Tag: North America

Oaxaca, Mexico

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City: Oaxaca

How Long: 3 nights

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the lovely Airbnb, right in the center of town. It had 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms & a washer! It was very modern and clean. It also felt very safe & had a clean water spout in the sink. It was perfect for a girls weekend in Oaxaca 🙂

WHERE TO EAT:

Boulenc – Fun, delicious brunch spot! I obviously got the french toast & added crispy bacon. Everyone’s meal looked great.

La Tribu – Fun pizza spot with a lovely outdoor terrace. I had a great, healthy rice & veggie bowl.

Tierra del Sol – Upscale, nice dinner. Our fanciest meal. Service was excellent & menu was very unique.

One night we stopped at a Marquisitas stand for a fun waffle/crepe-like dessert. I chose one with peanut butter and nutella – yum!!

La Tribu
Boulenc
Boulenc
Dessert stand

WHAT TO DO:

Abbie is a master planner of events so she curated an incredible week for us all. I mean do you see this itinerary????? 🙂

We did a food tour through a large market, had a pool day, ate our hearts out, and had a fabulous day trip to Hierve El Agua (hot springs + one of two certified waterfalls in the world), Teotitlan Del Valle (cute town with small market), & Arbole de Tule (widest tree in the world). We also just walked around Oaxaca, checking out small stores, trying snacks & fun drinks, and seeing the Cathedral.

Hot Springs
Hot Springs
Hot Springs
Petrified Waterfall
Petrified Waterfall

Such a fabulous few days celebrating Abbie!

Birthday Girl + Haley
Birthday Girl + Haley

Overall Thoughts:

Oaxaca is a charming, small city that is worth a visit, but the highlight for me was the petrified waterfalls, hot springs, & the widest tree. There is just nothing that beats cool nature things for me haha.

It was so fun to have a girls trip be a part of my larger grand adventure. Very grateful Abbie included me and I had a blast going abroad with Haley for the first time!!

Our first international adventure together
30th birthday parties look very different than early 20’s haha

Budget for 3 days in Mexico:

This was not my typical backpacking trip so costs are a bit more than usual. There were plenty of things that could’ve been done to make this cheaper, but I was not in charge & it was a 30th birthday so all in all not too bad!

Accommodation: $315 ($105 per night)

Food: $117

Groceries: $0

Activities: $175 (some transport & other miscellaneous expenses were rolled into here but my friend just charged us one venmo for all pre-paid activities so I just lumped it in this category)

Local Transportation: $5

Total: $612 (Daily average: $204)

Transportation to next destination: $365 for the flight to Oaxaca from SFO & $525 for the three flights it took me to get to Buenos Aires (lol)

Bonus photos of me having alcohol for the first time in 6 months hahah

San Miguel de Allende + Mexico City

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CITY: San Miguel de Allende

HOW LONG: 3 nights

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the cutest Airbnb. It’s a bit of a walk uphill to get back, but you always have the option of a cheap uber. Garden & patio are very peaceful. Fresh fruit & water were provided at the beginning of our stay. Bed was very comfortable and wifi worked great. There was a fan which helped cool the room since there was no AC. They also provided beach towels to go to the hot springs. Wish we had more time here & would absolutely stay here again!

WHERE TO EAT:

San Miguel De Allende has some incredible restaurants. You definitely won’t go hungry! Here were our favorites:

  • The Restaurant – Ambiance is incredible & was higher end than where I usually eat at while backpacking, but it was a nice treat! The patio had beautiful plants & we loved the al fresco dining. I had a yummy burger! This was recommended to us by our Airbnb hosts.
  • Cafe Muro– French toast was fab & this cafe is located in a quiet area out of the hustle bustle. The staff were incredibly nice and we had the place to ourselves most of our meal. Great place to work on a computer as well.
  • La Parada – Dinner with the wedding party on Friday night was at this restaurant. Really great food & cocktails!
  • La Sacristía – yummy breakfast & cute outdoor seating
  • Rosewood – The rosewood has a rooftop bar with incredible views over the city. Pop up for a drink at sunset!
The Restaurant
Iced Chocolates on the main square
Cafe Muro
La Sacristía

WHAT TO DO:

There are supposed to be amazing hot springs here, but Ellie & I attempted to go to one (La Gruta) and were severely unimpressed. Kinda a bummer. Here’s a list of other options.

Bit of a letdown lol

We also had a run in with a family friend who was also here for a wedding! Turns out San Miguel de Allende is a popular place for getting married 🙂

Charlie!
Finally got to meet his girlfriend!

We loved walking around the streets of San Miguel; it’s just beautiful. The cobblestone streets are treacherous so plan to wear comfy shoes (aka no heels!!).

Besides that, the only thing left to do was attend a fabulous wedding!! Congrats to Billy & Monica!

The Bride to be: Monica!
Her dachshund Mochi is the real reason I came to the wedding
Rehearsal dinner night
La Callejoneada
Wedding ready!!!
Wedding ready!!!
We love a dog friendly wedding
Love you Monica!

Overall Thoughts:

We loved San Miguel de Allende. It’s charming, quaint, safe, colorful, easy to navigate, approachable & more. While it’s not the easiest to get to flight-wise (closest airport is 1.5-2 hrs away), you won’t want to leave. It’s definitely worth visiting!

CITY: Mexico City

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Wanderlust Hostel and honestly wouldn’t recommend it. We wanted to like it, but there were too many things that made us wish we had stayed elsewhere. Our private room had no outside window, which made it feel like a dungeon. The free breakfast was very strictly between 9:30-10am. The bathrooms weren’t that nice. But the toughest part was that the owners were weirdly short, curt and gruff with us. Every time we interacted they seemed to think we were bothering them. It was very strange. It wasn’t HORRIBLE but there are enough other great hostels to choose from in Mexico City.

WHERE TO EAT:

Ellie & I went to a few fun cafes & restaurants. I love traveling with her because we get to pick two meals and try them both!

La Ventanita Cafe – We ordered pancakes and French toast, and both agreed that the French toast was better!

Cibeles gran café– We got some yummy drinks and played cards here.

Freims– hip, trendy cafe with a lovely back terrace. Plenty of dogs & digital nomads doing their thing. Yummy brunch food!

Churrero El Moro – Small churro chain that makes delicious churros. Pro tip: get the thick hot chocolate to dip your churros into! We literally went back for seconds after the first round.

Antonella Caffe– we needed a quick bite to eat before heading to the airport and this place was great!

My forever brunch date
La Ventanita
Freims
Freims
Cibeles
Antonella
Street tacos!!!

WHAT TO DO:

So in full transparency, Ellie & I were EXHAUSTED from my 30th birthday party + the wedding in San Miguel de Allende. This meant when we arrived to Mexico City, we both looked at each other & said “let’s not over do it here.” Well….. that turned into basically doing nothing. At the end of our time we both agreed that the trip to CDMX was a bit of a wash and we will need to come back here before we can really say that we’ve been to Mexico City. Whoops, but it happens when traveling this much!

We slept late (helped by the lack of natural light in our room lol), played lots of cards in cafes, caught up on life, walked through Parque Mexico, and went to movie with the hostel (we saw the Challengers and it was trippy but in a bad way; we both kinda hated it). That’s basically it haha.

Parque Mexico

Overall Thoughts:

I feel like I can’t even give real thoughts on Mexico City since we didn’t do much and our hostel wasn’t great. Mexico City definitely felt HUGE so I know there’s a lot to explore. I hope to come back soon and actually do so.

BUDGET FOR 6 DAYS IN Mexico:

I invited Ellie as my date so I paid for her trip to Mexico. Does this make the world’s best big sister?? I would think so!! But this explains why these numbers are higher than usual; it’s for two people 🙂

Accommodation: $540 ($90 per night)

Food: $300

Groceries: $0

Activities: $48

Local Transportation: $241

Total: $1,142 (Daily average: $190)

Transportation to next destination: $218 for the flights to Mexico (for both of us) + $152 (my flight to the Colombia)

Where I have been (Cities)

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This is a list of all the cities I have been to (not including the US). If you are visiting any of these, feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Total: 280 cities

North America (excluding the US) (3 Countries )

Canada (2)

  1. Vancouver
  2. Whistler

Mexico (1)

  1. Puerta Vallarta 

The Bahamas (1)

  1. Nassau

Europe (42 Countries) 

Albania (1)

  1. Shkodër

Austria (2)

  1. Salzburg 
  2. Vienna

Belgium (7)

  1. Brussels
  2. Waterloo
  3. Bruges
  4. Knokke Beach
  5. Leuven 
  6. Sint-Eloois-Winkel
  7. Ghent

Bosnia (3)

  1. Mostar 
  2. Blagaj 
  3. Pochitelj

Bulgaria (5)

  1. Sofía 
  2. Plovdiv
  3. Burgas
  4. Nessebar 
  5. Sveti Vlas

Croatia (6)

  1. Zagreb
  2. Plitvice National Park
  3. Zadar 
  4. Split
  5. Supertar 
  6. Dubrovnik 

Cyprus (1)

  1. Larnaca

Czech Republic (1)

  1. Prague

Denmark (1)

  1. Copenhagen

England (29)

  1. London
  2. Milton Keynes
  3. Salisbury
  4. Worcester 
  5. Stratford-on-Avon
  6. London Southend On Sea
  7. Reigate
  8. Brighton
  9. Bath
  10. Bradford-on-Avon
  11. Cambridge 
  12. Ardingly
  13. Lewes
  14. Ditchling
  15. Haywards Heath
  16. Lindfield
  17. Aylesbury
  18. Sheffield
  19. Castleton
  20. Holmes Chapel 
  21. East Croyden
  22. Twickenham 
  23. Croyde
  24. Lynton
  25. Lynmouth
  26. Clovelly
  27. Bristol
  28. Red Hill
  29. Manchester 

Estonia (1)

  1. Tallinn

Finland (2)

  1. Helsinki
  2. Porvoo

France (12)

  1. L’isle sur la Sorgue, Provence 
  2. Chamonix
  3. Paris
  4. Loire valley 
  5. Versailles
  6. St. Malo
  7. Eauze
  8. Nogaro
  9. Aire-del-l’Adour
  10. Arcachon
  11. St Emillion 
  12. Bordeaux 

Germany (5)

  1. Munich
  2. Hamburg 
  3. Bad Oldesloe
  4. Berlin
  5. Stuttgart

Greece (5)

  1. Mykonos Town
  2. Fira
  3. OÍa
  4. Kamira 
  5. Athens 

Hungary (1)

  1. Budapest

Iceland (1)

  1. Reykjavik 

Ireland (5)

  1. Dublin
  2. Galway
  3. Tralee
  4. Dingle
  5. Killarney

Italy (14)

  1. Lake Garda
  2. Sestri Levante
  3. Santa Margherita 
  4. Cinque Terre
  5. Lake Como
  6. San Gimignano
  7. Siena
  8. Florence
  9. Naples
  10. Ischia
  11. Rome
  12. Menori
  13. Amalfi
  14. Positano

Kosovo (2)

  1. Prístina
  2. Prizren 

Latvia (2)

  1. Riga
  2. Sigulda

Liechtenstein (5)

  1. Vaduz 
  2. Triesenberg
  3. Malbun
  4. Stausse Steg 
  5. Balzers 

Lithuania (3)

  1. Vilnius
  2. Trakai
  3. Kaunas

Luxembourg (1)

  1. Luxembourg City

Montenegro (4)

  1. Kotor
  2. Cetinje
  3. Budva 
  4. Ulcinj

North Macedonia (2)

  1. Skopje
  2. Ohrid 

Northern Ireland (2)

  1. Belfast 
  2. Derry

Norway (2)

  1. Oslo
  2. Bergen

Poland (2)

  1. Warsaw
  2. Krakow

Portugal (3)

  1. Porto
  2. Lisbon
  3. Sintra

Romania (6)

  1. Cluj-Napoca
  2. Sighișoara
  3. Alba Lulia
  4. Sibiu
  5. Brasov 
  6. Bucharest 

Scotland (2)

  1. Edinburgh
  2. Loch Ness

Serbia (3)

  1. Belgrade
  2. Novi Sad 
  3. Bajina Basta

Slovakia (1)

  1. Bratislava 

Slovenia (5)

  1. Ljubljana 
  2. Škofja Loka 
  3. Piran 
  4. Bled
  5. Lake Bohinj

Spain (22)

  1. Barcelona
  2. Madrid
  3. San Sebastián
  4. Sitges
  5. Montserrat
  6. Mallorca
  7. Seville 
  8. Valencia 
  9. Granada
  10. Alicante 
  11. Cadaqués
  12. Villanova de Arousa
  13. Villagarcia de Arousa
  14. Pontevedra 
  15. Vilassar de Dalt
  16. Vilassar de Mar
  17. Cábrils
  18. Mátaro
  19. Girona 
  20. Vidreres 
  21. Viladrau
  22. Santa Coloma de Farners 

Sweden (2)

  1. Stockholm 
  2. Värmdö

Switzerland (11)

  1. Geneva
  2. Verbier
  3. Le Chable
  4. Lausanne
  5. Lutry
  6. Brienz 
  7. Grindelwald
  8. Lauterbrunnen
  9. Mürren
  10. Gimmelwald
  11. Kandersteg

The Netherlands (2)

  1. Amsterdam
  2. Utrecht

The Vatican (1)

  1. The Vatican 

Wales (1)

  1. Cardiff

Africa (2 countries)

Egypt (3)

  1. Cairo 
  2. Aswan
  3. Hurghada 

Morocco (3)

  1. Chefchouan
  2. Tangier
  3. Tetouan 

South America (2 countries)

Chile (3)

  1. Santiago 
  2. San Jose de Maipo
  3. Valparaiso 

Peru (5) 

  1. Lima
  2. Paracas
  3. Ica
  4. Cusco
  5. Aguas Calientes

Oceania (3 countries) 

Australia (15)

  1. Melbourne
  2. Sydney 
  3. Yamba
  4. Byron bay
  5. Brisbane
  6. Noosa
  7. Rainbow beach
  8. Fraser Island
  9. Airlie beach
  10. Whitsundays 
  11. Magnetic island
  12. Cairns
  13. Port Douglas
  14. Cronella
  15. Gymea Bay

Fiji (2)

  1. Nadi
  2. Matagi Island 

New Zealand (14) 

  1. Auckland
  2. Hot water beach
  3. Waitomo
  4. Rotarua 
  5. Taupo
  6. Wellington
  7. Picton
  8. Kaiteriteri 
  9. Westport
  10. Franz Josef 
  11. Wanaka
  12. Queenstown
  13. Christchurch
  14. Mount Cook

Asia (10 countries)

Cambodia (1)

  1. Siem Reap

Indonesia (6)

  1. Canggu 
  2. Ubud
  3. Gili T
  4. Nusa Penida
  5. Uluwatu
  6. Seminyak

Japan (3)

  1. Tokyo
  2. Kyoto
  3. Hakone

Laos (3)

  1. Vientiane 
  2. Vang Vieng
  3. Luang Prabang

Malaysia (7)

  1. Kota Kinabalu
  2. Sepilok
  3. Mabul
  4. Sipadan
  5. George Town
  6. Cameron Highlands
  7. Langkawi

Singapore (1)

  1. Singapore

Thailand (8) 

  1. Koh Lipe
  2. Koh Lanta
  3. Khao Sok
  4. Koh Tao
  5. Bangkok
  6. Chiang Mai 
  7. Pai
  8. Chiang Rai 

The Philippines (6)

  1. Coron
  2. El Nido
  3. Bohol
  4. Siquijor
  5. Moalboal
  6. Malapascua

Turkey (4)

  1. Istanbul 
  2. Goreme/Cappadocia 
  3. Antalya 
  4. Arnavutköy

Vietnam (6)

  1. Hanoi
  2. Ha Long Bay
  3. Cat Ba City
  4. Ninh Binh
  5. Ha Giang
  6. Hoi An

Vancouver, Canada

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CITY: Vancouver

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

While in Vancouver, my mom and I stayed at the Hyatt Regency. It was a very nice hotel and the location couldn’t have been better. It was very central and close to the waterfront. Plenty of good restaurants were within a 15 minute walk. Definitely would stay here again.

WHERE TO EAT:

After landing in Vancouver, we headed into an area of Vancouver called Kitsilano. It had a hippie-ish vibe and it was very low-key. No towering skyscrapers to be found here. We were hungry and trying to eat healthy so when we found The Naam, it seemed like the perfect match! It was a vegan restaurant and apparently very popular for UBC students as it is open 24 hours. I got sesame-honey fried tofu and it was delicious!

Looking at downtown Vancouver from Kitsilano

That night we headed to Pacifico pizzeria for dinner. It did not disappoint! My mom had a yummy caesar salad with prawns on it, and I had a butternut squash ravioli dish. The atmosphere was great and this place is centrally located in downtown Vancouver. Definitely recommend this place.

Mama!

Enjoying our meal

My favorite restaurant of the trip was Vancouver Urban Winery. One of my good friends from while I was studying in Barcelona lives in Vancouver so he took my mom and me to this restaurant on our last night here. THIS PLACE WAS AWESOME! Great atmosphere. Great open floor plan where the kitchen was exposed. Tons of great alcohol. The food was fantastic. I can’t recommend this place enough.

The waterfront with Ryan after going to the Vancouver Urban Winery

Our last meal was lunch at Cactus Club right on English Bay Beach. It was a great location and had a really diverse menu, which is great for a group that has varying tastes! I had a yummy frozen cocktail called a Frosé!

Frosé all day 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

Other than just stroll along the beautiful waterfront pedestrian path, the highlight of our time in Vancouver was renting bikes and exploring Stanley Park. Stanley Park has 27 km of forest trails and a 8.8 km seawall path. THIS PARK WAS INCREDIBLE!! It was such a great place to go for a walk, a run, a bike ride, or just a snooze in the sun. There were beautiful views and play structures for kids. There was something for everyone!

Vancouver on a beautiful day

Mom struggling on her bike

Taken from the bike path around Stanley Park

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Vancouver was incredible!! My mom and I were just about ready to move here! The sun was shining the whole time and it was 75 degrees +, however, everyone was all too happy to inform us that we happened upon the best weather they have had in months and it wasn’t normal. The normal weather is gray and rainy– which put a damper in our plan to move here. We just couldn’t get past leaving sunny California. Overall, my mom and I couldn’t get over how awesome Vancouver is. There is a modern, beautiful skyline and bike paths all over the city. Stanley Park offers a nature refuge in the middle of an urban environment. Public transport seemed to be everyone and there were beautiful waterfront walking paths. All in all, Vancouver is a must!!!

Drinks with Leanne, who I met while I was traveling in Porto, Portugal!

After Vancouver we headed up to Whistler for a night! After dabbling in some hitchhiking in Europe, I made my mom stop for 3 hitchhikers on our way to Whistler. Two Germans and one Italian!

German, German, American, Italian

CITY: Whistler

HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed in the Hilton while in Whistler. Again, this was a nice hotel, but what made it super special was its location. You could exit the back of the hotel onto the village stroll, which is the pedestrian street through Whistler village. Definitely would recommend this hotel.

WHERE TO EAT:

The standout meal in Whistler was at La Bocca. We sat outside on a beautiful, warm night and were able to enjoy people watching while enjoying our meal. It was bustling on the Saturday night we were there with plenty of bachelor/bachelorette parties along with families, couples and groups of friends. The food was delicious and I had a yummy cocktail as well. Would 100% go back here.

Life is good

WHAT TO DO:

Our stay in Whistler was short, but we managed to pack a lot in! Our first stop was at Scandinavia Spa, which offers a traditional Scandinavian baths experience in a peaceful and natural environment. We enjoyed the many pools and solariums before our 60 minute massage. Unfortunately there are no phones allowed (although it was great to unplug) so I don’t have any pictures, but this place was magical!!

The entrance

Beautiful walk to the spa

The spa itself (they have done a nice job of keeping it private and integrated into the nature!)

The other awesome thing we did while in Whistler was take the gondola up and hike on Whistler Mountain. There was so much snow still, it was incredible! After our hike we took the peak-to-peak gondola to Blackcomb before taking the gondola back down to the village! Super fun experience with amazing views!

On our way up! (Mom was talking to a nice Iranian couple)

Up and up we go

Mid mountain views

CANADA

The lift up to the peak

The lift

Starting our hike!

Plenty of snow

!!!!!! SNOW !!!!!!

Cant’ get over the views

On our descent towards greenery

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Whistler was incredible!! We were blown away at how dialed in Whistler was for both winter and summer. They know what they are doing!! Between mountain biking, skiing, hiking, swimming, and all the great restaurants and shops, you will never be bored in Whistler- no matter what season you are in!!

From the Vancouver Olympics