Throwback Thursday: Mt Vesuvius & Pompeii (2014)

Vesuvius looms large over the modern city of Pompei and the ruins of the ancient Pompeii.

Travel & Personal Goals for 2015

As the Christmas food coma finally wears off and the halls of our house undergo an "undecking" of holiday paraphernalia, it's time to outline our plans for 2015.  We've already announced our big trip of the year - Greece, Paris, and Germany in the spring - but we have a few other goals to settle, both personal and in terms of travel.

For the sole benefit of threatening ourselves with public accountability (we'll see how effective that turns out to be!), here are our tentative goals for the year:

1.  Return to Europe
Obviously, this is already on the books.  This trip will add one more country to our list (Greece!) and at least three new cities/locations.  I would love to plan a second 7 or 8-day trip for the fall, but doing so may conflict with our second goal...

2.  Financial Peace
It's time to start saving.  A LOT.  Since we're currently still "DINKs" (dual income, no kids), we need to seize the opportunity to put aside as much money as possible for future expenditures such as a house, more travels, and increased living expenses when our DINKing days are over.  It's time to focus on where our money is going and how we can become more efficient with our spending.  The biggest culprit lies in our eating habits.  It's just too convenient to eat out for lunch, or order a pizza when you're too tired to cook dinner.  Unfortunately, convenience comes at a price.  Eliminating excessive dining-out will probably save us a surprising amount of money in a year's time.  It's time to take complete ownership over our finances!

3.  Health & Wellness
In 2013, I quit smoking.  In 2014, I cut back my caffeinated beverage consumption from 24 to only 8 ounces per day.  In 2015, I'd like to get back into shape.  Although I may look like an athlete, gone are the days where I could run a mile or perform my karate katas for an hour non-stop.  I can hardly walk up a set of stairs without heavy breathing.  Embarrassing!  After all the "get into shape" new years resolutioners give up on their gym memberships, I'll move in with my own resolution.  There are three gyms within 5 minutes of my new job and a park within walking distance.  Our eight days of nonstop walking in Italy last summer almost killed my feet and my endurance.  I want to be in better shape for this next trip!

4.  Breaking the Social Media Addiction
Undoubtedly, this will be the hardest goal for me.  My morning routine has developed into checking e-mail, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in between my numerous alarms.  Throughout the day, I'm constantly checking my personal accounts and the accounts for the blog, too.  This compulsion can't be healthy, and I need to find a balance between maintaining my blog's social media accounts and losing myself in the interwebs.

5.  Develop a Bucket List for Virginia
Virginia is the best state in the union (although I'm not biased in the least!).  I've spent the majority of my life in this state, explored many historical sites in her borders, experienced a plethora of events and festivals, and enjoyed her ever-changing scenery.  However, we've barely scratched the surface.  It's time to develop a concrete bucket list and start seeing more of what this beautiful state has to offer!

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What are your 2015 goals?  If you've written about them, please share a link in the comments below!  And if you have any suggestions or tips for my stated goals, do share!

And the Winner Is... (2015 Travel Plans & Giveaway Winner!)

Top: Source.  Bottom Left: Source.  Bottom Right: Source.

The moussaka is officially out of the bag - we're going to Greece, y'all!

After brainstorming various destination possibilities back in October, we finally made a decision and booked our flights to Athens and Thira island (commonly known as Santorini) for a spring trip.  We'll begin in Athens, explore the Parthenon and a few museums, then jet out to Santorini for caldera sunsets and island living.  As always, we won't be spending nearly as much time there as we'd like, but as our giveaway theme stated, "All Roads Lead to Bavaria", and there our Europe trip will continue with birthday bashes in Stuttgart, a weekend excursion to Paris with our German BFFs, and back to Dinkelsbühl and Bavaria for eight days with family, friends, castles, and plenty of wurst and spaetzle!  My sister-in-law is also flying into Germany for twelve days, marking her first visit in nearly ten years, and I'm excited to create some memories with her in her German hometown!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our giveaway contest to guess our travel destination!  Julie of Alone With My Tea and Joanna of Me and My Itchy Feet both correctly guessed that we're wandering our way to Greece.  Way to go, ladies!  I'm excited that two bloggers I've been following so closely over the last few months were the ones to correctly deduce our new destination, and I'm pleased to introduce them to you below:

Joanna & her family in Cinque Terre, Italy (October 2014)

Joanna of Me and My Itchy Feet
Born, raised, and living in Poland, Joanna and her itchy feet have been wandering across the world since 1994 and documenting their experiences (in both English and Polish) on her blog since 2012.  Joanna's easy manner of writing and ability to draw the reader into her family's adventures is particularly engaging.  I'm constantly inspired by her and her husband's desire to "pass the passion" of traveling on to their children - and to readers through her posts!  Check out her recent descriptions about a day in Florence or visiting the leaning tower of Toruń in Poland!

Julie & her husband

Julie of Alone with My Tea - the Giveaway Winner!

"I began alonewithmytea when I had to take a year-long break from Grad school, due to health issues. I spent most of my days home alone, drinking tea, and working on some sort of art or musical project. I realized that being alone with my tea inspired creativity. I spent time reflecting, practicing various art techniques, and just enjoying life. While this blog began as an outlet for exploring and displaying my creative attempts, it has since morphed into a travel and lifestyle blog, especially when my husband and I moved from California to Rio de Janeiro and then to the deep south (Alabama)! Follow along as I document all the adventures we find here and abroad!
XO, Julie -alonewithmytea@gmail.com "

Julie is the winner of our "All Roads Lead to Bavaria" Giveaway and will be receiving a scratch-off map to create a unique picture of the world based on their travels!  Give her blog some page-view lovin' with her posts about random conversations with taxi drivers in Rio, the Cathedral in Petropolis, or 5 Tips for Moving to Brazil.  Congratulations, Julie!

As we rev up our excitement over our Greece trip with documentaries, travel shows, and perusing blogs about other people's experiences, we'll share more details of our travel planning.  Hotels are booked, but we haven't nailed down specifics of our itineraries yet.  Any suggestions?  We're all ears!

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Have you been to Athens or Santorini?

Linking up with A Brit and a Southerner for #WeekendWanderlust!