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    • Sigh, Prague.  If I’m being honest I didn’t know much about Prague a couple of years ago.  It wasn’t even on my "top 50 places to see bucket list". Ok, I don’t really have a top 50, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have been.  Ignorance on my end. I had no idea what a gem I was missing. And I definitely had know idea I would fall in love with Prague and dream about going back!  It won me over from the very moment we arrived. The people – so kind and so genuine. And because Czech is such a difficult language to learn – most people spoke English.  That is a win for those who are terrified of not being able to communicate. Prague has been declared “One of the safest big cities in the world” and we truly felt that vibe.  It felt completely secure wherever we were, and as we talked to the locals they confirmed that to be accurate. The streets are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. While they may not be friendly to stilettos, they are a work of art.


    On our first evening we enjoyed a Czech folklore dinner show.  While it may be touristy, we found ourselves laughing, singing, and dancing.  I wouldn’t go for the food, but the live music and drinks made up for a mediocre meal.  This is a great site if you want to learn more about where to eat in Prague.  Or to read up on top things to do. You can also schedule a food tour with them which is definitely a future goal for me!  A few places that we enjoyed are Lokal, Nase Maso, Pizza Nuova & Roesel.



    The rest of our days in Prague were spent doing a walking tour with Sandemans, enjoying the markets, visiting the old Jewish cemetery, people watching on the Charles Bridge, taking in all the churches and castles, attending an opera, going on beer tours and perusing Parizska – one of Prague’s most luxurious streets.  The buildings are Art Nouveau and the shopping is top of the line. It’s a great place to grab a coffee and stroll (even if you can’t afford to shop!) Of course, you can’t miss the astronomical clock or grabbing a glass of wine on the rooftop of The Dancing House. Whatever you do, grab a glass of coffee or mulled wine and get beyond the city square. The streets of Prague are just waiting to be explored!
    We also took a FABULOUS day trip to Bohemian Saxon National Park. You can read more about that adventure here. And you can see the cost breakdown of what this trip cost us.
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    posted by . Wednesday, September 5, 2018 . / / /
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    So, what’s your fear?  Is it being in an unknown country and culture?  It’s intimidating to think about being somewhere that you don’t know the language or what is normal.  This has been especially hard for me. My hubs, he basically could care less. He’ll ask a million different questions and try to figure it out.  Me – I’m like, nah I got this. Let me assure you – his way is better. We’ve learned some hilarious lessons along the way. But you know what- we’ve lived!


    And we have (later, much later) laughed. I’m learning to just embrace it. It’s like the rest of life, you are going to screw up!  You are going to make a mistake.  Some are rookie (hello, pick-pocketer of my brand new iPhone). And some, well you just have to live & learn.  Let me tell you a story about the time we got lost in Siena.  And by lost I mean booted off a bus in the middle of a Tuscan village – miles from anyone else and no cell service in sight.  And we had just finished dinner, which means I wasn’t wearing the most practical shoe of choice. We had spent a lovely evening in the charming town of Siena.  It was about mid-way through our trip and we were exhausted. It seemed we had “kinda” figured out the bus system and decided to give it a whirl. We hopped on, thankful to not be walking anymore, and headed off into the countryside.  I was looking out the window enamored with the rolling hills and vineyards, but I noticed David had a look of concern. Being, “directionally challenged” in my own country – you can bet I had no idea that something didn’t feel right.  “We are going the total opposite direction,” he said. After much discussion about how they probably go up the mountain and come back down and convincing ourselves we’d be fine, we settled in. Or I settled. Nothing about David’s face look settled.  The further we got away and as more and more people exited the bus, the more stressed his face appeared. Before we knew it, we were the last people on the bus. We were many, many miles from our hotel. We were on top of a mountain and sitting at a bus stop.  My inner dialogue began, “Ok, surely more people will get on & then we will head back down.” Meanwhile the driver kept glaring at us. We tried to talk to him and figure out the plan. We tried to ask him what was happening and when we would turn around. He spoke zero English.  Absolutely NONE. I sure was kicking myself for not paying more attention to that Italian app that I kept “meaning to do.” You know that saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions?”  Lesson Learned.  Lost in the middle of Tuscany. Trust me, that sounds much more glamorous that it was.


    With one swoop of his arm he motioned for us to get off.  It wasn’t a suggestion. It was direct and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.  And incase we didn’t get the message he turned off all the lights and we sat there in the pitch dark.  So, off we go. And no joke – he closed that bus door and left us in the dust. I promised you we could see him laughing in his rearview mirror as he sped down the mountain.
    After considering our options for all of 5 seconds (because we had no options) we sat out to walk.  The only thing going for us at this point was he left us on TOP of the mountain. It was literally all downhill from there.  Of course downhill, in the pitch dark, along curvy Tuscan-sidewalk-free-roads, with 4% battery life, and wearing wedges – but downhill nonetheless.  At one point I couldn’t help but laugh. It was laugh or cry and the first option seemed more enjoyable. I laughed and laughed and promised myself that one day it would be a fond memory.  Fond might be a stretch, but it is a definite memory.  And we survived!  No joke, it was like a scene out of a movie. Thankfully it resembled some romantic comedy and not a murder mystery.  There was a brief time when it felt like it could go either way. 
    But in true Italian form, a few miles down the road, we stumbled into a little deli.  I almost cried. I almost kissed the Italian gentleman. I almost cried again.  The look on their faces as two lost Americans walked into their establishment was gold.  I know they were cracking up on the inside.  But they were so kind. They took us in and called a taxi.  And the rest, my friends, is history.  We made it back to the hotel.  We traded foot rubs and promised to sleep in.  And we lived. 


    Listen, it’s going to happen.  That’s not our only mistake we’ve made.  We’ve been on the wrong train. We’ve missed dinner reservations.  We’ve gotten parking tickets. We’ve forgotten luggage at a hotel. We’ve ordered completely raw beef (& I’m not talking tartare).  But it's ok!  It’s all part of the experience. It’s all part of the story and the fabric of what makes the trip. And honestly, now those are some of our favorite memories. So many people are fearful of the unknown.  I get it. I could be the president of the club.  Embrace it.  Count on it.  Maybe even enjoy it.  Because I can tell you one thing, you won’t regret it.





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    posted by . Tuesday, September 4, 2018 . / /

    Hello World!

    How to start?  I’m pretty sure I have more questions than answers.  But, let me try. Hey guys! My name is Emilee and I’m glad you’ve stumbled upon my blog.  Considering that one statistic I read said, “A new blog is created somewhere in the world every half a second” well, it’s a miracle we’ve found each other.  So thanks for being here!

    Four years ago my husband and I took our first trip to Europe together.  At the time I was blown away. I couldn’t believe I was traveling overseas. At that point in our life it really wasn’t in my realm of thinking.  We had three little ones at home, my husband owned a small business, and I was a staying at home with the kids. Nothing in our finances or lifestyle would make me think I could hop on a plane to Europe.  But, my in-laws graciously paid for the trip and we were so happy to be there. Little did we know we would fall in love with traveling. If you told me then I would go back 4 times in the next 4 years – well, I would have never believed it.  But, we did. We found a way to make it happen. Why? Because we couldn’t not go. We literally talked and dreamt and planned until we just pulled the trigger and went again. And again. And again…

    We would try and convince our friends to go with us or on their own.  We planned out so many dream itineraries that we could have been travel agents.  We loved showing people what we had learned to do and not do. But we constantly heard “we can’t afford it.”  I get it. Really, I do. We started our married life in married student housing. I know what it is like to live on every penny.  (Although it was the only time in our marriage we had heated bathroom floors. #swanky). The thing is our friends would never believe us when we told them how affordable it was.  These same people didn’t think twice about an annual beach trip. A quick google search pulls up that the average family vacation is $4,300 for a family of four. That seems high to me.  Maybe it’s my love of a good deal, but we don’t spend that much on our family vacays. But – we also don’t spend that much on a trip to Europe. When I ask most people how much they think they would need to travel to Europe they say $10,000.  What the what??? We have never taken a trip that cost close to that. If you have $10,000 to spend on a trip – go for it. I’m sure you will find some very amazing experiences (maybe even heated bathroom floors?!) But if that’s out of your wheelhouse, we get ya.  It’s out of ours, too!  But trust us when we say, you can make it happen. And we want to show you how. We want other people to explore this gorgeous world.  We have found a way to make traveling on a budget doable and enjoyable.

    We named this site Explore Before because most people say they will travel later in life.  Maybe you want the kids to be grown, the bank account to be full, the language to be easier.  The list goes on. We could let a thousand things keep us from pursuing our dreams. Unfortunately, none of us are promised tomorrow.  We want to encourage you to Explore Before. Whatever your “before” may be. I hope we inspire you to travel now – while you can!

    So, if you want to travel but never thought you could, stick around.  I realize not everyone has the desire to travel abroad – I get it! We live in a great country with more to see than could ever been seen.  Get out and explore it. But, if you have a desire to travel abroad, I hope we can help you to see that it is doable. And it is oh so worth it.  Consider yourself warned – I think you’ll fall in love, too.
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