Coloring My Way Across The Globe

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

Back in the mid 90s, I learned Spanish as a second language through a full immersion program in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Newsflash: it didn’t involve a single textbook. In today’s episode I am discussing the non-traditional learning methods I employ to learn language, and why sitting in a classroom conjugating verbs for two straight years did nothing for my language fluency. Enjoy this short monologue and stay colorful, my friends! 

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

Today’s guest Carmen Sognonvi and I met in a tiny ramen bar in Tokyo, Japan last May as she and her family were wrapping up their three-week tour of the country. I was there as many of you know on my own two-week journey with my son.

Carmen owns and operates Top Flight Family, a resource for all things luxury family travel. She is a world traveler, content creator and entrepreneur raising kids in NYC.  Her multiracial and multicultural family has roots that span four continents.

Carmen is passionate about encouraging parents to take their kids to see the world, and showing families how to travel in comfort and style.

How to connect with Carmen:

http://www.instagram.com/topflightfamily Adventures on Instagram

http://www.instagram.com/smallstepswithcarmen Carmen’s Podcast

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

Join us today for some adventure and comedy as we discuss Julie’s first global travel experience to Greece, how we merged our distinct traveling styles, and other aspects of life from real struggles of entrepreneurship to pursuing dreams at any age!

Follow all of Julie’s adventures at: www.instagram.com/livelifelehmann

Sign up for exclusive, colorful and complimentary content from me below! 

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

As I interviewed this week’s guest Henri Sizaret, it became abundantly clear that he represents everything that this travel and culture podcast is about: that is, telling stories of colorful places, life experiences, travels, and adventures from a multicultural, multilingual perspective.

We discuss Henri’s background of world travel beginning in childhood, how he and his wife came to settle in Porto, Portugal, the discovery of a musical passion in a unique genre, and the importance of color in his line of work—brand development.

With 70+ branding projects in 15 countries, Henri most assuredly understands color and branding through his work in the wine and spirits industry.

Visiting Porto yourself? Here are three of Henri’s recommendations:

Miss Opo   https://www.instagram.com/missopo_2011/?hl=en

Maus Habitos  https://www.instagram.com/maushabitos/?hl=en

Coma Bem  https://pt.restaurantguru.com/Restaurante-Coma-Bem-Porto

Henri’s brand development firm:   www.brandreveal.net

Henri’s official discography:  www.akamuzik.bandcamp.com

Youtube and Instagram :  @akamuzik

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

2023 proved to be the year of the sabbatical for host Lauren Battistini. In this episode she expounds upon what led to the “gap” year and lessons gleaned from the time away. Traveling 12 out of the 52 weeks in 2023, Lauren gained not only rest, but also direly needed family, creative and adventure time!

Be sure to subscribe for more exclusive content to Coloring My Way Across The Globe’s newsletter at: https://www.LFBcolor.com. We’d love to see you there!

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

Last fall I registered for a 3k open water swim competition off the island of Spetses, Greece, a 3-hour ferry ride from Athens. This proved to be the most challenging open water swim of my life, and at certain points I considered throwing in the towel! Thankfully I kept going and finished well, missing a 3rd place podium award (for my age group) by a mere 30 seconds. Darn!

Today’s podcast guest is Dr. Marina Coutarelli, the founder of both the Spetses Mini Marathon and Spetsathlon events. Dr. Coutarelli is an award winning PR and communications professional who has a knack for launching some of the most successful brand campaigns in her native country of Greece and beyond.

In our live interview conducted in her beautiful office in the Athenian suburb of Kifissia, Marina and I discuss the 3k open water swim, sports tourism and extending tourism season past August in Greece, best things to do while on the island of Spetses, the Greek lifestyle of living in the present, and her take on color and branding.

Dr. Coutarelli is the founder and CEO of Communication Lab, a boutique communication agency based in Athens, Greece, specializing in PR, media relations, social media and crisis management.

Learn all about both the Spetsathlon and Spetses Mini Marathon events at   https://www.spetsesmarathon.com.

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

Last fall I registered for a 3k open water swim competition off the island of Spetses, Greece, a 3-hour ferry ride from Athens. There for a week, I stayed at the idyllic, cozy, traditional guesthouse of 7 Islands.

Family owned and operated since 1987, this guesthouse delivers what it promises to “feel like home.” Nestled in a quiet neighborhood only slightly off the beaten path, 7 Islands is 550 meters from the Old Port, 450 meters from Agia Marina beach, and 900 meters from the main port of Dapia and Spetses market.

Today guest Tonia Vatikiotis and I discuss how her father began guesthouse operations after a career in construction, a bit of Spetses history, the Greek concept of filoxenia, and some of the best places to visit while on her island.

Learn more about 7 Islands Guesthouse at  http://www.7islandspetses.com.

7 Islands Guesthouse
Agia Marina, Spetses, Greece
+30 2298 073059
[email protected]

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

In today’s episode I visit with Marina Tsekoura in her quaint writing studio in a lovely Athens suburb. We are here to discuss places off the beaten path in and around Athens, as well as equally enchanting parts of mainland Greece.

Hear also about Marina’s international travel, language learning and role as contributing journalist at the international publication—Insights Greece.

See more of Marina’s writing and cultural musings at https://insightsgreece.com/author/marina/

https://www.lfbcolor.com/

What did you think of the episode? Have comments. Text us here! We’d love to hear from you. XO, Lauren

In May of 2023, my son Christian Battistini and I set off on our first ever international adventure together. We chose Japan as the destination and spent two magical, action-packed, fully immersive weeks in this culturally rich land steeped in so much beauty and tradition.

In today’s episode we share perspectives as mother and son, the cultural insights we gleaned, what we learned from each other and our travel styles, and how the experience genuinely reinforced the strong bond we’ve always had.

We also give you a bonus audio tour of each city we visited in Japan and some of our favorite spots. We hope you enjoy this episode and are encouraged in the process to visit Japan for yourselves!

Christian and I wish to thank the beautiful souls of Japan for their kindness and hospitality, and Rob Dyer of The Real Japan for creating our travel itinerary and guiding us through the process of trip planning.

https://www.lfbcolor.com/