The first time I ever travelled outside of my country was when I was 10 and we went to Macau. My parents started bringing me to all sorts of places and I so appreciate it. Some of them, to be honest, I was too much of a kid to remember, but others were well engraved in my memory. Since then, I’ve always tried to go somewhere once a year. Travelling is one of the best things you can do, ever, and it feels so good to go around the world and get to know other cultures, people and places. Here’s a round up of my top five destinations in the last years.
To be honest, Stockholm was one of the most spectacular cities I’ve ever been in. I was there for our honeymoon and everything was amazingly beautiful. Quite cold, but still. We walked around the new and old part of the city and it was highly organized, designed, organic and I just felt like fitting in. Close to the water, with a lot of life, people running, riding their bikes, sitting in coffee shops and bars. There was a vibe I felt that made me calm and appreciative to have had the opportunity to visit Stockholm.
I was indecisive when it came to putting Jordan in first or second place. I went there with my parents and grandfather almost ten years ago and, still to this day, it was one of the most amazing journeys and trip. I got to visit some of the main cities in Jordan and there is this place they take you where you can see three – if I’m not mistaken – of the border countries (for those of you who don’t know, Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel and Palestine). We also had the opportunity to visit Petra, which is considered one of the seven wonders of the world, and I can still recall my chilly feeling going through that lost city.
I went to Florence in August 2011 with one of my best friends. It was such a fun trip. We visited Rome first and Florence second and it was enchanting. Even more than Rome, Milan and Verona. Florence has a familiar feeling to it, where everyone seems to know each other. We had the greatest experience the night we arrived. After a misunderstanding with our room, we headed out to dinner very late and just hopped on the first restaurant that seemed eatable. There, we met three guys, one of them was an Italian-Brazilian, and they took us to a sort of music festival that was being held close to our hotel. We drank some good wine – on the house – and some caipirinhas and danced to the sound of Brazilian music. Both of us got drunk and ended up in our hotel room, me asleep and my friend chatting non-stop. I don’t know if it was because of the way we met the guys or got drunk, but
it sure was one hell of a night!
I went to Venice a few years earlier with my parents. What a magical city. The weather was great, the people were nice, the food was delicious and the streets, canals, museums and stories were unbelievable. The first day we walked around Venice, I bought a book about the story of Casanova in a vintage book store. It was poorly translated from italian to english but it told the many adventures Casanova got in. It’s supposed to be based on true facts, but we will never know. It was one of the best trips I ever had with my parents.
To be honest, this position was supposed to be given to Egypt. I went there in 2000, if I’m not mistaken, but have no pictures with me of the happening, so I decided to step Versailles up a place because it was breathtaking. The enormity and flaunt and ostentation were too much to bear. The rooms in the Palace, the huge gardens, the country houses, the estate. It must have been good to have that all to yourself and be able to wander around and find a new place each and every time. The weather wasn’t that good but it sure made it worth the trip there.