Oi Lisboa! 7 Things To Do In Lisbon

I recently came back from a 3 day trip in Lisbon and even though it was a work trip with 3 days straight full of content creation we did have a little time to do some sight-seeing and experience the culture. 

We stayed at the beautiful Five Star Apartments Combro 7 in walking distance to most of the things we wanted to see and if not, we had the tram right at our door step! We stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment with one master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, one twin bed bedroom and one slightly smaller double bedroom and one general bathroom. My bedrooms view was towards the street and so was the lounge and open kitchen with beautiful interior, clean lines and minimal. The kitchen was very modern in all white and fully equipped. There was basically nothing we didn’t have. 

I know you guys are always looking for Tips on places to see and eat, so I’m listing my top 7 below:

Pink Street:

The Rua Nova do Carvalho used to be the red light district which was the meeting point for sailors and criminals. In 2012 the area was improved with cosy café’s, night clubs and has become one of the most popular areas in Lisbon now for nightlife. 

Dear Breakfast:

Of course we had to stumble across a cute breakfast place which was just up my street serving Pink Latte’s and Açai bowls – If you know me, you know I LOVE Açai bowls! Dear Breakfast is located in a little side road about 5 minutes’ walk from the apartment. The staff is lovely and it will fulfil all your Instagram dreams with pink and dark blue velvet seats, marble tables, plants and golden elements. I can recommend the freshly baked bread with peanut butter and strawberry & banana slices – so simple yet so delicious! Definitely trying this at home! 

Place opposite the apartment:

Just after we arrived we decided to find something to eat and just across the road there was this cute place called The Mill. We had some delicious breakfast there and the Banana bread was to die for!!! Banana bread seems to be popular over there as I saw it on almost every menu. 

Library:

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the library but it looks AH-MAZING! Seems like such a cool place to relax and also a great photo opportunity! 

Cantinho Do Avilleze: 

By just walking through the roads of Lisbon looking for something to eat we found a little restaurant called Cantinho Do Avilleze It seemed like a secret spot so we were even more intrigued. The restaurant had two separate rooms and we were seated in a room with an open kitchen. We were basically able to see how our meals were prepared. When you go to Lisbon you should definitely have some good fish and/ or seafood. I had Octopus twice and I loved it! Last time I had amazing Octopus like this was in Zanzibar. 

Pastei de Natas place:

It is safe to say I lived off Pastei de Natas for the whole 3 days I was in Lisbon, haha! Lisbon is famous for their delicious custard tarts and people literally queue up for hours to get them. You can find them everywhere but there’s this place called Pastéis de Belém. You have to go there! Trust me! 

Time Out market:

When I asked for recommendations for Lisbon everyone without fail told me to go to the Time Out market, which is a food market with all then local and non-local foods you can think of. In the evenings they play music and people even dance. If you’re from London, it’s a little bit like Borough market. Also a must visit!  

Since I was born in Brasil, I should normally be speaking Brasilian Portuguese but growing up in Germany and being adopted I grew up with German as my mother tongue. I’m definitely motivated to try again and learn Portuguese as I really wanted to speak/ understand while I was in Lisbon but hey! One step at a time… Next time I’m going to Portugal, Porto is on top of my list!

 

Travel Guide: Karibu Zanzibar

This blog post is wayyy overdue as I was in Zanzibar in March but for some reason I felt discouraged and thought people don't really read blog posts anymore until someone said to me, hey I'm still waiting for your blog post from Zanzibar! I was so surprised! But anyways, here it is...

I'm someone who always wants to explore something new so I rarely want to go back to a place I've been before. Zanzibar was different. Zanzibar felt like an untouched Island with loads of beautiful places that weren't really explore yet. Visiting there made me feel free and in tune with myself and the surroundings. It's definitely not a party island and rather for relaxation and exploring. You're very confronted with a different culture and the fascinating Maasai and it makes you want to know everything about it.

The first few nights we stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Stone Town, which I didn't really like as the room was tiny and super dark and I just expected a little more from the reviews online even though it was quite reasonable. We then changed to the Maru Maru Hotel, which was a bit more expensive but very good value for money, I'd definitely go there again. There's a rooftop bar/ restaurant and pool, the rooms are bright, large and always clean and service is excellent. They even Mosquito nets over the beds and come in twice a day to spray repellent. (Definitely take all the mosquito repellent you can find for your visit there!!!)

What I most liked about Zanzibar is that you can do Island hopping and snorkelling. There are a few seemingly untouched Islands, where you can get by boat and even one private Island. We only stopped there for a little bit as there are police officers protecting it.

We had a really nice guide for the whole time we stayed there and we were happy to have him since he showed us all the hidden places and took us everywhere we wanted. 

You should definitely visit the following places when in Zanzibar:

- Do Island hopping - You can go around the Islands with a little boat, just go to the beach and there are loads of boats and someone will make you a good price. We went snorkelling twice and it's so worth it! 

- The Rock Restaurant - It's quite expensive to eat there but worth a visit for the view. We only had Cocktails there and then went to eat at a local place in the next village. Exploring local places is so important, I can't stress it enough. That's how you really get to know a country and culture.

- Kendwa beach - most beautiful white sand beach

- Stone Town - Visit the local market in Stone Town, it definitely is an experience and you can experience the culture first hand.

- Lukeman restaurant in Stone Town - Local food for a very reasonable price, we ate there almost every day and it was delicious!!!

- Prison Island - You'll see huge turtles, so get your cameras ready!

- Rooftop bar The Swahili House - I recommend going there to see the sunset, it's beautiful!

- Mnarani Marine Turtles Conservation Pond

- Concept store Kangaa Africa -  A little shop in the streets of Stone Town 

- Mrembo Spa - A local shop where a lovely woman from Austria, who married in Zanzibar, is selling local products like Shea butter, Coconut Body Butter, Coconut Soap etc. It's a must visit! 

- Night market - The night market is by the pier and it's on every night. People sell freshly made food, mostly seafood they caught on the day and meat as well. You can also get freshly pressed sugar cane juice, which I LOVED! It's super cheap and instead of eating in overpriced tourists places, this is the best thing you can do really. And the food is even better than in restaurants! 

- Doreen Mashika - A boutique known for Fashion made in Zanzibar. Very cute boutique, slightly expensive but definitely worth a visit! 

Btw, the places where you pay in US dollars are mostly overpriced tourists places, it's good to look for something where you can pay in they local currency and it's always cash!

Oh I should probably mention, if you don't like cats like myself, you'll have a hard time there because cats are literally EVERYWHERE, lol.

I hope this helped and gave you a little bit of insight of Zanzibar!

Love, Drea

xxx

10 Things I've learnt In My 20s

The good old 20s.. Sigh! Haha! I guess you're only as old as you feel and I feel more like 26, lol. I think I'm a good example for people who didn't have their life together by the time they were 28, the matter of fact I only knew what I wanted to do in life about 2 1/2 years ago and there's nothing wrong with taking your time. I only started having it all together about a year ago but... what does having it all together even mean, you know. I can pay my bills and I'm doing what I love! I'm not married and I'm not about to be pregnant either, which in my opinion is a very old fashioned view. I'm working on my career as a blogger and social media manager and I travel the world - I'm loving life right now! I linked some teddy coats below for you guys!!!

To all my girls who are in their 20s, I've decided to share with you what I've learnt so that you guys go through life more mindful & self-caring because boy, time is flying!!!

1.  Enjoy your own company: It's ok to miss out on that party or get together with your friends. It's good to learn to enjoy your own company and take time to practice some self-care. People underestimate some 'me-time' and old realise that it's much needed when they actually take that time.

2. Ask for what you want: Nothing is for free and if you want something, you'll have to ask for it. I remember so many times where I wanted something but was too shy to ask for it... Now I just go straight up to them and ask because that's the only way to get something you want. 

3. Avoid negativity: I have learnt that everything that impacts your life and wellbeing needs to go. I go by 'Positive Mind, Positive Life' and let a lot of things behind me because I felt like it was putting me down. This can be small things like I for example stopped watching Love and Hip Hop because it was messing with my mind teaching me a misperception of relationships. 

4. Re-evaluate if you're happy with what you're doing: Think about it - Is this what you want to do for the rest of your life? Is this what you really want to do? If not, it's not to late to go to Uni for a different course or simply start your own business if you have a good idea. 

5. Take every opportunity you can get: If it's the opportunity for an internship/job or the opportunity to visit a friend in another country - take it! No one can ever take experiences away from you.

6. Travel the world: You will never be as free again as in your 20s. No children to take care of, long holidays from Uni or your first job and just time that you can spend exploring the world and experience new cultures. If you don't have the coins, there are super cheap flights out here, I went to Copenhagen last week for £14 return, lol. Catch flights not feelings! 

 7. Leaving people behind who don't add positivity to your life: Growing older I've realised that not everyone's your friend and not everyone has your best intentions. Keep your circle small and your real friends tight. People come and go, some stay and some don't. Every person in your life has a purpose and if they leave their purpose was fulfilled. 

8. Appreciate the moment: It's easy to just live the fast life, especially living in London every day is different and time seems to fly by. Try to appreciate the good times as much as you can.

9. Managing your finances: F*ck that - You only live once! Use your 20s to make the most out of your life, you'll have to work for the rest of you life. 

10. Spend quality time with your loved ones: As an example, my friends from Germany flew in to spend my birthday with me and it meant the world to me. Even if your friends are in another country, try to make it work. No one can replace the time with your besties. 

MY 30TH BIRTHDAY AT NOVOTEL CANARY WHARF

First of all, thank you for all your birthday wishes, if you haven't read my last post. Without having to exaggerate I've had the best birthday weekend I could've ever wished for. My girls were flying in from Germany just for my birthday and I'm so grateful for friends like that. We've spent one night at Novotel Canary Wharf, where we rented a couple of rooms and an executive suite. The suite was just STUNNING and probably the nicest hotel room I've stayed at so far. When I walked in the view of London's skyline was obviously the eye-catcher but the room itself had everything and more I could wish for. Walking in, there was a separate toilet with a sink and next to it was an open bathroom separated with milk glass walls and a golden shower head, yes a golden shower head! In the same room was a huge king size bed and amazing sound system as well as a big TV and an armchair. Walking into the second room, which was separated through the two TV's - one on each side - there was a huge sofa along the wall with two coffee tables, which serves loads of space for guests. A small office desk with a coffee machine and a generous mini bar was provided, too. I loved how everything had a velvet finish and looked super luxurious. Even the shower gel was amazing, which I'm usually not a fan of. A little bit disappointing was that they didn't inform us that no one is supposed to be in rooms other than their own after 12, which I found a bit weird as we're not 12 but we just had to accept the rules. They even came up with security, which was very over the top and unnecessary. Spending a lot of money on a room like that I would've expected something else, to be honest. Oh well..
One of the best things was the breakfast. We all had our breakfast in one room, at the executive suite, and the service was very prompt and friendly. We were able to choose from a variety of food and even got smoothies that were very nice. Before the late checkout at 1pm we decided to have a look at the spa area and we used the pool and sauna. The gym looked super nice as well! Unfortunately I don't have pics but it was very clean and contemporary.
I can definitely recommend staying at Novotel Canary Wharf and if you want an amazing experience then you should definitely go for the executive suite, you won't regret it!

I hope you liked this post and if you decide to stay at Novotel Canary Wharf, I booked through booking.com.