Finding Gina Marie - Travel the World
Finding Gina Marie - Travel the World
Welcome to Finding Gina Marie. We're Judy and Kevin, and in 2022 we decided that life is too short not to follow our dreams. We took early retirement and sold everything we own to travel as digital nomads with only a carry-on and a backpack apiece.
Each week we'll bring you:
- The sights, flavors, and fun of world travel-good and bad!
- Actual costs for everything we spent
- The logistics of slow travel and how we live on the road full time
- An occasional bit of information about our process towards obtaining dual citizenship with Italy
Who is Gina Marie? Judy found her Italian birth mother in 2021-56 years after being adopted! Gina Marie is the name her birth mother put on her birth certificate. Judy's reunion story with her birth family prompted us to start this channel. Watch our Finding Family playlist for that amazing story.
Check out our website and follow our blog and travel articles and tips. An entire world is outside our doorstep to explore. Come travel with us! ❤️
Пікірлер
So much overtly possitive plugging everyone and everything.
I took a Nile cruise just before the revolution. Fantastic. I just took a cheap ship, it was just as good except the bed was a bit hard! I would certainly do it again, but I wouldn't bother with Abu Simbal. Long drive and at least when I went not much else there. No decent cafe! Egypt is a great place to go and most Egyptians are very nice people. Don't try screwing them too hard when bargaining. You are wealthy, they are poor. Your money helps entire families. A highlight of my tour was a visit to a Nubian school, followed by a rooftop BBQ at an ordinary house. Loved it.
I don't get it, e-visas are $25 as well so I don't see how this is cheaper unless you were scammed online somehow.
Hi Christopher, You have to be sure that you are using the legitimate government website for an e-visa. There are a lot of third-party websites that will sell you an e-visa at a higher price with a bunch of other fees added in. At the time we originally went to Egypt, I couldn’t quite trust that the website I was referred to was legitimate. We have a link in our pinned comment with the appropriate government site. We also have an entire series of videos from our month in Egypt, which is linked below. -Judy 🎥 Egypt travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF1WcH9GxfK4ngH49MXf5oOv
Terrific vlog. Love your content. Keep coming 🤟 new subscriber here
One of my favorite things to do is walk. Wander. Pop into local restaurants and coffee shops. This is where Google Maps comes in handy. I wander until I'm a bit tired, then use Google Maps to find my way back. Very rarely do I make plans, at least not big ones. I want to experience a place, not just see the hot spots. It's usually more fun than the hot spots anyhow!
Thanks Again!
Hello there, again, JUDY and KEVIN! Well, I am finally made the plunge and will visit VIENNA at the end of SEPTEMBER! ❤🧡💛💜 I will be staying on the edge of the 1st and 3rd District at the Hilton right in front of the Wien Mitte station for convenience to the airport and all the transport since I am very unfamiliar with the entirety of Vienna. My family (sister, her hubby, children) were here a decade ago because my oldest niece got a nursing internship for 3 months in the city! They are all very excited for me! Wish me your best! ♥
You sure remember lecce for long time . Harsh weather conditions makes you want to return so you picked the right time for first visit. Lol
Hi sorry for this question, which one is the right side going to St. Moritz🙏🙏😄 In the booking/reservation site, it does not say left or right, is that the one in the bottom??? Like left top, right bottom….. Thank you in advance…..
Would it help to tell you that our seats were 61 and 62? It shouldn’t matter, but our carriage was 36. At the time that we booked it, we didn’t realize how much it would matter. If this doesn’t help, let me know and I’ll see what else I can figure out. -Judy
Sorry to say but you are both too wimpy on EVERYTHING!!!!!
Really happy to have you guys in Taipei Taiwan(I am from Taipei btw). As far as I know…I am 34now,I’ve never seen tsunami in Taipei ever. I believe the ups and downs in front of the Taipei main station is all because the suddenly heavy rain in summer, cased flooding on the road .
Another pro tip if you aren't a sandle person. Carry a shoe horn in your pocket, backpack or purse.
Love your video! Which Briggs and Riley are you using? 21inch or 22 inch?
Thank you so much! We are using a 22”. We would’ve liked to of squeezed into a 21 inch, but we are very grateful for the extra inch when we need it. It’s never been a problem anywhere we’ve used it, except on very budget airlines where they’re weighing our suitcases, which definitely are above 7-8kg. Here’s a link to our updated video, as well as our gear list. Thanks so much for watching! -Judy 🎥 What we’re Packing in 2024: kzread.info/dash/bejne/q3hhlpehc823nJM.html ⚙️GEAR LIST: findingGinaMarie.com/gear
You guys are introducing a decent respectful, helpful and fun content 👏
Welcome to Haeundae Beach in Busan, my hometown
Not impressed with it.
We had a hard time in Saigon, but Hanoi was lovely and Hoi An was surprising in all its beauty. We are glad we spent a meaningful amount of time in Vietnam and didn’t base all of our experiences from the location we stayed in at HCMC. -Judy 🎥 Vietnam travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0w1OZR1ZwgqGRPRMKXZaNB
Cristoforo Colombo was from Genova! 😊
To look up at the sky and ask God why was I born at this place and time in the history of the world. Im sure those innocent souls all asked God that as they were ushered into the gas building. Can a single prayer and thought of love for all them suffice for that kind of suffering? I sure am trying right now to. We cannot ever forget this.
I’m going back and watching your old videos. My husband and I are looking to start slow traveling in the next few years (in our 30’s). I simply adore your appreciation for new experiences and hope our paths cross one day. We have a lot to learn from you. ❤
Wow, thank you so much for these kind words! How fabulous to begin slow traveling at your ages. We wish we had been able to start sooner! We would love for our paths to cross, so if you are on the road at some point and want to meet up, let us know! We have some information on our website as well that could be useful for you. if you click on tips and then filter by nomads, we have additional content there as well. Of course, if you have any questions or ideas for content, please let us know. We wish you the very best of luck as you prepare! -Judy
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely check out the website. We are on vacation right now - just finishing a 10-day trip to Belgrade. Your recommendations on your Serbia videos were very helpful (We ate at Curry Souls and De Nada Cafe multiple times haha).
@anthonypeter8652 That’s awesome! We love hearing this! Enjoy the rest of your time there! -Judy
Thank you for this very good review. I have been to the Park twice and hope to go again later this year. It truly is an amazing place and this is one of the few reviews that give a good informative picture of the ethics at the Park. Thank you again.❤
So incredible 🙏🙏🙏
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! We love Cambodia and find its history to be fascinating and tragic. -Judy
virtually anywhere in the world (even my busted country) has superior care to US. Saving a few Thai vids as research this amongst.
This was so sad that this happened and it was 80 yrs ago and 1939-1945 was hell for these people and you didn't know if you were going to live or die and Auschwitz was hell on earth there were trees or anything it was a river of mud and everything was about survival and you didn't know who you could trust and every generations before and after still feel the pain and anger b/c so many people mostly children babies and senior citzens and families and poor people were taken away and they couldn't survive and they were there and some were taken to the gas chambers and never to be seen again.. I pray to god this doesn't happen in my lifetime. This was an extermination camp and largest mass murder of gravesites in the world has ever seen. This hard to watch b/c so many people died here and were tortured and they even cut their hair and so many people had suitcases thinking they were going to work but instead they would all die here. RIP to 6 million people murdered.
Loved this video and loved your kickback attitude! I think we are going to struggle with the same issues as I am more laid back and kick back than my wife Where she would like to go see a lot of things so we're compromising. Question I have is do you have a home base? We started downsizing and sold our big home threere's a go and have a small home now. We own it free and clear. So we have been searching on KZread for slow travel and out of all the ones that we subscribe to we do like your approach alot! I have a question, do you still own a home in the US or do you house sit or stay with family when you return for a short period of time? Thanks again! Bill and Jenn southern Idaho❤❤
Hi Bill and Jenn, thank you so much for watching and for your question and kind words! We do not have a home base in the US any longer. We didn't want the maintenance and we couldn't afford to retire in San Francisco. For us it has been so freeing to not have to worry about stuff. We have a small storage unit for some photos we weren't able to scan before we left and for a few of Kevin's guitars that he wasn't quite ready to give up when we left the US. Our situation is slightly different than some in that we originally thought we'd look for a home in Italy or in some other part of Europe (we considered Portugal), and then Kevin was offered a job in London. We had a scheduled trip that was supposed to test out remote work, but at the last minute we decided to use that as the beginning of our full-time travel. That meant that we kept some things in a small storage unit until we could come back to the US and finalize the rest of it. We have a son in San Francisco, a daughter in Houston, a son in Austin, my birth mother is in Palm Desert, and my sisters and a brother are in Buffalo. So for us, no place is convenient as a home base because visits to the US require us to typically visit three cities. We suck up the cost and stay in hotels and rent a car for various reasons. It's some of the most expensive travel we incur, unfortunately. We have compromised since that video came out and for the most part, we've tried to stay at least a month in most places. It's worked out well, and before any fast travel decisions, we think it through very, very thoughtfully. It's been a great solution. We spent 42 days in Japan, 30 days in Vietnam, 30 days in Cambodia, 37 days in Chiang Mai (decided to skip Bangkok because that would have been fast travel), went back to Vietnam for three weeks, 30 days in Taipei, 28 days in Busan, South Korea (but we decided to spend 2 days in Seoul). We spent 10 days in Italy to acclimate back to Europe before some fast travel with our daughter throughout Italy. You can see that we are working very hard to balance how much moving around we do. Happy to answer any other questions you may have if we can. -Judy 🎥 Preparing for Full-time travel playlist: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX 📝 Check out our website for additional information as well: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips (then filter by Nomad)
Welcome to Korea ❤❤❤
Thank you so much! South Korea was so wonderful to us! We hope you'll enjoy watching our videos from Busan, which was such a fun time, too! -Judy 🎥 South Korea 🇰🇷 video series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0f9CUrzAmPwQ8yzyJBHan7&si=vhBQX8rkLlVSJytX
Currently in Taiwan for work and I can’t believe I finished the whole vid, very informative, the subtle sense of humor, and the video content/pace was perfect, now onto all the places you recommended.
Thank you so much for your very kind note and for taking the time to leave it for us! We hope you have a wonderful time in Taiwan. Have you seen our video on the night markets? You might enjoy that information as well. -Judy 🎥 Taipei Night Markets: kzread.info/dash/bejne/rJ-gqqOjndnOeZM.html
Pretty awesome video, I love it so much.👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏
Thank you so much for your kind words! Cambodia is incredible! You might enjoy our video from Angkor Wat as well! -Judy 🎥 This is Angkor Wat: kzread.info/dash/bejne/eol4rNiGo8W4caQ.html
Is that the 21" or the 22"?
It’s the 22”! I’ve never had a problem with it on any international flight. The problem comes in typically because on discount airlines it doesn’t always meet the weight restriction. Here’s a link to our updated packing video and our gear list -Judy 🎥 What we’re Packing in 2024: kzread.info/dash/bejne/q3hhlpehc823nJM.html GEAR LIST: findingGinaMarie.com/gear
From years of traveling and staying in both hotels and Airbnb - we have definitely had more issues with Airbnbs than hotels. But each offer a unique option for your specific travels - we use hotels for shorter stays (one week or less) and Airbnb for longer stays. Also depends on how many are traveling in our group. Airbnb tip - look at the photos carefully and know that they are not always accurate. Read all the reviews! Leave a review especially if you had an issue (so helpful for the next renter).
We've actually had some great experiences with Airbnbs on short stays as well, and so far we haven't really had a bad experience. There have been two occasions where the location was less desirable than we thought, but those were our mistakes. Of those two, one of the hosts was incredibly kind and we ended up grateful for the experience. That's not too bad of a track record, but we know that's not always the case for everyone. And your tips for Airbnbs are spot on! -Judy
화이팅 😊
We're not sure what that means, but we had a great time in Seoul! -Judy
Do I have to always wear clothing that cover my knees and shoulders? 14:21 6/8/24
It's a great question, Shirley. I would suggest dressing fairly modestly everywhere because it's a Muslim country. When we were on our Nile River cruise, people did swim and wear shorts, but I felt more comfortable everywhere else by covering up a bit more. Here's a link to our entire video series from Egypt if it's helpful. -Judy 🎥 Egypt travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF1WcH9GxfK4ngH49MXf5oOv
I wish you try to visit Songdo in lncheon when you come back to korea next time.
Thank you so much for the suggestion. We definitely plan to come back and will add it to our list of places to visit when we return. -Judy
Sorry couldn’t figure out the name and address of your Airbnb. Can you please write it. Thanks
Absolutely. Here is the link to our Airbnb: www.airbnb.com/rooms/19076948?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=dfa210c2-a6f9-4c15-9619-e92bdd567299 If you book it, let Ananda know you heard about it through us. We don't earn any money by recommending it, but it's a nice way to say hi to him through you! Let us know what you think! -Judy
Thanks. Just looked up my dates and, unfortunately they are booked up then. Cheers
Bummer. But you can try to reach out to Ananda through the link (use the "message the host" feature because he has other properties in his Airbnb. We stayed in one, but he owns many. -Judy
I live in turin city..it's amazing city weather, food, e.t.c
How lucky you are! Turin is amazing. We currently are in Florence with our daughter taking a fast track trip around Italy. it’s her first time to visit and certainly not enough to really understand the bones of a particular city, but enough to form a few first impressions. -Judy
Came back to turin and stay for us in torino
We definitely need to return! Our train from Napoli to Firenze terminated in Torino, and it was all we could do not to continue onward! -Judy