All posts tagged: 2015 travel

4 Hours of Water Sports followed by 1 Amazing Spanish Lunch!

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I was super excited for the second day of our A Different Barcelona tour because we had Water Sport activities on our schedule. This was one of the main reasons why I picked this tour! The itinerary said that we would try out one of the following water sport activities: Paddle Surfing, Kayaking or Sailing. I wanted to try out sailing. Our lovely tour guide picked us up with our tour bus up from our hotel early in the morning and we headed toward the Barcelona Olympic Port. We arrived at Vela Barcelona where we were about to try not 1 but 4 different Water Sport activities, each lasting 1 hour long! I was completely insanely excited about this as I love water sports and generally being in water. The water at the time (beginning of May) was still on the cold side, but we were provided with awesome wet suits. As I predicted, I was horrible at paddle surfing. Balancing on that board was a challenge for me. I managed to stand up a couple of times within …

Barcelona Airbnb Review + Airbnb Coupon

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During my most recent trip to Spain, I have stayed at so many different accommodations – hotels, an Airbnb apt even a hostel and I will get to all of them soon. The first place I booked was an Airbnb apartment in Barcelona. I had some scheduled tours in the city and therefore it made sense to stay in Barcelona first. I had a late evening flight so I picked an apartment that wasn’t too far from the airport. This was my first time in the city, so I arranged to meet up with other Travel bloggers at the airport and share a taxi to my apartment. I was surprised at how quiet the airport was around 11pm. For some reason, I expected it to be busier. I had absolutely no trouble communicating with my Airbnb host over messages up to this point, so when I called her from the taxi, we had a bit of a communication issue, and my first thought was oh no, this is one of those Barcelona scams. My host didn’t speak English, but that’s ok because my …

My first EPIC Skydiving Adventure with Skydive Empuriabrava

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A few months ago, a list for TBEX (Travel Blogger Exchange) pre-tours was posted online and I just happened to be online at the time. I was a bit bummed out prior because I missed out on an opportunity for some of the pre-tours already. There were 15 new tours set for May 3rd and I quickly scanned through them and one surely stood out from the rest. I managed to quickly reserve a spot for myself on this exciting tour that was only accepting seven members in total. Within an hour or two, the tour had all seven members on board. Now, what really stood out about this trip was the 10am Skydiving session. SKYDIVING!!! When I read this word on paper, the adrenaline rushed through me and I just couldn’t contain myself. The other tours included hiking, visiting a fishing village etc, absolutely nothing was as exciting or thrilling or even close in adventure to skydiving. The funny thing is Skydiving wasn’t even on my Bucket List, and I didn’t even think it would …

Catamaran Sailing Party in Costa Brava

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What do you get when you combine Travel Bloggers & Unlimited Sangria together? Tons of fun! One of the fun pre TBEX tours was a 3 hour Catamaran cruise of Costa Brava’s beautiful shoreline and I managed to secure a spot for myself for this fun adventure at sea. On April 30th about 100 Travel bloggers departed from Lloret de Mar for the Catamaran cruise.  We had an open bar, a lunch bbq and snorkel equipment all provided for us during the tour. There was non-stop awesome party music playing on the boat and we all had a big dance party at one point. Here are some photos and a video from this fun group adventure 🙂 Making new friends 🙂 We stopped by this beautiful secluded beach and of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to not jump in for a quick swim. The water was cold, but after about 5 minutes, you don’t feel anything, so it was quiet refreshing. My new friends Tara from Hippie Hits the Road and Claire from The Green Geekette joined …

Steel Donkey Bike Tours of Barcelona

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My second day in Barcelona started with an awesome morning bike tour of the city. I was immediately drawn to Steel Donkey Bike Tours because they are not your typical city bike tour. They are quiet unique bike tours that let you discover a different side of Barcelona, the one you don’t find in the guide books. Every tour differs from the next one, so you never know what sort of surprise is waiting for you. Another great part of this tour is that the group is always small and intimate which makes for a much better tour altogether. Edu, our tour guide explaining Barcelona’s neighborhoods The beautiful Santa Maria del Mar Church This corner head indicates that this used to be a brothel The streets used to be labelled this way indicating which way the traffic went This amazing little gem of a shop has been roasting nuts the old fashioned way since 1851 We actually got to sample some roasted nuts, and let me tell you they definitely taste pretty special and nothing …

An incredible stay at NM Suites at Platja d’Aro

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Thanks to TBEX I managed to book a few days of free hotel stay after the conference and one of the places I picked was NM Suites hotel at the beautiful Platja d’Aro. This was a perfect place to stay at after a very busy 10 days in Spain. I finally got a little Rest & Relaxation here. This was probably my favorite hotel during my 2 week stay in Spain. When the hotel receptionist took me to my room and told me I have the suite, as soon as I saw it, I was in love with this place. I was definitely not expecting a suite. The awesome remote controlled fireplace My beautiful balcony View from the balcony The beautiful Suite building My Suite was located on the top right The grounds at NM Suites are absolutely spectacular. It’s extremely peaceful here. The multiple tress give you a feeling like you are up in the mountains somewhere, but the beach is only about 100m away from the hotel. This was my outdoor office 🙂 …

TBEX Opening Party – An Affair to Remember

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When we got the news that the TBEX Opening Party would be a Beach Party, we were all super excited. The party was to be held at the beautiful Santa Cristina Beach and we had 3 different transportation options as our arrival to the party: Scenic longer boat ride along the coastline Direct boat ride to the beach (15 min) Arrival by bus for those arriving later Of course I picked the earliest 6:30pm departure by boat that opted for a longer scenic coastal route to the party. Boat picking us up for the Opening Party Lloret de Mar Arriving at Santa Cristina Beach The Reception Layout The Stunning Location on Hotel Santa Marta grounds First we were serenaded by beautiful poolside live music Soon after the announcement was heard about the Tomato & Bread demonstration While the 2nd boat ride was making its way toward the beach… It was time for some Cheese & Wine onshore My happy plate filled with different local Cheeses. I also enjoyed some local white wine with this too …

Platja d’Aro – Costa Brava’s little peaceful beachside gem

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Recently I had an opportunity to visit Costa Brava’s small beach town Platja d’Aro. The first thing I noticed once I got off the bus and walked toward my hotel was, the peaceful feeling I got from my new surroundings. Unlike Party town Lloret de Mar, Platja d’Aro is pretty peaceful and a perfect beach town for a little Rest and Relaxation. May is a perfect month to visit, but I predict June would be just as lovely. Bellow are some photos of from this pretty little beach town. The main road above the beach has some awesome little shops and you can also find designer brands here too. Surprisingly it’s a great place for shopping. Platja d’Aro also has a port at the edge of the town and a nearby large campsite too. There are also some watersport activities for adventure lovers. My only tip would be to not go there alone. Platja d’Aro is meant to be enjoyed with a partner or a small group of people. Getting there from Barcelona: Best way to …

Beautiful Braga Photo Post

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Braga is a beautiful little city and it’s Portugal’s third largest city after Lisbon and Porto. You can get to Braga from Porto’s Sao Bento train station. The journey is about an hour and 20 minutes. If you are visiting Porto, and you have a week in the city, then I definitely recommend a day trip to Braga. Just like Porto in Photos, I will do Beautiful Braga photo posts with 10 photos on Braga as well. Hope you enjoy these 🙂 I travelled to Braga without a map as well and you can do the same. Once you get out of the train station, just walk straight up a few streets and turn right and the road will lead you to the city center. Also look out for street signs that display city attractions. There are large city maps in areas as well. You will have Wi-Fi at the city square area. Whatever you do, do not get on a bus. This is a city that should be explored completely by foot.

São Bento: The Most Beautiful Train Station in the World

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While researching articles on Porto online, I came across the Sao Bento Railway Station quiet a few times. This train station is by far the most beautiful train station I have ever visited. It’s not a surprise that Sao Bento is always included in the World’s Most Beautiful Train Station lists. Everything about this place is incredible, and I have to say that it most definitely should be on your list when visiting Porto. It will surprise you, trust me! Even before you step inside this train station, the surrounding beauty on the main street is absolutely gorgeous. You have the beautiful Igreja de Santo António dos Congregados church to your right, amazing city architecture straight ahead of you and the majestic Se Cathedral of Porto to your left. But this is how Porto is, there is beauty in every direction. The beauty of this railway station carries out beyond the stunning azulejos tiles, which by the way the entire city is beautifully embellished with. Once you stroll through the large entry doors toward the trains, you will see glimpses of the …