A Fun Day in Cincinnati

My husband and Ialways try to squeeze in a quick day trip whenever we get the chance. Living within driving distance of a wonderful city like Cincinnati, we had to make the trek! There are so many things you can do in Cincy, it was hard to choose! We had tickets to see the Reds play later in the day, so we were on the hunt for a great half-day activity. After a bit of research, we settled on the zoo! 

The Cincinnati zoo is a place full of memories for me. My cousins and I used to go to the zoo all the time growing up (I have a lot of family in the area). We had a blast walking around and checking out the exhibits. 

Next up was lunch at Skyline. If you go to Cincinnati and don't get Skyline, you're missing out! There is nothing better than Skyline chili. Oh man, it's delicious. We met up with some family at our favorite restaurant, then still had a little bit of time to kill before the game.

We wound up doing a bit of shopping downtown - there are a few great yarn store for knitting enthusiasts like myself! It's a great way to explore and enjoy everything the city has to offer.

Finally, we headed to the Reds stadium to finish out our day with some good old fashion baseball! It was a blast. We hadn't been to a baseball game in a very long time, so we were thrilled! 

All in all, we had a great day exploring and enjoying the city. Cincinnati is a wonderful place, and I highly encourage you check it out if you get the opportunity! If you'd like some help planning your next day trip, check out my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

2018 Travel Plans

2018 is finally here, and I've already started making my travel plans for the year (of course). I was talking with my husband, and I realized I really haven't seen that much of the U.S., despite spending the majority of my life here. So that's our mission: see more of the U.S. Not to mention, that's a good way to save up for our big trip to Australia/ New Zealand/ Japan in 2019.

The first trip we're in the process of planning is the Grand Canyon! We will probably fly into Vegas and road trip it out. I've actually never been to Vegas either, so we will have to have some fun while we are there too. I'm hoping to see some shows and see what Vegas has to offer!

Over at the Grand Canyon, we will probably spend quite a bit of time hiking. We might hike down to a waterfall and camp there for a few days. We shall see! We are still in the very early stage of planning, but I can't wait to start nailing down details. I've heard that camp sites book up fast though so we will hopefully get everything nailed down and booked by the end of January.

During the year, we will hopefully have some time to do some smaller trips to maybe Chicago, Pittsburg, Detroit or Toronto. Who knows!

Finally, I think our last trip will be down to Texas. We haven't worked out the details just yet, but I can't wait to try me some quality barbecue! We'll see how things play out, but there is a possibility of a trip to Albuquerque for Christmas. Our itinerary is still being determined, but I can't wait to see how the year plays out.

If you need help narrowing down your travel plans, I'd love to help. MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

A Magical Day in Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon is a beautiful city, and one that we were very excited to visit on our honeymoon! We originally planned to visit some of the museums but our schedule got bumped a day due to a delayed flight, resulting in us visiting the city on a Monday. Pro tip - don't visit Lisbon on a Monday. Pretty much everything is closed. Luckily, we were able to do a bit of research in our hotel room and come up with a new plan!

First up was our visit to the World's Oldest Bookstore!!! SO COOL. I have a whole blog post about our wonderful stop by this store, but to recap: it was beautiful, go visit if you can!!

Next up we decided to hike through the Alfama district to check out Castelo de Sao Jorge. It was a bit of a hike, but we didn't need directions. We just kept our eye on the castle and explored along the way. We weren't disappointed!

We had such a fun time exploring the castle! We got to walk along the parapets and explore the different areas within the castle. There was even a nice little cafe where we sat and enjoyed the scenery. There were even stray kitties and peacocks wandering about! Right next to our table! So fun!

And of course, we got an AWESOME view of the city. It was breathtaking and possibly my favorite part of the day. It was truly memorable standing above the city with my new husband just taking it all in.

Our final stop of the day was to the Oceanarium. It was really neat! I wasn't too excited about this stop initially, but my husband insisted. And of course, he was right. It was pretty fabulous and definitely worth the visit!

 Finally, just a note about Lisbon - don't expect prompt food service. We loved the city, culture and views, but man! It took forever to place an order, get served and PAY at every restaurant we went to. We waited 45 minutes just to hand them our credit card, despite asking the waiter for it twice! So weird! 

All in all, we had a tremendous time exploring the city, even if we didn't make it to the Carriage Museum like we originally planned. If you'd like us to arrange a tour of Portugal for you and your family or group, check out MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com. 

Is Pisa Worth the Trip?

Every trip through Italy seems to include a classic "Holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa" picture (Guilty). But is it really worth it?

The long and short of it is - It's an iconic landmark, but a pain to get to! If you have a spare day to take the train out and back from Florence, I say go for it! I had a great time, but there's honestly not much to it. You get off the train, look at the worn map and follow the faded line to the tower. It is pretty incredible and definitely leaning! I just waited until I heard someone speaking english and asked if they would mind taking my picture. They were sweet, and I got a great picture out of it!

That said, there wasn't much to do beyond take a cool picture. You could pay to go up the tower, but I opted not to. I just didn't want to spend the money and wait in line - I was trying to still get back to Florence in time to do a few more things. While I waited for my return train, I sat in a cafe with a beautiful view of the tower, enjoyed an EPIC cup of hot chocolate and used their free wifi. It was a really nice way to kill time!

For me, it was worth it. I got to slow down for a little bit and relax, both on the train and at the restaurant. It was on my bucket list, so I'm glad I got to tick that off too. Honestly, take a look at your schedule. If you have a spare half a day, go for it! If you are more pressed for time and the picture isn't too important to you, you may want to skip it.