Six Hearts One Journey
The Unfettered Quest…
Team
Deena
Six Hearts One Journey is a travel blog created by Deena, a wife and mother of four adult children, sharing her family’s adventures. After a 15-month Round the World Journey starting in 2014, they continue to travel and dive into their personal passions. Ryan is running his College Admissions Consulting business, Summa Factor, while Deena enjoys working with her amazing clients at Global Getaways.
Ryan
Mikayla
Ryan Thomas
Kathryn
Danny
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River Cruise: Amsterdam – Day 1
Our River Cruise Expo took place in Amsterdam this year. The last time I visited the Netherlands, a college friend and I were backpacking through Europe shortly after graduating. It’s safe to say it’s been quite a while. I was looking forward to getting to know the city again. We had four nights to enjoy Amsterdam before our River Cruise departed, and we tried to make the most of it! Amsterdam is a fun, casual, gritty destination, known best for its picturesque canals that meander throughout the whole city. Quaint bridges like… Read More
River Cruising and the Avalon Imagery II
Ryan and I had the opportunity to attend our second River Cruise Expo again this Spring. Last year it was in Budapest, and this year in Amsterdam. This Expo is an excellent opportunity for Travel Consultants to learn about the different river cruise companies in person. We get to hear from their executives, interact with staff members, dine in their restaurants, attend educational sessions, and intimately explore ships that have sailed to Amsterdam to be with us for four days. Here’s a little glimpse into what that looks like: Above are the… Read More
Breathtaking Bruges – Days 4 and 5
After several days of exploring Bruges, we can confidently say it is one of the loveliest European cities we have ever visited. The medieval architecture, brick and cobblestone walkways, and the meandering canals weaving through the city really make a beautiful impression and leave you feeling like you were back in time. Even in the rain, Bruges has a fairy tale-like quality that is endearing. With 2000 chocolate shops in Belgium, Bruges certainly has its share, which doesn’t hurt when you want to stay warm and dry on a cold or blistery… Read More
Ghent, Belgium – Day 3
After a few days spent exploring the fairytale medieval city of Bruges, we decided to visit a different Belgian City. We hopped on the train for a day trip this morning from Bruges to the lesser known university town of Ghent, a short 22 – 27 minute trip. Ghent is the smaller but equally beautiful sister city of Bruges. Gorgeous Ghent. Even on a cloudy rainy day, it is gorgeous! As we were planning our trip to Belgium, we were really split on the decision of where to stay, as both Bruges… Read More
Bruges Chocolate Making Experience – Day 2
Bruges Chocolate Making Experience: For someone who loves chocolate as much as I do, this afternoon was the very best. We had the opportunity to do a delicious 2 1/2 hour chocolate making workshop with our daughter, Mikayla. This is a must do if you’re in Belgium and you love this incredible treat. First Step? Use high quality chocolate. We used Callebaut with 54.5% Cocao. Next, we tempered the chocolate to get a beautiful, professional chocolate coating on it without adding additional ingredients. This is the process of melting the chocolate in… Read More
Bruges Walking Food Tour – Day 2
Day 2: Bruges, Belgium Food Walking Tour. One of our favorite ways to visit a new city is to do a walking food tour. We had an excellent one this morning. It gave us a good sense of the area, along with some of the best restaurants, foods, and drinks to try. Our Guide, Jonathan was amazing. Friendly, knowledgeable, and patient. He introduced us to Bruges via its Frites, Stroopwafles, Belgian Chocolate, and waffles. Speaking of Frites, or “French Fries” as we call them in the States, apparently they are not “French”… Read More
Brussels, Belgium – Day 1
Day 1: Are you ready to join us on a new adventure? We arrived into Brussels, Belgium from Chicago early this morning on a nonstop red eye flight and were greeted by an old and dear college friend who now lives with his family in Brussels. He and his wife made the best tour guides as we explored Brussels together on foot, catching up on the many years that had passed! Brussels is beautiful, but the time there was so much more special, getting to spend it with our friends. First up…the… Read More
Zurich and The Storchen – Days 19
Como to Zurich – Since our plans in Italy shifted in order to reschedule our Lake Como Cruise, we arrived into Zurich rather late in the evening, with an early morning flight scheduled for the next day. As we drove from the train station to our hotel, however, we were quite surprised by how quaint and charming the streets of Zurich were! Zurich is gorgeous at night time. We are so thankful that we made the decision to stay an extra day in Zurich before flying home to Chicago. Zurich is a… Read More
Lake Como Venetian Boat – Day 18
We were supposed to take an all day cruise on Lake Como the morning after we arrived but the weather prevented that from happening. Thankfully we were able to extend our journey in Como by a day and reschedule with our Captain for the last day. We went to bed the night before, praying the sun would be shining! This is what we woke up to. Before heading out for the day, we had a very hearty breakfast at the Hotel Villa Flori. It was included in our rate and was actually… Read More
Lake Como and Bellagio – Day 17 Part 2
Bellagio really is a gem. So picturesque and quaint. Here is a photoblog dedicated to this jewel of Lake Como. Just look at all of those stunning flowers. They were everywhere. I’m tempted to say Bellagio is the prettiest of all the towns and villages in the Lake Como area. Truly, it is stunning, picture perfect. Tons of steep stairways make up a good part of the “streets” of Como with shops, cafés, and restaurants lining the way up and down. The higher you go, the more breathtaking the views. And so… Read More
Deena Gainor
Six Hearts One Journey 