I love these. When we were in Istanbul I insisted on having every meal on a roof of some kind. This list is pretty impressive but I am sure there are others. What are your recommendations?
http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/50-rooftop-bars-and-restaurants-632121?page=0,0&hpt=itr_t1
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Where to go when visiting the Nations Capitol
Despite having now lived in DC for a year (and visiting family here often throughout my childhood) I still have not done all the touristy things that there are to do in DC, so instead of attempting to list everything that you could possibly hope to do I am just going to list my favorites so far. Enjoy!
Monuments: A cheap and easy way to see DC is simply to walk around the mall and check out all the monuments (the museums are free too). My personal favorites are The World War II Memorial, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.
Museums: There are a ton of museums in DC - the Smithsonian museums are free while others can be very pricey (Spy Museum & Newseum to name a few). My personal favorites are also all super kid friendly! I always take friends to, The Air & Space Museum, The Natural History Museum, & The American History Museum.
Eating on the Go: D.C. is famous for their food trucks and I cannot recommend a better/ cheaper way to grab lunch. The usually hang out around McPherson Square and Farragut around lunch time and are super popular among the locals. This beats a watery mystery meat hot dog from a vendor any day. If you do not happen to find yourself near one, most of the museums have decent cafes and there is always Pret & Pot Belly's if you are looking for a chain with quality food.
Drinking: D.C. is king of happy hour as far as I can tell, number one question people seem to ask me in DC is 'what do you do' so naturally there are a plethora of happy hours for further networking...
Swanky: If you are looking to see & be seen both P.O.V. and The Gibbson provide great cocktails. (Note the Gibbson is designed to be like a speak easy so yes you will see a door and no sign).
Quality Beer: The micro brew craze has caught on in D.C. as well. There is D.C. Chocolate the cities own micro brewery & there is Church Key (Logan Circle) which has a very very impressive menu.
Kitch: Rocket bar in China town has great happy hour deals and skeeball!
Dining Out: You can find pretty much anything in D.C. although the city is very well know for it's Ethiopian restaurants (highest Ethiopian diaspora in the US). Since this is home of the lobbyist we are not short on steak or seafood restaurants either!
For Indian Rasika cannot be beat (hence needing to make reservations at least a month in advance) however be prepared to spend a lot more than you are used to paying for Indian food. If you care to venture out into the sub-urbs, Delhi Club in Clarendon (Arlington) continues to be some of the best Indian I have ever had! I frequent it about once a week- just that good.
For Burgers: Head to Thunder Bar in Georgetown, not only are their standard burgers amazing but you can get some pretty exotic meat at this place!
For locally sourced: My dad & I both love Founding Farmers as does the rest of DC (so be sure to make reservations). Also you have to order their popcorn just trust me.
For Greek: Some people really enjoy Cava Mezze but I do not think any Greek compares to Zaytinya in Penn Quarter. It is popular so reservations are a good idea.
For Sushi: To me nothing in the summer is better than Perry's rooftop for sushi. They accept reservations for certain hours as well.
For an end to a night of drinking: Can't come to DC and not have jumbo slice, there is even a song about it! Also Amsterdam Felafel is good sober or drunk.
For those venturing out of DC: Arlington has a ton of great restaurants including Liberty Tavern, Lyon Hall, Ray's the Steaks & Fireworks Pizza.
Where to Stay: Stay outside of DC, seriously it is so much cheaper. Anything on the orange line or blue line will get you into the city very easily with hopefully minimal problems. Just remember on metro escalators stand to the right & pass on the left!
Monuments: A cheap and easy way to see DC is simply to walk around the mall and check out all the monuments (the museums are free too). My personal favorites are The World War II Memorial, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.
Museums: There are a ton of museums in DC - the Smithsonian museums are free while others can be very pricey (Spy Museum & Newseum to name a few). My personal favorites are also all super kid friendly! I always take friends to, The Air & Space Museum, The Natural History Museum, & The American History Museum.
Eating on the Go: D.C. is famous for their food trucks and I cannot recommend a better/ cheaper way to grab lunch. The usually hang out around McPherson Square and Farragut around lunch time and are super popular among the locals. This beats a watery mystery meat hot dog from a vendor any day. If you do not happen to find yourself near one, most of the museums have decent cafes and there is always Pret & Pot Belly's if you are looking for a chain with quality food.
Drinking: D.C. is king of happy hour as far as I can tell, number one question people seem to ask me in DC is 'what do you do' so naturally there are a plethora of happy hours for further networking...
Swanky: If you are looking to see & be seen both P.O.V. and The Gibbson provide great cocktails. (Note the Gibbson is designed to be like a speak easy so yes you will see a door and no sign).
Quality Beer: The micro brew craze has caught on in D.C. as well. There is D.C. Chocolate the cities own micro brewery & there is Church Key (Logan Circle) which has a very very impressive menu.
Kitch: Rocket bar in China town has great happy hour deals and skeeball!
Dining Out: You can find pretty much anything in D.C. although the city is very well know for it's Ethiopian restaurants (highest Ethiopian diaspora in the US). Since this is home of the lobbyist we are not short on steak or seafood restaurants either!
For Indian Rasika cannot be beat (hence needing to make reservations at least a month in advance) however be prepared to spend a lot more than you are used to paying for Indian food. If you care to venture out into the sub-urbs, Delhi Club in Clarendon (Arlington) continues to be some of the best Indian I have ever had! I frequent it about once a week- just that good.
For Burgers: Head to Thunder Bar in Georgetown, not only are their standard burgers amazing but you can get some pretty exotic meat at this place!
For locally sourced: My dad & I both love Founding Farmers as does the rest of DC (so be sure to make reservations). Also you have to order their popcorn just trust me.
For Greek: Some people really enjoy Cava Mezze but I do not think any Greek compares to Zaytinya in Penn Quarter. It is popular so reservations are a good idea.
For Sushi: To me nothing in the summer is better than Perry's rooftop for sushi. They accept reservations for certain hours as well.
For an end to a night of drinking: Can't come to DC and not have jumbo slice, there is even a song about it! Also Amsterdam Felafel is good sober or drunk.
For those venturing out of DC: Arlington has a ton of great restaurants including Liberty Tavern, Lyon Hall, Ray's the Steaks & Fireworks Pizza.
Where to Stay: Stay outside of DC, seriously it is so much cheaper. Anything on the orange line or blue line will get you into the city very easily with hopefully minimal problems. Just remember on metro escalators stand to the right & pass on the left!
Voluntourism
I found this on the New York Times:
I think it provides a lot of great resources for voluntourism for those looking to do it.
Personally I have had two experiences one in Ghana and the other in Tanzania. The one in Ghana was a bit laissez faire - the orphanage (which was super corrupt) did not give us any guidance on our daily tasks and we maybe saw our trip coordinator once a day if lucky. (We were also lucky that we slept right next to the orphanage where one volunteer was tasked with getting her own lift each day alone to her volunteer site...)
In Tanzania however everything was super organized, they even made weekend trips and end of volunteer trips available to us which allowed the volunteers a chance to sight see and do some good. There were also language lessons.
Moral of the story is that there are loads of different experiences to be had with voluntourism, it just depends on what you are looking to get out of the experience. Either way I highly recommend it!
Personally I have had two experiences one in Ghana and the other in Tanzania. The one in Ghana was a bit laissez faire - the orphanage (which was super corrupt) did not give us any guidance on our daily tasks and we maybe saw our trip coordinator once a day if lucky. (We were also lucky that we slept right next to the orphanage where one volunteer was tasked with getting her own lift each day alone to her volunteer site...)
In Tanzania however everything was super organized, they even made weekend trips and end of volunteer trips available to us which allowed the volunteers a chance to sight see and do some good. There were also language lessons.
Moral of the story is that there are loads of different experiences to be had with voluntourism, it just depends on what you are looking to get out of the experience. Either way I highly recommend it!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Stay healthy while traveling
The New York Times recently did an article on how to stay healthy while traveling:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/business/reducing-the-odds-of-getting-sick-on-a-trip.html?ref=health
In addition to the article here is what I do when traveling:
1) Airborn - Don't worry I do not believe it is the cure all that some people claim it is, but I figure it's better than nothing. I usually take one the day I am leaving and another the day I arrive followed by another my next full first day. I figure just giving my body some extra nutrients while it is tired and recovering can't hurt.
2)Re-hydration tablets: These are key when traveling anywhere you plan to eat food you would not normally eat. Sometimes you are just going to have trouble digesting the food, it wont necessarily ruin your whole trip (although it nearly did for my dad in Morocco but he also ate lettuce - silly boy). This will help you recover more quickly.
3) Anti-diarrhea medication: For the same reason as above, sometimes when enjoying delicious new cuisine your tummy just cannot handle it. This helps keep issues to a minimum. Also fun fact drugs like Imodium are water retaining drugs (to help you from getting too dehydrated when sick). When on safari my friends and I actually took them as a preventative measure - none of us dared venture outside our tent at night to the latrine 100 meters away, after all we might run into an elephant or hyena! So we took Imodium to help make sure that we did not wake up in the night to wee. Now I am not a doctor so I have no idea how bad this is for you medically but, it didn't kill us?
4) Hand sanitizing wipes: When in Ghana we only got one bucket of water a day which meant wanting to clean our hands and not necessarily being able to. Anti-bacterial hand gel is great when your hands are clean but when they are caked in dust and all sorts of other things you don't want on there, adding gel wont get it off so much as just roll it around (gross). With wipes you get texture and therefore you can get more dirt off!
What do you do to stay healthy while traveling?
In addition to the article here is what I do when traveling:
1) Airborn - Don't worry I do not believe it is the cure all that some people claim it is, but I figure it's better than nothing. I usually take one the day I am leaving and another the day I arrive followed by another my next full first day. I figure just giving my body some extra nutrients while it is tired and recovering can't hurt.
2)Re-hydration tablets: These are key when traveling anywhere you plan to eat food you would not normally eat. Sometimes you are just going to have trouble digesting the food, it wont necessarily ruin your whole trip (although it nearly did for my dad in Morocco but he also ate lettuce - silly boy). This will help you recover more quickly.
3) Anti-diarrhea medication: For the same reason as above, sometimes when enjoying delicious new cuisine your tummy just cannot handle it. This helps keep issues to a minimum. Also fun fact drugs like Imodium are water retaining drugs (to help you from getting too dehydrated when sick). When on safari my friends and I actually took them as a preventative measure - none of us dared venture outside our tent at night to the latrine 100 meters away, after all we might run into an elephant or hyena! So we took Imodium to help make sure that we did not wake up in the night to wee. Now I am not a doctor so I have no idea how bad this is for you medically but, it didn't kill us?
4) Hand sanitizing wipes: When in Ghana we only got one bucket of water a day which meant wanting to clean our hands and not necessarily being able to. Anti-bacterial hand gel is great when your hands are clean but when they are caked in dust and all sorts of other things you don't want on there, adding gel wont get it off so much as just roll it around (gross). With wipes you get texture and therefore you can get more dirt off!
What do you do to stay healthy while traveling?
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Key Tips for visiting the US Capitol
Hi all,
This is part one of two on traveling to Washington D.C. - While the second post will make some sight seeing,restaurant, and going out suggestions - this portion will merely provide you with some super useful advice to avoid disappointment. I hope it helps!
The White House : Going on a tour of the White House can be a fun and unique experience (last time I checked you cannot meander through many residences of State leaders. To do this however requires a great deal of forward planning. You need at least a month if not two during the off season to request a tour and if you have not done so for this summer already then you pretty much need to resign yourself to seeing the outside only. The ONLY way to get a tour of the White House is to ask a Member of Congress to submit a request for you. Fun fact it does not have to be your district's member. So if you bleed blue and live in a super conservative area and never want to ever ask anything of a Republican you don't have to (yay). If you are a foreign national you need to get in touch with your Embassy in DC. Check out the website for more detailed information on what you will need to submit: I cannot stress enough however that you really ought to do this the second you know you will be in DC and want to see the White House, otherwise you might be disappointed.
The Capitol : The Capitol is slightly easier to visit but still requires forward planning. Currently there are two ways to see the Capitol, either through an official tour with a Red Jacket Capitol Staff Member or through the office of your Representative (as a Hill intern I was given tour training, you kind of get a crap shoot with staff some are really good and some not so much). If you want to do it through the Capitol CVC you go to this website and request a tour . For requesting through your Rep you can use the two links on the CVC website should you know who your Rep is if not see here for House of Representatives or here for your Senator The more advanced planning you can give (especially in the summer) the better. Having never attempted to get day of tickets I cannot comment on how far in advance you ought to book but I would give yourself at least a week.
Super Important: They are extremely restrictive about what you are able to take into the Capitol. There is absolutely no food or drink allowed what-so-ever. If you have an ill member of your family or a tiny baby you really must get in touch with the CVC in advance to try and get special clearance. Same is to be said of medicines administered by needles or anything else that could be problematic. No large bookbags or anything of the sort are allowed so also plan accordingly when packing for your day out. I believe there are also wheel chair type restrictions (not sure if you can use your own) so if anyone in your group has special needs of any kind it is a good idea to call and find out what you ought to do!
The Capitol Dome : This is part of a special tour not included on a standard Capitol tour, I work on the Hill and I still have not figured out how to get one of these, when I do I will let you know!
The Library of Congress : This is not nearly as in demand so there are no special recommendations for guaranteeing a tour here. As for other major monuments: Supreme Court, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial - there are no guided tours so piddle around as you wish.
Washington Monument : If you are coming to DC this summer the Monument is sadly still closed :( There has not been any recent indication on when it will open again but you probably do not want to be trapped in a tiny tiny column in the Washington swamp heat anyway!
These snippets are the most important things to know in advance of your visit to Washington DC - there is a ton you can do day of without a lot of planning but if this is on your list it is important to prepare in advance!
The White House : Going on a tour of the White House can be a fun and unique experience (last time I checked you cannot meander through many residences of State leaders. To do this however requires a great deal of forward planning. You need at least a month if not two during the off season to request a tour and if you have not done so for this summer already then you pretty much need to resign yourself to seeing the outside only. The ONLY way to get a tour of the White House is to ask a Member of Congress to submit a request for you. Fun fact it does not have to be your district's member. So if you bleed blue and live in a super conservative area and never want to ever ask anything of a Republican you don't have to (yay). If you are a foreign national you need to get in touch with your Embassy in DC. Check out the website for more detailed information on what you will need to submit: I cannot stress enough however that you really ought to do this the second you know you will be in DC and want to see the White House, otherwise you might be disappointed.
The Capitol : The Capitol is slightly easier to visit but still requires forward planning. Currently there are two ways to see the Capitol, either through an official tour with a Red Jacket Capitol Staff Member or through the office of your Representative (as a Hill intern I was given tour training, you kind of get a crap shoot with staff some are really good and some not so much). If you want to do it through the Capitol CVC you go to this website and request a tour . For requesting through your Rep you can use the two links on the CVC website should you know who your Rep is if not see here for House of Representatives or here for your Senator The more advanced planning you can give (especially in the summer) the better. Having never attempted to get day of tickets I cannot comment on how far in advance you ought to book but I would give yourself at least a week.
Super Important: They are extremely restrictive about what you are able to take into the Capitol. There is absolutely no food or drink allowed what-so-ever. If you have an ill member of your family or a tiny baby you really must get in touch with the CVC in advance to try and get special clearance. Same is to be said of medicines administered by needles or anything else that could be problematic. No large bookbags or anything of the sort are allowed so also plan accordingly when packing for your day out. I believe there are also wheel chair type restrictions (not sure if you can use your own) so if anyone in your group has special needs of any kind it is a good idea to call and find out what you ought to do!
The Capitol Dome : This is part of a special tour not included on a standard Capitol tour, I work on the Hill and I still have not figured out how to get one of these, when I do I will let you know!
The Library of Congress : This is not nearly as in demand so there are no special recommendations for guaranteeing a tour here. As for other major monuments: Supreme Court, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial - there are no guided tours so piddle around as you wish.
Washington Monument : If you are coming to DC this summer the Monument is sadly still closed :( There has not been any recent indication on when it will open again but you probably do not want to be trapped in a tiny tiny column in the Washington swamp heat anyway!
These snippets are the most important things to know in advance of your visit to Washington DC - there is a ton you can do day of without a lot of planning but if this is on your list it is important to prepare in advance!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Annoying Tourists
As an American I am usually embarrassed by other Americans when traveling. In the UK you can always find the American on the tube or in the restaurant because you are bound to hear their conversation over anyone else. I was once enjoying afternoon tea in my local shop in Cambridge when a tourist family sat down and the man (thinking he was a worldly person I suppose) started (loudly) laughing at these American girls who he had stumbled across in Italy putting ketchup on their pasta. Well he had already marked himself as one who could not assimilate well just by forcing his conversation on the rest of us, but to top it off, he then loudly complained that there were no English Muffins on the tea menu... (For those of you who have not done British tea an English Muffin is essentially a Crumpet, kind of like you do not order 'French Fries' in France you do not order an 'English Muffin' in England).
But then I went on holiday in places that were lacking in Americans and had the pleasure of seeing how horrific Europeans can be abroad. On a trip to Rhodes my father and I accidentally found ourselves booked to an all inclusive resort. The place was full of rather rotund brit & germans who were all bald and sun burned. They got up, had about four trips to the breakfast buffet and then drank and lounged by the pool all day. I am not sure a singe one of them bothered to go to the Old Town to see the sights. Also when I was commuting between London and The Hague in the Netherlands I was subjected to many bachelor parties on their way to Amsterdam for the weekend. I can say with complete authority that anything an American does that is annoying abroad a Brit does as well. My friend James (who is British) did not believe me until he was a Brit traveling in America and got embarrassed himself!
This CNN blog pretty much confirms that everyone stinks at being a tourist: http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/tell-me-about-it/who-are-worlds-worst-tourists-291643?hpt=hp_c2
My annoying tourist story is definitely the not very bright man in the tea shop- what is yours?
But then I went on holiday in places that were lacking in Americans and had the pleasure of seeing how horrific Europeans can be abroad. On a trip to Rhodes my father and I accidentally found ourselves booked to an all inclusive resort. The place was full of rather rotund brit & germans who were all bald and sun burned. They got up, had about four trips to the breakfast buffet and then drank and lounged by the pool all day. I am not sure a singe one of them bothered to go to the Old Town to see the sights. Also when I was commuting between London and The Hague in the Netherlands I was subjected to many bachelor parties on their way to Amsterdam for the weekend. I can say with complete authority that anything an American does that is annoying abroad a Brit does as well. My friend James (who is British) did not believe me until he was a Brit traveling in America and got embarrassed himself!
This CNN blog pretty much confirms that everyone stinks at being a tourist: http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/tell-me-about-it/who-are-worlds-worst-tourists-291643?hpt=hp_c2
My annoying tourist story is definitely the not very bright man in the tea shop- what is yours?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Morocco underwhelms
I finally went on vacation, I could not have been more excited - I had not done a real holiday in a year (which is very hard when traveling is your life line). We went to Marrakesh and stayed at Dar Rhizlame (http://www.dar-rhizlane.com/)
For the hotel itself, it was highly recommended on the New York Times travel section however the staff spoke very limited English. This was fine since I speak French but could be a problem for others. The hotel itself was very picturesque and did indeed give you a sense of staying in a real Moroccan guest house. Your breakfast was also included and we took ours on our balcony each morning. It was a lot of various carbs though. The staff was very friendly if a bit slow moving but that is to be expected outside of the US. I did have some qualms with it however. For starters you could hear everything on the street which meant you only got silence between about 11pm and 6am. Also my dad's room had a really weird smell about it that would not go away (and permeated all of his belongings).
We took a camel ride in Les Palmiers which allowed us to see where a lot of the luxury hotels are and I would advise against it. It was just like being in a giant 2,000 room American hotel with a Moroccan theme about it. Would also take longer to get into town. There are tons of guest houses of all levels of quality and price both inside and just outside the old medina and if you want some culture go for one of those instead.
That said despite doing all the things you are 'meant' to do neither my dad nor I were enamored at all. In fact since returning to DC when people ask me and I share my thoughts I am frequently told this is not the first time they've heard this. Apparently despite Marrakesh giving me the impression of being a glamorous exotic place to go, many people have felt the same thing!
That being said the food was absolutely amazing and you must eat at both Le Tobsil and Al Fassia are places where one MUST eat (Al Fassia is well known for their Pigeon Bastilla).
The New York Times does a great article on all the things one should do in Marrakesh (and we did all of them, the Gardens, the school, the bains). If you decide you still must go here instead of somewhere else check this: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/travel/11hours.html
I have been to many places and there are very very few I would not go back to. While the sights were pretty, the people mostly nice (they do fleece you more than anywhere I have ever been and can be a bit pushy) and the food was tasty I really could care less to go back.
For the hotel itself, it was highly recommended on the New York Times travel section however the staff spoke very limited English. This was fine since I speak French but could be a problem for others. The hotel itself was very picturesque and did indeed give you a sense of staying in a real Moroccan guest house. Your breakfast was also included and we took ours on our balcony each morning. It was a lot of various carbs though. The staff was very friendly if a bit slow moving but that is to be expected outside of the US. I did have some qualms with it however. For starters you could hear everything on the street which meant you only got silence between about 11pm and 6am. Also my dad's room had a really weird smell about it that would not go away (and permeated all of his belongings).
We took a camel ride in Les Palmiers which allowed us to see where a lot of the luxury hotels are and I would advise against it. It was just like being in a giant 2,000 room American hotel with a Moroccan theme about it. Would also take longer to get into town. There are tons of guest houses of all levels of quality and price both inside and just outside the old medina and if you want some culture go for one of those instead.
That said despite doing all the things you are 'meant' to do neither my dad nor I were enamored at all. In fact since returning to DC when people ask me and I share my thoughts I am frequently told this is not the first time they've heard this. Apparently despite Marrakesh giving me the impression of being a glamorous exotic place to go, many people have felt the same thing!
That being said the food was absolutely amazing and you must eat at both Le Tobsil and Al Fassia are places where one MUST eat (Al Fassia is well known for their Pigeon Bastilla).
The New York Times does a great article on all the things one should do in Marrakesh (and we did all of them, the Gardens, the school, the bains). If you decide you still must go here instead of somewhere else check this: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/travel/11hours.html
I have been to many places and there are very very few I would not go back to. While the sights were pretty, the people mostly nice (they do fleece you more than anywhere I have ever been and can be a bit pushy) and the food was tasty I really could care less to go back.
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