I recently spent 4 days solo traveling Budapest and I want to share with you all the things I did as well as my fave coffee shops and restaurants. You can easily do all the things within 2 days - I spent a lot of my time working in coffee shops as well as a full day attending an event. After years of traveling, I now love this kind of laid back travel much more than the *ticking-things-off-the-list* hurry from one sight to the next way of traveling. Be a bit more chill, slow down, put the bucket list away, hang in some coffee shops and enjoy the culture - it's such a great way to get to know the people and places off the beaten path. Hugs, Laura x
Watch my full travel vlog here:
THINGS TO DO
Walk across the Széchenyi Chain Bridge
Go up to the castle using the Budavári Sikló (a funicular railway)
Explore the area around the castle
Walk along Donau to the Shoes on the Danube Bank Holocaust memorial
Take photos at Fisherman's Bastion
Admire the Hungarian Parliament building
See the St. Stephen's Basilica
Explore the Ruin Bars and Jewish Quarter (so many cool restaurants and coffee shops are here)
COFFEE SHOP AND RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS
Eat Langos in Karavan Street Food Budapest
Have a coffee at Little Melbourne Cafe
Sip on a homemade lemonade in Vintage Garden (a bit overpriced and wouldn't recommend the food, but the lemonade was yum and the cafe is super Instagram-worthy)
Try a vegan Burger in the Vegan Street Food Garden
Work from your laptop at Solinfo Cafe (free wifi)
Try Hungarian pastries from a bakery (have cash on hand as they usually don't take cards)
Today I want to share with you our 2 week Ireland road trip itinerary. My family and I went on an epic Ireland tour, discovering top destinations along the Wild Atlantic Way including must-see places in Donegal, The Sheep's Head, Cork & Dublin.
If you haven't yet, make sure you check out my Ireland Travel Vlog on YouTube which perfectly sums up our road trip in mp4 - epic views, nature and hikes!
First of all, here is a map with a rough draft of our route - as you can tell we had 3 major destinations where we stayed - Dublin, Rossnowlagh and The Sheep's Head. To get around we rented a car which we picked up after our stay in Dublin. During our stay in Rossnowlagh we went to the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival which took up some of our time.
My mum and I spontaneously decided to hop onto a plane to Italy and explore antique Rome offseason in January which turned out to be an incredible choice. We spent 3 nights in Hotel Milton Roma which we can highly recommend as it's only 15 minutes walk from the Colosseum and offers a delicious breakfast. We booked our flights so we'd have half a day on arrival and half a day on departure, making our trip 3 full days. Of course, we were not able to see all of Rome because it is simply a huge city with so much culture and history - you'd probably have to spend months and you wouldn't see it all. Anyway, we were able to explore most of the tourist attractions as well as a few spots off the beaten path.
Day 1 (half day)
Lunch at Hosteria I Buoni Amici
Walk by Colosseum, Forum Romanum, Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II (go on top for a great view across Forum Romanum and Rome)
Coffee at Bar Rossana
Wander through Trastevere and have dinner in a traditional Pizza place
Day 2
Colosseum, Palatine Hil, Forum Romanum (you need at least half a day for this; consider a guided tour as particularly Forum Romanum is huge!)
Eat Pasta Carbonara at L'Angoletto Romano
Pantheon
Gelato at Gelateria Della Palma with 150 gelato flavors
Day 3
Explore Piazza Navona and fountain of four river
Admire Castello Del Angelo
Get a Maritozzi Romani con la Panna at Parenti (SO GOOD!)
Guided tour through the Vatican (Vatican Museums, Sixtine Chapel, San Pietro) + Climb the top of San Pietro
Walk back across Piazza San Pietro
Get dessert (I'd highly recommend trying Canoli) for later at Antico Forno
Have a Margarita Pizza at Margherita
Day 4 (half day)
Admire the Trevi Fountain
Climb the Spanish Steps
Walk by Villa Medici with a great view across Rome
Enjoy view across Piazza del Popolo from Pincio
Wander along Via del Corso for some shopping
Read my blog post all about the best cheap eats in Rome here!
Not far away from Pantheon, this restaurant offers incredible pasta and other typical Roman foods. Highly recommend you guys try the spaghetti alla carbonara - it's heavenly.
Hosteria I Buoni Amici
Via Aleardo Aleardi, 4, 86100 Roma RM
Far off the tourist crowds, this traditional Hosteria is well worth the 10 minutes walk from Colosseum! The atmosphere is super local and the employees were very charming.
Osteria Pizzeria MargheRita
Via Praga, 11, 00144 Roma RM
Not far off Pantheon and Trevi Fountain, this restaurant is more on the modern side, however the Margherita pizza was still on point! And also not that expensive compared to other restaurants close to big tourist attractions.
Parenti
33, Via Ottaviano, 00192 Roma RM
On your way to or back from visiting the vatican, you MUST try a Maritozzi Romani con la Panna at the dessert restaurant and bakery Parenti. Absolutely delicious and our favourite pastry we tried on our entire Rome trip.
Gelateria della Palma
Via della Maddalena, 19-23, 00186 Roma RM
If you need a little dessert after the spaghetti carbonara, head over to this gelateria which is fairly close to Pantheon. Choose from 150 gelato flavours! A bit touristy and crowded but well worth it.
Living 4 months in Toronto for study abroad, I made it my personal mission to try out as many Instagram-worthy coffee shops as possible during my time there. Toronto is a city with diverse, colorful neighborhoods and a vibrant cultural scene, including hundreds of gorgeous restaurants and coffee shops. Literally, on Queen St. you can just hop from coffee shop to coffee shop for days and you'd not run out of options! Here are the 7 best coffee shops in Toronto to study or go for a date, or just indulge in some new coffee flavors and pastries. Hope you love this post <3
Balzac's Liberty Village
43 Hanna Ave #123 (other locations too)
Gorgeous marble and dark woods interior and delicious coffee and snack options. I ordered an iced chai latte which was the best chai I have ever tried - so flavourful! I also tried their mocha which I highly recommend. For food, I had one of their bars (I cannot remember how it was called exactly) which had nuts and chocolate in it and was so yummy.
FIKA Cafe
28 Kensington Ave (Kensington Market)
Tried their gluten-free hazelnut praline brownie and a classic latte - loved it! They don't have tons of sitting space but it's such a cute place. Also, Kensington market is such a cool, Instagram-worthy neighboorhood to explore so a quick pop-in to FIKA is highly recommended.
Versus Coffee
70 Adelaide St E
Loved this place, the staff was so friendly. I tried an iced Chai which wasn't as good as the one from Balzac's, however, I also got a Marshmellow fireside latte and that was amazing! I saw on their Insta that they serve colorful lattes which I didn't get to try but I can imagine they are super cute and yummy.
Jimmy's Coffee
15 Ossington Ave (other several locations)
The vibes in this place are so vintage and cool, I really liked it. I tried their lattes and can recommend them. Also tried one of their bars (again, can't remember what it was called but it was something with peanut butter) and that was yummy!
The Sydney Grind
2883 Lake Shore Blvd W
Although not located in the city center, this coffee shop is SO worth a visit. I only discovered it in my last week in Toronto and I am so happy I did! I had their white and dark mocha, and I also tried their Tim Tam chocolate cake as well as their lamington. OMG literally amazing.
Forget me not Cafe
506 Adelaide St W
My first coffee shop experience in Toronto, and it was great! It's quite a small coffee shop so it can get busy but I loved the shabby-chic vibes. Got the Nutella latte and highly rate it.
Tucana Coffee
1413 Dundas St W
Okay, this coffee shop really got me because they had crystals *don't judge me*. It's not a place to sit and chill with your laptop as it's more a to-go place, however, the neighborhood it's located in is so cute that you can just take your coffee with you as you stroll around.
New York City has been my #1 dream destination for as long as I can think. I am so grateful to have ended 2018 with this incredible 5-day Christmas trip to New York City including tons of sightseeing, Instagram-worthy spots, cheap eats and stunning views. Hope you enjoy <3
Watch the full travel vlog! <3
DAY 1 - Midtown and Upper East Side
Times Square
Rockefeller Center
Grand Central Station
Empire State Building
Madison Square Park
Flatiron Building
Famous Original Ray's Pizza
Irving Farm Coffee
The Palace Hotel (Gossip Girl film location)
5th Avenue (From Rockefeller Center to Plaza Hotel at Central Park)
Times Square at Night
DAY 2 - Lower Manhattan, Chinatown and Brooklyn
9/11 Memorial
Zucker‘s Bagels
Brooklyn Bridge Park
DUMBO
Sweet Moments in Chinatown
DAY 3 - Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan and SOHO
Brooklyn Bridge in the morning
The End Cafe Brooklyn
Staten Island ferry to see Statue of Liberty
Battery Park
Wall Street
Eileen’s Cheesecake
By Chloe
DAY 4 - Midtown and Central Park
Top of the Rock
Bryant Park
Central Park Wollman Rink Ice Skating
The MET
Harlem Shake
DAY 5 - Chelsea and Greenwich Village
Citizen of Chelsea Cafe
Doughnut Plant
Chelsea Market
Bleecker Street
The Butcher’s daughter
Magnolia Bakery
Jr's Pizza and Brew
DŌ, Cookie Dough Confections
Check out my blog post all about the best cheap eats in New York City here!
Food is one of my fave aspects of travel (or actually, of life). Whenever going to a new destination I love exploring local cuisine and trying out all kinds of foods, restaurants and eating experiences. However, I am usually on a budget and I've gotten quite good at finding affordable yet Instagram-worthy and yummy places to fill my belly. Hope you enjoy <3
Watch the full travel vlog! <3
Famous Original Ray's Pizza
811 Lexington Ave (Upper East Side)
Slice for around $4
There are many Pizza shops around NYC, this one was our fave. It is very likely that one slice will fill you up because they are honestly gigantic. I also tried the garlic dough balls which were yummy.
DŌ, Cookie Dough Confections
550 LaGuardia Pl (Greenwich Village)
1 Scoop for $4
*Sugar coma warning* Get this sweet treat to share with someone because even the dessert queen (me) could not finish this scoop by myself.
Food Trucks
Everywhere
Most things are around $2-4
Literally my fave thing in NYC. On every corner you get those cute food trucks that serve all kinds of foods - our faves were defo the big pretzels! They also have iced coffee that looked very yum, hot dogs, burgers - all the fast food stuff ;)
Doughnut Plant
220 W 23rd St (Chelsea)
Donuts for $3-4
I tried the Brooklyn blackout donut which wasn't the most amazing donut I've ever had (still good tho), however, my friend tried the Banana Peanut Butter one which was yummy.
Harlem Shake
100 W 124th St (Harlem)
Cheese Fries for $4
Milkshake for $7
Burger for $7
Our fave restaurant! The milkshakes are to die for (I got black & white both times we went and it was so good), the cheese fries are heavenly and the burgers are good too (although a bit too greasy for my taste). Also, we loved the retro vibes in this diner.
Magnolia Bakery
Banana Pudding for $5 (Greenwich Village)
West 11th Street, 401 Bleecker St
Such a yummy dessert. We got a small size which was just perfect to snack on whilst strolling along Bleecker street. They also had adorable cupcakes and a blueberry bar thingy (can't remember how it was called) that looked so good!
The End Brooklyn
522 Metropolitan Ave (Brooklyn)
Health Drink for $9
If you want to treat yourself to a health drink (idk what's in it exactly) try the Lavender one! I got the Merbabe one and it was quite disgusting haha - the lavender one my friends got were got tho.
Q&N Food
107 E 125th Street (East Harlem)
Bagel & Coffe for $3
Breakfast buffet for $8
Best food place ever. We went here almost every morning and were amazed by the food every single time. They have a huge breakfast buffet with the most delicious sweet and savory foods. You can get a big box of food for around $7, such a good deal!
Sweet Moment
106 Mott St (Chinatown)
Shaved Icecream for $7
A super Instagram-worthy place. Not the cheapest, but a small portion of this ice cream is definitely enough. We tried tiramisu, matcha, and mango-cheesecake flavours.
Eileen's Special Cheesecake
17 Cleveland Pl (SOHO)
Mini Cheesecake for $5
I got the Strawberry mini cheesecake and loved it. It's a great way to try out typical NYC cheesecake without getting a huge slice and falling into food coma afterward. They also had hot cocoa which we didn't get but it smelled yummy.
Check out my 5-day NYC itinerary here if you are interested in what other things we did besides eating (although that was a huge part of the trip as you can tell).
