spend little, work less, experience more
Contrary to popular belief we’re not dirtbaggers all the time (and we do shower on a regular basis although certainly not every day). Greg and I have stayed in hostels, crashed with friends, and slept in airports all over the world, spending less so that we might travel more. But that was before we started […]
Read MoreWe didn’t make any travel plans before we left home, other than we wanted to get to Finland to meet Santa Claus, and to see the uncles. From there we winged our trip and went where our flights could take us, booking rooms along the way. As far as standby goes, we got about as […]
Read MoreThe thing about Christmas markets is that they just make you thirsty… for more Christmas markets. We wanted to take a little European road trip so we flew from Tallinn to Frankfurt and rented a car to take us to the best markets in the world- Germany’s Christkindlmarkts. Greg did his research and chose Cologne […]
Read MoreTake-off to touchdown, Tallinn is a 27 minute flight from Helsinski. I had read about Tallinn’s lovely Christmas market in its Old Town, and since we happened to be in the neighborhood, and since Finnair and consequently Fly.be partner with Greg’s airline, we made the short trip across the pond. The only thing we had […]
Read MoreWhat goes north must eventually go back south, most unfortunately. I fell head over heels for our little log cabin and it pained me very much to hand the keys over the morning we checked out of it. We could not have asked for a better vacation than a cabin in Finland- it’s just right […]
Read MoreI just get so tired. Lord knows I love a good nap, but I just can’t seem to wake up here. Gregory, who rarely naps at home, has been joining me for three, four, six hour naps here in Finland. Our first night in Lapland we laid down at 6:00p, got up at 9:00p, stayed […]
Read MoreKristina and Mike told us about a great area in the far, snowy (but not the farthest, snowiest) north of Finland called Saariselka and the hotel where they used to work outside of Finland’s second largest national park- Urho Kekkonen National Park, or Urho Kekkonen kansallispuisto if you will. A snowy paradise with cabins and […]
Read MoreWhen I first messaged my friend Kristina (the only Finn I’ve ever met) for recommendations on traveling to Finland to meet Santa Claus, I was pleased as punch to hear she not only knew all about Santa, but that she was actually working at Snowman World in Santa Claus Village. I nearly passed out from […]
Read MoreLast Friday I got to experience one of my husband’s life dreams come true. I got to witness Gregory meeting Santa Claus for the first time. A day he described as “the best day ever, after August 10, 2013” (our wedding day). Don’t believe all those stories, movies, songs, etc. Santa Claus does not live at […]
Read MoreWhat better way to fend off jet lag than to sleep eleven hours, then walk around all day? A cup of Finnish coffee and some McDonald’s, maybe. We set out to explore our new sister city on a gorgeous, sunny (albeit short-lived) day. This is the furthest north I’ve ever been so I’m not used […]
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