No Vampires in Transylvania

Usually my boyfriend's mom organizes an annual trip to get her three sons and their girlfriends/wives together. Oh, and there's also grandchildren that she can't live without! So this year we decided to go to Romania, more precisely to Transylvania. It's getting really hard to choose a place where none of us had ever been!Half of us arrived in Bucharest really early in the morning so we decided to meet in the center of the city for breakfast. We drove around to get to know the city and it is a real beauty: decadent and charming. After a very complete meal we went to Brașov, where we had a birthday lunch for Paulo, my brother-in-law, at La Ceaun. There we ate the most amazing romanian slowly cooked dishes and if you like polenta, you'll love theirs. It's a place for family and friends and the decor is really sweet!We traveled the whole afternoon and bought some groceries for later. The place we stayed at is very secluded and so incredible. We booked it through Airbnb and it's called Cabana Sapte. It was so incredibly cozy and in touch with nature, the huge window in the living room and the sheepskin all around made it just perfect!It was quiet rainy on the following day, so we drove around the hills and had lunch at this very quirky place, which we found by chance, called Albota Turistic Complex. It is actually a trout farm, so none of the things on the menu are very good besides the fried trout, which is indeed super tasty. The place was really peculiar, with places for foot treatment on the trout tanks and some other activities like fishing, which I figure mustn't be that hard, given the circumstances.At the end of the day the boys prepared a lovely barbecue for the family and we got to enjoy our last evening in our Cabana.On our third day we traveled around and got to visit the beautiful Mănăstirea Brâncoveanu, an orthodox monastery.Later that day we drove towards one of Romania's most turistic spots - the Bran Castle. After reading Bram Stoker's Dracula aloud to Luis last Summer, we still had a very present image of the writer's descriptions in our minds. Sure we thought it would be bigger and way more creepy but it's still worth visiting. It has very cool interiors and is oddly cute. Back in the street we ate some street food: Kürtőskalács, a sweet, crispy and huge roll, perfect for sharing, and Lángos, a fried bread with cheese (which made me think of Pizza Hut, my favourite fast food restaurant).The place where we stayed - The Cottage in the Carpathians -  that night and the following was absolutely amazing! It is located in Râu Alb de Sus and consists of a main house and two other little ones, which were formerly used as stables, and endless gardens with animals. It is decorated with a lot of typical  romanian embroideries and objects that were used many decades ago. The heating system is absolutely amazing, so old but still so efficient, the wood with which the houses were made is preserved as old as it gets, but so full of life! And, last but not least, the dogs that hang around saluting you with their amiable energy make you feel like you belong to this idyllic place.On our last day we went for a walk on the woods, that started on a little village. We walked for about two hours, breathing in the nature that surrounded us. It's all so beautiful and the weather was perfect. We ended up having lunch at Potcoava Mountain Hideaway, where we were so kindly received. We came back, this time not trying to shorten our way, through one of the main roads (I think we saw 3 cars in our 2 or 3 hour walk). We had our last barbecue and enjoyed our last evening together.I can't wait for our next trip together! And, as Joana, my sister-in-law said: "Thanks everyone for working so much (like driving and cooking and taking care of the kids), letting me and Teresa rest"! 😅<3

New Girl in Old Places Extremadura Part 2

Having arrived in Trujillo after sunset we kept the sightseeing for the next morning and had dinner at Los Hermanos Marcelo. There we had migas extremeñas, a dish that consists of crumbled fried and really crunchy bread mixed with chorizo, bacon and blended with a pepper - Pimentón de la Vera - that is typical in this zone of Spain (my mouth is watering already). We got up early to explore all the little streets with the sunbeams cast on the ancient city and castle walls.After Trujillo we hit the road towards Los Barruecos Natural Monument. On our way we stopped a few times: there was an abandoned farm with an aqueduct and a little brook and later on we found the intriguing entrance of something like a nun's monastery. As I said on a few posts before, we mainly drive on secondary roads because you never know what you'll find. It makes our trips more eventful and exciting. At Los Barruecos I felt so mesmerised. I guess I've never been in a place like that. It is full of rounded granite huge rocks that seemingly appeared from nowhere. It's like they fell from the sky.At Los Barruecos you can find serene lakes and places to chill or meditate. The view is endless, no wonder why the producers of Game of Thrones chose the place as a set for their footage. There is also a museum dedicated to the works of Wolf Vostell, a pioneer of video and installation art (follow this link to know more about this striking place).At around 4 pm we arrived at Cáceres. Its historical center was considered a world heritage site as it is one of the most complete examples of middle age and renaissance architecture . I've got to be totally honest: the city is certainly beautiful but it was really crowded with tourists and as you may have noticed that's not really my thing. We've had so many lovely moments alone and with locals during this trip that we felt a bit misplaced with so many people all around. Everything is so clean and polished that it seems a bit fake. Of course I agree that these kinds of historical complexes must be protected and preserved but I don't think that should mean that the places must be stripped out of their own character, which is granted by the passing of time.At the end of the day we drove back to Portugal and hanged around the beautiful Puente de Alcántara, a beautiful roman bridge made in the second century AD. We slept near Fundão and came across with Minas da Panasqueira, a mine that has been open for more than 120 years with workings uninterrupted. It is extremely rich in wolfram and in between there can be found almost all silicates that are known up to this day. I've always needed my glitter dose so I got to buy some mind blowing quartz mixed with pyrite, calcite, fluorite, dolomite and apatite from their really full shop. I can't stop starring at them.<3

Hola Mexico!

Luis and I arrived in Cancún at lunch time and as soon as we picked our super cheap rental car we started driving towards Valladolid. We didn't take the highway, so we got to drive in a road that connects little villages. And what a road! We drove through the wonderful jungle and met the people from those pueblos, who are actual Mayans (some of them don't even speak Spanish)! We saw the most amazing pink sunset and took our time absorbing little things that crossed our path, from Mexican red rump tarantulas to amazing birds (Altamira Oriole) and their hanging nests.Just a bit before we got to our destination we found a village that was having a traditional popular party. We had dinner there and that was where our gastronomic journey began! Maybe because we were the tallest ones over there, there were a few people staring at us. I guess they're not very used to having tourists attending their parties. Mayans speak really low, so apart from the music you could almost hear the crickets. Everybody was warm and beautiful in their own way. Women were all wearing the famous Yucatan traditional dresses, blouses and skirts embroidered with amazing flowers, which I'll forever be in love with.Valladolid is a very cute little city, with a stunning tiny park (La Mestiza) in front of the church (San Gervacio). It was late when we arrived so most things were already closed. We took a stroll around and came across Coqui Coqui's perfume shop and hat shop (they also have a restaurant and hotels, where I would stay if I go back, for sure). Both shops are amazingly decorated and made me want to live there without even knowing their products!The next morning we visited Chichen Itza, which is much more than a big Mayan pyramid! It is a city, a civilisation, there are so many thing to see and to feel over there. It's so mystical and beautiful. By the way, if you're thinking about buying cool souvenirs, don't miss the opportunity to bargain.One thing that amazes me is how Mexicans use colours! They are surely not afraid of them and they write on the walls to publicise a vast extent of things, from Coca-Cola to the next parties in town.  We stopped for lunch in a village and we ate a mix of amazing food! Don't be afraid with the looks of the Loncherias, the more simple and humble the place looks, the better the food will be. Everything is so fresh and tasty! Imagine how hysterical I got when I learnt that every meal should be accompanied by Agua de Jamaica or Horchata (two of my favourite beverages in the world).We decided to drive around and found these pink salines. They're the first pink ones I saw in real life, and what made them even more special were the flamingos in the lake nearby, in Dzemul. As if pink lakes and flamingos weren't enough, we were able to see some pretty cool pelicans in Progresso.After this we got in the car and started driving towards Merida, our next stop. <3

Alone in Petra

After the snow from the previous night, we were so afraid that Petra would be frizzing and that we wouldn't be able to visit it. I didn't even brought socks (I left them back at the car in Eilat)! But, against all odds, the weather was just lovely, and the blue skies matched perfectly with the beautiful orange and pink from the mountains! We stayed at Rocky Mountain Hotel in Wadi Musa, which is owned by Jane, who's a Kiwi married to a Jordanian and was really helpful and so interesting to talk to.After breakfast we went down the hill on foot, as Wadi Musa is not that big. Jordan is not a cheap country and because there are so many people who want to visit Petra, the entrance ticket to Petra doesn't come cheap (around 50€ per person). The light on the rocks was amazing, so orange and pink and if you pay attention to the sediments it is possible to identify all the layers serpentining with different shades and colors.Jane, the hotel owner told us that the week before there were a lot of tourists that weren't able to visit Petra because of extreme fog and low temperatures, so maybe that's why there weren't a lot of people visiting. I guess that if the weather is on your side, Winter can be wonderful to visit this kind of places, as the feeling of grandeur becomes stronger because you feel you're discovering everything by yourself.Petra was a huge city since around 300 BC, and the Nabataeans proliferated with its proximity to trading routes. There were about 20.000 people living there and besides their skills for carving stone they were also very good in finding ways to make the most out of the water (which was a scarce resource). The city was conquered by the Roman Empire circa 100 AD and it started declining when sea trading routes emerged. After two earthquakes (one in 363 and other in 551) the city couldn't survive the damage and it became deserted.<3

Oh, Holy Land!

After leaving Jerusalem we headed to the Dead Sea. There we stayed at Herods Dead Sea Hotel, a birthday gift from the sweetest mother-in-law. We arrived around 7 pm and we wanted to explore a little, it was 22º (celsius) so we strolled outside, to the Dead Sea, to touch the water. I can assure you I never tasted anything saltier! Because the only options to dine in Neve Zohar were the hotel restaurant and McDonalds, we decided to have dinner in bed: some Labneh with Za'atar with the most amazing pita crackers and some fruit.As we had to make the most out of our morning, we were ready to enjoy the spa at 7 am. Not my usual wake up time, but it's easy to wake up when you know there'll be relaxing time and loads of food. The hotel has a big swimming pool with hot Dead Sea water and I guess I shouldn't have tried it before actually 'diving' in the real thing. The morning was not as warm as the night before. Anyway, I swam a bit, floated a bit and then run back to the sauna. The weather was absolutely bipolar that day: we had a weird mix of warm sun, black clouds and wind!After enjoying the spa and eating the most amazing hotel breakfast we went to Masada, not far from where we were staying and really worth visiting! Masada is a fortification that lies on the top of a rock plateau. The first data about the place goes back to historian Josephus, that wrote about it back in the first century.On the surroundings we found amazing sights that resemble some grand canyon rock formations. Don't they seem holy? I just love these desert lands, they look so peaceful, so still, so lost in time. I think that, in the end, the weather actually helped us to give our photos a more dramatic look. Thumbs up for bipolar weather!After this we drove our way down south, towards Eilat, so that we could cross the border to Jordan. It was 8pm when we arrived and we had to leave the car 100m away from the border because it's not possible to cross it by car. We had to pay something like 20€ to leave Israel and I would advise you to change a lot of money to Jordanian Dinars. Jordan is not cheap, and because we arrived late there were no buses to go to Petra, so we had to take a taxi. It's a 126km drive and it costs 45JOD (about 50€). You can tell the cultural difference right away, but Jordan is rather safe. On our way there we left Kings Highway to a very bumpy road where we weren't able to see anything because of the fog and there was actually snow! WHAT?! I wasn't ready for that!Next stop: Petra! <3

The German Wedding

Back in 2013, as an intern at Ann iDemeulemeester I was blessed to meet a lot of amazing people. One of them was my dear Katharina. She and her boyfriend Daniel came to Portugal twice since then and on the last time they were here, which was last Summer, he proposed! Of course we wouldn't miss their wedding for the world!Luis, Tim and Andreia came along and we spent the time that we weren't with the wedding party getting to know the countryside in the south of Frankfurt.As we were not going back to the hotel to change, we dressed up for the wedding in the morning though the party would only happen in the afternoon. I have to say that Portuguese people are not that used to attend to Winter weddings. But we got lucky with the weather.We met Katharina and Daniel's friends the day before the party and we had a blast. We were also so glad to see Ingo again (a friend of them who also stayed in Portugal before), and we were able to meet his lovely wife and baby! We couldn't be happier and we danced all night and laughed at german jokes even though we couldn't understand everything. I have to say that it's a shame that we never take pictures together, so this time, we took a lot but still weren't able to take one with the groom.There was a lot of dancing to 90's tunes and there was even a concert by Daniel and his friend Maurice! I was so touched when they played the song that Daniel wrote with my name on it! Daniel actually wrote it when they were in Portugal for the first time and the song title is pretty badass: Bitten by a Rottweiler! I just loved everything! On our last day, we came to Katharina's parents house to say goodbye and we spent the day visiting Heidelberg and then Frankfurt.Here are some photos that I found from our time in Antwerp, taken with my polaroid camera.On this last one I was crying because I was leaving on the the next day. Little did I know, back then, that we would keep on being friends and that we would share so many moment together. Hope that there are still a lot more to come! Love you guys! <3