12 May 2024

Hi everyone!

It’s been a crazy busy couple of weeks! We are a just days away now from the official release of my book, “You Deserve Good Gelato“, and I can’t tell you how excited I am…it seems like it was just a couple of weeks ago I was writing and rewriting chapters, searching for the perfect word or thought. And at that time “May 2024” might as well have been years in the future.

I swear it feels like one night I fell asleep with my laptop as my pillow…and then woke up and 6 months had passed by!

Just wanted to share a couple bits of news–almost like a newsletter of sorts, I suppose–relating to this website, the book release and some appearances I have scheduled. 

Coinciding with the book release, I’ll be kicking off a “book tour” of sorts at the end of May, beginning in my old stomping grounds New York City. It will kick off with a Release Party & Signing event on May 28 in Brooklyn.

It’s going to be a whirlwind from there, with a signing in Manhattan the following day (the 29th), Washington DC on the 30th and Ann Arbor, Michigan (minutes from my hometown!) on the 31st. 

As of now, additional cities include Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Boston and, finally, Grand Rapids on June 13.

There’s limited seating in several of the appearances, unfortunately, but there will be more events to come. You can keep up with it all on the Book Tour page of the website.

I want to give a special shout out and thanks to one of the sponsors of the tour as well, who I work with often with my Group Tours here in Europe, EF Tours. Without a lot of their support it would be quite the nightmare to organize this tour, especially with so many cities in such a short period of time. 

If it seems like merely a couple of weeks since an announcement regarding a couple other new partners, don’t worry, you’re not crazy. In some cases the partners and affiliates have been around for a while, and in some cases they really are completely new–in either case, though, it’s important to officially recognize them.

Part of that is my pledge to transparency, of course. I want this blog and website to remain uncluttered and free of the endless stream of ads you find seemingly everywhere on the internet nowadays. The trade-off, of sorts, is the acknowledgement of these partnerships. Though not many, there are affiliates being linked to throughout the blog posts. You’ll often see some fine print accompanying these, something like “as an affiliate, I may receive a percentage of sales” or something similar. Again, transparency! 

Welcome Pickups is, I think, really a perfect addition to the family of Kacie Rose Travel partners. 

In the US, you’re just as likely to see a line of Uber & Lyft drivers waiting in line at airports or sitting in nearby ride & share lots, waiting for their driver apps to buzz with a ride request. While these rideshare apps can be quite useful–I think everyone in NYC has used one at some point, perhaps around bar closing time haha–the reality is you never quite know what you’re getting. You know in a NYC yellow cab there are cameras and tons of licensing & consumer protections–but with the apps, it really could be just anyone. 

And that’s the last thing you want to worry about as you travel internationally, to foreign countries with different customs, cultures and languages. You want to know that you and your family will be safe, not be ripped off, and will receive the best service that can be. 

Of course, there’s also the fact that ride apps like Uber & Lyft are only sporadically available across Europe, and flat out banned in several European Union countries. There are differing laws and regulations across the regions, and no guarantee they will work as intended. 

When I first visited Italy I was by myself, a lone single American girl. I wish that I’d known about Welcome Pickups then, but certainly appreciate them now, and can vouch for the quality of service they provide. 

While transfers to and from your airport, hotel, etc. are their bread and butter, you can utilize Welcome Pickups in various ways, including even for sightseeing and day trips. Definitely recommend checking them out!

Our other recent partnerships

Get Your Guide

Eating Europe

While I’m in New York May 28-29, I’ll be making a special stop, and I cannot be more excited!

I can’t share the specific details just yet–for one, I don’t know a lot of ’em–but I can say I’ll be getting a chance to talk about “You Deserve Good Gelato” with one my favorite performers and television personalities!!

Stay tuned for more…but for now I’ll leave you with this *completely unrelated video clip* haha