Travel – Page 4

Mellow yellow.

“He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden.” – Plato

It’s officially sweater weather, and there was no better time to cuddle up in some thick, warm knits for a little getaway to Toronto. My husband and I joke that every time we go to Toronto, the weather is at its worst, and this weekend was no exception. With the windchill it was minus 30 degrees celsius! Though it was nice to cozy up in our room at The Drake, we did brave the cold and ventured outside for some shopping. Though I’m typically not a pants kind of girl, there really isn’t any other option when you’re walking outside in such frigid temperatures. Sometimes I have to make sacrifices, but it was all worth it to spend some quality time with my husband away from home.

For more Toronto picks, check out my post from last year.

Sweater: Wilfred. Denim: Abercrombie & Fitch. Necklace: Baublebar. Earrings: J.Crew. Watch: Chanel. Bracelet: Wanderlust & Co. Lips: MAC Russian Red.

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Fashion, Philosophy, Travel

Year in Review

“Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.” – Soren Kierkegaard

2017 treated me well. If I were to sum it up in one word, it’d be “discovery”. This year I focused on a lot of self reflection, learning more about myself and the goals I hope to achieve. I also had the opportunity to travel twice this year, revisiting New York City, as well as exploring Croatia and Slovenia. Luckily, the only major drama in my life came in the form of theatre productions. I was behind the stage for Much Ado About Nothing, the play the high school I teach at put on, and was onstage for Vanya, Sonia, Masha, and Spike.

Now that it’s 2018, my resolution is to keep strength training (both physically and mentally), read more, and enjoy every moment!

Happy New Year! Cheers to a great year and an even better one ahead!

Celebrating my nephew’s first birthday | January 2017

High school production of Much Ado About Nothing | March 2017

Bearing the cold in NYC | March 2017

Going for the laughs in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike | April 2017

Soaking up the views in Dubrovnik | July 2017

4th anniversary in Hvar | July 2017

Lounging in Lake Bled | July 2017

The blogging life in the great city of Detroit | August 2017

Twin Peaks: The Return | May – September 2017

Expressing my love of sushi on Halloween | October 2017

Enjoying the holiday season with my love | December 2017

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Travel

The Sights of Slovenia.

“One of the main points about travelling is to develop in us a feeling of solidarity, of that oneness without which no better world is possible.” – Ella Maillart

While planning our trip to Croatia, I kept reading about how I should sprinkle in some of Slovenia into the itinerary. Though it is a small country, there were many things for us to see during our three days there.

Ljubliana

Ljubliana is the capital of Slovenia, and where we based ourselves for four nights. We spent one full day exploring the city, which reminded me of a little Vienna. From cute shops, to churches, bridges, to castles, and kielbasa, Ljubljana was beautiful and charming.

Picturesque Ljubljana

Posing in Metelkova

Views from the castle

Dragon Bridge

Skocjan Caves

We decided to tour this cave as opposed to the popular Postojna cave because it has Europe’s largest cavern and it would apparently be less touristy. The caves can only be seen with a tour, and we were not allowed to take pictures. The cavern was indeed massive and impressive.

Predjama Castle

I first saw pictures of this castle on Pintrest, and knew that I’d have to visit it if given the chance. I mean, it’s a castle – in a cave! Though pretty on the outside, the audio guide continuously stressed how it was an awful place to live. Well, it was a great place to see!

Lake Bled

From Lubljiana, we took a day trip to nearby Lake Bled. From walking around the lake, paddling to the small island in the middle, to eating the famous cream cake, this day was definitely one well spent.

Vintgar Gorge

We stopped at Vintgar Gorge for about an hour after our visit to Lake Bled. The gorge is a short stretch of some incredibly beautiful scenery.

Slovenia was certainly a beautiful country to visit. Though I think I prefer Croatia as a travel destination, I’m still glad I added Slovenia to our itinerary for its beauty and culture.

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Travel

Croatian Vacation: Part Two.

“To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” – Danny Kaye

Our Croatian vacation has to be one of our most relaxing trips to date. Though we did walk a lot and drove from city to city, we had ample time to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the views. Mojitos were popular to drink while sitting at a street-side bar people watching. In terms of accommodations, we opted to stay at Air B&Bs, as there are few hotels with the location, style, and price range we wanted. All of our hosts were very friendly and easy to contact. As mentioned in my previous post, the food on our trip was great! From fresh seafood, to Bosnian, to cevapcici, we felt very satisfied with our meals. We were also fortunate with the weather because as we were leaving, Europe was entering a heat wave! I would totally recommend Croatia to anyone who is looking for a European destination that is laid back as it is beautiful and lively.

Lake Plitvice

According to pretty much every travel post online, Plitvice Lakes is not to be missed, and they were right. I don’t think I’ve seen so many waterfalls in my life! Everywhere we looked, nature was at its best.

Pula

On our way to Rovinj we stopped for a few hours in Pula. The main attraction here was the incredibly well preserved Roman amphitheatre.

Roadside views

Pulling over on our drive to admire the scenery

Roman amphitheatre

Rovinj

I think this was my favourite city to travelled to in Croatia. It was super small with cute houses and stunning views of the Adriatic. It was so enjoyable just getting lost through the streets for a day.

Views from the church bell tower

It’s fun getting lost!

Romantic and adorable

Nothing beats viewing the sunset over the Adriatic

Zagreb

We ended our vacation in Zagreb, the country’s capital. The full day we had here was the hottest, but we still enjoyed our time checking out art, churches, and architecture.

Jelacic Square

Apparently the neck tie was invented in Croatia

St. Mark’s Church

A hot day in Zagreb

Next week I’ll be talking more about our Slovenian travels. Stay tuned!

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Travel

Croatian Vacation: Part One

“Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend. To understand the things that are at our door is the best preparation for understanding those that lie beyond.” – Hypatia

Travelling is definitely a passion of mine. Since I was young, I always wanted to see the world. My husband and I have been making it an annual tradition to travel around the time of our anniversary, and this year we decided to vacation in the beautiful countries of Croatia and Slovenia. Why Croatia and Slovenia? Well, I have heard wonderful things about both from friends, and after doing some research online, I knew that the stunning views these two countries had to offer were what my husband and I were looking for. After reading Rick Steves’ travel guide, TripAdvisor and Reddit posts, I came up with our itinerary. We tend to enjoy a combination of history, culture, beautiful views, and some relaxation (if we have time!) and wanted the freedom of having a car. Croatia did not disappoint on all fronts. The people were incredibly friendly, and the food was surprisingly fantastic. And being a crazy cat lady, Croatia was awesome – there were cats everywhere and I even made a few fur friends. I have a lot of say and show, so expect a couple more vacation posts in the next week!

Dubrovnik

Famous for the location of Kings Landing in Game of Thrones, this city remained one of the highlights of our entire trip. Dubrovnik is nothing short of gorgeous – a historical old town with small streets on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. What we especially enjoyed was our day trip to the nearby island of Lokrum.

Drinks at Buza Bar

Game of Thrones tour

Taking a break in old town

Views from the city walls

Lokrum island

The beaches of Lokrum

Dubrovnik from far above

Hvar

Known as a party city and the celebrity destination of Croatia, Hvar had a bustling nightlife and stunning views. We rented a boat one of our days on the island and were able to explore the smaller Pakleni islands and swim in the sea. One of my favourite meals was a seafood risotto at the restaurant Laganini.

Beautiful hidden streets

An evening stroll with seaside views

A day out on a boat

Swimming in the Adriatic

Split

Split is the second biggest city in Croatia. Though not as stunning as the previous two cities (in my opinion), it offered a lot of history for us to see including Diocletian’s Palace and Klis Fortress. It was super hot the day we were in Split, but were able to keep cool with copious amounts of ice cream!

Taking a break in some Roman ruins

Views from the harbour

Hot morning in Klis Fortress

Klis Fortress

Stay tuned for another Croatia post featuring Plitvice Lakes, Rovinj, and Zagreb!

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Fashion, Travel

New York, New York

“One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” – Thomas Wolfe

When my husband and I were thinking of where to go for March break, we first thought of Los Angeles because neither of us had been there. However, after further research, we decided to choose somewhere closer to maximize our time. Both of us had been to New York City before and loved it, and thought it would be a great idea to see the Big Apple once again, especially because the flight time from Detroit is less than two hours. We knew it would be sort of a gamble in terms of the weather, but we did not expect it to be as cold and snowy as it ended up being. With that said, we made the most of our trip and made many incredible memories. Because it wasn’t our first time to NYC, we didn’t do too much tourist sightseeing.

We stayed at the HGU New York. The lobby and room were both modern and stylish. The bed was comfortable, and we had a nice bay window. The bathroom was clean and spacious, though I would have liked the water to be hotter than it was, especially since it was so cold outside.

Hotel lobby.

The desk in our room

The bed. This is a deluxe Queen room.

Simple and clean bathroom.

We spent most of our days wandering Midtown Manhattan, in addition to checking out the Museum of Modern Art, seeing The Glass Menagerie on Broadway and a comedy show at the Comedy Cellar (with a surprise appearance from Louis C.K.). One of my favourite highlights would have to be ice skating with my love at Rockefeller Centre. Though it was a very cold week, and I didn’t have many fashion options other than to keep warm, New York City is always a delight!

Coat: Alice+Olivia (old, similiar here and here). Scarves: Gucci, Burberry. Bag: Louis Vuitton. Shoes: BP, Nine West (old, very similar here).

Travel

Weekend in Toronto.

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

This past weekend my husband and I went on a mini getaway to a favourite city of ours – Toronto. Only 4 hours from Windsor, Toronto is a great city with fabulous shopping, food, and entertainment. When staying in Toronto, we favour The Drake Hotel for its quirky hipster rooms and all-around vibe, as well as its location on Queen St. W. To be honest, my husband and I don’t venture out of this area too much, especially if we only have a couple days in the city. Both Queen St. W. and nearby Ossington St. offer some really interesting independent shops and plenty of good eats.

Outside of The Drake. In addition to its convenient location, the hotel has a great restaurant and bar.

Inside our room. This is the crash pad, and it’s a great size for the two of us. Warning – be aware that the shower is fully exposed, so I wouldn’t recommend staying in this room if you don’t want to see the person you are with naked.

Nedage 780 Queen St W, Toronto. Amazing french pastries and macarons – YUM!