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The Snellings Take The Big Island

As I sit and write this on this New Year's Eve I'm really wishing my family and I were in a warm climate preparing to celebrate the end of the decade, but we are in the frigid cold enjoying our new East Coast life style.

 I'm excited and ready to bring in this New Year in our new home, but I can't help but day dream about some sunnier days.

So let me take you back to one of the highlights of my year from 2019....

Hawaii 2019:

One of our family travel wish list locations for many years had been Hawaii. Mr. @ProfessorDrz and I had been to Maui, Hawaii for our honeymoon fourteen years ago and then again for our ten year anniversary. Maui has always had a special place in our hearts and we've always wanted to explore other islands with the children, but the Hawaiian islands are so expensive for families to travel to and vacation on. Fortunately for us, with a little planning and by the grace of God we were able to pull off a 6 night, 7 day vacation to the Island of Hawaii, also known as The Big Island.

Our three children have always wanted to go to Hawaii because they knew that is was such a special place to their mom and dad, so they would often talk about how cool it would be if they could go as well. So in late June we surprised my son with a trip to the West Coast as a graduation gift. He was totally stoked! Then, when that trip was coming to an end, we surprised the kids and told them our vacation wasn't over since we were heading to The Big Island the next day.

These kids couldn't believe it because we had just had an Amazing week long vacation visiting the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and so much more. Next thing we know we were on The Big Island chasing waterfalls, eating shaved ice, hanging at the beach, watching sunsets and living our best lives. 

How We Save Money Before Trips!

This post is about how we save money for trips, and also how we gift experiences to our children more than just things. I thought it would be a perfect reminder this time of year that travel, experiences and just quality time with each other is also a wonderful gift to give this holiday season! Here are a few ways we make this possible for our family each year. 

We are very budget conscientious when it comes to major purchases and we take planning for them very seriously, especially when it comes to travel. When our spring break trip to Portugal became a reality, and not just a dream in my head, I went into planning mode. That included enacting a budget and plan for how to make this happen without breaking the bank or cheapening our experiences.

Since the airline tickets were bought in advance, it gave us plenty of time to save for our other vacation expenses we would incur including Airbnb, hotel, tours, meals and souvenirs.

How We Make It Work:

Vacation Savings Account

We have a travel savings account, that is regularly founded. This account helps a lot because it allows us to jump on great deals when they pop up and we save thousand of dollars by being prepared.

Research the Destination to Find Out if it's a Budget Friendly Place 

I always do a great deal of research before deciding on a vacation destination to see if it will work for my family's vacation style and meet our budget needs. Lucky for us, after talking to friends and doing a bit of research, we found that Lisbon and Portugal in general is indeed an inexpensive vacation destination, especially for families. (Photos from Lisbon, Portugal below.)

Celebrating My Princess's Birthday in Paris!

I love to give my children experiences as gifts and what better experience than exploring the City of Lights for your birthday.  Recently, we visited France to celebrate my oldest daughter's birthday and it turned out to be a wonderful celebration of a beautiful soul as well as an amazing trip for the family.

Celebrating Our Princess:

We celebrated our daughter with a delicious birthday lunch at La Terresse restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. We enjoyed shrimp ravioli, salads and sandwiches. The staff was so nice to surprise our daughter with a treat and serenade her with happy birthday. After lunch we did some sightseeing and walked down to the Eiffel Tower.

Pena Palace - Sintra Portugal

In Sintra, located north west of Lisbon, you will find the awe-inspiring Pena Palace. The dazzling structure is perched high atop a mountain, as if it were being presented to the heavens above. The palace was once home to creative, artsy King Ferdinand II. His multi-colored, whimsical creation was influenced by Moorish styles and Romanticist architecture.  

We spent the morning at this real-life fairy tale palace, and of course it was a great deal! Not expensive at all. Don't you love an excursion that doesn't break the bank? I DO! Whenever we travel to new places, I like to find new experiences that are fun, educational, unique and inexpensive to explore as a family. The Pena Palace hit all four categories! Also, children ages 5-years-old and under are FREE, a huge deal for those of us with families. Go here to learn more about this deal.  

Prices for Pena Palace:

Park and palace adult 13,3 Euros
Park and palace youngster  (6-17) 11,88 Euros
Park and palace seniors (+65) 11,88 Euros
Park and palace child (<5) FREE
Pena park adult 7,13 Euros
Pena park youngster (6-17) 6,18  Euros
Pend park senior (+65) 6,18 Euros
Pena park child (<5) FREE 

First Day in Lisbon, Portugal

First Meal:

After landing and dropping off our luggage at the apartment we were off to find lunch. We walked a short distance down the road to Avenida de Liberdade to find our first meal in Portugal. We chose a well-known seafood restaurant named Ribadouro, where you can pick your own live lobster right out of huge aquariums out front (see above).

We ordered a beef dish, garlic prawns and omelettes for our lunch and everything was a hit except the omelettes. Our girls were in the mood for breakfast foods, because their bodies were still on US time. The problem was, their taste buds were expecting a typical American style omelette, but the texture and taste of the eggs were not quite what the girls where accustomed to. This was a learning experience and a teaching moment for all involved. It was good for them to give it a try, but also to understand that things may taste very different than that we are use to at home. The kids are adventurous eaters, so they all did very good trying new things and finding foods they enjoyed during our time in Portugal.

Otherwise, the other two dishes were a big hit for the rest of us. We usually try a couple different dishes and share, but in this case honestly the prawns paired with rice and broccolini were the big crowd pleasers. The prawns were AMAZING, let me tell you! They were perfectly prepared in this robust  garlic and olive oil combination. You can't see from the pictures, but we would take the extra  and drizzle it over the rice then place the prawns on top. I couldn't see any seasoning on the prawn at all and it was baffling, so I have to guess that all the flavor came from how the prawns were cooked in the fresh garlic and flavorful olive oil. I didn't try the beef and vegetable dish, but my husband and son loved it.

Portugal Spring Break

What's good world! Life disappeared me from the blogophere last year due to a cross country move. Now I'm back! It's a brand new chapter in my life and I'm back on my bargainSwag thang; snagging great deals for my family around town, online and when it comes to travel.

One of my life goals is to give my kids the world via travel. So in pursuit of that dream the BargainSwag family traveled to Portugal and over the next couple of weeks we'll be posting about our experiences, deals and tips we used to make travel more affordable for our family.

Learning About Our Destination:

As soon as we decided on Portugal I picked up a book on Lisbon and one on Portugal to educate myself about our destination and plan as much of the trip as I could in advance. The books also came with maps, which came in handy during the trip as well.

Visiting the Hotel Del Coronado

Belmont Park

SLS Las Vegas

On this cold winter morning I woke up to school cancellations and a winter storm warning. As I snuggled back under the warm covers all I could think about was how much I wanted to have some fun in the sun. My mind went instantly to.....Vegas baby!

Dinner at Skylon Tower Revolving Dining Room - Niagara Falls

Who can resist a meal with an amazing view? We ended our Canadian vacation by spending our final evening visiting Niagara Falls. We arrived hungry around 4 p.m., just in time to take advantage of the early dinner special at the Skylon Tower's Revolving Dining Room.

Centennial Beach and Park - Barrie, Ontario, Canada

After enjoying an awesome lunch at THE WORKS, Gourmet Burger Bistro, we headed down to Centennial Park and Beach in the heart of downtown Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

Up to 70% Off Outlet Shopping Deals!

Bargain Swag Deals

This beautiful fall weather made me want to be outdoors, but I needed to do a little shopping, so I decided to hit up my favorite outlet mall. Those of you who follow my blog know that I love a deal and I basically don't get out of bed for less then 50 percent off. This is a great time to outlet shop because I like to snag awesome clearance deals on summer clothes for next year, start early holiday shopping and grab fall or winter clothes sales.

Pottery Barn Outlet

THE WORKS, Gourmet Burger Bistro - Barrie, Ontario, Canada

My family and I had a blast visiting Toronto, Canada this summer. After exploring the city and some of its great attractions using the Toronto CityPASS, we were ready to slow down a bit. We wanted to go a little deeper into Canada and spend the day touring Barrie, Ontario.

Visiting Toronto's CN Tower

After spending the afternoon at the Ripley's Aquarium of Canada we headed next door to the CN Tower for our next Toronto CityPASS.

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada was our next stop using the Toronto CityPASS. With little kids we were excited to see short lines, which allowed us to walk right in and begin enjoying a great aquatic experience.

Visiting the Ontario Science Centre

One of the coolest places we visited with our Toronto CityPASS was the Ontario Science Centre. It was a great experience for our entire family with interactive science shows, hands-on experiments and mind blowing demonstrations.

Visiting Casa Loma in Toronto, Canada

Casa Loma, which means house on the hill in Spanish, was our first stop using our Toronto CityPASS on our recent Canadian family vacation.

A River Runs Through It - Ellijay, Georgia

'A River Runs Through It' was our home away from home for our recent family vacation to Ellijay, Georgia. This sweet cabin is a North Georgia hidden gem in the foothills of the Chattahoochee National Forest. It was a beautiful, peaceful and serene private oasis with it's natural and melodic water sounds coming from the stream below.

Panorama Farm Market - Ellijay, Georgia

While sipping wine at Engelheim Vineyards in Ellijay, Georgia we decided to go looking for these fried pies I had heard so many good things about. We asked our server at the vineyard where we could find the best fried pies in town and without hesitation, she suggested Panorama Orchards Farm Market.