11 Day Cruise + 1 Week in Italy

We're in the middle of planning our summer vacay. Here's what we want to do after our Eastern Mediterranean cruise:

Venice

 Pisa

 Rome

 Gaeta

*All photos from Pinterest

Roma

My friend Mark is in Rome celebrating his birthday. Fantastic, right? I've been sending him my Rome wishlist. For example, I told him that he has to eat gelato once a day for me. In return, he's posting these photos on my wall that are totally me: 

Rome -> Athens- > Istanbul?

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Hubster: You know what sounds good?
Me: What?
Hubster: Turkey?
Me: For dinner?
Hubster: No. Like Istanbul, Turkey. 
Me: Oh! For vacation. Why?
Hubster: I got an email at work from a guy that lives in Istanbul. 

Of course, my heart totally skipped a beat. I've been eying Istanbul ever since I took my introduce to architecture course my freshman year at Poly. Of course, we watched the Istanbul Anthony Bourdain episode. I had to see what we could eat before we started to figure out the logistics. Mmmm...lamb, kabobs, cheese, olives and coffee. Yum!  

Hubster Will Begin Eye Rolling in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

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Croatia Is Where It's At

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A long long time ago, my friend Alex and I were trading travel tips. He had heard that Croatia was a European hot spot. I didn't believe him, but he insisted that he heard from other Europeans about it. It's supposed to be more affordable and just as gorgeous as Greece. We're in the middle of brainstorming possible options for our trip next year. I had vague memories of that conversation with Alex, so I decided to do some research. Lonely Planet makes Croatia look positively divine. According to USA Today, Croatia is supposed to be affordable. Now, I just have to convince the hubster to keep it on the list. Alex, this post is for you. You were right. Thanks for the Croatia tip!

Sweet Dreams

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My feet are sore. My back is tired from bending over. My heart is happy. What can I say? I'm just a sucker for the kiddos. No matter how much I love them, I'm very much looking forward to our next vacation. I saw my hubster browsing the Caravan website. We used them for our Costa Rica vacay. He was looking at the details for the Guatemala tour, which looks like a lot of fun. Seeing the ruins in Central America is still on our list. Our next vacay is his pick. He usually picks warmer vacays. As the weather gets a little cooler around here, a warm destination sounds perfect!  I'm just excited that he's doing some research. It's definitely a good sign! Hopefully, I won't have to keep asking, "So, where are we going on our next vacation?"

New Love: Japan

If you ask my hubster, he would tell you that my love for traveling is teetering on uncontrollable. He says my list is getting too long. It's to the point that he predicts that we'll be DINKs. If you ask me, there's nothing wrong with dreaming. I'm just curious how much of my list I'll actually accomplish.

My latest addition is Japan. Thanks to my middle school bff's mom, who is currently living there and posting amazing photos of her Japanese adventures on her Facebook, and my hubster's high school friend Jay, who has a wonderful blog that constantly inspires me.Over 4th of July weekend, my BiL took us to a Japanese supermarket for a little taste of Japan. I fell in love with the packaging of everything!

One Reason

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My hubster and I have often debated if we would travel to Asia. We've mulled over the idea of going to Thailand, Vietnam, Japan or Malaysia. China usually doesn't even make it on the contender list. The deal breaker question has been, "Can we eat anything there?" Yes, we are foodies and many of our best memories are yummy experiences.

The tides might be changing. I've been reading Color: A Natural History of the Palette. (It's been a challenge. Normally, I whip through travelogues. There doesn't seem to be any continuity or well-placed transitions within the text, which makes it feel like I'm trudging through it.) In the chapter on White, Finlay describes the Mogao Caves. I would love to see these caves that tempted Westerners to chip away at the murals in order to unlock the color secrets of the East. Mogao Caves are officially going on my list.

Once Upon a Time, I Dreamt a Dream

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I'm a dreamer. There's no other way around it. Luckily, I have a hubster who is very good at humoring my dreams. My dreams often take me to faraway places like Arles. Arles is located in Southern France. Many artists, including one of my favs Vincent Van Gogh, have resided and been inspired by Arles. It has officially gone on the travel list in my mind. Perhaps, we'll be able to include when we make our way down to Provence and Avignon.