Is it Gelato o’clock?

Posted in Italy, Travel Bites by Kristina @ Three Little Birds travel

In 2011, my sister and I went to Italy in the hopes of discovering the most mouthwatering, savory, flavorful meals we’ve ever tasted in our lives. What we didn’t realize was that we would discover all of those things in one divine item…gelato. In two weeks, we managed to consume what a normal human would enjoy in two years (ok, maybe four). Seriously! We ate so much that we just starting saying “Is it gelato o’clock?” to each other.

Don’t believe me? Yeah…umm…just scroll down.

oops.

Holy ~~Guacamole~~ Gelato!

Right?!?

We walked absolutely everywhere, so I’m happy to report that we did successfully fit back into the coach airline seats for the long flight home.

If I had to narrow it down (and give you somewhere to focus) I would say that GROM and Giolitti were my favorites. You can only find Giolitti in Rome, but GROM is all over Italy and a few other countries. There are also three locations for GROM in New York so the USA can get their fix too!

Curious to know what flavors we tried? Duh, OF COURSE you are!

Drum roll please……((Deep Breath))…..Chocolate, Oreo, Dark Chocolate, Baileys, Cinnamon, Mint, Stracciatella, Salted Caramel, Pistachio, Bacio, Hazelnut, Coconut, Maroon Glacee, Pear, Fig, Caramel, Italian Opera Cake, Biscotti, Tiramisu, Caffe, Nutella, Honey, Basil, Caramelized Fig, Walnut, Cannoli, Sesame, White Peach & Lavender and Bellini.

Have you tried gelato? What are your favorite flavors?

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!

Beautiful blue-topped buildings – Santorini, Greece

Gladiator – Rome, Italy

Drunk skeleton – Riviera Maya, Mexico

Wine bottle representing ‘Chardonnay Cottege’ wine trip – Paso Robles, CA

Wooden paprika spoon – Budapest, Hungary

Princess Sisi – Vienna, Austria

Golden pineapple – Oahu, Hawaii!

Evil Eye – Istanbul, Turkey

Representing the Alaskian pub crawl – Alaskian Cruise 2013

Yellow Taxi Cab – New York, NY

Traditional egg ornament – Prague, Czech Republic

Famous Water Tower – Chicago, IL

23Nov2013

“I am the cute one…she’s just my sister”

Posted in Uncategorized by Kristina @ Three Little Birds travel

I never thought I would reference a song by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in my travel blog, but it’s essential to describing the sometimes strange, but absolutely amazing relationship I have with my big sister. I get the feeling that most of you may need a refresher on this ~~Grammy award winning~~ song, so click HERE and you can thank me later.

Let me start by saying that my sister and I are not twins. As I’ve said many many times, “We are TWO different people!” We look similar…and we talk the same (sometimes), but that’s only because we come from the SAME PARENTS! Duh!! No matter how many times I explain this, people can’t help but point out all the features that we share. Drives me a bit batty (can you tell?), so we started singing this song to each other to try and just laugh about the situation. Truth is…I love her to pieces…even though I’m definitely, for sure, without a doubt, the cute one!

In 2009, one of us came up with the brilliant idea to travel to New York City together. Why? It was simple, we had never been and thought it was ridiculous that two well educated, young (and cute) ladies had never been to the Big Apple. Since we live in Chicago, a big city is nothing new, but this big city had so many amazing sights that we couldn’t wait to book a flight and pack our bags. We did just that and jam-packed one weekend in August with everything that New York City had to offer. Broadway, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Grand Central Station, Serendipity, NY Public Library, Ellis Island and about a million other things! It was a whirlwind trip, but I think to our surprise, we made it without absolutely killing each other!! Since that trip, we’ve started our annual ‘Sisters Trips’ and have had the most amazing experiences in Mexico, Italy, Eastern Europe and Toronto/Niagara region. I can’t wait to plan our 2014 trip (we’re thinking Iceland!!).

Here are some fun pictures that we’ve taken along the way! Enjoy!