About mdoutofoffice

Posts by :

feature post edited

Feeling High in Amsterdam

, , ,

Amsterdam is known to be one of Europe’s more popular cities amongst the youth for all the right reasons. Surprisingly, Amsterdam has a lot more to offer apart from the taboo tourist attractions. Some people come to Amsterdam for its beautiful canals and gabled houses and some come here to experience the culture of cafes.

HOW TO GET AROUND

Amsterdam is a city born for biking and walking. The narrow narrow streets and bridges make it a challenge to get around the city by car. The centre of Amsterdam can be easily explored on foot or by bicycle. We opted to walk to most places but took the bus and metro to the places that were not walkable.

TOP THINGS TO SEE

  • Canal Cruise: The best way to get a quick tour of the amsterdam canals is a canal cruise. Get a feel for the history and layout of Amsterdam by boat. Take a full tour or hop-on-hop-off tour and travel through the canals of the city. There are many different types of canal cruises to choose from. You can either chose to do a hop-on-hop-off sightseeing tours or an atmospheric candlelit night time cruises with food and wine.
    • TIP: If you are on a budget you can get a free canal cruise with the purchase of the I Amsterdam card.
  • Heineken Experience: For all the beer lovers, this is a perfect tour. It shows you the history of the brand and how their beer is made. The tour takes about 2-3 hours and despite it’s touristy nature, we had a really fun time.
    • TIP: Buy your tickets in advance to skip lines.
  • Red Light District: Even if you are not a man, it is always intriguing to see what the hype is all about. Yes, it is what you see in the movies; lots of glowing red lights, almost naked women standing in windows trying to lure people in. And yes, whatever you have heard happens here IS true.
    • TIP: Highly recommend taking a walking tour of the red light district. You will get to know a lot more than the eye can see and the ins & outs of this place.
  • Coffee Shops: Do not make the mistake of expecting a late or an actual coffee here. Amsterdam is known for its legendary coffeeshops, cafés where you can legally smoke hash, marijuana and other cannabis products. In terms of ambience, every establishment is different. Some offer amazing food, others are great for lounging. Some have a terrible atmosphere, but supply the best hash in town. Others have it all. Remember to know your limits and stay within it!!!
  • Vondelpark: If you love people watching as much as we do, we found this to be one of the best parks in to grab a drink and people watch. This park is located very close to the famous “I am Amsterdam” sign and the Van Gogh Museum which are also a good place to visit.


HAPPY BELLY

For the people with a sweet tooth, Amsterdam is filled with plenty of spots where you can find fresh stroopwafels, poffertjes & pancakes: These delicious Dutch treats are not to pass on. There are lots of small little cute restaurants all around town and the food was abosolutely delicious almost everywhere we went. We are suckers for cheese and yogurt, so we went to local grocery stores and brought a whole lot of the local cheese and yogurt to snack on.

OUR STAYS

Airbnb: We decided to do an airbnb in an area called Jordan. Our apartment was beautiful with a cute little balcony and was easily walkable to the dam square and other tourist attractions. We were on a street surrounded with small local cafes and restaurants. There are a lot of cute places that AirBnB has to offer in Amsterdam and based on your budget, you can pick and choose from various options.

OUR ITINERARY: 3 DAYS

Day 1: Free walking tour of Amsterdam, Canal Tour and Check out some Cafe’s.
The walking tours of Amsterdam are free and can be found starting in Dam square. We found this to be a great way to orient ourselves to the city. The tours are about 1-2 hours long based on your tour guide and company. We had signed up for a canal tour and we loved every bit of it. This was a good way to check out most of the city by boat and get to know a lot about the various canals and how it divided the city.

Day 2: Anne Frank House, Vondelpark, Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum
Ann Frank House: We packed a lot of stuff on this day. Started with the Anne Frank house and in all honesty, I was not a huge fan. It was crowded and you basically do a slow walk through the house. Because of the number of people you really don’t get a lot of opportunity to really read a lot about the place on your tour.

Both Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum have a lot to offer for the art fanatics. They are a must visit
Tip: Book tickets online to skip lines.

Day 3: Day trip to Haarlem, Heineken Experience, Red light District
Haarlem is a quiet dutch town which quick train or bike ride from Amsterdam. Haarlem has a beautiful central church, some great outdoor markets and all the beauty of historic Amsterdam with fewer crowds.

WHEN IN AMSTERDAM

DO take your time to familiarize with the rules and signals for bicyling before renting bikes.
DO eat all the poffertjes you can get your hands on.
DO check out the red light district. It has a lot more to offer than you think.
DO check out the local farmers market for fresh produce.
DO try to spend some time exploring the city.

Paris Feature

Falling in love with Paris.

, ,

Paris has been called the most romantic European city, but that is not the breaking news. We talked to many of our friends who have been to Paris before, and it seems that everyone experiences Paris differently. Some went for the art, few went for the history or culture and many went for the Romantic canal tours. Mani is a novice adorer of unique architecture and the Eiffel tower had been on her short list of Paris. So because Iceland air had amazing travel deals we decided to stop over Paris for 4 days before going to Iceland and we were not disappointed a single bit.

HOW TO GET AROUND

For the explorer in you, you’ll have to sacrifice your feet. We explored most of Paris by foot as this helped us experience the city more than we would if we were on the subway. However, the subway system in Paris is very simple, fast and is easily accessible. We highly recommend taking the subway over uber/cab as it is less expensive and faster due to traffic.

TOP THINGS TO SEE

Apart from the famous Eiffel Tower here are some of our top-picks for a must see places when in Paris:

  • Sacre Coeur in Montmarte
    It is located on the top of a hill and is a climb to get up there. But once you are up there, it has some of the best views of Paris.

    • TIP: If you are on a restricted budget, we highly recommend stretching your dollar by choosing to climbing the Sacre-Coeur over other attractions for 6euros to have a panoramic view of Paris.

  • Jardins du Luxembourg
    Luxembourg gardens is a must visit place for various reasons. It is not just any beautiful french garden, it also happens to be the home of beautiful palace and has various fountains, sculptures to admire. Best of all, there is no fee to enter.

    • TIP: Don’t need for more than 1-2 hours if you are restricted on time. They have lots of chairs and cute spots so you can definitely add this as a stop over spot between other attractions.

  • Louvre and Le Palais Royal
    Even if you are not a museum person, we highly recommend checking the Louvre as it has some of the best architecture and views even on the outside. Another thing to not miss is the Pont des Arts bridge leading to the Louvre. This bridge has a a lot of modern art and sculptures for the artistic eye.
  • Palace of Versailles
    Located a little outside of the core of Paris, Palace of Versailles and its gardens are definitely not to be missed on your trip to Paris. The palace is grand and filled with beautiful art all around. You can also see the replicas of the original rooms from back in the day. The best thing we found was the easy to follow guided audio tours that were included in the ticket price. The gardens are vast and we highly recommend taking your time here to explore all the spots on the map that is provided. The best time to start your garden tour is around 2:30pm as the singing fountains are switched on from 3pm to 6pm. The palace itself can get a little cramped because of the huge crowds but once you are in the gardens it is barely noticeable.

    • TIP: Make sure to take out one full day to fully see both the palace and the gardens. Also buy your tickets online to skip long lines. There are very limited food options once you are in the Palace, so make sure to pack your snacks and water. If you are not much of a walker or restricted with time, they have golf cart that can be rented in the gardens.
  • Latin Quatre of Paris
    A good spot to experience the local culture. This place is bustling with small local shops and restaurants. Best time to visit is on weekend nights when it is all lighted up with a lot of hustle bustle.

HAPPY BELLY

Since we were always on the go and on a strict budget, the best places we found to eat in Paris were the local cafes and the street crepes. The quiches and croissants at the local cafes were fresh and served our everyday breakfast needs. For lunch we would just stop by the street crepes and get one savory and one sweet crepe to share. For dinner, we would stop by local restaurants and get something small to share as we always snacked along the way to our attractions.

TIP: Highly recommend going to a local grocery store to pick up some yogurt and cheese. We are Torontonians found a huge difference between the taste in dairy products and stocked up on a lot of cheese and yogurt for snacks.

OUR ITINERARY: 4 days

Day 1: The River Seine, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe
Once at the Eiffel tower,a walk across the bridge to River Seine is a must to view the beautful sunset. The Arc de Triomphe is a short 20 minute walk and offers some of the most beautiful panoramic city views.
TIP: The roof top at the Arc de Triomph is far less crowded that the Eiffel tower and gave us ample time to take pictures without being pushed around. The best way to end your night would be to grab some wine and cheese and relax by the sparking Eiffel tower at night.

Day 2: Jardins du Luxembourg, Notre Dame, Louvre and Le Palais Royal
These three attractions are all within walking distance of each other and hence can be all accomplished in one day.
TIP: Make sure you are wearing something below your knees and no exposed shoulders to go inside the Notre Dame. You could aldo go up to the top of the cathedral make sure to check their timings.

Day 3: Palace of Varsailles

Day 4: Sacre Coeur in Montmare

OUR STAYS

Airbnb: To save some money and to experience Parisian living, we decided to stay at a airbnb very close to the Eiffel tower. We stayed at a cute Parisian apartment which had a nice balcony overlooking the street surrounded with small local cafes and restaurants. There are a lot of cute places that AirBnB has to offer in the core of Paris which can make everything accessible. Based on your budget, you can pick and choose from various options.
TIP: Appartments in Europe are usually on the smaller side and very few buildings have elevators.

On our last two days, we decided to splurge a little and stay at a hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Duquesne Eiffel. Location was ideal, close to subway lines and had clean rooms. Our balcony had an amazing view of the Eiffel tower and we could open our balcony at night to enjoy the cool breeze and watch the glittering Eiffel towel while sipping on some champagne.

WHEN IN PARIS

Do wander at night. You will understand why Paris is called the city of love and the city of lights.

Do eat your heart’s content. We stopped at almost every local cafes and bakeries we could to grab a quick-bite. We found that every bakery in Paris had something different and sinfully-delicious to offer.

Do try to explore the smaller lesser touristy museums around the city. They are usually free and have no lines.

Do try to take some time out and enjoy a picnic in some of the local gardens of Paris.  Maybe thats why this is called the most romantic place in the world.

Do try some of the local fruit and dairy products from the local markets.  *growl* I’m hungry.

Iceland Feature Cropped-2

Roadtrip across Iceland

, , , ,

We are anything but winter people and can barely manage to survive the Canadian cold so naturally the best time to go to Iceland for us was in the summer month of June. The average temperature during this time is between 12-17 degree celsius, and you have 20+ hrs of sunlight. Pretty awesome, right?

Iceland has a lot to offer and for adventure seekers is one of the most cost effective places to travel. Every corner of the relatively small country has a huge diversity of untouched landscapes consisting of countless waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, volcanoes and wildlife.  If you’ve ever wondered what would it be like to live in the wild before civilization dominated the globe, plan a trip to Iceland.

Many who visit Iceland for a short trip/long layover tend to complete the GOLDEN CIRCLE tour as it covers the most visited attractions of the country. It takes approximately 6-8 hours to complete the tour but to truly appreciate the raw natural beauty of Iceland we recommend staying 3-4 days to explore the island and be immersed in the scenery & landscape that surrounds you.

HOW TO GET AROUND

The best way to see Iceland is by renting a car. There are several different rental companies you can choose from that offer competitive prices. We suggest getting a bigger car like a crossover to be able to access the F class roads (slight off-road) if you decide to go exploring beyond the golden circle. We used SIXT rent a car. Highly recommend booking your car well in advance to get the car of your choice and to get good deals as everything in Iceland can be pretty pricey.

  • All rental car companies will offer 3 types of additional insurance: Loss Damage Waiver, Gravel Protection, & Sand and Ash Protection. Read the fine print and see if your credit card provides coverage. We didn’t get any additional insurance.
  • Carry your debit cards or buy pre-paid gas cards to fill up. Many gas stations do not accept credit cards at the pump.
  • Fill up as often as you can. In some parts of Iceland gas stations might be pretty far apart so you should always make sure you have at least a half a tank of gas.
  • You’ll likely find a bug massacre scene on the hood of your car after driving short distance. Many gas stations offer free manual wash station if you want to clean your windshield in between destinations.

TOP THINGS TO SEE

Apart from the golden circle, these are our top 5 picks for Iceland

  • Skaftafell national Park (Vatnajökull National Park)
    This national park is located in the South of Iceland and is a paradise for hikers. There are plenty of trails around the park for any skill level but a popular destination is an approx. 2 km inclined hike up to Svartifoss waterfall which took us approximately an hour from the service centre. The basalt columns make it like something from an alien planet and it lives up to its title as one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland.

  • Jokulsarlon Lagoon
    Located southeast of the island, is the glacier lagoon and the views here are stunning. As always you have options on how to see the place. Make a quick pit-stop, get close to the glacial icebergs or choose to take the plunge with one of the tour companies where they take you through the lagoon and bring you right at the foot-steps of the unmelted massive glaciers. Again due to the lack of time we decided not to do the tour but the daredevils is us decided to grab the smaller icebergs nearer the shore. Photos simply do not do this place justice!

  • Lupin fields
    If you are lucky enough to be in Iceland in June, you can also see them growing abundantly along the roadside. These fields of purple flowers are worth a visit and have an amazing aura to them.
  • Krafla Lava Fields
    Located in the North of the Island in Mvyanth are the Krafla Lava fields which are home to steaming vents and craters. If you are up for the climb, you will get the best experience of this area and it is well worth a visit. This place reminded us of how humbling and powerful nature can be.

  • Waterfalls
    When it comes to water, Iceland has an abundance of it and in all forms might we add. The waterfalls in Iceland are countless. While driving around the island, we came across numerous lakes and waterfalls which we cannot even remember names of. One might think all of them might be similar but each one amazed us, so we are just going to tell you to stop and see all of them that come by on your path.

OUR STAYS

Iceland has tons of accommodation options from sweet suites in the city to guest houses with either private or shared accommodations to even Icelandic farm stays! As we were travelling around the island we stayed at different places for the three nights we were there.

  • Vogahraun Guesthouse
    Located near lake Myvatn, the guesthouse offers a variety of options including bed & breakfast, sleeping bag and a camping ground. We decided to do a shared accommodation to save some money and were not disappointed. The place was clean, cozy and had modern shared space.
  • Nonni Guesthouse
    This place was located in the south of the island in Vik. This place is technically a home that is converted into a guesthouse. You get your own private room but shared living space which was kept clean. They offer you breakfast every morning which included homemade breads, waffles, fruits and cereals and much more.
  • Airbnb at Reykjavik
    Our last stop was the golden circle and then Reykjavik. We decided to do a cozy private AirBnB on our last day to catch up on our sleep and to be close to the airport to leave the next morning. There are several options in Reykjavik as it is the most populated part of Iceland.

HAPPY BELLY

Vogafjos Cowshed Cafe: Located near Lake Myvatn, this was the first stop we made after our long flight and drive of 6 hrs in Iceland. Everything is homemade and most of the meat is grown on the farm itself. One of the best lamb we have had was here.



WHEN IN ICELAND

  • DO dress appropriately & pack serious gear : While packing, we researched and invested in proper walking and hiking shoes. Because we went in the summer we also decided to take some lighter spring jackets for the day time hikes and more warmer jackets for the the colder temperatures at night.
  • DO drink the tap water: No need to buy bottled water here. The tap water here is pure and wonderful.
  • DO plan Ahead when visiting in Iceland. When touring, make sure you have your google maps downloaded (OFFLINE mode) to know where you are going.
  • DO pack some snacks that are easy to eat on the go if you plan to drive around. There are very limited places for you to buy food. We decided to bring granola bars, protein bars, chips, packaged nuts and fruits while we were driving around. We also took a camel backpack to store our water in for our hikes.
  • DO eat at some of the local farm restaurants as they have the freshest food. We has some of the best lamb chops and lamb stew at local restaurants.

 

Montreal - Skyline - Day - edited

Montreal – Our fav neighbour!

, , ,

We love Montreal as it was our “first” for a lot of things in our relationship. It was our first ever trip we took as a couple outside of Ontario, it was our first Valentine’s day after we got together as a couple. After our first trip, we have been to Montreal over and over again as it is just a few hours drive from Toronto and has so much to offer. We have always been here in the Winter and despite the bitter cold still enjoy all that the city has to offer.

There are several streets in Montreal that are just picturesque and architecture of the old buildings are worth exploring the city by foot.

HOW TO GET AROUND

Montreal has a fantastic underground subway/metro system.  Traveling here is a breeze just be sure to ask the local how to pronounce the name of the station where you’ll be getting off.  I remember one time our destination stop was “GUY”, but we missed it because the announcement pronounced it “GI” or “GEE”.  Car is also a great option but watch-out parking spots are hard to find and can be quite expensive.  Montreal also sees a lot of snow and if you’re coming here during winter months, avoid driving at all cost.

TOP THINGS TO SEE

Montreal Biodome
Perfect site to visit in the winters as you can be indoors and enjoy various different climate systems all at once. Located at Olympic Park is like an indoor zoo that allows us to walk through replicas of four ecosystems. The best part was that the birds are not caged and are to free to fly within the building.  The ecosystems are replicated well as you can truly feel the difference in temperature and humidity as you make you way through the exhibit.

TIP: Take headphones if you want to listen on the guided walking tour while inside.

Basilique Notre-Dame
One of the most famous landmarks. It comes very close to the one if Paris and the architecture and glass work indoors is just absolutely breathtaking. Despite the vast number of tourists, once inside, there is something very peaceful about the place.

TIP: Check for mass timings, if you are interested in attending a mass. Also there is a 5 dollar donation entrance fee.

Atrium Le 1000
If you or your better half loves to skate, this is an awesome place to take them to put their skating gear on and enjoy skating indoors with a nice view.

TIP: The best time to go is when it is snowing outside as the glass dome on top

Super Glissades
If you are in Montreal during the winter and are into snow tubing, this is a must visit. It has several tubing tracks which vary in speed and difficulty along with mechanical lifts.

TIP: Dress warm and go early.

Scandinavian Spa
A quick one hour drive away from the city of Montreal, located in the Old Port, this spa is known for its Scandinavian baths and fabulous massages. This location is unique as it is located by the Diable river which is open year round if you wanted to jump into it for a cold dip.
TIP: They do not take bookings for just the baths, so arrive early if you want to just for the baths. However, we found that booking some sort of treament was a better deal as you get to make reservations and the water therapies are included as a part of your treatment.

HAPPY BELLY

La Banquise: If you are in Montreal, you have to visit this place to try the famous poutine. They have various different kinds of gravies and toppings to satisfy anyone’s needs.

L’Avenue: If you are a brunch person, this place has the best breakfast PERIOD. It has an extensive menu which can satisfy your sweet and salty cravings. Be sure to wash your hands before you sit down.  Why? Because even the washroom is a highlight of this place.

OUR STAYS

Rue St Denis Street: Our first visit to Montreal we stayed on Rue St. Denis in Hotel St. Denis. This was a very small boutique style hotel which had all the basics. A nice comfy bed, clean facilities and was located right on Rue St. Denis. This street was filled with cute little cafe and restaurants, which meant you could try something new close to the hotel. It was also very close to a subway station which made it easy for us to get around Montreal.

Holiday Inn Centreville Downtown: On our second trip to Montreal, we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Downtown Montreal. The location of this hotel was unbeatable because it was steps away from the subway station and was located walking distance to a lot of restaurants and night clubs. The hotel was nice and clean and the lobby was the best part. It had a little coy pond which was amazing to sit by and relax after a long day.

Follow us