Travel: Bali, Indonesia

To plan the perfect international trip, we believe you need a mixture of both city and beach. For us, this meant after spending some time in Singapore we needed to jet down to one of the trendiest travel destinations these days – Bali, Indonesia.

Time spent: 5 days

The Adventure: Thanks to some friends who had visited Bali before us, we had an itinerary that included visiting two parts of the island – one on the beach, and one in the jungle. It’s going to be VERY hard to sum up our trip to Bali in a short blog post (you can watch our video) but let me break down some of our favorite activities and what we learned about Bali.

Ulawatu is a community in Southern Bali which is friendly to tourists looking for a beach getaway. One of the highlights for me was staying at Pinkcoco Resort – it was FABULOUS. It was steps from restaurants like Om Burger, which was our favorite smoothie and veggie burger spot, and Padang Padang beach for a delightful day lounging by the pacific. After a jam-packed agenda in Singapore, hanging out by the gorgeous resort pools reading a book was just what we needed.

Pinkcoco Bali – Our room is pictured on the top left, second floor.

To get from city to city and to the next tourist destination we hired a professional driver to help transport us because neither of us drive scooters, which is the most popular form of transportation in Indonesia. Roads are very narrow, busy, and unkept in many areas and I couldn’t imagine having to drive around by myself!

Ubud is a village in Central Bali surrounded by jungles and rice terraces, and we had a wonderful time exploring here. Here are some of the many highlights:

• The Campuhan Ridge Walk was the first activity we did when we arrived, which was a nice introduction to the downtown area and the rice fields in Ubud.
• One of THE most unique experiences was having a 10 course dessert and cocktail tasting at Room4Dessert, most popularly known for their feature on Netflix’s documentary Chefs Table.
• Visiting Nur Salon and was so lovely and I had one of the best massages of my life!
• We had one day of excursions outside Ubud and visited the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces.
• One morning we did “morning flow” at The Yoga Barn, which was so fun and a truly authentic.

I’m so glad that we were able to visit Indonesia. I’ve always wanted to visit this part of the world, and experience the “eat, pray, love” moments that you hear about on TV and social media. While I did experience so many lovely parts of this country it was hard not to notice the gap you see between the locals and tourists in a third world country. It’s definitely not a reason to steer clear from traveling here, but it’s always nice to have expectations when visiting somewhere new. For those who visit Bali, I hope you have as much fun as we did!

Travel: Singapore

We were ready for the trip of a lifetime. After a slight delay we were in the air and on our way to Singapore, a trip that had been planned for months and it was finally coming to fruition. About an hour in as I stood up to grab my toothbrush and get ready for bed, the pilot came on over the loud speaker: “Upon ascent we hit a flock of birds. We’ve been told that we need to dump fuel for 20 minutes and return back to SFO for an emergency landing.” Then began the delays, one after another. And then we slept in the airport. And then our flight was cancelled. And then we had to wait in a 3 hour line to get a new (*connecting not direct*) flight. We felt as though our vacation was being ruined. Mike was even so bold as to speak with the news!

Thankfully we were able to secure a connecting flight through China the next day, and we only lost 24 hours in Singapore. We had to keep rolling with the punches – my bag did not make it from SFO! But hey, travelling is never easy, but the adventure makes up for the chaos 100% of the time.

Time Spent: 3 Days

The Adventure: When our feet touched the ground in Singapore we were ready to go. Crunching as much as we could into two full days, we walked and ate our way through this amazing city! We observed that Singapore was impeccably clean, modern, and HOT HOT HOT. Imagine the desert heat of Sacramento plus the humidity of Florida. I kept pinching myself to realize that I was 8,000 miles away from home on a completely different continent. Here are some of our favorite activities in Singapore that we would encourage you all to try if ever in Singapore:

1 – Visit Gardens by the Bay These gardens are on NEXT LEVEL epic, and I was in my happy place. It was clear that so much creative thought and effort had been put into these gardens. It was also a nice break from walking around in the heat.

2 – Eating at various “Hawker Stalls” I like to describe hawker stalls as “food court meets strip mall” because many times these open air buildings can hold up to 300 different food stations which specialize in 1-3 different food items. The food is cheap too! We visited Tiong Bahru, Lau Pa Sat, Maxwell Road Center, and Tekka Center. I’d have to say that my favorite foods were Laksa at Maxwell Road and the Chilli Naan at Tekka Center.

3 – Exploring Arab Road & Haji Lane  Singapore is a melting pot of cultures, and I really enjoyed exploring this neighborhood because of its Middle Eastern roots. The Sultan’s Mosque was particularly awe inspiring, and the streets surrounding it were full of fun shops and restaurants. One notable stop was for juice at a street vendor who gave us our drinks to-go in plastic bags 🙂

4 – Staying at Orchard Road No, we didn’t stay in a boutique Air BnB on this leg of the trip…for our first trip to Asia we wanted to be comfortably situated in the Hilton Hotel in a touristy section of the city – Orchard Road. We were happy with this choice! Orchard Road is the shopping center of Singapore (two words: air, conditioning). In the mornings we would get breakfast before catching the train to the next neighborhood on our list.

See for Singapore for yourself and watch our vacation video! 

On leaving & taking new opportunities

Hey guys, it’s been a while since I’ve posted about my professional life, and that’s because I’ve started a new position at a great technology company. In the midst of my decision to leave my former job, I felt overwhelmed and conflicted. There were many indicators that I had to work through in order to make my decision, and over time I realized that many others have felt or experienced similar things in their careers, too.

Some of us are very lucky to love what we do, and the key to growing professionally is to stretch ourselves and gain knowledge through new experiences. Here are a few of the items I had to work through when making the decision to leave my job:

1- The first sign that I identified within myself was that I was plateauing. It happens to the best of us, but when you feel a lack of growth and unhappiness in your job you may want to take it as a sign that you need change. Change can be directed in different ways. It can be internally if you work for a large enterprise, or externally if you’re needing to completely switch it up. There’s so much out there for you to experience, so don’t limit yourself to the feelings that come with plateauing (or a job with “high highs and lows lows”).

2- Through conversations with many friends and colleagues, I’ve found that a lot of us stay in a job for longer than we might want to because we’re scared we won’t find something better. I think that’s because taking risks is hard. I found comfort in conversations with my trusted advisors about this decision, so know that you don’t have to do it alone.

3- There is no shame in leaving your job to pursue a new opportunity. I had a hard time with this one; partially because I had worked at the same company for so long that I felt loyal to those I worked with. Putting in my two weeks notice was a really difficult conversation. I was so concerned about what people would think of me that it induced a sense of anxiety (another warning sign?) which lasted throughout the last days of my employment there.

4- Do you work to live, or live to work? Understanding work in relation to your personal life is important. If you’re like me, you realize that you are passionate about what you do, but in the bigger scope of life you realize that there is more to live for! So if you find yourself in an unhealthy relationship with your job, I encourage you to think about what really matters the most to you in life.

As I write this today, I feel refreshed professionally. I love the feeling of taking on a new challenge, putting together a new puzzle, and strengthening my network. For those considering a big professional change, consider some of my experience within your own, and do not hesitate to reach out.

Best of Sacramento 2018

Since moving to the Sacramento area one year ago we’ve really enjoyed getting to know the local food scene. We love to connect with friends and family over food, so when we arrived we immediately created a bucket list full of over 150 restaurants and activities for us to do! In a lot of ways, having this list has encouraged me to get out and explore everything that this area has to offer. With that said, I am SO excited to share with you some of our favorites from the past year organized by cuisine/food item. Give me a shout if these are some of your favorite places, too!

Best Tea – Tea Xotics, El Dorado Hills If I could own my own business one day, it would probably look something like Tea Xotics. First of all – I found this place on Instagram, and going here has become a favorite Sunday activity of mine! It’s a tea cafe (also serving coffee) that carries a large variety of “treat yoself” products like lotions, hydrosols, bath bombs and more – all locally handmade. A few of my favorite drinks here have included the Matcha Lemonade, Bombay Chai, and the London Fog.

Best Coffee – Pour Choice, Auburn  When I came here for the first time, I met the owner and, because I was undecided, he convinced me to order the iced latte with no additional flavors. Let’s just say that now I am hooked on Verve’s iced coffee and rarely syrups to coffee in general anymore. Am I adulting? The space itself here is so well decorated you will just want to sit there for hours.

Best Mediterranean – Extreme Hummus, Citrus Heights If you’re looking for a cheap, delicious mediterranean fix – perhaps a falafel, greek salad, or shwarma, check this place out! It’s cheap, super casual, and they offer a hummus sampler which who doesn’t love options?!

Best Salad – Garden of Eat’n, Roseville Sometimes finding new places on Yelp does you wrong, but some times it does you GOOD like supplying salads for my lunch over the past year. You could compare it to chipotle’s style of service, but for salads. You can make your own, or order a specific house salad. My favorite is a build my own salad with kale – yum!

Best Italian – Ciao, Roseville My in-laws let me choose a new place to try for dinner on my birthday this year, and I chose Ciao. All the pastas are homemade, and the ingredients are fresh. I had a simple Aglio e Olio pasta and Caprese salad as an appetizer. I’m pretty sure the owners are from Italy. Hence, I need to go back here sooner rather than later.

Best Brunch – Bacon and Butter, Tahoe Park Sacramento There are a lot of fantastic brunch places all around the Sacramento area but this one takes the gold medal. I think something in general that sets restaurants apart is having a memorable dish. At Bacon and Butter I had Strawberry Rhubarb Flapjacks – something I have never eaten before! They were the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant (heart eyes). Mike loved his breakfast burrito, and overall this place is well worth the long line.

Best Fancy Dinner – The Grange, Downtown Sacramento This year I got to celebrate an unexpected life change – starting a new job! To celebrate, we went downtown to have dinner at The Grange. The vibes were super cool, the cocktails were refreshing, and I ate like a queen! I should mention that Grange is Farm-To-Fork like many places in Sacramento, which makes it even more special. A dish that stood out to me was the local corn chowder, which had a truffle reduction.

Best Acai Bowls – Cielo Acai Cafe, Roseville I fell in love with acai bowls during the four years which I spent living in Southern California. Northern California has some great chains (Vitality Bowl, Nekter), but a new boutique cafe opened in Roseville not too long ago that serves the most delicious acai bowls. My favorite so far is the Power Bowl!

Best Sushi – Mikunis, Various locations I’ll start by saying I’m not a huge sushi girl. We’re trying to get into it so that some day when I visit Japan I will be able to eat it there. In the Sacramento area there is a great local chain called Mikunis with a great selection. This place is memorable to me because they have a two-person deal where you can order a few different rolls, appetizers, entrees, and a dessert for one special price. My favorite is the yummy veggie roll with sweet potato.

Best Brews – Moonraker Brewing Co, Auburn For being beer people, we didn’t try as many new breweries as we would have liked to. Don’t get us wrong, we definitely visited 4-5 but we can do better. Can anyone suggest a brewery that is better than Treehouse in Massachusetts though? 😉

You’ve reached the end of my 2018 “Best of Sacramento Area” foodie list, but I cannot end without giving a few special shout outs to awesome restaurants that were big contenders. This includes Brodericks for their veggie burgers and garlic fries, Federalist for their pizza, Hawks for their fancy goodness, Iron Horse Tavern for their comfort food, and Shady Tree and Coffee for being the 2 minute drive that supplies my caffeine fix.

What I haven’t found? Let me know if you guys have any recommendations for Indian, Ramen, or Boba places. Please send them my way!

Travel: Boise, Idaho

When I tell people we went to Boise, Idaho in Mid-March, I get some funny sideways looks. Yes, it’s true that by reputation, Idaho is more of an outdoor destination (if I were to go back I would spend all my time hiking), but we made the best of our trip by eating and drinking our way through the city and avoiding the not-so-great weather. And hey, when you have to check all 50 states off your bucket list by 2022 you’ll take what you can get!

Time Spent: 2 Days

The Adventure:

On a Wednesday evening my husband and I caught a the short, cheap $100 flight from Sacramento to Boise, and when we landed I couldn’t contain my excitement! There’s something about touching my feet down in new territory that livens my spirit. We decided to rent a car since we’d be driving to Seattle after our Boise excursion, and immediately we drove to 10 Barrel Brewing Company for dinner and some vacation brews. I always like to get a beer flight when trying new breweries, but the best surprise was the delicious falafel that I ate there! We decided to call it a night and head to our lovely Airbnb which was brand new, totally affordable, and super clean!

For our only full day in Boise I had planned to spend morning hiking on some trails nearby. The weather was NOT agreeing with us and our California blood (I know, I know what all of you in Massachusetts are saying about me in your heads). Instead of braving it in the 30 degree sideways rain and wind, we decided to grab a cozy breakfast instead at Big City Coffee and Cafe – it came well recommended and we were not disappointed! The restaurant was super cute and packed with locals (mostly college students from Boise State).

 

The rest of our excursions for the day included walking around the Idaho State Capitol grounds with a delicious cardamom latte from Coffee District House, finding the coolest game store ever and a modern fine gifts shope that I was obsessed with, and had a lovely farm to fork table dinner with Mike’s cousin Kayla at Fork Restaurant.

BUT LET ME JUST TELL YOU ABOUT OUR FAVORITE FIND! 🙂

If you ever find yourself in Boise Idaho, you must visit the Boise Fry Company immediately. It’s funny because at first, I hesitated. We had already eaten so much in one day and had dinner plans approaching. But once I saw how fun it was to customize your french fry order at this place I couldn’t resist. First, you choose your potato type, your french fry “cut”, and THEN your endless options of dipping ketchups – blueberry, chipotle, parmesan truffle, sriracha…the list of options went on and on. Give me anything with truffle oil and I’m down!

For the two of us, my husband and I really appreciated the ability to disconnect for a few days from work and balance our lives. Boise was a fun new place to do it, and I hope some day I can revisit with my hiking boots or ski poles.

 

Travel: Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas is a culture rich, food mecca that I loved exploring and hope to visit again soon. I’m blessed to travel from time-to-time for work, and I like to take advantage of those opportunities during the evenings after hours to try new things. What makes Austin even better? The friends that I have who live there! Traveling not only opens your eyes to new things, but provides the space to reminisce on the old.

Time Spent: 5 Days

The Adventure:

As I walked down Congress Street from my downtown hotel to Hop Doddy Burger Bar I fell in love with the endless amount of restaurants, coffee shops, and boutique stores that lined the streets. This is one of my favorite parts about Austin – there seems to be endless experiences ready for a foodie like myself! Although I am not a huge meat eater, Hop Doddy was delicious. I’m not even kidding – I ate the best parmesan truffle fries of my life there – we ordered seconds! There was a great happy hour deal on drinks, and I enjoyed the black bean burger that I ordered.

Another great restaurant that I was able to visit was the Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. My favorite part about it was what we like to call the “vibes.” There was live music, and it seemed like a popular spot for locals to come after work.

BUT HOLD ON FOLKS! Let me just tell you about my favorite restaurant that I went to in Austin. Your guess is probably a southern bbq joint, but nope. On Valentine’s Day a group of my friends from college ate dinner at Thai Fresh – a small, cozy Thai food restaurant where I had the best curry ever. To continue the celebrations, my friends took me to Gourdough’s for a past-time college tradition – donuts. These were not your average donuts! They were massive, and they were loaded. In our case, we got the “Son of a Peach” and the “Black Out” and I could only finish a couple bites of each. Gourdough’s definitely seems like an Austin staple!

I can’t finish this blog post without recognizing a cute little coffee shop that I visited with a friend early one morning before work – Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery. It was so fun to explore the outskirts of downtown because this particular area had an interesting mix of vintage-style businesses and homes.

Austin was almost completely a food and drink adventure for me, but I made sure to visit the flagship store of one of my favorite toxin-free and eco-friendly cosmetic companies – W3ll People. I had my makeup done with a nice little tutorial, bought a few things, and made my way as happy as ever. If you know me, you know organic and healthy beauty products are my fave!

On that note, I’ll end with a sweet little quote I found about Austin to leave you wanting to plan your next vacation there:

“There is a freedom you begin to feel the closer you get to Austin, Texas”

-Willie Nelson

 

Travel: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Days Spent: 5

The Adventure:

My trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico was a different style of vacation than ones that I usually take. 100% of our time was spent at our all-inclusive resort, and the relaxation was much needed! For the first time, my family and I travelled somewhere tropical for the Christmas holiday. I personally thought it was so fun to break from the norm, especially when the norm was 30 degrees warmer! In addition, we never left the campus and took full advantage of everything that the resort had to offer – from the pool and beach, to the unlimited food and drink, to the fun on-site activities.

Because we didn’t leave our resort, I thought I would take a different approach to this blog and teach you some of the ins and outs of all-inclusive resort life by sharing the top five things you need to know before heading into this style of vacation.

1. Set your expectations, but roll with the flow. Staying for a week at an all-inclusive resort is much different than your average hotel or airbnb experience. There are many pros and cons, some of which I will share below, but it’s important to remember that you are on vacation and going with the flow will make your experience less stressful.
2. Clarify how to make dinner reservations with the front desk. This is something that you will want to do upon arrival otherwise risk the chance that you will be eating the same buffet dinner for five days. Normally large resorts have 4-5 different restaurants to dine at during your stay.
3. Participate in activities galore! One of my favorite aspects about all-inclusive resorts is that there is always a plethora of different activities for you to take part in throughout the day. I’m talking water aerobics at 8AM to theatre performances at 9PM. I’ve stayed at two all-inclusive resorts in the past, and some of my favorite activities have included sand volleyball, pool Olympics, and bingo – of course!
4. Prepare for the language barrier. Wherever you travel internationally you will want to approach your trip with a few of the local phrases in your back pocket. However, sometimes there’s just nothing you will be able to do! A key thing is not to expect everyone to know English. When we were eating at our resort at a Mexican restaurant one night we ordered three margaritas and our server brought us back three tequila shots. Sometimes, it’s best to laugh in these situations and continue to go with the flow (as I suggested in #1).
5. Research with the lens of quantity vs quality. I think one of the most interesting things that I have observed visiting all inclusive resorts in Mexico and Jamaica is that often times an extra large resort will mean that the management may have a hard time balancing the quantity of people vs the quality of the experience. When booking your stay, make sure that you understand how big of a resort that you are staying at as well as the price because the cheapest and biggest resort may not be the right fit for you. I felt that the resort we stayed at in Cabo San Lucas was the perfect size, and I would recommend it to those who read this post and pay serious attention to the ins and outs of all-inclusive resort life – expectation setting is everything!

For more information on where we stayed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico visit the RIU Santa Fe website.

Working Remotely: Taboo or Totally Awesome?

It has been about four months since I transitioned to being a remote employee, working from my home office in Northern California with the closest office about two and a half hours away. As a part of my company’s workplace transformation efforts, our CEO would like to see 50% of his workforce remote by 2020. Why? Because according to our workplace website:

Flexibility is a key aspect of Dell’s business strategy that enables us to compete for the best talent…As part of our People Strategy, Dell flexible work options encourages employees to find new ways to work, and focuses on driving business results rather than looking at where work is done.

For me, being able to contribute as a remote employee is empowering. When life changes came my way, in this case moving out of Silicon Valley for a more affordable life, my company supported me through the ability to work from my new home. Our Chief HR Officer recently wrote an article for Forbes about “How A Flexible Work Culture Works for Everyone.” Within this article, he says “Flexible work is the new norm in the workplace, and it’s not going away anytime soon. By providing your teams with flexible work options that encourage collaboration, optimize productivity and allow them to follow their preferred work style, your organization will boost its competitive edge.” However, the question still remains: If companies are adopting these programs, why is this so taboo?

Allow me to be real for a moment. If I had a dollar for every person I’ve encountered that believed working from home is “hardly working”, boring, or lonely, I might have myself a good side hustle. My inspiration for this blog came from these conversations, and I thought it might be interesting to address some FAQs that I’ve received from my friends on social media to see what I can demystify about my own experience working from home.

Q: Since you don’t work in an office what do you do to make your space your own? I love this question! Before we moved, I knew that finding a space with an extra room would be a priority. Since then, I’ve been transforming our second room into my own ideal work space. It’s equipped with natural light, a standing desk, and my personal touches of inspiration. Here are a few photos of my office!

Q: Do you find it hard to stay productive while you’re at home? This question makes me chuckle. I think this question was asked so many times because one of the most stereotypical views of employees that work form home is that they do not do their work and lie around watching TV in their PJs. As you can imagine, this is neither professional nor ideal for someone that works from home. We’re busy. We have important jobs and projects to be completed. For me, being in corporate communications, I am always on the phone or chatting back and forth with co-workers. Like everyone (even those in an office), we all have our days where we don’t get enough sleep the night before, have back to back meetings for hours, hit a lull, or moment of inspiration that increases or decreases our productivity. While I do not need to throw on a dress and heels every day, I can promise you that I am still just as productive as the next person!

Q: Do you change the scenery from time to time and go somewhere else to work? Honestly, for the most part I stay in my office when I’m working. However, if I wanted to I could. I actually find that sometimes coffee shops are even more loud and distracting than your average office space would be.

Q: What is the work life balance like? Do you stop paying attention to emails at a certain time? Living and working in the same space makes being strict with your work-life balance very important. In my field, supporting an executive means there’s a possibility of a fire drill (a project popping up quickly) at any time. Here are a few ways that I personally take a healthy approach to living and working in the same place:

• Take breaks: I like to go for a walk or out to lunch if my schedule allows.
• Shut down on the weekend: I do not like to spend additional hours working on emails or projects on Saturday/Sunday.
• Go to the gym: Once I’m done for the day, I’ll drive to the gym or run errands.
• No emails on phone: Some of you may be surprised to hear this, but I don’t have my work email on my phone (GASP!) Because I am by my computer 24/5 there’s no need for it to be included on my personal device.

Q: What is your average day like? The average day fluctuates depending on how many meetings I have, who they’re with, when they begin, and what kind of deadlines I’m working with. From previous blog posts you’ve learned that I like to be aware of the sacrifices that others are making to meet with me – if they’re staying late or starting early, depending on their time zone. In response to the actual work, I find myself working on many projects at once – sometimes up to 20+ different actions a week.

Overall, as you can imagine, I do enjoy the perks that working from home allows for – a zero minute commute, my own tea/coffee, the ability to adjust the temperature, and so on. I will also say that I am not naive, and I know this type of set up will not work for every profession, but I am truly lucky it works for my own!

Thanks for taking a peek into my life as a full time remote employee. Let’s continue this conversation – feel free to comment below or message me separately!

 

The Role of the Communication Professional During Times of Change

It has been fifteen months since the acquisition of my company occurred. The amount of change has been inexorable – some positive and some negative, depending on the lens through which you see your life. Without giving everything away, this has been a year of sticking it out, seeing through the change, and making it work. It still surprises me when I look back to joining the company over three years ago, and assess where we I am today. Sometimes I think ‘who would have thought?’

Through the many types of changes I experienced this year I have seen strong and transparent communications become a priority. In addition, understanding the team member needs has been of the upmost importance as well. One of the first things that our new company did was to survey both pre-acquisition companies to understand their culture, and identify what values were the most important to them. How cool is that to be a part of the company that values their team members!

During this time, I have been reflecting on why having a communication professional on your team is so important during such times. Our team members have been going through a consistent and non-stop amount of change – new processes, new teams, new leaderships, new technology…the list goes on and on. I find communication professionals are vital to the success of the business: driving internal team member engagement, creating key messaging, supporting executives and their teams, and being an approachable, listening ear through times of change.

There are two important and specific ways that communication professionals can support their teams and executives through times of change. The first is through creating messages and making decisions that are audience-centric. The strategies you design and the campaigns you plan should be targeted at addressing the needs of the person reading, watching, and participating in your communication efforts. How can you do this and become more aware of your audience’s wants and needs? Here are a few ways:

1. Ask them! Create an annual communication survey to receive valuable feedback that shapes your plans and programs.
2. Create regular touch points. Meet and consult with stakeholders from your business regularly to have a dialogue about upcoming communications, share best practices, and most importantly listen to what is going on within their teams.
3. Build relationships. Become a presence within your organization – one that has an open door policy, loves creative ideas, and has empathy.

The second role that a communication professional should play is to be a strategic advisor to your executives and teams. Being a strategic advisor means that you use your experience mastering the art of communication to advise your stakeholders on the best ways to communicate, whether that be how to create a vision deck for the year, how to host an engaging all-hands meeting, or how to plan and promote an event. Some of the key ways to do this are through creating a strong portfolio of work, building a relationship of trust, and by being yourself!

I count myself very lucky to love what I do, and I hope that some of these ideas are relevant to other communicators and business professionals alike. I’d love to hear from you!

Travel: Zurich

This Fall I had the pleasure of traveling to Switzerland on business, and as all of you know I never pass up an opportunity to see the sights when I travel. Four years ago I visited this beautiful country for the first time, and I was so excited to return. However, this trip signified something very special – my first solo trip internationally! I think about this adventure every day, and for those that follow me on Instagram you know I still have not stopped posting about it.

Days Spent: 5.5 days

The Adventure:

I waited with anticipation for my flight to Zurich from SFO, feeling ready to take on my first solo journey. With only a couple of days to explore on my own before the work portion of my trip began, I made myself a jam packed agenda that included lot’s of walking, tasting, and touring. Before I share some of my favorite parts of my trip, I want to share some insights:

1. Zurich is a melting pot. Like Switzerland in general, there is a beautiful diversity there – you never knew what language a person would speak when they opened their mouth. Most of the time it was German, but seeing as Switzerland five countries you could never know for sure. Thankfully, everyone spoke English there so communicating was never a problem for me.
2. Zurich is somewhere I could see myself living. Between the lovely city center, it’s surrounding neighborhoods, and hub for businesses, it seems like the perfect mixture of city and suburb.
3. Zurich is surrounded by some of the world’s most stunning scenery. From the lakes to the alps to the bright green hills, I was in nature heaven.

When I booked my trip, I looked at the map of Switzerland and immediately began planning a way to check another European country off my list. To my surprise, I noticed a tiny country, the Principality of Lichtenstein, bordering Eastern Switzerland. I had to get there, so I booked a cheap day trip by bus which took me through Rapperswil, the road to the Alps, Vaduz, and Heidiland. A bus trip with other travelers was a great way to spend my time and meet some interesting people, especially since I was traveling alone. We didn’t spend too much time in Lichtenstein, but the journey there was worth the trip!

When I surveyed my friends and family for ideas on what to do and see in Zurich, I was surprised that nobody I knew had spent enough time there to give actual recommendations. Between the few that I did receive, and some extensive research, here are some of my must-do’s when you travel to Zurich:

1. See Lake Zurich by boat. I found a lovely two hour boat tour around Lake Zurich that circled the lake and the many small towns that line it. I fell in love with each stop, and although I did not get out and explore, I knew that my potential vacation home could be on this lake 😉 It was beautiful!
   

   

    

2. Walk through downtown Zurich & up to Lindhof Hill. Most of my time on this trip was spent wandering through the cobblestone streets, wide eyed and loving my surroundings. Around every corner was something new and beautiful – like a fountain full of roses or a river with white swans. Lindhof Hill had my favorite vantage point of the city, river, and mountains.
   

   

   

   
3. Milch Bar. Right off the main shopping avenue, Bahnhofstrasse, was a little coffee shop called Milch Bar that was tucked away in a quiet quiet corner. I remember my feet being so tired from walking, and this was the perfect cozy spot to relax (and Instagram, of course).
   

   

   4. Sprungli Cafe. Swizterland is known for it’s chocolate. Have you ever heard of Lindt Chocolate? Well it’s made in a factory located on Lake Zurich! There are plenty of chocolate shops around the city, and I happened to stop into Sprungli one morning and did a little shopping 🙂 I may or may not have spent too much money on chocolate goodies.

The last time that I visited Europe was in 2014, and somehow between then and now I had forgotten what a magical place that it is. Now, after visiting Zurich, I’ll never forget!