Tijuana + Venice

Once, many many moons ago, Stefan and I went to Venice.

Believe it or not it was not the first international adventure we took together that title goes to... Tijuana, Mexico. Seriously.

Poor Stefan was a grad student worried about getting stuck in Mexico and we had to get special permission from the University for his visa. He took me to San Diego for my birthday and we decided to take a day trip down to old Tijuana for our first lesson in international travel together. We simply walked through a turn style into Mexico and that was it.

We enjoyed Mangoritas, attempted to find nice silver and leather products, but instead bought tequila, kahlua, and vanilla for my Mom and aunts. This was all before the no liquids on the plane rule. We were astounded that pharmacies advertised all of the drugs they sold over the counter, which are more controlled in the US.

It's sometimes difficult to remember how much we went through to finally be together. Looking back I see how our love for traveling started from the get go.

Our first trip to Venice was during the time we spent two years dating long distance. We drove down to Italy to camp at Lago di Garda. I learned people set up camp at campsites for weeks or even months. Some people had fierce campers and RVs, while people like us had a simple tent. I had never seen campsite bathrooms and showers that were so nice.

We made our way to Venice and it was magical. Sure, there's some of the tourist kitsch, but it's such an incredible and unique place. We drank tons of red wine and enjoyed the food that draws visitors in droves.

We vowed to return to those romantic canals and so that's where we went for our 5th wedding anniversary!