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Just came back from Budapest, and I wanted to share something with all of you dear followers. While walking in the city center, we stumbled upon this memorial that is supposed to represent the invading Germany (the evil eagle) and the Hungarian people (represented by the archangel Michael) based on Germany’s invasion in 1944. For those that do not know or do not remember, Hungary was Germany’s ally and one of the first countries to organize the deportations of jews to the concentration camps. I did not take a picture but in front of this statue there are photos of Auschwitz prisoners, letters, and candles of people denouncing what they consider the government’s intention as wrong. This monument was built overnight in 2014 because the government KNEW what it was doing, and that was/is to rewrite history. 

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Bretagne \ Port du Crouesty

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Sometimes you don’t need to go far away to see beautiful places, and France has a lot of them!

Almost 4 hours away from Paris (by high-speed train or TGV and then by

car), you will find the golfe du Morbihan and in the town of Arzon, the beautiful Port du Crouesty.

There are paths along the coast, ideal for a quick trek but more than enough to enjoy the views. Although there are beautiful beaches, I do not recommend swimming here because, for example, right now the water is 10 degrees Celsius, and the rest of the year it is rarely above 20 degrees. You’ve been warned!

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xx – Andy

 

 

DF Mexico \ London

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So one of my favorite Mexican restaurants is in London, and is called DF Mexico.

I had the best fish tacos of my life as well as one of the best nachos. This is coming from a Mexican by the way…

I love the concept, love the food… everything about this restaurant great. I recommend everything in the menu!

Really, there is nothing else to say, just GO GO GO !!!!

 

Hardware Société \ Paris

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I think that I should have written this article when I first had brunch back in June 2016. I’ve gone back at least 3 times after that first visit. Honestly, it is one of the best brunch in Paris! It is definitely in my top 3.

What I love:

1.The food: although I’ve only eaten the oeufs cocotte 2 {they are that good!!}, I can recommend everything ! The friends I’ve been with have ordered the scrambled eggs with salmon, the mushrooms, the millefeuille de saumon…. and everything has been delish all the way to the desserts!

 

2. The coffee: coming all the way from Australia! The restaurant uses Padre coffee, and it is amazing. They also have cold brew, matcha latte… the works!

3. The place: who doesn’t love Montmartre? The restaurant is right next to Sacré Coeur… so if you’ve been in Paris you know that no matter where you stop to climb up to the top of Sacré Coeur, your brunch will be well deserved! I usually arrive via metro line 12 stop Lamarck Coulaincourt. Moreover, I love the feel of the restaurant! Love the decoration, the tables, the little counter with the desserts… everything!

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4. The people: everyone working at Hardware is great! They are always extremely nice (let’s just say it’s a rarity in Paris), always smiling, always trying to give the best experience. Also, there are A LOT of foreigners coming here! One time the server talked to my husband and I in english, since everyone in the restaurant was either American, English or Australian!  It usually is like that before 13h … so pro tip: arrive early, around 11 or 11h30 since they do not accept reservations and you have to get in line after 12h.

Let me know what you think in the comments!!!

xx Andy

 

 

Traveling is not for everyone

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(ir hasta abajo para leer en español)

I’ve read so many articles about how you HAVE to travel before you are 30 and how you need to see everything before you are 25, and endless lists of things you ABSOLUTELY need to do before you die and if you don’t do them then you are a loser.

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Let’s just stop with that!

Just to be clear, traveling is one of the things I love the most… after reading! There is always a thrill and excitement to take a plane and land somewhere unknown. It’s been my dream to do what I do for a living since I was young, so I’m not here to complain or anything like that.

Let’s be honest, traveling is not pleasant and glamorous all the time. Sometimes, when I’m away, I wish I could be in my bed. But nobody stuck a gun against my head and forced me to do what I do, so I’m not complaining! What I do not like is people forcing everyone to absolutely travel, when it is not something that everyone can do… life , money, family gets in the way or is just so much more important than to take a plane. Each and every one of us decides how to live our life the best way we can.

Actually, I used to think that people that do not travel are weird… I’ve met some that do not even have a passport and I was like what????? is it possible??? Well yes it’s possible because we are all different and we do not have the travel bug and it is not obligatory. It does not make you better or worse. Yes, I do think that we are in this planet and we should LIVE and SEE everything. But you see, you can do it your own way. You can just travel around your country, or not travel at all. Let’s stop with the judgement of those who decide to stay home.

I would love to know what you think about this… do you feel the same?

 

He leido tantos articulos en buzzfeed y anexas sobre como es casi OBLIGATORIO viajar porque si no lo haces te estas perdiendo de todo en la vida. Ya basta con eso! Todos tenemos objetivos diferentes en la vida, y el hecho de viajar o no, de no tener el gusanito de viajar, no nos hace ni mejores ni peores. Si, tomar un avion y aterrizar en un lugar desconocido es increible, descubrir una nueva cultura, una nueva lengua es una de las cosas que me gustan mas de viajar. Pero esa misma emocion la podemos tener de otra manera, y cada persona decide como y donde vivir su vida.

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Lo que mas me molesta de todos esos articulos es que te hacen sentir como si no interesarse por viajar es como si hubieras desperdiciado tu vida o como si no fueras lo suficientemente ambicioso. Sinceramente, antes pensaba que la gente que no salia o que no tenia pasaporte era un poco rara, no lo podia creer! Hoy pienso totalmente diferente. Disculpenme, pero todos tenemos ambiciones diferentes! Nuestra vida es un viaje en si mismo, y esta en nosotros como y en donde decidimos vivirla.

Diran que es un poco ironico que diga esto cuando tengo un blog sobre viajes, pero uno no excluye el otro 😉

Me encantaria saber qué es lo que piensan al respecto, estan de acuerdo?

xx Andy

Photo diary \ Sydney

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Dream come true: I went to Australia in 2016. Although I went for work, and not for tourism, it was amazing. I fell in love with Sydney the instant I set foot outside the airport.

I will always remember the feeling of seeing the Opera House at night, or going to work and feeling as if I belonged. I highly recommend doing the following (with no given order):

  1. Take a tour of the Opera House (around 40 AUD)
  2. Have a drink at the Opera House bar
  3. Walk around at the Rocks
  4. Take a ferry from Darling Harbour to the Opera House
  5. Go to Bondi beach
  6. Walk from Coogee to Bondi beach
  7. Have breakfast at one of the amazing restaurants in Sydney (check out the insta account @breakfastinsydney).
  8. Go to Taronga Zoo
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No need for introductions

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Inside the opera house

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inside the opera house

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Bondi beach

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Fish & chips at Bondi

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Bondi

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Little Koala!

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The Rocks

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at the Harbour

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Harbour Bridge

{Travel Tips} Top 3 airfare search websites

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Hello fellow travel aficionados. I was a little bit reluctant to write posts about the Top 3 or Top 10 whatever, but I guess that this topic is interesting. There are many many manyyyyy websites out there for finding the best plane tickets for you. I don’t like saying cheap tickets because this is something that depends on each person. There are so many things that influence what we consider is the best price that I will just leave at “best plane tickets for you”. So, after a few years of really using and buying tickets through this websites, I think they are the best out there:

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Little pic to add a pop of color to this article 😉

1. Kayak 

You can’t actually buy a ticket directly from Kayak BUT they have the best search engine out there. I get the best prices with the best options on layovers thanks to Kayak. Since I use it practically all the time, both for business and personal travel, I give my absolute seal of approval.

2. Vol24

I found this website via Kayak. I have bought 3 different tickets for different destinations (Mexico, Vietnam…) through it. The website does not look very modern, so the first time I used it I was a little bit worried. However, there is nothing to worry about! One of the nice things about vol24 is that you have several price options depending on your payment method (Visa, Visa debit, Mastercard, American Express). This avoids bad surprises when you are ready to go through the payment: you know upfront that you will pay more fees if you buy with Amex.

Quick pro tip: beware of fees charged by different websites. Expedia, Opodo, Travelocity and all the others have different fees so do not be surprised if they charge you 40 USD for each flight (this would mean 80 USD for a round trip NYC-Paris for example). 

3. Opodo

If it’s not Vol24 or Kayak, I use Opodo. I have used it mostly for buying flight+hotel packages, and also for the usual Paris-Mexico plane tickets. Although the fees are a little bit on the high side, they usually have great prices so it compensates the fees.

There you go! What is your experience using these websites? Do you have others that you think are better for finding great prices?

-Andy