travel

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.   

- Susan Heller

venice

i don't pretend to know everything about traveling, but on this page, i want to share our experience. i hope to hear about your own travels!

hatshepsut temple, luxor, cairo

PRE-GETAWAY PLANNING

packing:

aside from the obvious of bringing the practical and a few of your favorite clothing pieces (and new shopped pieces) i've learning that there are some things that i need to bring on short or long getaway:

• swimsuit
• sunscreen
• hat
• sweater or coat
• umbrella
• gum/altoids
• work-out shoes
• snacks: nuts, dried fruits, clif bars/protein bars, candies
• febreeze (does wonders at freshening clothes. if you can't pack this because of tsa restrictions, this can be bought at your vacay destination (depending on where you're going))

like every woman (and some men), i tend to over-pack my clothes. i'ver learned to plan my outfits for every day while on vacation and bring clothes i can mis and match. the day before traveling, i look at all my clothes again and remove ones that i'm not crazy about. of course, even after all these efforts, there's always a few clothes that i don't end up wearing. ha! BUT most importantly, i've realized that i also shop while on vacation and what a great way to really buy a few new clothes? ;)

IRELAND:

we just traveled to ireland recently (spring break) and enjoyed every minute of it! the saying that the irish have the "gift of gab", very true and they are the friendliest people we have ever met. we even considered moving there! 

since we only had 7 days (i know WAY too short!), we decided to keep our travels south of ireland. we visited dublin, kilkenny, cashel (rock of cashel), dingle, and killarney (killarney national park). driving in ireland is definitely the best way to travel around the country. here are some tips i found from this travel.

driving in ireland:

• get full coverage car insurance (expensive, but worth it- just in case!)
• navigation system AND map: a nav system will be helpful to get you around the area where you want to be but ensure that you also have a map and call your destination (b&b, attraction, etc.) to ask for landmarks/directions. the more resource the better! we definitely learned from this when we drove around the area of our b&b in killarney- not one of our proudest moment. ha!
• automatic cars available: driving on the left side of the road can be challenging if you've been driving on the right side most of your life. we had a manual car and according to my husband, brent, shifting with your left hand can make for an interesting experience.
• navigation partner: if you're lucky enough to travel/drive with another person, the passenger can be the navigator, while the driver concentrates on driving.
• "wide right", "tight left": i was brent's navigator so every time we turned right, i said "wide right" and when we turned left, "tight left". very helpful for us american drivers! i probably drove brent nuts after a while, but it worked. 
• too close for comfort: for the passenger on the left, it can feel like the car is very close to the hedges, curve, or wall and it probably is! ha! i got over it after the first day. it's better than having a close encounter with a semi!
• expect cows on the road, slow tractors, slow drivers, etc. on the road.
• don't drink and drive: like most places, drinking and driving should be avoided, but in ireland, they have a zero tolerance stance on drinking and driving. 
• enjoy the process! enjoy the scenery!

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:

we love to try out new restaurants and are open to many types of food! here are some of my favorite restaurants/food!

OUT OF THE BLUE in Dingle, Ireland:

if you're a seafood fiend like i am, you will love the restaurant "out of the blue" in dingle, ireland. they only serve locally caught seafood and catches of the day so the menu changes daily. this also means that you get the very best and freshest seafood!!! the chef is french, and it's amazing to taste what he can create with varying seafood, which are not easy to cook. try their lebanese red wine- who says you have to have white wine with seafood. i say, drink what you like, and it will go with any food you're eating! :) because their menu changes daily, their menu is written on a chalk-board, which the waiter or waitress brings to your table. for those of you who love to be green, you will appreciate this.

make reservations as this small "shack-like" looking restaurant is small and fills up quickly. i've attached a link to their website so check them out! don't miss out on great seafood.