Diane's Vintage Zest!: travel

Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Hello (& Instagrams) from the Philippines!

Originally, I had scheduled a crafty post for today (per my brand new blogging schedule)... but I'm in the Philippines! So far, I have only had about a day in Manila. It consisted of sleeping, food, and a short walk around town before the entire city practically shut down when the Pope arrived. However, I have a few pictures to share with you already!

To keep up with all of my adventures, check my Instagram feeds at both @vintagezest for the sights and @theepisodiceater for the food!

Here is Day Zero (at the airport) & One of the journey so far to whet your appetite...

Left from LAX, where I actually did a little celeb spotting! I did get pictures, but no... I'm not about to name drop. :)

Uploading some old pictures on to my computer because no, I couldn't quite cut the cord...

On the plane with three travel essentials: hydration, nuts, and Chris Pratt!

Hello (and Instagrams) from the Philippines!

Ate a ton on the plane. Seriously, I'm surprised at how pretty this plane food was! Also, this is what one person was given to eat, minus a couple of courses that you can see on @theepisodiceater. Granted, this was a long flight, but really? Plus, I could order from the snack menu whenever I wanted. It was bananas! Irony: I skipped the banana during breakfast.

After touching down in the Philippines, we got acclimated to the hot weather, the time difference, and the money! Fun fact, the two 500 peso bills below are both real currency, but they change the money so often here that you'll often see different bills with the same denomination.

On a side note, aren't the bills pretty? I just had to share on @vintagezest because I thought so. :)

Blogging Hiatus Over! (I'm Baaack...)

Well, hello again friends! Happy New Year!

Are you wondering where I was the for the last four months? Or do you want to know what big plans and changes I have in store for the new year? Let's catch up, shall we? :) It is long overdue, and I missed all of y'all. Here's the scoop on what's been going on behind the scenes while I was on this unexpected blogging hiatus!

P.S. - At the end of the post, some of those big plans include the travel destination that I'm headed to shortly! I'm sooo excited, and I would adore any suggestions you have for me!

As of today, Vintage Zest is two years old and counting, so you you think I would have gotten the hang of figuring out how this whole rigamarole fits into my life. Apparently, not so!

Last I left you in August, I was blogging every day with new recipes, crafts, tips, and a new small business to share with you seven days a week. The Episodic Eater was a fun side project that did not take up much time. I was going to move into a new home that I was excited to start decorating. In fact, a couple people guessed that I packed and moved, both physically and virtually! Really, things were good!

Well... things change and life happens!

First of all, many life changes occurred and things came up that I had to deal with. One of those things means that the house I was looking forward to... is no more. While dealing with everything, one day turned into a week, which turned into a month, and then almost four months passed by! Well, what does that mean? I'm not going to blast personal info all of the interwebz to be dissected, but all you need to know is that I'm happy and healthy. Now, I'm back and better than ever!

What does this mean for the blog? Well, a couple changes needed to be made. Remember this crazy blogging schedule?

Monday = Recipe
Tuesday = Do Tell Tuesday
Wednesday = Craft or Sewing
Thursday = Tip (and now my Blogging 101 Series)
Friday = Weekly Wrap-Up (adventures in my life!)
Saturday = Shop Small Saturday Showcase
Sunday = Sunday Synopsis & Stumped on Sunday

I've now streamlined it into the brand-spanking new schedule below!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Vegas, Baby!

Wow, it's my first Weekly Wrap-Up since May and it's a fun one! I went to Las Vegas for the weekend, and it's the fourth time making an appearance on Vintage Zest. (See Visit 1, Visit 2 & Visit 3) It's been 7 months since my last visit, and it was hot hot hot!

Precap (jump to):

Eats: Fatburger, Bouchon Bistro, I ♥ Burgers, Zeffirino, Espressamente illy
Sights: Vegas

On the way to Vegas, I remembered to try something out that happened while I was at home and our internet connection got knocked out. You can use Picmonkey without a network, as long as the window is already open. Score!

On our drive, stopped at Fatburger, and I thought it would be fun to practice my food blogging for The Episodic Eater.

Besides, nothing beats a burger, fries, and a shake for some great roadside eats!

Once we arrived in Las Vegas, we stayed at The Palazzo, which is enormous!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Carnival time in Vegas!

This was a busy, busy week before Christmas! We had so much fun, and I for one am completely tuckered out. It's a good thing that the holidays are almost upon us so I can get a bit of a break. :)

Precap:

Sights: Road trip to Vegas!
Eats: Nick's on 2nd, Pamplemousse Le Restaurant, Carnival of Cuisine, Public House, Grimaldi's Pizzeria, Bouchon

Before all of the fun Las Vegas weekend stuff, I had a quick lunch with my mom during the workweek. We headed to Nick's on 2nd and I had the most delicious dessert... Warm Butter Cake! If anyone knows a similar recipe, let me know. :) To see all of the delicious pictures, head to The Episodic Eater on this post!

Friday

And then we were off to Vegas for the weekend! Here are a couple pretty pictures of our ride over. :)

I love this picture of the rainbow sky over the desert mountains. :)

For dinner, we went to Pamplemousse Le Restaurant and had a nice welcome dinner to Las Vegas. Check out this incredible crudités platter! See all of the deliciousness right here. :)

Saturday

In the morning, my guy and I hit the outlet malls and I may have purchased just a few things... :) First, I had some new Kenneth Cole boots (to replace my favorite, worn-out black ones) and an awesome leather jacket also from Kenneth Cole. Also, I bought a few festive tops, a pretty belt, and a winter jacket from Banana Republic (I heart that store), plus a chambray shirt & statement necklace from J. Crew. I went all out since I have not bought winter clothing in forever and the deals were too ridiculously good to pass up!

Now, for the reason we were there! We went to the Carnival of Cuisine, which is an amazing food event. Tons of restaurants from The Palazzo and The Venetian have tables all around the pool area and you sample so much incredible food.

Capture the Colour

This is a fun photo blogging competition that I have seen several travel bloggers participate in. I wasn't tagged, but I thought it would be fun to play along! Here is the gist straight from the website:

"The idea was simple, publish a blog post showcasing five of your favourite travel photographs which best capture the colour of our five categories: red, blue, green, yellow and white.

Previous entries have showcased the beauty of our planet's natural landscape, impressive man-made wonders and exotic cuisine, as well as animals, friends and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. But, feel free to take a picture of pretty much anything you feel best encapsulates your travel experiences."

Sounds fun, right?

Also, there is the chance to win some prizes, but seeing as how I have never used a fancy camera, I'm not sure that I'm even close to being a contender. :) In any case, I did my best to find some vibrant photographs encapsulating the color. Believe me, it was tough to pick just one picture per category! I even made sure to hit 5 different countries and 5 of different themes (once-in-a-lifetime experiences, architecture, landscapes, man-made wonders, and food). Without further ado, here are my pictures!

Red

Flamenco dancers in Barcelona, Spain.

Definitely a must-see for the wonderful dancing, beautiful music, and gorgeous dancers in their costumes.

Blue

Vibrant blue building in the streets of Bogota, Colombia.

This mountain city is full of steep roads, which you can see dropping down in the distance.

Green

Weekly Wrap-Up: New Orleans, LA!

Honestly, I sat down to write this and got a little sad thinking about how I'm no longer in New Orleans. It's probably my favorite city that I've travelled to as a tourist, and I feel like I could go back over and over again. Bonus: it was Lil Miss' first time in New Orleans, so she'll be making an appearance. :)

Here are a bunch of my favorite pictures in the city, with a little bit of my commentary in between. Really, the pictures speak for themselves!!!

Precap (jump to):

Sights: Bourbon Street, Cemetery Tour, Garden District, Jackson Square, French Market, World War II Museum
Eats: Mother's Restaurant, Jacques Imo's, Cafe Beignet, Mother's Restaurant #2, Morning Call, Antoine's, Cafe du Monde, Meals From the Heart, Stella!, Cafe Adelaide

New Orleans Wrap-Up on Diane's Vintage Zest!

Hiya Lil Miss!

This was one of the clues in my crossword puzzle on the plane. What a coincidence!

Welcomed to New Orleans (from my Instagram feed!)

First thing to do after checking in? Eat a roast beef po' boy with debris and bread pudding at Mother's. Getting it started off right...

Went for a little walk, then dinnertime came around quick! We went to Jacques Imo's, which was cute inside and out! They served us yummy cornbread (unlimited!) to start and baby spinach before the main event.

Guest Post: Top 10 Packing Tips from Brittany Ruth of The Rococo Roamer

Can you believe it is time for another guest post Thursday?

Today, we have a great travel post from Brittany Ruth of The Rococo Roamer! I stumbled upon her blog before I headed to my Europe trip and it was so fun to see her stories on the places that I was about to visit. Not only is she a traveler, she loves antiquing, DIY, and vintage. A girl after my own heart! Definitely check out her pretty blog (her blog banner is SUPER cute) for some international inspiration. Read below for a word from the girl herself and her Top 10 Packing Tips!

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About me: I began The Rococo Roamer to keep friends and family in touch while I moved overseas to Germany as a newlywed. Quickly I discovered that I really enjoyed blogging and began to incorporate posts about my love for antique and flea market traveling all around Europe. You can check out my European Flea Guide tab here. I also write about DIY projects and DIY inspiration. I have a passion for travel and plan to visit as many countries in Europe as I can. I love to help others plan their trips and discover new places. I am also working full-time while in Germany and attending school. I have the cutest French Bulldog on the planet named Louis, that does the funniest things. He is a mini monster! Stop by my blog and say "Hi!"

My three favorite posts are:
Traditional English, German, and French Furniture
Tongeren, Belgium Flea Market
Santorini, Greece

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Here is my contribution of what my top 10 MUST HAVES are for any trip around Europe or Stateside.

(The link to the original article can be found here!)

Top 10 Packing Tips for the International Roamer

Weekly Update: My Birthday in Vegas!

I hope you didn't mind my weekly update being up a day late, but I still wanted to share my second time in Las Vegas since starting the blog! We are definitely there a bunch. :)

Precap: Boubouffe Grill, AquaKnox, outlet shopping, Public House, Bouchon, Postrio

Wednesday

I bought an online deal to Boubouffe Grill that was going to expire, so we hit it up. It was so much better than I expected!

We started with an appetizer sampler with falafel, feta-stuffed African peppers, hummus, babaganoush, and spiced cauliflower. Yum!

For our entrees, I had a grilled veggie sandwich but the beef shwarma was seriously good too!

Friday

If you follow me on Twitter, you would know that we headed to Vegas for the weekend!

When we got there, we had a couple of hours to kill, so we took in the sights. Then, we went to a show with Human Nature, a 4-man group from Australia who sing Motown records. Seriously! They were pretty good, but I didn't take any pictures during the performance, so you'll have to see for yourself!

After the show, we were famished and went to AquaKnox. It was so delicious! Below, you see an amuse bouche of tuna tartar, my seafood "soup", surf and turf, and a halibut. It was all REALLY good!

For an after-dinner drink my guy ordered an Absinthe, which was accompanied a serious presentation, which I documented in pictures!

Travel Tip #2: Shop For Cheaper Accommodations

Here is the start of my travel tips series! Although I did share one tip before my trip, this is the real start. :) I know this will need updating from time to time, when items change or more options come up. With that caveat, here we go!

The view from our Dublin hotel

When you're traveling abroad, there's nothing worse than finding the perfect hotel in the perfect location, plugging in the amount into a currency converter, and then finding out that it's totally out of your budget!

Well, I'm here to compare the different accommodations that I've used over my years traveling abroad. On this trip we stayed in three hotels, two bed & breakfasts, and five rented apartments. By the way, this was my first time renting apartments through a website called Airbnb, which ending up saving us some serious coin.

In Part 1, I'll point out the different things to look for when you are booking a place to stay.

In Part 2, I'll shed some light on the pros and cons on staying in hotels vs. bed & breakfasts vs. hostels vs. rented apartments. This will also include a few websites to make your comparison shopping easier.

In Part 3, I'll share my tips for a successful Airbnb rental after the comparison, since it was such a great experience! I'm not being paid or anything, but I wish I had some help before we started looking!

Part 1: What to Look For in a Place to Stay

The list of important things is different for everybody, but I noticed that when I was booking accommodations with my travel buddies, we each had different priorities. Here's a list of things to get the juices flowing on picking out the best place for your next vacation!

Expense: Self-explanatory! There may be accommodations that include extras, such as WiFi, breakfast, parking, and pets for free. Definitely a bonus! Conversely, if you are charged extra, you should include this as part of the expense.
Location, location, location: You may love to be in the touristy areas, near the attractions, or away from the craziness around where the locals live. It depends on you! Proximity to public transportation, as well as to good restaurants and cafes is always a plus. :)
Ratings: Websites like Trip Advisor will help you to make your decision by reading reviews by previous guests. Also, some of the websites in Part 2 have rating systems built in to the search functions.
Security: Often, this is tied to the location, but it may be important for you to have a private room with a safe.
Ease of booking: Nowadays, the internet makes it easier, but there are some options that are definitely easier than others!
The Pretty Factor: We all want to stay somewhere that looks and feels like somewhere we want to stay all day, even if we only stay here to sleep! Also, it may be important for you to have some local character in your accommodations. :)
Room Size/Features: Usually bigger is better, especially if it has a kitchen and living room!
Luxuries: The gym, spa, and babysitting services may be important necessities for you on your vacation. :) Also, you may want a 24 hour front desk or concierge that can book tours, tickets, etc.
Access: Certain accommodations abroad will not comply with the same standards that we have in the U.S. This means steep staircases, lack of ramps, etc. which may be important if you're on the top floor with heavy suitcases!
Family friendly: You'll want to pay attention to the safety of the neighborhood, room size, luxuries, and access.

Our rented apartment was just a few minutes walk from the tower in Bruges!

Part 2: Accommodation Comparison

Travel Crafting: Cozy Gloves!

The title is a bit misleading because there isn't going to be a second travel crafting post (at least not for this trip!).

Remember in London, at the end of the post I asked if anyone had any tips for layering because my poor hands were so freezing? Well, in the next post I had a teaser for the solution to my problem!

And if for some reason you wanted to make your own, I'm even including a "tutorial."

Introducing my protection from frostbite, the polkadot thermal gloves!

Like I mentioned, we had been on Oxford Circus, looking around for gloves for me and a scarf for my friend, but there were only spring items in the stores. Then, we went to Portobello Road where you can find just about anything!

They were selling gloves for 8 pounds, but I thought I could do better, especially when I saw Poundland (the UK version of the 99 Cent Only store!).

There were no gloves in stock (darn!), but I did walk out of there with a thank you gift for our host, lip balm in a lovely tin, and my glove materials...

Travel Diaries: Dublin

This is the last chapter in my travel diaries. Yay! Let's get into it!

*See the whole trip here!*

Bruges
Brussels
Ireland - Part 1
Ireland - Part 2
Dublin (this post!)

Day 1 (Wednesday, 4/24)

Eats: Bull & Castle

Well, this was a really short day for us since we got in so late from Galway. After turning in our rental car (undamaged!) we checked into the hotel.

We were surprised to see Christchurch Cathedral right outside our hotel window!

(Funny story is that the next morning, my guy wakes up and says, "Did you hear someone up late last night banging on a pole or something?" I had to laugh, because it was the church bells that were ringing all night. He's such a light sleeper!)

For some reason, my guy was feeling a bit bad, maybe from all of the tarts we had eaten during the day. So, we stayed in the room for a bit until he was feeling better.

Right across the street, we went to Bull & Castle. Unfortunately, it was late so we stopped in to have food at their Beer Hall upstairs instead.

It was still pretty great! My man had a steak sandwich, of course. :)

I ordered halloumi cheese skewers with veggies. It was surprisingly good!

Day 2 (Thursday, 4/25)

Sights: Guinness Storehouse
Eats: Gallagher's Boxty House
Drinks: Gogarty's, The Palace Bar

We got a bit of a late start this morning, so for breakfast, we had our last two tarts from Galway. Yum!

Travel Diaries: Ireland - Part 2

It's Wednesday, so time for another weekly wrap-up, right?

Well, even though I'm back home now, I need to recap the last legs of my Ireland journey, so here is the second part of Ireland. My normal weekly wrap-ups will be back next week!

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

Bruges
Brussels
Ireland - Part 1
Ireland - Part 2 (this post!)
Dublin

Day 3 (Sunday, 4/21) - continued

Sights: Slea Head drive (Bee Hive huts), Conor Pass
Eats: Murphy's Pub, Murphy's Ice Cream, John Benny Moriarty's
Drinks: Flannery's, Dolan's

For our third day in Ireland, we got ready to do a ton of driving on the west coast. Lucky for me, there was less navigating to be done, because there's only one road!

This was the view from the car before arriving in Dingle.

Once in town, we were greeted by a bronze sculpture of Fungi! Everybody loves him in Ireland. :)

First, we stopped at Murphy's Bar for a pint and fish and chips. They're known for their seafood in this area, so we were more than happy to try it out. :)

Travel Diaries: Ireland - Part 1

Last I left you, I was in the Brussels airport headed to Ireland.

This was a long trip with a lot of driving, so here's the first part!

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

Bruges
Brussels
Ireland - Part 1 (this post!)
Ireland - Part 2
Dublin

Day 1 (Friday, 4/19)

Sights: Dunmore Caves, Killarney Castle
Eats: Cafe la Coco
Drinks: Left Bank

We arrived in Dublin and got to the rental car office. At first, we thought that we might get a GPS, but the man at the counter actually talked us out of it, since getting lost is part of the fun. I have good map reading skills, but I was definitely NOT prepared for the tiny Ireland roads and its lack of street signs. :)

This was a sample of the beautiful scenery we had as we headed south!

By the way, we're obviously on the left side of the road, so I had to provide lots of reminders to "Stay left! Stay left!" But I was happy to be the navigator/reminder, considering that we got a stick-shift car. This is one of the large highways, which was easy to drive on, but sometimes they ran through cities like this one.

It's not really common in California to have highways turn into regular streets, so it slowed some of our driving time. Luckily, the cities weren't too big usually, and we got right back to driving through super green fields!

Our first stop was in the Dunmore Caves. We needed a flashlight in some areas, but it was pretty cool down there!

Travel Diaries: Brussels

More than halfway into my trip, and I was still going strong... until I started to feel a bit under the weather. Luckily, I recuperate pretty fast and I was able to get back on track. Here's our time in Brussels! :)

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

Day 1 (Tuesday, 4/16)

Sights: Église Saint-Boniface
Eats: Mano a Mano

We arrived at the train station and caught a bus to our flat. We hadn't been able to contact our host the whole day, so she was still preparing our room when we arrived. She suggested that we stop to eat at the area of shops around the corner for dinner or a drink while she finished up.

The center of the shops was the Église Saint-Boniface, which was small (for European standards) but pretty.

We ate at Mano a Mano, which was absolutely incredible! We decided to share a pizza...

...and a trio of pastas.

They were all sooo good! It was late by the time we ended, so we headed straight off to bed.

Day 2 (Wednesday, 4/17)

Sights: Place Royale Koningsplein, Musical Instrument Museum, Mont des Arts, Belgian Comic Strip Center, Royal Galleries, Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Sessún Boutique, Stock Exchange, Eglise Saint-Nicolas
Eats: Mary Chocolates, Waffle Planet, Fritland, Le Cirio
Drinks: A La Mort Subite, Delirium Cafe

The first thing we did every morning in Brussels was break out the bread and cheese that we bought in Noordermarkt during our time in Amsterdam. Yum!

Travel Diaries: Bruges

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

On the way to Bruges we had a transfer in Antwerp, which had a beautiful train station. Too bad I can't capture how beautiful it was but I suppose if you want to see it, you'll have to see it for yourself!

Day 1 (Monday, 4/15)

Sights: Burg Square, Markt Square
Eats: La Belgique Gourmande, La Cure Gourmande, Cambrinus

When we arrived at Bruges, the train station was seriously packed and getting a bus into the center of town was a bit crazy. Then when we arrived, we weren't sure where to pick up the key from our host, so it took about another hour to get settled. Finally, we got a chance to see some of the town as we walked around. There were tons of beautiful canals and bridges like Amsterdam.

Even better than Amsterdam was the Burg square, with the City Hall and Basilica of the Holy Blood one side, which were really beautiful and impressive.

To get to the Markt Square, we walked down Breydelstraat and found a couple of sweet shops that were too tempting to pass up! First we stopped in La Belgique Gourmand.

Thoughts on Boston 4/15/2013

Hopefully, this is not a controversial post but here goes.

During travels, you are usually slow to get the news from back home, which is not unexpected. After all, who wants to sit in front of a TV, newspaper, or computer looking at the news. But every so once in a while, something shocking enough happens that you can't miss it, even overseas.

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When you are traveling as an American, you notice several things.

Sometimes you hear comments about how rude, loud, stupid, or bullying we are in the world of politics. We heard one such comment at the Boom Chicago show from a local, while the troupe (originally from America) were setting up their last song.

I have heard the joke, and even made it a couple of times, that we would get treated better if we pretended to be Canadians. I've also heard a couple of times that Canadians hate to be mistaken for Americans when traveling.

With this in mind, you go along your travels and try not to feed into the stereotype too much. Admittedly, I cringe when I see or hear the stereotypical "embarrassing Americans." I'm not unpatriotic, but it's not a great feeling.

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The thing that I want to shed some light on is about how much international support the U.S. really has. Yes, there are those people who shout out how terrible we are in a crowd, but then there are a hundred other people to shush him and laugh and clap with us instead.

People generally speak English, which we take for granted, but they are happy to converse with us, even if we can only say thank you in their language. They are truly nice to us and care about where we are from. They tell us about the times they've been to America, or where they'd like to go if they've never been.

Every time we went anywhere, someone was listening to the radio, or watching the TV, or having a conversation of how terrible the tragedy in Boston is. And these were what we would call foreigners. People who have never set foot on our soil, and do not know anyone that was directly affected.

Although we tend to not know much about matters outside of our country, which is partially due to the little international news we receive, the same cannot be said about the rest of the world.

What I'd like to say to those affected is that while you have support from your friends, families, the city around you, and the rest of the country, there is an international community out there that you may not know about, who truly care. You are in all of our prayers.

Source

Travel Diaries: Amsterdam - Part 2

Let's get on with the travel adventures!

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

Day 4 (Sunday, 4/14)

Sights: Molen van Sloten, Keukenhoff, Heineken Experience
Eats: de Patatzaak, Kantjil & the Tijger

On our last day in Amsterdam, we knew that we were going to see the tulips in Keukenhoff. We woke up in time for the 9 am shuttle, but ended up finding out that we needed to exchange one of our museum passes for a ticket prior to boarding. There were only tickets left in the last shuttle of the day at 1 pm, so we were lucky to even get on! In the meantime, we had about 2.5 hours to kill, and we already had a looong list of things to do before leaving at 9 am the next morning by train. Even with our long schedule we wouldn't even be able to see the Rijksmuseum. I was secretly hoping that we could see it the following morning, even for just an hour, although it would put us on a later train, which my ultra-punctual guy would dislike.

Anyways, I reshuffled our schedule and decided to go to Molen can Sloten next, the only working windmill within Amsterdam's city limits. It was such a great tour, and we were the only ones there. We highly recommend visiting here!

First, we walked through an area that showed different professions that relied on windmills with different antique tools. Then we went a guided tour with the miller (who is really in charge of making sure the water levels in sections of Amsterdam don't rise too high), who kept joking with us. He was pretty funny, so at the top of the windmill when he pointed at a shop below where there is a man who "makes the best potato in Amsterdam," we figured that he was kidding again. We were in a big hurry, but since it was literally right next door, we stopped in. I was a bit disappointed to find out that the potatoes were just fries, which I knew that I'd get in Belgium, but since we were hungry, we decided to share some fries for our breakfast while waiting for the bus. :)

We literally ran to catch the bus back into town, just in case we were late to our 12:30 pm Keukenhoff shuttle boarding time. On the way, I snapped a picture of this while catching my breath. :) Renegade knitters in Amsterdam!

At the bus stop, my guy told me that I would love the fries, having already snuck a few on the run to the bus stop. He was sooo right! They must have been doubled fried, because were nice and crispy on the outside, and almost creamy on the inside. The thickness was right in the middle, not a skinny shoestring or a thick steak fry. It was salted just a bit, which is rare for Europeans to add salt to their fries. They were so good with and without ketchup, which is pretty hard for a fry to accomplish, in my opinion. Of course, they were gone before we even got on the bus, partially because we waited so long for it to arrive.

We finally boarded the shuttle with a guy who spoke at least 5 different languages. It always amazes me how people can speak so many languages so well! On the bus, I snapped a picture of one of the fields of flowers.

Travel Diaries: Amsterdam - Part 1

I was sad to leave Paris, but super excited to catch up with my man and his sister in Amsterdam. We were all coming from different countries to meet up, me from France, my guy from the U.S., and his sister from Italy. We were all excited to see each other and visit Amsterdam for the very first time. :)

Here's the first part of that journey!

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

Day 1 (Thursday, 4/11)

Sights: Train station
Eats: Il Panorama

I had a 7:22am train to catch from Gare du Nord, but my friend had an even earlier plane! We parted ways very early in the morning. I met my aunt for just a little bit while I packed, and then we stopped to get one last pastry from Du Pain des Idees.

The rest of the day was a mess. First, I forgot my converter in the flat, which I realized only after it was too late to turn back. I hadn't factored in how long of a walk it would be to Gare du Nord and I ended up having to leave my aunt behind to run and make my train just 1 minute before it departed. I entered on a train car towards the beginning and had to haul all of my stuff through four different passenger cars. Whew!

Then, I got off at Antwerp because I heard "Antwerpen Centraal" called over the loudspeaker in Dutch, which I mistakenly heard as "Amsterdaam Centraal." No one near me on the train spoke English and there wasn't a route map anywhere to confirm. I asked a lady who had just entered the train by pointing to the station and asking "Amsterdaam Centraal?" and she nodded yes. She motioned that she was sitting in my seat for the next leg, so I promptly got my suitcase and left the train. Then, I confirmed with a girl by pointing at the platform I was standing on and asking "Amsterdaam Centraal?" again, to which I received a nodding of yes again. I was ready to head up the escalator, when I saw the sign for the station reading "Antwerpen Centraal." I started to run to the train when I realized where I was. The girl came towards me and said "Train to Amsterdaam Centraal. Not station." Well, yes I figured that out already! So I hauled my stuff back onto the train late again. I motioned to another late passenger "Amsterdaam Centraal?" and she responded "Yes, we will reach Amsterdam after a few stops." English! She told me that there would be 3 more stops before mine, so I could finally relax. Well, after I hauled my stuff back to my original seat, I relaxed. By the way, that first lady sitting in my seat was actually across the aisle from me, so her misleading answer almost stranded me in Antwerp!

When I finally got to Amsterdam, I turned around to see a beautiful train station! Definitely rivals Gare du Nord in the style category, but not size for sure. I love the wind direction indicator!

Then, part two of my nightmare.

Spicy Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing

Sweet Potato Souffle for Thanksgiving

DIY Painted Photo Backdrops

Golden Sweet Corn Bread Mini Muffins

Easy Sweet Potato Pie (without a crust!)

Hello (& Instagrams) from the Philippines!

Blogging Hiatus Over! (I'm Baaack...)

Weekly Wrap-Up: Vegas, Baby!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Carnival time in Vegas!

Capture the Colour

Weekly Wrap-Up: New Orleans, LA!

Guest Post: Top 10 Packing Tips from Brittany Ruth of The Rococo Roamer

Weekly Update: My Birthday in Vegas!

Sponsored Tip: Proprly: Expert Cleaning & Key Delivery Services

Travel Tip #2: Shop For Cheaper Accommodations

Travel Crafting: Cozy Gloves!

Travel Diaries: Dublin

Travel Diaries: Ireland - Part 2

Travel Diaries: Ireland - Part 1

Travel Diaries: Brussels

Travel Diaries: Bruges

Thoughts on Boston 4/15/2013

Travel Diaries: Amsterdam - Part 2

Travel Diaries: Amsterdam - Part 1

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