WHERE DID YOU HAVE YOUR EPIPHANIE? // CHICAGO

We're off to Chicago today with portrait photographer, Betty Elaine Simpson! Betty's husband recently took her there for a weekend trip, and Red Lola was her must-have accessory.


Betty's five favorite things to do in Chicago include:

One - Take pictures at Millennium Park. Just walk around and take the city in. You’ll find plenty of places for photos (including Union Station).

Two - Stay somewhere wonderful with a room on a high floor.





Three - After dinner, go have cocktails at the Signature Lounge atop the John Hancock. It is the best view of the city at night. Tip! The women's bathroom has the best view! Men have tried to go in there to look, ha.

 
Four - Shop! Magnificent Mile has some great stores...
Five - Visit the Art Institute of Chicago Museum and the Shedd Aquarium!


Thanks for sharing your photos and Chicago highlights with us, Betty! Looks like a fabulous trip!

What are your favorite Chicago destinations? Tell us by commenting below.


Attention all those who own Epiphanie bags! We know you've been to some fabulous places. Or live in some incredible, travel-worthy cities for that matter. We want to hear from you! Send a few shots of you with your Epiphanie bag, the travel spot + your 5 favorite things to do in that location to media@epiphaniebags.com.  Include a short bio about yourself and note "Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie?" in the subject line. If we publish your submission, we'll send you an in-stock Epiphanie bag of your choice!

Postcards > Tokyo, Japan

School girls waiting for their train after school at Takebashi Station in Tokyo, Japan.
Photo by Kelly West Mars.


We want to feature your favorite travel photo in this new 'Have An Epiphanie' series - "Postcards." Send your photo and a brief description about where the image was taken to media@epiphaniebags.com. Can't wait to travel the world through your pictures!

WHERE DID YOU HAVE YOUR EPIPHANIE? // ITALY

In today's Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie? we join Melissa Shipley and her Black Lola as she journeys through Sorrento, Rome, Siena, Cinque Terre, Venice and beyond.

"Lola was perfect for the trip - especially after my Nikon blew a sensor on our first full day.  Luckily, we had brought along our digital point-and-shoot as a back-up.  I locked my Nikon and lenses in the hotel safe, rearranged the dividers in Lola, packed her full of guide books and water bottles, and had a great adventure!"

Melissa's five favorite highlights from her Italian adventure consisted of:


"1. Seeing ancient Rome. Maybe it is the art major in me, but finally being able to see the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Roman Forum in person was so satisfying.


2. Stepping inside the Sistine Chapel. I don't think that there is any way to prepare yourself for the feeling you get when you step into the Sistine Chapel.  It truly is amazing.
2b) I know this is sort of cheating, but standing in front of the Pieta inside of St. Peter's was equally humbling.


3. Visiting the island of Capri and the Blue Grotto. We took a day trip to Capri from Sorrento, and it was one of my favorite days of our vacation. The entire island of Capri is beautiful.





4. Hiking the Cinque Terre. We spent a full day hiking between towns on the Italian Riviera. The natural beauty there is amazing, but the towns themselves were the highlight for me. Each of the towns had their own unique vibe. Sadly, about two weeks after we left, a serious storm caused major mud slides in two of the towns. I hope that they are able to recover, and I hope to make it back there sometime in the future.








5) Getting lost in Venice. We went into Venice with no real itinerary - we just wanted to wander the streets and experience the city (and take pictures).  We had the worst map ever, and I am sort of thankful for that.  Just wandering the streets and discovering new canals or tiny shops made for a fabulous two days."
 

Thanks for your sharing your adventure with Have An Epiphanie, Melissa! To our readers - have you been to Italy? What are your favorite travel spots within that country? Comment below!


Attention all those who own Epiphanie bags! We know you've been to some fabulous places. Or live in some incredible, travel-worthy cities for that matter. We want to hear from you! Send a few shots of you with your Epiphanie bag, the travel spot + your 5 favorite things to do in that location to media@epiphaniebags.com.  Include a short bio about yourself and note "Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie?" in the subject line. If we publish your submission, we'll send you an in-stock Epiphanie bag of your choice!

Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie? // Paris

Our next stop in Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie? is so fabulous, we have a bag named in her honor. It is of course the one, the only - Paris!

Let's join Erin as she travels to Europe for the first time. Turquoise Lola functioned as her faithful accessory charged with accommodating a Canon 50D, two lenses, personal items and water.

Erin wrote that her life dream was to sit in front of the Eiffel Tower. We're so happy you made that dream come true!

While in Paris, Erin suggests the following:

1)  Sit in front of the Eiffel Tower with a baguette and bottle of wine right before sunset, to watch the tower transform into a lighted beauty.  

2)  Rent a bike or walk the city.  My girlfriend and I spent 2 days walking the city and taking in the culture.  So much is missed when riding the Metro.

3)  Have dinner at Le 404, which was our one splurge meal in Paris.  Recommended by a friend, it has the most amazing moroccan food.  And try the mojitos, they are to die for.

4)  Wander through a cemetery in Paris... Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, is one of the largest.  The history and architecture of the tombs are amazing.

5)  Notre Dame is so peaceful and breathtaking.  You can also climb to the top for a birds eye view!

And a side note:  Get some basic French down and use it... the locals are much more friendly when you attempt to speak their language!

Erin at Le 404, mojito in hand.

That was fun, Erin! Thanks for sharing your first journey to Paris with us!

Attention all those who own Epiphanie bags! We know you've been to some fabulous places. Or live in some incredible, travel-worthy cities for that matter. We want to hear from you! Send a few shots and your list of 5 favorite things to do in that location to media@epiphaniebags.com.  Include a short bio about yourself and note "Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie?" in the subject line. Thanks!

Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie? // Iceland

Hot doesn't even begin to describe the heat we've had in Texas this summer. So today we thought it would be refreshing to escape to the faraway, much colder land that is Iceland.

Dyanamaria is our guide.

Last year Dyanamaria and her Red Lola were Iceland-bound to visit her family.

Dyanamaria's Iceland musts include:

1. Drive around Iceland - There's only one major road that goes all the way around the island and it happens to drive by some of the most incredible sights in the country.  If you drive around the South, you can get from Reykjavik in the West to Eskifjörður in the East in about 14 hours including stops at all these unbelievable places (that's why I'm wearing the same outfit in most of my photos with my Epiphanie bag.) Then you can drive back home along the North and see how completely different the landscape is.

2. Jökulsárlón -  An incredible glacier lagoon where you can watch icebergs break off the glacier and float out into the sea.

3. The Blue Lagoon - It's relaxing, it's warm.  There's a reason every tourist goes there... it's totally awesome.

4. Námafjall - It smells like warm, moldy, rotting eggs. It looks like Mars and it's one of the coolest places I've seen on earth.

5. Eat -  Iceland gets a bad food rap thanks to some of their more unusual food traditions, (especially their smelly fermented shark snack, hákarl, which Icelanders actually enjoy even though one open jar will stink up an entire room) but this was one trip I came back fatter than I left no matter how much hiking I did.  The Icelandic Lamb was perfection and unlike any lamb I've tried anywhere else.  On the East Coast, we jumped onto a little fishing boat to catch Icelandic Cod so we could have it battered and fried up for us at dinner. There are wild blueberries, bilberries and crow berries that you can pick on practically any hike to eat later with Icelandic Skyr and sugar.  I  ate flatbrauð with smjör in the morning, had an afternoon pönnukökur break, and an evening kleinur and coffee after dinner... sure you could try puffin or moss soup, but there's so much other good food to munch on that you may not even have time to try the crazy stuff!

(I'm sneaking in a #6.  Þingeyrarkirkja - I'm biased... it was built by my great great great grandfather... you won't find it in any English guidebooks that I know of, but if you meet an Icelander, have them look it up in one of theirs.  You'll get directions down a long ranch road and out of nowhere this black stone church pops up.  It's perfectly preserved and really incredible.

More pictures from Dyanamaria's trip to Iceland can be found on her blog. And we're not kidding. You really should see them because they are absolutely breathtaking.

Dyanamaria, you are adorable and we are so grateful for your Where Did You Have Your Epiphanie? submission. We know our readers are too!