How to get free trips as a travel blogger: Best ways

How to get free trips as a travel blogger: Best ways

by | Jan 28, 2022 | BLOG, Making Money, Travel Tips

Do you want to start a travel blog and begin a life of adventure and pleasure, then becoming a Travel Blogger is for you.

As your travel influencer status grows, you’ll notice that there are numerous chances to collaborate with tour companies, travel brands, hostels/hotels, tourism boards, and others in exchange for social media coverage, writing reviews, and a variety of other services. But first and foremost, you must have your blog up and running!

Here are a few guides on how to become a travel blogger and make money.

Provide value and good content

Make sure your website is up to scratch, be sure your site isn’t slow to load, that it’s easy to navigate, and avoid having too many pop-ups come on your site, as a visitor it can become very annoying.

Be sure your blog posts have minimal to no spelling mistakes and have good quality photos. If you are going to be pitching brands, the first thing they will do is have a look at your website to see what value you can provide. 

Be clear on what value you can provide the brand, such as X amount of posts shared on X amount of social platforms, or provide high-quality photos. 

island

***This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through clicking the link, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.***

Craft your online persona & build your social media following as a Travel blogger

Be active on your social media accounts, after all, they are called “social” for a reason, being social is a large part of blogging and having a good network of followers is important, gaining authentic followers is hard, but if you provide value and good content (aka- good photographs and written content) your followers will come. 

Don’t overstretch yourself and try to be overall platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, youtube, you will soon become overwhelmed, Pick 1 to 2 platforms you want to share most of your content, they all offer different views:

  • Instagram is photo-focused and hashtags before the written content
  • Facebook is content first, image second. 
  • Pinterest is an image that is linked to something like your website or page you want to send people, it is like google, it is used as a web search platform. 
  • Youtube is for videos, more long-form videos
  • TikTok is short videos

If you don’t have a large following on your socials you can still be noticed by brands if you stay consistent and provide value, but try focusing on growing one particular platform and that will help you be seen as an influencer by more brands.

Albury van park

Create a media kit for your Travel Blog

A Media Kit in a sense a resume, but for bloggers, this is where you can share a short bio, your social media stats – how many followers you have, engagements, visits to your website, previous collaborations, and more.

Media-kits vary on how many pages you should have, depending on how long you have been blogging or how many collaborations you have had, but if you’re new to making a media kit, keeping it simple 1-3 pages is enough, companies don’t have the time to be reading through multiple pages. 

Canva have great templates to get started, be sure to change them up to suit your brand and style, you want to stand out and reflect who you are.  Other places you can find templates are Creative Market and Etsy for a low cost to have a stand-out and different template from the rest. 

Remember to keep your media kit up to date with the most accurate stats of your social media and save it as a PDF file. 

What you should include in your media kit can differ, but as a basic guide, you should include: 

  • Your Brand– your logo, blog name, URL
  • An intro of who you are, what your blog is about, and include a photo (no need to write your life story) make it quick and punchy
  • A tagline – a short description that sums up what your blog is about. For example

Disney- Happiest Place on Earth

KFC- Finger-Lickin-Good

RedBull- gives you wings

I bet you all remember these types of brands for their tagline, it’s catchy. My tagline is – Find your Serenity, the world is our teacher.

  • Contact details– Don’t forget your name and email, and phone number if you are available to receive calls, if pitching different countries, sometimes an email is enough, you don’t want to be getting calls at odd hours. 
  • Social and blog stats– number of followers, combined or each platform, can include email subscribers, monthly page views, and unique visitors to your site
  • Audience demographics (location, age group, gender %)

Include photographs throughout your media kit and brands you have collaborated with and testimonials, brand logos are a good visual.

Apollo Bay

Pitching Brands

Combined with your media kit, If you are emailing travel brands, you will need to write a short to the point email summarizing information the company will be interested to know, it’s your media kit in a nutshell.

Here is a basic pitch template, use this to get you started on crafting your own pitch, edit the pitch accordingly to what brand you are pitching and choose to add more things like social stats or previous collaborations, this template below is only a basic one to give you an idea of where to start! 

Here’s the interesting part…

Email Subject- Collaborations request with (company name) and (blog/IG or FB handle) 

Hi (person’s name) if not known (To whom it may concern)

(Optional Ice-breaker) Thanks for taking the time to read my email. 

My name is (your name) and I (what you do) run a travel blog (your website) I am based in Melbourne, Australia) 

I am planning my trip to (destination) on/ or from (date/s) and I would love the opportunity to collaborate with (hotel name).

I would like to showcase your hotel on my blog (name of the blog) that receives (number of page views) and is aimed at (whos your audience target) and with my (x) amount of social media followers. 

I am impressed with what your hotel has to offer (name features) and feel your property will be a great fit for my audience. 

In exchange for (whatever you are asking for) (complimentary stay/tickets, tour) you will receive (whatever you can do for them)  

I have attached my media kit for your reference. I would love to partner with you and hope to hear back from you soon.

Regards, 

(sign your name)

But wait, there’s more – Ideas of offers you can put forward to the company are, but are not limited to:

  • 1 x 2000 word blog post with SEO keywords that will help them be found
  • 3 x Instagram/ Facebook stories with them tagged and hashtagged for more exposure
  • 2 x Instagram and Facebook post feeds with hashtags
  • 2 x Pinterest idea pins
  • 2 x Pinterest Pins to drive traffic to the blog post

>> If you want to Quantify your offer and stand out more, you can add things like >>

  • 1 x 2000 word blog post – READ BY (x) amount of readers
  • 3 x Instagram/ Facebook stories SEEN BY (x) viewers
  • 2 x Instagram and Facebook post – Average impressions of (x) each (total of x amount of impressions)

Generally, you will be the one pitching travel brands, but on occasions, companies will reach out to you, if so **high five**.

Be active with pitching businesses, reach out to the companies that align with your brand and audience, be prepared you will get rejections and you will get no reply at all, but keep pitching, don’t be spammy, but if you don’t hear back, send a follow-up email. 

Keep pitching, you will eventually get a yes. 

Tip: when pitching try asking for times when it is an off-peak season, pitching in peak season, can be harder to get into if you are new to collaborations because why would the place give a free stay when they would generally be fully booked at that time.

island

Networking, Facebook groups, and Tourism boards

You may choose to pitch the company directly or check out the tourism boards of the city you are visiting like: Visit Portugal, Visit Melbourne, Tourism Australia, you get my drift. 

Be sure to check out their menu or footer area for contact us, or press/media page, they may have a section for influencers/ content creators (check out Visit London they have a form you can submit for collaborations. 

The other way to find opportunities is to attend networking events, try going to some travel expos, travel conferences and join Travel Massive, a travel community, you don’t need to pitch them directly, you don’t want to be pushy or salesy, but have a general conversation around what you do, build a relationship and you may find you will be given a business card to contact their media/PR area. 

Facebook is another great resource to join groups around blogging, or whatever your niche may be, often within the groups, opportunities for press trips come up, or people will be asking questions that might help you gather information.

Family

Nothing is for Free – Be prepared to work for your collaboration

Free isn’t exactly really Free, nothing in life really is, so I use the term “Free” lightly,  In exchange for getting a “free” hotel stay, or tour, you must remember you actually have to work for it. 

It’s not just getting back to the hotel, throwing your shoes off, and relaxing, you will need to be taking photographs of everything, waking early to get that sunrise photo and getting all the details about the hotel and surrounds, or things that stand out on tours or whatever comped trip you are promoting. 

Your trip will be glorious and fun, but you need to remember you are there to promote the business on your social media, your blog, and with photography and this can take a few hours to craft a blog post, edit photos and engage in social media comments and questions. 

Does it beat sitting in an office, 100%, if you enjoy what you are doing, it’s not really like working, is it!

Over-deliver on your promise

Brands talk to each other, word of mouth on an exceptional job done by you can get you way more collaborations in the future. 

Over-deliver what you promised, go that one step further, and give more than you agreed on, so, if you said 3 posts on your socials give 4, share extra value and complete your blog post sooner than agreed.

If live videos were not talked about, you can jump on and do a live video during your stay, showcase the business more than talked about and you will be likely to get raving reviews by the brand and giving you a higher chance of other brands reaching out to work with you.

Recap

  • Provide Value – great written content and photographs
  • Be genuine, be unique, be consistent and gain social media followers
  • Create a media kit (AKA- travel blogger resume)
  • Craft a pitch for hotels, tours, attraction passes, and so on
  • Free, not so free, you are there to work promoting the company
  • Join Facebook groups, go to network events (local travel expos)
  • Over-deliver on your promise, companies talk to each other, word of mouth is key.
  • Be Humble, be Professional

You got this. The best way to gain press trips is to be “YOU” and be professional. 

Happy Pitching!

7 Easy Steps To Be A Successful Digital Nomad You Need To Know

7 Easy Steps To Be A Successful Digital Nomad You Need To Know

by | Jan 23, 2022 | BLOG, Making Money

Become a Digital Nomad in Easy steps.

Digital nomads make a career by working online while living in several locations of their choice rather than from a workplace setting. Digital nomads can choose to be full-time travelers because their profession is fully remote, as long as they have access to Wi-Fi and the digital gear  like laptop or smartphone they need to conduct their work from anywhere in the world.

***This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through clicking the link, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.***

There are many benefits of being a digital nomad, and having the option to live location-free, while ticking off all your bucket list locations all while working from your laptop. 

  • Travel to popular destinations (skip them cold winters) 
  • Learn about new cultures, new languages & make new friends
  • The flexibility of your time and your lifestyle of choice
  • No Boss telling you what to do, or asking for time off
  • Work whenever and wherever you want – true freedom.

With benefits there are struggles and the novelty of traveling around the world can eventually become overwhelming for some. This is not to say you will feel like this, but things to always consider. A few con’s from personally living abroad can be: 

  • Loneliness and missing your family
  • Staying motivated (remember you don’t have a boss telling you what to do)
  • Living out of suitcases and always moving around can be exhausting
  • Lacking privacy depending on your accommodation choices (hostels can be crowded)

 

What jobs are there for Digital Nomads? 

There are many different options to working remotely, either with a company or by becoming an entrepreneur and being your own boss. 

With the global pandemic, working from home has become a way of life for many businesses, and many people have taken to the entrepreneur lifestyle and begun working online. 

Here are a few examples of Digital Nomad Jobs. 

  • Blogging
  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Social Media Marketing
  • YouTube
  • Freelance Writers
  • Virtual Assistant (VA)
  • Tutor / Language teacher
  • Creating online courses, funnels, web designs

I have a travel blog and a high-ticket affiliate marketing business. This is what I find works for my family and me to travel and work as we go, it gives us the lifestyle we were looking for, but also something that I enjoy doing.

If starting a blog is something that you might find interesting, click here to find out more or if high-ticket affiliate marketing might interest you, you can find more about starting your own Brand (AKA Business) here and be supported by an amazing community that is worldwide.

There are endless options for working online, this is a list of a few ideas, for a larger list, check out my post here.

Booking.com

Tips to start your digital nomad life

 

1. Making preparations

Before you plan your digital nomad endeavors, you should scout out what you already have and what you consider to be essentials. (travel gear, tech gear, health, etc)

 

2. Figure Out How You Want to Live

Once you find a destination, you’ll need to secure housing or at the very least, figure out what kind of accommodations you want. You can look at options like Airbnb, hostels, and shared housing to save on costs, but working remotely will require a good WIFI connection, so an important thing to look for when looking at accommodation. 

  • Booking.com – Best for hotels and hostels accommodation, and offers a great cancellation policy. 
  • HostelWorld – Best hostel search engine for every country. 
  • Airbnb – A very popular option for digital nomads to find housing/ apartments for short-term/long-term rentals.

 

3. Decide your destination

The first step in carefully choosing your selection of destinations is to determine the cost of living in each location and the safety if you are traveling alone. You’ll need to be able to pay for everything from rent to food and entertainment and transportation to get around, so be realistic about your salary in relation to the cost of living in different locations.

Remember to be a digital nomad you do not have to travel, you can choose to stay in your county and you may just work from home or travel around in an RV/Caravan. 

4. Join a digital nomad community

Finding new networks of like-minded people is the best part of being a digital nomad. Being a part of a community is helpful not only to your business but also to our lifestyle! There are many Facebook groups that join Digital Nomads together like Nomadbase – The Digital Nomad Community & Digital Nomads Around the World Working from cafes and libraries can be a great way to meet new people. 

 

5. Making money and paying taxes

 When it comes to earning money as a digital nomad, you will need to check your country/ state on paying taxes, if you spend more time out of your home country and pay taxes to the foreign country you have been living/working, you can claim for a “foreign income exemption, however, you will need to check with your countries tax rules. If you are making working online your main source of income, I suggest getting yourself a good accountant to assist you with the rules on earning an income while living overseas. 

 

6. Get insurance

You might be thinking about why you should pay this additional monthly cost if you’re in good health. When you travel full-time, you never know what will happen, and let me tell you accidents do happen. As a result, insurance is the greatest option to protect yourself and your wallet.

Many digital nomads make the mistake of not considering health insurance before starting on their adventure. Some popular health covers for nomads are World Nomads and Safety Wing.

 

7. Set Boundaries

Becoming a digital nomad is hard, it takes time and sacrifices, you need to set yourself some boundaries, no longer being an employee and becoming your own boss, it takes time to condition yourself to set a routine to be more productive. Here are a few tips to help: 

 Set the number of hours you will work

  • Allow yourself breaks
  • Prioritize your work schedule and workspace
  • Have a daily routine
  • Be active throughout the day- get out for a walk or exercise or yoga
  • Eat well and stay hydrated

 

You got this!!

12 Super Easy Ways to Make Extra Money From Home By Starting a Side Hustle

12 Super Easy Ways to Make Extra Money From Home By Starting a Side Hustle

by | Jan 17, 2022 | Making Money

The easy way you can earn extra dollars from home.

Working from home has provided an ideal setting for anyone looking for some extra income with a side hustle. There are dozens of ways to earn a fair amount of money during your downtime, depending on your skills.

Check the list below for anything you’re looking for and pick a way that meets your skill level. Why waste time reading around social media when you could be earning money?

***This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through clicking the link, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.***

1. Virtual Assistant

We always hear people say “they don’t have time”, which makes Virtual assistants very popular and in demand, So If you have spare time and want to become a virtual assistant, one simple method to generate an income from home is to assist others in completing tasks. If you’re well-organized and have good time management skills, becoming a virtual assistant is a low-risk way to break into the digital services business. No matter where you live, you may effortlessly execute these tasks as a remote worker.

Finding VA work can be easy with sites like. Upwork, Indeed or Fiverr.

2. Sell things

“What can I sell to generate money from home?” you might question. There are always things around the house that you can get together and sell for a few extra bucks by listing them on eBay or Craigslist or Facebook buy, swap, sell pages or even have a garage sale.

You don’t even have to leave your house to get rid of unwanted goods, think of things like furniture, clothes, shoes, household items/appliances, antiques, or anything that is collecting dust that you no longer feel the need for, check your garage and shed for tools or anything additional you don’t use, literally most things can be sold online to make additional money straight from the comfort of your own home.

Ebay
facebook
garage sale

3. Create and sell digital products

Digital products are non-physical assets that can be sold repeatedly online without requiring restocking. Subscription/membership sites, software, ebooks, stock images, films/wall art, planners, PDFs, invitations, and much more.

Selling digital products as a side business has a lot of advantages, including low overhead. Etsy is home to one of the biggest selling platforms to sell digital products or handmade products, with little costs involved, Etsy would be my first choice, or other options include Amazon or Shopify.

To design your products a great platform to use is Canva, you can create anything you need in Canva from PDFs, social media posts resumes, webinars, and more. Canva is free to use and is very possible to create your designs with the free version or you can upgrade to the Pro service which gives you more selection.

If you are going to sell products, I suggest the Canva Pro as it gives you much more features to share with your buyers.

4. Online tutoring & teaching a language

If you believe being a tutor means getting perfect A’s in high school and college, you’re mistaken. It all comes down to how much you know and how well you know it. Tutor.com, TutorMe, and Studypool are examples of online tutoring organizations that hire tutors to share their knowledge with students on a variety of topics. If you are a freelancer you can also use zoom, or skype to do tutoring calls to make extra money or find work on Upwork and Freelancer to name a couple. 

If you are fluent in more than one language, you can use this to your advantage and teach others in person or online. If you are traveling to countries where English is their second language, use your English to teach others. Or if you play an instrument, you could teach music.

5. Cryptocurrency & NFT’S

It’s all about passive income when it comes to investing. You buy assets today in the hopes that their value will rise in the future, allowing you to profit from the difference when you sell. All you have to do in the meanwhile is wait. For a long time, many intelligent investors have been focusing on one of the most popular assets – cryptocurrencies and NFT’s.

6. Social Media Management

When you manage social media accounts for small businesses, you can make some quick and consistent money. Simply take advantage of all of your unused social media time and manage the social media accounts of small business owners for them!

All businesses need to be on social media these days if they want to stay current and add a personal touch. Social Media Management consists of creating and posting on their social accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and more. Look online or walk around to local businesses and offer your services for your desired fee.

selling
sale funnels

7. Build Sales Funnel

If you can build a funnel that can actually convert, there is money to be made, most online marketers, entrepreneurs are using sales funnels to drive traffic to their sites. ClickFunnels, created by Russell Brunson, makes the process of building a sales funnel easy and stress-free. It will take money to set up, but the return revenue will be much more. are tech-savvy or willing to do some courses that teach you how to build sales

8. Start a Blog

If you’re looking for a long-term internet side hustle, blogging is a good option.

Because you can create content in advance and arrange it to go online at your desired time, blogging is easy to balance with a full-time job. Depending on how much work you put into it, it has the potential to pay you a few hundred to a thousand dollars every month. Blogging can be about anything that you want, a passion, a hobby- Travel, Lifestyle, Financial, etc. Blogging can be very lucrative and give a passive income if you want to make it a full-time job, but with blogging, you must stay consistent with regular posting.

Starting a blog isn’t that expensive, my website is with Bluehost and I highly recommend them, very easy to use and have amazing support and you can read my blog post on how to get started creating a blog.

8. Rent out your home or caravan

Renting out your static caravan is an easy and successful way to make money from your home. As long as you’re comfortable trusting strangers it’s definitely worth it, just be sure to have the correct insurance in case anything goes wrong. 

Airbnb is a popular option to rent out a room or your whole house and can provide you with extra money quite quickly. Airbnb pays you within 24 hours of the guest checking in. If you have a holiday home, Airbnb is a great resource to potentially earn a full-time income. Again make sure you have the correct insurance if anything were to go wrong.

9. Become an affiliate marketer

Affiliate marketing is a very interesting business. If you have the skills to succeed in this venture, you can make a small fortune here.

Affiliate marketing is a very lucrative choice if you are looking for passive income. You do not need a specific skill set to get started, but you do need the willingness to learn how it all works. You can do affiliate marketing by using social media, having a website, and using ads on the internet to promote your products/services and target the right audience. 

Becoming an affiliate marketer saves the companies on advertising costs and pays you as the affiliate to drive traffic to the product/ service to make a sale, once a sale is generated, you get paid the commission, there are low and high ticket affiliate marketing, depending on the outcome you are looking for, and which products you will like to promote. 

I am a high ticket affiliate marketer/ lifestyle marketer which means I promote a training platform with a supportive community and the platform sells the product for you, so there are no direct pushy sales tactics and allows us to travel unlimited to amazing destinations. 

If this interests you, head over to my Service page for more information. 

affiliate marketing

11. Sell services on Fiverr or/and Upwork

Fiverr is a large marketplace where you can sell an abundance of services such as graphic and design, such as logos, gaming, art & illustration, digital services, programming and tech, writing and translation, video and animation services, lifestyle and business services, and much more. Fiverr is a great choice to do as a side hustle or full-time gig and easy to make money if you are traveling.

Upwork is another marketplace where you can sell your services, such as web designers, SEO specialists, Graphic design, content writing, accounting, and many other professional services which will help keep your pockets full.

12. Email Marketing

The majority of businesses and entrepreneurs/ bloggers use email marketing to reach potential buyers and to gain more followers to their social accounts or web pages. Email marketing is a profitable option, it does take work to get to know the audience you are marketing to, but if you feel you are great with content writing, email marketing may be a great fit for you. Popular platforms are Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, ConvertKit, LeadPages and Aweber, and OptinMonster to name a few.

email marketing
support

The Best way to spend 3 days in beautiful Paris

The Best way to spend 3 days in beautiful Paris

by | Jan 13, 2022 | France

Bonjour, Welcome to the City of Lights.

Another checkbox ticked, and another experience was lived. My friend Raelene and I traveled to Paris in 2004, a city that is always on everyone’s travel list. While it will forever remain the city of romantics, who says there are not enough things to do for you and your family?

Being the business and commerce hub, Paris takes no setback with the array of activities it offers. With the most luxurious dining options, splendid views, and rich culture, there was no dull moment in our short trip.

Language French, some English spoken

The currency is Euro €

Getting to Paris:

The Eurostar train is available from most European cities, We left London, and my friend and I arrived in Paris within two hours and thirty minutes.

The high frequency of trains makes it simpler for you to plan and leave according to your needs. Of course, it is best to arrive 30 minutes early to make it hassle-free when traveling with kids.

The tickets begin at €52, making them much cheaper than the air costs and allowing you to arrive in the center of the city.

Paris is very accessible from most major airports around the world. If you are flying into  Charles De Gaulle airport, there are many different options to get into the city of Paris, with public transport (approx €10.50), or airport shuttle services (approx €15-€25), or taxi (approx €60-€80)

Getting around Paris:

We opted for the hop-on-and-off bus tour where the famous locations could be covered while also learning about the unknown facts about the famous attractions, with prices that begin from as low as €18.

The Metro is another great mode of transport and is affordable and easy to navigate. Check out the information on the local transport in Paris here.

there are always Uber or Taxis, however, they are going to be more on the expensive side.

The best way to explore Paris is by foot, or by hiring a bike and riding around the city on the many bike paths available.

To rent a bike check out Velib they have thousands of classic or electrical bikes for hire and many docking stations around the city. The bikes are €1 for every 30 minutes and €2 for an electrical bike. 

When to visit and the weather

January, February, and March – Winter is the coldest month to visit, and can be unpleasant to be exploring outside all day in the cold. If you don’t mind the cold, then visiting in the winter months will see you a cheaper price on getting there and on accommodation and much fewer crowds.

April, May, and June – Spring – the temperature is starting to warm up, there is less rain and you can still avoid the big crowds, people generally start arriving in June for the summer holidays.

July, August, September – Summer is the hottest time and the busiest with summer holidays around the world; this brings big crowds higher prices, and long lines. If visiting in summer, you may want to consider buying tickets in advance and buying with an express entry to avoid the long lines.

October, November, December – Fall the temperature is nice, starting to cool, but fewer crowds and prices begin to go down.

If you don’t like Winter for the cold, and Summer for being too hot and too busy, the start of Fall may be just what you’re looking for or Spring avoiding the harsh weather conditions and busy lines.

 

***This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through clicking the link, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.***

Places to stay

We stayed at the Hotel Du Roi Rene, 72 Place du Dr. Felix Lobligeois. While being just fifteen minutes away from the heart of Paris, the hotel is in the raw district of Batignolles. The transport to and from the hotel was convenient, along with multiple departmental stores that are close. Another add-on is its proximity to the iconic Moulin Rouge.

The is an abundance of hotels throughout Paris to suit all budgets and hostels for those more on a budget or looking to get to meet other travelers.  

North Shore

Eiffel Tower

The best tourist location in this City of Lights, the Eiffel Tower. There was a long line for the elevator upon our arrival, but there was no way we would have climbed up the 1,665 steps to reach the top. Unfortunately, we didn’t go to the top but having your tickets booked in advance will be a step ahead; this is on my bucket list for my next trip with my family.

Costs:

  • Starting at €8.30 for 12-24 years old
  • €16.60 for the adults

Musee D’Orsay

The next spot on the list was The Musee D’Orsay. Located just a few minutes away from the Eiffel Tower, this museum reflects Paris’s tradition and culture.

Pre-book your admission passes; the fee is €16. However, there is a way you and your family can save on this entry fee. On the first Sunday of every month, entry to this museum is free for everyone.

I will keep this in mind the next time I travel with my kids and husband. The interiors are filled with large paintings and sculptures that convey much more than what meets the eye. I can only imagine how fascinated my kids would be in the museum.

Norte Dame

Visit the world’s finest French Gothic architecture, the Notre Dame. After being closed due to the fire in 2019, the interiors of Notre Dame have been closed to the public. However, the exterior grounds and church are worth a visit.

The asymmetrical portals with the ‘gallery of kings’ above them and a magnificent view from the west rose window are all sights to see.

We then headed to a tiny café called the Odette Tea Room, which is just a few minutes away from Notre Dame, to try their famous choux pastry. And if you are visiting with kids, the Shakespeare & Company Bookstore and Café will have them intrigued.

The Louvre

The next destination was the artsy Louvre on the banks of the River Seine. Being the most visited and largest museum in Paris, the museum has loads to offer.

While it is the home to the famous Mona Lisa painting, eight other departments are full of arts and antiques. A map of the museum will help guide you through this massive area, while there is also a mobile application that you can use to familiarize us with the museum’s details. 

The Garden of Tuileries

Then head to the Garden of Tuileries to witness how Parisians eat, stroll, and meet. With the Louvre museum on one end and the beginning of the Champs-Elysees on the other end, the garden is an iconic location. With kids, it would be the perfect place for their time to run around and play.

 

Champs-Elysees

Next up was the elite and classy avenue, Champs-Elysees. Said to be one of the most commercial streets in the city, the up-scale cafes and shops do extreme justice to its name.

The road runs 1.91km long and witnesses over 300,000 people every day, and we were a couple of them. There are various luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Guerlain, along with brands like Gap, Zara, and Nike that will take care of your pocket-friendly requirements.

 

The Arc De Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe, which is at the Champs-Elysees’ end. A location that honors those who died for France. Another Tomb of the Unknown pays tribute to those who died in the war but could not be identified.

To several people’s surprise, we could walk up the stairs to the observation deck inside the Arc. However, the absence of an elevator makes it impossible for people who use wheelchairs to go on top. 

Montmarte Neighborhood

For our last day, we set out on foot to explore the Montmarte Neighborhood. Firstly, we opted to see the Sacre Coeur Basilica, a short walk away from the Moulin Rouge. After climbing a few more steps, the view of the city from the top was beautiful.

We spent a great deal of time in the neighborhood, enjoying the different cheese, bread, and wines. Our final visit as a tourist was to the Montmartre Cemetery, a fifteen-minute ride from the Sacre Coeur to witness the extensive grounds and mausoleums.

Before heading back to the station, we had the chance to glance through Moulin Rouge, which is one of the most famous cabarets worldwide. Loved by celebrities like Elton John, you can have dinner and enjoy the shows at the Rouge.

 

While three days cannot be enough to experience all that Paris offers, visiting these places will undoubtedly make the trip memorable for you. To cut down on a few extra costs, you can opt for the Paris Pass it covers all entry expenses to various museums and monuments. While this was a trip without family, I can’t wait for a longer one with my family.  

Have you ever been to the city of lights and romance? what was your favorite part? 

Aletria The Best Portuguese Sweet Pasta In 4 Easy Steps

Aletria The Best Portuguese Sweet Pasta In 4 Easy Steps

by | Oct 29, 2021 | Recipes

Aletria – A Traditional Portuguese Delight

This cherished recipe has been passed down through generations, creating warm pockets of nostalgia in its wake. More than just a dish, Aletria is an invitation to savor the flavors of tradition, where every spoonful tells a story.

Aletria is made with a humble ingredient that might surprise you – pasta. Yes, pasta! But not just any pasta, thin vermicelli noodles that soak up the luxurious, sugary syrup it’s bathed in. A concoction of milk, sugar, delicate strands of pasta, a hint of citrus, and a sprinkling of cinnamon comes together to create a symphony of flavors that’s irresistible. It’s a celebration of simplicity and sweetness, reminiscent of cozy evenings and festive gatherings.

Be sure to check out more Portuguese and other favorite recipes here.

 

alatria

Aletria

A traditional Portuguese sweet, easy and quick to make, served as a Christmas dessert, but great all year round, cut into cubes, it makes a nice snack too.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Portuguese
Servings 6
Calories 240 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Packet Angel Hair Pasta
  • 2 ½ Cups Sugar
  • 2 Cups Milk
  • 3 Egg Yolks
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 1 Piece Lemon rind
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • Ground Cinnamon (to decorate)

Instructions
 

  • In a saucepan put milk, sugar, butter, lemon rind, and cinnamon stick, mix with a wooden spoon, and bring it to a boil.
  • Remove the lemon rind and cinnamon stick and then add the angel hair pasta to the milk mixture, cook on low until milk mixture is mostly evaporated (you don’t want it too runny) and pasta is cooked, stirring occasionally for pasta not to stick to the pot.
  • Beat the egg yolks in a dish, while over low heat, add beaten egg yolks to the mixture and mix quickly to avoid clumps of egg yolk forming.  Mix until evenly combined throughout the pasta.
  • Remove from heat and pour onto a plate/ serving dish or into small bowls. Let it cool for about 5 minutes and decorate with ground cinnamon.

Notes

You can be creative and do a design of shapes or writing. Get creative.
Cut into squares and it can be eaten warm or cold. 
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