The Blue Backpack

Registration is now open — Switzerland: Hiking & Wine in Three Languages, September 15–26, 2027 🇨🇭
These photos are from a cultural tour I led in 2023 through Switzerland's German, French, and Italian-speaking regions. This new tour builds on that idea, with hiking and wine tasting woven into each region — so you're not just tasting the culture, you're walking through it and sipping it too.
12 days, 11 nights. Max 6 guests, single occupancy. I'm your private guide the whole way.
We move through lakes, alpine trails, and vineyards across all three regions — places most visitors never find on their own. Hiking is unhurried by design: we go at our own pace and let the day unfold instead of racing to check things off.
Full itinerary, what's included, and pricing here → https://bluebackpacktravel.com/switzerland-hiking-wine-2027

✈️ Travel Tip Wednesday
Before you buy travel insurance, paste the policy into an AI tool and ask it to summarize exactly what's covered, what's excluded, and how it compares to another plan.
No more squinting at fine print. No more guessing whether that emergency evacuation clause actually applies to you.
This is something I recommend to my clients when they search for coverage options — it turns a 30-page document into a clear, plain-English summary in minutes. Then comparing two policies side by side becomes actually manageable.
Your time is better spent planning what to pack. 🎒

One of my favorite parts of designing a tour is finding the places that don't always make the highlight reel — but absolutely should.

🗺️ Bern — the Swiss capital is one of Europe's most beautiful cities, and yet it's so often overlooked. We're spending time there on my December Switzerland tour.

🗺️ Turin — graceful, historic, and full of surprises. It's one of Italy's great cities and the heart of my April private tour.

🗺️ Le Creux du Vent — a stunning volcanic cirque tucked into the Swiss Jura, and one of the highlights of the September hiking tour.

Sometimes the best moments of a trip are the ones you didn't know to expect. Curious about any of these? I'd love to chat! 🌍

✈️ TRAVEL TIP WEDNESDAY ✈️
You know the dilemma. It's hour four of a ten-hour flight, you're finally ready to sleep — and your prescription glasses suddenly become the most stressful object on the plane.
Do you wedge them into the seat pocket and hope for the best? Tuck them in your shirt? Stuff them in the bag under the seat and pray? When you're flying Economy, there is no great option. Until now.
The foldable glasses case has become one of my absolute non-negotiables for long-haul travel. Mine is by Qoop, an Australian design brand, and it's brilliant in its simplicity. It pops open into a rigid, protective shell that actually keeps your glasses safe — then folds completely flat when you don't need it. We're talking barely thicker than a notepad. It slips into any bag pocket or carry-on without stealing precious space at 35,000 feet.
Bonus: it doubles as a poolside case. I can now wear my glasses all the way to the water's edge and set them safely on the side while I swim laps. No more squinting across the pool wondering if that blur is my towel or a stranger's. 😄
Small item. Big peace of mind. 💙

I am taking a group of six women to Switzerland this December to enjoy Christmas markets, spa days and a shopping day in Italy. Yesterday we had our first meeting and I can tell you, it’s a fun and dynamic group! One of the ladies, a photo AI expert, was even able to add one woman who couldn’t make it to our group picture!

I've been designing this tour for months.
Not the logistics — those come together quickly. I mean the moments. The ones I know will stay with my traveler-friends long after they're home.
The smell of white truffle rising from the forest floor in Alba. The surprising weight of raw silk at Como's historic Silk Museum, where one of the world's great luxury trades comes alive. The taste of Barolo with the Langhe hills outside the window. The quiet intensity of standing before Leonardo's Last Supper. Touching fabric in a Milan atelier where "Made in Italy" is still sewn by hand.
I don't build tours around attractions. I build them around senses — because what we remember is never what we saw. It's what we felt.
That is the philosophy behind Northern Italy: Where Every Sense Remembers.
Six women. Twelve nights. October 2027. Milan, Turin, and Lake Como.
Link in bio for details — or send me a message. I'd love to tell you more.

Strawberries + whipped cream + Swiss Alpenbitter = spring perfection 🇨🇭🍓✨

✈️ Wednesday Travel Tip

Airline checkout insurance ≠ real travel insurance.

Here's the difference:
→ Checkout insurance covers one flight
→ Standalone insurance covers your whole trip — including medical evacuation abroad

And that evacuation coverage? It can run $50,000–$200,000 without it.

For international travel, always buy standalone. Buy it within 2–3 weeks of your first deposit to unlock pre-existing condition waivers.

Small decision. Big protection. 🌍