Boston Weekend & Sponsor Guest Post

Today I'm off for a Memorial Day weekend getaway to Boston and New England.

I'm going to spend my long weekend wandering around the old streets of Boston, eating Lobster in Maine and exploring the beaches of Cape Cod and Rhode Island.

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But in the meantime, I have a fantastic blogger for you to meet!
My newest sponsor and a fellow Third Culture Kid, 
Bonnie Rose from A Compass Rose is here to guest post today.
She and I have much in common and reading through her post below brought so many emotions forward for me as a fellow TCK.
So read on below and then head on over to her blog and read up on all her adventures in England!

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What it means to 'Return Home' When You're A TCK

My name is Bonnie Rose from A Compass Rose.  I am a photographer living the expat life with my husband and sons in Bath, England.  When I stumbled upon Casey's blog for the first time I was excited because we share something in common, being Third Culture Kids (TCKs).  I was born and grew up in Europe moving around US Military bases with my family until I was seventeen years old.  Four years after moving to the US I married my husband who soon after joined the USAF. During the six years of his enlistment, though we wanted to get an assignment to Europe, had the pleasure of living in both Monterey, California and Oahu, Hawaii.  In the end after a little over ten years of living in the US, my husband and I finally relocated 'home' to England.  I have lived a nomadic lifestyle since birth and have yet to live in one place for longer than three years at a time. The one question I get asked most is 'Where are you from' which for a TCK is not an easy, nor simple question to answer.  I have however lived in Naples, Italy twice in my childhood for 4-6 grade and 9-11 grade and a part of my heart has remained there indefinitely.   While I cannot call any one place my real home, bella Napoli is up there in the running for that title. 

The Bay of Naples overlooking Mt. Vesuvius, the sleeping volcano, in the distance. 

The norm seems to be that you take your boyfriend or fiance 'home' before you run off to wedded bliss.    However my husband and I had been married nine years and with two children before I got to show him where I had grown up.  It is also a little different to return to places as a military kid because change is a ever present.  My peers from school at NAHS now are all scattered across the world and even the military bases have seen so much transformation and development from 2000 to 2012. 

 Some of the people whom I know who still live there are the members of my church family in Bagnoli. We went to church every Sunday during the total of six years we were stationed in Naples, Italy.  While I did not have close ties to any extended family members back in the US, these people became my surrogate grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.  We were a mixing pot of cultures with the American military families, the Italians, the Ghanians from Africa, and a mixture of people from other nations in Europe.  It was with great pride that I got to both introduce them to my husband but to introduce my husband to my Italian familia.  I grew up getting pinched on the cheeks really hard by all the older women and had my belly stuffed with several courses of food at their houses.  We got together to celebrate holidays through out the year like real families.  We laughed through the best times and cried through the harder times.  While my church family has gone through much after my departure, I hope I can return again soon to introduce them to my sons too.

This is the pasticceria I used to go to before church every sunday, across the train tracks near the church.  It is essentially in English a cafe bar.  In my high school years I would drink espresso with a graffe, which is an Italian sugar donut of the gods.  It is where my church family came to hang out after bible study and before worship services began. I have so many fond memories inside and right outside these walls. 

Second to introducing my husband to my familia in Italy, I was looking forward to having him to experience what it meant for me to grow up in Italy. To see the old buildings full of history that were still standing through times of war and natural disasters.  To go about your daily life, not being fluent in the language and figuring out enough words to get by as you pick up new vocabulary with practice.  To eat all the foods I had been talking about since before we started dating. To understand and agree with why I distinguish the difference between American Italian food and 'real' Italian food.  To walk through the more shady parts of town and pick out old men sitting outside who were more than likely in the local mafia. Just to experience life with me that was beyond being a tourist in a foreign city.  

I got to introduce my husband to the beauty of Napoli.  Her picturesque views along the bay and up above the city from the last stop of the funicolare.  I also taught him the the funicolare song I had been taught as a child in Italian lessons.  Then of course I let my guard down as I was so happy to have finally returned home.  This led to my phone being stolen out of my hand, followed by an impromptu stop at the local police station to look at a culprit inches away from behind a piece of plexiglass. I got to then show off to my husband every word of Italian I could recall from memory as I filled out the police report in verbal form.  There is nothing like traveling the world with your spouse, even as a seasoned traveler, to really get to know each other better.  With the good and the bad that is what this trip was for us. It became more of a visit home but a look for my husband inside of my life as a military kid raised abroad and a Third Culture Kid.  

I took this photo of my husband  as he looked over the vast stretches of twinkling city lights below and out towards Mt. Vesuvius that hid in the darkness.  We stayed with my friend Liisa from Hawaii, who is now stationed in Italy, and she has the best view I have ever seen of my city.  It was the best place to sit in the evening, to enjoy the views, and just reflect. So many sights and sounds we could witness from that rooftop location of the city in which I grew up.  It is just one city of many that I call home.  For I take ownership in every city, country, or culture that I have lived in during my life.  I look forward in the future to showing my husband more places where pieces of heart has eternally been left, awaiting my return. 

Cheers,

Bonnie Rose

Connect with Bonnie Rose:

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*Photography belongs to Bonnie Rose Photography © 2013 All Rights Reserved |www.bonnie-rose.co.uk

Travel Guide: Oahu, Hawaii

Since I was recently in Hawaii again, I thought it was about time that I got my Hawaii travel guide out for the island of Oahu.  Since that's the island I frequent most often, here is my guide for the greater Honolulu area and some other favorite spots on the island.

How to Get Around

Oahu needs to be traversed by car.  Around Honolulu is mostly the same.  It's not a very walkable city and there are many traffic accidents, so be careful.

Places to Stay

I've actually only stayed in a hotel on Oahu once, but I've toured many of the hotels there and these are some of my favorites.

Hilton Hawaiian Village

This whole complex of a hotel is beautiful and in a great location away from the chaos of Waikiki but still close.  It's also close to the Ala Moana mall and has it's own beach and a couple different pools.

Hotel Renew

If you're looking for a cool boutique hotel, this is it.  I actually used this hotel for a precedent study back in college and went through it a lot.  It's a fantastic little unique hotel.

The Royal Hawaiian

If you want to be in the center of everything in Waikiki, this might be the hotel for you.  It's also an old landmark and just went through a huge renovation... so it's a perfect time to check it out.

The Modern

This is sort of the new kid on the block and has made a lot of design headlines recently in Hawaii.  The hotel was totally renovated and made into a semi-large boutique hotel.

Turtle Bay

If you want to escape the craziness of Waikiki, you can stay out at Turtle Bay on Oahu's North Shore.  The hotel is a huge complex with multiple restaurants, a private beach, and a golf course.

Aulani, Disney Resort

Last August, we went out to Kapolei and explored the new hotels out there, including the Disney Aulani hotel and resort.  If you have kids, this is seriously a cool place.  The design is incredible for adults too and they have a really amazing pool and slides and all that plus a nice beach.

Places to Eat

Honolulu is not a place I would say that is very "foodie" but there are some good spots that I've come to find... some pretty local places, some pretty touristy.

Longhi's - Ala Moana
An old landmark restaurant in Hawaii, this location at Ala Moana mall has some of the best views in Honolulu, overlooking Ala Moana park and the ocean.  Sit in the open air and enjoy breakfast here (my favorite meal of their's).

Top of the I - Sorento's
I'll admit, I never used to recommend this restaurant after a bad experience, but recently when I was in Hawaii last week, I ate here again and it was amazing.  Incredible views of Honolulu from about 20 floors up, this restaurant offers a light Italian fare... try their fish special of the day.

Asia Manoa
This is a local place for sure... you won't see any tourists up here but it's possibly the best Chinese food I've ever had.  Try their Steamed Sea Bass... delicious!

House without a Key
This restaurant has let me down the last couple times I've been there, but I think still worth mentioning as the setting is really cool and so Hawaii.

The Hau Tree
This is a restaurant I haven't been to for a while, but again, the setting is cool.  They built the restaurant around a Hau tree that was growing there and they hang lanterns in it for the evening... such a cool location and decor.

Places to See

Hawaii and Oahu specifically has endless amounts of things to see and do, but here are some of my favorites that you might not find in a guidebook.

Hawaii Kai and the Eastern Shore

This side of the island is mostly local but drive through Hawaii Kai, where inlets of water form around neighborhoods, and then head up the Eastern Shore, along the cliffs.

Waikiki

While Waikiki can be chaotic, it's still worth wandering along the beach, past all the hotels.
Check it out at sunset and watch the gorgeous colors paint the sky.

North Shore

This area of the island consists of a bunch of tiny towns.  Drive up the shore and stop at one of the local beach parks to miss most of the tourists.  There are a ton of sea turtles on this side of the island and you can wade out in the water to see them up close.

Wainae
While the actual town of Wainae is kind of a rough place, drive through it to get to the end of the road and one of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen on Oahu... beach in front, cliffs to the side and mountains behind... truly amazing.

Take the Pali Hwy to Kailua
Drive the Pali Hwy which cuts through the inside of the mountains to get to the other side of the island to Kailua and Kaneohe.  It's a beautiful drive through the jungle.

My mom and I at Kailua

Where to Shop

Honolulu has lots of great shopping, but my favorite spot to get everything you need is Ala Moana mall.  It's huge and has almost everything.
Waikiki also has doubles of most of the stores at Ala Moana.

The view of Honolulu from my apartment balcony.

Oahu is a pretty big island and each coastline is different, so to get the full experience I totally recommend driving around the island and stopping periodically.
There are spots on Oahu that are truly breathtaking.

All photos copyright to True Colours Blog and Nick Nieto

Hotel Jules {Paris} : A Hotel Review

Today I'm adding to my Hotel Review Guide collection which you can find on my travel guides page.

Another hotel to add to the list and another of my favorites is

The Hotel Jules in Paris, France.

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This hotel is where Nick and I stayed at on our honeymoon in Paris.  It's in the Opera district in Paris, in a quiet neighborhood but really close to shopping (Galleries Lafayette, Printemps, etc.) and the large Paris Opera house.  The hotel offers a unique boutique feel in a quiet but accessible area of Paris.
It's also only a block away from a Metro stop, which means you can get anywhere in the city quickly.
And not to mention, that our room on the corner had a wrap around balcony and a view of the top of the Eiffel Tower... it was magical.

Here is my review:

Check in - Check in for us was easy and quick.  The staff spoke wonderful English and we had no problem communicating.  As a note, we took a taxi from Charles de Gualle and the driver had a bit of a hard time finding the hotel, so make sure you keep the hotel's address handy.

Room - Our room was very large for European standards, though we did have the corner room so that's probably why.  Our room was fantastic, complete with a large wrap around Parisian balcony and a view of the top of the Eiffel Tower.

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Bathroom - The bathroom in our room was fairly small compared to the large room, but pretty standard for European hotels.  I remember wanting more counter space, but other than that, lovely design.

Design - Very modern design with updated Parisian touches.  The feel of this hotel was a mixture between Old Hollywood and modern Paris, very chic.

View from our room's balcony - Copyright to Nick Nieto Photography

View from our room's balcony - Copyright to Nick Nieto Photography

Hotel information:

49-51 Rue La Fayette, Paris, 75009 France

Website

Price Range:

$250-300/night

(average in the off season)

Overall Hotel Grade:

A+

The Truth About Traveling: International Trip Costs

After I wrote about the after feelings of a big trip here a month or so ago, I got an overwhelming response from readers that they loved my honesty and the "truth" factor that goes into traveling and especially into a travel blog.  So often, you only see the sugar coated truth to traveling on travel blogs and I try very hard to speak to the negatives on here as well.  So in another feature on the Truth About Traveling, I wanted to touch on the costs associated with a trip, this time with an International trip,
which is not something you generally see... this is the money side of the beautiful pictures and the memorable moments.

The short story is, traveling is NOT cheap.

It's an INVESTMENT.

But in short, it's ALWAYS worth it.

(Also, throughout this post, keep in mind that we work very hard to be able to afford to travel and we definitely sacrifice certain things to be able to travel so often).

Below, I outline our typical International trip costs for a week long adventure,
usually Friday to Friday/Saturday.
The prices shown below are also for the off season (March/April & October/November).

We also do splurge in areas we want (namely hotels) so keep that in mind as you go through this, 

I am not a true budget traveler, but not an excessive one either... we tend to fall right in the middle so there are definitely ways to save from what we spend and also ways to spend more if you want.

Trip Costs:

$1,000/per person average roundtrip coach ticket from West Coast US to Europe

If we decide to upgrade to Premium Economy, it's usually an extra $500/person or more.

Hotels are a point for me that I won't skimp on.  As a designer, I love a great boutique hotel and I base all my decisions for hotels on reviews online and locations.

Typically, we spend about $200-$250/night in European cities with the exception of our favorite hotel in Paris which we pay a little more.

6 nights x $250 = $1,500

One way that we save a lot of money traveling is that we almost always use public transportation or walk around a city.  Very rarely do we use taxis (really only in London/NYC) and even then, both cities have fantastic subway systems.  In Paris, we exclusively use the Metro and we pre-order tickets which saves us a lot.

Depending on how many zones you need, tickets are usually around 10 euros for a day pass or less.

6 days x 10 euros = 60 euros

Just to put some perspective on this, a taxi ride from the Champs Elysees in Paris to the Eiffel Tower (which is not a long distance) can cost up to 20 euros in traffic... that's 1/3 of your whole trip's metro ticket price on one cab ride.

Studying my metro map in Paris.

For food and random things during out trips, I plan on around $1,000 to cover meals for 6-7 days, shopping, museum entry, and miscellaneous expenses.

And on this note, I usually end up bringing some of that home with me, as we usually don't use the whole amount.

Part of my spending money always includes macarons! 

There are obviously other travel expenses for an International trip, but I'd say those are the main chunks.  Other expenses could include train tickets, airfare to another location, specific activities, or car rentals.  But to stay in one city for a week, those figures are pretty close to where we fall.

Total: approximately $4,000-$5,000 for 2 people for everything

Now, ways to save (as we hardly ever pay that full amount anymore on trips.)

With hotels.com, I almost always have at least 1 hotel night for free on our trips.

We use air miles a lot for hotel stays instead of for airfare, and save the money for the flight.

Use air miles for small connecting trips... for example, we usually fly out of Seattle or LA heading overseas, so we use miles to get from Portland to Seattle/LA.

Instead of using metro tickets, walk everywhere.

Use small amounts of air miles that aren't enough for flights for things like 
rental cars or train tickets.

While this may seem expensive, the next time you're worried about the cost, just know that no matter where you're headed, 

it will be a part of your life, you'll never forget!

Dreaming of....

After an incredibly busy and hectic few weeks, we're nearing the end of another month and I seriously can't believe we're almost half way through this year.
We've got a very busy Summer ahead, so I'm enjoying the downtime before the craziness hits again!

I've also been busy working on upcoming posts and deciding the direction I want to head with my blog.
To start with, I have updated and changed my sponsorship options a little bit,
so check them out here if you're interested!

The weather has also cooled a bit here in Portland which always soothes me and as we head into the last weeks in May, 

here's what I'm dreaming of currently...

The Hotel Wilshire {LA}: A Hotel Review

Today I'm introducing the first hotel review to add to my Hotel Review Guide collection which you can find on my travel guides page.

The first hotel I'm going to begin with is the hotel that sort of kick started this idea:

The Hotel Wilshire in Los Angeles, California.

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I found this hotel when I was looking for a place to stay in LA for our trip to Disneyland.  

We wanted to stay more in downtown LA, instead of Anaheim, and we always enjoy a great boutique hotel for the design, service and feel.

This hotel has recently become a Kimpton hotel, which is a personal favorite boutique hotel chain of mine in the US.

The nice thing about Kimpton hotels, is that they are managed and operated like true boutique hotels, instead of a chain.  They also offer free wifi and a $10 mini bar credit if you join their loyalty program which is free, so it's a great deal.

But back to the Hotel Wilshire...

Here is my review:

Check in - We checked in late in the evening and the hotel was relatively quiet.  Quick check in and easy valet service to park your car.  Parking overnight was around $30.

Room - Our room was large and well designed.  There was lots of room for luggage storage, as well as a chaise lounge to relax in.  My only complaint was that our windows looked out onto another building's rooftop, but that's what you get sometimes in a city setting.

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Bathroom - Large bathroom with large shower/tub combo and lots of counter space.  My only complaint was that there was a glass panel in between the bedroom and bathroom (shown in the above image), so in the middle of the night if you use the restroom and turn on the light, you can see it faintly through the wall into the bedroom.

Design - Very modern design with nice boutique hotel touches.  Lovely and relaxing updated color scheme and finish choices for the rooms.

Restaurant - The rooftop restaurant at this hotel is not to miss.  We enjoyed brunch up here around 10am on a Sunday and it was truly delightful, good food and amazing setting with sweeping views of LA.  Be sure to make a reservation here, as it fills up quickly.

Photo by Casey

Photo by Casey

Photo by Casey

Hotel information:

6317 Wilshire Blvd,  Los Angeles, CA 90048

Website

Price Range:

$200-260/night

(average around the time we stayed here in April)

Overall Hotel Grade:

A+

Summer Love & Memories

This past weekend, some friends of Nick and I got married in a gorgeous renovated barn down near Corvallis, Oregon.  It was a weekend of reunions, friends of ours from high school (Nick's from elementary school), people we hadn't seen in a number of years and it was so great to see everyone.

No matter how much time goes by, some people and some friendships always seem to stand the test of time.

Weddings in general always make me think, they bring about emotions that often get lost in the span of routine and busy lives.  But it's at times like this wedding last weekend, that really got me 

thinking about how fast our lives fly by, how fast we count down the days and months of our lives.

As I get older, it feels like in the blink of eye, months are gone.

It's in those moments at weddings and other events, that we get to stop for a moment and take in all the love in the room.

It's moments like that we get to stop and dream, surrounded by family, by friends.

We get to laugh with people we've known for a long time, catch up on their lives,

and remember great memories that have come and gone with them.

As it now begins the season of weddings, we have a few more scheduled to attend this Summer,

and at each of them, I hope I remember to take a moment, 

breathe in the love in the room and enjoy those special moments with my husband and friends,

because in the end, those are the moments that will make new memories,

new memories we'll remember down the road.