travel – Rosie Culture

My Trip To Vancouver

If you read my previous post about preparing for the worst when traveling, you’ll know I almost didn’t make it to Vancouver. Luckily, I did and I LOVED it!

I gauge how much I love a city based off how much I’d want to live there and we ended up seeing how much apartments cost and looking at job openings so it’s safe to say we loved it.

Things I did:

1. Capilano Suspension Bridge
Seriously sooo cool and worth the money, just a little packed!

2. Stanley Park

3. Sunset Beach Park

4. Explored Gastown

5. Vancouver Lookout
The views of Vancouver are incredible, beautiful buildings surrounded by ocean and mountains!

Places I ate:

1. Nelson the Seagull

2. Tim Horton’s
I had to, right?

3. Cactus Club Cafe

4. Perverted
Really cool looking and yummy ice cream!

5. Forage

6. Heritage Asian Eatery

I loooooved Vancouver. That was my first time to the West Coast of North America and it did not disappoint! I have a special place in my heart for Canadian cities, they are just so clean and friendly for people my age. All of the buildings are so beautifully designed and you can literally not get sick of seeing the mountains over the ocean – it’s stunning. I’d love to go back one day.

Have you ever been to Vancouver?

travel

Preparing For The Worst While Traveling

Traveling gives me a lot of anxiety. I’m normally a hot mess day of, even though I’ve done so much planning and coordinating to avoid any mishaps.

I prepare for the worst as best as I can. I have back up plans and we get to the airport extra early. I do a lot of research and ask for advice of people who have been there – but there are always things you can’t prepare for.

For this most recent trip, I got really sick. Like I was in the hospital on Wednesday night and we were leaving for Vancouver on Friday morning. I had been looking forward to this trip for months and I was at a point in my summer where I NEEDED to get away. The threat of this trip not happening probably made me sicker.

As a very cheap optimist, I didn’t buy flight insurance. I was gripping my stomach Friday morning waiting for the cab, still wondering if I should actually go. Will I be able to make it through a 10 hour day of travel? I had to weigh whether I could willingly give up the hundreds of dollars I spent versus putting myself through basically torture.

After this experience, yes, I will always buy flight insurance now. I’m not invincible. But I stomached it and went on the trip anyway, anticipating spending all my time in bed.

But I was able to pull through. I’m a major foodie so it has been quite a bummer to not enjoy all the yums Vancouver has to offer because I’m sick. But at least I got to enjoy this beautiful city and next time I travel I’ll be even more prepared.

travel

Vancouver Advice Needed!

I’m heading to Vancouver in a couple of weeks for a couple of days! I’m looking for any and all recommendations on what to do, what to see, and where to eat!

I enjoy (easy) hikes, all seafood and sweets, beautiful views, and fun wall murals (I am a blogger after all)!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer! 🙂

Xoxo

Rosie

grey dome building beside body of water during sunset — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

travel

Breaking Up With The Places You’ve Been

I’ve traveled to a lot of cool places. I made memories there, met people, had a great time with great people, experienced and learned new things. And I miss it.

I miss it almost like it was a person who made an impact on my life and then vanished.

But we can’t live in the past, we can’t live in previous vacations and places we’ve traveled to. We can just hold on to the beautiful memories we made there. We have to break up with the places we’ve been.

We have to let them go and live our real lives again, we must maintain presence. Because when I find myself looking back on brunches next to the ocean, or exploring a volcanic cave, or standing in front of a glacier – I feel a pang of jealousy and a need to escape.

While it’s okay to escape life just for a little bit, we shouldn’t always be pawing for the past. I’ve broken up with the places I’ve been. I’ve said goodbye, for now, and visit the happy memories every once in a while. But I won’t spend time yearning for something that once was.

It’s gone and over. Maybe I’ll return again one day. But until then, we’ve broken up and I have to move on to my present life.

adult architecture art business — Photo by Vladyslav Dukhin on Pexels.com

travel

Taking A Break From Traveling

I am on a traveling hiatus, only partly by choice. Life is really busy right now and there are so many other things that require money, time, and attention.

On the one hand, my break from traveling has allowed me to see my friends more. I’ve gotten more done around the house and in my own town. I’ve been really busy at work and stacking on trips on top of work would have just been way too much for me to handle (even though I’ve done it before). I have had time to myself and to just relax.

On the other hand, I’m tired of it. I need a distraction from life and traveling is usually the one thing that whisks me away and makes me happy. I keep looking at my calendar booked with hundreds of other things like appointments, work events, family get-togethers and am just underwhelmed with the way my summer is looking.

It is possible to have too much of a good thing and I was booking trip after trip after trip with no regard for my real life. I love traveling, but I need to appreciate the here and now too. The break from traveling has been an adjustment, along with many other things going on with my life, but I feel like it has been much needed.

Taking a break from traveling has been good for me, but I’m ready to get back into it! Luckily I have a trip planned in July. Where are you going this summer?

aircraft aircraft wing airplane atmosphere — Photo by Michael Vershinin on Pexels.com

travel

Solo Adventuring in NYC

I have started tagging along on my boyfriend’s business trips. Which means while he’s working, it’s up to me to entertain myself. Two weekends ago, I had a little solo adventure in New York City – a place I’ve been many times.

There’s always SO much to do in NYC that it was a little overwhelming for me to choose an itinerary. Even though I’ve been to the city more times than I can count, I don’t know how to navigate the subways AT ALL. So I stuck to walking and doing what I know I’ll love!

On Saturday, we got dinner and drinks on the Terrace of the Yotel where we were staying. Yotel NYC is a smart hotel and very centrally located. The rooms are like little pods and are so fun and affordable. The food on the Terrace was so good and it was a lovely evening!

On Sunday I stopped and got coffee and a muffin at Old Country Coffee and people watched while I ate. I then walked the High Line and stopped a few times for photos and reading. I walked the High Line down to the Chelsea Market and stopped at Creamline for lunch. I tried the Impossible Burger here because I’ve heard SO much about it!

I haven’t eaten meat in about 10 years and have tried tonssss of different burger alternatives, but none that actually taste like a burger. I really enjoyed the Impossible Burger and I would urge non-meat eaters and meat eaters to try it!

I shopped a bit then walked the Highline back to the hotel. We went out and split a sushi burrito at PokeTown. Say what you want about quirky spins on classic foods, sushi burritos are delish.

Then I ended my weekend in NYC, but I will be back soon! 🙂 What’s your favorite thing to do in NYC? (Clearly my favorite thing to do is eat!)

travel

Visiting All 50 States

One of the many reasons I envy Europeans is because their countries are relatively close together which allows them to visit a whole other culture that is basically in their backyard.

The United States is so huge that seeing the whole thing is a big task, especially if you’re like me and you also want to see the whole entire world!! But I have made it a goal now to spend quality time in every one of the 50 states. We’ve begun chipping away at the East Coast with weekend trips, but I reallllly need to get out to the West Coast soon! Check out my progress which I will be updating every couple of months! How many states have you been to?

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
~~Arkansas~~
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
~~Florida~~
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois

Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
~~Kentucky~~
Louisiana
~~Maine~~
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
~~Minnesota~~
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana

Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
~~New Jersey~~
New Mexico
~~New York~~
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
~~Pennsylvania~~

Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
~~Tennessee~~
Texas
Utah
~~Vermont~~
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming