Postcards

I've had a little bit of a late start to my summer travels but it surely I had fun. Not much has happened, but I did have my fun and hope you did too! :)

I'm soo excited about this post because I've been meaning to tell you for so long! If you couldn't tell already, traveling has been/is a huge part of my life. There's so much to see and so little time! One thing to keep in mind, when on the road, it's best to make the most of it- always!

I've done my fair share of travels in groups, but lately its been as a solo traveler. With all the advantages of traveling, of course you miss family and friends. There's so many different ways to keep in touch but now I found a more personal way to keep in touch with loved ones.

Lettr is bringing back the usage of postcards in an all new, modern way. The best part is, you could have a postcard sent within minutes without knowing an address. For me, having Lettr connected to your facebook account is the greatest thing! You enter the name of the person you want to send it to and Lettr will send them a FB message asking them to enter their address. Even if you're getting a card from a (not so secret) secret admirer, your address still stays private from anyone. I've known friends for years but I have no idea what their address is.. sorry!

You start off by selecting a picture for the cover of your postcard. You can choose one already from one saved on your computer, iPhone, iPad or even take a spontaneous one (always the best). Then, you can add a caption,short message, and even add your location. At before choosing your recipient, you can manually sign your postcard. There's nothing better than your customized postcard to be finished off with your signature.

Once your card is processed, Lettr will message the recipient with a message like the following. All they have to do is follow the link, enter their address and voila. The postcard is on its way!

Message sent to recipient 

It's as simple as that. Even better when the price it's for a low price! Lettr is being generous enough to provide a couple of my readers a free postcard! Click here to try it out for yourself! :) Send me snaps of your postcards, I'd love to see them!

Postcards are not only a great way to keep in touch with loved ones, but also to share those memorable trips with them. I personally cannot travel back home without buying my mom magnets to add to her collection and buying myself a souvenir which are postcards. I always buy postcards and write short messages on my experience. It's something I've done for a while and it's nice to look back at them. Maybe one day I can turn that into a project and show my grandkids in the future, but for now I'll keep them in a safe place with my travel magazines :)

My family and I had gone on a hiking trip so I sent a Lettr postcard to us

                                           

                             

Much love,

iPhone Diary

Hey guys!

I was thinking of doing things differently in this post. We all know the saying, "a picture says a thousands words" and I couldn't agree more. Don't you think? I may not be a professional photographer or a photographer at that but, I love taking pictures. Some of the best pictures are the ones unexpected! 

I love looking back at pictures from vacations because not only is the scene captured, but some emotional feeling too. I take pictures because I have a certain feeling at that particular time and place. Some pictures may not do all it's justice, but it certainly brings you back to that exact moment in time.

Anyway, I'm deciding to do my first iPhone diary. No need for explanation or story behind the pictures. Just pictures (a video or two too). Enjoy!

Much love,

Lesley Ann

P.S. Stay tuned for my next post. It'll be something in store for you! :)

Las Vegas bound!

It's time! It's finally time to start my travels of the summer and racking up my miles. First stop - Sin City Las Vegas!

Last year, I traveled to Las Vegas for a girls week long trip. Since it was my first time there, I can see how it's the entertainment capital of the world. Also, gambling and marriage capital of the world. Oh boy!

This time around, I'm headed to Sin City for a couple of days for NKOTB concert but of course, I have to take advantage of the hot, hot sun and pool time! 

It'll be a short trip but definitely worth the fun/sun burn.. Haha

Time to board my connection from Denver to Vegas! Woohoo! 😁

Much love!

Birthday at Starved Rock

                        

Ahh, yes. The big 2-4. Yikes! I wanted to do something totally different this year when celebrating the big day. Previously, to celebrate, I've gone to Spain and Morocco, weekend extravaganzas in the city, and shopped till I dropped. This year, I wanted to get in touch with nature so I headed to Starved Rock :)

Hamburg by Night: part Landungsbrücken

In continuation of HH by night, I had to make the beautiful Hamburg harbor its own post. Landungsbrücken, also referred as, Gateway to the World, is the perfect setting for a wonderful walk, but make sure to bundle up! While on an evening harbor tour, I fell head over heels for this beautiful city even more.

                              

It's fair to say how infatuated I am with this city. I really am! I only wish my pictures could capture half the beauty there is. Unfortunately, majority of my pictures were taken on my iPod in fear of losing my camera, which did happen on my first solo trip to Spain. So many great captures forever gone!

Landungsbrücken to Hamburg is what Navy Pier is to Chicago, the possibilities are limitless. One night, I went with friends to the harbor where jazz night is hosted on a boat, Das Feuerschiff. This boat has it all! It’s a bar, restaurant, cafe, and a hotel. It was my first time listening to jazz that didn't come from my Pandora station and I must say, live jazz is the perfect setting to relax while enjoying a nice tall glass of wine or beer. One thing to keep in mind if you haven’t already is to keep conversations to a bare minimum or you'll be shh'ed.. 

Das Feuerschiff

In September, I had the most EPIC night of my life! I hardly ever use the word epic to describe things so you know something was really epic if I say so. My dear and good friend, F, ALWAYS knew where the parties were at. Give her a day and time and she knew of something happening. This day in particular, Hamburg was hosting a rowing competition from rowers all over the world. They hosted an after party of course F and I had to attended. You can automatically assume the party would be a great one when we were headed to Landungsbrücken. The rowers after party was on a 4-floor ship, literally! It was a 4 floor nonstop party madness. 

                                  

Landungsbrücken is such a great location and everyone knows it. More so the smart business club owners who are located across from it. Leaving the harbor, we went to Golden Pudel. There you can dance to trance and rave till the break of dawn. The place was crowded when we arrived and still was when we left around 6 almost 7 in the morning.. 

Whatever you decide to do at night, there’s one thing you must attend at least once while in Hamburg on a Saturday night- the Fischmarkt (fish market) on Sunday morning.  The great thing about the Fischmarkt is that it’s exactly what it’s called, a fish market. You can find deals on fresh fruits, vegetables, clothing, flowers, and of course Fischbrötchen, a fish sandwich. You may not think there’s nothing special about this but the special thing about it is visitors (some, not all) spend all night partying to attend (we did).  At 6am when the market opens, the go-hard party goers continue the party there. You’re surrounded by food and there’s also a big music hall where they have a live music band playing and of course everybody is chanting and drinking beer. It’s an environment one has to experience at least once. I did for sure, haha!
It was tough staying up all night but it really was an unforgettable night. Unfortunately, I only took pictures of the music hall but when I return later in the year, I will take pictures of the actual market.

Landungsbrücken during the day

I'm so happy to announce I'll be working on a very special project soon. I don't want to give too much away now but make sure to stay tuned to see what it's about. There's something in store for you too :)

Much love,
xoxo

Hamburg by Night: part FOOD

Boy does time go by fast. It wasn't too long ago I was eating as much German food as humanly possible, searching for the perfect souvenirs, and of course the most dreaded activity ever- PACKING! I've been thinking about this post for quite some time because I need every excuse to talk about HAMBURG and 2. I've been meaning to write about the nightlife.

Jungfernstieg

Girls Weekend Trip to Prague!

Lennon Wall

I'm so excited to share details from the lovely city of Prague, finally. This trip was kind of spontaneous with a friend of mine,P, from school. She suggested she wanted to go and of course I said yes, but we actually never really had the time to plan it.. at all. Usually in your home country, you'll be fine without the planning. We have the use of GPS, cellphones, internet, contacts, etc,. Basically anything and everything! On my Road Trip to Nashville (that was decided that day to go), we booked a hotel over the phone, on our way to Nashville. Anyway, when you're in an unknown city with a language you have no previous knowledge to, was rather difficult.

Der Schweiz- Switzerland

Switzerland- the country with four official languages: German, Italian, French, and Romansh. Talk about multicultural! Switzerland also has the finer things such as cheese, chocolate, and pocket knives. What a great combination. I will say, the chocolate really is to die for- yum!

Schloss Neuschwanstein

Bavaria. Good o'l southern Germany. There isn't one thing I don't like about the south. Stuttgart, my favorite city, is in the south too! What a coincidence :)

Southern Germany has so much to offer. The food, the people, warmer weather than the north, and most importantly the true Bavarian roots- BEER!

Stadt Park

One Monday morning I went with a friend to Stadt Park, a really, really big park in Hamburg. Although there is another park, Planten un Blomen, which I will write about later, I find this one to be the most active park yet. It's so big that they have large parts of the park divided into zones, kids play, grill zone, fishing zone, and everything is walkable and runable. It's such a beauty to see. 

Frohes neues Jahr - Happy New Year!

Finally, the New Year is here! I don't know about you, but I feel 2013 came and went. Where did the year go?! Anyway, for me, 2013 was great. In May, biggest accomplishment yet, I graduated from my university and finally hold a degree- yay! All the hard work, sleepless nights, papers, group projects, gallons of coffee, and fast food, I am finally able to join the "real world'. Although my university has prepared me for this very moment, I felt I had to do more to be the best I can possibly be in my field (whatever that may be..). I knew three things upon graduating, happiness, success, and travel. I'm a wanderlust, what can I say :)