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Camels, Monkeys and Cobras… OH MY it’s Marrakech!

Dive in to adventure when reading about Marrakesh, Morocco!

FEBRUARY 2019 Marrakesh, Morocco

My husband and I chose to make the trip to Marrakech, Africa -new country, new continent along with new cultures and language. Got to check this one off of our Bucket List!

We choose to take a cab as close as we could to our Riad- which was right off of the main square Jamaa el Fna (200 Durams or 20$). Jemaa el-Fna is a square and market place in Marrakesh’s medina quarter. It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists. On our walk in to the Riad we took through the markets and saw everything from rugs, blankets to jewelry, traditional spices and Tajin dishes made in Morocco.

Picture of the Medina, from the rooftop on our hotel!

The name of our hotel was the Riad Le Rubis and cost us around 90$ a night. The location was great, we were very centrally located, but also right in the middle of the busy bustling streets that don’t stop until 1 or 2 in the morning.

Checked into hotel and headed over to dinner where we tried some traditional Moroccan dishes in Tajins. I chose a chicken lentil dish and husbands was couscous chicken with moroccan spices.

After dinner we walked around the Medina. Grabbed a FRESH mixed fruit juice and pomegranate juice squeezed right in front of us. As we wondered around we ran into the Koutoubia Minaret- largest mosque in Marrakesh, and the gardens that surround it.

Sunset Koutoubia Minaret – Largest Mosque in Marrakech

Day 2 in Marrakech – Adventure time!

We booked a tour through TripAdvisor that was camel rides and ATV rides in the Desert (not really). We woke up and roamed around to find coffee and food. Found decent place at Cafe Laksour – had good coffee and made us an Omelet (which he literally walked across the street to buy the ingredients) and then headed out at 9 am for our tour. The food was pretty cheap only cost us 56 durams (Morroccan Money).

Once we were picked up for the tour guides we had to take a ride maybe 30-40 minutes out of the city. The Camel and Quad Tour cost us around 100$ each.

The camels were a pretty amazing site to see, although we were not in the real Sahara Desert… (sad face) It was still a cool adventure, not many times in your life can you say that you have ridden and actual camel, and even more in Morocco! They took us out and around with the camels and then took us to a traditional Moroccan home where they showed us how to make the Mint tea and served us with YUMMY Moroccan pancakes!!

After the camels came the quad bikes…. at this point in the day it decided to rain and this was COLD rain. I wasn’t not the happiest person by the end but the excursion through small villages I would call them – was very much an eye opening experience.

Day 3 – Travel to the Ouzoud Falls

We planned to do another excursion because honestly one day is plenty when in the city of Marrakech to knock out the souvenirs or keepsakes you might want to barter or haggle for in the markets/souks and to see all of the the touristy highlights.

Woke up and headed to the Medina area where the trip was to pick us up at 8 in which nothing really opens until later but the fruit stands were open! We grabbed one for the road which was about 60 durams for 3 different fruits in one smoothie. So delicious and fresh 🙂

The trip was out of Marrakech about 3 hours to the waterfalls –Ouzoud falls! This tour cost us around 50 euros total. Ouzoud Falls are the highest waterfalls in Africa at 110 m high.

The tour also included a boat ride at the bottom of the falls where they took you all the way up to the bottom of the falls! I thought we were all going to get soaked! BUT the man driving the boat knew what he was doing! 🙂

On our walk up to the falls our guide showed us the Olive trees that many of the Berber (Native people of North Africa – Berber, barbarians) families own – marked with paint to show who owns which tree. He gave us some brief history on the trees and that it takes 7 years for a newly planted olive tree to produce any olives. CRAZY

Our guide told us that a home is made to house the entire family -the girls once married are sent away to live with the mans family, once a boy is born the family “adds” a new room on to the home (expecting him to become married). The Berbers are persistent on learning new languages and require the children to start to learn 4 languages in Kindergarten and by university age they must know 9 or they are not allowed to go on at that point.

On the other side of the falls there were MONKEYS, wild monkeys – everywhere! We bought a few peanuts and started to feed them and they would jump up on you to eat the peanuts out of your hands. We walked to the very top of the waterfall and at the top it was time for lunch. We were served a 3 course traditional Moroccan meal. CousCous with veggies, lamp Tajinn – all served with Moroccan style bread. Then for dessert, fresh oranges and bananas.

Once we took the 3 hour track back home it was time to again find food – and this time we decided to try the street food or market food in the Jamaa El-Fna. We just randomly chose one of the many that are being offered to you as you walk through the market. It was super delicious and all of the food was made right in front of us -we tried the Moroccan soup and a couple of Pastilla et Poulet, sausage on the grill and some bread with dipping sauces. It was everything you could want from the streets of Marrakech. We also only paid 120 durams for our entire meal! THIS is definitely a must try as you are in Marrakesh and in the area, it is kind of a daunting experience with all of the overload of people pulling you one direction or the other, but once you sit down they take care of you and make sure you get what you need.

Day 4 – Smack a Cobra!

On day four we woke up and had breakfast in our hotel, then we headed out to mail a couple of post cards at the post office (super easy to do -if you like to mail items from a new location, we just found the post office off of the Medina – bought stamps and put them in the international mail).

We made a stop in the Jamaa el Fna… for the extremely large tourist trap of taking pictures with snakes and cobras. It still got my heart racing and was an experience I can and will be talking about for the longest time. My husband actually held a cobra as the man was holding a large cobra in my face and a snake was hanging around my neck. OMG.. I freaked but smiled for the pictures.

My husband was all about this and it was on his bucket list to “smack a cobra”. NOT so much on my list but I joined in on the picture and I was glad that I did. 🙂 A neat and different “to say that you did” experience!

After the Cobra charming… we started to roam the streets…finding some cool Moroccan souvenir! As we did this we ran into a cafe that played up the Beatles theme called Koulchi Zine. They had an amazing rooftop where we soaked in some rays and ordered pastilla… again 😉 a coke and a fruit juice for 180 Dirhams.

Something that kept popping up in our research was the Le Jardin Secret. It cost us like 50 Dirham each, and in both of our opinions… not really worth it. Don’t get me wrong, the garden was beautiful and was kept in great care, but it is just that… a garden. We took our time in the garden since we just spent money to walk through cacti and trees. At the top of the garden was a small little bar where you could get coffees and cakes, so we just relaxed and enjoyed the time taking in the beautiful morning. 🙂

TIP

Make sure to check out or even stay in the Guilere area ( we found this later in our trip). It is an updated and more modern area away from the busy area and hustle and bustle that is the Médina. It is very relaxed – but can also catch you off guard if you are to wonder in a wrong area.

While we were roaming through and getting lost in the streets I started looking for a leather back pack that I kept seeing. My husband made me haggle for the price my self and I would say I am pretty happy … the price of the bag was 300 and I got it for 220 ;). These were my two take away from the crazy Souks!

TIP

It should only be 100 Dirham from downtown to airport – On our way in we were “caught as a tourist” and paid 200 Diram, and on the way out we were quoted 100 Dirham ($10 difference) but we learned ;). We also showed early to our gate and we were glad that we did… check in was packed. BUT the security was empty and it was a breeze to make it through.

Things I couldn’t get enough of during our stay! Cats – Sunsets – Fruit and fruit juices – Camels – and Pastilla!

This was it for Marrakesh but not the end of our travels… We were catching a flight to Lisbon, Portugal next!

Zermatt & The MATTERHORN

Beautiful Matterhorn views are best enjoyed at the very top of the mountain 🏔

My friend and I traveled to zermatt via a train from Stuttgart, Germany. We hopped trains a couple times but 6 hours later we arrived in Zermatt, Switzerland!

We got in late on Sunday night, checked into our hotel, the Alphubel (great location – close to the train station and the Gornergrat train that takes you up the mountain to ski) then decided to go out and find some delish Swiss food! Surprise – it’s fondue!

The next morning we woke up and started to hit the slopes!
We had to pick up our ski tickets first, which couldn’t have been easier. We just went over to the Zermatter welcome center and got them printed out – had to pay a deposit on the cards but once we returned them we got the money back.
Unfortunately day one of our skiing wasn’t the best – the weather was windy and snowy (made for a great day 2 though!). We did make it to the top of the Gornergrat and skied down even though we couldn’t see a thing! We made it to a Kaffee house on the mountain and refreshed before we went back out to tackle the elements.

At the end of our ski day we kept skiing down the Riffelalp area and made it to a place called Hennu Stall – one of THE best and most fun Apres Ski huts on the mountain!

We bought two day ski passes to ski the Zermatt ski mountain so day two we hit the slopes and the weather was PERFECT! The sun was shining and you could see the Matterhorn clear as day it was so beautiful! The powder was amazing from the snow the day before and the mountains runs were amazing. The runs are so long and feel like they go on forever but you can find something for everyone to enjoy the day! We mostly skied the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise ski area that day because we had the freshest parts of snow to ourselves.

We made a stop at an outside bar at the bottom of our runs, where we grabbed a bite to eat and also just enjoyed the views of the Matterhorn.

End of day and it was time to head to the Hinnu Stall again! I was looking forward to it all day, even though the skiing for the day was amazing!

We might have had a little too much fun 🔥

A couple other bars that we found in the town of Zermatt that are worth checking out are Harry’s where everyone is still in their ski or board gear enjoying everyone’s company and meeting new people.

We also hit up a bar called the Snowboat & Yacht Club – they had some great choices for specialty mixed drinks.

The other bar we found was called Papperla Pub, where they had a live band on the inside and the outside bar area had a “spin the wheel” for 20 CHF and you could win anything from a bottel of champagne to shots of vodka. It was also a lot of fun! The live band was great and we ended up here till the end of the night 🙂

Our last day before we headed out of town and got on our train we walked around the town, found some great shots of the Matterhorn and went shopping in the local stores.

We rented our skis at Bayard, made reservations online. The pick up and drop off was effortless and was really close to the train station and our hotel.

We really enjoyed our time in Zermatt and hope to go back again one day, we made some great friends and some great memories.

Christmas in Germany… Weihnachtsmarkt

When the weather turns cold here in Europe everyone knows its time for the Christkindlmarkt! Christmas in Europe is a very special time of the year, from all the decorations to the beautiful winter foliage – there is sure to be something for everyone!

I am sharing just a few of the Markets that I traveled to this year and in years past. After living over here in Europe and visiting for the last three years I have hit quite a few of them! You can never go wrong with choosing a market, wether they are in Germany or other places in Europe they always have the same things to look for and find that are the best parts of every Christmas market!

The best items to get at a German Christmas market or any markets across Europe are of course… the FOOD, a few handmade items and last but not least, the Gluwhein or the hot mulled wine!

Make sure to take a picture of yourself in front of the Christmas sign, the decorated trees and indulge in the sweet treats that are all around you! My favorites are definitely the crepes filled with Nutella and banana OR the tiny little pancakes called Poffers.. YUM! You are sure to always find a Wurst mit Brochen.. the german way to say a bratwurst with bread 🙂 DELICIOUS! Also they have a pizza type of cuisine called flammkuchen that is a small flat bread pizza with a white cream sauce on top then topped with tiny pieces of bacon, onion and cheese. These are what are traditional to German markets but other places – like hungry – might have other specialty items! One for example is the Kürtőskalács– a dough that has been wrapped around a large wooden stick to make a “chimney cake” desert. They are then cooked over an open fire, once cooked they are then doused with cinnamon and sugar!

There are so many stands that will sell you the traditional Christmas Market drink… Gluhwein, served in a souvenir mug (costs a pfland or deposit) but its yours to keep if you want! If you return it you get your deposit back. They also have Hot Schokolade, or a kinderpunsch if you aren’t into the alcoholic beverages. 🙂

Make sure to grab a few crucial photo ops while at the markets, and continue drinking your Gluwhein!

Photo of the holiday mug served at every market
Snap a pic of the live animal manger scenes that will make an appearance at most markets
Smile big in front of the biggest Christmas tree you can find!
Make sure to document which market you went to with a pic in front of the arch or sign & entrance.
Who can find the biggest Christmas carousel? Snap a pic in front of one that you find!
Snap a pic of your wurst sandwich find.. almost impossible to leave a market with out partaking in one of these as a snack.
A picture of your handmade ornament that was the most unique
A picture with your friends and family at the market!

This year my sister and I visited –

Esslingen Christmas Market (my FAVE)

Stuttgart Christmas Market

Berlin Christmas Markets

Past years in Germany I have visited-

Wurzburg Market (smaller)

Boblingen (smaller)

ChocoArt Festival in Tubingen! In France I have only been to the Strasbourg Christmas market, which is one of the largest and oldest markets in all of Europe. It is truly a beautiful market and a beautiful fairytale like town that offers the Christmas feeling at every glance!

My husband and I have also visited a few Christmas markets in Italy – Rome, Venice and Milan.

Recently my sister and I have just traveled across the Eastern part of Europe where we got to experience the markets in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and the Czech Republic! Equally could all be my favorites places to go and spend Christmas time. The decorations, the food and the merriment made for a truly enjoyable trip through Europe! My next post will have more on this trip that I just took with my sister. It was such an amazing experience and you don’t want to miss out on the inside scoop!

Let’s Talk Europe… PARIS

Strap on in and hold on tight…. this is a long one! 🙂

You want to know more about Paris, right?? Well here is the insight from someone that has been there… twice. The first trip was a romantic couple trip and the second time was a family trip with my parents.

Since we live in Germany, we took a train from Stuttgart Train station directly to Paris Main Railway station. It was about a 3.5 hour train ride, very comfortable and very reasonably priced tickets. The price per ticket, each way, was 50 Euro.

We stayed at the Mercure Hotel which was located super close to the Eiffel tower. Everyday when we would walk out of our hotel, we would round the corner and there was the beauty of the Eiffel Tower.

While we definitely enjoyed our selves with all the lights of the Eiffel tower and the wonderful food found in the Cafes, and of course all magnificent pastries and treats at the Boulangerie or patisseries here is our list of all the other activities to do while in Paris.

DO try the Escargot… you might like it 😉
1. On our first night in Paris, we walked around and admired all the sights and sounds of the city and we were looking for a place to have dinner. We came upon a lovely little cafe that offered escargot as a starter, it was super delicious…although my other half did not think the same. The Escargot or snails, came out baked with a pesto sauce on the inside, being our first time we asked how we are to eat the snails. We were told to place it on a piece of bread and enjoy 🙂
  
  Escargots
The LOUVRE
1. All we knew we wanted to see was the Mona Lisa, though it was worth it to see the iconic piece of art, we found that it is a packed place just full of people and they are all trying to do the same thing we did. We got in, took our picture and then we got out! BUT we took our time and looked around the rest of the Louvre and took in the rest of the beautiful art or artifacts from around the world that are decades and even centuries old.
2. My tip – PRE PURCHASE your Louvre ticket for a “timed” entry, if you know what day you want to visit. You can purchase the tickets HERE. Otherwise you will be standing in the longest line you have ever seen for a really long time.
Eiffel Tower
1. During winter months you can ice skate on second floor, we didn’t get the chance but we saw all the kids enjoy the ice rink while we were there.
2. Eat on the Eiffel Tower! There are several different restarts from the first floor all the way to the top floor. They offers an expereince unlike any other but make sure to book your dinner through the website, it can be pricey at the top, but some towards the bottom could fit in your budget.
3. PRE PURCHASE TICKETS -One of the best places to purchase tickets is the official Eiffel Tower website, during tourist season, which is usually during the summer months, it can be hard to get in to visit the floors of the tower.
4. **TIPS**
Boat Tour Dinner on Seine River
1. This was an activity we did on the second trip to Paris, it was one thing saw while I was in Paris the first trip, and decided that it would be a great way to show my parents around the area on the first night.
2. We spent around $60 per person for a 2 hour boat ride that included a classic French cuisine dinner. It also included one glass of wine for each person or a choice of drink. Anything else that you wanted to drink or eat would be extra.
3. The tour started at the dock near the Louvre, and then it headed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, great pictures from the river. Then the boat turned around and started in the other direction, where it took us past Notre Dame and several beautiful bridges. Once the boat had finished going around the river for two hours, we had finished our dinner. This is a great activity for families with children or even for couples.
Food Tour – St. Germain
1. THIS was the most AMAZING food tour I have ever taken part in. It was of course, a sweets tour. The area of St. Germain is packed full of different bakeries and patisseries just waiting to be explored. The area also has great history that is shared with you during the tour. You meet with a local that shares a little slice of heaven with you in an area she knows very well. I highly recommend trying out this experience! You won’t walk away hungry 😉
2. **TIP** Meet the Locals.com is a great website when looking for activities during travel, and are usually in every city you might visit anywhere.
3. CHECK OUT THE FULL POST ON THE FOOD TOUR HERE!
Moulin Rouge
1. A cabaret show in Paris that dates back to 1885 and made the French cancan famous. We booked our tickets in advance and we went to a late night showing. It was a surprise to me actually, my husband didn’t tell me where we were going until we arrived. A great surprise it was! I do not speak french and couldn’t understand what they were singing, but the show was still amazing. I loved it, it is a must if you have time in Paris!
Chocolate Tour
1. Great little museum that is all about Chocolate! The cost was 35 Euro a person and 3 Euro for the hot chocolate. We found out about the museum because we had to make a pit stop at a cafe and found a coupon for Choco Story at a cafe that was down the street, that got us half off. We did not plan the adventure until we got to this cafe and added it as a quick little stop, since we heard it was ALL YOU CAN EAT CHOCOLATE… don’t get too excited they aren’t ginormous bars, you are in Europe 😉 They were tiny little chocolate chips the size of quarters, but were all very delicious and came in flavors from Dark chocolate to white chocolate, and you really could eat as many as you wanted. At the end of the museum, they had a workshop where you could watch a chocolatier make chocolate and you could also craft your own hot chocolate.
Champs-Élysées
1. Christmas Market -So… if you haven’t heard it already, i’m telling you now. Christmas markets are one of the BEST things ever (in my opinion) and are all around Europe. What is not to love though? FOOD AND WINE!?! Since we visited Paris once during Christmas and once during the summer months, we did actually get to see the Christmas market on/near Champs-Élysée. At the market we got to indulge in a variety of foods from all over the world, we tried frog legs cooked in truffle oil, crocodile bites and fried kangaroo. We of course had all of the common Christmas market foods which are melted cheese on top of anything with Vin Chaud (hot wine). YUMMM There are also many crepes (filled with nutella), waffles and other sweets.
  
  Champs-Élysée
  
  Chowing on frog legs 🙂
2. Champs-Élysée Shopping
  1. Champs-Élysée is one of the most recognizable avenues in the world, known for its cafes and many luxury shops. Even though it is one of the most recognizable places, we aren’t shoppers so we really only were there to see the Arc de Triumph, since it is at the end of the avenue.
Arc de Triomphe
1. The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile is yet another of famous monuments which is at the end of Champs-Élysée. It is in the center of Place Charles de Gaulle, which is the junction of 5 large avenues, creating the star around the Arc de Triomphe and let me tell you.. it is CRAZY. All the cars going around and around, don’t attempt to frogger across! All you have to do to get to the Arc de Triomphe is find the tunnel that goes underground and you walk right to the monument. It is free to visit, but does cost to go on top, in our opinion it isn’t worth the money because you get a better view on top of the Eiffel Tower!
Walk around a random district
1. We did! We walked around and jumped in and out of art stores, cheese shops, gelato stands and even found a shop that is owned by someone originally from Ohio, now living in Paris, who claimed to have some of the best brownies. It is just always fun to find and talk with someone from the area and learn about their journeys.
Notre-Dame de Paris
1. Located on its own little separate “island” and also known as “Our Lady of Paris”. Here you will find more than 100 gargoyles, spread all over the Notre Dame Cathedral.
2. How to get there? You can either walk over the bridges to get to the Cathedral, or you can take the subway train and get off at St-Michel Notre Dame that will take you directly to the island. Then you will walk up lots of stairs because the subway is so far down, then you will pop up from below and you will be a two minute walk away from the Cathedral.

Well… that is all I have for right now on one of the most beautiful places in the world that always leaves you wanting more. It has a little bit of everything in this town, rich history, fashion for days and food that makes your eyes pop! I hope this can help you get the courage to get out there and visit Paris! 🙂

**Travel Tip**
- Before you head home, grab a few souvenirs that are true to Paris or even France. A few things to look into grabbing as souvenirs from Paris – cheese, wine, chocolate, art, fashionable clothing, perfume, post cards and of course tons and tons of pictures!

Paris Food Tour.. DO IT and thank me later

Sweet Treats Tour in PARIS.. OMG I was in HEAVEN!

We started our food tour in St. Germaine, a beautiful little area that is filled with things to do and plenty to eat! Before we stared we mosied around the area and found an awesome/amazing second hand store that was totally ALL vintage! Hats, fanny packs, jackets, dresses, you name it… they were all vintage and they were all amazing. We also came across an art showing that was filled with artists selling their different types of art up and down the streets.

Finally it was time we met up with our tour guide and her love of food was just like mine, we started talking about macaroons and how they are so incredibly perfect, that’s when she told me that I would be extremely happy with the choice of the first stop… the whole time I was thinking, how can I get this job and be a food tour guide?? But if I were… I’d gain 50lbs! HA She said that’s why she didn’t take part in eating the wonderful treats anymore 😉

Soo…first stop, my fave, MACAROONS. Lauderee was the name of the Macaroon store and they have been making macaroons for years. These treats are so incredibly delicious, they are crunchy on the outside, while a soft brownie like cookie is waiting under that crispy shell, then to elevate it even more, its filled with the most delicious cream fillings you’ve ever tried. I chose the chocolate, because I can’t ever not choose chocolate, my downfall. My father had lemon, mother had almond one and my husband had a caramel macroon. I got to try them all and they were all super delicious!

The next stop was at a Henri La Roux, it was a carmels shop. Not just ANY carmales, but these were “melt in your mouth” caramels that had any flavor you could dream. I had the rose caramel and let me tell you, I could have happily devoured 10 more of those. Some of the other choices were Salted Carmel, lemon and melon.

Our third stop, was an unexpected dream come true. It was called Popelini. Popelini creates these wonderful cream puffs that again, have creative flavors! Once the tour was over.. we went back and bought a whole box! THAT is how good these things were. There was a rum flavor, pistache, rose, mango, nutella and so many more! YUMMM

Next on the tour was a place called Meert Patisserie. This place was beautiful on the inside and had an amazing treat just waiting for us. When I was told we were getting waffles I envisioned this thick fluffy waffle drenched with butter and syrup… nope… BUT Meert’s been long time famous for these unique version of the gaufre, a delicate waffle that is native to Holland, Belgium and northern France. Meert’s version, recipe a long time secret, is an amazing mixture of a cream center with a vanilla or cinnamon twist in between a soft waffle outer crust.

Now for the Éclairs! When you think Paris, I’m sure an Éclair pops in your head, right? No…just me? Ha! Anyways, these were the most amazingly decorated, hand made concoctions you’ve ever seen! Located at E’clair De Genie. 🙂

At this point we were STUFFED! So many sweet treats but every bite being worth it, and eye opening to all the places that are hiding in Paris. Make sure to either pop into a few of these places or take the tour, either way it is definitely worth it and show you what Paris and France or known for, the sweet sweet confectionary creations.

This Girls 5 Reasons to Travel Now… don’t wait!

We all know that travel is expensive and most of us in our twenties don’t have that much of a cushion when it comes to cash flow. BUT that doesn’t mean we should lock our selves into our jobs and take life too serious… just yet! Here are 5 reason you should take that trip you’ve been planning and jet set on out of here!

You get the best experiences
1. Why might you ask? BECAUSE you have done the nitty gritty research, all the ins and outs of each location to find THE BEST deals. When you don’t have much money to travel on you don’t just pick the best looking hotel room or the first one you see. YOU find the diamond in the rough! Yes it was hard, but YES it is worth it to see that the location you chose is usually where most of the locals hang out -rather than in the super tourist parts of town.
You can enjoy the night life a little more
1. I am not saying that when you are older you won’t enjoy the night life, but if you are young and single you can meet a few people and they can change the experience from just seeing the inside of a club, to maybe meeting up for drinks the next day and EXPERIENCING the true city. When you are traveling by yourself or even with another person/significant other while young you can reach out to those locals and see the city the way they see it.
Your body can take it
1. When you are young your body can recuperate so much faster than while you’re older. Soo.. go ahead and enjoy that long night out but also plan an early morning hike or EXREME activity! Jump out of an airplane, run an adventure race, jump off a cliff… My husband said it to me this way… “Am I going to run with the bulls when I am sixty?” NOPE! I’m pretty sure at sixty i’m gonna be sitting on a beach relaxing with a drink in my hand rather than running around Pamplona 😉
You take more RISKS
1. I’ve seen my point of view already chaining on this one since I am getting a little older… “maybe I don’t need to take this trip or take that leap into cold water”… NO, we DO need to JUMP! We only get to experience this life one time and this ONE TIME needs to be full of fun and excitement and the things that keep our hearts racing and pumping! When we are young we are more likely to take those risks that get more out of our life!
You probably have no commitments
1. When most of us are in our mid twenties the only thing we think that matters is this.. graduate, get a job, start a career and then build a family. WELL lets try to rethink this one, what if we traveled the world first and got all the experiences in life that could shape us into who we really can become. THEN we can start our careers and the paths we choose to take. Right now in life, there are no children, and the jobs are ALWASY going to be waiting for us when we get back. Take the chance, take the leap and BOOK THAT TRIP!

I hope i’ve convinced you that you can go and travel young, soooo now lets get out there!! We all have been given the chance to live the way we want and the world is at the tips of our fingers… this photo always reminds me of the beauty in the world and lights a fire beneath my feet and I most definitely want MORE. Find the photo that inspires you to dream, and to remember that no dream is too big! #GIRLMEETSWORLD

BUCKET LIST…dreams do come true!

Thinking about creating a bucket list? Check out a few of mine and add them to your own!

My husband and I are thrill seeking, travel crazy and fun loving people! Now I have to admit.. my husband is FAR more outgoing than myself. He loves to find the most thrilling and exciting things to do everywhere we go! Also we we have now started our own bucket list that we’ve added to together so we can dream of what to do and where to go next! Some of the items are risk taking adventures but i’m gladly always along for the ride! Take a peak at ours and grab a few ideas for yourself 🙂

TRAVEL BUCKET LIST

South Africa
- Cage Diving
Colombia
- Swim with Hammerheads
Moscow
Cairo Egypt
- Pyramids
Great Wall of China
~~Dublin, Ireland~~
- Cliffs of Mohr
- ~~Giants Causeway~~
~~Berlin~~
- ~~Lollapalooze~~
- ~~New Years~~
Galápagos Islands
Iceland
~~Christmas in Paris~~
Nicaragua
- Volcano Board
Machu Pichu
Venice
~~Rome~~
Thailand
- Songkran Waterfight
- Full moon party
Sweden/Finland – Northern Lights
- Stay in an igloo
- Dog sled
Visit all 50 states
~~Lisbon, Portugal~~
- ~~Eat where Anthony Bourdain ate – Ramiro’s~~
~~Greece~~
- ~~Athens – visit the Acropolis~~
- Mykanos Islands
~~United Kingdom~~
- ~~Manchester United Soccer Game~~
- ~~Visit home of the Beatles~~
- ~~See a broadway show in London~~
Mexico
- Swim with Whale Sharks
- ~~Swim with Dolphins~~
~~Croatia~~
- ~~ULTRA EDM Festival~~
- Yacht Week
India
- Ride an Elephant
~~Morocco~~
- ~~Ride a Camel~~
- ~~Hold a Cobra~~
Dubai
- Ride a sandboard
Ivrea, Italy
- Battle of the Oranges
Brazil
~~Milan for New Years~~
Besançon, France
- ~~Jungle Run~~
Buñol, Spain
- Biggest tomato fight

ADVENTURE BUCKET LIST

Tandem Skydive
- Sky diving license
Scuba Diving
- Scuba license
Zorbing
Swim in the Dead Sea
~~Frankenstein Castle in Burg Germany~~
Week long adventure race
Tomorrowland
Run a Marathon or Half Marathon
Be in a movie
Sail a boat
Eat a blowfish
Go on a safari
Attend the Olympics
Be a part of a flash mob

Now these aren’t all of our bucket list goals but its a large portion of them. These are just the travel and adventure goals. We also like to add a lot of personal goals on our bucket list to motivate us forward every day. If you see it then you can dream it and believe it!

**Feel free to ask me any questions about the places we have traveled! All of the orange places that are marked through have been completed as a one of our bucket list items! Some of them even have a blog post with them, and one day they all will!

We are happy to help! 🙂

Multiple Sclerosis… and ME

Read about life with MS and fundraising for National MS Society! See how you can share and help with the movement!

I was diagnosed with MS back in 2015 at the young age of 24. I struggled for a solid year with numbness, loss of vision, balance issues along with a long list of other problems. Finally I found the answer.. Multiple Sclerosis which is an auto immune disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. MS is very unpredictable and effects everyone diagnosed different. The cause of MS is still unknown but much ground breaking research is being done today and growing rapidly.

I volunteered with the MS Society when I first moved to Colorado back in 2013. I had a friend who’s mother had been struggling with MS so I went to support her and many others. I was inspired by the pure fight in many of these people, and the support from their friends and family and was just awed at such a great Society and cause that I wanted to keep helping. Every year after, I would participate in the walk MS, until one day my participation status changed. I went from being someone that knew a person with MS, to being the one people know with MS.

The National MS Society gave me an outlet for dealing with my MS diagnosis. I started my own Walk MS team and ran with it. I loved being able to talk about my MS and not being scared or having it be a “crutch” for me. I liked letting people know that yes… I have MS, but MS does NOT have me. It gave me power and pushed me through the first few motions and the tough times.

I’ve raised over $30,000 dollars with my team, Janel’s Myelin Security. What does the name mean?? Well.. I wanted a name with a real “punch” With MS, the white blood cells start attacking our own bodies on the inside and destroy the myelin that is the coating to the nerves in the body. My walk MS team, my friends and family and the many that I meet and ask to join my team are now essentially my Myelin protectors.. or Myelin Security. 🙂

Do you have or know someone living with MS? Do you want to be apart of a team that helps so many people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis? OR do you enjoy raising money for a non profit and would like to donate your time? Check out my Janel’s Myelin Security WALK MS TEAM PAGE and join us!

**Since living in Germany, I haven’t found a way to be a major contributor to the MS community. BUT I plan on changing that! With the world being so connected through technology, I am starting a movement with raising funds for this next year through the internet. Share my page to anyone and everyone! LETS fight MS for the many people who struggle with getting out of bed because of this chronic illness or for the ones that aren’t able to walk and put on clothes today. WE can make tomorrow a better day for everyone. #breakthroughMS #MSWarrior #strongertogheter

Falling head over heals for this…. Kale salad!

#KALEyeahhh!! This salad hits the spot on a beautiful fall day when you are craving something juicy, light and filling!

The highlights of this salad are the Kale, the Apples & Cranberries as well as the crunchy pecans! Oh and the dressing… don’t forget the dressing!! With the sweet and crunchy aspects in the salad you get a full flavor impact from the dressing that plays on the sweet with the balsamic vinegar and the Dijon mustard brings the sharp and strong flavor to balance out all the sweet. Yummm!

The salad:

Two handfuls of Kale
Tablespoon of chopped pecans
1/4 of an Apple (sliced thin)
Tablespoon of chopped dried Cranberries (dried and no sugar added)
Tablespoon chopped red onion
Handful of cherry tomatoes (sliced)
1/4 cup cooked quinoa
4oz Grilled Chicken

Toss all together in a bowl and then toss again once you add the dressing 🙂

The Dressing: (makes two servings)

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1tsp honey
Couple shakes of Mrs. Dash (garlic and herb)

Berlin Germany…Girls TRRRIIIPPPP!

Berlin is an awesome city! Full of new things around every corner and home to many festivals!

At the beginning of September myself and a group of girls decided we wanted to go to Lollapalooza, which was conveniently taking place in Berlin! We purchased our tickets for the festival and then found super CHEAP train tickets with the flix bus train. Our trains only cost us 70 euro each ROUNDTRIP. Yes it was packed and yes it was old but.. it was 70 euro!

We arrived in Berlin about 2pm – we checked into our hotel which was literally right round the corner, Meininger Hotel and it somewhat setup as a hotel/hostel. Great location as far as close to the train to get in and get out of Berlin, but a little far off from everything else. BUT like I said, it was a train station so we just hopped on the local transportation to get place to place.

On Friday night we went out to search for the rooftop Monkey Bar, such a super CUTE bar that has one of the best views of the city. My pictures do not do it justice at all! The cocktails were super yummy and creative! There was also a restaurant upstairs called Neni that looked amazing and yummy, we didn’t get a chance to try because they were booked (so make reservations) – maybe next time i’ll get the chance to try it out! 🙂

After our drinks on top of the world… hehe – we headed out for dinner at L’Osteria which had a great selection of wine and beer. Great service and served us delicious dishes of Italian…from Bruschetta, pizza, pastas and seafood dishes.

We called it a night because we knew the next few days were going to be rough! HA

We woke up the next day, grabbed a lite breakfast and then headed out for the festival that was taking place in the Olympia Stadium (pretty neat to be where the 1936 Summer Olympics took place).

The next two days were filled with yummy food trucks and music that would make you dance for hours! Our festival tickets only cost 140 euro for two days packed full of artists from around the world! If you are ever over in Europe for a long period of time make sure to check one out!

On Sunday morning we woke up early so we could go visit a few sights and find breakfast. 🙂 We walked over to a place called House of Small Wonder… OMG.. the BEST breakfast I have had in Europe thus far! They had eggs Benedict, croissant bench toast and creamy eggs with a cheesy gratin. I guarantee you can’t be disappointed if you make a stop here. AND had “insta worthy” pictures. 🙂

Then we made our way over to the Berlin Wall memorial to catch up on a bit of the history in Berlin. It was a sobering little adventure but a must do when you are in the area.

Then it was time to call it quits in Berlin… for now 😉 I’ll be back to Berlin for New Years with more adventures and more recommendations!

Make sure to check back and catch the update!