The pros and cons of taking a guided tour through Europe (11 days with Cosmos)

         Hey guys! I've been meaning to make a post recapping my tour through Europe. That should be my next post, but this post is going to mainly be about the pros and cons of taking a guided tour through Europe. If you've recently been dreaming of traveling to Europe, whether this is your first time or not, I really do suggest taking a guided tour! I think there are more pros than cons. There are different companies such as; Trafalgar, Globus, Cosmos, EF ultimate break, and so on. If you're in college, in the age group between 18-29 I highly suggest trying EF ultimate break, although I have not personally been on one of these, because I went with my mom and you have to be in that age group, it is perfect for college aged people and I've only heard good things. They even have a payment plan to make your trip more affordable.
I basically wanted to make this post to show people how going on a guided tour through Europe is a wonderful experience. If you have been dying to go to Europe or to another country, but you're a little intimidated and have been procrastinating because it's such a big trip... a guided tour may be perfect for you. In my own personal opinion, it is just so much more easier, no hassle in finding transportation, hotels, things to do... because almost everything is already planned! Although in certain instances, if you only want to visit one country or stay in one general area, you would probably be better off booking your own trip and planning your own stay.
I know some people do not like having a set schedule and want to do their own thing. But if you're someone who is scared of venturing out there because you never have before, or if you are just a planner (with me) and like knowing what you're doing and what to expect, this makes things SO much easier!

But before I get into breaking down what it's really like the take a guided tour, let's talk about prices. I'm sure this is something everyone is curious about.

Pricing:
So last year, I took a trip with Cosmos. It's owned by Globus tours,  but Cosmos is just the more "affordable" tours, and it was so perfect. The tour I went on went to France, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, and part of Italy. It cost around $1,800 for 11 nights, not including the flight, and yes, this was after taxes were added on. My mom and I both got insurance in case one of us got really sick and needed to be flown home, god forbid. So if you book your flight through the tour company, we actually found out it was cheaper. Only about $850 per person. Note that we went in June too, which is a pretty popular time of year to go because it's not cold and school is out. Having looked around a lot at different prices, this was an amazing deal. Also, to throw this in there, if you have never flown international, (we went on Delta), they serve you free alcoholic drinks and surprisingly REALLY good food. They basically feed your every three hours. At least that's what it felt like. They served us dinner, dessert, and breakfast and had snacks in between. As far as how many free alcoholic drinks you can get I'm not really sure if it's unlimited. I think it is? But not like you're about to get hammered on your plane... unless you do, then by all means order away! 
Also, depending on what guided tour you go on, they include a certain amount of dinners and breakfast is free every day.
With the tour and flight in mind... now you just have to think about how much you're going to spend once you're there. I personally took out.. I believe, $550? I used all of it and then used my card maybe only three times. So, in total, I spent about $3,300 for my whole trip in it's entirety. Also, it depends how big of a spender you are of course.

Here is a link to the Cosmos website for European tours. They also have other areas of the world, of course. Click here

With the money out of the way, let's get into it!

Pros of a guided tour:

1. All transportation and hotels are included. No need to worry how to get from one spot to the next. Like I said before, your tour bus/tour guide will drop you off at a certain location and let you venture out on your own. You may have the option of hanging out with your tour guide while she walks you through historic and monumental sites and explains them with great detail. Or sometimes she/he will tell you to scram and adventure on your own. If you want to stay out longer than the rest of your group, and you're staying at a hotel that night, you can just provide your own transporation back to your room at whatever time you desire. If not, your tour guide will tell you to meet back with her at, most likely the drop off location, so you can get a ride back to your hotel and prepare for your next exciting day!

2. Sometimes the views on the bus are much more spectacular than you expect. Oh my gosh. I realized this when we were driving through Switzerland. Germany, as well, the scenery was breath taking while we were driving through the Black Forest, but in Switzerland... just, wow. I will leave some pictures down below. NOTE: these pictures are ALL legit pictures I took FROM my window! No, I wasn't standing outside taking these. Also, to explain how amazing these views were, there is a train we took that is one part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, and I SWEAR, the bus ride was even better. The only part I loved about that train was when we stopped in front of a view with a lake and the mountains (I'll leave it below, the one with my mom and I), that view honestly made the train ride worth it. But other than that, the bus was even more incredible. Also, if you don't know what the UNESCO World Hertiage sites are, they're pretty much the most important cultural sites in the world, I think.

3. Free breakfast every morning. This saves a huge expense in my eyes. They serve you buffet styled breakfast, things like eggs, sausage, bacon, fruit, cheese, yogurt etc. I can eat a big breakfast, and go without eating for a good rest of my day.

4. Included dinners. Depending on what tour you go on, you may have more included dinners. For example; the Trafalgar tour I went on as a kid, was more expensive and I believe there were five included dinners, that were really amazing, where as, on the Cosmos tour (this was honestly really my only personal con) we had three included dinners, two of them weren't very good but the last one we had was amazing. And it was a three course dinner.

5. You are STRESS-FREE from planning! Major pro. They send you a huge internary breaking your trip down for you so you know exactly what you'll be doing every day. With that being said, at the same time, you can still venture on your own without your group if you desire to.

6. You learn SO much. The two times I've been on guided tours both of my tour guides have been literally amazing and so knowledgeable. Our tour guide definitely spoke at least five different languages and knew so much about everything. This is something you won't get just traveling to Europe by yourself. And personally, I think it's really important to know the history and culture of the places you visit. And if you don't feel like listening to your tour guide, well you don't have to. And it's not an annoyingly amount of them talking by any means. They honestly provide so much random information about things, it's so fascinating. Like, did you know they still used the guillotine in France up until the 1977? It wasn't abolished until 1981. I had no idea..

*** The biggest misconception about guided tours: I think there's a big misconception when people think of a "guided tour" through Europe, they think you are on a strict schedule with no time to yourself and this is not true at all. Every day you are dropped off at a location, sometimes after following your tour guide and group for a bit, but not always, and you are free to venture out on your own for a certain amount of time or even for the whole day. Depending on how much of an importance this is to your trip, it can be anywhere from two hours to probably five. Or really, if you're staying at a certain hotel for more than one night, you can really just do your own thing if you don't want to hang out with your group. Catch a cab or train and adventure on. You basically just have to make sure you stick with your group when you depart from a hotel or else you're screwed, lol. But don't worry, they won't leave without you anyways. They always do head counts.

7. Being on a schedule, it motivates you to get up early and utilize your whole day. Because let's face it, most people like to sleep in. If you happen to be staying at the same hotel for a couple days and don't feel like getting up or participating with your group, you don't have to, but chances are you're going to want to. So the fact that you have to force yourself to wake up early (usually times we woke up ranged from 6:00am - 8:00am), this is a great motivator! Because trust me, you do NOT want to miss a thing while you're in Europe. You have to make the most out of everything!

8. There is usually always a surprise stop at a location, some may be breathtaking. While almost everything will be in your itinerary, there are some things you get to see that are surprises they don't put on there. I think it depends on how much time you end up having. For example; we had some extra time while driving to our hotel in Germany, so we got a surprise stop in the Black Forest at the world's largest cuckoo clock! AND, we got to have the famous "Black Forest cake" IN the Black Forest at a cute cafe next to the clock. It was delicious and um, how cool is that? Then when I was a kid, it wasn't on our itinerary at all, but we ended up going to Pompeii for a few hours and that was honestly one of my favorite moments. I love surprises.

9. Free Wi-Fi on the bus! Enough said. (Make sure you bring an extra battery for your phone since you'll be using it a lot)

10. Guaranteed access to sights. Certain places and certain times of year can be extremely crowded. Since you're on a tour, everything is set up for you early on, so access to things like; getting into the Sistine Chapel will be guaranteed, whereas if you had just shown up, you may not be able to get in during busy seasons. Of course, if you're going on your own, always purchase tickets ahead of time.

11. Cool excursions you may not think about otherwise. Excursions are usually extra of course, but there are some pretty interesting ones they plan for you that you may not think of otherwise. We had a champagne testing in Reims, France (which was included) were we went underground into a champagne cellar, learned the history and process of champagne making, and then tested some out. We also did an extra excursion of taking a cable car up a mountain. Omg incredible. Although, almost every other excursion sounded a bit lame, tbh.

Some pics of the excursions we went on. The cable car ride and the champagne cellar with our group (I'll post more pictures in my next blog post)

*** Another misconception about guided tours: Most of your time isn't spent on the bus like some people may think. This was something my mom and I were concerned about taking a "more affordable" tour, but it wasn't a problem. Usually it's a couple hours of being on the bus. I think the longest time period we were on the bus for, which was going through the forests of Germany, was about six hours.

Cons of a guided tour:

1. Less time spent at specific places that may be of importance to you. Honestly, this wasn't a problem for us. We got to see what we wanted to see with plenty of time. Like I said, they drop you off at the location you already know you'll be going to, and give you a few hours to explore. After a while, you're ready to go back anyways.

2. Be VERY careful of wording and the bold/italic/underlined/capitalized locations when reading the itinerary of your guided tour. At least that's how it is with Cosmos. So because you are traveling via bus, there are some sites that you see, but don't necessarily get off the bus for. There aren't many that you miss to be honest. What it tells you that you see in your handbook is pretty much all correct. The only thing I wanted to see closer up was the Eiffel Tower. We knew we weren't going to get to go directly to it, because of the wording of our itinerary. (I forget what it said now, but probably something like "look up to see the Eiffel tower as you're making your way to the city". I don't think we were going to stop, but our tour guide figured we would want to, so she said we would make a quick picture stop for it. We weren't directly in front of it, but over the river you could see it in the background and we got a good photo op.

3. It's gonna suck if you get sick on the bus. Yep, I know this from personal experience. I got sick when I went last year and it was honestly horrible. Thank god, I was only sick for two days, and I managed to survive, but it sucked being on the bus during this time. Of course, I was sick on one of the days where we had to travel on the bus for 6 hours. Lol, just my luck. I had a stomach virus, threw up, and the first day literally used the bathroom seven times. There is a bathroom on board your bus, but surprisingly, I don't know how, I didn't need to use it because of the bathroom stops we made along the way. I did throw up on the bus, but luckily someone was able to give me a shopping bag. But yeah, being in a confined area like that was not fun when sick.

Here's a very sick picture of me in Germany when I had that stomach virus. I felt like complete poop, but I persevered! 

4. Things can be rushed. You're on a timeline when you're traveling on a group tour, so you may not get to see everything you want. For example; when we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral, we wanted to go inside but we didn't have time to because the line was insanely long to get in and we needed to get back on the bus. Although, in Milan, we could have went inside the Duomo, but the line was also so long we just said "screw it".

5. You may not like certain people in your group. Eh, not really a huge deal to be honest. The two tours I've been on, almost every single person was extremely nice. I remember the first tour we went on, when I was a kid, we got very close with our tour group. I think my mom kept in contact with a couple via email for a few years. But, there is always one person who no one likes.

6. You may get a crappy tour guide. My mom has been on five Europe tours all together, and she has loved all of her guides except one. I think the lady was just kind of annoying. The tour I just went on though, our tour guide was amazing. Such a warm-hearted person and so genuine. When I got sick for two days, we ended up being the only people with a suite the last day I was sick. We told some people we got friendly with, and they all thought our tour guide must have done it. We mentioned something to her like "Wow, we got lucky" and she just smiled and I could tell in her smile that she did it on purpose. 

7. You may not get to do things you want to do. If you have your heart set on doing a bunch of very specific things that aren't included in a tour that you can find, maybe it's just best for you to not take a guided tour.

Alright guys, I think that's it!

I hope you've enjoyed this blog. I hope that my personal opinions and experiences have helped some of you after reading this, to decide if you would like to take a guided tour through Europe (Especially those of you who have never visited before). The world is so big and it needs to be explored. Don't waste your time. Put some money to the side, even if it takes a few years. No matter your situation. Just do it and travel the world! It's something no one ever regrets.

- Lots of love,

        Sammi

Fyi, there are random carousels all over Paris. This was taken there. :)

Live Cozy and Feel Cozy (Part 2)

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm off for the next two days and after working three 12 hours shifts in a row at my hospital, all I want to do is curl up in a ball with some snacks, my blanket, and watch Netflix. But lucky for you, I'm writing this blog post instead of watching netflix! (I have the snacks and blanket though).
So this post is going to be a "Part 2" of my last post, about 'living cozy and feeling cozy'. I have a habit of going on rants when I talk, and apparently when I write too, so initially I was thinking I was going to have both "how to make your home cozy" and "how to feel cozy" under the same blog post but then I realized I had just wayy too much to say so this is now Part 2 of my post; how to feel cozy. So without further ado, let's get into it!

My lifestyle revolves around "self-care" and wearing what I feel comfortable in, or even just relaxing after a long day of work, a lot. In short, coziness is a big part of my lifestyle.
Here's what I like to do to feel more cozy:

• Comfy socks. Can't really go wrong here. I'm the type of person that almost always needs something on their feet inside my house. I went on a little shopping haul to target during the winter and got the COMFIEST socks ever. One pair are more like slipper socks, with little foxes on them and non-skid rubber thingys on the bottom. Those socks are actually pictured above in my blog post picture.
• Pajama sets. I don't know why, but I really feel like I have my life together when I'm wearing a pajama set. I've currently been wanting a silk pajama set. (May ask for one for my birthday from Victoria's Secret). But yeah, pajama sets just make me feel like I've got my life together and that I'm a real adult. Anyone else feel the same?
• Face masks. Not much to say here. Not only does it make you feel cozy, but sooo relaxed and makes me feel like I am living da life. Just put a cocktail in my hand, please. My favorite mask I've found so far was from Target. And it's not just me that thinks it's amazing, but I had my good friend try it on one night when we were hanging out and, yes it does sting for a bit, but when you take it off.... omg. It feels like I have a new face. And I can never tell with any other face masks I've used before, but THIS ONE, honestly makes my skin look more bright and seems to make any blackheads disappear. I'll link it here, just click on the pic!

• Journaling. This is something I personally need to do more of. They have so many cool journals you can get for whatever your interest is! I currently use a blank journal that I got from Barnes and Noble where I write some poetry or whatever is on my mind. (It's a beautiful red leather journal made in Italy. Tip: find a beautiful journal that makes you want to stare at so that way you WILL write in it). I also have a journal with "300 writing prompts" that I got from Target. (Side note: one of my major goals in life is to write a book one day. I LOVE writing). They also have gratitude journals, prayer journals, mindfulness journals, really anything. It's great to use either first thing when you wake up in the morning, instead of reaching for your phone (we all know we're guilty of this) and also right before you go to bed to clear your mind.
• Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate. Whatever you're in the mood for, it doesn't matter! I prefer tea at night before bed and hot chocolate on a cold/rainy day. Something about it appealing to multiple senses makes it so lovely to me.
• A good movie/documentary. If you're feeling like just chilling and bringing on the cozy vibes, find a great movie or documentary to watch! I'm picky so I may do a bit of research before finding something that I want to watch, like watching trailers on youtube.
• Clean up your house! I personally cannot relax if my house is a mess. In order to get into my comfy and coziest element, I need my house to be clean. So bring out the vacuum before cuddling up in your bed or on the couch.
• Candles and air diffusers. When you wanna get in the mood for a cozy night, ya need a candle or an air diffuser. Air diffusers are pretty cheap on amazon. I know Doterra products are very in right now, but I honestly don't understand the hype. Their scents are just SO harsh to me. So my favorite types of oil to put in the diffuser are the kind you get from.. hmm, what would you call them? Hippy stores? Haha, I'm not sure. Okay, I just googled it and I believe their called "Metaphysical stores"? Correct me if I'm wrong. But there are a lot of local shops that sell essential oils. These places typically sell crystals, sage, tarot cards, that type of thing. I love those stores. But they have the best smelling oils for your diffuser! One that's a chain is called: The Bodhi Tree.
• A fieldtrip to the bookstore. (Don't forget buying a coffee) Nothing says cozy like curling up on your favorite chair and reading a really good book. In fact, I need to find a new one.. suggestions are welcome :)
• Paint your nails. Matter of fact, just have a spa day with yourself! Nothing beats that.
• Take a bath (maybe even with a bath caddy). Okay so this one, I personally have mixed feelings about taking a bath. That might be weird, but it's just me. Although I really do want one of those cool "bath caddy/board" things where it fits right above your tub in a perfect display to put a glass of wine, hold your phone, tablet, or book in a way that will make you feel like royalty. I low-key really want an iPad just for the fact that putting it on a bath caddy and scrolling down Pintrest with it sounds like A mood for sure. Also, throw a bath bomb in there! I'll link a picture down below of a good bath caddy to get from Etsy. (I may be getting this for myself as well).

• Lotion up! After taking a shower at night before bed, I LOVE to lotion up. Two of my favorite go-to scents right now are "in the stars" and "spiced gingerbread swirl". Both are warm, pretty scents that make me feel so good.
• The app, "Calm". Definitely not sponsored, (I wish I had sponsors), haha but the app called "Calm" is amazing! Not sure if it's available on androids but I use it for my iPhone. Sometimes when I'm working I honestly just put it on for the background noise. You can set up a background with different scenery like a rainy day, a rain forest, a field of wildflowers, the ocean, literally anything and it's so relaxing. They have guided meditations, bed-time stories, calming music and more. Some are free but some are locked, the app is $59.99 for a whole year, but honestly I just use the free ones. It really puts me in my feels.

Welp, that's about it guys! Tomorrow I'm going to be going to the Renaissance festival with my boyfriend but I plan on waking up early tomorrow morning, making some coffee, and writing another blog post. Have a relaxing, lovely and comfy night everyone! Till tomorrow :)

Live Cozy and Feel Cozy

Hey guys! I thought this might be a cute way to start off my blog, especially because I've been practicing some self-care lately and I realized that "coziness" is kind of a big part of my lifestyle. So keep reading if you'd like to hear some of my own tips on how to create a cozy lifestyle.

Just thought I'd throw in a picture of my cozy little living room.

1. Making your home more "homey":

• Get plants! Inside or outside plants, it doesn't matter. If you feel like you have a terrible green thumb, fake plants are great too, to bring those cozy, airy vibes into your home. I recently just got about five plants for our outside patio. Inside plants can also "clean the air" in your home and can not only cozy your home, but brighten it up.
• Candles, candles, candles. Not just candles though, but a candle holder. A great way to make an ordinary candle look elegant AND cozy is to get one of those candle holders from bath and body works. They are so cute and help a candle stand out. I bought a candle holder from there that has a tiny stand and it's made to look like leaves growing around the candle. I personally keep it on my kitchen counter in the middle to give a homey look and I'll switch my candle out depending on my mood or the season. You can fit almost any other candle in it too, I currently have a yankee candle placed inside of it. Side note: get cheap candles at home goods or TJMAXX!
• A chalkboard memo board. I think this is such a cute, homey look that will bring a nice family aesthetic to your home. I got mine at Target and it's just a simple stand-up board with a cork board on the back. There are all different kinds though! I saw the cutest one at target with little mason jars on the side and the chalkboard next to it. There are a lot of "organizer" chalkboard memo boards. I currently have "love grows here" written on it inside a circle of flowers. It's pretty adorable. A good idea to write on one would be a countdown to something important, like an up-coming vacation. Be sure to get colored chalk! Also, letter boards are pretty in right now and a cute, cozy way to spice up your home. I'll link two down below, as well as my own chalkboard I have in my kitchen. That's the first pic right down here (I couldn't link mine to Target's website because I got it a while ago and I don't think they have the exact one anymore.



• Throw blankets. Pretty self-explanatory. How much cozier can it get? Home goods is my go-to place for most home accessories like this. Just throw it over your couch, ottoman, or fold it nicely across the end of your bed.
• Rugs. Even though I have carpeting in my living room, you can't believe how much getting a rug has brightened up and brought complete coziness into my home. My favorite type of rug is "oriental" but of course that's totally up to preference. I think it has something to do with how my mom always had a few oriental rugs around my home growing up, so naturally it reminds me of "home". Not to mention, they look elegant. I got my current rug off of Amazon and, wow, just wow, I wasn't sure what to expect because sometimes buying rugs online doesn't always go over well, but it was perfect and made of a great thick material! My rug is by the Safavieh Evoke Collection, the vintage oriental ivory and blue 5'1" by 7'6". Link and picture down below!

• Decorative pillows. Comfy and cozy. I'm a bit of a clean freak, so I'm constantly perfecting my decorative pillows back in place on my couch once I get up from it. What can I say? I mean, they are cute.
• Farmhouse decor. The whole "farmhouse" look is very in right now, although I feel like it may not always be in, so my home does have a few items with that whole farmhouse style. Distressed-looking rustic decor is a great indicator if you're not sure if something is "farmhouse" worthy. Some examples of this style are: barn doors, wire or wicker baskets, mason jars, anything made of that distressed grey wood color or natural wood colors.
• So in the same category I wanted to list a couple things I have in my own home that bring up the coziness factor and could be listed as "farmhouse" decor. For one, and I literally have no idea if there's a specific name for them but lemme try my best, wooden wall boxes with inspirational quotes. Does that make sense? If I can figure out how to insert pictures or link a pic, I will. I have one of my wall that's made of distressed wood that says, "all you need is love... and more coffee". And how much more accurate can it be? I got it at "Altar'd State". If you don't know that store, look it up. It's one of the most adorable stores there is. Although, I can't really afford any of their clothes, but they've got a super trendy selection of homey decor. Also, Etsy is a great place for these.
• Wicker organizer baskets - These are simply the best! I have two that came as a set, from home goods, and to tie in the whole vibe, they also happen to have a square piece of chalkboard attached to it (meant to mark what's inside). I use them to store all of our dvds and video games and keep it in the living room next to our tv stand. This is a great way to not only bring a cozy feel into your home, but stay organized!
• A nice bookcase. If you're a book reader like me, it's important to have a nice place to store all your books. I personally have one now that I want to get rid of in the future. I'm planning on getting a nice dark wood, or cherry colored one that isn't backless, like mine, and looks more.. I guess expensive? Mine was pretty cheap off of Wayfair and really doesn't hold enough books.
• Collage picture frames (with family pictures). What would be a home without pictures of your family? Picture collage frames let you have multiple pictures in one to display in your home so that way, no matter where your family is, it's a constant reminder of them. A home is where the family is. I personally think having one or two on your wall really makes a home more of a home. If you don't have any, get one now!
• Things that make you feel like "you". Okay, so this is a good point I didn't truly think about until recently. What makes you feel good? What makes you feel like... you? I recently got a record player for my birthday and the cutest stand. I've always loved old vintage things and I love music from the 80's, 70's and 60's. Even 50's... I love myself some Frank Sinatra. (My parents were born in the 50s so I grew up with this kind of music) And because of all that, the presence of having these old records and player in my home just make me feel SO comforted. Other examples of this... well, I love Harry Potter (anyone, relate?) I have a wand I got from Universal I don't know what to do with, and I'm like.. "I don't wanna just let it sit in it's box" so I'm ordering a shelf and stand to put it in my bedroom. How cute is that? And these little things just make your home feel even more "homey", not only to you, but I feel like when others come over they can also feel that same cozyness.
• Wall Shelves with cute knick-nacks. I'm placing a picture below of exactly what I mean. I feel like wall shelves really bring a cozy-ness factor to your home. Especially when you put cute little knick-nacks on them that mean something to you. For example, on mine above my record player I have a little figurine of the Eiffel Tower I got in Paris last year, I have a candle (of course), a little plant (I really want a hanging plant though), and this odd little picture I thrifted that says "our love can't be measured". I'll also add a picture that links to an etsy page for these really cute rustic wall shelves. 

These are my wall shelves that I got from Target. (And my lovely record player, from Amazon)

• Things from other countries or travels. I think this makes for a unique home. I want to get more things, but obviously I need to travel more. I have a plate I hung on the wall from Capri, Italy. And my dad gave me a little wall decoration from Sicily that I have near my front door as well. It holds importance because that's where his side of the family came from and where he lived as a kid. Things like that make my home feel more homey :)

Stay tuned for my next blog that will feature what you can do for yourself to unwind, de-stress, and make yourself feel cozy.
If anyone has any questions about where I got some of my other things I mentioned, leave a comment down below!

Have a beautiful day, lovely people!