I’m Back From The BIG Summer Travel Adventure It was…absolutely AMAZING!

summer travel
The German Cathedral in Berlin

I am back from the BIG Summer Travel Adventure – It was…absolutely AMAZING!

Miss me? I’ve just returned from twenty-nine adventure-filled days in Europe. Here’s how it went!

  • I traveled to six countries – Italy, Spain, England, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary
  • Eight total flights: Los Angeles to London to Rome, Florence to Barcelona to Palma to Berlin, Prague to Budapest to London to Washington DC to Los Angeles
  • 2 trains
  • 2 Viking ships
  • Many kilometers by Viking Coach
  • Two rental cars
  • Multiple cabs
  • Several subway rides
  • Miles walked? Who knows!  A lot!

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Major Trends in Travel ~ What are the HOT topics?

trends in travel
A BIG Experience! Driving a Polaris in Montana – I have never done anything like this and I LOVED it!

Major Trends in Travel

At the Travel and Adventure show in Los Angeles, we had a great time perusing the booths representing world wide travel and stopped to listen to several travel experts talk about trends in travel.These three travel topics stood out to me and I wanted to dive in and give them a little more attention. Craig and I actually fit into all three of these categories, do you?

  • BIG experience, BIG Adventure
  • Personal Immersive Travel
  • Multi-Generational Travel

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BIG Summer Travel – Where are we going this time?

Park Hyatt Mallorca
summer travel
Majorca, Spain

Summer Travel Update

Hey fellow adventurers! I wanted to check in to let you know that we are embarking on a BIG Summer Travel Adventure!

Craig and I will be traveling with our family to see The Palio in Siena, Italy with a quick couple of days in Rome! Next, we say goodbye to the family and fly to the gorgeous island of Majorca, Spain. We visited last summer and it was so spectacular that we just had to go back! And there’s more…

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Adventures in Italy ~ Our Big Summer Trip to See The Palio in Siena

the Palio in Siena

Are you familiar with The Palio in Siena?

The Palio di Siena is one of Italy’s most famous sporting events. It is a horse race with unique rules and centuries-old history. My guess is that you may have never heard of it either! About ten years ago our close friends Nick and Victoria, who are world travelers (67 countries), shared their story of the Palio in Siena. Craig and I were captivated and totally hooked. We vowed one day we would see this special event as well!

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Have you seen our Empty Nester Video? It will make you smile.

empty nester video
Dinner at Kualoa Ranch, Oahu

 

Adventures of Empty Nesters: How did it all begin? The quick version.

Four years ago, I was having a bit of a struggle trying to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Where did I belong exactly? Our son was in college, our daughter had graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle and never moved back to California. My husband Craig was often traveling for business and I no longer had to spend every waking moment focused on what the family required. Everyone was happily doing their own thing, I was truly an Empty Nester and it was my time now.

Created in 2014, AdventuresofEmptyNesters.com has evolved through the years, with the original emphasis on my life in the Empty Nest. I adored offering advice to others who were about to begin this new empty nester chapter or already living it. As time passed, I allowed the blog to carry me and my thoughts along with it toward new adventures.

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Adventures in Hawaii :: 26 of the Best Things to Do on Oahu

things to do on Oahu
things to do on Oahu
View from Makapuu Lighthouse

Finding the best things to do on Oahu can be a challenge, there are so many to choose from!

We recently had an absolute blast traveling to this exotic paradise with long time friends and our grown kids. Our dear friend Pam has lived on the island for 30 years and insisted on taking us to her favorite spots. We were able to experience Oahu from a locals perspective and now you will benefit too from her awesome ideas!

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Vacation Rentals – Rent a home in East Hampton NY? Yes Please!

rent a home in East Hampton

rent a home in East Hampton

Would you like to rent a home in East Hampton?

Have you ever thought about it? Yes, me too. But I always wondered how would I go about it? How much would it cost? How would it all work?

Lucky for us, Roni McGuire, an almost Empty Nester, took a chance and reached out to me via email. Why not she thought? Roni was looking for an additional way to market her exquisite rental property in East Hampton. So she researched empty nester travel writers and thought she and I would hit it off. She was right. After several phone conversations we have easily become fast friends. Empty nesters have so much in common and can connect on so many levels. We all totally understand each other from a parental perspective as well as a myriad of other topics.

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Chris Erskine’s Happy Hour Hiking Club Takes a Tour of the LA Times Building

 

tour of the LA Times

Just in time! We were so fortunate to take a tour of the LA Times building only two weeks before they move to their new location.

tour of the LA Times

Our tour of the LA Times ~

Yes, it’s true, the Los Angeles Times is packing up and moving from Downtown Los Angeles. The new owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiongannounced in April, that he is vacating their historic, architecturally significant home and taking The Times to El Segundo because he could not reach a satisfactory lease agreement. The new building is just about twenty miles (but a long commute) from Downtown. The landowners wanted to increase the rent by $1 million per month. Wow!

This news came as a huge shock to the employees of the newspaper and Los Angeles history will be forever changed. The fearless leader of our Happy Hour Hiking Club, author and columnist Chris Erskine, has worked for the LA Times for twenty-eight years and he was able to arrange a special tour for us just before they all left for good.

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What to See in Seattle ~ Your Complete List of Our Favorites!

 

what to see in Seattle

How do you decide what to see in Seattle?

Trying to decide what to see in Seattle is a major challenge, but a fantastic problem to have! The city is so amazing and there are so many tasty restaurants, picturesque spots and fun bars. Time and again many friends and colleagues ask me where to go and where to eat in Seattle. These personal recommendations are our absolute favorites and are places we go on a regular basis. This list does not include every single touristy activity – you can get those from another travel site or guide book. Of course there are several insanely great shopping areas (Downtown and University Village are our favorites) and a visit to the Flagship Nordstrom is a must.

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Friday Roundup – Bits and pieces we didn’t get a chance to talk about this week!

Friday round up

Happy Friday! If you missed it…You can find this week’s post about == > How to Stay Fit When You Travel ===> HERE My Friday Roundup: Links to Awesome Stories You Have Probably Not Seen. Don’t you love it when someone else does the work? OMGee 20 Books everyone ill be talking about this Summer! …

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