Tag: World Travel

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48 Hours in Venice, Italy

I’m still recovering from my holiday in Italy. It was better than I could have imagined. Traveling during the December holiday kicked off without a hitch on Christmas Day, and was way less stressful than I thought it would be. Venice was unbelievable to see in real life and I am still looking back at my photos surprised by everything we were able to see and just how beautiful the entire city is. If you’re planning a trip to or have always wanted to go, here’s a few things you should know before visiting.

+Getting to Venice

There are several different way to get to Venice. You can fly into Rome or Milan(largest airports) or easily take the train into Venice, which is what we did. Coming from Rome, the train ride to Venice was about 3 hours., from other cities such as Milan, it is a quick one and hour train ride. There are several train companies running out of the train stations in Italy daily, We chose Italotreno.it for all of our travel and were able to book our tickets easily online. Depending on your ticket, you can watch movies, enjoy some snacks or snooze on your train ride into the city. It is also a great way to see what the country side of Italy looks like. Trains leave throughout the day, so you can best schedule the time of day which works best for you. Normally, for me, the best time, is after breakfast, not too long after check out, so I don’t have to carry my luggage around and can make it to the next city before sun down. Once you arrive in Venice, you will have to take a water taxi to your hotel or Airbnb. Water taxi tickets cost about $7 an can be purchased at water station upon arrival.

+Where to stay in Venice

There are several hotels in Venice but we opted for an Airbnb as we wanted to stay close to the Rialto Bridge and have easy access to the attractions we were hoping to see. Looking back, I would have booked my top choice Airbnb, that seemed to be located a little farther from the attractions but was larger with newer features. After visiting the island, you realize it is quite small and you can walk or taxi to every end of the island easily and you do not necessarily have to stay by the main attractions. Venice is an old city, there not many “new” Airbnb’s or hotels, at best they are remodeled, so choose where you will be most comfortable and then walk or taxi to the locations you most to visit.

+What to see in Venice

My best advice when visiting Venice is to just get lost in the city! Honestly. The island is small, you will wander through streets and wind up at the attractions you were hoping to see. Make a list of your must see’s and as you wander you can look up areas you haven’t yet run into and are important to you. We walked from one side to the other, were able to see everything we set out to during the day. After a nice dinner we took a water taxi back to the stop closest to our Airbnb. Easy and much appreciated after a long day of walking and exploring. In one day of exploring we were able to see all we had set out to.

  • Rialto Bridge
  • Grand Canal
  • Ponte dell’Accademia
  • St. Mark’s Square
  • Palazzo Ducale
  • Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
  • Punta della Dogana

+What to eat and buy in Venice

Venice is known for it’s seafood and most every restaurant has a seafood special or fish of the day. If you love seafood this is the place to try it. It’s fresh and you are able to find it most any place you go. Also, the island closet to Venice, Murano, is know for it’s glass making and you can find beautiful glass trinkets and jewelry across the island. This is a great item to buy on the island, as there is lots of items to choose from and for the most part it are small enough to pack and bring back with you. There are many shops, from high end department stores to locally owned storefronts, for you to enjoy plenty of shopping while exploring for the day.

Truly, Venice is so different than any place I’ve ever been before! The water way system, was amazing to see and understand how it works. Although the island is small, it is dense and there is so much to see. You can easy see everything you need to in a little over 24 hours.

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Sandia Peak Tram, Albuquerque, NM

There are so many things to do up and around Albuquerque and throughout New Mexico, many of which involve getting outside and admiring the beauty of the state of New Mexico. If you are visiting Albuquerque, road tripping through New Mexico, spending a weekend at the Balloon Fiesta, new to the area, or are just in town to experience what Albuquerque has to offer, the Sandia Tram is a must do in the city!

Sandia Peak Tram

Located at the feet of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, the tram runs year round and is the longest tram in the United States and the third longest in the world. Ascending from 3,000 ft. to just over 10,000 feet, the tram provides the most spectacular areal view not only of the city of Albuquerque but the gorgeous Sandia Mountains. With a quick 15 minute ascent you can enjoy the view, explore the mountain trails up above, eat  at the High Finance restaurant, reopening in Spring of 2019.

During the winter months the Sandia Tram Ski Basin is open for skiing and snowboarding. If you own your equipment, you can purchase a lift ticket, take your equipment with you, ride the tram up and ski/snow board down. If you do not, you will need a vehicle to drive around the mountain, through the town of Edgewood, up to the Sandia Tram area. There are also several hiking trails, such as the La Luz Trail, which I will be writing about a little later, you can hike from the base of the Sandia Mountains to the top and ride the tram back down. Along with hiking trails there are many mountain bike trails open during the spring and summer months. You cannot take you bike and equipment on the tram so you will have to have a vehicle to access the mountain bike trails. 

However you choose to experience this amazing site in the Albuquerque area, riding, biking, hiking or skiing, it will be worth your time and an experience you will not forget. 

For more ideas about things to do in and around the Albuquerque Area, check out my blog posts on https://thecharmingjay.com/2018/11/20/hiking-the-kasha-katuwe-tent-rocks-national-monument-in-new-mexico/ or the https://thecharmingjay.com/2018/09/05/sunrise-springs-resort-and-spa/.

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Hiking the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico

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As a New Mexico native, I have to admit, I had never made the time to hike Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, until recently. I know, it is almost embarrassing, but I am so glad I made the time to explore my home state and see this beautiful national land mark for myself.

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks is located on the Indian reservation of Cochiti Pueblo, and is about an hour northeast from the city of Albuquerque and a 50-minute drive west from the city of Santa Fe. Created 6-7 million years ago from volcanic rock and ash deposits, which with erosion and weathering have created these tent rocks and slot canyons.

The hike up to the mesa, up above the tent rocks is not very difficult and is often busy with hikers, families and kids. Two trails are available to hikers. The Tent Rocks Canyon Trail is slightly longer of the two hikes, a total of 3 miles out-and-back, accompanied with beautiful views along the way. The Cave Loop trail is an easier, flatter mile with similar rocks but with less scenic views.  As the trail progresses, you will make your way through narrow slot canyons, with a final 630-foot ascent up to a mesa, where you are rewarded with panoramic views of Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia mountains, and the Rio Grande Valley. It’s spectacular, truly, a must see in New Mexico.

img_7165Arrive at the park early, as it is visited frequently and you can end up waiting in line to enter the park as cars are leaving and parking. It is also a good idea to arrive early as the park allows entry between 8 am-4 pm, and often begin closing procedures at 3:30 pm daily or based . A bottle of water may be a good idea depending on the season and time of day of your hike. During the summer months temperatures in New Mexico are known to rise well above 90 degrees Fahrenheit and you will definitely need water.

For more info on the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Canyon Trail, visit the official site of the Bureau of Land Management.

If you are looking for more things to enjoy in New Mexico check out Giggling Springs Mineral Water Pools, in Jemez, New Mexico or Sunrise Springs Resort and Spa both very close to tent rocks and doable within a day.

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Travel

Ensenada-Baja California Weekend Getaway

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I have to tell you all how surprised I was about our little weekend getaway to Ensenada! I had done my research, figured out how to get there, where to stay, things to do, but I was not prepared for what this little Mexican town had to offer. Let me start of by talking about the drive to Ensenada from San Diego. The entire drive, nearly 90 minutes, is entirely along the coast! It is beautiful, and something I did not expect. Driving along the coast line, seeing the waves crash up along the shoreline, took me by surprise and started our weekend getaway off right.

What I loved most about Ensenada, was the fact it felt like Mexico. It is hard to explain, but I have been to several Mexican cities, some more popular than others, and many more “Americanized” than others. Ensenada had an authentic Mexican feel, which I loved. The town is small, people were friendly, gave us recommendations on things to see, places to eat. There are plenty of shops, restaurants and attractions for travelers to visit. As almost all Mexican cities, Ensenada has a city sign for tourists to visit and take pictures at and enjoy a great look out point of the ocean.  Another popular attraction is the La Bufadora, a blow-hole spewing water up to 60 feet in the air. The city center is full of life, especially during the summer season, markets are open to buy fresh food, fish and any kind of good or trinket you can think of.

The food was outstanding, especially the sea food! There are many places to eat and drink in Ensenada, many locals and friends who have travel there before recommended Papas & Beers and Hussongs Cantina. However, of all the places we tried, Mariscos Bahia de Ensenada, by far had the best seafood we tried, not to mention the best mango margarita! I woke up the following morning contemplating if we should go back for more or try something new. The fish was fresh, especially the lobster, and delicious. A must do when traveling this area is indulge in some seafood, you will not be disappointed. Ensenada is lively town, there are many coffee shops and bars open into the evening to enjoy and get a feel of the town.

Another highlight of our trip was our stay at Hotel Lucerna. A new hotel to the area, Hotel Lucerna, is a great place to stay while traveling the area. The hotel itself is beautiful, with all the ammenities of  luxury hotel, including a heated pool. The staff was helpful, assisting us with finding a wine tour, places to eat, and attractions to see. The hotel provides a wonderful breakfast spread each morning and encourages the guests to sit and enjoy the hotel. It was a great places to relax and wind at after a busy day of traveling and sight seeing.

Lastly, if you are planning on visiting Ensenada you can not miss scheduling a wine tour  through the Valle de Guadalupe-Mexican Wine Country. The Valle de Guadalupe, located in Baja California, just a little more 30 miles from Ensenada, Mexico, you will find what people are calling “the new Napa” with miles and miles of beautiful landscape and more than 200+ wineries. We were lucky enough to book a private driver to take us to and from Ensenada to wine country, to several wineries and back to our hotel. It was such an amazing day and truly opened my eyes to the hidden treasures of Mexico.

 

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Travel

Valle de Guadalupe-Mexican Wine Country

I’ve been so excited to share this post about my wine tour through Mexican wine country with you all! Especially, my wine and travel lovers! The Valle de Guadalupe, located in Baja California, just a little more 30 miles from Ensenada, Mexico, you will find what people are calling “the new Napa” with miles and miles of beautiful landscape and more than 200+ wineries. You could spend weeks visiting each winery but I will highlight a few we loved on our visit.

If you are interested in a wine tour, there are several different ways you can book a tour for your liking. If you are not willing to venture down the coast to Ensenada, there are many tours willing to pick you up at your hotel in San Diego, drive you across the border and through the Valle de Guadalupe to and back to San Diego at the end of the tour. Other options are to rent a car, make sure you get insurance to cover you across international boarders and drive the wine route on your own. You will however, have to endure the very long line of vehicle’s attempting to cross back over to the United States upon your return. So pack your patience! Every day is different and you may be sitting in line for a few hours. Lastly, you can do as we did and take the San Diego trolly to the last, most southern stop and walk across the border on your own to the ABC bus stop, less than a mile from the crossing and purchase a bus ticket for $20 down the coast to Ensenada, about a 90 minute trip. We then, with the help of our concierge at Hotel Lucerna, booked a tour with a private driver to several wineries through the Valle of Guadalupe.

Our first stop, the oldest winery in The Valley, and in my opinion, with the best tasting wine was Santo Tomas Winery. Located on a beautiful estate tucked away in the rolling hills this is what wine country looks like. Vines as long as the eye can see, beautiful green rolling hills and a colorful, welcoming space to taste and enjoy wines. Each winery has their own cost for a tasting ranging from $10-$20 per person per tasting. Such a deal! Especially, if you have traveled to Napa, you know tasting can cost more than $50 per person. Santo Tomas, had the most wines of any other winery with a typical tasting including five different types of wine.

Our next stop was the Clos de Tres Cantos Winery along the wine route. This winery was chosen by our tour guide company we booked our tour with. Of the four wineries we visited, it was one of my favorites for the establishment and the scenery. It was very unique and rustic looking, with many places to sit and enjoy our rainy wine tasting day. Even the bathroom had cute details such as the neat window made out of bottles to swivel and open.

The wine was decent and was accompanied by a little wine and cheese, which was definitely appreciated as we still had two more winery to visit, and had started with a five wine tasted at the previous winery. The landscape overlooking the vineyards was beautiful, even on a rainy day, and they were kind enough of give me a small bag of wine corks to take home with me. They are expanding the building at this winery and there will soon be more to explore and see while on the property.

Our 3rd winery, the ATP Vinos y Familia, was the smallest and one of the best experiences of the day.  Family owned, ran by a husband and wife, this winery has won many awards for their wines. The wines available for tasting depend on the season and they it is well known they tend to run out of award-winning wines during the busy summer season. The wines were tasty, but more than anything, I loved the homey feel of this winery. We were allowed to walk through the vineyard, sample grapes still on the vines and see the cellar with the barrels of wine. It was spectacular and the most fun of the day! Getting to know the owners, learning about the history of the vineyard and entire Valle de Guadalupe was a great experience for the day.

The final winery on our stop is currently one of the most famous wineries in the Valle de Guadalupe, Bruma Winery. Bruma, known not only for thier wine but also for their modern casitas available and their beautiful structures and landscape. This is a great places to stay if you would like to stay in the valley and not have to travel back to Ensenada. It is a great way to travel to many more wineries during your visit! However, if you would like to stay at Bruma, you will need to email to make reservations as early as possible as the establishment is small, popular, and they book rooms quickly and months ahead. This is also one of the wineries you will need to have reservations ahead of time for a wine tasting. If you do not have a reservation you can wait up to an hour for the next available tasting. However, the wine is good and the grounds are beautiful and is worth checking out.

We finished up our day with a great dinner set up by our tour guide, lounging on hammocks, drinking more wine and enjoying the rain before our driver drove us back to Ensenada. It was a perfect end to the day.  Valle de Guadalupe wine country was such as great experience and so easy to access from San Diego, we will definitely be back to explore more wineries across the valley. If you love wine or have always wanted to check out Baja California, this is a great getaway for you!

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Arizona Travel Guide

Arizona, my fellow neighboring state, is one of my favorite places to visit when I’m looking for a fun road trip or a quick weekend getaway. Arizona is beyond beautiful and full of adventure. Here are some of my bucket list places to visit across the state.

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First up, the area I was most shocked by, for its surprising beauty. A great place to visit when you are up for an adventure and some outdoor time. Page, Arizona, located on the North Central border of the state, less than 20 miles from the Utah boarder, is filled with more outdoor beauty than you can imagine. Horseshoe Bend is of the beautiful, natural attractions you will be able to see while visiting this Arizona town. Horseshoe bend is super easy to get to, only a few miles into the town of Page and a short hike/walk from the parking lot to the bend. It is gorgeous!! Beautiful red-orange colors surrounded by the deep blue water down below.  It will leave you in awe. You can also make your way to the bottom of the bend, to hike, paddle board, get in the water if you choose. There are several excursion companies offering activity packages in town you can try if you are interested. Regardless, just the pure beauty of this attraction is a sight to see!

As if Horseshoe Bend was not enough, Page, Arizona is also home to Antelope Canyon.  A slot canyon, formed by erosion of the Navajo Sandstone from flash flooding is separated into two canyons, Upper and Lower Antelope Canon. Located on Navajo land, just east of Page at the Navajo Tribal Park, this is one attraction which can only be experienced exclusively by guided tour. Trust me, it is more than worth it! This is a popular attraction and it is a good idea to get your tickets early if you are planning on going at a certain time of day. If not, you may have to wait till the next tour opening, which may be several hours away. Especially, during peak season in the summer. You will be loaded on to Chevy 4×4 trucks and driven across the desert to the Canyon. The drive and transportation are an experience in itself. Definitely, adds to the fun. You will be guided on a tour of the canyon, allowed to take pictures, the really good tour guides will point out where you can take the best shots from, and you’ll enjoy a walk from one side of the canyon to the other. You will then be driven back to site and have completed your tour. You could easy see Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon in one day, even morning or afternoon depending on your schedule.

While in the area, you might as well make your way over to Lake Powell for some fun on the water.  Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River, also, sits the border between Utah and Arizona.  Most of Lake Powell,  is located in Utah but is only miles away from Page and will be the cherry on top of your trip.  The reservoir is the second largest to Lake Mead in the United States and is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. If you are lucky enough to have a boat to truly enjoy the water, many are available to rent for the day, you will discover rock formations and crystal blue water, making it hard to believe you are in the United States. It’s beauty on top of beauty and is a perfect addition to any road trip around Northern Arizona.

Next up is my favorite small town to visit and stay for a few days. Sedona, Arizona. Located in the North central area of Arizona, the city has a backdrop of an array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red colors when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The red rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails, sliding rocks, river activities, dining, shopping and lots of exploring. Home to many popular attractions such as Devil’s Bridge, Sliding Rock and Seven Sacred Pools, Sedona will awe you with its natural beauty.

Sedona, is one of my favorite Arizona towns, not only for it beauty but also because of the cozy feel of the town and town square. The town square is filled with local places to eat, shop, listen to music and find something to take back home with you. It is perfect after a day of hiking, biking or off-road adventures.  Sedona has local hotels, AirBnb rentals and camping spots to help you enjoy your visit.

If you can believe it, there is even more beauty to find in Arizona, probably the most wondrous of them all, the Grand Canyon!! Located along the Colorado River in Arizona the Grand Canyon is more than 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and nearly a mile deep. Of all the Arizona attractions I have talked about, the Grand Canyon is at the top of the list. It is massive and all you see is canyon as far as the eye can see. There are several areas along the canyon, known as the South and North Rim for park goes to enter and explore. We visited the North Rim, not far from Flagstaff, Arizona where we stayed during the evening. This is, for sure, an all day affair. Depending where you stay it will take a while to drive to the park, pay entrance fees, park and start exploring. The museum at the site is a must see, as it gives you tons of information about the canyon and something I will never forget, how the canyon was formed as boulders the size of semi trucks raged down the Colorado River. It is truly magnificent. There are many trails to hike throughout the park, just remember going down into the canyon is the easy part, you still have to hike all the way back up! None the less, you can experience even more spectacular views the further down into the canyon you hike. You can also schedule hikes to the base of the canyon, but must have made camping accommodation reservations, as you cannot hike down and back up in one day.  If you are not sure where to start when exploring Arizona, the Grand Canyon is definitely a great place to start discovering what Arizona is all about.

Last but not least, I could not write an Arizona Travel Guide and leave out the capital city of Phoenix! The largest city in Arizona, Phoenix is where you should go to enjoy the city life and all its attractions. Major League Sports such as, football, basketball and baseball, music concerts and music festivals, shopping, restaurants and night life. If you ever happen to be in the area in October as an added bonus you can also enjoy the Arizona State Fair.  With all of the life of the city, although Phoenix is a big metropolitan area, the city has plenty of outdoor beauty and activities to enjoy, including several trails and peaks to hike throughout the city and Tempe Town Lake for some outdoor fun.  All depending on the time of year you visit the city! Phoenix being one of the hottest cities I frequently visit, with summer temperatures close to or over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, you have to be prepared for the heat and plan out your activities accordingly. I love Phoenix and have been to the city too many times for me to write about you can experience in the city in such a small area of this post. Phoenix certainly deserves a post of its own and I will have to follow-up with a future post about the Best Things To Do In Phoenix, Arizona.

Hope you enjoyed reading about the many wonders of the state of Arizona and it helps you when planning a trip to explore for yourself!