Capri

Capri is one of my favorite places to visit in the world. I went to Italy for study abroad almost 20 years ago and this was the only place I came back to so my hubby and kids can experience its beauty.We stayed in an airbrb nearby Solerno the night before then took a Ferry from Solerno port. We had to take these stairs to reach the port.

The Ferry only run sparingly during winter so do start your day early if you want to make the first one around 9A.M.

The beautiful Capri

We arrived at 10 AM and got to catch a Ferry back to Sorrento at 2 PM. We knew we can't waste anytime so off we get on the best to our destination taking a bus then chairlift to Mount Solaro:

Italy Travel: Herculaneum

The next day, very early in the morning, we took the train down to Napoli, then rent a car to drive to our next destination: Herculaneum

Like Pompeii, Herculaneum is an ancient Roman city destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. We had to choose between visiting Pompeii or here due to time constraint. We chose to go here after hearing it is a smaller, wealthier cities, and more intact. After the eruption, the town was buried under 20 meters of ash. If you see the above picture, the buildings on the top is the current residential houses and the buildings at the bottom part is Herculaneum.

You can see how rich the town people are, even some of them have mosaic floor.

I told the boys, "Boys look, this street is made of marble." To which Max replied,"But in heaven the street is made of gold, ma." 

Rome Day One: St. Peter's Basilica, Castel Sant' Angelo, and Vatican Museum

We went to Italy last Thanksgiving Holidays. I went to the northern part of Italy many years ago back when I was still in college. We just learned that ticket to Europe is cheap during Thanksgiving week so off we go exploring the southern part of Italy this time. We were surprise to see "Welcome to Italy sign in Chinese character when we arrived at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport.

We stay in an airbnb in the city center. This is our first time staying in an airbnb. On the past, we usually use booking.com or vrbo but airbnb gave us better and cheaper options in Italy. In addition, our hosts were all very helpful and responsive. We feel like having local tour guide to help us navigate the area.    

 First day itinerary: walk about 30 minutes to St. Peter's Basilica. 

 

We took the guided tour to the dome and crypt per recommendation of my friend. So grateful we did otherwise we would miss out many important details. For instance, we didn't know on this very spot, Peter was crucified upside down and was later buried there. The church was built to fulfill Jesus’ words to Peter: “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church” Matthew 16:18

Our Family Travel Medicine List

Every time we travel, I always bring my medicine kit. Since we also use the medicine at home, I often miss bringing a few of the medicine we need on the trip. I thought I wrote down the list here so I can just print out and double check the list before we go traveling.

Travel Medicine List:

1. Eucalyptus oil for nasal congestion, bug repellent, bug bites

2. Lanolin cream for chapped lips, cracked or burnt skin, reduce itchiness from bug bites

3. Tylenol: Pain Reliever/ Fever Reducer 

3. Neosporin, Betadine, cotton balls, & Band Aid

4. Wes' asthma medicine

5. Probiotic to support healthy gut and and activated charcoal for food poisoning/ diarrhea 

6. Allergy medicine for kids and adults

7. Eye drop

8. Sore throat/ cold medicine, I used Halls, Chinese medicine: the golden lozenges, Lo Han Guo, and Yin Chiao tablet   

 9. Miracle of Aloe Rub, for muscle pain relieve. We prefer this over Salonpas

10. Mouth ulcer cream and eye infection cream (bought these in Indonesia)

11. Max's eczema cream

12. Vitamin D and iron supplement for my anemia

13. Emergen C 

14. Zambuk, ointment for brushes

15. Motion sickness medicine kids and adults

Anything else you would add to the list?

Oahu Beautiful Beaches and Snorkeling Places

During this visit to Oahu we managed to visit a few beautiful beaches and snorkeling places. Surprisingly, only Waikiki and Hanauma were crowded with people the rest are not, so it was a pleasant surprise.

1. Hanauma Bay State Park: the popular and best snorkeling place in Oahu. It takes about 30 minutes to get here from Waikiki. There are only 300 parking spaces so go early if you are planning to go by car then you can continue your beauty sleep once you get there. :)
The park opens from 6 am to 6 pm and closed on Tuesday.

If you don't have car, you can go by shuttle, taxi, or bus. Park entry fee $7.50 per person. Be prepare to walk down the hill to the Bay or pay $2.50 to ride on the tram. 

 There were lots of fishes big and small but the coral is not as pretty as the one in Philippines or Indonesia.

Diamond Head Hike and KCC Farmer Market

This is one of the highlight of our visit to Honolulu. To get there, we can take local bus or trolley but since we rented a car, we drove from our rental apartment. We chose to go on Saturday because it is located right above the famous KCC farmer market so we can just park our car for free at the Kapiʻolani Community College, where the farmer market takes place. 

My mom can no longer hike that long so Max, our ten years old, who wasn't too excited about hiking volunteered to stay with grandma going around the farmer market.  The market open at 7:30 AM on Saturday; we arrived at the parking lot a little before that then start walking up to the entrance. Just a few minutes into the walk we got to enjoy this view

There were many people already even before 8 AM. 

About 20 minutes or so we reached the entrance. We only have to pay $1 per person to enter the park. Somehow I forgot to pack my walking shoes so I had to wear my regular shoes. Thankfully, it wasn't a strenuous hike so I can still do it with my booties. I wouldn't recommend wearing flip flop though.

This is one of the most touristic trails on the island, so be prepared for the crowds. Be ready to let others pass you and be patient with those slower hikers ahead of you on the trail. 

Oahu Trip Day 1: Honolulu Zoo and Pearl Harbor

Honolulu has been one of my mom's bucket list so when she told us she was coming to the States this winter, we immediate booked tickets to Oahu. We are not into crowded/ touristy place so the truth is we won't go there if it's not because of her, but the more we read and learned about the place the more excited we became.

Max was not feeling well the day before so we thought going to the zoo may cheer him up. We stayed at the rental condo nearby the Waikiki Beach and the zoo is about 6 minutes walk from our rental.
Useful tips: wear hat, bring sunblock, water bottle, and lunch. There's a nice large shaded area where we can sit down and have a picnic/ lunch. 

The beautiful flamingos are among the first creatures to welcome us

The majestic giraffe

This was interesting, who know fire is a friend to grasses

Japan Travel in one week itinerary and tips

Thanks to our family and friends who went before us and gave us many useful information so we managed to explore this beautiful county on our own. If you are thinking of visiting Japan for the first time below are the list of things to do and a few tips. Most of these information were given by my kind friends Rini and Yunita. Thank you!

3-6 months before:

• List down the areas/ cities/ places you want to visit. Some people like temples, some like outdoors, shopping, eating, or amusement parks. The beauty of traveling on your own is you got to choose which places you want to go. If you are visiting for less than a week, focus on 1 or 2 cities. For first time visitor, my take would be visiting either Tokyo and Fuji mountain area such as Hakone or Lake Kawaguchiko or Osaka and Kyoto area. If you are visiting 7 to 8 days like us then you can visit all four of those cities.

•  After deciding which places to go, book your accommodation as early as you can. Many hotels are fully booked months ahead of time especially during holidays or cherry blossom season. Some well known hotel chain with washer/ dryer like "Tokyu Stay" is fully booked 6 months prior. We use Agoda.com to book our accommodation but other travel sites such as booking.com or airbnb should work too.

• If you want, you can book a free service travel guide in Japan through this website. We use this volunteer guide service on our one day in Tokyo.  As exchange of their service, the tourist usual pay for their transportation and meals. Our volunteer guide was very helpful and courteous. We won't be able to go to many places in one day without his help.

1-3 months ahead:

• If you are planning to stay for a week and travel to different cities; it is worth it to buy JR Pass Rail than buying individual train ticket. You can buy it online or if there is a Japanese travel company in your city; you can buy JR Pass from them. When you purchase the JR Pass, make sure you use the same name on your passport. When you activate your JR Pass, the staff will match it with your passport so it is very important to have the exact same name. 
• Rent wifi online. We use this website. We used google map to navigate our way in Japan. Our trip wouldn't be possible without wifi. You can also rent wifi at the airport but it will be more expensive. 

Day trip to Hakone from Tokyo

A day after we got back from Kyoto, we decided to go for a day trip to Hakone. We use early morning bullet train to Odawara Station then bought "Hakone Free Pass", a discount pass that provides unlimited use of transportation: trains, boats, cable cars, and busses in Hakone area. 

I love how the Japanese manage to plant greenery despite having limited outdoor space:

First destination in Hakone:

1. Gora Park - free admission with Hakone Pass

Kyoto Day 4: Kiyomizu-dera temple, Nishiki, then back to Tokyo

This was our last day in Kyoto. We could choose either spending the day here or leave early and spend the day at Tokyo. We decided to spend the day in Kyoto to visit UNESCO World Heritage site: Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

We knew the temple would be crowded with tourist so we arrived early to avoid the crowd. It was my birthday so I thought it would be fun to get a makeover.

The before (above) and the after Ta Da.... I was the first customer at the kimono renting store nearby the temple. They told me if I didn't come that early they won't be able to accommodate me because they have a long list of reservation that day. So if you know ahead of time you want to rent kimono in Kyoto better make reservation first. They have professionals to help me putting on the kimono and styling my hair. Surprisingly, the kimono was comfortable. The sandals made of memory foam not wood so it's easy to walk on.

Stunning historic site with impressive architecture details

Kyoto day 3: Kyoto Aquarium, Railway Museum, Nishiki Market

According to the weather forecast; it's going to be rain the whole day that day so we reserve that day to visit Kyoto Aquarium. Originally, we were going to the famous Osaka Aquarium but going there would take us at least two hours while this one only 10 minutes from our hotel by foot.

Group of Japanese school children on field trip. Aren't those yellow bags lovely?

Five Things to Eat at Dotonbori, Osaka

We won't be going to Osaka if not because of our friends who persistently told us to visit Dotonbori. "Really? Is it a must?"I asked; "Yes, she replied." So off we went by train. After all, we had JR Pass  and it's only about one hour away from our hotel in Kyoto 

 Found this cute car at the train station. I wouldn't mind trading my minivan for this.

 Found a temple nearby Dotonbori

 Our guide for the evening armed with google map:
 After about 10 minutes walk from the station

Kyoto Day 2: Fushimi Inari and Osaka

We don't have time to visit every single landmarks in Kyoto so we asked around and read online reviews and chose the places we ought to go and Fushimi Inari made the cut.  

I read somewhere if we arrive early, we can avoid tourist groups who usually come around 9 or 10 AM

We then hike way up  to avoid the crowd.

We were surprised to see bamboo forest on the top of the hill. If we've known this earlier we won't go to the crowded Arashimaya Bamboo Forest.

The road less traveled