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Jess Olm

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Amber Lowe

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Miami

Summer vacations are always fun, especially because I get to travel with my family! Every year we tend to gravitate towards kid-friendly places and this year was no different. We started our trip with 11 people (7 adults and 4 children) in Orlando, Florida. More specific Disney World: The land of Dreams and Fairytales. Just like last summer, I arrived late and didn’t get to do all the parks, but I did get to go to one of my favorite Disney parks, Animal Kingdom. Oh, I just love it there! I think there is a mandatory blog on recommendations rides/food of Disney World at this point.  Future trip? I think so.

After our stay in Orlando all 11 of us made it to Miami, Florida to spend the remaining of the week in beautiful Miami. After a 4 hour drive (shout out to my brother in law) we had arrived. We had received some dinner recommendations prior to our arrival so we decided to try one of the Cuban restaurant out, La Carreta. The smell of Cuban food welcomed us all upon our arrival, but what I didn’t know was that my trip was about to change.

Here is Jarrett’s version of the story:

While all the fun stuff was happening with Luna and her family, I arrived in Fort Lauderdale Thursday afternoon and drove to Miami to surprise Luna. You see, I was unable to be present for the entire Disney trip but so happy that I could get tickets out to Miami. With a little coordination from with her brother and sister: I surprised Luna at the restaurant they were eating at during a little game called “I spy.”

Yay! Jarrett was in Miami with all of us! His surprise was the best, I absolutely loved it. My trip was going great, but now it was amazing.

On our first full day in Miami we all hailed a cab or two to get from our hotel to South Beach, we couldn’t wait to see the beach. Side note: Cab drivers in Florida are C-R-A-Z-Y! At one point it felt like we were playing “Chicken” with other cars. We made it safe and sound, all 12 of us. After arriving at South Beach, the family decided to split. Half of us went on a bout and bus tour and the other half went to the beach.

I didn’t get to experience the boat ride or the bus tour, however, my parents did and they said it was a great way to see the city! I on the other hand joined the beach crew. The sand and water were calling my name.

About South Beach: 

Ya'll south beach is beautiful! The only beach I can compare it to is South Padre Island and Galveston Beach, cause you know, I live that South Texas life. The water was clear blue with a hint of green hue due to the seaweed that had been trapped on shore. The sand was a little rough and not ideal to make sand castles but who cares when you have the the clear blue water to take a dip on. 

South Beach is party beach. I felt like I had just landed on a scene out of MTV. South Beach is a mix in between Las Vegas and Cancun. Everyone is there to have a good time. 

After spending the morning at the beach we walked down Ocean Drive. Restaurants, bars and boutiques all lined the famous street. We decided to make a stop for lunch at one of the local restaurants where we got a complimentary HUGE pina colada. We were all sure it was for marketing purposes, but who cares right? 

South Beach is the place to go when you want Vegas and beach side all rolled into one, minus the gambling of course! 

Day 2: 

Little Havana

Miami has a history of trade and rich Cuban influence. About a half a million Cubans immigrated to Miami after the Cuban revolution in 1953 (Castro). They opened up some of the best restaurants and cigar manufacturing for the state in an area called, Little Havana or La Pequena Havana. 

The Cigar Tour

One thing we both knew we wanted to do was take a tour at one of the cigar factories. While I wouldn't consider myself a smoker by any means, a cigar is a reward and something to enjoy on special occasions.

We wanted to know how cigars were made and the history of it all. We decided to take a $10.00 tour at a local cigar company called, Havana Classic Cigar Factory. Jessica our tour guide was pretty great! Before she showed us the factory, she gave us a little tour of Little Havana, which I appreciated since we knew nothing about the place before arriving. The tour included some delicious and strong Cuban coffee. Cuban coffee is served in a small amount but that is all you need, trust me. We were also able to try some of their handmade local cigars. ( All included in the tour).

With no agenda in play, we decided to stay in the factory for a while and talk to the local Cuban Miami residents. It was a different way of traveling for us, it felt nice just to sit and chat with the locals while sipping on some Cuban coffee. 

WynWood Art District

The Wynwood Art District was our next stop. It reminded me a lot of Austin. The food, the people and the art is it's main attraction. We even found a speak easy bar thanks to some locals. 

Miami has a lot to offer and due to time limit we didn't get to do a lot but it is a place that we will back to explore some more. 

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Paris

La vie en rose. 

After nearly half a year, I finally got around to writing about good ol' Paris. Oh Paris! I know a lot of people think its cliché, but oh my.... Paris is literally always a good idea. I was fortunate enough to visit Paris back in 2013 and I knew back then that I had to go back! 

So it finally happened. 5 years later, but it happened!  And let me tell you.... It was better than the first time. We arrived in Paris a Wednesday night and were completely embraced by the Parisian life. To get from the airport into the heart of the city we had to take a 45 minute train ride. Paris was cold, wet and cozy all at the same time! As I viewed the first scenes of the city from the train, I couldn’t help to think how lucky and fortunate I was. After the train, it took a few stops off the metro/subway and 2 huge suitcases later to finally arrive at Montmartre, where our Airbnb awaited us. Montmartre is one of the most artistic and quaint places in Paris.

Let's talk about our Airbnb for a little bit. I just have to gush about it because it was the most magnificent, dreamy and romantic place I have ever been to.  To get to our room, we had to ride an old elevator that I swear was installed in 1912. It was so small that Jarrett and one luggage barely fit at a time. It was quite an experience getting our luggage up to the room, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Once we arrived at the loft we were quickly taken away by the view. Guys, the Airbnb had a balcony that overlooked the whole city! You could see the Eiffel Tower from our room! It was the dreamiest thing I had ever experience. I had to pinch myself and hold the tears from excitement. 

We were excited to explore Paris and get lost in those beautiful historic buildings, but our bodies needed some rest. The following morning we headed off into the Fashion City of The World! I couldn’t help notice how the Parisian’s graceful traveled to work in their vintage and stylist clothes. Oh la la… that was la vie en rose. We strolled mid-morning into the city looking for the perfect coffee and croissant place. After fueling our bodies with much needed food, the Eiffel tower called our names.

The Louvre, Sein River, Notradame Cathedral, Catacombs and Latin Quarter did not disappoint. We explored the city to the best we could with the little time we had, stopping ever so often to warm our bodies with some hot chocolate. We made it a point to look for the best hot chocolate in Paris and we found it. After some research, Jarrett led me to this cute bakery that specialized in macaroons, we can’t forget about those! But the main course was their delicious rich, creamy and hot chocolate. I can’t even explain how delicious it was. BEST I HAVE EVER HAD! They serve it to you in the smallest cup, but that is all you need.

Paris was a dream and I cannot wait to go back sometime. There is so much to see and do and the trip is definitely worth it.

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San Francisco

I finally had the opportunity to take a trip with one of my best friends, Ale! And where else then the land of beautiful people....California. 

We had talked about taking a trip together for YEARS and it turns out that 2018 made our dreams come true. Earlier this year while browsing through the internet we found some really great deals on flights from Houston to San Francisco and decided to spontaneously book the trip. 

Planning the trip was a little difficult since we live about 300 miles away from each other, but no biggie, we made it work. Our plan was to each compile a list of things we wanted to do and scratch off place by place once we got to the City by the Bay. 

What we did: 

We had a long list of things we wanted to do and thankfully both Ale and I have the same personally... we decided to just go where the wind took us. On the first day, we didn't have much time since we got in kinda late but we made the most of the time we had. We first explored Union Street. It houses numerous of restaurants and cute little boutiques that made us experience "That Cali life." After exploring the cute little shops,  we made our way to the Embarcadero, where we saw Alcatraz. Unfortunately that's as close as we got to the famous jail. We also got our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge!! 

The day was still young so we decided to make our way to Baker Beach. Baker Beach gave us an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge and a little more. Turns out Baker Beach is a nude beach and some people, even in low temperatures, like to take in a little sun. The sunset we saw from here was beautiful!!! Definitely worth watching if you ever come to San Francisco. 

Our second day was full of adventure. For breakfast we made our way to Little Italy where we spend most of our morning (breakfast was insane!). After breakfast we decided that a stroll down memory lane was a must, to the Painted Ladies went. Yes, we visited the famous houses that brought us back to the good old days of Full House. Long live the 90s! It was pretty awesome being there! You can't help but start singing the theme song or at least parts that you know which was my case.

After taking in the picturesque view, we decided to opt out of standing in the line for the famous cable cars. We didn't skip the picture... it's a must, right?! After recharging our phones we decided it was time to visit the famous and memorable Pier 39.  After a few minutes of walking we were greeted by some CUTE sea lions! They were adorable, although a little feisty, I might add. I had no idea they were so short tempered! Our lunch by the pier gave us life and enough energy to take a ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Battery Spencer, an observation deck that overlooks the bridge. OMG! It was breath taking. Very chilly, but breath taking. 

On our final day, Ale and I had to do all the things we didn't have time to do the first time. After breakfast we decided to take a long walk in San Francisco with destination to Mr. Holmes. The famous donut shop! FYI the line is non-existent on Mondays.

After partaking into a very touristy picture we made our way to Chinatown. Neither of us have ever been to China, but if we could compare it, we would say it came very close! 

San Francisco was a California dream!

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Lodon

On December 31st at 10:45 pm we arrived at Heathrow Airport. Our mission: Get to the London eye before the clock hit 12:00 a.m. 

In order to get to our hotel, which was located in Victoria we first had to catch the train into the city. The train was schedule to leave at 11:00 pm from the airport and according to the schedule it took about 30 minutes to get there. We had 30 minutes after our arrival to get to the London eye! This was completely do-able since our hotel was only a couple of stops on the tube away. After finally getting directions to the train we literally ran to go catch it, but to our dismay we missed the train by about 10 seconds!! Our only choice was to take the next train out to the city (this train took 45 minutes to Victoria). 

After what seemed like forever, and a few stops later, we arrived at Victoria at about 11:45 pm. Jarrett was determined to get to the London eye in time, however, the two huge luggages we were carrying were weighing us down. From the Victoria station we were 7 minutes away from the hotel (walking). I distinctly remember cause I had given up on achieving our goal. I believe I told Jarrett about 3 times that it would be fine if we didn't get to see the fireworks to ring in the year, but he was determined. We got to the hotel in record time of 5 minutes after racing through an unknown city with our luggage. 

The hotel was about 10 minutes from a visible stop to the London eye and we were going to get there! We dropped off the luggage at the hotel after talking and negotiating to the most slow paced guy ..... EVER! We hailed a cab, ran a mile and reached our destination with about 30 seconds to spare. We made it! 

OUR NEW YEAR EXPERIENCE! Welcome 2018.

We reached the bridge to the London eye and saw the magical fireworks! It was all very exciting and beautiful!! So many emotions and thoughts were filling my brain.. I was in London! I was ringing in the New Year in another country! I was making all these new and amazing memories with the most amazing person ever! 

It was also packed and recent events had us in high alert so we didn't stay there long. We made our way back to Victoria and found a cute pub a few blocks away from our hotel. The pub was pretty cute, cozy and full of English people celebrating the New Year. Champagne, beer, and laughter filled the pub. I was so mesmerized by everything! 

New Year's Day (Day 1)

Just like everywhere else in the world. A city shuts down on New Year's Day but that did not stop us from exploring the city. On our first day in London, our first stop was The Tower Bridge (not the London Bridge, we learned). We didn't know, but there is actually a tour you can take of the bridge, so of course, we took it! There is a glass floor on the bridge that gives you a spectacular view of the London. 

We continue the day exploring the city. The Westminister Bridge overlooks some of London's biggest attractions: The London eye, Parliament, and Big Ben. To our dismay, Big Ben went under construction a month prior to our visit and it's splendor was not visible. Still, it was pretty awesome experiencing the first golden hour of the year on the bridge overlooking all of the beauty London had to share. 

The rest of the night was just as amazing as our first half of the day. We experienced London to the fullest!

January 2nd

London, a place where every stone has a story. We continued through the time lapse into the Tower of London. Here we learned about the different Kings and Queens who had reigned the city. Right before our travels, I started watching The Crown so all the history was phenomenal and a bonus for me. 

After we learned all about London's history, it was time for some instagram-able spots! I had done some research on London and Notting Hill was a must. The colorful pastel houses were beautiful! I felt like I was inside a 10 year old girl's barbie dreams. It was so pretty!! 

After exploring the beautiful Notting Hill we set off to look for the Queen. Kensington Palace is hard to miss and so are all the guards that surround it. Jarrett of course, could not pass the opportunity to talk to the police and ask all about being on the Queen's service. 

January 3rd - The Last Day

You cannot go to the home of Harry Potter without visiting Platform 9 3/4. King's Cross Station is home to some of the fastest passenger trains, and houses one of the magical spots where Harry Potter was seen crossing into the magical world of Hogwarts. 

After visiting the station we saw the last bit of London before heading out to the next location... Paris.

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