Travel Guides

8 Places to go in Fall in Northern California

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8 Destinations in Fall in Northern California
[Mammoth in the Eastern Sierras – YES California does have a fall, contrary to popular belief!!]
UPDATED: September 2019

FALL IS COMING PEOPLE. NOBODY PANIC. REMAIN CALM AND GET OUT YOUR SCARVES, BOOTS, AND CARDIGANS OUT IMMEDIATELY. THEN HEAD TO YOUR NEAREST PUMPKIN PATCH AS SOON AS YOU CAN. I REPEAT: EVERYBODY PLEASE. REMAIN. CALM.

But actually it’s impossible for me to remain calm because fall (or ~autumn~ as the fancy people call it) just happens to be MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SEASON. In fact, I love it so much, that I even wrote a bucket list of all the fall activities I HAVE TO DO every year. I think it’s about time to revisit that, shall we?

Feel free to steal my ideas. I’ll allow it.

Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park in California
[Yosemite is obviously great to visit at any time of year, but I especially love it in the fall!]
It also just so happens that fall is the BEST time to travel (in my humble opinion) – prices are slashed, the crowds are gone, temperatures are lower (I HATE running around all day in the heat), and you don’t have to fight tooth and nail for accommodation.

And maybe in other places it’s freezing in autumn, but in Northern California, the weather is PERFECT at a balmy 60-80 degrees most of the time. Sometimes it can even climb up to over 80! Of course, this depends on where exactly you go (California is gigantic and spans many different climates, something I have to remind people often), but on average, I’d say that’s the temperature.

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The 13 Best Things To Do in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Rain or Shine (Because it WILL Rain)

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13 Best Things to Do in Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Ah, Saltburn-by-the-Sea (or Saltburn for short if you’re ~in the know~.) This is such a lovely little beach town, and a hidden gem (I only say that because many British people I spoke with had never heard of it!)

But don’t fear, although it seems relatively undiscovered, there are still plenty of fun things do in Saltburn-by-the-Sea!

Saltburn-by-the-Sea view of cliffs and beach
[The view of Saltburn-by-the-Sea as you come down the hill]
I was in Saltburn for the month of July, and what a lovely (and cold, and rainy) month it was! If you’re looking for sun, sun, and more sun – well, sorry to say that Saltburn MIGHT not be the place for you. Like, it’s rainy and/or cloudy pretty often. But if you’re looking for beautiful beach views then Saltburn is your jam!

Ok ok, I’ll shut up about the weather and give you my recommendations of things to do in Saltburn-by-the-Sea:

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5 Beautiful Yorkshire Coastal Towns in England

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5 beautiful Yorkshire coastal towns to visit in England: Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Staithes, Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby, and Scarborough
[The colorful beach houses in Saltburn-by-the-Sea]
Looking for some cute Yorkshire coastal towns and villages to explore before the summer’s over?

Sidenote: In England, what is summer actually??? I’ve been here since mid-June and it’s rare that it’s over 70 F LOL. #summerinengland

Well, I’ve got ya covered, babe (or dude or unicorn or whatever ya identify as)!

After spending alllll of July in northern England, I’m convinced that this region has some of the most beautiful seaside towns in the UK!

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Why You Should Visit Hamburg (Like, Now)

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View from St. Michael's Church (Michel) in Hamburg, Germany
[The view from St. Michael’s Church should not be missed]
Over the course of our 3 months in Europe, my friend Stephanie and I ended up spending the bulk of our time in Hamburg. This was a total accident! But a very happy one.

I honestly wasn’t even really that excited to go to Hamburg in the first place – I really only went because we found a house sit there and it was for 2.5 weeks which I was stoked about (since we’d been traveling everywhere for about 1 week and I was ready to camp out in one spot for a hot minute), and because my friend really realllllly (like reallllly) wanted to go to Germany.

Canoeing along the Alster River
[Loved all the pretty garden houses/sheds that people had on the banks of the Alster River]
I was more like NORWAY! SWITZERLAND! AMSTERDAM! And I guess Hamburg? Since it exists?

But now I just feel like Hamburg is super underrated (And I honestly prefer it to Berlin, too, for similar reasons that I preferred Lyon to Paris. But shhhh I didn’t say that…), and it actually ended up coming on top as one of my favorite places! Here’s why:

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Packing List for 3 Months in Europe in Winter (Carry On Only!!)

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Female packing list for 3 months in Europe in winter with only a carry on suitcase!

My friend Stephanie and I traveled through Europe from the end of January to the end of April. We went to Scotland, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Prague, Norway, and Germany. I am the WORST packer so I read post after post and watched a million videos about what to pack for winter.

What to pack in Europe for a 3 month trip in winter & spring with only a carry on suitcase
[Here’s a photo of everything I took with me! However, my friend took a checked bag and kindly brought my razor blades and full-size contact solution with her]
I’m also from California where it really doesn’t get THAT cold, so I wasn’t 100% sure what I’d be needing on a daily basis. I’m actually pretty damn proud of how I packed to be honest – only a few items that I regret bringing, and I fit everything into a carry on suitcase and small backpack because I am insane! MAJOR WIN for me, the girl who used to bring a suitcase to a sleepover.

I was even able to squeeze most of it into my carry on for a couple of the Easy Jet flights we took (they don’t allow a personal item). The trick is having a giant coat with lots of pockets and a giant scarf to hide your DSLR camera with. 😉

Here’s what I took (dragged) with me:

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Travel Journals Make the Best Souvenirs

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Do y’all keep a travel journal? Or any kind of journal?

I’m definitely a journal person. Like, DEFINITELY a journal person. I’ve been keeping them since I was 6 years old…

My first entry was just one sentence about going to the “beatch”. I was so excited I even put an exclamation mark at the end of it, complete with a very enthusiastic heart.

That was pretty much the peak of my journaling journey.

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Belgium is Such a Babe: 5 Sultry Cities To See

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Belgium is a beautiful country - here are 5 cities I went and enjoyed!Belgium is SUCH an underrated and unique country! I wish I’d had more time to explore – lots of beautiful scenery and lovely architecture. If you do make it over to Belgium, promise me you’ll try to put more in your itinerary than just Brussels!! (I wasn’t the bigggggest fan of Brussels – but then again, I’m not a huge city person, so…).

Admittedly, I don’t think I really went to the “off-the-beaten track” destinations in Belgium, but maybe I did compared to the average tourist? I’d love to go back and explore more of the countryside – my train rides to Dinant and Durbuy were absolutely beautiful. And I did do some unusual and unique things (read below!!).

The Grand Place (Grote Markt) in Brussels, Belgium has beautiful architecture
[The Grand Place in Brussels – I’d argue that it’s the main tourist attraction in Brussels, and it’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s also just fancy AF]
And the food is GOOD. Between the chocolate, waffles, fries, pastries, and sandwiches (they have so many specific types of sandwiches there! They’re usually in long baguettes, and have a very specific yummy flavor – one of the chains is Panos, and their sandwiches are actually pretty good quality), I was happy happy happy.

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Can’t Afford The Madonna Inn? You Should Still Visit!

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madonna-innOk, so the Madonna Inn is pretty damn expensive. We all know that. But – you can still check it out even if you don’t have the funds to stay in a room (still a dream of mine – one day!!). We went to their cafe and grabbed a slice of cake (yep, that’s it – we broke) and then walked around this gem of a hotel.

The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California
[It’s already so cool! A PINK SIGN!]
You can check out the restaurant, bathrooms (of course lol but you really should look at them, even if you don’t have to go! They fancy AF – the dude’s bathroom has a freaking WATERFALL in it), shop(s), pool area (although I don’t think you can swim unless you’re actually staying at the hotel), tennis courts (they’re also PINK!), garden, and the outside of all the pretty hotels. Maybe you’ll even get lucky and someone will be leaving theirs when you walk by and you can get a glimpse inside! (I’m actually the creepiest)…

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Arizona Should Be on Your Radar

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Arizona Should Be on Your Radar; Ribbon Falls in the Grand Canyon
[Lower Ribbon Falls in the Grand Canyon – another reason to hike to the bottom, instead of just checking out the rim!]
In my humble (aka always right) opinion, Arizona is such an underrated state and vastly misunderstood. (At least it was by me?)

Colossal Cave Mountain Park in Arizona[Look at all those lush desert plants! And that beautiful red desert rock! And that kinda sorta desert sunset! Side notes: Desert sunsets really are some of the most beautiful! This was near Saguaro National Park]

Like, did you know that not all of Arizona is desert (which is what I originally assumed #dontassume) and that it actually SNOWS in some parts? Like what.

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