Travel Gourmande

Guest Post: Days in La Digue

8:30 PM

Hello everyone! I'm guest posting over at Ashley's today of, Have Ashley Will Travel. Her travel blog stirs up my wanderlust in every visit, filled with beautiful landscape and food photos. Her adventures enable me to travel vicariously. Here's a sneak peek of one of the segments of today's post. Hop on over and say hello. Thank you so much Ashley for allowing me to share my story.

1. A favorite travel memory

Each place I've visited, so far is special to me, but one at the top of my head right now was a birthday trip to Seychelles, particularly La Digue Island. A tropical hibiscus paradise surrounded by white sand beaches and clear azure waters of the Indian Ocean from all sides.

We spent 4 days in La Digue. Biking, hiking and swimming. No internet, no cars, no mobile phone.

The 3-hour sickening boat ride we took to get there was insane. It was sheer adrenaline rush that can only be cured by an anti-motion sickness pill, even for someone like me, who was born in a tropical country and accustomed to boats.

I enjoyed the long hikes with my husband as we explored La Digue on a bicycle, which was the primary transportation over there. The highlight of our trip in La Digue, apart from the Creole cuisine and the All-day beach hopping, was the adventurous trek to see the jaw-dropping-gorgeous hidden paradise of Anse Marron.

Anse Marron: We tried getting there on our own but failed. Based on experience, go with a group led by a professional local guide armed with a machete. It takes hours to get there and the trail to Anse Marron is tricky to find, controlled by the low and high tide. The route we took started in the morning at the old plantation leading to Source D'Argent all the way to Grand Anse.

24 Hours in NYC

8:19 PM

If there is a city I had an unfinished business with, that would be New York City. During a trip to Peru and Bolivia in 2008, I managed to convince my husband to visit the Big Apple for a day during a transit under the condition that I take care of all of the arrangements. Booking a hotel in Holiday Inn not far from JFK and taking off as soon as we arrived in the morning, it seemed impossible to squeeze in as much activities within 24 hours. So this is what happened:

**This is something we missed doing. Being at the outskirts many stations away from NYC, we spent a lot of hours getting lost and asking people for directions to find the nearest subway/train station. It was already lunch by the time we got to the city.

Travel Quote of the Week: Paris

10:01 PM

Coming from one of my favorite style icons, I am nodding in agreement. For those planning a trip to the French capital this coming summer, here are some links that might be helpful:

Paris on a Budget Day 1

Paris on a Budget Day 2

Paris on a Budget Day 3

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Love & light,

Arni

Pregnancy Journey

3:53 PM

Before the little one pops out, I would like to share a fun maternity pictorial we did on my 34th week. Fun because the photographer and make up artist are dear friends. Though not so comfy, because in reality, holding a pose with a watermelon sized tummy is painful on the back. :)

Photography by Lito and Shela Flestado

Makeup by: Cristine Joy

Live Life with Passion

12:38 PM

I found this in one of my really old posts. This inspiring Thought for Today from Inner Space made me realize that my continuous pursuit of this passion led me to find it after many years of being stuck in a rut out of denial and fear, so I'd like to share it with you too. It doesn't mean I have to stop there once the search is over, there are other passions that will show up in different parts of our lives. We'll just have to keep developing the skills and keep on going.