airbnb dreams in brooklyn

Whenever I'm bored, I like to go to airbnb and pretend that we are taking a trip. I pick a random destination and I start searching for cool places where we could stay at. The past couple of times that we have traveled, we have been staying at airbnb's or at rentals from homeaway instead of hotels and we have been loving it. It's nice to have a kitchen, most of the time it's even cheaper than a hotel and you get to experience the city like a local.

One of my favorite places to visit is NYC. Unfortunately, we haven't been in almost 2 years. Waaaaahhhhh. But I'm hoping that once I'm fully recovered and we get a better hang of this having-a-baby-thing, we will take a quick trip to the big apple. This time though, I want to stay in Brooklyn.

When I am looking for airbnb's I have a criteria list that they need to meet:
1. Location, location, location. Especially in Brooklyn, I want it to be close to the subway and close to restaurants and shops.
2. Great reviews. I don't really trust places that have 0 reviews. I would leave that for someone else to check out first. And the more reviews the better.
3. The place needs to look clean and neat. I don't want to stay at a place where the owner's stuff is all over the place. I want it to be organized and clutter free.
4. Price is obviously a very important one. I'm always looking for a deal. The best way to achieve this is to go to the location when it's not in season to go. If you MUST go when everyone else is going, then book it waaaay in advance. The good deals always book up first.

Here are a couple of places that look pretty sweet! I want to note that I haven't stayed at any of these. But they meet my criteria so I'm seriously considering these when we go in the near future.

Artistic & cozy  |  Bright & quiet  |  Gorgeous parlor  |  Park slope loft

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koh phi phi, thailand

One of the first pictures I ever saw of Thailand was of a colorful long-tail boat in front of a breath-taking beach. I remember thinking, I NEED to go there!!! So when I was planning our trip to Thailand, I knew that we needed to stay in at least one of the islands.

But it couldn't be any island. I grew up in the Caribbean so I have seen my fair share of beautiful beaches. So whichever island we picked, needed to be pretty awesome. After a lot, and I mean A LOT, of research (who knew Thailand had SO MANY ISLANDS), I decided that Koh Phi Phi island would fit the bill.

Here is a quick recap of our experience in paradise.

We stayed at the Phi Phi Island Beach Resort. I picked this hotel because it was pretty secluded and you got to stay at a bungalow. Pretty freakin' sweet. Right?

A big bonus was that this hotel had a little village on the back that was full of restaurants and bars which was nice because we didn't want to be stuck eating at the hotel for every single meal.

We went on a long-tail boat tour with our new friend Mr. Chet from the Knock Out Bar (our favorite restaurant/bar in Koh Phi Phi) where we got to do some snorkeling, made some new friends and saw first hand those breath-taking beaches I had seen in pictures. I highly recommend this tour by the way!

We took a hike downtown (which was supposed to be about an hour each way). This was pretty fun until we ended up getting lost on our way back. For 3 hours!!! We had no cell reception, all the signs were in Thai and all the trails that we were walking in kept ending. Thankfully, it was in the early afternoon and my husband stayed pretty calm throughout the whole thing. Me? Not so much.

And we got to see tons of long-tail boats. Mission accomplished.

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honeymooning in vieques

3 years ago today Matt and I said our I dos. 3 years! Can you believe it? This also means that 3 years ago, we went on our honeymoon.

As you might already know, we got married in Puerto Rico so when it came time to decide on where we wanted to go for our honeymoon, we decided to stay local and go to Vieques.

Vieques is part of Puerto Rico but is it’s own little island. We picked this location because neither of us had ever been. We typically don’t go on vacations where all there is to do is go to the beach, sleep and eat, but after lots of wedding planning we decided that a low-key honeymoon was the way to go.

This trip ended up being one of the best vacations that we have ever taken (and we vacation a lot!) and to this day we still talk about it. We have been talking about going back and doing the same trip all over again, so hopefully that will happen soon. Maybe by the end of the year?

How did we get there?
You can get there in one of 3 ways. You can either take a ferry from Fajardo (around $5 roundtrip), fly from Isla Grande Airport (around $144 roundtrip) or fly from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (around $242 roundtrip). These two airports are in San Juan and Fajardo is about an hour drive from San Juan. We decided to fly from Isla Grande Airport because it’s so convenient; you get there in 20 minutes. The ferry is super cheap, but you have to drive all the way to Fajardo, wait in line to buy a ticket (it’s first come first serve) and then take an hour ferry. So it all depends on how much you want to spend. It was our honeymoon, so we decided to treat ourselves. We flew Vieques Air Link.

Where did we stay?
We had enough credit card points to stay at the W Hotel for 5 nights. If you have the money or some travel points that you can use, I highly recommend this hotel. It was so nice. However, there are a lot of other options where you can stay that are more affordable: Hix Island House, Malecon House, La Lanchita.

 How did we get around the island?
We rented a Jeep and I HIGHLY recommend you do this if you go to Vieques. The best beaches can only be accessed through dirt roads and taxis won’t go on those roads (plus they would get stuck if they did). There are beaches that taxis will take you to, but trust me when I say that you should rent a Jeep. You also get the chance to explore the island and do everything at your own pace.

Which were our favorite beaches? 
Every morning we would sleep in, get in our Jeep, grab lunch at Sol Food and then we would find ourselves a new secluded beach that we could have all to ourselves. For many years, the United States Navy had a base in the island, so a lot of the best beaches have been untouched. No one lives close to them and you can only access them through dirt roads, which makes them amazing little secret gems. The beaches are truly breath taking. The water is blue and clear. They are also great for snorkeling if that is your thing. Here are some of our favorites: Blue Beach, Secret Beach, La Chiva Beach, and Playa La Plata.

Which were our favorite restaurants?
Before I list our favorite places, let me just say that we ate like kings. Every place that we went to was so good and delicious. Here the list: Bili (we loved it so much we went twice), Next Course, El Quenepo, Conuco and the Sol Food food truck where we had lunch every single day.

Did you do anything else other than sleep, eat and go to the beach?
One day we went paddleboarding with Vieques Paddleboarding and it was so fun. We did the Bay Paddle tour which takes you through the mangrove forest. After that we tried paddleboarding in the ocean (very hard!) and then we snorkled. One of the nights, we went to the Bioluminescent Bay. I had been to the one in the mainland, but man, the one in Vieques is so much brighter. If you go to Vieques, you HAVE to see the bio bay. Just make sure that the company you book uses kayaks instead of a big boat. That way you can be closer to the water.

As you can see, I can’t say enough good things about Vieques. This would make a great vacation for any of you and I highly recommend you check it out one day. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment below :)

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traveling to barcelona: any tips?

I'm headed to Barcelona in a month and I C-A-N'-T W-A-I-T-! Traveling to Spain has been in my bucket list for years and I'm so excited that it's about to happen.

Barcelona seems like the perfect place to get lost in and explore by foot. I can't wait to experience all of the amazing architecture, the colors, the people, the food, the art... you name it. I think my creative soul is going to be very satisfied after this trip.

If you have been to Barcelona, I would L-O-V-E to know if you have any tips. From places to eat, drink, visit, see, experience. You get the idea. I want to know it all. We will like to see the touristy spots but we also want to experience the city from a locals point of view.

Here is a preliminary list of the things and places that I'm looking forward to:

Gaudi's architectural masterpieces.

Eating lots and lots of tapas.

  Living like locals in the Gothic Quarter.

Walking down La Rambla.

Finding some local treats at Mercat de la Boqueria.

Like Barney from How I Met Your Mother would say: it's going to be legendary.

Image sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

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martha's vineyard travel guide

How was your holiday weekend? Ours was pretty amazing. My parents were in town from Puerto Rico, so we decided to take all of last week off and go to Martha’s Vineyard. The Vineyard is one of my favorite places in New England. It’s hard to describe it. The whole island is so magical to me. If you have never been, I highly recommend it.

Here are my tips to make your stay at The Vineyard as memorable as it can be.

First, you need to take your car with you. There are some people that don't agree with this piece of advice, but I highly recommend you do this. This is the only way that you will be able to truly experience the entire island.

Make your reservations at the Steamship Authority.

If you are going for a quick visit, staying at an inn will do. But if you are staying for a whole week, you should rent an apartment. Eating out on the island is super expensive and to be totally honest, the food is not that great. So you will save a good amount of money cooking your meals at home and just going out for the occasional meal, drinks and dessert. This last time we rented a house in Edgartown — my favorite town in the island. We found this pad on homeaway.com.

If you want to stay at an inn, we recommend the Dockside Inn.

Go on nice long walks through Edgartown and take in all of the dreamy houses. Oh and the landscaped yards are also pretty amazing. I bet that the job to have in The Vineyard is as a landscaper.

Rent bikes for the day. My favorite route is to go on the bike path on Beach Road between Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. 

For bike rentals, I recommend: Martha's Vineyard Bike Rental

When you are at The Vineyard, you should follow the saying that when you are on vacation calories don’t count. My favorite dessert places are Back Door Donuts (order the Apple Fritter!), Scoop Shack and Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium.

Go to Menemsha to see the sunset and to eat some yummy seafood right on the beach. We also like to bring some wine, cheese and crackers. Since this is a very popular spot, I recommend you get there around 6pm. That way you will be able to park, get the fish you want and you will get to enjoy the beach before the sun sets and it gets dark.

Our favorite spot for seafood is Larsen's Fish Market.

 Another great spot to watch the sunset is in the Aquinnah Cliffs by the Gayhead Lighthouse. The view is pretty breath taking.

On cloudy days or after going to the beach, explore all the little shops that Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Heaven have to offer. My favorite ones are: Portobello Road, Brickyard and Mix.

And last but not least, you have to go to the beach. But I think this last one is a given ;) My favorite beaches are South Beach and Bend in the Road Beach. 

(image via Katherine Gendreau)

Have you been to Martha's Vineyard? If so, do you have any other tips to add? I'm already looking forward to next year when we get to go again :)

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