Wellness Weekend: CIVANA Resort in Carefree, Arizona

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog. It doesn’t mean I haven’t traveled. I spent two weeks in France, a few weeks in Sedona, AZ and Palm Springs, CA, and also went to Oahu, Hawaii and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico the last 9 months. All were wonderful trips but I just lack the time and energy to recap them or write them while I’m there as I did with Norway!

With that being said, I am recapping my long holiday Easter weekend at this amazing wellness resort in Carefree, Arizona. Yes, that is the name of the town!

So a little bit about me—born and raised New Yorker who is not deep in the “woo woo” but curious enough to explore it. Anyway this place is amazing for dipping your toes in that space (think Feng Shui, meditation, energy healing, etc.) but it’s not ALL about that and certainly has a lot of other things to offer too, like spa treatments, hiking, cardio fitness, yoga, etc. I was just really looking for a relaxing long weekend to unwind from work and booked this resort a month ago as it had great reviews and sounded interesting.

CIVANA Wellness Resort and Spa exceeded my picky expectations! It is a 4 star resort but their website doesn’t do it justice. It’s very zen, modern and clean. What impressed me the most is the amount of classes they offer and how friendly the staff is. As part of staying here, you can sign up for two classes before you stay and then more when you actually arrive.

The rooms are spacious and carry soaps and lotions from the Grown Alchemist line (which I loved but probably won’t buy myself and they’re pricey!). I never usually spend this much on hotel stays but I really wanted to just go somewhere and not have to do much in planning but have a lot of options to do and relax.

The pool area is very nice and the spa was great! If you book a service at the spa that also gives you access all day to their aqua therapy circuit, which is basically steam room, sauna, and hot and cold pools and jacuzzi, all of which are indoors (so good for hiding from the hot sun or rain). There is also a lap pool which I had all to myself one morning for a swim (pools are heated!).

I took at least one class a day and up to three. Some of the classes are long (60 min to two hours depending on what it is) so I tried not to do too many classes since I also wanted to relax and read! Food is not included but it’s similar to what you expect paying in a big city. The food is organic and vegetarian friendly but also some meat options too. I rented a car to get here (car rental was $250 and free parking vs. hotel shuttle roundtrip for $300). You could take an Uber here but it would be hard to find an Uber back since Carefree is a small town out in the desert.

I did go out to breakfast and dinner a couple of times nearby and though a bit cheaper, the food was hit or miss. The resort food was generally good (loved the farm fed burger!) but nothing to really rave about too much. A lot of smoothie and salad options too.

The grounds are well kept and serene. You can also take their complimentary bikes and ride around. They also give a nice reusable water bottle and have alkaline water stations everywhere to fill.

I loved how all the staff was on point with service and friendly and most of the classes were fun and interesting, despite your spiritual healing beliefs! I really enjoyed one of the cardio strength classes and it encouraged me to do more classes like that when I get back to LA where I live now. Same with Breathwork meditation.

I would say spend at least 3-4 days here. I was here for 5 (with the first and last days as half days) and I feel so recharged and relaxed! Perfect for solo travelers or couples/friends. No kids under 14 but didn’t see many families here. A few with teens but not a lot. So definitely peaceful and quiet!

I’d definitely return at some point. Apparently they’re busiest in the springtime and then it drops off in the scorching summer before fall tourists arrive. I never felt this place was crowded or overwhelming. Some classes book out in advance as well as the spa services so definitely plan a little ahead!!!

A lot of stars are visible at night, including the Big Dipper constellation!

I book and pay for all my own trips so this is no way sponsored at all. I just really love to travel and share my experiences with those who have similar travel interests as me!

Until next time when I’m in the mood to write…

June 2023 trip report: final thoughts

Can’t believe it’s been two weeks since the Norway road trip! There were a few things I forgot to mention for travel tips.

1) If you’re an American and don’t have a debit card with free foreign transaction fees, get one through Capital One! Though Norway takes credit cards everywhere, there were certain places like gas stations where they took cards with a PIN number only. So every time we went to a gas station we needed to use a debit card. This is the same for metro/train stations in Copenhagen too (we stayed a week here after Norway; I won’t recap as I went to Copenhagen before and that trip is somewhere on this blog!). We never used cash anywhere or exchanged for any Norwegian money.

2) If renting a car, make sure to take pictures before and after and note any damages before you start your trip. When we returned the car, Enterprise emailed us after and tried to pin scratches from the front on us but we had proof it was there before we drove it so they dropped the charges.

3) Be aware Norway doesn’t really have air conditioning! None of our hotels had it and it got pretty warm sometimes. Some hotels had fans. It is probably only warm for a few weeks a year so I can see why they don’t have a/c though.

4) If you fly into Norway through another Schengen country, there is like no passport control! At least we didn’t encounter any flying in and out of Bergen! It was pretty seamless entry and exit.

5) Their WC/ bathroom signs crack me up

Would definitely like to visit other parts of Norway at some point but it’ll probably be a long time before that happens but glad to see what I did! I don’t have as much time or energy to research/plan/recap trips but will try as I keep gallivanting the world! :)

June 2023 trip report: alesund to loen to Balestrund to bergen

This post will capture the last couple days of our road trip around the fiords of Norway starting from and ending in Bergen.

From Alesund we headed out to Loen, catching the ferry from Solavagen to Festoya. The Norway ferry crossings are nicely managed and as long as you have something in your rental car for tolls, it’ll capture and scan and the rental agency will charge you for all the ferry crossings at the end of your trip. The ferries were super clean and would have little cafes to have a coffee in for the short sail as well as clean facilities on the ferry or in shops/buildings at the ferry station point of wherever you’re crossing. We didn’t come across as many rest stops as we thought we would so the ferries were nice backup options if we needed WC facilities.

We arrived in Loen from Alesund at around noon and the hotel we booked Hotel Alexandra was the best hotel on the trip! Highly recommend staying here for their facilities and location. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we headed up to Loen Skylift, which is so worth it!!! But only if you have decent skies as it is a hefty ticket price. The skylift is like a 5 minute walk from the hotel. The day we were there was partly cloudy and drizzly but some open skies here and there. It’s also much colder at the top and higher elevation than the platform at Geiranger so it’s pretty windy and colder. Glad I packed a down jacket for this part of the trip!

I thought Geiranger would be the highlight of the trip but it ended up being Loen for me. Such gorgeous and epic views all around that pictures don’t do it justice. Vast and epic is how I would describe the views and I can only imagine how much prettier it would be on a totally clear day.

There’s a nice restaurant at the top where you can have a meal or sign up for activities like zip lining. There are also hikes you can do and we did a partial one as it started to rain a bit while we were up there. I loved this place though and could’ve spent hours. In hindsight I wish I bought a 1 day pass vs. a roundtrip ticket as the 1 day pass allows multiple trips up in a day. I’d recommend this if you have crap weather and maybe it gets nicer later in the day or you want to see how it looks later in the evening. The lift runs til about 10 pm.

For those who love to hike you could also skip the lift and hike all the way to the top as well. It’s difficult to capture the enormity of the views, where the fjord water cuts through three different fjord valleys.

Views from a hike up several path options above. For someone who grew up in a cosmopolitan city most of my life, this was just beautiful to me and I couldn’t get enough of it! I wonder if people who are used to living near nature find it as appealing as I do?

Spent about 2-3 hours up here and if the weather wasn’t drizzly, we probably would’ve done more of a hike at the top. You can also check their skycam on their website to see how it is at the summit before committing.

After checking into the hotel (which has a delicious breakfast spread and indoor/outdoor pools and hot tub!) we drove over to Lake Lovatnet. This was about 15 minutes from the hotel and sooo pretty with its clear glacial blue tones. The road goes down one side of the lake (not a loop) with various spots to pull over but some areas are one car width wide.

There’s not many restaurants in the area but found a pretty good pizza place 20 minutes the opposite direction from the hotel called Napoli Pizza in Stryn. Didn’t know Norway would have so many pizza places but this one seemed the most “authentic” or closest to Italian style quality. Had the vegetarian pizza and salad which were both freshly made. Would definitely recommend if you’re in the area!

After dinner I made use of the pools at the hotel before bed (pools open til 8 pm).

The next day we headed down to Balestrand. This drive was mainly the same as everything we’ve seen before, with the highlight of this drive being getting to the top of Gaularfjellet at Utsiken, which is similar to Trollstinger but not as long or pretty. Going this way will take you downhill the hairpin turns. Overall skippable if you want to take another direction but it was nice too.

We arrived in Balestrand in the afternoon but didn’t find much to see/do here after the highlights of the week. There’s hikes an water activities but after all the grand views we saw earlier on the trip, there wasn’t as much for us to be excited about. It’s a nice little town though and we walked around for a bit. Stayed at Kviknes Hotel which is on the waterfront.

On the last day of the scenic drive road trip, we headed back to Bergen. from Balestrand, we headed to the ferry and this ferry stop was interesting as most other routes were one stop back and forth. This one was more triangular, making two stops before circling back. So make sure to pay attention to the ferry signs! We got on the ferry lane towards Vangsnes from Dragsvik, which were lanes 1 & 2. But when the ferry arrives for boarding, they let lanes 3 and up enter first. Then when the cars go Vangnese get on the ferry, they actually need to make a U-turn on the ferry to be pointed in the direction of exit when it makes the second stop. There is a ferry patrol officer waving cars in so if not sure just ask! This ferry ride was the best one of the trip, mainly because it was longer since it made a stop before the one we needed to get off of. Again, exquisite fjord views all around.

From here, the drive back to Bergen was semi scenic. Drive thru valleys and winded through the coast before arriving back to where we started and saying goodbye to the majestic fjords.

June 2023 trip report: road trip from geiranger to Trollstinger to Alesund

A little bit behind on my trip recaps but will wrap up soon! Every day has been pretty jam packed with sight seeing but I know if I don’t write up my memories here and now, I won’t ever get to it! So let’s continue…

Getting into Geiranger was gorgeous but leaving was equally breath taking! On the way out, there’s a short zig zag up hill drive to another nice viewpoint, Ornesvignen, where there’s a small parking lot with a platform overlooking the fjord and into the Seven Sisters waterfall. If I have any criticism about this pre-planned itinerary with Nordic Visitor is that I felt we barely got to squeeze much in during the drive between Halfso and Loen. There were many optional activities but barely even got to see the waterfall walk in Geiranger had it not been long daylight hours! One of the other recommended activities was to take a cruise to see the Seven Sisters waterfalls but it’s some way ferry/cruise that would’ve eaten up two hours total and just didn’t have time to do it if we wanted to get to Trollstinger and then Alesund. But with that being said, I don’t feel a dedicated fjord cruise is needed at all if you’re around the fjords themselves. It would’ve been nice to have done one but also great views from the road.

I honestly could stare at these views forever and forever. Was very fortunate to have clear skies and great warm weather. The breadth and depth of the fjords is something to experience and pictures don’t do the experience justice. Living in a large city for most of my life, it’s always wondrous to feel small within the bounds of nature.

From here it was onwards towards Trollstinger. The landscape changed from greenery to barren and snowy conditions as we climbed elevations. I wasn’t sure where we would stop to see the famous steep hairpin turn roads but coming from this direction, just be on the lookout for a large parking lot that looks like a rest area but is more than just a rest area! You’ll walk to the end where all tourists are headed and coming across a well organized platform and paths to trailheads.

There are quite a few view points where you can see this famous road before driving downhill on it. As you go down you’ll pass by several streaming falls as well. This time of the year wasn’t so bad with traffic and we were there around midday (noon). Maybe we were just lucky but we got thru this pretty seamlessly, even with some of the one lane squeezes.

After Trollstinger we headed to Alesund, a city on the northwestern end of this area. The sky turned dark and cloudy and it rained a bit when we were there. Overall Alesund was a very small city and didn’t find much to do there thought the walk up the highest point in town (400+ steps) was nice. Alesund was also quite hilly which I didn’t expect.

The vista point in the park is called Fjellstua. We stayed at Quality Hotel Alesund, which was ok and right near the port. However the best casual meal we had on this trip was at the fish and chips kiosk called Jafs! Fish was fresh and not over cooked and fries were good too. We had fish and chips at other places during the trip but this was the highlight.

June 2023 trip report: scenic drive to geiranger

Yesterday’s long drive from Halfso to Geiranger was absolutely stunning. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d be so impressed with Norway after having been to a Iceland and New Zealand. But it is indeed gorgeous here in a very different way. The Westfjords of Iceland was barren, jagged and stunning in a volcanic/alien way. New Zealand was beautiful in a shiny, happy clam way. And Norway is glorious with its lush tree lines, waterfalls gushing at every turn, and mountainous ranges.

The drive from Halfso to Geiranger is about 4 hours without stopping. We stopped quite a bit. We left the farmhouse at around 10:15 am and got into Geiranger close to 5 pm. We saw a ton of scenery at different elevations and environments in between.

The first views along route 55 was to see various viewpoints towards Sognefjellet. If you see a sign with a square and four circular corners (or something like that symbol) it indicates an attraction. The route was well marked for view points and WCs along the way.

This above was the first viewpoint, where you can park the car if there’s space and have a little walk out. Just a minute up the road there is a larger parking lot with WC facilities and a higher viewpoint.

It does get quite chilly and windy as you climb elevations so dress accordingly!

This road is only open in the summertime and as you climb higher, snow and ice will appear. All around there are gushing streams/waterfalls from the summer melt. This area on the map is Mefjellet.

From here the landscape continues to awe. The drive is a little tricky and twisty but not as bad as Stegastein! After passing through this area we headed to Dalsnibba aka Geiranger Skywalk. It is recommended to book tickets in advance and download them prior to arriving to scan your ticket at the gate. You can also buy tickets at the gate; the booth is staffed during high season. There is NO cell phone service in this area so also download offline maps for this area (though signs are easy to follow).

The twisty climb up to the Skywalk isn’t too terrible but expect the same type of road and curves where only one car can really pass at a time and there will be lots of your buses coming up here. By the time we were close to here it was around 3 pm and most of the buses were gone by 4 so coming mid to late afternoon will probably be more quiet than midday with the tour buses.

There are so many breath taking views once you get up to the Skywalk. Got very lucky with clear weather.

Pictures barely does this place justice! The scope of the cuts and curves of the mountains and road intertwining in the sky was stunning, in addition to the icy terrain just around the corner.

After spending a good chunk of time here (honestly didn’t want to leave) we headed down into town. I really appreciate the route we took around the fjords—from Bergen going counterclockwise up north and back down to Bergen—as this meant we drove downhill on much of the lengthier sharp hairpin drives/narrow lanes throughout our trip. The main ones we drove down on included Geiranger, Trollstigen, and Utsikten near Balestrand.

After we got into Geiranger, we checked into our hotel Grande Fjord Hotel. This hotel is in a great little location a couple minutes drive from the ferry port. It looked very nice on the outside and had a great breakfast spread and rooms facing the fjord but was a bit disappointed with no shower soap/shampoo and paint peeling off the ceiling. However it was a comfortable stay overall. Grabbed a quick dinner at Brassier Posen (was decent) and then hurried out to the “waterfall walk.”

Honestly feel we did so much on this day and barely got to cram this in! I was a bit disappointed we got into town so late in the day but it worked out because the waterfall was empty of tourists/cruise passengers by the time we got here around 7 pm.

The Waterfall Walk in Geiranger is amazing! Don’t follow Google Maps to get here because it took me up the car road vs. an easy walking path from the center of town. Ask a hotel for a map but otherwise just follow the main road from town center past the cruise ship docks and past the camper grounds/parking and follow the sounds of a thunderous waterfall streaming into the fjord! You’ll find the path and a set of 300+ steps up to Hotel Union where you can see water steaming from high above. I loved this attraction and hardly anyone else was here when we were. Water does spray in certain spots and it gets chilly in some areas in the evening but nothing to worry about.

After this beautiful walk, headed back down to port to take in the views from the base of the fjord and relax at the hotel. A very fulfilling day. The sky here is so blue too in a way so different than what I’ve seen living in the U.S.!

June 2023: nigardsbreen glacier at jostedal national park

I’ve said it before and I’m not ashamed to say it again—once you’ve seen a glacier or two you’ve seen them all, lol. Obviously every experience will be different but at this point in my life I’ve seen glaciers 4-5x in different parts of the world so it’s not super important to me to see it again. However, being in this part of Norway, it was the closest drive from the farmhouse (about an hour) so this is what we did today.

Nigardsbreen Glacier is the largest in continental Europe and hikes on the glacier must be booked in advance. We didn’t have a desire to hike on the glacier but didn’t mind walking as close as possible to it which you don’t need to make a reservation for.

In Google Maps, it’s best to enter in “Breheimsenteret” which will take you to the glacier visitor center/museum. Here you can inquire about park info, use facilities, grab some food and see a museum display (I skipped this). Then the drive to the parking lot to walk to the glacier is about ten minutes away after paying a toll (credit card is fine). Alternatively you can also walk from the visitor center but it is a very long walk (probably two hours and not paved; more rocky trails).

If you do go the parking lot at Nigardsbreen, you have the option to walk from here to the glacier or take a boat across the lake to save about 30 min. of walking. You can pay on the boat by credit card (was about $7.50 USD roundtrip and you can also pay a little less for one way $5 USD). If you’re super fit, have great waterproof shoes with a good grip, then by all means go for the walk! You might need to walk over puddles, streams, and wet rocks which is why people may opt to do the boat first instead.

The boat is a very short ride, just a few minutes, but a lovely view of the landscape.

After you get to the other side, it’s about a mile walk to the glacier. That doesn’t sound long except it’s on large and small rocks. If it’s raining, be careful as it’ll be slippery! Luckily no rain on our day but I know I wouldn’t have done this if I was wet as my sneakers don’t have great grip and the rocks are smooth. If you have walking sticks bring them! Not totally necessary but good for people who have limited mobile issues or not sure of their footing. Families can definitely do this hike; it’s just a matter of what shoes you have and the weather and level of fitness.

We only walked about a half mile towards the glacier before deciding to turn back. Mainly due to someone in the group who has mobility issues. But since we’ve seen glaciers before it wasn’t super important to us to get up and close to it. We spent about 2-3 hours here in total (accounting for waiting for boat time/walking time/visitor center time). We also decided not to go all the way as we also wanted to visit the other glacier nearby, Bergsetbreen. If you’re only doing one I’d say go all the way for sure but we wanted to save energy for the other one!

We stopped by the visitor center again for a snack (basic pizza which was ok) before heading over to Bergset (put that in Google Maps for the route). It’s about ten minutes from the center but unfortunately for us when we arrived it started to rain! So we never did the hike but this is the info on it:

I also snapped a couple of pics of the beginning of the hike. Parking lot is small but honestly this time of year (late June) is supposed to be high season but we never had trouble (so far, knock on wood) with finding parking.

Since we had time to kill before dinner, we ended up driving to REMA 1000, the local supermarket, to stock up on snacks for the road. We also took a nice walk by the fjords in Sogndal—put in Jungelkattkygofjæra to Google Maps and you’ll find a nice paved stretch of a walking area (probably more than two miles roundtrip if you walk the entire length).

There is a small parking lot right next to the highway 55 on the left where you can park and have a stroll.

June 2023 Trip Report: road trip from bergen to Tvindefossen to Stegastein lookout to Sogndal/halfso

Today was the start of a week long road trip around the west fjords of Norway! This trip was planned with Nordic Visitor, an online travel agency I used back in 2011 before Iceland became as popular as it is now. Basically they organize the car rental and accommodations for you and give you a driving route to follow. I’m way too busy to plan trips as much I used to so using an agent in this regard was a time saver for me, though I did additional research in terms of driving expectations and attractions I wanted to visit.

From the Nordic Visitor site, I did the Fjord Complete driving tour. I’ve heard unflattering things about Oslo and am more interested in nature anyway so picked the one that started in and ended in Bergen.

For today’s drive, went from Bergen to Tvindefossen (near Voss) to Flam to Stegastein Lookout and then to Sogndal/Halfso. In total with stops this took about six hours, leaving Bergen at 9 am and getting to Halfso by 3:15 pm.

The drive from Bergen took close to two hours. Would recommend leaving as early as you can to avoid any “traffic.” Ran into a short area where only one lane was operating due to construction so cars needed to wait until one side passed (led by a traffic controller). Also recommend hitting up a rest stop about 10-15 minutes before arriving here as the rest stop had free bathrooms and at the falls of Tvindefossen you need to pay. Parking is small too and limited; but people are in and out of this place. The falls was very nice (a bit chilly and windy as you walk closer to it) and stayed about ten minutes.

Next, I headed over to Flam which was about 45 minutes away. Had intentions to do the railway ride but read online that if you’re driving thru the fjords there’s no point to do this so ended up skipping it. Glad I skipped as I would’ve booked the 12 pm slot and arrived in Flam just after noon and would’ve missed it! But at Flam there is also the “Mall of Norway.” A lot of cruise ships come through here so there’s a bunch of outlet shops here too. However, another great place to take a quick WC break. The WC hangs in front of a beautiful backdrop as well!

Oh! Almost forgot the drive to Flam was so pretty. Quite a few strings of waterfalls gushing down the sides of the mountain as you’re driving through.

The water is so clear and beautiful mirror reflections everywhere you look.

From Flam, went over to the Stegastein Lookout, which is a concrete walkway overlooking the fjords. Getting here was a bit tough. As someone used to driving tight spaces, this felt a bit more nerve wrecking as much of the twisty uphill climb had one way lanes with small turnouts. Got stuck in one small section where it was a bit congested with buses coming down and a bunch of cars in both directions. A local got out to manage the traffic but can’t imagine how it is when it’s super crowded! It’s a 3 mile drive up to the Lookout from the base and took about 15-20 minutes due to navigating turns and the one lane passes. The parking lot at the top is also small but people are coming and going pretty frequently.

The views are gorgeous! Today was a bit cloudy but it was still so pretty. Spent about 20 minutes here and there are also WC facilities (free) here too. Facilities are important when you drink a lot of water like me!

From here there is the option to keep driving over the mountains taking the scenic route on Aurlandsfjellet, which is only open during the summertime. However much of the drive will be like before; lots of one car lanes and pullover overs. We opted to go back the way we came (which didn’t seem as bad going downhill vs. uphill) and took the Laerdalstunnelen tunnel (longest tunnel in the world?) across instead. Both distances are about the same and probably about the same time wise too. I’m not claustrophobic but driving thru a very long tunnel without knowing when the end is is my personal hell, lol. However it was either this or anxiety with oncoming traffic on the scenic route. This tunnel was about 24.5 km (15 miles) long.

After you pass thru the tunnel you’ll arrive at the ferry (Fondes) to Manheller/Sogndal. If you’re in a rental car there is a scan of your license plate which will be added to your rental car (with tolls along all the driving routes too) so don’t need to worry about how to pay/buy a ticket. The ferry runs pretty frequent and didn’t have to wait long when we got there Saturday afternoon. The ride is short, less than 15 minutes as you pass thru the fjords to the other side.

We then drove 20 minutes to our hotel in Halfso, BesteBakken. Cute yellow farmhouse on top of a hill, just right pass Spar supermarket. Our stay included breakfast and dinner so we had a nice homemade dinner here and enjoyed the views near town.

The farmhouse also has a few alpacas and dining is communal (eating with our guests at assigned meal time).

June 2023 Trip report: bergen

Day 3: bergen

Still jet lagged but started the day bright and early! Had breakfast at the Clarion Hotel Bergen, which is a pretty great selection for breakfast buffet. Mix of fried eggs, scrambled, soft or hard boiled eggs but all fresh and not the stale kind you usually find in the U.S. Lots of other items to choose from as well, including croissants, various muffins and breads, ham, cheese, fruit, smoked fish, baked vegetables like mushroom and tomatoes, fish cakes, potatoes, etc.!

After breakfast, headed over to catch the Mt. Ulriken shuttle bus to catch the cable car up the mountain! This attraction is about 15 min. from the city center by bus, which leaves every half hour on the hour. For the return, it’s leaves from the cable car station every :15 or :45, from 9 am to 6:30 pm in June. No need to buy tickets in advance. It was easy to buy at the shuttle stop. There is a white tent near the corner of the restaurant Bjerk and close to Visitor Information Center with an attendant sitting outside where you can easily buy the ticket a few minutes before it’s supposed to leave.

The cable car opened in 2021 and takes visitors up to the top (higher than Floyen Furnicular). Today was a beautiful day and gorgeous views of the city and surroundings!

There’s also the options to take 1,333 steps from the bottom instead of riding the cable car. I saw a lot of locals do this. Many were also running or just going for multiple walks up and cable car down!

Once at the top there is a cafe and toilets. Great views and there’s an option to hike around the mountain. The map indicated there was an easy trail—I’d say this trail is easy for Norwegians but probably not people who are not avid hikers! There was a lot of gravel rocks and steep rocks steps to step down into the trails and if you’re on the shorter side, not sure of your footing, not wearing the best grip sneakers, these trails might not be for you. You can navigate as much or as little as you want though.

The easiest hike is supposed to be one hour one way to Turnerhykken. But I didn’t get very far as my sneakers don’t have the best grip and just walked maybe half a mile out to this little lake with a house in the back.

Despite the lack of a real hike here I still enjoyed my time up on Ulriken and recommend a visit. Just plan accordingly! I spent a few hours here to enjoy the views.

The rest of the day was spent having another delicious soup from the Daily Pot and managing jet lag! Dinner was at Fjellskal, which was a bit underwhelming but had great seats on the patio. It’s expensive and expected a little more quality wise. The mussels were also not as good as the place the night before. The salmon was good but not the best I’ve ever had or anything. Overall was ok but wouldn’t eat here again if I had the chance for the price!

June 2023 trip report: Norway or the highway

Well it’s been too long and so much has happened in the past three years. Let’s skip over all that for now and get right to it because I’m in Norway!!!

Flight logistics from NYC to Bergen, Norway were as follows:

• Took the midnight flight from JFK to Copenhagen, arriving around 2 pm via SAS airlines. Thought taking a night flight would help me fall asleep, especially since I was up at 6 am but nope. Barely slept at all. Didn’t take a sleep aid as I knew I rather take one when I got into Bergen later in the day.

• Had a 3 hour layover before taking an SAS connecting flight to Bergen. Copenhagen airport is beautiful and lots to shop/eat around at so I didn’t mind the layover. Plus I’m glad we took the 5 pm flight as I saw earlier in the day the noon flight was canceled! Apparently not enough people working air traffic control (according to airport update over the speaker system) so flight were canceled or delayed. The connecting flight was delayed by 40 minutes which was a bit annoying. In addition, the connecting flight gate wasn’t announced for a while so just go thru passport control anyway to the “transit center” where you can wait for your gate while you walk around the shops. It’s good to recheck the info often because they announced a gate which was later changed with no speaker announcement!

• Flight over was smooth. Arrived in Bergen just after 7 pm and it was still bright and sunny! Almost had a panic attack at the luggage carousel though when I didn’t see my bag come out and the screen read “last bags for this flight are on the belt.” I asked an airport security guy what that means; he said usually that message is right but sometimes luggage will still arrive. Well nothing arrived for a few minutes and so myself and a bunch of others queued up at the baggage assistance. Luckily ten minutes later bags did show up!!! But in that time I was very concerned not having my luggage after a very long flight!

• Picked up rental car at Enterprise, which is on the “Departures” floor of the airport, not arrivals. Took 40 minutes to get the car because the guy working there went to go get the car ready and do other errands (never figured out what). But long story short if you don’t see anyone at the service desk and the gate is closed, they do leave a sign saying they’ll be back soon and to call the number. This is why international cell phone service is so important when traveling! Google Fi all the way for unlimited data and cancel anytime policy! The car rental office has limited hours as well so be sure to check. For example the office was closing by 9 pm the day I landed and when I leave on a Sunday, the office won’t be open until 2 pm (with a method to return keys by a box).

• Got into Bergen hotel at 9 pm exhausted. So Day 1 was a bust. Day 2 was able to explore much more though!

Day 2: bergen

After having breakfast at Clarion Hotel Bergen I headed over to the Furnicular to get up to Floyen, a nice vista view above the city. Was it worth it? Yes! Gorgeous views and the weather was sunny and warm. Picked up a tip from a reviewer on Trip Advisor, who mentioned no need to queue for tickets at the ticket window when you can easily purchase from the machines! There was a huge line for the ticket window but people didn’t see the machines which are across from the booth and no queues.

Once you get the round trip ticket, you scan your barcode to enter the Furnicular.

The ride to the top is just a few minutes long and spectacular views of the city on a clear sunny day. From here, there are several walking trails/hikes you can take (more info on walking options are on the Furnicular website).

There’s also a restaurant and cafe at the top as well as bathrooms throughout the park. However the facilities closest to the cafe are the nicest. Spent about three hours up here before heading down for lunch!

Had lunch in the middle of the city at this great, easy soup/salad/sandwich place called The Daily Pot. It’s nothing fancy—very casual but delicious and healthy soups! Had the Thai curry and the Asian soups. So full of flavor and vegetables!

Walked around the city the rest day, mainly around the harbor areas and soaking in the summer sun that didn’t set until well after 11 pm.

Dinner was at Bryggeriet. I made reservations a few weeks early and was awarded gorgeous views of the harbor with a corner table overlooking the area! The mussels were delicious and a good appetizer. The catch of the day and duck were ok but also enjoyed the fish soup. Service was nice and on the pricier side but the views were so nice!

2020 Travel Hiatus

Needless to say, I’ve been on a travel hiatus as the rest of the world. I can’t even begin to discuss how much has changed in my life the last several months, B.C. (Before COVID-19). As recent as early March 2020, I didn’t even think I would still be in New York City today. Not because I had a trip planned, but because I was supposed to relocate across the country to the West Coast earlier this April.

In any event, I’m glad to still be here in New York. I love New York. I haven’t posted much about things to do or see in New York as I should have (being a born and bred New Yorker) and now seeing my city fall apart amidst this pandemic is heartbreaking. I know the city will bounce back though, but it’s crazy to me how much the world has changed so rapidly in a short amount of time.

I’m also grateful for all the amazing places I’ve gotten to go to before this shutdown. I haven’t posted about a few other places I went to in the past 6 months, including Tulum, Mexico (Jan. 2020), Barcelona, Spain (Dec. 2019) and Tenerife, Canary Islands (Sept. 2019). I don’t even know what travel will be like again. There is so much still unknown about this disease and the level of seriousness people are taking it varies widely from city to city, state to state, and country to country. I’m personally taking it very seriously. I know myself when I get sick; it takes me forever to recover from something even like a cold. I tend to develop these horrible, persistent coughs that don’t go away, I tend to lose my voice. While I consider myself pretty active and healthy, I know once I catch something I am the most miserable person ever so no, I do not want to chance it.

I’ve been pretty much isolating myself at home in my apartment in Manhattan over the past month. I actually haven’t gotten too bored at home, I can always find a way to entertain myself whether it’s reading, watching shows, playing video games (Nintendo Switch), cooking, FaceTiming with friends, meditating, or working out (anywhere between 30 minutes to 90, sometimes 2 hours!). And although I was unable to physically relocate, I’ve been fortunate to start a new job remotely regardless.

It’s nice to see my travel trip blog still getting visits even though I hardly am good about posting in between major trips! Over the past year both my Banff National Park and Torres del Paine/Patagonia trips have gotten over 200 views each (I do very little to promote other than link reports through Trip Advisor). I really do hope you’re finding this information helpful, and hope I can recap future trips once “normalcy” returns. I really have no idea what “normal” is going to be like. I started this travel blog in 2016 and given that I probably won’t be traveling anytime soon, I might post about past places I haven’t featured yet but has left an impression on me.

Stay safe and well!

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 6-8 Jasper National Park (Alberta, Canada)

BANFF VS. JASPER

So, you’re planning a trip to Banff. Should you make it up to Jasper, too? I think an extra day or so to visit Jasper is worth it. We were there for 3 full days, and drove back from Jasper to Calgary on the 4th day. It rained most of the time we were in Jasper, so we spent one day really just hanging out and enjoying the expensive but beautiful log cabin we rented.

Jasper is further north of Banff (about a 4 hour drive from Calgary, 2-3 hours from Banff depending on if you stop along the way or drive straight through). Compared to Banff, Jasper is much more rugged and wild. We spotted animals every day (bears, elk, moose) and the town is more community-like and spread out, rather than touristy, concentrated, and compact the way Banff is. In terms of highlights, I like Banff much more in terms of things to see and the gorgeous lakes and landscape. Jasper was pretty as well, but different. And because of the weather and plethora of more rugged trails, we didn’t do as much. I thought Banff had more concentration of accessible beauty compared to Jasper.

In my opinion, the main thing to see in Jasper was going up the Jasper Gondola to hike up to the summit above the clouds and going down to Maligne Lake. Apparently, there are bears that love to walk around the road that leads you into Maligne Lake! So if you have an extra day or two, it’s worth stopping by Jasper.

Above the clouds in Jasper National Park

JASPER SKYTRAM

Jasper Skytram is so worth going on! On the morning we went, it was really overcast and cloudy so I was doubtful we would enjoy it at all. When we arrived very early in the morning to get on the gondola (around 8:15 am), the operator said we didn’t have to worry because it was clear at the top above the clouds. If you plan to do this, come as early as you can in the morning! By the time we left/went back down around 12:15 pm, the line to go up was packed. But another plus of coming early when it opens at 8 am is that you get free breakfast included at the restaurant at the top! Free breakfast is served before 10 am.

Tram up and through the clouds

Toasty hot chocolate for breakfast with a glorious view.

Breakfast was actually quite good and it came with a complimentary drink as well and glorious views. After finishing breakfast, we started the hike to the summit at 9:30 am and didn’t reach the top until 11 am. The path was pretty steep and the altitude is high so you’ll want to take your time. It’s not impossible to do at all, but not easy either. And there are multiple paths you can take to the top to see different viewpoints and overlooks.

On the way to the summit!

As the morning went on, the clouds cleared up to reveal the town below.

View of Jasper further up the mountain

One of several benches on the mountain to take in the landscape

No more clouds!

Summit View

Panoramic views - it is colder at the top so dress accordingly!

I really loved hiking up this summit. It took us about 30 minutes to get back down and as I said earlier, the mountain got much busier as the morning drifted away.

MALIGNE LAKE

After a quick lunch in town, we left at 1:30 pm to catch the “premium” Maligne Lake Cruise. There are two cruise choices, one regular, and one premium. The premium basically allows you to walk onto Spirit Island for about 30 minutes, which is more than enough as the area you’re around to walk on is very small and short! You’re only allowed to walk within the outskirts of the island, in one direction. This is a constructed path to protect the island respect the natives who worship its history. This lake cruise was much better than the one we did in Banff (Minnewaska), but also skippable as well if you’re short on time.

Views from Spirit Island (you can walk it in 15 minutes!)

Maligne Lake

You will definitely see bears driving back and forth from Maligne Lake! We drove on this road multiple times and we always saw a bear or two (from the safety of the car, please don’t get out like we saw multiple dumb people do!) over the course of three days.

MALIGNE CANYON

Another thing to do in Jasper is go for a walk/hike along Maligne Canyon. This was nice to see and something to do but not a must do. Twenty minutes was enough to see views of the canyon from the first and second bridges. I think there are like 6 bridges but I read somewhere that the best views were from the first two. So if you’re short on time, just do that, but if you have more time, you can do all of it. The first bridge starts by the restaurant near the parking lot and then it loops to the second bridge.

Misc. Jasper Notes

• Pyramid Lake is skippable. If you have time, you can drive and have a look but compared to all the other amazing lakes in Banff, Pyramid was just ok!

• Valley of the the Five Lakes was also skippable. It’s rugged trails and again, compared to other things to see/do in Banff, wasn’t as interesting to us. I hiked for about 30-45 minutes and never even made it to see a lake because of the rain, muddy trails, and generally didn’t look as interesting as to the other scenery we saw earlier in the trip.

• Medicine Lake is an easy viewpoint to stop and take pictures at, but also skippable compared to Lake Louise or Moraine Lake

Overall, although we didn’t do much in Jasper as we did in Banff, it was nice to kick back, relax, and just chill in the cabin most of the time and cook. Since all the other days were so jam packed with sight seeing, it was nice to slow down and just do whatever we wanted and not rush around as much to beat the crowds. We also saw way more animals in the wild in Jasper than in Banff which was cool. The weather when we were there at the end of June/beginning of July was on the chillier side (like ranging from 40s to 60s in Fahrenheit) but I heard the year before it was much warmer, and I think two weeks after we left, it was really hot and there were wildfires! I’m glad it was chilly though because we hardly had any bugs/mosquitoes (heard that they’re humongous in Lake Louise). I did see a few monster mosquitoes but definitely not as many had it been warmer.

A visit to both parks is worth all the planning though! I feel very spoiled after visiting the beauty of Banff, Jasper, and Patagonia (in South America) over the past 12 months, I am not sure if I’ll ever find any other parks as appealing for a long while (especially those close to where I live in NYC!). I do want to go to Yosemite and Zion National Parks someday and open to suggestions and comments to any other places I should check out in the future! :)

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 5 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

The morning of Day 5 of our trip was spent on the last segment of our Ultimate Explorer Banff tour. We booked an 11 am tour for the Columbia Icefield Adventure & Skywalk visit, but arrived to the parking lot by 10:20 am. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Lake Louise.

If you have never seen a glacier before, this is worth doing. If you have, you could probably skip it though! The Skywalk is part of the tour as well, and you do this after visiting the glacier. The cool part of the tour is riding the big icefield trucks out to the glaciers—there are like 12 in the world and 9 of them are on this tour while the others are used around the world for scientific reasons. The entire tour lasts about 2.5 hours. The walk on the glacier itself is about 30 min. long (which is more than enough as the space for walking isn’t that big).

Columbia Icefield Glacier

For the Skywalk part, you can stay as long as you’d like and then take one of the many buses that circle around back. We finished the tour close to 1:30 pm and had lunch there at the Visitor Center since there is nothing else around but the food was decent (but pricey). The Skywalk was ok, I thought it would be more exciting since the floor is see-through glass but it’s also really thick and not as scary as you think since you can see your reflection and things like that, obscuring the true view.

View of the valley from Skywalk

As we were driving up to Jasper National Park, we stopped along a couple of other stops along the way but the weather was crappy (rainy) so we didn’t stay very long.

After leaving the Columbia Icefield Visitors Center at 2:30 pm we went to Sunwapta Falls, arriving at about 3:20 pm. It wasn’t that impressive as the others so this is skippable unless you want to kill some time!

Then we headed to Athabaska Falls, arriving at 3:45 pm but due to the rain, we didn’t stay long here either and left to check into the cutest log cabin in all the land, Alpine Village Jasper. We stayed in the Whistler One Bedroom Cabin, and it was expensive but SO worth it! Built in 2018, these cabins still felt so spanking new and was so cozy and comfortable to stay in. I loved it and would definitely stay here again! It had a full kitchen and it was nice to cook our own meals and have a cup of tea out on the patio. The entire area reminds me of being in a Disney fairy tale village. It’s about a ten minute drive into Jasper but it was so lovely to stay here out in nature with modern amenities. I’m also glad we stayed here because for the most part, it was raining most of our time in Jasper so to have a nice place to chill and relax indoors was quite nice. This place also has an outdoor hot tub (by reception) but we didn’t use it.

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 4 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

Day 4: Moraine Lake

This was probably my favorite day of the trip. I was so tired from the past few days that I almost skipped out on getting up 4:45 am for the sunrise at Moraine Lake and I’m SO glad I didn’t. It was absolutely breathtaking!

We left Mountaineer Lodge by 5:15 am and drove over into the parking lot, arriving by 5:40 am. I thought we would be the earliest of early birds but oh how wrong I was! We got one of the very last parking spots and by the time we left at 7 am, the parking lot was definitely closed. My suggestion to come at the this time of the year (end of June) is probably shoot for between 5 and 5:30 am arrival.

With renewed energy, I found the path to the overlook above the lake, which I didn’t trek up the evening before. It’s easy to find and it’s not a hard path. It’s a basically a short trail and staircases and probably takes about ten minutes to get to the top of the overlook from the parking lot. There are numerous spots on the hill to get amazing views. My favorite spot was a quiet one off to the left when you arrive up the hill from the staircase, as most people rush up to the top/middle of the hill. I stayed at the overlook for about an hour, watching in awe at the majestic reflection of the mountains in the still lake. There were a few people paddling out on the lake in canoes as well. It was beautiful to see the light, shadows, and sky change as the sun lit up.

I have a billion pictures from the sunrise

YOHO NATIONAL PARK

Yoho National Park is very close to Lake Louise and an easy day trip. By car, it’s about 20 minutes away. After having breakfast, we left the hotel at 9:30 am and made a brief stop at the Spiral Tunnels. This place was skippable, unless you’re really into trains. We stayed here for like 5-10 minutes, and unless a train is pulling in, I am not sure it’s worth it. It’s famous because the engineers had to be creative back in the day with getting trains up and down steep hills.

We then drove onto one of the highlights of the park, Emerald Lake. It was sooo crowded when we arrived; I wish we came a bit earlier! We ended up parking down the road away from the parking lot, which was full. Emerald Lake is very pretty but not as magnificent as Lake Louise or Moraine. However, it is more relaxed here and you can go for an easy walk around the lake.

Emerald Lake

Canoes here were $70 CAD for an hour

Another lake you can see in Yoho National Park is Lake O’Hara. You need to make online reservations in advance (like WEEKS in advance) and I hadn’t done it so we didn’t go. I think after a while though, all the lakes start to look the same but I think the best ones were Moraine, Lake Louise, and Peyto.

We headed over to Takakkaw Falls and got there by 12:30 pm. Parking was crowded but larger and we were able to get a spot. It’s the highest falls in the park and very nice to visit. You can hike up pretty close to the falls (we didn’t do this). I think by this point we were feeling tired from the jam packed past few days! We then headed back to the hotel to rest a bit.

Takakkaw Falls

Later in the afternoon, around 4 pm, we headed back out to Lake Louise again to have a walk around the perimeter of the lake and just to relax and take the scene in. From the hotel out to the other side of the lake and back, it’s about a two mile roundtrip walk.

From the other side of Lake Louise, looking out at the Fairmount Hotel

Given the lack of dining options in the area, we ended up back at Peyto Cafe for dinner again and called it an evening!

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 3 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

LAKE LOUISE

Lake Louise is a highlight of Banff National Park. We planned to spend two nights at Lake Louise, which I highly recommend so that you can see everything you want in this area (Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, nearby Yoho National Park). We left Banff downtown at 8 am and an hour later, arrived and there was already traffic getting to the lake! It is no joke to come here ASAP in order to get prime parking. Otherwise, you need to park further away and shuttle over. We were lucky and were able to park in a lot close to the Fairmont Lake Louise hotel.

As a quick summary, this was what we did on Day 3 of the trip at Lake Louise:

• Hike to Fairmont Lookout

• Perimeter walk around Lake Louise by the hotel (FYI the hotel seemed more strict than the one in Banff in terms of access; the public can use it if they plan to shop/eat there though)

• Attempted to visit Bow Glacier Falls

• Visited Peyto Lake

• Visited Mistaya Canyon

Day 3

We did the hike up to the Fairmont Lookout. It was a bit steep, but not terrible. Definitely knew there were animals in the area due to ‘evidence’ on the trails (meaning animal droppings, lol) but it felt safe. It’s about a mile and change one way up. When the trail flattens out and dips down a bit, you know you’re near the end of the hike and you’ll see a platform which allows you to see the lake in all its turquoise blue glory with the hotel in the back. The platform has a bench and a snack is recommended if you don’t have time for breakfast in the morning! It took us about 45 minutes to get to the top, starting at 9:45 am and we were back down by 11 am.

I also had the Lake Agnes Teahouse on my list as a possible trail to do but we ended up skipping it due to our later morning start (seriously, need to get here at like 6 am if you want to do this in peace without the hordes of tourists!). They actually ended up closing it that day too due to a nearby bear sighting! I’ve heard the teahouse hike is also long and steep so didn’t mind skipping it.

From 11 am - noon, we walked around the perimeter of Lake Louise which was gorgeous. It’s still so incredible to me that there are SO many people who come here to photograph it, yet it’s still possible to take a picture as if there is no one else here (definitely was not the case!).

Me & Lake Louise

For lunch, we had amazing sandwiches from this casual take out place at the nearby shopping center called Trailhead Cafe. The food was fresh, big portions, and so good we came back the next day to eat again!

The downtown area of Lake Louise is very small and you should definitely book a hotel way in advance as soon as you know you want to come here! I was very lucky to find room at Mountaineer Lodge back in January when I was looking. Initially almost all moderately priced rooms were sold out, but the lodge just renovated and released rooms back when I booked it. It’s going to be expensive in Banff/Jasper no matter what and I TOTALLY think it’s worth spending the money staying in the areas you want to stay in to limit all the driving back and forth. I’m so glad we stayed here due to it’s super close proximity to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, both of which are overloaded with tourists. Anyway, Mountaineer Lodge was great, very stylish and comfortable and they also have an indoor hot tub. Actually all the places we stayed at had a hot tub but we never had a chance to use them! They also include free breakfast, which was great. Another word of advice though: do your supermarket shopping in Banff before coming to Lake Louise! Their supermarket options were more expensive and tiny compared to Banff’s.

Another tip: If you need to use the restroom but can’t find a good public one, just head over to Lake Louise Gondola. This is a ski resort with another chairlift to the top of the mountain. It’s less than a 10 minute drive from downtown Lake Louise. We contemplated taking the gondola up, but the weather was cloudy and you can see the sky cam from the top broadcasted next to the ticket desk to determine if you feel like it’s worth going to or not. To us, it wasn’t so we skipped it and headed over to Bow Glacier Falls.

Bow Lake

So we never really made it to Bow Glacier Falls. I wanted to, but it’s considered bear territory and it wasn’t swarming with tourists like other trails were so didn’t feel comfortable going without any defense. However, the lake around here was GORGEOUS and reminded me very much of the mountains and lakes I saw in Patagonia! It’s great to just walk around the perimeter towards the Bow Glacier Falls trail. There is a path and you can walk as far as you want. It was also very windy here though on the day we came. We arrived here at 1:45 pm and left about an hour later.

Bow Lake

PEYTO LAKE

YES THE COLOR IS FOR REAL CYAN BLUE!

Peyto Lake is about 15 minutes drive north of Bow Lake and SOOO worth pulling over to see! Not much of a hike here, you go straight to the platforms overlooking this beautiful cyan blue lake. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a purely bright hued lake like this before.

MISTAYA CANYON

After the brief stop at Peyto, we then drove 30 min. north to Mistaya Canyon. The hike down to the canyon is less than a mile roundtrip and an easy walk but a semi-rocky trail. Canyon was cool to see but skippable if you don’t have the time for it. Also the fact I’m too lazy to find a picture of it to upload reminds me it was skippable, lol.

MORAINE LAKE - In the evening

By the time we returned back to the hotel and took a bit of a break, it was almost 6 pm. We decided to try our luck to get into Moraine Lake since traffic seemed to have lightened up. From Mountaineer Lodge, Moraine Lake was actually a bit closer to drive to than Lake Louise. We arrived at 6:30 pm to the parking lot and waited about 10 minutes before being able to park. But we were lucky! Pretty sure everyone after us had the same idea to come later in the day and the line to get into the park (by the time we left at 7 pm) was longer than when we came in. The problem though is that the parking lot is one way and circular, and people can’t see there are spots on the other side unless they risk going down that one way route and around towards the exit.

Anyway, getting a glimpse of Moraine Lake was pretty, but I didn’t get the hype. Why did everyone rave about this place? When we entered, I saw a ton of people to the left on a pile of rocks on a hill, but by then we were SO tired and I didn’t want to do another hike to see the lake from above. Also, in order to get up to the left side, it looked like you had to take this long path up and around. So we kept to the right side of the lake, which was also nice. I learned my lesson the next day though when I came back to see it at sunrise!

For dinner, we went to Peyto Cafe. The food was decent, just had burgers and fish and chips. We ate here twice as well since otherwise dining options were a bit limited in Lake Louise! It’s located inside a hostel but the service and ambience was very nice and laid back. Would recommend for an easy, relaxing dinner.

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 2 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

I realize I am super behind in writing about my Banff/Jasper trip! After my last post, the WiFi service was really spotty and the summer flew by in a snap. Was too busy living it then sit at home and write content! Good thing I kept meticulous notes on my iPhone during the trip though :)

DAY 2: Banff

The schedule on this day, which I mapped out in advance and we kept for the most part, was as follows:

• Morning, 6-9 am : Visit Johnson Canyon

• 9-10 am: Drive back to Banff town and grab quick breakfast

• 10-10:45 am: Drive to Sunshine Village to take the gondola up

• 11:30 am - 1 pm: Hike at the top around Sunshine Meadows

• 3-4 pm: Returned to Banff, grab lunch and rest at hotel.

• 4 pm: Leave to drive to Lake Minnewasaka

• 5-6 pm: Lake Cruise

• 6-7 pm: Drive over to Tunnel Mt. just to have a look

• 7-8 pm: Check out Fairmont Banff but also end up at Bow Falls

• After 8 pm: Dinner and sleep

So we crammed A LOT in on the second day, see below for notes and observations.

Morning light in the town of Banff

Johnson Canyon

Our second day in Banff started off with waking up before the crack of dawn to beat the crowd at Johnson Canyon. Very happy we made this effort as by the time we left, we noticed a plethora of more people and it wouldn’t have been as relaxing or nice since the pathways are a bit narrow.

We left the hotel (Mount Royal) at 6 am to get to the canyon, which was about 45 minutes away from town. Upon arrival, there was plenty of parking but was completely full by the time we returned to the lot at 9 am. There are clean bathroom facilities here next to the parking lot. As you can see from the map below, it should take about 30 minutes to walk to the Lower Falls and from there, another hour to the Upper Halls.

The trail is easy to follow. Most of the walk to the Lower Falls will be right along the canyon on these ramps. It’s pretty scenic, cool, and a bit misty down here. The walkway is a bit narrow (can fit two people comfortably side by side but probably not much more than that) which is why starting the trail early with the mass amounts of tourists is well worth it.

Upper Falls

We made the (not fatal) mistake of bypassing stopping at the Lower Falls first and went straight to the Upper Falls. The walk to the Upper Falls is longer and more inland, not along the canyon. The path isn’t too difficult, but it is longer and has more ups/downs than the Lower Falls trail. Once you get near the end path to the bottom of the Upper Falls, you can take another path upwards to the top for an overlook of the Upper Falls. We skipped that portion since we were tired and had a busy itinerary for the day. If you plan to go further up, plan for another 30-45 minutes.

Upper Falls was very nice to see though. You get to stand on a platform above the river rushing below down to Lower Falls. When we reached here it was still pretty empty but on the walk back down to Lower Falls, we started to see more and more people coming up the route. By the time we reached Lower Falls, I really regretted not stopping there first!

The view of watching the water rush down from Upper Falls downstream

Lower Falls - you can get more up and personal to it via a small hole in a cave.

When we reached Lower Falls, there were more people arriving. I had failed to notice that you can get up and close to the Lower Falls via a small tunnel in a cave, which holds about maybe 4-5 people at a time on a small standing area. It wasn’t terribly crowded, but compared to the fact that there was NO ONE here when we first arrived, I regretted not stopping to see this first and breezing on by on the way back. If it’s super crowded and you’re unable to get into the cave, it’s not the end of the world. The view is not going to be that much better or anything, but knowing that we could have seen it crowd-free earlier pained me, lol. By the time we returned to the parking lot, it was about 9 am. We were starving and decided to head back into town for a quick breakfast at McDonald’s before shooting back out to Sunshine Village.

OVERALL: Johnson Canyon is worth seeing, it’s an easy/medium level hike and enjoyable for all. Definitely try to start this as early as you can in the day, and bring a snack/water.

SUNSHINE VILLAGE

Next up in the jam packed day was a visit up to Sunshine Village. The weather forecast for Banff the time we were here at the end of June was mostly rainy. Sunshine Village is a ski resort about 20 minutes from Banff, but the attractions all sit at the very top of Sunshine Mt. We booked our gondola tickets in advance and I am very glad that we planned to come during the start of peak season as otherwise, the gondola/access up here is closed. So the day we went was the very first day of gondola operation (the last Friday in June).

As we drove from Banff to Sunshine, the rain and mist did NOT let up. I was very sad since the prior day we could not see anything at the top of the gondola in Banff. However, as we neared closed to Sunshine Village, it suddenly cleared up and the area lived up to its name!

We arrived by 10:45 am (I had booked for 11 am) and off we went! This gondola ride was LONG because this mountain is HIGH. Also, be sure to dress warmly—it was much colder and windier at the summit. The gondola was a nice leisurely 20 minutes long but once we got off, we still had to head over to another ski lift to get to the very top! This ski lift takes you up to Sunshine Meadows, where you can see a few lakes and go for a hike. Before you get on the second lift though, there is a nice lodge where you can have lunch/grab a Starbucks coffee, use facilities, etc. You also have the option to walk up to Sunshine Meadows but that walk is not short. From what we saw on the second chairlift, it’s quite steep and long.

If you plan to come to Sunshine Village, it’s better to go on a day where you don’t have anything else to do in the morning. There is so much to see up in Sunshine Meadows and the last gondola ride down is at 5 pm. If you can start earlier in the day here, you’d be able to see more. However, what we saw was sufficient for us (since it was cold and early in peak season). On a warmer day you’d probably want to spend more time here.

By the time we reached Sunshine Meadows, it was about 11:30 am and we walked around and down to the Rock Isle lookout and back and finished by 1 pm. By time we took the two lifts down the mountain, it was about 3 pm in the parking lot. So yes, start early if you can!

View of Sunshine Meadows from the top of Sunshine Mt. (2 ski lifts up and 45 minutes later from the bottom!)

Rock Isle lookout — one of the many things you can see up at Sunshine Meadows

After we finished with Sunshine Mountain, we headed back to the hotel to rest up and have some late lunch. The town of Banff is very cute with lots of restaurants but also pricey. Think I just ended up getting a Subway sandwich because I wanted something quick and take a break on my bed!

LAKE MINNEWASAKA CRUISE

Since we were going all out on this trip, we bought the Ultimate Explorer Banff pass, which allows you to do three activities, such as the Banff Gondola, the Columbia Icefield Adventure and Skywalk, and the Lake Minnewasaka Cruise. While Banff Gondola and the Columbia Icefield activities were great, this cruise is SKIPPABLE! Only do it if you if you’re taking little kids and want an hour of boat cruising time without having to do any physical exertion. Our boat cruise was far from being relaxing, as there were tons of kids/families on the boat and the boat is not really that nice, nor there is not really a platform to stand outside or take pics in. There is a small area in the back of the boat, but it’s not really a ‘must do.’ Going down to the lake is recommended as it is beautiful, but to go out on the lake is not necessary. Plus the windows on the boat don’t make it optimal for good picture taking.

We took the 5 pm cruise, which is the last cruise of the day. They also offer a booze cruise but I think renting a canoe would be more interesting.

Lake Minnewasaka

After returning to shore by 6 pm, we drove over Tunnel Mt. trailhead to check it out since it was nearby (the lake is about 15-20 min. from town). It was getting dark at this time so we didn’t try to do the trail, but wish we had time! This trailhead overlooks the town of Banff and there is limited parking, though you could walk from town to do it.

BOW FALLS

At around 7 pm, we decided to head over to Fairmont Banff to check it out. It’s open to the public and we parked nearby on the street. We ended up wandering around the grounds and finding a path in the back of the hotel (near the German restaurant!) to Bow Falls. Since we missed this the day before due to the wandering elk, we took the opportunity to check out Bow Falls and so glad we did! It was very pretty and lots of public parking next to it. The sun was starting to set lower so the lighting for pictures around this time was great, too.

Bow Falls Lake at around 7:30 pm in late June

Bow Falls

This was the last thing we saw before heading to dinner and much needed night of sleep! A great packed day 2 of the trip though!

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Planning for Banff & Jasper National Parks

In case you’re unaware, I am very OCD about planning my trips. Mainly because time is money and time is also very precious to me. However, as much as I am a scheduler, I also add in flexibility to my vacation schedule as I know you can’t control everything (especially the weather!).

Earlier this year (January 2019) I spent a good 3 weeks planning my summer 10-day vacation to Banff and Jasper National Park’s. All that planning and research really paid off though as we’ve been having a wonderful time out here in Canada and yes, you really do need to book things that early! There are limited accommodations throughout the park so if you want to limit the amount of time of driving back and forth from place to place because you couldn’t get a room, definitely book by early January. Even when I was looking, a lot of the rooms I wanted were booked up! However other places also didn’t open up their reservation system for the summer until just after New Years (i.e., the wonderful Alpine Village in Jasper). I may have even started planning a bit around Christmastime last year, now that I think about it!

Planning for Banff & Jasper National Park (with a bit of Yoho on the side)

My holiday in Banff started at the end of June 2019, flying out Wed. June 26 and leaving Saturday, July 6. I’m currently still in Jasper (writing a long post since it’s been raining all day!) and I will say that I think you can do all the highlights in a week. However, it’s nice to have a couple of extra days to relax and unwind or to burn in case of bad weather. One great thing about the park system here is if you make a reservation for a gondola ride or lake cruise online, you can change it if your plan or weather changes.

Below is a brief outline of out overall itinerary as well as places we stayed at and brief comments:

The town of Banff on our first day (which was unfortunately cloudy and foggy).

Trip Overview

• Flew into Calgary International Airport from JFK. Stayed one night at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson near Calgary Airport. Great easy hotel, seems new, very comfortable and clean, decent free breakfast. We arrived at 9 pm so had to stay the night.

• Drove 90 minutes from Calgary to Banff, stayed for two nights at Mount Royal Hotel. Loved it here, very boutique and luxe feel. Worth the $$$. No breakfast but nice rooftop indoor lounge and outdoor hot tubs (which were always in use). Centrally located with parking.

• Drove 60 minutes from Banff to Lake Louise, stayed for two nights at Mountaineer Lodge. Based on my research, they just renovated these rooms in the past year and it shows! The outside may not look like much but inside was very comfy, clean and well laid out. Free breakfast included and parking. The proximity to Moraine Lake is CLUTCH. One night is really enough here but I’m glad we stayed two in case the weather was bad (and we definitely found things to do). Also, book this place early!! I initially booked one night back in Jan. and a few days later, tried to change it to two but the original room size I wanted was sold out so had to upgrade to a bigger one (which was ok since I’m traveling with two others anyway). The hotel allowed me to get the bigger room while paying one night fee of the smaller room, which was nice (I e-mailed them to ask if I could have the smaller room for two nights but glad we got upgraded for one night instead). While we stayed here, we saw a few tour buses here so it gets booked out for those groups. Has an indoor hot tub/sauna/locker rooms near the reception which I wish we got to use but didn’t have time.

• Yoho National Park is twenty minutes away from Lake Louise, which is why we chose to spend two nights, not one here. Yoho is more underrated than Banff and Jasper. Emerald Lake is the highlight here, and if you want to go see Lake O’Hara, you must make rsvps online in advance as only shuttle buses are allowed to travel down there. I didn’t do this but it’s an option.

• Drove 3 hours from Lake Louise to Jasper, stayed four nights at Alpine Village Jasper. This place was SO WORTH THE MONEY. It’s expensive, but it’s the #1 rated place to stay in Jasper and they just renovated all their log cabins in 2018. It is so cute and cozy and feels like they were built yesterday. The grounds are so well maintained and it’s a comfy place to hang out in when the weather is bad. I think two nights is good for Jasper but we don’t mind staying four as we did a lot on this trip and it’s nice to relax and unwind in the country the last couple of days. If you pay in cash, you save a bit on taxes (plenty of ATMs in Jasper. Also side note: you really don’t need cash for anything else). Has a nice outdoor hot tub area but we didn’t use. Cooked meals in the nice clean kitchen.

• Plan to drive 4-5 hours back from Jasper to Calgary on July 5 for our flight home to NYC July 6 (staying at another hotel airport).

• Other tip: If you’re doing a 10 day trip like us, it’s a better value to buy the ANNUAL pass for Canada’s National Parks. You can do this when you arrive at the park gates. Once you buy a park pass, you hang it on your car. Otherwise buy the pass that best suits you but generally anything longer than a week, you should just get the annual pass.

• Other things I booked online in advance included:

  • The Ultimate Explorer package. This included entry to the Banff Gondola ride up Sulphur Mt. (was foggy when we went but otherwise seems like it would be spectacular to do on a sunny day), a cruise on Lake Minnewanka (skippable), and the Glacier Adventure & Skywalk tour on the Columbia Icefields (nice, if you like glaciers and scenery). I booked this a few months earlier but you can wait a few weeks before your trip.

  • Gondola at Sunshine Village. This is a must do! I loved it. It’s a very long 20 min. ride to the top, and then another chairlift to the very top to Sunshine Meadows, where you can go for multiple hikes down to lakes sitting up 8,000 ft. at the top. Breathtaking, especially on a clear day (our day was partly cloudy). I booked this a couple of weeks before we left. The first day of operation was June 28 so you definitely should check/plan your trip around when they open (which is what I did when I started research back in Jan.).

  • Jasper Skytram. Also a must do. Gorgeous views of Jasper and the opportunity to hike up a mile up to the top of Whistler summit. You’re basically walking above the clouds up here! They are running a summer promotion where if you get on before 10 am (it opens at 8), you get a free breakfast at the restaurant at the top! Amazing value and also great views. They run the same promotion for after 5 pm for dinner. You only get like 3 food choices but it’s still a nice deal. Peak tram times seem to be btwn 11-5 (when we left by 12:30 pm it was soooo crowded. We got there at 8:15 and it was quiet and so enjoyably peaceful). Booked this a week before we left.

  • Maligne Lake Cruise, premium. If you want to do a lake cruise, I would pick the Maligne one over Minnewanka. And you should do the premium one so you can have a nice little walk on Spirit Island (half hour stop which is enough) and take in some nice pictures. After seeing so many lakes here, they all pretty much start to look the same. Minnewanka is very nice and you should definitely stop over to see it but no need to do the lake cruise (just motors out to the middle and back, and there isn’t a huge outdoor walking deck on the boat).

Another thing you can do/book in advance is the Lake Louisa gondola ride but I think it’s probably less impressive than Jasper, Banff, and Sunshine (we went there and looked at the webcam views from the ticketing office).

So with all that being said, I’ll try to recap my trip by day so you get an idea of how much was crammed in.

Day 1: Banff

Banff Gondola up to Sulphur Mt.

We arrived in Banff on Thursday morning from Calgary at about 10 am, leaving Calgary by 8:30. The day was pretty cloudy and drizzly but we really had no other time on our schedule to do this so we up to the top anyway.

At the top—nice observation deck

We could not see a thing but there were several indoor exhibits inside including a brief movie on the park and other factoids. There is also a nice boardwalk outside where you can walk up to the weather station and we enjoyed that even though we couldn’t see much. The clouds did lift a bit but overall not much of a view, I was okay with it though as I knew we would have other nice days and views ahead.

Boardwalking in the clouds

Afterwards we headed down on the gondola and walked around town a bit. The town of Banff is so cute with a lot of character, shops, and restaurants. I like it better than Jasper though Banff is probably more commercialized. Banff is more concentrated and compact though while Jasper feels more spread out and rustic.

Since it was drizzling we were limited on what we can do outdoors. Banff has a TON of things to do and we only did a handful of it all.

After some lunch, we checked out the Cascade of Time Garden, which is free and easy to get to. Everything in Banff is easy to walk to, which is why i think I like it more too.

Cascade of Time Garden

From there we tried to walk to Bow Falls Viewpoint (about 15 minutes from the garden) but when we arrived near the trail, we saw it was all roped off by the rangers. Apparently it’s calving season and this mama cow elk has been charging at hikers since she has a baby calf with her!

Mama Cow Elk

There were at least 5-6 rangers trying to herd her off and away from the trail so that was cool to see. You will definitely see animals coming into Banff/Jasper! We have seen at least one kind of animal every day.

Since we couldn’t go to Bow Falls Viewpoint, we decided to go to Surprise Corner instead, which is probably a 15 minute walk from town but we drove there since it was raining. After you park at the designated parking lot, walk along the side of the road where you can hear the raging rush of the Bow River and you’ll get a great view of the Fairmont Banff.

Bow River

Fairmont Banff

This was all we got to do on the first day. We had wanted to do Tunnel Mountain, which is a hike next to Surprise Corner and is supposed to be a great view of the town but due to the weather and time constraints, we were unable to do it.

May 2019: Milan, Italy Trip Report

Is Milan Worth Visiting?

Oh, Milano! I’ve been to Italy three times but never to Milan. Milan is known as the fashion capital of Italy and being from the fashion capital of the U.S. (NYC), I’ve never had an interest to visit (sorry, I can’t help it I’m a bit of a travel snob!). Once in a while I do like going to different cities to escape mine and this year for Memorial Day weekend I was in the mood to do just that. A few friends had been before and thought Milan was underwhelming though, with not much to do. After spending four days here, I disagree! I loved Milan and totally think it’s worth visiting if you’re in the mood to go somewhere culturally different than the U.S., easy to get around, and okay with exploring art/design culture and great Italian food.

Granted, Milanese Italian food is not as good as other areas of Italy but still better than the U.S.! Of all the countries I’ve been to around the world (40+), Italy is my favorite country to go back to. There is so much concentration of things to see, do and eat in this country and every time I come I fall more in love with Italian food.

From NYC, Milan is an easy trip to plan as well, where the flight times are pretty good and direct that you can spend a full four days here. I flew with Emirates Airlines (first time ever), leaving Wednesday night at 10:30 pm and arriving in Milan by Thursday, noon. Returning, my flight back to NYC from Milan was at 4 pm and I got back into JFK by 7 pm.

For those who fly with Emirates to Italy from NYC: definitely plan to arrive to the airport early to check in!!! I got to the airport by 8 pm and I barely had enough time to check in and grab some dinner before boarding the flight. Check in took FOREVER as everyone has to check in the front desk and I think a lot of people take this flight with a layover in Milan and then onwards to their flying destination in the UAE. It was probably the longest check in wait I’ve had in a long time when traveling. Flying back from Milan, I also arrived to the airport 3 hours early and I’m glad I did since I also needed to go to the tax-refund area as well (Note: As of May 2019, if you’re bringing your tax-free goods with you on the carry-on, they make you get the tax-free refund AFTER check-in security. If you have it in your checked luggage, you’re allowed to process it in an area BEFORE security. Sounds like these new rules were effective in the last year or so; definitely research for your travels!).

Why I Loved Visiting Milan

Milan is so much different than Rome, Florence, and Venice. I found it out be more classy, laid back, less touristy, and relaxing. Granted, maybe I was there during a good time of the year (late May) but I felt so safe walking around the streets of Milan. Sometimes when you visit other European cities, you need to be cautious of ‘bad’ or degenerate neighborhoods but I didn’t come across any sketchy streets. Of course that’s not to say there’s no crime but I felt safe and was never harassed or asked for money like I am in most other places. I also thought Milan moved at a relaxing pace and was less overwhelming with people than other Italian cities. I stayed in the ‘up and coming’ area of Tortona, which is near the southern end of the city and close to the Navigli area (which has a few canals and is very hip/more young and artsy. The Air BnB I stayed in was very nice and centrally located close to the Porta Genova Metro Station. The Duomo, which is in city center, was within a 20-25 minute walk. It was very easy to get around on the metro, trams, or with your own legs.

Milan is also great as it’s a jumping point for Lake Como and other surrounding areas. I wish I had more time to do day trips to the lake regions but I didn’t have time since it was a long weekend trip.

Spa Time

The highlight of my entire weekend was spending a day at QC Terme Milano. OMG this was one of the best day spa experiences I’ve ever had! I would pass through Milan just to enjoy this pleasurable day of bliss and relaxation. Unlike my other trips, I didn’t really spend too much time pre-planning as I plan so much for work and my personal life that I was ok just winging this weekend. However, anytime I travel solo, I always look up spa places in case I get bored or don’t have much else to do. I am SO glad I came across this little slice of heaven on Earth. I’ve been to a ton of spas around the world and in NYC and for the level of amenities and price, this may be my favorite one. I literally have nothing bad to say or to criticize this place.

In the halls of this artsy and wonderful spa

Why I loved QC Terme Milano:

• The design of this place was so gorgeous. From the two outdoor hot tubs basking within the Romanesque stone walls to the bird-cage nap room and the underground jacuzzis, everything was so nicely designed and CLEAN. I also loved the tram sitting in the garden which is a dry sauna.

• All the saunas were clean and had really relaxing music piping through speakers.

• The steam rooms were also very nice and filled of nice aromas. There was one steam room where you can also scrub down your skin with salt and while you sit in the steam room, it melts into your skin.

• There are also face lotions/creams to use and plentiful naps rooms (including a room with infrared bed lighting).

• Complimentary tea and fruit was also provided. For a full meal you need to pay a la carte, UNLESS you stay til the evening hours (7 pm) when they serve you apertivo (drinks and Italian charcuterie/snacks/food) which is INCLUDED in the admission price.

• Value: For a day pass, if you arrive in the morning, it’s just 48 euros!!! You can add on services like massages, etc. but I read reviews online that the massages are terrible. If you come later in the day, the admission price is less but it’s also more people.

• Very close to a metro station so it’s easy to get to. I took a tram from Tortona and it only took me 15 minutes to get to. I didn’t have a rsvp and I don’t think you really need one unless you come at a busy time.

Tips

• Do not come on a weekend. I came on a Friday morning, at around 10:30 am. Check in was easy (the front desk speaks minimal English but enough to get in). It was pretty empty but got a little bit more busy as the day went on. However by 1-2 pm, it died out again.

• Definitely come in the morning to enjoy this place in peace and cleanliness. I could totally understand that later in the day and on weekends, it gets busier and not as well-kept.

• I stayed from 10:30-4 pm, and around then, a lot more people were arriving, probably to take advantage of the apertivo hour which is included in the admission price no matter what time you arrive. So I didn’t experience it but I was okay with that since i really enjoyed lounging around!

• Bring sunscreen for the hot outdoor pools!

• Walk around the facility to get a sense of where everything is before enjoying it. I did a quick walk through when I arrived, but realized I truly didn’t discover everything until after being there for about three hours. Then I went back and re-visited all my favorite spots.

• The locker area—they give you a card as part of locker security. I didn’t know what to do with it until someone else showed me. You need to insert this card to a slot behind the locker door, then take the key with you. I felt that my things were secure.

• Be sure to explore all the rooms in the underground baths!

  I am so excited this brand is planning to launch a spa here in NYC as well in a couple of years on Governor’s Island!

Nap room, where they have sounds of birds chirping. Infrared beds in the back area and another room to sleep in is beyond that as well. So much to explore here!

Tram that doubles as a dry sauna

Outdoor jacuzzi where I spent most of my time.

Other things I did in Milan was mainly shop, visit the Duomo, and eat! The Galleria next to the Duomo is gorgeous and there is a dept. store nearby where you can head to the rooftop for a view of the Duomo and the city.

Galleria

I was very lucky to get a private tour of the Duomo. A colleague of mine has a connection to the Duomo and I really enjoyed visiting it. The highlight is visiting the rooftop and the interior of the Duomo (can skip the museum, though it really does have cool artifacts). I am pretty surprised the Duomo is not talked about as much as other churches in Europe. I found it to be more beautiful than Notre Dame or La Sagrada Familia. It was so clean/well-preserved and all the intricate details and statues on the exterior are amazing to look at.

For food/drinks, it was a hit/miss. This cute little cafe below (Bar Luce) is near the Prada Foundation and was designed by Wes Anderson, an artsy American film director. The food and coffee here was very good (and at great price points for the quality!).

Another highlight was this wonderful restaurant with freshly slice prosciutto di parma and the most creamiest burrata cheese I ever had! My mouth is salivating just thinking of it. Salsamenteria di Parma has several locations throughout Milan and the milky white cream oozing out of this cheese is seared into my memory. The pasta here was nice as well but I loved my cured meats and cheese! I ended up buying some prosciutto to go to snack on the plane ride home (BEST DECISION EVER).

I also had a tasting menu meal at Langosteria, a highly rated seafood restaurant in Milan (and close to Tortona area). The food was light and delicious but pretty pricey. I did savor every bite though and langoustines are one of favorite things to eat!

Overall a wonderful short trip to Milan.

Off to another adventure today which I will try to be good about posting so I don’t fall behind on my trip reporting! :) Follow me on Instagram at thegirlwhotraveled for more photos and info!

April 2019: West Coast Trip Report (L.A. & Santa Barbara)

I took a long weekend trip over Easter Weekend 2019 to L.A. and Santa Barbara. I’ve been to L.A. quite a few times, most recently last September for a work trip and New Years Eve 2016. I really do love the West Coast and could totally see myself live out there someday. As much as I love NYC, the older I get, the more I crave outdoor space, access to nature, and being into health & wellness. L.A. has changed a lot in past 18 years (I first visited when I was 21) and I love how the quality of produce/food is fresher, there’s tons of beachside communities to visit, there’s a great amount of culture and activities, and the weather is usually great (compared to East Coast 6 month long winters!).

For this trip I went out to visit a friend and we did a short overnight stay in Santa Barbara. My impressions of Santa Barbara were as follows:

• Cute beachside town - has a lot more character than Santa Monica and other places closer to L.A. I think it’s because it’s way less touristy (it’s a 90 minute drive north of L.A.) so it doesn’t feel as overcrowded as Santa Monica does, even though SB also has a pier/wharf area, a stretch of pedestrian-friendly shopping area, and nice beaches.

• The food scene is delish - the best meal of the trip was at Les Marchands and the Lark. Both are right next to each other and I’d rate Les Marchands better because the menu (Italian-based) was more unique and diverse.

• I’d recommend spending two nights here if you want to do some hiking. We didn’t do any hiking since we spent only one night. Inspiration Point is a popular one that was recommended.

• Definitely go to the Douglas Family Preserve for catching a glorious sunset. This park sits on a cliff above Arroyo Beach and accessible to the public from a residential street. Can take an Uber there (plenty of street parking though) and lots of locals/dog walkers walking around in the evening.

• Visit the wine valley. We did a bike tour with iBike Santa Barbara. It was well organized and the bike tour was nice and relaxing. We rode 13 miles around and then had a few wine tastings and lunch. This took up most of a day.

• A lot of great spas are here too but I think it’s only worth visiting a spa if you’re going to use their amenities as well. I looked into their prices and most massages/treatments started at $200+ so I wouldn’t go just for a treatment and leave. You should make it worth your time/value by spending a few hours relaxing in whatever amenities the spa offers too. I think since in NYC I can get a great (though no frills) massage for under $60 an hour, I find it hard to pay 3-4x that amount and just spend less than two hours at a spa.

• Overall I enjoyed Santa Barbara— great for couple, girlfriend getaways, and families. There really is something for everyone! If I go back it would be more for spa and hiking.

My time in L.A. was fun as well—my favorite place to eat in L.A. this trip around was at Nightmarket in Venice Beach. Amazing Southeast Asian food and knowledgable waitstaff who made excellent menu suggestions! Mama Shelter was also a fun rooftop bar in downtown L.A. with great cocktails and service. I look forward to future visits back!

February 2019: New Mexico Trip Report

I spent New Years Eve 2018 weekend out in Nashville, TN but I’m too lazy to recap it! I was there for about four days, which felt a tad too long when it’s too cold to stay outside. Nashville was nice to visit; the highlights were eating fried chicken at Hattie B’s and getting amazing cocktails at speakeasy bar Patterson House. Otherwise Nashville seemed like a blend of Las Vegas/Charleston/New Orleans to me and every neighborhood is pretty spread out.

Over President’s Day weekend 2019 in February I took a mini trip out west to New Mexico and visited Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I loved driving out there, the sky is this brilliant blue that’s different from what I see on the East Coast and the landscape was breathtaking. Unfortunately I was the driver most of the time and unable to take pictures from the road though.

Getting to New Mexico from NYC

I booked this trip back in December and it was one of the cheapest direct flights I could find from NYC to anywhere in the U.S. for President’s Day weekend. I think the non stop Jet Blue flight was just around $300 or so, leaving Thursday evening 8 pm NYC and arriving in Albuquerque by 11 pm. As soon as we arrived, we picked up our car rental from Enterprise and spent the night at a low cost hotel by the airport. Stayed at Baymont by Wyndman, which has a 24 hour front desk and seemed like a ‘newer’ hotel. I’d definitely recommend it for a short stay, the place was clean, comfortable, and the hotel breakfast was the best of our weekend.

I thought New Mexico would be warmer than NYC but I was completely wrong! There was one day of 40-50 degree weather but otherwise it was just as cold as NYC (25-40 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a dry cold at least but it got pretty windy at times too.

Day 1 (Friday):

The first day was the warmest day of the weekend so we took the opportunity to check out Sandia Tram, which is one of the world’s longest tram ride up (about 15 minutes). The views are very scenic and it was pretty snowy and a bit icy at the top. It takes you up to Sandia Mountain, and skiers/snowboarders may be on your ride as well. When it’s warmer you could go on hiking trails around there but otherwise you’ll probably just spend about 20 minutes looking at the various lookout points before catching the tram back down.

Up, up and away!

Skiing on the other side of the peak.

After we finished the tram ride it was about 11 am and we drove up to Santa Fe but went to Tent Rocks National Monument first. It’s on the way and about an hour and change from Albuquerque. It’s an easy place to visit but you would definitely need to check the website to see if it’s open due to weather conditions. Luckily for us the easy 1 mile loop was open (but another trail further in was closed).

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

I love how you can see the cuts and colors of the rocks. No hiking shoes necessary if you’re doing this easy loop around the park. Afterwards we checked into our next hotel, the Homewood Suites Santa Fe, which is coincidentally next to a casino. The hotel was nice though, also clean and comfortable, but the breakfast wasn’t as good as the previous one. It’s also about a 15-20 min. drive from city center, but much more affordable.

Day 2 (Saturday)

The weather forecast was turning colder by the minute so we started the day heading out to Bandelier National Monument. We headed out there from the hotel around 9 am and it seemed like we were the only ones going as we hardly saw any other cars on the hour drive over. The drive into the park is also very nice, as you’re going through semi-twisty roads (safe though) but you should also check that the park/trails are open before heading over there. On the way, there is a pullout stop/parking to check out the canyon views.

Canyon view on the way to Bandelier National Park

I didn’t quite know what to expect of Bandelier but it was a fun visit. When you pull into the main parking lot, there will be a Visitor’s Center where you can get information on the trails. On the day we went, only the main trail was open but that’s the main attraction anyway!

Bandelier is a place that was abandoned 500 years ago by Native Americans. They basically create a community and homes within the mountains/caves and you can climb up through the ladders to have a look. It kind of felt like being in an episode of the Flintstones!

My New Mexico Abode

The trail loop is about 1.5 mile but some of it was covered in snow/water so we stuck to the main trail along the cave homes. Kids would definitely love playing and scrambling around, but adults will as well!

The forecast called for snow and just when we finished exploring the part of the cave homes, it started flurrying. The weather around here changes so fast!

After having some lunch, we then went to take a glass blowing sculpture class with Prairie Dog Glass. It was so much fun and I highly recommend it! You just have to call in advance and make an appointment for a private lesson. It was kind of expensive ($180 an hour) but then when I got back to NYC and saw how much more expensive it is NYC (like about $200+ and it’s not private class and you only get to make one thing) I think i got a good deal in New Mexico! At this class, it’s a one on one private session and you basically can make as many objects as you can within the allotted hour. I chose to do a vase, bowl (20 min each) and a paperweight (15 minutes). And you get to keep it all!

For the most part the instructor is helping and guiding you but you get to pick the colors, twirl the molted glass in the hotter-than-lava oven, and help shape your project. I really enjoyed it and would love to try it again sometime.

I always wondered how they make the ‘flower’ inside the paperweight. Basically they create the flower in a mold, and then they dip that flower shape mold into another layer of molten glass to encase/seal it in. After finishing these pieces, they’re placed in a sealed closet to cool down and then you return the next day (as early as 9 am; our class was at 2 pm) to pick up and take home with you. The instructor will pack it up in bubble wrap for travel as well.

Day 3 (Sunday)

Sunday Funday! We woke up to 26 degree weather but it didn’t matter as we planned to spend half the day at Japanese-inspired spa Ten Thousand Waves. This spa has been around forever and is about a 10-15 minute drive from city center of Santa Fe. Definitely make a private spa reservation in advance! I called maybe 3 weeks before the trip and there was only ONE time slot left for the private hot tub/sauna room I wanted to book.

As far as spas go, I’ve been to many around the world and this was a nice local one to visit. The prices compared to elsewhere in the world were fairly affordable! The cheapest would be to do the day spa admission, which is $28 for the day and you get to hang out in the communal areas like the Grand Bath. There are also public same-sex only hot tubs (women/men-only) which are also communal but smaller (holding maybe 6 people max at a time. And they have this lovely outdoor foot bath, where you can sit and soak your tired tootsies while wearing a bath robe and sipping complementary tea.

Public bubbling foot bath

I ended up grabbing a private hot tub/sauna rsvp for 12:15 pm at the Ofuro hot tub. This was money WAY WELL SPENT. Oh my goodness for $59 per person we had this lovely hot tub and dry sauna with private shower/toilet/lounge area for a glorious 90 minutes!!! 90 doesn’t sound long but it was just enough. The water is really hot and full of minerals. I couldn’t really stay in more than 15 minutes at a time. Since the communal areas can be crowded (and kid friendly) it was nice to have this private space to ourselves. In addition, if you book a private spa the communal areas are ‘free’ for use. I loved this one too as it was shaded (we had a roof) but also ‘open windows’ to the outside. I wish I could come back here once a week!

There is an intercom that will tell you when you have 15 minutes left in your time slot. The doors are locked so no one will come in and bother you. It’s really an amazing way to relax and the bath area was super clean and had ice water to drink/refresh yourself with as well as plenty of towels and floor slippers.

We arrived at the spa at 9 am on Sunday. It was pretty quiet/empty but got fuller around 11 am. You can also book other appointments like massages but I would NOT recommend the private foot massage. Not worth it. Was less than half an hour and cost as much as the private hot tub.

After the spa, we went to pick up the glass work we made the previous day. Then we drove down to Albuquerque to visit the city but overall it was too cold to spend too much time outdoors there. On Monday (our fourth day) In Albuquerque we visited Old Town but it was pretty blah. The casino was ok to kill time in. The Petroglyph park was nice but too cold to walk outside. So I didn’t enjoy this area as much as we did Santa Fe!

Our flight back to NYC was supposed to leave at midnight but it ended up being delayed til 2:30 am! So the last day there wasn’t as ‘fun’ as the previous days but really enjoyed our time in Santa Fe.

Prepping for Patagonia: What to Expect and What to Bring

How to Prepare for the 5 Day W Trek

Disclaimer: I’m a total city girl. I’ve never been camping, I’m 5’2”, and my goal was to visit Patagonia before I turned 40 (accomplished, but just barely!). I work out often, but I’m not an athlete. My weekly workouts pre-Patagonia was mostly yoga, pilates. and the occasional jogging and interval running on a treadmill (I’m slow, I generally run between 5.5 mph and 6.0 and sprint between 7.0 and 8.0 mph). Once I signed on for this trip though, I definitely changed up my workout routine.

For the average person with a desk job, no, you can’t show just show up and do the hike, especially if you’re carrying weight on your back. You could, but I think you’d regret it. Some parts of the trail are steep and requires a bit of leg strength and arm strength if you’re a shorter person like me who needs to pull herself up with trekking poles! If you’re not in a rush and you’re not in great shape, you can still do the hike. You just will have to take it slower. For my trip, I was on a tour group and most people in my group were seasoned hikers/outdoorsy people or taller (there was one guy who was 6’5”—for every step he took I probably took 10 steps!) so I felt the urge to keep up but no one rushed me.

For me, about 2-3 months before the trip, I started to increase my cardio/endurance workouts. This included taking HIIT Barry Bootcamp classes, running more, and increasing my strength with squats. I also tried to go hiking once every weekend and carried around a 20-25 lb. backpack whenever I went hiking or did stair climbing in my 18-floor apartment building. For stair climbing, I tried to do this at least 3x a week, walking up and down my building about 4x (this equated to about a mile). This took me about 40-45 minutes if my backpack was heavy; it takes me about 30 minutes without no backpack. The first time I climbed my apartment building up and down I only did it twice and my entire legs (thighs and calves) were sore for 5 days! It took me about a couple of weeks to no longer be sore in my legs. And since I’ve been home I’ve continued the workout as I think it’s great, easy and an efficient way to exercise without having to go to a gym. I didn’t really lose any weight (I unfortunately love to eat) but I did find my body shape more toned and changed in that regard.

Living in NYC I love to walk everywhere and I would aim to walk at least 8-10 miles one day a weekend as well. In general, I think it’s important to be in decent shape to tackle this trek as the hikes are long. I never found any hikes in the U.S. when I was hiking that were as long as the ones we did in Torres del Paine as I just didn’t have the time to hike 8-9 hours in one day. The longest hike I did before this trip was about 7-8 miles in Los Angeles and a 7 mile one in upstate NY. I even hiked once in the rain (which sucked) but I wanted to be as prepared as possible in case we had bad weather. Carrying a heavy backpack around really helped too and I ended up carrying less than what I practiced with.

On our way into Torres del Paine

REI Is My New Best Friend

I never set foot into an REI store until this past year. It is the Amazon of outdoor gear and clothing, I love it! They have everything you could possibly need and the people who work there are so friendly. And if you plan correctly, you can score big ticket items on sale (like around Labor Day Weekend). Everything I needed I bought from mainly REI. They also have an outlet with even bigger discounts.

Crossing one of the many bridges in the park over that fresh blue glacial stream.

Gear/Packing List for Patagonia

Below is a list of all the items I packed and what was helpful/what was not:

1. Woman’s Ruckpack 40: The more I visited REI last year, the more I learned about how much all the employees love it. The main takeaway I came away with though is that REI’s own manufactured products are amazing and on par with other brand names. This woman’s ruckpack holds 40 liters and was perfect for trekking. The straps are padded and comfortable and helped distribute the weight of my bag pretty evenly. It also came with a rainproof cover and you can even zip the straps in so it kind of turns into a duffel bag. This bag was ‘heavier’ (4 lbs.) than what my friends brought but I think mine was more functional. I also love how you can unzip the bag in a shape of the way of a suitcase and all the many compartments and hidden pockets were helpful. The shape is also wider than most bags (which are more narrow and taller) so I personally liked everything about this bag. I got it in green but doesn’t look like that's available anymore! I also got it for sale, under $100 during the Labor Day weekend sale.

2. Lock for locker: This was only helpful at one of the refugios. A small lock would do; I had one of those old school high school locker locks.

3. Lock for my backpack: Helpful when we had to leave our backpack behind and carry just a daypack. This gave me peace of mind but I never really left anything valuable in my backpack.

4. Quick Dry Towel: I got this microfiber towel from REI. I initially got a large, but it barely covered me and I am not a tall/big person! I switched it up to XL which was a lot better (and twice the size of L). This was helpful to have since not all the refugios give you a towel. It did stink after a while though because drying conditions weren’t great (too cold in the rooms to dry well) but it’s just for a few days that you’re using this.

5. Face Wipes: As a girly girl, I like to feel clean and though the water in the park is pretty clean, I felt better having moisturized wet wipes for my face.

6. Hand Wipes: Wet Ones—always great for travel, especially when there are no sinks or soaps around!

7. Shampoo, body wash, tooth paste, mouth wash: All travel-sized and needed, since the refugios may not offer anything.

8. Sunscreen: Primarily for the face and hands; it was not warm enough that more skin was exposed. Sunscreen is very important there!

9. Sunglasses: Also important!

10. Ear plugs: There was a loud snorer in our group and this was super helpful to drown him out. Mack’s worked for me, I brought a few pairs on the trip.

11. Cap: To keep your head warm and the sun out of your eyes (and rain!). I brought two caps—one baseball one and one wool one (made by Tilley—no longer on REI but maybe next season it’ll come out again. I got it on sale at the outlet. Looks similar to this little kid’s one).

12. Advil/sleeping pills: I almost brought Imodium with me as well but honestly when you have to carry everything every ounce matters! So pick and choose what you think you might really need in terms of medication. Never needed the Advil but sleeping pills were helpful to lull me to sleep.

13. Nuum Hydration Tablets: Great to help hydrate you and all the flavors were great! I would continue using this in my every day life. Available at Whole Food’s too.

14. Band Aids and Blister Band Aids: I am SO glad I brought two different types of blister band aids as I ended up using ALL of them! I thought I would only use one but nope. Went through the pack. I really liked Second Skin, especially for this bunion I have on the side of my foot. There was another one I had that was more of a bandaid I had to cut down. Either way, bring more than you think you’ll need.

15. Knee Brace: I don’t have terrible knees but they do get sore after walking/hiking so much. These were helpful for the trek and I noticed the difference one day when I was hiking in El Chalten and didn’t have them.

16. Travel Adapter & Extra Battery Pack: My travel charger converter which is old didn’t work in Torres del Paine (different plugs). My friend had an extra universal one that worked though. Anker is great as an extra battery pack—lasts for days.

17. Foneleash: I was paranoid about losing my phone to the wind or dropping it somehow so I got this foneleash to wear it on my wrist if I wanted (which I never really did). It was helpful though if I took a picture from somewhere I was afraid to drop my phone.

18. Dry Bags: I got my dry bags (to waterproof your gear if it rains) from a Columbia outlet. They worked great but are no longer sold anywhere else.

19. Zip-lock bags: Used for holding and organizing misc. items like wallet, passport, etc. Bring a few clean/empty ones as you may need them during the hike to hold garbage or stay organized.

20. Biodegradable toilet paper: Yes I bought this!!! I used it only once, at an outhouse at a park in El Chalten that had a hole in the ground and nothing else. I actually NEVER went to the bathroom during the trekking portion of the 5 day trek. Any water I drank I sweated it out, But I also tried not to drink too much water either so I didn’t have to ‘go.’

The hardest/steepest climb of the W Trek is up to the Blue Towers. This was the also the ‘busiest’ trail of the trek for us (but I didn’t think it was that busy compared to NY!)

Gear/Packing List Continued:

21. Water bottle: I didn’t love mine (if I didn’t screw it well enough water leaked from the top) but the design was nice. I can’t remember the brand name of it but all you need is a water bottle that you’re comfortable with size-wise. The water was really clean in the park and I didn’t think a filter was necessary. Mine had a built in carbon filter but that doesn’t purify the water. I think mine was less than 1.5L big and that was fine for me. I filled up on the streams multiple times.

22. Bug spray: I didn’t end up bringing any and we didn’t need it in November (not warm enough). It was helpful in Mendoza though!

23. Sleeping bag liner: Didn’t really need one but was helpful to have. We slept in a sleeping bag once, and it seemed clean but I used the liner anyway.

24. Heat Tech clothes: Uniqlo is great. The ultra heat tech and normal heat tech wear kept me warm. In fact they were too warm to wear as layers since we had good weather! My initial intent was to wear them hiking but I ended up wearing them as pjs to sleep in.

25. Great hiking boots: Mine were from Ahnu and were waterproof and comfy (I have wide feet). They no longer sell the ones I bought two years ago at REI but I would use the Ahnu brand again.

26. Extra pair of comfy sneakers: I brought a very lightweight pair of sneaker from Skechers. You are going to want another pair of shoes to wear after hiking!

27. Flip flops for the shower

Typical trail in Torres del Paine

Gear/Packing List Continued:

28.Fleece. I almost ditched the fleece because the fleece and rain jacket took up the most space. I ended up wearing my rain jacket most of the time as my outer layer. The fleece came in handy when we were at the top of the mountains though.

29. Rain jacket. I got mine from Northface and loved it. Kept me dry.

30. My day to day outfit was a pair of windproof Northface pants. I would wear one of my heat tech pants underneath as a layer. I also had another lightweight pair of yoga/workout pants on the days I didn’t need the windproof pants. On top I had a quick drying top, a UV protective hoodie from Uniqlo (I love these and own like so many versions), and had an extra top as well.

31. Buff: I borrowed a friend’s but a buff is a multi use item that is great as a scarf or for headgear

32. Carabiner: I did not have one and had to borrow a friend and now I would buy one! This was great for clipping my water bottle to my bag for easy access as well as the lunches if I could. Sometimes the bagged lunch came in a pouch with a string on it, which is why I could clip to the outside of my backpack.

33. Trekking Poles: You will need these! I loved these foldable/carry on size one from Black Diamond. I got the shortest length based on my height (under 110 cm) and it was great. Easy to use and adjust. Held up well. Will continue using as long as possible!

34. Swim bikini bottoms: Not used to go swimming but to wear and wash and hang dry after every hike instead of bringing undergarments. I brought two and it was comfortable to wear on hikes and easy to maintain cleaning while hiking rather than cotton or other material.

35. Compression sack: I got this right before I left cuz I needed a way to downsize all my clothes! This was helpful.

36. Misc Items: Hair ties, Apple Watch, Kleenex, Q Tips, Comb, Neosporin, socks (for hiking and for sleeping/relaxing in refugios in). The Apple Watch was great because I would set my morning alarm on it and it vibrates, not causing any sound to anyone around me. I primarily got it though to track the miles we walked and calories spent. As I mentioned in a prior post, I spent 2000 active calories on the Blue Tower hike and 1500 resting calories. I don’t think I’ve hit that high in calories on any day since then.

One my favorite moments on the trek—sunny skies, pristine lakes, nothing but bliss all around.

Other Words of Advice

• Monitor the weather forecast before you leave. As I mentioned in a prior post, this website was great for forecasting the weather. I checked every day from a week before we left and it was fairly spot on (and in fact, we had a little bit nicer weather than predicted). Just be sure to change the altitude to the lowest level.

• Exchange some Chilean pesos before arriving. I was able to obtain it from my U.S. bank at a decent currency rate (it’s so cheap there compared to the U.S.). You won’t need much though as most places take credit cards, but you would need it for the taxi/tipping if needed. You could probably also use Argentinian pesos but Chilean money was preferred.

• Research the route you’re going to take and have an idea of how long it takes to get from one point to another! Luckily we had Chile Nativo organizing all our routes for us but depending on the time of the year you’re going, you should pay attention to sunrise/sunset times and make sure you allocated enough time to make it to your evening destination before it gets too dark.

• Don’t overpack. Try to be as light as possible. I definitely overpacked and repacked twice before I left.

• Bring an extra battery pack in the event the refugio you’re staying out loses power or there are not enough electrical outlets to go around.

Is Going to Patagonia/Torres del Paine worth it?

If you love adventure, unpredictability, and nature, YES! And if you’re from an area where you don’t get to see beautiful mountain ranges or clear teal lakes as often, DOUBLE YES. As I mentioned in a prior post, I think people who are already from gorgeous natural environments or have constant access to them may not find it as appealing (especially if the weather is terrible). Beauty is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. I thought Torres del Paine was unique in its landscape, terrain, and colors. Being so remotely caught off from the world was also wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I had zero access to the news/internet/communication for 5 days (some WiFi access is available in the refugios but really expensive and may not always be working). It was great to be present and in the moment with the soul of the earth.

Sunset at Refugio Los Cuernos