Just taking a peek at the top of the Duomo in Milan
Happy 2025! Does everyone agree that the holiday season flew by? I was lucky enough to go to Italy and Switzerland in December and it was magical. It was so nice to be in Europe during the holiday season. Lots of fun things to do, beautiful holiday markets and the shopping -oh my! Here are a few highlights in photos. If you are able to get a way in December and travel in the weeks before Christmas I highly recommend it! Just a few tips:
Make sure all your Christmas shopping is complete and wrapping is done before your travels – that way you are not stressing when you get home!
I always like to arrive home on a Thursday so you have the weekend to recover lol! That way you are not rushing back into work!
Travel lightly – we did have to buy a suitcase when we were there as my daughter wanted to buy all the Italian food – but we were able to fit all our clothing in our carry on bags! It is hard to pack for a winter holiday but compression bags and zip lock compression bags are great too. Here are a few links (affiliate links..I receive a small commission) on my Amazon must buy list:
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Top of the Duomo in FlorenceThe lights around Milan are so beautiful this time of year!Walking around and enjoying the sites in Zermatt Switzerland, especially the Matterhorn!The views skiing in Zermatt were unlike any other!Relaxing on the deck outside our hotel in Zermatt
Just got back from a wonderful jam-packed 7 night trip to Sorrento, Ischia and Capri! My second time to visit the area and I was lucky enough to get to all the sites I missed!
We stayed at Villa Elisa in Sorrento. This was the best location – right in the heart of Piazza Sant’ Antonino. More than just a place to stay our host Antonio was so helpful with answering all my questions, knew the best spots for dinning and was so accommodating! Best host and best place to stay! We loved how it was clean, neat, modern and had air conditioning (sometimes a rarity in Italy) He also provided ice cold filtered water for us daily (ice is also a rarity in Italy) He was there to greet us and offered us a shot of limoncello to welcome us to Sorrento! We will be back for sure.
There are so many spots and so many photos to choose from. We loved our Sorrento beach club –Leonellis Beach, all the dinners and the sunsets were amazing in Sorrento.
We had a private driver to take us to Maiori, Positano and Amalfi. We loved Maiori the best as it was so much less crowded than Positano and Amalfi. A hidden gem for sure!
Our Capri adventure included a visit to the Blue Grotto, the chairlift in Anacapri and people watching in the Piazzetta.
Ischia is my favorite island. We loved staying at the Monastery at the Aragonese Castle. It was magical and the views were amazing! We took a trip to the Poseidon Thermal Park and the beach there was so incredible. Went to Sant’ Angelo for dinner – this is a fun area to explore all the cute shops. Finally, a quick trip to Procida Island, where we explored the beach and shops on this colorful island.
Back to Sorrento where we had to continue our daily gelato tastings and grab our favorite cafe crema! I am going to miss this for sure and our pistachio croissant! Here are just a few photos – too many to choose from. La Bella Italia!
The beautiful courtyard at my new favorite place to stay in Sorrento – Villa ElisaThe views from our hotel in Capri were amazing!The Blue Grotto in Capri was on my to do list! However it was a 3.5 hour wait to get in!Another one of our favorite stops was the town of Maiori in the Amalfi Coast. We loved the big sandy beach and the fact that it was less crowded than Positano and Amalfi!Our view for breakfast at The Monastery at the Aragonese Castle. This spot and the views here are magical!The views, the sunsets, the dinners – all fantastic in Sorrento!
Summer is the time of travel. As you all know I do take my yearly trip to Cape Cod for two weeks and that is always such a nice time. I also am heading to Italy again this summer! While it is very hot there in the summertime, I still enjoy my time on the islands! This time around it is Sorrento, Capri and Ischia. I cannot wait….ahhhh…the lemon gelato, pasta and Aperol Spritz…yum. If you do go to Italy, be sure to try the basil gelato and pistachio gelato as well. Although I do hear that the latest trend is a Limoncello Spritz so must try when I arrive. A review of all the places we will visit is coming up, but here are a few photos from last year’s trip. Alla prossima!
Beautiful beaches in Ischia!Ischia is known for its thermal spas and The Negombo Spa in Ischia is the best!The island of Capri is magical. Just too many areas to explore so you will need more than one day!
This summer is going by so fast! Between our Cape Cod vacation and our beach trips I cannot believe it is almost the end of July!
Sometimes you just have to sit and relax. This photo was taken at my last beach day and while the temperatures are hitting record highs it was a cooler, calmer day. Between work and running errands with the girls I can get quite busy. Some days you just have to take a breath and relax. Isn’t that what beach days are for? What is your favorite beach?
There are so many I love in New England. There are also my favorite beaches in Italy. I will be venturing to Italy in a few weeks so cannot wait to experience the food, fun, Aperol Spritz and more!
We all know I love to travel! Most recently at the last minute we went to visit friends in Florida (as my older daughter was going there with friends and it was nice to see her and her friends for a bit anyway!) For the record no matter what trip I take I never check a bag. Yes, even for our 11-day Italy trip we all brought carry-on luggage.
This trip I had to be strategic as we didn’t pay for a checked bag or a carry on so all of my items had to be in my “personal” bag. I used packing cubes and my newest purchase my “neck pillow”. Yup! I had two dresses, my bathing suit, two shirts stuffed into that sucker! SO with my personal bag (it was 17 inches) and my neck pillow I was good to go!
I found my personal bag, compression bags and the neck pillow on Amazon. You can use the link to purchase *Affiliate Link – I receive a small payment when you purchase.
I love the neck pillow because in addition to storage, you can use it as pillow so make sure you purchase one that is soft velvet – there are others that are more nylon based so those are not great. The tote bag is key as if you do use it with luggage, it has a sleeve to pass through the luggage handle. Plus, there are mini compartments in the bag itself. It really does store a lot of items (well for me anyway with the compression bags it stored 6 days worth of outfits) My outfits consisted of black and white and cream colored styles as yes, you can’t pack everything, so color blocking and styling is the way to go. For the record I had packed 5 dresses, 1 pair of shorts, 6 tanks/t-shirts, one white pant and two skirts and one pair of sandals. I wore black pants and a white tank top and shirt over that on the plane and with a sweater over that – layers people!
My wardrobe for a 6 day trip!
The compression bags are great as you can put a full days outfit in them or store like items together. Plus this one zips up again so it further compresses!
Just as the weather in Boston is starting to get a bit chilly, I think back to those warm, sunny summer days in Italy! Our last-minute end of the summer trip to Sorrento, Capri and the Island of Ischia was magical! I love all the sites, walking, pasta and no weight gain! The food is so fresh and tasty. We had gelato every day and sometimes twice a day and the pizza and pasta was amazing. I did book the trip at the very last minute – about 4 weeks before and so glad I did. Italy – we will be back!
This view of Ischia was taken at the top of Argon Castle!The view at the top of Capri Island!Shopping at night on the fun streets of IschiaThe beautiful waters at Marameo Beach Club in Sorrento Italy!
I think I see the sun! This weather so far this season has not been the greatest and that is why I am grateful for day trips. As we live close to Boston a quick day trip to the beach is a quick drive. We have to prepare for a beach trip – as in get your parking space in advance as many local beaches have now implemented this system. However, there are still many places to go where you can just show up and park without prior reservations. My two favorites are:
Ogunquit – A quick Sunday morning trip entails getting up at around 6:00 am and heading to the parking lot right at Ogunquit beach where we walk Marginal Way, have breakfast and then plop down on the sand. Make sure to check the tides before you go as at high tide the sand disappears. Prices on the weekend can be as high as $35.
Salisbury – At the state reservation you can just pull up and pay. I do believe it is $14 dollars. After your beach day head to Browns for a lobster or clams!
Happy Summer!
A day at the beach – Cranes Beach in Ipswich Mass.
It may not be the ideal time to travel but our trip to London and Paris in January was perfect. It was a bit cold but there were less people and less lines and it was a blast. We flew direct to London on Jet Blue and that was super easy. If you plan to travel internationally, I recommend Global Entry. It was so easy heading home and going through customs. All the sites, museums and restaurants were great as well. While I’ve always wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower and we did just that, I loved the Arc de Triomphe and the photos we took near there were so fun. We did climb to the top and that was a challenge but the view at the top was breathtaking. In London we hit all the sites – Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, London Eye, Westminster Abby. I loved our Harry Potter tour and the Changing the Guard of the best! Here are a few fun photos!
London Eye!Lights, camera, pose.Glad we took this photo mid-week as there were lines to take photos as some of the booths!View from the top of the Arc de TriompheMy Paris dress – A fun, leather dress that I purchased years ago saying that is a great dress to wear to Paris! This was in the Louvre!
We had a great 12 days traveling through Italy during April school vacation week! It was a bit stressful with all the paperwork and figuring out tests to come back to the U.S. but all went well. We started our adventure in Florence and then visited the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, the Tuscany region including Sienna and San Gimignano and Venice. I will need to go back to visit Rome, Milan and Capri! Every trip was an adventure and the sights just got better and better. We did cover a lot of territory which meant getting on many trains at 7:00 am but I wanted to see as much as I could! Here are my tips if you plan a trip to Italy or any international destination.
Try to fly direct – While there was no direct flight to Florence I would recommend flying direct into the bigger cities such as Milan or Rome as Florence is a few hour train ride away. While we were lucky that we had a 4.5 hour layover in Paris, due to our flight being delayed, customs, long lines we made it to the gate with less than one hour to spare!
If you have to test to come back to the U.S bring the emed covid tests Home (emed.com) While there are many Farmacias in Italy the day we needed our tests was a national holiday. We were lucky with the help of a local friend to find the one pharmacy that was open! Brining the test just provides an extra layer of backup.
Certain airlines have the fly ready documents – if they do download your documents before you leave. There was a lot of uploading of documents so get your COVID vaccines, passport information and if you need a negative test – have it all ready! We didn’t check bags on the way there but our airline required us to go to the ticket counter to show all our documents. Bring the original card, not a flimsy copy like my husband did! Or have a copy on your phone. We did need to show our vaccine card on trains and before we went into restaurants.
Get global entry – We were able to go through customs on the way home very easily and with no line at all. It is a program through the trusted traveler program so you’ll have to have an account for each family member and then have an interview at an airport – the process does take time but its so worth it.
Book any transportation or tickets to museums in advance – Because we went during the Easter holiday week most attractions were sold out – meaning that I had to see fake David and not the real one!
As we are heading into February….I know I cannot believe it…..and digging our from under snow, I am imagining sun, sand and the beach. As the holiday season and January was filled with COVID, I hope we are able to turn a corner and see less of the pandemic and more of a new normal and getting back to seeing people and more travel.
Even if it is a daily adventure out to the local coffee shop, a walk outside with a few friends or a day trip to the beach – do something each day that makes you happy! Wear your mask and of course social distancing is still in effect but you can so somethings that are safe while enjoying a meet up here and there! We have fun trips planned down the road so there is that to look forward to as well!
So looking forward to beach trips with friends, family travel and day trips as well!
Fun times with friends on February school vacation pre-COVID
