Proving this big world is smaller than you think
Welcome to 2019. THE year. We have finally arrived. We have earned the right to say we are leaving to travel the world THIS YEAR. That’s exhilarating and terrifying. Being on this side of the year makes all the difference, as it’s finally beginning to feel real. We’re doing this. And there’s still so much to do!
Continue reading “5 Months Until We Leave – Tasks Still Remaining for the Trip of a Lifetime”
We’re toning back a bit on our blogging, as we’re now in crunch time before we leave for our big trip! Therefore, enjoy full posts every other week, with quick travel highlights like these in the alternates. Let us know what you think! We’d love to know what your favorites are!
We had so much incredible food in Japan; how could we pick just one favorite? While we loved the comforting ramen and drooled over the extravagant ryokan breakfast, one restaurant rose to the top, and it still makes my stomach grumble at the thought of it.
Continue reading “World Highlights: Our Favorite Japanese Meal”
As we break in our new toys and recover from our eggnog hangovers, Aaron and I are beginning to think about next year’s Christmas. We depart for our crazy journey next summer, and we will be travelling for (at least) a year. That inevitably means we’ll be in another country for my favorite holiday. Where should we celebrate it?
Continue reading “Christmas Abroad: Where Should We Celebrate?”
Guess what?? We have hit 100 posts on our site! Can you believe it? To mark the occasion, we thought we would share with you 100 things we love about traveling.
We’re taking a short break this week, but we don’t want to leave you without some fun Norway stories, so here’s one from my photography blog on our visit to Vigeland Park in Oslo. Feel free to follow my travel photography there as well, and we’ll have some new stories for you next week!
At first, we saw only a massive stretch of green lawn, and we were drawn in by the pungent smell of burning coals. This led us to a space buzzing with people. Couples wandered along the expansive path; groups of adolescents sat laughing on stretched-out blankets, a joyful tune emanating from their portable speakers and a beer in their hands.
As we ventured deeper into Vigeland Park, we reached a broad bridge sporting dozens of sculptures on either side.
The first thing I noticed was the sculptures were all unabashedly nude – men, women, children, all completely out in the open. But as I observed the artwork, I was taken aback by the simple beauty of the scenes depicted.
Read the full article: Vigeland Park – Oslo’s Sculpture Park | LotsaSmiles Photography
While we were camping most of the time in beautiful Norway, we did also have a few opportunities to marvel at some of the ingenious architecture across the country. And though we saw so little of it, it still made quite the impression!
When visiting someplace new, first impressions can make a big difference. A single day can determine if we want to return, what we think of the people, and how much we’ll talk about it when we return. The first few hours can set the mood for the entire trip.
Fortunately, Oslo was a delightful introduction to Norway.
We just arrived back from Norway a few days ago and were completely stunned by how beautiful it was. Our route included many fjords, glaciers, snowy lakes, and other breath-taking scenery that seemed to be non-stop. Every time we were wowed, there was something even more beautiful around the corner. During our last day we saw a glacier that emotionally impacted us in a way that no pictures or words could describe.
We started to get worried that we would be disappointed going to other countries or even back home in Oregon wondering what could top this. However, there is so much world out there to see that we are up for the challenge. Since there is a lot of material to go through, and we are dead tired from the trip, here are just a couple of the highlights (the highlights never stopped, nor the high jumps).
Continue reading “Norway – Endless Beauty from Fjord to Glacier”
So this post will be a tad different from the country profiles we’ve done in the past. We’re still collecting that information, but we didn’t think a table of text was very fun to read. So this will be a bit more personal. We’ll give you more insight as to why we’re considering this for our world trip.
Now first, it’s worth mentioning that China was not originally on Aaron’s list. With dreams of exploring the famous Great Wall and seeing legendary cities like Shanghai, I obviously didn’t realize this disparity between our priorities.
One thing that can take your trip from epic awesomeness to complete misery is getting scammed. It can happen to anyone, but it is good to know what the common scams are in the country you plan to visit. This can help you take precautions to avoid these potential traps and better enjoy your stay. Here are some examples from the simple search of “Scams in [country of your choice].”
Continue reading “Know the Common Scams in Each Country”
