Holland Baby, HOLLAND | Travelling

Man, I have been to Holland OR the Netherlands – however you call it – in December of 2015! WOW, that was an experience! It was so beautiful and busy! A very vibrant country, indeed!

I visited Kinderdijk where I learned more about the dikes and how they manage to control the water level so that the country does not become one big messy flooded place. ***Side note… normally, one third of the country is under the sea level, the dikes control the water level and keep the water away! Here you go! Dat educational part, tho!

That’s why it is said that Dutch created their own country! Accuraaate!!

My favorite cities were Amsterdam and Utrecht! Amsterdam is very touristic and busy, while Utrecht is more like a student city – still very busy – but not so touristic! I mean, I could meet locals, there! Dah…

The thing that impressed me the most was the bicycles! Seriously, these people use bicycles to go everywhere! They have special parking places and roads for their vehicles! ….

Okay, you might say, what’s so impressive about that? WEEEELL, they were EVERYWHERE! Piles of bicycles! Also, coming from Cyprus, where we only use cars… that was a cultural shock for me!

Come on girl, talk about the coffee shopz?! ….with an effing “z”!!

I know, I know… everyone asked about them! How are they? Did you smoke weed? Jeeeeez… There were plenty of these everywhere, but, NO, I did not go in and I did not eat the cakez! Sorry! … Oh, and there were also marijuana and hemp museums around the city center… whiich… was actually funny!

Overall, it was a great Christmas trip! I got to visit the Rijks Museum, meet with the locals, bike everywhere, take pictures at the canals of Amsterdam, get to experience the Dutch culture, eat traditional food and travel more… PERFECTION!

Hugs, Mariana xx

Portobello Road Market in London

One of my favourite places in London! ❤

It was about a year ago when I visited the city, but I still remember my experience very vividly! ❤ When, I will go back, I will definitely pay my respects to the market, again! :p

If you are travelling to London – first, I am very jealous and second, you have to visit the place! Let me just explain…

It was Saturday morning, when me and my friends decided to go to the Portobello Road Market!

We used to the Tube to get there! I am pretty sure, we started from Lancaster Gate and we stopped at the Notting Hill Gate – which is the closest you can get to the market using the Tube; it’s a 10 minute-walk or so from the station to the market!

The day was not very good, as you can tell from the only picture I have… It was raining, as per uze!!! London, baby! :p

The market….

From the moment, I arrived I could really get the nice vibes – the vibrant, the colourful and the joy was all over the place! This was what really attracted me!

It was like a nicely-done puzzle, where everything was falling into the right place, everything was located at the correct corner and spot!

You could find all sorts of things there… antique shops, fashion markets, second hand corners, fruits and vegetables spots, food stations-for a quick snack, restaurants – for the hungry ones and coffee shops!

For the record, I ended up buying two posters from there… the Chat Noir poster (you know, the one with the black cat) and a poster saying “LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!”

After visiting each and every corner, I was very hungry, so does my friends!Hence, we decided to go for lunch! We went to this Italian restaurant at the end of the street, cause it was the best option!

I am clearly very excited to be there… and to eat! I am waiting for my nocchi! xixixi :p

Hugs, Mariana xx

 

P.S. Unfortunately, I do not have any more pictures… so now you have to visit the market to understand what I am talking about!!

 

The Coffee Shop in Tallinn

In the Old city square of Tallinn there was this very beautiful underground coffee shop! Unfortunately, I do not remember the name… but I can say that it was in front of Tallinn’s Town Hall, right on the corner, nearby the tunnel. If you go you will definitely find it!

The coffee shop was situated into some sort of rock cave, that’s why it felt like we were back in the medieval times! Besides, the inconsistencies in the decoration make us feel like home… I mean they had all sorts of tables, different chairs, tablecloths and kitchenware! It was the perfect place to chit-chat and relax!

The table that we were sitting had this snowy ground level window view… ❤ #awesome

Here are some pictures of the place…. so you can understand what I am talking about!

It was so cute and cozy! I probably said that a thousand times since I came back!

What I got from there?

I had an americano with some milk and a piece of cherry pie! It was very good! yum…

The shop had also other yummy pies and pastries like cheese cake, apple pie, brownie and croissants. Savoury options were also available like cheese pie! They might also serve sandwiches, but I cannot say for sure!

I think is the perfect place for breakfast and lunch!

Loved it and highly suggest it!

Hugs, Mariana xx

Cypriot Street Food

It’s time to talk about Cyprus! I live in here and I really want to share as much information as possible about my place! Cyprus is the Island of the eternal summer, nice beaches, great history and yummy food!

Today, I will talk about street food!

The most popular street food here in Cyprus is grilled corn on the cob! You can find the corn-stations near the busiest city boulevards, pretty much, all year long.

It is very simple, somehow healthy and Cypriots love it!

The first step is to grill the corn for a few minutes or until it develops colour…. aaaaand it is ready – See, I told you is very simple! :p After it is cooked, it is spread with butter and it is lightly salted!

Theeen, eat-eat happens! :p Oh, yeah…. and you know what is essential when eating corn… a toothpick! So you also get one of this when you buy it!

 

The moment Summer joked Winter!! :D

I am at the south coast of Cyprus! Specifically, we are in Larnaca to visit a special friend. We meet with our friend! She is great! She is a tightrope walking master! While she is walking on the rope, I look around and I see all kinds of people… people dressed with coats, others are wearing T-shirts, others are wearing swimming suits and then it’s me wearing a skirt and a shirt. The weather is veeery nice! I mean summer-nice!! I am thinking to myself “Winter will never come here!!” ahahaha… Christmas with 20 degrees and a summer weather. I’ll take that! Then, I am like “Where am I? In Australia?: 😛

I grab my camera and I take the picture because this is the moment Summer joked Winter!! 😀

#InstaMomentStories#InstaMoments #momentseven #picturing#Larnaca #Cyprus #sunny #never #ending#summer #20degrees #beach#sunnychristmas #december #weather#noisnotajoke #wannabewinter #palmtrees#seaview #sea #foinikoudes

The moment I did exactly the opposite!

I am at the city tour in Tallinn! It is freezing cold, but I do not care! I really want to see the city! I am thinking this is probably the first and last time I will be here… The tour starts… it is nice and I enjoy it! Towards the end, the tour guy took us at the highest place in Tallinn where you can see the city from above! I am thinking, this is beautiful –  I am so lucky I am here!

We are coming down the hill I am taking as many pictures as possible… trying to desperately capture every single scene, moment, experience, feeling… alternating between the camera and my phone, cause my phone is almost dead. Of course, I am cutting back from the group! I suddenly turn my back and I look at this picture! I have barely read what it says… I take the picture anyway… Then, I put down the camera and take the time to read it! I smile – bare in mind that at this point I am alone, the rest of the group is already down the stairs- and then I shout… “Guys wait form me!”. This is the moment I did exactly the opposite!

#InstaMomentStories#InstaMoments #MomentFive #Estonia#Tallinn #city #view #nightview #beautiful#savethecamera #photo #citytour#quickpic #theend

The moment I recalled that memory from Tallinn!

Yes, I was in Estonia and it was awesome and very cold!! -13 degrees to be exact!

I survived though! I actually loved the contrast of the outside freezing temperatures and inside warm coziness!

OMG, I cannot describe the place! It was magical! While walking in the city center, it felt like I was back in Medieval Times!

I was part of a fairy tale! You know the ones we were reading when we were young… ❤

#InstaMomentStories #InstaMoments #picturing #MomentOne#Tallinn #Estonia #trip #ChristmasTree#snow #everywhere #magic#itslikeafairytale #november2016

 

BERLIN: East Side Gallery; a wall full of statements

The East Side Gallery is long piece of the old Berlin Wall painted by a lot of artists after the demolition of the Wall in 1989.   The Gallery is located in the city center of Berlin, Germany, and it attracts a lot of people. BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME! 🙂

I loved that gallery, not only because it is a sign of freedom, but because it made me feel free myself and because it motivated me to see the world from another perspective! What I mean is that, there I could see ideas, thoughts, concerns, fear, and all the emotions that humans feel deep inside, expressed from an artistic point of view! The East Side Gallery definitely makes a lot of statements!

For me, art is freedom and a powerful statement all by itself!

NO MORE WORDS….  a beautiful canvas of expression! I loved it!

PRAGUE: Travelling Alone

For some travelling alone seems to be a huge milestone. Even thinking of it, makes people uncomfortable! I am happy to say that I am not one of them! I visited Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, almost 10 months ago! Oh, God! Now that I think about it, it feels like yesterday; it goes so fast…  What was I saying?… Oh, yeah, travelling alone… You will understand why in a moment…

First of all, travelling with company, usually involves compromises and agreements! If you ever travelled with a big group of people, then you know what I am talking about! Lots, I mean, looots of speaking, indecisiveness, lots of “I do not mind, I like both!”, fussiness, waiting and lots of disagreements. Obviously, you lose a lot of time trying to satisfy everybody… That is problem #1.

Problem #2, or better “problem”, is my overall idea of travelling. Travelling for me is discovering, and discovering, in my vocabulary, involves the idea of getting lost. I am an “old school” traveler, who travels with a map and, literally, tries to get lost in the city alleys. Is it crazy? I like being lost! You won’t imagine how many things I found while being lost it Prague. The satisfaction that I got when I found something interesting was indescribable!  I AM A SUCKER FOR THESE MOMENTS! On the other end, travelling with a big group of people eliminates the possibilities of getting lost, in the first place… you know more people, less chances to get lost… Besides, some people hate being lost… At that moment, the whole experience is ruined for me!

Hmmm, I just realized that my problems are very practical…. Do not get me wrong,  I am not saying that travelling with a company is a nightmare, it is just a completely different situation. I love the people around me and I miss travelling with them! All I am saying is travelling alone is also a very interesting experience!

Let’s go to the main trip… To give a little bit of the background story, I went to Prague to visit a friend who was working there! I was alone, during the morning/ afternoon time, because she was busy with her job! That gave me the opportunity to walk for hours and admire the incredible mystery of the city…

The places I visited…

1. The winter Market

    

      2. John Lennon Wall

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. The Prague Castle: The view from there is breath-taking!

     

4. Charles’s Bridge and the Astronomical Clock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  While wandering, I found this awesome chocolate coffee shop…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. What I eat…

 

Goulash                                                  Trdelnik

Svíčková na smetaně

In Prague I had the BEST dark beer… I do not remember the brand, though!

Conclusion….

If you travel to Prague, I would suggest to go visit these places! But also, give some space for discovering! You will randomly find areas, which cannot be found in any trip advisor! Next time you travel, do it alone, take a map with you, and when you feel like you are lost, DO NOT ask for directions! Enjoy the moment! You will figure it out and you will love it….