European Travel Inspiration

I have a new obsession with backpacking. The summer after I graduate, I just want to buy a Eurail pass and explore all of the places in Europe that I've been dreaming of for years. For almost a week, I've been browsing YouTube and Pinterest obsessively, finding all the places I want to visit. This week, I'm going to be sharing some resources I've found for backpacking Europe and beyond, including my favorite travel blogs, videos, and tips. Today, I'm going to be featuring a few destinations and guides to them for you to begin to (wander)lust over.

Explore Barcelona with the Blonde Abroad.

Jet off to Prague with No Money, Will Travel.

Wander through Vienna with the Everygirl.

Enjoy yourself in Copenhagen with Design*Sponge.

-Gabi

Caught My Eye

Details at the beautiful Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

Another relaxed summer week of browsing my favorite blogs is over, but I found these things along the way!

1 // Do I live in Australia? No. Am I going to Australia anytime soon? No. Do I still want to know 29 places to go in Sydney with my squad? Obviously.

2 // This market in Florence looks like a dream. That pasta though.

3 // I've found two new favorite YouTube channels for some serious travel inspiration. (I'm also obsessed with backpacking now, but that's a story for another time.)

High on Life

Mollie Bylett

4 // A few London spots recommended by Prep in Your Step.

-Gabi

The Orangery Tearoom & Patisserie, Bahrain

Another one of my Bahrain favorites, The Orangery. It's on the grounds of the Palace Boutique Hotel and it is delicious. The first time I went, it was for brunch and I got the French toast (yum!). 

This time, I went for lunch and I got the honey roasted chicken (so flavorful and the rice that comes with it is perfect) and Kandy tea. For dessert, I recommend the berry cake! It's dense, light, and not one bit dry. I also like that the frosting is more like a whipped cream than a super sweet icing.

Definitely recommend a stop at the Orangery if you're in Bahrain!

-Gabi

Top Travel: Oman

The Sultanate of Oman is a country in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula which is a fast growing travel destination and an amazing place to visit. I visited Oman a few months ago and I was very impressed. I enjoyed it even more than I expected to!

One of the first things we did there, and my favorite, was the Wadi Shab. A wadi is pretty much a (mostly) dry riverbed that you can find all over Oman and other places in the Middle East. Wadi Shab and a few others in Oman are very popular places for tourists because they can be easily hiked and are great for a more active, fun thing to do when traveling. 

I didn't take my camera on the walk, because you come to a point where you have to swim and I didn't want to risk any damage, but I did find this great YouTube video, so that you can see what it's really like! 

We also went to the Bimmah Sink Hole, only about 15 minutes to drive there from Wadi Shab. You can see it in this video by Casey Neistat. I thought that was pretty cool, because I had never seen the video until the day when we went to the sinkhole, when I just stumbled upon it on his channel, having no idea he had been to Oman! 

It is the part when he jumps off the ledge into water (so scary), it's even higher up in real life than it looks!

While in Oman, we stayed at the Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort for most of our time and it was gorgeous. (Also, the food was amazing!)

We did so many other things too, but these were some of the highlights!

-Gabi

Caught My Eye

Since I'm on summer break, I've had plenty of time to read my favorite blogs, shop, and watch (a lot of) Netflix. These are a few of the favorite things I've discovered:

1 // A guide to the best brunches in Brisbane.

2 // A fun summer reading list.

3 // What to do in Paris.

4 // Black and white striped shift dress. (Under $20!)

5 // Toners for Sensitive Skin.

6 // College preparation guide.

-Gabi

Lumee Street Cafe, Bahrain

Today, I am going to be talking about my favorite restaurant in Bahrain, Lumee Street Cafe. It is in the Al A'ali Mall in the Seef District. It is an Arabic restaurant that the website describes as "the new face of Middle Eastern flavors". I've been three or four times and it is so delicious every time, not to mention it is the cutest cafe. (Sorry for the photo quality, it was nighttime and I used my phone for the pictures.)

The hommos is the best I've ever had. It is so creamy and they serve it with warm bread. I recommend the "Beetroot Hommos". It tastes almost the same as the "Classic Hommos" (which is great also), but it's pink and I just like it more for some reason, I think it's a bit milder, most hommos has a taste that I'm not sure how to describe that I don't really like (bitter maybe?), but this does not.

For my main course, I usually get "Bahraini Lamb Kabab" which is my absolute favorite thing, it's amazing. I went last night and I got the "Tikka Lumee," just to try something new, but I wasn't a huge fan. I've had friends come with me and get the "Spicy Lamb Chops" and the "Chicken Kabab" and they loved both!

As for the deserts, I got a "Croissant Umm Ali" last night and my friend got the "Warm Rangeena Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream". They were both great. Umm Ali is like a bread pudding but with more flavor and spices and Rangeena is a date tart. 

Everything is so wonderful at Lumee and I'd definitely recommend a trip!

Top Travel: Abu Dhabi, UAE

Last November, I went to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for a long weekend with my family.

The first day we were there we went on a desert safari and stayed overnight in the desert. The first part of the safari was dune bashing which was extremely fun. We stopped in the desert to take pictures before heading to the camel farm.

We ate dinner and spent the night at the desert camp, where you could ride camels, go dune boarding, and smoke shisha. Some people left after dinner and my family all agreed that would have probably been enough time to do everything we wanted, but since we were some of the only people there in the morning, my brothers got to do some more dune boarding.

The next day, we went to Yas Island. This is where a lot of hotels are in Abu Dhabi, as well as the F1 track, Ferrari World, Yas Mall, and Yas Waterworld, along with a few other attractions. I would recommend staying on Yas Island for tourists because of its large offering of activites. At Yas Mall, I bought a pair of pants a lot like these from American Eagle, but in black and with a draw string waist. I've been wearing American Eagle jeans for years, but had never worn any of their other pants. I wear the ones I bought all the time now and I would definitely recommend them.

For me the highlight of our trip was the last day. My brothers and dad all went to Yas Waterworld (which they loved), so my mom and I had the day to ourselves. We visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which was so so so beautiful. Living in and traveling around the Gulf, I have been to a lot of mosques and I have to say this is one of the most amazing that I have seen. There was so much color and detail on the inside, while the outside was a crisp white with the most gorgeous architecture. 

After the mosque, we ate lunch at Amici restaurant in the Yas Viceroy over the F1 track. I had pizza (I'm not sure which one, oops) and cannoli and they were both delicious.

Overall, I had a great time in Abu Dhabi and it was a wonderful place to go for a weekend away!