lucky penny hearts rome… and decided to do as the romans do.

she made a wish at the fontana de trevi, then strolled to where there are no tourist traps…  villa borghese, a gorgeous and luscious park open to the public.

like audrey hepburn in roman holiday, she rented a bike and explored for hours. there are beautiful fountains, a lake in the epicentre for rowing, a museum, and one of the best paninis ever.

next on her to-do list… piazza di spagna then window shopping along via de corso, where d&g and valentino opened their very first boutiques. heaven.

***psst… guest blog post written by the lovely leanne.

lucky penny adores being a tourist in her own city.

when a nearest and dearest was in town for a visit, she was more than delighted to show him right around… segue into segway, the two-wheeled traveler that looks nerdy but oh so fun.

jetset penny got a historical tour from chris, her segway of ontario guide, in the distillery district. bonus points for the chocolate tasting and beer sampling from mill street brew.

she may be back at month’s end for their ghost tours, but will need cute boyfriend to hold her tight if she sees an apparition. boo!

lucky penny loves jetsetting solo… but without cute boyfriend, it sometimes gets lonely.

in san francisco, the travelocity roaming gnome quickly became her *new* companion. affectionately nicknamed gnomie, he was at her beck and call… croissants at tartine, tacos at la taqueria and ice cream at bi-rite creamery, she soon realized that she was not so lonely after all.

her photos were much more fun than the typical self-portraits, too. complete strangers started to take notice as gnomie was the best ice-breaker of them all.

perfect for any suitcase, the classic 8-inch figurine is available online at the roaming gnome store.

travel tip: make sure he is all wrapped up, or he could end up with no limbs. #boozybirthdaybootcampfail

***psst… photograph taken by jetset penny’s natalie… in front of the painted ladies, alamo square.

lucky penny can often be found lounging by the thompson hotel rooftop pool, but if she closes her eyes hard enough and clicks her ruby red slippers… cute boyfriend will whisk her away to maui for their anniversary.

for six days, the lovebirds enjoyed paddle board lessons on kihei beach, snorkeling in the reef, massages at the grand wailea, and oceanside dinners of grilled butterfish at humuhumu.

all done in her *new* bikini, a white crochet beauty by trina turk… perfect for highlighting her sun-kissed glow.

now to show off her tan lines back home!

lucky penny is a bit of a thrill seeker. she decided to test out her comfort with heights at the recently opened cliffwalk at the capilano suspension bridge in vancouver.

our brave, little city girl breathed in the fresh air and was surrounded by nature as she tightrope walked along the curved, narrow walkway (like most run-ins with ex-boyfriends).

stunning vistas of the suspension bridge (not that scary) awaited, as well as a clear view of the river below the glass floor. no jumping on it, thank you very much.

although she made it out alive *wipes sweat off brow*, where was cute boyfriend to hold her hand?

***psst… watch a video of the making of the bridge here.