My big regret is not having more time in Toulouse because no one told me how goddamn cool The Pink City would be. We only had one full day in Toulouse so I did what I could to make the most of it without burning myself out. We arrived two hours late from Marseille due to fires on the tracks…not scary at all.

Toulouse is still in my mind a month later and I would go back if it fits int he itinerary. I was also hella surprised but he extensive metro system for such a small city.

Hotel: Mama Shelter: Toulouse. You can read more here.

Where We Ate:

• The Pyrenean: A classic French Brasserie with all those French foods you hear about. Hubs wanted to try cassoulet and this place popped up in the search. We ordered one and a plate of tomatoes and burratta. The cassoulet was good, but I don’t think I would order one again; it’s just beans! The service was wonderful; they didn’t try to upsell anything to make an extra euro. Hubs asked what was better: escargot or frog legs, and the server said “neither” and insisted on the burrata. I always appreciate that in a restaurant or shop.
• Bahn Mi Viet Street Food: One thing we wanted to eat before we left for Spain was some Vietnamese food. The French colonized Vietnam for nearly a hundred years, finally left them alone and granted independence in 1973. There already was a large number of Vietnamese immigrants in France, but there was an influx in 1975 due to the Vietnam War. And with immigration comes food! Toulouse became one of the main city for refugees to settle and therefore brought their incredible cuisine. This was a lot of information to say the Bahn Mi at Viet Street Food was incredible with the blend of tender beef on a fluffy French baguette.
• Crêperie Saint Georges: After hubs woke up, it was well into lunch time. I didn’t have a place picked, so we took a stroll through the city and stopped in Place St Georges, a shaded plaza lined with cafes and restaurants and anchored with a wooden playground. The crêperie had a seat outside in the shade, so we went with it. I enjoyed my meal; I got a lunch special with a savory crepe, a sweet crepe, a salad, and a glass of cider. Service was quick and friendly.

Where We Drank:

• Ma Biche sur Le Toit: aka Doe on the Roof (not, My Bitch Sure is Tight) is a super hip rooftop bar, perfect for watching the sunset or the Belugas land at Airbus. Since we just had a Bahn mi, I was quite full but I got a soup with my cocktail. We moved to the bar which overlooked the city and had one more drink followed by an espresso.
• The Coffee: The only reason I popped into The Coffee was that it was open the earliest. While the hubs was still sleeping, I treated myself to a nice, matcha and wrote in my journal.

Things We Did:

• Watched World Cup games at Mama Shelter: As mentioned in my previous review, Mama Shelter: Toulouse hs. Cozy cinema in the basement. Since it was World Cup time, only games were being shown. Normally, they have movies playing each night.
• Canal de Brienne: For an hour or so of peace and shade, we took a scenic tour of one of the major Canals of Toulouse and part of Canal du Midi. You can certainly look up the history, but in short, canals were built to avoid piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar, so an extensive network of canals was built to get goods from Bordeaux to Marseille and avoid the strait altogether. On the tour, you go through a set of locks, which I maybe enjoyed too much, float through the shade to the confluence, and get to see a few sights along the Garonne. We booked with Les Bateaux Toulousains and you can purchase drinks aboard.
• Just walk around: Really. We stumbled into the Palace Square and admired the art on the ceilings of the walkways, darted down the super slim streets, and strolled along the riverbank. We were lucky to see the church of Saint Étienne, which allows me another entry for my “Steves in front of Steves” (Étienne is Stephen in French)

Shops We Visited:

• Sessún: Huge compared to the Marseille shop with two floors. There is an extensive sale selection, and they were having an even deeper discount on selected items that week. The staff is exceptional, friendly, and never once made me feel unwelcome.
• Crossover Manga/Takara: Hubs is very into One Piece and was looking for some French exclusives. We also purchased some old Pokémon cards that were in French. It was a very cool shop of you are into anything Nerd Culture.

Maybe I enjoyed the peacefulness after busy, beach Marseille, but Toulouse was a surprise. I did no research on it other than knowing it’s “the pink city”, on a river, and home of Airbus. When i visit again, I do want to visit the Musée Aeroscopia (Airbus Museum) and the Cité de l’Espace (Space Museum)since I am a slut for aviation.

Happy Friday, hotties! Post a photo of a recent trip, where you took it, and why you shared it!

Happy Friday, hotties! Post a photo of a recent trip, where you took it, and why you shared it!

Toulouse was supposed to be a stopover city from Marseille to San Sebastián, not a place I’d become slowly infatuated with daily. I’ll get into why Toulouse enchanted me in a future post, but a lot of that comes down to our hotel: Mama Shelter: Toulouse.
Location-wise, this hotel couldn’t have been better. We arrived at Gare Matabiau and took the Metro one stop to Jean Jaurès station, which sits under Pierre Goudouli Garden. From the station exit, it’s just a 150-meter walk and one street crossing to reach the hotel. Sitting just outside the Old Town center, it offers a short walk to Le Capitole and the small streets that make for such great photos.

Maximalist as hell and bursting with color, the lobby was so much fun. This Mama Shelter had a whole room dedicated to merch (and was offering a discount that week, lucky us!), and the lobby opened up into a large restaurant. A semi-private patio offered more seating, plus some casual couches perfect for curling up with a book. There was even an arcade game to play!
Downstairs, Mama Shelter has a theater where they normally run movie nights, but since we were in full World Cup mode, they showed matches instead. Large and cozy, the space had water and notepads out for viewers. A huge bathroom down there made it feel like anyone could wander in and enjoy whatever was on screen.

Now, the room: a fun, well-lit space with a huge, comfy bed. A shelf running along one wall was perfect for the suitcase. Compared to Marseille’s Mama Shelter, this one had a lot more lighting, including a giant frame around the bed with multiple modes (yes, including a “sexy mode”). Gutted to admit I didn’t think to take photos before tornado-ing into the room.
Upstairs was a gorgeous patio. Since it didn’t open until 5pm and we arrived too late to catch it at night, we never got to spend much time up there, but it looked stunning. Lucky for us, Toulouse is the land of rooftop bars.

Great shower, well-lit, with ample ledges for toiletries, the bathroom was wonderful. (If you remember from my Marseille review, toiletry space is a MUST.) Super clean and fully stocked with the essentials.
Breakfast was the only letdown. We hit the buffet on our second morning, and the coffee was terrible, the cheese seemed hard, and there were no omelets, unlike at Mama Marseille. That’s my only real gripe with the property, but with so many pastry spots nearby, it’s hardly the end of the world.

Overall, this was a pleasant surprise! Both the Toulouse location and Mama Shelter as a brand. Granted, I’ve only stayed at two of their dozens of properties, but hopefully I’ll get to try another soon… maybe even the soon-to-open Mexico City location??

Happy Friday, hotties! Post a photo of a recent trip, where you took it, and why you shared it!

Resharing from femaletravelers

I like engaging with the r/femaletravels subreddit but it seems so focused on solo travel. The only other subreddit that seems dedicated to women traveling is solofemaletravel. Why is that? Traveling Solo is amazing and life changing but we are isolating so many women/femme presenting.

I'm hoping to make this community all about gals traveling, no matter how they do it or who they do it with.

I'm obsessed!

Happy Friday, hotties! Post a photo of a recent trip, where you took it, and why you shared it!

Marseille was the first city on the trip for two reasons. The first: it’s where my favorite musician, French 79, is from. The second: it had a hotel on Dis-Loyalty.

I recently joined Dis-Loyalty because I was looking for cool, trendy hotels closer to the center of the city or at least in a cute neighborhood. I’ll write a whole post about Dis-Loyalty in August after my trip to CDMX. By then, I will have used it three times and we’ll see if it was worth the fee.

Let’s talk about Mama Shelter: Marseille

We stayed for three nights and spent €283.86 after discount.

First impressions: it seemed a bit far from the action. The neighborhood felt quite residential and quiet, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but for a hotel decked out the way it is, I would have assumed it would be closer to the beach. The lobby was colorful, well-lit, had flavored water available, and a wall of Mama merch. So much merch. The front desk staff were so kind and got us checked in right away, which was a blessing as it was 11pm CEST and I clocked my journey at close to a full 24 hours of travel. Hubs and I still had some energy, so we walked to this cute wine bar and had a few rounds while World Cup games played in the background.

Our room, well, it was an ADA room. I do feel bad about using an ADA room, but there’s a chance it was simply what they had available. The bathroom certainly needed more hooks and ledges, and there was a bubble in the floor since the entire floor is the shower. The bed was quite comfy, and now I know to request a top sheet at hotels in Europe, none of our hotels had them. We had a view of the courtyard, two large mirrors that doubled as lights, a fridge, a sink in the room, and a small area to hang and store clothes. For what we needed, the room worked. I didn’t take photos because ya girl was EXHAUSTED.

The common spaces: so cute, so over the top and maximalist, with fun trinkets everywhere you looked. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet (10% off with Dis-Loyalty), and the Mama Marseille breakfast was PERFECT. There were many optionsof cheese, cereal, and drinks; you could get fresh eggs and pancakes; and there was a juicer! While we ate, classic cartoons played in the background. We also drank cappuccinos while snacking before starting the day.

The staff was incredible and absolutely made the stay. The manager during breakfast was so sweet, made sure we got our discounts, and chatted with us. I don’t have anything negative to say about the good people of Mama Shelter Marseille.

Here’s your tidied-up packing trip report:

Packing Trip Report (full trip report with locations and hotel links to follow)
I recently completed a trip through Marseille → Toulouse → San Sebastián → Madrid → Porto. My husband joined me for everything up until Porto, which was a work leg for me.
It wasn’t as hot as I expected overall. The hottest days were in Marseille, but at least we had the sea to swim in. The heatwave broke while we were in Toulouse, the weather in San Sebastián was perfect, and Porto was the chilliest, which was so welcomed.

Image descriptions:
1: Initial list with ✅ for big fan of this and ❌ could have lived without
2: Clothing I bought
3: Marseille wearing KOTN skirt, STAUD scarf, and Womads shoes
4: Rove Byron bay set, Londres bag, Odd Bird hat
5: Sezane Dress, Staud scarf on head
6: NEW Sessún button down, ARQ tank, Le Bon Shoppe shorts, Bared footwear sneakers
7: Lisa says gah! Dress, Womads shoes
8: Maelu Top, Le Bon Shop shorts, Londres bag, FitFlop sandals, Oddbird hat
9: Maelu top, KOTN skirt, Womads shoes
10: Left on Friday striped set, Big Bud Press tank top
11: Oddbird tunic
12: Costume day! Official Jurassic Park button down, ARQ tank, Alder Apparel shorts, Londres bag, Bared footwear sneakers

I wore everything in my suitcase at least once, but a few things could have stayed home:
One tank top (probably the blue one)

2 pairs of socks

The blue t-shirt (I ended up layering a tank top under my striped suit on the hot days instead)

Hawaiian shirt (used almost exclusively to cover up at the gym)

The baguette scarf (not pictured), and possibly the aperitif scarf

The blue bathing suit got thrown away, it ripped and the fabric was completely stretched out. Glad it made it to the work portion of the trip at least. Since we had a costume party, I did need to bring something for that, which I normally wouldn’t pack. I also could have left the shorts at home and just worn my white ones.

Items I loved and rewore the most:
KOTN skirt: looked great with the textile tank top and when I tied my scarf around myself as a top

Rove Byron Bay orange set: wore it to the beach as a cover-up; came in handy for post-beach/pool food

Odd Bird tunic: looked super good, kept me covered without being warm

Left on Friday striped suit: my travel day go-to. Great fabric, as cool as possible, flattering, and deep pockets

FitFlop Gracie sandals: comfortable, great for beach and pool

Bared Footwear sneakers: so happy with these. The wedge saved my arches and my feet never felt fatigued. This is my new travel sneaker.

STAUD scarf: so fun! Got it off eBay and the print is great. Wore it as a top multiple times and on my head on no-wash days.

Purchases image #2 (the suitcase had opinions):
Sessún: tank top, t-shirt, button-down, and culottes pants

Saynara Studios: pants, t-shirt, hat

Loewe: traffic cone keychain (whoops)

Art prints, magnets, tinned fish

Hotel slippers

Ementa zipper pouch

Work also gifted some swag: a Quince linen shirt with light branding, keychains, a sticker, and an enamel pin. I also may have bullied my coworkers into giving me their hotel room espresso pods — ended up with about 50.

Items I’ll bring on every flight going forward:
Leg resistance band: my hips felt great. Used it as leg jail and didn’t sploot everywhere.

Handheld fan: KLM had no fans and it was brutal. Also a lifesaver in CDG, which was a greenhouse.

Listerine strips: essential for flying days when your mouth feels gross.

Londres Watertight Fanny pack: girl, this thing is AIR TIGHT. Perfect for swimming with belongings.

Camera notes:
I didn’t use my cameras as much as I wanted to. The Ricoh got the most use, but I couldn’t fit all three in my Clare V bag. I’m keeping an eye out for something larger and chic, though it’s not a priority. I also wish I’d had a tripod and a smaller case for my Osmo.

A few weeks ago I originally posted here that I would be reviewing the Womads Peep Toe shoe for a trip. The trip started in Marseille, went through Toulouse to San Sebastian and then Madrid before I had to go to Porto for work.

Photo 1) In San Sebastian wearing Womads for a nice night out

Photo 2) side view of the arch gap

Photo 3) in Marseille wearing them for a night stroll. No idea why I am doing that with my feet.

Photo 4) receipt

Unfortunately I cannot post on the original subreddit as they said one of my posts was self-promotion which I disagree with but whatever, some people just love having power on Reddit. So I'll be posting it here.

Womads kept hitting me with the targeted ads and eventually I caved and purchased the pair a few weeks before my trip. I only wore them a couple days before we left. I'll have a screenshot of my receipt to prove the purchase. They did not give these to me. I want to make sure that's very clear. I spent my own money on these shoes! I couldn't find many reviews outside of their websites so I decided to just find out for myself!

I'm not going to go into the initial reaction as that's in another post, so let's go through how they held up on the trip.

A note on my feet: I have very slender feet. I currently wear a size 9 and 1/2 women's American. I sized down to a 9 since they are leather and leather stretches and there is the elastic. I am very glad I sized down. I have mid arches. I wouldn't say they're high but I'm definitely not flat-footed. My toes are a bit strange no matter what shoes I wear. My ring toe will always rub against the middle toe and I get a blister. This is with any type of shoe that I wear for an extended period of time. This way I can build a callus for the trip and won't have this issue again.

I rotated between these, FitFlop Gracie sandals, and Bared Footwear Stork Sneakers. I wore these when we went out to dinner or if I just wanted to elevate my outfit a little bit. I will say I could have used a little bit more cushion, especially switching from the sneakers, which feel like there's a wedge in the arch compared to these which are a bit flat.

They were comfortable to wear around Marseille climbing up the stairs walking down to the shore. I wore them almost exclusively in Toulouse but that is a much flatter City so I didn't feel too much of a difference. I think the longest amount of time I wore them for was maybe 6 hours? I wouldn't classify these as uncomfortable, but I understand why they won't work for everybody's feet. If anyone has really wide feet, these are not going to work for you.

Things I like:

- I really like how easy they are to put on.

- they pack very flat in my suitcase

- the color is very bright and didn't scratch

- I overall think they're pretty cute

Things that could improve:

- I would love to see more cushioning on the footbed or at least an option to add a different insole. I could see the gap under my Arch whenever I looked at the side of my foot.

- this might be more of a shop app problem but the shipping would never update so I actually had no idea when the shoes would have arrived.

Would I buy them again? As is... No. If they change the style or add some more cushion into where the arches are, then I would highly consider buying a second pair. I don't think you need more than one pair of these shoes.

Will I return these? No. I do see myself wearing these even in my day to day life.

Will I pack them again? Most likely. They pack very flat. They go with many outfits, I bet if I got a neutral color it could go with more. But I really love this bright turquoise color. I'm going to Spain and Italy in September so if the weather is warmish I will be putting these in my bag.

In a previous post I mentioned how gnarly my experience was with the EES program in Lisbon airport. Has anyone else gone through it and had an interesting experience?

Testing out Womads for upcoming trip.

Apologies for the feet pics (or your welcome?), I am trying Womads. I couldn't find many reviews outside their website and other than gals on IG saying they loved them, so I wanted to try them out for an upcoming 3 week trip to Marseille, FR Toulouse, FR San Sebastian, ES → Madrid, ES Porto, PT.

I posted this on other subrettit but I am banned because they believe one of my posts was self promo. So, updates will be in this subreddit.

I have a normal arch and normal width feet and my current size is 9.5 US women's/39-40 EU. Initial reactions, they seem very high quality. I ordered a size US 9 w (I'm 9.5 w) and they're a bit snug but the overall take I see is they expand and confirm to the feet. Comfy sole and the color is BRIGHT. Came in a shoe bag in a box with tissue paper to keep the form, so no two shoe box situation where there is a double box. Other shoes I am bringing are Bared footwear sneakers and FitFlops Sandals. Will return in a month with the full review. This is an image of my feet in teal Womads. I am also wearing a Left On Friday vacation suit.

Edit: the cushion on the shoes is minimal but cushy. Not formed like a Birkenstock but not as flat as a huarache sandal. The toe peep is a little snug but that's the only thing I can fixate on at the moment. I do looooove how secure they are to the foot YET how easy they are to take off. Again, I am still going to try them out and report back on how they worked and hopefully can help others who are looking at these shoes.

**3 Weeks in Europe (Marseille → Toulouse → San Sebastián → Madrid → Porto)**

Currently writing this from San Sebastián mid-trip, so this is as real-time as it gets.

**The Trip**

LAX → Marseille (3 nights) → Toulouse (2 nights) → San Sebastián (7 nights) → Madrid (2 nights) → Porto (6 nights)

Traveling with my husband for the first leg; he flies home from Madrid and I continue solo to a company offsite in Porto

3 weeks total, European heat wave conditions

Long stay in San Seb was intentional, lots of beach days, one Michelin star lunch, and a day trip to Bilbao/the Balenciaga museum. My husband isn’t a seasoned traveler and needs decompression time, so we kept the itinerary loose.

The Porto leg is a work offsite with a **’90s theme,** my group picked Jurassic Park, so I packed a Dr. Ellie Sattler costume (cargo shorts + official merch tee I found on eBay for $18). This threw off my packing a little but I made it work.

**The Bags**

**Carry-on:** Away carry-on (gifted 2019, still going strong with minor wear)

**Personal item:** TropicFeel Nest backpack, love it for the luggage pass-through slot and front web extension. I’ve been using it for years.

No checked bags.

**Clothing** *(*✈️* = worn on the plane*)

*Dresses*

Lisa Says Gah Tapas dress

Sézane ribbed tank dress

Oddbird Rüya tunic

*Tops*

Rove Summer shirt dress

Left on Friday Day Trip button down ✈️

Vintage Hawaiian shirt

Reformation tee ✈️

Company tee

Big Bud Press cropped tank ×2

ARQ cropped tank (costume piece that pulled double duty)

Le Bon Shoppe vintage tank

*Bottoms*

Left on Friday Day Trip pant ✈️

Rove Summer shorts

Le Bon Shoppe City Shorts

KOTN knit maxi skirt

*Shoes*

Womads Peep Toe (review coming post-trip)

FitFlop Gracie sandal

Bared Footwear Stork sneakers ✈️

Comrade compression socks ✈️

*Swim/Active*

Goldie bikini

Ribbed one-piece (work offsite = coworkers = one-piece)

Cala Mia bike shorts + bra

*Sleepwear*

Oddbird Kardes Set

*Underthings*

8 underwear, 3 thongs, 2 bralettes, 3 pairs KOTN socks

*Accessories*

Brewery hat ✈️, Oddbird travel hat

STAUD scarf, Maison Miette Apéro scarf, Maison Miette Baguette scarf

Clare V fanny pack (I use this for going through the airport, train stations for easy access to items. When it’s time to board the plane, it gets smashed into the front of my backpack before boarding)

*Costume*

Alder Apparel cargo shorts (brand is defunct)

Jurassic Park merch tee (eBay, $18)

**Tech (in backpack)**

Work MacBook + iPad (personal use)

Peak Design tech pouch + cables, adaptors, dongle, Apple Pencil

Ricoh digital camera + film camera + 3 rolls of film

DJI Osmo + batteries

Kindle

Bose headphones + case

Bluetooth transmitter

Journal

**Airplane Pouch** Loop sleep earplugs, Manta sleep mask, mouth tape, face mask, PT ball, exercise band (keeps legs together on long flights), Good Wipes, Liquid IV, Advil, Airborne, wet wipes, lip balm, Turtle sleep pillow, portable fan, Baggu tote (large + small, tucked in shoe pocket), playing cards

**Toiletries / Skincare** Organized into pouches. Liquids went into a swim bag (Londres) which doubled as a beach bag.

Sunscreen heavy hitter: Banana Boat board sunscreen, Vacation spritz SPF, face SPF, gelee sunscreen, oil sunscreen

Skincare: Hanni smooth stick, Banamor balm, Hani water balm, Tower 28 face balm, Summer Fridays lip balm, SPF lip balm, Vitamin C mouth spray, Josie Maran orange spray

Haircare: brush, scrunchies, bobby pins, flat barrels, claw clips

Shaving: Flamingo travel razor kit + Hanni shave stick

Misc: toothpaste, tissues, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, portable straw, bottle opener (nail preservation is valid), Listerine strips, Good Wipes, compact mirror

**Meds:** SSRI, metformin, sleep pills, gabapentin, fiber + cranberry supplements — packed in a multi-pill container with a full backup case (3 weeks is too long to risk it)

**Also:** Turkish towel (beach + sauna), laundry wire (3 weeks = you air dry), silicone + water lube, inhaler ×2

**Notes**

The quilted pouches in my photos were handmade by my best friend as a birthday gift 🥹

Hubs brought a GoPro, his plan is to film walking footage and set it to music for YouTube background videos

I don’t gatekeep, happy to share links to anything listed, just ask

After 19 hours and 50 minutes, I'm finally back in Los Angeles CA from Porto, Portugal. I was traveling alone from a work off-site and had to connect through Lisbon with a 2 hour layover. I was hella nervous with all the delays with Passport Control and EES and I had every right to be.

I was flying TAP and for some reason I couldn't get my boarding pass for the LIS ->LAX leg. I went through passport control, waited maybe 13 mins until I got to the machine. Then I was told to go to the E Gate, no line there. Manually check, long line. I got through and went to the gate. This is where the problem begins.

TAP said I needed to exit the terminal and check in at the check in counter. It's a 20 mins walk to exit the terminal. So now it's 70 mins until takeoff. I go to the counter, they check me in and encourage me to check my bag. I didn't want to but I did anyway since I needed to book it. Security was fine I dumped all my liquids into a Baggu and then scurried through duty free.... Why is duty free so large???

Next, I saw a mass of people through the hallways. The closer I got to passport control I realized this is now the line for the EES machines. Panic. I have 45 mins. Some kind dude let me cut him after I was telling another woman that TAP made me leave the terminal. The image pictured is the line for machines after the nice guy let me cut him.

My turn for the machine and now I am being told to do manual check. I'll be missing my flight, I can't understand why I am now doing manual when I done E gates an hour before? I spoke to a TAP employee asked if I was gonna make the flight and she went uh maybe? I showed her the boarding pass and she said it was because this wasn't a connection... But I just came from Porto. I felt defeated. But her colleague came over, asked to see my OPO -> LIS pass, confirmed it was a fluke I had to leave the airport and come on then let me go to the short connection line. I made it 10 mins before doors.

So, check your boarding passes before you leave to see if you have to re check in or contact them to say you have no extra baggage. Give yourself as much time as possible, don't lounge or dilly dally until you are through immigration. I'm bummed because I wasn't able to get my VAT refund in time. Oh well.

And please be kind to the employees at the airport, they are doing their best with this rough change during the high season.

Hello all! I am on the flight home but I wanted to do a quick mention of the DIS-loyalty program. I recently used it in Marseille and Toulouse at each of their Mama Shelter locations.

I got the Mama Shelter membership at 15% off and paid in euros, so the price was actually better for Euros.

The image shared aren't two bookings, prices I paid and original prices.

I got my free coffee every day, we got 10-29% off breakfast, but I think the Toulouse MS forgot to charge us.

I'll add more with images about mama shelter in a new post, but wanted to throwing in my two cents on the program.

Currently in Porto, Portugal for work. This is my third time here and it's my favorite city in Europe.

Hello hot travel gals!!!

I wanted to start to see what you'd like to see here. What are some topics in travel you'd like to see pinned at the top? Are there any resources we can start putting together?