Something to look forward to...

Today I won't write much...When it's cold outside and I have a bit of a cough, I thought to cheer myself up with photos of something which is coming up...Holidays and Weddings in 2011!!

After I had my blog about destination weddings I started to get invites to all of them...(just kidding!). Two of my very close friends are getting married in two exotic destinations: Dubai and Dominican Republic. There's 3 months to the first one and exactly one year to the second wedding, can't wait!!

One of the main sights of Dubai: Burj Al Arab, Photo viajardubai.com

Ritz Carlton Dubai, the wedding reception venue. Can't wait!

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; there's no better paradise pic from this!

This is the hotel resort beach...NICE!

I guess I just have to wait for these fabulous trips ahead, I wish I was going already!

Do you have any plans ahead?

Still some time to visit Christmas Markets around Europe...

To be very efficient on Christmas time, or now when it's still 33 days to go to Christmas, I should have ordered the Christmas cards, purchased almost all Christmas presents which have to be sent overseas by 30th on November and have something different and personal touch on the presents. I've ordered the Christmas card (something very unusual for me to do!) and put warning notes in my calendar AND phone for the 30th of November coming closer and closer...But how do I get something personal bought...?





I would love to do something myself but seriously I don't have much time left...Solution: Do a daytrip to one of the Christmas markets and get the handmade Christmas presents for someone special!! Here are some of the ones I've visited and I'm planning visiting...one day...

Vienna Christmas Markets (13 Nov to 24 Dec 2010)

Probably the oldest Christmas Markets known and definitely the most traditional markets! Vienna Markets have been in excistence for over 700 years. All traditionally setup in front of Vienna's Town Hall (Rathausplatz) with hundreds of stalls where you can buy local handicrafts, taste cotton candies, glazed fruits and baked apples. Don't miss the carols on the advent weekends!




(Photo christkindlmarkt.at)




Stuttgart Christmas Markets (24 Nov to 23 Dec 2010)

Germany's biggest Christmas markets are in beautiful city of Stuttgart with over 250 stalls selling wooden toys, glass baubles, nutcrackers, big gingerbread hearts and the German specialty Hutzelbrot (fruitcake). Don't forget to taste the traditional Glühpunsch wine scented with cinnamon and vanilla!



(Photo Stuttgart-tourist.de)



Bath Christmas Market (25 Nov 10 to 12 Dec 2010)

British people have their own Christmas traditions with their Christmas puddings and decoratings, and all this and some more can be found at the Bath Christmas Market by the Abbey. Each year there are 123 wooden chalets selling local farmers' food, jewellery, crafts and children's toys. The views around the markets are beautiful with the Georgian feeling with the cathedral on the side.




(Photo christmasmarkets.com)




Tivoli Christmas Market, Copenhagen (20 Nov to 30 Dec 2010)

At the Copenhagen's old and traditional amusement park turns itself into a Christmas wonderworld with traditional markets. There are more than 70 stalls selling handicrafts, decoratings and local delicates such as gløgg (mulled wine), æbleskiver (apple donuts) and roasted almonds. There are almost 2000 fairylights lighting up the The Tivoli Lake, all this designed the Tiffany's head designer John Loring.



(Photo visitcopenhagen.com)



Old Town Christmas Fair, Riga (27 Nov 2010 to 09 Jan 2011)

At the Riga's most famous landmark Dome Square with 500 years old Christmas Tree lighten up will bring the Christmas feeling to everybody's mind. There are mulled wine, gingerbread, roasted almonds, Christmas tea and coffee, as well as delicious smoked meats and meat products to taste. There are plenty of handicrafts to choose from, but I would go with patterned woolen mittens, socks and hats, and handmade soaps and candles. The medieval atmosphere in old town of Riga brings more excitement to the fair.





(Photo iStockphoto)





Helsinki Christmas Markets, Helsinki (7 - 20 Dec 2010)

I bet I end up going to the local markets which would be the Helsinki Christmas markets...though I have to get a solution for the overseas package before these markets will start. From these markets you can find beautiful Finnish handicrafts from soaps to honey, from wooden toys to silver jewellery from 120 different stalls. The most interesting stuff are felt boots and hats, colourful or just in gray colour. These ones keeps you the warmest in the coldest weather. A cup of glögi at the Kappeli restaurant and eat Christmas pies.

So there's still time to book flights to any of the cities for a little shopping spree, don't you agree?! Or just to the local shopping centre, they have the Christmas feeling there too! :)

Time to get ready for winter again...

Snowing, snowing, snowing...here it starts again.

Last winter in Finland was long, cold and snowy...The last few days are forecasting the same for this coming winter. For some reason I don't seem to get used to it at all...While it's cold outside it's good time for daydreaming and getting ready for it with following comforts:

This weekend I'm spending inside with my woolen socks on, PJ's on, under the blanket and sipping hot drinks, including the beautiful Chai-tea and White Tea from T Salon on Melrose Ave in L.A. (http://www.tsalon.com/los-angeles-store/)

How beautiful is the ad on the top of the T Salon...? NOT!

I picked the soft and smooth Chelsea Chai Tea Blend which has An intricate blend of Assam and Ceylon black teas with cardamom, almonds, hazelnuts, chocolate and peppercorns. YUM! The White Tea is called Dragon Phoenix Pearls. This hand-rolled tea is highly valued in China. It's a pleasure to the eye and the palate. I learned drinking the white tea in Australia as my colleague Amanda who was from China introduced me into this cleansing tea. 'the more you drink it the better' she said. And finally I found this fab tea shop in L.A. I've been looking for...it's quite hard to order tea to Finland though, but next time I know where to go and buy lots more!

While I'm sipping the tea, I'm burning the incenses...and oh boy I have difficulties of picking my favourite from the selection I've picked from Australia, Indonesia, Latvia and Estonia:

All these favourites of mine are Agarbathi incenses, just different brands with slightly different smells...I fell in love with the blue pack in Australia and bought the yellow one in Indonesia and started to like it too...then I went to Latvia and found both and someone recommended me the soft Satya Natural (top box) and that was beautiful! As my storage of all these started to get lower I found the little box of the 'Super Hit' from Estonia. So with these I calm myself and it really works, believe me! "Helps reduce negative and increase the positive aspects of all zodiac signs" (and headache to my partner!)

I put my Spotify (http://www.spotify.com/) on and find some acoustic guitar music (search for acoustic guitar music) which reminds me of Lisbon where I was exactly one year ago...here are some best parts of Lisbon:

notice the boy waving to me :)

And the evening is spent by drinking more hot drinks like Herrgårds Glögg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulled_wine) in the candlelight...

Enjoy your weekend! :)

"Zen" of travelling

I've come to the conclusion that once I'm in any country I have to have a massage, facial, foot massage or any beauty treatment. Without it I feel empty...

My opinion is that with money you won't get the best massage. You have to experience many places until you know what is good and what's not. I've had massages in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Australia, Indonesia, Finland and Latvia. I'm happy with any massage, it can be pure relaxation massage or deep tissue massage...most of the time I prefer the deep tissue massage as my neck and shoulders (basically my whole body) is always sore...

On my trip to Riga this weekend I went to my favourite place Shakti Centre and had one of the Ayurveda treatments which was called Sambahana...pure relaxation massage, and it definitely was one. I was snoring away after 30min of this 2h massage. I'm going back there in January and will have the deep tissue massage I like, called Raso Vai. At Shakti I feel like I've come to India, they do everything so professionally following the old ayurvedic traditions.

Here are my favourites and suggestions:

ClubMed, Bali

Shakti Centre, Riga

Furama Villas Spa, Bali

Six Senses Spa Kempinski Barbaros Bay, Turkey

Six Senses Punta Cana Resort & Spa, Dominican Republic

Planning already the next trip of Zen!

California here we come...

Holiday...hmmm, it's just around the corner! CAN'T WAIT!

This time we are heading to Los Angeles and basically just chill out! Live like the locals...relax, sleep, read books, be on the beach, watching sunsets and have bonfire drinks...mmmmm!

We might head to San Fransisco ->San Martins, to watch some golf action, that should be nice too!

Here is the list I should remember, and might be helpful for everyone:
1. Passport, take photocopies just in case and have them in a separate wallet where your passport is!
2. ESTA-visa applied at least 72h before entering the country -have the address in US ready too!
3. Check the airline's websites for baggage allowance and pack less than half of the allowed kilos in a suitcase, otherwise none of the souveniers aren't fitting in (this will be a challenge!)
3. Check the airline tickets and departure / arrival terminals and the check-in deadlines at all airports on the way
4. Check credit card availability and inform bank you are going on a trip as the new cc technology might block cc usage if it notices transactions overseas...Normally they call you on your contact number but you might not be available or your phone might not even work at the destination...check that too with phone operator!
5. Print all the confirmations of flights (e-ticket copies as well!!), hotels, car rental, any useful information regarding the destination i.e. Embassy/Consulate contact details, insurance company's emergency numbers, bank/credit card company contact details
6. 'do it yourself' itinerary on a paper with short details of flight numbers and times and itinerary plan for each day.

That should be it...I'm sure I've forgotten already something :)

I'll have plenty of photos to put here afterwards, so pls be patience!

Rio de Janeiro...Soccer World Cup & Olympics on my mind...

Have you started planning your next Olympic trip yet...? Well, don't worry I haven't either :)

There will be not only one excuse to travel to Rio now, there are two big events coming up, are you ready?!

I visited Rio in 2009 with my best friend. I wish we had some more time to explore the city, though 2 days were enough to see the basic tourist attractions.

The city has bad reputation of crime but so do many other cities; I wouldn't go to Harlem in NYC or Block M in Jakarta...You just have to know where you can go during the day and night...We were at the Copacabana beach one day and heard some machine gun noise but didn't really pay much attention as we were loving the beach and the sound of waves. Later on, up in the Amazon, one group of American tourist fellows told us that was one of the serious shootings in a while in Rio. Police had attacked the drug gang in the suburb nearby. This happens in the areas where tourists shouldn't go. Police and the friendly locals are protecting tourists and telling them where you shouldn't go. But you better not trust them, just use your brains and senses...simple as that!

The City of Rio and police in cooperation has already started the 'cleaning' of the city. You can only imagine how many people there will be in 2014 when the next soccer world cup is held in Rio...not forgetting the Olympics in 2016! As the slum areas are so close to the city and tourist areas, police will have lots to do before they can make sure the city will be totally safe during the games.

Rio Janeiro has its own charm, beautiful Copacabana and Ipanema beaches the beach boulevards with the small Barracas (beach kiosk) selling drinks and snacks, people having relaxed dance party on the streets, boys playing soccer and volley ball on the beach, locals having relaxed time with their families in the cafes and small restaurants while tourists are shopping in the markets, shopping centres and even on the beach from the local sarong seller...sipping cocktails or the well-known caipirinhas, some delicious olives and cheece bits by the hotel pool isn't the bad option either...

Here are some photos to help your planning...


Ipanema Beach

Copacabana Beach

Barraca with the Água de Côco drinks straight from coconuts, YUM!

Street party

All I can say of these local dishes: the YUMMIEST!!

The future Ronaldo...or Kaka?

Cheers!!! :)

Daydreaming Part II

Had some time today to 'practise' my Daydreaming...here are the results:


Travel Destinations:

• South Africa; only a couple of months ago I could have written all about soccer soccer soccer and everyone would have gone wild...But now after the World Cup it's time to concentrate on the main travel sites in South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa's Los Angeles and Johannesburg, South Africa's New York as they describe the cities on New York Times...AND the Safari with the big five: Lion, Leopard, Black Rhino, Elephant and Cape Buffalo -must see! The country offers world-class golf courses and wineyards, that's all what matters ;)

• Spain; Could continue the soccer theme, but let's forget it for now...I'm thinking sun, tapas, sangria, siesta and guitar music. I'm sure you can find these elements everywhere in Spain. And of course the cultural side of Spain as well, Pablo Picasso and Antoni Gaudi; these men with their incredible talents, wow! I would love to do a roadtrip through the small villages, practise my college Spanish, haha- Si Si Senor!

• Greece; My all time favourite Greece, ah! Flying to Athens, visit the Olympic and historic sites and continueing island hopping through Naxos, Santorini, Paros, Ios etc. The whaite and blue houses, tsaziki, greek salad, moussaka and souvlaki YUM! And of course a glass of Ouzo...I've been in Lefkas twice and would love to go back any day, love this little island. It has some beautiful and interesting stories behind...

• The Alps; "Edelweiss, Edelweiss, Every morning you greet me, Small and white, clean and bright, You look happy to meet me." The views of the Alps are breathtaking, calming at the same time. Just seeing the white tips of the mountains and green fields below with cows and sheep pasturing, white houses with dark wooden roofs make me feel 'I'm home'. I love the Austrian Alps the most as I spent the first 13 years of my life every summer 5 weeks in Austria...Not even mentioning the skiing possibilities in Austria, St. Anton being my favourite, Ischgl, Obertauern and Zell am See coming close behind...mmmm...

Oh where should I start booking my trips...? A HUGE dilemma!