My goal is to see the world through the eyes of a local, connect deeply with the people I meet along the way, and inspire others to explore this big beautiful world.

Meet Annette

One of my oldest memories is refusing to eat tomatoes with cheese in my aunt’s apartment just outside of Paris. Turns out this memory is from when I was 3 years old.

Since then I have been fortunate in being exposed to different kinds of travel - road trips, camping, study abroad, solo/digital-nomad, etc.

International Travel Diary

France - 3 months, 1996

Argentina - 3 months, 2011

Cuba - 2 weeks, 2016

Mexico - 6 months, 2021-22

Peru - 3 months, 2022

Italy - 2 weeks, 2022

France - 3 months, 2022

Portugal - 1 Week, 2023

My top 3 Favorite Destinations

Lima, Peru for family and weather

Mexico City for people and dancing

Paris, France for food and beautiful walks

Currently Dreaming Of

Camping in Joshua Tree

Hot air balloon in Cappadocia

My Best Travel Story

Booking a one-week trip to Mexico City and making friends at the hostel who not only inspired me to stay but became some of my closest friends. With two other women, we got an Airbnb (after 2 days of knowing each other) and made plans for work days and weekend trips outside of Mexico City.

We even had a BFF photoshoot in Coyoacan when a photography duo who happened to be twins asked if we would do a photoshoot with them. Unfortunately, we never got the photos, but the memories of the fun we had trying to be cute will live on forever.

My Worst Travel Experience

Arriving at the airport for a direct first class (found an amazing deal) flight from LAX to Lima and was told I couldn’t travel because my passport expired in 5 months. Fun fact, Peru (and some other countries) require that your passport is valid for 6 months after your travel date.

For last-minute passports, there is a number to call, where they schedule an appointment for you SOMEWHERE in the US. When I landed in Honolulu for a next-day appointment they told me it was canceled due to power outages at the office. After two days with my cousin (who is an angel in helping me), I finally got my new passport.

Now it was only an economy ticket back to LAX, then to Atlanta (my least favorite airport), then to Lima where I arrived 3 days late and spent double my original ticket.

Moral of the story: check your passport expiration and the requirements of the country you are traveling to. Always.