Hey Dear Friends and Readers. We are half-way through February and I cannot believe how fast this winter is flying by. We have been in Pagosa for over a month already and in so many ways it feels like we just got here and yet it seems longer. For me, Leah, it seems that the time drags on. While I love it here and am in awe every time I look at… Read More

Love. Love. Love. Happy Feet LOVE! If you are a committed hiker, as in a hiker that does more than just a couple of miles a pop these are the boots for you. Let me share a little about my hiking shoe woes and then I’ll tell you why I LOVE these boots. Last year my husband and I did a lot of hiking, we were gearing up for our Half Dome… Read More

The view from the pool at our hotel, Villa Ilias and our first views of Santorini. Our response? “Wow.” Looking through our options and planning our time in Santorini. For us this was to be a more relaxing destination than the rest. We had been go, go, go at the other stops and wanted to slow down and enjoy the views and gorgeous weather. Santorini is for slowing down and long romantic… Read More

Rome in Pictures. In Rome we explored the Roman Forum. This was the main square of Rome…where it all went down!       And then of course we wondered around the Coliseum…and tried to act hard and cold like the Romans of old!   So much history here! Above you see the underground passage ways used by gladiators and wild animals.  And then we entered the Vatican City… and joined the crowds… Read More

October 14-16 On Wednesday we took a train to Orvieto, a hill town in Umbria (the lesser known sister to Tuscany). Orvieto is built upon volcanic rock and sits high up on a rock out-cropping, so the only way up is in a vehicle on the winding road, walk (quite a while) or take the Funicular, a train that goes strait up the hill. But once you get to the old town… Read More

October 12-14 We took the train(s) from Venice to the Cinque Terre on Monday, and because we had quite a few transfers (4) and missed our last train (because we were in the station late) we didn’t get into Manarola until 5pm. The area surrounding the 5 towns that hug the Mediterranean cost between Genoa and La Spezia is called Cinque Terre. They are just a quick train ride or a beautiful,… Read More

So for our (almost) free lodging in Venice, we stayed at the luxurious Hilton Molino Stucky Hotel. The Hilton Molino Stucky For this stay, we used our two free weekend nights (any category level Hilton hotel) squired by signing up for the Citi Hilton Hhonors Reserve credit card. By signing up for this card and meeting the minimum spend of $2500 in 3 months, you get two free weekend nights at any… Read More

We took an overnight train from Paris to Venice on Friday night. It was a new experience for me, while I have been on an overnight train before (Malaysia), it was a completely different experience for me. The train in Malaysia had berths stacked on each other 3 high, I was at the bottom, and you remain in your berth the entire ride. This train had a compartment that was allotted to… Read More

  The Hotel Du Louvre   We are really getting addicted to staying at nice hotels for free! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the stunning Hotel Du Louvre in Paris. The Hotel Du Louvre is a Hyatt hotel located directly across from the Louvre Museum.  For this stay we used our 2 free Hyatt nights which I acquired by signing up for the Chase Hyatt credit card. By meeting the required… Read More

Bonjour! I am sitting in our beautiful hotel lobby next to the Louvre as I write this. We have but a few more hours in Paris. Precious hours they are as this city has quickly become a favorite place of ours. There is so much to explore yet and so much to see but alas we resign ourselves to the plan of coming back for more of this city that seems to… Read More