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?

20Jan2014

Snorkeling with Sea Turtles!! (…and one scary Barracuda)

Posted in Cancun 2014, Mexico by Kristina @ Three Little Birds travel

It’s very cold in Chicago right now so I’m happy to report that I’m gettin’ the heck out of here and going to Cancun!! I recently got an amazing new job, and a company-wide 2014 kick-off in Cancun is just one more perk! After all the hobnobbing and work presentations I’m hoping for at least one day at the beach, but I know it won’t quite be the same as my first trip to Mexico.

In 2010, my sister and I took our second “Sisters Trip” to Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was the first time we had been to Mexico and the first time either one of us had stayed at an all-inclusive resort. We had a blast at the Ocean Maya Royal resort and immediately headed to the activities desk to view all the suggested adventures. Options included an all-day tour of Chichen Itza (Nope, that was already booked on our own prior to arrival), Swimming with the sharks (Hell No!! Are you crazy?) and Snorkeling with Sea Turtles (Duh! Sounds amazing, sign us up!).

We booked the tour and had an incredible time snorkeling for the first time, in clear shallow waters, with a handful of sea turtles. All was going just perfectly until we saw it…a GIANT, SCARY, BARRACUDA!!!! AHHH!

Scary Barracuda wanting to eat us, probably.

Luckily it stayed right under a mid-sized boat the whole time, but I sware if the turtles weren’t there it would have had us for lunch. Seriously.

Alright, now for some less-scary pictures of the beautiful and peaceful sea turtles! I didn’t have my go-to Sony RX100 Camera, but I think the inexpensive underwater camera captured some really great shots! If you ever see this type of activity as an option while vacationing, I strongly suggest you sign up!

Enjoy!!

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!