🍂Not-So-Basic Fall Travel: Celtic Myths, Wine Trails & Giant Pumpkin 🕯️🍷🎃

Hi Besties! 💌

There’s something ✨deeply cozy✨ and wildly fun about fall’s festival season. It's not just about crunchy leaves and cider (though we love that too). It’s about gathering — around bonfires, parades, wine barrels, and community tables.

This week, we’re spotlighting three destinations where fall isn’t just a season - it’s a celebration. Expect sacred mountaintop rituals, midwestern pumpkin pride, and a Tuscan wine fest that might change your life (or at least your Instagram aesthetic).

🧐 Travel Trivia Time!

Question:
In which European country is it traditional to bake sweet treats known as "bones of the saints" and share them during early November to honor ancestors?

A) Spain
B) France
C) Italy
D) Portugal

🍪 Hint: These almondly delights are shaped like tiny bones but meant to celebrate life, memory, and family.

👉 Hit reply with your guess — and tell me if you’d try one!

🛟 Health & Safety Tips for Fall 2025: 🍄🎒🧣

💨 Wildfire Smoke Isn’t Just a Summer Thing
Fall fires in parts of the western U.S., Canada, and southern Europe can still affect air quality. Pack a KN95 mask if you have asthma or sensitivities.

🧥 Layer Smart, Not Bulky
Fluctuating temps are the name of the game. Choose lightweight, thermal layers over heavy sweaters so you’re not caught sweating through your scarf in the afternoon.

🚆 Rail Strikes & Transit Disruptions in Europe
Keep an eye on UK, France, and Germany — strikes are still possible through November. Always have a local transit app and download offline train tickets in advance.

📵 Digital Backups Are a Lifesaver
Fall rainstorms = higher chance of tech fails. Screens crack, batteries drain, Wi-Fi drops. Screenshot your bookings, maps, and ID documents before you leave the hotel.

Want more safety tips? We’ve got you covered: Navigating Offbeat Destinations Safely. Travel insurance is your BFF. Missed flights, lost bags, or weather hiccups? You’re covered. ✅ Understand the true benefits of travel insurance here…

🎭 Púca Festival, Ireland 🇮🇪

Vibe: Celtic spirits + mythic storytelling + firelit hillsides + autumn enchantment

Forget plastic skeletons and candy corn — if you want to experience Halloween at its mystical, ancestral root, you need to head to Ireland in late October. More specifically: County Meath and County Louth, home of the Púca Festival, where Samhain (pronounced “SOW-in”) — the ancient Celtic new year — is reborn with glowing rituals, folklore parades, music, and yes, a touch of real-world witchiness.

This festival reclaims the spiritual magic of Halloween. It’s not spooky in a theme park way — it’s deep, ritualistic, beautifully eerie. You’ll feel it in the fog rolling over Neolithic hills, in the drumbeats echoing through firelit gatherings, and in the chill that might not just be from the weather.

✨ Unique Tips & Highlights:

• 🔥 Join the Samhain Fire Ceremony
  Held at the sacred Hill of Ward (Tlachtga), this ancient fire site is said to be where the Celts lit the first Halloween flame. Bring a lantern or candle — it’s a participatory ceremony, and the energy is unforgettable.

• 🎭 Experience Mythology Brought to Life
  The festival includes immersive performances, light shows, and storytelling trails that bring old Irish spirits — like the mischievous púca, the banshee, and the dullahan — to life. Some happen in castle courtyards and woods after dark.

• 🍎 Try Foraged Autumn Foods + Spooky Sips
  Local food trucks and pop-ups serve ancestral treats like barmbrack (a fruitcake with fortunes baked inside) and roasted apples with honey. Warm up with a spiced mead cocktail or a “púca potion” from nearby pubs in Trim or Athboy.

• 🏰 Stay in a Haunted Castle (If You Dare)
  Book a night at Trim Castle Hotel or Slane Castle — elegant, slightly creaky, and walking distance from key events. Bonus: some hotels host storytelling nights or ghost walks exclusively for guests.

• 🕯️ Dress for the Weather and the Mood
  It’s chilly and damp in late October — pack warm waterproof layers, a flashlight or headlamp for walking between venues, and something witchy if you want to join the costume-friendly fire procession (yes, cloaks are welcome).

🌌 Best Time to Go: October 31 – November 2
📍 Main hubs: Trim, Athboy, Slane, and the surrounding Boyne Valley
🎟️ Many events are ticketed and sell out early — check the official site for the full program.

🧙 Insider Tip: Ask locals for Samhain customs their families still observe — many still light candles in windows or leave offerings on doorsteps for visiting spirits. It’s living folklore.

🍁 Perfect for: Story lovers, misty-morning wanderers, soft goths, and anyone craving autumn with depth.

🔗Official Festival Site

🔗5 Reasons You Will Love The Festival

🎃 2. Circleville Pumpkin Show, Ohio, USA 🇺🇸

Vibe: Small-town sparkle + pumpkin-everything + marching bands + fall carnival energy

Let’s get one thing straight: Circleville doesn’t mess around when it comes to pumpkins. Held annually since 1903 (yep!), the Pumpkin Show turns this little town into a fall wonderland every October. Whether you're in it for the pie, the pageants, or the sheer gourd-to-human ratio, it’s peak Americana.

✨ Unique Tips & Highlights:

• 🥧 Arrive Early for Pumpkin Donuts – They sell out by 10am on opening day. Locals line up at dawn. It’s worth it.

• 🎡 The Great Pumpkin Weigh-In – Takes place opening morning. Last year’s winner topped 1,600 pounds!

• 👑 Don’t Miss the Pumpkin Queen Parade – Multiple parades happen daily, but the Pumpkin Queen coronation is a big deal

• 🌽 Hidden Gem: Try the pumpkin chili from local vendors - surprisingly delicious and weirdly comforting

• 🧢 Pro Tip: Bring cash, a foldable tote for craft/farm goodies, and layers - it gets cold after sunset.

📍 When: October 16–19, 2024
🎟️ Entry is free, parking nearby is ~$5–$10. Come hungry, leave glowing orange.

🔗 Pumpkin Show details

🔗15 Things You Might Not Know About Pumpkin Show

🍷 3. Chianti Wine Festival, Greve in Chianti, Italy 🇮🇹

Vibe: Tuscan twilight + slow sipping + medieval piazzas + pasta under string lights

If there’s one place to live your cozy wine country fantasy, it’s Greve in Chianti, the beating heart of Tuscany’s Chianti Classico region. Every September, the main square turns into a wine tasting village where you’ll sample from 30+ local vineyards, snack on artisan cheeses, and listen to jazz as the sun sinks behind olive groves.

✨ Unique Tips & Highlights:

• 🍷 Buy the Tasting Glass + Lanyard Combo – It’s your key to sipping your way around the square. Plus, it makes you feel like a pro.

• 🧀 Pair Smart – Ask locals for their favorite pairings. Try Chianti Classico with truffle pecorino or young wines with finocchiona (fennel salami)

• 🚗 Don’t Drive – Stay in Greve or nearby Panzano. Or book a tuk-tuk wine tour through the vineyards

• 📸 Photo Op: Sunset from Montefioralle, a hilltop village above Greve with cobblestone streets and no tourists

• 💡 Stay Extra Night for the Locals’ Party – After the main festival ends, local osterias often host unlisted dinners and music for those who stick around

🍇 Bonus: The black rooster symbol on your wine bottle means it’s a certified Chianti Classico — accept no imitations.

🔗Chianti Classico Expo Info

🔗 Trip to Greve in Chianti

💳 Points & Rewards Corner: Fall Travel Hacks 🍂

✈️ Book Holiday Flights Now with Points

• Thanksgiving + Christmas redemptions are still low — book before cash prices spike

• Check Flying Blue, Avios, and Southwest deals

🏨 Fall Hotel Sweet Spots

• Europe’s shoulder season = fewer points needed

• Try Hyatt SLH (15–25k points) or Marriott PointSavers in Spain, Portugal, or Greece

🛍️ Use Your Annual Travel Credits

• Don’t forget Amex/Chase credits — many expire Dec 31!

• Great for upgrades, bags, or lounge access

📆 Bilt Rent Day (Oct 1 & Nov 1)

• Double points on dining, travel, and Lyft

• Check for surprise transfer bonuses!

Travel Trivia 🤩
Answer: C) Italy

✅ Explanation:
Every year around All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day(November 2nd), families across Italy celebrate with a sweet tradition: baking “Ossi dei Santi” — or bones of the saints. These cookies are made from almonds, sugar, and love, often shaped like bones (symbolically!) to remember and honor loved ones who came before. It's less spooky and more soulful — a way to connect with family, heritage, and the season through something delicious and meaningful. 🇮🇹🍬✨

🧡 Until Next Time... 🍁

So here we are — from ancient Irish bonfires to pumpkin madness in Ohio and vineyard sunsets in Tuscany — proof that fall isn’t just a season... it’s a whole personality.

This time of year is when the world exhales. The light gets softer, the air gets crisper, and everything starts to smell like cinnamon and woodsmoke. And honestly? It’s the perfect backdrop for the kind of travel that fills you up — not just your suitcase, but your soul. ✨

Links and Guides:
To assist you in planning your next adventure, here are some valuable resources:

• CDC Travel Health Notices

• Travel Advisory and Alerts

• World Nomads Travel Insurance

• Lonely Planet Travel Guides

TripAdvisor Reviews and Recommendations

Until next week, stay soft, stay wild, and remember:
You don’t need a packed itinerary to have an unforgettable trip - just good shoes, good snacks, and a little curiosity.

With leaves in my boots and wanderlust in my heart,

Sasha ✨
Editor, Travel Report Newsletter