City ❀ Country ❀ Beach
Make my surprise Christmas gift take you and your loved one on a weekend getaway to the big apple. Here is a list of everything you can do in two short days as a couple! In addition, it is not hard to explore NYC like …
With innumerable things to do in Hollywood, California, you will certainly be star-struck with our tour recommendations, tips and our two-cents! Many people dream of living like a celebrity and you can certainly get a glimpse here. Hollywood & Vine Streets It was the roaring …
I have to say, that Copa Airlines is one of the BEST airlines when it comes to service! We were all pleasantly surprised when we received food and with REAL utensils! What? Who gets that nowadays? The food was very good, too!
This will be short. We made a layover into Panama’s airport. I took this shot from the plane. I loved the scenery of the coast and was amazed at how many tall buildings there are!
Costa Rica is a great country to visit with a family, as a couple or solo. There is no shortage of activities here. We visited during the summer and, of course, it’s the busiest travel time. However, we did not think it was very populated given the fact that summer time is also the rainy season. The ticos (that’s what they call themselves) know that and run the majority of their errands before lunchtime. When it rains there, it is not your typical shower. It is a heavy rainfall and usually happens after noon. Sometimes it’s like clockwork.
Trek 1 – Volcan Irazú
Volcan Irazú is one of 6 active volcano’s in Costa Rica. There are about 61 dormant or extinct ones. It is also the tallest one reaching over 11,000 ft. If you visit here, make sure to take a sweater. You can get up real close to the sulfur crater. The black ash can be walked on, but only to a certain point. Please, please hold on to your camera, respect the signs and hold your little one’s hands.
When you visit this national park, there is a resting area. Costa Rica is home to the “pizotes.” It is an animal that resembles a mix between a racoon, anteater and a fox. They are thieves! While we were there, a woman had purchased something at a convenient store on site and it stole her bag and took it to their home where there were many more waiting!
Trek 2 – Cathedrals
The Catedral Metropolitana (Metropolitan Church) is located in the capital of San José. It is a beautiful church that was once destroyed by an earthquake; something Costa Rica has a lot of. It is worth a quick stop while you’re visiting the downtown markets and souvenir shops.
Have you ever seen the movie “Edward Scissorhands?” Well, this park located in front of the church will remind you of that movie! Zarcero Catedral and park is located in the city of Alajuela. Alajuela is such a quaint city in Costa Rica. The park is so much fun for kids to see and makes for great photos!
Trek 3 – La Paz Waterfall Gardens
La Paz is a MUST DO while you’re in Costa Rica. Everything you thought of as a rainforest, lush, tropical paradise is right here all in one place!
The waterfalls are amazing. There is a lot of walking and stairs, so bring good walking shoes.
The restroom at La Paz is even beautiful! The sinks are waterfalls! 
La Paz is not just a tourist spot, it is a lodge in which you can reserve for your stay. They have the best views here so make sure you check it out before booking a room in Costa Rica. Yes, that is me (wearing my colorful sneakers) relaxing by the waterfalls. I could have been there for a very long time!
You are really high, so take photos!
The animals were fantastic and our boys loved seeing & touching some of them!
Trek 4 – Movie Night!
One night we took a break from sightseeing because while we were there, the new movie premier of “Jurassic World” came out before it was out in the U.S.! Since we are big movie buffs and our boys really wanted to see it, we took advantage of the early release in Costa Rica. We loved seeing all the ads in Spanish for movies we recognize. “Jurassic World” was a great movie!
Trek 5 – National Museum
Costa Rica’s national museum houses many mysteries. Outside the museum are the mysterious stone spheres. They are mysterious because no one really knows what they were used for. There are currently two on display in the U.S. One is in Washington, D.C. and the other in Massachusetts. The museum is located in the heart of it’s capital city of San José. It contains an abundance of culture and artifacts. It is rich in history and if you want to know the depth of Costa Rica, this is a wonderful place to start your exploration of Costa Rica.
Trek 6 – The city of Sarchí
Sarchí is located in the province of Alajuela. It is an artisan town with unique and personalized artwork. You can request personal or customized artwork and make one of a kind souvenirs. This is where you can find many traditional painted oxcarts and secret puzzle compartment wood boxes which have become popular symbols and souvenirs for Costa Rica. They also have family-oriented businesses of woodworking and leather products.
Trek 7 – Hot Springs
Baldi Hot Springs is also a resort. It is a gorgeous place to spend a day and is considered the world’s largest hot spring! For children, they have a children’s water play area. For adults, you don’t even need to get of the pool for a drink because they have swim up bars. And when you’re hungry, there are 2 restaurants on site that serve delicious food! Relaxing in the warmth of the hot springs among the lush tropical atmosphere makes for a great day of pampering.
Excerpt taken by Baldi Hot Springs:
“25 THERMAL WATER POOLS.
Amidst the tropical rainforest, these 25 thermal water pools are filled by crystalline waterfalls, for the use and enjoyment of al visitors.
The purity of the water will make you feel like you are floating in a oasis of healing, with birds singing all around and the sound of falling water that invites you to relax and recover your wellness and quality of life.”
Trek 8 – Nighttime Zoo
The Arenal Eco Zoo is a great place especially for kids to learn all about the areas amphibian and reptile population. It is all hands on, or in my son’s case (see below) face on! Amazingly enough, the frogs that you think are normally poisonous are not poisonous at this zoo because what makes them poisonous is what they eat. These frogs do not eat anything that makes them poisonous here. The red-eyed tree frog Costa Rica’s iconic amphibian and is illustrated a lot like their mascot. While we were there, we took the adventurous route. We took the nighttime tour. This is the best time to tour this eco zoo because the animals are very active! If you have time, definitely go at night! For more information and reviews click here.
Trek 9 – Ziplining and Sky Tram
Ok. So I’m a big chicken and anything that involves heights or if I can’t touch the ocean floor is terrifying for me. Needless to say, I did not zip line. However, my husband and oldest son did. Our oldest son tried the mini zip line. My husband did the tallest zip line. Our youngest son and I were very comfortable on the sky tram.
We waited comfortably here and enjoyed the scenery. 🙂
My husband is a daredevil when it comes to zip lining, but strangely enough not roller coasters. Hmmm… Well, here he goes!
For more on ziplining in Costa Rica, check out my fellow travel blogger’s experience!
To sum it up, we had an awesome vacation in Costa Rica. It is family friendly and many people speak English. There is so much to enjoy in Costa Rica for all ages!
¡Adios!
If you have a specific question about this post, please email me.
Have you ever been to a place and your mouth just drops in amazement of how beautiful it is? There are many beautiful places in the world, but Arenal Observatory Lodge & Spa is truly the ultimate retreat in Costa Rica! During our trip to Costa …
Ceviche del Rey This Peruvian restaurant, located in La Fortuna de San Carlos near the Arenal Volcano National Park in Costa Rica, has many food options that will leave you satisfied. It is was not crowded at all when we visited. In fact, we had …
Canada was like a vacation like no other. You see, I’m a tropical weather kind of girl and well, as you could have guessed, Canada is cold. And then Canada in December?!? Brrrr! It was -11ºF!!! I have never been in such cold weather in my life!
If you think I’m kidding about it being that cold, check out the icicles my kids were able to tear off a window sill! These things could be weapons! Believe me, I told them quickly to drop them after they tried to use them as swords and lick them. What is it with boys and licking? I should have shown them the movie “A Christmas Story” prior to this trip!
When we arrived, my husband’s aunt whom we were visiting, told us that it was unusual for so much snow to fall in December. It was snowing pretty heavily. I was absolutely fine with that because I although I knew beforehand that it was going to be cold, I was hoping for snow and we got it! Aunt Jean, my husband’s aunt, said: “You must have brought it.” I don’t know how, but I wished for it and it happened!
I was wishing for it because this was our sons first time ever seeing snow! As we stepped outside the airport to get our rental car, that’s when they first saw snow! What a joy it was to see their faces light up with excitement! They picked it up, licked it (again with the licking), and threw it.
When we arrived at our resort, Calabogie Peaks Resort, the kids just couldn’t resist the snow. They built a snowman, made snow angels, and had a snowball fight. Well, we all had a snowball fight! This was my husband’s first time seeing snow, too after all. I had seen snow before, but it was when I was very young and it was only a few flurries.
I talk a lot more and you can see awesome photos of our resort Calabogie Peaks Resort, but we had a blast at the resort’s skiing and tubing facilities. None of us had ever skied or tubed and we were looking forward to it. Let’s just say that I am not that much of a fan of skiing because the shoes hurt my ankles so much and I was like Bambi when he was born! My husband did very well and our kids were like pros! They caught on so much faster than we did.
So, I just stuck with the tubing. That was a lot of fun! We must have gone down that hill at least 30 or more times. It was cool that we didn’t have to drag the tubes, or ourselves when skiing, up the hill with us because they have an automatic ramp.
If you get hungry, visit Shooters Bar & Grill located very close to this resort! It has amazing food with amazing service.
Because it was Christmas week that we were visiting Ottawa, there were only a few places open to tourists. One of those places was Canada’s Parliament. You will love visiting here especially if you’re into History. Book early if you want to visit the Senate and the House of Commons. Each chamber has a certain color. The Senate is red and the House of Commons is green.
Can you guess below which is the Senate and which is the House of Commons?
While you’re out and about in Ottawa, you will most likely encounter the historic Alexandra Bridge which divides the Ottawa province and Quebec province. It is pedestrian friendly. We did not cross it because of the weather, but on a nice day, it would be a fun thing to do.
My husband is big into visiting Historical sites, museums, or pretty much anything that is informative and the kids can learn as they are vacationing. If you have children, these are great ways to incorporate learning and fun simultaneously. They don’t even know that they are in fact learning! Don’t ever think that they are too young or too old to visit places while on vacation because I truly believe that you can talk to your children in terms depending on their age. You’re obviously not going to talk in detail about Hitler and what he did in History to a five-year-old, but you can explain about what you believe is right and wrong and to have compassion and empathy for other people. The Canadian War Museum has many interesting things you can read, see, and touch.
If you have a specific question about this post, please email me.
Shooters Bar & Grill… is a wonderful restaurant that feels more like a diner. While we were on vacation in Ottawa, Canada, we stayed at Dickson Manor Resort in Calabogie which is about an hour and a half away. We needed a close place to eat. …
Calabogie Peaks Resort is an escape of its own because it has everything you want in a vacation! Forget renting a car. You don’t need to! However, if you do rent a car, make sure to check out my post on what to do near Calabogie “Ottawa, …
As the oldest pub in Lancaster, The Three Mariners is steeped in history, located inside a Grade II listed building dating back to the 15th century and one of only two sites in Britain with an original gravity-fed cellar. Our pub has seen it all: from the closure of the Castle Priory by Henry VIII in 1539, to the Jacobite uprisings in the 1700s. The pub has also played an important role in the city’s history. Led from the castle dungeons through a rumoured hidden passage, prisoners were brought here for a ‘last drink’ with their families, and during The Pendle Witch Trials of 1612, where Lancaster earned its nickname as ‘The Hanging Town’ and the dungeons of Lancaster Castle were overflowing, The Three Mariners, then known as The Red Lion, would even hold those awaiting trial in its first floor cellar.
Some of these characters from the past have even decided to stick around – there have been a number of ghost sightings and paranormal activity reported in The Three Mariners over the years and we have even appeared on the popular television series ‘Most Haunted’. Whether you’re an aspiring ghost hunter, a local foodie, or a craft beer enthusiast, we’re sure you’ll feel right at home at The Three Mariners thanks to our warm and welcoming hospitality, menu of hearty British cuisine and our lengthy list of craft beers. You’ll find us conveniently located down Bridge Lane in the city centre. We look forward to welcoming you soon!
If you have a specific question about this post, please email me.
In the summer of 2013, our family visited 3 main destinations in Europe: Scotland, London, and Paris. Welcome to our family vacation to London, England. If you’ve never been to London, you are in for a treat. I was blown away by the architecture and …
