubéron Mountains. If you enjoy Peter’s writing style, he has numerous books based in Provence.
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald – If you’re looking to read a classic set in The French Riviera this book is often seen as a follow-up to The Great Gatsby.
Leave a comment with the books you’re reading now. I’m always looking for more suggestions.
Cheers and happy reading!
Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Beach
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Our Travels to Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam
I’ve had so many people ask us about our travels that I thought I should post an update. Everyone asks “what was your favorite part of the trip?” Of course, it was in Copenhagen as we came out of baggage claim and saw our daughter’s smiling face; followed by a long hug.
After that, it was the little moments that were the best.
We woke up early our first morning in Copenhagen due to the time difference. John and I got dressed and headed out to explore. Nyhavn (pronounced:
newhoun) was so quiet and peaceful at 6 AM, much different than when we arrived the afternoon before. We just wandered and saw wonderful daily activities: people going for their morning swim in the Copenhagen Harbor, restaurant staff setting up sidewalk tables and chairs, and people biking to work in suits and dresses. We didn’t consult a map but instead 
turned down random streets and ended up walking by amazing architecture (at every turn!), past several well-known churches and Amalienborg – complete with Royal guards. It was perfect. We ended our morning by showing up to The Union Kitchen, which Kaitlyn recommended, shortly after they opened and we had such an amazing breakfast that we made it a point to go there for breakfast again the day we left Copenhagen. 
We had so many great moments in Copenhagen, such as dinner with Kaitlyn’s local host family on our first night. The relaxed conversation in their kitchen was so insightful. We learned things about the Denmark community and culture that we would never have known if we had not met them for dinner. Seeing Kaitlyn receive hugs from her host family’s daughters brought a tear to my eye. Most likely they will never see each other again, but they have a bond and experiences together they will remember forever.
Seeing Kaitlyn’s flat and meeting her roommate Carley was surreal. I had seen photos and videos of the place our daughter called home for four months, but to actually visit it was incredible. I quickly learned why Kaitlyn spoke so highly of Carley. She was very personable and fun. We had a wonderful dinner together and I really hope Kaitlyn travels to Boulder, Colorado to spend time with Carley in August before school starts.
I could feel that Kaitlyn was struggling in Copenhagen. She wanted to show us around to all of her favorite places, but she also wanted to spend her last moments with friends that she may never see again; and she had to pack up her room and help clean their flat. I think it helped that John and I were fairly independent and flexible and only took up the middle portion of her days so she could spend her mornings packing and her evenings saying goodbye to her friends.STOCKHOLM
Once we arrived in Stockholm at our amazing Airbnb in the heart of Norrmalm, I could feel Kaitlyn’s stress decline. She even said at one point she was glad we didn’t fly directly home so she could have a transition time from Copenhagen to Saint Paul.We did not plan anything in advance at any of our stops, but I had a list of places of interest and we consulted travel guides at each stop to determine what we wanted to do each day. Our time in Stockholm was a little bit of a recharge for all of us since we covered a lot of ground in Copenhagen. We walked to many sites including the Stockholm Concert Hall, Gamla Stan (old town), the Royal Palace and the King’s gardens but I think we all enjoyed going back to the Airbnb for some quiet time each day.
AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam was amazing. Another beautiful Airbnb.
This one was located on the canal with amazing views and sunsets!
We had no idea it was a city of canals – very similar to Venice. John even got involved in the planning here and on the day of our arrival he found us an early evening canal boat tour. It was perfect. On that first day, we figured out the public transportation (which was amazingly easy thanks to Kaitlyn), then we explored and learned about the city on the canal tour with limited walking (bonus.) Fun Facts: There are over 31 miles of canals
with 1,281 bridges in the city of Amsterdam. There are 850,000 people and 847,000 bikes. Also, 12,000 – 15,000 bikes are pulled out of the canals each year.We visited and toured many amazing places in Amsterdam including the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijks Garden and Museum, the Anne Frank Museum, the Royal Palace and the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. In Amsterdam, Kaitlyn announced she was tired and ready to head home. Good thing it was our last stop.
Our Kaitlyn turns 21 later this month. It’s funny how turning 18 might seem like a big deal, but as a parent, I feel 21 is much more significant. Not only are our children able to legally join us for a cocktail when we go out to dinner, but at this age they seem to have a little bit of a grasp on who they want to be as an adult. I know it will take many more years to really figure it out (who am I kidding, at 51 I’m not sure I’ve figured it out!), but at 21 they seem to be on their way.
Happy 21st Birthday, Kaitlyn, and Welcome Home!
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Could I Take An Unplanned Trip?
As you may have picked up from my travel posts, I’m a little bit of a planner – ok, maybe the word obsessive is more appropriate.
I was telling my Mom that our nephew on my husband’s side took an amazing trip where he flew into
Barcelona, Spain and three weeks later had a flight out of Athens, Greece. He had no specific plans on how he was getting from Barcelona to Athens, he just knew he had to be there in time to make his flight. I told her he was posting updates and photos regularly on Facebook and his trip sounded amazing – just going with the flow and really living in the moment. My Mom’s exact words were “You could never do that. You’re too much of a planner.” Hmmmm…. Don’t ever tell the oldest child they can’t do something… My gut response was “Challenge accepted!” and “I’ll prove you wrong!”This fall, my neighbor, who will be sending her seventh and final child off to college, is embarking on the 500-mile walk Camino de Santiago de Compostela (a.k.a. the Way of St. James.) She is flying into Paris and will take up to 40 days to complete her walk, eventually ending her quest in Finisterre, Spain. And she’s going alone. She wants to spend time reflecting and planning for the next chapter of her life. I’m intrigued and envious of this introspective, completely off the radar adventure.
During a walk with my husband, I shared what my had Mom said about me being unable to take an unplanned trip and he agreed with her. Of course, he did! They are two peas-in-a-pod with very similar personalities. Now, I have two people (maybe more) to prove wrong. The real question is, am I up for the challenge?
Just watch me.
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Traveling with a Pet
When we decided to live in Scottsdale, Arizona for two months this winter we knew we wanted to drive so we would have our own vehicle, we could bring more of our own things and we could bring our Maltese / Shih Tzu, Sadie. Sadie has only traveled with us to visit family so traveling long distance with her was going to be a new experience.We decided that we would take five days to drive the 1,814 miles from Saint Paul, MN to Arizona. As soon as we had our route mapped out, I started searching for pet friendly hotels in each of our stops. I utilized Yelp and TripAdvisor to find the pet friendly hotels and then read reviews to finalize where we would be staying. I found out that most of the pet friendly hotels have specific rooms set aside for guests with pets so we had to book in advance to ensure we had one of those rooms. If you aren’t already aware, there is typically a pet fee of $50 / night.
At our first hotel stop, we brought Sadie’s bed and travel bag with her bowls, food, treats and toys. We unpacked a little and took her for a short walk. Once she had eaten her dinner and seemed settled in the room, we thought we would try a quick trip down to the lobby bar and see how she would handle being alone in a strange hotel room. Well, we didn’t even make it ten feet down the hall before she started frantically scratching on the door. So much for going out to dinner.
From that point on we either ordered room service or we took Sadie with us to pick up dinner to eat in our room. She was just fine being alone in the car, so we were able to go inside restaurants for lunch while we were on the road. Of course, we either parked near a window where we could watch her or one of us periodically went out to check on her.
Traveling with a pet is a little like traveling with children, all of your decisions are made around what works best for them. Luckily, we quickly adopted a routine of going for a nice walk at each stop and then having dinner and cocktails in our room.
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Choosing a Travel Destination
I love to travel. I’m not necessarily the best travel planner in the world but I am very organized and a little obsessive when planning a trip. Therefore, my friends and family know if I have been somewhere they are going, I most likely have a document compiled with what I think are some of the best hotels, restaurants and things to do in the area. So, I thought I’d share my trip planning process in a series of posts.
How to Pick Your Destination
Most people have a destination in mind, but if you’re planning a trip from scratch, consider who you’re traveling with and what they like to do. Is it a vacation with your spouse, family with children, another couple, a girlfriend or two, or a large group?
Spouse or Significant Other: I love planning a trip with just my husband. Usually we’ll brainstorm about what we’d like to do or come up with a general destination such as going South for warmer weather, going to visit friends, or going to see a historical landmark or area we’ve never been. Honestly, most people have no shortage of trip ideas.
Family including children: Traveling with children has its own challenges. No one wants to listen to a whiny child on a vacation so it’s worth your time to plan a family trip they will enjoy. When our children were young, we went to an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen with a Kids Program. When we mentioned the Kids Club to our children, neither one wanted to go. The next day we told them if they agreed to go we would come back in one hour and if they weren’t having fun, they didn’t have to go again the entire trip. When we checked in an hour later, we were thrilled to discover our children were having a blast and they promptly told us to leave. The next morning our children were up bright and early and kept asking if the Kids Club was open yet. Win – Win!
Couples: When planning a trip with another couple think about what you enjoy doing together. When planning a trip with our favorite cocktail and dinner companions, I knew good restaurants and cocktails would be important but we also wanted some fun daily activities – Napa Valley was a perfect fit! We also know a few couples where the guys like to golf while the ladies prefer to “spa” or shop. I haven’t found a golf destination that doesn’t have a spa and good shopping. And, I’ve been to A LOT of golf destinations!
Girlfriends: When planning a trip with girlfriends think about how active they like to be; for example, I have one friend who would be happy to sit by the pool all day and go out to a nice dinner every night. I have another friend who would go nuts sitting by the pool all day and has to do something active like going on a hike or bike ride. The common theme with most of my girlfriend trips seem to include some form of relaxation (beach, pool, spa, yoga), some sort of activity (museums, hiking, theatre, concerts) and enjoying great restaurants.
Groups: Typically, a group trip starts with a destination and then the group grows. For example, we are currently planning a group trip to Scotland. This trip started when the men were all golfing one day and discussed how they all wanted to golf in Scotland. And, my smart husband said, “I can’t go to Scotland without my wife.” Or it might have been, “My wife would kill me if I went to Scotland without her…” Regardless, all of the other men quickly agreed and it became a group trip with four couples.
Once you know who you’re going with and have a general idea of where you’re going, it’s time to start your research and finalize your destination. Talk to friends and family who travel, request recommendations on Facebook and search online. Some of my favorite travel information sites include: TripAdvisor, Travel and Leisure, Jetsetter, Thrifty Traveler and Pinterest. I also tear pages out of magazines whenever I read about a fun travel destination and keep them in my travel folder. If I come across a great travel destination online, I’ll add it to my Travel folder on Pinterest. Once you select your destination, you’ll need to get there and you’ll need some place to stay.
Next Up: How to Get There and Where to Stay
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