3 EASY DAY TRIPS FROM LONDON

As I'm sure you all know that the Royal Wedding is this week, and instead of doing a blog on Royal London, which I'm sure is the subject of all travel articles this week, we've decided to suggest a few interesting day trips outside of London that you might fancy on your next trip to jolly ol' England.

1. OXFORD-The City of Dreaming Spires

Located about 60 miles northwest of London, it's most famous for its prestigious university (which also happens to be the oldest university in the English speaking world), I swear just being here made me feel smarter and if time permitted I would've applied at one of Oxford's 36 colleges during my day visit. My first choice: Christ Church College, reason being that I'm a big Harry Potter fan, and I instantly recognized the Great Hall of Hogwart's Castle was the same hall found in Christ Church College, so that was a deal breaker. Oxford offers a number of guided tours, some having specialized themes (inlcuding a Harry Potter themed tour) like children's storybook tours. Did I mention some of the most popular children's books of the 21st century were written here? Does Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Northern Lights Triolgy (filmed as the Golden Compass) ring a bell? Oxford City itself is a charming place, make sure to take note of their architecture, and shop at the plethora of boutiques for all of your Oxford parafanailia needs. Also, visit the Carfax Tower (for views of the town), the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera (it's not open to the public unfortunately, but the outside is worth a visit too). If you want to get to Oxford on your own, there are direct train services from London Paddington that leaves approximately every 30 minutes, and takes about 58 minutes to get there.

2. STRATFORD-UPON-AVON-The hometown of William Shakespeare

Stratford-Upon-Avon is Shakespeare's birthplace and home of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal Shakespeare Theatre; it lies on the River Avon in the Warwickshire countryside. Even if you don't care too much about poetry or plays, it's still worth a visit. It's as pretty as a postcard, and still gives the vibes of an Olde Medieval England. Full of beautiful parks and gardens, its a perfect place to just take a stroll. It takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to Stratford-Upon Avon by train from London Marylebone Station. Trains leave about every 2 hours. Want to be a little more comfortable? There are several day trip coach buses that run from London's Victoria Coach Station.

3. STONEHENGE-A place of mystery and myths

I'm sure your wondering what's so interesting about some slabs of rocks in what seems to be in-the-middle-of-nowhere-England? Well, even with science and technology this prehistoric ruins are still a mystery today! Of course there's myths, legends and educated guesses on what the actual meaning/purpose of building this monument was but none have been confirmed. Who did this? Why? And how did they move these massive stones? It's even been associated with Merlin and King Arthur; legend has it that Merlin brought the stones from Ireland to serve a burial ground. Others think Stonehenge served as a sacred place of worship, or was as a type of calendar, marking prehistoric events. But you can decide for yourself when you visit these ruins. If you have an extra day to spare in England, you may as well make your way to this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The best way to get to Stonehenge is to take a coach bus that leaves from London's Victoria Coach Station directly to the site. You can also take a train from London Waterloo Station to Salisbury (which is 9.5 miles away from Stonehenge) and take a bus or cab to the site.

WHAT'S IN OUR BAG? And not from TSA's perspective-Cyn and Char's packing list.

So we are in transit A LOT. And every little space in our bag is crucial. On our way back from last summer's trip to the Middle East, we were forced to adhere to luggage weight restrictions (even after offering a few bribes to ticket agents), and throw away some of our keepsakes to make baggage weight. Bummer. A key component to comfortable and efficient traveling is what you're packing in your luggage. Essentials and entertainment are the main themes of this blog. Oh, and style... No one wants to be boring.

So you're on a weekend trip to God-knows-where. How do the modern nomads do it? Check out our packlist.

The top 10 things we won't go on a trip without (regardless of where we're going):

1. Extra Foldable Bag 
For those extra souvenirs you can't quite fit even after you've sat on your suitcase numerous times to make it close. Check in your biggest (and heaviest luggage) and open up our handcarry tote that you packed. We dig Longchamp's medium sized totes that you can fold and slip Into the front part of your roller bag.

2. Neck pillow (aka your best friend)
Since we're often on weekend trips, we NEED our z's in transit to maximize time in the touring city. This helps. Total Pillow is pretty awesome and can be distorted into those weird sleeping positions. And they sell them at Walmart. But if you need to go super compact, go for the inflatable ones.

3. International Converter/Adaptor
Pick the smallest one with the most conversions. I never take mine out of my suitcase, it has it's own little home in the zipper pocket of my carry on rollerbag just in case there is a chance of unexpected international travel and I forget to pack it.

4. Disposable No Toothpaste Toothbrush
Pick one up at the dollar store. Nothing fancy. And if you don't have any more room in your luggage on the way back home, you're able to throw it away. I won't judge if you accidentally forget yours. Its a weekend trip anyway. Colgate wisps are convenient too if there isn't much water around.

5. Passport
International travel or not, we carry our passports everywhere just in case we need to take a detour home.

6. Camera w/extra SD Card
Save the hassle of having to upload while on vacation to make room for more pictures.

7. Tea, Emergen C, Instant Coffee Packets
They're flat, light, and help you save money at Starbucks/giftshops at the airport. Emergen C may shield you from the snotty little kid next to you with a runny nose. Just pour them into your reusable bottle and get some fountain water.

7. Snacks 
Because airport food is expensive and they don't feed you in flight anymore. Pick something quick and easy. Ziplock bag full of WheatThins and a banana. Preferably something from home. Save money!

8. Water bottle (vapur anit-bottle) 
Save room and weight in your luggage and opt for this. It's collapsable and can be flattened.

9. Smart Phone
DUH, if you're in with the current century, you would know this is an essential. Everything is electronic nowadays, including boarding passes and e-ticket receipts. Save yourself the hassle of losing your travel documents to a rain puddle and store backup copies in email and PDF storage on your phone. You can download a million of travel apps for your iPhone to keep you out of trouble at the airport. Our favorite is Kik Messenger which allows you to send texts to other users. Cyn and I communicate this way through wifi and don't spend a dime.

10. First aid kit: with bandaids, bug spray/ anti-itch medication, allergy pills, zyrtec swabs, antibiotics 
This can be tucked away in a $0.99 first aid kit case from target. Its always good to take a preventative measure.

11. iPad 
Best travel accessory ever! Keeps you sane on long flights. Cyn and I use it to plan our next trip...while still on our current trip.

12. Noise Reduction Headphones 
Zero out your neighbor's phone conversations or fellow row-mate's snoring with these. Compact is key, I opt for the earbuds from SkullCandy. But if you're looking for the real deal (and don't mind carrying them) Beats by Dr. Dre has some pretty cool looking ones.

So those are the travel essentials, but how bout the fun stuff? Spring is here, which means prime travel time is around the corner! So to help get your travel gear ready here's some of our favorite sites for your travel needs:

[Flight 001: Modern and Innovative Travel Products]]

Going in Style Travel Accessories:

Magellan's Travel Supplies

http://www.protravelgear.com/

Technology is awesome. Here's our travel gadget wish list for this season: (oh and Christmas is right around the corner...kind of... just sayin')
1. Sony bloggie 3D camera

2. Reef's stash sandals

3. Wind up cell charger

4. National Geographic talk abroad travel phone

5. Ex Officio Buzz Off Insect Shield Clothing

6. Dry pak

7. Turbo charge portable charger

8. iTech virtual keyboard

A VISIT TO SANTA IN MARCH?! WHY NOT?! -Adventures of Lapland, Finland PART DEUCE

I arrived to Lapland the following evening after Cyn does, due to work-scheduling conflicts. Fortunately, I was able to catch a redeye flight to my connection airport (Washington DC) right after work. I get to Finland late Saturday evening, giving me a total of 29 hours of adventure time. So as usual, it was crunch time.

Our tour guide, Kati picked us up from our hotel around 10am and brought us to Santa's Village for Adventure #1: Snowmobiling through the Arctic. We stop by the office to gear up and off we went.

We ride our snowmobiles to the farm for Adventure #2: A Reindeer Ride. We are greeted by Locket, a 12yr old reindeer from Lapland (reindeer years are like dog years) Not sure where he fits in sequence with Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, etc. But we'll just call him Santa's unspoken reindeer after Rudolph). Locket takes us for a spin in the sleigh, making a few pitstops mid-route sniffing around for snacks. Then off we go to the host-family's home for some reindeer school.

Funfact: Reindeers have the third thickest fur after the Tibetan yak and the polar bear, and shed a few layers during the summer to adapt to the warmer temperatures... We enjoy these little reindeer tales, share a few stories over tea and cookies, and graduate from reindeer-school with our very own "Reindeer Drivers License (yes, really)...and they're good for 3 years! I know what I'm pulling out the next time I get pulled over!

And then we're off to Adventure # 3!

Dog sledding has been on our bucketlist for a while now (then again, EVERYTHING is on our obnoxiously-long bucketlists), and we were able to cross this one off on our Arctic Adventure along with many other activities. Lapland has some of the cutest Siberian Huskies, making our hearts melt. Our team consisted of 7 dogs with the two strongest and oldest leaders in the front. Siberian Huskies surprisingly know the value of teamwork. At one point I see one of the dogs attack its sibling is if it were telling the other to quit slacking and run faster.

After our dog-sledding adventure, we're off exploring town in Santa's Village. Here, we visit Santa's official post office where you can have your letters stamped by Santa's official postal service. You can also sit down and write postcards, draft your wishlist for next Christmas, or send a letter home to your friends bragging about how you met Santa. Totally fun. The post office visit is followed by more child activities because of course, we're never too old for snow-sliding.

As usual, Cyn finds something to climb and I find somewhere to run around.

Finally, the moment we've been waiting for, we visit Santa! After a short tour around Santa's toy shop, we're able to sit down for a little chat and picture taking. We recited every catch phrase we could think of from the movie "Elf" starring Will Farrell, which Santa apparently hasn't seen since he seemed pretty confused when we ask him questions like "If you're the real Santa, what song did I sing to you for your birthday last year?" We got a good laugh from it. And now we can say "SANTAAAAA, I know him!!!" now and really mean it. (If you haven't seen that movie, the last couple sentences wouldn't have made sense, so we apologize in advance to those who think we're crazy). And FYI, yes his beard is real!

After our Safari adventure we took a cab to the Sky Hotel Ounasvaara to try to get a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights). We were told that their roof deck was one of the 2 best places in the city to catch the lights (the other being by the Arktikum museum). We were warned that they don't come out every night, and we would have a better chance to see them on a clear night with no snow. Lucky us! We timed it perfectly, they first showed up one or 2 strands at a time and then disappear within minutes, that night they came back every 10 minutes or so, and then all of a sudden at around 9:30pm, right when we were ready to call it a night, directly above us multiple streaks of greens and yellows began to appear, everyone on the deck went on a frenzy of "oooooo's and ahhhhhh's" while trying to capture the lights on their cameras. Witnessing the Lights definitely completed our trip.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

EXPLORING A SNOW CASTLE IN LAPLAND ADVENTURES IN LAPLAND- Finland PART 1

Last weekend we took a 4-plane, 16-hour flight time (each way) journey from San Francisco to Rovaniemi, making stops in Washington DC, Frankfurt, Germany, Helsinki, and our final destination: "the world capital of Christmas," Rovaniemi, in Lapland, Finland. Lapland embodies a winter wonderland and we were lucky enough to catch it on a perfect weekend: sunny, with fresh snow, white everywhere, with manageable weather, and just all around beautiful. This was the farthest, and most expensive weekend trip we've taken so far, but it was also one if not the BEST short trips! Since we did so much in the mere two days we were there, we are dividing this destination up into a 2-part blog. Part 1: Exploring the Lumi Linna SnowCastle of Kemi. Stay tuned for Part 2: Our Arctic Safari: snowmobiles, reindeers and husky rides around the Arctic Circle, a long overdue visit to Santa, and witnessing the Northern Lights.

After our long trip, we finally arrive in Rovaniemi, the heart and capital of Lapland, located at the northern Arctic Circle and immediately fell in love with the Christmas-like atmosphere. Rovaniemi's small airport is also known as "Father Christmas's airport," and it's decorated like we were there for the holidays rather than mid-March.

Rovaniemi is a modern town situated in the middle of nature, and offers a variety of attractions and activities in and just outside the town. We took the airport shuttle (7 Euros one way) to our hotel, which was right outside the city center. The Guesthouse Borealis, is a quaint B&B style hotel that's conveniently only 15 minutes walking distance to the center and about 7 minutes walking from the major train and bus stations. The hotel was reasonably priced to meet our budget adventures. 3 Likes: The staff was very accommodating, rooms were clean, and there free WI-FI (whoo hoo!). The only downside was there was no sauna, which is a staple facility in the arctic regions. Apparently in Finland, it is customary run outside naked in freezing temperatures and roll around in the snow and then come back in for a sauna session to rejuvenate the skin.... So, maybe it was a good thing our hotel didn't have a sauna...just sayin.

The following morning we headed to Kemi City, located in Sea Lapland and is the only deep-water harbor in Lapland. The town is packed with different activities for any kind of visitor. Unfortunately we only had enough time to explore the Lumi Linna SnowCastle, which is accessible by train from Rovaniemi (approximately an hour and 20 minutes away and cost us about 36 Euros roundtrip). It's built every winter (this season's building began December 3) and is usually open from late January to early April (weather permitting). After you pass the main gates of a skull snow sculpture with its mouth wide open (used as the opening to the castle) and ice fangs, it will cost you 8 Euros to get into the castle's courtyard. The SnowCastle also includes a SnowChapel, SnowHotel, and SnowRestaurant. You can order snacks and warm and cold beverages at the IceBar, but if you want a meal, you have to make reservations in advance. The tables are made of ice (with a clear plastic sheet on top of it to put your food on), and the stools are covered with reindeer fur. Each year the SnowCastle has a different theme, and delivered this years theme was comics. Exploring the castle was an afternoon well spent, we ran around taking pictures next life sized ice sculptures of Batman, Spiderman, the Hulk and the likes, crawling into ice igloos, exploring the SnowHotel's rooms, and sipping some hot berry juice at the ice bar. The castle had great light-effects that add to the charm of the place, and is definitely worth a visit while in Lapland.

We spent our second full day on an Arctic Safari and searching for the Northern Lights, which you'll have to wait until Part 2 of our Finland blog, coming soon!