Hi, I’m Nicole — and welcome to The Painted Itinerary.
I created this blog with one goal in mind: to help you plan your dream vacation without the overwhelm. I’m the kind of traveler who dives deep into the research — destinations, hotels, restaurants, hidden gems, the works — long before I ever pack a bag. My hope is that all those hours of planning can save you time and make your next trip feel a little more effortless.
I wouldn’t call myself a budget traveler, but I do believe you should never pay more than you have to — even for the finer things. You’ll find that philosophy woven throughout everything I share here.
Travel has been part of my story for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my family took vacations across the United States, and as the years went on, those adventures expanded to the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia. As an adult, I don’t take those early experiences for granted — they planted a curiosity in me that I’m still following today.
That curiosity really took root during a summer I spent studying abroad in France. I flew solo from Florida to Europe, with limited data, no convenient international plan, and just enough determination to figure it out. I learned to read maps, navigate public transportation in a foreign language, and trust myself in unfamiliar places. Looking back, I’m grateful it unfolded exactly that way. It made me more resourceful, more confident, and more open — and I think that’s one of travel’s greatest gifts. It has a way of teaching you things about the world and about yourself, if you let it.
Beyond the trips themselves, I’ve found another way to hold onto them — through art. I’m a painter, and over time I’ve made it a practice to come home from my travels, sort through my photos, and recreate the ones that stayed with me. Painting lets me revisit a moment from my own perspective, in my own time — it’s part reflection, part creative process, and entirely personal. Sometimes I draw too, but there’s something about putting paint to canvas that makes a memory feel complete.
That combination — the travel and the art — is really what The Painted Itinerary is all about. I hope this space inspires you to chase the adventures waiting for you, and to find your own way of carrying them with you long after you’ve come home.