Whether it be that you're heading out of state for a trip to the beach, or flying across the world to sip champagne on New Year's Eve overlooking the lights of a new city, we are always looking for ways to find out more about our destination so that we can truly plan the trip(s) of a lifetime.

Below are some resources (aka Travel Buddies) that we have used to either help us plan a trip; other blogs written by travel writers that we admire and respect; or, people or companies who bring a unique flair to traveling. We have no financial relationships with anyone listed — we just happen to think they're good people :)

Blog Roll

The Gross Travel Chronicles

Written by Liz Gross, you'll find a great feature on her trip on a river cruise on the Danube. With fabulous photos, well-detailed itineraries, and great recommendations, we've used her blog repeatedly to help plan our own upcoming trip to Vienna and Prague.

revealed rome

Amanda Ruggeri's superlative site on all things Rome, this blog was instrumental in helping us plan our trip in April 2014. Amanda is a freelance journalist and travel writer, having written for BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveller, and the New York Times (in addition to many other fine travel publications), Amanda writes helpful articles steering you toward some of the best sites and establishments in Rome. We even did a Google Hangout with her a few months before the trip to review our itinerary and get suggestions! A must-read.