Auckland, New Zealand: Days 86, 87, 88

January 9, 2016 - January 11, 2016

Day 86: Arrival, Spark, YMCA Hostel, Auckland Harbour, Viaduct

I landed in Auckland airport after a full day of travel. I'd arrived 4 hours early to the airport in Bali (to get the cheapest ride of course), making the arrival that much sweeter.

Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia: Days 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84

Day 79: Arrival to Secret Garden Bungalows 

Our boat from Sanur arrived 30 minutes after departure. We stepped off into the sand and walked about 10 minutes down the only main road on the island to Secret Garden Bungalows, which is associated with Big Fish Diving (who we were recommended to dive with). Just as at the last place, we dropped our bags and hit the pool.

Only this time maybe we hit it too hard. After a little playing around and sitting on each others shoulders, one of the guys from Barcelona cut his foot on a tile in the pool. A scooter ride from the staff back down the road to the doctor resulted in 7 stitches for him! Which also sadly meant he wouldn't be diving with us :(

The other Barcelona guy, originally from Italy, and I went to grab a late lunch and bring some back for our Gimp friend. Obviously, we had an extremely relaxed evening, lounging around the pool or in the hammock, with a movie night to top it off. Late dinner take away from Warung 99, where I'm pretty sure we ate at at least 4 times. Always Mie Gorang with chicken for me!

Day 80: Exploring Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan

This place had an issue with their water, meaning we didn't have any overnight. Which actually happened three nights in a row. As annoying as it may be, they are a very eco - conscious hotel, making it more understandable, and the discounted those nights for us.

Anyways, we got a slow start to the morning, eating breakfast and being lazy. Just before midday, Italy and I rented a scooter and first headed north, where they had us pay a toll to enter onto a super shitty road. Not even 100% sure if they were legitimate collectors or just smart locals taking advantage. Anyways, the road leads to a cute strip of restaurants and the mangroves, where you can hire an boat to tour you around.

We explored explored a bit before trying around, heading south. A super cool, one-way, yellow bridge connects Nusa Lembongan to another, even smaller island called Nusa Ceningan. We stopped for photo ops of the clear, blue water at cliffs and bays, lemonade at Twilight, overlooking the ocean with an infinity pool, and iced coffee and late lunch at an awesome place called Sea Breeze Warung on the way back.  

That night, the dive center played a documentary and invited everyone to come watch. The operator of the dive submersible lives on the island, and answered any questions we had following the film. I have learned so much on this trip. One of my biggest take aways is that we need to care for our oceans. Recycling isn't hard, we just need to do it. But first, I guess people need to be educated and actually care....

Afterwards, Italy and I went to the closest restaurant again, Warung 99, ordered take away food, bringing the goods back to our Gimp friend.

Day 81: Scuba Diving North of Nusa Penida 

Today, we had a lazy morning, waiting to go diving in the afternoon.

A 2 minute walk from the dive center, after packing our gear onto a man pulled wagon, brings you to the beach and the boat. Our first dive site, called Buyuk, revealed lion fish, bat fish, an octopus, and two sea turtles - one of them almost as long as me. The second site, called Toyapakeh, had nudibranchs, tassel scorpion fish, 3 mantis shrimp, and a beautiful ribbon eel.

I felt a bit off this evening (maybe because I fell off the boat when trying to get on shore?), so after sunset and dinner at Warung 99, I enjoyed our powerless evening by laying in the dark next to the pool, gazing up at the stars.

They carry everything on their heads here...

Day 82: Scuba Diving Crystal Bay & Big Manta Bay, Marine Megafauna Foundation 

We headed out for day 2 of diving. I really liked our guide today - Rich. He was friendly, knowledgeable, but not cocky. The first site, Crystal Bay, was beautiful with a Strawberry nudibranch, reef octopus, peacock flounder, and more. At one point, we could put out heads under the reef and watch our bubbles float up to an air pocket underneath. The second site is supposed to give you a 90% chance of seeing manta rays. We didn't see any, but we did fight current practically the entire hour.

That night, a girl from Marine Megafauna Foundation gave gave a presentation on strange sea life and how it needs to be protected. She showed really strong images such as one of a giant turtle being carried on a stick, hanging by its front two feet which which were tied together.

In short, scuba diving has strongly impacted this trip as well as me as a person. It's such a beautiful world under there and we abuse it.

Day 83: More Exploring 

Spain felt up to joining today, so the three of us set out on scooters to see both islands. We revisited many places that Italy and I had already seen, but also added on the Blue Lagoon and cliff jumping area.

We closed the evening on Sunset Beach, enjoying some pina coladas and mai tais at Sandy Bay Beach Club. It was our last night on the island and final hoorah together!

Day 84: Goodbye! 

So sad to say goodbye to mis tios buenos and Nusa Lembongan! This is such a quiet, beautiful island. Honestly, the clear, vivid blue the water and breathtaking the cliffs are unbelievable.

Until next time!  Off to Sanur.

Beijing, China: Days 7, 8, 9, 10

Note: I did not know that Facebook, Google, and Instagram were blocked in China. The next couple of posts I had to rewrite because they didn't save properly, since my Google platform blog didn't work. Helpful tip: either download and pay for a VPN before getting here, or make sure your email address for travel confirmations is not Gmail. 

Days 3 & 4: Abu Dhabi & Dubai From Cold To Hot

Day 3: Abu Dhabi, Grand Mosque, Observatory at 300

Today we ventured to Abu Dhabi. Up front: I'm pretty sure the first time I heard of this place was on the Sex & the City movie. Apparently that film was not filmed in Abu Dhabi at all because the leadership denied approval. Abu Dhabi holds an even more strict, conservative reputation than Dubai as far as traditions go.

Packing Practice, One Month To Go

Practice makes perfect!

At least lets hope so....

A couple of weeks ago, I did a practice packing of my bag. When I put it on, I instantly got a "holy crap this is actually happening" feeling. Better to feel than now rather then the morning of my flight, right...? Picture below shows all that's inside the bag...

The #1 Most Useful Preparation For Travel

Planning an adventure of a lifetime takes time and research. What should I bring? What do I want to see and experience? How do I get a tourist visa? How do I stay on budget? With each country booked, brand new questions arise with the next destination; not all of which can be answered in a simple Google search. Travelers post all sorts of inquiries on various websites, and tools such as TripAdvisor can be extremely helpful to a certain extent. However, the number one most useful thing I've done in all of these weeks and weeks of planning was to reach out to someone who's been there.

Trip Planning Progress

T-minus two months until I leave this city behind. Actually, exactly two months from this moment I'll be high in the sky on my way to Dubai. More and more details are coming together, and I am more ready than ever to get going!

Upcoming Travels!

Big News!

You'd think that quitting your job was news enough....

But everything happens for a reason!

On October 14, 2015, I am leaving the country to travel for 3-4  months!

On the agenda: Dubai, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, Singapore, & India.... maybe New Zealand

My plans thus far are listed below - if you have any tips on where I should go, what I should see, or how to best travel solo - please share!

10 Year Visa to China - Check!

Click on "Read More" to view my plans, so far!

I'm Back!

After more than a two year hiatus, I am returning to the blogging world. Over the next few weeks and
months, I will go back and finally record my little trips since my final blog post of 2013.

I found that I missed blogging - it is so convenient to help others with their travels if you can accurately recount yours for them. I am horrible at remembering the names of places, so no better way than to keep everything nice and tidy in one convenient spot.

Also, I have some exciting travels coming up in the future - wheels are just starting to turn - putting the ordeal into motion. I am terrified, but ecstatic. More on that to come...

If you're reading this - have a great weekend! Check back soon for updates.

Rhode Island & Boston Day 4

Yesterday consisted of walking down memory lane with F in Rhode Island. I won't go into to much detail, but enjoyed pastries in the morning at Seven Star Cafe (most adorable accented, sweetheart of a barista helped us) and ice cream at Gray's Ice Cream in the afternoon (huge size 'small'). 

In between we ate lunch at East Side Pockets, saw the River Park in downtown Providence with its WWII memorial,  and walked the grounds at Sakonnet Winery. Overall a wonderfully slower paced, laid back day.

Returning to Boston to change, we made our way back over the bridge to Cambridge for dinner at Oleana. Cute Mediterranean atmosphere and a waitress that show with confidence in each selected word. I thoroughly enjoyed the surroundings and champagne and most of the dishes we ordered. Each plate that tastes good, tastes delicious, a couple were lack-luster (ie I don't recommend the snow peas or pork roll). A surprise dish of savory custard and another of short rib were by far our favorites. A dessert of Baked Alaska ended the dinner on a sweet, mouth watering note.

Baked Alaska

Boston Day 3: Mike's Pastry, Old North Church, Charles River

Paul Revere and the Old North Church in the background

Today has been a fairly laid back day, just as vacation should be. Another slow morning before heading to the North End of Boston where Mike's Pastry awaited with endless sweets. The anticipation was killing me as I'd seen countless people yesterday with Mike's Pastry boxes. I've only ever seen cannolies on Cake Boss until today. F and I selected Florentine and Pistachio cannolies to start our day. Nothing like what I expected. I guess my mind was thinking cream puff; this was very different: harder, crunchier shell and thick rich creame. So delicious, but I don't think I'd be able to eat more than one, since they are so rich.

We wandered around the North End for the rest of the morning along the Freedom Trail, a line of bricks in the middle of the sidewalk lead us from one historic attraction to the next. We journeyed from Paul Revere monument to the Old North Church to the second oldest graveyard in the US, then down to the harbor before turning around and passing Paul Revere's house off of a picturesque square I forget the name of.

I just found out one of my ancestors is buried in this graveyard
- wish I could have looked for the headstone!

Crossing to Cambridge, driving through Harvard and MIT, we walked along Charles River and downtown on our way to lunch at Garden at The Cellar. A friendly acquaintance of F's is the chef there, so he was kind enough to send us out a dish before our meals of beet salad and pastrami sandwich. Full and satisfied again, we headed back towards the river and leisurely trekked half way across the bridge to admire Boston's beauty, especially on such a sunny and cloudless day.

Later, we had to make a somewhat touristy stop at Cheers before dinner. If I have to explain what Cheers is, I'll cry. 

Where Everybody Knows Your Name!

Finally, we had glasses of vino while waiting for a table at Toro. Well worth any wait. Tapas and paella made me feel like I was back in Spain. It's understandable why the place is constantly packed: amazing food and great atmosphere. The music is kind of out of place, blasting rap and pop when you'd think they'd play something more guitar based, but tall ceilings, dark wood, candlelight, and touches of Spain make up for the music. There is a bull head art piece on the wall and in the bathrooms they have posters "advertising" El Real Maestro de Sevilla en la Plaza de Toros, which I love as Sevilla is where I lived and saw an actual bull fight. 

Bone Marrow

They call this a "spite" house - to spite those who wanted to hang out in the alleyways

Boston Days 1 & 2: Quincy Market, NE Aquarium, Fenway Park

Two days ago, F and I landed at BOS after a long day of travel. We immediately went downtown Boston for him to show me around his city. Quincy Market arrived first on the list as we needed food, and fast. We made a beeline for Durgin Park, "Established Before You Were Born, " to eat some typical New England staples in a place that screams 'I'm in Boston:' checker table cloths, old outfits, and heavy Boston accents. Cornbread started us off before our bowl of clam chowder warmed us up. We split fish and chips and shepard's pie, finally filled up after not eating a proper meal all day.

I bought a Boston Strong T shirt while browsing Quincy Market and F pointed out different places significant to him as we walked along the harbor, past Post Office square to the car. F's family dog awaited him at home after a long separation, so day 1 ended pretty mellow as they reunited and we rested after too much time on a plane.

Day 2 started slowly, as our plans to start with an early morning run quickly vanished. We drove to Flour Bakery for some morning eats and coffee/hot chocolate. I guess the lady that started this place was originally some sort of super smart scientist but feel in love with baking and opened her this! I'm glad she did because her gluten free blackberry poppy seed bread hit the spot and F seemed happy with his breakfast sandwich and pop-tart esq pastry.

We crossed the bridge, stopping to peek into the Boston Tea Party Museum/gift shop, before walking to the New England Aquarium. The staff at the aquarium is by far the most involved and interactive I've ever experienced. They had numerous feedings and touch stations and a special demonstration with Axotals. Staff walks in the water with the fish, answering questions and pointing out fish and turtles and sting rays as they swim by. Unfortunately, the center exhibit has been closed for the past 10 months for renovation. We happened to be there as they were refilling it for the first time since 1984, a large project! We had a great time and when we left, the sun welcomed us for a day of exploring the city.

George Washington in Public Gardens

85 Year Old Turtle

We headed to Chinatown before walking through Public Gardens, then down Newbury Street. My mom would love this street: full of all the shopping you could possibly want and more, as well as a cafe for each boutique you pass. We stopped at Copley Square to see the memorials from the Boston Marathon bombings. People hung their running shoes along with flowers and signs to pay respects to the tragedy.

After returning home and back downtown, we had a quick, satisfying dinner at Eastern Standard. Burgers, steak, asparagus, and of course drinks/oysters to kick it all off. We somewhat rushed so we could make our way to Fenway Park! 

Red Sox vs Twins. The stadium is old and outstanding. Not a bad seat in the house. Boston accents calling out with clam chowder and popcorn. Old fashioned score board and the new screens mock the same colors and design as the Green Monstah (the wall that eats the ball when swinging for the stands). We got our tickets' worth as the game tied up and stretched 11 innings. F almost caught a foul ball. I've never had so much fun at a baseball game as I did last night. Unforgettable. Short T ride back to the car and goodnight.

F's turn to touch a shark!

Shark & Sting Ray Petting!

Chicago: Funeral, Pizza Rustica, Crepe Town

This weekend, my grandma's funeral took place in my home town in Illinois, West of Chicago. This was the first time I flew anywhere for a funeral, making it a new, bittersweet experience. My grandma lived a full, family filled life. I can only hope to love and laugh as much. Her service was beautiful and took place in the church where her and my grandpa married. In spite of the sadness of saying goodbye, the one bright side of a funeral, seeing the entire family and close friends, made the weekend a pleasant one. My aunts, uncles, cousins, brother, parents and I shared stories of growing up and sorted through old photo albums. I even met my cousin's daughter for the first time, as I've not been home since June.

Returning to Chicago a few hours early for my evening flight, I grabbed a drink, early dinner, and dessert with two of my closest friends from college, M and E. I hadn't seen my college roommate M in over two years, and the last time i saw E was when she saw me off to California one year ago. We all caught up and laughed over salads, wine, and flat bread pizza at Pizza Rustica. It's one of M's favorite places that she takes everyone who visits to eat. The food was great as well as the atmosphere. The only downside was our waiter who seemed confused the whole time and told us the 12-5pm menu wasn't available because the kitchen was too busy (it was 4pm and they weren't that busy). In the summer, M says they open the windows, have great patio seating, with lights strung across the sidewalk. Sounds inviting!

We headed across the street for dessert at Crepe Town. Great decision. We ordered a banana and hot caramel with vanilla ice cream as well as a strawberry custard crepe to share between the three of us. Delicious. Would definitely recommend it and return :)

Now I'm way too early for my flight and need to occupy myself with something. See you soon San Francisco!