thetravelinggiraffe – thefriendlygiraffe

giraffe travel, thetravelinggiraffe, top tips from thetravelinggiraffe

Bom Dia! One Week in Portugal – Port Tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia

May 15, 2018by Arden Jobling-HeyLeave a Comment

Bom Dia! I’d love to continue in Portuguese but after one week in Portugal, that’s all I can muster. Sad, but true. Egg tarts I can seriously get behind. Ronaldo? I mean, the guy has an ego the size of Everest but he defies gravity when it comes to executing a perfect scissor kick. But Portuguese, the language? Identifying the language as something between Russian and Spanish is pretty much as close as it gets.

But let’s get back on track. Last summer, I was lucky enough to enjoy a 7-day girly getaway to sunny, stunning Portugal. Over the past couple of years, I’d heard whispers of people’s travels to Portugal and how much they absolutely loved their time there. Rumour had it that Portugal was still less expensive than it’s neighbour to the north (and east) but just as accessible.

Untouched and more preserved than typical tourist hot-spots like Rome, Barcelona, Paris or Madrid, it reportedly had a hopping night life and plenty to keep you occupied during daylight hours. It was steeped in history and diverse in it’s geography. And to top it all off, it is best known for it’s exclusive production of port, of which I am a very, very big fan. I was sold. Continue reading “Bom Dia! One Week in Portugal – Port Tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia” →

giraffe travel, thetravelinggiraffe, top tips from thetravelinggiraffe

Travel Poland: 3 Days in Warsaw

August 15, 2017September 7, 2017by Arden Jobling-HeyLeave a Comment

When my husband and I decided to book a family holiday – just the 3 of us for the first time in 3 years – I was over the moon. I started planning months in advance, imagining us renting a car and driving around Ireland or drinking gallons of Spanish wine and ordering plates of tapas in the heart of Barcelona.

But mid-daydreaming I realized that, more often than not, I’m the one who gets really, excited about where we’re going. So I turned to my husband and asked where he would like to go. He paused. Then finally, after much internal deliberation, he sent me a message that read: Poland. And just like that we’d booked flights into Munich and onto Warsaw, and out of Krakow.

Did you know? 3 Facts About Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital city of Poland and has been since 1596. It is also the largest!
Warsaw, once described as the Paris of the East, was known as one of the world’s most beautiful cities German invasion of WWII in 1939 which left to over 85% of its building in ruins
Warsaw was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980

Continue reading “Travel Poland: 3 Days in Warsaw” →

giraffe travel, thetravelinggiraffe

Curacao: One Week at the Santa Barbara Beach and Golf Resort

March 26, 2016April 1, 2016by Arden Jobling-HeyLeave a Comment

Curacao: A blue liqueur that makes tropical drinks taste delicious. Right?

Until about two months before booking, I’d never heard of a Curacao beyond the cocktail list. When family suggested making Curacao our Christmas getaway, we immediately took to researching the island and Google sent turquoise waters crawling across my screen. We were sold. To escape what turned out to be a remarkably warm winter in the end, we decided to make haste to the beautiful beaches of Curacao.

Curacao: About the Island

Wat bedoel ik ? Curacao is a Dutch Carribean island which, today, speaks the language of Papiamentu (very confusing when you show up expecting Dutch, and listening for Spanish… it took us a few days to figure things out). At first glance (and even at close up), the colourful houses lining the water in Williemsted are entirely reminiscent of Amsterdam, with decorative facades squished together near the edge of the water. We had a passing glance of Williamsted en route to our hotel from the airport… it was solid timing considering we had just caught glance of the monster of an oil refinery riggght across the highway. Eek! That being said, Curacao ranks 46th in the world in terms of GDP per capita for a reason and part of that reason is that it hosts the Isla Refinery, operated by Venezuela’s state oil company. Cha-ching!
Continue reading “Curacao: One Week at the Santa Barbara Beach and Golf Resort” →