Whenever people ask me what’s my favorite place I’ve been to, I always come up blank. I mean, how can I possibly choose?! I imagine it’s like asking a mother to choose a favorite child. So when I was invited by Accor Hotels to write about three things I love about my favorite city for their A Tale of Three Cities competition, I fretted over the decision. I was even going to completely blow it off because I just can’t…
Top 5 destinations to revisit
You guys, we have a problem. Almost every time we leave a place, practically as soon as we’re out of the city limits, we sigh and exclaim that we must return someday and find a way to live as locals for a while. At this point, we’re starting to rack up quite a long list of potential future homes. Sometimes, it’s because we didn’t get to see everything there is to see. Sometimes, it’s because we didn’t get to eat all the…
Behind La Boca’s Colorful Houses
I merely glazed over La Boca in my last post, but the truth about La Boca is a lot more complicated and I think it deserves its own post. Everyone who visit Buenos Aires has La Boca on the top of their list. But we deliberately didn’t visit it the first time because the area isn’t real. It’s a fake representation of BA culture that only tourists would fall for. At least, that’s how I saw it and I don’t necessarily agree with it. I…
I Learn Candombe in Montevideo
I know I’m jumping around quite a bit on the blog, but I couldn’t wrap up Montevideo without talking about this. It’s taken me quite a bit of time to write about it, because I could never find the right way to capture this experience. And even now I don’t feel like I’m doing it justice. So I always say that I hope to get really authentic, one-of-a-kind cultural experiences when traveling, but to be honest, that doesn’t happen to us…
Another Not-so-charming Colonia Story
In my last post about Colonia, I may have given the impression that there was absolutely nothing else to do. That’s not quite true (I’ll get to that). And I may also have given the impression that the entire trip was happy and joyous. That’s also not quite true. In fact, on that 2nd day, hours before our return to Montevideo, I literally wanted to wring D’s neck. It all started when D only brought 2000 pesos to Colonia, and forgot…
Yearning for the Quaint Life at Colonia del Sacramento
I don’t need much to absolutely fall in love with a place. I don’t need fancy restaurants, shopping malls, museums, or skyscrapers. Instead, give me cobblestone streets, sidewalk cafés, cups of hot chocolate, ocean waves, and a view of a sunset. That’s not asking for too much, right? By this criteria, Colonia del Sacramento has everything I need to fall in love. And I did just that at first sight. Colonia del Sacramento is a little town about a 3 hour bus ride…
Top 5 Restaurants in Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo
As much as I rave about Uruguay, it does have its downsides, such as the lack of imaginative food. You’re most likely to encounter pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, the chivito (their version of a burger), and maybe a parrilla or two. Even locals will say that the food here is not very creative or progressive. Uruguay is very much a meat-and-potatoes kind of culture. And what’s even worse is that eating out in Montevideo costs a pretty penny. If I thought food in Buenos…
South America Instagram Round-up
Our South America trip is done. Over. I already miss it a lot, from the guy who belts out Nirvana songs outside my window to spending afternoons in cozy cafes (no, Starbucks just doesn’t cut it). I’m no where near done sharing about South America, but for now I thought I’ll do something a little more fun, while re-living some of my best memories! If you don’t already know, I’m a big fan of Instagram (see my pictures here)! Here is a random selection…
[Montevideo] Eating Pets?
I suppose I always knew it would happen eventually. It was just a matter of when. I mean, D’s been raving about the rabbit paella in Barcelona for practically as long as I’ve known him. “I’m taking you there someday, and you’re going to share it with me.” I can’t though. Even though I have a pretty open mind about trying new foods while traveling (though I’m pretty sure there’s no way I’m going to eat bugs), I absolutely refuse…
An Introduction to Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo
There are some cities that just feel like home right away. Montevideo is that city for me. I never thought I’d love Montevideo so much. I mean, I’ve never even heard of this little capital city until a few months ago. We only picked this place because we were visiting Buenos Aires and needed somewhere else to go for a month. Enter Montevideo – an easy boat ride across the river from BA. We’re honestly the laziest travelers I know, so easy wins…
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