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Your Antarctica Qs, answered! (Save this post for later if Antarctica is on your bucket list!)
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❄️ The most popular way to reach Antarctica (and the way nearly everyone uses) is a ship that leaves from Ushuaia, Argentina and crosses the Drake Passage to get to the Antarctic peninsula.
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❄️ There are no cities or towns on Antarctica (unless you count penguin colonies like this one!). Most people who "live" here do so seasonally for research purposes only. We also had a group from the U.K. onboard our ship that was going down to seasonally operate a post office!
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❄️ It wasn't that cold! It was around 28°-30° F while we were there, and this Chicago native has been in WAYYY worse. We had so many layers on that I never once felt cold except when my hands were out of my gloves taking photos. Even that could have been easily mitigated by handwarmers, but I didn't realize I could stop hoarding them until the last day!
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❄️ About those layers: I had on a base layer, a fleece and fleece pants, and a waterproof parka and waterproof pants every time I went outside, plus two pairs of wool socks, an earwarmer, a hat, a neck warmer, and my glove liners.
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❄️ Did you know Antarctica is a desert?! It actually gets very little precipitation. After two days of sun and blue skies, we had three straight days of snow, which was very out of the ordinary.
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❄️ Besides two types of penguins (gentoo and chinstrap), up close, we saw a couple other types of birds (I honestly don't remember what types they were—I'm sorry! 🙈) along with multiple types of seals. From the ship, we also saw some orca whales, although they were too far away to get a decent photo! There are other whale types in the Antarctic region, too.
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Hope that gives you a good sketch of the Antarctica basics! I'm doing a day-by-day recap of the trip over on Stories (also saved as a highlight under "Antarctica"), and I'll answer your questions specific to my @quarkexpeditions voyage in an upcoming post. Happy Saturday!

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Finally breaking into my thousands of Antarctica photos to bring you this guy 😭He's a chinstrap penguin, one of two types we saw on our trip (the other was gentoo).
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To briefly sum up the trip, it felt like another planet, it definitely met (and far exceeded) my expectations, and penguins are way cuter in person than I ever could have imagined. My one regret is not taking more videos of them walking, which is officially my new favorite thing.
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Anything else you want to know about the trip? Drop questions below, and I'll answer them over the next few days! Soo much more coming here and on Stories! 🐧🇦🇶

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To the city that makes me smile every time I glimpse a mountain, walk out to a 65-degree summer day or realize that it's actually three hours earlier than my computer clock indicates: Happy anniversary, and thanks for a more joy-filled first year than I ever could have imagined ❤️🌲

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I remember standing in the kitchen the day my dad came home from Antarctica with one penguin stuffed animal for me and one for my sister. I named mine Antarctica (aptly) and sat with it in the living room later that week as my dad clicked through photos of penguins with his slide projector and showed us how to identify each type. Gentoo. Chinstrap. Macaroni. I was five years old.
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I suppose I've wanted to explore the frozen continent ever since, but I can't pinpoint when it became my No. 1 goal—not just in travel, but in life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I can, however, pinpoint exactly what it's taken to get here. I knew a few years ago that I'd need to generate more money than I was making if I wanted to take this trip, and so I started a business. Everything you see here—my blog, my course, my Instagram presence—has been in service of that goal.
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My sisters and I embark in a few hours, and I'm nervous. Nervous about getting seasick, about feeling claustrophobic, about going off the grid for so long. I'm nervous about getting back and not knowing what will fill that Biggest Life Goal spot. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But I'm ready. To tick that 7th continent off the list, to have the experience of a lifetime with my ride-or-dies, and to follow in Dad's footsteps. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
See you soon, Antarctica, and talk to you all on November 15 🐧
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Alternate caption: Hot tub at the edge of the world ✨

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Let's talk Barcelona favorites! I'll be rounding all of this up into a blog post in the not-too-distant future, but in case anyone has a trip coming up soon, here's a rundown you can save!
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Get there ✈️ - The best points and miles deals I know about for getting to Spain involve redeeming @iberia Avios for a flight to Madrid (34K for one-way in business class from the East Coast—that's basically an economy price!). From there, you're just a short hop from Barcelona!
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Stay 🛎️ - For the @marriottbonvoy fans, @cottonhousehotel and @editionbarcelona are both stunning. @alexandrabarcelonahotel is a great choice for @hiltonhonors enthusiasts!
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See 👀 - La Sagrada Familia (but be prepared for tourist overload), Parc Guell and other works by famed local architect Gaudí; Gràcia, Barri Gòtic and El Born neighborhoods; Picasso museum 🎨; La Boqueria food market off of La Rambla; Parc de la Ciutadella and the Arc de Triomf; beach!
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Eat 🍽️ - @autorosellon, @manorotabcn, @fismuler, @bistrotlevante, @casarafols, @xiringuitoescriba, Xampanyet
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Drink 🍷- @paradiso_barcelona, @vinyadelsenyor, @barbrutalbarcelona, @dr.stravinsky_bcn, @skyecoffeeco, @syracoffee
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Have you been to Barcelona? Do you have any favorites to add?

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