*squeeeeeee!!!* Hot on the heels of my latest fantastic romance read, “Love, in English” (<— my review, and yes, I’m still in a love fog), and I just lucked-out, big time! I’ve got some goodies for us. A giveaway for this very book (actually two giveaways, and some fun swag), plus some “insider” intel, including five fun facts about the story behind the story, some of Karina’s personal photos and the book trailer.
Oooooh the juiciness!! 😉
Karina Halle indulges us a little further in what inspired “Mateo and Vera”:
1. The program exists! It’s not called Las Palabras but any native English speaker can try and sign up for it and live out the Love, in English experience: https://www.diverbo.com/en/volunteer-abroad
2. I did the program – twice. The first time I was in the town of La Albera, Spain and the second time I was in Umbria, Italy…but still teaching English to Spaniards. It got…confusing.
3. Love, in English is inspired by my time in the program at La Alberca. In fact, the town of Alcantilado (fictional) is based on La Alberca. You can read more about the town in this travel article I wrote: https://www.gonomad.com/2098-la-alberca-spain-a-glimpse-of-yesterday
4. I consulted my diary for a lot of Part One of Love, in English. There were many people and events who inspired the book and made me think “what if?” I wanted to take the “what if this happened?” and make it happen. Also, stuff like the Mam and Chess sandwiches, the plays and presentations that took place, certain phrases “Sammy told me to tell you %^$ and if I told you that, she would show me hers,” the awards, the crazy summer camp atmosphere, it all actually happened.
5. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. No, I never met a hot ex-football star who resembles a beardy Eduardo Noriega but I made some great friends and learned a lot about myself. And of course, I thought “this would make an excellent book one day.”
LOL!! OMG that “Sammy scene” had me giggling like mad. And it was REAL!!?? Ahhhh to read just one page out of that diary. *hint hint* <— tee hee! 😛
Thank you SO much for these pictures, Karina. Your characters were already SO alive to me, but to sorta “see” ’em in images, has my heart soaring.
Karina you are SO lucky! Lucky to have been a part of something so… emotionally big (and now I just wanna hug you and comfort you for what it must have felt like to leave that beautiful bubble). What an amazing program to have been a part of. Now I know why some of those heartbreaking scenes felt so real (and tore my heart out). ‘Cause I bet she felt exactly that way.
*sigh* I love books like this. That come straight from the heart, and are inspired by personal experience.
And now TWO lucky winners here, will win a signed copy of this amazing read.
How to enter for a chance to win a signed print copy of “Love, in English”? I’d love to hear about your most amazing travel experience or memory. Or!! If you don’t have one, let me know where you’d love to visit. That’ll work! And Sunday night (Sunday April 27th, 2014) by 10pm EST, I will randomly select two winners.
The winners will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond with a mailing address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. This book will be sent to the winners directly by the author.
Open to US & Canada only however all are welcome to comment!
Oh! And here is the author’s gorgeous book trailer.
My most amazing trip was probably in high school when I went to Germany for 3 weeks as part of an exchange program. We also took a mini-trip to Paris for a weekend. I really wish I had more pictures from that trip.
I am terrified to fly always have been…. I have a funny story though…we were flying about 15 years ago make a wish foundation sent us to Disney as my son was fighting Cancer (he is fine now).. Anyway, I was white knuckling it waiting to take off and there was a man next to me just as scared and repeatedly kept getting off and getting back on the flight afraid..finally they wouldn’t let him aboard. for the 2 and a half hr. flight his wife and child cried..”chip I cant believe you did this to me.” Chip was apparently his name, for 2 hours as I was terrified and he scared me even more the whole flight we heard about “chip”….fast forward 10 yrs we are in Camp wilderness in DIsney camping with friends in our campers and my friends inlaws are visiting us who live in florida..talking about coming to NJ for a visit and the older uncle looks to his daughter and grandson and says ” you will never get “chip” to fly to NJ……OMG….I look at my husband and he is giving me the old glare…don’t you dare say anything…..well shit I couldn’t resist…the Story is yes it was the same “chip” ten years later ..the wife and kid the same and on opposite ends of the East coast..what a small world. True Story.
I was a flight attendant so I’ve been all over. My favorite places are still Amsterdam, Boston, Anchorage and Honolulu.
I’ve sadly never been anywhere truly amazing….but if I could choose anywhere. ..I think Greece! Or maybe Paris. ..or well..pretty much anywhere!
My most amazing travel memory was a trip to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for a week vacation on the week before my birthday. During the trip on night after dinner my hubby (boyfriend then) and I went for a walk on the beach to see if we could see any sea turtles coming up from the ocean. He stopped behind me a second and told me he wanted to give me my birthday present. I was frustrated because I told him to specifically wait until we got back home and again told him that again and when I turned around to look at him I didn’t see him and I looked down to find him on one knee in front of me holding my engagement ring and asked me to marry him. We’ve been married now 6 years and have 2 beautiful children. 🙂
I would have to say that my tour of Thailand, Hong Kong and China was the most exciting trip that I have been on. Some of the beaches that we went to were just breath taking! The fabulous temples that we visits was also very different from anything I have ever seen. The culture, people, and food was just a great eye opening experience. Definitely a trip that I would never forget.
I have always wanted to visit New Orleans.
My dream trip is to visit Germany and Ireland! I’m a genealogist and these two countries are where my dominant ancestors are from. It may sound gory but I want to see the catacombs! LOL!
I have yet to do any major international travel (I’ve been to Canada!) and we don’t venture too far out of our box when it comes to vacations…but I would love, love, love to visit Ireland one day 🙂
It’s hard to pick a favorite memory:-) my favorite city I visited is Paris, but favorite memory is probably seeing koalas in Australia!
Unfortunately, I’ve never been anywhere very interesting. However, it’s always been a dream of mine to visit Ireland!
I would love to travel to Italy. It’s on my bucket list and my absolute dream to go to that beautiful country.
I don’t think I’ve had a amazing travel experience…yet 😉 I did, however, recently dream I was on plane going to Paris, but somehow ended up in Australia, which was even better! My dream vacation is to go to Australia ir Ireland one day 🙂
I haven’t had the chance to do a lot of traveling but I would love to go to Scotland, Paris, Rome and New Zealand.
My four month vacay…errr I mean deployment tour to Qatar. Best experience ever! Made some wonderful friends and ran into a lot of old friends as well, not to mention we got into some crazy shenanigans. I still keep in touch with everyone I met.
I haven’t done much traveling, but my dream is to travel Europe. Mainly Italy, France, and Germany.
15 days travel throughout Europe. Starting in paris ending in Venice.
I would love to go anywhere but here. Born and raised in sunny Cali and haven’t been outside the desert. I would love to see all of Asia but flying on a plane would be a challenge coz I get motion sickness. But I’ve heard back packing thru Europe is an awesome experience but then again how would I get there? I guess I’m stuck seeing the same tourist attractions in LA once again =(
I would love to visit Belize.
I am so excited to read this book. I spent a year in Spain in high school as a exchange student. So while I I’d not have an experience as the characters in the book I can’t wait to read about her adventures in SPAIN!
My best travel experience was when I went to Saint Johns New Brunswick for the 2003 Canada Winter games when I was 16. I was there to compete in fencing. It was the best experience of my life. All I had to do was eat, fence, hang out with some of my best friends in the whole world and meet other people passionate about the same sport I was so passionate about. As someone who generally feels like she’s always a couple beats off “the norm”, it was amazing! Of course it helps that I came home with a silver medal, and there may have been something about a cute boy from Nova Scotia……
My most amazing trip was to Europe. Two weeks of traveling through Switzerland, France, Austria and Germany….it was wonderful!
The Grand Canyon, just the awe of it. I could only imagine what the initial settlers thought when they came across it for the first time.
I haven’t had the opportunity to travel very much but my dream vacation would be a trip to Australia.
Mine was a girls trip to Puerto Rico a couple years ago. We went to the Bioluminescent Bay and swam in the water. It was amazing!
I spend 6 weeks in Italy and it was Amazing !!!!
In a couple of years, my boyfriend and I are hoping we will be able to visit Greece. His family is originally from there and it would definitely be a memorable experience for the both of us! Or perhaps London or Barcelona. I honestly cannot wait till we are able to travel internationally so we can get a glimpse of the different cultures outside of the United States. 🙂
My most memorable trip was to NYC. My sister, husband and myself, went in on a 5 star hotel for two nights (too expensive for us to pay on our own)
All of my most memorable trips would be to NYC, but this one was the best. I walked into our amazing room, took my shoes off, and ended up stepping on a sliver of glass. On our way out to see the city, I stopped by the front desk to request maid service to vacuum. After hearing of my glass incident, the immediately upgraded our stay to a better room. I didn’t think tge rooms could GET any better!! They also gave us a $30 credit to use at one of their restaurants- my sister and I used it for breakfast (which meant sharing a tiny $30 breakfast sampler plate!)
I think this trip was the most memorable, because we really could afford none of it- but managed to pretend we could for one awesome weekend. If you could’ve seen our faces when we were leaving, and realized the hotel garage/valet parking wasn’t free- and ended up racking up $70 over the weekend. Oops!
I think they call that a “comedy of errors”?
In the Spring of 2005, my boyfriend (husband now), daughter, siblings, and parents all traveled out to California for two weeks (there was a total of 10 of us). During our trip we spent loads of quality time with our family members, and my daughter and boyfriend were able to meet my family for the first time. This was such a lovely experience for my daughter to meet her Great-Great-Grandmother, Great Grandparents, Great Aunts and Uncles, and a boat load of second and third cousins.
On our ventures we traveled up and down the Northern Californian Coast line, where we stopped to see the Worlds Longest Running Light bulb, which is located at the Livermore Fire Station. This was an experience in itself. We also traveled to Santa Cruz where we spent 4 days eating fresh seafood, swimming in the ocean, enjoying the sea lions on the wharf, and riding the rides on the Boardwalk. We also hopped over to Monterey for a day at the Aquarium, where we were hoping to see the Great White Shark, only to find out it had been released back into Pacific. But that is ok, we spent hours wondering around the Aquarium soaking everything up. My daughter still talks about this, almost 9 yrs later. Next, we went and had a late lunch at Bubba Gumps, where my boyfriend (again hubby now) wiped the employees clean of their tokens for the Forrest Gump Trivia Game. We had the whole restaurant in hysterics and the employees too.
As we ventured back north, we traveled into Wine Country, again this was a new experience for my boyfriend. He was in awe, as were the rest of us. (If you have a bucket list, add Napa Valley to it—so gorgeous.) We also traveled into Reno, NV to visit more family members, and soak up the rays during the day, and to gamble at night. We took my daughter, along with my sisters and brother into Circus Circus where we spent countless hours and dollars having a blast.
Eventually we had to end our two week trip, but not before a huge gathering was had up in the hills of Northern California, where we were merry, wild, and full of love and food.
This is by far my greatest traveling experience, ever. But the funny thing is, when I was 14 we traveled across the country from Northern California to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and at the time that was my favorite experience. Thank you very much for the chance at this giveaway, and allowing me to reminisce on some very wonderful and happy times! PS I loved everything about Love, in English. Vera and Mateo turned me into a pile of goo and mush!! <3
My girlfriend and I hopped in my little convertable for a trip down the Oregon/California coast! We were both running from getting our hearts broken and figured a road trip would help (by the way, it worked)!!! As we were cruising along, a car full of men decided to see if we might be interested. They followed us and tried to get us to pull over so we could hang out with them. We were on a girl power mission and as adorable as they were, we stayed the course, took in the beautiful coast air, mended our hearts and had an amazing time!!!
When I was younger my dad was in the Marine corps. Back in 1995 we loved in Naples, Italy. While there my parents decided that we would tour the European country side. We ended up going to Germany and of course since my sister and I were kids so my parents took us to the wave pool in chemsy… (I think that is how you spell it!! Lol). So after a fun filled day of salt water indoor swimming my sister and I went to shower off in the (omg unisex) shower room. So since I was a preteen I went to shower in the very last stall that had NO door or curtain!!! (Yea I am completely American because all the Germans had no problem letting their stuff “air out”). So while trying to maintain my modesty in the doorkess stall I kept my bikini on and tried to wash while facing the back corner… Lol about mid shower I felt something drop into my hair and hands start washing my hair then someone tried to untie my top! Shocked I turned around to see two old German woman trying to shower me. Scared out of my mind I started yelling for my mom. One of the German woman luckily spoke English and explained that they were concerned for me because I was not washing properly.. Lol I told them I was America and very shy so after the woman finished washing my hair they left me to my own devices and I had my mom block the door so I could shower in peace!! Needless to say I never showered in a washroom in Europe again!!!
I love to go to beach destinations. Went to Bahamas a few years ago and did a drift snorkel–with sharks and stingrays–with my husband. By the way, I can’t swim to save my life, so it’s very awkward and I was a bit nervous, of course. So I got out in the ocean a ways and couldn’t find my husband anywhere! I’d already seen the sharks, so I kept wondering “surely a shark didn’t get him, right?” So I had to drift and panic about another half hour or more and just assume he bailed and went back to shore. Which he did, thankfully. He’s a great swimmer, but had no experience snorkeling whereas I stayed on the surface and relied on my vest (stupid, huh?). So anyway, he lived. I didn’t get any pictures because he had the camera….you know, because he can actually swim. Oh well, it was certainly an experience!
Thanks for this giveaway!
Just this past Easter I went to Monmouth, Illinois. This little town in the middle of farm country in the middle of no where. I’m from Canada so I had to take a flight (an INDIRECT flight – ugh those are the worst) to get to the airport.
Well, the reason why I was making this trip out into the middle of nowhere from where I lived in the big city was because I was meeting one of my online girl friends for the FIRST TIME EVER <3. We met in a forum two years ago and have been best friends since. We talk every day, watch movies together online, play video games together, and send each other Christmas gifts. I was so excited to meet her.
All we did all week was just hang out together, go thrifting, used book hunting, watch more movies and play video games, but it was one of the best, most relaxing vacations I'd ever taken. She's meant so much to me in these past two years I don't know what I'd do without her.
I turned 40 in 2009 and really wanted to spend my birthday in Maui (a big dream). So we planned a family vacation (myself, boyfriend and our daughter) leaving Canada on Halloween Day for two weeks of bliss. Two weeks before we left it was Canadian Thanksgiving and my boyfriend proposed to me (which is another funny story). We ended up getting married in Maui with just the two of us and our daughter (who was 7 at the time) and it was simply magical. I will never forget how beautiful the people who helped us with our wedding were, how kind and loving they were to us. We could not have asked for a better wedding, honeymoon and birthday celebration. My husband tells me that he wants to spend his 50th birthday in Maui so the saving has begun!
I would love to go to an island. Sit I beach, sip drinks with paper umbrellas. And watch the hunky towel boys 😉
Sadly, I haven’t been anywhere truly amazing. I would LOVE to visit Italy though! 🙂
My most amazing trip was to Florida, mainly because it was the only time I sucked it up and actually got on a plane! It was also the farthest I’ve ever been away from home, but I plan on changing that soon!
My most amazing trip was to Jamaica with my husband. We split the trip and played tourists for the first half, and island explorers for the second half – complete with backpacking and camping in some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
I went on a cruise last year. Grand Turk was the first stop, I went to Margaritaville and had a Bahama mama. One drink and I was drunk, when I got back on the ship I was singing Britney Spears in the hallway. Next stop was Dominican Republic where a man was standing with a gun, I didn’t get off. On to Curaçao, beautiful island. Last was Aruba and I didn’t want to come home. The last night on board I drank a kiss on the lips, piña colada and took an Ambien. I don’t remember much after that.
My favorite memories of traveling are the family trips to the Philippines. It was the trip I looked forward to during the summer. Lots of trips to the beach!
I really want to visit Malta someday!!
Thanks for the giveaway.
I actually got married on a hotel balcony at sunset in Mexico. It was beautiful and one of my favorite memories ever. Thanks for the giveaway!
I have always wanted to go to Italy!!
Id love to visit Scotland
My most amazing trip was to China. The Great Wall of China was unbelievable! And the culture is so different from ours!
Going to Florida my senior year of high school
The most amazing travel experience I ever had was in 2012. My husband and I took our 4 teen/YA kids down Route 66, (IN to Vegas) in a minivan, finally landing in Honolulu, HI for 2 weeks!! It was pretty fly by the seat of your pants. (And FYI, never travel with three boys in a van whose air conditioner just stopped working in the middle of June on an Oklahoma highway. One word! Pungent!!!) Anyway, all we had to do ease make it to the airport on time. For a week we traveled the old highway taking in Americana the entire way. The people you encounter are more than interesting. One that sticks out in my head is the old Indian man selling jewelry along side the road. I imagined that he was a spirit guy, disappearing after we left. I bought a pair of earrings, so I know he was there. Right? I spent my birthday at the Grand Canyon, then we all boarded a plane to HI the next day. Spent 2 weeks visiting my awesome Hawaiian ohana!!!!
It was a whirlwind trip on a shoestring budget. Wouldn’t change a thing! We had the time of our lives!
I haven’t been on any amazing trips…yet! Currently readin Love, in English & LOVING It!! Thanks for the giveaway 🙂
I vacationed a couple of years ago in Napa Valley with my husband and a bunch of our friends. We visited several wineries and vineyards and did a little shopping. Needless to say, I got a little tipsy and can’t remember everything but from the pictures and videos taken, it looked like I had a lot of fun. Lol! Great giveaway!
My favorite overseas memory is my senior trip to the coast of Spain (we were stationed in Germany with the Army for 5 years!) My class arranged hotels in Lloret Del Mar, and I ended up (still unknown to this day, 10 years later!) how my roommate and I got rooms in the 4* hotel while the rest of the class got not nearly as nice hotel rooms in another location. We were there for a week and did exploring of the city and surrounding area, including a tour of Barcelona. I plan on going back someday, I still have postcards I picked up as souvenirs 🙂
The place that I would love to visit would be South Korea . I would love to see all the historical buldings and eat delicious food and go to karaoke places. Their amusement parks. Just immerse myself in the country and go to concerts. Its a dream of mine to go to with my closest friends
My best friend and I traveled to Hawaii in 2004. We had the best time. It’s honestly the most beautiful place I’ve been to.
When I was a sophomore in high school we went to New York City on a choir trip. We took a charter bus from Minnesota and drove 23 hours to the lovely city. I had sooooo much fun! I would love to go back now that I’m an adult and reexperience some of the fun places and more!
My husband and myself have 5 young children so the most amazing trips we’ve been on are with them. 🙂 La Jolla Beach in CA, Disneyland, Sea World. Nothing too exciting but our kids love it!
I love all of Karina Halles books! She can do no wrong in my eyes! I have not traveled far yet but my dream is to travel to Ireland to visit all of my relatives that live there.
I haven’t had the luxury of traveling much, but the absolute best trip was when my husband and I drove to Estes Park CO to get married on a mountain. We had 3 days in Estes Park, which is absolutely gorgeous, where we stayed at the Stanley. One day we used our brand new GPS to navigate through the mountians and we joked that the possessed piece of technology was trying to kill us after it led us on a fake road with a very sharp drop off. We spent 4 more days in Denver and surrounding areas just doing everything we could. It was a week away from our 1 1/2 year old, and quite an adventure for is!
A month after September 11, my husband decided we needed to travel. It was something out of the blue and at that time no one wanted to even touch a plane. But a month later, we and 3 of our dear friends decided to visti Juan Dolio in Dominican Republic. My first time on a plane. And let metell you, I discovered I hate flying. Anyways. ..I wont ever forget that experience. Two reasons for it. First, I remember one night at the beach, no one was there, only the 5 of us. And the boys were joking as always. And, you know those commercials about medicines that are all pretty and end with a nice voice saying “This can cause stroke, kidney falure…” you know, they mention all this posibles effects and you can’t help to think the remedy sounds worse than the condition. Anyway our group was, three guys and two girls, including myself and husband. The other girl with us is one of those persons that is always peeing. We go out and, for example, in the movies she would go before the movie, in the middle or the movie amd yes, even when the movie ended. So the boy started to make fun of her, and they came up with a commercial. One of the guys was the actor, my husband amd the other guy were “the voices”. They created the medication called “meoflex”(probably would make sense and be fun in english, basically they took one of the words that describe urination in Spanish and added the “flex” to make it sound, all formal lol), so, they told her you need some “meoflex” and they proceed to show us how happy the person took the meaoflex was, how free cause he didn’t need to pee so much amd he was running in the sand, arms extended, a person in bliss. But as the commercial of that kind goes, they started to mention the secondside effects. Like , falling (our friend fall in the sand), diarrhea (our friend hold his tummy and ass), fainting (he again fell in the sand)…anyway, I think you get the picture by now lol It was one of the funniest nights ever. We laughed so so so much, acting like kids.
Now the second thing thst made this vacation amazing. That same girl andthe guy that was playing the actor. Well, they liked each others. And I spent months. MONTHS. Manipulating both of them. They each confined in me and in return I would make…situations happen. Like making sure they knew what the other liked, or inviting them to go out with husband and me. In that vacation I told the guy he needed to move his shy ass and ask her out cause a guy in college was interested in her. So I convinced him to talk to her. He promised he was goin to. With her? I told her I believe he was in love with her, and convinced her to talk to him.
Basicly (sp) I manipulated them. And they got together. And next July they will celebrate her anniversary #8.
Sorry. My post is long. But is your fault for making remember all this good things lol
Thanks for the giveaway!
Hmmm I don’t know about my travel experiences. They aren’t that amazing lol! But I know that I’d love to go to Scotland and visit the Highlands! 😀
I spent my senior of high school as a Rotary Exchange Student in Cologne, Germany. It was an experience of a lifetime!
I haven’t traveled much and the only placed I’ve visited outside of the US is Niagara Falls, Canada. I would love to visit Ireland someday!
My boyfriend and I are talking about going to Germany after he graduates from college. I have never been so excited to go anywhere in my entire life! He was born there, and my family is from there so it’s going to be an experience for the both of us
I had an awesome trip in college to Germany and Austria. Finally got to put some of my three years studying German to use! I have dreamed of going to the UK for an extended vacation. Passed up two opportunities to study there, but for good reason each time.
I got to swim in this Cenote in Mexico, With the ancient temples surrounding it.
It was amazing! I hope I get another chance!!!
Link to the Cenote
My favorite trip was to New York City! I would love to go back!
I’ve only been out of the country twice to visit my family in Greece when I was very little. I remember riding a donkey down the hillside in Athens and wouldn’t eat anything but cream of mushroom soup and French fries while we were there. I’d love to take a break from my life and travel Europe.
My most amazing travel experience was my honeymoon to Hawaii. Talk about paradise!! The weather is always perfect, the scenery is just gorgeous and there are so many fun things to do. Especially when you are there with the love of your life. I don’t think that any other vacation will ever be as amazing as that one
I haven’t gone traveling outside of Canada but I want to go to a number of places. I want to visit New York (and meet all the authors I can – get my books signed, which would be SO AWESOME) and a few bookstores in the US, London, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia 🙂
My most memorable trip was a recent roadtrip from Michigan to Florida. Two vehicles, nine people who ranged in age frrom 11 to 62 years old. Many bathroom breaks and pit stops. Worth it??? Oh heck yes! The white sandy beaches and Florida sunsets made every mile of it worth it. And the shelling on Sanibel and Captiva Islands? I was able to check that off my bucket list.
Travel Story? Gosh! So many…First one that comes to mind is getting stuck in the snow outside of Aspen when my husband spotted one last patch of snow in the mountains and decided we “could make it”…NOT! I was in shorts and flip-flops; we were there for six hours. Long, long day….Still married, so all is good!
My most interesting travel experience was a trip to Rome, Italy, 6 years ago. I went there to learn Italian. And it was amazing. I met so many amazing people (we still talk today-thank god for Facebook, lol) and I had the time of my life. I saw so many interesting places, I`ve learned a lot and I`ve met A LOT of hot guys 😛
I`m actually thinking to go to Spain next year 🙂 Who knows, maybe I`ll meet my Mateo 😉
Thank you for the giveaway! I`m not from US, but in case if I win I`ll give my friend`s address (she is in the US), because this book it truly amazing – one of my favourites of this year <3
I would love to travel to Scotland & Ireland!
Thanks for the amazing giveaway, I am dying to read Love, in English!!!
well my dream vacation of all time and has been since I was young is Australia. I loved koala’s and would love to see them face to face.
To this day, my most memorable travel experience is the one which took place in Niagra Falls (Canadian side) when I was about 10 or 11. It was the annual family summer vacation to the east coast to see my dad’s family, and we swung up to Canada. I had never been anywhere that English wasn’t spoken, never been around anyone who didn’t speak it (I was very sheltered and naive at that age). We stopped in a gift shop because my parents could never pass by a shiny window without stopping (lol). It was very busy and packed with all kinds of people. I somehow was separated from my family and…well, I recall it as being swept up in, like, an F5 tornado of REALLY loud, drunk French Canadians! LOL!! At the time, it was NOT funny! Remember, very sheltered and naive 10 or 11 year old! I couldn’t understand a word being said, and I could NOT separate myself from this…wild pack of French Canadians! I was at the ‘center of the storm’, so to speak. All of a sudden, this hand reaches in and grabs me, pulling me to safety (teehee). My dad <3 I was NEVER so glad to see my daddy in my entire life! Ha! I clung to him like some sort of monkey and would NOT let go 🙂 I just remember repeating, "You told me they talk like us here!", over and over again. LMAO!! It's so funny to me now, but it was SO anything BUT funny at the time 😉 Snort!
I haven’t traveled much but would love to see London, Greece, Spain, Italy…pretty much anywhere 🙂
I would love to visit Ireland! Loved this book:)
My most memorable travel experience would be our honeymoon trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. In fact we were there this week in 1982.,,,just celebrated our 32nd anniversary. And to make it even more “eventful” President Ford came to Honolulu to play golf that week and wouldn’t you know he stayed at our hotel. We were asked to move to another floor because he was on our floor but Hubby refused to move since we had been there already for 6 days ….pretty weird walking out in the hall seeing Secret Service guys….thank God he was only there for 2 days…We were gone island hopping when he left. One of my favorite beaches!
I would love to go to Italy!
When I got married. I live in Illinois and wanted a beach wedding. So we got married on Captiva Island in Florida. In order to get my marriage license we had to go down there a few days before the wedding. We stayed there for about 5 days in total with our family. It was a blast. I even drank margarita’s in the pool just a few hours before the ceremony.
Then we hopped on another plane and stayed at an all inclusive resort in the Bahama’s for the actual honeymoon. Two vacations in one. It was awesome.
I wish I had a story like some of the above ones, but I don’t. I have never traveled 🙁 no honeymoon, no trips south 🙁 I would love to though. I would love to go down south, lay on the beach..anywhere tropical would do. I would also love to visit England, my Dad is from there so it would be awesome to see where he come from! Thank you for this giveaway!
Haven’t been any where yet. I would love to go visit Rome though!!!
I visited Prague before I got married. I thought what a romantic place. I’d like to go back and experience it again now that I’m in love.
On top of the world on the Mauna Kea summit and wandering Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii.
I got the amazing opportunity to move to sunny Florida and work at Disney World! It was the best time of my life and Disney World is my favorite place to travel to.
One of the most fascinating & fun trips I’ve been on was in the summer of 2012– on the back of my husbands motorcycle. We rode from Maryland to California & back. 8,000+ miles, and stayed in a different city every night. We took 3 weeks for this trip & I’m pretty sure since we survived that we can survive anything. We absolutely loved it & I still ‘get that itch’ to travel –so far I’ve traveled to Hawaii & Alaska recently.
Taking my 2 year old son to NYC. It was so fun to see everything through his eyes, the Firefighter’s Museum, the dinosaurs at The Natural History Museum, everything. Looking down from the Empire State Building, he comments “It’s just like a map.” We had an unforgettable time.
I always dreamed of going on a trip to Europe! I also wanted to try hitchiking. A friend done it locally and I wanted to try it as well. I just hope I get the courage to try it as well.
My favorite travel experience would have to be when I visited NYC for the first time. I remember being in awe walking out of Grand Central Station and being transported into a world I had seen only on tv or in movies. I stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of Madison Square Garden and watched people fetching yellow cabs, swarms of people walking about, men arguing with each other in a stereotypical New Yorker way… it was almost unreal. It was honestly exactly what I expected but even cooler. I loved every sight, shopping trip and every meal. As cheesy as it sounds, I’m glad I got to experience the touristy aspects of the city on my first trip. I’d love to go back one day and explore more of it and maybe see some of the unknown NYC.
Well the most memorable trip had to be Book Bash 2013. It was lovely meeting all the authors. If I could go anywhere Greece.
I would love to travel to Italy…all the pictures I have seen, it looks like a very beautiful country.
Reading the book brought back my own memories of Spain and its people. My son has lived there for over 5 years teaching English to elementary school children. I was lucky enough to visit him a couple of years ago and had my own personal tour guide. My favorite memory was walking him down the isle and standing up for him in his wedding to his beautiful wife!
Paris with my best friend when we were in our early 20s. We set out to go sightseeing and within 15 minutes we were accosted by a group of French young men who wanted to show us around. Spent the week being “entertained” by our new French friends. Ooh la la!
I’ve never been anywhere outside of the Midwest, I would absolutely love to visit New Zealand or Italy they both have been a dream of mine since I was little. But I do have one amazing memory from when I went to visit Chicago for the first time, my ex and I went to the Chicago Botanical Garden and it was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking, we spent the entire day there. I loved walking in the garden, finding and seeing all the secrets and different areas. I cannot wait to visit it again, the next time I go I would love to take my daughter.
My favorite travel experience is when I got to travel to London for 10 days, about 7 years ago. I absolutely fell in love with England and especially London. I say that I definitely left my heart in London. Reading LiE took me back to that experience a little! I loved it!!! =D <3
Thank you for this awesome giveaway, Maryse!! =)
I want to go to Australia and hike through the outback. I want to dive and see the coral reefs. I want to go see the Sydney opera house and the city life. There are so many things to experience that it is hard to specify what to do. I do know it would be amazing and enriching to see the continent.
One of the most stunning/shocking memories was when we were stationed in Germany. Having my 1 yr old child posing in front of the Berlin Wall, was a reality slap. Knowing this wall was separating families. The most romantic was the Space Needle, that was husband and I visited on our one year anniversary.
I spent 6 weeks in Israel when I was 16. It was an amazing trip and I met some amazing people.
I’ve never really been anywhere and until my kids (there are 5 of them) are grown will probably never happen, but if I could go anywhere I think it would have to be either Ireland or Scotland.
Sigh I loved this book so much. I’m in such a book daze, days later.
I swear I’ve never thought about visiting Spain but since this book I’ve been looking at places to visit there. It makes me wish i retained at least some of the years of spanish I had to take in highschool and college.
I used to travel a lot when I was little but I barely remember. I’ve never traveled outside of the US though so I’d love to visit Ireland and Greece and Italy….so many places.
I have been lucky in the travel department in one aspect because I have been able to travel all over the United States (I of course am a U.S. resident) and into Canada twice. There are only 4 or 5 states I have NOT been to. Some of these were road trips, where no specific destination was in mind or several were sought out but others popped up along the way. Then other times it was when I would fly out to specific places, sometimes with a detour and other times not.
I would have to say though that my most memorable trip wouldn’t be because of where I went but who I went with, my daughter. Now when she was little we went to places such as the beach for a couple days, you know….easy places? However, a couple years ago (she is 9 years old now) she was old enough to experience everything. Being with her and seeing her reactions was what made this particular trip so wonderful. We went all over the New England states, and when I saw all over I mean it. It was a road trip. We went to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky…..We even went into Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Quebec, Montreal). We did everything from Niagara Falls activities, to going to the beach, to hiking, to adventures in sightseeing, to tours, to going to zoos/aquariums, to visiting some family, to Hershey’s theme park, to the Gettysburg’s battlefield, and more. So the reason this was my favorite was being able to share it with my daughter who is my world.
Now that being said, I would love to visit Greece, Egypt, Italy, Ireland, and other tropical or European places. I have not been able to leave North American yet.
Thanks for the chance to win!!! I absolutely LOVED this book, would love to have it in paperback.
I’ve been to a few exotic locations (Tahiti, Paris, London) but the one vacation that stand out in my mind is when my husband and I were in Florida for a long weekend and it rained. Every. Single. Day. We found every museum there was in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale are and had a great time. Of course it was a beautiful sunny day the day we were leaving.
Thanks for the giveaway – would love to visit Spain.
I studied abroad in Florence for an entire year!!!! It was amazing!!! I traveled all throughout Europe. I wish I could go back!!!
My best friend and I had an amazing trip to New Zealand and Australia. Pre 9/11, when we were on the plane in Australia the flight attendant asked if we would like to go to the cockpit. We though he was joking. But sure enough, just before decent, he asked if we were ready to go to the cockpit. We got to sit behind the pilots listening with headphones as they landed the big 737 into Melbourne. It was surreal!!
I would love to visit Spain! My favorite trip so far has been to Rome.
I love Karina Halle! I’ve been looking forward to this book for months. I’m halfway through it now and savoring every beautiful, angst-filled, sexy, heartbreaking, sweet moment of it.
My most memorable travel experience was a vacation to Mexico two years ago. My man and I have been together for 26 years. We had a son when we were very young and spent the last couple decades raising him and being responsible grown-ups. Our idea of travel and vacation was always family camping/backpacking/fishing trips throughout our son’s childhood. Believe it or not, my man and I had never taken an actual vacation just the two of us. Maybe a weekend here or there, but never an actual vacation to travel just the two of us. So two years ago, we finally took two weeks and traveled around the coast between Cancun Mexico down to Belize. We found fun roadside bars, cute little cabanas to stay in, stunning ruins to explore, and very secluded hidden beaches (very secluded 🙂 ). We also found sweet reminders of how much fun we have together and why we still want to spend the next 26 years together. So much so that we finally got married last summer.
Last month I was in Paris with my sister and we had an amazing time. The weather was beautiful, the people are super nice and the food was out of this world. Except for this fondue place we went to that had terrible lol But what it lacked in food in more than made it in ambiance. The patrons there were so amazing. It was a really eclectic mix of people from all over the world. So it made it all worth it. I would go back to Paris in a heartbeat! I absolutely was enchanted by the character, architecture but most of all the french way of life. 🙂
I’d always wanted to go to England but never thought I’d ever be able to, and then 10 years ago I was given the opportunity when a friend of mine on the internet, who lives in England, invited me (and paid my way) there. It was amazing! The main reason for the trip was to attend an album release party which was a bit weird for me because I’m not a party person. LOL But for half the week that I was there I stayed in a suit at the Grosvenor House in London but then at my friends house (in Oxford) for the remainder of the trip.
This past summer I participated in a volunteer English conversation program, much like the one in this amazing novel, in Recife, Brazil. It was an unbelievable experience. In six weeks I not only was able to travel through much of NE Brazil, but was able to experience the Brazilian culture. I vividly remember many of the conversations I had with my students and I will always cherish my time there.
This coming summer I will be living in rural India, working and teaching in a children’s home. And next spring I will be spending my last semester of my undergraduate studies in Salamanca, Spain! This book has easily cracked my favorites of all-time (more than 5 stars for me!). Reading Love, in English was even more of a special experience as I will be in the same area of Spain come next year. I am very thankful for the time I have spent abroad and can’t wait to see where my travels take me!
I’m terrified to fly In high school fir choral competition we went to Washington DC my sophomore year, Nasheville TN my junior year and Altanta senior year but I missed that one because I was having surgery only ear Sine those adventure Pigeon Forge TN and Myrtle Beach SC oh and Charleston have been it I’m terrified to fly but if I could afford it and was knocked out my dream trip would be to Israel The Holy Land Tour with my pastor at church He guides these tours a couple times a year Just to see the places Jesus walked and taught and rose again would be amazing ….Thanks Maryse for the chance and fir your amazing blog You keep Mr in books I love and you introduced me to my first at the time Indie Author and Travis Maddox My always can’t seem to replace him with another first book I read in a day and for that and all the other books I’m grateful
Took my 2 boys and husband to Tokyo, Japan. So amazing…my boys loved it. Had so much fun. The kids were amazed at the culture and people.
I’m probably biased as my mom’s from Madrid and having been there I have to say it’s a beautiful city. I can’t wait to read this book- she’s a very talented author and so thoughtful to share these pictures and insight:)
I always love it when I travel but scariest one would be when I was an immersion student in Switzerland.
We read the bus timetable wrong and missed the last bus back to town. We were stuck at a deserted but gorgeous lake having a picnic and ended up having to try and hitchhike back to town. It was getting dark and eventually we started freaking ourselves out so much that we caved and called our German teacher to come save us. It was hilarious and amazing and embarrassing. I loved it.
P.S. Karina, your book was AMAZEBALLS. It crushed me and made me feel all warm and fuzzy at the same time, I had whiplash by the end of it. <3
A road trip around Scotland. My friend and I lived out of the boot/trunk of my car for 2 weeks. We’d go somewhere, decide what we wanted to do the following day, then book somewhere for the following night. Sometimes we’d turn up somewhere then book our night. Very carefree, fun holiday.
My most amazing trip was visiting France and Switzerland as part of a group when I was in high school. It was my first trip without my parents and first time outside the USA. Unforgettable!
Wow I haven’t done much traveling. Best was probably we took a plane to BC to visit my sister in law and family then drove to Edmonton for a friends wedding. Was a beautiful trip!
I would love to visit Italy and see my families history and fall deeply in love with a gorgeous Italian man, but that would have had to been before the husband and kids. 😉
My favorite trip was when my husband and I spent one week in Spain with friends that lived there, then 3 days in Italy, one in my mom’s town and one week in Germany with family that flew there too.
i got to live in Spain for 3 years and while i was hesitant to move there in the beginning it was an awesome time and experience, the people were very friendly and fun to be around and they really do know how to relax and enjoy instead of stressing like we do:) i do have to say i was not crazy about my 14 yr old son hanging out on the topless beaches but he quite enjoyed himself:)
I have many awesome travelling experiences, but my favorite one (our favorites) are visiting Santorini, Greece. It is the most amazing, magical place. Would love to go again soon! Thanks for the giveaway!
In 2007, 3 months after our first child was born, my husband was stationed at Aviano AB, in Italy! So, newly married, with a brand new baby we set off for Italia! For 2 southern born & breed kiddo’s this was a HUGE culture shock and a big wake up call that we were, in fact all the other had! There were no parents to help with a new baby and no close friends to help with love battles! It was just us three. We experienced the Italian markets, foods, wines, everything about its culture. We traveled to Pisa in Tuscany, Venice, Rome, and Verona. We lived tucked up under the Alps and learned to be a family with no outside influences in that amazing country! It was hard & stressful, but now 8 Years later, we would give almost anything to be back there!
My favorite trip was California.
My cousin/best bud flew to San Francisco. We rented a car and drove to wine country. We saw beautiful countryside vineyards. Leaving our families behind, we thoroughly enjoyed some girl talk, sipping wine, shopping and eating some amazing food!
After College, I went to Europe for three months. I staid with a friend in Switzerland and took German classes in the motning. I visited Germany for three weeks and finished in Paris. My most amazing memories are of taking the tram in Zurich and walking aroung in Paris!
I went on a 2 week tour of Europe with a group of people Italy, Rome, France it was really amazing and Book Bash last year was my favorite vacation in a long time.
I would love to go to Tuscany, Italy 🙂
My now husband an I took a year after I graduated from college to backpack through SE Asia. The best part of the trip was trekking through the Himalayas together. That experience of traveling together laid the foundation for a wonderful marriage. I could relate to so much of Vera’s foreigner in a foreign land experience. I absolutely adored this book and the cover is AMAZING. I’d love to win a signed copy. Thanks for the chance!
I would love to visit Ireland and meet a hot guy with a brogue in one of the pubs! OMG! It would be spectacular!
The most amazing place I’ve been is Jamaica on my honeymoon. The place I would most like to visit is New Zealand.
I’ve been to Alaska sat in a hot tub while it snowed. Beautiful. Now I’m older I would love to visit Europe
I don’t travel often, but I think the best trip I went on was a cruise to the Bahamas. First trip my husband and I took alone without kids! I would love to go to Europe next! Thanks for the chance to win Maryse!
I haven’t been able to travel really, but I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt–that would be amazing!
I haven’t traveled anywhere cool, but I really want to go to Ireland. My husband’s family is from there and I would love to see where his family started. Thanks for the giveaway!
Went went to Cozumel, Mexico and swam with the dolphins. I grabbed onto the dolphins dorsal fin for him to take me across the water in which my bathing suit bottoms came all the way down showing Mexico the whitest butt they have ever seen before! There was specators watching along with all the people doing this tour and it was even on the DVD we purchased, so the whole group will always see the big white butt or full moon on a gorgeous dolphin filled day!!
I want to go to Spain :”> The scenery itself and I could use some of my broken Spanish there 🙂 I think I would really love it there. 😀 I would also say England but between the two, I think I’m more inclined to visit Spain and indulge with their culture! 😀
My dream is to one day lay on a blanket, in a park in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower in the background and read for the entire afternoon!
When you visit Goa you forget you’re in India until you see the cows on the beach. A British couple found a cow under their umbrella when they returned from lunch. We were one row behind them in our beach chairs and listened to them try to shoo away the cow. The lady said to the man, “Why don’t you wallop him?” He replied, “I’m afraid he’ll wallop me back!” We suggested they try moving the umbrella, which they did. The cow turned around and started coming our way. I got so scared I fell off my beach chair! It was hilarious!
would visit Brazil
I would LOVE to visit the whole UK! In my dream world I would just take a long month and just go crazy in the UK 🙂
I spent time in Italy on a trip about 5 years ago and of all the places I visited on that trip I loved Italy the best. The language is fairly easy to
pick up. Couldn’t speak it, but ended up understanding much of what they were saying. A beautiful, carefree, and romantic place and the people are very happy to help and speak to you (unlike many other European countries). Actually I think I would be very happy living there and there are no other places outside the USA except Canada that I would say that about.
I don’t travel often (have not been on vacation in years) but my dream destination is Rio de Janeiro…hopefully someday I’ll make it there!!! I can’t wait to see this beautiful city on television during the upcoming World Cup and summer Olympics.
I have to say that of all the trips I’ve made in the past visiting Asheville was ine of the best!
My husband and I were in need of a little getaway from the kids, and Asheville was just beautiful, fun, amazing dining!! Loved it!!!
So, no amazing travel destinations. My favorite trip was Whistler B.C. in the summer. Beautiful. I do have a super embarrassing thing that happened on a trip to three Caribbean. My husband and I were snorkeling and there were a few other people near us. My husband was right in front of me. I decided it would be a great time to cop a feel, so put my hand up his swim trunks. He startled.. We popped up to the surface and there was some stranger smirking at me. My husband nowhere in sight. Just about died there. Muttered an apology and took off. So.. That was a very memorable trip for embarrassing reasons. My husband thought it was the funniest thing ever!!
I’ve never visited another country before. But I would love to travel around Europe. That would be awesome 🙂
We went to Colorado last summer and I must say that the Rocky Mountains are amazing, I loved everywhere we went in Colorado. Also loved NYC, completely the opposite of Colorado but so unique and so much fun
My favorite travel memory is my trip to Europe when I was 16yrs old with my grandparents (I’m in my late 20’s now). We went with a tour group to Germany, France, and England. I just remember being so thankful that they offered to take me because I had never left my home state before. They have both since passed, but I will always be so thankful that we got to spend that quality time together 🙂
Paris. Every morning getting on the Metro and choosing any stop that felt right at that moment. Breakfast of fabulous cafe and croissant, a lunch of a baguette and cheese. With wine. It was wonderful.
My most amazing travel experience was staying at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas in high school with my best friend and her family. We just had the best time there! I don’t think anything will ever beat that trip. I would love to go to Hawaii and Australia one day. Thanks!
I’ve always wanted to travel to Italy. I love history and and anything romance! I’ll just have to put it on my bucket list!! : )
Have travelled so many amazing wonderful places, but have to say the most memorable was Thailand where I met my husband. Turns out we both lived and worked in military in hawaii just 1 block from each other but had never met. Sooo hot, out of military, loving hawaii, and burning strong 9 years later! I never believed it could be sooo good!
My most memorable travel experience was from 2 years ago. It was my first time traveling over seas and I had the time of my life. I visited England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. I met some amazing people and was just blown away by the sights and cultures.
I’m not a big traveler, but I’ve always thought I would like to visit Italy one day…
I was in Cancun, Mexico with my two girlfriends. Our first night there I met a super hot guy in the hotel lobby bar. We started hanging out that week and his last night there he asked me to dinner. Our first date was in Cancun!
We got back to the states had a long distance relationship for four months and then I moved to where he lived. We have been married now for 13 years!
When I finished my first 4 years of college I was lucky enough to be able to travel Europe for 3 months, everything about that trip was unforgettable!
I can’t work out if this is too late or not, but my best travel experience was moving here. Until last September I was living in the UK, where I’m from. I was gutted when my husband got a job in San Francisco as I’m a home girl and was scared to move. Long story short, here we are in sunny california and it’s been half a year of firsts. First ski trip, first baseball game, first football game, kids’ first Mexican food, first road trip, first sunny Christmas. I’m having the time of my life, have met some amazing people and am so so grateful for he opportunity. Xx
Loved this book!! Just finished it and took the time to email Karina Halle to let her know. This is the first time ever I have felt si inclined to do so.. Let’s just say there is so much heart and soul put into this book and the more you got into the story the more connection I felt to both Mateo and Vera.