Full Paine and Glacier Grey Excursion

Hello, friends! Our first full day in Patagonia was spent on the Full Paine excursion offered by Las Torres. They describe it as the best way to get the fullest introduction to Torres del Paine National Park, and I definitely agree! We began the day walking over the Puente Negro (Black Bridge) and then went on to the Nordenskjöld Lookout, the Sarmiento Lookout, Lake Pehoé and the Salto Grande waterfall. 

After a wonderful lunch at a camp site we went on to the southern shore of Lago Grey. There we hiked across the lake and up to a viewpoint where you could see Grey Glacier. Afterwards we hiked back down and boarded a catamaran to get an up-clsoe view of the glacier. It took an hour to get to there, and then we we spent an hour viewing three sides of Grey Glacier. It was truly beautiful. We learned that Grey Glacier connects to the massive Southern Patagonia Ice Field — it really is impossible to describe its size. One hour later we took a short hike back to the car and we were headed home for the evening! This ended up being one of our favorite days of the entire trip. We had beautiful weather and got to see so many wonderful views of the park in a really short amount of time. Thank you Las Torres! 

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Arriving in Patagonia

After our first day in Santiago we boarded another flight South to Punta Arenas. While in Patagonia we stayed at Hotel Las Torres, a beautiful ranch right at the foot of the Torres del Paine. On our way to the hotel we had a chance to stop at the Estancia Cerro Negro (Black Hill Ranch), which is owned by the same family as Hotel Las Torres. There we experienced a traditional Patagonian lamb barbecue and learned about the farm. 

Before eating we received a tour of the farmhouse and learned about what life was like for the Kusanovic family (they moved to the region from Croatia). After our delicious meal and some time spent at the farm we were back on the road. A few hours later arrived at the park! Our driver was even kind enough to pull over several times for us to take photos of a beautiful blue lake and to observe a guanaco. The scenery was even more beautiful than I imagined, and I can't wait to share our three full days we spent in the park. Enjoy! 

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Santiago, Chile

I'm so excited to share the first of a few posts from my family's recent trip to Chile! My dad lived in Chile for a year when he was in high school as an AFS student and our whole family was finally able to make the trip to meet his host family and see the country.  First up was Santiago: we stayed there for one night before flying to Patagonia. We also stayed for another day after the flight back, so these pictures were taken over the those two days. Because of the New Year holiday I think we experienced a much quieter city than normal! 

Both of the hotels we stayed at were in the Las Condes neighborhood of Santiago, which I definitely recommend! From there we ventured Cerro San Cristobal where there is a gondola to take you up the hill, and also a large swimming pool and zoo. We mainly enjoyed the views from the gondola and from the gardens at the top, but the pool looked very inviting! Afterward we went over to the Cerro Santa Lucia which features the Terrazzo Neptuno. Another favorite of ours was the panoramic view of the city from the Costanera Center! You could see everything, and were lucky to not have an extremely smoggy day. We loved the warm weather in Santiago, especially since it was snowing back home. Next up, Patagonia!

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Southern Weddings Magazine V9!

Today's the day! I'm so thrilled to share spreads from the Chapel Charm feature in Southern Weddings Magazine Volume 9 that I contributed to! I created the paper goods and banner design for this story. Even more details are coming soon, but for now pick up a copy of the magazine for yourself! There are so many beautiful details you will want to see in person, as well as many other lovely stories. Enjoy!

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Rome, Italy

Happy Monday! Sophie and I spent our last day in Italy exploring Rome before our flight back to the USA. We woke up early in order to take the train from Sorrento to Rome. It was a rainy travel day, but by the time we arrived the sun was shining. After checking into our hotel and changing clothes we were off exploring! 

Our first stop was a walk past the Trevi Fountain before stopping for a late lunch. There were SO many tourists I don't know that I would recommend visiting Rome in mid-July, but we still had a wonderful day. After lunch we walked on to the Pantheon! After taking a few pictures we walked on towards the Colosseum. We relaxed there for awhile enjoying the view, and it was on to the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome for dinner. This was my favorite area in Rome, it was so peaceful compared to some of the more tourist stops and full of charming buildings around every turn. Our dinner was also amazing, if only I could remember the name of the restaurant! 

Thanks so much for reading along about our Italian adventure! I have loved sharing each place we visited, hopefully you gained some travel inspiration. For even more photos take a peek at #sophandallietakeitalia over on Instagram. Ciao! 

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Amalfi, Positano and Ravello, Italy

Happy Friday! I can't believe I am already sharing our final photos from the Amalfi coast. After a quick breakfast at our hotel we were picked up for our bus tour. We were lucky to get seats facing the coast and white it was a bit of a scary ride the views were amazing. (I especially loved seeing all the lemon groves at the beginning of our drive.) Our first stop was Positano! Because Sophie and I had spent a few hours here the day before our main plan was to get a better picture of the beautiful church at the center of town. While it required stepping into a hotel lobby to get the photo, I think we succeeded! After a lemon slush and some shopping we were back on the bus headed for Amalfi. 

Sophie and I were really excited to spend some time in Amalfi since we only were able to see it from the water the day before. Our first stop there was in a beautiful paper shop (Amalfi is known for their paper), and I couldn't help but purchase a few things. After that we took some pictures on the church steps in very windy conditions. We loved walking around and peeking into some shops before heading to the beach. Sophie and I were very sad to get back on the bus after just over an hour exploring beautiful Amalfi. But it was on to our final destination of the day, Ravello. 

Ravello is a small town up in the mountains from Amalfi. It has been popular with musicians for many years, and hosts a special music festival. We choose to spend our time in the famous villa where this festival takes place. The views and gardens were spectacular! Our drive back to Sorrento was filled with classical Italian music and a view of Sorrento, Mount Vesuvius and Naples. Since this was our last night in Sophie and I choose to go out to a nice dinner and indulge in gelato from Puro one last time. After packing we went straight to bed to rest up for our travel day to Rome! Next week I will share how we spent our last day in Italy and a few final thoughts on our entire adventure. Have a wonderful weekend!

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