For Travel Fanatics Only

I have been trying to get to Italy since 2020. Yep, CoVid ruined it for me that year. And after many years of hoping this would be the year I’d be able to go, I finally made it in 2026. And one of the best things about this trip was that I didn’t plan any of it. Well…I booked a tour or two. But for a 2 week trip, that was practically nothing. If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you probably already know who my favorite travel partners are. So the name Ayesha will be a familiar one to you. It was our trip that got cancelled in 2020. But fortunately, she made it to Italy a few years before me, multiple times. So she was pretty familiar with the areas that we’d be visiting on this trip. She knew the best areas to stay in for each home base city and the sightseeing that I’d want to do. She was like my personal travel agent and I could get used to this.

For Part 1 of the blog, we’re exploring Milan, Venice, and the Dolomites.

Tbh, none of us were really interested in staying in Milan for long, but it was a good start since it was cheaper to fly into and out of than Rome. There were 3 of us on this trip and since we were all flying out of different home airports, we all met in Newark, NJ (EWR) and took the overnight non-stop flight from there. We were a bit nervous that we would even make it to Milan the next morning. There were maintenance issues after everyone was already boarded and we sat at the gate on the plane for over 2 hours before we could even leave. They eventually had to offer everyone the option to get off the flight to go get food, if they wanted, because we had been sitting there with nothing for so long. And since this was an overnight flight, people were going to be eating dinner on the plane. So everyone’s last meal of the day was very delayed. The catch was that if you wanted to get off, you had to also take your carryon luggage off the plane with you just in case you don’t make it back to the plane in time for departure. There were a few that still got off, but not many after hearing that they would have to take everything off the plane with them. But after a long wait, we finally took off. Since we had a very early arrival to Milan the next morning with an afternoon check-in, we weren’t too concerned about the delay as long as we made it there the same day. We didn’t want the rest of our itinerary to get off track from the very beginning. And it didn’t, so we were off to a good start.

Even with the delay, we still had more time to waste before checking into our AirBnB. So we grabbed a snack nearby and sat down until we were able to check in. If you’ve been to any European destination, you probably already know this. But make sure your AirBnB or hotel has a lift (elevator) if you’re traveling with large luggage. And if you’re traveling in the summer, confirm that there is also air conditioning. As I mentioned before, Milan was more of a means to an end for us, so we would only be here for one night before taking our train to Venice the next day. We took a taxi over to Piazza del Duomo and walked around for a bit. We had a spritz and some bruschetta and then grabbed dinner. After dinner we begrudgingly walked about a half hour back to our AirBnB because we couldn’t find a taxi stand nearby. Even if you use the itTaxi app in Italy, you need to catch the taxi from a taxi stand. The walk wasn’t so bad since our route took us past the Sforzesco Castle. I’ve seen pictures of it during the day, and I think it is more beautiful at night.

The next day, we headed to Venice by train. My friend used the Omio app to book all of our trains for this trip. We got to Venice that afternoon and took a water taxi from the train station to get to our AirBnB. We were all happy that we didn’t have to walk over the Rialto Bridge to catch a water taxi. There are bridges everywhere in Venice and they can’t be avoided, but the Rialto bridge is a very big one and no one wants to have to do that very crowded bridge with large luggage and looking out for pickpockets. We bought the public transportation passes for the duration of our time in Venice and were covered the whole time.

Our AirBnB was away from the crowded areas of Venice and we absolutely loved it. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4611618?unique_share_id=ae18d8f5-e154-4387-90cb-d7498e0c247c&viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76 I would highly recommend it if it is suitable for the number of people you are traveling with. Now the mosquitoes were a thing! But they were pretty bad everywhere we stayed in Italy. So I don’t think you can avoid this. Just be prepared for it. There was a large yacht parked directly across from us which made the view when walking out the front door every morning even more of a dream. Follow me on Instagram @fortravelfanticsonly for a video tour of the AirBnB.

When we arrived, we went to grab groceries at a nearby market. There are a few things I learned about shopping in Italian markets that day. One, you don’t touch the produce with your bare hands. You use the plastic gloves that they have available. Second, if you don’t bring your own bags, they won’t be free. Also, there are no baggers. You need to bag your own groceries. None of this is a big deal, just helpful to know what to expect. The next day, we would have a very early morning for our day tour to the Dolomites, so we kept it pretty low key that day. We grabbed dinner at a local restaurant, Al Pontic Dea Giudecca, that had some of the best bruschetta we had the entire time we were in Italy and hit the hay.

The next morning, we caught our water taxi back over to the busier area of Venice and met our tour guides. Lake Braies was one of the main highlights of the tour and unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to see it due to weather conditions. However, our guides made up for this by making sure we still saw a lot of the beautiful mountains and lakes that the Dolomites had to offer. I don’t remember the name of all the lakes, but they were all stunning. The only thing I didn’t care for much was the lunch stop. The food wasn’t really my cup of tea. However, this tour was still a solid 10/10. If you don’t have a car or aren’t comfortable driving the Italian mountains alone, I’d highly recommend this day tour to give you a peak into how beautiful the Dolomites really are.

The next day we did a Venice food tour that none of us thought was that great. But the dinner that we did on our own that night was my favorite meal during my whole Italian vacation. Go to Trattoria Al Gazzettino and get the pasta alla bursara. It’s a spicy tomato based pasta sauce with grilled prawns and you may be tempted to go back here for dinner again just to have it. Don’t be like us and just show up because it was very busy. Make a reservation if you can.

Since we didn’t do a gondola ride while in Venice, we decided to do a personal water taxi back to our Airbnb that night, which is basically an elevated speed boat experience. It was magical! And the fact that we did it at night and went through less traveled canals made it even more dreamy. And once our driver got to the main open area of the canal, he pumped it into gear and gave us a true speedboat ending. OMG, I loved it so much! Just writing about it now is taking me back and I want that experience over and over again. Now, it is going to cost you. I think we paid around $75 for a ride that was probably only 10-12 minutes. But you have to do it at least once while you’re there, and preferably at night.

Next up, we’re off to Rome. I could never live in Venice, but it was definitely one of my favorite Italian cities to visit. Traveling by canal even on a crowded water taxi was so different than what I’m used to in the US, that it just felt like I was transported into a different world. And that’s what travel is all about; new ways of life and expanding your mindset of what’s “normal.”

I needed a quick weekend getaway for my birthday weekend. And since Asheville is typically my go-to, I decided I’d give somewhere else a try. Chattanooga is only a little over a 5 hour drive from the Charlotte area, and I’d seen some of my favorite travel influencers speak highly of it. So yeah, I was influenced. LOL

Me and the family got an early morning start and made the drive. If you’ve read any of my other blogs, you know that I have a thing for trains. So when I found out there was a set of restored train cars at Hotel Chalet that had been turned into hotel rooms, you know I had to try it at least once. It was so cute and I really enjoyed the experience of sleeping in a historic train car, and if you really like trains, you have to do it. But I’ll be honest, one night there was enough. Because it’s themed, it is expensive, and it is just not worth it for more than a night. The hotel lobby was really cute also. But unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about the regular hotel rooms since we didn’t stay in one. They were much cheaper than the train car rooms, but I was using points for the rest of our stay so I needed to stay at a Marriott hotel for the remaining nights.

Because this was such a quick little weekend trip and because I also have a habit of waiting too long to write my travel blogs (bite me), I’m just going to do a quick summary on all of my favorite things while I was in Chattanooga.

Niedlov’s Cafe & Bakery - If you’re staying at Hotel Chalet, Niedlov’s is within walking distance of the hotel. Even if you’re not staying at the hotel, you still have to go. The pastries were delicious and weren’t pastries that you would find at just any bakery. But by far, my favorite thing was for sure the miso kale and shiitake skillet. It’s a hot vegetarian breakfast skillet that is served in a personal size cast iron skillet with toasted crostinis. I still crave it and am almost positive it will have me making a trip back to Chattanooga in the future just to have it. Now that I’m talking about it, I really want it now tbh. (Singing big back, big back in my head) And yep, still want it.

Ross’s Landing - We loved the sunset views from this green park on the water. It wasn’t anything special, but it was, if that makes sense. Greenery and water will always put me in a good mood. We sat here for over an hour and just enjoyed boats passing by, a guy sailing his toy boat in the water, families walking by, and just enjoying the scenery.

Ruby Fall’s - The full tour is underground and very interesting. We had a really good tour guide but not the most considerate tour mates in our group. Let’s just say our tour guide was a very patient person to put up with them. It was still a very enjoyable tour though. We went on a Friday and I prefer to do these really popular tours on a less popular day, but we had limited time. And I’m so glad we were able to see this wonder. I think the story of the guy that found it was just as impressive as the falls itself. I highly recommend this tour.

Rock City Gardens - Well duh, clearly you have to go here. This was the main reason I even chose Chattanooga because I wanted to go here. And it exceeded my expectations. Two of my family members are not really outdoorsy people at all and would have never done this if I didn’t want to do it for my birthday. This was everyone’s (including those two family members) favorite part of the trip. I don’t want to ruin the magic of this destination, but make sure you go if you’re even in the vicinity of Chattanooga. You won’t regret it.

Clumpie’s Ice Cream - This ice cream shop has become a social media sensation. However, the ice cream is really good. Grab a cup or cone and head over to Coolidge Park. Take a stroll or find a bench and enjoy the river from the other side of Ross’s Landing.

Rodizio Brazilian Steakhouse - There’s a Brazilian restaurant in most cities these days, but we did really enjoy this one for our last dinner in Chattanooga. Go hungry and don’t wear anything restricting. (Singing big back, big back again.)

Chattanooga is definitely more laid back than some of the other spots in TN like Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and Nashville. It felt like the right speed for me. While I was there, I could tell that it is growing and I am happy for that, but I truly hope it doesn’t lose it’s slow pace. I really want to take the fall foliage train there, so that will probably be on my list for my next trip back (and Niedlov’s Bakery of course).

I didn’t mention the places that didn’t impress us, but there are a few. Send me a message on Instagram @fortravelfanaticsonly if you’d like to know what spots are not worth visiting in Chattanooga, IMO.

Spring was my favorite season for my early adult life. I don’t know if it’s because I’m an April baby, the buildup to summer vacations starting, or the flowers starting to bloom. I’m not sure. But I loved it and still do. However, in my 30s, fall started to creep in on spring as a solid runner up. And in my 40s, fall became the front runner. As I got older, I really started to enjoy so much about the season. The changing leaves, sweater weather, being bundled up on the couch in a blanket with a warm drink and the smell of candles burning, and enjoying being outdoors on a hike on a brisk fall morning. I love it all! Fall in North Carolina is beautiful when the leaves have reached their peak. All of the brown, orange, red, and yellow leaves are a sight to see in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But in the last few years or so, I came across some YouTubers that either lived in or visited Colorado for fall often. And when timed right, all of those yellow aspens were so beautiful. I knew then that this was something I had to see in person in my lifetime.

I figured I had the best chance of seeing the most Aspens in Breckenridge or Aspen. And because Breckenridge was a shorter trek from the flight into Denver, I opted for Breckenridge as the home base for this trip. All of the research I’d done said that peak leave season is usually between the last week of September and the first week of October. Well when you’re a parent of school-aged kids, you also have a school schedule to follow. September 20th through the 23rd was going to be the best time for me. It’s always risky to plan ahead for going anywhere during leaf peeping season in fall because you never know when the leaves will be at peak. However, I’m not at the stage of life yet where I can track the colors and book a flight the day before I’m ready to fly out. So I booked it for when I could go and hoped for the best. I mean let’s be honest, is a trip to Colorado ever a waste of time? Arizona and Colorado have become two states that I really can’t get enough of. So I knew it would be a wonderful trip no matter what.

My Mother Earth brethren, my friend Danita, said she was in for the journey and we were on our way. If you plan to travel to Breck (which we can affectionately call it now that we feel like we’re on a nickname basis lol) for fall to leaf peep, I’d recommend following @gobreck on Instagram. They do a leaf brief during peak color season that will show you what level of color the leaves have reached in Breckenridge at the time. The leaf brief post from around 3 days before we were leaving showed that the Aspens were starting to change colors. Excitement was kicking in for sure now!

We arrived to the Denver airport on September 20th, grabbed our rental car, and started the 2 hour drive to Breckenridge. We opted to stay at the Residence Inn Breckenridge, which I’d highly recommend. It’s within walking distance to the Main Street with all of the shops and restaurants, but also far enough away from it all. The view from the rooftop pool area was stunning!

This was a weekend trip, so we knew we’d really only have two days to see and do as much as we could. So we booked a Continental Divide tour with Breck Adventures for the next day. I figured this would be the most efficient and convenient way to see a lot of Breckenridge and the major hot spots without having to drive all of the mountain roads ourselves. That was definitely the right decision, which is a bit of foreshadowing for a future situation that we managed to get ourselves into. More to come on that later. Our tour was with Yam (pronounced Y-ah-m, not like the sweet potato) and he was great! I’d highly recommend this tour and asking for him as your tour guide if you book it. We saw Hoosier Pass (the Continental Divide between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans), South Park City in Fairplay, the Breckenridge troll, and a few other spots. It’s a 5 hour tour and we enjoyed every bit of it. But after we got back, can you believe we had still not had enough. My friend wanted to continue to explore. So we, well she (haha), took the sketchy Boreas Pass drive. Yeah, it’s a mountain dirt road. So I wouldn’t recommend doing it if it has rained the day before. But she made it work and I’m so glad she did because the lookouts were breathtaking. And there were spots where we were driving with bright yellow Aspens on both sides of us. It felt like a fairytale. I’d highly recommend it if you aren’t squeamish about driving unpaved and bumpy mountain roads like I am. It will be so worth it! We saw some people walking and biking it too. So those are also options. Just know if you’re there during peak leaf peeping season, you will be dealing with a lot of cars on the road with you.

On our last day to explore, we took a day trip to Aspen to hike the Maroon Bells Scenic Loop Trail. We parked in the Rio Grande parking garage, walked up to the bus station, and caught the bus to Aspen Highlands to take the shuttle to Maroon Bells. To see the Maroon Bells in person was a sight to behold. I’m sure seeing this in any season would be special, but it felt even more special to see it with the yellow Aspens in view. We even saw a moose from the shuttle on the way back to the Highlands. Man, those things are huge!

It started raining, but not for long, so we took a brief walk around the downtown Aspen area and stopped in a ramen spot for lunch. And it was calling for more rain later that evening, so we decided to go ahead and head back to Breck. Now in my research, it appeared that there were 2 different routes you could take between Breckenridge and Aspen. We took I-70 on the way and this was beautiful, but navigation took us the Independence Pass route on the way back to Breckenridge. The Independence Pass route is no highway at all and traverses through a lot of mountain roads with no railings with a clear cliff drop off on one side and many switchbacks. I was already nervous taking this route in the rain, but then out of nowhere, it starts hailing. My friend had to take over the driver’s seat on this one because I was quite frankly scared shitless. This was pretty scary. So remember that foreshadowing we did earlier? This is when I wished we would’ve just been passengers in Yam’s van again. He probably wouldn’t have been phased at all. I’ll drive in almost anything other than a tornado or tropical storm, BUT NOT ON MOUNTAIN ROADS. Man, that was scary! And thank God Danita was there to drive us through it.

So once we finally got to seemingly flat road again in Leadville, we stopped to get gas. We looked back in the direction that we had just come from and the mountain tops that just had a dusting of white when we drove to Aspen earlier were now completely white, which means that the hail didn’t stop. Good thing we didn’t opt with our first thought to wait it out. The store attendant also mentioned that it would be snowing in Leadville that night. Even though we were headed further down the mountain, we decided we should check the forecast for Breckenridge again to make sure we weren’t going to run into snow on our way back to Denver to fly home the next morning. Well indeed, Breckenridge was expecting snow the following morning. So we made a game time decision to pack it up and abandon our beloved Residence Inn Breckenridge that night and book a hotel for the night near the Denver airport. We didn’t want to be stranded in a snow storm. We booked a one night stay at the Aloft near the Denver Airport and this was NOT the Residence Inn. I’ve stayed at an Aloft before, but this wasn’t one that I would recommend. We were glad to only be here for one night. But most importantly, we were back in Denver and going to make our flight out the next morning.

Breckenridge was everything I hoped it would be and I’d love to go back again for a longer period of time. I felt like we didn’t have enough time to dilly daily in the downtown shops. Even with the hail storm scare on the way back from Aspen, I’d travel here in the fall again. But I think I’d feel more comfortable on a more forgiving schedule where I didn’t have to make it back home at a certain time. That way if I get stuck there in snowy conditions, I can just delay my flight back home, not have to drive slick roads in the mountains, and just enjoy the moment. I don’t repeat many places because there is so much of the world I want to see, but I think I’ll be back to Breckenridge. It has so many things that I love; kind people, beautiful views, cute shops, plenty of restaurant options, and most of all, peace and a slow pace of life.

There’s no better feeling than getting away from the hustle and bustle and having a few days of pure relaxation to end your vacation. It’s actually a strategy of mine, whenever possible. We ended our vacation in the coastal town of Lagos. The only plans we had here were to do a catamaran tour with drinks and snacks and another of the grottos in the area.

We took the train to Lagos, as we did for every new city we visited in Portugal. There are other international trips where we didn’t do this, and I will say I definitely prefer taking the train between cities. It’s much less hassle than going through the airport and doing the whole security bit. Plus, the train seats are more comfortable and you’ll have better views. I would suggest upgrading to a first class seat, if financially feasible. It’s usually not much more for the upgrade and you’ll have a more comfortable seat with more legroom.

We checked into our hotel, Hotel Marina Rio, and put down all of our luggage. It was lunch time, so we headed to the main square which is only around a 5 minute walk if you take a right out of the hotel front door. We walked a little further up pass all of the crowds and decided to try out Restaurante Casa do Prego. We had a few things, but the best things on the menu are the panini style sandwiches and the sangria…….OMG. Don’t come here and not try the sangrias. Go ahead and get both the red and white! You’re welcome.

On the walk to lunch, we noticed a little Thai massage spot, Nuad Thai Massage Therapy. We stopped in to get a brochure and decided we needed to make our way here later today. So after letting our food digest, we headed back over to get massages. If you’ve never had a Thai massage before, make sure you understand that a Thai massage can entail much more than a massage you’re used to getting in America. It could involve stretching your body and sometimes having the masseuse walk on your back. If you don’t want this, don’t ask for a traditional Thai massage. I’m not sure if the staff didn’t understand what I asked for, but I asked for a head, neck, and shoulder massage but received a full body massage. No complaints from me. It was devine! My friend booked a traditional Thai massage and hearing her rendition of the man straddling her like a horse and proceeding to walk on her back still makes me laugh every time I think about it.

Before coming here, I heard people rave about the piri piri chicken. So this was our mission for dinner. Mullen’s had great reviews, so we decided to give it a try. We took an Uber over. It was giving medieval dive bar vibes. I ordered the piri piri chicken and my friend ordered something different just in case we didn’t like the chicken. This piri piri chicken was amazing and didn’t disappoint. It was very well seasoned and tender. I typically only eat dark meat on chicken when it’s wings, but I ate all parts of this chicken. It was just that good! And the chips (Americans call them fries) were super good too. Ask for extra dressing for the side salad though. It was a bit dry. If you want to try piri piri chicken, I’d definitely recommend Mullen’s.

The next day we had 2 boat tours booked with BlueFleet. The first one was a 4 hour catamaran tour that started at 9:45am. We met some new friends from Jersey and had an amazing time. The food and drinks just kept flowing the whole time! The views were beautiful. One thing to note for early June is the water will not be warm enough to swim in. Some people, including my friend Ayesha, decide to take the brave cold plunge. She jumped in and swam back immediately. LOL This tour was all about the vibes though. If you have a fun group, you’ll have a great time on this tour. We had 3 hours before our grotto tour would start, so we went and grabbed some appetizers to pass the time and then headed back to the BlueFleet office in the train station for our next tour. The grotto tour will be on a smaller boat so that you can go in and out of the different grottos. Being in a grotto and seeing the rock formations with some of the clearest blue water I’ve ever seen, along with the sun shining into the grottos was one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever experienced. I really can’t put it into words. It just felt like something out of a movie. Head to my IG @fortravelfanaticsonly to see the reel of this magical place.

We headed back to Lisbon to stay one night at the Sheraton Lisboa Hotel & Spa only to catch our flight back home the next morning. We didn’t get to experience much at this hotel since we were only there for the night. However, I can tell you that it had an amazing spa area. I honestly wished we would’ve stayed here instead of where we actually stayed in Lisbon. The only negative is this didn’t seem to be as good of a location as where we stayed before. But if you don’t mind taking Ubers most places you go while visiting, we loved this hotel.

With that, it was time to head back home. I had an extremely early flight around 6am. It was not easy to find where I should go to check in for my flight. The signs are not the most user-friendly. Luckily, I was able to find someone that spoke English and found where the Iberia check-in desk was. The agents didn’t even come to the check-in desk until 30 minutes or so before it was time for our flight to board. The line was really long! Oh goodie, yet another issue with Iberia’s customer service. Ugh, I was so over this airline at this point! But I made it home safely with less hiccups than I experienced on my departure flights.

Portugal was everything we hoped it would be and more. Each of these cities offered something different. Porto was relaxed, low-key, and beautiful. Lisbon was lively, offered lots in the way of nightlife, and was full of history. Lagos was beach town vibes. The food was great everywhere! I prefer a more laid back atmosphere, so Porto and Lagos were more my speed. But Lisbon has so much to offer and shouldn’t be missed.

We took the train from Porto to Lisbon but only had one full day in Lisbon. This was because our second day in the area was being used for a day trip. We wanted to see as much of Lisbon as we could during our one day in Lisbon, and a tuk tuk tour was the best way to do so. But first, we needed a quick bite to eat. Dallas Burgers was convenient since it was right down the street from our hotel, so we decided to go there. It was better than some American burgers I’ve had. We went here twice because it was just that good!

We booked the Lisbon Historical Private Tuk Tuk Tour through GetYourGuide. Our driver was extremely animated and I didn’t know if I would survive this level of excitement for 3 hours, but the tour was great! The only con was that we weren’t able to see the Alfama district because we were visiting during a holiday in the city and the traffic was too bad to get there. However, we were able to see most of the other landmarks. I would definitely recommend doing this tour the first day you’re in Lisbon to gain an understanding on the lay of the land. It’s a better option than the hop on hop off bus in my opinion because the tuk tuk is smaller and can navigate the roads easier to get you closer to the sights. If you take the tour we did, and your guide offers to get off at Pasteis de Belem, don’t pass it up. The guides can skip the line and the pastries are worth it! These were the best pastel de natas I had while in Portugal. But make sure to try some of their other pastries as well. They’re equally as delicious.

Later that night, we headed to Seen Rooftop Restaurant in the Hotel Tivoli. I loved the vibe here, and we decided to share the famous lobster pasta that they serve here. This dish was 164 euros, so very pricey. If you enjoy seafood, this pasta surely lives up to the five star price. And two people can share it because it’s a large portion.

When we left the restaurant, there was a parade going on because of the holiday. We walked along the main road to see the festivities, but it seemed to be more of one of those things that you had to understand what the holiday was about to really get it. We had an early start the next morning, so we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, we headed to our meetup spot for our tour to Sintra/Pena Palace, Regaleira, & Caiscais. I would definitely recommend a tour guide for Peña Palace. We wanted to take the earliest tour we possibly could so we chose the 8:30am bus tour. When we got there, the crowds were already piling in. And when we were leaving, it was even more crowded. So I would recommend taking the earliest possible tour for the best experience while you’re there. Once we left Pena Palace, our bus took us to Regaleira. This is where you will see the very tall well that you see in all of the pictures. It was very cool to see in person. I really enjoyed the grounds at this site! The last stop on our tour was Caiscais. We didn’t have much time here, so we just found a restaurant by the beach and ordered a few drinks. We were there in early June and the water was still really cold, so we weren’t interested in going in the water.

The best tip I can give you for Lisbon is the videos that you see on social media about the hills are not an exaggeration. They are brutal and can be super steep! This is not a city that is meant for travelers with mobility issues. If you can manage the hills, Lisbon will reward you though. It was beautiful and the food was also great!

In the next blog, we will end our Portugal vacation in the coastal city of Lagos in the Algarve.