Weekly Workouts //

My Healthy Travel Essentials #travelwell

Weekly Workouts //

Monday, 5/14: 2 mi. run + glute superset workout

Tuesday, 5/15: 2 mi. walk/jog + home workout

15-1 reps with 25lb. kettlebell:

swings
deadlifts
squats

finisher:

(3x) 5 push-up, squat, bicep curl with 10lb. dumbbells
30 mountain climbers

Wednesday, 5/16: backyard workout

(5x)

30 high knees
10 sumo squat high pull with 25lb. KB

(3x)

30 jumping jacks
20 walking lunges with 30lb.
10 deadlifts with 30lb.

(3x)

5 push-up + bicep curl, 30lb.
10 curtsy lunges, 30lb.
10 jump squats

(3x)

20 swings, 40lb. KB
5 burpee + tuck jump

Thursday, 5/17: rest/travel day

Friday, 5/18: no equipment travel workout

Saturday, 5/19: active rest: trail walk ~15K steps total

Sunday 5/20: rest/travel day

Monday, 5/21: rest: tried to workout at home, wasn’t feeling feeling it

Tuesday, 5/22: 2 mi. jog + home workout

(3x)

10 squats, 25lb.
10 single arm snatches, 25lb.

(3x)

10 deadlifts, 30lb.
10 single-leg deadlifts, 25lb.
20 calf raises, 30lb.

(3x)

5 man makers, 10lb. dumbbells
10 single arm squat + high pull, 15lb.

Wednesday, 5/23: short dog walk + gym workout

Thursday, 5/24: home workout

(5x)

20 swings, 25lb.
15 lunges, 30lb.
10 thrusters, 30lb.
5 burpees

Friday, 5/25: 1.5 mile jog

Saturday, 5/26: gym workout

Sunday, 5/27: 1 mi. run (cut short due to storm)

If you’re looking for more at-home or travel-friendly workouts, check out my Workouts page.

Have a great week!

xo Hill

Do you aim to stay active while traveling?

What are your go-to ways to workout/move while traveling?

California Dreamin’

May 25, 2018 by Hillary Leave a Comment

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

While Nick and I are both ecstatic about the fact that he has four days off (woohoo!), there is a hefty storm in the forecast: Tropical Storm Alberto is our first official storm since moving to The South. It doesn’t look like it will be a typical sun-filled, bbq-ing Memorial Day weekend for us. Instead, I am going to be daydreaming of last weekend’s trip to California [read: My Healthy Travel Essentials]. Nick and I both agree that we wish we could relive that trip all over again, and we wouldn’t change a thing. I am sharing some footage from our trip because it’s a weekend I don’t want to forget.

California Trip | May 17-20, 2018

Sacramento & Chico

— lunch with friends at Zocalo, al fresco

— sweet rehearsal dinner at The Red Rabbit

— two amazing (gluten-free) brunches at Pushkin’s

— all the Philz Coffee (nothing beats it!)

— ride in style in our rental Prius (when in Cali, go green)

— watch one of my besties, Court, marry her person #weddinggoals

— drinks & dancing with Kayla + the kiddos

— trail walk in Upper Bidwell Park with my bestie, Kendra

— stroll the farmer’s market with Sweet Cottage iced tea in hand

— soak up the sun in Lower Bidwell Park

— B Street chips & guac, obviously!

— downtown shopping with my BFF

— Parkside Tap House, for good measure

— the ultimate vegan pizza at OneSpeed with Grace

Philz Coffee | Midtown Sacramento

The best (gluten-free) avocado toast with poached eggs at Pushkin’s | Midtown Sacramento

Picked up a 6-pack of juice shots at Pressed Juicery | Midtown Sacramento

My dapper wedding date.

The stunning Mr & Mrs!

My forever happy place | Chico Certified Farmer’s Market

In my element.

Bidwell, always beautiful.

Bursting with joy, literally.

This girl, my BFF — I miss her so.

Thank goodness we’re headed back to NorCal in just a couple of weeks. Until then, I am going to ride out the storm this weekend by cozying up and doing all the online shopping (hello holiday sales!)…err, job searching. Speaking of Memorial Day deals…

Beautycounter has a steal: with any order of $125, you get a FREE travel-sized Cleansing Balm or Body Butter. Plus, I am throwing in FREE SHIPPING for anyone who takes advantage of the weekend deal.

>> Shop Safer Skincare

Have a fun & safe weekend!

xo Hill

My Healthy Travel Essentials

May 22, 2018 by Hillary Leave a Comment

Hi! I hope your week is off to a good start. I am settling back in to Florida Life after an uh-mazing long weekend in California — it was simply the BEST!

Seeing that I just got home from a trip and I am traveling back to California again in a few weeks (hallelujah!), I thought I’d share my healthy travel essentials. Flying from coast to coast is a bit of a trek, so I make sure to pack plenty of snacks to avoid the overpriced food inside the terminals. I will say, however, depending on which airports you’re traveling through, you can find healthier options these days. I’ve found local kombucha, Pur gum (mentioned below), coconut chips, and a variety of healthy snack bars and nuts to name a few.

Regardless, I’d rather be safe than sorry in case I’m stuck with a long layer and nothing but a Dunkin’ Donuts nearby, so I try to get as much of my own food through TSA as possible. These are the items I threw in my carry-on for last weekend’s travels…

My Healthy Travel Essentials

Vital Proteins Bone Broth Collagen // These packets are all too conveient for traveling of any sort. All you do is mix with water and voila — nourishing, protein-rich bone broth! The unflavored collagen stick packs are also a must if you like to add collagen to your coffee like I do!

Justin’s Nut Nutter Packets // These are not only great to have in your carry-on, but in your purse or glove compartment for emergency snack situations. Squeeze right into your mouth, or pair with a banana or instant oatmeal (which if you don’t have with you, can usually be found inside the terminal).

Herbal Tea // I’ll usually stick a couple of herbal tea bags in with my snacks. You can typically ask the flight attendant for a cup of hot water to which you can add your own tea. Tea can help relax you, sooth an upset stomach, and warm up your core (planes are unforgivably cold!).

Energy/Snack Bars // While this isn’t original, it is unquestionably practical. Bars are the ultimate travel snack as you don’t have to worry about them getting smashed. I choose bars with few ingredients and nutrient-dense (i.e. calories please!).

Four Sigmatic Adaptogen Coffee // I need to give this coffee a few more chances (there are several different options to try, too!), but I think has potential. Not only are the instant coffee packets extremely portable, but you don’t have to rely on cruddy coffee from who knows where. Again, just ask the flight attendant for a cup of hot water and mix in!

Pur Gum // Gum serves a couple different purposes when you’re traveling high in the sky: 1) freshen stale breath, and 2) pop your ears. I usually find these large bags Pur gum at TJMaxx or Homegoods.

Dark Chocolate // Can’t travel without it. If I don’t back a bar to nibble on, dark chocolate almonds are also very travel-friendly.

Hand Sanitizing Wipes // I purchased these travel-sized wipes at Sprouts, but I often having a full-sized pouch in my car. If that’s the case, I’ll put a few in a Ziploc bag and throw it into my carry-on. Because a) germs, and b) eating all those snacks can be messy.

My Almond Flour Banana Muffins with Coconut (and chocolate!) also travel well; they are subject to getting smashed, but they taste all the better that way. These come in handy for those early morning flights. Add a cup of collagen coffee, and you’ve got yourself a wholesome breakfast on the go.

California to Florida | Cross Country Road Trip

What are your healthy travel essentials?

What is a must-have in your carry-on bag?

Do you have any healthy airport hacks?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

California to Florida | Cross Country Road Trip

January 25, 2018 by Hillary 2 Comments

If you follow me over on Instagram, you may know that I went on a cross country road trip last month. It was a semi-spontaneous, planned at the last minute, can’t miss this, sort of a trip.

Now that I am back in Chico momentarily – blogging on the floor of my empty living room – I’m documenting the trip, if at the very least, to capture the highlights of this happy holiday adventure. In other words, it’s a compilation of photos snapped with my iPhone (since that’s as fancy as I got) to remember how I spent the final couple of weeks of 2017.

What. Why. When. Where.

What

A cross country road trip from Chico, California to Tampa, Florida.

3,203 miles. 7 days. 7 states.

Why

My boyfriend (who is in the Air Force) received orders that his new duty station would be in Tampa, Florida and he had to report on December 27th. Two days after Christmas!? Why, Air Force, why? We contemplated multiple travel plans in order to be with family for the holidays, but ultimately traveling through Christmas via his vehicle (in order to get his truck and dog to Florida) seemed to make the most logical sense.

I also contemplated, briefly, about staying in Chico to work, as my last official day was right around the corner; but, hey, when life presents such an opportunity to take a road trip across the country (even on Christmas), you do it!

When

In order to arrive in Tampa on Wednesday, December 27th, we decided to leave on December 20th giving us seven days on the road. I know it’s entirely feasible to drive across The U.S. in much less time, but 12+ hours of driving per day did not appeal to either of us.

So, we packed up his truck with his sweet puppy, a case of Sierra Nevada beer (which got stolen at some point), and a Blue Tooth speaker (since his car stereo was out of commission). Can you imagine driving said distance without music!?

Just days prior to embarking on our adventure, I asked my geography-guru of a mother to map out a route for us, and a wonderful job she did! Hallelujah for Google Maps too. Just saying. I don’t think it led us off course once during our journey.

Where

Day 1. Chico, CA to Barstow, CA | 483 miles

We opted to go down the central valley of California versus “over the through the woods” (a.k.a. the Sierra Nevadas) to avoid hitting any possible winter weather on Day 1. Driving down the middle of California certainly isn’t the prettiest drive, but we got some good mileage under our (seat)belts. Barstow is anything but a destination, but it did its job as a sleeping spot and gave us a direct shot into Arizona for the grandest destination on Day 2.

Day 2. Barstow, CA to Tusayan, AZ [Grand Canyon] | 450 miles

Nick and I were both silly excited about Day 2’s destination. I have been to Grand Canyon National Park once before, when I was in middle school, but it was Nick’s (and Koba’s!) first time. Tusayan (not to be confused with Tucsan) is a tiny tourist town a few miles from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. If you notice on the map, the canyon was a bit “off route”, but we both agreed that it was totally worth the extra miles.

We made it into Tusayan just as the sun was setting, so we rushed through the park entrance to be at an overlook point at sunset. We caught the tail end of it, as the sun was nearly down, but the sight of the Grand Canyon still took our breath away in the dim December evening light… and/or the freezing cold temperatures may have had something to do with that!

One of my favorite photos, albeit blurry.

I did my best to pack clothes for a variety of climates, but I didn’t realize just how cold most of our trip would be, especially in Arizona and New Mexico. There was a light dusting of snow and ice in Tusayan; the temperatures were single digits! Needless to say, ridiculous layering of undershirts, flannels, socks, hats, scarves, and gloves (none of which matched) ensued to avoid my unavoidable Raynauds. Holy brrr!

The only one of us that didn’t mind the frigid temps was our furry pup. She thrives in the cold and probably could have played outside all day. Koba had her photo taken with more than one foreign tourist. She has her own set of paparazzi!

Ambitiously, our plan was to begin Day 3 by watching the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. Basically we hightailed ourselves in every piece of warm clothing that we had packed back to the South Rim area again for morning views of the canyon.

Of course we yearned for more time to actually explore and hike, but we had to hit the road. Plus, we planned to stop in Flagstaff, Arizona for brunch. It was my second time to this university mountain town in northern Arizona, and I’m only craving more of it (with a trip to Sedona!?). The inviting downtown scene with outdoors-y shops has my name all over it.

We ate at MartAnne’s for brunch, a quirky spot with funky decor and southwest fare. The blueberry banana buckwheat pancakes hit the spot!

Day 3. Tusayan, AZ to Santa Fe, NM | 729 miles total for Days 3 & 4 (forget to record mileage on Day 4)

Day 3 took us into New Mexico. Originally we had planned to stop in Albuquerque, but once my aunt and uncle said that Santa Fe was one of their favorite cities (and they travel a lot!), we altered our route. Again, it was a little bit “out of the way”, but worth it. Santa Fe turned out to be one of our favorite stops of the entire trip.

We got into town on Friday night. We had high hopes of eating dinner at the “best restaurant in the country” according to my uncle, Cafe Pasqual, but we couldn’t get a reservation until 9:30pm, so we opted for his second choice: The Shed.

A bustlin’ place on a Friday night, located in an old adobe build in the heart of downtown Sante Fe. I had the strongest margarita of my life, and the veggie tamales knocked my socks off. The Shed gets five stars from us for both food and atmosphere.

We were in no rush to get to our next destination in West Texas, so we had a leisurely Saturday morning exploring downtown Santa Fe. We filled our thermoses with hot coffee at the tiniest coffee shop I’ve ever seen, Holy Spirit Espresso, and then meandered the streets, Koba entail (pun intended). Turns out, Santa Fe is extremely dog friendly, so Koba was welcomed most everywhere we went. Several of the shops had water bowls, treats, and even invited her inside. Except for the cathedral. We took turns going inside. And what a magical experience! Seeing that is was two days before Christmas, the choir was singing Christmas carols and it was decorated elegantly. Despite not being religious, I can appreciate the splendor of such establishments. It reminded me of visiting Notre Dame in Paris, flooding me with immense feelings of peace and gratitude.

The plaza (pictured above) where we had dinner the night before was now lined with artists selling beautiful sterling silver and turquoise jewelry, among other handmade trinkets. All of the artists (who said that they are out there every day!), were incredibly friendly. I couldn’t pass up purchasing a couple of Christmas gifts.

Day 4. Santa Fe, NM to Lubbock, TX | 729 miles total for Days 3 & 4 (forget to record mileage on Day 4)

Day 5. Lubbock, TX to Baytown, TX | 555 miles

In short, Texas was big and barren. We had originally planned to stop in Austin for a night (Sunday, Christmas Eve), but we opted to drive further to Baytown (east of Houston) so that we’d have a shorter drive on Christmas Day/more time to explore New Orleans. Note: no need to go to Baytown again.

Texas was uneventful and flat. But, nevertheless, we saw a part of the country we’d never seen. We drove past oil rigs, cotton fields, and windmills. And tumbleweeds, those too! The route we took from Lubbock to Baytown was desolate. We would have made a pit stop at Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas, but the home of Fixer Upper was closed Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve 2017 was spent eating sushi during the closing hour of a Japanese restaurant not far from our hotel. Holiday homesickness is a thing and we both were missing our families a lot; but, we both knew it was just this once… just this one time that we’d be in this nondescript east Houston oil town on Christmas Eve. Plus, we had playful Koba girl to keep us smiling.

Day 6. Baytown, TX to New Orleans, LA | 325 miles

We woke up Christmas morning excited to hit the road to NOLA! It was a shorter day of driving, purposefully, as to have more time to explore the city. I’m pretty sure we drove on Interstate 10 East for at least three days straight. Through the swamps and over the bayous to NOLA we go… we cranked up Christmas music, called our families to wish them a Merry Christmas, and by mid-afternoon we were in the heart of New Orleans. Ignorantly so, we thought the city would be quieter since it was a holiday, but wrong we were. The city was still very much alive.

It was semi-overwhelming exploring the streets of the French Quarter with our fluffy, wants-to-kiss-every-stranger of a puppy, but we enjoyed strolling the historic cobblestone streets — festive in decor, loud with construction, and spirited with live music and joyful tourists and locals alike.

And let’s just say that Christmas dinner was a bit of nightmare. Ok, I could be exaggerating. We didn’t go hungry (obviously!). Though finding a restaurant without a reservation in a big city on Christmas resulted in two hangry individuals wandering the streets looking for a restaurant fit for this foodie. I ended up demolishing the largest plate of veggie pasta, we gave our charming waitress a large Christmas tip, and called it a night.

We had one priority left on our to-do list before we left New Orleans and tackled our final day on the road. Beignets! Pure sugar and coffee is ideal driving fuel, no? Enter Cafe du Monde with a line of tourists that wraps around the block waiting for fried sugary dough doused in powdered sugar and washed down with chicory coffee. Street musicians kept us entertained as we waited in line, but it didn’t take absurdly long before we were inhaling powdered sugar for breakfast at an outdoor table surrounded by every other tourist doing the same thing.

Day 7. New Orleans, LA to Tampa, FL | 661 miles

We saved the longest leg for the last day. Oh yes we did. I mean it wasn’t by choice, but since NOLA was a non-negotiable, it’s how it had to be done. Enter 661 miles/10+ hours of driving — woo!

I found a Whole Foods in Alabama, and we skimmed through the south of Mississippi before crossing the Florida border. Yay for crossing off a few new states on “my list” this trip.

We pulled into Tampa late Tuesday night, December 26th. We made it! It still blows my mind that we encountered zero issues the entire week on the road. No car issues. Not a drop of rain. No iffy weather (aside from the shear cold).

Never did I think this is how I would wrap up 2017, but I couldn’t have imagined a better finale to finish off a year for the books! This road trip filled me with courage, endless laughter, purple potato chips, and memories that will last a lifetime. Sure, our Christmas holiday was anything but ordinary, but if I’m learning anything at all, it is that the best things in life are often unplanned and unexpected.

A Summer to Remember #thisissummer #summer2017

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A Summer to Remember

September 14, 2017 by Hillary Leave a Comment

There is always that one summer that changes you.

Now that it’s mid-September, the summer adventures are winding up and I can feel Fall making its way here with cooler mornings and shorter days. I am more than ready to welcome a new season because Summer 2017 was completely satisfying; it was truly one of the best summers I can remember — filling me up with more adventure, love, and gratitude than I could have ever imagined.

Summer 2017 Memories

– a blissful tropical vacation in Kauai with family, including: snorkeling, swimming with sea turtles, hiking the Napali Coast, sipping fresh coconut water, hiking through the lush jungle, and enjoying casual sunset dinners on the lanai

– chasing waterfalls with friends & furry, 4-legged friends

– camping (and kayaking) at Whiskeytown Lake for 4th of July weekend

– cucumber mint cocktails & bowls of B Street chips and guacamole enjoyed al fresco

– bike rides to coffee, bike rides to lunch, and bike rides with the Sierra Nevada CEO

– lazy weekend afternoons spent floating on the Sacramento river

– henna tattoos and jasmine mint lavender iced tea

– sunny Saturday mornings buying out the farmer’s market — my happy place

– Chris Stapleton concert with the bestie

– stand-up paddleboard yoga

– a long weekend in Montana with family, including: cruising through Yellowstone with my cousins, shooting a gun for the first time, fishing, backyard BBQs (where I tried my brother’s elk meat!), and the most picturesque hike

– breaking in my first pair of Birkenstock sandals

– viewing the Total Solar Eclipse with 100+ of my coworkers in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Estate Garden

With the first day of fall just one week away, I’m headed off to the Central California Coast for one final hoorah to wrap-up the joyous season that was Summer 2017.

Adios until autumn!

Europe Diary 2015 // Switzerland (Part 2)

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Europe Diary 2015 // Stockholm, Sweden (The End!)

September 20, 2016 by Hillary Leave a Comment

We said our farewells to Switzerland and headed to our fifth and final destination: Stockholm, Sweden. You may be thinking, wow, that’s a bit out of the way, and yes, it did entail a long day of travel getting there – Spiez to Zurich via train and then Zurich to Stockholm via plane – but oh so worth it.

My aunt let us in on a little secret of just how cheap tickets from Stockholm to California are, so we couldn’t pass up the killer deal via Norwegian Air. We scored $300 tickets for a very comfortable non-stop flight back to the U.S. Regardless of the extra travel required to visit northern Europe, my mom and I were both excited to visit Scandinavia (I have Swedish heritage.).

While two nights (one full day) in the city wasn’t nearly long enough, we got a favorable taste for the Scandinavian gem that is Stockholm.

One of the highlights of our visit was that we had booked a room at af Chapman, “a full-rigged steel ship moored on the western shore of the islet Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, Sweden, now serving as a youth hostel” (Wikipedia). This was my first time staying in a hostel, nonetheless a floating one! It was a priceless experience. My mom and I shared a room with bunkbeds, a small table and pair of chairs, and a single sink. The communal showers and toilets were down the hall; you picked up clean sheets from the office/host and made your own bed — simple lodging. On land, the main hostel building had additional rooms for guests as well as cooking facilities and a main dining area. You could purchase tickets for the daily hostel breakfast which was the best “~~hotel~~ hostel breakfast” I’ve had. Slice and toast your own freshly baked artisan bread, thick, creamy yogurt, muesli, jars of hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds, dried fruit… and cold cuts of meat, cheese and crackers as we had also seen in Switzerland.

Staying aboard af Chapman was the icing on the cake during our brief visit, but we didn’t spend much time on the old ship as we filled our one and only day to it’s fullest capacity sightseeing around the city.

Backing up to the evening of our arrival: after a lengthy day traveling, we were dropped off in the heart of Stockholm, luggage in hand, to crowds of Syrian refuges being corralled by police. It was a bit startling to us tourists at first, but we avoided said scene and hopped onto a city bus to the hostel. Once we had settled into our quaint/claustrophobic room, we asked the kind hostel host for dinner recommendations. It was late, but he gave us a recommendation for a restaurant nearby. Having no sense of direction yet of our new surroundings, we walked under the dark sky, 10 minutes more or less, until we came to this farm-to-table restaurant.

Embarrassingly underdressed and without a reservation, the host agreed to sit us for a short while until they needed our table for a reservation. We agreed and sat down at a table for two in a dimly lit, presumably modern yet classy Scandinavian restaurant. The menu had slim pickings for two pescetarians, but our waiter was accommodating to our preferences. He brought us green salads followed by a shrimp toast that tasted more of mayonnaise than anything else. I could hardly stomach the rich dish, but enjoyed my surroundings. The large round table adjacent to ours sat 6 to 8 young adults, dressed in uniform of some sort. They ate and drank in merriment, and several times throughout our meal, they would sing out in unison — in Swedish of course. We never did figure out who they were, or rather what they were celebrating, but their joy was contagious.

Sooner than later, we were scurried from our table to allow for the previously reserved party. We asked for a box of their homemade cookies to go and ate the half-dozen assortment of miniature cookies on our cool walk back to the ship.

We covered quite a bit of ground the following day, crossing off items on our impromptu Stockholm bucket list, including walking the cobblestone streets of old town (Gamla Stan), touring the impeccable Royal Palace, and witnessing the changing of the guards.

We spent most of the day sauntering through the streets of Gamla Stan, window shopping and eating our way through the day. We took a self-guided tour through The Royal Palace mid-morning, including the underground treasury with historic bedazzled crowns and swords and regal attire.

Not far from the palace, we had the loveliest warm espresso drinks at Chokladkoppen, a cozy café in the heart of Gamla Stan; it was written up somewhere as one of Stockholm’s best coffee shops, and we can see why. Complete with an outdoor patio, furnished with fuzzy blankets, it is an ideal place to curl up with a hot beverage and people watch in the old square on a crisp, fall day.

We didn’t figure out the Swedish currency in 24 hours, so we laughed when we realized I had left our waiter a 50 percent tip — when in Stockholm!

We found lunch at another happening spot across the square from Chokladkoppen: soup, salad, and Swedish treats before (or after, I can’t recall) watching the changing of the guard ceremony around one in the afternoon.

Galma Stan Skyline

The Royal Palace

Mom outside the palace

Inside the palace

Marching band during the changing of the guards ceremony at The Royal Palace

In the evening, after spending most of our day in Gamla Stan, we took a long walk in the opposite direction towards the Nordic Museum; unfortunately, it was just closing for the night so we could only admire the architecture from the outside.

By the time we made it back our hostel, we were pooped. We used one of the kitchen’s inside the hostel to whip up some oatmeal (how’s that for our final dinner in Europe!?). The next morning, we packed our suitcases, took a quick stroll to Chokladkoppen for one more memorable coffee and then made our way to airport.

We left the Scandinavian city with our trip souvenirs (sterling silver rings from Drakenberg Sjölin), camera cards full of memories, and all the gratitude for this time spent traveling together in new, beautiful places. I hold this adventure with my mom near and dear to my heart. Until next time, Europe!

My adorable mama in front of our floating ship hostel, af Chapman

So long, Stockholm!

Europe Diary 2015

Europe Diary 2015 // Switzerland (Part 1)

Europe Diary 2015 // Cinque Terre, Italy (Part 2)

Europe Diary 2015 // The Calanques (Marseille, France)

Switzerland Adventures Take II #spiez #swisspyramid

Europe Diary 2015 // Switzerland (Part 2)

September 10, 2016 by Hillary 1 Comment

It’s crazy that is has been almost one year since my mom and I took off on our mother-daughter European adventure. It’s even crazier that I have yet to finish recapping our epic vacation. It truly was one of the best trips of my life.

Our second full day in Switzerland took us to new heights, literally. After staring at the immense peak of Mt. Niesen, a.k.a the Swiss Pyramid, from our hotel window the past couple of days, we decided to just, um, go to the tippy top! This was actually recommended to us from the friendly Swiss family we met on the train traveling in to Switzerland. You can hike up the beast of a mountain, or you can take a train that takes you up the mountain in about 20-30 minutes — a vertical shot to the top.

The itty bitty (but adorable bright red train) was a test to my anxious-self, but when we made it to the top, the 360 degree views were worth the shaky ride. At 7,749 in elevation, the beauty of the white-capped Swiss alps and lush green valleys is unbelievable and can hardly be captured in a camera lens. Standing on the top of a mountain in Europe that I will most likely never stand on again, with sunshine peaking through my sunglasses, and crisp, early October air nipping at my nose, a wave a gratitude rushed over me for this day, this once-in-a-lifetime experience… this oh so wonderful life.

Fun facts via Wikipedia:

The summit of the mountain can be reached easily by using the Niesenbahn funicular from Mülenen (near Reichenbach). The construction of the funicular was completed in 1910. Alongside the path of the Niesenbahn is the longest stairway in the world with 11,674 steps. It is open only once a year to the public for a stair run.

photo courtesy of Mom

Once we descended the mountain and returned to sleepy Spiez, we decided to tour Spiez Castle which was right across the street from our hotel. It is pretty neat to be able to stand in, and climb the creaky stairs, an ancient castle that dates back to the 12th century.

Switzerland took my breath away, encouraged me to venture outside of my comfort zone, and gave me the travel itch to see more of this beautiful Earth that we live on.

If I have the chance to visit this picturesque country again, I would in a heart beat.

photo courtesy of Mom

Mt. Niesen from inside Spiez Castle

Europe Diary 2015 // Switzerland (Part 1)

Europe Posts

Europe Diary 2015 // Cinque Terre, Italy (Part 2)

Europe Diary 2015 // The Calanques (Marseille, France)

A Dream Day in the Swiss Alps #murren #gimmelwald #eurotrip

Europe Diary 2015 // Switzerland (Part 1)

July 12, 2016 by Hillary 2 Comments

That was what I needed: an entire weekend of 1:1 time with mama. Between our weekending of SUPing and bike riding, farmer’s marketing, shopping and baking blueberry peach crisp, she gently reminded me that I have not finished recapping our Europe vacation. How could I not finish this post series!?

Where did we leave off? Yes, that’s right… Italy, where Cinque Terre stole our hearts.

We reluctantly left sweet Sarah and her B&B and headed due north into Switzerland. It was yet another very long day of train travel, but the people we met in the train cars left lasting impressions, especially a pair of middle-aged Australian women with boisterous personalities. One of the two was on a several months-long European adventure, collecting rubber duckies (yes, yellow bathtub rubber duckies) from each city she visited for a nephew back home. Oh, was she a hoot!

A few train stations and many miles (kilometers) later, we arrived in Spiez, Switzerland: a small town on the shore of Lake Thun in the Berner Oberland region. We hadn’t heard much about Spiez prior to our trip, but we chose it for its proximity to Murren and Gimmelwald — which were high on our bucket list.

Switzerland is as fairytale-like as it is made up to be. For the three nights and two full days we were there, we must have pinched ourselves a dozen times each. Is this real life? Green hills, grazing cows, towering white-capped mountains, cheerful flower boxes, garden gnomes and red window shutters. This is real life!

After a simple dinner at our hotel’s restaurant, we got a good night’s sleep before we ventured to the touristy villages in the Swiss Alps.

After a cold breakfast of Swiss muesli and yogurt (of course!), we caught the train (of course!) towards Interlaken. From Interlaken, we caught a bus to Lauterbrunen, and from there, we rode an aerial tram (cable car) up, up, and up to Murren (which is unreachable by public road). Can I toot our own horn for mastering international public transportation?

Murren was a lot sleepier than I had expected. A few tourists here and there, but the single main street was not lively in the slightest. Some restaurants appeared open, though there wasn’t a lot of action per say. High among the iconic alps, you didn’t need anything else but wide eyes and a gracious heart. After all, the views are what you are there for. They are beyond breathtaking.

On the way up in the crammed tram, there were a few daring individuals with large packs of hang gliding gear. We learned that this was a popular place to do such, so as we sauntered through the quiet mountain villages, we watched for little parachutes against the piercing blue sky.

After moseying around Murren, we took the “hike” (a walk on a paved road) down to Gimmelwald, which we had read about in a Rick Steve’s travel guide. After admiring the petite (also traffic-free) village that is Gimmelwald, we caught the cable car back to Lauterbrunnen. We stopped at Airtime internet cafe for a bite to eat, which turned out to be gem with nutritious, mouth-watering options like the roasted butternut and apple sandwich that Mom and I devoured.

Fueled up with “good mood food”, we rode the bus and then the train back to Spiez where we wandered around town for a bit; a low-key evening and some down time was needed before Day 2 of our Swiss adventures — stay tuned!

Spiez, Switzerland on shore of Lake Thun

Our Swiss hotel on the harbor and adjacent to Schloss Spiez Castle

View of Mt. Nielsen (a.k.a. the Swiss Pyramid) from our hotel room

[sketch courtesy of Rick Steves]

Murren, Switzerland | Population: 450

Simple Swiss style

Taking a sip of refreshing, ice cold mountain water

Murren features a view of the three towering mountains: Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau

Mama in Murren

Mom taking it all in as we walked down the mountain to Gimmelwald

“Ain’t no mountain high enough… ain’t no valley low enough…”

The Honesty Shop in Gimmelwald — a self-service shop with antiques, trinkets, and souvenirs

The horizontal structures seen above are for avalanche protection

“Try our good mood food!”

Airtime Internet Cafe | Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Sweet Swiss architeture in Spiez

Europe Diary 2015 // Cinque Terre, Italy (Part 2)

Catching up on Europe posts?

Europe Diary 2015 // The Calanques (Marseille, France)

Europe Diary 2015 // Cinque Terre, Italy (Part 2) #cinqueterre #italy #travel #bucketlist

Europe Diary 2015 // Cinque Terre, Italy (Part 2)

April 24, 2016 by Hillary 3 Comments

As my blog posts have been fewer and father between, there haven’t been as many visitors to Nutrition Nut. And that’s okay with me. If you happen to stop by, then I am grateful; but these Europe Diary posts (that I’m taking my sweet time to write) are honestly to capture the adventure that my mom and I shared last fall. She has been gently nudging me for part two of the Cinque Terre posts since the day I posted part one, so I hope this brings at least a smile to my mama’s face — this one is for you.

For our second and final full day in Cinque Terre, we wanted to hike the infamous trail the connects all “five lands.” This trail is a tourist hot spot, but since we were visiting during the end of the busy tourist season, we anticipated less of a crowd. Before our trip, we did our research on said trail. I thought, for sure, we would hike the entire route: starting at one town and finishing at the opposite (you can walk in either direction). I think it wasn’t until we were chatting at breakfast at Amandolevanto B&B, that we decided do to part of it (you can start and stop in any of the towns). So, we decided to take the train from Sarah’s place – after enjoying another homadmade breakfast on the patio – to Corniglia.

The skies were a bit dreary and grey that morning, so I wore an interesting ensemble of layers, as we didn’t know how the weather would turn. Each of the five towns has a ticket booth for the trail, as it costs a small bit of change to experience the trail through this Italian national park. We bought a couple of tickets and then wandered around amongst other foreign travelers who wore the same curiosity — where does the trail begin?

Start of the trek — let’s pretend my eyes are open ;)

Darling Corniglia (excuse the blurry photo)

Just too sweet!

Not before long, we were climbing rock stairs escaping the town of Corniglia — headed “north.” If you read about each of the trails, the source will typically indicate their level of difficulty. Supposedly, the two trails/hikes we did were the toughest… and the hike from Monterosso to Levanto is the hardest. Tough is a relative term, however, so you don’t always know what to expect from a travel guide or fellow tourists’ accounts. Even for two fit people, I have never in my life been on such a hike. Holy stairs!

We took our time for many reasons: 1) we didn’t have anywhere else to be — this was it!; 2) these trails need your undivided attention: you were either huffing and puffing up 198 stairs, or you were stopping to let hikers pass because the trail is incredibly narrow; and, 3) to take all the pictures, duh!

I think this is Corniglia with Manarola in the background.

Writing this post brings back emotions (or is that you, PMS?). While I’ve stated that our Europe trip, as a whole, is one of the top five events in my life thus far, this day, and this hike, was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Sure, I’ve hiked plenty – it is one of my pastimes – but adventurous is not my middle name, and this pushed me out of my comfort zone.

As Mom and I trekked high above the sea on the cliffs of the Italian coast, my mom expressed that there would never be trails like this in the U.S. In some places (many places!), the trails deemed rather risky/unsafe. As in no hand rails and uncomfortably narrow paths. It was all part of the huge adventure I suppose.

We finally hit the summit that precedes the mysterious descent into Vernazza. You stop to pinch yourself a few times and soak it all it. I want to say the two legs of the hike took roughly a couple hours each; but like I said, we weren’t on race against the clock.

Vernazza, at lunchtime, was a tourism madhouse. I cannot even begin to imagine what it is like during the height of the season. Hungry from hiking, we ordered a couple pieces of fresh vegetable focaccia bread from a hole-in-wall spot (a line outside the door was our indication that it was worth a few of our Euros). The sun came out to join us as we enjoyed our fresh bread by the water. We were on a mission to get to the “castle” in the photos, so we asked around trying to find the route there. Naturally, it turned out to be a zig-zag path of narrow staircases through homes (?) and shops and restaurants. What a view!

Before leaving Vernazza, we got gelato cones… and hence, where our trip hashtag emerged: #willwalkforgelato2015

Basil gelato in Vernazza, you only live once! #YOLO

With the warm sun out to join us, leg two was a challenge. We did not bring enough water with us and paid for it via dehydration. There really isn’t anywhere along the trails to get water, so bring plenty (regardless of the time of year) if you plan to do the hikes.

The only bummer about this incredible day was that we didn’t pack our swim suits. The weather tricked us in the morning with cool, grey skies, but by mid-afternoon/evening – after a full day of hiking in the sun – I was this close to skinny dipping in the Mediterranean… this close. Gah, was it tempting. #onlyregret

Ciao, Vernazza — you are beautiful!

Step by step… to Monterosso.

Monterosso al Mare

I just want to dive in!

When we finally made it into Monterosso al Mare, via the stunning descent through cascading vineyards, we b-lined for hydration. Then we moseyed through the main streets of Monterosso, stopping in a few local shops (I was this close to buying a pair of Italian leather sandals, but they didn’t have my size) and Wonderland Bakery before we caught the train back “home” to Levanto.

If I remember correctly, we scurried on back to the B&B before heading downtown for our final night in Italy. We spent a good while making circles around the blocks (as if we hadn’t walked enough already) in search of a restaurant we remembered from the night prior. Caprese salad, white fish with citrus sauce, and a walnut ravioli dish… sounds about right. I excused myself from the table at the end of our meal because… this sunset. I ran to the beach (across the street) and whipped out my camera. This ending, to this day. It was magical, and I practically had to hold back the happy tears. I pinched myself to make sure it wasn’t all a dream. #bestdayever

I would go back to Cinque Terre in a heartbeat… in heartbeat… and I plan to — won’t you join me?

Catching up on Europe posts?

Europe Diary 2015 // The Calanques (Marseille, France)