Resolve to travel more...and spend less!

Looking back, our resolve to travel more and spend less really began on our honeymoon. As most couples starting out, we didn’t have a lot of money, we hadn’t accumulated a stash of frequent flyer miles, and we didn’t have any hotel points for free nights or room upgrades. But we did have a desire to travel and take in as much culture and atmosphere as humanly possible in less than three weeks.

Our destinations of choice: France, Portugal, and Spain. We certainly didn’t start out with saving money in mind, we just wanted to have fun, see, and do as much as we could squeeze in to a day. The saving part almost happened by accident. Maybe it was exhaustion from the wedding, or the less than comfortable flight folded like pretzels back in coach, or the 9-hour time difference. Whatever the initial trigger, our timing for eating was completely out of sync with the gastro pulse of these dynamic countries. Not to worry, we absolutely got in our fair share of indulging in decadent French pastries, savoring unique Portuguese cuisine, and sampling both traditional and creative Spanish tapas. But fortunate for us, our mixed up internal time clocks led us to finding a passion for preparing food in our hotel room and figuring out how to pack snacks and meals for day trips.

We discovered that we love exploring all sorts of food markets: boulangerie patisseries, fromagerie, boucheries, epicerie. Spending time in these markets almost instantly made us feel connected to the people and the local neighborhoods. The challenge was what to buy, how to cook it (we didn’t have a kitchen in our hotel room), and how to eat it (we didn’t have dishes or utensils). Over the years we have figured it out. We’re always adapting and with each trip we pick up more tips and ideas that keep us going from one adventure to the next.

One of my greatest memories of our time in France is when we went to explore the Palace and Gardens of Versailles. With over 800 hectares of land, we walked and walked for miles. I’m convinced we saw every one of the almost 200,000 trees and I’m almost positive we saw all 50 fountains. Not only did we walk the perimeter of the Grand Canal, but we also took every path we could find. We were in the gardens for hours. Before we set off on this day trip adventure, we stopped at a local boulangerie in Paris and picked up a fresh baguette, headed next door to the fromagerie for a wheel of Camembert cheese, and made a quick stop at the market for some water. Never before has bread, cheese and water tasted so good as it did on that bench in Versailles.

We love to eat out and discover new culinary delights and we make sure to splurge on every trip we take. We also love to travel to all corners of the globe. The secret is balance. Doing both can get really expensive really fast. So we’ve worked out a plan to incorporate as much of both as possible to maximize on seeing and doing as much as possible.


Cherish the memories!

Kari On and Keep Traveling