Puerto Portals and Mood Beach Club

Hi there, everyone! Sorry, I know I'm late with the new post. I got back to Germany a few days ago and haven't really settled down yet. My boyfriend came to visit me for a week which was awesome, plus university keeps me really busy these days. Gotta read a 600 page public relations book, ugh! In addition to that we had to shoot an entire weekend for a trash trailer project in our compositing class.
So here I am, back with some Mallorca photos of my trip to Portals Nous in March. I wanted to checked out this lovely town and its harbor, Puerto Portals, cause I've never been there and heard a lot of great stuff about it. So my boyfriend was so nice to take me on a wonderful trip, haha.
Puerto Portals is pretty small compared to Alcúdia's harbor, where my boyfriend and I live. However, it's very charming, quiet in spring, plus classy and cozy at the same time. You'll find a lot of exclusive shops there, cute cafés and ice cream places, and an amazing restaurant/club/bar called Mood Beach Club.
The place had just opened when we arrived but the staff was so nice to let us in and gave us an exclusive tour of the club. Since we were early the kitchen was still closed but I'm sure they serve amazing food and drinks accompanied by live piano or chill out music. You can decide whether you're gonna take a seat right next to the ocean inside of the restaurant or have a sip of wine or champagne by the pool. Too bad we got to see this place in March when it was still a little chilly. It's surely a fabulous summer spot!
Check out their website here www.moodbeach.com or visit their Facebook page (click here) for more pics and events ;-)
Hope you like the pics, xoxo

 

Alcúdia Beach

Hey there! Did you all have a great weekend? 

I finally had some time to sit down and write a new post for you guys. These photos were taken a while ago, in February, before I left for Cuba but I didn't have time to post them yet. My sister took these pics of me at the beach of Alcúdia which happens to be right in front of  my boyfriend's home on Mallorca. It's a long white beach, beautiful and calm in winter, but too crowded for me in summer. I prefer to discover coves or chill at smaller beaches that are less visited by tourists during the summer months. Anyway, it was pretty cloudy and gray that day, perfectly matching my outfit, haha! I love this blouse I bought at H&M, mostly for its unique cut and print. Paired with the black hat and leather pants it makes a great casual but cool look. Hope you like the pics and have a wonderful Sunday night! xoxo

Cuba Diary - Havana and some last Tips

So here it is, my last Cuba post, loaded with lots of Havana pics and some final tips for you! If you ever decide to travel to Cuba and not stay in an expensive hotel, you should consider some of these things...

• Don't expect to get anywhere with your English. I was very thankful to speak Spanish fluently, all Cubans were talking to me in their own language. Except for the one time I spoke English with a Canadian tourist, I only talked Spanish for three weeks. I recommend you to travel with at least one Spanish speaking person! English didn't help much and negotiating with the Cubans is much easier in their own language, it can actually help you get a cheaper vacation ;-)

• Wifi is a foreign word on Cuba! My blogger identity was extremely challenged during our three week stay, in fact, I wasn't even a blogger at that time. In Cuba's capital Havana we only found two Wifi spots in luxury hotels, but the only time we tried to connect to the internet it didn't work very well and was also quite expensive. I lived 21 days without social media and whatsapp, so no contact to my family and friends - a totally new and interesting experience for me! It was actually not as tough as some of you might think, it was a relief not to check the phone every minute, not to hear from anybody and just concentrate on the "real life"... the wonderful vacation with my boyfriend.

• There are two different official currencies on Cuba, the Cuban convertible peso (CUC, also referred to as the "dollar") and the Cuban peso (CUP, also called moneda nacional)! We tried to pay as much as we could with the national currency (CUP, pesos) because it was way cheaper, that's the money most Cubans pay with. Only tourist buses, sights or restaurants have to be paid in CUC, which is very similar to the euro and therefore more expensive (almost the same prices as in Europe).

• Havana stands still, also regarding information and service! There were days I got really mad and was a little overwhelmed with the bad organization of the tourism service. If you book an all inclusive trip, you're totally fine. But if you don't plan ahead, it's quite difficult to find transportation, cheap housing or service in general. We always depended on help from the locals, which was actually very interesting and enriching.

• I recommend you to download the app City Maps 2Go Pro. You gotta pay for maps in hotels and the app provides you with a gps system and an overview of all the cities you're interested in. The app saved us a lot of time looking for specific sights and we could also track our daily walks and bus tours.

• Don't forget to pack sanitizer, all kinds of cosmetics and all the medicine you need, plus mosquito spray! Cuban pharmacies and drug stores are definitely not what you expect them to be like!

• Don't expect running hot water in Cuba. Means, don't expect any luxury when traveling as an adventurer. Cuban houses don't offer all the things you know from home, and sometimes you just gotta take a cold shower ;-) 

• Come well organized, because you can't ask the internet for help once on Cuba, haha! Don't bring too much luggage, most of the streets are pretty bad and my boyfriend surely hated me a little for taking so much stuff that we needed a suitcase... sorry, babe! 

• Travel with a man! Not just to avoid whistling and turning heads on the street, but because water bottles are just really heavy on the back all day, haha.

• Wear some old sneakers or other comfy shoes that you don't care about much. Especially in Havana your feet will get pretty dirty ;-)

• Safety tips - always keep your money with you, keep your phone and camera close. We left our passports in our rooms, where they were always safe, but took copies with us.

• Take some napkins, plastic forks and knives, and some salt and pepper. No joke, it would have made me very happy if someone had told me before. I was craving some salt and pepper after eating plain tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers without any spices or dressings for three weeks!

As you can see, there are some things you should consider when traveling to Cuba. But I'm pretty sure my photos showed you that it's definitely worth a visit! Now that I'm back in Germany, heading to Mallorca soon, it seems so unreal that my daily life started with just one piece of bread, and some pineapple and guayaba fruit, that I couldn't drink milk or eat a yummy pizza whenever I wanted, that I survived two food poisonings and a cold without any medicine, and that our days only consisted of sightseeing and going on adventures at the beach. Well, these are the kind of stories I'm gonna tell my kids later! All about our chaotic, adventurous and marvelous trip to Cuba!

Cuba Diary - Everywhere you go, there's Music

Hello there, hope you're all having a great week so far! I'm at my parents' house by now, leaving for Mallorca pretty soon. I didn't really wanna write much today, I just took so many photos on Cuba that I didn't want you to miss. So I prepared some final posts showing you more pics of our last days in Havana, including the first and only commercial center we found, some colorful photos of Havana Vieja and the most delicious crêpe I've ever had, stuffed with banana and some super yummy vanilla pudding. An Asian lady sold the French food on Cuba's streets, haha, what a great idea! I already miss Havana's vibes -  the colors, the music on the street, the lively Cubans... Hope you like the pics ;-)