Has Anybody Traveled to the Jungle Before???

We finally finished booking everything relating to our Argentina trip. Such a relief, since we had both been putting it off a bit too much. When we initially booked our flights, I hadn't realized that we would be traveling to such a variety of places, and had no idea that during our two weeks in South America we would be flying to three other locations. I'm not complaining though! I'm so eager to see, learn, and experience as much of Gabriel's life in South America as I can.

Gabriel took charge of the Uruguay portion of our trip, while I focused on Argentina, specifically Iguazu Falls and Buenos Aires. When we initially planned our trip, we didn't count on going to Iguazu. I must say though, that is the part of the trip I'm most excited for (besides seeing my long-distance love, of course!)

We're staying at a beautiful lodge, set on stilts in the treetops of the jungle. Complete with the most luxurious-looking rooms, rustic and chic, with gorgeous woodwork and tons of fun activities, like zip-lining through the jungle! I'm SO looking forward to it...that is, until I found out what kinds of wildlife we can expect to see....

I'm NOT a fan of spiders or snakes. I've heard there are lots of these. One site even mentioned an anaconda?!?! I sure hope those aren't just slithering around... Other "interesting" animals include jaguars, pumas, and caymans...

Really?! Has anybody traveled to this part of South America before? Am I likely to run into an enormous spider or snake?

Last night I saw a tiny spider in my room and kind of freaked out...if I can't handle that little guy, how am I going to handle these thriving jungle species?!

On a positive note, I'm really excited about the possibility of seeing some primates, as I majored in Primatology for part of my undergraduate degree (random, I know...) I always tell Gabriel he looks like a South American spider monkey, so we'll see if I can find any of his fellow creatures :)

Isn't he cute?

I need tips on what to bring with me up to Iguazu. Of course I'm planning on lots of bug-spray and non-slippery shoes...if only there was a special type of spray to ward off spiders...


Photo via {here} and {here}

Amsterdam Scarf Style

When I left Amsterdam in September, I was intent on observing the styles of the city, and bringing a taste of them back to Canada. I love how the women in Amsterdam dress: so effortless, casual, classic, and chic. I remember one September morning, scouring the shops on the Kalverstraat and De Negen Straatjes, looking for the new Fall merchandise, making mental inventories of what was on the racks. I also remember buying way more than I should have, but that’s another story!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m obsessed with scarves. Whether it’s a chilly summer night, or the dead of winter, you will always find me wrapped up in a scarf. I loathe coats, hats, and gloves, but will gladly wear a scarf when the weather gets a bit cooler.

Although the past few years I have been wearing Pashminas that I’ve collected throughout Europe, this year I’ve stored them away in lieu of a better option. All of the women in Amsterdam were stocking up on thick, long, chunky-knitted scarves. In earth tones and creamy knits, they are wrapped doubly, sometimes triply, around your neck, and paired with cropped leather bomber jackets and tall leather boots.

Perhaps I’m not in Amsterdam anymore, but I still have my “style-scout” there (aka Gabriel haha!) Determined to keep a bit of European essence in my everyday Canadian life, I’m bundling up in these chunky knits.

The above scarf is from The Gap, and was bought after seeing it in October’s VOGUE. Below, a fun version from Lululemon.

What fashion items do you turn to when the weather starts to cool?

Exchange Opportunities

As part of our MBA program, students are given the option of spending a semester abroad at a partner institute. Obviously, given my much-talked about passion for travel, I am snapping this opportunity right up! Once you live abroad, I feel that many people will never be truly satisfied settling down in a particular place for very long. At least that's how I feel. I crave the challenge, the experience, and the culture shock that comes from moving overseas. The Netherlands was just a taste of what will surely be many more stints abroad.

So, my options for studying abroad include: Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, India, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia.

There are so many choices, I'm having the hardest time deciding. Part of me obviously wants to go back to The Netherlands, but another part of me wants to experience a different country. My next inclination is to go to Denmark, studying at the Copenhagen Business School would be a dream come true. Then I began thinking of less-obvious choices...why not push my boundaries? Why not study in India? Sure, it would be much more difficult than returning to Northern Europe, but it would definitely be a glimpse into one of the largest emerging markets in the world: something that is invaluable for business students.

I know I ask a lot of questions here on the blog, but that's because I really do value the wealth of responses that I receive. So many viewpoints, from both men and women, young and old, I really do take them all into consideration. As for the camera question I posted a few weeks ago, I've decided to go without my expensive DSLR. It was such a hard decision, but the hassle of bringing it, and putting an unwanted target on my back in an already-dangerous situation (especially since I will be traveling by myself during some of the trip), just wasn't worth it. I'm going to invest in a better small pocket-sized digital camera though, so we'll see how that goes!

Back to my initial question: Where would you go, if given the chance, to study for 4 months abroad?

a) Austria
b) Germany
c) India
d) The Netherlands
e) Belgium
f) Denmark
g) Sweden
h) Australia

Photos via {here} and {here}.

Have a Wonderful Weekend

Oh, what I would give for a piece of Dutch appeltaart right now!

This weekend I'm planning a trip to the market (I've stayed away far too long), a day with my niece and nephew baking cookies, a girl's martini night-out, some Skype dates with Gabriel, and a long Sunday of statistics and finance assignments. What are your weekend plans?

Wishing a relaxing and enjoyable November weekend to all my friends, followers, and readers of Life Abroad!

Trip Planning 101

If there is one thing these past two years of travel have taught me, it's how to efficiently plan a trip. It seems that Gabriel and I have become masters of trip planning. We both subscribe to different methods of the planning process: I'm the frugal, weigh-all-the-options, read-all-the-reviews, buy-all-the-guidebooks type of planner, while Gabriel is more of a last minute, lets-get-it-done-and-over-with type of planner. Despite our differences, Gabriel and I have managed to make planning a trip a relatively seamless and hassle-free process: I do all the pre-planning work, and Gabriel jumps in at the last minute to make the final decisions! It works, and I wouldn't have it any other way :)

After countless trips, there are a few tips and tricks I've picked up along the way. Now that I'm knee-deep in the planning process for our South America trip, I've decided to share with you all some of what I've learned, and how to make this stage of the trip a bit easier.

Tip #1
Find the cheap flights and book them before all else! Unless you have a very specific destination in mind, finding cheap flights is a great starting point to planning a trip. The best travel deals usually appear roughly 2 weeks before departure. This is when seats are the cheapest, and you are still able to plan sufficiently for your vacation.

Tip #2
Book flights directly via the airline. We like to use Expedia, Travelocity, and other search engines to find cheap flights. However, we use them only as a starting point. After finding which airlines offer deals, we then click on over to the airline's websites and book via them. This cuts down on a lot of the hassle, and you can sometimes get an even cheaper deal (since they don't charge the booking fee that some intermediary websites do!)

Tip #3
When booking your flight, always look on Seat Guru for the best seats. Seat Guru allows you to find the specific plane on the airline you are traveling with, and details each and every seat. It shows its advantages (like extra leg-room) and disadvantages (like inability to recline seats). It has been such a helpful tool, especially for long flights where you want the best seat possible.

Tip #4
After the flights are booked, begin looking on Trip Advisor for hotels. Trip Advisor is, quite possibly, the best invention for travelers! If you don't already know about it, Trip Advisor allows regular people to submit reviews of their hotels. Here you will see detailed photographs of the rooms and facilities, and read blatantly honest reviews from real travelers! Sometimes there is such a disparity between what a hotel's website shows, and what the reality of it is. We don't book a hotel unless it has favorable Trip Advisor ratings, and we have yet to run into any major hotel mess-ups. If it's not Trip Advisor approved, we don't stay there! After finding a favorably rated hotel, we then go directly to the hotel's website and book via them (no third-party booking fees, and less mix-ups at the front desk when you arrive!)

Tip #5
Guidebooks can be your best, and worst, friend. I love travel guidebooks. I find them inspiring, beautiful, and fun to read. However, they can also steer you to places you would otherwise have opted out of, and may just detail the obvious. In the Netherlands, I relied upon my Lonely Planet guidebook to show me lesser-known places of interest. However, while traveling to Mallorca, I found that the guidebook wasn't filled with useful information. Instead, it heavily detailed vacations for children, and popular tourist spots. If you are looking for something off the beaten path, the best guidebooks are still, in my opinion, the Lonely Planet series.

Tip #6
Plan out some, but not all, of your trip ahead of time. There have been times where I have planned our trips to a tee, and other times when I completely had no idea what we were in for. I find that a happy medium between both of these extremes makes for the best trip. Knowing a bit of the history of where you are visiting makes the experience much more enriching and engaging. However, leaving room to explore and take in the sights as you experience them can often lead to unexpected and memorable moments!

Tip #7
Opt out of 'breakfast and dinner included' while traveling throughout Europe. We've found, in general, that it is often cheaper and more authentic to find food in the European countries you are visiting, rather than eating a pre-set breakfast and dinner buffet that is three times as expensive. The first time we were in Spain, we opted for the meals-included package. Bad move. The food was so horrible, and we had paid so much extra for it, that we felt obligated to eat their stale bread and mushy paella. The second time we returned to Spain, we opted out of this package, and ate all of our breakfasts at traditional Spanish cafeterias, and dinner at gorgeous tapas and seafood restaurants. Our wallets, and bellies, thanked us in the end!


These are just a few of our trip-planning tips. Of course every trip is different, and every one needs its own method of research and organizing. However, these are the seven basic tricks that we use every time, and definitely make for an easier planning process!

What are some of your tried-and-true tips for vacation planning?

Oh Canada

Canada is such a diverse and beautiful country. With the small fishing villages of the East, the Rocky Mountains in the West, and the prairies, vineyards, and large cities in between. After living abroad, I realize that I now see Canada in a much different light than I did before.

I warmly welcome the open fields, rolling hills, and spacious land that surrounds me (The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world!) In particular, I’ve noticed how the skies here are so vibrant and the clouds take on such beautiful formations. Perhaps that is because I don’t live in a city, whereas in Amsterdam, the large vistas of sky weren’t readily available.

Yesterday, my parents, my little 1.5 year old niece, and I took a trip down to one of the Great Lakes, where we played in the newly fallen leaves, fed the ducks, walked along the woodland trails, and watched large boats make their way through the locks of the canal.

There is something so peaceful about being in nature, and my niece made it all the more fun with her collections of pinecones, sticks, and rocks. The unusually warm weather, coupled with the bright colours of autumn, made for a perfect Saturday afternoon.

A Photographer's Dilemma

As I mentioned here, Gabriel and I are going to South America over the winter holidays. We're planning on Argentina and Uruguay, and have also added Brazil into our itinerary. My excitement is mounting, and any free moment I have is spent scouring the web for interesting villas and resorts to stay at.

One question, though, that keeps popping into my mind, is whether or not to bring my DSLR camera with me on our trip. As a budding photographer, I love any opportunity to spend a day photographing a new country. That's half the enjoyment of the trip for me! However, I've also heard that bringing a large, flashy camera with me to South America may not be in my best interest. Perhaps I'm better off using a smaller, pocket-sized digital camera.

In NYC, I asked Gabriel's family what they thought of my dilemma of whether or not to bring a DSLR camera. Without a moment's hesitation, they all exclaimed in unison, "No!!!!!"

Don't wear jewelry, don't bring a purse, and don't, under any circumstances, bring a flashy camera!

They proceeded to tell me horror stories of people getting their earrings ripped from their ears on the streets of Buenos Aires, gold necklaces snatched in the city center, and the need for a money pouch 24/7.

I have to admit, I was a little deflated, and a little apprehensive about our upcoming travels. I know that Buenos Aires is a busy city, and, like all cities, necessary precautions must be taken. However, I do get the impression that perhaps it's not as safe as others. A few nights ago I checked out some travel photographer's forums to see what people were saying about bringing large, expensive, cameras to Buenos Aires. The general consensus seemed to be: bring it, but use extreme caution, don't carry it in a traditional camera case, and never let it out of your grip.

On the one hand, I feel like the whole purpose of a camera is to use it, so I may as well just bring it! On the other hand, if I lost it (and my photos) I would probably be devastated...but isn't that what back-up memory cards and insurance are for?!

What do you guys think? To bring or not to bring...

The Value of Travel

I'm in the middle of mid-term exams, and my head is swarming with supply, demand, and profit maximization. Little else is happening in my life besides moving from one exam to another, and completing multiple assignments and quizzes in between.

I remember, last summer, sitting on a sand-bar in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, looking up at the crisp white yachts bobbing on the bright blue water, as the sun slowly set on the coast of Mallorca, Spain. Christian, Gabriel and I had just swam out to a secluded island, offering little besides stray seashells and washed-ashore seaweed. We sat in the sand-bar for the longest time, being pushed and pulled by the tides and picking up tiny colourful pebbles in the sand.

"I'm going to remember this moment when I'm stuck in my room, studying for exams in the fall", I told the boys.

I made a mental image of what we were experiencing, truly soaking in everything. There are times when I see a place or city on my travels, and I just breeze over it, a whirlwind of guide-books, photography, and exhaustion left in my wake. There are other times, however, when I really, really feel a place. At that moment on the sand-bar, I let all my worries about leaving Amsterdam and Gabriel go, and I became truly present in the moment. I soaked it all up.


Now, that the reality that I knew would occur, has occurred, I'm left with this scorching memory of my time in Mallorca with the love of my life and one of my greatest friends. The more and more I delve into stocks and bonds, the more and more my thoughts are pulled towards that Mallorcan beach.

Traveling is so wonderful while you are experiencing it, but it is just as great reminiscing and having the memories for a lifetime. Last year's gift of travel created memories, images, and stories that have been woven into the narrative of my life, and will stay with me long after the Mediterranean tides have washed over the sandbar.

NYC vs. A’dam

When we returned from our quick jaunt to NYC, a few people asked me how it compared to Amsterdam. I had been to NYC many times before, and regarded it as an over-the-top, typical North American city on steroids, peppered with the New Yorker spirit, yellow honking cabs, and unforgettable Broadway shows. When I visited two weekends ago, I saw the city differently, and naturally couldn’t help compare it to my beloved Amsterdam.

   

NYC window display (above) vs. Amsterdam window display (below)

The first difference I noticed was that there are a lot more cars in NYC than in Amsterdam. In A’dam, people use their bikes and the trams for the bulk of inter-city transportation, while in NYC, the streets were constantly plugged with heavy traffic. I did see some cyclists, but the lack of bike paths made for some pretty wild bike-riding.

NYC street market (above) vs. Amsterdam street market (below)

Before I continue, I must say that I’m not trying to point out faults in one city, over another. I’m just reporting on their differences, the things that struck me. I love both NYC and Amsterdam, and they really are so difference that you can’t compare them on a larger scale. One city is filled with old-world charm, coziness, and relaxation, while the other is the hub of North America, pulsing constantly to the beat of its vibrant citizens, entertainment, and culture. They’re totally different, perhaps even polar opposites in  some regard.

As we were walking through Midtown and the Upper East Side, I noticed these women, clad in fur with red lipstick painted on their oversized lips, looking like surprised Zombies. They were spooky! Completely surgically-enhanced in some areas, and decked head to toe in decadent clothing, they all looked like clones of each other. In Amsterdam, I never saw women with over-the-top plastic surgery. In fact, the older women aged so gracefully, that they often looked in their 30s, with the addition of a few story-lines on their faces.

When we stepped into the Palace Hotel, we saw a woman with a tiny dog, shaved, and dressed in a Juicy Couture sweater. As we made our way to the Columbus Day parade, we passed some ladies on 5th Ave who had decked their dogs in matching outfits. I turned to Gabriel, “no one in Amsterdam would ever be caught dead with a dressed-up dog, except on Queen’s Day.”

Architectural differences between the two cities

Gabriel replied, “If a Dutchie saw this, they would throw the owner into a canal, and rescue the dog!” I don’t believe I ever saw a dog dressed up while in the Netherlands. Amsterdammers love their dogs (and while I’m on the subject, I didn’t see one bit of dog poop in NYC, something I can’t say about A’dam…), but they’re often bigger dogs who are so well-trained they walk without leashes.

Gabriel noticed how everyone was shorter in NYC, and he felt like his usual tall self (6 foot 2 is considered average in A’dam, and I think he liked reclaiming his status as “the tall guy”, when we were in NYC).

 

I noticed how all the stores in NYC are open late, even into the wee hours of the night! Venture out of the Dam Square region late on a Saturday night, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a pharmacy, restaurant, or convenience store open for business. It was great to be able to grab a reuben sandwich at a Madison Ave diner, filled with NYPD cops, at 11pm.

Every city is different, and every city retains its own vibe. NYC and Amsterdam are two of the world’s greatest cities. Which one do you prefer?

Autumn in New York

Last weekend I visited New York City, arguably one of the greatest cities in North America, if not the entire world. There is an energy and pace about NYC that I have yet to experience anywhere else.

I had a wonderful weekend exploring NYC with Gabriel! We met up at his Grandma’s apartment in Midtown last Saturday morning. I was so happy to see him and his family! Our weekend was filled with long walks around the city, many blisters from my Ugg sheepskin loafers, cupcakes, Starbucks coffee, holding hands, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, NYC Columbus Day parades, and delicious Argentinean meals.

In between catching up with family and playing with Gabriel’s adorable 2 year old Spanish-speaking twin cousins, we would sneak away to a beautiful cafe on East 49th for cappuccinos and a lazy morning reading the New York Times. We frequented the exact same cafe when we were in Antwerp two summers ago, as it was right near our hotel. Being in the same atmosphere, across the Atlantic, brought back a flood of memories of our time in Belgium.

My favourite parts of the trip, besides seeing Gabriel and his family, were strolling through Bryant Park, shopping in the fabulous shoe-floor of Saks Fifth Avenue, and visiting the New York City Public Library. On our last afternoon in the city, Gabriel took me out for lunch at SushiAnn, an incredibly delicious Japanese restaurant on East 51st street. It was so yummy, I’ve never had such fresh tuna before! If you are looking for a wonderful place to grab a nice sushi lunch (or dinner), I highly recommend SushiAnn.

Oh Autumn in New York….what a wonderful weekend :)