Cheryl Shops

I had been to Florence once before, about 10 years ago. I was traveling with a group of friends who had done a lot of planning in terms of tours and day trips to Tuscany (highly recommend). We saw all the major sights—the Duomo, David, the Uffizi—ate well, and generally had a great time, however I felt I had "done" Florence and didn't really need to go back. In planning our trip last month, Sean had never been and I thought it was worthwhile to see, so we decided to squeeze in a two-night stay before we headed to Puglia. We ended up loving Florence so much, we wished we would have skipped Bologna altogether so we could have more time there. I liked Florence the first time I visited, but this time, I loved it. The light bouncing along the Arno river is gorgeous. The city is very walkable. The food is fantastic (it was my favorite of the entire trip, sorry Bologna). But really, it was the shopping that did it for me. There's so much of it, I decided to devote an entire blog post on where to go. Here are the best places to shop in Florence. 

When I went to Italy last year, I somehow managed to pack for 12 days in a carry-on. It was quite a bit warmer on that trip, so I suppose my wardrobe was more on the skimpier side, but honestly, I don't know how I did it. For this two-week trip, we planned to hit a few cities in northern Italy before meeting up with friends in Puglia (yes, again!). And while the weather in Italy tends to be absolutely lovely in May, it had been unseasonably cold with some light rain, which made packing a challenge. I also knew I wanted to do some shopping this time, so I acquiesced and checked a bag. I'm glad I did—more details on where I shopped coming next week, but in the meantime, here's (almost) everything I wore on my 14-day trip to Italy last month. 

In case you missed my Croatia travel diary last week, we spent 12 days in Croatia in September, starting with two nights in Split, then a week on a chartered boat, and finally three nights in Dubrovnik. (And I actually started the trip with four nights in Vienna, but that's another post for another day!) My challenge was twofold: first, packing clothes that worked for both land and sea, and second, fitting them all into a carry-on, because I had a connecting flight in Frankfurt and had heard horror stories about lost luggage. So, yes, I managed to pack enough clothes for two and a half weeks in a carry-on—it's all about packing cubes, but I also made sure that everything I brought could be worn at least two different ways (you'll see several items get repeated here). This isn't everything I packed (swimsuits and cover-ups, for example), but these were definitely my go-to pieces. Here's what I wore on vacation in Croatia. 

A few years ago, a study came out concluding that most people derive more joy from planning a vacation than actually being on it. I am not one of those people. Travel is how I recharge my batteries, whether it's a long weekend close to home or a week-plus somewhere more far-flung. Although, to be fair, I do enjoy the planning part too. This particular Croatian vacation (or "Crocation," as we started calling it) was years in the works, thanks to various intercontinental moves, major life changes, and, oh yes, the pandemic. But it was totally worth the wait. Thanks to various circumstances, it ended up being the longest vacation I've ever taken in my life, and as a result, it was one of the most relaxing. I walked thousands of steps every day, visited places that were thousands of years old, ate like a queen, basked in the sunshine, and, most importantly, spent quality time with some of my favorite people in the world. Here's everything we did during our week and a half in Croatia. 

My first trip to Miami Beach, a.k.a. South Beach, was 15 years ago for my friend's bachelorette party. Four of us crammed into a tiny room with two queen-size beds, but we barely spent any time there, because we were too busy having the time of our lives. I've been back many times since, for long-weekend getaways, girls' trips, and even a wedding, and I will rarely turn down the chance to go. To those who have never been to Miami, I like to describe it as Vegas on the beach. Like Las Vegas, people go there to party— they dress to the nines and the people-watching is off the charts—and there are a bunch of amazing restaurants from top chefs like José Andrés and Francis Mallmann. Unlike Vegas, there is no gambling nor ridiculous manmade spectacles (unless you count all of the exotic cars driving up and down Collins Avenue); instead, there's a glorious beach and some amazing Art Deco architecture. It had been four years since my last visit, so when Sean found out he had a business trip, I decided to tag along and get there a few days early to take advantage of the holiday weekend. Here's what we did on our weekend trip to Miami Beach.

It can be a little chilly at night—bring a jacket!

In case you missed last week’s post, we recently spent a week on the Big Island of Hawaii and it was pretty much amazing. We had booked the trip months ago, soon after I started a new job that was a bit more stressful than I'd anticipated, and to be honest, the thought of a relaxing week at the beach got me through some pretty rough weeks. Of course, a week before we were due to leave, the governor of Hawaii issued a plea for tourists to stay home until later in the fall due to rising Covid rates and full hospitals; after some thorough investigation and a pledge to spend as much time outdoors as possible, we decided to go anyway. (We were far from alone, by the way.) Here’s what we did on our blissful trip to the Big Island.

Earlier this month, I took my first flight since the beginning of the pandemic and went home to Chicago to see my mom for the first time in a year and a half—the longest I've gone without seeing her in my entire life. For those of you who haven't flown anywhere yet, the plane trip felt completely safe and drama-free, and seeing my family and friends after so long felt amazingly good. It felt strangely normal to be home, possibly because Chicago felt very "What Covid?!" to me, which was equally refreshing and alarming. So after a few days of quality family time in the 'burbs, we headed downtown for a couple nights in the city. We were happy to see that Michigan Avenue was packed, restaurants and bars were crowded (but not overwhelmingly so), and all weekend long, people were dressed up—maybe that roaring '20s thing is indeed happening. Here's what we did on our weekend in Chicago.

It had only been a few months since we last took a weekend trip to Santa Barbara, but after the stress of the last month (we're ok, really!), not to mention the ridiculously cold and windy spring weather we've been having, Sean & I decided that we were in need of a long weekend of rest and relaxation. Our goal: to lounge by a pool, bask in the sunshine, and maybe roll out to a winery or nice dinner (or a few). With that in mind, we were lucky enough to snag a last-minute hotel reservation in Calistoga, which is one of our favorite little towns in Napa County. Here's where we went and what we did over Memorial Day weekend.

My birthday is in early March, and exactly a year ago, we spent it in Paris and London. Since that trip—which now feels like a million lifetimes ago—we took a road trip to Big Sur and Yosemite last summer but haven't traveled at all since then. So not only were we both going stir-crazy in our apartment, we were really just wanting a change of scenery for a few days. Luckily, restrictions in California are starting to loosen, so Sean surprised me with a weekend trip to Santa Barbara. It's a town I'd visited a few times for a day trip, but I'd never spent a lot of quality time there. After two full days and three nights, I now understand why Harry and Meghan landed in nearby Montecito. Here's what we did on our long weekend trip to Santa Barbara.

Have you ever taken a trip that was so good, you forgot to take photos? We just spent a long weekend in Mendocino County, and that's exactly the kind of getaway it was—so relaxing, we were able to be present and not glued to our phones. (The fact that I didn't have cell reception 95% of the time definitely helped.) I meant for this post to be a sort of travel diary about our trip, but then I realized that I already did that two years ago when we went to Mendocino. Last time, we stayed in town; this time we were a bit south, in Little River, and we only went into Mendocino to grab meals (most of which were takeout, due to Covid restrictions). We also brought Zuni with us on this trip, which gave it a slightly different vibe; it was a little less romance and more quality family time. But since the air in the city has been thick with smoke for weeks due to the wildfires, we were thrilled to get out of our apartment, into the fresh, clean, coastal air. The one day we did take photos was when we went a bit inland to the town of Philo, which is where many of the Anderson Valley wineries are located. Here's where we ate and drank. 

When I was a kid, we mostly went to the beach or lake for vacation—my family was not super outdoorsy, and we definitely weren't campers. I still love a good beach vacation, and living in California, it may seem like a pretty obvious choice, but with all the Covid craziness still in full effect, we wanted to stay away from people and be outdoors as much as possible. Neither Sean nor I had ever been to Yosemite, so when it reopened with limited capacity, we decided to tack it on to our Big Sur trip. So while we got a week-long pass, we ended up going only three days; you could definitely hit the major sights all in one day if you got an early enough start, or you could spend an entire week in the park—there's so much to see and do there. Oh, and did I mention how insanely beautiful it is? It's kind of surreal to see in real life things you've seen in so many photographs and movies—sort of like the first time you go to Paris or New York, but it's all nature. Now that I sound like a total city slicker (which, of course, I am), here's how we spent our three days in Yosemite. 

In spite of the fact that I'm not a textbook outdoorsy person, Big Sur is one of my favorite places on earth. I've day-tripped or driven through it multiple times, but had never actually spent the night there. So when my company announced that we had to take a mandatory week off—and flying anywhere was out of the question—Sean and I decided to take a road trip, and Big Sur seemed like the perfect place to hit first. Depending on traffic, it's about three and a half hours by car from San Francisco, and I highly recommend taking the scenic route, Highway 1, which goes along the Pacific. Big Sur is a magical place; it's surrounded by mountains, heavily forested, with a river running through it, and it stretches along some of the most gorgeous parts of the coastline. It's also incredibly peaceful and relaxing; on a usual vacation, it generally takes me a couple days to totally relax, but I felt completely mellow by the end of our first night. We spent four nights in Big Sur, but whether you're spending an entire week or only one night (considering we had a different neighbor every night, I think that's what most people tend to do), there are a gazillion things to do. Here's what we did in Big Sur.

It feels slightly surreal to be writing this mere hours after Trump announced a month-long travel ban to Europe, considering I just returned from a weeklong vacation to London and Paris on Saturday. While our friends in London were good-naturedly indulging in gallows humor (and stocking up on toilet paper), things in both places generally felt like life as usual. Granted, our flight home was less than half full, and in retrospect, some things were definitely a bit emptier than normal (but more on that later). That said, we had a wonderful time and are glad we went, regardless of when we'll be able to return. Here's how we spent two days in Paris, just as the Coronavirus began to spread.

We were just in New York City in October, but when we got an invite to a dear friend's 40th birthday celebration (that just so happened to coincide with a holiday weekend), of course we couldn't say no to another trip. So we sent Zuni off to Petcamp, hopped on a 6 a.m. flight, and touched down at JFK just in time for the festivities. Here's how we spent three days in New York. 

'Tis the season where we all get on a plane and fly home for the holidays, so we might as well look good while we travel, right? Back in the day, my mom got me all dressed up to fly (these were also the days when you could smoke on an airplane, so clearly we're going waaaaay back); nowadays, you see people wearing everything from flip-flops to pajamas on a plane, and while comfort is definitely key, there's a way to look polished without looking like you rolled straight out of bed. As someone who travels pretty frequently, I have my plane outfit down to a formula. Here's what I almost always wear when I travel.

I was compensated with free lodging and meals for this post, but all opinions are my own.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California sounds like a magical place from its name alone, and once you’ve visited, you realize the magic is real. Conceived as an artists’ colony in the early 1900s, the town’s character is that of a village in a forest overlooking the beach, and it’s filled with straight-out-of-a-fairytale houses that all have imaginative names. (Fun fact: there are no street numbers in Carmel-by-the-Sea; residents go to the post office to pick up their mail.) The town is vigilant about preserving its beauty—trees cannot be torn down to accommodate new construction, buildings cannot be more than two stories tall, signs must be wood (or wood-like), and as a matter of public safety on its uneven sidewalks, you are required to have a permit to wear heels over 2 inches high (yes, that is an actual law!). It may sound like a lot of regulation, but the result is that Carmel-by-the-Sea is a truly special place filled with people and businesses that feel so devoted the unique character of the town. And what makes Carmel even more dear to my heart is that it’s the most dog-friendly town I’ve ever visited—in fact, all of the visitor maps note which businesses allow dogs!


Carmel is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from San Francisco, which makes it perfect for a weekend trip (although we'd happily spend a week—or longer—there). Here’s what Sean, Zuni, and I did on our visit in November.

Last weekend, we traveled to Kansas City for my nephew's wedding. Yes, I am old enough to have a nephew getting married. No, I will not shut up. Anyway, Kansas City is known for being ridiculously humid this time of year, but thankfully we lucked out with hot but not terribly muggy weather. The trip was a bit of a whirlwind, but we squeezed in as much quality family time as possible. Here's what I wore.

36 hours in where? Exactly. The entire trip began when my friends and I saw this year’s Outstanding in the Field lineup. Last year, we had traveled to Burgundy, France, for an OITF dinner there, and we had so much fun, we decided to do it again this year. Except we picked the dinner at Kaseholm Castle in Tomelilla, Sweden, outside of Malmo (where IKEA is headquartered). That’s how Sean and I ended up building our trip to Stockholm and Copenhagen—our final destination was Ystad, Sweden, where we met up with six friends (!) for a two-night stay, including the dinner. It was filled with friends, food, and most importantly, fun. Here’s what we did in our 36 hours in Ystad.

After four days in Stockholm, we hopped on a quick Norwegian air flight to Copenhagen, and while I liked Sweden, I loved Copenhagen. The city feels more modern and yet more old-world European at the same time—I think the two sides are integrated more harmoniously. Plus the food is amazing, and I felt that the Danes have an overall zest for life, which I appreciated. It probably helped that they were having record-breaking heat while we were there, with (rare for them) temperatures in the 80s. If I had to do this trip over again, I probably would have shaved a day off of Stockholm and added one to Copenhagen, but hey, I guess we'll just have to go back (which I would absolutely do in a heartbeat). Here's what we did in our four days in Copenhagen.

When most people think of Sweden, they probably think of Ikea, meatballs, and maybe Volvo. Ok, I think of those things too, but also street style bloggers like Elin Kling, fashion giant H&M (which also produces my beloved COS), and Byredo, which makes my perfume. It may not be the A-list European destination that, say, Paris or Rome is, but Stockholm is a cool, clean, cute city that’s totally worth a visit, especially if you’re going to hit Copenhagen too (as we did). There are a gazillion museums, great restaurants, world-class shopping, and lots of boats. Here’s how we spent our four days there.