My Top 5 Winter Wonderland and my WishList

I used to be able to just walk out of my apartment, catch a subway and then voila: Central Park covered in snow was my Winter Wonderland. 

Now I am in Cali, and we don’t really get to single digit temperatures on this coast. No complaint here. I am loving the fact that I am sitting at the beach with my bare toes snuggled in the sand while writing this post. But I do miss cold weather and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows from time to time, which is what inspired my post for today. 

Here are my top 5 winter destinations, not in particular order because I am a libra so you know … I am super indecisive. 

# 1: Alaska: I flew there in March to see the Iditoarod Race start in Anchorage. I won’t lie. I LOVED IT and seeing all the dogs leaving for the race was awesome, but I fell in love with the rest of Alaska and its landscapes even more. Sitka is a must see, and the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood is GORGEOUS. More about my trip to Alaska here.

Some super cute adorable locals didn't think it was that cold LOL Can you spot the tourists in this pic?

Some of the best aerial shots landing in Sitka 

# 2 Breckenridge, Colorado: I flew out there in April for Spring Skiing. It was my first time on a snowboard, so my first day there. I kind of cried all day from falling on my butt so much, but once I was “kind of” in control, it was awesome but regardless of my snowboarding performance, this little old mining town is adorable and the hotel we stayed at had the best food ever! And if you read my biog, you know I am more of an Airbnb kind of girl, but the Lodge at Breck is really awesome. 

I didn't only cry :-) I smiled too ... 

And I sometimes managed to stand on my board 

Breck at night 

# 3 Salt Lake City, Utah: Lucky for me, my annual training for work takes me to Salt Lake for a few days every January. So what does an adventure girl do when her training day ends early? She goes hiking the Living Room Trail  to catch some cool views of downtown Salt Lake, or she hits the slopes at Brighton Resort . Extra perks of Brighton: it offers night skiing, and the food at Molly Green’s, a charming bar and grill located slope side, is yummy - kind of a rare thing for ski resorts in my humble opinion.

Molly Green's slope side at Brighton: try the awesome garlic burger, you will not regret it

The snowboarding was awesome too 

Meet Sam: best snowboard buddy and red wine partner 

Sunset views from the Living Room Trail 

the smile on my face when I get a trail all to myself 

Sometimes Not Sharing is great 

Landing in Utah is pretty much always magical 

# 4 Banff, Canada: I knew nothing about Banff when I landed in Calgary airport mid September with my best traveling partner ever, Deidre. The trip was her idea so I didn't even google anything. I let her "kind of" plan it, and by kind of, I mean she had some pointers about what she wanted us to see, but nothing was booked until after we landed. Every lake, every mountain, every trail was breathtaking. That’s all I have to say … The pictures don’t do it justice … writing about it doest either. So just go -:) But I will give you one little piece of advice: there isn’t much cell service in the park, so make sure you are savvy with real maps.   Although we got lost a few times and don't regret any of our getting lost moments ... I mean it's pretty whether you go left or right ... More on Banff here.

Meet Mr. Elk and Deidre, my adventure buddy. Basically always up to anything anywhere anytime 

# 5 Big Bear, California: I was there for the first time a few weeks ago, and the best part is that it is so close to LA area if LA is your home or anywhere around LA. We left our sunny home in Redondo Beach at 10 am, and 2 hours and a half later, we were hiking up Castle Rock Trail, our feet covered in snow and a bit soaked for lack of proper shoes (Oups, but the view was worth it.) By sunset, we were night snowboarding at Summit. And wow the cabin we booked on Airbnb was a dream: Book it now. Seriously.

The most amazing cabin

and yes that's inside the cabin - cuteness overload 

Castle Rock Trail: not a hard trail, but a bit confusing if you see what I mean 

View was totally worth it and don't believe the reviews saying it is crowded or maybe we were just lucky

snowboarding at sunset at Summit 

Now, would I go back to any of these gorgeous destinations to witness all this beauty again? Maybe if I had a good enough reason … like a friend’s wedding or something like that. But I  am a sucker for new destinations: I always want to see something I haven’t seen yet. So here is my Winter Wonderland wish list: 

Finland: I am literally obsessing about staying in a cozy ice hotel in Lapland and exploring the landscape. Like I want to be there now so badly. 

Russia: I was lucky enough to see Moscow in Spring, but It is a dream of mine to go to Saint Petersburg, dress up in a fancy winter dress and (fake) fur and go to the theatre to watch the Russian ballet . I mean doesn’t sound super romantic? 

Japan: Why? Two words: snow monkeys. Apparently there are hot spring-bathing snow monkeys in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture and I must see them. Also the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri, a snow festival, looks super cool. 

I am curious: What’s on your Winter Wonderland Wishlist? And did you know about these snow monkeys in Japan? Even better, have you seen them? Tell me all about it in a comment below. I am obsessed - in case you couldn't tell -:) 

Wouldn't you be obsessed too? Photo credit to Julia Wimmerlin
If you like photography, check out her website by clicking her name above 

EAT WELL, TRAVEL OFTEN, TAKE PICTURES 

SARA