Taste of Siargao Island

Taste of Siargao Island

There's a surprising amount of restaurants to choose from on tiny Siargao Island– we were there for two weeks and still didn't try everywhere on Tourism Road! We were also surprised by the amount of international cuisine available: Italian, Japanese, Hawaiian, Mexican, Indonesian, to name a few. Each restaurant typically had a couple Filipino dishes on the menu, but there weren't as many traditional Filipino restaurants in the area as I would've expected. All that to say, Siargao is full of delicious options! Read on to hear everywhere we ate during our two week stay.

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How We Scored Business Class Seats for the Price of Economy

How We Scored Business Class Seats for the Price of Economy

We booked our trip to the Philippines on a whim, thanks to an amazing “mistake fare” flight deal – literally, this means the airline made a "mistake" on the price! I found this unbelievable deal thanks to Scott’s Cheap Flights, an email newsletter that simply sends out alerts on awesome international flight prices. After subscribing on the free plan for a couple years, I paid the $39 annual free for "premium" membership and it immediately paid off when I received this alert just a few weeks later: $600 round trip BUSINESS CLASS seats to Asia! This exact business class round trip ticket normally sells for $6,000.

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Weekend Getaway to Austin, TX

Weekend Getaway to Austin, TX

I've always heard Austin, TX was a really fun city, like a mini-San Francisco (imagine a liberal bubble in the middle of Texas) with great food and lots of live music. After our quick 3-night stay in Austin– I totally agree! Because there's a wavepool in nearby Waco, Shaun and I decided to take another weekend getaway to somewhere we typically wouldn't travel to.

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New Mexico on Film

New Mexico on Film

Shaun's hobby of film photography is a really fun way to capture authentic moments. Since you basically get one shot per photo (unlike the dozens of identical images that I collect on my iPhone), it's super exciting to get the photos developed and revealed. Sometimes they're ruined by light leaks, sometimes the color is totally off, and sometimes it's a perfect imperfect photo.

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A Weekend in Santa Fe

A Weekend in Santa Fe

Because of an amazing credit card promo, I received a year-long Southwest Airlines companion pass and 40,000 points! We decided to use the opportunity to explore parts of USA that we normally wouldn't spend money to visit (*cough cough* because there's no ocean nearby). First up, Santa Fe, New Mexico– The Land of Enchantment!

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The Magical Town of Sintra, Portugal

The Magical Town of Sintra, Portugal

Walking through the quaint town of Sintra feels like you stepped back in time and into the setting of a fairytale— I couldn't shake the image of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves from my mind. The colorful buildings stacking up the hills along the narrow cobblestone alleyways with multiple castles scattered in and around town (including one visibly towering over the streets), set the stage for a dreamy afternoon in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of beautiful Sintra, Portugal.

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Big Sur: Tent Camping In December

Big Sur: Tent Camping In December

Beautiful Central California blesses us with sporadic days of sunshine, even in the dead of winter. Back in December, I noticed an upcoming heat spell and 72 hours later, we were driving down to Big Sur for the night. Our hometown of Santa Cruz, CA is just 90 minutes drive from the world famous coastline— so of course we spontaneously planned a quick camping trip!

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The Afternoon in Bordeaux

The Afternoon in Bordeaux

We had a day off from the Lacanau Pro surf contest, so we ventured an hour inland to spend the day in Bordeaux – known as a world-famous wine growing region. One of the largest cities in France, Bordeaux is actually a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site for its exceptional architecture and urban design from the 18th century.

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Lacanau-Océan Street Market

Lacanau-Océan Street Market

The open streets market in Lacanau-Océan every Wednesday is a one-stop-shop for everything your heart desires. Cheese, leather goods, meats, fabric, cheese, knick-knacks, cheese, new and used clothes, escargot, bread, cheese, fruits, veggies, underwear, pottery, games, candy, pastries... and cheese! The streets are packed like Tokyo, but the goodies you'll find make it all worth it.

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One Night in Paris
City Guide, France City Guide, France

One Night in Paris

Shaun and I landed in Paris at 4pm after an overnight direct flight from San Francisco and we had a train booked for the following morning at 7am, so we literally had only 15 hours in Paris. Although we were exhausted (to say the least), we still wanted to make the most of our limited stay in the city of love!

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The Bathsheba Rock Pools

The Bathsheba Rock Pools

The East Coast of Barbados is worlds away from bustling Bridgetown and the tourist-centric South Coast. It's an incredibly quiet town abounding with locals, and remains true to its roots of genuine Bajan charm. However, the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast does not mirror its Caribbean counterpart of picturesque, calm turquoise waters... The coastline in Bathsheba is rough and uninviting to swimmers, with strong surf and an intimidating reef/coral bottom. Luckily, the rocky shores create a handful of nature-made pools for the timid swimmer like myself to still take a dip! 

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Basse-Pointe, Martinique Surf Pro

Basse-Pointe, Martinique Surf Pro

Typically, our travel destinations are determined by surf competition locations. This Caribbean getaway was no exception! We came to Martinique for the Martinique Surf Pro which Shaun competed in. The contest was held at a remote point break in Basse-Pointe, on the northern end of the French West Indies' island of Martinique. The northern half of the island is rugged with jungle and rocky cliffs, sprinkled with tiny towns every few miles.

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Big Sur: Day Trip

Big Sur: Day Trip

This gorgeous slice of California's West Coast between Carmel and Cambria is world renowned for it's photogenic coastline that's essentially in pristine condition. And we're lucky enough to live just a quick 90 minutes drive away! This past weekend, Sunday afternoon graced us with a rare day of sunshine (amid weeks of storms), so we spontaneously decided to head south and enjoy a few hours exploring the northern tip of Big Sur.

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Why I Love Airbnb

Why I Love Airbnb

Airbnb has been a travel lifesaver for us! For instance, we've been to a handful of tiny towns for a surf contest that only offer one or two hotel options within dozens of miles. Or (more commonly), when we visit a tourist-popular city (think: Paris, Sydney, Tokyo), all of the decent hotels are all ridiculously out of our price range. We used Airbnb in every country we've visited so far: up and down Australia's east coast, before/after our camper van reservation in New Zealand, in villas while in Bali Indonesia, in the heart of Tokyo and out in Japan's countryside, down the Atlantic coast of France and in the center of Paris, as well as for our quick trip to Spain. I'll be honest — some Airbnb accommodations have been better than others. We've stayed in a fabulous penthouse, but we've also seen cockroaches. I'll break down the good, the bad and the ugly, and ultimately, why I highly recommend using Airbnb!

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