Last minute deal: 7 days in Paradise. Where we stayed

Usually when we are planning our holiday, we go through the hotel and apartment options given to us by the ebookers.com. And before ordering accommodation we always check reviews on TripAdvisor to avoid unpleasant surprises. Lesson learned, London, lesson learned! Anyways, if reviews are good or average, we book the place. I call it travel accommodation hunting. And just like any other hunting it is time-consuming, and it takes a lot of patience. Now, when you are buying a last-minute holiday package like we did on aurinkomatkat.fi, there is not much to choose from, and you just take what is offered. Sometimes it’s like buying a pig in a poke, or cat in a sack, if you will. And in our case, it was Vigilia Park Apartment hotel, located in Los Gigantes.

22h cruise Helsinki-Tallinn-Helsinki. Brutally honest review

I think it’s best if I first explain what the 22-hours cruise is and what’s the point of going on one. It’s basically a party event that is hold on-board of the MS Silja Europa ship, where passengers are buying reasonably cheap booze, having lots of alcohol to drink the first evening and dealing with consequences – a slow hangover – the next day. I see it as a Finnish version of a mini spring break of some sort, that goes on and on.

Last minute deal: 7 days in Paradise. Intro

Should I spend my vacation at home? If so, what would I do? Eat potatoes and sign every time I look at the grey depressing landscape through the window? Day after day… Or should I waste all the money I have left on a trip? A little getaway that my soul, mind and body are desperately craving for? Although, I most likely will have to eat potatoes there as well. But it’s not a big deal. I think. In any case it’s better to eat potatoes with the ocean view than at home in front of the TV. Yes, as long as there are three holiday essentials – sun, palms and the sea – I don’t really care. I should definitely go. I must go. I need to go!

Best views I’ve seen on my travels

So far I’ve traveled to 20+ countries. I know that’s hardly a number comparing to the achievements of more experienced travelers and pros in travel blogging. What can I say, we all have to start from somewhere, right? Yes, I’ve seen only 10% of our beautiful world but let me assure you, it’s more than enough to start a list of my TOP favorite spots. And I would like to share them with you.

Travel on a budget: Silja Line cruise from Helsinki to Stockholm

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “cruise”? Don’t know about you but I always thought that it’s something very fancy and luxurious, something that only rich people can enjoy. But when I came to Finland, I realized that cruises can be a fun way of travelling at a reasonable price. And as it turned out, a budget traveler can also afford a cruise from Helsinki to Stockholm or Tallinn even without the Club One membership card.

What to do in Stockholm in a day

My first visit to Stockholm was in December of 2005. And I have been traveling there ever since. It’s one of my favourite cities, but strangely in all these years I haven’t written anything about my travels to Stockholm. So, I finally decided to fix this mistake. Now is a perfect time for it because my memories are still fresh from our last trip that happened last week. And in this blog post I’ll share all the things I like to do when I am in Stockholm and tell about the places I like to go to.

I collected photos that we’ve made over the years, so don’t get confused when you see them. Some were made in summer, some in spring and some in winter. And yes, I haven’t been to Stockholm in the autumn. Yet.

Budapest. What I’ve learned and first impression

We were standing in the airport, waiting for our ride. I looked around and noticed a local young woman dressed in jeans, T-shirt and light winter coat. A guide as understood. She was surrounded by the group of tourists, mostly youngsters. It seems they’ve just arrived in Budapest and were very excited to be here, they all were smiling and discussing plans for the holiday. Meanwhile, woman was writing down their names and collecting money. Banknotes were unfamiliar to me. “Maybe Croatian”, I thought. “Or Romanian”. But why would they use wrong currency in Hungary? And then it hit me… Currency wasn’t wrong, it was Hungarian!

What and where we ate in Budapest

We didn’t eat much outside during our stay in Hungary. Mainly because this time we had the whole apartment at our disposal, and we could cook at home at any time we wanted. And as I mentioned in the first Budapest post, closest food market Lidl was a couple of hundred meters away. So, we prepared all our breakfasts and some dinners in our small kitchen (this is one way to save money when you travel by the way). Nevertheless, we managed to visit few eateries. Some were good, some were brilliant…