Shaunna Lee 6/10/19 Shaunna Lee 6/10/19

Costa Rica - Pura Vida!

I was fortunate enough to spend a week in beautiful Playa Aranilla Costa Rica at the Secrets Papagayo Resort to celebrate my dear friend, Alicia’s 40th birthday. We have been talking about this trip and planning for a year now, so it was a little surreal to have the time finally arrive. Admittedly, we wasted most of our opportunity to explore this country and spend most of our time at the resort and in the pool. I felt a tad bit guilty about not seeing a volcano, zip lining through the rain forest or hiking to the hot springs, but if I’m honest, hiking is not my thing. I did manage to paddle board for the first time and I didn’t fall!

Having someone else cook, clean my room and bring me drinks IS a vacation from my real life. Indulging in food that is not on my eating plan and getting to work out if I wanted to was just what I needed. I managed to read a teeny tiny bit, meet some new friends and my skin got a little bit closer to a golden brown. Not getting sunburn, soaking in the pool until my fingers are toes were prunes was about all the energy I could muster and more fun than I expected.

My one “excursion” was to venture over to the gym one day to workout and to the Spa to get an amazing massage. It even rained during the massage, which was more relaxing than the sound of rain as white noise.

Our nightly dinners were amazing. We tried everything on each of the menus from Hibachi Grill and sushi to steaks, and Italian food. Each restaurant at this resort was delicious. The waitstaff was amazingly patient, as well.

Most of our days by and in the pool were spent planning our next vacation and coming up with our hashtags - some published and some only shared in our group chat on WhatsApp. If you’re curious, check out #costa40rica. In the end, though, we had a blast and came home with stronger friendships and excited about our next trip together - Turks and Caicos here we come in 2020!

Shaunna Lee 10/11/18 Shaunna Lee 10/11/18

#TxGirlsGoneSav - Savannah, GA

My second annual girls trip was to Savannah with two great friends … we ate and drank our way through that city. We opted to go outside of our normal summer schedule when the Georgia weather is a tad bit milder. October was supposed to be a little cooler and while it was still pretty humid, we did appreciate some slightly cooler temperatures since we did walk quite a bit.

Once before I have purchased the Scenic Tour on the double decker bus in Philadelphia and we were happy to do this again instead of Ubering our way back and forth. We stayed at the Marriott on Liberty Street which was a few miles from the Historic District and East River Street. The tour bus was a great way to get to and from and learn a little bit about the city in the process.

We had drinks at the The Distellery right across from our hotel twice which felt a little like home, so we enjoyed it immensely. It was quiet and the beer was cold. Our nights were built around which restaurant we would have dinner at. Our first night there, we happened by the Ordinary Pub for drinks as we were walking down Broughton. We ended up seeing the food that was coming out and stayed for dinner - it was AMAZING! The next few nights, we enjoyed the Olde Pink House, Girbaldi’s (which honestly we chose after seeing it next door to the tavern where our Ghost Tour started and hearing the story of the man who haunts it upstairs), and Treylors Park (this place was super fun and had a great vibe). One afternoon, we walked down River Street and had drinks at Rock’s on the Roof (the view was awesome as a few big boats rolled in and we were seated on the rooftop of the Bohemian Hotel) and also at Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub and Grill (but honestly, it was mostly because we needed a bathroom break more than another drink). We didn’t make it up in time for breakfast any one day, so we had brunch at The Collins Quarter and Prohibition Savannah - both delish and even better cocktails. Not one of these restaurants disappointed and all came from our recommendation list to us - all great! If I had to pick my top favorites out of those we tried, it would be Ordinary Pub and The Collins Quarter.

Outside of some window shopping, eating and drinking, we did squeeze in a Ghost Tour, which was creepy enough and made from some great photos! My overall review was that Savannah is a haunted city and it felt a little like we were stepping back in time. I am glad I went because it’s been on my list of US cities to visit since I was in high school, but not sure how much of a hurry I’ll be in to go back again.

The Ordinary Pub - anything but ordinary food!

My “Proof” from our Ghost Tour - Don’t come at me with light and blurring.

My favorite Selfie from our trip - LOVE these girls!

Shaunna Lee 4/30/16 Shaunna Lee 4/30/16

Italy has my heart - Florence especially!

My second daughter studied abroad her Sophomore year of college and it was an incredible experience for her. Part of the reason we settled on the University of Evansville was because of this program to study for a semester at their sister campus in Harlaxton, just north of London by about an hour. Honestly, the details are a bit fuzzy and I didn’t get a chance to visit her there, but it sounded amazing and the photos were damn impressive! It was like she was studying at Hogwarts and living in a castle.

While I may not have had the typical college experience, I certainly did my best to provide that for my girls. One perk for me being the mom who paid for it is that I joined her for a week in Italy at the end of her semester! For that, I consider myself blessed. I flew into Heathrow airport and she met me there. I have never been so excited to see my girl after a long break away as I was that day, bleary eyed in a new country I had never been to. Laying eyes on this baby girl of mine after sending her across the pond on this adventure 4 months prior was The Best Thing Ever!!

From there, we traveled to Rome, then Florence and then to Venice. She waited and kept Italy for me. You’ll have to read the other posts about Rome and Venice, but this one is only about Florence. This part of the world has my heart. I cannot wait to go back and have nothing but great things to say about it.

We shopped, we rain in the rain, we drank wine at the cutest little cafe ever. We ate pizza every day, had wine and espresso at every meal, and attempted to speak Italian as best we could. One afternoon, in particular, we popped into a small cafe where this one man was a one man show. He only spoke Italian and Japanese, I only spoke English and some Spanish. Together, we could barely communicate, but he spoke the language of free wine! I wish I would have made note of where it was because this is a place I would return to again and again. I only remember Da Fiaschino. He was so busy while we were there, so he kept coming by to fill our wine glasses and apologizing. After the third glass, we no longer cared how long it would take us to order. Over that complimentary wine, the meat and cheese board and our attempted Italian, my daughter and I really connected as adults for the first time. It was one of those traveling moments where the location somewhat matters, but why you’re there and what was said is what really stands out. I will never forget that afternoon in that tiny little cafe long after the memories of the laughing pictures in the rain fade.

There were also museums and wine tastings and buying some pretty damn cute shoes, but mostly I remember those treasured memories with my baby girl in Firenze.

View from our AirBNB … complete with my wine glass, of course!

View of where our AirBNB was across the Arno River - it rained most our our time there.

How much we cared about the rain after all that free wine …

Gelato AND some famous statue outside of a museum - we didn’t remember the name of either. Oh, and my daughter looks a little bit like me, too.