You know how everyone who dreams of going to the Unites States wants to go to New York? Well...I always wanted to visit Arizona! Ever since I saw the first photo of those red iconic landscapes, I knew that I had to go there.
Arizona was part of our awesome road trip, in which we rented a car from Los Angeles and drove all the way to Las Vegas. This meant driving on the famous route 66, visiting some highlights in Arizona and a bit of Utah as well.
PLAY ME:
Here are our top picks:
HORSESHOE BEND
This place was bound to leave us breathless! It is absolutely fascinating to see nature's best work.
THE GRAND CANYON
Is there anything left to say? Without a doubt you will be mesmerized by the magnitude of it! There are several rims you can explore so make sure you reserve enough time for it.
ANTELOPE CANYON
There are two main ones, the Upper and the Lower Antelope Canyon which are pretty much the same, therefore we decided to visit only one of them, the lower one, as it was supposed to have fewer tourists. Besides these there are several other slot canyons worth visiting that are not so crowded but maybe a bit less dramatic.
MONUMENT VALLEY
At the border between Arizona and Utah you will find one of the most famous areas in the whole United States, the Monument Valley. The scenery makes you feel like your are driving through a painting, especially during the golden hour.
Bonus: THE CORAL PINK SAND DUNES
This state park is in Utah, very close to Arizona though so we decided it was worth the mention. We found it by accident on our drive to Las Vegas and we are very happy we did. The sand here looks and feels just like liquid gold.
Arizona is definitely one of the gems of the United States, with hidden treasures at every corner. We for sure plan to go back one day as we feel we left so much of it unexplored. But until then there are so many new places in the world awaiting us!
Always go wherever your heart takes you!
xoxo,
O
Click aici pentru varianta in limba Romana.
Getting married in Vegas! I wonder why I never had this on my bucket list? Maybe because it seemed far too impossible? Well I guess some dreams you never knew you had until they actually come true.
Chris popped the question a year back in the most incredible setting in Iceland, so a wedding was about to follow...and it had to live up to the proposal, right?
Contrary to popular belief, we did not go to Vegas to get married, we got married because we went to Vegas. Makes sense?
Long story short: a few weeks before our trip, while we were still sorting out our itinerary, Chris (this man with great ideas...aka my new hubby) said the "what if" out loud: What if we got married in Las Vegas? It took just that...a thought, an idea ...and we made it happen. Here's how:
1. Go to the city council in Las Vegas to get registered for marriage (Clark County Marriage License Bureau). No appointment needed. All you need are your passports and 77$. Take the certificate with you as you will need it at the chapel.
2. Pick a chapel. You can search online or you can just walk around the city to explore. We did both. We selected a few options online and then went to see them in real life. What can I say... I am a picky bride! Some chapels require an appointment, yet at others you can just walk in and get married.
We got married at The Little White Chapel, the oldest and most famous one in Vegas. Bonus: they have a cute garden gazebo where we actually had our ceremony.
The price depends on the wedding package that you will choose: for example just the ceremony with nothing else included is around 200$ (at this chapel, some chapels might be cheaper and some are definitely more expensive). A flower bouquet starts at 40$...if you want photos (a limited number of them) add an additional 100 bucks. And of course, because you are in the US, tipping is a must! A realistic case, between 40-100$ for the minister and a minimum of 20$ for the photographer.
3. Wedding attire. There are several places where you can rent a wedding dress and a tux, but they are pretty expensive. The easy way... just buy a white dress from anywhere and keep it simple. We brought out attire from home, nothing fancy yet pretty.
4. Say "I do". You thought there will be more steps? Neah! It doesn't get easier than this. Now...here comes the mushy part. You see all the movies where people get married in Vegas and it does not seem like a big deal, well do you know what is a big deal? Marrying the one, your soulmate, your best friend...your everything! Making a commitment for life to someone who makes it complete!
I have never imagined that a wedding in Vegas could be this emotional and yet it was one of the most beautiful moments in our lives. Not to mention we got the say the classic vows you see in all the romantic movies. You know? For as long as we both shall live...?
5. Legalize the marriage in your country as well. At this point the marriage is only legal in the state of Nevada, therefore you need to fill in some paperwork in order to make it legal in your country, if not...leave it like that and you just had a cool experience in Vegas without any actual commitment.
This cannot be legalized in any country as it requires a special agreement between the USA and your country to be able to do that, like the Hague convention. For Romania, I mentioned all the details in the Romanian version above, for other countries please check with your city hall about the possibilities for this.
Note: The prices mentioned above were valid in June 2018, so please consider all of them as an approximation as they might have changed in the meantime. This way you can avoid unnecessary inconveniences.
Hope this will be of help for the future crazy bride and groom!
xoxo,
O
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Casatoria in Las Vegas! Aparent unele vise si dorinte nici nu stii ca le ai pana nu se indeplinesc.
Ne-am logodit anul trecut intr-un decor si scenariu de poveste in Islanda, iar nunta trebuia sa urmeze...si bineinteles trebuia sa se ridice la acelasi nivel cu cererea in casatorie, nu?
Ideea de a ne casatori in Las Vegas i-a venit lui Chris...si a fost nevoie doar de atat, un gand... o idee... si zis si facut...ne-am casatorit in Las Vegas.
Am decis sa scriu acest articol si in limba romana deoarece foarte multa lume ne-a intrebat detalii legate despre casatorie, si stim si noi ca nu prea am gasit informatii despre acest lucru pe vremea cand cautam ce si cum se poate face. Cea mai frecventa intrebare a fost daca te poti casatori legal in Las Vegas, iar raspunsul este un raspicat DA. Iata cum:
1. Ai nevoie de un "permis de casatorie", pe care il poti obtine foarte usor de la primaria din Las Vegas (Clark County Marriage License Bureau). Nu e nevoie de programare doar de pasapoartele viitorilor soti si 77$. Dureaza 5 minute! Cu acel permis trebuie sa mergeti ulterior la capela selectata de voi.
2. Alege o capela! Sunt sute de optiuni si nu exagerez! Le poti cauta pe net sau poti merge sa le vezi personal prin oras. Noi am facut o selectie de pe internet dupa care am fost sa le si vedem live. La unele capele e necesare o rezervare in prealabil, dar la altele te poti casatori pe loc.
Ne-am casatorit la The Little White Chapel, cea mai veche si renumita capela din Las Vegas, intr-un foisor frumos din gradina. Costul unei nunti depinde de pachetul pe care il veti alege. De exemplu doar ceremonia e undeva in jur de 200$ (bineinteles la aceasta capela; sunt altele mai ieftine si altele cu mult mai scumpe). Un buchet de flori mic incepe de la 40$, iar daca vreti sa imortalizati momentul cu cateva poze, costa incepand de la 100$. Iar pentru ca suntem in SUA, bacsisul este necesar si destul de consistent. Un exemplu realist, intre 40 - 100$ pentru pastor si de la 20$ in sus pentru fotograf.
3. Gasesti o gramada de locuri de unde iti poti inchiria o rochie si eventual un costum, dar de obicei au preturi foarte piperate. Cel mai simplu e sa iti iei de acasa o rochie alba si draguta si sa nu te complici sa probezi acolo sute de rochii.
4. Ceremonia. Cu totii am vazut nenumarate filme americane in care un cuplu se casatoreste in Las Vegas. Ce am invatat din experienta asta este ca poate fi un moment de neuitat in viata atata timp cat te casatoresti cu persoana care te face cea mai fericita/cel mai fericit. Mai mult de atat, am avut ocazia sa rostim celebrele juraminte din toate filmele romantice.
5. Prin conventia de la Haga din 5 octombrie 1961, casatoria efectuata in SUA se poate legaliza usor si in Romania, bineinteles daca iti doresti asta. Daca nu, nu trebuie sa urmezi niciun demers si ai avut pur si simplu o experienta de neuitat in Las Vegas.
Pentru a o legaliza totusi trebuie urmati urmatorii pasi:
- Permisul de casatorie il vei da pastorului de la capela. El va completa cele necesare si il va preda la primaria din Las Vegas. Procesarea actelor dureaza cam 7-10 zile, deci daca stai mai putin in Las Vegas le vrei primi acasa prin posta (asta trebuie sa declari de la inceput in momentul in care soliciti permisul).
- Certificatul primit prin posta il vei trimite ulterior la primaria din Carson City pentru a cere o apostila. Toate detaliile procedurii se gasesc AICI. Costa 20$ si taxele postale.
- Apoi cu certificatul de casatorie din Las Vegas si apostila primita ulterior vei crea un dosar pe care il vei depune la Casa Casatoriilor din orasul tau. Aici se va realiza transcrierea catre actul oficial romanesc. IMPORTANT: Dosarul trebuie predat la Casa Casatoriilor din Romania in termen de maxim 6 luni de la oficierea casatoriei.
Dosarul trebuie sa contina:
- cetificatul de casatorie + apostila (original + copie)
- certifical de casatorie tradus si legalizat (original + copie)
- carte de identitate soti (original + copie)
- certificate de nastere soti (original + copie)
- declaratie notariala din partea ambiilor soti asupra numelui de familie pe care il vor purta dupa casatorie (deoarece pe certificale din Romania se mentioneaza acest lucru, iar pe cele din SUA nu).
- formularul aferent transcrierii (il gasiti pe site-ul primeriei din fiecare localitate)
Nota: Preturile au fost valabile in iunie 2018 iar probabilitatea de a fi suferit modificari intre timp este foarte mare, deci considerati toate preturile de mai sus ca fiind aproximative pentru a evita viitoare incoveniente!
Speram ca acest articol sa fie de folos viitorilor miri indrazneti. Daca mai aveti intrebari, lasati un comentariu si va vom raspunde cu drag.
Pupici,
O
Taiwan is an up and coming tourist destination and the country has so many beautiful places just waiting to be explored.
We went to Taipei on a small detour from our Hong Kong trip and we spent two days there. Indeed the city does not have a lot of landmarks to visit, however its charm lies in something completely different.
Due to not being the typical city with a lot of attractions, Taipei developed a very large coffee shop and restaurant culture. You will find the craziest, most interesting or even the cutest places to enjoy your coffee here. Also the city's charm can be mostly observed at night when everything comes to life.
Press PLAY to get the right Taipei mood.
Here is a short list of things to do in Taipei:
1. Visit Taipei 101
This landmark is by far the most famous in Taipei so you must not leave the city without seeing it. The impressive building holds the tallest Starbucks in the world, but you need to call in advance for a reservation. Like a lot in advance, as we tried calling a day before but the lines were busy all the time.
2. Hike to the top of Elephant Mountain
...and enjoy the amazing view from above this lovely city. It's a great place to put things into perspective and actually realise how tall Taipei 101 is.
3. Explore the city by night
...and be mesmerized by the colorful neon lights.
4. Check out the crowded night markets
Taipei has a night market at every corner...well almost, but for sure has the most night markets we have ever seen in a city. They are very lively and offer a lot of variety of products, especially food. Our top picks: Raohe Night Market and Ningxia Night Market.
5. Indulge yourself in some tasty local food
...and if you feel brave enough and have a hardcore stomach, try the stinky tofu. We couldn't...the smell was just too appalling.
6. Visit their crazy and eccentric restaurants
One of the most famous ones is The Modern Toilet...I guess there is no need to explain the main theme here, right? However, this is not for everyone, I guess.
This is actual edible food and a milkshake!
...or visit any cute coffee shop you can find. Trust me they have them at every step. From coffee shops were you can play with alpacas to ones were you can feel like Alice in Wonderland and sit in a huge tea cup, without a doubt in Taipei you will find at least one to fulfil your childhood fantasies.
The colorful neon lights and the lively night markets will for sure make for an unforgettable experience in Taipei.
Hugs,
O
For our first visit to the US we planned a 3 weeks trip that started with the City of Angels. We had only 3 days reserved for visiting LA and during the planning part of the trip we thought to ourselves that LA would probably be the least interesting part of it, considering Arizona, Las Vegas and Hawaii would follow, but boy did we love it!
The entire time in LA we felt like kids on Christmas morning and we were like a broken record that kept saying at every corner: "This is just like in the movies!". And it was!
There are so many great things to do, see and eat in LA that you could easily spend a month there, but we love a challenge so here are the best things to do in 3 days, including the most instagrammable spots.
ACTION! and dream of Californication...
VENICE BEACH
Or as I like to call it: the liveliest place on Earth! This place alone will keep you entertained for days if needed. Sharing a bacon wrapped hot dog while admiring the crazy/happy people there dancing, skating or just having fun, turned out to be a lovely memory we now share together.
VENICE CANALS
Walking down the canals I've found my dream house literally one after the other. The neighbourhood is incredible posh, cute, dreamy and designed to make you want to move there in an instance! We started playing children games picking our favourite house and imagined our lives there. Not too shabby, I tell you!
SANTA MONICA PIER
More commercial and not as crazy as Venice Beach, this is a nice place to spend your afternoon. It is the spot where one of our favourite movies (Forest Gump) and TV shows (The O.C) were filmed, so it got us all emotional.
HOLLYWOOD SIGN
You can see the sign from several places around the city and you can even get close to it. Oh boy!
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME
Not what I would expect it to be! I always thought about the walk of fame like being a luxury street full of celebrities and their stars, but it's the pure definition of a tourist trap. The boulevard is kitschy at most, Chinese stores at every corner and hundreds of tourists all gathered in front of the famous Chinese Theatre. Even so, it's still worth a visit.
THE FAMOUS LA WINGS
Apparently there are a lot of them hidden (in place sight) all around LA. So go...wander...find your wings!
THE LAST BOOKSTORE
This is a pretty cool bookstore with a Harry Potter vibe, mostly famous because it has some pretty instagrammable spots.
THE PINK WALL
Only in LA you will find a famous pink wall! I can't tell you much about it...it's a wall...and it's pink, yet it's a main attraction for LA. It does stand for pretty pictures though! Oh and the building is home to the lovely Paul Smith store!
A couples of blocks up you can find other famous grafiti , like the Made in LA one.
BRADBURY BUILDING
We basically wanted to visit this building because Justin Timberlake shot one of his videos here (for "Say something"). The building is extremely beautiful on the inside, unfortunately you cannot visit the upper floors or ride the famous elevators. However, it is pretty close to The Broad, so if you do plan to visit it, you can check this out too.
THE BROAD
The museum has a lot of great art instalments, however if you don't book in advance you will find yourself staying in a really long line to get in. Some of the art exhibits require an additional booking, so you will be spending a lot of time queuing if you really want to see everything.
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART
BEVERLY HILLS
MUST EATS WHILE IN LA
IN and OUT Burger - the first thing Chris had noted for doing while in LA was eat at In and Out Burger. Considering the city is pretty expensive, this place proved to have good food at affordable prices, I guess I could even say cheap.
Langer's Pastrami Sandwich - this is the oldest pastrami sandwich in town and by far the best! I would have never imagined that a sandwich could be this mouthwatering, but I guess everything is possible in LA. However at almost 20$ a piece you would expect it to be mind blowing, right?
Recommendation: try number 19, the world famous pastrami sandwich and number 14, the fried one with sour kraut. Both ordered with rye bread! You can also try their refreshing homemade cream soda.
The Original Farmers Market - you cannot go wrong with anything here! There are so many options to choose from, starting with Mexican food (which honestly is a must while in LA) to even Thai or Vietnamese.
Street food in Venice beach - from bacon wrapped hot dogs to Mexican corn. Go wild!
GETTING AROUND IN LA
Needless to say that Los Angeles is not the kind of city that you can visit by foot. There are a few metro lines around, but they are not that well connected as you would expect in a big city. As far as we heard, getting around by bus usually takes forever, therefore a great way to get from one point to another in LA is by Uber. Besides being cheaper than taxis, ubering around LA proved to be a great way of meeting people, not only the drivers but the other passengers as well, because we used Uber Pool a lot. This way we learned so many things about life in LA, attractions and great places to eat.
We loved our short trip to LA and we feel the need for a sequel! Being immersed in the movie life, searching for stars on the Hollywood walk of fame and chilling in Venice beach made the perfect first episode of our USA adventure! Looking forward to many more!
Let's write our own scripts!
And...CUT!
xoxo,
O
ACTION! and dream of Californication...
VENICE BEACH
Or as I like to call it: the liveliest place on Earth! This place alone will keep you entertained for days if needed. Sharing a bacon wrapped hot dog while admiring the crazy/happy people there dancing, skating or just having fun, turned out to be a lovely memory we now share together.
Walking down the canals I've found my dream house literally one after the other. The neighbourhood is incredible posh, cute, dreamy and designed to make you want to move there in an instance! We started playing children games picking our favourite house and imagined our lives there. Not too shabby, I tell you!
SANTA MONICA PIER
More commercial and not as crazy as Venice Beach, this is a nice place to spend your afternoon. It is the spot where one of our favourite movies (Forest Gump) and TV shows (The O.C) were filmed, so it got us all emotional.
You can see the sign from several places around the city and you can even get close to it. Oh boy!
Not what I would expect it to be! I always thought about the walk of fame like being a luxury street full of celebrities and their stars, but it's the pure definition of a tourist trap. The boulevard is kitschy at most, Chinese stores at every corner and hundreds of tourists all gathered in front of the famous Chinese Theatre. Even so, it's still worth a visit.
THE FAMOUS LA WINGS
Apparently there are a lot of them hidden (in place sight) all around LA. So go...wander...find your wings!
THE LAST BOOKSTORE
This is a pretty cool bookstore with a Harry Potter vibe, mostly famous because it has some pretty instagrammable spots.
THE PINK WALL
Only in LA you will find a famous pink wall! I can't tell you much about it...it's a wall...and it's pink, yet it's a main attraction for LA. It does stand for pretty pictures though! Oh and the building is home to the lovely Paul Smith store!
A couples of blocks up you can find other famous grafiti , like the Made in LA one.
BRADBURY BUILDING
We basically wanted to visit this building because Justin Timberlake shot one of his videos here (for "Say something"). The building is extremely beautiful on the inside, unfortunately you cannot visit the upper floors or ride the famous elevators. However, it is pretty close to The Broad, so if you do plan to visit it, you can check this out too.
The museum has a lot of great art instalments, however if you don't book in advance you will find yourself staying in a really long line to get in. Some of the art exhibits require an additional booking, so you will be spending a lot of time queuing if you really want to see everything.
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART
MUST EATS WHILE IN LA
IN and OUT Burger - the first thing Chris had noted for doing while in LA was eat at In and Out Burger. Considering the city is pretty expensive, this place proved to have good food at affordable prices, I guess I could even say cheap.
Langer's Pastrami Sandwich - this is the oldest pastrami sandwich in town and by far the best! I would have never imagined that a sandwich could be this mouthwatering, but I guess everything is possible in LA. However at almost 20$ a piece you would expect it to be mind blowing, right?
Recommendation: try number 19, the world famous pastrami sandwich and number 14, the fried one with sour kraut. Both ordered with rye bread! You can also try their refreshing homemade cream soda.
The Original Farmers Market - you cannot go wrong with anything here! There are so many options to choose from, starting with Mexican food (which honestly is a must while in LA) to even Thai or Vietnamese.
Street food in Venice beach - from bacon wrapped hot dogs to Mexican corn. Go wild!
GETTING AROUND IN LA
Needless to say that Los Angeles is not the kind of city that you can visit by foot. There are a few metro lines around, but they are not that well connected as you would expect in a big city. As far as we heard, getting around by bus usually takes forever, therefore a great way to get from one point to another in LA is by Uber. Besides being cheaper than taxis, ubering around LA proved to be a great way of meeting people, not only the drivers but the other passengers as well, because we used Uber Pool a lot. This way we learned so many things about life in LA, attractions and great places to eat.
We loved our short trip to LA and we feel the need for a sequel! Being immersed in the movie life, searching for stars on the Hollywood walk of fame and chilling in Venice beach made the perfect first episode of our USA adventure! Looking forward to many more!
Let's write our own scripts!
And...CUT!
xoxo,
O
