November 2018: Day 2 & 3 W Trek Recap (Patagonia)

Day 2 W Trek Recap: 13 km (8 miles) from Refugio Torres Central to Refugio Los Cuernos

Day 2 was my favorite day of the W Trek mainly because I woke up energized and ready to tackle the day. Part of this exuberance stemmed from these electrolytes that were laced with caffeine but who cares, I’ll take it! My muscles were sore and stretching them the night before and the morning of really helped. Breakfast at the refugio was nice but very basic (eggs, ham, cheese, cereal, bread and yogurt). We started our hike at 9:30 am and had to retrace some of the trail we took yesterday before it splits off to Los Cuernos vs. Mirador de Torres del Paine. After about a half hour, we reached ‘new trail’ and off we went.

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We had another brilliant day of warmer weather, sun, and no wind. The hike was not super easy but definitely easier compared to the day before. There were a couple of intense steep uphills for 20 minutes but overall this trail was a gradual ascent and descent throughout. After about an hour after we started, we came to this gorgeous view. I love how these two lakes are completely different tones of blue.

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We hiked alongside Lake Nordenskjold for most of the trail and it was a brilliant, clear aquamarine. I remember thinking how beautiful this part of the trail was and I couldn’t imagine seeing anything more beautiful. Pictures don’t really do the views justice, everything is magnified in person.

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Even the guides remarked how still the weather was. Generally due to the winds, you’d see ripples and waves on the lake, not a perfect reflection. In the two years one of our guides has been doing this trek, he said he’s only seen it like this a handful of times, when the weather was gorgeously calm.

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This is the main reason why I would never do the W Trek again. I can’t imagine my experience being better than what it was with the incredible weather we had. Although I braced myself for wind and rain, we luckily only experience one day of it.

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Our initial plan was to hike all the way to Domo Frances, which would’ve been another two hour hike after Los Cuernos and this section of the trail is steep. However, when we arrived at Refugio Los Cuernos for a break, our guides checked with the lodge and they had space to take us! Apparently a lot of tour companies may block off rooms but I guess there was a cancelation. The lodge allowed us to switch (although Domo Frances and Los Cuernos are operated by two different companies, I guess they work together somehow and allowed it to happen). I was relieved as Domo Frances has pretty crap reviews, even though it’s one of the newer ones. Thus we ended up finishing the day early before 4 pm and just hung out and relaxed around the lodge. You can even hear the avalanches from the French Valley here (I heard a couple in late afternoon!).

Day 3 W Trek Recap: 17 km (10.5 miles) from Refugio Los Cuernos to the French Valley to Refugio Paine Grande

This day was TOUGH and might have been even worst than the first day as it felt much longer than the 8 hours it took. We left at 8:30 am and finished at 4:30 pm. I woke up super early at 5:30 am as I wanted to see the sunrise hit the mountains and exude the sky with red. However I just missed the golden hour and only caught remnants of it (I should have skipped brushing my teeth and headed out then!). The other days were cloudy in the morning so there was no other chance.

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From Refugio Los Cuernos, we hiked a very pebbly path to the beach by the lake. At the end of this was the start of an uphill climb towards Domo Frances and Refugio Italiano. We got to use decent bathroom facilities near the campsite of Domo Frances (we never saw Domo Frances as you need to go down a different pathway) and then continued on to Italiano Campsite to start the roundtrip hike up to the French Valley to see glaciers and listen to avalanches.

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The hiking along this portion of the trail seemed rockier and it was definitely steep but not as steep as the very first day. Once in a while I would look up to see the views behind us but for the most part it was just go go go.

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We reached the Italiano Campsite (no refugio here, just tent camping) at about 10 am and dropped off our large hiking backpacks (everyone does this but don’t leave anything important just in case!) and switched to carrying just a daypack to the French Valley. It took about two hours to get up to the overlook and we had our lunch up there while admiring the view and listening to the crumble of avalanches. This picture below doesn’t capture all of it—it’s much wider and grander in scope. We stayed up here for about 45 minutes before heading back down to pick up our bags and continuing on to Refugio Paine Grande.

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After getting back to the Italiano Campsite, we headed westwards towards Paine Grande and it started to get really hot and sunny. It didn’t help that there was zero shade. In Dec. 2011 an Israeli backpacker set this forest on fire by accident and it burned for two months, destroying wildlife and a lot of this area of the park. He has since been banned from the country but the damage is brutal. Due to the damages, there are quite a few boardwalks around here instead of trails. By this point I was really tired and had to start singing songs to myself to get through the hike and make the time go by quicker. In total it took us about 2.5 hours to get from Italiano to Paine Grande but it felt way longer than that. During the last 40 minutes, the bottoms of my feet began to feel like they were burning, which I’ve never felt before when hiking.

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This view below of Los Cuernos though was the highlight of my day. I’ve seen a bunch of glaciers already (New Zealand, Alaska, Iceland) and so to me, the terrain of mountains, lakes and valleys are more appealing to me. I remember sitting here and staring at this and it looked so unreal even though it was right in front of me.

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As we moved closer to Paine Grande, the wind REALLY picked up and apparently this area of the park is the windiest. We were so hot and sweaty though that the gusty winds helped invigorate us to get to the end. I remember feeling a small ounce of joy once the refugio came into view from afar. As I mentioned in my Refugio post, this was my favorite place to stay because I loved the scenery around it. It was a great relief to kick off our shoes and enjoy the warm windy evening outside by the lake and watch the sunset.

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Skipping stones and chatting with everyone else from our tour group here was my favorite evening of the trip.

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November 2018: The Refugios of Torres del Paine

The refugios of Torres del Paine are hostels inside the park and serve as points of rest and refuel after a long day’s hike. I didn’t know what to expect and for the most part, I found the refugios to be clean (as they can be given the amount of people who stay in them!) and I’m glad we booked early (in May 2018 for the November 9th trek with Chile Nativo). Some people in our ten person guided tour had to sleep outside in tents as beds were booked up (they booked about a month or two before we left).

The four we stayed at during the 5 day trek were:

  1. Refugio Torres Central

  2. Refugio Los Cuernos (we were supposed to stay in Domo Frances, which is one of the worst-reviewed places and further west on the trail but when we got to Los Cuernos, they had room and allowed us to switch!)

  3. Refugio Paine Grande

  4. Refugio Grey

Of all the refugios, I think Paine Grande was my favorite. It’s one of the newest ones and it’s nicely decorated inside, huge, and cozy and the landscape of Los Cuernos in the back is breathtaking (see last pic below). The dinner here was also the best (juicy big piece of chicken) but the bathrooms were kind of terrible by the time we left in the morning. Paine Grande is different than the others as I think it’s owned by the government who leases it and operated by a private company. You’ll just notice the service is different. The other Refugios are run by private firms.

I also liked Torres Central—it’s a big beautiful cozy lodge with warm common rooms but I just thought the view of Los Cuernos at Paine Grande was the best view of any refugio. In terms of comfort and cleanliness though, Torres Central was the best. Torres Central was also the ONLY one of the four lodges that had personal closets for your bags/personal stuff (you need a lock to lock it though).

Refugio Los Cuernos was my least favorite. Although it was nice, the food wasn’t as good, the staff didn’t seem as friendly as the others, and the rooms and bathrooms were the smallest. We were also given sleeping bags to sleep here inside the beds as there’s no heating.

Refugio Grey was also nice, the staff was friendly and the rooms were clean and cozy and the food was good too.

Staying at the Refugios vs. camping is more expensive but includes all your meals. I’m not sure the price of each since we booked with a tour but it’s not cheap given the fact you’re sharing rooms and bathrooms with everyone else. But there are no other options so it is what it is, unfortunately.  

Pretty sure this bag from REI weighed anywhere between 16 and 19 lbs. during the trip, depending if I wore my fleece jacket and how big the bagged lunches weighed. Glad I practiced hauling 20-25 lbs. on my shoulders weeks before the trip! This bag i…

Pretty sure this bag from REI weighed anywhere between 16 and 19 lbs. during the trip, depending if I wore my fleece jacket and how big the bagged lunches weighed. Glad I practiced hauling 20-25 lbs. on my shoulders weeks before the trip! This bag is great though—it really distributes weight evenly and is comfy (the shoulder straps are cushioned).

General Characteristics of the Refugios (Here’s What to Expect)

  • Bring your own toiletries and towels. Even though a couple of them offered shampoo/soap, it didn’t mean it was always available. Only two of the four (Torres Central and Cuernos) had any soap for the showers.  The bathrooms are cleaned certain times of the day (generally when everyone is out/sleeping) and hot water is also only available at certain times (generally after 5 pm). Towels were not always given.

  • Lights out at 10 pm (maybe a little later at others). This goes for electricity too so if you’re charging your phone, you might need to wait until the morning to finish up.

  • Dinner is served buffet-style or by meal times. There’s usually two meal times and you have to sign up for them. Our group sometimes had the early dining seating, sometimes later. Same with breakfast.

  • Water may/may not be available to fill up. For example on the first night, I was able to get water from the bar at Refugio Torres Central (they had a big water jug) but by the morning they ran out and wouldn’t offer anything for your personal bottle. Glacier water from the rivers and streams around the park is way better anyway but it’s so dry out there that having your bottle full is important! Bring electrolytes for added hydration!

  • Toilet paper must not be thrown in the toilet. As a result, the women’s room would stink after a few hours especially in the morning and late at night. It’s all thrown in the garbage, which may/may not be efficiently taken out (although the staff seems to try to keep up with it).

  • Any trash you take in with you into the park you’re expected to take out. The only trash cans that exist are the ones in the bathrooms so I would throw away the little litter I had in here. Trash is carried out by horses since there are no cars around either.

  • Hot water is a commodity but I never had any issue with getting a hot shower at any of the refugios. One shower you had to press every 90 seconds to keep the water going but otherwise I was able to take a decent shower at each refugio after every hike.

  • My trip was in November and while the refugios seemed full to me, not sure if they were. I never felt like it was overcrowded though. If you’re paying to tent outside, they set up the tents for you and provide everything but the tents may be a bit far from the bathroom areas. There were howling winds at night in a couple of the places we stayed at—not sure it’s pleasant to sleep in a tent but it is cheaper. I had bunk beds the whole time with my friends, anywhere between 4-7 people in a room. Co-ed as well. Bathrooms are not co-ed though.

  • Each refugio provides a bagged lunch. It was enough for me, I never ate any of the extra snack bars I brought on my own! It’s usually some kind of sandwich, and chocolate or sugary snack and fruit and/or cereal bars. Sometimes a juice as well. The best lunch was from Chile Nativo, who created the first day’s lunch for us to the long hike up to the Blue Towers. Second best was from Torres Central but don’t expect much. When you’re burning so many calories everything will taste good. Our sandwiches were either ham, turkey, or tuna. Breakfast was usually scrambled eggs with ham/cheese and cereal and yogurt and bread.

  • Pisco sours are delicious! The bars take credit card.

Pisco sour rewards for finishing a long hike

Pisco sour rewards for finishing a long hike

I loved the bar at Paine Grande as it had this amazing view of Los Cuernos.

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Seeing a refugio towards the end of a hike was a great boost to finish. I remember on the fourth day, I was so winded but as soon as I saw the roof of Refugio Grey from half a mile away, energy surged back in my bones and I practically ran to finish the W trek the last 5-10 minutes of the hike.

Definitely book early if you want a bed at a refugio. My guess is most refugios only have about 30-50 beds.

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November 2018: Planning for Patagonia

Planning for Patagonia is not logistically easy. It basically took me and my friends three days to get to Torres del Paine (pronounced Torres del “Pine-ay”), which resides in Chile, from NYC. Most people fly into Santiago, Chile to travel to Torres del Paine but we chose to go through Buenos Aires, Argentina as we wanted to end our trip visiting the vineyards of Mendoza.

This is the fourth time I attempted to plan this trip and I’m glad I waited this long. The first time I looked into going was more than 10 years ago and information on Torres del Paine is not as plentiful as it is today. The internet/communication infrastructure has probably improved over this period of time as well and a lot of things in place years ago are no longer. Four years ago I went to Argentina to visit Iguazu Falls (amazing, highly recommend waterfall lovers to go) and had to pay a $100 or so reciprocity fee (valid for 10 years) to get into the country. Well, apparently as of last year that’s no longer in place. In addition, the last time I was in Argentina, I had to exchange all my money on the ‘black market’ because the exchange rate was fixed as $1 USD = 8 pesos (on the black market you could get up to 12 or 14 pesos) and today, $1 USD = 35-38 pesos!

Anyway, planning a trip to Torres del Paine is no easy feat unless you have a lot of time on your hands. You need to register with the park and also make reservations in advance if you want to stay at the limited number of refugios (hostel lodges) in the park. From what I read on the internet, booking a bed or tent at the refugios was frustrating (payment won’t go through, people don’t respond, sold out, etc.) so early on my friends and I decided to bite the bullet and sign up with a tour guide instead to do all the bookings for us.

After a bunch of research, we decided to go with Swoop Patagonia. They have a flashy website and were very responsive and their itinerary worked out for us. However, as soon as we said yes to booking, they turned us over to Chile Nativo! So it turns out Swoop Patagonia is a 3rd party seller of tours and Chile Native is the local operator who actually takes you on the tour. It worked out anyway though as we LOVED Chile Nativo (and after speaking with them, I can see why they need Swoop—the agency has been around for over 15 years but is a small-run tour operator which has grown bigger in the last year and they just haven’t done as much marketing as they can be doing).

We found the price to be reasonable for our budget (we did the 5-day trek for $1695) though yes, if you planned this on your own, you’d be saving more than half. We just didn’t have the time to plan it all ourselves so to us, it was worth it. And no one in our group is an experienced camper or hiker so we felt more comfortable going with a guide in case something happened or someone got sick/injured but you don’t really need one. The trails on the W Trek are all well marked paths.

When I was doing my research for the tour, I read many mixed things about going either west to east or east to west on the W Trek (the other option is the O trek, which is much longer and you’ll see all of the park while the W hits the highlights). As Torres del Paine is known for its wind, most people suggested going west to east (to move along with the winds) but I am SUPER glad we went with Chile Nativo and did the route from east to west. I think this route is better because:

  • you’re moving along with the sun (if it is sunny—this will be incredibly helpful, hiking without the sun in your eyes)

  • we got the hardest part of the hike over on day 1, going up to the Blue Towers (which is what Torres del Paine means)

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This is literally what you can expect from hiking Torres del Paine. Our trip started at Refugio Las Torres and we stayed overnight in Los Cuernos, Paine Grande, and Grey. The first day of the hike to the Base of the Towers was the hardest (22 km rou…

This is literally what you can expect from hiking Torres del Paine. Our trip started at Refugio Las Torres and we stayed overnight in Los Cuernos, Paine Grande, and Grey. The first day of the hike to the Base of the Towers was the hardest (22 km roundtrip back to Refugio Las Torres) and took 8 hours.

In addition to planning all our accommodations, meals, and guides in Torres del Paine, Chile Nativo also booked our first and last night in Puerto Natales (the gateway into the park). We stayed at Hotel Vendaval, which was a wonderful stay, and you’re able to leave whatever luggage you’re NOT taking into the park here (which we found to be safe and we had locks on our luggage as well).

Getting to Torres del Paine from New York City

We traveled through four airports, two taxi rides, and two buses over a 72 hour period to get to Torres del Paine. We flew with Aerolineas Argentina (pretty decent airline, I have no complaints—besides the very first 5 minutes of my trip, the check ins were smooth, service was friendly, and had no issues traveling with this line). In summary, these were our travel logistics:

  • On Tuesday, Nov. 6, we took a 3:30 pm direct flight from JFK to EZE, the international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The trip may have started off on the wrong foot had I not watched out for my luggage! I ended up bringing just two pieces—a carry-on size hiking backpack for the trek and a carry-on size suitcase that I checked in. Well, while the Aerolineas Argentina agent gave me my plane ticket at check in, I noticed he totally forgot about my checked-in bag! When I asked him about it, his eyes got wide and said “Oh, yes! Sorry about that!” and ticketed my luggage, stuck the slips on, and put it on the conveyor belt. Had I not watched/said anything, who knows if my luggage would’ve made it out! Probably not, since he didn’t even issue a luggage ticket until I asked! My other friend also had an issue with her luggage and bringing on her trekking poles. Mine were foldable and hidden but hers were bigger and sticking out and had metal tips and they had to recall her luggage (after she checked it in) to put the metal tips away. They wouldn’t let her pass security otherwise. Anyway, after the luggage issues, we otherwise had a smooth overnight flight and arrived in EZE by 4 am, and in November, Buenos Aires is two hours ahead of NYC.

  • By the time we got our luggage and through customs, it was 6 am. I was paranoid about getting money from the ATM (last time I was in Argentina my cards didn’t work at all!) so I exchanged U.S. dollars at Banco Nacional, a local Argentinian bank. The bank is located directly outside the luggage, to the right. ATMs may have a limit to how much you can withdraw every day so I withdrew $600 USD which was more than enough to get me through the two week trip (most places except taxi cabs take credit card). The exchange rate I got it for was AR 34.60 vs. the official rate at the time of 35-36 pesos so not much of a difference. And if you do use the ATM, you will probably pay additional fees there too.

  • We booked a car transfer with Taxi Ezeiza. I made the rsvp a few days beforehand online and they charged $35 USD for 4 people. They’re also located right outside the luggage terminal, at a big booth and if you make a rsvp your name will be on a sign at the desk. You can pay in dollars or pesos (or in credit card). We had rush hour traffic and it took just over an hour to get to AEP, which is the domestic airport in Buenos Aires.

  • From AEP, we took a 12:15 pm flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, Argentina. You can either fly to El Calafate to get to Puerto Natales (the last town before Torres del Paine) or to Punta Arenas, Chile (which is further south than Puerto Natales). Two of my friends told me there was NOTHING to see in Punta Arenas whereas in El Calafate you at least have the Perito Moreno Glacier so I’m glad we stuck to El Calafate. Also, if you plan to visit more of Argentina after Torres del Paine, it’s cheaper to fly within Argentina than to fly to Chile and then back to Argentina. We arrived in El Calafate by 3:30 pm and grabbed a taxi to pick up our bus tickets for the next day’s trip to Puerto Natales. The bus terminal is about 15 min. away from the airport and costs like $10 USD to get there by taxi. We had to pick up our tickets the day before because they needed to verify our passport info for the border crossing. The bus office (Cootra) closes at 4:30 pm so keep this in mind if you choose to use them and fly into El Calafate before then! We stayed overnight at Hostal Gnomos, which is a 5 min. walk from the bus station.

  • The next day: woke up early to catch the 7:30 am bus to Puerto Natales. We got to the bus station by 7 am though as we heard horror stories of buses leaving without people if they were not on time. The Cootra bus was quite nice and comfortable. It’s a double decker bus (you can reserve seats in advance) and there is a bathroom on board for the 5-6 hour drive. The driver didn’t really speak English though but we figured things out. By the time we got to the border crossing it was about noon and the whole process took an hour. On the Argentina side, they just stamp your passport. On the Chile side, they stamp your passport but they also scan your luggage (we had no problem bringing in snacks or food—I think someone got fruit in—but from what I heard it really depends on the mood of the officers!). The Chile passport security check has bathrooms which was much needed after the long drive. The Argentina side does not, and going on the bus is not really fun. So after security check it was another 45 minutes to Puerto Natales. When we arrived, we grabbed a taxi for 2000 Chilean pesos to Hotel Vendaval (like $5 USD). I had gotten Chilean pesos before the trip at Chase Bank (they didn’t offer Argentian pesos though and all I took was $60 USD equivalent in Chilean pesos which was more than enough. I never needed Chilean pesos on the W trek, just for the taxis. We ended up using the money for dinners in town though but they take credit cards). Checked into Hotel Vendaval.

  • In the evening, we had our briefing at the office of Chile Nativo (literally a 2 min. walk from the hotel) and met our two tour guides, the rest of our tour group (10 people in total!) and got the details of the trip.

  • The next day: got picked up at 6:30 am on Friday morning, November 9, 2018 for the hiking trip of a lifetime!!!

Other Info

Other resources that really helped me for the trip:

  • This website someone recommended on Trip Advisor was amazingly helpful to check out the weather forecast in Torres del Paine: www.mountain-forecast.com. Just be sure to pick the lowest altitude and convert it to Fahrenheit if needed. I checked the forecast every day for a week before arrival and it was 90% spot on in predicting the weather we would be having in an unpredictable place.

  • REI. I love this store. I know I’m late to the game but I grew up as a city slicker. I never grew up camping or being in the outdoors! But REI and the people who work there were wonderful resources for me in terms of what gear I needed for this trip. I got my backpack, trekking poles, jackets, windproof pants, blister bandaids, everything here. I’ll do a post later on the gear I got.

Life Update Dec. 2018

Wow I really slacked on posting this year! I just really haven’t had the energy or the time. Work is busy and I have a pretty active social life in NYC so it’s difficult! I barely have time to plan my trips and lately I’ve been disliking planning anything as it’s exhausting. I already ‘plan’ a lot for my job so the last thing I want to do is plan in my free time.

This year after Mexico City, I took a few more holidays. In the spring I went off to Ireland, which was lovely and had outstanding food but in general it was a bit too laid back for me. The highlight of the trip was seeing the Cliffs of Moher, which is about a couple of hours from Galway (great city, much nicer to visit than Dublin in my opinion).

I wish I could’ve spent all day hiking along these cliffs but only had less than two hours :(

I wish I could’ve spent all day hiking along these cliffs but only had less than two hours :(

After Ireland, I did a long weekend in Chicago where it was basically a delicious food-filled trip. The highlights were Au Cheval (the best burgers ever!) and Fat Rice (amazing fusion Malaysian food).

Then for Labor Day weekend I flew over the pond to Sweden, where I visited Gothenburg and Stockholm. I had a wonderful time there, Stockholm is a lot bigger than I thought it would be and had no idea it made up of small islands. I was also in L.A. for work in September

But the trip I’ve been preparing for all year was my trip to PATAGONIA. I just got back a week ago and I really loved it. I spent most of my year planning and preparing for this trip. I did a ton of hiking on the weekends (in and out of NY). I’m going to try my best to recap it as it was amazing and I relied on a lot of other blogs for help as well. I also went to Mendoza, Argentina right after and it was beautiful so I’ll try to recap that as well.

March 2018 Trip Report: Mexico City (CDMX)

Mexico City! La Cuidad de Mexico (CDMX)! I never thought I'd ever get a chance to visit. Over the past 15 years, I've always heard how crazy dangerous it would be to go to Mexico City and heard multiple stories from friends who heard from other friends/family about kidnappings, muggings, being held at gunpoint, etc. So Mexico City was never on my radar to visit. However over the past few months, I just had an itching to check it out for myself. Timing was fortuitous as I found out a girlfriend of mine was going with another chica, and after talking to a colleague who goes often for business trips (and he had been multiple times in the past year) and had nothing but positive things to say about the city, I invited myself along and was so glad I went.

Like any city in the world, you have to take the news you hear from the media about the dangers of travel with a grain of salt. Do your research, plan safely, use common sense, and read up as much as you can from other travelers/locals/resources. Overall, I felt 100% safe the entire time I was in Mexico City. We were there for just four days and we stayed in the safe/touristy/hipster neighborhoods. Would I visit Mexico City alone as a female traveler? Yes, I would! As long as you plan accordingly! Mexico City was also such an easy and affordable trip from NYC. My roundtrip airline ticket was $375 via Delta (my friend who booked a month earlier than me at the end of Jan. paid $350) and between the three of us, we paid $70 each for three nights at a nice Air BnB. We took Uber everywhere, and no ride TOTAL was over $9, not even to the airport! So if you're looking for a fun, affordable, and cultural trip that's easy to get to from the U.S., I highly recommend Mexico City.

Here are my tips and observations:

Airfare

I almost didn't go because when I initially looked for flights in early Feb., the Delta roundtrip ticket from JFK to CDMX jumped up to $600-700! Then a few weeks later, I don't know what happened but the flight went down to $375 so I immediately jumped on it. I'm pretty sure I booked it on a Tuesday too, which is when i generally see lower fares. It had been $400 the Sunday before and I was going to book it then but I'm glad I waited two days! I actually ended up using my Chase Sapphire Reserve points so I didn't physically shell out any money but I still try to get the best deal I can. The weekend we went was March 9-11 and we arrived in CDMX by 2:15 pm and left CDMC by 2:15 pm the following Monday

Getting Around

Don't bother with taking the subway/metro. Uber is so freaking cheap! And reliable and safe, since everything can be tracked. As I mentioned earlier, no ride cost more than $9 USD, which was how much it was to the airport and the Condesa area of the city which is where we stayed. The drivers may not know much English but we found them all to be very nice. Just be sure to cross check the license plate of a car with your Uber app before getting in so you know you have the right car! Most of our rides cost between $3-5, even during rush hour when it was raining and there was like a 50% "surge" pricing. At the time we went the exchange rate was $1 USD = 18-20 pesos. We also never really waited more than 5-10 minutes for someone to come pick us up. I recommend taking an Uber rather than walk, as the city is pretty sprawling. The only areas that I think are good and safe for walking are La Condesa, Roma, and the Polanco area. These areas are pretty well-to-do, artsy and laid back.

Where to Stay

We stayed at a cute Air BnB in the heart of the  Condesa area of the city. It was a cute two bedroom walk up and I'm sure there are plenty of good ones around. My business colleague also shared with me there are tons of really great Mexico hotels that are pretty affordable and have 4-5 star quality amenities but they're not necessarily advertised on US platforms for hotel bookings. Overall it seems staying in CDMX is pretty great value and you won't go wrong staying in La Condesa, Roma or Polanco. Condesa and Roma are neighboring areas and I think Roma is more happening but I liked both areas. Polanco was more upscale and posh, with your typical American and luxe stores at your fingertips.

What to Do

There is so much to do in Mexico City! We were only there for a few days but it was jam packed. For our trip we did the following:

  • Day 1 Friday - After settling into the Air BnB in the afternoon, we headed out to the Museum of Anthropology, which everyone says is a must-see. We arrived close to 5 pm and stayed a couple of hours and it is very interesting as it showcases the civilization of the country and its rich history. It rained while we were there (the only time it did that weekend) and saw a beautiful rainbow.
Somewhere over the rainbow at the Museum of Anthropology

Somewhere over the rainbow at the Museum of Anthropology

Welcome to the jungle!

Welcome to the jungle!

One of my favorite pictures I've ever taken--I love how this shadow cuts through the colorful trees behind the museum

One of my favorite pictures I've ever taken--I love how this shadow cuts through the colorful trees behind the museum

After the museum, we were pretty hungry so we headed over to the Polanco area to eat at Entre Mar. Reservations can be made via e-mail and we loved eating here. We also ate at their sister restaurant, Contramar, a couple of days later which is the original location and much harder to get rsvps for! But Contramar is closer to Roma/Condesa. Definitely get the "Huevos Rotos" which is basically scrambled eggs over baked fries and laced with serrano jamon. OMG I love their jamon. Delicious!!! We got it at Contramar too. All their fish entrees were so good. Unfortunately I had an incident with my phone and lost a lot of pictures. The ones on this blog are the ones I could easily salvage. :( Otherwise I would definitely post all the amazing food we had!

  • Day 2 Saturday: My favorite day of the trip! We took a private half day tour of Teotihuacan, which was amazing. I didn't know too much about it before we went but I'm so glad we did this. For three people, we paid $150 USD total which included the driver ($90) and the local guide ($60). The local guide is a gov't employee and he met us there at the site. My friend's friend recommended it to us but I'm sure most are similarly priced. We started the day at 7:30 am (the driver was supposed to pick us up at 7 am but he was late) and we left by 12/12:30 pm. It was just enough time and DEFINITELY start early because 1) traffic in Mexico City is crazy jammed 2) there is no shade here so you do NOT want to be walking out here at the height of the sun/warmth 3) it gets more crowded later in the day--when we left there was a jam packed lined of cars trying to get into the park.

If you have ever been to the Mayan Ruins such as Chichen Itza, this place is 1,000,000x more interesting and better. This place is huge, full of rich culture, and it is ANCIENT. I'm still in awe of everything I learned about this place. Just go, it's so worth it! It wasn't too hot when we went in early March (it was a bit chilly in the morning) but it definitely got hotter throughout the day, especially when you're climbing up the steps of these pyramids.

The Climb--it takes about 15-20 min. to get to the top and there is a rope you can use as a bannister. Your thighs will definitely be burning. You're also at a higher altitude too so take your time for breathing/rest!

The Climb--it takes about 15-20 min. to get to the top and there is a rope you can use as a bannister. Your thighs will definitely be burning. You're also at a higher altitude too so take your time for breathing/rest!

Below is the Pyramid of the Sun. This place is so old, like B.C. time old. The tour guide said it has survived intact because everything was built at a right angle so in the event of a quake it won't fall. The symmetry and design of this place is incredible given the time period it was completed in. In addition, this place took decades to build and lifespans at the time weren't that long so whoever dreamed it up never even saw its completion.

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Pyramid of the Sun

Pyramid of the Sun

The drive from Mexico City to Teotihuacan was about 90 min. I'm really glad we started the day early as it's very popular and as the day wore on it got more crowded. There are clean bathrooms at the entrances and exits; definitely been sunglasses/hat/sunblock!

View of Pyramid of the Moon from the ledge of the Pyramid of the Sun

View of Pyramid of the Moon from the ledge of the Pyramid of the Sun

Below is the walk up to the Pyramid of the Moon. This was pretty amazing because it looks like a flat walk up to this area. And notice the mountain looming behind it in the back?

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Once you actually reach the Pyramid of the Moon the mountain disappears behind it! You've been walking on an incline the whole time but never feel it/notice it. The way they knew how to play with perspective is pretty incredible. In addition, one of the most popular time of the year to visit is spring solstice. Apparently at high noon, if you're standing at the top of this place, your shadow will disappear due to the alignment of these structures (ok so all this is what the tour guide told us and I didn't fact-check any of it!).

Pyramid of the Moon

Pyramid of the Moon

My favorite part of the day was sitting at the ledge of the Pyramid of the Moon and taking in the ancient city.

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan

After we finished with the walking tour, we took a $3 USD taxi ride back to the other end of the area where our driver parked. We rode in the most beat up car ever but got to get some fresh mango off the street fruit stands outside along the way.

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After a long, active morning, we balanced that out with a long, leisurely luxe lunch at Pujol, rated one of the world's best restaurants. RSVPs sell out months in advance so get any seat you can! We sat at the bar and did the taco omakase but wish we did a la carte and got to try other things as well. If you're a foodie this was a lovely experience. The restaurant is beautifully designed and after you finish your main lunch they escort you to their gorgeous garden for dessert. We were there from 1:30-5 pm! Which we didn't expect at all but it was a great way to enjoy the afternoon after a physical morning.

Go for a gourmet experience but prepare to stay for 4 hours! Our lunch included drinks and I think we paid around $120 USD for everything (food, service, etc.) which is cheaper than anywhere else in the world. The owner owns other places like Cosme …

Go for a gourmet experience but prepare to stay for 4 hours! Our lunch included drinks and I think we paid around $120 USD for everything (food, service, etc.) which is cheaper than anywhere else in the world. The owner owns other places like Cosme in NYC where it is much more expensive to eat!

At night we went to a mezcal bar, La Clandestina. So many cute small bars in the Condesa/Roma area.

  • Day 3 Sunday: Another cute area of the city is where Frida Kahlo's house is, Coyoacan. This place is teeming with locals and is another great area to walk around in. If you want to visit the Frida Kahlo Museum, definitely book tix in advance! We made the mistake of thinking we could show up and get them. You can, but unless you get there at like 8 or 9 am (it opens at 10 am on Sundays) you're probably out of luck. If you get them in person, they only allow 30 people in at a time or something like that every half hour. By the time we arrived at 10 am, there was about 100 people ahead of us. In addition, there is a separate line for people who bought tix online and online tix do sell out too (you have to book for a specific time slot). Anyway, so we didn't get to go in at all but now I have a reason to go back!

Instead, we headed back to the Roma area and walked around. We checked out Mercado Roma (a food hall) and walked along the peaceful but bustling streets before heading to Contramar for lunch, where we had an amazing grilled whole fish. Then we headed to the Historic Center of Mexico City to see some sights. It is super crowded/touristy there (think the Times Square of CDMX) and it reminded me a lot too of the broad plazas/pedestrian only walking shopping streets of Europe. This area was interesting to see but I would have preferred to spend more time in Condesa/Roma.

At night we went to dinner at Gardela Steakhouse in Roma and it was great. What I love about Mexico City is that there is so much good food to try and we found it on a whim. We also went to Limantour, which is ranked as one of the world's best bars and definitely recommend checking it out if you like your cocktails. It also happened to be within two blocks of the restaurant, which made it easy :)

  • Day 4 Monday: We grabbed breakfast at Panderia Rosetta, which is a super popular bakery in Roma. Everything we tried was so good! I also bought some home made granola to bring back to the U.S. I loved their ham and cheese croissants. Anytime I could get queso I would! The one thing I really wish I got to try but forgot/didn't have time was Mexican corn (elotes). Argh! I love grilled Mexican street corn but we were eating/drinking a lot and just didn't have time to squeeze that in too. But next time!

Is Mexico City worth visiting?

YES!!!!! It's a beautiful, culturally rich city and we found the people we came across to be friendly and welcoming. The food and drink scene is spectacular, just know about the areas you plan to stay/visit, and it's so affordable/easy to get to. I would definitely go back if the opportunity presented itself!

January 2018 Trip Report: Cancun

It breaks my heart to see all the violent news coming out of Cancun these past few months. I've been to the Cancun region the most out of any other trip, 5x in the past 10 years. Most recently I went over Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend this past January and as usual I had an amazing time. If you haven't been yet, below are some of my thoughts and observations over the years:

Pool at the Westin Lagunamar

Pool at the Westin Lagunamar

The Cancun Area

  • Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum are all accessible from the Cancun airport. Cancun is the closest (20 min away), while Playa del Carmen can be anywhere from 45 min to an hour by taxi, and Tulum is about 90 minutes away by taxi. I haven’t been to Tulum yet, but it’s probably next on any future trips down there. Tulum is more low key/casual—the hotels there are more boutique, or bed and breakfast-style. It won’t be like grand resorts or anything and not as lively. From what I hear, most people go there for the more laid back/wellness-type vacations (ie yoga/hipsters, etc). Playa del Carmen and Cancun is much more family friendly. Cancun is super commercialized though, and I prefer Playa del Carmen more in terms of the downtown scene and the food (cheaper, more local Mexican food). Cancun is much more touristy. Both areas are pretty safe to visit, but you do have to watch out for scams and don’t go off the commercialized streets (ie don’t go anywhere that looks empty).
  • If you do go, they take both US Dollars and pesos, but you will get a better rate if you exchange dollars for pesos. So for example when I was just there, a taxi ride was 130 pesos but I didn’t have enough pesos on me and I knew the conversion was $8 USD but the driver charged me $10. Some charged $8 but others will say 10. It’s not metered, they’re flat rates so you have to ask before you get in how much it costs. I know I could’ve argued but given that I know they don’t make much I didn’t (but I was annoyed based on principle). Right now the exchange rate is about $1USD to 20 pesos but the hotels will exchange it for 18 pesos, which is not bad. You can def get a better rate at the ATM or whatever but at the end of the day I only spent like $60 USD in pesos btwn me and my friend (we were super lazy and took taxis to dinner the whole 4 days we were there). We didn’t have a problem using credit cards for food, just for taxis and tips you may need pesos for (and I also brought small $5 USD bills for tips).
    • I went to Cancun because SPG (the hotel rewards) sent me this amaaaaaaazing deal for the Westin Lagunamar. The deal was $320 for 4 nights, total. So I split w a friend, and we stayed there and the resort is fantastic. However, the reason why I got the deal was because they tried to sell me on a timeshare when I was there (I had to sit thru a 90 min presentation) but honestly, it was worth it cuz we paid so little for a great place and I got additional points for sitting thru the presentation (and I stood my ground and said no to the timeshare….they can’t hustle a hustler! Haha). I like going to Cancun though because there are SO many resorts and so I find the experience to always be different. You should research which resort to stay at though, as the beach property does depend on where you stay. The beachfront at the Westin was really clean and gorgeous. The neighbor resorts were also as nice, but not as nice as the Westin. But, not bad either. Other places I’ve stayed at and liked were:
      • Beloved Playa Mujeres: https://belovedhotels.com/; I stayed here for a friend’s wedding maybe 3 years ago. Nice resort, and all their water activities were free too (ie paddleboarding). I remember the ocean here was calmer too. Just FYI the ocean in Cancun is super rough, so you don’t really go in the water unless you’re a good swimmer. I think the water by Playa del Carmen is a lot calmer than Cancun. Cancun also tends to be windier as well. We were lucky and have two great warm sunny days, but the other two days were a bit chillier and windy (but still good enough to sit outside).
      • Royal Haciendas: https://royalreservations.com/resorts/the-royal-haciendas; I stayed here a few years ago for a friend’s bachelorette party and this was soooo nice too. Excellent pools and rooms (they have kitchens). This is closer to downtown Playa del Carmen as well I think.
      • Hyatt Playa del Carmen: https://playadelcarmen.grand.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html; I stayed here two years ago in Feb. I actually went solo and I had a great time. The beach was not as nice, but the pool was great and they have an amazing spa where I spent a whole afternoon in. It is also right next to downtown so no taxi required to go into downtown, unlike other resorts which are further away. But, may not be good option cuz it’s kind of clubby (they play loud music for the younger people to hang out to).
Sunrise from my hotel room this past January

Sunrise from my hotel room this past January

  • Other things to do in Cancun: There are tons of activities and tours but honestly I like to go and just chill at the resort. The Mayan ruins sound interesting but in my opinion are not really. Ha. They used to allow people to climb them but they don’t anymore, and the bus ride to get there is long. Isla de Mujeres is also touted as something to do but I also think you can skip it unless you just want to get out of the resort for a day. You take a ferry there and spend an afternoon walking around, but it’s mostly the same shops (touristy) that you’ll find downtown. You can do snorkeling etc but it’s not that great.
  • They do have some water amusement parks—I’ve been wanting to check those out but haven’t. But they seem fun/different than the ones in the US. 
Life's a beach

Life's a beach

  • If you do go, def arrange your hotel transportation in advance. Some hotels provide it, others don’t. If hotels provide it they will still charge you though and it’s not always the best rate. I used Canada Transfers for Cancun and it was great, so easy and great rates: https://www.canadatransfers.com/

We paid $53 round trip for two people, and it’s a private transfer so you are not stuck waiting for other people. I made the rsvp online and printed the vouchers and paid in USD cash in person when they picked us up. Returning to the airport they were also right on time. I highly recommend using them (and they give you water bottles when you arrive—do not drink tap water in Mexico, ever!).

  • Exiting the Cancun airport is overwhelming. People will try to get your attention and sell you something (anything, a tour, a taxi, etc). When you exit, just leave the terminal, don’t stop to talk to anyone, and just look for the guy wearing the Canada transfer shirt and holding up a sign w your name on it (it will have other names on it as well)
  • Do NOT throw away the bottom portion of the Mexico document you have to sign when you pass thru customs. They take the top part of the doc, you keep the bottom w your passport and hand it in when you depart at the airport. My friend wasn’t paying attention and threw hers away and had to pay $32 USD for a new one to exit.
The reason why I always return

The reason why I always return

Viva Mexico!

Viva Mexico!

February 2018 Trip Report: Death Valley National Park

As another holiday weekend falls upon us soon, I need to catch and recap my last holiday trip! In case you're unaware, I try to maximize every holiday weekend there is given my full time corporate job. 

This past President's Day weekend, I decided to take the opportunity to check out Death Valley National Park and was so glad I did! I'm sure Death Valley is not at the top of most people's travel list, but it's a pretty great and easy getaway for all fitness levels. I also chose this time of the year to go as otherwise, as you can imagine, it's hella hot to go during the summertime, where temperatures can get up to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! I wasn't sure what the weather would be like in February, even though I looked at those weather website where they tell you the averages. I would say you can use those sites as a gauge, but in reality, the temperatures vary depending on where you are in the park, which is pretty big. We were lucky and had great weather for the two days we were visiting. During the day it was sunny, no wind, and got up to 75 degrees. However, by sun down/evening, the temperature quickly dropped to the 40s. I think the few days after we left though it was super windy (as it was crazy windy in Las Vegas!). 

Bad to the Bone

Bad to the Bone

We left NYC on a Thursday evening and arrived into Las Vegas by 6 pm. We decided to stay the night there since accommodations near the park were pretty much fully booked, despite being in the middle of nowhere. Most people recommend staying in one of the hotels right in the park but they were pretty pricey so we stayed a little bit further away at Longstreet Hotel and Casino. If you plan on going during a holiday weekend, be sure to book in advance. We got one of the very last rooms and this place was sold out when we were there. It's a super kitschy hotel (think Western statues and other icons plastered around the hotel) and it was literally in the middle of nowhere (it sits just by the border of Nevada and California, with hardly any other structures around). However, it was clean, budget-friendly, and only a 30 min. drive from the park's entrance. We didn't mind the drive since you're greeted by the long range of jagged mountains all around. Time past by quick as we stared out the windows.

Anyway, we stayed in Las Vegas Thursday night and early Friday morning, we left Vegas before 9 am to drive 2.5 hours into the park. Our first stop was at the Visitor Center in Furnace Creek. For planning our trip, the park's website was super helpful. It's always being updated and you should check to see what's open and closed (Scotty's Castle is closed until 2020 and when we were visiting Dante's View was closed too for construction of the roads). I really went by the park's "must see highlights" which was pretty accurate.

The flat of the land (salt flats!)

The flat of the land (salt flats!)

Coming from Las Vegas, the park's website also provides recommendations. Luckily it seems the most appealing places to visit are on the eastern side of the park, closer to Vegas, so this is where we predominantly spent our time. Our itinerary in summary was as follows:

Friday Afternoon:

  • Noon - arrived at the park; paid for admission at the Visitor's Center in Furnace Creek (there is a place to pay near the official entrance but the Visitor's Center has clean bathrooms!).
  • 12:30 pm - arrived in Badwater Basin. Walked out about a mile onto the salt flats (you kind of have to get pictures similar to mine below!)
  • 1:30 pm - quick stop at Devil's Golf Course (totally skippable, you'd be there for probably less than 15 minutes and the road to get here was quite rough/bumpy as it's a dirt road, not paved)
  • 2 pm - Headed to Artist's Palette, which is a very scenic drive. Once we got to the central point, we parked and walked around for a bit (you can hike up and around if you'd like).
  • 3 pm - arrived at Zabriskie Point, enjoyed the view
  • 3:45 pm- headed to our hotel to check in
  • 6 pm - Drove to the next town east (Parhump) for dinner, 30 min. away

Saturday:

  • 9:30 am - arrived at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, which is further west in the park near Stovepipe. This was over an hour's drive from the hotel. We walked around the sand dunes for quite bit, maybe 90 minutes or so.
  • 11 am - have an early lunch in the town of Stovepipe at the only restaurant! It was actually pretty good. Gas was also the cheapest in Stovepipe compared to Furnace Creek, so load up since gas stations are few and far between in this area!
  • 12:30 pm - Checked out Mosaic Canyon. Spent only a half hour here as it really narrows the further into the canyon you go. It's pretty to see the marble canyon but can be slippery to walk through!
  • 2 pm - Headed back to the eastern side of the park to check out Golden Canyon, where parts of the original Star Wars was filmed. Walked about 2 miles here and headed out by 4 pm as the sun was going down and we didn't want to be left here in the dark (the sun set around 5:15 pm).
  • 4:30 pm - On our way back out the eastern entrance of the park, you can check out 20 Mule Team Canyon. I didn't really understand what this place was at first, but it's basically a one way road around a canyon and it's a fun drive. You feel like you're in another world!
  • 6 pm - Dinner up the road from the hotel (a few miles away--there really isn't a lot of nearby options).

Sunday morning - headed back to civilization towards Las Vegas

Badwater Basin - a mile out walk from the parking lot

Badwater Basin - a mile out walk from the parking lot

I'm really surprised how much I loved this short trip. It was easy to get to and the landscape was pretty scenic and different as you moved throughout the park. Devil's Golf Course was the only thing not worth checking out in my opinion, as I hate the feeling of possibly getting a flat tire from a dirt road. It wasn't worth that risk!

Devil's Gold Course....not much to do but have a peek at it

Devil's Gold Course....not much to do but have a peek at it

The drive all around the park was cool, especially with the sun beating down. I loved how bright and natural everything looked. The best drive was the one towards Artist's Palette. The road rolls through the canyons, winding up and down.

Artist's Palette

Artist's Palette

The landscape is so different from one mile to the next, or just from the bend of the corner of the road. I was sad that Dante's View was closed. Zabriskie's Point is a nice alternative lookout and people usually come here for sunrise or sunset. I thought the park would be super crowded for the holiday weekend but it never got out of control. We never had issues with parking at each of the lots for any sight we visited over the weekend though there were definitely a lot of visitors to the park. 

Groove is in the heart at Zabriskie Point

Groove is in the heart at Zabriskie Point

Mesquite Sand Dune was the best highlight. You can hike out as far as you'd like, but I think the highest sand dune is about a mile from the parking lot. We basically followed footsteps in the sand, though you'll see hundreds of them tracking each other. We also saw families bring boogie board to go sand sledding on the dunes. The hike through was not easy, especially if you're walking up a steep sand dune! Great workout though :)

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By the way, there is hardly any cell phone reception in the park. I highly recommend downloading a map of the area on Google Maps so that you can access it when you're offline. This helped a lot and served as our GPS. Or you can also print out map information from the park's website as a back up as well.

Mesquite Sand Dunes

Mesquite Sand Dunes

Behind the town of Stovepipe Wells is a long road up to Mosaic Canyon. This was also a dirt road but Mosaic Canyon was a nice, short and sweet stop. You can walk all the way in but just went about half a mile to where the path narrows since we wanted to head back and also visit Golden Canyon before it got dark.

Mosaic Canyon

Mosaic Canyon

Golden Canyon has served as the scene for the very first Star Wars movie, which is cool. It is very alien-like! You can hike Golden Canyon all the way to Zabriskie Point but we just walked a mile in and a mile back out. 

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Overall a really active and fun trip. I love that I got my nature/hiking fix in. Definitely bring your own food/snacks since it's very limited in terms of food options here. There is more to see (on the Western side) but it was too far for us to add in and I'm happy with what we saw/did in the couple of days we were here. 

Get out! To Zabriskie Point :)

Get out! To Zabriskie Point :)

November 2017 - Bermuda for Thanksgiving Trip Report

About a year ago, I knew there was no way I wanted to stay in NYC for Thanksgiving weekend. I grew up here my whole life so the magic of the holidays in NYC is not as appealing to me as it is for others. I also really hate the cold and knew I wanted to go away, but where could I go that would be close by, warm, and easy to travel around?

In Feb. of last year I found a pretty good deal to visit Bermuda for about $1,300 including flight and hotel. I've been stalking going to Bermuda for a few years and in general I would say going in the summertime, it usually costs more than $1,500 for flight and hotel. I booked on Expedia.com as usual, because if you also use www.upromise.com, which is a cash back rebate site similar to ebates.com and you get like 3% cash back on vacation combos.

I've always heard amazing things about Bermuda and always wanted to check it out. So is going to Bermuda for Thanksgiving weekend worth it? I will break down the pros and cons.

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Pros:

  • Such a short flight! I think it's just 2-2.5 hours away from NYC. Note there is also a one hour time difference.
  • Locals are really friendly. I don't find that to be the case at all island countries but in Bermuda, it felt very safe and people were helpful. There's a significant expatriate community due to all the companies that have offices there for tax purposes so you'll see a good mix of people.
  • No Zika. Apparently, mosquitoes can't thrive in Bermuda since there is no standing body of fresh water. Bermuda is surrounded by the salty ocean.
  • Easy to get around. You can't really rent a car due to limits on cars on the road, but it's pretty easy to get around on the local buses. There's not that many roads either, so everything kind of moves directionally.
  • Gorgeous clear blue water. Even on a cloudy day, the water was a brilliant shade of blue! It's because Bermuda sits on very white sand reef. So diving, snorkeling here is good.
  • The island is on the same latitude as the Carolinas, it's not as far south as the Caribbean islands. As such, Bermuda is not within the usual path of hurricanes.

Cons:

  • Everything on the island is expensive! Particularly the food. There are some affordable options but for the most part, eating here is as pricey or more than an average meal in NYC.
  • Weather in November is hit or miss. I was there from Wed through Sunday during Thanksgiving weekend and it rained pretty hard all day half the time. It was warmer than being in NYC (it was about 60s-70s) but the rain was a drag.
  • Not much to do on the island. Yes there are a ton of beaches to explore and some caves and museums to see, but if you're a well-traveled person, this place won't be as interesting from a cultural or activity perspective. There are things to see, but at this point in my traveling, I'm sick of seeing naval fortresses unless they're intricately designed/different. On the other hand, if you haven't been to many other islands, you may find their local attractions more appealing.

  • Had the weather been nicer, I would have liked to gone on a glass bottom boat tour since the water seems to be clear. I probably would've had a nicer time in the summer but it's also more expensive to go then.

Overall

Bermuda was a good weekend getaway from NYC but would I recommend it for Thanksgiving weekend? Yes, if you've always wanted to check it out and you want to get a better deal than going in the summertime. No, if you travel a lot and have been to a lot of other island getaways. Of all the islands I've been to, this is probably one of my least favorite. It was very pretty and nice, but just boring to me. The weather played a factor as well. I think the weather was pretty good the weekend before we arrived so it's a gamble. When it rained, it rained pretty much the whole day and at times, very heavily. The food was good, but not that amazing that you should go there just for that. Plus it's so expensive to eat there. However, it really is an easy trip from NYC so I'm glad I got to see it but I would never want to return unless I was going there for free! 

I stayed at the Princess Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda (a Fairmont resort) and it was good for its location. It's not on the beach, it's close to downtown Hamilton (a 10-15 min. walk) but I picked that in case the weather wasn't great. They have a free shuttle to the beach though which gets PACKED so definitely line up early for it. 

Highlights:

  • Horseshoe Bay is gorgeous. Pink sand beaches hug the turquoise shoreline. In off season though, there are no services (ie bring your own food, beach towel, chair, etc.)
  • Eat at Hog Penny Pub. Apparently the inspiration for Cheers, the Boston pub, the food here was delicious (ate twice) and they have a good pre fix deal during the weekday. Can make rsvps on Open Table.
  • Lunch at Lost in Triangle (LIT)--best fresh fish tacos! A local casual sports bar, but the owner catches the food he serves. Came back twice for the fish tacos, didn't try much else. So filling, healthy, and tasty. It's in the heart of downtown Hamilton.

Skip:

  • Barracuda Grill--it's one of the most highly rated place to eat seafood but I thought it was overpriced and overrated. It's elegant and service was great, but in terms of quality and price, Hog Penny which is right next door is a much better deal and experience.
  • St. George--it's the other larger city in Bermuda but really not much to see there. It's about a 30-40 min. ride from Hamilton by bus, unless you're really bored and have nothing to do then go visit but not a must-see, in my opinion. Ferries do not run from Hamilton to St. George in off-season.
  • Royal Navy Dockyard--tourist attraction. Go if you've never seen anything similar, otherwise nothing to write home about this place. You can take a ferry to here from Hamilton during off season though.

May 2017 Trip Report: FCO to JFK

This past Tuesday morning I decided to leave Rome at 8 am even though my Delta flight back to JFK wasn't until 12:30 pm. I'm sooo glad I arrived so early as FCO was a bit chaotic! It was confusing to me where I needed to check in. I booked my flight with Air France and both KLM and Delta (which they all fall under) emailed me to check in. However I flew over on Alitalia and I also had an Alitalia confirmation code. I knew my check in was at Terminal 1, and when you arrive it just looks like Alitalia desks everywhere! I waited on an Alitalia line and when I got to the desk, found  out I needed to find the Delta counter which was alllllll the way on the side to the right of the entrance when you come in. 

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Checking in with Delta was a better experience than checking in with Alitalia. No offense but it seems most Italians just kind of work slow paced. Going through security was not too bad but then trying to get my tax free refund (over 300 euros) was a nightmare of waiting! 

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The offices tonget a refund is right before passport control. Don't bother to stop at any stores prior to getting here if you need to get a refund. I waited 45 minutes on the Global Blue line (check your tax free forms to see which of the 3 companies you need to stand on line for, they were all next to each other and Global Blue was the longest). I got there at 9:30 am (arrived at airport at 8:50) and watched as frustrated passengers with shorter time leave the line or else they would miss their flight. I finally finished with Global Blue around 10:15 and then went on the Tax Free (orange) line. This line was much shorter but had to wait 15 minutes with 5 people ahead of me. Global Line had two attendants to process the forms and Tax Free had one.  

By 10:40 am I was all done (got my refund back on my credit card right there, no need to mail in forms). Then I rushed over to Passport Control which had another enormous line but luckily US passengers had a shorter line.  

After clearing customs, I finally found my gate fifteen minutes later (E is quite a long walk from customs). Basically had 30 free minutes to use the bathroom and find food/drinks before boarding! Just enough time.  

Back to reality in several hours. Arrivederci, Italia! 

 

Ciao, Roma!

Ciao, Roma!

May 2017 Trip Report: Rome (Day 13)

From Villa Borghese

From Villa Borghese

Monday was my last day in Rome! I spent the whole day trekking from park to park around Rome. I think I walked over 15 miles this past Monday. I have not taken the metro or any public transportation once while here. I needed to burn off all these calories from eating! 

I found this great link on scenic views in Rome. I chose three places to go and saw more of Rome than I would have otherwise! I started off with Villa Borghese, which is like the Central Park of Rome. It's pretty big and has some interesting sights to see. I liked it a lot but wouldn't say go out of your way to see it unless you want a respite of the bustling city.  

A little peace in a bustling city

A little peace in a bustling city

Ruins

Ruins

After spending a couple of hours wandering around, I headed way across to the other side of town to the Orange Gardens, also known as Giardino delga Aranci. This neighborhood is south of the main sites of the city and you pass by a lot of interesting architecture and sites along the way. 

 

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The Orange Gardens is located within a residential community and closes at 6 pm. It's very small but a great overlook of the city. There are no facilities here, just a park and benches but it's very serene and quiet compared to most sights in Rome! 

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From here I then walked over to the Trasvetere area for some gelato at Gelato del Viale. It was getting quite hot from all the walking so it was a much needed respite! 

 

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From here, you can head over to the Gianicolo area which is a huge hill above Rome.  If coming from the Trasvetere area, then you're approaching it from the south side and will go up a steep hill and stairs to reach it. Here you'll be greeted with some views of the city but the tree growth is quite high so not really that appealing. If you keep walking north (towards Vatican City and the other side of the park) there will be less obstructed views. It's a nice long walk downhill though if you head north/west. 

First views  

First views  

Second views further west on Gianicolo

Second views further west on Gianicolo

As you head back down you can basically loop back into the main city area or go toward Vatican City.  

Overall a nice way to spend my last day getting more acquainted with all the areas of Rome. I never took the metro and just burned a ton of calories walking all over the city and definitely saw a lot more than anticipated. 

May 2017 Trip Report: Rome (Day 12)

And on Day 12, my legs gave up on me! According to my fitness tracker on my iPhone, I've walked over 100 miles in the past 12 days. That's an average of 8-9 miles a day! This morning i walked about 5 miles around the city and by 2 pm I had to go back to my room to nap and rest. 

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Most of the day was spent wandering around different areas of Rome I don't think I've been before (like the Trastevere area which is away from tourists and has low key neighborhood shops and eats). I also went shopping (designer bags are so much cheaper in Europe than the US and you get a 12.5% tax refund up to a limit depending on how much you spend). 

For food, I was thankful to have two great meals today. Whenever I'm trying to find a place to eat, I do utilize Trip Advisor and Yelp but you do have to take reviews (even mine!) with a grain of salt because businesses change, cooks can change, people have different taste buds or experience with dining out. I just try to find places with the least amount of negative reviews. If reviews are mostly consistency positive, I'll try it. 

Where to Eat in Rome 

Besides Ginger (that I mentioned in my previous post), I really enjoyed:

  • Pane e Salame, a small casual place by Trevi Fountain. Fresh meats and cheeses are the thing to get here. You can do a cutting board tasting of ham or cheeses or sandwiches. I had the ham and brie sandwich and loved it. Everything about the bread and fillings were tasty and complementary in flavor. I also had a glass of nice red wine and water, all for 10.50 euros! On Sundays it opens at noon and I was the second person to be seated (got there at 11;55 am). By 12:15 pm, the tiny place was full! You can do take out too. 
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  • Dilla, which is very close to the Spanish Steps. Reservations are recommended but I didn't have one and showed up around 7:15 pm and got seated right away. At this point I'm pretty tired of Italian food (besides tomatoes, I don't think I've had a proper vegetable in days!!)  but I wanted to try classic Roman food. So I tried the eggplant parmigiana and the cacio e pepe from here and both were amazing dishes! Especially the parmigiana. The cheese was sooo fresh and perfect. Everything about the flavors and texture of this dish was great. I would totally have this dish again if I could. With wine and water and bread, my whole bill was 41 euros. Ambience of the restaurant was very nice too, very comfortable place. 
Parmigiana! One of my fave dishes on this trip

Parmigiana! One of my fave dishes on this trip

Classic Roman Cacio e Pepe

Classic Roman Cacio e Pepe

After dinner I really needed to burn calories and found myself near Piazza del Popolo which is a beautiful square. Just next to it is the park and you can climb up the nearby stairs to get a pretty view of the piazza and city.  

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo

Scenic view near the edge of Villa Borghese  

Scenic view near the edge of Villa Borghese  

Tourists at Twilight

Tourists at Twilight

May 2017 Trip Report: Positano to Naples to Rome (Day 11)

On Saturday I trekked from Positano to Rome and got there in pretty good time. I was supposed to meet Seahorsd Car Service at 9:40 am and the driver was about ten minutes late as he was picking up other passengers. Similar to before, it was a private car and he drove us to Sorrento where we connected (not waiting more than a minute!) to the larger van to Naples. I was the first drop off at Naples Train Station and got there at 11:20 am (much earlier than what they quoted me when my ride was initially booked, 12:15 pm). I did not pre-book a train ticket to Rome since I wasn't sure what time I would get there so I paid full price for the ticket (45 euros). If you know what day/time you want to take the train, you can book cheaper tickets online in advance. Also, for the high speed train from Naples to Rome you do not  need to validate your ticket but you do if you take the slower, local train I think. 

When I walked into Naples Train Station (which seems pretty clean, not as sketch as I remember it from 15 years ago), I didn't realize there are different train companies! I just followed the signs for tickets and went to the left, which is red and has tickets for ItaliaRail. Anyway it was about 11:30 and the cashier told me the next train was at 12:55 pm. That didn't make sense to me since I heard there was a train every hour and then he mentioned it might be with the other train company across the way. However, their one way fare to Rome was cheaper (39 euros) but I didn't want to wait that long!

So I went across to Trenitalia, which I meant to take anyway. You can book tickets and look up schedules in advance online. I bought the tickets at the ticket office, if you do this, make sure you pick the right option when you get a ticket number to get help in person (there were three options and I chose the "A" line which helps with high speed tickets as opposed to the "I" line which helps customers with info). You can also buy tickets from machines but I wanted to talk to the cashier in person just to make sure I was getting on the right train! The high speed train I took was ending in Milan but Rome was the next stop. I got on the 12 pm train (they also assign you a seat reservation and I asked for a seat where it would be easy to keep my luggage with me and the guy put me in 18D car 7, which was great as it's right by the door and there's only one seat in the corner, not two so the extra space was good for my luggage). No one on the train checked my ticket! I'm sure they do but it just didn't happen to me. 

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After I arrived in Termini Station in Rome at 1:10 pm, I headed straight to the taxi stand outside as I hate lugging luggage alone on the subway. I handed the taxi driver a paper with my hotel address and off we went. Official taxis in Rome are white and this info from hotels.com was really helpful in terms of what to expect when taking a taxi in Rome. I am staying near the Spanish Steps as I wanted to be more central (the area around Termini is sketch) and the fare wasn't bad at all, only 10.80 euros. 

Where to Stay in Rome

I love the cute boutique hotel in staying at! I booked it months ago and didn't know too much about it other than it was in the central and safe area of Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps). The hotel is sooo nice and small (meaning there's not that many rooms) and modern and stylish. Wedged between two restaurants, Piazza di Spagna Prestige is comfortable, clean and has everything you need. I'm staying in the Pantheon room and I remember thinking it seemed small but it is not at all! There are two twin beds and a nice bathroom with a rainfall shower. They give a nice small breakfast of baked good every morning as well as fruit and juice and the room also has a coffee machine. The guy at reception looks like he's barely out of high school but is very sweet and helpful and prompt. He gave me great restaurant suggestions (I went to 2 so far and will try another tomorrow). 

What I Did in Rome

Since I've been to Rome before, I had zero desire to stand in line and sight see. However I did re-visit Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II. It's a Memorial and I love the grandios building of it all. 

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I walked around to see Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps too. Both were loaded w tourists! So I didn't stay long. Had dinner at Ginger, which is a modern casual Italian place that offers a twist to traditional dishes as well as salads and juices/smoothies. They also have fresh parm and cheese. Overall very good and recommend it if you want something a bit different and healthy near the Spanish Steps! Lunch seemed a lot busier than dinner (I tried to go for lunch but didn't want to wait so came back in the evening). Highlights of the meal were the grilled scallops (fresh and perfectly cooked on a bed of broccoli cream!), steak (omg so flavorful and juicy) and seared tuna steaks. The tomato pasta was also very good. 

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