There's always time to dress up

Photography by Steph from City + Palm 

There's always time to dress up. Specially if you are head over heels in your favourite US city: New York. 

A good friend of mine once told me how amazing the spot her husband chose to propose to her in the city, and it wasn't until my last visit, that I got to understand what she meant. They got engaged a couple of years back at Gantry Plaza State Park, "with great views of Manhattan!" she said. 

Skeptical me though: why going to such a remote spot when you can get amazing views of the city in Brooklyn, Williamsburg, for instance? Oh gurls, I was wrong. This spot has indeed GREAT views. And best of all, it's not crowded. There's even sun lounges to lay in during a hot sunny day! Only drawback is that there is not much around it. If you plan heading that way, make sure you grab some essentials (i.e. cigarettes, alcohol and minimal nibbles). You'll need them.

I was feeling quite fabulous that day, so I put on my favourite preppy style look from J. Crew :) Ah, I love mixing minimal white dresses with a splash of colour, specially if that is in gingham! I must admit my obsession for stars and gingham is worryingly increasing, but hey ho, off we go!

TCB xx

WHAT I WORE (if old, or sold out, there's similar items!)

Chefchaouen, the Blue Pearl

If there is something I love about travelling is how much you can take on different cultures and how important is to respect them.

Morocco is a beautiful country with beautiful people, in mind and in body. Super friendly and accommodating, you'll fill right at home. Specially, if you are spanish or french, these guys speak the language like natives! Obvs related to history but nevertheless impressive.

I was mesmerised on my first visit to the Morocco, when I explored Marrakesh. But it was the Blue Pearl of Chefchaouen what I was missing. It is not easy to get there (one flight from London to Madrid, then another flight from Madrid to Tangier and a 2h taxi ride from there to Chaouen) but it is worth it.

I was lucky to visit this city the best way possible, with friends. Living like locals at one of its blue houses, eating tagine and couscous non stop, sipping the strongest coffee I had in a long time and strolling around the medina.

Chaouen is a place to observe, take on its beauty, and overall relax. You'll feel like you are travelling back in time, but you'll want to remain there for days.

TCB xx

Scorching Lisboa

Lisboa is exactly what they've told you: colourful, vibrant, mesmerizing and HOT! The city is full of energy, day and night, and that's exactly what I was looking for. Plus a good company always makes a trip better, and British-Irish squad and I had a blast. 

I'd say you probably need at least 2-3 days to get to know Lisbon properly. More than that, and you are in for a treat of discovering local gems. 

Portuguese are very Mediterranean in their food culture, therefore if you are visiting the city, you are in for a treat. I particularly enjoyed having lunch at Pharmacia, a pharmacy-inspired restaurant by the museum of Pharmacy. You can enjoy some seriously delicious petiscos (tapas) and a good wine for a very decent price (€25-€35 average).

As for sweets: PASTEIS DE BELEM. I mean, what else do you need? I must tell you that it is also my favourite dessert of all times. Can you imagine how hard it was to keep myself at bay? They are so goddamn good! My favorite were the originals from Belem, but you can literally find them at every corner.  Manteigaria is really good if you are in downtown Lisboa. 

Of course you need your postcard picture by the Elevador de Bica, but make sure you stop along the way and enjoy a drink at Park, a rooftop terrace in a car-park. Yes, you may think you are at Frank's in Peckham, but the temperature and the price of your bill will tell you differently.

Views from the Rooftop at Park

To top up your visit to the city, I highly recommend visiting LX Factory, which you could also visit on your way to Belem (a must). 

A bit hidden in the middle of nowhere, this village is full of up and coming artists. Whether you are looking for a great bar or you'd like to get some home furniture or souvenirs, this is your kinda place. 

Grafitti Wall at LX Factory

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Views from Rio Maravilha Rooftop, at LX Factory

The Unknown LIC

Photography By Steph from City And Palm

I think y'all know how much I love New York. It's been a long-time affair and the more I visit the Big Apple, the more I want to get to know her better. 

I love visiting my usual shops and restaurants. getting my bagel from Black Seed and my matcha fix from Cha Cha Matcha, not without stopping at the uber cool and girl power shop Bulletin. But hipster stereotypes aside, every time I am there I like to discover something different. That's what keeps things interesting, right? 

So, I decided to venture out and discover what I feel many New Yorkers don't even visit much: Long Island City, or LIC. It was surprising to see how empty most of it was on a Saturday morning! That, or everybody was still sleeping off their hangovers...Lucky them. 

In any case, while wandering the streets of this yet to be trendy spot, we encounter ourselves with Magic - A HUGE Cola sign. I must admit, I love Coca-cola. It's definitely one of my weaknesses, along with fries and ice-cream (seriously, such a healthy diet). Unfortunately the sign was for Pepsi-Cola, its eternal enemy, but nevertheless a great photo op we couldn't miss. 

Lolita #outfitrole ON, glasses and lips on point, and here we go! The weather nearly melt us along the way, but it was totes worth it.

TCB xx

WHAT I WORE:

Welcome Amazone

I am so happy I went to the Amazon jungle. For a city girl like moi this was a bloody big step!

 They say you need to go far in to have an authentic jungle experience, but for me, being an hour away from the city (about 40km) into the jungle was more than enough.

 I must say I was also psyched when I saw I was going to sleep in a wooden cabin and not in a bed and a mosquito net. How are you even able to fall sleep in the latter?

 Despite the fact many travellers told me the jungle is not a virgin until you cross more than 50km, I still got to see a lot of creatures. As a first experience, that was more than enough. Tarantulas, Aligators, Monkeys, Tucans...SLOTHS! PINK DOLPHINS! Saw them all. Also, plenty of insects, ofc. No joke I got about 30 bites in one night. DUH. Deet doesn't really work in the jungle peeps, even if it is a 90% one.

Another thing I enjoyed while there was the long canoe rides on the calm river Amazon. Saying hi to locals from boat to boat going home (that is the further inside the jungle) was pretty fun. We also visited a tribe but it was quite sanitised as a lot of tribes live off the government payments these days. Interesting fact: despite knowing about the city, the indigenes prefer living in the wild. They think the city hasn't got much on offer!

By the way, food at the jungle is YUM YUM YUM. I'd probably highlight the chonta (palm tree leaves), which they call the spaghetti of the jungle; and carambola, a very sweet fruit shaped as a star, as my two fave things while there. MMM, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

You could also try the piranhas we fished! The locals eat pretty much any fish from the river and apparently is very tasty. It's fresh! I think my head could not cope with the idea, so maybe next time.

Oh yes, there will be a next time.

TCB x

Postcards from Lima