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Destinations

London, England – Tubes, Phone booths, and the River of Thames

The best way for me to tell you about my first European experience is by starting from the beginning.

We touched ground at Gatwick Airport (LGW) around 13:00. And after the 10 hour red eye from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Norwegian Airlines, I was ready to get off the plane and right into the UK. I had never been more excited to get off a plane in my entire life.

After going through the long line of passport control, we had finally entered Europe! I was bouncing up and down with joy, I mean that literally too.

After a small mishap with trying to take out money from the ATM (remember your cash withdrawal allowance and the current exchange rate) we were on our way to get into town and drop our stuff off at our hotel before exploring London.

We walked to the train stations and immediately were overwhelmed. It was busy, loud and everything suddenly seemed fast paced and without any phone data or Wi-Fi, we had no idea where we were going. After gawking at timetables and truly not knowing what to do, we ended up in the line to hopefully get the right tubes and trains tickets to our hotel.

The guy that serviced us was very kind and gave us all the info we needed and set us off into our train. We had luckily screenshot our directions to our hotel while we had some Wi-Fi and we were then on our way.

Considering I’m a San Diego girl where public transportation is scarce and we drive everywhere. Taking all the trains and tubes was an experience within itself. I’ve been to New York and through the subway systems there, but for some reason having to change trains to express trains to DLRS to the underground was overwhelming.

But we finally made it the underground London Bridge. And I couldn’t have been happier.

After what felt like an eternity on the packed undergrounds and trains, we made it the Premier Inn Hotel in Docklands and were able to settle in to our rather cozy hotel.

It was our first night in London and we had a travel day pass, so we decided to get into town. We went back into the tubes and made our way to London Bridge and decided to wing it.

There was no real agenda for our first night in Europe, but I wanted to get Fish N’ Chips and see a little sights and then get back to our hotel and in bed to try and beat jet lag.

The London Bridge exit was perfect for our first night. I immediately went crazy with seeing the famous red telephone booths and just had to get inside.

It unfortunately smelled like pee and we really didn’t want to stay in there for much longer.

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14 November, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 2 Comments

From Europe to California – How I’m going to fill the void

Hello my travelers! I am back in California and terribly missing Europe. I have left some of my heart in Europe and it hurts. But a way to fill the void (I know that was extremely cheesy) is by the next few weeks I will be posting glorious amounts of posts with stories, videos, and photos of my first European trip.

I had been dreaming of going to Europe my entire life and I am so happy to have experienced 2 whole weeks of it with my boyfriend by my side and of course all my family and friends in Europe. So with that being said, the best way for me to write about my first European experience (believe me, this is not my last) is best if I split everything up into little posts throughout the next few weeks.

So keep checking out my blog every week. I’ll for sure be posting my Europe content every Tuesday and Thursday. Come check out how I experienced this beautiful continent.

As for now, here are some photos from every city I visited. I can’t wait to relive the experiences I had with all of you.

Cheers!

11 November, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 0 comments

Paris and London – My first European Trip

Bonjour from Paris!

I know I haven’t really updated since I left the States to go on my European trek, but when you have limited Wifi you can only do so much. But my Wifi has finally worked here in the hotel and I decided to update you all on my time here in the beautiful Europe!

For more up to date info check out my instagram and twitter!!!

My first day in Europe was in London and it was a short trip until we come back for two days for our flight home on our last leg of our vacation. We were able to master the tubes and trains just fine and not get so lost that it became frightening. And even though it was a short trip, we were able to see the Tower Bridge and then get some Fish N’ Chips and everything was great.

The Tower Bridge, beautiful.

Best meal in London.

After London, the next day we needed to catch a bullet train on the Eurostar to Paris at the St. Pancras International railway Stations and the station itself was just beautiful!

Every building in London were HUGE!

And since we had some time on our hands, the Harry Potter Geek in me had to check out Platform 9 3/4 at the Kings Cross Stations just across the street from St. Pancras.

Just on my way to Hogwarts as a Gryffindor.

Overall, London was amazing and I can’t wait to explore the city more next week. I’ll give you more details in later posts of my first day in London.

As for Paris, we are still here and it has already captured my heart. I am loving the city more and more and it makes me not want to leave.

Alex and I celebrated our one year anniversary today and it was an amazing way to celebrate in this beautiful city. We went to the top of the Eiffel tower and saw the Louvre and wrote our love on the Love Lock bridge (unfortunately we forgot our locks and most of the locks are now boarded up). But it was an amazing day, I wish we didn’t have to leave tomorrow. But it’s time for Amsterdam and then Italy! I am excited for what the rest of our trip has for us.

I’ll post more details on Paris and London later, but for now here’s some beautiful photos to pass you over!

I seriously Love Paris and the Eiffel Tower.

Luxembourg Gardens in the Fall is wonderful to walk through.

My boyfriend makes the Louvre and all its tourists tiny 🙂

No Love Lock Bridge for us, but we made the best of it and still wrote our love in Paris

Celebrating a year of our love at the Top of the Eiffel Tower.

Bonne nuit!!!

22 October, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 1 Comment

The nightmare… packing.

I figured since I need to pack for Europe tomorrow, why not suddenly get inspired and write a blog post, procrastination at its finest.

SO if you’re anything like me, packing is an absolute nightmare (Especially since I am going full minmalist and taking only a backpack!). Clothes everywhere, falling asleep on your comfy bed, having random dance parties as you try to do the laundry you should have done last week because there are outfits in there that you wanted to wear on your trip. Well I feel for you.

I got caught up in the ‘I’m just going to close my eyes for 10 minutes, don’t worry I set like 10 alarms.’

DON’T FALL FOR THAT TRAP, because for me, four hours later, here I am procrastinating more on my packing. So I decided to devise some little tips and tricks on making packing suck less.

1. Blast music and make it a fun time – I was stupid and put in a movie and ended up getting engulfed in it. So music is your best bet because you may get sucked into a small dance party to that Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, but at least that’s only a 4 minute song and you can move on rather than ending up watching a full 2 hour movie not making a dent in your packing.

2. Don’t pack near your bed (or couch) – I try to stay on my feet the whole time. Even when I say I’ll just sit on my bed and look at my closet to see what to wear. It will suck you in and next thing you know you find yourself snoring with an empty suitcase.

3. Make a List – I started doing this awhile back and it works so damn well because I AM a very forgetful person and if I take one good look at that list, there is always at least one or two things I forgot to pack that if I didn’t write it down I definitely would’ve forgotten it. But also beware of the list ’cause if you’re like me you still forget to write certain things down on your list and you think ‘Oh I’m good’ – Wait my toothbrush’.

4. Do the quick pack and then re-pack – While in my lists I do write down outfits, it doesn’t always go as planned. Like I find random cute outfits I forgot I had or the one I wanted to bring is at the bottom of the laundry stack. So I do the quick pack, as if I had only 10 minutes to pack and pack anything and everything in sight that’s clean and throw it in my case (while still trying to follow my list). I then take a quick break, not anywhere near my bed, and re-group and look at every outfit I put in that suitcase and wonder if I really need a pair of heels for my hike.

5. Try to pack a few days before or invite a friend that is a pro-packer with you to your house the night before and have a pack all my crap into my suitcase party – They’ll love it.

What are some tips and tricks you do to not make packing your nightmare? Comment below!

Giving you som happy European Cheers! Happy Travels. I can’t wait to be on my way to Europe for the first time tomorrow! I AM SO EXCITED! I promise to keep everyone updated as much as possible! Mucho besos <3

18 October, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 0 comments

Knott’s Scary Farm 2014 Review– Theme Parkaholics (Halloween edition)

Boo!

Happy October my fellow theme park lovers and travelers. For those not following me on Instagram or Twitter, October is quite a busy month for me. And an awesome month, if I must say so myself. (EUROPE NEXT WEEK EEKKK)

October has always been my favorite month of the year, and it’s not just because my birthday is on October 14 (oh my, that’s tomorrow!). But because Halloween and all things spooky come out this time of the year!

With that being said, I went to my second Knotts Scary Farm Halloween Haunt event. It’s in its 42nd year, for those who would like to know! Last year, my boyfriend took us on our first date to Knotts Scary Farm and as a rookie, I didn’t know what to expect and how freaky it was going to be!

So this year, being a veteran and all, I decided to give you a review of all things awesome and all things scary at Knott’s Scary Farm 2014.

Just feeling like a badass at Knotts Scary Farm.

During this Halloween haunt, Knott’s Scary Farm added three new mazes: Voodoo, the Tooth fairy and the new interactive maze, Special OPS: Infected.

And yes, we did all three. We started our night by getting tickets to Special Ops: Infected first before starting any rides or mazes. That is after we took our picture together by their photographers (we had an awkward kiss on the hair first date mishap last year). And in this year’s haunt, there are a lot more scare-actors in the front trying to freak out haunt goers as they first walk in.

Just taking a new less awkward picture together.

We got our Special Ops tickets for 11:45 pm and that’s even after we got to the park 10 minutes after 7 when the park opened. So as a side note: Get to the park at 7 and go straight to the Specials Ops to get your tickets, they will go quick. There is Special Ops: Alpha right by the front gates at the start of Camp Snoopy and Special Ops: Beta near the end of Camp Snoopy by the western gates! GO TO SPECIALS OPS FIRST IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE AWESOMENESS IT HAS TO OFFER!

These tickets were like the golden ticket, gotta keep them safe.

Since we went on a Thursday during the second week that it ran it was much less crowded and we are basically able to go through all the mazes before our 11:45 meeting with Zombies.

Ready for zombie killing.

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13 October, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 0 comments

Europe Itinerary

Passports ready to go!

With Europe being such a big dream of mine, it took a long time for Alex and I to finalize our itinerary, but everything is finally official and we have all our accommodations and transportation all set up and ready to go!

Since we’re only going to be there for a 2 weeks, we decided to hit up most of the major tourist destinations and get our whole tourist-y European let loose. That way we have more reason to get up and explore Europe in another year together.

Here are our main stops in Europe:

Stop #1: London, England – Since our plane arrives in Gatwick, it only made sense to start in London. Our first night will be spent there where we will try to adjust to time and probably get some Fish N’ Chips.

Stop #2: Paris, France – We’ll be hitting all major spots: the Eiffel Tower, Luxembourg Gardens, The Louvre,etc… We will also enjoy the city of lights and enjoy the French cuisine.

Stop #3: Amsterdam, The Netherlands – We’ll only be here for a night before our flight to Italy. But we’re going to make the day and the night count completely.

Stop #4: Milan, Italy – The bulk of our stay is in Milan for we are staying with family.

Stop #5: Nice, France – My best friend and fellow Krazy Kappa line sister is studying abroad near Nice and we will make a Nice pit stop in the south of France.

Stop #6: Pisa, Italy – A few hour day trip to the leaning tower before Tuscany.

Stop #7: Florence Italy – From Pisa we go to Tuscany and see the Piazzale Michaelangelo and enjoy the city of Florence at night.

Stop #8: Venice, Italy – Straight from Florence we jump on a train to Venice. We’re going to only go for a night during our week stay in Milan, but riding a Gondola is definitely on our radar.

Last Stop: London, England – Our first night in London is just going to be a time to adjust to Europe time and adjust to foreign land. The last weekend we are in Europe we will spend in London and that’s when we’ll be doing our sight-seeing and Halloween partying.

Do you have any advice, tips or cool places to eat or see for this girl and her boyfriend traveling to Europe for their first time? Comment below, send me an e-mail at lostwithyvonne@gmail.com, or tweet me @lostwithyvonne.

Cheers!

6 October, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 5 Comments

An Eastern Caribbean Getaway

The first sunset I saw at sea.

With summer coming to an end (officially on September 23), I figured I’d give you all a small taste of a Caribbean cruise I experienced. A last getaway before all the leaves start to turn that golden color and the fall crisp air starts rolling in.

In March of 2013, I boarded my first ever cruise ship. As a recent grad from Cal State Fullerton, family members were constantly asking what I wanted as a graduation present. While I already had the laptop and basically everything I ever need or want as a recent grad, the one thing I did want was the experience to travel.

My Aunt Annie, or as said in my language my Tita Annie, and my Uncle Rene, Tito Rene, have been going on cruises quite a bit. So as they were trying to book their next one, they added me onto their itinerary. So as my graduation present they booked me a 10-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean with them. While it’s been well over a year since I went on that cruise, I did take a lot of photos and videos that I still haven’t shared to the world yet.

So I have decided to relive this wonderful getaway and share the experience with you in my Eastern Caribbean Diary series. In the next few weeks I will share photos, videos and tell you all about my good and bad experiences while on my vacation. It’ll be a getaway for everyone to see.

So here it is, my Eastern Caribbean Diary Series.

17 September, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 5 Comments

Universal Studios Hollywood – Super Silly Funland – Theme Parkaholics

I’m a huge Despicable Me fan. Ha Banana. So upon hearing that Universal Studios Hollywood added in an area dedicated to Despicable Me, that is when I jumped on the annual pass train for Universal.

So for my first Theme Parkaholics post I present you, Universal Studios Hollywood.
While Universal is a bit more of a drive than Disneyland is, it’s still a fun place to go to. The last time I went to Universal Studios Back to the Future was still there and no one knew of what a Transformer was, well at least movie wise to all my comic book fans.

So with the great success of Despicable Me, Universal Studios decided to invest lots of money and make Super Silly Funland into a reality for kids. You see, Universal Studios used to be geared towards teens and adults because how can you compete with Disneyland not too far south of you. But with the new addition, it’s making Universal Studios a more kid friendly place.To get to Super Silly Funland you have to walk through the streets of Europe until you reach the Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem ride. The first time I went to Universal, this ride was only a 30 minute wait, but as soon as summer came along it jumped to a 2 hour wait. Safe to say, we didn’t go the second time.

While in line you have misters spraying at you to help protect you from the wonderful LA heat, TVs with minions, and even workers playing catch with you or spraying you with a water gun. The ride itself is a fun 3D simulator. You basically get to become a minion and part of Gru’s top secret mission, which will first be led by the girls putting you through basic minion training.

So if you’re a fan of minions, bananas, and just love Despicable Me, you’ll surely love this ride as much as I did. And hey, at the end you get to be a part of a dance party.

But after you get out of the Minion Mayhem, the fun doesn’t stop there. You end up in the Despicable Me store filled with everything Despicable me, I ended up buying my very own minion cup and I love it!

And then you end up outside in none other than SUPER SILLY FUNLAND! AGH!
This little corner of the park includes a ride for small children, game booths filled with fluffies (and cheating workers who don’t let older kids win), and a mini waterpark all the while blasting songs like Happy by Pharrel (one of my favorite songs) and the whole Despicable Me soundtrack.

And yes, I said waterpark. During the summer this place is filled with dripping wet children in their bathing suits, if they’re a veteran, or just in their t-shirt and shorts. I have not had the pleasure to go through this waterpark, but I have passed by it and I would definitely have my bathing suit and change of clothes ready if I were to go through it.

But my favorite part of Super Silly Funland is hidden behind the waterpark. There is this balcony with little view finders and you can see the whole Universal Back lot and the mountains behind it. It was a beautiful site, unfortunately this is where smokers can smoke, but on a slow day it’s quite beautiful to overlook studio city from high above. Check out my video here.

Overall Super Silly Funland in Universal Studios is a great place to take the kids during the summertime and maybe even take a picture with a minion or two.

Cheers my travelers. Hope you enjoyed the first edition of Theme Parkaholics!

22 August, 2014 by Lost With Yvonne | 3 Comments

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