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Visiting Stockholm was a spur of the moment decision or something we all like to call, a last minute trip. We found some cheap tickets with WizzAir from Budapest to explore the city for the weekend and we thought to ourselves...why not?
We were pretty fortunate to have good weather and cherry trees were in full bloom, so exploring the city was a great pleasure.

WHEN TO VISIT
Being so up north the best time to visit Stockholm is during the spring or summer days. Winters are literally dark and of course cold.

GETTING AROUND
We found it pretty easy to explore the city by foot, especially if you book a hotel in the central area. However Stockholm is a very bike friendly city and you can find a bike to rent at every corner. Or an electric scooter.
They also have a good metro system in place, but at 4.5 euros per ticket I would reconsider the bike option.


EXPLORE THE OLD TOWN


STORTORGET SQUARE
This little square is one of the oldest squares in Stockholm and it is most famous for the picturesque buildings below.


VASA MUSEUM
We don’t usually visit a lot of museums as we mostly like the outdoors, but this one felt like a must as it contains a real ship relic dated from 1628 and preserved for more than 80% up to this day.


VISIT THE ARTSY METRO STATIONS
These have rapidly become famous landmarks in Stockholm and even though the metro ticket is expensive, buying one or two is a must so that you can visit the cool metro stations. Central station, Solna and Stadion are by far the best ones and of course the most popular.


RENT A BIKE or AN ELECTRIC SCOOTER
As mentioned earlier the city is a really bike friendly one and this allows you to explore it at a faster and more fun pace. There are a few apps that you can install, like Voi for scooters and for bikes there are Digi Bike or City Bikes. They all require a credit card and they charge you by the minute. The process is pretty simple and straight forward as you can pick them up and drop them literally anywhere.


ENJOY THE CITY FROM ABOVE


SKANSEN OPEN AIR MUSEUM
I am going to put this on the list although it’s not necessarily something that I would recommend. It’s basically a park but it has a small street where you can see how the houses, libraries and different shops used to look like years ago. Let’s say that this particular street is interesting to see, however that’s pretty much it.
There is also a small zoo inside but do not expect to see a large variety of animals. I would only recommend this place if you are visiting with kids, they seemed to have a lot of fun.

ENJOY A SWEDISH FIKA
Sweden is one of the world's largest coffee drinkers, therefore they have a large variety of coffee shops where you can enjoy a good fika (Swedish word for coffee).
We are not very big coffee enthusiasts but we do enjoy the occasional frappe or latte macchiato, and we really liked the ones and the atmosphere at the Espresso House.

I would not rank Stockholm as one of the best cities we have ever visited, but it was a lovely city to visit during a weekend getaway, especially on nice weather!

Italy is one of the most diverse and picturesque countries as it basically has it all, from tall mountains and blooming plains to perfect beaches with turquoise waters. Not to mention that they have one of the best cuisines in the world, I mean: pizza, pasta and gelato!...
And besides all that…they have Rome, an actual open-air museum! It’s hard to walk down the streets of Rome and not be impressed by every corner of the city; either by a small statue or a lovely water fountain.
Without a doubt Rome is worth a visit as it is the perfect destination for a romantic weekend getaway.


We spent 3 days in this beautiful city and here are the things that we consider a must:

THROW A COIN IN LA FONTANA DI TREVI
Unlike other wishing wells and fountains, this one is not meant to grant you a wish, but it’s said that if you throw a coin in the fountain you are bound to come back to Rome one day, and who would not want that? Keep in mind that Rome is a very touristic city, therefore anytime of the year you decide to visit it would most probably be packed with tourists. In this case, you might want to wake up a bit early than usual and catch a glimpse of the city in its whole grandeur.


VISIT THE MAGNIFICENT COLOSSEUM 
There is usually a large queue at the ticket counter so in order to avoid wasting valuable time, I would suggest you buy the tickets online. These tend to be sold out fast, so you might want to get them a few days, maybe weeks in advance.


TAKE A STROLL DOWN TRASTEVERE
This is the most romantic and famous neighbourhood in the city. You might know it from all the movies about Rome. It has lovely buildings and houses, covered with ivy and cute and colorful Fiat 500’s at almost every corner.


VISIT THE HOLY CITY OF VATICAN
People from all over the world come to visit this place, so tickets are usually sold out and the queues are endless. If you do plan a visit to the Vatican I would suggest buying the tickets online with weeks in advance. Even so, you will still need to wait a bit in line to get in. Properly visiting the Vatican, with the museums and churches, can take you an entire day, so plan accordingly.


VISIT THE BRIDGES AND ADMIRE THE VIEWS OF THE CITY FROM THERE
Ponte Umbro, St. Angelo Bridge, Ponte Sisto and many more, will show you a different side of Rome. Equally beautiful!

TAKE A STROLL THROUGH ANCIENT ROME
Palentine Hill and Roman Forum will transport you thousand of years into Ancient Rome giving you a glimpse of the Roman's lavish lifestyle.


TAKE A PEAK THROUGH AVENTINE KEY HOLE
This little keyhole gives you a unique perspective of Rome as it lines up perfectly with Saint Peter's Basilica.


GET LOST THROUGH THE LOVELY STREETS 
Rome is ideal for visiting everything by foot as all the major attractions are relatively close together. It's also a shame to take the bus or tram as you might miss one of the city's hidden gems along the way.


CLIMB THE SPANISH STEPS



PANTHEON & PIAZZA DELLA ROTONDA
The Pantheon is another landmark that requires booking in advance, otherwise you might spend half a day waiting in line.
Piazza della Rotonda would be a lovely place also, unfortunately it's hard to notice all the details due to the thousands of tourists crammed up in one place.

VIEW THE SKYLINE FROM TERAZZA DEL GIANICOLO



INDULGE YOURSELF WITH THE ITALIAN CUISINE
Pizza, pasta, repeat! And then maybe some gelato or some delicious cakes.
There are many great places to eat in Rome, but I would avoid the touristy ones as the food tends to be not that good and overpriced. We made the mistake of taking lunch at a restaurant in a popular square, that kind of caught our eyes, and we managed to have the worst pizza and pasta in the entire country, most probably.
Dessert recommendation: the mouthwatering tiramisu at Two Sizes.

Having this said, keep in mind...La vita e bella!


Ciao,
O

Just a short drive from Vienna of about 3 hours and a half you get to discover one of the prettiest small towns ever, Hallstatt.
So if you feel like walking around a fairy tale one day you might want to give it a visit. I'll let the photos tell the story.



Make your own fairytale!

Sending sparks and glitter,
O

If you feel like living in a real life fairytale for a few days and start believing that magic does exist, go visit the enchanted land of Cappadocia in Turkey.
We have seen so many incredible photos of this place and we could not wait to explore it all on our own. I can guarantee that this destination will not disappoint and will for sure bring out the romantic in you.
To best explore this region I would recommend at least 3 days, more precisely at least 3 mornings because as you will get to read below, all the magic happens at sunrise. Here are our top things to do while in Cappadocia:


1. Stay in a cave hotel

Cappadocia is well known for its stunning cave hotels that mix up the old way of living with the new and luxurious lifestyle.
As Cappadocia is a region formed of many small towns, I would recommend staying in Goreme as this is the centre of its all.
Many of the hotels have lovely decorated rooftop terraces from where you can revel in the beauty of the colourful hot air balloons floating in the sky early in the morning. Our top picks are:

Koza Cave Hotel - this is a family owned lovely cave hotel with a beautifully decorated rooftop terrace. What I loved about it is that having only 10 rooms the terrace doesn't get crowded as in other places, also people not staying in the hotel are not allowed up the terrace keeping the privacy to the maximum.


Mithra Cave Hotel - you will find this one right next to Koza Cave Hotel. It also has a lovely terrace (although I found the one at Koza to be a bit more authentic), however this hotel is pretty big therefore the chances of you enjoying a quiet sunrise are a bit slim. The buffet breakfast here is however de-li-cious.


Sultan Cave Hotel - apparently all the best terrace hotels are in the same spot as this is the one next to Mithra Cave Hotel. We did not stay here as it was fully booked when we visited Cappadocia. This hotel is the most famous one but mostly because some big travel bloggers started this trend. You will find everything this hotel has to offer at the other two above.

Local Cave House Hotel - this is one of the most famous pool hotels in Cappadocia. The hotel itself is indeed beautiful, the hosts are super nice and the pool is a great place to cool off from the scorching summer heat.


To get a 15$ discount on your next trip feel free to use our Booking code: https://www.booking.com/s/35_6/oana6487

2. Witness the most magical sunrise ever

Imagine hot air balloons floating in the sky while the sun rises and starts warming your skin...breathtaking!
Without a doubt the sunrises in Cappadocia were one of the most beautiful we have ever seen! I don't think I was ever this excited about waking up at 04:30 in the morning.
If you stay in a terrace cave hotel, you can enjoy the sunrise in the most lovely decorated decor and see the balloons floating above the city of Goreme. Or you can head up to the balloons launching site and enjoy it from a more natural and dramatic scenery.


3. Experience a hot air balloon ride

I love hights! Contrary to popular beliefs, it's not because of the thrill, it's about the calm!
Because of this I've always wanted to go on a balloon ride, so what better place to do it than here?
The ride was so smooth and it felt like floating on thin air.
There are several balloon companies to choose from, most of them having baskets to fit 16 people on a flight. I do not recommend the ones that carry more as you will most likely feel too crowded.
We went with Butterfly Balloons as we read many good reviews and because it was also recommended by our hotel. They were pretty great throughout the entire flight, our pilot was extremely nice and funny, and at landing we celebrated with champagne and we received flight badges and certificates.
The one thing I did not like about the flight is that we left pretty late in comparison to the other balloons, therefore somewhere around the middle of the 1 hour flight we were amongst the few balloons left in the air as the majority of them had already landed.


4. Pasabag and Goreme Open Air Museum

There are so many impressive and unique structures in Cappadocia and I was left in surprise to find out that most of them were churches.
Goreme Open Air Museum is a complex of churches that best puts into perspective the simple life that used to be lived there. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the entrance fee is of 25 TL.
Pasabag is an alternative to this, however there are not that many churches, but you will find here the famous fairy chimneys.


5. Uchisar Castle

This is definitely not your usual type of castle, but that does not mean it's not impressive. The whole area around it is pretty beautiful and worth a visit.


6. Explore the lovely valleys of Cappadocia

The Rose Valley, Red Valley, Pigeon Valley or the Love Valley are all beautiful in their own way. They are characterised  by somewhat different structures, I will let you figure out by yourselves why the Love Valley is called as such.

7. Indulge your senses with the colourful Turkish rugs

There are numerous carpet shops in Cappadocia and although we don't have a single carpet at home, here we were tempted to buy a few. Unfortunately the prices made us change our minds pretty quick.
By far the most famous carpet shop is the Ikman Galerie and it's pretty simple to understand why from the minute you step foot inside. I have a feeling that there are towns that don't have this many rugs as you will find here.


8. Try the famous pottery kebab

Cappadocia is famous for its pottery, ergo their traditional dish is called Testi kebab (testi meaning jug in Turkish). Basically this dish consists of meat (usually beef or chicken) with a few vegetables cooked for several hours in a clay pot. The pot is completely sealed and by the time it is ready they smash it open with a small hammer and serve it on your place. The taste is definitely authentic and unique.
The best place to have testi kebab is at Dibek Restaurant. Besides the great food, the atmosphere is also very authentic there.
Another good place to eat in Goreme is at Kebapzade Restaurant. The food here is pretty cheap and tasty. I recommend here the hummus and the mushrooms with cheese hot appetizer.


How to get to Cappadocia

As mentioned above, Cappadocia is a region formed of several small towns. There are two main airports in this area, one in Kayseri and the other in Nevsehir, this being the one closest to Goreme, only 30 minutes away. There are several direct flights every day from Istanbul, with Turkish Airlines, to both airports. From the airport you can easily arrange transport with your hotel.

Needless to say this place impressed a lot, far beyond what we expected, and we recommend it to you all as a short but lovely getaway.


Sending magical hugs,
O