Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Tourist Tuesday at Voyageur Books

If you read my post last week or been following my Instagram, you'll know that I have just started to adopt Tourist Tuesday. This means that every Tuesday--or as each Tuesday allows--I will try and do something big, small, or in-between that I have never done before. It can be as simple as walking by a part of a neighborhood I've never been to, a new restaurant, a cafe, etc. ANYTHING that I haven't done before. This idea was inspired by ALONE TIME by Stephanie Rosenbloom. This week the weather derailed what I really wanted to do so I'll save that idea for another day; what I actually did decide to do was Google search bookstores near me and I found one I've never been to before!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // BFF Visit, Alone Time, & Tourist Tuesday

Last week, my BFF Hannah came to Wisconsin to visit! It was SO much fun but if I start going into details about what we did and how fun it was this post will literally turn into a dissertation because it was THE BEST! Before she came to visit, I was thinking of things to do with her. My initial response was 'there's nothing to do here' which is ridiculous but its still the thought I had. Milwaukee is a big city but it's not New York or Seattle or Denver, places that tourists flock to visit. But after thinking about it more, I realized there were so many things big and small that I could take her to do. I think that wherever you grow you, or maybe it's just me, you become a little desensitized to your surroundings and take for granted the uniqueness around you. I know I definitely did!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel by Page Behind Enemy Lines

As I'm sure many of you readers can relate to, I am constantly being inspired by books. I recently started rereading THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn on audio and it immediately brought me back to my deep love for this book. It also reminded me of my deep love, fascination, and inspiration for the very real women spies that played such a vital role in previous wars. With this love and inspo running through my veins, I thought it would be a fun post idea to do a Travel By Page...Behind Enemy Lines to highlight my favorite female spy novels. If you haven't read any of these books below, you need to immediately because they.are.amazing.!.

Adventures in the the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel Books That Aren't Travel Books

When Hannah mentioned that this week's Top Ten Tuesday was about travel books, I knew I needed to write a post about books that inspire me to travel. Then I thought a little more about it and wanted to do a little different twist to the topic. My informal title of this would probably be 'Books You Wouldn't Expect that Inspire Me to Travel' OR 'Books Whose Settings are a Character on Their Own' OR 'Unconventional Books That Make Me Want to Pack My Bags' What do I mean by this? I mean, I've read books where the setting of the story is such a big part of the story it feels like a character and/or while the book itself isn't about travel, it still made me want to go to that place immediately.

View from St Mary's in Oxford, England

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel By Page to the West End

"I wouldn't have to lose my temper if people weren't such morons."
--Lucy Parker, Act Like It

My Thoughts
The Belle
When Hannah started telling me about a book she read on the plane home and how great it was, I was intrigued. Then she mentioned it 1. takes place in London 2. is low on drama and high on hilarity and 3. focuses on people in the West End theater scene, I was sold! And I am so incredibly happy with my decision to impulse buy these books and read them immediately. They were the perfect balm to my soul after leaving the UK (and battling a bout of the stomach flu).

UK Recap Fit For a Queen // Books Abroad

If you've been following on the blog or Instagram, you know that Hannah and I were traveling in the UK--but kind of don't bring it up or I'll cry all the tears of sadness that 1. I'm no longer with her 2. I'm not in the UK anymore and 3. I'm no longer with Hannah. I didn't think it was possible to love her more but it was! I am mourning the loss of this trip still today but I digress. While we were there, we did a UK Recs series for books, TV/Movies, and places we love; we thought we would do a parallel 3 day recap talking about books, what we did, and a back home mug life!

While I didn't read that much while I was away, I did manage to get a few books read via planes, trains, and late nights. I'm also very happy to report, with the exception of one, all the books I read were freaking great! When I travel, I tend to load my kindle with fun romances or adult contemporary or review books from fav authors I've been saving which did not changed for this trip. My first choice books for this trip were STILL ME by Jojo Moyes, HOW TO WALK AWAY by Katherine Center, MARRY IN SCANDAL by Anne Gracie, FATAL THRONES by an assorted array of authors, and some Julie Garwood rereads!  Hope you enjoy!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Vancouver, British Columbia

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Vancouver, British Columbia! I've been to Canada before, Toronto, Quebec City, and Montreal, and loved it! (Minus Montreal but that's another post and story). I fell in love with Vancouver! I love when cities have the juxtaposition of urban downtown style AND nature; Vancouver has this and so much more. Canada is so incredibly beautiful and I could spend months wandering around this gorgeous --and massive!--country! But alas, I only had 4 days. These were my favorite parts.

Travel Woes // Lost Luggage

Travel Woes is a serial within my travel posts where I talk about when things go wrong aka what the fancy travel blogs won't talk about. Enjoy!

Ah, the most dreaded moment in anybody flying's life. You're waiting for your precious suitcase to appear on the luggage corral...and it never does. Cue. Panic. Except don't. The odds are in your favor that at some point your luggage will not arrive contigo. When I flew to London in 2015, the day after Boxing Day so my bad really, the inevitable happened. My luggage did not arrive. To say I was pissed would be the understatement of the century. Please see the screenshot below. My lovely friends were convinced this was the moment I would get arrested abroad never to be seen again. Alas, that didn't happen but we had a few close calls. Let me tell you what helped me in case it happens to you.

1. Don't Get Pissed
Listen. As somebody with an infamous temper and whose own immediate family members avoid me going nuclear at all costs, I know this statement is rich coming from me but I'm serious. There are certain moments in life we have to put on our manipulative caps and play nice to our advantage. The customer service people at the airport will be more accommodating if you're friendly and they want to help you.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Favorite Travel Photos of June 2017

June was a great month of traveling to Canada and appreciating the beauty around me at home, even literally right out side my window! I love the big things but sometimes it's the little things that count just as much if not more. Here are my favorite travel and photos of June! Don't forget to check out my Instagram for even more photos!

Ready to leave for Vancouver with a great book!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // From Page to Plane with The Alice Network

"There are two kinds of flowers when it comes to women...The kind that sit safe in a beautiful vase, or the kind that survive in any conditions...even in evil."

--Kate Quinn, The Alice Network

The Alice Network & the French Countryside

My Thoughts

The Belle
When I found out Kate Quinn (an instant favorite author after I read Mistress of Rome and the rest of the series) had a new book coming out I instantly perked up. When I found out it took place in both WWI and WWII, I immediately emailed the publisher begging for a review copy, they took pity on me and thank the gods because it was hands down one of the best reading experiences I have ever had.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Favorite Travel Photos of May 2017

It's no secret that I LOVE taking photos! I invested in a new Sony a6000 prior to my last trip and I'm obsessed with it! I also love taking photos with my iPhone 7+ which also gives me amazing quality. I thought it would be a fun idea for my Adventures post to do a Favorite Travel Photos of the Month post and just include my favorite photos I took. This month will be a little long with a lot of photos because I spent an amazing week in Denver so I have a few favorites from there. I also went up to Appleton, WI which is about a 2 hour drive away to watch my cousin play in the Division III College World Series which was SO fun! I hope you enjoy my favorite photos of the month, let me know what you think below!

Flight to Denver well-spent

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Short Flights vs Long Flights

Last week when I was flying to Denver I read my book the whole time. Not something unusual. But for whatever reason it made me realize that I have different habits when I take a short flight vs when I'm on a longer flight. Of course, I took that thinking opportunity and turned it into a post because the more I think about it the more curious I am if other people are the same way.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel By Page to Italy

It's no secret I am in love with Italy. It falls just behind the UK in where my mind always goes to and where my heart lays. The food, the culture the architecture, the history, there is nothing about Italy that I don't love. So of course, I find myself reading quite a few books that take place here. Today I'm featuring my favorite books that take place in Italy, both past and present, to help you travel by page to one of my favorite places in the world...Italy.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // BFF in the ATL

If you've seen my Instagram or Twitter, you'll know last week I had the most amazing time  visiting one of my very best friends, Hannah, in Atlanta! I was so excited to finally visit her and hang out and meet her new little man! I can honestly say this was one of the best weeks ever. Hannah and I had so much fun and I wish I could have just moved into her guest bedroom and stayed for a long time. Geography continues to be my best and worst enemy because leaving made me so sad but I'm legit already looking at cheap flights to get back. This was how Hannah and I spent our time in the ATL!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Best of Mt. Kilimanjaro

After recapping my experience on climbing Mt Kilimanjaro last week, I wanted to highlight my favorite photos from my trip. It's no secret I love taking photos. I love Instagram. I love grabbing good angles, experimenting with selfie angles, and shamelessly asking people to take photos of me from behind. What can I say? I love that look! It's definitely an amateur hobby but I love taking and sharing photos so I hope you enjoy some of my favorites from my eight days on the mountain. Definitely leave some love down below if you enjoy them!

Day 1

Rainforest climate

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

If you've been following me on Instagram you'll have already seen some of my Mt Kilimanjaro photos and--spoiler alert--I made it to the top! It was without a doubt, the most incredible experience of my life. I have been thinking about climbing Kili for my 30th birthday for almost 5 years. Ever since reading Me Before You where the main character, Will, says that's what he did for his 30th birthday, I've been inspired to do something epic when I reached that milestone. When I first read it, I thought to myself, 'Yes, I'll do something really exciting but I could never do that.' And after thinking about it a few weeks, I couldn't get it out of my mind and my stubborn streak reared its ugly head and finally said, 'Why CAN'T you climb Mt Kilimanjaro? What's stopping you?'...and from there the dream was born.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // From Page to Plane with The Empress of Rome Series

Daughters of Rome // Empress of the Seven Hills // Lady of the Eternal City

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400 // 486 // 512

Source: Bought
Publisher : Berkley
Previous Book in Series: Mistress of Rome

Goodreads & Amazon

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Why I Love Traveling {1}

This is a serial post I've been wanting to do for awhile. I love to talk about travel--obviously--and I'd love to be able to expand and talk a bit more in-depth of what it is about traveling that speaks to me on a deeper level. So I thought the perfect first topic would the reason I keep booking plane ticket after plane ticket. That reason? The feeling.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel Trinkets

One of the questions I got while doing my Q&A was what do I do with all the trinkets and ticket stubs I keep. There's a few things I've done with them so far, I'm sure there are a lot more creative ideas but I haven't delved into the Pinterest world to see what other people, this is what I've come up with so far.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // From Page to Plane with Mariana

Anybody that knows me knows I'm obsessed with the UK. England has been a huge piece of my heart for a long time and reading Mariana has, yet again, inspired the wanderlust in me to go back to England. Why? Because the heroine in this story finds herself being drawn to the country town of Wiltshire, more specifically she's drawn to a house that coincidence or fate has made to cross her path on more than one occasion. The first time she saw the house she could feel it was hers. From there we get our story.

Mariana and Hever, England