Day Trips from Munich, Germany

If you happen to find yourself scheduled to be in Munich on a Sunday, it might be a good idea to plan on taking a day trip out of the city. Since we were unaware that the city rolls up its sidewalks and takes a lazy day every Sunday (like most cities in Germany as we later found out), we weren't able to take advantage of some of the wonderful cities that are located nearby. Luckily for you, we're giving you a heads up so that you can take advantage of this time to discover some of the cities that we have named as our top day trips departing from Munich, Germany.

(Taken from networkworld)

Restaurant Week San Diego 2014

One thing that I've learned since being back in the USA after more than two years abroad, is that you never really stop traveling. Once you have experienced the feeling of your heart fluttering when you try something for the first time, or go somewhere new, there is no going back.
For that very reason, I have created a list of everything that I must try (food-wise) as well as everything that I must do for the first time while in San Diego so that I never have to lose that feeling and luckily for me, I have made some amazing friends here who feel the same way!
So to begin this post, I just want to thank the lovely Melissa of http://dreamitjustdoit.wordpress.com/ for experiencing restaurant week with me here in San Diego, CA for the first time!

(http://www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com/)

xo Jessica

5 Reasons Why you should go to San Diego's Brazilian Day

With an average of over 60,000 attendees per year, the Brazilian community of San Diego hosts what they call Brazilian Day on Garnet Avenue in the Pacific Beach neighborhood this Sunday, September 7th, 2014. A day full of delicious Brazilian foods and drinks, samba, capoeira, music, and more; Brazilian Day is an exciting way to learn about Brazilian culture and even practice a little Portuguese without ever leaving California.

Griffith Observatory: Los Angeles, California

Sitting high above the city in Los Angeles, California, the Griffith Observatory is a must visit for anyone in the city. With a stunning view of both the city down below and the Hollywood sign, that alone is enough to make the trip up a memorable one; but when you add in a world class observatory with science and space related exhibits, it becomes both educational and awe-inspiring.

Restaurantes em San Diego, Califórnia-EUA [Parte 1: Fast Food e Restaurantes Casuais]

San Diego- San Diego, frequentemente chamada a cidade mais bonita dos Estados Unidos, é, com certeza, uma cidade linda que vale a pena de visitar. Tem praias bonitas, um centro chique com muitas lojas e restaurantes com comida de todos os países e estádios que servem como as casas de times bem conhecidos e populares.

Atrações em San Diego, Califórnia-EUA [Parte 1]

San Diego- San Diego, frequentemente chamada a cidade mais bonita dos Estados Unidos, é, com certeza, uma cidade linda que vale a pena visitar. Tem praias bonitas, um centro chique com muitas lojas e restaurantes com comida de todos os países e estádios que servem como as casas de times bem conhecidos e populares.

Hello all! Óla pessoal!

Today is Luiz's birthday so today, instead of posting, we are celebrating! It's hard to believe that this will be the 4th birthday of his that we have spent together here in Brazil!

Be on the look out for more posts coming up (a bunch of them in Portuguese for our Brazilian readers) in the next few weeks!

Hoje é o aniversário do Luiz! Por isso, em vez de postar mais coisas hoje, nós vamos celebrar pelo quarto ano consecutivo aqui no Brasil. 

Fique de olho nas novas postagens nas próximas semanas (a maioria em português para os nossos seguidores do Brasil)!

24 Horas em Detroit

Crescendo numa cidade perto de Detroit me levou à muitas visitas para a cidade. Ás vezes, Detroit pode ser conhecida por ser uma cidade  perigosa mas, na verdade, é uma cidade com moradores que amam a cidade e que têm orgulho de todos as coisas boas que tem lá. Para começar a nossa series de "24 horas", nós vamos te dar nossas dicas de que não perder se você só tem um dia na cidade de Detroit, Michigan-EUA.

(Detroit Institute of Arts- Instagram @jesshazzy)

24 Hours Series: Detroit

Growing up only 30 minutes outside of Detroit led to many daylong visits to the Motor City. Although sometimes it has a bad reputation, it is a city full of people passionate about the city and has many hidden (and not-so-hidden) gems. In honor of this, the first of our 24 hour series will tell you what not to miss if you can only be in Detroit for one day.

(Detroit Institute of Arts taken from Jessica's instagram-@jesshazzy)

Disney Gastando Pouco

Disney em Orlando é o lugar do em que todo mundo sonha em visitar não importa quantos anos você tem. É um lugar que tem magico, é um lugar que pode nos levar de volta para a infância. Mas para muitas pessoas, Disney é somente um sonho, porque, na verdade, é um lugar absurdamente caro. Por isso, a gente vai ajudar com nossas melhores dicas de como gastar pouco onde a maioria das pessoas gasta muito.

(Nossa foto)

Neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, and it's different neighborhoods, have it all from beaches and rain forests to skyscrapers and historic buildings; making it both beautiful and versatile.

20 Inspiring Travel Quotes

With a month until our next booked flight, we thought that we would share some of our favorite travel quotes that help us to stay motivated when we're working or studying instead of off traveling the world.

Renaissance by Marriott São Paulo Review

The best hotel we have stayed at in Brazil to date, the Renaissance by Marriott São Paulo is tucked away on a small, quiet street right in the heart of the city. Featuring luxury hotel rooms, a top-rated spa, multiple restaurants, and a theatre, the Renaissance Hotel has it all. To make it even more desirable to those visiting São Paulo, it is located only 1 block away from the bustling, and tourist friendly, Avenida Paulista.

15 Frases Inspiradoras

Precisando de inspiração para planejar a sua próxima viagem? Leia as frases que mais nos inspiraram ao longo desta jornada. 

Neighborhoods of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a beautiful and diverse metropolitan city with every neighborhood offering something a little bit different.

Touring Rio de Janeiro with Rio de Janeiro Now

With so many tour companies popping up all the time in Brazil's main tourist destinations, it's sometimes hard to know which are reliable and worth the money. Having taken two tours with Rio de Janeiro Now tour company, we can honestly say that it is one of the best ways to see all of the main attractions in the city on a budget.

Touring the Amazon Rainforest with Amazon Backpackers

When most people think of Brazil, the first things to come to mind are jungles, monkeys, and indigenous tribes like those shown on National Geographic. Although there are many modern and large metropolis' along the coastlines of Brazil, the majority of the interior of the country remains as just one part of the world's largest tropical rainforest. For those of you with an adventurous spirit and a love of nature, an obvious trip to take while in Brazil would be one to this amazing natural reserve.

Getting a Brazilian Visa in Buenos Aires

During my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, my main objective was to get a new tourist visa for Brazil as my student visa was about to expire. Now, getting a Brazilian visa is not as easy as just paying a fee when you land in the country (for those with a USA, Australia, or New Zealand passport). It takes time, organization, and money but it's doable and normally a fairly quick and painless process.

Highs and Lows of Solo Travel

With so many people pushing solo travel these days, it's easy to feel like you're missing out if you've never done it. After reading more blogs about solo travel than is healthy, I had decided that one day, I MUST go solo on a trip to see what all the hype is about. Little did I know that, that trip was right around the corner.

First picture taken on my solo trip to Buenos Aires

Intercontinental Chicago Review

Right in the heart of the River North neighborhood and the Magnificent Mile, the Intercontinental Chicago exceeded all expectations and was a perfect spot to start and end each day. A landmark hotel with it's history in every detail, the Intercontinental Hotel is a wonderful hotel option for anyone visiting Chicago. Featuring a truly amazing pool on the 14th floor as well as a state of the art fitness center, spa, and restaurant, the Intercontinental will have you covered in all aspects of your trip.

(strategichotels.com)

Museum Campus of Chicago

A picturesque, pedestrian-friendly paradise, this small corner of Grant Park is the perfect place to spend a day, or three. Situated on beautiful Lake Michigan, surrounded by lush green landscaping; the three nationally recognised museums make this area of Chicago hard to beat for out-of-towners and locals alike.

Picture perfect city and lake views from one of the Museum Campus' many open areas.

Great eats near the Magnificent Mile in Chicago

With restaurants lining every city block within Chicago's busiest neighborhoods, it's hard to narrow a list of great places to eat below 50. Unfortunately, having not spent extensive amounts of time in Chicago, we have only been able to sample a small amount of the amazing cuisine. With that being said, out of all of the food that we have eaten in Chicago, here are our top 5 picks (as of now).

(www.thrillist.com)

Campos do Jordão, São Paulo's Top Spot for Winter Retreats

This past weekend we took a short road trip to the interior of the state of São Paulo to a city called Campos do Jordão. This quaint little town is the highest city in Brazil at 5,378 ft or 1,639.2 meters. Modeled after German and Swiss villages, Campos do Jordão is the ideal choice getaway for romance or winter travels and it's not hard to see why.

The Metropolitan Opera in New York City

An opera at the Metropolitan Opera House located in Lincoln Center is a necessary night out for anyone, regardless of whether or not you like opera. Between the amazing MET Opera House, the awe-inspiring opera singers, and the overall experience of having an elegant night out, what is not to like.

Dom Alfredo José Pousada, Campos do Jordão Review

A small bed and breakfast located above the city, the Dom Alfredo Jose Pousada is a hidden gem perfect for any romantic getaway. Located just a short drive from the city center, the Dom Alfredo Jose is the perfect choice for those who don't want the noise or the high prices that come with being in the city center.

Lack of Posting

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the lack in posts recently! Here are some updates on our lives and some travel plans we have coming up:

As far as life updates go, we got ENGAGED in Campos do Jordao, Brazil 3 weeks or so ago!! We are both so excited and enjoying this new step in our relationship and our lives.

Coming up in April, I'm going back to the US for a little bit of wedding planning, visiting with family, and hopefully some more travel! With school and everything that is going on, it has been hard to find the time to do any big trips but that being said, we will still keep posting as much as we can even if it's about places we've been in the past, places on our go to list, or any small adventures we may have in the next few weeks.

Keep checking back for more! Hopefully some of our trip to Campos do Jordao will be up by the end of this week. If there's anything else you would love to see on our blog let us know in the comments, we would love to hear from you!

xo
Jessica

Basic Portuguese for World Cup 2014

World Cup is coming up in 3 months and the anxiety for the big event here in Brazil is rising. Although most hotel receptionists will speak a language other than Portuguese (English most commonly), the common person on the street will most likely be very limited in their ability to communicate in or understand a language other than their own. Therefore, we have decided to make a short post of the basics of Brazilian Portuguese for getting around in Brazil.

xo Jessica and Luiz

5 Weekend Trips from São Paulo

With the end of Brazil's main season to travel coming up, we're starting to think about some upcoming weekend trips that we can take now that the prices are back down to being reasonable. With Luiz's work schedule, all we have are weekends for traveling, so we have decided to make a list of places to share with you that are close enough to São Paulo that they can be traveled to and enjoyed in only a weekend.

(wingwire.com)

xo Jessica

Hotel Mela New York City Times Square Review

On my trip to New York City, I was all about the budget hotels so when I found the Hotel Mela on groupon I couldn't wait for my one night stay. A modern and sophisticated boutique hotel located 1/2 a block from Times Square, Hotel Mela was a hidden treasure right in the heart of Manhattan.

xo Jessica

The Manhattan Times Square, New York City Review

After booking the Manhattan Times Square through Hotwire's Secret Hot Rate, I was a little concerned after reading some of the reviews on tripadvisor. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by this "diamond in the rough" (as a few of the users had called it) and left wishing that I could extend my vacation.

Centrally located between 51st and 52nd on 7th, The Manhattan Times Square is ideal for anyone looking to be in the center of the action and within walking distance of subway stations that are ready to whisk you away to another part of the glorious city that is New York City.

xo Jessica

Surviving the Fees of Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines is known as one of the American budget airlines and are constantly offering lower than average fares to some of the top tourist destinations across the country. Unfortunately, unless you know what you're getting yourself into and all of the ins and outs of flying spirit, you are going to end up paying just as much, if not more, than the same itinerary on another airline. Luckily, we am not new to flying on Spirit and have found some ways to avoid the hefty fees while still having a good flight.

xo Jessica