after a full week of amazing experiences, warm hospitality and pampering, we hopped over to zanzibar, for another week full of luxury and pampering.
Monday, March 31, 2014
zanzibar: island relaxation!
after a full week of amazing experiences, warm hospitality and pampering, we hopped over to zanzibar, for another week full of luxury and pampering.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
kenya: safari in the masai mara
oh my god. when i said that we were looking for a once in a lifetime experience on our honeymoon, we sure as heck got it on safari!
it was absolutely mind blowing and amazing! we couldn't believe how close we were able to get to the animals, and how apathetic they were about our presence! it was incredible to see these wild animals that we learned about from the lion king, and see them behaving naturally in their natural habitat.
every day was more exciting than the next. by the second day, we had decided that we would never take our kids to the zoo. instead, we'll take them back to kenya--- mostly because we're dying to go back!
the safari through the masai mara is an amazing experience! everyone needs to go!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
kenya: nairobi
my husband and i spent a lot of time deciding where to go on our honeymoon. our wedding was in february, a somewhat difficult time to plan a vacation. southeast asia and the islands in the indian ocean experience the rainy season, for some it's typhoon season, so those were enough reason to avoid that part of the globe altogether.
in the end we thought kenya was the best choice. it was only a 5 hour flight from cairo, it was still in africa, and it was something completely new and out of the ordinary. we wanted to have a once in a lifetime experience on our honeymoon, and that's exactly what we got!
we absolutely fell in love with kenya, and nairobi made a great first impression on us! here are the posts for our first two days in nairobi and our last day in nairobi.
in the end we thought kenya was the best choice. it was only a 5 hour flight from cairo, it was still in africa, and it was something completely new and out of the ordinary. we wanted to have a once in a lifetime experience on our honeymoon, and that's exactly what we got!
we absolutely fell in love with kenya, and nairobi made a great first impression on us! here are the posts for our first two days in nairobi and our last day in nairobi.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Byblos, Harissa & Jeita Grotto
Just spent a fantastic day through this beautiful country. Within an hour drive north of Beirut, along the coast line, are the Jeita Grotto, Harissa and Byblos.
I took one of those tour companies for this one, because I realized that it would actually be cheaper than going on my own. The funny thing is that when they told me they'd pick me up at 7:45, I took it as 7:45 Egyptian time, expecting them around 8:10. The driver arrived at 7:41! I wasn't even ready. So.not.like.egypt.
The Jeita Grotto is one of the most amazing natural wonders I've ever seen. It's these two caves in the mountains, that have these incredible stalagmite and stalactites formations. Unfortunately we were forbidden to take photos, but the memory will stick. The lower cave is a lake which also sources the dog river in the valley. The lower cave is explored by a short boat ride and it is just fabulous! There are rock formations sticking out of everywhere, requiring you to duck and watch your head and hands. It's cold, humid, and the water is crystal clear with a view of the formations from below. It feels like you're on the set of some sci-fi movie, or Harry potter or Lord of the Rings, or something. It's breathtaking!
From there we saw the statue of Mary in Harissa, reached by a very intimidating sky ride up the mountain. That was more exciting that the statue itself. It offered beautiful views of the coastline and all the red-roofed Lebanese houses.
Finally, we drove further up the coast to visit the ruins in Byblos. Some of the ruins found on this site date as far back as 10,000 BC!! I admit that by the time we reached Byblos, I was a little too hot and tired to explore, so instead, I roamed through the souq. Not a single person hassled me to buy something. No one bothered me at all. Crazy!
We wrapped the tour with a really nice seafood lunch at white beach, a beautiful pebble beach on the turquoise Mediterranean Sea. Overall, it was a fabulous day. I love visiting a place, having few expectations, and then feeling totally in awe of all the beauty!
Lebanon is such a beautiful country!
Sadly, after spending the rest of my afternoon in a cafe, I learned about the bombing in tripoli. Everything seemed totally normal that day, and no one mentioned anything while on the tour. And everything did continue normally afterwards as well. It's just so perplexing. Such a rich, historic, and beautiful land. And attacks are part of the norm.
I took one of those tour companies for this one, because I realized that it would actually be cheaper than going on my own. The funny thing is that when they told me they'd pick me up at 7:45, I took it as 7:45 Egyptian time, expecting them around 8:10. The driver arrived at 7:41! I wasn't even ready. So.not.like.egypt.
The Jeita Grotto is one of the most amazing natural wonders I've ever seen. It's these two caves in the mountains, that have these incredible stalagmite and stalactites formations. Unfortunately we were forbidden to take photos, but the memory will stick. The lower cave is a lake which also sources the dog river in the valley. The lower cave is explored by a short boat ride and it is just fabulous! There are rock formations sticking out of everywhere, requiring you to duck and watch your head and hands. It's cold, humid, and the water is crystal clear with a view of the formations from below. It feels like you're on the set of some sci-fi movie, or Harry potter or Lord of the Rings, or something. It's breathtaking!
From there we saw the statue of Mary in Harissa, reached by a very intimidating sky ride up the mountain. That was more exciting that the statue itself. It offered beautiful views of the coastline and all the red-roofed Lebanese houses.
Finally, we drove further up the coast to visit the ruins in Byblos. Some of the ruins found on this site date as far back as 10,000 BC!! I admit that by the time we reached Byblos, I was a little too hot and tired to explore, so instead, I roamed through the souq. Not a single person hassled me to buy something. No one bothered me at all. Crazy!
We wrapped the tour with a really nice seafood lunch at white beach, a beautiful pebble beach on the turquoise Mediterranean Sea. Overall, it was a fabulous day. I love visiting a place, having few expectations, and then feeling totally in awe of all the beauty!
Lebanon is such a beautiful country!
Sadly, after spending the rest of my afternoon in a cafe, I learned about the bombing in tripoli. Everything seemed totally normal that day, and no one mentioned anything while on the tour. And everything did continue normally afterwards as well. It's just so perplexing. Such a rich, historic, and beautiful land. And attacks are part of the norm.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Wandering through the streets of Gemmayzeh
Beirut is a small city, and all of it can be walked in about 2-3 days. Each narrow street winds through the neighborhoods, both up and down hill. They're lined with these adorable, old, stone buildings that are like European-villa-meets-Arabian-arches like.
With some neighborhoods trendier than others, I feel lucky to be staying in Gemmayzeh, a Brooklyn-esque part of town, filled with cool restaurants, bars and shops. A less exciting part of town is the Saifi village, which was first built to be an art village of super cool shops, but most have closed down. All that are left are few, seriously overpriced shops. Right next to Gemmayzeh is Achrafiye, the more soho-esque part, with the higher end boutiques and restaurants.
Most of the pictures I've snapped so far are actually of fabulously designed spaces. Everything here is eye-catching. From the clever shisha designs, to the restaurant and cafe decor, to the boutique clothing and jewelry shops. But there's a catch: Beirut is expensive. Food and taxis are cheap, but just about everything else isn't. If it looks like it may be expensive, yes, yes it is.
One of my favorite things to acquire when I travel, is art. And I stumbled upon this gallery displaying amazing graffiti art in Arabic calligraphy, all in beautiful patterns and colors. Most of the pieces I liked started in the $800 range, and I only looked at the small ones that I could travel with. Very disappointing, because it's been hours later and I'm still thinking about the art. Sad face.
The currency is in both Lebanese Lira and US $. You can withdraw both and pay in both. So the first thing I did today was withdraw some Benjamins. God, it felt good to hold some crisp American green again! But I've switched back to my American brain, where $3 for a 5 minute taxi is cheap. But the equivalent 21 Egyptian pound ride will take me all the way across Cairo. And I keep having to remind myself that honey makes Egyptian pounds, so spending dollars is like eating brownies. Best indulged in moderation. Have to cool it on the dollar spree.
It's going to be one of those trips where it's best that once I'm finished site seeing, I sit and lounge in cafes or at a pool. Shopping is going to do way too much damage.
I'm so impressed with this culture. The Lebanese are known to be the fashionable Arabs, with heavy influences from France and the US present everywhere, attributing to that characteristic. The girls are gorgeous and they wear whatever they want! Short shorts and skirts, tank tops, you name it. Guys are a mix though. Some are well groomed; they just look like arab europeans. Some, not so much. Not a single person has harassed us, and once again, people assume I'm a local.
It's exactly what I was hoping Cairo culture could have evolved into. In Cairo, the best hairdressers and the best restaurants are Lebanese. Anything better representing Arab culture in Egypt is not Egyptian, sadly, it's Lebanese. And being here, I see why. I'm at the source, and there's such an obvious difference between the two cities. People here can relax and be real. People here behave differently. Quality is not just a standard, it's a strife.
Im also impressed by the fact that everywhere I go, I hear mixes of Arabic, French and English. Anyone can travel here.
I feel so inspired and motivated. I see that the Middle East and Arab culture is so beautiful again, and it can retain its identity while incorporating western influences. Why can't Cairo be this cool??
With some neighborhoods trendier than others, I feel lucky to be staying in Gemmayzeh, a Brooklyn-esque part of town, filled with cool restaurants, bars and shops. A less exciting part of town is the Saifi village, which was first built to be an art village of super cool shops, but most have closed down. All that are left are few, seriously overpriced shops. Right next to Gemmayzeh is Achrafiye, the more soho-esque part, with the higher end boutiques and restaurants.
Most of the pictures I've snapped so far are actually of fabulously designed spaces. Everything here is eye-catching. From the clever shisha designs, to the restaurant and cafe decor, to the boutique clothing and jewelry shops. But there's a catch: Beirut is expensive. Food and taxis are cheap, but just about everything else isn't. If it looks like it may be expensive, yes, yes it is.
One of my favorite things to acquire when I travel, is art. And I stumbled upon this gallery displaying amazing graffiti art in Arabic calligraphy, all in beautiful patterns and colors. Most of the pieces I liked started in the $800 range, and I only looked at the small ones that I could travel with. Very disappointing, because it's been hours later and I'm still thinking about the art. Sad face.
The currency is in both Lebanese Lira and US $. You can withdraw both and pay in both. So the first thing I did today was withdraw some Benjamins. God, it felt good to hold some crisp American green again! But I've switched back to my American brain, where $3 for a 5 minute taxi is cheap. But the equivalent 21 Egyptian pound ride will take me all the way across Cairo. And I keep having to remind myself that honey makes Egyptian pounds, so spending dollars is like eating brownies. Best indulged in moderation. Have to cool it on the dollar spree.
It's going to be one of those trips where it's best that once I'm finished site seeing, I sit and lounge in cafes or at a pool. Shopping is going to do way too much damage.
I'm so impressed with this culture. The Lebanese are known to be the fashionable Arabs, with heavy influences from France and the US present everywhere, attributing to that characteristic. The girls are gorgeous and they wear whatever they want! Short shorts and skirts, tank tops, you name it. Guys are a mix though. Some are well groomed; they just look like arab europeans. Some, not so much. Not a single person has harassed us, and once again, people assume I'm a local.
It's exactly what I was hoping Cairo culture could have evolved into. In Cairo, the best hairdressers and the best restaurants are Lebanese. Anything better representing Arab culture in Egypt is not Egyptian, sadly, it's Lebanese. And being here, I see why. I'm at the source, and there's such an obvious difference between the two cities. People here can relax and be real. People here behave differently. Quality is not just a standard, it's a strife.
Im also impressed by the fact that everywhere I go, I hear mixes of Arabic, French and English. Anyone can travel here.
I feel so inspired and motivated. I see that the Middle East and Arab culture is so beautiful again, and it can retain its identity while incorporating western influences. Why can't Cairo be this cool??
Beirut!!
On first impression, there were 2 things that struck me. The first was the beautiful full moon, glowing so bright and close to the city, that I kept rubbing my eyes in disbelief. The second is how freakin hot it is here! Wow, I forgot what summer humidity felt like! It's about as hot temperature wise as Cairo, yet as humid as NYC. I am dying!
I checked into the uber cool Saifi gardens for the night, and wish they had room for me for the rest of the trip. It's run like a very cool hipster cafe, with a cafe downstairs, and a rooftop bar. While it is located on a highway, the noise is pretty loud. But the rooms are cute and the breakfast was excellent.
After having my airbnb host cancel on me at the last minute, I wandered through the streets around my hotel to find a plan b. got a decent option. Then I melted as I walked uphill to the ABC shopping mall to find a lonely planet book for Beirut. Couldn't find one anywhere in Cairo. The mall has everything I would except from a mid-east meets west shopping mall.
Now, the start of my journey as I melt away in Beirut...
I checked into the uber cool Saifi gardens for the night, and wish they had room for me for the rest of the trip. It's run like a very cool hipster cafe, with a cafe downstairs, and a rooftop bar. While it is located on a highway, the noise is pretty loud. But the rooms are cute and the breakfast was excellent.
After having my airbnb host cancel on me at the last minute, I wandered through the streets around my hotel to find a plan b. got a decent option. Then I melted as I walked uphill to the ABC shopping mall to find a lonely planet book for Beirut. Couldn't find one anywhere in Cairo. The mall has everything I would except from a mid-east meets west shopping mall.
Now, the start of my journey as I melt away in Beirut...
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Lima. Finalmente
Getting to Lima was an adventure on its own. After missing the flight the day prior, I got to the airport at 6:30am to get on the list for the morning flights. All booked. I was starting to get really annoyed at the false hope they were giving me. If it's no, just say so and let me go do something better with my day then.
As instructed, I went back in an hour to try the next flight. Turned out that one was full too. However, they found that there was only one seat left on the first, 8:15am, flight. It was 8:05. So imagine the guy behind the ticket counter and me racing through the packed airport, shoving aside grumpy French travelers so that I could zip through security and make it just before they closed the door. It was yet another reenactment from the movie Home Alone. I could easily identify my seat on board, as the only empty one, and I buckled my seat belt, still out of breath.
When I arrived in Lima, before looking for my bag, I saw this sign on the wall:
"Worry less, everything will be fine."
It was the perfect message to read at the perfect time. My bag was waiting for me, I showed up at the hostel, and although they didn't have a private room for me, when I asked for a female dorm, they took one of their empty dorm rooms and let me have it entirely to myself. All this is without any prior reservations made. I met another solo traveler from Germany and the two of us set out for the day together.
Lima is such a strange part of Peru. It's the least like any of the cities I've been. I'm seeing no culture, some history, hardly anyone here even looks Peruvian. It almost feels like I'm in a weird part of Europe, and not in Peru.
Central Lima is a total dump. Aside from the few plazas and monuments, all the surrounding areas remind me of parts of the Bronx or Queens. Really not attractive nor safe. In fact, while asking for directions in pursuit of a recommended restaurant, a stranger strongly advised us not to wander through that part of town. Ok... So we stuck to the touristy areas.
There's a main pedestrian street that links the two plazas to each other, which is lined with cheap chain stores and bad/cheap/chain restaurants. There is just nothing to be seen here.
But I will say that I'm in love with Lima's candy colored architecture. The city has such a vibrant selection of buildings, it's hard no to appreciate them. It's like old meets new, which is my favorite type of design, so I'm really appreciating it here.
And this is also true for miraflores, the neighborhood in which I'm staying. This is the kind of neighborhood I'd live in. Its abundant selection of restaurants, boutiques and beautiful buildings is the reason why I chose to stay here (luckily) over touristy central Lima. I emphasize lucky because even lonely planet advises you not to stay out in central Lima at night. Phew. And can I just say that this hostel is awesome!? I highly recommend anyone in Lima to stay at the hitchhikers hostel.
Since I have no desire to see churches and I'm museum'd and sites'd out, my time in Lima is to wander around the good parts and really, more importantly, eat. I ate all things Peruvian in my last 2 days, and ill say, Peruvians know how to eat. Yum.
On my last day, I took a tour at some ruins from 400 AD and walked through a park. As I was walking through and daydreaming, I stubbed my toe on a stone paver so badly, it was gushing blood. That took me 30 minutes to recover.
Way to end on a high note. Now get me home.
As instructed, I went back in an hour to try the next flight. Turned out that one was full too. However, they found that there was only one seat left on the first, 8:15am, flight. It was 8:05. So imagine the guy behind the ticket counter and me racing through the packed airport, shoving aside grumpy French travelers so that I could zip through security and make it just before they closed the door. It was yet another reenactment from the movie Home Alone. I could easily identify my seat on board, as the only empty one, and I buckled my seat belt, still out of breath.
When I arrived in Lima, before looking for my bag, I saw this sign on the wall:
"Worry less, everything will be fine."
It was the perfect message to read at the perfect time. My bag was waiting for me, I showed up at the hostel, and although they didn't have a private room for me, when I asked for a female dorm, they took one of their empty dorm rooms and let me have it entirely to myself. All this is without any prior reservations made. I met another solo traveler from Germany and the two of us set out for the day together.
Lima is such a strange part of Peru. It's the least like any of the cities I've been. I'm seeing no culture, some history, hardly anyone here even looks Peruvian. It almost feels like I'm in a weird part of Europe, and not in Peru.
Central Lima is a total dump. Aside from the few plazas and monuments, all the surrounding areas remind me of parts of the Bronx or Queens. Really not attractive nor safe. In fact, while asking for directions in pursuit of a recommended restaurant, a stranger strongly advised us not to wander through that part of town. Ok... So we stuck to the touristy areas.
There's a main pedestrian street that links the two plazas to each other, which is lined with cheap chain stores and bad/cheap/chain restaurants. There is just nothing to be seen here.
But I will say that I'm in love with Lima's candy colored architecture. The city has such a vibrant selection of buildings, it's hard no to appreciate them. It's like old meets new, which is my favorite type of design, so I'm really appreciating it here.
And this is also true for miraflores, the neighborhood in which I'm staying. This is the kind of neighborhood I'd live in. Its abundant selection of restaurants, boutiques and beautiful buildings is the reason why I chose to stay here (luckily) over touristy central Lima. I emphasize lucky because even lonely planet advises you not to stay out in central Lima at night. Phew. And can I just say that this hostel is awesome!? I highly recommend anyone in Lima to stay at the hitchhikers hostel.
Since I have no desire to see churches and I'm museum'd and sites'd out, my time in Lima is to wander around the good parts and really, more importantly, eat. I ate all things Peruvian in my last 2 days, and ill say, Peruvians know how to eat. Yum.
On my last day, I took a tour at some ruins from 400 AD and walked through a park. As I was walking through and daydreaming, I stubbed my toe on a stone paver so badly, it was gushing blood. That took me 30 minutes to recover.
Way to end on a high note. Now get me home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)