Morocco

I just got back from a solo trip from Morocco and let me tell you, it is one of the most magical places in the world. I have learned the Morocco was the most underrated places in the world of travel, and I recommend this beautiful place to everyone. I will be coming back to this beautiful country one day!

Airfare/flight
I paid about $600 round trip for my Morocco trip. I bought my flight about 3 months ahead of time. On the way there from Chicago wasn’t too bad, it was about 8 hours. But on the way back it took about 10 hours, so get yourself ready for a long flight!

Money
The country of Morocco uses Dirhams, you can get away with Euros in some places as well. The exchange rate when I went was 9.65 dirham to 1 USD

Food
I ate a ton of Tajine de Kefta in Morocco, that was the best dish I had and highly recommend it. Most of the food is trajines, couscous, fresh fruit juice, vegetables, kebabs, salads, and soup. The meals are super filling and healthy. Let me tell you, if you are on a tight budget just share a dish of couscous, none of could could ever finish a dish of it. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you are in luck! They have a number of options for you, everywhere I went offered vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Also, do not drink the water! Buy your water at your nearest grocery store, you will pay 3 to 4 times more at a hotel.

Language
The official language spoken in Morocco is Arabic, they speak a lot of French as well. If you speak English and Spanish you will get by perfectly fine.

Dress attire
Don’t bring your shortest shorts on this trip. Dress conservatively, think loose pants and linen shirts. Do not wear heels, wear some comfy flats, tennis shoes or sandals, the sidewalks are very uneven so be careful walking around. Bring something you can throw a shawl or a cardigan on, many places are still traditional and women are not allowed to show their shoulders or thighs. Plus it will save you any misery in the Medina’s from men hitting on you.

Shopping
I can’t say this enough, haggle, haggle, haggle. If they give you a price, ask to pay for half, so you can at least pay 25% less the first price. This includes taxis, haggle and do not get into the taxi until you agree on a price.

Weather
I went in the beginning of October and it was always 95 degrees and super sunny. Bring a hat, sun glasses and sunscreen!

Additional tips
-Use Google or Apple maps to get around, it’s so much easier than using a map
-There will be young men asking you if you want a guide through the Médina, do not say yes. Just keep walking and you will find your way through it. If you say yes, they will demand money.
-Keep a stern face aka “Resting Bitch Face”, if you smile too much men will take it the wrong way.
-Keep bags and purses in front of you at all times. Morocco is very safe, but like anywhere else in the world there are pickpockets.
-Bring toilet paper or packaged wipes like these, and hand sanitizer. If you do not want to use a eastern squatting bathroom ask if they have western or European toilets.

Keep an eye out for additional blog posts, I will be going into detail about what cities I visited and a review about Topdeck, which is the travel group I used (and highly recommend!)

Con Amor,

Adriana 💕

Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend

So this year my boyfriend decided to celebrate his birthday in Las Vegas, now I have been to Vegas 5 times so it’s getting pretty overrated to me. So I did my research like I always do and saw I can take a day trip to this beautiful wonder of the world, Antelope Canyon. I ended up taking the day trip solo, because everyone else stayed behind to watch the Bears play (we all know how that ended this season, and would never recommend staying behind to watch a game over experiencing something magical). So running on no sleep with sore and cut up feet, thanks to standing in new heels all night waiting for Nelly to perform Country Grammar, I was off to my day trip.

This is a trip that I recommend you booking through a travel agency, ahead of time. I looked into different blogs and played with numbers to see how much it would be to go alone or to go with a group, and the group turned out to be the best option. Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Indian reservation, so you need a Navajo Indian as a guide. Rather than trying to find one, you’re better off having a tour group do it for you.

Website that I used for the tour: https://www.taketours.com/las-vegas-nv/1-day-antelope-canyon-horseshoe-bend-fully-guided-bus-tour-from-las-vegas-624-4794.html

So my tour was scheduled to leave at 4:15am, I got on the bus and they fed us “breakfast” which was some sponge cake. Then I knocked out for the 4 hour drive. I woke up during a pit stop and had to figure out where we were because I woke up in the middle of a snow storm. Our guide went into Subway to pick up our lunch and then we were off to Antelope Canyon.

Once we got to the Navajo Reserve the individuals who signed up for the upper Canyon got off first. They loaded up in a covered pickup truck and were on their way. The rest of us who signed up for the lower Canyon stayed on the bus and made our way over to the souvenir building to get ready for our tour. You are not allowed to bring bags or purses down with you, so make sure to not bring too many valuables on the day trip.

Once we got into our groups were had to make our way down to the entrance of the Canyon, this was about a 10 minute walk. I advise you to jump in front of the group and make friends with your assigned tour guide, I ended up doing that since about 90% of my tour only spoke Mandarin and wanted to talk to someone for a bit. Come to find out, my tour guide was a professional photographer and makes money on the side doing photo shoots and photography of the Canyon.

Once we made it to the entrance we had to climb all the way down to the Canyon, thankfully there are stairs, but many were very steep. Word of advice, on the steep ones climb down backwards, like you’re climbing down a ladder, you can thank me later.

Once you made it to the ground you can start taking your beautiful pictures. If you have an iPhone like me, use the “Vivid Warm” or “Vivid Cool” filter. You’re pictures will turn out amazing, that was the advice given to me by my photographer tour guide. Take as many beautiful pictures as possible, the tour goes by fast. But do me a favor, live in the moment. It’s absolutely breathtaking down there, take it all in and realize how blessed you were to make it. It’s honestly surreal, you feel like it’s not real life by the beauty of it.

Our next stop was Horseshoe Canyon, that was absolutely breathtaking as well. I highly recommend wearing hiking boots for this one. The 10-15 minute hike there isn’t horrible but the altitude makes it more difficult. The rocks are a little slippery so be very cautious when getting to the edge.

I highly recommend taking this tour, while it is an all day trip is is so worth it. This was honestly the best part of my entire trip. I would recommend the following to enjoy your Antelope Canyon Day Trip to the fullest:

• Book the tour ahead of time, they charge a fee if you book your trip on the Las Vegas Strip. I was lucky enough to purchase the last seat on the bus too.
• Choose the Lower Canyon, the tour guide told us that it was the better of the two. 
• Bring food your own, their food packages are not worth the extra cost.
• Dress in layers if you are traveling in Fall and Winter.
• Bring a book to read or something to watch, it’s a long trip.
• Wear waterproof shoes or hiking boots, your feet will get wet in the canyon.
• Enjoy the moment, we live in a very “social media” society. You can post your pictures later, you can’t do this again.

I hope every single one of you get to experience this beautiful place, it’s breathtaking and you won’t regret it. I asked the mother and daughter that was in my group if this was real life, and they had to reassure me it was. Even if you have to do a solo trip there like me, do it! Life is way too short not to live it fully.

Con Amor,

Adriana 💕

Wanderlust Wednesday: The ArcelorMittal Orbit

As many of you know I am a MBA student and since being a student again I unfortunately don't travel as often as I used to. While I miss it dearly, I know this is only a pause and better things are to come. Since it is Wednesday, I figured I would do a Wanderlust Wednesday post. There are moments I start think about past trips and I was recently thinking about my last trip to Europe. I had the blessing to visit London and Paris, both absolutely beautiful places.

While researching what to do I came across an interesting activity, The ArcelorMittal Orbit. What is this you ask? Well I will explain....

If you are an adrenaline junkie like I am this is up your alley, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a slide that is as tall as the Statue of Liberty. This is the longest and tallest tunnel slide in the world!

So what you have to do is figure out what date and time to go. Reservations fill up quick, so the earlier the better. Make sure to give yourself enough time to get there, we took the Metro and it was quite a walk from the station. When you get there you cannot take anything with you, so you can either lock it up in their rental lockers or give your personal items to a friend who is scared of heights like I did. You will check in and they will send you the elevator or stairs. The view from top is beautiful, you get to see everything. I do not have photos of that since I was not allowed to take anything up with me. Oh and if you were wondering, they do have bathrooms up there. Just in case the nerves get the best of you. Once you are finished taking in the views you will hop in line. The employees will hand you this goofy looking hat and arm sleeves for protection. Once you have it on and get to the opening of the slide they will lay this mat down with a pouch for your legs. You hope right in and have the ride of your life.

While it was a 40 second ride it was honestly so much fun, plus its the fun way to re-live your childhood. Who else can say they rode the longest and tallest tunnel slide in the world?!

Me after riding the slide

The ArcelorMittal Orbit

 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

 5 Thornton Street

London E20 2AD, UK

http://arcelormittalorbit.com/