Elisa's Daily Scoop Graduation, New Destinations and the Weekend AheadHAPPY FRIDAY!!! It's finally the end of the work and school week and it has felt like Friday all week, but it's finally here. Last night, I watched America's Got Talent with my girlies. Some real talent and some truly ridiculous acts. I didn't have anything particularly exciting to write about today. Sometimes I'm chomping at the bit with very specific things to tell you about. But, today, I have sort of a cross section of stuff going on and that I'm working on travel-wise. So, here we go... Tonight, my Godson, Nolan is graduating from 8th grade and will be moving on to High School next year. I just can't believe how fast this kid has grown up!! Me and my gang will be attending the ceremony tonight and then head off to an informal dinner afterwards with my mom and dad. My sister will be headed for a special dinner with all the graduates and their immediate families. I'm not sure what hit me this week but it could just be the onset of summer the excitement of the kids being home with me every day, or the beginning of a new season. But I have been relatively of OBSESSED these past few days with new and exciting destinations and trips to plan! What could also be at play is that this time last year I was getting prepared to leave on our European Rail Trip. Although Tanya and I had traveled before this trip many times, it was always with the kids. The European Rail Trip was the first time she and I set off on a little travel adventure by ourselves. What we found out is that we are very travel compatible, we have tons of laughs, and there are enough similarities and differences to make the experience quite unique and interesting. I know I've made it abundantly clear over the course of the past two years writing this blog just how much I adore traveling with my girls. Experiencing new places, new cultures, and new food with them expands all of our minds while building some super memories! However I need to say that there is nothing more incredible than traveling with a partner like Tanya who has just as much of a hunger for learning about and diving right into the culture of the places to which we are visiting. So as I started to think of some of the places I wanted to visit around the world I realize many of them, because of the touring and the potential rigorous schedule would not mix well with the short attention span and lack of interest of my soon-to-be 10-year-old and 12-year-old As a result, I inundated Tanya this week with new trip ideas and itineraries. We both talked about going to Croatia for over a year now the question was how and when to fit it in. It's pretty clear we need at least two full weeks to discover all that this country has to offer. Being that there are number of islands in the archipelago, we both agreed that we need to coordinate this trip in the warm weather to enjoy it more fully. So, I'm working on that and some different ideas for how to best navigate this exciting trip. In addition I got to thinking about how I've never been to South America and how exciting it would be as my first foray into this region, to see Argentina and Peru. Fortunately for me, Tanya was thrilled with the idea of going back to Peru where she had previously visited in 2012! These trips are future plans down the road over the next couple of years and will require some meticulous planning. As for the present, I realized I am going to be focused on the kids pretty much 24 seven during the month of July They will be attending riding camp full-time and the fact that I no longer have the luxury of staying in my east and home in Remsenburg it's going to be a bit rigorous and tiring. Needless to say, I would never have made these plans if I wasn't fully committed to their riding but mom is going to need a little break come August. So I planned a little four-day getaway with the girls to the wonderful city of New Orleans. I'm not really sure what prompted me to think of New Orleans but it has been close to 20 years since I was last there and knowing how much my kids love the food they serve down there I thought it be a treat! The three of us spent evenings this week researching restaurants and local fare slugging them into our itinerary. Beignets and Bananas Foster so far are topping the list of our must eats!! I'm a firm believer in what's meant to be is meant to be and being guided by the universe, so, when I was able to secure such a ridiculously low rates for round-trip air and hotel accommodations I knew this short getaway was the right thing to do. I'll be getting the full itinerary up on the blog this weekend what I love about New Orleans is that even if you don't do much sightseeing which is not really what the kids enjoy, the energy and spirit of the city are still all around you just by walking through the music field streets. Wow! You can tell I'm super excited about traveling today!!! Today also happens to be Friday! Foodie Friday, that is. And I'm going to tell you about my delicious breakfast this week at Sandfords Restaurant. Well, folks that's it for today. Don't forget to catch up on Tanya's side today!!! Talk to you tomorrow!! -E xoxo | Tanya's Daily Scoop |