As someone born and raised in Oregon, the land of rain and green, it’s a special experience to see a landscape covered in giant red sandstone. We knew immediately upon arriving that we’d be back when our schedule allowed for more freedom with our time.

Deciding to road trip from the Plitvitčka lakes to Dubrovnik was one of the best decisions we made for our honeymoon. We drove in the countryside and along the coastline allowing us to see and experience the quieter parts of Croatia. I have to say, the mundane moments away from tourist crowds tend to be some of my very favorite when traveling. Croatia is a beautiful country, like breathtakingly beautiful, which made the 5 hour drive easy on the eyes.

The Plitvice Lakes National Park landed on my radar after searching, none other than – Pinterest, for national parks in Europe. What was life before Pinterest? I don’t even want to remember, but I digress. When planning our honeymoon we both agreed that we wanted a solid mix of both city and nature, and boy did Plitvička bring it home with the nature. The second I saw photos of this place I almost didn’t believe it was real. The water is this insane turquoise color, the waterfalls are endless and it’s surrounded by lush greenery in every direction. I had to see it for myself.

We spent less than 24 hours in Venice. So, the reality is, it’s impossible for me to come up with a blog post telling you what you should do while in the City of Bridges and frankly, just inadequate. I wouldn’t be doing the beautiful city justice. Instead I’ve decided to cover my top 5 recommendations of what NOT to do when visiting Venice, Italy.

Technically we had less than 48 hours to spend in SF, which boils down to roughly 5, potentially 6, meals. Don’t judge me for planning EVERY trip around our eating schedule - food is life. By the time we rolled into town, checked into our Airbnb and made it into the city, it was time to get some grub. Being our 1st wedding anniversary and desperately wanting to channel the Italian ambiance, there was only one sensible option for dinner – authentic pizza!