Earlier this spring to celebrate my birthday, Wes (the still newish husband!) and I decided to head out of town for a quick weekend in Cincinnati. It’s impossible to see it all in this cool river town, but we did our best to pack in what we could!

We headed to the Cincinnati Zoo (mostly to see Fiona!) and I again marveled at what an amazing facility it is, and one I haven’t visited in many, many years. We also made sure to visit the original Jungle Jim’s to stock up on “British food” and all manner of tasty nibbles!

We also visited the Newport Aquarium, right across the river from Cincinnati, which gives visitors a great view of the skyline, and is an impressive aquarium for its size. We wound down our weekend with a visit to to the Cincinnati Art Museum, where admission is always free!

There are still so many things we want to do when we visit Cincinnati again (eat at Skyline Chili again! Visit the Rhinegeist brewery! Carew Observation Deck!), but for a quick weekend, it felt like we packed a lot in!

–Marissa

My new husband has never had a passport before this year, has never left the US, has never gone on much in the way of travel adventures. It’s time to change that!

After some flight searching and destination debating, we settled on Montreal in French Canada – the closest we can get to France right now with our budget! We had a fantastic long weekend there, and though it was rainy, it didn’t dampen our impression of this beautiful city! We packed a ton into the weekend…

We stayed at Hotel Zero 1 right next to Chinatown (recommended!), and ate our way through Chinatown (soup dumplings! bibimbap!) and beyond! We marveled at the Notre-Dame Basilica and  the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, we wandered the streets of Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal), and lost a few dollars in the casino.

We hiked around Mount Royal to find an amazing view of the Montreal skyline, we visited the St. Joseph Oratory (the largest church in Canada), wandered around the Jean Talon Market (oh, so envious…), ate in Little Italy, and got a bit lost in the Underground City.

We ambled through the Museum of Fine Arts (and I adored the special Thierry Mugler exhibit!), wandered the nearby neighborhoods, ate the best tapas of our lives, did some souvenir shopping near Place D’Armes, and enjoyed sleeping a leisurely 9 hours a night whilst on vacation!

For us, Montreal isn’t far (just a few hours in a plane), but it felt half a world away, and I got to practice my high school/college French, eat lots of tasty meals, see the sights, and introduce my husband to the wonders of travel. What a treat!

–Marissa

So, for reasons that don’t bear repeating, my friend Jen and I found ourselves at loose ends, trying to figure out how to separately celebrate Christmas when the traditions we were used to were changing this year.

So, we put our heads together and decided a girls trip was in order.

And where should a couple of girls go for the most extravagant, over -the-top holiday possible on a budget?

VEGAS, BABY.

(If you haven’t done Vegas at Christmas, you should! So much decorating!)

Jen had never ventured to the big city (I’ve actually been five times. No, I’m not a compulsive gambler…), so we eagerly jetted off and I couldn’t wait to show her around all the glitz and immensity of Vegas. We stayed at the Linq, right on the center strip (great hotel, and perfect location!) – it was great!

We put miles and miles on our shoes exploring every casino… meeting dolphins and big kitties, eyeing sharks and stingrays… hitting the penny slots (and winning!)… exploring and spending time in the Venetian, including a leisurely couple of lunches in St. Mark’s Square (best.pizza.I’ve.had.outside.Italy.)… admiring the Bellagio Conservatory… visiting the Atomic Test Museum… and I even put my brave girl pants and accompanied Jen to the top of the Eiffel Tower! What an amazing experience!

We  ate well, walked much, gambled some, and gawked a ton, and overall had a great time!

–Marissa

Until next time… thanks, Las Vegas!

Other than a cabin for a couple of days all alone, I’ve never gone on vacation solo.

I’ve never been opposed to it since I’m comfortable with my own company, but it’s always nice to have a buddy along, yeah?

But recently, the opportunity presented itself for an only-me vacation, and y’all…it was the BEST THING EVER.

If you are going to vacation alone, I highly recommend…Disneyworld. *grin*

I had to be in Orlando for a work conference, and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to spend a few days at Magic Kingdom and Epcot just because I was alone, so off I went!

I opted to do the “all in one” thing – Disney resort, food package, transportation and tickets – which made it super easy, and with the help of Uber, I was able to zip from conference hotel to “vacation” hotel in a snap!

I spent a couple of days at Magic Kingdom and one at Epcot, and y’all, it was AMAZING.

I rode whatever I wanted to ride, I ate when and what I wanted, I rested when I needed, I popped back to the hotel if I felt like it, I got a henna tattoo for the hell of it, and while I was waiting in line? I read a book.

(Bliss!)

No one made me feel like a doofus for being there alone, and I even got to line jump a few times as a single rider! Lots of folks struck up conversation with me, I had room to spread out on the rides, I requested the front seat on Space Mountain (because, uh, it’s the best, and I was a single rider!), and every employee just smiled when I said “one” to their “how many?” instead of looking at me like I was some friendless spinster. *grin*

Such a great holiday!

I love a good day trip, and on a gorgeous spring day, it was such fun to hit the road with my bestie Megan (my travelin’ buddy to places like Amsterdam/Brussels/Paris and Garden of the Gods) to visit NASHVILLE!

Now, despite living only a few hours from Music City USA, I’ve never really *done* Nashville, so we opted to just embrace being super-touristy!

We went to the (full scale replica) Parthenon in Centennial Park, which is just as impressive as it sounds! We paid the $6 admission fee to go inside and see the forty-two foot (!!) Athena sculpture inside. Very impressive!

We drove right down Honky Tonk Row (otherwise known as Lower Broadway) and saw the bars lining the pavement before hopping on a Gray Line trolley tour to see the city. The redbud trees were gorgeous around the city, and we loved seeing the Tennessee Statehouse, the parks, and hearing more of the history of the city.

Of course, no trip is complete without a visit to a boot store (sadly, we abstained from buying!), to buy some Goo Goo’s (locally made candy that’s been around for a century) and some great Southern cooking – including crawfish poppers!

We had a fantastic time riding around the city, taking in the sights, eating some great food while listening to great music, and catching up! Thanks for having us, Nashville!

–Marissa