Merry Christmas everyone! Celebrating another wonderful year of travel and I'm so happy I finally have my Copenhagen video to share with you all. I loved it so much I booked another plane ticket back to Denmark in April 2018.
Check out some of my favorite highlights from my trip down below!
Missing my Summer trip to Europe and in need of a breather from the bustling city life, my family and I planned a short road trip to visit Solvang, CA. We packed our bags and took a 2 1/2 hour drive to visit this charming Danish-American Town where we ate, drank, and shopped to our hearts content.
What better way to get the morning started then with an 11 AM visit to the local winery! The first stop on our trip began with a wine tasting at Presidio Winery , where we tried six different wines from this delightful little shop. A friend of ours recommended getting the Groupon deal for this place which included a $47 wine tasting for four with two bottles of wine to take home. Originally valued at $98, this Groupon was a steal! The winery offered us glasses of chardonnay, syrah, pinot noir and gerwürztraminer. We really enjoyed the crisp refreshing taste of the 2015 chardonnay and took two bottles to go. You can snag their 50% OFF Groupon here if you're interested in checking out the winery for yourself. I highly recommend bringing home one of their Wholegrain Champagne Mustard or Garlic Balsamic Bread Dipper from their shop. You can also purchase these items from their online store here, your future sandwiches and salads will thank you!
We made a quick pit stop into the Solvang Trolley Ice Cream Parlor for a cone since it was a pretty hot day in town. Truly a gem, this little ice-cream shop is full of pastel colored walls, kitschy decor and lots of ice-cream flavors to chose from! I opted for my favorite flavor, mint chocolate chip from McConnell's, the same brand this bon appétit article told me to "Buy 25 Pints" of if I ever came across it. I only left with a single scoop that day but if you ever find it in stores, I recommend buying a pint or two. It was that good!
Copenhagen and Mission Drive are lined with all kinds of cute Danish shops. It's also the perfect place to pick up some Christmas decorations. Stop by one of the many bakeries you'll come across and be sure to take a picture in front of the windmill. You can also spot a replica of the Little Mermaid Statue, a famous landmark in Copenhagen's harbor. We had lots of fun checking out the boutique shops and bought a few souvenirs to take back home.
After strolling through town for a bit, we decided to check out Solvang Brewing Company for a few drinks and some light snacks. I ordered the Bloody Mary which was jam packed with toppings and quite the show stopper when it came out, a little to peppery for my taste but it looked spectacular. I also ordered the house made Odin Stout which featured hints of coffee, bourbon and molasses dancing flavors dancing on the tip of your tastebuds. We bough two bottles to take home and enjoy. We enjoyed snacking on the house made pretzel with melted cheese which was the perfect doughy and salty bite to compliment our beers.
An excellent place for people watching! Our last stop in Solvang ended with a late lunch at Copenhagen Sausage Garden. We started off our meal with a beautifully presented charcuterie board featuring some of the best meats and cheeses Solvang had to offer. Then we ordered a large bratwurst to split between the five of us. One of my favorite things about this place was the impressive amount of sauces and toppings you could choose from. We also got a pint of the Schofferhofer Grapefruit Raddler to quench our thirst in a simmering California heatwave.
On our way back we made a quick pit stop into Santa Barbra for one last bite at Joe's Cafe, my father's favorite spot in town. Pictured here are the massive deli style sandwiches we enjoyed over drinks before the drive home. A feast for the eyes, enjoy!
Wearing my favorite pink spotted jacket, I was ready to experience the beauty of Kusama's world full of dots, vibrant colors, and illuminated infinity rooms. The Thursday night preview I attended for The Broad Museums first visiting special exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, was everything I dreamed it would be!
During the age of Instagrammable art, it's easy to see why Kusama's infinity mirrored rooms appear so often in our social media feeds. Since the opening of The Broad, Kusama's original Infinity Mirrored Room is a popular attraction for LA natives and tourists all over the world. Now six more of Kusama's beloved infinity rooms will be open for public viewing on October 21st. If you were one of the lucky ones to grab a ticket, estimated time to complete the exhibition is approximately 90 mins and each guest will be given 30 seconds to experience the infinity rooms for themselves. Didn't get your ticket in time? Your luck could change if you wake up early enough. The museum will be selling limited quantities of tickets on site before doors open. Good luck!
Now for the review: Rooms in order of appearance at The Broad.
The room that inspired my outfit for the evening, Kusama's polka-dot balloons, welcomes you at the door and brings a smile to your face. These inflatable objects hang from the ceiling and come in all sorts of sizes, large, small and everything in between. The first room features several of these bubbly pink balloons that serve as the perfect Pepto-Bismol backdrop for your pictures.
I'll let you figure out the meaning of this installation for yourself...but this was by far my favorite room in the exhibition. The colors were so vibrant and pretty. I was in awe of Kusama's attention to detail and sewing skills. Kusama hand painted thousands of stuffed fabric tubers to create this room and the view was not short of spectacular!
The only room you can't walk into, Love Forever, let's you peak through a small window into the rainbow colored abyss with a guest. The installation gave me serious flashbacks to visiting the Robot Restaurant in Japan.
Dark and mesmerizing, this infinity room was lit up by thousands of tiny LED candles to recreate a lantern festival. One of the most intimate and calming environments, this room was simple but powerful.
Yayoi Kusama is known for her pumpkins and this room was a visual love note to her obsession with the fruit. Due to previous damage done to one of the pumpkins caused by a selfie wielding tourist, this is the only room in which you cannot take a photo. So take a deep breath, put down your phone, and enjoy the ambiance.
Note: My friend sent this pumpkin image to me from a previous Kusama exhibition before the picture ban was enforced.
Finally a chance to become a part of the art installation, place your dotted sticker pack anywhere you want. My second favorite room, I can't wait to see this place transformed by thousands of colored dots!
If you're a fan of Kusama's work then I highly recommend putting this exhibition on your bucket list, online pictures don't do justice for her work! Make sure you come with a fully charged battery on your phone, comfortable shoes for the long wait times and a friend to help you take those cute shots.
Shout out to the bestie for hooking it up with the sneak preview and to all the Broadies who informed me more about Yayoi Kusama's personal life and artwork. Hope you enjoyed this post and let me know what room you're looking forward to the most in the comments below!
My last Minisode Monday from my Summer 2017 trip to Europe! We only spent two days in Spain but made the most out of our 48 hrs in Barcelona. We enjoyed endless tapas plates, visited the picturesque views of Park Güell and made a trip to the infamous Dalí Theatre and Museum for some surrealist artworks. Enjoy the ride!
It's Minisode Monday again! featuring my favorite sights, views, and places to eat at in Amsterdam. For all full recap of everywhere I went, check out my full blogpost here.
Thinking about traveling to Tomorrowland? Here's my full review on the festival with a few helpful tips sprinkled in.
All Slideshow Photos Courtesy of @Tomorrowland
Months before traveling to the festival my group and I decided to purchase the Global Journey package from Tomorrowland's website. This included a hotel room of our choice, complimentary breakfast, travel to and from the festival and an official Tomorrowland gift bag. The Belgium Journey was also an added bonus to our package which included a tour of Brussels, a full day of social activities and access to the pre-party on the festival camping grounds for the People of Tomorrow. I highly recommend getting this package if its your first time at the festival and if your traveling from a great distance.
Pre-party madness on The Belgium Journey.
Boasting 16 different stages fully booked with Djs and incredible visual displays to compliment each area, Tomorrowland certainly lives up to its hype! Be sure to bring walking shoes you don't mind getting dirty, both for comfort and to stand up to the rainy weather. The unpredictable weather and constant outfit changes between ponchos and tank tops had me exhausted by day three. It would be 85° one minute and the next second extremely windy and rainy. Just roll with the punches and have your poncho handy, there's hardly any indoor areas to hide in so enjoy it.
Don't forget to load up your wristbands! Image Courtesy of @Tomorrowland
If you didn't already know, Tomorrowland is a completely cashless festival! The currency of Tomorrowland is called "Pearls" and you will need to upload the money to your bracelet before the festival.
The exchange rate for “Pearl” is:
€ 20 – 13 Pearls
€ 40 – 26 Pearls
and so on...
The money you put on your festival bracelet is only valid per weekend and cannot be transferred between weekend 1 to weekend 2. If you run out of pearls you can always put more money on your bracelet at one of the many "Topup" booths.
Tip: Don't use a card outside of the European bank system to purchase more pearls. Card transactions from a foreign bank take longer to process and problems are likely to occur. Always carry euros on you to pay for your Tomorrowland currency.
TML veteran status level 100 Image Courtesy of @Tomorrowland
Since we had purchased the Global Journey package, everyday at noon a shuttle would pick us up from the hotel and take us to the festival grounds. The shuttle only came once a day so if you missed it...good luck! Before entering the festival, we always had a security checkpoint to pass through first. Water bottles from outside the festival could be brought in as long as you had the cap off.
Tip: Always keep your caps hidden on you so you can use them for later, no one wants to walk around the festival with an open water bottle while dancing in the crowds. Another tip I figured out way to late in the game was switching out my water for vodka with my unopened water bottle. Could have saved myself a few pearls if I had planned ahead.
Upon entering the festival, my friend and I would run to the small section of hammocks on the fairgrounds to claim our territory and sleep for a few hours before we started our day. This came in handy several times because the hammock areas were covered up and we got to sleep peacefully during the rainfall.
Tip: Invest in hammock property at the festival, totally worth the relaxation and shelter!
Hammock chillin' hard! Image Courtesy of @Tomorrowland
It might seem trivial to mention but I highly appreciated the bathrooms at Tomorrowland; they were kept in good condition and always stocked with toilet paper. These bathrooms were a step above the porta potties offered in the Coachella VIP section. (Hey Coachella, if you're reading this you guys need to step up your bathroom game!) The Tomorrowland bathrooms also had a complimentary beauty bar where you could freshen up your hair, put on deodorant or just grab some sunblock for your face.
It's no surprise that music festivals involve lots of walking but the one downfall of Tomorrowland was the insanely long route back to our bus stop. It was a complete shock to us the first night when it took almost 70 minutes to get out of the fairgrounds and back to our means of transportation. To make the walk more bearable, every night a new group of Tomorrowland performers would follow the crowd of tired party goers and motivate them to keep walking. By night three we had finally mastered the insanely long route back to the bus stop and made it in a record time of only 40 minutes. Wahoo!
Tip: Maybe bring running shoes for this part of the festival? Or ask someone for a piggy back ride.
To sum up my time at the festival, I made sure to talk to as many people as possible, get to know other cultures, make new contacts and travel out of my comfort zone. There were so many inspiring people I met along the way and even a handful of solo female travelers who really piqued my interest and reignited my love of travel.
Protip: Don't be afraid to leave the group you came with, always be open to new experiences and allow yourself to live in the moment. You never know what will happen, I sure didn't and I regret nothing!
Just a couple of happy campers at Tomorrowland!
See the full video and highlights from my trip here.
I'm so excited to share my journey at Tomorrowland with you all! Truly one of the best experiences of my life and one I'll never forget. I've been dreaming about coming to this festival for the last decade and finally made it happen. Check out my video below, enjoy!
It was a mission getting to Amsterdam but after one cancelled flight and half a day waiting around the airport we finally arrived to our next destination, Amsterdam. We took a quick 1hr and 15 min flight using KLM airlines from TXL to AMS. On our short plane ride over they fed us a very simple and delicious cheddar cheese sandwich with a cream cheese and chives spread. A basic looking bite with a flavorful cheddar which left no doubt in my mind that Amsterdam had some of the happiest cows on earth. So cheesy I know!
Picturesque view at Zaanse Schans.
Not your average cheese sandwich.
Coasting through the canals of Amsterdam.
Canal cruises in the city on this perfect Summer day.
We checked into our hotel at the Ramada Apollo Amsterdam which was well decorated inside and located near a bus stop so we could get to downtown easily. Our rooms were perfect for a two persons stay with comfortable double beds, plenty of storage space and a scenic park view from our hotel room. The roof deck featured panoramic views of the city with a bar and plenty of lounge areas for seating. I also give the concierge desk a thumbs up for guiding us on what tickets to buy for the train and later helping us book our bus tickets to Brussels. If you don't mind taking a short 15 min bus trip into the hustle and bustle of downtown Amsterdam and prefer something a bit more quiet at night then I recommend booking this hotel for your next trip.
The next morning we woke up extra early to beat the crowds and take a day trip to Zaanse Schans to visit the country side and the see the historic windmills turning in the wind. We bought a Region Travel Ticket, which you can either purchase online or at the train station for €18.50 and it gives you 24 hr access to the railways in Amsterdam. It's about an hour long train ride to the windmills from our hotel so we picked up some snacks and a bottle of Heineken for the journey. I'd always dreamed of coming back to this place with friends one day. I first visited this landmark when I was around 13 years old on my first trip to Amsterdam with my parents. Little has changed at this location and its just as magical and breathtaking as I remember it all those years ago. There's farm animals casually walking around the grounds, a clog workshop and a cheese making class where you can watch how it is made and sample the results. Thumbs up to all those happy cows. The grounds are free to walk around in and everywhere you go there's picture opportunities left and right. We enjoyed a beer and ice-cream by the windmills on that perfect Summer's day and took in the scenic views.
Perfectly manicured gardens.
Welcome to windmill country.
Windmills in the distance.
Happy cows make for happy icecream swirls.
Clog life.
A pair for every day of the year!
Sittin' pretty for my perfect Instagram shot.
After a few hours of looking at windmills we decide to open our maps and see what other areas we can explore before our train tickets expire. Trading in lush green grounds for some sandy beaches, we decidde to catch the train to Zandvoort which is a large seaside resort. A more european version of a beach town with cute shady blue and white half tents you can rent during your stay. The beach is great spot for a bite to eat. We settle on the restaurant Paviljoen Jeroen which overlooks the ocean and the beach goers in the distance. I order what I think is going to be your usual steak tartare dish but then it comes delivered in sandwich form with questionable orange meat staring back at me and a hardboiled egg on top. I take one bite and its a bland mouthful of nothingness. As a last attempt to save my meal I make a sauce from my side dish of mayonnaise with vinegar and olive oil to create a flavor bomb which relieves my disappointed tastebuds a little bit. My friend laughs at me and my poor decision in food ordering as he delightfully scarfs down his tuna melt sandwich. I have mixed feels about this place but the views were spectacular and the interior was modern and tasteful which I very much enjoyed. I'll be ordering the seafood instead next time I visit.
Beach bites with a view.
Questionable orange meat from my steak tartare sandwich.
Get the tuna melt instead!
On our second day in Amsterdam we do the most touristy thing possible...and no its not visiting the Anne Frank house or the Van Gogh Museum or even the Heineken factory, although I highly recommend visiting all three if you have the chance! Instead we opt for the Red-light district on a perfectly sunny afternoon to watch the ladies behind their glass boxed doors entice us with their looks. A few of the girls even follow us down the streets, one of them takes my hand and tries to lead me inside with her. I politely decline and realize the hard work it takes to find a real client out of the touristy ridden area. There's one distinct woman we came across, tucked away in one of the alleyways. She stands in the window with a wide grin, face full of plastic surgery injections in a tightly fitted corset and appears to be many years older than her neighbors. You can't help but wonder how long she's been partaking in this scene but one glance and you can immediately tell she's been doing this for a long time and has seen a lot of things go down. It was a look I'll never forget.
Unable to afford any of the dirty deeds the Red-Light District had to offer, we opt for a cheap bite instead. Next we head over to one of my favorite traveling abroad obsessions, McDonalds! I love trying out the unique menu items every country has to offer and comparing it to the ones back home. This time I decided to try out their new Parmesan burger. It was perfectly cooked and pressed between two picture perfect buns, just like the ones shown in a commercial photo. The crispy parmesan layer added a nice textural dimension to this otherwise basic burger. I was very impressed with this menu item, let's get this in the States people!
Look at those layers! Soooo JUICY!
One last look at the canals and its off to the airport and on to our next destination, Brussels for the Tomorrowland music festival!
Do you have a favorite McDonald's item from another country? What's your favorite fast food chain abroad? Sound off below!
7AM: It's our second day in Berlin and a busy start at that! This morning we began our day with an incredible scrambled eggs and tomato dish from a small cafe right across from the apartment. It's a little hole in the wall place that is decorated like a dainty doll house inside. There is tiny furniture with vintage floral patterns and odd objects for tables that enliven this quaint little breakfast spot. I highly recommend this place for a cheap bite if you're in the area.
The perfect lighting for the perfect bite to eat!
Put this in your Berlin bookmarks.
Nice selection of breakfast pastries inside.
Obligatory #ootd by this colorful backdrop.
12PM: After we eat and explore the area for a bit then it's off to the Mauerpark Fleamarket which is quite the popular place to go on a Sunday afternoon. The market is filled with hip Berliners, unique vintage finds and plenty of hidden gems to be discovered. We walk around the market for a few hours looking at all the different vendors, grabbing fresh pressed juices and making some purchases. I opted for a rose gold Cassio looking watch for €10 which has now become my favorite takeaway from the trip.
Rummaging through the maddness for hidden gems.
The perfect chill out spot after a few purchases.
#Cafegoals
Afternoon pick me up.
3PM: After perusing the flea market grounds for a while we head outside into a lush green park which is full of kids and boozy picnic goers. Off in the distance, hundreds of people have gathered for a free metal concert in the park, a stark contrast to the laid back event we just left. About 20 minutes later we find ourselves at a nearby cafe, smoking cigarettes and having a coffee. We're with one of our mate's friend who now lives in Berlin. She gives us some insight as to what its like to live in the city. Still a little jet-lagged from the journey over, all I can remember from our conversation is that cafes in Europe never give out tap water. You must always ask for it specifically or you will be charged for the bottled still water restaurants usually serve you. Accustomed to never having payed for a glass of water in the states, we take her advice and apply it to the rest of our journey.
5PM: I get in touch with my friend Christina on Instagram, who is also now living in Berlin and agree to meet up with her for dinner and drinks. A few U-Bahn stops later she takes me to one of the most breathtaking parks I've ever seen. Temperlhofer Feld was an old airport now turned public park. It's full of young and old making the most of their Sunday, wether it be rollerblading, skateboarding, bicycling or just having a beer in the park, there's no doubt that this is the hangout spot on your day off. Its an enormous space and the perfect spot for a social meetup. The park is filled with hundreds of beautiful flowers, funky make shift seating and art work hidden throughout the bushes. We take a seat on one of the oddly engineered benches and share what our year has been like since we last saw one another.
Having a laugh in the feilds with Christina.
We can be cute and serious too.
7PM: After a few beers in the park, Christina decides to entertain my inner foodie by taking me me to a near by restaurant, Mama Kalo for dinner. The smell of dough and beer immediately greets us at the door and we find a table on the patio to sit at. I order the Flammkuchen which is similar to a pizza, with its paper thin crust, light layer of cream, tomatoes, cheese, rosemary and other various toppings. It's quite delicious and filling! Christina tells me about one of her favorite Berlin clubs, IPSE and we have our next destination in sight.
Delcious doughy Flammkuchen for dinner. Pair with a beer for good measure.
11PM: Later in the night I meet up with the rest of my travel group back at the apartment. It starts pouring rain but its a Saturday night in the city and we can't miss a chance to go out on the town. We eagerly flag down a taxi and make our way over to the club. IPSE is a short cab ride away and we pay a small cover fee to get in. The venue is perfect for Summer since it is both an indoors and outdoors space. It's misting outside now and theres a river running next to us in what looks like a forest with a crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of it all. A small booth is outside with a DJ playing house and techno music. The atmosphere feels like a scene from a Midnight Summer's Dream and I knew immediately that this would be my favorite place we visited on the trip. The inside area was very reminiscent to Tresor's with its dark interior and thick smoke but much smaller in comparison. The club is a mixed bag full of locals and foreigners traveling abroad, I met a lot of cool and interesting people that night. A very memorable one at that! Definitely make a note of visiting this club if you can, I know I'll be coming back one day.
Forest chandeliers should always be a thing. Photo @IPSE on Facebook
Relax by the river with a beer in hand. Photo by @theclubmap.com
4AM: As a last attempt to make it out to one more night club in Berlin, we grabbed a taxi and headed to the infamous Berghain, rated one of the top nightclubs in the world and one of the hardest to get into. Sven Marquardt and his squad of bouncers have an enigmatic entry policy that club goers have been trying to crack for years which makes this club so sought after. We arrived at the gates very early in the morning but were told that it was too late to be given access to inside the club. Still a must do on my bucket list, I'll be back for you someday Berghain, you mark my words!
5AM: Unsatisfied with how the night ended, we drop two of our mates back at the apartment and then it was two. My friends and I walked around the deserted neighborhood and slowly watched the sun come up. Its a beautiful feeling when you get to see the sun rise in another part of the world.
7AM: Guess its time for bed. We leave for Amsterdam in a few hours so some sleep is needed, I suppose. I head to the master bedroom and shut my eyes for a bit, replaying the entire day in my head and falling asleep with the biggest grin on my face. 24 hrs in Berlin, you've treated me so well!
