travel diary
Take a look at three of the hottest attractions the area has to offer, and how you can cater your wardrobe to each.
Site 1: The Pablo Picasso Museum
Better known as the Museo Picasso Malaga, the Pablo Picasso Museum holds some of his most prized pieces that you can't see anywhere else. As the birthplace of the famous artist, the museum has a personal connection to preserving his work and his memory. Take advantage of one of the guided tours to get a first-hand perspective of the pride the region has for this beloved local.
What to Wear: While you don't have to wear something super formal, you shouldn't stroll up to a monument of one of the world's best artists wearing yoga pants or a tube top (come to think of it, yoga pants should be worn for yoga class only!). Dress more on the conservative side with a nice sundress and sweater when visiting this prestigious museum. Not only is it an appropriate way to show respect for the setting, but it's also a good idea as the museum can get a bit chilly.
Site 2: Costa Del Sol
BritishAirways.com notes that some of the most popular destinations to visit in Malaga are the beaches along Costa Del Sol. The sand is bright white, and the ocean is a sparkling blue. The coast is also lined with restaurants, shops, and tapas bars to quench your thirst and satisfy your appetite for the local cuisine.
Site 3: Alacazaba and Gibralfaro
Malaga has two historic castles within its boarders, Alacazaba and Gibralfaro. MalagaTurismo.com says that although the castles' surroundings pay homage to a more modern society, the architecture and rich history of the castles serve as a window to the city's past. Use one of the guided tours to see everything the castles have to offer on the inside, and experience the breathtaking views by exploring the meticulously kept gardens on the outside.
What to Wear:
The steep hills and narrow staircases in and around the castles make them a strict no-heel zone. Save your ankles and opt for ballet flats or sandals. A flatter sole will make it easier to navigate the uneven terrain inside in addition to outside in the gardens. Complete the look with a wide brim sun hat to protect from the glare outside. It's more convenient than taking your sunglasses on and off as you repeatedly venture in and out of the dark castles.
Even though there's no better attire to sport on the edge of the sands than a bathing suit, you'll want to pack a little more than that. Use these outfits when planning your wardrobe for these Malaga hotspots, and you'll be prepared for all that this slice of paradise in the south of Spain has to offer.
Last week I took two days off to travel to Malaga where my boyfriend played kings cup - Copa Del Rey. I stayed there Friday to Sunday and had a chance to explore Malaga a bit. First day it was really sunny and warm so as my hotel was near the beach I took a walk to see what I could on foot. That area of he city was really beautiful! Long walkway by the beach was upgraded with wind turbines, metal exercising equipment, a couple of playgrounds for kids on and by the beach, bicycle rental stations and decorated with blocks of flower beds, marine themed statues and ecology messages. What a fabulous place for young families - I thought!
Malaga is the city positioned in Southern Spain the community of Andalusia and it is the sixth largest city in Spain. The city has comfortable Mediterranean climate and one of the warmest Winters in Europe with average temperature of 17C. Malaga is known by being a birth place of famous painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso and actor Antonio Banderas.
"Who ever said that diamonds are girls best friends,
never owned a dog."
"Who ever said that diamonds are girls best friends,
never owned a dog."
As you know I travel quite a lot with living in between Barcelona and Budapest for a while now. On top, I travel for work and since I don't have anyone who can babysit my dog - Papi while I am away and since I stay in Barcelona for a week or so at a time Papi needs to travel with me each month, by plane. Luckily, he is a young, mid-size dog with curly black hair, puddle mix with a friendly personality and in good health who takes the plane travel rather well.
Still, I am not to excited to have him fly every month as although he is taking it well, it is certainly not natural for a dog to travel so much and I imagine it must be even more stressful for him then it is for me, so I am hoping that this 'living in two cities' situation is just temporary and that we will soon settle in one city which we will be able to call home.
When I was preparing to travel by plane with Papi for the first time I did a bit of investigating online and I was terrified after reading a horror stories on forums and on various blogs, there was also a lot of wrong or conflicting information (I know now) so I decided to simply share with you my experience of traveling with Papi in the last year and a half on almost monthly basics with various airlines in Europe.
Papi is mid size dog (14kg) and he is traveling 'in hold', meaning, he is not traveling in the cabin with me but in his cage/pet carrier in a special climate controlled compartment for pets (not with the luggage).
#1 Getting a flight ticket for a dog & choosing the right airline.
I used to just buy my flight ticket online and come to the airport 45 min earlier then when I travel alone to buy a ticket for Papi on the airline counter, at the time, I was flying with Lufthansa who based on my experience has the highest fees for dog travel. This is not the best way to go about getting a ticket for your dog, as it might happen that there are already 3 dogs on the same flight and there is no available room for your dog, which might result in you having to cancel your ticket as well.
The best way for me now to get a ticket is to call the flight operator directly and ask if there is a room available on the flight for the dog (each flight if you will have stop-overs) once operator confirms there is I buy my ticket for the selected flight and once I get my ticket number I call the provider back and purchase a ticket for Papi with my credit card via phone and then company sends me Papi's e-ticket via email.
#1 Getting a flight ticket for a dog & choosing the right airline.
I used to just buy my flight ticket online and come to the airport 45 min earlier then when I travel alone to buy a ticket for Papi on the airline counter, at the time, I was flying with Lufthansa who based on my experience has the highest fees for dog travel. This is not the best way to go about getting a ticket for your dog, as it might happen that there are already 3 dogs on the same flight and there is no available room for your dog, which might result in you having to cancel your ticket as well.
The best way for me now to get a ticket is to call the flight operator directly and ask if there is a room available on the flight for the dog (each flight if you will have stop-overs) once operator confirms there is I buy my ticket for the selected flight and once I get my ticket number I call the provider back and purchase a ticket for Papi with my credit card via phone and then company sends me Papi's e-ticket via email.
“There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."
Ben Williams
#2 Choosing a most pet friendly airline.
As I travel quite often with Papi I had really different experience with different airlines.
When getting a ticket for your dog, you will need to know your pet-carrier dimensions and exact weight as well as exact weight of your dog. I first started traveling with Lufthansa but since I never really knew how much the ticket for Papi will cost me as what I saw online was not what they told me on the airport when I was purchasing the ticket on the counter I ended up paying from 150 - 300 Euro one way, every time the price was different which was quite frustrating for me. Later I flew couple of times with Swiss and they were better and more consistent with prices. Also, I found that the price was different on different airports when purchasing ticket on the counter on the day of the trip - in Budapest I paid with the same company (Lufthansa) 250 Euros and upon my return from Barcelona, in Barcelona, only 100 Euros.
For traveling with a dog 'in hold' my favorite company now is is Air Berlin. They have a really pet friendly and knowledgeable staff, have more room for dogs - 6 vs. other companies which have up to 3 or 4 per flight and their prices are much more reasonable and consistent.
#3 Understand airlines requirements.
As I previously mentioned, you will need to have a FAA (US) and IATA Live Animals Regulations (EU) approved carriers with a proper ventilation, of a proper size for your dog size (dog needs to be able to stand, sit and turn in the carrier and you will need to have a passport for your dog and a health certificate from your vet. Here and here is the link to video with details on how the carrier need to be prepared for the flight.
#2 Choosing a most pet friendly airline.
As I travel quite often with Papi I had really different experience with different airlines.
When getting a ticket for your dog, you will need to know your pet-carrier dimensions and exact weight as well as exact weight of your dog. I first started traveling with Lufthansa but since I never really knew how much the ticket for Papi will cost me as what I saw online was not what they told me on the airport when I was purchasing the ticket on the counter I ended up paying from 150 - 300 Euro one way, every time the price was different which was quite frustrating for me. Later I flew couple of times with Swiss and they were better and more consistent with prices. Also, I found that the price was different on different airports when purchasing ticket on the counter on the day of the trip - in Budapest I paid with the same company (Lufthansa) 250 Euros and upon my return from Barcelona, in Barcelona, only 100 Euros.
For traveling with a dog 'in hold' my favorite company now is is Air Berlin. They have a really pet friendly and knowledgeable staff, have more room for dogs - 6 vs. other companies which have up to 3 or 4 per flight and their prices are much more reasonable and consistent.
#3 Understand airlines requirements.
As I previously mentioned, you will need to have a FAA (US) and IATA Live Animals Regulations (EU) approved carriers with a proper ventilation, of a proper size for your dog size (dog needs to be able to stand, sit and turn in the carrier and you will need to have a passport for your dog and a health certificate from your vet. Here and here is the link to video with details on how the carrier need to be prepared for the flight.
Make sure that you go to see your vet within a week before the flight to check a general health condition of your dog and write a health certificate needed for traveling, usually dog's passport contains room for these so vet just writes and stamps the passport. If your dog is older or taking medication, it might not be good to fly with him, also, some airlines will not take a snub nosed dogs like pugs as they often have trouble will breathing and flying in an airplane is more dangerous for them. Vet's are recommending NOT to medicate your dog to calm him down before the flight and many airlines won't take medicated dog's are they cannot guarantee how the dog will react to medicine during flight.
#5 Preparing your dog for a flight.
In preparation for the flight I usually double check that all of Papi's vaccinations are up to date, I take him for a health check and put the carrier in the living room with a thin blanket inside and try to make Papi comfortable to stay in the carrier for couple of hours so he gets used to the carrier and is not to stressed on the day of the flight. During Summer I fly with only early or late flights when it is not to hot and I always give Papi lots of water, when I check in my luggage I walk him outside of the airport a bit until it's time to check in. Also, I do not give him food on the day of the flight at all until we reach the destination.
I hope you find my tips useful, let me know if you have any questions as I pretty much mastered the subject :)
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
Josh Billing
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
Josh Billing
"I think London's sexy because it's so full of eccentrics."
Rachel Weisz
Last weekend right after Dreft Fashion Week blogger conference I traveled to London to support my boyfriend who was playing final four Euroleague basketball tournament. My friend and roommate (also) Katarina went with me so we used the opportunity to explore London a bit in between the games.
Although I have been to London many times and visited most of the tourist hot spots, cold London weather surprises me every time, this weekend was not an exception, on top, Katarina's suitcase never arrived from Zagreb so first thing we did was went to shop for some warmer clothes.
It was raining mostly so we spent first day and a half warming up with Starbucks coffee, tea and biscuits and morning my boyfriend's team loss in the first game over a big Japanese lunch and with a delicious coconut and mango frozen yogurt in TopShop on Bond street.
“One thing about London is that when you step out into the night, it swallows you.”
Sebastian Faulks, Engleby
Although my boyfriend team didn't win the Euroleague this year he was selected in a first team of Euroleague and also an MVP for February so we are hoping he will win Spanish championship and balance it all out :) I am also hoping for a win next year, also in final four, in London.
London is a roost for every bird."
Benjamin Disraeli
Last couple of days I spent on a short business trip in beautiful Brussels, Belgium. Other then rich architecture and world famous chocolate and pastries I was thrilled with gorgeous hotel Amigo,
their great customer service and delicious food.
I had just about half an hour when I arrived to see the city a bit before checking in the hotel, I wouldn't be able to do more then that even if I wanted to as it was very, very cold for this time of the year, especially for me flying in from Barcelona.
Chocolate and pastries were at every corner so if you are on diet, my advise is not to go to Belgium as it is absolutely impossible to resist Belgium's great quality chocolate, cakes and pasty offering. About 10 minutes after arriving to city center I already had warm Starbucks skinny late and Belgium waffle in my hands, enjoying every single bite of it during my short walk to the hotel.
On Monday evening we had delicious dinner at Atomium, monument built for the World Fair in Brussels 1958. and today most popular tourist attraction and symbol of this European's capital.The highest sphere - Panorama is at 92m and it offers a 360 view of the whole city!
Hopefully I will get back to Brussels soon, when there will be warmer weather and of course, when I will not be on diet. :)
First time this basketball season my boyfriend and I had a free Sunday together when we didn't have to work or practice so despite the not so warm early Spring weather we still managed to spend couple of hours in this beautiful Barcelona's park.
My boyfriend came home late after midnight night before from away game so we didn't wake up today until noon, we ate big breakfast, went to have our early afternoon coffee at nearby Starbucks where we met a couple of ladies from Dubrovnik who of course took his autograph and then we finished our coffee and finally decided what closest park we will go to before it starts raining. Papi was super excited to finally have couple of hours long walk and some quality time with Ante and I.
Bellow you can see few pics I took during our lazy Sunday spent in Turo park, my favorite is the pic of the orange three. How did you spent your weekend lovelies?
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