Travelling to new places and learning about the culture and history of different destinations is something my husband and I love to do. Some trips are planned well in advance and some last minute. Our last big trip was to South Korea and Japan. We also had booked a trip to China this week for two weeks that we cancelled due to the wonderful new addition to our family. Now we look forward to taking him with us on all of our trips. The first one being to a resort in Mexico this May.
When planning a trip, where do you look for information, inspiration or general tips?
Reading and collecting the lonely planet books has become a tradition. However, a lot of the unique suggestions and tips come from articles. Articles like the ones I read in the Global Style Advisor that released today. If you haven’t already, I’d go out and get this travel edition found in the Globe and Mail to keep as a reference for the many destinations mentioned or check out the digital version here. Love the resort fashion spread, that has left me inspired for our trip in May. Need to have that Hugo Boss dress!
If I were only allowed to take a few some items with me to any of the great escapes mentioned in this Globe Style Advisor edition, they would be the following:
Fave Fragrance
Try travelling with a light and fresh fragrance. Especially if you’re stuck on a long flight.
Fave Notebook
Everyone has that one notebook they travel with. Somewhere to keep all of their plans, schedules, tips etc.
Fave Cosmetics
All I need is Benefit’s new roller lash, blush and an awesome lip tint balm for the perfect amount of natural colour.
Fave Tag
Just in case you lose your luggage and just because it’s a cute accessory for your carry on. Plus, there really is no place like home. 🙂
stayed in a lot of hotels through my years of travelling and some hotels become your staple go-to’s, some you never want to go back and others you tip your hat too.
Food: Four restaurants, two lounges and room service. The choices are endless. Paying an extra amount to have breakfast included is a great idea. Plus, there are no breakfast places in Tokyo. Unless you’re looking for brunch, only on weekends or a sushi breakast. The locals say it’s because no one wakes up early enough for breakfast, so make sure you get a breakfast package at the hotel you stay at.
We enjoyed breakfast in the executive lounge and the Cerise restaurant, where you have a wide variety of foods to choose from. American breakfast, japanese and even some mexican, which I had the pleasure of trying. Never would’ve thought I’d try a mexican breakfast in Tokyo.
I discovered on the second day of having breakfast at the Cerise restaurant that you’re able to take your hot drinks to go. This is great if you’re short of time and need to start your day but want to also enjoy your tea.
Room service options are great! You can pretty much order food from all the restaurants in the hotel and the only disclaimer is time. I believe most of the best items on the room service menu you have to order before 10 pm. One evening, I was craving a nice CLT avocado sandwich. I hesitantly called room service to check if they could make me this sandwich because it wasn’t in the room service book. When they said yes and delivered, I was smiling ear to ear! As a social media specialist, I was giddy when I saw the butter in the form of the Twitter bird. I know, it’s probably just a bird. However, social media nerds alike, would understand and also see a “Twitter” bird instead.
Don’t leave the Conrad in Tokyo without making reservations at the Kazahana restaurant for a private sushi bar experience like no other. The master sushi chefs are world class. A bar of about 6 seats, you’ll enjoy an intimate dining experience, where you watch the master sushi chefs create your order right before your eyes at a perfect pace, so it’s all fresh. As soon as you finish one order, they give you a few minutes break to clear your taste buds with some tea and then start making the next order. Don’t be shy to ask questions about the fish or the process. It adds to the whole experience of learning about what you’re eating.
The wasabi isn’t like the wasabi we have here in Toronto at restaurants. It’s made into a paste, fresh, right before your eyes. Ground from the wasabi root, to your plate. The flavour was SO much better then the tube or overly green stuff we get here. Same texture, better zing!
The master chef goes every morning to the fish market to get everything he needs at the restaurant. You can tell he’s passionate about what he does, because he even lives near the Tsukiji Fish Market. The Tsukiji Fish Market is world’s largest, busiest fish market. If you go around 5 am you can catch a tuna fish auction and even sit at one of the sushi counters there for a sushi breakfast. The highlight of this experience was when we ordered prawns and the process they went through to get to our plate. As soon as I saw them alive, I have to admit I didn’t want it any more, but the reality of eating fresh is just that. The chefs here even made a delicacy out of the prawn legs. They were deep fried and presented to us when we finished eating, as an in between snack before the next order. Visually it was hard to eat, but tasted pretty good.
There are some orders the chefs would make in between us figuring out what else we wanted to order. At one point, the master sushi chef, started to put together an octopus order. Upon asking some questions about the process and the octopus, he prepared an order on the house for us. It was a very distinctive flavour, definitely not for everyone and didn’t taste like the calamari we get at home. However, that was really kind of him to sample it to us.
Rooms:
We had the King City room booked for 3 days on the 37th floor, right beside the Executive Lounge and then the 4th day we were suppose to move to another hotel but loved our time at Conrad so much that we decided to stay there and had our items moved to the 38th floor in a King City room. The King City room has a king size bed, panoramic views of Ginza and the Shiodome area, amazing bathroom and some cute surprises.
Cute Conrad Hotel Teddy Bear Takeaways
His and Hers sinks, separate shower, stand alone tub, electronically controlled blinds for bathroom and bedroom.A takeaway rubber duck
Staff:
Everyone at the Conrad hotel were exceptionally nice and very accommodating. Nunzio, a manager at the Cerise restaurant was very nice to us and I had the pleasure of speaking to him about his experience in Japan, since he is originally from Italy.
Kyoto, a beautiful historic city in Japan. Kyoto is beautiful all year long. There are various beauties to see in each season. Winter with snowflakes kissing everything to turn to a serene white, Spring brings out the famous cherry blossom trees, Summer, when everything is a lush green and then Fall bringing in every fall colour imaginable. The rustic orange, bright yellow, hints of lush green and brilliant red. Colours like these call for a FEATURE OF WHAT I WORE in Kyoto.
Considering we were in Kyoto for the Fall season, my wardrobe consisted of lots of sweaters, cardigans, blazers, one coat and a leather jacket.
Here I wore a chunky knit I purchased from Korea in Hongdae, distressed ripped jeans, purchased on my trip to Egypt from the store ONLY at the City Stars Mall, really comfortable flats and lots of accessories.
It was the perfect outfit for climbing hundreds of stairs at the Fushimi Inari Shrine (Fushimi Inari Taisha) red gates. I honestly felt as if I did the CN Tower stair climb! What a great workout though. I didn’t make the entire climb, although my intentions were to.
After climbing what felt like forever, I thought I had made it to the top. Of course, there were more stairs! My legs were jelly at the end of this adventure but definitely worth it.
This was the most perfect sweater weather! I was so happy I brought my sunnies (sunglasses) with me.
There is so much to do in South Korea and shopping is so much fun that you get lost in the hustle and bustle of the markets rather than site seeing. However, Naksan Park has been on my travel list of to do’s for a year now, so we worked it into our Korea itinerary.
There’s something magical and beautiful about Koi Fish and yes, I’m obsessed with them. I’ve painted them on canvas, own a few Koi Fish items and always get excited and smile when I see them absolutely anywhere. With this being said, you can already guess, this was literally the #bestoftheday for me when I found the Koi Fish mural.
According to many reviews about the Park, due to the park being pretty big, some people never find it. Just in case, I set my expectations low and to my surprise we found the actual map of where all the Naksan Park murals were located! The map isn’t in English but you can show it to anyone and they would be more then happy to help you.
This was my second favourite mural at the park:
There’s more than murals to see at Naksan Park.The views of Seoul are breath-taking!
Don’t forget to take the short cut up, via the sort of hidden stairs. A lot nicer than taking the cement hill route.
One of my favourite things is to go where I’ve never been..
And so our road trip journey to Connecticut began.
It’s a long drive but definitely worth it. Especially if at the end destination you’re reunited with one of your best friends. You’ll need lots of snacks and a big case of water bottles. Keep the long drive interesting by keeping conversations going and maybe even throwing some mini dance parties during your drive. Don’t worry, there are lots of opportunities to stop and get food or go shopping at outlets. We passed 3 outlets and stopped at 2.
Here are some highlights and tips if you’re visiting New Haven, CT or Cape Cod, MA.
When you get to New Haven definitely visit the highest peak, East Rock. You can either hike to the top or drive. Once you’re there, the view is spectacular. Pack your lunch, because it’s a great picnic area!
You must try this breakfast place in New Haven, very close to Yale University, The Pantry! This was the most delicious breakfast I had during this trip. The Oreo pancakes were to die for! It was the best of both worlds of sweet and salty.
Cape Cod, sticking out into the Atlantic Ocean is the eastern most portion of Massachusetts. There are beaches and cute little strips of old school stores to explore. Shopping for interior items for your home is best in Chatham.
We stayed at the Ocean Club on Smugglers Beach in Cape Cod and the beach was just a short walk from our room. Everywhere we went, we noticed sculptures and signs made from sand. They kicked off the summer with these displays of sand art all around Yarmouth. You could even download a map of where they all were and go on a sand sculpture tour of your own!
The rooms have a serene nautical feel to them and it truly feels like you haven’t left the beach. With seashell paintings and side table lamps, a cute light pink kitchen by the den area and a fireplace. Looking out the balcony you can even see the ocean.
Greenwich is not too far from Cape Cod, so if you have a chance, take a short drive and have your dinner or grab some gelato at the La Fenice Gelateria.
Make the most of what’s left of our summer and go for an adventurous road trip!
My girl friends and I like to try and squeeze in a trip a year into our busy schedules so we can get some quality time with one another. This year we chose Bermuda. It was a short trip, but definitely worth it.
We’ve gone on so many trips in the past that doing research, buying tickets and organizing the entire trip has become a lot easier over the years. One of the things I’ve noticed as my typical keyword search to help us decide on a destination is “name of the place” girls trip itinerary. The search results for these keywords are weak. Either there isn’t much raw content out there in this category or I need to step up my keyword search game. Which ever it may be, I’m adding to the data pool!
Length of Trip: 3.5 Days
Day 1
Settle into your resort, villa or house : This could take up your entire morning depending on where you stay. The bermudans love to talk and they’re very kind. You have two options when deciding where to stay. You can stay near downtown, or what Bermudans call the suburbs, countryside. The distance from countryside to downtown is usually less than 30 mins. The south side of Bermuda, Hamilton to the Dockyards I think is where the prettier water is. Although surprisingly Horseshoe Bay Beach had a stunning view.
You’ll need to travel around Bermuda and I think the best way is by scooter. Bus transportation takes too long, from what I read in reviews and cabs can get pricey. If you haven’t ever rode a scooter before, please take it easy. I’ve heard and witnessed enough scooter accidents that lead to death or close to it. Be confident and stay within the speed limit. Or just ride behind someone like I did. I didn’t do so well on a scooter in Cuba so didn’t want to take any chances. Call a scooter rental place and have them meet you at your place of stay or a restaurant. The people at Oleander Cycles were very nice and patient. We’ve ridden scooters in Jamaica, Cuba and some of us in Goa but after a few months you still need some practice and direction before you head onto the road.
Everyone drives on the left side of the road in Bermuda and key thing to remember is if you’re being honked at, they’re just saying Hello! The speed limit is 35-40kph, so it’s not because you’re going too slow. From one point of the island to the other side takes about 45 mins to 1 hour.
Day 2
Rent your own boat and go out on the water and do some coral reef and island hopping!
We packed up a cooler for a whole day trip and rented our boat from H2O sports.
Although we were really tired we still made a trip Downtown and had dinner at Pearl, which is inside Port O Call. It was great sushi!
Day 3
We rode our scooters to the dockyards where cruise ships stop, where you can find cute shops and restaurants as well. After that we made a trip to the Horseshoe Bay beach which is known as the most popular beach in Bermuda. Make sure you climb the big rock beside the hidden cove near the entrance of the beach. The views are spectacular from up there.
Later that evening we went back downtown and enjoyed an evening at Cafe Cairo. For those of you who love hookah, you can order it there.
Check out my vlog I posted to my YouTube channel. Hit subscribe ;”) :
Travelling to new places and learning about the culture and history of different destinations is something my husband and I love to do. Some trips are planned well in advance and some last minute. Our last big trip was to South Korea and Japan. We also had booked a trip to China this week for two weeks that we cancelled due to the wonderful new addition to our family. Now we look forward to taking him with us on all of our trips. The first one being to a resort in Mexico this May.
