It All Started In Paris
I didn’t even have a passport until 2019.
From 0 stamps to 40+ destinations…
And no, I’m not an influencer.
I’m just a woman who felt like something was missing in her life—a different perspective, a glimpse into a world I knew existed but had only experienced through books and movies. I never thought I would venture outside of the United States. Travel like that felt out of reach, something meant for other people.
And now, somehow, I’m building something I never planned: a travel brand.
But it all started with one trip.
Paris.
View of the Eiffel Tower over the Seine near Pont Alexandre III.
In 2019, I decided it was time to take the leap and get a passport.
That Christmas, I gave my daughters a gift that felt big in every sense of the word—a mommy-daughter trip to Paris. It had always been my dream, sitting right at the top of my bucket list, and I wanted to share it with my two favorite humans.
Art, architecture, history, photography...I mean… it’s Paris.
We planned the trip for June 2020.
It almost felt too good to be true.
And then the world shut down.
It was spring of 2022 and I’ll never forget the moment we first stepped out onto the streets of Paris.
The golden light, the energy, the massive grandeur—gold statues rising high above beautiful bridges and buildings sitting like enormous works of art.
Even the doors were pretty (and so began my obsession with photographing doors and doorways).
It felt so different from anywhere I had ever been.
My daughter Sophia looked at me and said,
“I feel like I belong here.”
She was only 15.
And somehow, she was right.
The Longest Day in Paris
I created something for us on that trip.
We jokingly called it “The Longest Day in Paris.”
Armed with a paper map, a notebook, and a willingness to walk, we set out to see as much as we could in one day…
Starting in Saint-Germain, walking all the way up to Montmartre, climbing to the highest point at Sacré-Cœur, then back down—and ceremoniously ending the night in the catacombs.
The highest and lowest points of Paris, all in one day.
(We slept well that night…)
Looking back, I realize…
I wasn’t just planning a day.
I was creating my first experience.
I realize that day shaped how I travel.
It wasn’t about checking off landmarks—it was about the flow of the day. The contrast. The discovery. The feeling of moving through a place with intention, but leaving room for the unexpected.
And in a way, that was the beginning of everything.
Because years later, that same idea—the way we explored Paris that day—is what inspired The Travel Speakeasy.
Something shifted on that trip.
It wasn’t just about seeing a new place—it was about feeling something deeper. A sense of connection, curiosity, and possibility that we hadn’t experienced before. Travel stopped being something “on the list” and became something we wanted to build into our lives.
We extended our stay. We wandered. We took it all in.
And when we came home, we weren’t the same.
Destinations are not just places.
They are moments that change the way you see the world.
Since that first trip to Paris, everything expanded.
It was almost as if we were being invited into travel—into new places, new experiences, and a completely different way of seeing the world.
Later that same year, I traveled to Sicily with a friend. In 2023, we attended a wedding in Greece—an experience the girls loved, especially Olivia—and just a few weeks later, we joined extended family on a Caribbean cruise.
And then Sophia did something incredible.
At just 17, she traveled around the world with a gap year program—moving through Europe, Australia, and Thailand.
That experience changed her.
She learned about different cultures, languages, and ways of life. She attended workshops, met people from all over the world, and gained a level of independence and confidence that is hard to teach any other way.
After the isolation of the pandemic, she learned how to be social again—how to connect, communicate, and navigate not just new cities or countries, but entirely new continents.
It shaped her in ways I could never have planned—and in ways I will always be grateful for.
Travel became something we shared, something we looked forward to, something that shaped us.
In 2024 Brad and I began our love affair with Italy. But that's another story....
This past summer the girls and I had an unforgettable experience, a mommy-daughter European cruise.
Lisbon, Porto, A Coruña, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Paris, London, Bruges, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.
City after city. Experience after experience.
And somehow, it all traces back to that one decision—to go to Paris.
(This summer Brad and I are continuing our affair with Italy, but like I said, that's another story... and another blog post.)
It still feels surreal.
The person who didn’t even have a passport just a few years ago is now building a life centered around travel.
(And it doesn't have to break the bank– here are just a few of my secrets.)
Somewhere along the way, without really planning it, I started documenting everything–the places, the details, the feeling of each city.
And eventually, that turned into something more.
The Travel Speakeasy was born from this exact idea—
To help others experience cities the way we did.
Not rushed.
Not surface-level.
But immersive, intentional, and memorable.
I realized it wasn’t just that I loved travel—I wanted it to be part of my life.
Not once a year.
Not just for special occasions.
But woven into how I live.
And what surprised me most is that it’s far more accessible than I ever thought. With the right planning, the right mindset, and a little creativity, travel doesn’t have to be out of reach.
(Hello… sharing everything I’ve learned–so you can do it too.)
Paris wasn’t' just a destination.
It was the beginning of everything.
~Jen The Travel Speakeasy
If this kind of travel speaks to you– the slower, more immersive kind–
I’ve created curated city guides and scavenger hunts designed to help you experience Europe the same way.
New guides are released regularly.
