With having only one full day in this beautiful city, we had lots to cover. The mission looked impossible because Venice is so crowded and busy all the time. The fact that it was Easter weekend didn’t help. There are some empty alleys so try to avoid the main San Marco Square or Rialto Bridge which can get very crowded during afternoons.
But everything is worth it when you see how photogenic this city is. We’ve been walking all day even though you can get a boat from one place to another but it will take the same amount of time while on foot you can actually explore every hidden corner (and possibly get lost few times). After visiting the main attraction Ponte Rialto and Piazza di San Marco we headed to Libreria Acqua Alta, the self-proclaimed most beautiful bookshop in the world.
This unique bookshop is composed of a number of rooms stacked wall-to-wall with books, magazines, maps on different languages. Due to Venice’s constant flooding, these picturesque piles are all placed inside bathtubs, waterproof bins, and even in a full-size gondola. Climbing up the staircase made of books at the back you can have a view of one of the canals which makes this place even prettier.
Libreria Acqua Alta
If you’re a fan of modern art, the Guggenheim Collection in Venice is a must see. You’ll find amazing pieces by artists like Jackson Pollack, Michele Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali to name a few. And for some wow moments definitely visit Ca’ d’Oro palace, the oldest palace in Venice and of course enter the beautiful Basilica di San Marco and climb to the balcony for the great view. Other places to take note of (and keep your eyes peeled for) include Santa Stefano, Palazzo Fortuny, Musica Palazzo and Basilica Della Saulte.
Ca’ d’Oro
Don’t forget to eat lots of pasta, pizza, gelato and cannoli while you are drinking the most popular drink in Italy- Aperol Spritz, a cocktail which is the mix of Aperol , prosecco and sparkling water. The one restaurant I would highly recommend is Taverna Scallinetto with amazing interior and delicious original Venetian dishes. Luckily we booked in advance because the place was packed.
Other food spots: Da Ivo, Cà D’Oro alla Vedova (famous meatballs and wine), Bistrot de Venise, ai merchant, De Pisis, Harry’s Bar for drinks
“Traveling. It leaves you speachless , then turns you into a storyteller.” Ibn Battuta
If there’s one place I’ve been that has made me want to stay forever, it’s Barcelona. Everything about it is just so… cool. The food is delicious, the beach amazing, the streets are full of character, the sun shines and the people are so friendly!
There are so many things to see and do in Barcelona but I tried to make it short and choose my absolute favourite.
Eat & Drink
Brunch & Cakeis probably the most popular place for brunch in Barcelona. With few different branches to choose from we went to one closest to Barceloneta- Brunch &Cake by the Sea. Food is healthy and delicious and plates are decorated just perfectly for Instagram snaps.
The other option, Milk bar & bistrois legendary for it’s ‘recovery brunch’, widely viewed as one of the best in Barcelona.
Brunch & Cake by the SeaBrunch & Cake by the SeaBrunch&Cake By The SeaMilk Bar and BistroMilk Bar & Bistro
Hammock Juice Stationis a place where you can go for relaxing afternoon because it’s hidden from the tourists. Besides this spot being vegan, its design is bohemian and incredibly charming with 8 hammocks hanging from the ceiling. Their organic juices are delicious and refreshing.
Hammock Juice Station
Tapas 24located near Passage de Gracia can be a problem if you don’t like queueing but usually, table for two you can get pretty quickly. It’s one of the unique tapas places in Barcelona and serves delicious tapas which is not overpriced.
Granja Dulcinea is a place where I keep coming back for churros and hot chocolate. They are probably the best churros you’ll ever have. Also, their traditional decor is making a lovely calming atmosphere.
Hire a bike and explore the city. Also, the alternative route is to ride along the beach. There is a Green route for bikes that leads you to Badalona, north suburbs of Barcelona.
Badalona is very quiet, clean and so beautiful that sometimes it doesn’t seem real. Mainly locals are coming to this beach and it’s not really known to tourists.
Pont del PetroliPont del PetroliStatue Anis del Mono
Boqueria Market is one of the most famous food markets in the world, and with good reason. It’s a great place to wander around, try fresh and local foods.
Tour Gaudi is a must. The Modernist architect Antoni Gaudí has left his mark all over Barcelona. My favourites are Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo.
Casa BatlloParc GüellSagrada FamiliaSagrada Familia
Explore Gothic Quarter! The best way to spend hot afternoon days. There so many things to see in those pretty streets.
Galeria Maxo is a place where you should go for a souvenir that is different than all those touristy things. I was completely amazed by everything I saw in the gallery.
Amazing gothic architecture
CathedralCathedral’s gardenPlaça del PiWhich one to buy (Galeria Maxo)Galería MaxóTop: Topshop ; Shorts: H&M
Wander the different neighbourhoods of Barcelona, my favourite being Barceloneta ( beachy vibe), El Born (gothic quarter) and Gracia (artsy quarter).
Beach chairs in front of W HotelBarcelonetaBarcelonetaEl PoblenouLovely Gracia
Parc de la Cuitadell is located between Barcelona’s Arc de Triomphe, Estació de Francia and Olympic Village. I love this park because of its architecture and beauty but also numerous activities like boat rowing in the lake, the Natural Museum, conservatory, zoo and – a big statue of the mammoth. Also, the fountain in the middle of the park was built with contribution of Antonio Gaudi.
Skirt: Mango; Top: Stradivarius
Arc de Triomf
Visit the gorgeous cactus gardens at Jardins Mossèn Costa i Llobera, and then have a drink at the top of the hill overlooking the city.
Remember, you are in the city that lives for football so being a fan or not, head to Camp Nou to see the home of one of the best teams in the world. Even better option is to try to get the ticket for their home game.
Camp NouCamp Nou
The best thing to do is to live like locals – wake up late, ride a bike, have paella by the beach and then spend the afternoon with sangria. Finish the day with late dinner!
Dubrovnik is called the “Pearl of the Adriatic” and in my opinion, there are very few places in Europe that can match this place when it comes to beauty and it should be on top of everyone’s travel list.
Know as King’s Landing from HBO’s Game of Thrones now got even more hype because it will be featured in new Star Wars VIII movie.
After visiting Dubrovnik this summer and experiencing all the beauty I’ll share some of my favourite things to see and do.
Have Breakfast at Dubravka 1836
We discovered this place on our first day and we loved it. Dubravka is a restaurant and a cafe that serves everything from breakfast to dinner but we liked breakfast so much that we kept coming back. It’s located near Pile Gate and you get stunning views of the fortresses Lovrijenac, Bokar and Minčeta. You can choose from few different types of breakfast and every single one is massive, delicious and great value for money. We were also lucky to get the table close to the edge
Walk The Walls
Probably the first thing every tourist does in Dubrovnik is walking the giant Walls of Dubrovnik. 1,940 metres long and 25 meters high, with 3 forts- Minceta Tower, Fort Bokar and St John fortress, Walls will keep you occupied for at least one hour.
There are 3 gates where you can enter- Pile, Ploce and Buza and for entrance, you’ll pay approximately £13 per person.
My advice is to avoid to climb the Walls between 11 and 5 because heat and tourists can turn this amazing experience into torture. Bring water and camera and take advantage of many photo opportunities along the way.
Dress: New Look(sold out), Bag: Accessorize
Explore the Old Town
Old Town Dubrovnik at night is as beautiful as it is during the day. From white cobblestone streets to the maze of stairs filled alleyways that make up Old Town, there are endless routes to explore.
Stradun or Placa is the main street of Dubrovnik. The pedestrian street runs some 300 metres through the Old Town. Many shops, restaurants and cafes are located there but because it’s main tourist promenade prices are much higher than in the rest of the town.
It can get overcrowded so the best time to go it’s early morning.
Visit Lokrum
Lokrum is a small, inhabited island just a short 15 min boat ride. This island can provide you with few hours of fun in the sun or hiking to the highest point(96m) Fort Royal Castle. The climb is steep but once when you get there the view of Dubrovnik and coastline is spectacular.
Lokrum is also home to an old monastery, botanical gardens and a small lake called Mrtvo More or the (Dead Sea). And Game of Thrones fans will be amazed because there is a real Iron Throne in which you can sit and take the picture.
Be aware, island is inhabited by gangs of cute peacocks and rabbits that seem to be around every corner on this island!
Cost: Round boat trip is around £10
Have a Drink at Buza Bar
In the old Dubrovnik dialect, buža means ‘hole’ and indeed,to get to the unique cafe bar you need to go through the hole in the wall. Buza is one of the most beautiful bars in Dubrovnik located on the cliffs where you are able to enjoy magnificent views of open Adriatic sea, island Lokrum and beautiful sunsets while drinking cocktails.
Catch Some Rays on the Beach
Dubrovnik’s main public beach is Banje Beach, located near Ploce gate, offers great view of the Old Town. Although many people rent lounge chairs and umbrellas, there’s no problem with just flinging a towel on the beach. There is a beach and lounge bar and restaurant which also turns into a night club in the evening.
Problem is this beach get overcrowded so you might want to find alternative.
Little bit further away is St Jacob Beach. This beautiful sandy-pebble beach is located in the elite part of Dubrovnik, in the cove below cliffs and the namesake church St. Jacob. The beach offers a spectacular view of the old town, city walls and on the island Lokrum.
Ride The Cable Car
The best view of Dubrovnik is certainly from the top of the Srd Hill. In a short ride, the cable car takes you from downtown Dubrovnik 778 m up where the amazing view will simply take your breath away.
While you are there, after you done your Instagram pictures, you can have a meal or a drink at the cafe and restaurant Panorama, visit Museum Dubrovnik in Homeland War or go on an adventurous ride with the Buggy Safari tour.
My recommendation is to get there just before the sunset for the most epic experience.
Price of return trip is around £13.
Have a Dinner at Taj Mahal
No,it’s not Indian restaurant as you might think. It’s bosnian! If you want sea food it’s very easy to find good sea food reastaurant but this bosnian place is something different. You have to be aware that queuqeing might take hours so it’s recommended that you book in advance.
Bosnian cuisine is mainly influenced by Turkish, Middle East and Meditteranean cuisine, consisted from both, meat and vegetables.
Try local specialties like cevapcici(grilled minced meat), burek, sarma, potato pie or ajvar.
Last birthday was definitely the best ever. I got a surprise ticket from my boyfriend that ended up to be Paris for 4 days! It’s definitely magical especially during Christmas and New Year but remember one thing- layers.
Paris is very cold during the winter, and I don’t mean London-like-cold. It’s cold everywhere, even at Metro stations and on the Metro trains there is no heating so you don’t have to worry about passing out on the train like you are most probably are during London rush hour.
On the first day ,we got lucky and we got sunny and pretty mild day so we decided to climb up to the top of Sacré-Cœur. It’s “only” 300 steps once you actually get to the church. Before that there is almost 100 more. But we made it and the prize was priceless
I would recommend this to everyone because personally I think that it’s a much better view from here than from Eiffel Tower.
Also don’t miss popular Laduree, one of the world’s best luxury bakery with the most delicious macaroons and Angelina, the place where you can try Paris’s best hot chocolate.
The queue will most likely be long so you better be prepared.
Angelina
Laduree
If you are into very delicious and expensive dinner head over to Kong, located on the last two floors of Kenzo office, in front of the Pont Neuf, this restaurant is in the sky with a view of the Seine. Halfway between Paris and Tokyo, you’ll be surrounded by Louis XV armchairs, plasma screens, a fluorescent staircase and a carpet of pebbles. Kong is very Parisian, luxurious and so yummy that the bill wasn’t a problem at the end.
Walking through Jardin des Tuileries can be really relaxing and even though it’s the middle of winter and there is no leaves on the trees, gardens are still pretty amazing. During the summer this place is crowded with people ,enjoying the flowers and sitting on the green chairs which can be found everywhere. This place is great for photographer because on one side you have Big Wheel and on the other is Louvre. One tip if you want to visit the museum -use the secret entrance to avoid all that crowd at the main, pyramid entrance. You can get there straight from Metro Station or Portes des Liones entrance in the SW wing of the palace.
Latine Quarter is one of the loveliest places in Paris. It’s a place full of dreamers,thinkers and philosophers where you can see young students reading poetry or doing romantic walks across Paris’s oldest bridge Pont Neuf. Latine Quarter borders two small islands, The île Saint-Louis is a residential village with boutiques and places to eat, while île de la Cite is full of office buildings and iconic monuments like Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle.
Hotel Ville
I realised in Paris everything is more elegant, even Starbucks and H&M but you would never guess this is just Abercrombie and Fitch
Those more interested in culture shouldn’t miss Opera Garnier, opera house commissioned by Napoleon that looks stunning from inside and outside. With ornate marble staircases that lead you to the main theater with Chagall mural and bronze and crystal chandelier.
Even though it was very cold and windy we couldn’t miss to climb up Eiffel Tower and enjoy magnificent view.
While you are in Paris you’ll see Tour Eiffel from everywhere but make sure you see the tower in the evening when it sparkles. Sparkling is on every hour for 5 minutes from night fall until 1am.
Pont Alexander III
Although all the bridges that conect the right and the left banks of Paris are beautiful,the Pont Alexander is the most romantic. The bridge features are nouveau lamps, cherubs,nymphs and gilded statues.
Of course use one afternoon to walk along Champs Elysees, enter famouse designer shops(or Laduree again ) and reach Arc de Thriumph monument. You can even climb the Arc for another view of Paris.
Arc de triomphe
Even though I saw so many things in four days I feel I missed so much as well so I’ll be back next summer to explore more.
I’m writing this from Croatia,it’s sunny every day,and hot,very hot…like 36 or more degrees 🙂 In UK that would be called heat wave with special reports in newspapers ,here is just summer.
I believe everyone heard about Croatia and beautiful coast and clear sea with more than 700 islands and even though I always wanted to live in London somehow I feel privileged because every summer I can go back to Croatia,to my hometown .
Croatia has so many beautiful places to visit,almost every island and town on the coast is worth visiting but I decided to choose just 5 that are absolute MUST!
Dubrovnik
Nicknamed Pearl of the Adriatic ,Dubrovnik with his historic old town is probably the most beautiful place to visit in the Mediterranean .
The historic district, the Old Town, is stuffed with many historic features such as the old, defensive walls, cobblestone streets, magnificent palaces and stunning churches.
During the years Dubrovnik was favourite location of many celebrities but since famous tv show Game of Thrones decide to choose Dubrovnik for their Kings Landing it gets even more popular.
Located on Croatia’s northern Dalmatian Coast this 3 thousand years old city is ideal tourist gateway because there is plenty to see and do without too much crowd .
In the heart of city is historical district Old Town with some of of the city’s most popular sites like Roman Forum, the circular St. Donat’s Church, 12th century St. Anastasia Cathedral, and the University of Zadar, which is one of the oldest in Europe. Besides Old Town and of course many beautiful beaches there are two unique attractions -the Sea Organ and the Sun Salutation.
Sea organ allows the sea to make music with waves and Sun salutation produces colourful light after whole day of apsorbing sun energy.
One of the most beautiful natural wonders in Croatia and all of Europe, the Plitvice National Park consists of several breathtaking lakes, waterfalls and forest.
Significant feature is 16 interconnected lakes devoted into lower and upper groups with natural dams.
Besides lakes and waterfalls the park also offers diverse wildlife -many species of butterflies, birds and animals such a wolfs ,bears,wild cats…
Croatian second largest city,nicknamed Mediterranean Flower, is knows by his beautiful historic centre with Gothic and Renaissance architecture with famous Diocletian’s Palace . The palace is built by Roman Emperor and it’s actually a maze of walkaways and buildings with shops and cafes surrounded by many other monuments like St. Duje’s Cathedral, Jupiter’s Temple, Peristil Square and two original Egyptian sphinx monuments.
London is probably one of the most photogenic city. With leaves in autumn and blossom in spring along Regents Canal,Kew Gardens and Battersea Park. And in the summer…well everything is pretty in summer. And in winter,ok there is nothing much in winter except maybe monuments ,like those lions on Trafalgar Square.
It’s not really hard to find great background for your photographs.
Here ,I give you, my twelve favorite spots to grab a shot in London.
Remember,always have your camera with you 🙂
1.St Paul’s Cathedral – Iconic. It’s in the middle of everything (OK, and there’s the Harry Potter bridge leading up to it with the best views in town)
2. Leadenhall Market – South of Liverpool Street. You feel tiny every time you walk through. It’s established 600 years ago and it looks stunning
3. Greenwich – Tulip staircase at Queen’s House it’s the most amazing staircase I’ve ever seen.
4. Bywater St– Notting Hill? No,Chelsea. I love Notting hill but it can be crowded with tourists . On the other side Chelsea is really quiet ,mainly locals are going there and is as much as pretty as Notting Hill
5. London Pubs– Half the city’s pubs are downright photogenic. This one at Kensington is the most beautiful I’ve found
6. Shoreditch- Street Art
7.Soho– It’s tiny,crowded and colourful,But each of its storefronts feels like it has a story to tell .
8. Neal’s Yard-This place is very well hidden in the middle of Covent Garden but if you find it you will enjoy it just by sitting there.
9.Horse Guards Parade
10. Elder Street– This is probably the most photographed car in London. Mostly because it’s permanently park there,close to Spitalfields Market
11.Covent Garden– Its beautiful from every angle and in almost every weather (they decorate it stunningly for Christmas)
12. Mews Houses– These tiny little houses are hidden all over London and I think half of the city’s population wants to live in one.This ones are in Belgravia
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