I am finally writing about my trip to Europe, little by little!!! This summer, Nate & I went on the trip of a lifetime! We have both always wanted to go backpacking around Europe & we decided to take the plunge & do it! looove researching places to travel, so Nate let me go crazy & plan the whole trip!! Here was our itinerary: France (Paris) 5 days Germany 7 days Austria 1 day Italy 10 days NYC 3 days PART I: PARIS , FRANCE We flew out of LAX, had a layover in Copenhagen, & then arrived in Paris at 10pm! I can't sleep on flights at all and thought I would be exhausted after 25 hours without sleep, but once we got to Paris I was wide awake & so excited! We took an Uber cab to the little studio we were staying at. We found all of the places we stayed on airbnb & it was really fun staying at cute, quirky little places. We were staying right by the Pantheon and just a few minutes from Notre Dame! When we got to the apartment, we threw our stuff down & then ran outside to explore! There was a celebration going on at the Pantheon, so there were tons of people & music was blaring. We walked the streets, got crepes at a little cafe, & got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle from a distance! After a few hours, we crashed and surprisingly woke up around 8am feeling well rested! I was so glad that the time change never seemed to affect us! Our 1st day in Paris was my favorite day there! First, we walked down to a cute little bakery and got chocolate croissants for breakfast. We ended up getting those for breakfast every day we were there, they were AMAZING! Then we walked to Notre Dame. Notre Dame was beautiful!!! I love gothic style buildings & it was crazy how every single side of the building looked completely different. I loved the gargoyles and just kept thinking of the Hunchback of Notre Dame the whole time! The inside was also beautiful with lots of stained glass. Next, we went to Sainte Chapelle, a cathedral commissioned by King Louise IX and said to hold the crown of thorns (I'm not sure about all of the relics different places claimed though, each cathedral seemed to claim they had different things). We had heard from Nate's sister that Sainte Chapelle was here favorite building and was made almost completely out of stained glass so we were very excited to see it. We got inside and I have to admit, I was very disappointed, there was some stained glass, but not near as much as I expected. Nate tried to act like he was still impressed, but we were both a little disappointed. Then we walked out to leave and realized, there was a staircase to go to the top level. The top level was AMAZING!!!!! It really was almost completely made of stained glass & the sun was shining and lighting up the whole room! The stained glass pieces made up thousands of little pictures depicting Bible stories. We stayed there until our necks ached from looking up so much! One thing about me is that I have very high expectations for holidays & vacations. I get an idea in my head about how things will go and then things must go according to the plan! Poor Nate has definitely realized that! I had pictured getting a fresh baguette & cheese & having a picnic, but for some reason, we could not find a place with baguettes where we were at. We were starving & Nate was getting grumpy & I was getting hangry, as he tells me. We finally found a place and were able to have a picnic! And then I promised not to plan things out too much in my head... :) After lunch we walked around by the Seine and put a lock on love lock bridge. Then we headed back to take a nap! Napping on vacation is the best! When we woke up an hour later, I remembered that my cousin had told me about a beautiful opera house that had ballets. We realized if we wanted to go, we needed to run down there and get tickets if they had any left over. We booked it & ran for about 1/2 an hour to get to Palais Garnier. Palais Garnier is the opera house that inspired The Phantom of the Opera & it is also the most beautiful building every. The outside is gorgeous and then the inside is just to beautiful to describe! The walls are so ornate & covered almost completely in gold, there are hundreds of chandeliers & the ceilings all have the most beautiful murals. We loved just walking around and exploring before going in to the ballet. We took our seats for the ballet & they were in a little personal balcony. The funny thing about the seats was that with most of the balconies, they were at angles that made it so hard to see! The ballet was beautiful though and I just loved being there, it was one of my favorite moments of our trip & it was only our 1st full day there! The rest of our time in Paris was spent eating lots and lots of amazing food and exploring the city. We walked 13 miles to the Arch De Triumph & Eiffel Tower one day. They looked much closer than they really were!!! We went to an outdoor market and some cute shops & got a baguette, macarons, sundried tomatoes, cheese, & olives & had a picnic in the field next to the Eiffel Tower. We spent one day going to the Louvre. It was way larger than I even picture it & is seriously several blocks long!!! We spent about 5 hours looking at the different exhibits, breaking it up with lunch & getting hot chocolate at Angelina's. The African Hot Chocolate was amazing!!!! Sooo rich and delicious and worth the splurge! On Sunday, we found a LDS church to walk to. We went to sacrament & could barely understand a word, but you could still feel the Spirit & it was nice to be there. I love going to church in different countries & noticing the similarities & differences. It was Mother's Day there, so they gave everyone a daisy & the little children came up and sang a little song. It was so sweet! Our last night in Paris, we found a local place to go to dinner. It ended up being our favorite place that we ate in Paris! It was very crowded & full of locals. The waiter had us squeeze at a table with some Parisians! It was a really fun environment! I got basque chicken and Nate got potatoes with blue cheese and prosciutto. Then we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower and hiked to the 2nd level of it to see the beautiful view & to watch the tower sparkle!!! After we got down, we got to see it sparkle from below too! Then we got the most delicious creme brûlée from a cute little cafe. I loved how you cracked the shell to eat it, it was perfectly caramelized! It was such a fun night!!! Overall, I loved Paris way more than I even thought I would. I was really excited to go to Paris & know that it is a place that everyone loves, but I didn't quite know what it would be like. I loved walking through neighborhoods & seeing all of the cute houses and building. I loved all of the cute cafes with tables outside where you could sit and people watch while you ate. I loved the laid-back feeling and how we never felt rushed. I LOVED all of the crepes, chocolate croissants, macarons, & baguettes. I loved walking along the Seine at sunset. I loved all of the beautiful architecture & history. I really loved everything about Paris! It is a place that you could visit over and over again & still see new things! Visit my travel website for tips on what to do in Paris!!! http://www.sunshineandseafoam.com/france.html Tips on Traveling in Europe on a Budget: http://www.sunshineandseafoam.com/europe.html
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I will still be posting blog posts on this website, but I also started another travel website that I will be adding to and working on. It features ways to travel on a budget!!! Check it out!!!
www.sunshineandseafoam.com There are sooo many places that I love in Hawaii, but this is my top 10 list! Pretty much all of the places are on the North Shore because why do you need to go anywhere else?! I didn't post them in any certain order because I love them all and have problems choosing my top favorites!! 1. Matsomotos (location: Haleiwa) Ever since I was little, every time we visited Hawaii, we had to stop at Matsomoto's. After trying a million flavors, my favorite combo is Mango, Melon, Coconut with ice cream and beans, soooo good! matsumotoshaveice.com/ 2. Kahuku Grill (location: Kahuku) The family that owns the grill is awesome, seriously the sweetest family! They have the BEST burgers and homeade fries ever!!! Almost every Friday night my friends and I would surf until dark and then head to the grill to get dinner. http://kahukugrill.com 3. Waialua Bakery (location: Haleiwa) This bakery has the best homeade bread, sandwiches, and cookies on the North Shore. I love the teriyaki chicken sandwich with avocado on cheese and herb bread. Every time I was near there, I always had to grab monster cookie and a coconut dream cookie too! My mouth is watering just thinking of this place!! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Waialua-Bakery-Juice-Bar/204446471154 4. Impossibles Pizza (location: on the north shore, usually parked after 5pm at Sunset Beach) This pizza truck can only be found sometimes, and I was always sooo sad when I was craving pizza and it wasn't out! I love their Thai pizza the most, but any kind is good! Their lasagna is also equally amazing! Their pizzas are so big that they can't even fit inside of a huge pizza box! You can also buy pizza by the slice. http://www.yelp.com/biz/impossibles-pizza-haleiwa (808) 499-4741 5. Opal Thai (location: Haleiwa) This is another place that I didn't discover until a few years of being in Hawaii. Opal's started out a food truck and then expanded to a restaurant. The owner, Opal, will come to your table, ask you a few questions, and then decide what appetizers and meals to give you. He is seriously a genius! Every time we went there I loved everything!!! The drunken noodles and fried basil are out of this world!! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Opal-Thai-Food/104259789661580 6. Ted's Bakery (location: North Shore- across the street from Sunset Beach) I have so many favorites from Ted's! Pies come first though! I am always stuck between the Chocolate Haupia and Chocolate Macadamia Nut pie, I love them both and can't choose a favorite!!! The BBQ pulled pork sandwich and fries are also delicious! www.tedsbakery.com/ 7. Kono's (location:Haleiwa) I discovered this place about 5 years after living in Hawaii and wish I had found it before!!! They have incredible breakfast burritos and the best chipotle ketchup and salsa to go with it!! My friend Holly and I used to be maids and we cleaned this house near Kono's once a week. Everytime, we would stop by after and get burritos! Their sandwiches are also really good, especially the pulled pork one! www.konoshawaii.com/ 8. Any place that sells Acai!! Acai stands are also one of my favorites! My favorite place (Kava Roots) isn't open anymore, sadly!!! But I'm sure there are plenty of places that still sell it! After eating acai so much, I finally perfected making a recipe that tasted just as good as when you buy it! (I will post it soon!) 9. Fruit stands My favorite fruit stand is right across the street from Kahana Bay. Everytime I surfed or passed by there, I always had to stop to get some apple bananas and mango. The sweetest ladies work there! I always bought from the same lady, she always had the biggest smile and would sneak a few extra bananas in my bag! 10. Foodland (location: Laie)
I just had to post Foodland! It is pretty much the coolest hangout spot in Laie. You see everyone there! I had the privilege of living across the street from Foodland for 5 years and went there almost every day.. (: I wanted to start a travel blog to share stories of places that I live/lived and have traveled to! I feel so blessed, I was able to live in Hawaii for 8 years, and it is a place that I love so much.
One of my favorite surfing memories is surfing at Kahana Bay! It only breaks a few times a year there, but when it was breaking I would drop everything to surf there! I think I ditched classes pretty much every time there were waves there! You can catch a wave from the very back of the bay all the way to shore, then jump off you board and paddle back out. It is also surrounded by the most gorgeous mountains. Everyone surfing there is so nice and so happy! It's like Disneyland, but better! (: Most times I would go there with friends. It was awesome having party waves and cheering everyone on their long waves! I remember going once by myself, there were only 2 other people there and it was just so calm and quiet. The waves were breaking but pretty small, and I just felt so happy, lying on my board and catching little waves all the way to shore. I love that about surfing. It is so fun to go with a big group of friends and spend the whole day out there. But I also love the solitude of going alone sometimes. It's so relaxing to just lie on your board, drifting. Being in the ocean makes me feel so calm and at peace. My last week in Hawaii, Kahana miraculously broke! I was sooo happy to be able to surf there one more time before I left! |