Hi and Welcome!
My name is Alexa Meisler and I am a travel blogger and a former travel podcaster. I am also a wife and mother who happens to love Kundalini yoga, tennis, a great book and of course traveling. I’m a gluten-free foodie who also loves a great Cabernet or Chardonnay. I’d call myself a true wandering soul and that goes for my travel as well as my home base!
About Alexa and 52 Perfect Days: Exploring Perfect Days of Travel Around the World
I was born in Paris, France but was there less than a year. From Paris my family moved to Chicago, Illinois and then to Northern California until I was 10 years old.
We then moved to Orange County, California. I went to college in San Diego and lived there an additional couple years until I left for two back to back trips to Europe (came back to San Diego just long enough to make enough money to head back). These trips totaled about 1.5 years of travel.
When I got home from Europe the second time, I headed to Palm Springs for a short time to sort out exactly what I wanted to do next and where I wanted to live. I decided to give Los Angeles a try and work on another passion of mine, which was music. I worked in the music industry for several years and that is how I met my husband, a singer, drummer, photographer and now has added online marketing expert. You can check out his music on his website: Fizz.com.
When our son was about two years old, we decided to take a year off to decide where life would take us next. First, the three of us packed everything into a couple of PODs and we spent about 3 months traveling in Spain.
When we got back from Spain, we made a list of all the places we thought would be interesting to check out and to call home for the next part of our life which mostly included the Pacific Northwest and West. We visited small towns like Jackson Hole, Wyoming and big cities like Denver, Colorado. We finally settled on Portland, Oregon, where we lived for 6 years.
With most of our families and especially grandparents in California, we decided to move back when our son was 10 years old and chose my college town of sunny San Diego, where we lived for 9 years.
When it came time for our son to graduate high school and choose a university it was that fateful year of 2020. So, with the heart of a traveler and wanderer, we once again put all of our ‘things’ in a POD and headed to visit family in Boulder, Colorado before moving him into the dorms in his college of choice in the Midwest.
My husband and I then explored a new region; the Midwest and visited quaint towns and big cities once again until we settled on Kansas City. We have lived here since August of 2020 and love our new adopted home state of Missouri.
Of course, in between all of those moves, there has been a lot of travel. So, let’s get into that!
My Biggest Travel Goal
One of my life goals is to share my love of travel with my son, Roland. I also hope to show him how diverse our world is in the locations, food, and people. My husband and I traveled internationally with Roland for the first time when he was seven months old to visit friends in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
When he was two, we took him Taiwan for the Say Yes to Taiwan concert that my husband’s band played. Since then, I continue to bring Roland (who is now in college) on as many trips as I can. One of the most memorable trips we took together was volunteering in the Dominican Republic.
One of the trips Roland I both talk about and think of as one of our best tips was visiting Iceland and Ireland.
Our most recent adventure was to Puerto Rico for his summer vacation. Now that he is in college travel together is more limited, but I cherish all the fun adventures and look forward to future travel with my best travel companion!
My Love of Travel Started as a Child
I inherited my love of travel from my mom, her parents (my grandparents) and my great aunt. Travel has been a part of my life since day one. Seriously, it was….. as I said above I was born in Paris, France and travel is literally in my blood!
The Two Trips That Made Me a Traveler
Trip #1 When I was 10 years old my mom, my sister and I took a summer trip to Spain and North Africa. We flew into Madrid and traveled around Spain with the final goal of reaching Malaga to take the ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco where we met my great aunt and uncle who were circling the globe on their 32-foot sailboat. We joined them and sailed from North Africa and along the coast of Spain.
Trip #2 A few years later I took a two week road trip with my grandparents from Southern California to Baja Caifornia. We drove to Cabo San Lucas and then back to La Paz where we took the ferry to mainland Mexico and headed back to California.
There were no reservations, we drove until we wanted to stop—mostly in fishing villages where we’d share the catch of the day with the locals. It was immersive and we were able to really connect with the locals and culture. They truly taught me what a road trip is meant to be.
These two trips hold the biggest place in my heart and my memory and are the ones that confirmed in me, a true love and passion for exploration and travel.
The Travel Blog: Why 52?
It has been over 15 years since I started 52 Perfect Days and the number one question I get asked is “why 52, what does the name mean?”. I started the blog when my son was six years old and we were living in Portland, Oregon. At that time, my vision for the website was to take one adventure a week exploring the Pacific Northwest. In turn, I had planned to write one article every week for the blog and share 52 perfect days (or weekends) of travel.
What is the Website About?
My goal with 52 Perfect Days is to share great travel stories. You’ll find articles about how to spend a perfect day in well know locations like Glasgow, Scotland, Kathmandu, Nepal and Austin, Texas, as well as tiny town like Arachova, Greece, Brasov, Romania and Yuma, Arizona. If you are anything like me, you want to know the best hotels, restaurants and tour, so you don’t end up in tourist traps or having a bad meal. That is the goal of these articles!
I also share a great series focusing on 52 Things to do in different locations around the world. This is a great resource if you are visiting a new destination and want a great list to choose from of things to do when you visit. You’ll find everything from The Best 52 Things to do in countries like Ireland, Aruba, Ukraine, Peru, as well as cities such as Chiang Mai, Thailand, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and even fun lists like 52 Weird Foods and Drinks from Around the World.
You’ll also find a lot of other articles that offer travel tips and ideas for exploring the world.
A Bit About Me….
I’ve traveled to 4 continents and 30+ countries. I’ve worked in a youth hostel in Amsterdam, bar-tended in Greece and painted (not art, but walls) in Germany. I rode the Orient Express, snorkeled with dolphins, swam with whale sharks, had tea with a prince, and a whole slew of other truly memorable experiences.
I’m a travel writer and photographer and started my freelance career as a staff writer for Portland Family Magazine. From there I went on to freelance for many additional outlets including Northwest Magazine, Healing Lifestyles and Spas, Oregon.com and Examiner.com. I launched 52 Perfect Days in 2007 and it quickly became a top blog and I began accepting contributions from additional writers. I have over 100 writers who have contributed to the site and am proud to have built a blog that has continued to grow and become more popular.
For me, travel is about experiencing other cultures, tasting new foods, meeting new friends—both locals and travelers—it’s about expanding who I am as a human being. It’s also about sharing my experiences with words and photos.
- My writing career started as a freelance journalist writing for Portland Family Magazine, Healing Lifestyles and Spa’s and the Oregonian as well as a bunch of other online websites.
- In 2007 I launched 52 Perfect Days as website to share my explorations of the Pacific Northwest.
- In 2008 I began accepting guest contributions to the site and I quickly had more than 100 guest bloggers.
- In 2010 my family and I moved to my college town of San Diego.
- In December of 2014 I launched my travel podcast; Break Into Travel Writing.
- In 2015 I launched the Travel Writer’s Academy (where I helped teach aspiring travel writers how to begin the journey and work with tourism boards).
- In 2021 I started a new website, Travel in Missouri to chronicle my adventures in the Midwest.
Work With Me
For media trips, campaigns, sponsored posts, giveaways, advertising rates or a media kit, please contact me.
email: alexa @ 52perfectdays.com
phone: 503-956-0930
Sponsored Content
I do not do link exchanges or post content from companies for free. If you are contacting me regarding a partnership, advertising or sponsored content please feel free to contact me using the above information.
I’ve grown large social media followings on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I’ve also worked with many companies and tourism boards, both large and small, by helping promote their brands and destinations to wider audiences. We can help your brand reach more people with social media campaigns, copy writing and placement on this site.
Social Media Following (Updated February 2024)
Alexa and 52 Perfect Days in the Press and Accolades
- Travel Style Feature with Johnny Jet
- Top Travel Bloggers of 2019 from Gary Arndt with Everything Everywhere
- Perlu Travel Advisor
- Better Stories, Better Travel Interview with We Said Go
- Radio Vagabond Podcast Interview
- Becoming Your Own Boss: Interview With Alexa Meisler with Global Wanderess