Archive for March, 2011

**Do not forget to enter the Roger Smith Hotel New York giveaway!!!**

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Warning: this is a looong post (grab a coffee!)

I was completely blown away when I walked through the ballroom doors.  We truly were transported into Wonderland.

A few moments after everyone was seated at their designated tables the lights went completely off and music started playing.  Here is what happened next:

Then the parade of characters come to a stop and the Mad Hatter/host for the evening made her grand entrance:

She took to the stage and began the first of many performances for the evening:

By the way, I am totally thinking of wearing her outfit for Halloween next year!

Somehow I always end up being that one person who gets singled out in the crowd.  In front of probably 500 people a character came over to me and tried to get me to dance.  The best I would give him was a pose.

The characters decided if I was not going to dance, then they were, and if you only watch one video in this post, make sure it is this one:

Thankfully, they chose a different victim to embarrass this time — my brother.  Although, I have a feeling he was actually enjoying his moment in the spotlight.

Once the first show was over, it was time for our 6-course meal to begin.  After our appetizers, we cleansed our pallets with a red berry consomme that was inside of an edible white chocolate tea cup and saucer.

While everyone else was served beef tenderloin, I was given 2 lobster tails, since I am a vegetarian.  Lobster does not exactly qualify as a vegetarian meal, but when in Rome right?

We decided that we needed a picture of the 3 of us before the clock struck 12 and asked one of the men sitting at our table to help us out.

After he took the picture, this man, “an Indian jeweler from Canada,” decided that it was time to spice things up.  He proceeded to take out about $5000 in $1 bills and throw them all over the place.  While I was busy collecting as many dollars as I could, he was busy dancing with my Dad.

Of course when you are tall blond with a bunch of money in your hands you tend to attract certain attention.

Midnight was quickly approaching, thus it was time for dessert (the best part of the feast for me).

And what New Year’s Eve celebration is complete without champagne?  In my case, I decided an extra bottle would bring me even more good luck in 2011.

It was now time to head to the dance floor for the countdown. . .

Our busy lifestyles leave little time for planning personal times like holidays.  When you realise that you have time off and nowhere to go, choose a last minute holiday online.

Europe definitely has its fill of gorgeous beaches.  But there is one coastline that blows the rest completely out of the water.

The Algarve is located in the most southern region of Portugal where the sun is always ready to play.  My friends and I needed to escape the dull and dreary weather in London, so we decided to go to the place that was guaranteed to have the sunshine we all needed.

Our first stop: the beaches.  With 200km of beaches, there is a beach for everyone.   You will find the busiest beaches in central Algarve, especially in the summer months.  So, if you want to make Algarve your own, try searching for empty coves and stretches of golden sand in western Algarve.  It might be a little out of the way (a quick ride on the A22 motorway), but it is definitely worth the extra drive.  My personal favorites were the award winning beaches of Lagos.  Just be cautious — without knowing it, we stumbled upon one of the two official nudist beaches, Adegas beach.  That was definitely a shocker!

Our second stop: the golf courses.  Algarve is not just a beach paradise, however it is also a golfer’s paradise.  Now, I am not much of a golfer myself, but my friends on the trip had their mouths watering.  With 25 golf courses to choose from, they did not know where to play.  While they hit up the professional golf courses, I played mini golf (since it matched my skill level a little better).

If you really want to get a local feel, check out the café life.  Cafés are a part of everyday life, whether it is just a quick stop for a coffee or a longer stay for a snack or two.  My friends and I found that ordering a prima, a small espresso with a huge energy kick, gave us the extra boost we needed after all of fun in the sun.

Apart from the picturesque beaches, you can find accommodation in abundance.  And there truly something for everyone in every price range.  Algarvian lodgings range from 5-star hotels to hostels. Since we are students, we went for the cheaper side of the spectrum.  There is a lot of information online about Algarve, although by far the most helpful website for us was: algarve.mydestinationinfo.com.

Renee is an eager American traveler writer with a passion for understanding new cultures and exotic cuisine.

If you are thinking about renting one of the apartments in Barcelona, I, having been an inhabitant of the city for several years now, would like to give you some advice on how to avoid being the typical flip-flops with socks shrimp-red face tourist, aka, guiri.

I know you are fascinated by Las Rambles.  All tourists are.  But you must know natives do not particularly like this area.  Lately it has become a circus; you can easily be robbed, offered services by prostitutes, and/or get charged 4 Euros for a beer in any of the cafes and bars.  So, if you visit Barcelona, yes you must go and see Las Rambles, however under no circumstances buy a Mexican hat as a souvenir — Mexico is 9,500 km away from Barcelona!  Also, I would recommend not buying figurines of bullfighters either, as Barcelona is an anti-bullfighting city.  You better go to Madrid for this.

Take your walk down Las Ramblas and then make your way to the charming fishermen’s district of La Barceloneta.  There you will find lots of authentic places where you can have fresh fish tapas and cheap beer, note these ones for example: Bar Cal Papi (Atlántida, 65), Bar Jai-ca (Ginebra, 13), and Bar Electricitat (Sant Carles, 15).

Another charming walk is around the neighbourhood of Gracia.  In ancient times this used to be a town, which was later absorbed by Barcelona.  It is now one of the trendiest districts, while still keeping the best characteristics of a little town.  You will see natives speaking Catalan combined with modern hipsters in the numerous charming squares.  A stop at the Canigó (Plaça Revolució) is a must.  It is a traditional bar with very nice waiters.  Ask for some of their delicious hand-made olives.  If what you are looking for are the best sandwiches in the neighbourhood, you can find them in Anagrama Bar (Carrer Encarnació, 38) and at an unbeatable price.  As well as Gata Mala, which is famous for its free tapas (something unusual in Barcelona) that will come with a purchased drink.  Since it is always crowded do not go too late.  Finally, take a Vermouth on a sunny morning in the unknown Plaça Rovira i Trias, one of my favorite square’s in Gracia.

Not far from there is Plaça Reial in the Gothic district.  There are some interesting clubs there, such as Sidecar (indie-alternative music), Glaciar (special ambience and cheap drinks), and Pipa Club (look carefully as it is not easily recognized).

So, are you ready to enjoy the city like a native?  What are you waiting for???  Get your Barcelona accommodation now!

Maria Climent is a 26-year-old Catalan lady.  After studying translation, she decided her life was odd enough to became a humor scriptwriter and by default, a blogger.  This is how she is now a mother of no one and a better person.  She also cooks her meals.

**Do not forget to enter the Roger Smith Hotel New York giveaway!!!**

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New Year’s Eve had finally arrived.  I still could not believe that we had found such cheap flights to the Bahamas and that my Dad was able to organize something this grand in such little time!  My Dad, in order to keep my brother and I in suspense, had only told us that we were going to a “black tie event.”  We knew we were in for something spectacular, but had absolutely no idea what.

That is until we walked into what seemed liked another world and saw the following sign:

We were attending an “Alice and Wonderland” ball!  We arrived before the doors into the ballroom were open, which allowed us time to mingle with some interesting characters.

Then, as luck would have it, my brother spotted Alice!  She seemed to be quite smitten with him, would you agree?

The bells chimed nines times, letting us know that it was nine o’clock and the doors would now be opening.  It was time to  follow Alice down the rabbit hole. . .

On a whim I decided to attend the NY Times Travel Show 2 weeks ago.  It was the most spontaneous trip of my life to date.  I literally booked a flight to NYC leaving just 8 hours later.  The Roger Smith Hotel New York graciously offered me accommodation in their fabulous boutique hotel right in the heart of midtown Manhattan.  Even though I had lived in the city for 4 years, I had never heard of this hotel.  I am certainly glad that I know of this hidden gem now!

I stayed in the Deluxe Suite, which consisted of two-bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and a kitchenette.  On the hotel’s website they describe the suite as such, “You will feel like a New Yorker in your own personal apartment, settled in among the gorgeous design details that make each of these spaces truly unique.“  I could not agree with this statement anymore, although I would like to add that the suite was bigger than any apartment I ever lived in.

Giveaway Information:

I am so excited to announce that the Roger Smith Hotel New York has given me 3 $100 vouchers to be applied at a future stay.  There are 2 ways you can win 1 of the voucher’s:

1. Become a follower of theirs on Twitter and like them on Facebook.
2. Leave me a comment telling me your favorite thing to do in NYC.

The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Friday, March 18th, 2011.  Good luck!!!

I have a confession to make.  I am a frequent flier mile/award points junkie!  Thus, when AwardWallet contacted me and asked for a review of their website I said yes without hesitation.

Because I collect points and awards from copious places, I desperately needed 1 place where I could keep track of them all and AwardWallet was my answer.  Signing up could not have been easier and within minutes I had every program I was a part of listed in front of me.  By the way, every single program is accepted.

Not only does AwardWallet constantly manage all of my accounts on my behalf (no manual updating necessary), it also sends me weekly updates and notifications.  The experts are also impressed, the following are a list of recent articles that have been positively written about the website: the Consumerist, the LA Times, and the Wall Street Journal.  A free mobile app for the iPhone can be downloaded as well, which is great for us travelers constantly on the go.

Within less than 1 week of use, AwardWallet has already helped me in a major way.  It notified me last week of some points that were expiring soon and thankfully I was able to put them to good use before losing them forever!

The basic version is free, however as a special offer to the readers of My Beautiful Adventures, AwardWallet has kindly offered FREE upgrades for 6 months to AwardWallet Plus using the promotional code “andiAW6mo”.

In order to take part in this promotion, AwardWallet registrants must:

1. Become a member of AwardWallet
2. After registering, click: My Account –> click: Upgrade to Award Wallet Plus –> enter price: $1.00 (you will not be charged) –> choose: a method of payment (you will not be charged) > add promotional code: andiAW6mo

The next couple of days were spent in complete relaxation.  Over the years I have found that I rarely take vacations anymore, rather I take trips, and they are so full of adventures from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep, that I return from the trip needing yet another trip to recover.  Thus, my mission on this trip was to actually have a vacation, where all I did was sleep, sunbathe, eat, drink and repeat!

When we were not at the beach, we were at the glamorous pool at the Cove.

And when we were not in the water, we were drinking tropical drinks with about 5 different liquors in them.

At night we would get all dolled up for dinner at a new restaurant.

And after dinner, we would stroll around the marina arguing over who gets which yacht and where we would sail it to next.

Whenever we would pass a Steel Drum Band playing we would stop to listen for a moment.  Is there anything more Bahamian?

While I thoroughly enjoyed my life of luxury for these few days, as it definitely afforded me the time to the reflect on everything that had happened over the year and to thoughtfully select my 2011 resolutions, I was eager for the main event to arrive: New Year’s Eve.

Check out a Majorca holidays guide for information on when the best time is to book a low cost holiday.  You will see why it is such a popular destination.

The casinos, especially at the Atlantis, are the reason why my Dad is so enchanted with the Bahamas.  Because he takes his gambling seriously, everything is comped and we are treated like royalty.  I am not used to this kind of traveling, so I made sure to appreciate (and indulge) in every.single.second. of the trip.

My Dad’s game is craps and he always wins.  I know that seems impossible, however the man is blessed with lady luck when it comes to dice.  I also think that he is as successful as he is, because he only gambles 1-2 times a year and he knows when to walk away, whereas most passionate gamblers can either be found in the casino or reading online casino reviews to find the next one to visit.

While my Dad went straight to the tables, my brother and I decided to go for a walk around the Atlantis’ massive grounds.  The following photos we took from our walk:

Sadly during our walk we discovered that our favorite beach had disappeared several months ago due to changes in the environment.  This news broke both of our hearts and we decided to sit down near where the beach used to be and reminisce about all of the special memories we both had there.  Here are 2 pictures that I had taken of the beach on my last trip to Paradise Island in 2007 (excuse the quality of the pictures they were taken with a disposable camera):

Then it was time to get ready for dinner at one of our favorite restaurant’s not only at the Atlantis, but around the world, Nobu.

After dinner, my Dad returned to the tables.  Since the table minimum was $25, we decided to people watch instead of play.  Imagine my brother’s surprise when he spotted one of his idol’s, Yankee pitcher A.J. Burnett.  My brother asked him if he could take a picture with him and he said yes, although only if we helped him find his ‘lucky bracelet.’  We looked for a good 10 minutes without any luck.  Finally, A.J. mumbled to my brother as he visibly walked away upset, “Kid this is why I only stick to online slot machines.”  We were not quite sure what that meant, but it was definitely an interesting start to our trip!

Stunning beaches: check.  Spectacular scenery: check.  Intriguing history: big check.  Fabulous shopping and dining: check and check.  Fascinating culture: check with a huge cherry on top.  Is there anything Cape Town does not have to offer?

From the moment I stepped off the plane and felt the pleasant warmth of the South African sun on my skin, I knew I was going to love it there.  I could not wait to ditch my suitcase and rush out to take it all in.  My first point of call was the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.  This elegant marina, surrounded by awesome shops and restaurants and littered with boats of all shapes and sizes, is listed as the most visited attraction in the country, and I believe it.  Try and ignore the bustling tourists and take a few moments to drink in the scene.  I was unsure what to photograph first — the iconic backdrop of Table Mountain in one direction or Robben Island and the glittering ocean in the other?

A trip to Robben Island is a must.  It has been many things over the years, including a leper colony, but most famously it was the prison where Nelson Mandela was held during his captivity.  My own favorite experience was a visit to Bo-Kaap, formally the Malay Quarter.  As well as being a museum, this multicultural township is a photographer’s dream of pastel buildings and romantic cobbled streets.

No visit to Cape Town would be complete without taking the cable car to Table Mountain for the panoramic 360 degree views of the lush countryside and city bowl or spending a day in the rolling winelands of Stellenbosch, only 30 minutes away by road.  And if you tire of politics and incredible scenery why not check out the weather and head for one of the many perfect white beaches.

I would recommend at least 4 days in Cape Town, any less and you will be scribbling it onto your list of places to go back and see properly.

Liah S. Thorley is a travel writer and novelist from the UK.  She has traveled extensively and particularly enjoys history and the arts.

Not many people know that I consider the Bahamas to be my second home.  Growing up, my parents were completely enchanted with the country and we would visit 3-5 times a year.  At first we would always stay in Nassau, however as Paradise Island began to develop, we crossed the bridge to the other side and never looked back.  It was really fascinating to see Paradise Island go from being just another tropical island to a dream destination for many people (thanks to the Atlantis of course)!

The Atlantis.

Once traveling became an obsession for me, I stopped going to Paradise Island with my family.  I missed it, but I wanted to see the rest of the world.  Over the years she would quietly call out to me to return, but I refused her for other ports of call.  That is until this past New Year’s Eve, she called out loudly and in quite a seductive tone, thus there was no refusing her now.

Because I had been consumed with planning my upcoming wedding, I had put off planning my annual New Year’s Eve trip.  5 years ago, I started a tradition where I would travel somewhere fabulous for the holiday, since it is my favorite.  As the end of 2010 approached and I was without a trip, I asked my family if they wanted to go somewhere with me.  My Dad said yes immediately and asked me to give him a couple of days to come up with a plan.  And what a plan he came up with!  To say I was impressed is the understatement of the year.

3 weeks later this was the view from the plane:

I was not sure if anything could top my New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil the previous year, but in that moment I did not care, I was home.