5 Places I'd Love to Return To

I have seen these posts floating around Blogland recently and I just couldn't pass by.   While there are still SO many places that I still want to visit, there are few I dream about going back to.  Some that I'd love to re-experience as an adult and some that I want to share with Josh.

I fell in love with Colorado during my visit in 2005 (I can't believe it's been almost 10 years!!).  I was only 16 at the time so I was at the mercy of my parents.  There were so many things I wanted to do but I couldn't because they were in charge.  We never really went into Boulder, we didn't see any sites in Denver and I would have loved to do more exploring in RMNP.  I planned on going to school at my Uncles Alma Mater, UC Boulder, but it was way too expensive for me.   I would love to take Josh out there and do some exploring with him, and do it our way.

This should come as no surprise.  I think about Costa Rica daily - it's such a beautiful country with such diverse wildlife and amazing people.  While I'd love to go back to Manuel Antonio NP and San Vito for a day or two, there are so many places in this beautiful country that I'd love to explore such as, Arenal and Monteverde Could Forest.   This is a place I'd definitely love to take Josh to.

Barcelona was one of my favorite cities that we visited in Europe.  While I had a great time there, we had very little free time to explore - most of our day was planned out.  I would love to explore on my own and see more of what Barcelona has to offer.  I would also love to fill up on Paella and Tapas!!  I am hoping to take a cruise out of here at some point - hopefully sooner than later! 

Josh and I both loved Savannah!  Unfortunately, we only had a short time to spend here at the end of our vacation.  We saw a pretty good amount in the short time that we had, but I'd love to go back and explore more of this beautiful southern city.  I am also dying for another Leopolds Ice Cream!  I also think it would be so neat to do a ghost tour!

I was fortunate enough to be able to see so much of Italy while I was there including Rome, Assisi, Cinque Terre, Pisa, and Florence.   While I would love to return to each of those places, I would also love to see more of this beautiful country.  Top of my list is Venice, Milan, Verona, Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi, and Siena.  Honestly, I think I could spend a full month here and still not see everything that I want to.  I know I will return to Rome within the next few years because Josh is dying to go there.

The Best Trip of my Life

When Casey posted the prompt for her new Fresh Face Friday link-up, I thought it would be the easiest post in the world.  The best trip of my life ... the first thing that came to mind was Europe - then Costa Rica - then California.  All of these trips were amazing and can each be considered the best trip of my life for different reasons.  However, when I really thought about it, I chose one that definitely wasn't the first to come to mind. 

There were a lot of things that could have went better on this trip and there were a lot of mishaps, but it ended up being great!  First, the obvious reason this could be considered the best trip ever is because Josh and I got engaged in the Bahamas.  He proposed at our first port, Half Moon Cay which is Carnivals private island.  While that is a huge part of what made this trip great, it isn't the main reason.

The main reason this trip was so amazing was because we learned a lot about each other on this trip.  This was the first big trip we took together, this was the first cruise both of us have been on, and it was Josh's first trip out of the country since he moved here from Germany where he was born.  We also discovered how much we love cruising and now have two cruises booked!

Josh and I have very different travel styles and because I didn't really know this before we went, I planned based on my style.  I like to go, go, go and do as much as possible while he likes to do a few things, then just chill on the beach.  He ended up being very frustrated on the first day when I had so much planned.  Now for this next cruise I was able to plan accordingly and book only one excursion per port and leave time to relax on the beach.  We also discovered that for us, it's best to have a plan.  We like being spontaneous but it doesn't seem to work well for us. We laugh about it now but our mishaps were extremely frustrating for us in the moment.

We also discovered how amazing cruising is!  We loved it so much we decided to book one for our honeymoon, we're going on one with friends in September of 2015, and we are also looking to cruise in Europe in 2016.  Before this trip I was always very against cruising and now I can't believe I waited so long to take my first cruise.  Josh pretty much begged me to give it a try and I'm so glad he did.

Another reason this trip was so great??  We drove from MD to FL, so we were able to make stops on the way back including to a place that has been on the top of my bucket list forever, Savannah. My friend Heather was living there and hosted us.  I fell in love with the city and will hopefully be going back sometime this winter.

Savannah, Georgia and South Carolina

Savannah may be my favorite of cities that I've visited so far - at least in the U.S. 

Josh and I visited Savannah after our cruise in 2012.  Our friend Heather was studying at SCAD, so we decided to stop in for a visit on our way home.  We technically stayed in Bluffton, South Carolina, which is where she was living, but spent our two days touring Savannah.

The first day was rainy but it worked out because I left my ID in my car in SC so I wouldn't have been able to enjoy any of the bars.  We went to a place on River Street for lunch and then headed back to Bluffton.  We ate dinner at a local restaurant (I really need to start writing down restaurant names!) in Bluffton and called it an early night. Oh, and we also went to the Piggly Wiggly which Josh was way too excited about.  Warning: this is a major photo dump!

The next day we began by eating breakfast at the IHOP in Bluffton.  Let me tell you, Bluffton must have some strict building codes because EVERYTHING looked really nice.  After breakfast we headed into Savannah with no real agenda.  The only thing I really wanted to see was the Juliet Gordon Low House because I was a Girl Scout for 10 years.   We also wanted to see Forsyth Park and River Street.   We had some amazing Ice Cream at Leopolds and just enjoyed walking around this beautiful city.

After spending the day in Savannah, we headed to  Cameron, South Carolina for Heathers sisters birthday party.  She usually lives in MD with their Mom but spends a chunk of the summer in SC with their Dad.   After the birthday party we actually headed back to Savannah to wander around River Street, I decided to leave my camera at home.  We started out at Moon River Brewery and then just wandered.  We ended up finding a good bar and hung out there for a while.  When we left, we totally forgot where we parked and wandered around Savannah for a good 45 minutes before we found it!  

I absolutely adored Savannah and would highly recommend a visit to anyone who has been thinking about it.  It's such a charming city and so laid back!  I love it!

My Favorite Travels

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the top 5 places I would love to see and why.  This week I thought I'd write about the top 5 places that I have already been and why they are my favorites

1. Las Cruces, Costa Rica

Costa Rica has my heart.  If I ever had the opportunity to move abroad, this country would be very, very high on my list. I had an amazing experience working at a biological station and learning about the things that grow there and the animals that live there, I even got to hold a bat! I got my first experience staying in hostels during our first and last nights and I got to see and experience a wide variety of wild life.  It doesn't hurt that this Country is absolutely beautiful!

Hanging out in a Strangler Fig Tree.

2. Savannah, Georgia

I am not a huge fan of cities but this southern city made me feel right at home.  It is safe to say that apart from DC, this is my favorite place in the United States and I would not hesitate to live here.  The city is absolutely beautiful and definitely has charm.  River Street is a great area for shopping, eating and drinking and was probably my favorite area of Savannah.  Also, Leopold's Ice Cream was enough to make anyone want to stay!  Also, as a former Girl Scout (11 years) it was neat to see Juliet Gordon Lowe's Birthplace.

Fountain in Forsyth Park

Juliet Gordon Lowe Birthplace.

3. Assisi, Italy

Assisi was exactly what I pictured when people would talk about Italy.  The olive tree's made me feel as if I were standing in a pastel painting.  I also had the amazing experience of rappelling down the side of a 100 ft castle wall which was not open to the public!  Assisi was such a beautiful town and my whole experience there was positive, from the activities to the hotel, it was a great experience!

4. Carcassone, France

I have mentioned that I am fascinated by castles, Carcassone was no exception. I have a picture of an area which I swear looks like Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. It doesn't hurt that while we were there, Sting was playing a concert in the Castle.  Such a neat experience (even though we could only stand outside of the stadium area).  Also, while we were there, France won one of their World Cup games so there was definitely some partying in the street happening.  I have so many great memories associated with this place!  Fun Fact: It was the filming location of Robin-hood, Prince of Thieves.

5. Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona was such a neat city.  I loved all of the Gaudi architecture!  It seemed like everywhere we went there was some weirdly shaped awesome looking building.   Of course seeing amazing sites such as Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia did not hurt the experience!  I learned so much on our tour of Sagrada Familia and found the history fascinating!   I even bought a book from the bookstore!   We were also in Barcelona when Italy won the world cup!  Our bus driver was Italian so that was definitely a fun experience!  We also got to try some AMAZING tapas and got to see a flamenco show!   Overall, my experience in Barcelona was amazing and I definitely want to go back.

   

I had a really tough time narrowing this down.  I was taking both the place and my experiences into consideration so it was really hard to leave Boulder Creek, CA off of the list because I had such a great experience leading those kids! It was also hard to leave Cinque Terre off but overall, I think my top 5 are pretty accurate.