I didn’t think we were going to make it to Turkey this time. We almost didn’t. Our scheduled stop in Izmir was cancelled for safety concerns due to the political climate weeks before we left for Barcelona. We weren’t entirely heartbroken – we had no plans for Turkey, having done an extensive tour of the Read more
Waking up in our hotel room in Barcelona brought mixed emotions: I was so sad to leave Barcelona, a city I can never get enough of, but if I’m going to leave this magnificent city for anything, the Carnival Vista is certainly a worthy reason. We’d planned on waking up at 7:30 am, finishing our Read more
Primo location? Check. Clean room and excellent service? Check and double check. Our pre-cruise stay at the Olivia Balmes Hotel in Barcelona’s Eixample district exceeded every expectation we had. Finding a hotel room in Barcelona can be intimidating, especially when you’re traveling with a family or a group. Location is key, especially in Barcelona, and Read more
Before I even wiped the sleep from my eyes and turned on Good Morning, America on Tuesday morning, I had two text messages from messages from my sister: No Brussels for us? Maybe London is back on the table. Sitting above the texts was a picture she’d sent of the CNN Homepage. Terror in Belgium. Read more
Leaving Paris for Chicago was bad enough. A 4:30 am wakeup call so we could leave this beautiful place we’d spent weeks exploring? That’s just torturous. We had to be out of the hotel by 5:30 am to have enough time to check in for our flight, validate and process our VAT return, check our Read more
