By the time we visited Amsterdam, we read enough blog posts and talked to other travelers who raved about Amsterdam and figured we just had to go there. Amsterdam is a place of things to do over a place of things to see. If you really want to enjoy Amsterdam then you should focus on the houses, and museums, as they are the most stunning points of interest in the city. I’ve compiled a list of places to visit in Amsterdam.
As a person who enjoys the beauty of architecture and grew up in New Jersey, the architecture wasn’t as stunning in comparison to the other places I’ve traveled through in Europe, Brussels and Barcelona.
Amsterdam felt like a trip to Brooklyn, N.Y. on steroids, which made sense after I learned Brooklyn and Harlem were designed by the Dutch and New York used to be New Amsterdam.
I focused on place of things to do and places to visit in Amsterdam. This includes the best foods, museums and the major attractions to see while you’re there.
Places to Visit in Amsterdam
The visually pleasing attractions to see in Amsterdam:
Vondelpark(mini Central Park)
Rijksmuseum
Royal Palace / Konikljik Paleis Amsterdam
The Canals (the beauty is determined by the houses and boat houses that line the canal)
Space Museum rooftop
Must try foods & snacks in Amsterdam:
Fries at Mannekenpis Fries (the famouus little Belgian pissing guy)
Freshly made Stroopwaffles
Savory Dutch Pancakes
Chocolateat Tony’s Chocoloney (they have free samples)
CheeseatAmsterdam Cheese Company (they have free samples)
Food Hallenfood market (like Gansevoort / Chelsea market) — try the Bitterballen
Must Do Activities in Amsterdam:
Museums — pick one, two, three, doesn’t matter you will enjoy them
Canal boat tour — I’d recommend ‘Those Damn Boat Guys’, bring wine, cheese, meat and enjoy the ride
Red Light District(This isn’t really a must do more like a should, so you know what it looks like. Overall it was extremely underwheleming. I wouldn’t waste time or money on any sex shows as I’ve seen more interesting burlesque shows than the sex shows they put on)
Coffeeshop (Marijuana Shop) — They sell a space cakes you can take to go, if it’s your first time start there and don’t finish the whole thing as it can take up to an hour to kick in. If you’re a smoker then I’d recommend smoking in a coffee shop and enjoying the vibe.
Note: Only a select few ‘coffeeshops’ sell alcohol at theses establishments
I think 2–3 days in Amsterdam is more than enough to be able to enjoy what it has to offer. I’d schedule the visit for a weekend so you can enjoy the party scene in Amsterdam as well. I can’t say I’ll be back to visit any time soon, but I will say this is a place I could easily live in because there’s plenty to do.
Pro Tips:
Almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks English
The Dutch are very rude, but just be aware of it and accept it , New Yorkers are rude as well
Bicycles have the right of way, get out of the way or they WILL hit you
Look left and right before crossing and beware that you’re not accidentally in the bike lane
I’m taking a 24 day, 6 country, euro trip, featuring friends and some solo adventures. I’m starting this trip in Barcelona, with two days in this city before I travel to Belgium. Being this was my first time in Europe, I did a bit of research before I left, but decided I would explore and discover new locations as I spoke to locals making any adjustments from there.
Day 1
I stayed at Hostal Nitz Bcn, in the Gothic Quarters, because what’s a euro trip without a hostel! This hostel offered private rooms, and a great location, I was in walking distance to everything.
I typically use Uber to move around because of the better rates, but it wasn’t available, so we negotiated a rate, then hailed a taxi. The first mission in Barcelona was to buy ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ in Spanish because the Spanish version wasn’t easily attainable in the states. We chatted up our taxi driver about why we were here and asked where we could find Pan’s Labyrinth. Luckily, our taxi driver was well read and, pointed out we could find, El Laberinto del Fauno, in any ‘Case del Libre’. — book obtained
Eixample
We checked into out hostel around 1 PM before we headed into the Gothic Quarters. We walked through the Gothic Quarters to Eixample taking time to mark off landmarks and get a lay of the area. On Paseig de Gracia we found a nice tapas restaurant called Tapa Tapa to pop our ‘authentic tapas’ cherry.
Bikini trufat de mozzarella amb pernil ibèricCassoleta de musclos a la planxaBrie a la planxa, trufat i amb dos sèsamas
Bikini trufat de mozzarella amb pernil ibèric
Cassoleta de musclos a la planxa
Brie a la planxa, trufat i amb dos sèsamas
This place was delicious! After stuffing out faces we walked to Barceloneta beach. This is the closest beach in Barcelona, shared by locals and foreigners alike. Even though this is a beach area this is one of the best beach towns I’ve seen. The restaurants come pretty close up to the sand and have very reasonable rates for food.
We walked the beaches, scoped out a few restaurants before we got coaxed into buying tickets to Opium, a beach front night club. We were told nightlife in Barcelona is a late night affair, people start to get ready at 11PM, have dinner before they head out to a club. Their parties start to pick up around 2 AM. I’m used to Jersey parties winding down at 2 AM.
La Planta
After we bought our tickets, we headed back into town to a local place called ‘La Planta’. I can’t remember who told me to go here, but now I’ mtelling you, GO HERE. This place is a hidden gem filled with locals. I watched a man decide to use his scooter seat as a table instead of skipping out on food since the tables were filled. I knew this place had to be legit!
Thankfully we were able to squeeze in at the bar and order a few tapas and red wine. The menu had 6 tapas & 3 wines you could choose from.
I ordered red wine with a pincho de butifarra, which is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cusine.
We ended our food journey and night at Alcoba Azul. Alcoba Azul has an interesting backstory, which I learned about when asking about the well in the middle of the floor.
This place was an underground tunnel, transformed into market where people would come to fill up their buckets with water from the well. Until Alcoba Azul was transformed to a restaurant, this continued for decades.
Day 2
Sagrada Familia
We started our day with a walk to Sagrada Familia. Sagrada Familia is a unique and spectacular piece built by Antonio Gaudí. Even if you don’t know who Antonio Gaudíis, you will inevitably and instantly be able to recognize his unique work, which incorporates colorful mosaics, natural elements, and skeleton balconies through-out Barcelona.
Placa de Catalunya
We continued on to Placa de Catalunya, where we did a self-guided waking tour, props torick & steve audio tours. Placa de Catalunya is one of the main squares in Barcelona, which holds plenty of restaurants, markets, large shopping centers, department store, and a bustling nightlife.
We did a modified version of the tour stopping at:
Placa de Catalunya
Las Ramblas
Walked Aviguda Portal de l’Angel
Els Quatre Gats Restaurant (where young Picasso would spend his time)
Font de Santa Ana
Casa de l’Ardiaca
Cathedral (Exterior)
Placa Sant Felip Nori
Jewish Quarters
CathedralFont de Santa AnaPlaca de CatalunyaCasa de l’Ardiaca
After we finished the tour, we walked random streets for a few hours, stopping in different restaurants for small bites to eat, grabbing snacks, while looking for gifts to take back home.
Churros con Chocolate (always ask them to be made fresh as opposed to re-heated), Wines from La Vinya Del Senyor
Farewell
We headed back to the room around 7PM to nap before waling over to Opium. We left our hostel at 12 AM, and it was as if everyone in the town was out. The beach was flooded with people, vendors were still out sells goods and now drugs.
We stayed out until 5AM and people were still laid out on the beach, people were still partying hard, there were still lines to get into the clubs. This was a whole new level of partying for me! Thanks Barcelona for the great introduction to Europe!
Opium Tip: We bought VIP tickets the day before so we didn’t have to wait on line. I’d recommended this. Our tickets said + 15 euros at the door, but don’t let them convince you that you need to pay 15 additional euros, because that 15 is for a ‘free drink’, which you’re just paying more for. The 5 euros is enough to get in and skip the line.
There was one reason and one reason only for me wanting to go to Brussels and that was for beer. Ok two reasons, beer and chocolate, but this trip gave me that and so much more.
Day 1 – Brussels
Parque du Cinquanentaire
Coming to Sancha, Brussels after bustling Barcelona was quite the change of pace. We landed midday, and had no idea what to do. I didn’t do any planning before because I has a simple mission, beer and chocolate, and that’s an easy mission to complete.
We started with the hotel map and took a walk over to the first point of interest, Parque du Cinquanentaire. This is one of the most beautiful parks in Brussels. This park is a decent size and I’d recommend taking your time walking through it to really appreciate it. This park had a bocce court, soccer field, cricket court, basketball court and track and field towards the center that leads to a breath taking view of ‘the arch’. Depending on what side you enter in from, you could easily leave the park without getting to arch, but make sure you go visit it!
Pro tip: You can take pictures from the top of the arch, which I didn’t originally know about. Don’t be like me, go to the top!
Pavilion of Human Passions designed by Victor Horta
Square Ambiorix
Next we walked over to the Square Ambiorix. Square Ambiorix itself contains a series of well -landscaped 19th century spaces with sculptures and fountains, around which elegant houses were built in a variety of styles at the end of the 19th century.
What’s great about this square are the houses, surrounding it. The house that stands out is the Saint-Cyr House with its curving swirling ironwork on a house only 4m wide.
The house was built between 1900 and 1903 in Square Ambiorix as the home of artist and decorator Léonard de Saint-Cyr. It was designed by Brussels architect Gustave Strauwen, who was a student of the legendary Victor Horta, when he was only 21 years old.
City Center
After we finished our food, we walked about the city center. The city center made me appreciate the true beauty of Brussels. I’ve seen a ton of town squares and centers but the Grand Place knocks all of the ones I’ve seen (Cuba, Barcelona, etc ) out of the park.
We walked around the center and stopped at:
The Grand Place
Zinneke Pis, Manneken Pis & Jeanneke-Pis (trios of peeing statues )
St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral
Then in true Belgian style, we stopped at Delirium Cafe for a few beers before we ended the night.
If you want to try as many Belgian beers as humanly possible you should come to this cafe, they have over 2000 beers from around the globe that you can try!
Day 2
City Center
Mont de Arts, it’s one of the sites that’s worth seeing duding the night and day. We took a longer but more scenic route walking down Toison d’Or Guiden Vlies and Avenue Louise. These streets are the main avenues with a ton of the shops and restaurants. If you’re looking to get some shopping done this would be the area to go to.
These are some other must sees of the city center:
Egmont Palace
Place du Petit Sablon
Halle Gate
Place du Petit SablonHalle Gate
Ghent
Ghent, has a more charming feel than Brussels, but I wish I had a whole day to spend here. The closest castle to Brussels by train is the Gravensteen castle. It’s an hour away by train and the fare is like than 10 euros.
We got to Gravensteen castlejust as it was closing, so we weren’t allowed in. Nevertheless, we were still able to appreciate the castle from the canal tour. We grabbed some beers and enjoyed the castle, church and city views.
Belgian Cuisine
Before this trip, I couldn’t even take an educated guess at what Belgian food could even be. We wanted to try some authentic food, so we asked a local about some typical Belgian food we could try. She mentioned, french fries, sausages with stoemp and a few others we could try at Fin de Siècle (La), which is located in the city center. This place was bomb!
We tried the sausages with stoemp and a beef stew with mashed potatoes. Both plates were amazing! The portion sides were a a good size, but the food was heavy so we split two meals between five people, and it was enough to be satisfied.
Overall Brussels was architecturally richer than I could’ve imaged. I was expecting it to be a hip and bustling town with many of the pleasing elements existing outside of the city center, but there was a multitude of greatly detailed pieces within the city.
No, I didn’t use points from my amazing travel card, but I did try. I didn’t plan this trip weeks in advanced to take advantage of the best deals by using a carry-on and a few packing cubes to get the job done!
Whenever I’m allowed only a personal sized carry on bag, I use packing cubes. The compression packing cubes allows me to pack a weeks worth of clothing into a backpack. The packing cubes I use are bySuited Nomad. If you order through Amazon they’ll send you a coupon to get a second pair of packing cubes for free after leaving them a review.
Before we dive in, a little education on travel hacking is necessary to provide a game plan that fits your lifestyle and current financial state.
What is Travel Hacking?
Travel hacking involves working within the existing rules set up by airlines, credit cards, and hotels, and using them to your advantage to earn free travel including flights, lodging, and other upgrades.
Although travel hacking sounds sexy and dangerous, in actuality it’s pretty simple to earn free flights on a most basic level.
Building Your Arsenal
Some of the easiest things you can do are, sign up for travel credit cards, sign up for the free airlines loyalty programs, and download travel apps such as Hopper and SkyScanner
Sign up for travel credit cards
Sign up for travel credit cards and take advantage of their introductory promotions. You typically want to time the sign up around an upcoming big purchase. Always remember to never carry a balance or you won’t be taking full advantage of the free points they are giving you.
Sign up for the free airlines loyalty programs
I tend to fly with the same airlines when I can to be able to build airlines miles. Then I use the points I earn to purchase flights for free or at a discount.
Download travel apps
I download travel apps such as Hopper and SkyScanner to watch for the best flight prices before I take off. One of my new favorite ways to get discounts on flights is through this app called Service.
Service automatically detect flight disruptions and hotel savings opportunities based on travel reservations in your inbox. Service keeps track of your upcoming hotel reservations. If they detect a price drop they automatically rebook you at the lower rate and save you money! In addition, if your flight is delayed they will automatically reach out to the airlines for some compensation.
How I Travel Hacked This Flight
I took this service a step further and reached out my airline because I had an unpleasant boarding experience. My flight gate was changed to another terminal less than an hour before the actual flight. The airline didn’t have anyone at the gate to inform us of a way to get the other terminal without having to go through security again. I just so happened to run into someone at security who told me they had shuttle buses. If it wasn’t for this I would’ve missed my flight!
I sent the airline the following email:
They replied and credited me with a $50 credit!
Months later I was looking up flights to visit my friend in Gastonia, North Carolina. I used SkScanner to look up cheap flights and found a round trip fight for $95.10. The flight was with the company I had my flight credit with so I used my $50 credit I was able to book my flight for $45 RT! Talk about a steal.
I would’ve used my airline points at this point to cover the balance but they don’t allow you to use credits and airline point on the same purchase. Traveling can be fun and doesn’t have to be expensive you just have to be flexible and sometimes patient.
Hope you enjoyed. Comment below with some apps you use to travel hack!
The Jersey winter blues started to settle in so my friends and I wanted to do a quick getaway. I started to look up flights, found a round-trip flight to Orlando for $99 and found a hotel for $144.33. The hotel would only be about $36 after the 4 way split, so it was no brainer.
I love savings and adventures. If there’s a deal to be found, I make it my mission to find it. I’ll fly Spirit and I won’t check a bag if it will save me a few hundred bucks. Being flexible helps me find the best travel deals.
Quick note, even though I saved a ton on the hotel cost, I wouldn’t recommend this one. I showed the name of it just so that you are able to see the true price.
I spent a total of 4 days in Orlando enjoying the outdoors and night life. I’ll add my receipts below so you’re able to see how it was made possible.
Day 1
I took a night flight out and landed in Orlando at 9:30 PM. We had plans to go out that night, so I shuttled back to the hotel, got ready and went to the fire and ice bar. If you have never done an ice bar before you are given gloves and a jacket before you enter in the room since everything in there was made of ice (bar, cups, etc). We had a few drinks and ended the night there.
Day 2
Let me start off by saying, we packed a ton into this day so try and keep up! The plan was to take a free early morning boat ride from Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, but they wouldn’t let us in since we weren’t guests at the resort. We looped around for a bit and were able to find a launch outside of the resorts, next to the DisneyQuest Interactive Park.
The area has a lot of shops and restaurants so we spent some time looking at the shops and then we headed over to Celebration park.
We chose this place for the reviews. It was visit well worth it! The bike rental company provides you with a map and bottle of water. The route is about 7 miles of paved roads, and features lake views and many beautiful million and multi-million dollar homes. We only did about 3–4 miles in the interest of time, but we were able to see a few million dollar houses and even a 10 million dollar house! It was quite the view!
After the bike tour we grabbed lunch at Cafe Tu Tu, then went over to Paradise Cove at Buena Vista Watersports for about an hour of kayaking.
You can only imagine how tired we were after all of those activities, so we went back to the hotel for a much deserved nap. We didn’t leave the hotel until later on that night for the show, DRIP. We weren’t allowed to record/take pictures while inside, but it’s located inside of an industrial bar and the love story is full of color and movement. Expect to get a bit messy
After this show we had to go back to the hotel clean off before we went out that night. We ended the night at Mango’s for some latin dancing
Day 3
This was our last day in Orlando before our early morning flight out the next day. We slept in and didn’t start the day until late afternoon. We headed over to Gatorland to go zip-lining for the day. Yes, you guessed correctly, we zip-lined over gators. This was great way to end our adventure!
It was great being able to experience Orlando outside of the Disney parks. There’s plenty to see and do at an affordable price. If you want tips on any additional things to do while in Orlando or want your own itinerary created based on your interest, send me a message!
Round Trip Flight (EWR->MCO): $98.38 Hotel: $144.33 / 4 = $36.08 Round-Trip Shuttle from Hotel to Airport: $36.00 Kayaking: $14.00 DRIP: $29.00 Zip-lining: $68.00/2 = $34 Icebar: $20 Bike Rental: $15
Good old Louisville! Why Kentucky? Because budget travel doesn’t discriminate. It’s about experiencing the nightlife, making connections, and embracing the culture. I spent 367.55 for car, room, and flights. I’ll add receipts below to see how this was made possible.
Day 1
We touched down in Louisville and went straight for the nightlife. We went to RecBar, the ultimate hangout spot for adults. They have some great brew, TVs, retro arcade games and good vibes. Being the adult child I am I started with DDR (Dance Dance Revolution. This game was still as difficult as it was when I was 8 years old with “fast reflexes”. I really thought I’d be a hot shot this time around because I dance salsa and practice Muay Thai but nope, DDR humbled me very quickly. After that 30 second round, I played some more classics (Pac-Man, House of the Dead, Taxi Driver, Trophy Hunting) before eating and then calling it a night.
Day 2
This is where the real fun begins. As I mentioned we came here for bourbon! I mean culture (same thing). Louisville has an urban bourbon trail which is essentially a collection of bars and restaurants that have significant bourbon culture. There are at least 30 (and counting) stops on this trail in different neighborhoods, all with their own experiences.
Our first stop was brunch at Proof on Main. If you come here, here’s what to do:
Order the Shrimp & Grits even if you aren’t a grits fan
Try their Smoke Rings cocktail. It’s won awards
Tour their art gallery — it’s located in the back of the restaurant.
After brunch, we headed 45 minutes to the second stop on the bourbon trail, Barton 1792. Now let me say this, I’m not a hard liquor fan but any means, but when in Kentucky do as the Kentuckians.
19 C 09 — March 09, 2019
Barton 1792 is the oldest fully operating distillery in Bardstown, KY. I tried everything they offered even if I did make a few faces as I forced it down because it’s part of the Kentucky bourbon experience. They gave us a bourbon dipped chocolate and bourbon that tasted like chocolate milk, so that made up for everything else.
After Barton, we continued our tour with Jim Beam. Whether you’re a bourbon connoisseur or not, everyone knows Jimmy. Aside from the familiar name, what actually convinced me to come here was, I was told you’re able to dip your own bottle in wax. The tour for this was an hour and a half long and we were pressed for time, so I settled for some pictures and more bourbon instead.
Since we started on the bourbon tasting trend we couldn’t just stop cold turkey, so we drove to Angel’s Envy. If you want to go here make sure you make reservations beforehand, don’t be like us. We got there and found out they were booked for the rest of the day, so we shifted our plans and went to Against the Grain for some good beer. Kentucky’s bourbon culture is so ingrained into the culture that even the breweries have a long list of bourbons to try.
All of that bourbon opened up our appetite, so we headed to Impellizzeri’s Pizza because pizza goes well with beer. Metallica was in town so they had a two and a half hour wait so went back to Proof on the Main for dinner, then continued our tour at Taj for our final whiskey tasting.
Taj has a cool ass entrance! I felt like I was teleported to Europe heading to Hogwarts and then ended up at Taj. We had a few more drinks, ate some ice cream and then napped!
We ended the night at Stevie Ray’s for some live blues. The level of happiness in this place was one of the best feelings ever. Majority of the crowd was old and retired, living life as free as birds.
Day 3
We woke up, did a quick workout at 9Rounds, then headed downtown for a nice tour of the city. Our first stop was the Louisville Slugger Museum. I’ve been to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown so, this was a nice complement. I was able to see how the bats go from the lumber to a professional’s hands. The tour was short but very interesting. They walk you through the history, show the machines used to shape, cut, stain and brand the bats and everyone gets a free wooden mini-bat at the end of the tour. We spent about an hour here before hunger took over and we went over to Impellizzeri’s.
I’m from the tri-state area so we know pizza. Before this day I was aware of about two styles of Pizza: New Style & Chicago Deep Dish. Turns out Louisville has tried its hand at pizza and Impellizzeri’s has done it well.
Quick pizza lesson — OPTIONAL READ
New York Style: hand-tossed, light layer of tomato sauce, sprinkled with dry, grated, full-fat mozzarella cheese, followed by toppings. Crust is thick and crisp only along its edge Chicago Deep Dish: baked in a round steel pan, crust is covered with cheese, toppings follow, then crushed canned tomatoes are added as the finishing layer. Crust has a fried effect on the outside Louisville Style (Impellizzeri’s):double layers of cheese and toppings, toppings, cheese, toppings, cheese.
Louisville Style pizza is basically New York style with double layers. Not bad Louisville! After we stuffed our faces we went over to Evan Williams Experience to continue our bourbon tour.
This is where things got interesting. We went upstairs to grab a drink as we waited for our tour to begin. I ordered the ‘Bamboozled in Bangkok’ because I’ve been dying to go to Thailand and it had a fun name. I began to order and the bartender was like, this is going to be an experience you’ve never had before. In my mind I’m like it’s a drink, but I said was, “Why, What’s special about this drink?” She asked if I ever had flower buds before. Of course I said no, because I mean, well no. She starts to make the drink and then hands it off. I see an eat me attached to the bulb, and I’m like YOU want ME to eat this? She tells me to give it the Kentucky roll, chew it at the front of my mouth and then chew on each side.
I’m chewing and I’m watching her and she’s watching me. What happens next was very sudden. My mouth started to tingle and I yelled out “oh” and she’s like yup, there it is. The experience lasted for about 5 minutes. I started to salivate, my mouth started to tingle, my tongue felt fuzzy then went numb. She was right, this was an unusual but fun surprise.
Once I got the feeling back in my mouth we down to the speakeasy in a hidden location. We used the phrase “We’re friends of Jake” to gain access to the speakeasy. This was one of the best bourbon tasting experience I’ve had. “Jake”, the bartender, taught us about prohibition, the speakeasy, and bourbon production while letting us try 4 of their in house bourbons.
After we filled our bellies with bourbon, we went to Muhammad Ali Center to pay homage to the late and great Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay). You can easily spend a few hours learning about Ali as a boxer, some of the controversy he faced, his rise to fame, and how that journey ultimately led him to become a humanitarian to the world.
Don’t count the days. Make the days count. — Muhammad Ali
We took this advice and continued to make our time to Louisville count. We started down a rabbit hole since we enjoyed the speakeasy at Evan Williams so much. So, we had dinner at Doc’s Crow so we could try Kentucky’s famous derby pie, a creamy mix of chocolate chips, pecans and heaven. Then we headed to Monikk for some beer.
The bartender here was super dope! We started talking about how great Evan Williams’ speakeasy was & our plans for our last day in town (speakeasies and Copper & Kings) He ended up giving us free tickets to Copper & Kings and an awesome list of speakeasies to visit:
Mr. Lee’s * — ended our night here Hell and High Water Jimmy Can’t Dance Meta * Omni Hotel *
*was able to make it here
Day 4
We started our day at North End Cafe. A local recommended we visit this place because of the great food and how close they were to Copper & Kings, turned out they’re also on the urban bourbon trail.
Cooper & Kings is the only brand distillery in a town of bourbon enthusiasts, but these guys stand tall and compete. Because they are still small they are able to experiment with a lot which adds to the overall experience. I absolutely loved the feel of this place. They are music enthusiasts and that theme shows throughout the facility from the name to the fact that they pulse (a bass note in particular) music through the cellar to enhance the maturation process. Outside of their traditional brandy they also offer some more exclusive experimental brandy they make by the barrel. They allow you to try and bottle it on site. It’s a rotating selection that usually doesn’t repeat itself.
After the tour we bottled a bottle of pear brandy before heading off to the Big Four Bridge. The weather was perfect for this walk. The Big Four links Louisville Waterfront Park to Jeffersonville, Indiana over the Ohio River. We walked but you can also bike it, the bridge is only about 2 mi round-trip.
We zig-zagged a bit since we were on foot, so we waked to Indiana then walked back to get our car to drive to Dragon Kings Daughter back in Indiana. Their food and beer list was the bomb dot com. I know I’ve said that about all of the places, but truthfully, I didn’t have one bad meal in Louisville.
We spent rest of our night hopping from speakeasy to speakeasy before alcohol took over and we burnt out! We started at Omni went to Limbo, actually a tiki bar but worth mentioning, and ended things at Meta.
More than the bourbon, beer and food, I was blown away with how genuinely kind and polite people were here. The connections I made on this trip really made every simple moment that much better. Louisville thank you for your hospitality and I can’t wait to go back! If you want tips on any additional things to do while in Louisville or want your own itinerary created based on your interest, send me a message!
Round Trip Flight (EWR->SDF): $362.20 / 2 = 181.10 Hotel: $247.62 / 2= $123.81 Car Rental: $125.28/2 = $62.64 Gas/Parking: $35.00/2 = $17.50 Evan Williams: $18.00 = FREE (We made a friend) Copper & Kings: $15.00 = FREE (We made a friend) Muhammad Ali = $14 Barton 1792 = FREE Louisville Slugger Museum = $14 Proof of Main Gallery = FREE Big Four Bridge = FREE
Sure I could’ve gambled all day in Las Vegas, but it was my first time on the west coast and I wanted to experience more than just casinos. I was able to enjoy outdoor life, visit some great tourist traps, and even find some hidden gems along the way. Here’s a look at the first half of that trip
Flight details and receipts are at the end of this post so you can see how it was made possible
Day 1: Las Vegas
Even though I took a red eye flight that landed at 12 AM, the time zone change worked in my favor because I was up by 6 AM and fully rested. (sleeping the entire flight really did the trick but I’ll praise the time zone). My first stop was Bellagio’s famous brunch buffet! I made sure I went with an huge appetite, but when I got there I found out the brunch buffet was only open on Saturdays. I should’ve done my research but I ended up here on a recommendation and was assured I could go any day. Lesson learned.
Bellagio’s Holiday Exhbit
I was at least able to experience the holiday exhibit, so not all was lost! Their exhibition is absolutely beautiful. It changes depending on the time of the year, but I’ve seen nothing but great reviews for their displays. I’d recommend going during the early hours before it gets too crowded so you’re still able to get nice pictures.
After the exhibition, I grabbed breakfast at Cracked Egg based on the “it’s the best breakfast place in Vegas” recommendation. This place has THE best skillets! If you go here you have to try one. I stuffed my face then headed out to Valley of Fire. It costs $10 to get in and has some of the most epic landscapes I’ve ever seen. This park has a lot of history and is very tranquil. I spent at least an hour and a half here just taking in the views.
Valley of Fire
The original plan was to head back downtown to explore the strip but I was in such a great mood I decide to drive over to the Hoover Dam. I took route 167 to get there because I saw this route went through a forested area, so I expected more nice scenic views.
This drive down was one of those experiences you have with nature, where your heart is racing, you’re smiling uncontrollably and for a moment you understand what true happiness feels like. Everything about it was perfect.
The Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam was extremely packed when I got here, so I was unable to do a tour due to my time constraints, but if you want to do tour get here VERY early. Pro tip: don’t pay for parking. Drive to the top of the hill and park there. The views are nice from up there and and the walk down is only 3–5 minutes if you take the stairs down.
My sight seeing pretty much ended here but I’ll add the rest of my day for the odd chance that you’re Muay Thai fans.
After the Hoover Dam I went back to the hotel, napped and then trained at Nak Muay Thai Lao. I told them I’ve been training for a few months in Jersey so I wanted to continue training while I was on vacation and they took me in as their own.
If I wasn’t so tired the plan was to go a see a show in Vegas because I’ve been told, it’s an absolute must, but I stuffed my face some more, had a few drinks then called it a night.
Day 2: Las Vegas
I searched for the best places to eat in downtown Vegas and stumbled upon “Eat”. I decided on “Eat” for a few reasons:
It was the way to Red Rock
I wanted to know what cinnamon biscuits were
They recommended this place for hiker’s
I later found out that “Eat” is own by Natalie Young, a professional chef for over 20 years who’s worked alongside top chef’s through her career , and it shows!
After I “Eat-ing” I drove over to the Red Rock Canyon to take in some more views and do a bit of hiking.
Red Rock
Red Rock and Valley of Fire are often compared but I wanted to see the real difference between the two. In my opinion, Valley of Fire is the better park because it has better views, lower entry fee, varied scenery, and you get to see Lake Mead in all of its glory, but I’ll still describe my Red Rock experience below because it’s a good alternative if you’re short on time.
The entry fee is $15 per car but the scenic drive is free. Since the general admissions gate wasn’t open by the time I got there, I opted for the scenic loop. This was a very nice drive and you’re able to start on hiking trails at each stop.
After Red Rock I looped around and drove up to Calico’s basin out of sheer curiosity. If you hike a short distance you can see more views and take some great shots. I spent a few minutes here and then headed to strip .
I was instructed by a local that I have to visit the strip, but I was hesitant until she mentioned pink flamingos in a hotel. This would be WAY more interesting than lights and slot machines.
I checked out the Flamingo’s and then went back for a nap BUT if I was aware of the other exhibitions I would’ve hotel hopped via the monorail.
I went back and did some research and found these hotels hidden gems inside of them:
Flamingo’s
Small exhibit of pink flamingos — FREE
Treasure Island Hotel
A hand-carved wooly mammoth tusk — FREE
MGM Grand
Lion’s exhibit — $20
Mandalay Bay
Shark Reef Aquarium — $25
Golden Nugget
Swim inches from sharks and other marine animals — $25/$35 (non guest) — FREE (guests)
Silverton Casino’s Saltwater Aquarium
117,000-gallon saltwater aquarium — FREE
After I napped, I ended my last night in Vegas with another visit to Nak Muay Thai Lao for some training, grabbed dinner at the hotel and then called it a night.
Not bad Vegas! The weather was in the mid-60’s making the outdoor ventures bearable. It can get well into the 100’s there making these outdoor trips near impossible. Next time I’m in Vegas I’ll go back to experience more of the strip, shows, and night life.
If you want tips on any additional things to do while in Vegas or want your own itinerary created based on your interest, send me a message!
Trying to experience a country in just two days is a kind of sweet torture in which you’re stricken by decisions you never thought you’d have to make. Beach or jungle? Volcano or waterfall? And by the time you make a decision the trip is over and there’s still so much you haven’t seen. I found a perfect split between interacting with the locals and capturing the abundant wildlife in Costa Rica.
Day 1
Cafe Brit
Costa Rica is known for its gourmet coffee beans. Whether you’re a coffee fan or not, it’s interesting to see the amount of work that coffee beans go through to bring out their best taste. Cafe Brit offers an hour and a half long comedic take on the coffee making process from import to export. The tour gives you a closer look at the effort it takes to create coffee. With the best part being the savory smells and tastes of several blends along the way.
Downtown San Jose
Most people stray away from San Jose in lieu of Costa Rica’s beaches, volcanos & hot springs. But to me, at least a day in San Jose is worth a trip.
National Museum of Costa Rica
You get a true look at the country’s rich cultural heritage by visiting the National Museum of Costa Rica. The National Museum of Costa Rica is very well organized. You can expect to spend a few hours here although the museum isn’t very large there’s plenty to see. This museum features beautiful gardens, with some of the best views of the city. By the time you leave you’ve received an extensive walk through the history of Costa Rica.
La California
La California has some of Costa Rica’s best nightlife, but during the day the focal points are on the graffiti. True graffiti artists often represent the hard times of the local population. The graffiti in La California represents ideas of expression. What inspires people to grow, stand up for their values and against the hardships of live, poverty or regime?
Nightlife in San Jose
The city comes to life at night! I used AirBnB experience to hire a local to show me some of San Jose’s nightlife. My guide spent her spare time as an invited guest to restaurants. Naturally, she picked some of the best spots to see in the area. We visited 2 neighborhoods and 5 restaurant / bars and I can tell you Costa Rica nightlife is extremely exciting.
Barrio Escalante
Barrio Escalante, has a lot of diversity of flavors to choose from. Even at 7:00 PM the street were starting to buzz with laughter.
Hoplers
Hoplers is a unique and relaxing bar for hanging out. While we were there, we had shots of Chiliguaros. Chiliguaros is the Costa Rican take on the Bloody Mary that the locals go crazy for. If you’re a Bloody Mary fan you’ll absolutely enjoy this drink.
Costa Rican Beer Factory
This beer factory reminds me a biergarten. It offers a variety of craft and international beers, several meals, and table games in a very large open space. I tried the Costa Rican rendition of Ceviche here. It includes all the traditional ingredients in ceviche: fresh fish, chili, lime, cilantro, avocado, tomato and cucumber, with the addition of pineapples! I am a die hard ceviche fan, and the addition of the Costa Rican pineapples makes this amazing dish extraordinary.
Barrio La California
Barrio La California has the most upbeat nightlife. The highlight of the night was our visit to a 3 in 1 bars/restaurant/club: Casa Fenix, Mercadito la California and La Concha de la Lora. You don’t have to leave this place once you enter, you can eat, drink, lounge & dance in the same area all night.
Day 2
Sarchi
In addition to coffee, Costa Rica is known for it’s grand ecotourism efforts. I balanced my two day trip with eco and city life. Taking a look at the greener side of Costa Rica, I booked a tour to Arenal & Tabacon. The drive there took about 3 hours total, and we made several stops along the way.
Our first stop was in Sarchi. Sarchi is known throughout Costa Rica for its beautiful and intricate arts and crafts and souvenirs. The town of Sarchi is perhaps most widely recognized for its colorful and decorative oxcarts that have been made here for over a century. They also have the world’s largest ox cart. The cart is 2 stories high, nearly 45 feet long and weighs 4400 lbs., and took 70 days to complete according the Guinness World record.
Besides the beautiful handicrafts, another reason to visit this charming town is for its unusual church that is painted pink and blue. Built in the 1950s, this two-towered church sits on a hill overlooking the town.
If you want to buy elegant and stylish, wooden furniture Sarchi is the place to do it. We stopped at artisan market in Sarchi, where they had furniture on display. I wasn’t able to transport large furniture back so I settled for a Search wooden chorreador. A chorreador drip coffee maker which is a staple you can find in many Costa Rican households.
La Fortuna
La Fortuna holds the infamous Arenal volcano. Arenal volcano has a perfect cinder cone shape and is the world’s most active volcanoes although it hasn’t erupted in year. Because I visited during their rainy season there was a lot of overcast. I managed to capture a shot but was not able to see the perfect cone through the fog.
ExpectationsReality
Tabacon Grand Spa
Although I didn’t get a clear view of the volcano, the thermal hot springs at Tabacon Grand Spa made up for that. The spa has several pools that increase in heat the higher up you go. It’s recommended to acclimate your body by starting at the lower temperatures and gradually making your way up. When it’s not foggy, you can see views of Arenal as you sit in the hot springs.
San Jose may not get a good reputation but there are, a number of historic and artistic gems scattered all over town. I’d recommend a day or two in San Jose for the restaurants and nightlife. I can’t wait to go back and next time visit the beaches and rainforests!
Drop a comment below for some of your favorite places to visit in Costa Rica
I drove two hours to Philadelphia, spent an hour and a half there, drove two hours back all for a lantern festival, but was it worth it? Absolutely!
Chinese Lantern Festival
The Chinese Lantern Festival originated from the Han Dynasty, with the purpose of making an opportunity for family reunion and marking the end of Lunar Chinese.
Originally, Chinese people hung lanterns in front of their doors to drive away evil spirits. As of today, the lantern has become a symbol of traditional Chinese culture, playing an important role in celebrations and ceremonies, and remain popular today.
What To Expect
This was my first time attending a Chinese Lantern Festival. My only experience prior to this had been from what I’ve seen in movies, so I envisioned floating water lanterns, floats, kimonos and lots of candles.
The lantern festival runs everyday from about 6PM – 10PM from May until the end of June, although weekend hours may vary. Admission is free during the day time, but costs $18.00 at night. Admissions include access to the sculptures, performances, food vendors and a beer garden.
Visiting the Festival
Traditionally, Chinese lanterns mainly falls into five categories, palace lantern, gauze lantern, bamboo lantern, family name lantern and pendent lantern. The shapes are varied from human figure, landscape, to flowers, animals and fish.
The Philadelphia lantern festival brings in most of the materials used to make these displays from China directly. A team of 30 Chinese artisans then assemble it in Franklin Square over the course of one month.
The festival features about 29 giant lantern displays that illuminate the square once the sun sets. After viewing the displays, get to the lawn area early to find a good spot to watch the performances.
This was by far my favorite part of the night. Each act was introduced with a short lesson about the importance of each act to the Chinese culture. This made me values the acts that much more.
Plate Spinning
Chinese acrobatics typically work in groups, simultaneously twirling dishes with choreographed movements and contortions that add an extra element of difficulty and excitement.
Acrobatics & Contortionists
These acts are often confused and many times acrobats are also contortionist. The difference between acrobatics and contortion are in the acts. Acrobatics is the art of performing acrobatic gymnastic feats while contortion is the act of contorting, twisting or deforming something, especially oneself.
Biam Lian (Face-Changing)
During this act performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music while changing their face-mask within a the blink of an eye.
If someone figures out how they change their masks so quickly I’d love to know.
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Overall the festival was very enjoyable and would go back again. I was time constrained because of the weather which is why I drove down and back the same night. I would not recommend this method at all. Instead, make a full day out of it and end the night there or stop by at night and stay until the next day. This way you to get the most out of the festival.
