Empress TRAVELS

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”

- St. Augustine

montego bay, Jamaica

Here literally felt like home away from home. As a daughter of a Jamaican man and a second generation from my mum - it’s complicated but not! - I grew up hearing of this beautiful island my whole life. I visited when I was much younger with no real memories so 2017/2018 I visited back home. It was truly an amazing experience from the food, the expeditions we went on and seeing some of my family I haven’t seen in decades. Whilst out there I met people from different parts of the world coming to experience the joy the pure golden sun gives you and the waves of of the Caribbean sea - and cocktails! Definitely a place I’d love to go back to again… 30th birthday celebrations maybe??

Negril - Rick’s café is a must do experience. Even if you don’t decide to jump into the sea, just watching the different people do it from varying heights is an awesome experience.

Ocho Rios - Dunn’s River Falls and Catamaran Party cruise. It was really busy and full of both tourists and local people. It was fun getting to the top of the falls and the guides are great! The party afterwards was so funny - but beware the shot portions are supersized and shotting overproof rum… do so at your own risk!

Trelawny - Martha Brae River Rafting. With all the busiest of the other excursions we went on, this one was a welcome relaxing trip down the Martha Brae River. If you have a chance to look at the photos of the water it looks like they’ve been photoshopped but I can assure you the water really is that beautiful aqua-teal colour. The raft guide called Preacher Man - should a sweet old man singing songs and telling us stories along the way.

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barcelona, spain

A short plane ride over to Spain and we arrived in the gorgeous city of Barcelona. There were 11 of us ladies in the trip for a hen party. Now at first I was amazed that this city trip also combined itself with a beach trip - Playa de la Barceloneta - I love a good beach holiday, but combined with city culture this was a great long weekend break for us all. With only a 30 minute walk from where we were staying - which sounds long however with all the shops and restaurants on the way it wasn’t too bad. Authentic Spanish cuisine for those wishing to delve into Spanish culture or for this a little afraid there are plenty of other cuisines available.

In the city centre, there is a fresh product market with green grocers, and the fruit is amazing and sold at a very reasonable price. We also managed to buy a wristband that got us into bar-crawl where we partied with locals and internationals alike and free drinks on available, with games to play in each place.

Now for those who like the Ibiza/Magaluf/Zante feel there’s a club for that, or more RnB vibes there’s a place for you too. Most styles of music were played out there and DJ’s are happy to play your requests too. Sangria a plenty - and cocktails flowing in every place you go to I would truly recommend Barcelona.

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monza & Milan, italy

ITALY STOLE MY HEART. This place was absolutely wonderful! It heat (even though it was a heatwave in August) had you feeling exotic with gorgeous food everywhere you turn. I would also put a warning too, because some times of the day it did become overwhelming - so if you plan a trip in the summer I highly suggest taking bottled water with you. The transport system was so easy to navigate it didn’t matter that my Italian was the bare minimum! The wedding we attended was just magical and perfect - though I would not expect anything less from my friend here. This is a place I need to visit again - well once my Italian has improved!!

The food was nothing less than spectacular. Now I love food and I felt like I was in paradise. Only problem for me was being lactose intolerant HUFF however there are so many other options of food there you’ll never be lacking. This trip was to Milan, but for future visits I’d love to see Florence, Rome, Venice and Sicily.

Veni, Vidi, Amavi.

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albufeira & Faro, portugal

South of Portugal, a quiet yet breathtaking region of Portugal. Work colleagues have always recommended travelling to Portugal, but I never realised what a truly beautiful place it would be when we arrived there. Celebrating my best friend’s birthday, we took a coach trip - which actually surprised me how good it was and I’d go on another one - and explored the historical sites of South Portugal and even when to the end of the world. For those who love Piri spice this is definitely the place to experience it.

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Brussels, Belgium

A olde world medieval city, Brussels is great for Christmas Markets, Fresh waffles and the beer museum. There is no shortage of Gothic architecture in all the buildings here. It is easy to get around the whole of the town centre by food with waffle houses on every corner. As it was a December trip there was Christmas stalls everywhere and it had a wonderful atmosphere - but it was COLD BRUUUH. I’m not a fan of the cold so it did make it hard to fully enjoy the experience, however a visit to the Chocolate museum, Beer Museum with samples at the end and did I mention waffles?!!?! Not so great for my lactose intolerant belly however while in Brussels… can’t think of anything witty to add to that.

This is probably a place in the summer that can be fully enjoyed and explored more. There are city tours that happen throughout the day as hop on hop off service, but as mentioned before most of it is accessible by foot.

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Ibiza

First girl’s party holiday - and at the ripe old age of 21 at the time I’m glad I experienced it and got it out my system. I met some great people - and went on a boat ride into the Ibiza sea - was too scared to try the parasailing. Had great fun with my bestie, on our own bar crawl which grew as the night went on. This felt like the coming of age holiday - a proper step into adulthood. As much as I did enjoy myself here I don’t see myself returning - as it wasn’t really my scene.

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Agadir, morocco

North African sunrises and sunsets. Indescribable. Although the cocktails weren’t the greatest - the food made up for it for sure. I’d admit I am a beach holiday lover - whereas my friend is more of an explorer. Here is Agadir you can do both, with trips to see the different parts that interwove and bring you the Moroccan culture. It was also here I realise veganism or at least vegetarianism is actually possible and still taste amazing… one day I’ll be a vegetarian but just not yet.. I enjoyed my self here so much I’m going again in March 2019!

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Amsterdam

Celebrating my bestie’s birthday aka SmSS - what an experience… From the maddest cyclists out there to the most delicious pizza I’ve ever had! I would actually go to Amsterdam again. The atmosphere was so chilled, it was crazy - however I do believe that was due to the heavy present of police/military and the half of the people were under the influence! For saying I wasn’t looking forward to the weather here in the winter - it wasn’t actually too bad looking back on it - well definitely not when comparing to Bruges. There is something here for everyone - from avid gardeners tulip bulbs gallor, to those with a sweet tooth, historians have plenty of museums and those looking to have a fun weekend in the bars/pubs there’s a place for you too. Return next year? I think I just might.