travelblog – T.W.O.

French Countryside – Luberon

Published on August 26, 2021October 6, 2021 by twinswithoriginalityLeave a comment

Traveling through the countryside in Provence has been in our travel vault for a couple years now and we finally were able to do it. Timing of the trip was important as we wanted to visit the lavender fields that are in bloom for only a short period of time. Besides the lavender fields we visited beautiful wineries, walked around villages and drove on tree-lined roads. Aix-en-Provence was the perfect base to be able to visit some of the smaller towns in Luberon region. If we had more time, we would have venture North to Avignon and visit some surrounding villages around the Rhone River including some tastings in the region of Chateauneuf du Pape. Next time. For now, here are some highlights from our day trip!

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San Diego County Favorites

Published on October 14, 2013October 13, 2013 by T.W.O.1 Comment

Del Mar Beach

Del Mar is one of the best beaches in San Diego County. It is a great place to bring families, friends and visitors on those hot summer days. Being in a residential area, the beach is lined with beach houses that are nice to look at while taking a mid-day stroll. T.W.O. enjoys bringing a picnic lunch, our paddleball set and a great book to Del Mar beach.

Claire’s on Cedros Bakery & Café

If you are looking for a great place to grab a coffee and pastry, a delicious sit-down breakfast or a tasty lunch…Claire’s on Cedros in Solana Beach is the place to go. Not only is the food fresh and amazing, the building is the only LEED Platinum certified building in San Diego. The atmosphere is casual and inviting for all ages.

Petco Park

Baseball has been apart of T.W.O.’s life since we were born. We have been to many baseball fields in our life, and Petco Park is in the top five favorite stadiums list. Located in the center of downtown San Diego, the stadium has spectacular views and offers many amenities for families and young adults. During the summer months after certain games, there are country concerts. T.W.O. had the chance to go see Dierks Bentley. Yee haw!

Del Mar Horse Races

Opening Day at the Del Mar Horse races is such a fun day. Sun dresses, big hats, linen suits, fedoras, jockeys and horses…who wouldn’t like this? Place your bets now because this is the only track where the surf meets the turf.

Board & Brew (Del Mar)

T.W.O. loves a good sandwich, so when we are headed to the beach we always stop by Board & Brew to pick up lunch. Turkey, avocado with shredded lettuce on squaw bread is a favorite of T.W.O. Board & Brew never disappoints!

Seagrove Park

Don’t want to go to the beach, but want to enjoy the great weather? Seagrove is a great park that has quite the view. T.W.O. enjoys bringing picnic lunches, our family and our dog Libby! It’s a great place to people watch, relax and enjoy the incredible views. If you time it right, you might even be an “uninvited guest” at a wedding!

Rimel’s Rotisserie (Del Mar)

Rimels is a favorite dinner spot for T.W.O. With fresh food that is made from scratch, T.W.O. enjoys the wok bowls and the potstickers. Rimels offers a great environment for small or large parties. There is a big farm fresh table in that back for big group celebrations. If your table isn’t ready, don’t worry because the fire-pits and the outdoor sitting area makes the wait well worth it!

Pamplona

Published on September 16, 2013September 15, 2013 by T.W.O.3 Comments

When you hear the word Pamplona, what do you think? First guess- “Running of the Bulls.” Correct? Okay, T.W.O. thought so! While in Spain, T.W.O. had the chance to experience the weeklong festival celebrating San Fermin, patron Saint of Navarra for one day. Actually, lets clarify….a couple hours!

Getting to Pamplona from San Sebastian isn’t hard, but making a day trip of it can be a little bit challenging if you wanted to see the run at 8am. (The first train that arrives is at 8:30am, which is already too late to see the run.) The solution….car service! T.W.O. travelled to Pamplona in style with a private driver. Arriving in Pamplona around 7am, T.W.O.’s first mission was to get the gear…the white capri pants and the red scarf. CHECK! Next, T.W.O. luckily had some family friends that were saving a spot on the last turn before going into the bull ring so they were able to see the run from the first row. Well, behind the barricades that housed the police and medics…so second row. CHECK!

The town was lively, full of “hydrated” people roaming/ stumbling the streets of Pamplona. Ambulances lined the city streets… re-assuring, right? Balconies were filled with spectators, anticipating the run as we watched them hoping the balcony didn’t collapse. Needless to say, it was quite the scene!

8am…..GO TIME! It was the fastest 30 seconds of T.W.O.’s life, watching people run for their lives….Some making it, others eating it on the cobblestone and the rest jumping over the barricades to escape the large beasts. The bulls wore bells around their neck, so the runners heard them coming. Torro! Torro! Torro!

It was a trip well-made and T.W.O. was glad that they can say they “ran with the bulls”.

Ole! Ole!

The Traveling T.W.O. Journal

Published on September 3, 2013September 3, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Travel journals have been around since the beginning of time. The pioneers kept journals while traveling to the West to document their hardships, sightings and experiences to the new unexplored land. Many of these journals have been used to learn more about history and many were lost in the rough, leaving unanswered questions. Today, T.W.O. has adapted the same concept with their travels around the world.

Before every big trip, T.W.O. buys a journal to document their memories and capture their favorite quotes and experiences. The journal selection process is important; you just can’t select a book with paper in it. Below are some requirements that are needed:

– Hard cover
– Memorable quote or picture on the front, depicting the trip
– Wire ring binding
– 70+ pages

The main idea of the travel journal is to write about each day’s activities so that you can remember everything years later. Hotel and restaurant names, shopping stores and city neighborhoods are all noted in the book.

T.W.O. uses the travel journal to suggest places to friends and family traveling to the same destination. The most important part of the book is the “scrapbook” section, which has restaurant business cards, post cards, wine bottle labels, maps and anything else that comes across the way during T.W.O.’s travels. (There is even a smudge of chocolate from a croissant T.W.O. had in Paris in the travel journal!) Scotch tape is important to bring along so you can tape the items into the book that same day.

At the end of the trip, T.W.O. recaps their favorite memories and quotes. T.W.O. finds it important to document these experiences as soon as you can because as time goes own, details are forgotten. And just like the pioneers, these journals will be passed to future generations. From wagons, to cars, to trains to planes, we will see what the next century brings!