Our Freedom Years

Financial independence, early retirement & slow travel

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  • About Us
  • Welcome
  • Binge!
  • Popular
    • What’s New
    • Plan for Travel
    • Airbnb Living
    • Real Costs
    • Travel with Dogs
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Serbia
      • Slovakia
      • Spain
      • Ukraine
      • United Kingdom
    • Middle East
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Mexico
    • South America
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
    • Asia
      • Thailand
  • About Us
  • How Much To Budget For Two-Week Trip To Lviv, Ukraine
    Real Costs,  Ukraine

    How Much To Budget For Two-Week Trip To Lviv, Ukraine

    April 4, 2020 /

    When we arrived in Lviv, Ukraine, we were ready to indulge a little.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 0 Comments

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ourfreedomyears

Stephanie & Gillian
🌎 Traveled the world with our dogs
❤️ Now making a home in Ontario
⬇️ Watch our latest video
The final round of shots from our time in Tbilisi. The final round of shots from our time in Tbilisi. We just couldn't get enough of all those atmospheric mansions and apartment buildings as we wandered the neighbourhoods. If you haven't seen our video yet, it's a whirlwind sampler of Tbilisi highlights from our first day on the ground. You can check it out by clicking on the link in our profile.
It's our first full day in Tbilisi, and we're brin It's our first full day in Tbilisi, and we're bringing you along for the ride. Check out the full video on YouTube -- just click on the link in our profile to watch now.
We're back from our trip to the country of Georgia We're back from our trip to the country of Georgia, and what an adventure it was. This trip was exciting and interesting but also demanding in all kinds of unexpected ways. We're excited to share the entire journey with you, starting with a new video this Sunday. We're bringing you along for our first day in Tbilisi, including powering through some of the major sights, tucking into classic Georgian dishes, and a look at a truly spectacular Airbnb. See you then!
The final batch of photos from our beautiful 10-da The final batch of photos from our beautiful 10-day hike along the Cotswolds Way. This is a hike we'd recommend for anyone who wants to start off with a hearty English breakfast and then spend the day passing through some truly lovely countryside. The adorable lambs and spring blossoms are just a bonus. #cotswoldway #cotswolds
We spent 10 glorious days hiking along the Cotswol We spent 10 glorious days hiking along the Cotswolds Way in England.  To watch the full video, click on the link in our profile. #cotswoldway #cotswolds
We’re back from our 10-day springtime hike in En We’re back from our 10-day springtime hike in England, and here’s the good news: Contrary to expectations, it did not rain every single day of the hike.  Here’s the even better news: the Cotswolds is an absolutely beautiful corner of England, filled with quaint villages, rolling hills, and frolicking lambs (honestly, they really do frolic). It truly is a storybook landscape. And the best news of all: You can see it all for yourself in our latest YouTube video. That’s right, after a very lengthy hiatus from YouTube, we finally have a new video to share with you.  We knew going into the Cotswold Way that it would be particularly scenic and made sure to bring along our video equipment. The end product is a fun round up of the highs and lows of the Cotswold Way (including the costs, of course). And it’s coming your way this Sunday.
We said goodbye to the peace and quiet of rural Th We said goodbye to the peace and quiet of rural Thailand and flew into Bangkok for the final stop in our journey. Home for the next few days was a spacious room in the luxurious COMO Metropolitan Bangkok (which we snagged after extensive deal hunting).  Top priorities were the Grand Palace and the Jim Thompson House Museum, which I had somehow never visited before.The Grand Palace, as spectacular as the name suggests, has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam since the 18th century. Pro tip: get to the Grand Palace as soon as it opens since the crowds can be overwhelming to even the most seasoned travelers.  Our next stop was truly memorable. We both love touring historic homes that retain the original art and furnishings so the former residence of American entrepreneur and art collector Jim Thompson was an easy win. The home, built in a traditional Thai style, was so lovely that I would have been happy to move in immediately.  The theme for the rest of our time in Bangkok was self-indulgence. We made the mandatory visit to our favourite massage place in Bangkok; we snacked our way through the vast selection available at the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market; and we took part in one of our favourite Bangkok traditions: a buffet lunch at a luxury hotel. With that, our adventure came to an end. Our tour of Thailand’s greatest hits was everything we hoped it would be. We had impressed ourselves with the number of sights and activities that we managed to pack into the month while still leaving plenty of downtime for leisurely walks on the beach.
The highlights of our Thailand trip continue. Afte The highlights of our Thailand trip continue. After a week in Chiang Mai, we were ready to explore more of northern Thailand. We considered all the popular options: a visit to Pai, a favourite among backpackers; a hill tribe trekking experience; a road trip along the 600km Mae Song Loop.  In the end, we decided that what we wanted most was a brief sojourn in a beautiful setting, a taste of village life, and absolutely no exploitative elephant tourism. And we also wanted a relatively short drive from Chiang Mai as we didn’t relish the thought of spending hours on bumpy backroads.  We chose a short stay at the lovely Lisu Lodge, an eco-friendly boutique lodge surrounded by rice fields and orchards, just an hour away from Chiang Mai. We stayed in a room constructed with woven bamboo and took our meals in a lovely open-air dining room.  The lodge has a close, working relationship with a nearby village that is predominantly populated by the Lisu people. We were able to have a non-intrusive guided tour of the village and learn about the customs and lifestyle of this tribe.  Gillian also worked out a clever hack for our transportation to the lodge. Instead of booking a relatively expensive transfer from Chiang Mai, we joined a fun cooking class at @maetanglanna.thaicookeryschool, located in a nearby village. They picked us and our luggage up in the morning and then dropped us off at Lisu Lodge in the afternoon - all included in the cost of the cooking class.
Getting from A to B is always an adventure in Thai Getting from A to B is always an adventure in Thailand. We had a longtail boat ride to Haad Rin, dragged our suitcases across town, took a crowded ferry back to Samui, stayed in a forgettable hotel, and then made our way to Chiang Mai by plane the next morning. We had originally considered renting a condo in the trendy Nimman area. However, we were very happy with our final choice: a bright, chic studio apartment located in one of the many charming back alleys of Chiang Mai’s walled city.  After so many easy-going days at the beach, it was time to ramp up the tourist activities. We kicked off our time with an excellent exploration of local food with @achefstour. This tour ended up being a private experience: just the two of us and the guide on the back of a songthaew truck, making our way across the city from one hole-in-the-wall restaurant to another.  While it was incredible to re-acquaint ourselves with Chiang Mai classics like khao soi, we had to be willing to forgo our often-vegetarian/sometimes-pescatarian diet for this one day. We tried to make up for it by frequently lunching at Tien Sieng Vegetarian Foods, a local eatery that is also popular with Buddhist monks.  Other highlights included touring our way through the city’s most significant temples and exploring some of Chiang Mai’s many markets including the Saturday night Wua Lai Walking Street and the daytime @jingjaimarketchiangmai. We also found respite from the heat and a decent cappuccino in the beautifully-designed @kalm_village, a free museum and cafe tucked away in the old town.  Finally, our favourite activity was hiking the Monk’s Trail all the way up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the impressive Buddhist temple with views of the whole city. The first half of the hike was easy, but the second half was washed out from the recent rains. After scrambling up steep hills, we eventually emerged from the jungle (somewhat sweaty and dirty) and had a lovely wander through the temple grounds.
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