Hello, and welcome. If you're visiting, you've probably received my Holiday card and Newsletter. If you want to read more about my trip to the Arctic, click here. If you want to ready about my trip to the east coast, click here. If you want to read more about my dad, click here.
I have compiled some highlights of 2023 and made a slideshow. Explanations are in the photo captions. Enjoy!

Hope you and your family have a wonderful Holiday season!

This year, I had the opportunity to go to the Arctic. I flew to Helsinki first, then took a chartered flight to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. From there, I boarded a boat with 100 passengers and toured Svalbard. From Svalbard, we spent 2 days at sea headed to east Greenland to explore the fjords and glaciers. Then we spent a day at sea to the north part of Iceland. We ended our trip in Reykjavik, Iceland. 

This was an amazing trip, and I don't think I have words to really express how phenomenal it was. Pictures will never do it justice! I made some new friends along the way, and hope to connect again in the future. 

My bestie Jane moved to Virginia this year and I was excited to visit her at her new home, and also to celebrate her birthday. Not to mention, 30 years of friendship!! We had loads of fun! Went to amazing restaurants, had a great time with friends, and explored a bit of history at Mount Vernon. Can't wait for more adventures with Jane next year. 

My dad passed away December 20, 2022 at 4pm. I haven't updated the website since then. It is difficult to put into words what this feels like. So I can only write up a tribute to my father the best way I can. With pictures. 

Okay, now that that's out of the way....

WELCOME! Happy to have you here! If you're here because you just received my Holiday card, hello! Feel free to scroll through previous posts that have more in-detail explanations and photos of my travels and random adventures. 

If you're here for the reader's digest version, here are pictures of the highlights of 2022. 

I drove north for several weeks (January - February) with my new electric vehicle. Rented a place by the beach and worked remotely. Very grateful for this opportunity! 

Met up with friends for dinner, enjoyed cooking, and trying new bottles at home. 

Enjoyed family time with my brother and his wife, and my parents.

Took myself out for my birthday, and received a lovely plate of caviar from my friend Jane

My travels to New England with Jane, Portugal, New Zealand, and the CA Central Coast.

My new job with my new work family.

And that's my year!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, and a great 2023!!! 

During the long Thanksgiving weekend, my mom and I drove up to the Central Coast for 3 days. It was chilly, but clear and beautiful. We enjoyed time at the beach, the Farmer's Market, the Christmas Market, wine tasting, and walking around town. We even enjoyed a great dinner in town! We had a really nice time together; it was a nice get-away all around!

I was originally supposed to travel to New Zealand in April of 2020. The trip was pushed back until October of this year, so I finally went, and it was worth the wait!! 

My trip began in Auckland. I arrived and realized it was COLD. I found a Kathmandu store and promptly bought a puffer coat. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle 35 degrees for long! With my new found warmth, I went on and enjoyed Auckland. 

My trip in the North Island continued to Rotorua. Rotorua has natural hot springs everywhere, so the scent is of sulfur through the city. While here, I also experienced a Haka performance, and a wonderful meal. It was quite moving to see the performance and feel the warmth and love from the Maori people. It was incredibly moving. 

Heading back north after Rotorua, I went to Hobbiton in Matamata. It was INCREDIBLE! I could have stayed there all day exploring! This is where scenes from Lord of The Rings were filmed. It felt incredibly surreal. I walked through the Shire, went to Bilbo's house, and admired Samwise's gardening. What a day!!!

After Hobbiton, I took a flight to Queenstown. The first evening I had the opportunity to meet the only Master Sommelier in New Zealand, Cameron Douglas. He's a true gem!! He recommended some places for dinner so I enjoyed a fine meal at Rata my first night! It was fantastic! While in Queenstown, I also enjoyed dinner at The Lodge overlooking the lake. Such great cuisine in New Zealand, and so fresh! Can't beat that!! 

The following day was the day I would finally get to see Milford Sound. I was super excited. The route to Milford Sound was a wonderful surprise because it was full of stops to admire the beauty and nature. 

​Arriving to Milford Sound was breathtaking. The beautiful calm and blue water almost make a mirror image of the sky. First, I had a tour through a large boat. The boat came close to a waterfall, and explored throughout the area. After the boat tour, I got to ride in a little 12 passenger Cessna to continue my tour of Milford Sound by air. It was incredible! I highly recommend this!! It was a beautiful, pristine, clear day! I couldn’t have asked for better weather! I was very lucky! The little airplane made its way through the water, the snow-capped mountains, and then arrived into Queenstown once again. It was a phenomenal day! 

The following day, I rode down the Luge, then went wine tasting. I took a gondola up and enjoyed the beautiful view of Queenstown, then took another gondola further up the mountain to ride down. It was a blast!! Right after, I went wine tasting and enjoyed so many wines with a fun lunch with new friends! 

​Before heading north to Christchurch, I got to see a beautiful Lake Tekapo. It’s a beautiful stop on the way north, well worth exploration! I also enjoyed a meal at the home of a couple who have a sheep farm and live next to the lake. I enjoyed a pavlova better than the one I make! 

​Christchurch is beautiful! I enjoyed the botanical gardens, as well as riding up another gondola to see views of the whole city. It was full of walking around, taking public buses, and riding in an old-fashioned trolley!  

​The end of the trip was a dinner with all the new friends I made. I had such a great time spending time with everyone and enjoying the sights with people from all over the world. I am so grateful to have finally experienced New Zealand. I had friends tell me it was incredible, but it was so much more than I could have imagined. I hope I can return again one day!   

Chris died 5 years ago today. I finally had the courage to reach out to the people who were behind the scenes when Chris passed and ask them the details of the day. These people were kind enough to share the events of that day with me and give me space to ask for as much detail as I needed. I am grateful to have this information and I feel like I now have the big picture of how Chris left.

I honored him over the weekend going through old photos and smiling from great memories. I know he will always be with me.

I left my previous job and had some time before I began my new job. So of course, where should I travel? I called my travel agent and with this short time frame, she had two options: Ireland or Portugal. I chose Portugal. So off I went for another adventure! I have been using the same tour company, Trafalgar. This was my 4th trip with Trafalgar. I've met some great folks along the way throughout the years, some I've seen again and keep in contact with. I really like how well organized each day is, packed with lots to do and see, but balanced with a good amount of time for myself. In October, I'll be heading to New Zealand, my 5th trip with Trafalgar, can't wait! 

If you just want to see photos, just scroll through them. If you want to know more about the details of the photos, read on... 

​I arrived to Lisbon airport on Wednesday morning. We were transported to our hotel where I had the opportunity to shower and freshen up after a long day of traveling. In the evening, we went to a restaurant to have our welcome dinner. Our group was quite large, over 40 people.

We spent day 2 in Lisbon, exploring the culture and an amazing monastery, Hieronymite Monastery, a UNESCO site. In the evening, we went to a Fado Dinner which is a traditional Portuguese dinner with music and singing. It was stellar!

On day 3 we had an amazing lunch at a horse farm on our way to Algarve. These are Lusitano horses that are descendants of horses used during the days of royalty. It was a great experience, and an amazing meal!

We spent Day 4 in the Algarve region, known for its beautiful beaches. I also went to Faro and explored a bit. We had an authentic dinner there called Cataplana.

On the 5th day we headed to Evora where I saw a chapel made of human bones. Kind of put me off my lunch! We also went to a village called Monsaraz. It’s enclosed and has been around since about 1290 I believe. It was a beautiful town and I bought some treats from there to bring back home.

We continued on to a town called Castelo de Vide on the 6th day. We were en route to Viseu. This is where the famous Dao vineyards are. We had an amazing dinner with wine pairing, it was fantastic!

The next day we headed to the Douro Valley on our way to Porto. We enjoyed a cruise through the Douro River where we saw another UNESCO site: Eiffel Bridge. We also went to Guimaraes to see a castle from the 10th century.

On day 8 we woke up in Porto and we explored the city, rich with culture: gothic Church of St. Francis, the Stock Exchange Palace, Bom Jesus – another UNESCO site where you arrive through a funicular, and we even had a port tasting at a cellar! I was able to have time to take a gondola up to a bridge. I’m terrified of heights, but that hasn’t stopped me yet! Our dinner this evening was amazing, all the seafood was so fresh – nothing like dinner at sunset by the beach!

We left Porto on day 9 and headed to Coimbra and Fatima. In Coimbra we saw the University where JK Rowling was clearly inspired to write the Harry Potter books. The students there have been wearing capes for centuries. We went through the university, and it was almost like walking through the set of Harry Potter. I even saw the staircase that leads to a wall!! After this tour we went to the Templar city of Tomar. Here you can see that the Knights Templar had a prevalent existence in the 12th century. At the end of the day, we ended up in Fatima. While I am not Catholic, I attended mass at 9:30pm and it was a deeply spiritual experience.

Our last day touring Portugal, we went to another UNESCO site: Batalha Monastery. It was an amazing site to see! Massive walls and Gothic architecture. Afterwards we went to Nazare and Obidos. We had an opportunity to walk around these quaint little towns. At the end of the evening, we went to a lovely dinner in Lisbon once again. It was our Farewell dinner.

I made some great new friends that I continue to communicate with. I hope I get to see them all again in the future! Alexandra, Alejandro, Suzy, and Rosario & Neal made the trip extra fun and memorable. Alexandra (from NY) and I are two professional single women that love to travel all over the world! Alejandro (from San Diego) sat a row next to me every day in the bus and we had some nice chats and enjoyed a lovely beach day together. Suzy (from Australia) and I caused some trouble! Suzy and I sat together in the bus and had some great times together, mostly laughing and being loud. Rosario & Neal (from South Bend, IN) are non-stop laughter, I don’t think I ever stopped laughing around them!

​I can’t help but smile when I think about Portugal… what a trip!!

My wine buddies Luis and Gerry continue to join me for wine dinners at my home. We have enjoyed various evenings of food & wine. It’s great to share great food & wine together! Great times!