Trails 2 Travel

Horseback Riding to forgotten Incan Temples While our first 2 days in Cusco were enjoyable, this day really BROUGHT it. It was one of the first tours I landed upon when searching things to do in Cusco for a half day and for only $65 riding, it really intrigued me. So far the only other country I’ve ridden in was Iceland, so I was definitely interested to see what tours were like in other countries. Luckily my friends were also game for a little riding adventure so we booked it, made sure to wear pants, loaded up on sunscreen, and got ready for out tour.  We did NOT know what we were getting into, in the best way possible. This was hands down the BEST riding tour I could imagine , and possibly one of the best tours I’ve ever taken. 

The Sacred Valley What is a trip to Peru without a visit to the famous Sacred Valley? About as important a visit as seeing the top wonder of the World, Machu Picchu, the many sites and towns along the Urubamba (sacred) river are a must see. Preferrably over a few days with time to spend in each place. But if you are on a time crunch like we were, 1 day on a tour is what you get. 

One of the first things you do after booking a cruise (or even shopping for a cruise) is check out the shore excursions and what each island stop has to offer. In our case, the only port my mom (the cruiser extraordinaire) hasn’t already been to was Amber Cove, The Dominican Republic. This was a huge win as it opened up a whole new host of possible shore excursions and places to explore a new. The very first excursion that stood out was the waterfalls of Damajagua.

A day in the US Virgin Islands : St. Thomas While planning a trip to the Carribbean you have several clusters of islands to choose from, one of which is the US Virgin Islands . This group is composed of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. Visiting these islands offers a bit more than just your standard beach vacation with diverse architecture (evidence of nations that colonized the islands in the 17th and 18th centuries) and culinary encounters, artisan fairs, and most fun of all if you time it right: Carnivals.

Historic San Juan in a day Walking Tour Whether you have an extended stay in Puerto Rico, or less than a day from a cruise stop over, here’s my walkable itinerary for seeing the best of San Juan.Puerto Rico in one day! Experience history, art, shopping, and admire tons of cool city architecture. 

Why go on a cruise? As somebody who loves to travel and also frequently talks to other travelers, the general opinion of  that cruises are boring and that though you are technically traveling, you don’t ever actually “experience” the places you go. So if you love to travel, why take one?

Our day started on a train and similar to our last sleeper train experience, I was up at the crack of dawn unable to fall back asleep… starting what would be a fairly long day. Luckily we didn’t have to worry too much about organizing our trip as this day was our 2nd tour and was organized for us.  About the Tour : I didn’t book this tour through a website or by happening upon someone’s page but instead was referred to the tour guide Lisa from a friend who had previously visited Beijing. The cost was the most affordable I saw comparing to online prices for a private tour and the biggest benefit was since we had a private car for the day, we didn’t have to worry about what to do with our luggage while we explored the city. While we didn’t get to meet Lisa personally (she had a family emergency) we did have a great tour with one of her associates. Our stops would be the Summer Palace and Forbidden City and would only end up taking about half a day. If you are wanting to bo...

Fall Carbon County ATV Tour Let me start off this post by saying that not only did this tour far exceed my expectations, but the entire area did. If you hear Carbon County, most people immediately ask "what is there to even do there," "where is that?" Then you mention "Price" which is on all the road signs when you head from SLC to Moab and you get a few nods.  WELL, time to change that.

As my previous pointed out we had a 7 PM ferry to block Island to catch so in that 1 day we went from NYC subways, taxi cabs, and trains, to ferrying on over to Block Island from Rhode Island. It was a chilly ride with light sprinkling and some serious heaving and surging forward and back. Like if you stood on the bow, you may have been doused a time of 2. Luckily it's just an hour ride over.

NYC Day 2: Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, and Central Park Despite the late night Broadway show before, we were up early and determined to hit the rest of the list. So first up was Brooklyn. It took about 40 min to get to the Bagel Store on Bedford Ave between 2 subway lines and less than mile of walking. Rainbow bagel with funfetti smear: perfection.

NYC Day 1: Bright and early caught the train from Old Saybrook Connecticut ( free parking and closer to Stonington so less traffic concerns) to New Haven Union Station where we then transferred to go  on to Grand Central. (Above: a horrible lighting selfie in Grand Central... you're welcome)  Shoreline East train from O.S. to New Haven: $7.25 Metro North train from New Haven to Grand Central: 17.50

Onto the next trip! New England. After a short visit home to work a few hours and see my boys, I was on a flight back to Boston to spend a week with my friend Katie. We met when she lived in Utah for a couple years and moved back east a year ago. I haven't been to New England in recent memory so a trip out for a visit seemed a solid plan.

Greece Day 3: One of my most highly anticipated days of the trip!!!! METEORA Not even kidding guys, I have been wanting to experience Meteora FOREVER. It'a short and steep climb ( on a bus! hehe) from the town to the first monastery St. Stephens which is.. by far the most accessible as there are NO STAIRS to reach this one, only a narrow foot bridge.

Greece Day 2: For the 2nd and 3rd days of Greece we booked a tour through Astoria Travels/ G.O. Tours. It would take us to Delphi and Meteora with a few stops along the way! The tour picked us up around 8 AM and we were off with a few rest stops and got to Delphi around 10:30/11. To the left: The Mountain of the Muses (as seen/ photographer from a moving bus. sorry for the terrible quality) The bus ride to Delphi took us through so many gorgeous mountain passes! One of the most scenic bus rides you can take.