How to survive a family trip to Alaska!

Posted in Alaska by Kristina @ Three Little Birds travel

By now, you all know that my sister and I take “Sisters Trips” every year. We’ve traveled to New York, Italy, Prague, Toronto and many other exciting destinations! 2014 will mark our 6th year and we’re going to Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Scandinavian posts coming soon!

In 2013 we tried something new. Something we haven’t done since we were children…we went on a family vacation. Here is how the conversation started:

Dad: “Your mom and I want to go to Alaska. Do you girls want to come with?”

Us: “Sure, sounds fun!”

Dad: “Well, it’s just that I didn’t know if it was cool to hang out with your parents on a vacation.”

Us: “Dad…we are old…you’re cool again. Plus, if you get annoying then we’ll just go to the bar.”

Dad: “ok, I’ll probably meet you there.”

So it began…the first family vacation in over 20 years! We made sure to bring along our Aunt for good measure. In September 2013 we all boarded a plane and headed to Seattle to greet our Princess Cruise ship...which would be our home for one whole week.

Here are some tips on how we survived:

1. Prepped, prepped…and prepped our family for airport changes.

On average, I fly two weeks out of the month. I am TSA/Global Entry approved. I only pack a Carry-On. I am an efficient traveler. I avoid all older people in line and race around anyone traveling with multiple kids. My mom, dad and aunt on the other hand had not flown since pre-911. Seriously.

So, my advice is that you prep anyone in your group that will slow you down. This will require you to answer MANY questions…over…and over…and over again. Questions like “Can I wear a belt through the metal detector?” “What if I have snacks in my purse?” “Do I have to take my shoes off?” “Are we sitting together on the plane?” “Will we have time to use the bathroom?” But if you are patient and answer them early then it will make your travel experience a LOT better!

2. Found the person in the group that can fix bad moods….and made them HAPPY!!!

This person is my dad. He’s the glue of the family and can turn any frown upside down. This is why it’s important that HE’s not in a bad mood. Enter…fun excursions. Pub and Bike Brew Tour…Check. Adventure park & Zip-lining…Check. Taking funny family photos…Check!

3. Brought extra alcohol…because we knew we’d need it!

When you go on a cruise, everyone is allowed to bring 1 bottle of wine/champagne on board for free. Everything else, you have to pay for. There are always a few bars on the ship and ours even had a wine bar that did regular tastings. We just found that after a long day we wanted to relax on our balcony with our own favorite bottle. We brought Castoro wine that we got from our Paso Robles, California trip.

4. Found fun things on the boat…and actually have FUN!

Our boat was amazing and had a little something for everyone. We went to a wine tasting, comedy show and even made a few stops at the casino. One of my favorite moments was watching “Mama Mia” on the top deck! My mom, aunt, sister and I had seen the Broadway play a few years ago so it was nice to bond and watch the movie together. We even got a little dancing in!

Hopefully these tips will help you on your next family vacation!

What tips do you have to survive family travel??

6Jan2014

What I crossed off my non-existent ‘Bucket List’ in 2013

Posted in Alaska, California, Greece, Istanbul, Turkey, Sweden, Toronto by Kristina @ Three Little Birds travel

This week I decided to look through some of the blogs I follow as a activity given to me from WordPress via ‘Zero to Hero’ Challenge (30 days to a better blog in 2014). I stumbled on something that really caught my eye – 30 Tested Adventures for your 2014 Bucket List from Bucket List Publications. It’s a collection of pictures to inspire you while you’re creating your 2014 Bucket List and you should all check it out ’cause it’s pretty amazing! (Thanks Lesley!)

There’s only one little problem to this….I don’t actually have an official Bucket List! ….Gasp!!

I like to think that I’m a very organized person and I travel quite a bit so I should technically have one, but I don’t. I’m more of a traveling free spirit and have some ideas on where I would like to go but most of my trips just kinda…happen. I’m officially changing this for 2014 and going to focus on something more…official. Check out my newly expanded Andiamo Pinterest Page! For 2014 I’m hoping to cross off Carlsberg Visiting Center for a Brew Tour, Pulpit Rock in Norway, Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Tivoli Park in Copenhagen, stay in the town of Bergen to view the fjords of Norway and see all the amazing architecture in Dubai!

For a recap of what I crossed off my non-existent Bucket List in 2013…see below!

If you have a ‘Bucket List’ Pinterest Page, I want to follow it! Let me know the address and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Visit ‘Little Venice’ in Mykonos, Greece

Visit the Harem at Topkapi Palace

Zip Line in Skagway, Alaska

Join a new Wine Club!

View the Bosphorus Bridge (Connecting Europe and Asia)

Visit Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle!

Stay in a cozy cottage for wine tasting in Paso Robles, California

See a sunset in Santorini, Greece

Find the blue domed buildings in Oia – Santorini, Greece

Bike ride to Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska

Wine Tasting in Niagara Falls Region

Find the largest Fig Tree in the US (Moreton Fig Tree, Santa Barbara, California)

Visit my first mosque – Sultan Ahmed (Blue Mosque)

See what a real Alaskan town looks like!

Walk along the Boardwalk on the Toronto Islands

Try Turkish Tea with a Turkish Delight Treat

Buy something at St. Lawrence Market (one of the worlds best markets)in Toronto, Canada

Take a cruise through Glacier Bay National Park

11Dec2013

Pick one souvenir and stick with it! (Seriously, you can do this!)

Posted in Alaska, Austria, Budapest, Czech Republic, Greece, Hawaii, Istanbul, Turkey, Italy, Mexico, New York, NY by Kristina @ Three Little Birds travel

There’s three things that December means to most Chicagoans: it’s absolutely freezing outside, there’s already snow on the ground (white or dirty black, both count here) and most of us are getting ready for full hibernation mode! Despite all this, I’d like to think that most of us are also really excited for the upcoming holidays (I know I am!). My multi-colored lights are lit and looped around my balcony, my Christmas scented candles are filling up my cozy condo with delicious scents of “Christmas Cookie” and “Gingerbread” and my little pup, Lilo, may or may not have her holiday sweater on (I promise that she picked it out herself)!

This is also the time that I get super excited about putting up my Christmas tree! It’s definitely nothing grand, standing at only 3ft tall, but it’s pre-lit and fake…so it’s efficient and doesn’t cause an automatic allergic reaction, which I consider a huge plus (Merry Christmas to me!). Another reason I love setting up my tree is I can finally display all my travel ornaments I’ve collected over the years, which leads me to a great piece of travel advice I will offer you…Pick one souvenir and stick with it!

The biggest question I get asked when people hear how often I travel is, “How can you afford all this?” It’s very simple, I don’t overspend. I budget where I can, and that includes all the tempting souvenirs that make your eyes glaze over when you’re walking through narrow streets or waiting in those endless lines at must-see museums. Don’t get me wrong, this was a hard lesson for me to learn too so don’t think I was exempt from falling prey to the beautifully displayed shop windows or the elderly man trying to sell me “locally-made” goods…we’ve all been there! But today is a new day for you! Pick something along your travels that means something to you and stick with it. For me it’s ornaments, but for you it could be collectable spoons, or shoes, or magnets, or a million other things. My sister buys Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Height’s’ book from every country in their native language. She’s a huge book lover and it’s one of her favorites, so it makes sense. She also buys ornaments, but since she’s my sister she gets a pass on two souvenirs!

Below are some of my favorite ornaments that are displayed on this years Christmas tree. Some are cheesy (Princess Sisi, Vienna-Austria), some were a splurge (Golden Pineapple, Oahu-Hawaii) and some were free (Wooden spoon from Budapest – free with purchase of paprika spice). There also seems to be a running theme of alcohol related ones, but no judging! Enjoy all the pics and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!