Zoe and I try to get together annually. Our requirements for this connection is simple – we need a cute place to stay, in a fun area we can explore, with at least one exceptional coffee shop to work from.
This year we went to Joshua Tree and let me just say it checks all the boxes.
In early November 2023 I flew out to LAX. Zoe and I couldn’t resist meeting in Culver City so we could grab lunch, shop Trader Joe’s for some snacks and wine for the airbnb, but, most importantly, pop into my favorite bookshop ever, The Ripped Bodice. It didn’t disappoint. I love this space because it’s the perfect balance of lots of romance novels of every sub-genre, cute vibes, and full little gifts. If you’re in LA, don’t miss this spot!
After that we hit the road and unfortunately got a very hefty dose of the infamous LA traffic. So it took us much longer to get our airbnb in 29 Palms, just past Joshua Tree, but once we were there the relaxation immediately set into our bones.
campfire in our lovely airbnb backyard
On our first full day we made it our goal to find the perfect place to sit, sip coffee, visit, and work on our writing. We hit the absolute jackpot with Mas O Menos. It had everything we could want. The coffee was top notch which delightful pastries as well. They had a sweet little indoor space but the outdoor patio is really where it shined. As a Chicagoan I was absolutely living for all this warmth and sunshine.
the Mas O Menos patio was basically our second home for the weekend
We spent half the day there soaking up the desert air, typing away and getting thoroughly caffeinated. It was so chill and hang-out friendly. They also had a pop up there with food and in the evening, a band. We literally went there 3-4 times over the course of our long weekend. An absolute must go.
Mas O Menos
Outside of our time at Mas O Menos, we decided to check out Pioneertown. It was quite empty while we were there but definitely checks of the ‘quirky’ vibe the whole area is going for. We grabbed some tacos at Red Dog Saloon. They were tasty but the service was a little lackluster so it’s hard to recommend it. We bopped around the little shops but left quickly after overhearing a customer and worker exchanging jokes that were, and I quote, “The right kind of racist!” – major ick.
Thankfully our evening perked up when we headed for dinner at Grnd Sqrl. Despite the waitress being thorough unamused by my question on whether it was supposed to be “grand” or “ground” squirrel (it’s ground, fyi). The food was good and the place was absolutely popping. Cute little spot for sure with some very memorable loaded tator tots.
Day two had us getting up early to get some hiking in at Joshua Tree. We didn’t make an official sunrise hike but we hit the park with the super chilly desert night still clinging. This is the perfect little park to hit for a half day of hiking.
Skull Rock
We pulled over for an easy photo op at Skull Rock and then took in a quick walk for the Hall of Horrors (admittedly, we didn’t quite see what we thought we were supposed to see) before doing the 1 mile loop of the Hidden Valley . This was an easy and lovely walk that was essentially completely empty early in the morning.
All in all we spent just a couple hours driving the circuit of Joshua Tree, stretching our legs and taking in the scenery. We then headed back into down and grabbed some hearty breakfast at Crossroads Cafe. Their potatoes? *chef’s kiss*
The rest of our trip was filled with bopping around a couple shops in the area (the Crochet museum is just a weird as you expect it to be), having girl dinner and facemasks, and enjoying the stars in our backyard – with a couple more stops at Mas O Menos for coffee.
All in all, this location was absolutely perfect for sure to slow down to enjoy some nature and each other’s company.
Marjorie and I knew we couldn’t go a full decade before volunteering again. It was, after all, the start of our love story.
We both solo traveled to Nicaragua on a Habitat for Humanity trip in 2014 and were randomly assigned as roommates. Immediate friends. Since then we’ve done amazing travel and managed to check off multiple bucket list items. This trip was absolutely another bucket list one for me – I knew I wanted to do another build and now it’s complete!
The best part about this trip is we managed to sandwich our volunteer activities with sight seeing. We spent two solid weeks in Portugal and, I think, really made the most of it.
Day 1 – Lisbon
After a red eye flight, Marjorie and I met up in Lisbon. I landed significantly later so she was able to get more mileage on foot than I ended up with, but I still managed to see a significant chunk of Lisbon for only one afternoon.
Lisbon
This is where free walking tours – like the one we did with Take Tours – really come to the rescue. After I Ubered to our hotel, we made our way to caffeinate me (thank you Copenhagen Coffee Lab ❤ ❤ ❤ ).
Coffee pick me up
Then to the square for the free tour where we got a download on the best of Lisbon and interesting Portugal history. This tour checks off the box of the Santa Justa Lift (below) which was a nice plus.
I’m always completely wiped after a red eye so we took a leisurely walk back to our hotel, stopping at La Terrasse for some food and a drink. We didn’t know at the time, but this place has pretty terrible reviews. Honestly, I thought it was fine but we did both get salads so it was a pretty easy lift. The view was lovely so all in all, I have no reason to avoid this restaurant but be wary that the food doesn’t have a great reputation.
La Terrasse view
We stopped at Popbar for ice cream on the way back (so delightful!) and then spent the rest of the evening in the courtyard of our hotel. Solar do Castelo was such a lovely little find. We did hope it would be a bit more “castle like” on the interior but it comes off as just an old building overall.
Solar do Castelo courtyard
Still, it was such a unique spot in the city and the breakfast is excellent. I loved this unique location so highly recommend, especially if it’s a just a one night stop.
Day 2 – Sintra
View of Sintra from the Moorish castle
If you’ve done any research on Lisbon you’ll know that Sintra is a very hyped day trip. We decided we needed more time in this well loved space so after breakfast we checked out of the hotel and went to the Rossio train station (super cheap and easy) to catch the train to Sintra.
Rossio Train Station
Once in Sintra we walked the short distance to our truly lovely airbnb. This place felt so decadent with two full bathrooms and a cozy living space both indoors and outdoors. Highly recommend this spot as it’s also so convenient to the train and bus that you will likely take around to the sites.
our lovely airbnb
After dropping our bags, we grabbed a quick lunch at Taverna. The outdoor seating and service was nice, decent food too, so no concerns. Energized and ready to go, we decided the best deal was to buy the 24 hour pass for the bus circuit. All in all, this seemed like the easiest way to get around. We did find we had to wait a long time for the lesser used route the following day but overall it was very easy to navigate.
Moorish castle
After a little bit of a snafu where I thought we were going to Pena Palace but I was a day off (whoops, my bad!) we opted to visit the Moorish Castle on Friday afternoon. It was a beautiful, clear day which is absolutely a requirement for this site. The Moorish Castle is positively stunning and I’m actually really glad we came to this spot first. In my opinion this is an absolute must do. It’s an extremely well preserved site and the views are endless. It also makes for a really cool spot to get distance pictures of Pena Palace (distance pictures = best pictures. More on that later).
After the Moorish Castle we took the bus back to our airbnb, only to walk half the distance back to our chosen dinner location, a tapas place recommended by our airbnb, Tascantiga. It was a decent location – the view made it worth – but I would say only half the tapas were truly noteworthy. All in all, I bet there are some better places along the route we walked.
Tascantiga
Day 3 – Sintra
Breakfast took us to Cafe Saudade where I got my fill of pastries (the Portuguese love their bread, let me tell you) with a sampler of travesseiro (pastry filled with butter almond cream), queijada (pastry with cheese/egg/cinnamon), and, of course, pastel de nata. While perhaps not the best Pastel I had the whole trip, this location and coffee was a good start to the day.
Well of Initiation
We hopped the very first bus that was going to take us on the longer loop of the day and set off. We didn’t skimp on experiences. Our first stop (and what you should do as it’s the most logical order) was the Quinta da Regaleira which has the famous Well of Initiation.
This was a fantastic stop. The well in of itself is worth the line of tour groups – but the rest of the grounds are also excellent. The whole place is full of little mystical nooks to discover. You truly feel like you are in some kind of faerie land. It’s unique to anywhere else I’ve been.
at Quinta
Once we had our fill there, we got back on the bus to go to Monserrate Palace. This one has a lot of grounds and gardens to walk through before you find the Palace themselves. They were beautiful, though perhaps not quite as majestic as Quinta’s. The Palace itself was lovely and intricate – it’s a lot quieter of a stop. I’m glad we went but this could be skipped in favor of Quinta if you are on a time crunch.
Monserrate Palace
We had to wait a while for the bus after we hiked back to the road, and by the time we got back to town it we had a short amount of time to grab food before getting back on the bus to make our way to Pena Palace. Padaria Saloia was the perfect quick stop with sandwiches, pastries, and coffee.
There are two bus stops for Pena Palace- one low for the gardens and one higher for the entrance to the palace itself. The first one you come up on is the gardens, that wasn’t super clear for us at first. We got off at the first one because we had almost two hours before our timed entry and planned to use it to explore the gardens.
I really enjoyed walking through all the gardens. It, once again, gave off a feel of going back in time and exploring a somewhat magical place. It was pretty tricky trying to figure out the “right” path so if you have time to wander and get lost – do it. We were constantly stumbling over old buildings or sites, often covered in ivy. It was very peaceful and I could see it being really cool in the early hours of the day or late in the evening.
We had enough time to walk all the way up to the High Cross. I wouldn’t necessarily say you need to go there but it was a nice target for our wandering and from there it is an easy walk across to the palace itself.
So – Pena Palace. This is where it gets interesting. We read SO many blogs before traveling to Sintra and while quite a few mentioned that Pena would be busy, everyone said it was worth it. I’m here to say it is 100% not worth it. I strongly, strongly, recommend not buying tickets to tour the palace. It’s a total tourist trap and despite having timed entry, they really don’t limit the amount of people who are doing in at all. We were like cattle. It was truly claustrophobic and we were desperate to get out.
Because here’s the thing – you can still visit Pena Palace without buying an entry to the interior Palace. This is what we would recommend. Buy exclusively the park entry. You can do all the park wandering and walk right up to the palace itself. You can walk the whole perimeter with just the park pass – and the exterior of the palace is really the impressive part. I felt totally bamboozled so take my advice and don’t do the interior at all – and then you don’t have to worry about a timed entry at all.
IF you really want to see the interior (again, not worth it), I recommend buying the very last entry of the day. We were there late in the day and we were able to loiter around for a while to get the best pictures and people started to leave. First entry isn’t going to get you there early enough to get pictures without people or being treated like cattle.
After ripping on Pena Palace for a while, we took the bus back down the mountain and poked our heads into Incomum. This place is nice and if you want to go I recommend a reservation – she managed to squeeze us in because we were early in the day. The food was excellent, if expensive. I bought a bread board and got literally one piece of bread, ha. But it was excellent quality and a delicious meal.
Incomum
We couldn’t leave without gelato of course so we stopped at Alba Gelato which was a delicious choice. They had a nice outdoor seating space and are right on a park – definitely recommend.
Day 4 – Travel to Porto
Leaving Sintra
It was not easy to say good-bye to Sintra, I could have spent another day in that cute little tourist town. But we rose early to grab the train and start our travel north. We had to train first to Lisbon and then switch trains to Porto, which was easy enough.
We met up with our Fuller Center team after grabbing some really good smoothies at Esquires Coffee. From here we were able to sit back, relax, and let our group do all the planning for us. Our bus took us north past Braga to our guesthouse where we relaxed on the beautiful property and had dinner.
Domus Guesthouse for Fuller Center
Days 5-9 – Fuller Center Build
From Monday to Friday that week, the vast majority of our time was spent on the build site. Generally, the schedule was to wake up, grab breakfast in the guesthouse kitchen, and then bus to Tadim, an itty bitty down just outside of Braga. We were generally at the work site around 9am and started our tasks immediately.
Our translator, Niko, chatting with volunteer, Irene
The best part of this build was the variety of tasks, both skilled and unskilled. Volunteers comfortable with power tools were able to cut and shape things like wood, rebar, foam insulation, etc. Those unskilled folks (that would be me!) were kept busy with all kinds of things. Throughout the week I made concrete by hand, with a tumbler, scooped sand, carried particle board and roofing tiles up to the second floor, tied rebar, cleared out all the demolition rubbish from a side room, sanded foam walls for the drywall placement, cleared off a roof space, and transported SO much concrete in buckets up to the roof.
It was often tough and I was basically always sweating, but it was good work with lots of variety. We got snack each day and lunch at a restaurant (certainly not the greatest, and unfortunately I think an undercooked omelet gave me a terrible travelers bug that lasted almost three weeks!) and typically wrapped up our work day at 4:30.
Two nights that week they took us into Braga. The first night included a thorough and lovely tour of Braga, and then dinner. Another night was just dinner. Both of the restaurants were lovely – Colher D’Pau Taberna and Retrokitchen. They both had great food and excellent service (especially since we were a loud, huge group!). If you spend time in Braga, highly recommend either of these!
Day 10 – Tourism Day with Fuller Center
After our last day of work on Friday, we were treated to a day of tourism coordinated by the Fuller Center. We started the morning with a trip to Bom Jesus do Monte for the amazing views and truly beautiful cathedral with unique steps. I had been waiting forever to see this and it did not disappoint.
Steps of Bom Jesus
Afterward, we hopped the bus to the small town of Guimarães – apparently a long term rival to Braga – and the supposed birthplace of Portugal. There we received a tour of the town. I would have loved to explore it more thoroughly, there were so many little squares full of cute shops and seating. Very cute spot. We had lunch at Churrasqueira do Toural. I wasn’t feeling well so I can’t comment on the food but the others seemed to enjoy it.
Day 11 – Porto
Marjorie and I took out time heading out of the Fuller guesthouse and were able to hop a long-ish Uber ride all the way to Porto. We were still too early to check into our airbnb so we opted to go to Floresta Cafe for brunch. This spot is delightful, don’t hesitate to get their caramel latte (or, literally, anything. All so good!).
Porto – under Ponte Luis I
We hung out near the river until we were able to get into our airbnb. It was easily one of my favorite airbnbs ever (and I’ve had a lot of amazing airbnbs!) The location is *chef’s kiss* right on the Praça da Ribeira with the most incredible view ever.
view from our airbnb!
I would literally live in this apartment in a heartbeat. I would have loved Porto regardless but having this as our home base gave us such a beautiful and relaxed perspective. Even though we were tired from a week of hard work, we wasted no time exploring Porto. We exercised our calf muscles and climbed to the Church of Saint Frances.
Church of Saint Frances
Then we crossed over the top of the bridge (Ponte Luis I). It’s such a breathtaking spot and well worth walking across. We went all the way past the fun Gaia neighborhood park (Jardim do Morro) and checked out the Miradouro da Serra do Pilar.
Jardim do Morro
While not a dramatically different view than the bridge itself, I still found it worth the walk. It was lovely to just stand there and enjoy the view and breeze.
Afterwards we walked to get dinner at Mille Pinsa. The location was a little run down but the big windows provided fun indoor/outdoor seating on a very busy road so people watching was A+. Their gluten free pizza was also really quite tasty. Gelato afterwards at Glanni was a nice choice.
Day 12 – Porto Exploration
We started our morning getting completely bamboozled by the country’s worst tourist trap (yes, even worse than Pena Palace!). If you’ve googled anything about what to do in Porto, I’m sure you’ve heard about the “world’s most beautiful bookstore,” Livraria Lello. As someone who literally goes to as many bookstores as possible, this felt like a must do. But – no – it was truly awful. Just like with Pena Palace, they required timed entry but they didn’t limit the tickets nearly enough. We were packed into the space like sardines.
torture
Despite being absurdly claustrophobic, it made it impossible to see this supposedly beautiful bookstore (honestly, I found it mid) and forget about getting a decent picture. On top of that the book selection was truly bizarre. It was awful and I do not recommend it at all. If you absolutely must go, I recommend booking the very last entry on the hope that you’ll be able to linger long enough to get a decent picture out of it. Otherwise avoid this at all costs.
good luck getting a glimpse of the staircase
We stumbled out of the bookstore thoroughly traumatized and sat at the outdoor space at Zenith for brunch. Their food and daily juice did absolute wonders for soothing our spirit. You 100% need to go there instead of the bookstore, I’m telling you.
life-changing juice at Zenith
After Zenith we wandered around Porto, taking in a few sites, pictures of architecture, etc. We did a good amount of window shopping (you have to find something cork to buy in Portugal!) We did pay to enter Porto Cathedral which felt worth it as the inside courtyard has some really beautiful blue tile walls.
Porto Cathedral
After a rest in our airbnb and more wandering we found ourself at Vermuteria for dinner. We loved this little gastropub on such a perfect street with lots and lots of food options. Just be careful how hard you laugh or a Dos Equis doppelganger might give you the stink eye all night.
Cândido dos Reis – restaurant row
Also -this cute little spot was right in front of Bertrand, a much more pleasing, if normal, bookstore. After dinner we stopped at Boutique Do Gelato which was decent but not even close to as good as the place across the street, Gelatopia. Epic rivals, I’m sure.
Day 13– Final Day in Porto
Admittedly, a third day in Porto isn’t entirely necessary but we ran into strange flight situations so we made the most of it. Brunch at Floresta again before walking over to the Porto sign and grabbing a picture. Then we wanted through a few other neighborhoods that were a little more off the beaten path which was really lovely. It felt so nice to just soak in the city.
We wander the Formosa neighborhood, lots of people and places to see. I grabbed a pastel de nata at Manteigaria – very good. We also popped into the Mercado do Bolhão just down the street which felt to us like a much more organized/cleaner version of the Boqueria in Barcelona – take that as you will.
pastel de nata
Midday we came back to the airbnb to rest and grabbed food at Bite, which felt like a must as it was literally under our airbnb. The food was good if small for the price but, unironically, a good place for a bite. We then started the walk across the river – we took the lower bridge path this time – to get to the Ferreira Caves to do a Port wine tasting. Because when in Porto, amirite?
The tour was pretty decent though it’s just the final storing part of the process so there isn’t a ton to see. But it was classy and interesting and it’s rounded out with a nice tasting. There are other tours but I actually liked that these caves were the further down from the bridge – it forced us to walk the entire distance which was beautiful and fun.
Overall – our time in Portugal was magical for so many reasons. The highlight, of course, was having the opportunity to support and build a very small portion of a home that will impact so many people. It felt good to put in some sweat equity, meet new people, and make a tiny change to the world. It gave us the opportunity to spend time in a part of Portugal we never would have seen as “just” tourists. I’m always grateful I can do these kinds of activities.
With the endless beauty of Lisbon’s tiled streets, Sintra’s incredible palaces, and Porto’s insane views and I’d go back to Portugal in a heartbeat.
When Jackie mentioned she had a wedding to attend in Ireland and it was going to be too difficult with child care to take her husband as plus one – the answer was obvious. Girls trip!
We completed an exceptional romp around Dublin and the south/southwest of Ireland. Our requirements were simple – enjoy a little Guinness, do some hiking, see sheep, and listen to as much authentic Irish pub music as possible.
And let me tell you, our trip was a success.
Add in that we had almost no rain (in Ireland?! What?!) and this was absolutely a trip for the record books.
Day .5 – Travel
Jackie and Bailey met me in Chicago. After a brief airport snafu (I may or may not have left my wallet at home and required my husband to hustle it over, resulting in me going through security twice.) we were on an Aer Lingus jet flying directly into Dublin.
flying in style
It was absolutely not the most comfortable plane I’ve been on (honestly, maybe the worst for the duration) but it did the job and we landed smoothy in Dublin by 10am the following day.
Day 1 – Dublin Tour and Firsts
Doors in Dublin
In an effort to set our internal clocks (spoiler: it didn’t work at all and we battled disconnected time issues the entire trip) we rallied through our Thursday afternoon. Taking full advantage of my Uber discount we used that to get from the airport to our downtown location (super easy, especially with free Dublin airport wifi – it was the same price for the three of us as the bus would have been).
We stayed at the Harding Hotel for three nights which we honestly only chose because it was one of the few reasonable places that offered three beds in one room.
Harding Hotel
It ended up being perfect and I highly recommend. The staff was great, it was clean, the shower had excellent water pressure, and it’s in an amazing location. Add on that Darkey Kelly’s is underneath and we literally couldn’t have wanted anything else. Sure it was a little loud with the windows open but had we closed them I doubt you could have heard a peep (certainly nothing ear plugs couldn’t have solved).
We had to hustle to make it to coffee (Beanhive – well worth a stop!) and our free tour of Dublin but it was worth it to hear everything Killian had to say. It was the perfect crash course to understanding not only Dublin but also a lot of aspects of Ireland.
I always recommend doing a free walking tour first thing to help give a lay of the land and check off the box on a few good spots. One huge perk – this particular tour ended literally across the street from our hotel so it was a very easy decision to rest up for a bit before heading back out for dinner.
We bopped around the Temple Bar area before landing at the Norseman for our first meal – pub food and a Guinness was going to be a requirement.
Norseman
I wouldn’t particularly recommend this location for a stop – the food was only okay – but the atmosphere was right so it scratched our itch. It also landed us the sexiest Guinness picture of the entire trip.
This Guinness is truly nsfw
When you sit in that pub you know you are in Ireland and it felt so good.
Exhaustion caught up to us but the late sunshine was unexpected and we stayed up later than we thought we would. Jackie even caught some of the live music down in Darkey Kelly’s, but we managed to tuck in for the night.
Day 2 – Exploring Dublin
It took some effort but after a cup of coffee from Rosie’s Cafe I was pretty rejuvenated. We rolled ourselves out of bed and took a nice stroll to a less touristy area of Dublin and visited Kale + Coco for some truly fresh smoothie bowls. It’s exactly as cute as you expect it to be.
And from there we just kept walking! We circled down and around to pop our heads into Marrowbone Books, a tiny little used bookstore, and to view the outside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Marsh’s Library (we were way too cheap to pay to go in).
We window shopped long enough to work up an appetite and settled in for some food at Goose on the Loose. After dawdling our way up to the area around Dublin Castle we finally stumbled back to the hotel, thoroughly drained.
Our afternoon was spent at Trinity College and the Book of Kells which is always highlighted as *the* thing to do in Dublin. I didn’t care much around the Book itself (sorry, history!) but the Long Room was thoroughly delightful.
The crazy thing is that we just snuck in before it was going to be closed for about 5 (!!) years for renovation. Most of the books had already been removed (as you can tell in our picture above). I would absolutely not recommend this stop until that renovation is done, but I didn’t mind our experience. It was nice that it was kind of unique.
After the Book of Kells we made our reservation for the Vintage Cocktail Club, a speakeasy style place right in the temple bar area. That was such a fun spot and something different than all the pub drinking we had done and planned to do moving forward. The food and cocktails were delicious – highly recommend.
Post cocktails we were ready to test out the bar scene – and walked out of Temple Bar as quickly as we walked in. It looked very cool but it was packed and not worth the volume. So we tested our cool factor and hit up The George long enough for a drink and a few dance moves.
testing our cool factor with some hip-hop-bee-bop at The George
We scuttled back to Darkey Kelly’s to watch the live band, No Limits, who really slapped at the mash ups. Jackie and I hits up a few other places – there is no shortage of live music in that neighborhood, and made a fun night of music with a little bit of dancing mixed it. While not filled with “traditional” Irish music, I can’t fault the live music scene of Dublin at all. Especially since we would get LOTS of Irish music on our next stop!
No Limits at Darkey Kelly’s
Day 3 – More Dublin Exploration
Back to Rosie’s Cafe for breakfast (so good) and then took a nice long walk to check out the museum situation.
Rosie’s cafe
We opted for the free entry of the National Gallery. It was a decent spot to stop if you have some time but it was pretty busy and fairly small. We grabbed sandwiches and coffee at the Beanhive and took them to St. Stephen’s Green to each peacefully at the park.
From there, we wandered! Taking pictures of cute streets and buildings until we meandered our way to The Last Bookshop which was a fun, quaint little stop.
We then grabbed an Uber to make our tour time at the Kilmainham Goal. We weren’t sure we’d be able to snag a tour – they are surprisingly limited so book well in advance. We only got in because I watched for cancellations daily. It is well worth it. The history was fascinating, the museum well curated, and the tour very well done. If you have extra time in Dublin, highly recommend.
Post tour, we opted to walk back to our hotel to see even more of the city. The IMMA garden walk was lovely and made for an easy route to our snack spot, Cooper’s Corner. This spot was okay – clearly a nice spot for locals but it was a little pricy for the pub atmosphere it was going for.
IMMA Garden Walk
We ate at Copper Alley Bistro, attached to our hotel, for dinner. The food was fine, but two of the three of us got meals that weren’t really what we ordered (different toppings on the salad, etc) so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend. We were also seated at the world’s strangest table, but they did warn us it was going to be awkward so I can’t blame for that.
Another night of live music at Darkey Kelly’s and a stroll for evening pictures rounded out a truly lovely Dublin experience!
Day 4 – Road Trip to Dingle
Sunday required us to say goodbye to Dublin and head out to the countryside. First we stopped for a delightful breakfast at Chorus Cafe, just a stones throw from our hotel. Highly recommend.
Because it was a Sunday our rental car pick up options were limited, so we grabbed an Uber back to the airport to grab a car. We rented with My Irish Cousin which I do recommend – expensive but they were all inclusive which really put my mind at ease. The rental car line was long so it took longer than expected to get out of there but, soon enough, we were on the open road.
Our trusty, if quirky, rental
As someone who doesn’t normally drive at all, I was very intimidated by opposite side driving. But, honestly, the roads leading out of Dublin are large and well maintained which was a nice introduction to the driving process. It took me a minute to figure out how to line up in the lane but I felt comfortable pretty quickly.
Our first stop was at the Rock of Dunamase – which were just old castle ruins. It was a really incredible find. I expected it to be much more touristy (honestly, I had been hoping for a bathroom) but instead it has barely a carpark and just one little gravel path up into the ruins. It’s absurdly beautiful and was a perfect stopping point on the way to Dingle.
We were, admittedly, a little lost after our pit stop (we’re cheap and operated our road trip with only wifi and our wits) but with some dead reckoning we managed to find our way to Portlaoise where were could find coffee and a bathroom.
old school
We didn’t explore the town but it was a nice place to stop – we opted to grab a snack and drinks at Chocolate Brown. I personally find that to be a very unfortunate name for a coffee shop but the drinks were decent and there was outdoor seating to enjoy the sunshine.
We were back on the road quickly because rain threatened. It followed us all the way to our next stop, lunch in Limerick. We had hoped to bop around the town a bit but the weather put us off and instead we lunched at Taikichi which was very tasty.
on the drive from Limerick
The last bit of the drive to Dingle was easy, even when it started to rain. There were a couple potential spots to stop but between the weather and time we decided to keep going and made it to our B&B, The Captain’s House, in the early evening.
Highly recommend this spot if you are staying in Dingle. It’s full of history, was comfortable, and is in the perfect location. After we dropped our stuff off we needed a pint and made our way to O’Flaherty’s. It was quiet which was a perfect start.
From there we opted to check out O’Sullivan’s for live music which was delightful. We stumbled on an incredible Irish dancing doing an impromptu show (more on this later!).
Day 5 – Slea Head Drive and More Dingle
Ventry Beach
Mary, our Captain’s House proprietor, left a great spread for breakfast which was perfect so we could quickly eat and get out on the road to enjoy the Slea Head Drive. I won’t go into detail here as there are tons of great blogs and resources out there but I can say this is so worth doing! It was a short and spectacular loop.
I highly recommend getting out early so there is plenty of space to park (some spots are fairly small) and so you don’t feel pressured to drive too fast on the narrow roads.
We first stopped at Ventry beach, then checked out some Beehive huts and a couple pull over spots, but we really spent the majority of our time at Dunmore Head. Highly recommend stopping at any/all of those and anywhere else you want to along this loop.
Dunmore Head
The best part is that this drive gives you a lot of bang for your buck. We were able to do the loop in the morning (just an hour or two) and were back in Dingle for lunch time. Because it was a beautiful day we opted to eat at The Dingle Pub because they had great outdoor seating. Overall their food was good but this was also where we learned that the spontaneous Irish dance we saw the night before was none other than 5x champion and famous Irish dancer, David Geaney. It was a very fun discovery for us.
After lunch we grabbed some ice cream at Murphy’s (so good) and then rested up at the Captain’s House. In the evening we headed out to discover the best part of Dingle – the pubs and music! Our first stop was Dick Mack’s, a highly recommended spot. Unfortunately it was a bust – at the time we were there they had the majority of their space under construction and the vibe was off. We left quickly and found ourselves at Foxy John’s. This place was fun even if the hardware store element was smaller than expected. It was a great spot for a drink!
After Foxy John’s we found dinner at Little Italy. It was an okay spot for a quick meal though I wouldn’t say it was great. Still, if you are sick of traditional Irish food this is a decent spot for a change. After we refueled, we checked our Neligan’s. It was packed and was a fun place because not only did they have live music but it was interactive and the whole crowd got up and learned a dance. By the end of the night we went back to O’Sullivan’s and saw live music from Caroline Keane and Tom Delany.
At O’Sullivan’s
It was a lovely finish to our time in Dingle. O’Sullivan’s ended up being our favorite spot – great vibes and music every time!
Day 6 – Drive to Killarney
We eased out of Dingle with a stop at Bean in Dingle (so cute) and started our drive to Killarney. We made a pit stop at Inch Beach – very pretty!
Inch Beach
We were able to get into Killarney in time to have brunch at Manna Cafe – very tasty and worth a stop. After that we decided to do a little hiking to Torc Waterfall.
This spot is gorgeous. It’s super close to the car park (five minute walk) but then you can continue up the path on a really beautiful loop.
It was the perfect length to feel like a true hike without eating into our entire day. There was an even longer loop but we were happy with the hour-ish it took us to meander through a the very beautiful Killarney National Park.
Once we finished, it was perfect timing to drive down the narrowest roads I had yet experienced (so nerve wracking) but it was SO worth it to find our absolutely perfect airbnb. The cottage was on a property with horses and views and the hosts were so nice. We were in love with the outdoor space. This spot checked all our boxes for “Irish cottage”.
It even came with the friendliest little kitty to play with outside.
After a bit of a rest, with some reading in the sunshine in our matching and mildly offensive onesies, we went back in Killarney to be suckered into a pretty terrible meal at The Shire. It was a very depressing space I wouldn’t recommend to a hobbit. Unfortunately, as we wandered Killarney, we found that an evening in their downtown area was pretty lackluster – it was all the worst parts of a touristy space in the evening, unfortunately. But going back to our little cottage definitely made up for it.
Day 7 – Kayaking and Killarney
We headed out early, stopping in at Ri Ra for coffee and brekky. I found Killarney much more charming in the morning when it was just opening up and there were locals out and about. We then drove to Ross Castle to meet with our guides from Outdoors Ireland for a half day kayak trip on Lough Lein. It was a beautiful day for it – water calm and the sky moody.
Our guides did a great balance of chatter and history with just letting us paddle around and enjoy the scenery. We stopped at a teeny island that had the ruins of Innisfallen Monastery. Highly recommend this outing to take advantage of Killarney National Park.
Ruins of Innisfallen Monastery
Thoroughly worn out from a morning on the water, we took our guide’s recommendation and ate lunch at Khao. This was easily one of the best meals we had in all of Ireland. After a bit of walking and souvenir shopping, we popped into Celtic Donuts (which were surprisingly good given it was the afternoon) and grabbed a couple other snacks before – you guessed it – going back to our airbnb to enjoy an evening fire on the patio.
Day 8 – Road Trip to Dungarvin
Slightly weepy, we left our cottage (stopping in at Ri Ra for a coffee) and made our way west toward Dungarvin.
Hunger pains hit us just in time to stop in at Cobh which was a perfect little spot. It was a bright and hot day – we parked to get a nice view of the cathedral and iconic houses before walking to the water.
Lunch at The Arch
We grabbed coffee and sandwiches at The Arch which had apparently just recently opened. They were kind and the food was tasty. We grabbed some ice cream at Scoops (SO good) before finding a nearby bench and looking out over the water.
Rested and filled up with good food and scenery, we bopped back into the car and enjoyed the ride until we made it to our second iconic Irish cottage bnb. This spot was located not far outside Dungarvin and had absolutely gorgeous views.
We needed classic Irish pub food for our last night so Bridgie Terries was an obvious choice and it did not disappoint. They knew how to pour a Guinness and we stuffed ourselves with fish and pies and all sorts of other delights.
Day 9 – Travel Home
Our final morning as three took us to Ormand’s for breakfast (great spot) and we then dropped Jackie off so she could meet up with the other wedding guests. Bailey and I took a nice leisurely drive back to Dublin. We stopped for a walk at what we thought would be a nice trail but was probably not really supposed to be open to the public. Feeling a bit like trespassers we did a little walking to stretch out legs and then drove back on fumes to return our car and fly back home.
All in all – we had a truly wonderful trip filled with nature and music and plenty of time reconnecting in cutsie little Irish cottages. We managed a nice balance of seeing a lot of Ireland without jumping around too much (in our opinion) and still getting Jackie to the wedding on time.
Between Marjorie and I, we’ve almost been to all of the central American countries (we’re gonna get to you eventually, Panama!) and right now we can easily say that Guatemala tops the list. If you’ve been eyeing this country as a potential destination, don’t sleep on it. We had such a fantastic experience!
We made three stops while there – Lago Atitlan, Antigua, and Paredon. We highly recommend them all!
Lago Atitlan
Day 1 – Travel to Guatemala – Lake Atitlan and Casa del Mundo
Anytime you travel, there’s always an interesting debate on whether you stay in the city you arrive in, or continue an already long travel day to make it that much longer. We opted for longer, since notoriously Guatemala City is more of a means to an end. Is there something valuable in the capital city? No idea. We only saw the airport, the traffic (so much traffic), and then we were on our way.
We both arrived in Guatemala City shortly after noon. We knew we wanted to go straight to Lake Atitlan so we arranged for a private shuttle to pick us up from the airport. It’s not a short drive (2+ hours) and the shuttle wasn’t cheap ($120 USD total). But it was convenient and dropped us off in the main city of Panajachel (Pana) at Lake Atitlan. This is essentially your only way in or out of the Lake Atitlan area by car – all of the little towns connect by boat.
commuter boat
We found our way to the boat shuttle and they were able to take us directly to the dock for our hotel, Casa del Mundo. Be warned – anytime you are taking a boat from Pana, you’ll be waiting. While all the other locations seemed to be constantly moving, these is the “origin” spot and they’ll basically wait until the boat is completely full until taking off. We easily sat for 15-20 minutes each time we boarded in Pana.
But once you are moving, it goes quickly. I was personally surprised by just how big the lake was and how bumpy it could get, especially in the evenings. If you are a motion sick person like me, make sure to pack extra Dramamine. I took one every day I was there.
That being said – it’s absolutely beautiful and pulling up to the self-proclaimed “magical” Casa de Mundo was… well… magical. There are a lot of establishments around the lake but let me tell you this place is 100000% worth the hype.
Reception at Casa Del Mundo
We spent a total of four nights here and the staff and service was impeccable. The grounds were so much fun to explore with a seemingly infinite amount of cozy beautiful nooks and crannies. But – the stairs here are no. joke. I’ve never felt so out of shape in my life. Our room was beautiful but toward the top of the mountain (yes, mountain) and I was absolutely fighting for my life by the time we got to the door, every time.
One out of six flights to get to our room
But then we had this view. So… yeah, it was worth it.
View from our private patio
And let’s not forget that Casa del Mundo has an incredible restaurant. The Lake Atitlan area has lots of little towns – emphasis on little. You aren’t going to find a ton of restaurant options outside of Pana – and you pretty much have to be back to your home-town by dark because the boats stop running. So Casa del Mundo was where we ate all of our breakfast and dinners and we never got sick of it.
Day 2 – San Juan and San Pedro
Our first stop was ultimately our favorite of all the little towns around Lake Atitlan. We got up and took the boat over to San Juan – the “artsy” village on the lake. Right when you get off the boat you immediately walk up a road lined with art galleries, food, and souvenir shops. You have the umbrellas all over it -it’s an Instagram dream.
Main street of San Juan
We stopped in the very first art gallery we found (and all those thereafter) but the first one ended up also being our winner. The owner, Senor Gonzalez, was truly painting and while you’ll find a lot of repeat designs throughout the town, you can feel confident they are hand painted. He explained that there are many lessons and schools in the town and as the students are learning they essentially all make the same prints. Likewise most artists get into a groove of style and roll with it – it’s not just “art” but also a living so they figure out what sells and it works. I fell in love with a painting and was able to purchase it, have it rolled up, and carried it with me through the rest of Guatemala.
Packing up my painting
San Juan was a lovely town to bop around in with a few good spots for photos. We stopped at Maja Bistro to get a drink (blended mint lemonade!) before wandering a little more and deciding to use our sore legs to get to an absolutely breathtaking viewpoint at Mirador Kiaq’Aiswaan. It’s worth the cost (about $10 each for foreigners) and stairs, I promise.
Observation deck in San Juan
We spent ample time enjoying life before walking back down and grabbing a tuk-tuk to head over to San Pedro. Not every location is connected by roads but the places that are means it’s very easy to get a cheap ride in a little tricycle motorbike.
Our first tuk-tuk ride
We had ours plop us in the middle of town and then we found lunch at Sababa restaurant. The food was good with an excellent view – though the only table they had left put me absolutely roasting in the sun. Still, I’ll do anything for a good outdoor view.
From there we headed back to Casa del Mundo for some rest. If you travel to the Lake in winter you’ll find you often have early nights – the boats don’t run long after dark and if you aren’t home by then, then you aren’t getting home. We found ourselves eating every dinner at the Casa and we weren’t mad about it at all.
Day 3 – Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, andSan Antonio
Beginning of the walking path to Santa Cruz
If you stay at the Casa del Mundo, there’s a lovely little walking path you can take to Santa Cruz. So we climbed even higher than our room (brutal) and then the path led us directly there – but only halfway up the nearly vertical town. Quads burning, we made it to the Cafe Sabor Cruceno for breakfast. It’s a culinary school with a cute little gift shop and it was nice to support the non-profit. It also has amazing views, though when we were there it was very overcast. Still, well worth the stop (honestly, one of the only places in Santa Cruz!) if you are going to visit this town.
View from Cafe Sabor
Walking all the way down to the dock was killer on the knees, but it’s the only way to get out of there, other than the way we came. So we took a boat over to Pana where we then waited until we could go one to explore two other teeny towns – Santa Catarina and San Antonio. We stopped first at Santa Catarina due to the way the boats were landing. Honestly, we didn’t find anything to “do” there at all – but I personally really enjoyed seeing it. It’s a vibrantly colored town, heavy on blue, and around every corner you could find some beautiful murals.
the beauty of Santa Catarina
It’s a maze of narrow stairways and we had to ask for directions to find an actual road. We were probably wandering through people’s backyards but no one seemed to mind. We eventually made it to the top and had an incredible view.
Overlooking Santa Catarina
We flagged down a tuk-tuk to take us to San Antonio, the tiny town known for its blue pottery. He dropped us at a pottery workshop where we purchased a couple pieces and then they kindly took us to the back rooms so we could see the different parts of the process. The pottery is unique in design but also due to it’s clay – as you might expect in such a volcanic area it’s special in it’s own right and apparently it’s great to work with.
Part of the pottery workshop
We spent some more time wandering a town that is thoroughly not meant for tourists before taking a long tuk-tuk back to Pana. We grabbed lunch at The Little Spoon (delicious with a rooftop!) before heading back for an afternoon and evening reading and enjoying the space at Casa del Mundo.
Day 4 – Lunch with a Local
Pre-trip we had booked a Kayak Hike that was cancelled last minute (honestly, we didn’t have a great communication history with Ox Expeditions. They might be great, but I’d shop around if you are thinking of using them). So instead we found a cultural experience that was really memorable. While not perfectly coordinated, we did meet up with a lovely local woman in Santa Cruz and battled that dang mountain again to find ourselves in her kitchen. She showed us how to made a traditional lunch over her woodburning stove.
Cultural excursion
We provided minimal help but she was kind and listened to our chatter. She then showed us, and allowed us to try our hand at, two of the weaving styles. Our Spanish dialects didn’t work well together – she mostly seemed to speak a more local dialect/language entirely – so we only spoke high level but she was so kind and it was a lovely glimpse into her life and supported the Mujeres de La Luna non-profit.
showing us one weaving style
trying another weaving style
After that, we really just spent the rest of our time at the hotel. It may seem boring, but Casa del Mundo is a destination in of itself. We did take a very short walk (5 minutes) over to the docks at Jaibalito and grabbed a snack at El Indigo Bistro just to move around a bit. (It was fine, but not great). But it was a truly pleasant last night at the Lake.
Relaxing at Casa del Mundo
If you are planning your time here, this was perfect and perhaps even a smidge long to spend there. Totally depends on your pacing. If you want to take it slow then 4 nights is *chefs kiss*. But if you need a little more excitement you might want to plan an extra excursion or one less night. That being said, most of our time there was overcast until our final day so I highly recommend you give yourself plenty of down time because you can’t depend on the weather – and the views are essential.
Lago Atitlan
Day 5 – Travel to Antigua
This was our day with the biggest snafu that wasn’t really an issue at all. We started off slow with breakfast and then got all checked out and down to the boats. They took us to Pana where we then grabbed a tuk-tuk to Crossroads. I picked up some really great coffee beans so I recommend this place for coffee but not for wifi, given they had none. That had been part of our plan because we had heard that instead of getting a shuttle, we could likely call an Uber to Antigua. It’s a long trip so we weren’t sure it was going to work but decided to give it a try anyway.
Not surprisingly we weren’t able to get on after all so we ended up taking a tuk-tuk back to the tour agencies and had to wait around a little for a shuttle. It worked out fine though we did waste an hour or so in the waiting. Still – in no time we were in what was practically a private van (just one other couple) and heading our way to Antigua.
Our driver was great and ended up giving us tidbits about the area we were driving through. Guatemala is very agricultural and we saw some amazing crops. Broccoli was being harvested at the time and there were piles everywhere.
Iconic Antigua
We eventually made it into the hustle of Antigua and in a flurry of activity we checked into our hotel and then power walked to get to the free walking tour for the day. You know me – I love making my first activity a walking tour to set the ground work and this one did just that. Antigua is quite small and we quickly were shown a number of the best sites, along with recommendations of what to go back to. I wouldn’t say it was the best tour I’ve had but he didn’t steer us wrong on any of the places we went back to.
Free walking tour
Our first dinner was at Angie’s Cafe – a truly beautiful spot with decent food . They do have live music, though not while we were there.
Angie Angie Art Cafe
Day 6 – Explore Antigua and hiking Volcan Pacaya
Our hotel gave us breakfast tickets to Fernando’s Kaffee – unfortunately while we were at this hotel so was a massive group that was here for some kind of service trip and they had completely taken over the cute place. It’s worth enjoying though there are lots of places in Antigua to get coffee and breakfast so we did spread the love.
Streets of Antigua
We decided to take a nice walk through the streets and then up the path to what was supposed to be a beautiful look out at Cerro de la Cruz – only to find it completely blocked off with construction at the time (WHY they couldn’t put a sign at the bottom, my thighs will never forgive). It would totally be worth it, once the construction is done.
What a view!
We then took our obligatory arch pictures, stopped at the world’s prettiest Starbucks (just for a photo op, obvs) and grabbed a smoothie at Y Tu Pina Tambien.
Starbucks
We did pay to see the Cathedral de San Jose ruins which was a nice spot before heading to eat at Rainbow Cafe (tasty!) and back to our hotel to get ready for our trip up the volcano!
Ruins
If you research volcano hikes in Guatemala, the most common one you’ll hear about is Acatenango. It’s supposed to be amazing, but we opted for Pacaya – known to be an easier and shorter hike. We weren’t prepared to do more than one night in a tent and the timing worked really well.
We did the overnight tour which I highly recommend. The high was strenuous without being too difficult and our guides were amazing. Leaving at 2pm, we made it to the top of the mountain just a little ahead of sunset. We had absolutely perfect views and were able to see all the volcanos in the distance as well as the one right next to us.
We were rewarded with a roaring fire, with marshmallows to roast, and a delicious camp cooked meal. They pulled out all the stops. It wasn’t supposed to be a private tour but no one else showed up – while that meant we didn’t get a reduction on our sliding-scale pay, it did mean a private tour.
I ended up having a touch of altitude sickness so my night in a tent wasn’t the greatest experience but that was definitely no fault of out guides (in fact, our guide took my pack when I was having trouble catching my breath on the way up – he was seriously SO kind).
Day 7 – Hiking down from Pacaya, Antigua Exploration
In the morning we didn’t get to see any pre-dawn lava flow because it was way too foggy. We were totally engulfed in the clouds which was honestly cool in of itself.
It was definitely a major life highlight. How often can you say you’ve camped on a volcano? It was beautiful, unique, and just the right amount of exertion.
Post hike they dropped us off at our hotel where we tidied up and then grabbed an Uber out to the Valhalla macadamia farm.
Macadamia nuts set to dry
I had been looking forward to this for forever and it didn’t disappoint. It was a small, beautiful spot where they walked us around and gave key insights on how macadamia nuts are grown/farmed. There is a restaurant on site that served lots of delicious options. We got a free mini facial which felt amazing and bought great souvenirs with macadamia nut oil (soaps, etc). It was so fun and unique and a very easy ride from Antigua. Highly recommend.
Macadamia Nut White Chocolate Pancakes!
We did a little bit more walking, grabbed some ice cream at Glacy (I personally found it way too sweet, but Marjorie didn’t mind hers) and then crepes at at well recommended place, Luna de Miel, that we were not impresed with. Then made an early night of it.
Antigua at night
Day 8 – Travel to Paredon
Breakfast on the square at Cafe Condesa was tasty and then we decided to take advantage of our last morning in Antigua and toured the ruins at Convento Santa Clara . They were beautiful and we did opt to get a quick tour from one of the guides on site. He gave us tidbits we never would have realized on our own, it was worth the extra quetzales for his time.
Convento Santa Clara ruins
Then it was back to the hotel to check out and then we started anther attempt at using Uber. It ended up working out, though to be honest I’m not sure how. But it saved us a ton of money when we found a guy willing to drive us the 2 hours to the coast. If you can find an Uber, go for it, but there’s definitely shuttles that will also make the trip.
It was a long and beautiful drive but eventually we pulled up to Swell on a sandy road. From there we started out last couple of days of beachy paradise.
Our amazing space
Day 9 – Beach
Honestly, did we do anything on our first full day at Paredon? We really didn’t. The day was hot, the sun was out, and we spent hours by the pool.
Pool perfection
We ate all of our meals at the restaurant at Swell which was super tasty as well as diverse enough that we still hadn’t tried everything after three days. Other than our outdoor shower not being nearly warm enough, it was absolute paradise.
Like every other person in Paredon, we headed to the beach each evening to watch the sunset over the water with our beverage of choice. For me, the local beer, Gallo, was a great beach drink.
Paredon beach
Day 10 – More Beach and Chula Tours
We decided we couldn’t spend two entire days lounging, so we did book a fun tour with the local non-profit, Chula Tours. They had multiple options and we ended up going on the Turtle Tour. A local fisherman took us along to see giant turtles popping up out of the water.
Boat tour
We skimmed along the mangroves, which I always love. And the highlight of the tour in my opinion, we stopped by a salt farm. It was a very quick pitstop but it was so interesting to see how they harvested pure sea salt. We even bought some direct from the source (ask me sometime about that story, cultural worlds colliding led to hilarity). It was a delight to learn something new.
Salt farm!
Even if you are not a surfer, Paredon was an amazing low key spot. I would highly recommend Swell to stay for a few days- the combo of comfort at the pool with the black sand beach only steps away was the perfect way for us to end our trip.
Last sunset at Paredon
Day 11 – Travel Home
Our afternoon flight meant we had time to grab breakfast right when they started serving it and then head out. We did have to arrange for a private shuttle. Regular shuttles to Guatemala City don’t really exist and besides we were leaving too early.
It’s a long drive with a significant portion of it sitting in bumper to bumper traffic in Guatemala City. Definitely listen to the local on how much time you’ll need – we had plenty but it definitely took us longer than we anticipated because traffic is always dense.
Then we were off! With another fantastic trip in the books.
Short List of Recommendations
Accommodations: Lago Atitlan – Casa Del Mundo – I cannot recommend this place more! Amazing. Antigua – Hotel Posada La Merced – we booked via Airbnb for this. It’s pretty barebones but the staff was so kind! Perfectly affordable since we left it empty one night when we hiked the volcano. Paredon – Swell – Perfection.
When you finally get to take the trip that COVID disrupted – this was originally fully booked for Aug 2020 – it feels just that much more special. Add in that I got to check off a bucket list item (traveling in Germany with Sam!) and this trip through Germany and Denmark was definitely a keeper.
In just 9 days we saw incredible spots in 4 cities and 2 countries – all connected by easy train rides!
If you want to hit the highlights of Northern Germany with a dash of Denmark this was a really fun and quick itinerary with no back tracking!
Day 1 – Travel and Arrival in Germany
After an 8+ hour overnight flight to Munich, with then a transfer to Berlin, we were finally on the ground in Germany. It was a Herculean effort and when we got there we were wrecked. We stayed at Hotel Zoe which was a solid choice. Walkable to a few areas and multiple train stops (though not often the trains we really needed). Despite it being SO HOT in Berlin this year, the heat wasn’t unbearable despite the lack of air conditioning at the hotel.
Given how exhausted we were, we chose to do a river boat tour and it was the perfect way to “do” something on our first night without really doing anything. We grabbed a beer and laid back to relax. If you can plan it out, you should reserve your tickets ahead in the summer. We almost didn’t get a spot when we stood in line last minute – our only saving grace was some impending rain!
Getting off the boat it was still far too early to go to sleep but so we hoofed it to Brauhaus Das Lemke where we wasted no time getting another beer and our first currywurst in Germany. The outdoor space was absolutely delightful even in the oppressive heat and, while maybe not the most “standard” currywurst I’ve ever had, it was very tasty. Definitely find time to enjoy this space.
Then, being the party animals we are, we went back to the hotel and fell asleep for 12 hours. No regrets.
Day 2 – Exploring Berlin
Just down the street from Hotel Zoe is Cafe Latrio. We were able to grab breakfast there and it was quite good. They even had a couple of sidewalk tables for us to use to enjoy the quiet street. The whole area was under construction at the time so I’m not sure if it’s always so quiet but for us it was really nice.
Then we decided to take a walk! We planned to do a walking tour later but knew it wasn’t going to make it to the BrandenburgGate and the Tiergarten so we kicked that off ourselves in the morning. It was a hike from our place but worth it instead of doing a train transfer and to just see more of the city. Walking around Berlin is so easy and I highly recommend it.
After that we took the Berlin Street Art Alternative Tour. I won’t list it here because, honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it at all. Maybe it was out guide but it wasn’t very engaging and while we did see some cool spots I didn’t necessarily get much from the “tour” – we also missed a few of the more iconic street art spots so I feel like it would be easier/better to just map out what you want to see on your own.
We then made our way to the Holocaust Memorial and Museum. This was something I wanted to make sure I prioritized and, while I’m glad I went, it wasn’t the most emotional memorial I’ve seen. I didn’t feel the impact of the grave-like structures outside and the interior was designed to inform people of the Holocaust as if they had never learned about it before. This wasn’t the case for me, so only a few tidbits stood out as being interesting. If you don’t know much then absolutely go and learn about it but if you already have a good understanding it might not be worth your time.
After that we went to eat and drink and ended up at a super cute beer garden called Schleusenkrug. Americans could liken it to a fancy concessions stand. You sit at long picnic tables and order at the stand. You can view the locks of the river and generally just enjoy a beautiful summer day. I did accidentally buy a bowl of boiled pale sausages floating in water (our German language is very lacking and this was not a tourist destination so English was minimal from the staff) but, as always, the beer was good.
We took a break for a bit at the hotel and then headed back out to view the Berlin Wall Memorial. I found this incredibly fascinating and think they did a really good job of telling the reality of the recent past. Highly recommend stopping by this open air exhibit.
Marking a portion of the Berlin Wall
You’ll be shocked to hear that we rounded out our day with more beer at Eshenbrau in the Wedding neighborhood. This place is super tucked away – we thought we were for SURE going the wrong direction – but once you find it, it’s a beautiful oasis. So much fun. They technically have food there, ultra thin pizzas that seemed to be served on a crust made like a saltine cracker, but the beer was the main attraction.
Day 3 – Last bit of Berlin -> Travel to Hamburg
We started off our final day in Berlin by getting hopelessly lost on the train. I’m usually really good with train directions but for some reason Berlin really confused me – I think it’s because their subway and regional lines use a lot of the same stops and – operating old school with maps because we were being stingy and cheap with our phone data – made it hard to understand what connected where.
We hit up Checkpoint Charlie which is just as disappointing as everyone says it is. Definitely skip. But we saw that because we were intentionally trying to see a long portion of the Berlin Wall still intact nearby – that was super interesting and well worth walking past.
We enjoyed breakfast at this Backerei which was tasty with good outdoor seating and then even stopped at this really cute courtyard near the Hotel Zoe which was a good location for coffee (Röststätte Berlin) and souvenirs.
Gem of a courtyard area with lots of shops
Then it was time to check out and we made our way to the train station for our trip to Hamburg! The train was fast and easy and we conveniently stayed at the Reichshof Hamburg right across the street from the train station. This was honestly a much nicer hotel than I anticipated. If you are doing train travel it’s very convenient and also a good place to kick off walking around the town.
We met with our old friend, Sam, who has been living in Flensburg -she played pseudo tour guide and we hit up all the best places on another scorching day. Hamburg is a truly beautiful city to just walk around and explore. I do highly recommend you take the time to go up – and below – St. Nikolai though. The small museum underground is really well done and hard hitting.
View at the top of St. Nikolai
We enjoyed a truly lovely meal outside at Frau Möller, highly recommend. And just walking along that road in such a trendy area was a delight.
Day 4 – Explore Hamburg – > Travel to Flensburg
We started our morning with a nice long walk along the waterfront – Hamburg is gorgeous. We had a limited amount of time and Eric was convinced he couldn’t leave the city without the famed fish sandwich (Fischbrotchen) – so – fish for breakfast! There’s a bunch of options but Brucke 10 did not disappoint. It was the perfect spot to sit and watch the water. I myself had a coffee at 9am, thank you very much.
We made it back to the hotel in time to check out and then headed straight for the midday train to Flensburg. This town would have NEVER been on our radar if this trip weren’t doubling as a reunion. And as much as I enjoyed the other cities in our trip, Flensburg was hands down my favorite. If you have the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend. Even without your own personal guide, it would be a delight to discover.
Flensburg is a little university town where our friend Sam has lived for a number of years now and it’s the perfect mixture of laid back and small, but because of the harbor and university there’s plenty of activity and shopping too. It’s the perfect stop over on the way up to Copenhagen and well worth at least a night (honestly, two was perfect!).
We stayed at Sam’s apartment while we were there so I have accommodation recommendations. Our days were filled with amazing food (don’t forget to grab a Doner!), incredible conversation, and some good old fashioned walking and sightseeing. Flensburg is a dream and I cannot wait to go back someday. Our first night we enjoyed a snack and beer at the Flensburg Beach Club – there’s a whole line of fun restaurants right on the boardwalk and this one was a great spot to sit and watch the sunset and goings-on.
Day 5 – Glucksburg Castle + Exploring Flensburg
In the morning we hopped the ferry to the Glucksburg Castle. It’s a really fun and easy 45 minute ride with coffee available on the boat. Pro tip: Stop at Migge’s Danish Bakery before you get on the ferry – their pastries are top notch and cheaper than ferry food! Once you’re on this small island there’s a lovely walking path to get to the castle for some cute pictures.
Back in Flensburg for lunch where we stopped at HafenLiebe and had another currywurst (because, GERMANY) and make sure to get our bottles that plopped! This part is an absolute must. Flensburg has their own style beer bottles that make a lovely little popping noise when you open them. And the beer isn’t half bad either! I recommend the Radler style since that’s a very uniquely German beer + juice mix.
Photo evidence of the Flensburg beer bottle
Flensburg is such a truly beautiful little city. From the shopping areas, to streets full of flowers on cute houses. I highly recommend taking at least a day or two so you can slow down and just spend some time wandering these streets.
There are so many hidden courtyards with cute, fantastical items.
Another supper recommendation is this little fixed menu spot, Hafenküche. It’s one of the most upscale places we went and had a truly delightful beer selection and really tasty menu items. The back patio area was gorgeous and, being way down on the boardwalk, makes for the perfect evening walk afterwards, too.
Patio at Hafenkuche
Day 6 – “Rest” of Flensburg and Train to Copenhagen
Our morning led us to breakfast at Cafe K (delightful on the square with outdoor seating). Then we spent the rest of our time wandering all the way down the shopping streets. We stopped into a couple nice bookstores (plenty of English selections).
If you get to Flensburg, you can’t forget to check out the part of the road were all the power lines are completely taken over by shoes! Apparently they regularly have to take them down and put up new empty lines because it gets too heavy. There’s no specific story as to why/how this started other than “college kids” which – you know – really does explain a lot.
You can follow this all the way down to the old arch into the city. We did this, which was a lot of walking, so we took one final break at Feuerstein for a beer. Then it was time for a goodbye to our friend and off to the train station to Copenhagen!
The train to Copenhagen did require a transfer but it was super easy and comfortable. Pro tip: buy a seat. Our trip was very crowded and plenty of people didn’t have seats. Especially in our second portion – I’m not sure if it’s normal or not but there were a lot of younger people, seemingly students, who all had to sit on the train floors for the duration of the decently long trip.
We got into Copenhagen fairly late but found our Airbnb in the Meatpacking District easily. Sparse on amenities, but it had a great location and the inner balcony courtyard area was fun.
Since we were tired and it was late, we meandered into a restaurant we normally wouldn’t choose on our own – Pate Pate. It was nice if not great, but the vibes were worth it. That whole area is super fun with lots of choices!
Day 7 – Exploring Copenhagen
We started off our day slow, stopping at The Living Room for coffee before our Free Walking Tour. If you know me, I always highly recommend the first activity in a new city to be a walking tour as it can check off soooo many boxes right away and this is no exception. Our guide was from Australia and was a strong Dick Van Dyke look-a-like. He did a great job giving us the highlights of the city. It was very busy so be sure to book ahead as they go have group size limitations.
Outdoor seating at The Living Room
After the tour it started to get a bit hairy as what had previously been a drizzle turned into full scale rain. We found all of the place we planned to go to that I had researched on blogs or travel guides were packed to the gills with no options to wait for a table. I’m not sure if it was due to the rain or the popularity, but lesson learned – if you want a specific restaurant in Copenhagen, I recommend making a reservation!
Due to this we ended up near the Paludan Bogcafe (because books and coffee will forever be my kryptonite) but it was so packed it wasn’t fun at all. Around the corner though was a random Lebanese restaurant, Mahalle, that ended up being really good.
Admittedly, wandering the streets of Copenhagen in the rain is not the most fun I’ve had. The tiles of the road and sidewalks get slippery and full of puddles. But we were already thoroughly soggy so we wanted our way back across town and, on a whim, decided to go to Tivoli.
Originally we weren’t going to bother with Tivoli – without our kids around it seemed a bit depressing and we weren’t going to do rides on our own. Honestly, though? Highly recommend checking it out! It’s like traveling back in time and the grounds are absolutely beautiful. It was really fun to go in during crummy weather too because there were no crowds at all! So if you end up in Copenhagen on a bad weather day but don’t want to spend it all inside, this is the place to go.
By the time we got back to our Airbnb and had finally dried out, we had earned our trip to Mikkeller for a few brews to round our the night.
Day 8 – Exploring Copenhagen and the Pride Parade
For me it was 100% crucial to visit a “true” Danish bakery and we were not disappointed by Backeri Brod. We got there early and there was still one heck of a line. The options were so tasty and they offered a full service coffee bar. We ate in the square before taking our first subway trip (the trains are SO CLEAN, you guys). We spend the morning on the 1 hour boat ride that leaves from Nyhavn. If you went on the free walking tour you should be able to get 10% off tickets. While not spectacular, it was pretty fun and showed us parts of the city we hadn’t yet seen – including the thoroughly lackluster Little Mermaid statue. If you do have to see it, this would be the only way I would recommending doing so.
We were super lucky to be in Copenhagen during a very festive Pride week and that day was the huge Pride parade. And I mean huge. For lunch we went to Smagsloget which is more takeaway than restaurant but they have incredible sandwiches and two tiny tables out front. We snagged one and managed to sit there enjoying the food and the start of the parade.
It truly went on forever and was a fun experience, but felt a little tame. Then I remembered the only other pride parade I’ve attended is the one in Chicago – and what doesn’t feel tame compared to a party in Boystown?
Our afternoon taken up by the parade, we spent the rest of the day walking back to our Airbnb, grabbing some souvenirs (Anker Chokolade was soooo good) and finally rounding out the night with beer at Fermentoren. No food, though they have bags of chips, but their outdoor space with lots of picnic tables it really nice. Highly recommend on a beautiful night.
Day 9 – Travel home
Travel to the airport from our location was super easy and we left early!
All in all the trip was truly lovely. We spent so much time walking through these beautiful cities in Germany and Denmark. Each location was so unique. For us, Berlin’s perk was its history. Hamburg, its architectural beauty. Flensburg was an entirely different beauty with such a laidback, beachy, and small town vibe. Copenhagen offered unique beauty and even more culture. It was easy to feel at home there even with how short our time really was.
Our itinerary could easily be stretched out to add a night or two more in any of these cities – but at the same time we don’t feel like we missed anything either! All in all, another great bucket list trip in the books.
While not without its set backs, our trip to Belize in January 2022 was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure!
Hopkins
Figuring out travel these last couple of years has been no joke and, truthfully, this trip never should have lifted off. When Marjorie and I booked our road trip through Belize in April 2021, things were looking up. Surely, we thought, even if there were still masks and regulations, getting to and from Belize would be fine!
Oh… we were wrong, wrong, wrong. And yet we still had a fantastic trip! Traveling safely in the midst of the ridiculous omnicron flare up was messy and yet we were able to navigate it safely. Belize ended up being the perfect destination for mid-pandemic travel. Their masking and COVID safety were top notch (frankly way better than what we experienced in the USA, even in our home bases of Chicago and New York).
Day 1: Travel – US to Belize City
Traveling originally from Chicago and New York, we met up in Atlanta the night before – because flying in winter means anticipating winter delays. It allowed us to get a good night’s sleep and then we were in the air and on the ground in Belize by 12pm CT. When I say this is the most stressful entry I’ve ever had, I’m not kidding. The omnicron variant was destroying the United States and we had a disaster of a time getting our testing completed in order to leave. Every step we had taken for the last two weeks put us on edge, and at risk, of not being let into Belize. But with a few forms we made it through customs and out into the gorgeous 80 degree sun. It was really, really hard not to cry.
The taxi into Belize was easy and about $20 USD. USD and Belizean dollars are used interchangeably and fixed at 1:2 ratio. The taxi took us straight to the pier, where we would catch the ferry to Caye Caulker. If you get there early, there is a restaurant by the ferry but I only recommend it if you are desperate. The food is lackluster at best and very expensive, but does offer wifi access and a free bathroom (if you don’t buy food, there is a pay bathroom around the corner). If you do have time to kill, the Belize giant letters sign is a quick 5 minute walk away so you can snap that and come back, rather than waiting in the mini shopping area. We booked our ferry tickets in advance and were easily able to switch them to an earlier ferry at the help desk. Due to the pandemic we didn’t have any issues with crowds but supposedly January is peak season normally so booking ahead is worth it and was very easy to do.
The boat ride to Caye Caulker was extremely nice. No waves at all and there was roof seating so we could enjoy the sun. When you arrive there are golf carts ready to take you where you need to go. We opted to walk along the beach path to our spot at Colinda Cabanas. The trek was kind of long to do with our bags but totally do-able and if you feel like making the effort.
Colinda Cabanas
We highly recommend Colinda Cabanas. The staff was amazing, their beach front was to-die for, and the cabanas were adorable. They are at the end of the road which made for longer walks but I found it fun – it made me feel like we truly explored the whole island.
Our private deck at Colinda Cabana
We went to dinner at Maggie’s Sunset Kitchen – a truly delightful spot. I personally really enjoyed my coconut curry shrimp. Even our extended conversation with Maggie’s father, Earl, who was very friendly but perhaps a little too open about his recent prostrate surgery, didn’t ruin my appetite.
The beach at Colinda Cabanas
Day 2:Beach Relaxation and Exploring Caye Caulker
We spent our day wandering the island and enjoyed the relaxation. We got up and walked to get stuffed fry bread at Errolyn’s House Of Fryjacks (omggggg) and then over to get some coffee at Ice N Beans. This is a great spot for coffee and they typically also have gluten-free options. We sat in their Adirondack chairs and enjoyed the ocean view. Then we walked back, got in our swimsuits, and thoroughly enjoyed the perks of our habitation.
Fryjacks!
Eventually we had to leave the perfect spot on the island to get food so we walked to grab some souvenirs at Little Blue Gift Shop (loved this place!) and ended up grabbing lunch at Rainbow Grill & Bar. The food was only okay but the spot was gorgeous so – you know – worth it.
We had booked a tubing excursion around the Split that was unfortunately cancelled due to a boat engine issue but it sounded like a blast so definitely look into it. For dinner we ended up at Pelican Sunset Bar which was hopping, offered great ceviche, and was aptly named – we had great view of the sunset.
Caye Caulker – Pelican Sunset Bar
Day 3: Caye Caulker and Snorkeling
We took a lot of tips from this blog. She had raved so hard about Caveman we figured – why not? They didn’t disappoint. Caveman was professional and kind. We’d had on and off again storms so far on our trip and while the weather was clear for our snorkeling we did have fairly choppy waves. By the end of the trip I did end up feeling really seasick even with my Dramamine but that’s what happens to me if I spend all day (and eating!) in a boat. Still, I managed not to lose anything and wouldn’t ding the experience at all just because of my weak stomach.
We did everything – we tried to manatee spot but it was a bit too early in the year for that. We did feed tarpons (that was SO much fun) and snorkeled in some really cute spots. Some stops were individual snorkeling and some were guide led which was nice. We also found a spot where they fed the sharks and we were able to snorkel around them – that was a really cool experience.
Sharks!
After getting back we got cleaned up and then made our way to Chef Juan’s (no website). It was fantastic. Watermelon juice with red coconut curry with a fish filet and shrimp. Complete with coconut rice and a salad. It was perhaps a bit spicy for me, but I’m a weenie about that and it was still delicious. But the best part was the absolute best key lime pie I’ve ever had. Marjorie shared with me and before we were even halfway done with it we decided we needed another slice.
FYI – as ice cream connoisseurs there was really nothing to brag about here. I think we tried two – one was closed – and all of them were only ok. Go get the key lime pie every night instead, ha.
Day 4: Road Trip to San Ignacio
Waiting for our coffee at Ice N Beans while it poured
After grabbing coffee again at Ice N Beans we took the early ferry back to Belize City. A taxi took us to Crystal Car Rental where we picked up our vehicle. We highly recommend them as a service, they are the only car rental that will allow you to pre-pay for a permit to go across the border to Guatemala. Pro-tip, if you call ahead they’ll pick you up at the ferry and you won’t have to pay to get taken there by a taxi.
It took us about 2 hours to drive literally across the entire country of Belize – which is a really funny thing to say. The drive was nice and really easy to do. Even though public transportation is supposedly pretty easy we enjoyed having a car – both for COVID security and for ease of movement. I highly recommend a car in San Ignacio, too, which was our next destination.
All in all, San Ignacio is a home base for some of the coolest destinations. While we found good food there, it otherwise wasn’t a very exciting place to be on its own. We stayed at Log Cab Inn which meant having a rental was essential. It was cute and well maintained but I wouldn’t say I give it amazing reviews. You won’t be wrong staying there, but I bet you can find something nicer in the area.
View from our spot at Log Cab Inn
When it comes to food, we highly recommend Martha’s Kitchen. We had lunch here on our first day and breakfast there every day we were in San Ignacio. They have great hours, outdoor seating, and the kindest staff. Honestly, I’d probably stay there if I ever went back for food proximity alone but I can’t vouch for anything in the guesthouse. But the food is a delight, super authentic, homey, and just all around great.
The breakfast I got every day at Martha’s ❤
And of course, you can’t forget ice cream! The Ice Cream Shoppe was cute and definitely hit the spot.
Day 5: ATM
Picture from Mayawalk – this is the deepest swimming you have to do and it’s maybe 10 feet
If you’ve read anything about Belize so far, then you’ve already heard about ATM. Like others will say – it’s 100% an adventure you have to take. Now my travel companion, Marjorie, would disagree and it was definitely a cornucopia of thinks that give her panic attacks (tight spaces + swimming + dark caves) but if you feel fairly good about managing through that it’s a must do.
Picture from Mayawalk – most of the cave is walking through water about mid-shin deep
I won’t repeat the things you’ve heard everywhere else. Just know you’ll never forget the experience and that doing it with Maya Walk Tours is absolutely the way to go. The guides were top notch (and so helpful if you do get a little freaked out!). I loved it and it’s something I will never forget. We used Mayawalk Tours and would recommend you use them as well. Their office on Burns Street is great to stop into to ask after tours, also, if needed.
Picture from Mayawalk – eventually it dries off and you walk in socks to see the artifacts
Day 6: Caracol
Literally the only people at Caracol
Our trip to Caracol was a spontaneous one. Part of the reason why we rented from Crystal was because we planned to spend this day driving across the border to Guatemala so we could visit Tikal – some of the most famous Mayan ruins. Well, due to COVID, border crossings weren’t exactly a walk in the park and we were getting really mixed information on what was going to happen at the Belize border (testing, no testing, etc) coming back from a day trip in Guatemala. We decided to cut our losses and because we had just a great time with Maya Walk the day before, we signed up to do Caracol with them.
If you are able to fit this into your trip, you need to do it – 100%. Even though we were on a guided tour it felt so off the beaten path. It’s a ridiculously long drive on unpaved roads – our guide’s truck legit popped a wire off his battery and died in the middle of nowhere from all the bouncing – to end up at these truly impressive ruins. Whether due to it’s difficult terrain, the stormy weather (it was pouring when we arrived), or fewer tourists due to the pandemic we literally had the entire site of Caracol to ourselves. Seeing amazing places is special – seeing them without any crowds is a truly one of a kind experience. While I’m sure Tikal would have been amazing, I am so glad we were able to see Caracol before it becomes a true tourist destination, which it will in just a few short years. Belize is working on making the road actually drive-able. You should get there before the experience changes.
Waterfall on the way back from Caracol
That night we went to The Burnz for dinner which was another delightful spot with the nicest staff ever. While the menu doesn’t give you a lot of confidence on the food quality, I hope this picture does. It was delicious and they make a mean coconut mojito.
App at The Burnz
Day 7: Chilling in San Ignacio
This was, admittedly, our most lackluster day of our trip. Due to the cancellation of Tikal we had more time to kill than we expected and that, unfortunately, ended up on coinciding with a really rainy day. Tired from two long tours in a row we opted to chill out at our place but found the pool area to be less than comfortable (seriously the worst lounge chairs ever). Looking back, I wish we would have just donned our rain jackets and checked out the Belize Botanic Gardens because it looked really cute but, still, there’s a perk to reading all the way through a book on vacation.
We did get to The Guava Limb that night for dinner which was truly excellent. It has a very high class vibe to it and the food was very tasty. It deserves all the positive reviews.
Day 8: Xunatunich and Road Trip to Hopkins
Literally the only people at Xunatunich
The weather lifted and we decided to check out the Xunatunich ruins before getting on the road and out of San Ignacio. We originally planned to skip it since everyone says it’s not nearly as interesting as Tikal or Caracol but it was cheap to visit and so close – and I’m really glad we did. While definitely smaller, the main Castillo was truly impressive and, since it’s situated on a hill, looks way bigger than it actually is. The view was incredible and because we got there just after it opened we, yet again, had the place to ourselves. It was a special adventure.
You had to cross a hand-crank ferry to get there which, to be honest, is just kind of weird. I honestly don’t understand why this isn’t just a bridge?
Our drive to Hopkins was pretty incredible. We stopped at the Orange Gallery (you’ll see signs along the way) and it’s a fantastic spot to get some really nice souvenirs. I bought a lamp! Sounds weird, but it’s amazing.
After a short while you hop on the Hummingbird Highway and it is, truthfully, a gorgeous drive. The scenery is to die for and when you’re just about ready to get out and stretch your legs – and maybe even vocalize hopefully that maybe you’ll find an ice cream shop – The Country Barn shows up to your left.
It’s 10000% worth a stop.
The rest of the drive is easy and soon we found ourselves in sleepy Hopkins. Significantly smaller than it’s local larger friend of Placencia we pulled up to what might be the best airbnb of all time. Hopkins Inn has cabanas to die for. We stayed at the Anniversary cabana because our love simply can’t be beat.
Dinner at Windschief by recommendation – it had great specials.
Day 9: Chilling in Hopkins
Barely moved from this spot for an entire day
Honestly – we had some grand plans when we booked this in the cold weather in the United States. We found all of these snorkeling tours and night hikes in the jaguar sanctuary and while, yes, I wanted to do all of these things… when the sun rose high and we looked at the perfection that was our cabana and hammocks – we said screw it and stayed just where we were. I can’t even regret it.
The Anniversary Cabana at Hopkins Inn
Hopkins Inn had a stand up paddleboard and I took it out for about 15 minutes that morning before the waves started up. I honestly don’t remember where we had lunch and dinner – most of the restaurants at Hopkins are basically the same, with picnic tables on the beach and a fish of the day. Fresh and basic, take advice from your hotel/hostel and you won’t go wrong. Just make sure you don’t skip out on going to Nice Cream for ice cream. We simply enjoyed our time in paradise.
Nice Cream
Day 10: COVID panic and Road Trip to Belize City
Getting to Belize was stressful – we had to do a lot of COVID tests within a strict amount of time. Leaving was no exception and was a constant dark cloud over us during the trip. Of course, we didn’t want to get sick in general, but also because of what it would mean. At the time, Belize had a rule that if you tested posted for COVID you had to quarantine for 10 days. No exceptions. And the United States had a regulation that you had to test within one day of your return flight.
So, one day before our flight, we sat down to do our at home testing and I tested positive. I was distraught, flabbergasted, and stunned. Marjorie was negative and all of a sudden I was spiraling and thinking I might have to stay in Belize for much, much longer.
Because of this we cancelled the tour we had lined up for our last morning and – after a significant amount of panicking – decided our best course of action was to drive to Belize City and that I would test again, officially, with the Belizean government instead of relying on the at home tests. I had been so nervous during my test that I spilled the liquid and I had a fleeting hope that I had a false positive.
So – can I say the trip back to Belize City was “fun”? No. We were in a tail spin. Add on that the owner of Hopkins Inn convinced us to take a different route home, which ended up being 88 km of unpaved road, and it was a comically bad experience.
Stick to the Hummingbird Hwy guys, and not this disaster
We dropped off the car and spent one night at the Sea Side Chateau. If you need to stay near Belize City, this place is amazing – very close to Crystal Car Rental and the airport. However, I do not recommend eating there, the food was very disappointing and expensive.
Seaside Chateau
Day 11: Fly Home
After a fitful night, and lots of quarantine planning and research, I was shaking like a leaf by the time the official COVID rapid test rolled around. For $75 USD, a tester came to our facility. He swabbed me and I was negative. As I had suspected (since I had no known exposure, fully vaxxed and boosted, always masked, Marjorie was negative, and I had no symptoms) my home test had given me a false positive from my sloppy testing and likely poor storage. I don’t know how I managed to hold myself together until I got back to my room and then bawled my eyes out.
I loved Belize, but I’ve never been so excited to leave a place as beautiful as Belize. There’s nothing like thinking you’ll be trapped to make you realize you are very ready to go home.
Hopkins
All in All
We ultimately had an amazing Belizean vacation.
Everything you read about this country is true. It’s small but mighty, with the perfect balance of adventure, unique discoveries, and relaxation. Starting and ending our trips with the beach was cathartic to our soul, especially given the state of the world. Even looking back now and the ruin that was the last day when we thought I would be trapped, it was a truly amazing experience and country. Like any good travelers, we were able to use a couple of our hiccups (not wanting to cross the border) to gain amazing experiences (Caracol!).
Alaska seems to be a top Bucket List item. Since going to our northernmost state, I’ve had a constant stream of people saying it’s one of their must-travel spots. And with good reason! I can echo the sentiment that Alaska is a sight to behold.
What’s great is, despite its impressive size, you can see a lot in one week. We hiked glaciers, kayaked past icebergs, and hiked 11 miles to visit a frozen lake. Oh – and did I mention the sun never set? Not even once?
~2am out the window of our Airbnb
Alaska is one of those places where every day provides the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and I’d love to share the moments!
Planning and Choosing Alaska
Marjorie and I chose to go to Alaska over the summer solstice – which I highly, highly recommend. To be honest, it wasn’t a conscious decision. Marjorie’s goal of running a race in every U.S. state meant we had to plan around one of their races and we chose the Mayor’s Marathon Race (we did the 5k, we’re not that crazy). It ended up being a great time to visit. The lack of sunset meant planning the long drives of the road trip was easy – no worrying about driving in the dark and watching for moose. It also provides a daily reminder of just how different life up there can be.
Because of our race and the timing we had, we ended up bracketing our race day with travel. This made some of our options limited since we knew we would fly into Anchorage, be tourists, drive back to Anchorage for the race, then have a couple more tourist days, before going back to Anchorage to fly out. Most people won’t want to do this trajectory since it’s a lot of out and back, but it worked splendid for us.
In doing this, we had to make an important decision – to Denali or not to Denali? You’ll find when you research Alaska it’s almost always the first item mentioned outside of Anchorage. But we struggled with the logistics. The main activity is a very long bus tour in the hope of seeing some wildlife and maybe Denali peak (apparently that’s a slim chance). We just couldn’t stomach that kind of tour so we actually chose to skip Denali. It was a bold move but one we are confident was the right choice for us. So – what did we do instead?
Day One: Travel!
Depending on where you are coming from, it’s almost certainly a long flight to Alaska. We landed in Anchorage at the eye-watering time of 11pm after a 6 hour direct flight from Chicago. It’s an easy flight, but a long one, and given the three hour difference we were dead on our feet. And yet – it was still light outside! The lack of sunset does wonders for that second wind and we managed to get our car and head to our hotel (nothing special, we opted for the familiar and stayed at the Four Points Sheraton. No complaints and a great option if you are looking for a chain hotel in Anchorage).
Day Two: Glacier Hiking
We wasted no time on our Alaskan Adventure dawdling. The next morning we were up and out early, stopping only at the Fred Meyer’s to stock up on snacks and Starbucks for a caffeine hit. Unsurprisingly, given Anchorage has fewer than 300,000 people, there were not a lot of options especially before 8am so we went with the familiar and hit the road.
Matanuska Glacier
About 2-2.5 hours east of Anchorage you’ll find the Matanuska Glacier – it’s a ridiculously easy drive with a very well maintained road that doesn’t even have fearsome switchbacks. We signed up to do the Ice Fall Trek with Mica Guides and it was perfect for us. Our guide Kendall was kind and authentically passionate about the glacier.
The tour completely exceeded our expectations – every time I thought we were turning to go back we were instead heading down another crevasse or exploring another section of the glacier. You spend a ton of time in your crampons and are truly hiking on ice for over half of your tour. It was a great workout but not exhausting or treacherous.
The views are out of this world – maybe other people know this but my own glacier knowledge being slim to none I had no idea I would see the vibrant blue of the truly cold and dense ice – or the deceptively black ice just an inch blow the silty sludge. It was cold and a bit rainy and four hours of a truly glorious adventure.
Blessedly, at the Mica Guides stop there is an adorable little hut that serves decent coffee and ice cream (that sounds sooo good but sadly we didn’t get to partake in). Even if you aren’t doing a tour (though you absolutely should) if you are headed to Valdez it’s a great stopping point.
After we changed into dry clothes and caffeinated, we hopped back in the car for the remaining 4 hours of our drive to Valdez. While long, the drive truly didn’t feel cumbersome. The whole way you’re gazing out at miles of untouched forest or watching the approaching picturesque mountains. The last hour-ish in particular is amazing as you wind through the valley between mountains with huge and amazing waterfalls cascading right next to you.
waterfall next to the highway – nbd
Truthfully, Valdez is tiny and not the largest tourist hub so there are not a lot of accommodation options. We did stay with an Airbnb which served the purpose. It was clean, convenient, and had a hot shower but wasn’t otherwise a spot that would call for glowing reviews.
Day 3: Glacier Kayaking
Marjorie and I figured – when in Alaska, do all the glaciers. So, not even a day after we got off the Matanuska Glacier, we found ourselves decked out in very attractive rain gear and on a boat headed to another one of Alaska’s famous Glaciers – Columbia. We did this trip with Pangaea Adventures and definitely recommend them. Great crew.
This was the only day on our week long journey where it didn’t rain and we were so glad for it. We couldn’t have asked for better weather – mid 60s and clear sunny skies greeted us for the entire boat right out to the glacier and ice fields. It’s not a short ride – 2/2.5 hours – but it’s epic. I stood almost the entire way at the back of the boat, watching and enjoying the scenery.
The mountains were amazing and we always stayed close so the water was calm. Getting closer and closer to the glacier was so much fun as we started to go through the ice fields – huge chunks of iceberg just chilling next to your boat was something to behold.
And that was before our excursion even started! We pulled up on a remote little beach, got a few kayaking instructions, and then were off.
We were able to paddle around the ice, occasionally picking up pieces and chew them. It was trippy how you could eat fresh untouched glacier water, even though it had been floating in salt water. Every ten minutes or so you’d hear the glacier calve, sometimes seeing the billowing aftermath of snow as it avalanched down.
After an hour or so we stopped to eat our packed lunch and then back into the boats for more kayaking. It was a challenging but not strenuous adventure – it’s a lot of time kayaking but the water was calm and beautiful so it made for easy rowing.
The whole ride home to Valdez I gazed out at the water, the glacier, and the mountains. All I could think about was how amazing and unique it was to be there.
Day 4: Road Trip back to Anchorage
Having hit everything we wanted to (and really everything there is in that petite little town) we left early and made our way back to Anchorage. A six hour road trip, that you previously drove, is typically daunting but I’m not joking when I say it really didn’t feel long at all.
Despite driving in quite a bit of rain, it was still an easy and beautiful drive. A minor moose sighting and a lot of time to chat, sure, but we still pulled over at a few different areas to get amazing pictures.
If you are taking this trek, it’s well worth pulling off in Palmer. We got lucky because of our timing to find an adorable little outdoor market/fair near the train station. We were able to wander and found a truly delightful little bookstore, Fireside Books. It was the only bookstore of note on our entire trip (and we went to literally all the ones we could find in ALL our locations!). It had a great selection and an author signing out front too (I’ll add the book once I read it and can recommend it!) .
We got into Anchorage early enough to check in and then lay around, waiting for a break in the weather. It eventually did lighten enough for us to have dinner at 49th State Brewing and their rooftop. It’s a highly rated spot and well worth it – the place is huge with plenty of outdoor seating. The menu is perhaps too big and therefore all the food is good but not great. Still, the beer options were solid and it was a great spot to sit.
Anchorage itself, though, doesn’t have a lot to offer. Marjorie phrased it well – it’s a city with an identity crisis. There’s a block that feels hipster/up-and-coming, next to a block of random and halfhearted businesses, next to a block that has a significant homeless population. Any downtown/walking area is approximately 2 or 3 block square and that’s being generous. Still, there are some key establishments that we did enjoy, but otherwise it’s not a city worth spending significant time in.
Day 5: 5k and Drive to Seward
Our 5k started, to our irritation being morning people, at 11am. We spent the morning dozing and watching TV in our hotel room, desperately hoping the driving rain would peter out in time for our race. It did not.
Still, the 5k was well designed and took us on a lovely little path. Mostly flat too! But by the end our feet were soaked and I was reminded of how I don’t mind a 20-30 minute jog but something about the 5k is a mild form of torture.
Our late check out (thanks to Marjorie’s Marriott status, holllllla) gave us time to shower before we had to move on. We had a late breakfast/lunch at Snow City Cafe and then got on the road to Seward.
Now that is a delightful little drive. Just over two hours you hug coast the whole way. Easy and beautiful with a bunch of pull overs. Alaska is funny that way – it’s literally always beautiful and so it got to the point where we’d see another “scenic overlook” spot and purposefully pass it up. How many more amazing panoramas did we need, really?
A very keenly placed sign worked vey well and we were able to stop and buy fudge at a little hamlet called, no joke, Moose Pass. If you are going to Seward, do not hesitate to stop there. The owners were hilarious in that small town way and their fudge was legit.
Google maps made it easy for us to find our best accommodations yet – a true yurt run by Sourdough Sue (fun fact, a “sourdough” is someone whose been in Alaska for 30+ years. She does not make bread… much to my disappointment). That was the only thing that lessened our stay, however. The yurt was amazing. It was the definition of glamping and I loved it so much. She even turned on our oil-burning stove for us because we were not going to even try to touch that thing. Indoor plumbing, a cute little porch, and the beds were comfy. Highly, highly recommend a stay here.
Day 6: Hiking to Lost Lake
We woke up to a downpour which, I had to admit, sounded SO COOL on our yurt roof. It did not, however, bode well for our pre-paid trip with Exit Glacier Tours to hike to the Lost Lake. Given all the glacier experiences we already had, we decided to have a more authentic hike while in Seward and we really enjoyed this getaway. It’s clearly one of the lesser booked trips and we almost had a private tour as we were only joined by one other woman from Colorado. Janice, our guide, was more like an Airbnb host just giving us a tour of her favorite running trail. It was fun and we didn’t see anyone until about mile 8 of our 11 mile in-and-out adventure.
This hike was the perfect difficultly level. It’s a great distance – just at that peak of being “oh my god are we done yet?” and it has a good elevation increase but nothing too steep all at once. Trekking poles were super helpful, both as things got challenging (there were a few massive snow piles we had to climb too – even that late in June) and also just as something to hold.
The top of the mountain is legit out of The Sound of Music and for the last half of our hike I was humming Edelweiss.
The whole time our guide warned us we might have to turn back sooner if the snow was going to get too deep. But we pushed on and finally made it to the Lost Lake lookout. We watched as her face fell, a look of realization and horror crossing it.
“It’s frozen! I’m so sorry!”
Because, of course, if it had been such a chilly spring so far that the snow was still an obstacle, it wasn’t surprising the lake would still be covered in snow – and not the bright, shining blue that usually drew people in. She looked so worried that we would be disappointed but I was personally ecstatic. I love the idea that we got to see something that most people didn’t. It felt pretty badass to say we hiked as much as we did in the snow to see the Lost Lake still frozen over.
The frozen Lost Lake
By the time we made it by the rain had started again (we managed to avoid the worst of the weather while hiking, thank goodness) so we enjoyed the sound of the rain in our yurt until we headed into Seward for some takeout and spent the rest of the night chilling.
Day 7: Driving back to Anchorage and heading home
The fun, or not fun, thing about Alaska, depending on your perspective, is that it seems they arrange the majority of their flights to leave and arrive very late in the day. Is this just a seasonal thing due to the lack of sunset? I don’t know. But, for good or evil, our flight out of Anchorage wasn’t until 11pm on Monday night. So we had plenty of time for more tourism before heading home.
The day finally opened up clear and we were able to explore Seward properly on Monday morning. Unfortunately most of the cute shops of the downtown area were closed (although this one, aptly named Alaska Shop, was open and was actually exceptional for souvenirs – and I don’t usually buy souvenirs). But we took a walk down by the harbor. It’s an amazing walk and well worth it for the views.
We timed our departure so we could arrive at Whittier and experience North America’s longest tunnel. It was $13 and worth it if only because the whole experience was trippy and thoroughly quirky. It takes approximately 7 minutes to drive through the single-lane tunnel and it’s simultaneously a total normal experience and one where you can’t help contemplating how much oxygen you need to live and what would happen if an earthquake happened, like, rightthissecond.
We made it through to the admittedly halfhearted little alcove of Whittier. It’s a bizarre place where everyone lives in one dorm-like building and there is one half-street with seafood restaurants. That being said, the one where we ate was quite tasty (Swiftwater Seafood Cafe – no website, but you can’t miss it) and the view was gorgeous. It was a fun little stop on our way back to Anchorage.
When we made it back to the city we went to a use bookstore that was so disappointing I won’t even name it and then waited for a very long time for a table at a ridiculously busy pizza place, Moose’s Tooth. Given that we had literally hours to kill before our flight we didn’t mind the wait and I’m so glad we weren’t scared off. We had a cauliflower crush pizza that literally blew my mind. I forced Marjorie to stop eating it because I was convinced it was gluten, called the waitress back, and watched her (very-well deserved) smug expression as she assured us that it was, in fact, cauliflower and that we weren’t the only people to be tricked. It was the best pizza I think I’ve ever had and ultimately a solid send off for Alaska.
Overall
Our trip to Alaska was a quick one with a lot of driving but we really enjoyed the entire endeavor. Valdez and Seward are amazing towns that gave a great perspective of small town life in Alaska. They were both charming and well worth the time to visit. The tours were all phenomenal and ones we would highly recommend. Anchorage, of course, was an easy jumping off point but not one to spend any more time in than necessary. Even though less than a week isn’t usually worth it for a 6 hour flight we felt like we were able to see and do so much in that time.
Food and Ice Cream
Anchorage
49th State Brewing – great option for dinner with good beer and plenty of outdoor seating (rooftop with a view, yes please!) Located in the only part of Anchorage we found that might be called cute and/or walkable.
Snow City Cafe – this place definitely gets busy but we were able to get takeout and eat at one of their outdoor seats as the skies cleared. Good food and super adorable interior (so maybe rainbows!). Great lattes too.
Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria – this pizza 100% blew my mind. It was exceptionally good. Go there FOR SURE while you are in Anchorage.
WooHoo! Ice Cream – Cute little spot with some unique flavors. In a strip mall with other very literally named businesses. It gave me a chuckle.
Valdez
The Potato – we went were both nights because the food was excellent and they have cute outdoor seating. Highly recommend. If you are gluten free they’ll just replace your wrap or bun with a bed or fries. YES PLEASE.
Northern Treats – even though this is soft serve, it’s quite good. It’s also, literally, the only ice cream in Valdez so, you know, can’t be too picky. But still, it’s worth it and it’s adorable.
Latte Dah Espresso – seriously, what is not to love about this place? The name (I mean come ON), the artwork, the cute seating décor …and the drinks! Great specialty latte options. I was sold.
Seward
13 Ravens Coffee & Books – coffee was decent and the location adorable, but don’t expect to actually get a book…
Red’s Burgers – really great reviews and a very long wait for what ended up being pretty normal burgers. Not disappointing necessarily, just not quite as the level I expected given all the rave reviews. Super cute establishment though in the bus!
Has anyone else started new traditions in the midst of this pandemic? Our family sure did. In an effort to get two feral children out of the house + help keep small coffee shops afloat during shutdown and shelter + feed our burgeoning caffeine addiction we started our own self tour of the city and coffee shops all over.
And it’s been so much fun! The lack of traffic makes getting downtown a breeze, giving us the chance to explore and see so many neighborhoods we never would have bothered trying to visit. I mean, who would drive and sit in traffic for 45+ minutes just for a new coffee shop? But now we are hooked and, since we’re a family of early risers, we still find ourselves checking out and exploring new spots.
So – our exploration is YOUR gain! I wanted to curate this extensive list of coffee shops that we’ve visited – I’ve clustered them by neighborhood-ish. This is thoroughly unscientific. It’s all my personal preferences but to give you an idea, here’s what brings a coffee shop to the top of the list:
Good coffee!
My husband always gets a black coffee so he provides his thoughts on that staple coffee
I am a latte/froo-froo coffee gal so I LOVE finding a place with fun and unique specialty lattes to try
Snacky/snacks
The pandemic has also brought rise to “Donut Saturday” in our house (blog post to come there, too!) and so a coffee shop with tasty snacks/food is also a plus
The Cute Factor
Give me a cute coffee shop – kitschy, sophisticated, whatever – and I’m sold. I’ll also get you a list of coffee shops that are great for indoor/outdoor workspace too, once I can properly test that (hard to say when we couldn’t sit indoor for, you know, over a year)
Kindness
We’ve all been there – the coffee shop that is waaaay too cool to be serving you. That doesn’t do it for me. I want the friendly neighborhood barista, I want the helpful rep who can walk me through what’s in their indiscriminately named latte and I’ll come back for the service.
Elevate Coffee (Boystown) I’m low-key obsessed with this place. One, because I love boystown and being anywhere in that area. Two because the service is spectacular, and three because their coffee was soooo good. They have the best rose latte ever – it’s Rose Marzipan and has real rose petals and I was awkward-love-moaning while drinking it. If that isn’t a review, then I don’t know what is.
Two Hearted Queen (Boystown) Absurdly kind staff with very tasty drinks and do NOT pass up on ordering the scones. They are incredible. They have another location in Roscoe Village too that I’ll try to hit up some day.
Brew Brew Coffee + Tea (Avondale/Logan Square) They have tasty and fun specialty lattes along with some pastries, bagels, and tortas. We tried the mushroom and “sunrise” torta and both were exceptionally good (if soooo messy). Outdoor seating and even a couple spots inside right now. Park is right nearby too which was fun and nice.
Four Letter Word (Logan Square) Hard to tell the atmosphere as they did the walk-up window but coffee was good and the premise was cute so I’m all for a return visit.
necessary & sufficient coffee (Logan Square) Okay, I really enjoyed this cute little place. Fun lattes, and I tried their mushroom breakfast sandwich and holy COW was it tasty. Window walk up so not sure on seating I plan a repeat visit.
Sip of Hope (Logan Square) Love what this place stands for! We visited in the hardcore lockdown time so there wasn’t much to see but the place looked cute and the coffee was good. With 100% of their profits going toward mental health & suicide prevention how can you not want to buy something?
Botanical Cafe (North Center) Look, I’ll be honest. I don’t really remember the coffee. It must have been at least fine – but really, this place wins for being the cutest cafe of all time. It’s also a plant store! I mean COME ON. I was dying a little and loving all of it. Must see.
Spoken Cafe (West Ravenswood) I loved this adorable little spot – right under the train tracks which made it fun and they had such a lovely put together outdoor seating area with beautiful flowers. Not to mention the coffee and breakfast sandwiches were totally on point. Great find.
Cafe Urbano (Irving Park) Good coffee, good sammies, cute little flatiron style building location. I’ll take it.
Coffee Lab + Roasters (Lakeview) They have some amazing creative lattes and I want to try them all. Great coffee, good vibes, and donuts on the weekends (hollllla)
Doppio Coffee House (Lakeview) Nice place with good drinks and donuts. Strong lakeview vibes but I can dig it. It’s nice to experience nice things, you know? I can be classy.
11 Degrees North (Lakeview East) Here’s the thing, they had good coffee. Sure. But that’s not why I will be back. I’ll be back for those arepas man! Yummmmmm! Super cute, super nice staff. Definitely worth a stop.
Hero Coffee Bar (Lakeview) I’ll be honest, I wasn’t suuuper impressed coffee-wise with Hero. But they have a few locations and I did get something floral (I forget if I got rose or lavender) but those can be tricky. So I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Especially because they had a selection of bagel sandwiches that were quite yummy in my tummy so I won’t fight anyone who wants to take me back.
Goddess and the Baker (Loop) Seriously – what’s not to love about this place? It’s adorable with the most impressive display case with rainbow cakes and truly exceptional decorated cookies. And THEN they have great coffee and breakfast/lunch sandwiches? Sign me up. They tend to get super busy and aren’t nearly large enough for the crowds but if you can snag an outdoor seat it’s super fun as it’s right beneath the train.
Kapej Coffee (Old Town) This snug little place pops up out of nowhere on a pretty residential street. It’s long and narrow and would be so much fun to snuggle into on an autumn or winter day with a crackling fire and – just, lovely. The staff was friendly and kind and they have a nice selection of various lattes and options. Been here twice and it feels like a place you’ve discovered.
Sip + Savor (Hyde Park) There are (I think) a few Sip + Savors around Chicago but we’ve only been to the Hyde Park location. Solid coffee and I love the spread of unique lattes and mochas. Snack selection is sparse but there’s lots of indoor space and an absolutely gorgeous park across the street with a great playground so major bonus for an outdoor place to enjoy your brew.
AndySunflower Cafe (Beverly) This place is so cute and the two women behind the counter (99% sure one was the owner) were exceptionally kind and helpful in explaining the menu to me. Excellent brews!
Big Shoulders (Gold Coast) Super cute inside and looked like they have cushy seating in non-pandemic times. It looks exactly like a “coffee shop.” They legitimately toasted a marshmallow for me when I got the marshmallow latte soooo they obviously are in my heart forever now. They have a couple other locations but I’ve only been to this one on State Street.
Wormhole Coffee (Wicker Park) It’s hard to be more hipster than Wormhole – but that’s why we love it, isn’t it? Smack dab in the midst of Wicker Park you’re right near Jeni’s (oh, heck yes) and they are serving up great coffee with a smidge of an outdoor space. If you can grab a spot, you can watch the riff-raff slide past and love every moment of it. Or at least I do.
Bru Coffee (Wicker Park) Just a littel further down Milwaukee Ave you can find Bru Coffee which has three things going for it – solid coffee selections, a spot right next to Myopic Books (be still, my heart), and a selection of to-die-for crepes. Seriously… what’s not to love? The crepes took a while when we were but holy cow were they worth watching for.
Caffe Streets (Wicker Park) Look, I’ll be honest, it was a little hard to judge this place in the midst of the pandemic. They had the whole window service thing going on and were ulllltra hipster so options were pretty limited. But the drinks were good and I appreciate solid COVID plan so they were worth the stop.
Atmos Coffee Shop (Bucktown) Solid stop for quality coffee! Cute and friendly. I particularly enjoyed my Almond Bar Latte- delish.
Sawada Coffee (Fulton Market) I’ll be honest here – Sawada Coffee didn’t do it for it. You’ll see they come up on just about every Chicago blog and I get it. They are clearly in-the-know when it comes to coffee and they mix a ton of their stuff with matcha – which, you know, cool but not really my flavor profile. They have donuts on Saturday at least and a few other selections so I feel good about that. But this is one of those places where it’s not just hipster, it’s the kind of place where if you are not hipster (which… guys, you’ll be shocked, this 30+ year old mom of two doesn’t quite fit the hipster vibe) you get side eye. And don’t you dare expect a smile, or even significant eye contact. This place is too cool for that.. but the coffee is solid. So there ya go.
Heritage Bikes and Coffee (West Loop) Gah, loved this place. They have a few locations but have only hit up this one so far. Fun lattes, good pastries, and a handful of other knick-knacks. Sufficiently quirky to give me happy vibes.
Groundswell Coffee Roasters (West Loop) This place has the perfect “my local coffeeshop” vibe. Friendly staff on a perky little section of Madison street that just begs to be strolled down. They had some donuts, some good coffee selection, who wouldn’t want to stop in?
Metric Coffee (West Loop-ish) Okay – this place is kind of hilarious. You get here and it’s all industrial and you totally have that vibe where you wonder if you put the warehouse or something in your GPS. Don’t fear, it’s real, you can walk in and order your very sophisticated coffee. But – FUN FIND – they had this amaaaaazing selection of ridiculously fancy donuts that I bought too many of (oops?). Not sure if that’s just a weekend thing or not but I’m willing to, you know, fight for the cause, and go a couple more times to confirm for you. No need to thank me. It’s a service.
Dark Matter — Mothership (Ukrainian Village) — Osmium (Boystown) — Electric Mud Coffee Bar (Wicker Park) Dark Matter has a few different locations and I’ve had the opportunity to frequent a few of them. They, honestly, are all about the same. Same menu, same vibe (uuuuultra hipster!). Their coffee is DELICIOUS and they have a few specialty options that are the bomb diggity. Not really any seating available, this is a get your coffee fix because it’s amazing and head out the do’ kind of place. Worth it and usually they have a selection of Do-Rite donuts available so, can’t fault that.
Places to pass on:
Look, I’m not trying to be mean, but there are a couple of places that just missed the mark and are worth saying – yeah, just skip them. – Printers Row Coffee Co. (Lincoln Park) – just fine, but not great. – Maison Parisienne (Lakeview East) – I went here because of the promise of pastries and they were decent but crazy $$ and the coffee was just okay to almost bad… – Ritual Coffeehouse (Irving Park) – just fine – GroundUp (West Loop) – coffee was not great and despite it smelling amaaaazing in there, the food was just okay. – La Colombe (Randolph/West Loop) – yeah, yeah it’s a chain and it shows. Nothing to brag about. – Oromo Cafe (Ravenswood) – accidentally went there twice and both time where ho-hum. Their specialty lattes sound delicious but both times I went their was sooo much debris in the bottom I had to ditch the last 1/4 of my cup. Disappointing. – MeLatte Coffee (Logan Square) – so this place is ADORABLE but the coffee was only so-so and unfortunately the empanadas, a huge draw for me, were not great. I don’t be stopping by again.
Oak Park
Okay so I live in a suburb just west of the city, so you can bet that I’ve been to our local stops. I wanted to pull these aside for special props. If you can get out here (it’s actually super easy to do so by car or green/blue line) I highly recommend doing so since we have some great brews:
Kribi Coffee(Forest Park) Kribi is AMAZING. They have delicious coffee and one of the best chai tea lattes I’ve had. They offer specialty lattes and are always updating them for the season. Gelato and a little pastry selection, breakfast sandwiches and avocado toast, it’s easy to get a light meal. Donuts on the weekend from Do-Rite and lots of indoor and outdoor seating. One of my favorite coffee shops of all time. Also they have amazing staff, I always feel so welcomed (plus a frequent visit punch card, yes please!)
Wise Cup Such a cute place with really tasty coffee (and samosas and amazing chutney!!). A few other pastries but nothing worth chatting about. They have outdoor seating on Lake Street which, if a little noisy, is a fun and hopping spot in Oak Park.
Sugar Fixe More bakery than coffee shop, they still make a mean cup (I am a little obsessed with their caramel-vanilla). This is the place to go if you are looking for some legit pastries and light snacks with your coffee. Amazing scones, croissants, and very classy desserts. Their indoor is really limited but their outdoor seating, while also limited, is adorable and on my favorite street, Marion, just off the main drag. Perfect spot to sit and enjoy life for a while.
BrewpointCoffee With another location in Elmhurst, this is a fairly established brand in Chicagoland and I’m sooo happy to have a spot here in Oak Park. They have super creative specialty lattes and other drinks and aren’t afraid of floral vibes (lavender, rose, etc – my faaaaav). Cute spot with indoor and outdoor seating. Well worth a stop.
Addis Cafe Addis makes great coffee and has their own homemade chai (helllllo). They also have the best waffles you’ll ever have. Period. Indoor seating is really cute and while their outdoor seating is on a busy road and might not be there post-pandemic since it’s in the parking spots, there are a few options.
Whirlwind Coffee Company New in town but already making strides! This place donates 100% of net profits to charity (holla) and their coffee is no joke. Great brews and while they don’t have froo-froo options on the menu they aren’t without flavors so it’s well worth the exploration. They are still ramping up so it was a little bare-bones but they have a side space outdoors that’s lovely. Great spot to stop.
MulataKitchen + Coffee Admittedly the name of this coffee shop is very controversial so I have two minds of this place, but they do serve a good cup of coffee and they have truly amazing empanadas.
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE, FOLX! We are still exploring the city and I’ll be updating as I go! I would love to hear from you about any place not on this list that is worth a visit!
The Roaming Reader 