# #302: Top 3 Places We've Visited

An episode of [A Beautiful Mess Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1485472892), 1 Jun 2026, 42 min.

Audio: https://mgln.ai/e/498/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/abmpodcast/ABM_EP302_Final.mp3?dest-id=1624655

This week we're sharing the top places we've visited as well as places we thing might be overrated and a listeners hot take on faux plants. Thank you to this week's sponsor: You can try their products and support our show by going to DrinkLMNT.com/ABeautifulMess Elsie's Best Places: • Paris • New Orleans • Venice/Florence Emma's Best Places: • Norway • Iceland • Switzerland Elsie's Overrated Places: • Nashville • LA Emma's Overrated Places: • Mexico Elsie's best trip before kids: Palm Springs Emma's best trip before kids: LA Elsie's best trip with kids: Disney Emma's best trip with kids: Costa Rico You can support us by leaving us a couple of 5 star recipe reviews this week at abeautifulmess.com Have a topic idea for the podcast? Write in to us at podcast@abeautifulmess.com or leave us a voicemail at 417-893-0011.

## Transcript

[0:00] Emma
[0:01] You're listening to the Beautiful Mess podcast, your cozy comfort listen. I'm your host, Emma Chapman.
[0:02] Elsie
[0:03] And I'm your host, Elsie Larson.
[0:04] Emma
[0:05] And this week we're sharing the top places that we visited, as well as places that we think might be
[0:06] overrated, and we have a listener hot take about faux plants.
[0:07] Elsie
[0:08] Oh man, fake plants. The tea is hot.
[0:09] Emma
[0:10] Don't come after my fake plants. No, you can come after.
[0:11] Elsie
[0:12] She's already defensive.
[0:13] Emma
[0:14] All right, I am. I'm like, wait a second.
[0:15] Elsie
[0:16] Okay, so in this episode we're going to cover the best places we've traveled to, best trips before kids,
[0:17] best trips after kids, or with kids, and then overrated places, which are so funny. I had to think about this
[0:18] for a long time. All right, so on my list of top three places, I'm gonna start off with Paris. So, the reason
[0:19] why I want to put Paris is because I know a lot of people in this world put Paris on their list of overrated
[0:20] cities, and I strongly disagree with that. When people say it in front of me, you can't see it, but my teeth
[0:21] are just grinding the entire time. You can see me because I'm just squinting, like the emoji that's got the
[0:22] squinty eyes and the straight mouth. That one, yeah. Paris is everything. It is everything, the food, the
[0:23] vintage shopping, like some of the greatest flea markets in the entire world, and you know, the history,
[0:24] the art, there's just.. I mean, I just can't think of anything bad about it. It's like it's.. it's one of the best
[0:25] cities in the world, but even better, like, I don't know, so when people call it overrated, I'm like, maybe
[0:26] for you, and I just assume that they don't like any of the things I like, and I clock that, and I'm like, okay,
[0:27] so you're in to what sports, what else, what else.
[0:28] Emma
[0:29] So I will say, I don't think either of us went to Paris with our partners, now that I'm thinking about it, I
[0:30] haven't yet. No, and yeah, I totally would. It's not like I'm like it's a.. it's not a place for couples. Have
[0:31] you ever heard he would say that? Like, I think it's usually described as like one of the most romantic
[0:32] cities in the world since so many movies, and it's, you know, very romantic. And I agree. When I, when I
[0:33] was like 20, it wasn't with anyone, I was with a friend, but I still thought it was like one of the most
[0:34] romantic places I had ever been. I don't know why, but the vibes are romantic in such a fun way. But
[0:35] actually, I don't know if it would be like a top spot that my husband would want to go to. Like, I don't
[0:36] necessarily view it as like, oh, us as a couple, that's where we would want to go. Like, I'm like, I don't
[0:37] know, I think we'd like it, but I actually feel like it would make a better girl trip or someday family trip. My
[0:38] kids are too little right now, it's too far of a plane ride for us. If you like that, that's great, but I'm like, no,
[0:39] on the plane ride for right now. But I loved it as a 20 year old who just like went randomly. I was living in
[0:40] London one summer studying, and some of the girls I was bunking with, I'd never met them before.
[0:41] They were just in the same dorm, and one of the girls was like, I'm gonna go to Paris this weekend, we
[0:42] have four day weekend, and I was like, I want to go to Paris too, so we both went, her name was
[0:43] Michelle, and I knew her somewhat well, I mean, we had met on this trip, and she was delightful and
[0:44] very fun, and we just had the best time just tooling around Paris with very little money, because we
[0:45] were just 20 year old kids, students, but it was a blast, and such a gorgeous place, and at that time I
[0:46] didn't even have a smartphone, so I will say there was a lot of like buying food, and I didn't know what
[0:47] they were gonna bring, didn't really read it, but I was like, well, we'll just, whatever, whatever, so cute,
[0:48] there was a lot of that going on, like I feel like we went and saw a movie and it ended up being in
[0:49] Japanese or something, but then the subtitles were in French, and we were both like, "Oh, because we
[0:50] don't think either, that's like just nice, just very, you know, just whatever. But it was a blast, and
[0:51] gorgeous, and easy to walk around. We did use the subway system, I want to say underground, they
[0:52] don't call it the underground. We did use that, and that was easy to use and great. Yeah, and there's, in
[0:53] particular, one pastry that I bought, just like randomly at a bakery one morning, and I was eating it for
[0:54] breakfast, and I still think about this pastry to this day. And, like, I said, this was 20 years ago, I was 20
[0:55] years old, I'm 40 now, like, it was a delicious.. if you're like Paris doesn't necessarily have. no, you're
[0:56] wrong. They do amazing. The food is good, a little bit life-altering.
[0:57] Elsie
[0:58] Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been twice. I want to go 100 times more. I think this is one of my old people
[0:59] dreams, is that once my.. once I'm.. my kids are kind of.. I don't know, like older. I think I want to go to
[1:00] Europe, like kind of as much as I want, I think that's like my main old person dream, is I want to just like
[1:01] go for fun all the time, sporadically. Yeah, obviously, like I love art, I love museums, I love flea markets,
[1:02] but also I just like walk, I just like the walks, like even if I couldn't go to any museum, any, like, couldn't
[1:03] buy a single thing, just to like take the walks would be enough for me.
[1:04] Emma
[1:05] That's what I loved about Venice, which is different but there's no cars, because the canals, that's more
[1:06] the transportation, and so it's just great walking.
[1:07] Elsie
[1:08] That's on my list too but yeah, I just think Paris is absolutely not overrated, and I do see, I do see your
[1:09] point, though. Like, I think my husband will, would enjoy it, and I think he would have fun, and he
[1:10] supports my, like, love of art. He, he likes museums, but he doesn't - he's not obsessed with them, you
[1:11] know. And so I do think that it's probably, like, even better as a girls' trip, just because there are so
[1:12] many, like, niche experiences that I want to.
[1:13] Emma
[1:14] Like flea market shopping, my husband will definitely do that, but it's not really on his list of things he
[1:15] wants to do, he just goes with me, you know, but so if that's a main part of the trip, it's like, oh, it's kind
[1:16] of more of a sister trip or a girl trip, or you know, whatever.
[1:17] Elsie
[1:18] Yeah, and there's also, I think, there's also like a way to do it with kids that is also completely different.
[1:19] Yeah, it's just magical. I have to tell you, this is unrelated, but when we went to Arkansas last weekend,
[1:20] and we got into the museum, Marigold yelled real loud, "Where's the Mona Lisa? Yes, that is so cute.
[1:21] Why? But their faces were read that they don't have the Mona Lisa. There it's an American art museum
[1:22] too.
[1:23] Emma
[1:24] It is a really good museum, but no, it doesn't have to.
[1:25] Elsie
[1:26] There's no European people anyway. Okay, so do you have a best place or do you want to?
[1:27] Emma
[1:28] Yes, my favorite place of all time was in Norway. The area is called Lofoten, Lofoten, I think it's called
[1:29] Lofoten, but it's spelled Lofoten, if you're American like me, Midwestern like me. And so it's very, very
[1:30] north. It's when we went there, it was kind of off season, it was very, very cold. It's not arctic, but it's like
[1:31] headed in that direction. And I love really cold places. I also, I love the northern lights. I love seeing the
[1:32] northern lights, and I also just love bundling up. I love wearing like winter clothes, and I like
[1:33] photographing really interesting and different from where I live landscapes. And so we did a lot of like
[1:34] hiking and driving around, and just like photographing landscapes, and it was really, really fun, and
[1:35] everyone was super friendly, and it was very cute, and like I said, it was kind of off season, so a lot of
[1:36] restaurants were actually closed. We ended up kind of like making food quite a bit more than we were
[1:37] expecting. Did we do enough research before we went? No. Did we have a great time? Yes, because
[1:38] this part of the world is just gorgeous in my opinion. But yeah, it was just a trip with my husband we did
[1:39] years ago, and I loved it. It was a little bit random, but it was one of my favorite places I've ever been,
[1:40] and I would love to go back. I would actually love to go back to, in the summer, it's very green and lush.
[1:41] It's still, it's not like hot, it's not tropical ever, but like it's not always freezing, freezing there. It's like it
[1:42] does get very green and beautiful too. I think that would be fun and different, so I'd love to go then as
[1:43] well.
[1:44] Elsie
[1:45] Ooh, love that. Yeah, I would love to go someday. That's interesting. It's kind of like Iceland, because
[1:46] you've been there. It's like that. Iceland is fun. Okay, so my next one is New Orleans. So I think if I have
[1:47] to pick, which you never kind of do, but my favorite American city, I'm gonna pick New Orleans, and it is
[1:48] hard, like there are quite a few up there, and it's like hard to put anything above New York, because you
[1:49] know historically New York's gonna kind of have the most going on for it, but New Orleans, so we went
[1:50] pretty recently, like I think in 2025.
[1:51] Emma
[1:52] Like a year and a half ago, or a year ago, a year ago, yeah.
[1:53] Elsie
[1:54] And it was, it was one, a wonderful trip. We need to do more girls' trips to New Orleans, but Marigold
[1:55] wants to go really bad, so we need to take her next time. Like, Marigold just wants to go on every one
[1:56] of our trips, she's just the food ones, she did not all of them, she wants to go to the cities that have
[1:57] pastries, the cities that are famous for pastries. So, yes, to Paris, and yes, New Orleans. But, yeah, we,
[1:58] the last time we went, we got our palms red. That was really special, actually. I think, did I get the palm,
[1:59] and you got the tarot. I think. And then I want to get the tea leaves red, because I know you can. What
[2:00] is the place called? Do you remember?
[2:01] Emma
[2:02] Bottom of the Cup?
[2:03] Elsie
[2:04] Yeah.
[2:05] Emma
[2:06] I think that's where we went.
[2:07] Elsie
[2:08] if you go to New Orleans and you're not opposed to things like that, do make an appointment. It was my
[2:09] favorite woo woo hour of my life. I just absolutely loved this palm reading experience. So, yeah,
[2:10] Marigold must do that too, and of course, yeah, and the walks are good. It is kind of a place where you
[2:11] have to be careful of your season, because it can be very hot, but when we went, it was perfect. It was
[2:12] March, and it was just like incredible, and obviously it's a foodie city, and don't let. 100% sober, but like I
[2:13] think relatively sober. Yeah, we had one drink each whole time we were there at the carousel bar, and it
[2:14] was kind of a thing.
[2:15] Emma
[2:16] It was fun.
[2:17] Elsie
[2:18] So I don't think that it has to be tied to drinking, but I do think it is tied to drinking. So if you're a person
[2:19] who wants like a big party, it definitely has that to offer. But we didn't get too much into that. We're just
[2:20] not in that era of our lives right now. But yeah, I just.. I love the history of it, and we had this Uber driver,
[2:21] I'm sure we probably talked about at the time, but before I die, and I'm like recounting, I swear, this
[2:22] Uber driver, I'm probably gonna be like, there was this one time, because he just was.. he was going
[2:23] off, like, he. we probably had a 10 minute drive, and he told us every bit of gossip he could about Anne
[2:24] Rice. Yes, and then he told us where the real literal 2026 vampires are hanging out in New Orleans,
[2:25] and it was just like a wonderful experience.
[2:26] Emma
[2:27] He kept going, we were like, "Tribe us around the block, we're at the bookstore we wanted to go to, but
[2:28] go ahead, yes, keep going, yeah, yeah, it was a great trip when we went, and then another time that I
[2:29] went to New Orleans, I love New Orleans, another time I went, these are very touristy, but I thought
[2:30] they were worth doing, my husband, I did a bicycling food tour, okay, and it was so charming, so you're
[2:31] with a group, I should get a little nervous on a bike, I learned to ride a bike later in my childhood, and
[2:32] I'm not the best. Am I not good on wheels? I am not good on wheels, that is a good way of putting it.
[2:33] So, if you're like, oh, I don't know if I'm athletic, it's not that kind of thing. It was a very easy bike ride,
[2:34] and you're kind of with a group, so if you're nervous about cars or that you'll go in the wrong part, you
[2:35] won't, because you're with a group. So, even I could do it, so trust me, and our tour guide was
[2:36] adorable. He was like the perfect amount of like snooty, but wanted us to have a good time, like he
[2:37] would kind of like kind of put down certain restaurants, and then, but he also like was very inviting to all
[2:38] of us obvious tourists who were just wanting to learn about New Orleans cuisine, and it was super fun.
[2:39] We had like, I think there are four or five courses, and so it took like a whole afternoon, and it was super
[2:40] fun, super cute. And then another time I went with some friends, they had booked a gator ride where
[2:41] you go on this like kind of swamp boat, and you get to see alligators, and they will like feed them deli
[2:42] meat, and they'll like half jump up on the boat, and that was honestly really fun, and I think my, no, love
[2:43] it. Oh my gosh, I would hate that. I think my sons would like love it slash hate it in a way, like maybe
[2:44] scream, but like it was it was a thing. And if I ever write something that's about being in a swamp, like
[2:45] now I'm like, well, I know what that's like, a little bit, because I had never been like somewhere like that
[2:46] before, I don't grow up somewhere like that, so it's very different from the Midwest, and I was like, this is
[2:47] interesting, and never seen, an alligator this close, or crocodile, I don't even know, it was, it was cool,
[2:48] and I think worth doing, if that sounds up your alley, then you probably would love it, and else he's like,
[2:49] hard no, so you get it, it's like, a, you know, if you should do that, you just know your instincts will tell
[2:50] you. Would you agree with me that New Orleans is like the US city that feels least like you're in the US
[2:51] still? Yeah, yeah, it feels very like European or something, like, you know, a little bit French, a little bit. It
[2:52] does feel southern, though. Yeah, so it's got this like very weird mix to it.
[2:53] Elsie
[2:54] It's unique.
[2:55] Emma
[2:56] Yeah. It is. It's a very unique place. Okay, my next one is Iceland. Ooh, which Elsie and I've been to
[2:57] together, and then I went another time with friends. And Iceland is nowhere near where I live, so the
[2:58] fact that I've been there twice, I think, kind of tells you how much I love that place. I just think it's, it's
[2:59] much like what I was saying with Norway, it's northern lights, there's beautiful things to photograph,
[3:00] there's lots of like outdoor hiking. It also, depending what time of year you go, can be very, very, very
[3:01] cold, or it can be like mild and chilly, like wear a thick jacket, but you're fine, you know. It depends when
[3:02] you go, but I just love, I just love the landscape. I love taking pictures of landscapes. I love the new
[3:03] lights, and I just really love cold places, apparently. So, Iceland's like a place that I loved. I've been
[3:04] twice. I would love to go again.
[3:05] Elsie
[3:06] Yeah, I would say I did put this on my overrated list, so I'm gonna just say, oh, I.. it's not that I think it's
[3:07] okay. I think you have to go at the right season, because I think that when we went, it was very cold,
[3:08] and I wasn't dressed for.. I wasn't prepared for it, because we did what a lot of people do, where we
[3:09] tacked it on with the layover, so they have this like a stopover, this stopover thing, where you can stop
[3:10] in Iceland, you can kind of like tack it onto a Europe trip, and that's how a lot of people from the US end
[3:11] up going, and I just like was not dressed correctly for it, and then also we did this like tour guide day
[3:12] where I felt like I was like tortured. It was like it was a torturous experience. The snowmobile almost
[3:13] killed me. It was so terrifying. And then. Just being out in like the freezing cold with the wrong clothes
[3:14] on for the entire day was like psychologically it was all just completely wrong. Yeah, but I loved the city,
[3:15] I loved the Blue Lagoon. I would definitely go back, I would be more prepared. So I'm actually, I didn't
[3:16] want to put on my overrated. I had a hard time picking the overrated places because I don't really.. I
[3:17] think most places I go are wonderful. Yeah, same. And I'm not even.. I don't even want to say that. I just
[3:18] want to say, like, dress for it, dress correctly. I wore Vans, that was not right.
[3:19] Emma
[3:20] You need boots. Yeah, you need thick socks.
[3:21] Elsie
[3:22] And coats, and like.. and I kind of think it's like its own trip where you need like an extra suitcase for it,
[3:23] but yeah, it was wonderful. We had the best time. Okay, my last one is Venice slash Florence, because
[3:24] I just couldn't. Florence for the museum, Venice for the walks, and the canals, and it, like, I think my
[3:25] kids would be like interests. I think Venice is very. it's the most like real life Disneyland. It's just so
[3:26] magical, like it feels like you're in a movie. It's, it's just like so cinematic. And then the Peggy
[3:27] Guggenheim house was an incredible experience. So I can't really separate those two places, because
[3:28] we went on them on the same trip, and I just like couldn't choose, but I think a lot close there, and
[3:29] they're both pretty small, so they're both hard to recommend. In that, I've heard people say about both
[3:30] of them, like there's not enough to do, or whatever, but it's like that is like an attitude thing. It's like, if
[3:31] you love art, and you love food, and you love taking walks, which are all the things we love, you will
[3:32] love these places.
[3:33] Emma
[3:34] I can waste a lot of time just sitting around drinking coffee, honestly. So you are not gonna bore me if
[3:35] you're just a beautiful chill place, like I am very entertained by that.
[3:36] Elsie
[3:37] I loved it. I want to go to every city in Italy. I think that Italy might just be like my zone, in like I just love
[3:38] it, like I've never seen anything bad happen in Italy, like everything is beautiful, everything is inspiring,
[3:39] there's so much art history that, and the food, the food, I forgot to mention, the food is, yeah, tough
[3:40] food, yeah. So that was a wonderful, wonderful trip. Okay, my third place is Switzerland. Oh, I went to
[3:41] Switzerland too, when for Nathan and Jenny's wedding. Oh, that's right, and I loved it too. Go ahead.
[3:42] Emma
[3:43] Yes, so I went for my honeymoon, and I just thought it was.. so I got married in June, so when we went
[3:44] to Switzerland, it was obviously summertime. I feel like every story I'm like, so I was there during the off
[3:45] season, and I'm like, I don't know why that, that am I a cheap person or am I just a bad planner? I'm not
[3:46] sure, but at any rate.
[3:47] Elsie
[3:48] Out of those two, you're a cheap person.
[3:49] Emma
[3:50] Yeah, like I'm like, hmm, but anyway, we were there in the off season, and we were at this little hotel, so
[3:51] we're in two places. We stayed in the city for a little bit. We went to like this weird bath house, and it
[3:52] was like a wonderful experience, but very European, very strange. I have some stories like that in
[3:53] Iceland too. And then we went to the countryside, and we kind of did it. Felt like we were in a Wes
[3:54] Anderson movie, where we were at this little hotel that really almost no one was there. It was just us,
[3:55] because it was the off season, but it was so charming and cute, and they would set out this huge, like,
[3:56] adorable breakfast just for us, which made me feel actually really self-conscious. But it's very sweet and
[3:57] very fun, and just like what they do, it's just like part of the thing. And we would go, we would ride a little
[3:58] cable car up the mountain, and it was terrifying in a way, because it's wild that that is the technology in
[3:59] use, because you're just kind of swinging in this little car up the mountain, but it's what you do, you see
[4:00] goats, and you're, and then you're up there, and just walk around hiking, and it was so pretty.
[4:01] Switzerland looks like a movie, like it was so, so pretty. And while we were there, it was very warm, like
[4:02] there I have pictures where I'm like in shorts. There was a day we went, we took another cable car, so
[4:03] two cable cars, and we were high enough that there was snow, and it was chilly, but it wasn't like skiing
[4:04] time of year, it was off season. So, anyway, but I thought it was gorgeous, and I'm not a skier, so it was
[4:05] the perfect time of year for me, because I would much rather hike. I love hiking, and it just looked like
[4:06] the sound of music, it was just so, so gorgeous. Like every picture was just like, wow. Where are we?
[4:07] So, I would love to go back there sometime. I would even go to the same place, and the little hotel we
[4:08] stayed at was like a tiny little town, and they had like all these little statues around. It felt very just
[4:09] adorable. We went to a place that, like, made their own cheese, and a place that, like, made its own
[4:10] chocolates, and you know, just kind of hung out, and it was fun. It was great.
[4:11] Elsie
[4:12] I love it. Yeah, magical. I thought it was beautiful too. I'd love to go back.
[4:13] Emma
[4:14] Okay, so now our overrated places.
[4:15] Elsie
[4:16] Okay, I only could think of two, and I do want to say the caveat that I love. Both of these places, I just
[4:17] don't think they're right for a vacation.
[4:18] Emma
[4:19] Mine's more about the experience.
[4:20] Elsie
[4:21] Like you had a particularly bad experience.
[4:22] Emma
[4:23] Yeah, I'm not really dissing the place.
[4:24] Elsie
[4:25] Say yours first, I want to hear it.
[4:26] Emma
[4:27] So mine was in Mexico. I don't think it was Cancun, but it might have been. It was basically like we
[4:28] stayed at a very fancy resort. We did this for our fifth wedding anniversary, and it had like a bungalow
[4:29] that was like above water, and it had a glass floor where you could see the water, so it was very like
[4:30] beautiful, but I just don't really like resorts, and yeah, I like it. So I've been there with Trey's family, like
[4:31] all the kids, you know, cousins, and like honestly, it's kind of like a cruise, but on land, and that's good. I
[4:32] feel like that's actually a good fit for a family trip, because you can kind of all have your own space, your
[4:33] little hotel room, but then you can all have dinner together, and if some people want to go to the beach
[4:34] and some people want to go do an excursion, great. So, I feel like it's a good fit for, like, kind of a big,
[4:35] bigger family trip. Great, love a, love a, you know, resort, but for just us, a couple, it just was such a
[4:36] waste of money, like we really think it's the most expensive vacation we've ever been on. We enjoyed it
[4:37] the least by a lot, like it was just kind of.. I don't think I'm a huge beach person either. I like it fine, like
[4:38] I'm not dissing a beach, but it's just not my top, as you heard from my, my three top places, they're all
[4:39] like kind of cold, like hiking, and like, no beach, really. I'm just not a big.. I mean, if I'm at the beach, I'm
[4:40] like at the Iceland beach, like I'm just like, you know, not a big want to be out on the beach person. So
[4:41] yeah, I just.. yeah, we were just really bored, and I don't like people coming in my hotel room constantly
[4:42] to like bring me things I don't like, that I like to just have my own space. I don't like feeling weighted on
[4:43] hand and foot. I actually hate that. I find it very makes me anxious, so I kind of felt like anxious all the
[4:44] time. And I would be like, okay, so they're gonna come in at like 9am and bring us our coffee, so let's
[4:45] make sure we're up, and you know, like it was just like I just was like I actually would really rather just
[4:46] no one be around me for a few days, that's that's vacation to me, like I don't want you know, I don't, I
[4:47] don't know, so it just was not our thing at all.
[4:48] Elsie
[4:49] Do you feel like there wasn't enough to explore, or like you wanted to leave the resort?
[4:50] Emma
[4:51] I think we just aren't really, I feel so.. I had this similar experience. I promise I'm going somewhere with
[4:52] this. Do you remember when I bought a Chanel handbag and it came in the mail and I held it, and I was
[4:53] like no.
[4:54] Elsie
[4:55] It was when our app got 10 million views or sorry, views, downloads. We were trying to celebrate, so I
[4:56] was like, oh, I'm gonna get my first used designer bag,
[4:57] Emma
[4:58] This was used, it was a vintage Chanel, yeah, but it was expensive. It was quite expensive. It's a luxury
[4:59] item, and I was just like, I'm gonna, I've never bought myself a luxury, you know, bag before. I'm going
[5:00] to do it. And so I, I researched, and I picked the one I wanted, and I bought it, and I held it in my hand
[5:01] when it came to the mail, and I was like, I'm returning this, because it just wasn't for me. I was just like, I
[5:02] don't, I don't really care.
[5:03] Elsie
[5:04] You just knew.
[5:05] Emma
[5:06] Yeah. It just wasn't, didn't spark joy. And in the same way, I think we were, it was our fifth wedding
[5:07] anniversary, and we were trying to do something really special that we'd never done before. So, like,
[5:08] let's go to this special resort that's supposed to be really luxury. I don't know if it's really a luxury.
[5:09] Elsie
[5:10] But it's like fancy in the wrong places for you.
[5:11] Emma
[5:12] Yeah, I just was like, "Oh, I don't like this, I'm so bored, and I feel like kind of anxious. How many people
[5:13] come in our room all day long to bring us stuff, and I just like, don't want to be here. It was not good. I
[5:14] was still like, we had fun together as a couple, like, we went on a kayak time, and yeah, it was okay, but
[5:15] it just wasn't. We just compared to other vacations we've been on, we're like, we don't like this. We kind
[5:16] of like staying at, like, an Airbnb, and like buying groceries when we get there, like we kind of like that
[5:17] level of travel. Okay, so what are yours?
[5:18] Elsie
[5:19] Okay, this is hilarious. I hope that every, I hope everyone appreciates this. Okay, so the place I would
[5:20] not go, would not recommend going on for vacation is Nashville, where I lived for eight years. Um, the
[5:21] reason why I actually.. okay, so it.. I have down two places, Nashville and Los Angeles, and both these
[5:22] places I love. I go there often. I've spent a lot of time there, and there's lots and lots and lots to do
[5:23] there, but let me explain. So, the reason why, so Nashville, I think, is a tricky vacation, and the reason
[5:24] why is because there is some infrastructure issues. The city has grown incredibly fast, and the so the
[5:25] downtown area and the downtown hotels are a certain vibe that is kind of dominated by drunk people,
[5:26] right. So if you are on a bachelorette trip, which a lot of it seems to be about this very popular
[5:27] bachelorette bachelor weekend destination, but yeah, anytime you go downtown you'll see. Lots of
[5:28] people with like the sashes and the veils and stuff, and I just feel like I think that Nashville is hard for me
[5:29] because I love it so much, and I think it has so many hidden gems, but I feel like people all go to the
[5:30] same places and they're not necessarily like places that people who live there ever go, and maybe, so
[5:31] maybe that's just a perspective. I don't know. I hear a lot of people, they like go, they have this big
[5:32] drunk weekend, and then they move there, and then they're like surprised that no one who lives there
[5:33] likes doing that stuff. Yeah, and it's so it's like it's two different worlds. It's like maybe it's like if you lived
[5:34] in like Las Vegas or something, there's like the restaurants where the tourists go, and then there's like
[5:35] all the other restaurants, which are like most people would think way better. So, anyway, Nashville, if
[5:36] you're gonna go, make sure you make your reservations ahead of time, make sure you stay some if
[5:37] you don't want to be around like lots of screaming drunk people, and make sure you don't stay
[5:38] downtown, and make sure that you, I just think you have to have everything like every minute booked.
[5:39] It's hard to find a place anymore where you can like park, where you can walk. It's just very, very
[5:40] crowded. So, I would personally go in the middle of the week, like I like being as a tourist now that I
[5:41] don't live there. I like to go on the weekdays.
[5:42] Emma
[5:43] Yeah, yeah, I feel like Austin's a little bit like that to me too, where it's a little tricky to get around
[5:44] because I think it just boomed so much, and I think they kind of like are preserving a lot of of their
[5:45] nature too, so there's so there's that element to the infrastructure, but yeah, I kind of think cities like
[5:46] that, like LA, Austin, to me it's like I like to go there because there's like a concert I'm going to, or a
[5:47] football game, and then I like knowing that wherever I'm staying, there's probably gonna be something
[5:48] good around me, and so I just, everything else is a better, always will be, so it's like I came for this
[5:49] concert or this football game, or whatever it was we came for, and then everything else is a bonus, we'll
[5:50] just see, we'll see what restaurants are around and see if there's any stand-up tonight, or whatever, you
[5:51] know, and it's like everything else is a bonus, so it's just whatever.
[5:52] Elsie
[5:53] Yeah. And then sort of like similar but different about Los Angeles is just like, I think you just need like a
[5:54] reason to be going there. I don't think you should just go there and just like explore, it's just not the kind
[5:55] of place that you just explore, like, you need to, like, know exactly what you're doing. You need to have
[5:56] your reservations, and yeah, like, yes, there's like some of the best, like, most amazing places, you
[5:57] know, in the country, but they're all very.. it's very spread out, and there's gonna.. you're gonna have a
[5:58] lot of, like, time in an Uber, and so it just needs to be very well planned, so whenever I go to LA, I
[5:59] actually like to more just like stay in the neighborhood that I'm in and do the thing, and I don't think
[6:00] when I was younger I would try to see every friend and I would try to like go all these different places
[6:01] and like now I just don't do that anymore, like we just kind of do, you don't go into like this little part of
[6:02] town, see what they have that's fun, and then next time we'll do a different, you know, part, but it's kind
[6:03] of like a whole bunch of towns squished together, yeah, almost, you know what I mean. So, anyway, but
[6:04] I don't know if it's.. I would say it's overrated, like I hate.. I think that overrated is so mean, so I wouldn't
[6:05] say that, actually, I. Nashville, maybe, because it's like it's just such a, it's just so confusing. How it
[6:06] became so popular for bachelorette parties. I don't know, I've never been downtown and not seen a
[6:07] bachelorette party while I was there. And you have to go downtown, like, there's a lot of good stuff to
[6:08] do, restaurants downtown, and like venues, and like, if, you want to go to a concert, you'll probably go
[6:09] downtown. So, anyway, yeah, that's my advice, but I, I'm sure, yeah, every both of those cities, I don't
[6:10] even want to put them on there, though, because I bet that they have like so many little hidden places, I
[6:11] would just want to stay in those places.
[6:12] Emma
[6:13] We're not saying no one go there, we're just saying like here's what I liked, I mean, it's not like everyone
[6:14] in the world would like going to Norway, I did. I'll tell you about it, but like, I don't know.
[6:15] Elsie
[6:16] Yeah, I love like when I am going to a new city. I love it when I can sit, like, or sorry, when I can like be
[6:17] delivered to my hotel or BNB in an Uber, and then I can kind of like walk from there to various things,
[6:18] and there's certain cities where that's possible, and there's certain cities where that's never going to
[6:19] happen, so I think knowing which one you're in is good. Yes. Okay. So our last topic is travel diaries,
[6:20] best trip before and with kids. So my before kids, before we had kids, we went to Palm Springs every
[6:21] year, and I miss it so much. We haven't been since Nova was a toddler, but it was also like a different
[6:22] time in our relationship, because now my husband is 100% sober, and I drink not much at all, and so it's
[6:23] just like I'm just not sure how it would be. It was our new lifestyle, yeah, for the things we used to enjoy
[6:24] doing. It was perfect for the things we enjoy doing now. I'm not sure, so yeah, I miss Palm Springs, but
[6:25] that was definitely our before kids spot. What about you?
[6:26] Emma
[6:27] Trying to think, because a lot of the places I listed as my top were places we went before kids, like big
[6:28] trips, because they're all big trips.
[6:29] Elsie
[6:30] Oh yeah, Norway was probably a before kids.
[6:31] Emma
[6:32] They were all before kids, because we haven't taken our kids to Europe, and I didn't list any US places.
[6:33] Yeah, one time we did a month long trip to LA. Oh yeah, and that was really fun, and we were still
[6:34] working, like it wasn't like we took the month off, but we definitely like did fun things the whole time we
[6:35] were there. That was kind of the point, and I think that that was also just fun. That I'm glad we did that
[6:36] before we had kids, because it was so much easier to do something like that before we had kids. We
[6:37] took one of our dogs, and I think I even like brought my desktop computer, because I didn't have a
[6:38] laptop at the time. I just like bubble wrapped it in the car. It's like, and that was super, super fun, and I
[6:39] do love LA. I lived there for three years after college, and I love it, but I do think it's tough for a short trip
[6:40] because it is so spread out, so there is a lot of driving or being an Uber. So I do think you have to be
[6:41] strategic about what you want to do and try to like be in that area, but for being there for a month it felt
[6:42] really nice because it was like we stayed in an Airbnb, and we got to know, like, the neighborhood
[6:43] there, like the coffee shop that we could walk to, and things like that. And then we would go do fun
[6:44] things here and there, like every week we'd go do a couple things that were like go to the beach, or go
[6:45] to a show, or go to, you know, whatever. And it was super fun.
[6:46] Elsie
[6:47] No, that sounds really good. Okay, with kids, I'm just gonna do a full Disney, and I think any Disney is
[6:48] the greatest thing I think that I've done with kids, just because it's so magical for them, and it's just such
[6:49] a happy memory, but I also love just like any place where we can be in a walkable situation, where
[6:50] there's a lot of little things to do, like I want there to be like an ice cream shop, or a donut shop, or like a
[6:51] place to have breakfast that you can all walk to. I think that's kind of the key for, for us traveling with our
[6:52] kids, because they are very good walkers now. But, yeah, they don't like to spend a lot of time in the
[6:53] car, and they don't like to spend a lot of time in Ubers. Yeah, and yeah, the more walking the better. So,
[6:54] I kind of feel like small places is kind of where we're more leaning right now, but we are planning to take
[6:55] the kids to Paris, and that'll be scared, but I'm also excited.
[6:56] Emma
[6:57] Yeah, our kids are still so little, so we have taken Oscar to Costa Rica, and we've also been to Nashville
[6:58] a bunch of times, especially before you move. We went to Dallas one time, we were in the city proper,
[6:59] and then we also went to a lake house that his cousin has, and yeah, I feel like we've done like a good
[7:00] amount of road trips, and then a few Costa Rica trips with Oscar. Hugo hasn't got to travel as much yet
[7:01] for Hugo, but he's turning well to this summer. He's, it's coming along, it's coming, buddy, he's already
[7:02] got his passport, but I feel like we haven't quite found our groove with kid trips. Previous episode, we
[7:03] were talking about our summer bucket list, and I was mentioning taking them to Branson, Missouri,
[7:04] which is like 30 minutes from where we live. I'm just kind of trying to figure out more. Like, I feel like we
[7:05] want to do these epic cool things with our kids, but they're just an age where it's like the less travel time
[7:06] and the less logistics for us as parents, the better, because they still have car seats, especially Hugo.
[7:07] They still, you know, there's just still like a lot of stuff, and so I feel like that's part of my goal with this
[7:08] summer and moving forward, is and they're going to age and age, and we're going to do bigger and
[7:09] bigger trips as they get bigger, but while they're still little, I'm like, let's try to do like an easier trip,
[7:10] because they honestly like doing almost anything, like they're an age where they like anything, they
[7:11] don't know, you know, like what beach we're at, like, so it's like, let's just make this easier for us as
[7:12] parents, but kind of also for them, less, you know, flight time, less drive time, as much as possible, but
[7:13] still something they're gonna enjoy, because I think that will be a better fit.
[7:14] Elsie
[7:15] No, you should take them to Seaside. That's really fun with little kids. Yeah, they would probably love
[7:16] that a bunch, and it's not too big. Okay. Well, I hope this episode was helpful. I'm sorry for roasting my
[7:17] own special place where I live for eight years.
[7:18] Emma
[7:19] She's stressed about it.
[7:20] Elsie
[7:21] I am, but I also kind of think that most people that live there would agree with me. I don't know.
[7:22] Emma
[7:23] I feel like you're mostly saying heads up, there's a lot of bachelorette parties. Also, if you're planning a
[7:24] bachelorette party, definitely go there, like it's like both of those things at the same time.
[7:25] Elsie
[7:26] No, no, it's both. It just started getting a lot of people who would have gone to Las Vegas, like the
[7:27] airport got weird.
[7:28] Emma
[7:29] Here's my review on Las Vegas. Liked it a lot more than I thought I would.
[7:30] Elsie
[7:31] Really?
[7:32] Emma
[7:33] Yeah, and I also was like, this actually would work as a kid trip, because I went just with my husband,
[7:34] and I was like, we could definitely bring kids, because, like, our hotel had this very, like, kid-friendly
[7:35] multiple pools, and like, it's one flight from where we. Live, which is wow, and it had an enough
[7:36] walkability, as far as, like, what are you doing? You're going to a show, or a restaurant, or a play area,
[7:37] or whatever. When we went to Meow Wolf, which I think my kids would love, so I was like, actually, this
[7:38] would be a pretty good family trip, which I would never have thought, oh, what's a great family trip, Las
[7:39] Vegas, but I'm like, actually, I think it would work really well, oddly enough. So, but it was fun as a
[7:40] couple, too. But I was surprising my husband, that was a surprise trip for his birthday one year. It was
[7:41] just like something that, again, you can have one flight. We had a lot of fun. It was great. I liked it a lot
[7:42] more than I thought it would.
[7:43] Elsie
[7:44] Cute, good.
[7:45] Emma
[7:46] Yeah, it was just silly and fun.
[7:47] Elsie
[7:48] Okay, let's do Heather's hot take, which is fake plants are tacky and should not be in your house.
[7:49] Emma's already having her defensive face, so I'll let you go.
[7:50] Emma
[7:51] I have a giant fake plant in my entryway as soon as you walk in. Yeah, I really only have one real plant
[7:52] in my whole house, and it is this little planter pot of carrots that Oscar got in his Easter basket, because
[7:53] he really wants to grow something, and so the Easter bunny brought him this little planter of carrots,
[7:54] which I was like, it'll grow or it won't, whatever, and it's been growing like crazy, but it has not produced
[7:55] any carrots, but anyway, he's he's very pleased with his carrot plant, and everything else in my house is
[7:56] fake. We don't even have that many fake plants, but everything else that is a plant is fake, and I like
[7:57] them. I think they're great. Tacky, maybe, I don't know, I suppose, but I like them.
[7:58] Elsie
[7:59] In our previous house we had like 10 times more fake plants, and there was like every kind of trees and
[8:00] every kind, so I feel like I have a lot of experience with this subject, and my opinion is fake plants that
[8:01] look fake are tacky, and fake plants that you don't notice are perfectly fine. There's so many that you
[8:02] just don't notice, and I think that that is fine, especially if you like go the extra mile to like fill the pot with
[8:03] dirt, like when you know there's just like little things you can do to make it look a little bit more real, and
[8:04] I just think it's fine. I think that having real plants is great if you enjoy doing it, and if you can keep up
[8:05] with it, but you do have to have both of those things, and yeah, everyone has that.
[8:06] Emma
[8:07] I think for some people, it's kind of their hobby, which I think is great, is not my hobby, yeah. So I don't
[8:08] want it to become my hobby.
[8:09] Elsie
[8:10] I would love for it to become my hobby, but I have not. I'm starting slow. I have two small little plants,
[8:11] and I don't have that many fake plants in my house, but I do have a few, and I am not ashamed of
[8:12] them.
[8:13] Emma
[8:14] I kind of think I'm not so interested in plants in my house. I would be interested to have a garden
[8:15] someday outside, like, and have it be like, I just like the idea of going out there and, like, doing what I
[8:16] need to be doing, you know, whatever, depending what time of year it is, and stuff. I like that, but, like,
[8:17] having plants inside my house, I don't know why. It just doesn't really appeal to me, and that's just me,
[8:18] obviously. If you have a ton of plants in your house, great. I love that for you. Couldn't care less, but I
[8:19] just don't really want any in my house. So, for me, having a fake few fake plants here and there, like in
[8:20] corners that just kind of need something, I think is nice. If you want to think of it as a weird sculpture, a
[8:21] cheap sculpture, go ahead, because that's kind of how I think of it, honestly. Just, here's my suggestion:
[8:22] buy them, okay? If you're buying them online, look at the customer photos. Yes, if you're buying them in
[8:23] person, stand back and really look at it, like, really look, by the way, if you buy anything online and
[8:24] there's customer photos, look at those photos, because that's really how you know. And shout out to
[8:25] everyone taking these photos and putting them on websites. I know free. Thank you. Who does it? I
[8:26] know I've never done it. I've never done it, but I've looked at so many. So, thank you, everyone,
[8:27] because you're doing the work.
[8:28] Elsie
[8:29] Okay, we're gonna toss it over to Nova for a joke and a fact with Nova before we go. Hey, Nova, what
[8:30] do you have for us this week?
[8:31] Nova
[8:32] A joke,.
[8:33] Elsie
[8:34] A joke. Okay, I'm ready.
[8:35] Nova
[8:36] Knock, knock.
[8:37] Elsie
[8:38] Who's there?
[8:39] Nova
[8:40] Ben.
[8:41] Elsie
[8:42] Ben, who
[8:43] Nova
[8:44] Been knocking on this door for the whole day. Bye.
[8:45] Elsie
[8:46] bye. Have a good week. Thank you so much for listening. If you have any topic ideas for future podcast
[8:47] episodes, or requests, or hot takes, we love to hear them. Email us anytime at podcast at
[8:48] abeautifulmess.com.

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