LA SIESTA RESORT & MARINA ~ ISLAMORADA, FLORIDA

  

On my recent road trip to the Florida Keys, we stayed three nights at the beautiful La Siesta Resort in Islamorada.  When you stay at La Siesta Resort, you can also visit three other sister resorts (Amara Cay, Postcard Inn, and Pelican Cove) and enjoy all of their amenities and watersport rentals.  

La Siesta in Islamorada, is located on 6-acres of oceanfront accessible by the historic Overseas Highway at mile marker 80.  The resort is less than 90 minutes from Miami and about 1 1/2 hour drive to Key West.

LODGING IN BIRGU, MALTA

The first time I visited Malta, I stayed in a wonderful apartment in Senglea, Malta.  This particular apartment was booked on my recent visit so we chose an apartment in Birgu.  

It is across the harbour from Senglea and you can take the water taxi over to Valletta with a short five minute ride.

We chose to stay in this Airbnb (Fantastic Grand Harbour Sea Views) in Birgu.  

MANUEL ANTONIO, COSTA RICA

Manuel Antonio is a beautiful beach town about two and a half hours from San Jose airport.  Thousands flock here each year to breathtaking views of the Pacific.

VISITING THE COLOSSEUM, ROMAN FORUM, AND PALATINE HILL

A visit to the Colosseum is at the top of the list for any first time visitor to Rome. Located next to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill and your admission ticket covers all three places.  You can go between all three places at your own pace.

The Colosseum - What To Expect When You Visit

The area around the Colosseum is quite huge and will probably be filled with people, even if you go during the middle of the week during a school day.  You will see the usual mix of visitors posing for pictures and many vendors offering group tours.  I understand that some days you will see locals dressed in Roman costumes though we didn't see any the day we were there.  Keep in mind that most of the people charge a fee to pose for these photos.

You also need to be prepared for long waits even if you have prepurchased your tickets.  We were approached by someone selling private group tours at the cost of €30 with the promise of skipping the two-hour wait in line.  We decided to join a small group of English speaking visitors and though we didn't completely skip the line, we did get in after only a short wait.  The guide we had in the colosseum was OK but nothing to brag about but we switched guides before moving on to the forum we got this wonderful Canadian lady that gave us a great tour of Palatine Hill and the Forum.  For me, it was well worth the price difference.

SAINT PAUL'S BAY, MALTA

St. Paul was shipwrecked on an island which many scholars have identified as Malta on his voyage from Caesarea to Rome. The Maltese people believe that it was St. Paul who laid the foundations of Christianity on the island.

I did not have a chance to explore this area but I snapped a few photos as we drove by.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!

It's never too late to follow your dreams....

At 51 years of age, I can say this is true.  I spent my married life sitting at home the first few years taking care of kids, his & mine, and the second half traveling with my husband who fished bass tournaments.  Several months out of the year we spent two weeks on the road traveling to various state while my husband fished in BASS and FLW tournaments.    

                                          

We were in southern Florida in January, by February we were in another state, and March a different state.  We traveled around Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Michigan just to name a few.  

GOLDEN BAY ~ MALTA

When we asked locals about the prettiest beach in Malta, Golden Bay always mentioned.  Golden Bay is located  on the north-west coast of Malta.  It is a sandy beach and tends to be more popular because it has a larger stretch of sand, is easier to access and has better facilities, including three restaurants.  

I didn't stay long at this beach but I had friends that stayed to watch the sunset and they loved this beach.  

POPEYE VILLAGE ~ MALTA

'Popeye Village Malta', the Film Set of the 1980 Musical Production “Popeye”, also known as 'Popeye Village' today is one of Malta's major tourist attractions. The film set was constructed in Anchor Bay during the last 7 months of 1979.

To construct this authentic wooden village, tree trunk logs were trailered overland from Holland, and wood shingles, used in the construction of the roof tops, were imported all the way from Canada. A 165 international construction crew consumed eight tons of nails and two thousand gallons of paint to finish off this massive Set.

Seeing this village was on my list of places to see in Malta.  I didn't have time to tour it up close but did have the driver carry me by the harbor so I could get a few photos.  

If you visit Malta, make sure this village is on your list of things to see.  If your time is short, like mine was, you can pull off the highway across the bay.  If you would like to visit, you can purchase tickets online at the website listed below.  

HOW TO PACK CLOTHING FOR EUROPE WITH ONLY CARRY ON

Packing for a week or more for a vacation in Europe using only a carry-on can be done!

This will go into my carry-on, electronics will go into black bag, and I will be wearing the flights clothing.

We will be flying Ryanair once we get to Spain and they have very strict (and small) luggage requirements.  You can have one free carry-on that is no larger than 21.6 x 15.74 x 7.87 inches including wheels and handles so think child size suitcase.

So even though you want to look good, you also have to be practical.  Stick with pieces that mix and match.  My daughter and I spent 16 days in Europe with no luggage since they lost it on the trip over.  You CAN get by with only one pair of jeans by washing them every night when you take a shower.  Same with you undergarments and other clothing.  It's also a good excuse to go shopping.

Hope this helps you with packing your small carry one.

FOLLOW ALONG AS WE PREPARE FOR OUR TRIP TO EUROPE

I'm Headed Back to Europe in October and I want you to come along.  I guess I should actually say WE are headed back to Europe.  I am traveling with three 27-year-old ladies, one of them being my daughter.

Each of us has a budget of $1000. That may sound like a lot of money to you but it you go search for flights to Europe, you will find that just the plane tickets are over $1000. We are going to try to book flights, hotels, food, and transportation and bring it all in around the thousand dollar mark and I'm going to show you how.

So follow along as we book our flights and lodging.  See how we pack everything into small cases so we don't have to pay luggage fees and how we earned our travel money.  Let's get started.....

Here is the gang:

As you can see, only one person in the group that is earning their travel money solely from their regular job.  The rest of us has had to do "something extra" for our travel money which means you can do it too.  I know there are some people who may already work two or three jobs to pay the bills and say there is no extra money.  I was that way for many years myself.

SECRETS TO FINDING CHEAP AIRFARE

Since I always have people ask me how I find cheap airfare, I thought I would write a post about it. Below are some tips to the sites that I use and why I use them. I'm not going to go into earning airline miles in this post, I'll save that for a later post.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how I fly cheap on Spirit Airlines. There are other airlines that have similar cheaper flights and you can save a lot of money using them. Just keep in mind that there are trade-offs for the cheap fares such as no free food or beverages. I have listed links to some of these airlines below.

Check Fares Often
Airlines change fares constantly, often multiple times a week. So when it comes to buying an airline ticket, timing is everything. To get the best deals you will need to check airfare sites often. I have about three sites that I check at least once a day. The price of a fare can change in a few seconds (many times the price will change while you are looking at the fare). I was looking at an airfare to Morocco which was listed at $167 and the price jumped to $850 within five minutes.

Be Flexible
You can save hundreds of dollars by being flexible on your dates and destinations. Here is a random example I pulled up on Skyscanner

Experiences Make Us Happier than Posessions

People Who Spend Money On Experiences Instead Of Things Are Much Happier

Study: Experiences make us happier than possessionsBuy Experiences, Not Things

NOwnership, No Problem: Why Millennials Value Experiences Over Owing Things.

.......this generation not only highly values experiences, but they are increasingly spending time and money on them: from concerts and social events to athletic pursuits, to cultural experiences and events of all kinds. For this group, happiness isn’t as focused on possessions or career status. Living a meaningful, happy life is about creating, sharing and capturing memories earned through experiences that span the spectrum of life’s opportunities.

Exploring Pompeii 

These are some of the articles I have been reading this morning as I sit here at my computer on my 52nd  birthday.
  
The last quote was found on Forbes web site.  I love seeing that the millennial generation has things in perspective.  I know my twenty-six year old daughter has the same philosophy that I do - 

 Experiences truly does make us happier than possessions.

As we get ready to begin a new year, I wonder how people would answer the question ...... What was your three favorite memories for this past year?  So stop reading right now and think of the first 3 things to pop into your mind. 


Here are the first three things that came to my mind:

1. Birth of my grandson (and photographing it)
2. Photographing bluebonnets in Texas Hill Country in the spring.
3. Quick trip to Biloxi / Ship Island with friends last summer.

Nowhere on this list is going out to eat, buying a new-to-me vehicle, splurging on clothing I really don't need, buying jewelry, or buying new shoes.  I did all of the things on this list and more but none of them made my list of 3 best memories.  To be honest, they wouldn't even make my top 25 list!

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center ~ Glen Rose, Texas

I had the opportunity to visit Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas for the first time.  Fossil Rim is a sanctuary for endangered species whose goal it is to promote the preservation and procreation for threatened/endangered species, environmental awareness, and a recreational and educational experience for everyone.

The day we were there, we saw vehicles filled with children and cars filled with photographers, like us, with heads and arms stuck out of various windows.  There was a sun roof in our vehicle so you would have seen nothing but legs in our vehicle with our upper torsos sticking above the vehicle.  I snapped this pic of someone else doing the same thing we were.  You are not allowed to get out of your vehicles so this is about the only way to get a clear shot of the animals.

THE REEF ~ BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI

When asking the locals for a great place to eat in Biloxi, we were told The Reef.  It was a fairly new restaurant and everyone said they had the best seafood around.

GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ARKANSAS

Garvan Woodland Gardens is a busy place in the spring.  I had been seeing many beautiful photos taken of the tulips in bloom so when I make a quick trip when visiting my daughter in Hot Springs.

It is a 210-acre botanical garden located at 550 Arkridge Road approximately 6 miles from Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. It is owned by the University of Arkansas and open every day for a fee. (information listed at end of post)

Bring a picnic lunch and spend the day enjoying the flowers, water features, fish, and don't forget to bring you camera.

FRENCH QUARTERS, NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans was an after thought.  I was with friends in Mississippi when someone suggested we go visit someone they knew in New Orleans.  We headed that way and showed on up this poor guys doorstep.  I think we woke him up but he graciously gave us a tour around New Orleans.  

                                         Of course you will want to start you visit in the French Quarters.  

My beautiful daughter

Dining at Dominica in New Orleans

If you are in New Orleans and looking for a place to eat,  make a trip to Domenica.

Now I'm a country girl who is used to food from places like  Applebee's, Olive Garden, and Texas Roadhouse.  This was outside of my comfort zone but I'm always up for an adventure.

I ordered the Fried Squash Blossoms with goat cheese, tomatoes and aged balsamic.  I have grown squash in my garden for years but have never eaten the blossoms or even heard of fried squash blossoms.  I was surprised by how good it was and enjoyed the mixture of goat cheese and herbs.