Morocco

This year my Christmas destination was Morocco. 

I flew from Lisbon to Marrakesh, the flight takes less than 1h30.

Our Moroccan experience started when we landed. The cabs are priced but the drivers don't respect the regulation and refuse to use the meter. It requires negotiation and I prefer to avoid it. We took the bus, it's always easier and safer. 

The bus ticket is 3 Euros per person and it stops next to the main attractions, namely the Djemaa el Fna.

The city is busy, dirty, stressful and it's also unique. 

In the Medina the vendors try to grab your arm and force you to buy crappy "handicrafts" made in China. The prices start very high and in the end you can get it for less than 1/10. Again, it requires lots of patience. And sometimes they are aggressive with women. 

Traffic is intense: motorbikes, donkeys, people pushing carts, vans... Anything that runs on wheels. 

Stress was constant during the trip. You have to be always aware of your surroundings and you can not relax. 

Hotels are pricey for what you get. 

The best thing about Morocco is the food, the architecture and the landscapes.

Airport Food

In a foodie diverse city like Chicago, even in the airport you can have a good food experience.

My favorite food spot in O’Hare is Tortas Frontera.

If you have a departing flight or a stopover in O’Hare, terminals 1 (B11) or 3 (K4) or 5 (M12), you have to try it. It’s a must try.

The sandwiches are made with fresh ingredients from local farms and they are delicious. My favorite one is the Smoky Garlic Shrimp.

The price is average for an airport, $10 each.

Tortas Frontera
O'Hare

Tortas Frontera
O'Hare

Tortas Frontera
O'Hare

Tortas Frontera
O'Hare

In Heathrow, the airport where I normally spend lots of time between connections, my favorite place to eat is located in terminal 5, Itsu.

It’s an Asian chain that sells fresh sushi (in the evenings they sell all the leftovers with a discount) and soups.

It’s expensive but the best option if you are like me and want to avoid greasy British food. 

Itsu
Instragram 

Another airport where I don’t mind to wait for a long time is Madrid. It’s easy to find good and cheap food.

The worse experience I ever had in an airport was in Vietnam. We planned to have lunch in the airport and… The airport was… C-L-O-S-E-D!

When they opened it for us, we found out that all the food was full of bugs or expired… Or both!

Dong Hoi Airport
Vietnam

Dong Hoi Airport
Vietnam

Dong Hoi Airport
Vietnam

Dong Hoi Airport
Vietnam

Caribbean: White Sand & Seafood

A friend asked me about the Caribbean. He wanted to know more about the islands and if it's possible to visit more than one island in 10 days. Yes, you can. And you should do it. 

Laying in the sand all day and resorts are not my type of vacations. I like to visit different places and meet locals. 

There are frequent flights between the islands, so it's not hard to visit more than one island in one week. 

In fact, during our honeymoon, we went to St. Lucia and Barbados (we also had a stopover in Puerto Rico, where we visited Old San Juan). 

In St. Lucia we just stayed in the resort, Anse Chastanet, because they have lots of different activities: snorkeling (best beach to it in St. Lucia), boat trips, guided tour to a plantation, yoga classes and some tours to the Pitons.

The resort is located in a gorgeous beach. 

Soufrière, Saint Lucia

Petit Piton

Soufrière, Saint Lucia

 Then we flew to Barbados. The island is completely different: very developed.

There, we stayed in a hotel and we took buses to downtown which gave us the sense of how people live. I cannot forget the ladies going to church in the morning, very well dressed... I felt part of the picture.

Barbados

Barbados

 We also went to some caves. They were very well organized and preserved and the tour was very interesting.

Barbados

Barbados

 This Thanksgiving we went to Nassau, Bahamas. It looks a lot like Barbados: very developed and the landscape is very similar. 

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas 

Food is also part of our trips. We like to taste local flavors. In Nassau we had great food experiences as you can see... 

Nassau, Bahamas
Matisse Restaurant

Nassau, Bahamas
Matisse Restaurant

Nassau, Bahamas
Matisse Restaurant

Nassau, Bahamas
Oh Andros! Restaurant

If you are looking for a place to rest, my suggestion is St. Lucia. It's very quiet and pleasant. 

If you want a mix of both, you should consider to visit another island, like Barbados, more developed, where you can experience city life Caribbean style.

Myanmar, Inle Lake: My Fav Destination

This summer we spent 2 months traveling in South East Asia. We visited 9 countries and several cities, my fav destination was Inle Lake, in Myanmar. 

I was very curious about Myanmar, maybe because I didn't know much about the country and it's not a very touristic destination.

Traveling in Myanmar requires a generous budget to avoid bad experiences. And everything works in a very old fashioned way. For example, ATM's are something very recent. 

When we arrived, to Mandalay, we decided to book the next flights and it was a very unique experience. We had a seat in a very old and smelly room in the departures area. Every ticket is hand written (no computers) and you have to pay it with cash. People are nice but they have a completely different pace: very slow.

After Mandalay we took a flight to Inle Lake. We landed in a very small airport, in the middle of nowhere. After taking a cab, we still had to take a boat to our hotel: Inle Princess Resort. I read lots of good things about it and I didn't understand why the reviewers were so fascinated about the arrival... Until I got there!

Inle Princess Resort

First of all, the views in the canal are just amazing: very natural and quiet. We passed by several houses on the water and before we arrived to our hotel, our boat passed through one of those houses to allow a rower to join us. Suddenly, the engine stopped working and the rower took control of the boat... He was rowing with his leg. It was a magical moment. 

The Inle Princess Resort is gorgeous. From our bungalow we could hear the monks singing a beautiful and relaxing song, every day.

We did a boat trip around the lake. We went to a monastery that is famous for the acrobatic cats... We just found a bunch of lazy cats, laying around the monastery and indifferent to visitors.

The most beautiful place that we visited in the Lake was the garden. They grow tomatoes in a lake. How fantastic is that?! 

Our boat driver Oo was very kind and helpful. He was very respectful with the other boats, he never sped too much, and would even stop so that I could take pics.

Inle Lake is a magical place that seems frozen in time: very unique and authentic. People are kind and the traditions are preserved.