As We Abroad

30/03/2024

moments in Pushkar that brought light to our souls 💛

thank you for sharing your joy with us 🙏🏼 we hope our paths cross again one day!

27/03/2024

Experiencing Holi in India is a must add to your travel bucket list! This festival of color and celebration is one of the most authentic moments that we’ve had during our year abroad.

It’s even better when you have a great friend to take you around and show you how the locals do it! 😉

The memories we made were so worth it, even if we’re still scrubbing the colors off three days later! 😂

23/03/2024

We made it to the Blue City of Jodhpur 💙 and we are finally finding parts of India that we absolutely love!

20/03/2024

We have seriously considered cutting our month-long stay in India short 👀

On a few occasions.

Let’s just say our relationship with India is… complicated 🫠

It’s not easy.

And it wears you down.

If it weren’t for places like Udaipur, I’m not sure we would have made it this long.

But, man. I’m so glad we did 🙏🏼

Udaipur, thank you for showing us a part of India that we’ll cherish forever 🫶

Some of our favorite places in Udaipur have been:

🕌 Heritage Haveli Hotel:

🌅Rooftop Cocktails & Sunset:

🍷 Lakeside Date Night:

xo - Jess

16/03/2024

camera roll from india 🇮🇳 🚕 🌞 🙌
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India has been on my bucket list for a long as I can remember. I always knew that I’d get here someday, and it’s taken a long 32 (almost 33 🙃) years to finally do it.
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It’s safe to say Kolkata has been a shock to the senses- completely disorienting and full of chaos, but in a strangely intriguing way.
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We’ll head to Varanasi next and then spend some time in Rajasthan, so if you have anyyyyy recs, please share away!
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🫶 - Jess

13/03/2024

Y’all didn’t know we had these beauties on deck… did you?

It’s officially been SIX months since we left the US! 🤯🤯 It’s hard to believe that our year abroad is halfway over!

To celebrate - here are 6 of our most awkward photos 🫠

WHICH ONE IS YOUR FAVE 🤭???

08/03/2024

Here’s to the friendliest place on Earth 🙌
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We have met the most ahhhhhhhh-mazing & truly genuine people in Sri Lanka.

The level of hospitality is unlike any other place we’ve been so far, & we’re convinced thatyou’ll never encounter a friendlier group of people that take so much pride in their country than in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
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Kyle & I want to personally thank some of our new friends for sharing the love they have for this island with us.
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We already look forward to coming back to visit again soon 💛

03/03/2024

Time to grab the tissues because our time in Sri Lanka is winding down, and we’re not ready to say goodbye! 😢

From the endless beaches to the spicy curry feasts, we’ve soaked up every sliver of sun on this wild adventure & loved every minute of it! 🌴✨

It’s been a whirlwind of epic sunsets, cultural gems, and spontaneous scooter rides – and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

So here’s to one last mango smoothie, one final dip in the Indian Ocean, and a million memories that’ll keep us smiling until we meet again 🫶

Sri Lanka, you’ve stolen our hearts, and I can say for sure that we’ll be back for round two before you know it! 🇱🇰

Post Idea Credits go to one of our favorite travel couples: 💛 Go give them a follow!

26/02/2024

📸 camera roll from COUNTRY 1️⃣3️⃣: SRI LANKA 🇱🇰

From the lush tea plantations to the golden beaches and ancient temples, this island paradise has taken us by surprise in the best way possible 💫

With 20 days to go, we’re on a mission to soak up every moment, savor every flavor, and immerse ourselves in the rich tapestry of Sri Lankan culture 🙌
🇱🇰

21/02/2024

COUNTRY 1️⃣2️⃣: TANZANIA 🇹🇿We’re OFFICIALLY done with our safari guys… back to just the ✌🏼of us!

Watching the bus pull away without us and heading to their next destination was a tough moment for the three of us that are hopping off in Tanzania.

Our time in Africa is officially drawing to a close, and we totally don’t know how to feel about it…

(mostly just sad 😢 because we’re saying goodbye to our good friend T!)

Now time for not only the next country, but also our next CONTINENT 🥳
🇹🇿

15/02/2024

That’s right FIVE months in & we’re still crossing borders by air, land, and sea 🙌

We’ve hit some major milestones, and can’t wait to see where this crazy year long journey takes us from here!

(Because we haven’t stuck to our original plan since Day… 1 😳😂)

If you have enjoyed following along drop a 🫶 in the comments! We love you guys for being here!

12/02/2024

Well we did it 👏🏻 we finally made it to COUNTRY 🔟: ZAMBIA 🇿🇲 and extended our safari for another 14 days!!

Some of the major highlights have been:

⭐️ Finally seeing all of Africa’s Big 5 🦏🐘🦁🐃🐆

⭐️ Visiting our very first of 7 Natural Wonders of the World at Victoria Falls

⭐️ Exploring Mambwe & sharing stories and experiences with the locals

We’re super excited to see where the rest of this journey takes us 🙌
🇿🇲

10/02/2024

Never have I ever argued with a police officer before this road trip 😱

We had just arrived in Fez after a seven and a half hour road-trip from the Sahara desert, and in that moment I realized that he knew all too well of the struggles tourists faced while driving through his homeland.

03/02/2024

Never in all of our wildest dreams did we imagine that we’d find ourselves gliding through the reeds of the Okavango Delta in a mokoro 🛶

🐘 Watching the untamed beauty of Botswana unfold around every bend…

🏕️ Singing and sharing stories with the Tswana people and learning about their beautiful home…

🦒 Walking alongside the most beautiful creatures and being stopped in our tracks by some of nature’s most powerful animals…

A once in a lifetime experience.

An unforgettable experience.

An experience we would love to relive one day.

Botswana, you have won our hearts and we truly hope we’re lucky enough to return one day!

25/01/2024

COUNTRY #8: NAMIBIA 🇳🇦 officially has a very special place in our hearts!

We spent almost 12 days exploring the natural wonders of Namibia while on our first over-landing safari!

🏕️ We tent camped in the bushman paradise of Spitzkoppe

🏜️ After hiking the famous Dune 45 in the middle of the Namibian desert

🐘 We also spotted our first elephants in Etosha National Park during our first game drive!

Namibia, we hope to see you again one day!
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21/01/2024

We spent a few nights in the Namib desert seeing some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets 💛

Dune 45 and Deadvlei were two of our favorite experiences and even though we didn’t make it all the way to the top of the 300 meter dune, the views were 1,000% worth it!

17/01/2024

We ended Day 3 at Fish River Canyon in Namibia! The most beautiful place to catch a sunset across one of the largest canyons in the world 🌅
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11/01/2024

DAY 1 on our tent camping safari through Africa 🏕️

Our first overnight was in a beautiful winery in the highlands of South Africa.

🏕️ We learned to pitch a tent
🏕️ and had our first “family” meal of the trip

It’s been a great spot to rest & get used to sleeping in tents (for the first time ever 😄) before heading to the desert!

So thankful for the amazing people we’re with on this journey and our fearless leaders Crispy & Harmony 🫶🫶 Pretty sure we’ve made friends for life.

We have very little wifi but promise to update when we can 🙌

31/12/2023

We’re spending the last day of 2023 in the Great Karoo! This part of South Africa is an entirely different landscape than the coastline that we saw earlier on our South African road-trip 🚗✌🏼

This dry, desert like terrain provides stunning panoramas of the Swartberg and Langeberg mountain ranges 🏜️ We visited & explored a few awesome Karoo towns ⬇️

🌵Montagu
🌵 Calitzdorp
🌵 Prince Albert

We both prefer the lush tropical coastline, but this was a nice change of scenery to see a new part of this amazing country!

Wherever you’re spending NYE, we hope you have memorable end to 2023 🥳 CHEERS 🥂

29/12/2023

Recapping our roadtrip through the Wine Lands of the Western Cape in South Africa 🇿🇦

Here’s a list of our favorite stops (& wines of course)! Keep an eye out for these bottles in the US & Europe 😉:

1. Springfield Estate (Robertson/Montagu) 🍷 recommend the Ancient Méthode Chardonnay which is served in all Lufthansa First Class cabins ✈️

2. Lanzerac (Stellenbosch) 🍷 recommend the Pinotage - the first of its kind made right here on the estate!

3. Boschendal (Stellenbosch): 🍷 recommend the Brut paired with a good Belgian chocolate 🍫

4. De Krans (Calitzdorp): 🍷recommend the Cape Ruby Port!Port wine is what the Calitzdorp region is known for!

5. Slaley (Stellenbosch): Although we didn’t get a chance to visit the vineyard, we stayed at the Slaley Guest House, and we tried the wine here! 🍷 Kyle recommends the Sauvignon Blanc.

24/12/2023

It’s a very merry South African Christmas🎄❤️

This is the first year either of us have EVER been this far from home for the holidays, but we’re surrounded by love and hospitality here in South Africa. And all is well 🫶

Sending love and holiday greetings to all of our family and friends back home ❤️💚 We miss you guys (but we’re really enjoying this warm sunshine too 😄)

15/12/2023

Have you ever found a place that you never want to leave?

I’m still dreaming about the Dune House we stayed in while we were in Merzouga 💫

14/12/2023

Go take a look at our stories today for an inside look at our tour through Fez 🫶

09/12/2023

First night in a Sahara desert camp 🐪 Cue the nervous laughter and ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’ vibes 😂

Both of our travel personalities are definitely- the anxious travelers (Kyle just tends to lean more towards the prepared-anxious traveler, while I’m more of the what-will-be-will-be anxious traveler). Before we even arrived to our hotel we had a list of 10+ questions for the staff taking us into the desert for the night.

To which we were pretty much told- “No problems. Do not worry!”

And guess what… they were right.

So, here’s to the desert rookies surviving a night under those twinkling Sahara lights and maybe making friends with a camel or two 🐪 (Fez) 🐪 (Zouga)

04/12/2023

We’re both still processing everything from Day 1 in Marrakesh! This city is unbelievable and we have both been so *pleasantly* surprised by our experience here 🙌

💁‍♂️Kyle says the biggest surprise to him has been the level of hospitality from the Moroccan people! From the amazing wait staff at who made our first night in Marrakesh so special- to the the immensely welcoming staff (Amine & Abdul) at our riad, we have truly felt so at home!

💁‍♀️Jess’s biggest surprise has been the warmth & acceptance she’s received as a foreign female traveler. This caused a little bit of pre-arrival anxiety, but luckily we have not personally experienced any uncomfortable situations in Marrakesh.

If anything, Kyle has received more unsolicited attention from the Moroccan locals- his new nickname in our neighborhood is Ali Baba 😄

Thank you for being such an unforgettable and awe-inspiring place, Marrakesh 🫶 We hope to revisit one day!

30/11/2023

We found Sorrento’s best kept secret today…. 🤫

28/11/2023

Oh, Positano 🫶

Nestled snugly on the Italian coast, it's like someone sprinkled a little bit of extra magic in the Mediterranean breeze here 💫🌊

The pastel-hued buildings cling to the hills like they're in on some colorful secret, and the cobblestone streets are like a charming maze that whispers, "Get lost in me!"

Positano is the perfect getaway for couples looking for a romantic Italian holiday 💛 Or if you’re like us- looking for an unforgettable day trip from Sorrento!

26/11/2023

Saving the best for last 💛

Our last seven days in Italy will be in one of my own bucket list places that I’ve always wanted to visit….

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast 🇮🇹

Of course we’re here during the off season, but it is still just as beautiful as I’ve always imagined, PLUS…. It’s decorated for the holidays 🎄🤗

🫶 Jess

23/11/2023

Happy Thanksgiving from over 5,000 miles away! Someone eat some 🦃 for us!

20/11/2023

We spent a day getting lost in the winding streets of Bologna, hand in hand, and exploring everything this city had to offer

🇮🇹 From the iconic Two Towers

🇮🇹 To losing track of time in the heart of Bologna at Piazza Maggiore

🇮🇹 And taking in the beauty of Basilica di San Petronio

Bologna was the perfect place to fall in love with Italy all over again (and a highly recommended stop for couples visiting Italy 😉)

Here's to more amore in Bologna 🫶