Windstar Cruise: The Treasures of Southern Spain and Morocco

Mrs. Traveling Honeymooners grandparents were celebrating a very special anniversary recently and chose to spend it with our family. After pondering what a family of thirteen people could do all together, we came up with the idea to take a Windstar cruise!

Before we get ahead of ourselves here, we are a bit of a picky crowd because we all LOVE to travel, eat good food and cruising. We have been on multiple cruises in our lifetime, on a variety of cruise lines. With that being said, we knew we wanted something really special for this trip. Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner’s Aunt had been on a Windstar Cruise along the Dalmatian Coast the previous year and loved every second of it. Thats really all she talked about for about a year so the rest of us figured we needed to try out a Windstar Cruise.

Benefits of Traveling on a Windstar Cruise:

• The ships are more like yachts and typically hold between 200-350 people or less
• The food is fantastic
• The service is fantastic
• Every room is an exterior room
• The stops are well planned and all have a lot to offer

Our Itinerary:

Click here to see our Itinerary

We also used Rosie Goldberger from Vanguard travel to help us plan our day trips and accommodations in Barcelona and Lisbon.

Our family loves history and exploring historical sites so we spent a majority of time exploring at each port.

Barcelona

To learn more about our time in Barcelona click here. We spent three days in Barcelona before setting sail on our cruise and enjoyed every minute of it.

Tarragona

Ibiza

Cartagena

We docked in Cartagena on Sunday so many of the restaurants and stores were closed.  However, we were able to tour a few historical sites and wonder the streets before heading back to the boat. The weather in Cartagena was beautiful and made it easy for us to explore. 

Granada

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting the Alhambra. The pictures we took do not even begin to do justice to this beautiful place. We hired a private driver and tour guide and took a day trip from port and it was one of the coolest things any of us had ever experienced. I would highly recommend hiring a driver and a tour guide if you plan on visiting the Alhambra.

Malaga

Tangier

Lisbon

We had so much fun on our cruise and would take another Windstar Cruise in a heartbeat.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO,

Traveling Honeymooners

Amarante, Portugal

Mr. Traveling Honeymooner was unable to join us on this leg of the trip, unfortunately, because he had to return home to go back to work. Boring eh?! We forgive him though because by the time we made it to Portugal, we had already been traveling Europe for about three weeks, with my family. Anyhow, I stayed behind with a few family members and we toured part of the Douro Valley and Amarante during our stay. Everywhere we visited was absolutely gorgeous and boy did we have a blast! I think we ate and drank more in the last four days of our trip than the rest of the trip combined! By the way, eating paleo ad gluten free in Portugal is as easy as can be, so I got to eat my little heart out.  If you are interested in our time in Porto and the Douro Valley, stay tuned…more post to come!

We had the pleasure of visiting this little town on our way back to Porto from the Douro Valley and loved every minute of it. Amarante is a small village with a population of about 12,000 people and is located in the northern Portuguese district of Porto, right on the Tamega River. It is a quint town that has a cozy and creative feel to it. When we arrived, we immediately felt a sense of calmness. We had to stop for a few minutes and just take in the views. There were not many people wandering the streets but we felt welcome and at ease. Even though the town center is small, they had a city center with restaurants, shops and a market. My favorite shop was an art supply store that was located along the main road. The store was small but had everything one would need to paint a beautiful piece of art or draw a pretty picture. The thought that kept running through my head as I walked the street was, ” I want to stay here for a week and just paint what I am experiencing.”

 

We visited the Sao Goncalo convent and church that is right across from the center of town. The first thing we noticed was that the doors of the empty church were open and it was free to enter. This was a bit shocking to us because we had been in Europe for about three weeks at that point and have never been able to enter a national monument for free. Once we walked in, we immediately noticed the gold leaf that lined the walls, which was stunning. We learned that Napoleon tried to demolish Amarate during his time and was successful in destroying almost half of the city, including one of the bridges that was located in the center of town.  The original pictures still hung on the walls but had large pieces of frame missing because Napoleon’s army removed parts of the gold leaf coated frames to see if more gold was hiding inside.

A luxury hotel sits in the heart of Amarante called Casa da Calcada, where the Michelin Star restaurant Largo do Paco can be found. We did not get the chance to eat here because we were full from our fantastic lunch in the Douro Valley, but we have made a note to come back one day.

This small town has so much history that you can feel, just by looking around. Above is a picture of the floods they have had over the years. To give you perspective, the lowest waterline that was recorded was almost six inches over my head and I am 5’6”.

This little town has so much to offer. The people are kind, the sites are exquisite and the history dates back to the 4th century. My wish is to return here some day soon with Mr. Traveling Honeymooners and stay a night or two in Casa da Calcada.

Thank you for stopping by!

XOXO

Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner

Phuket, Thailand

Phuket is an island of Thailand and is known its beautiful beaches and exciting party scene.  We knew if we ever had the chance to visit Thailand, then Phuket was a place we wanted to see and experience.

We flew from Chiang Mai to Phuket and immediately felt the shift in energy. While Chiang Mai was quiet and peaceful, Phuket was energetic and filled with people ready to party and have some fun. It was a nice shift to feel after having spent four nights relaxing and rejuvenating in Chiang Mai.

Phuket’s streets are lined with markets, restaurants, bars and is home to Bangla Road, where you can find a very active nightlife scene. Bangla road is located right in the middle of Patong Beach, which is a beach resort town on the west coast of the island. If you go to Phuket, Bangla Road is definitely a site to see!

Kata Beach

After spending a few days soaking up the sun on Patong Beach we were looking for a change of pace so we decided to visit Kata Beach. Our hotel offered free shuttle ride to and from Kata so we decided to take advantage of it and explore a different part of the island. The ride from our hotel to Kata Beach was about fifteen to twenty minutes. Kata was much quieter then Patong beach and the sand seemed to be much cleaner. There was also a man renting out umbrellas and sand mats so we rented both for about $2. The water was also much clearer in Kata than it was in Patong Beach. We spent the day swimming in the ocean and relaxing. There were also many resorts near Kata beach, all of which looked very nice.

Accommodations:

We were originally going to stay on the northern part of Phuket because it is known to be a bit more relaxing but after doing some research we decided to stay on the southern part of the island because we wanted a bit more activity and we wanted to be closer to the night life that Phuket is known for. We chose to stay in Patong Beach at the Amari Resort which is located right on the water and about a five minute walk from Bangla Road. The resort is a big and is located close enough to all of the nightlife but just far enough away from the commotion to still feel like a retreat. The pools were beautiful and overlooked the ocean. The breakfast buffet was huge, and filled with every type of food you could imagine, including many gluten free options.

Our Eats:

La Gritta

The resort has three different restaurants. We chose to eat at the Italian restaurant located on the property one evening and had a wonderful time. The food was excellent and they had plenty of gluten free options. The chef visited with us at our table and made sure to accommodate Mrs. Traveling Honeymooners gluten free needs. The best part was the views! The restaurant sits right on the edge of the bay which gives you views of the gorgeous sunset, Phuket is known for.

No. 9 on 2nd Street

Our last night in Phuket, we really wanted some yummy thai food in a casual setting.  We took a tuk tuk from our hotel to No. 9 which took about ten minutes and arrived at the small restaurant. Since the restaurant only has about fifteen tables, we had to wait a little while before we could be seated.  No. 9 had been recommended to us multiple times by fellow travelers and friends so we knew we couldn’t go wrong by trying it. Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner had no issue ordering her favorite thai dish, chicken with steamed vegetables while Mr. Traveling Honeymooner loved his pad thai. If you are looking for traditional Thai food, this is the place to go!

Rustic Eatery & Bar

After eating Thai food three weeks straight, Mr. Traveling Honeymooner was craving some good Italian food. We had walked by Rustic multiple times during our stay and it looked warm and inviting so we decided to try it. I wish I had taken more pictures of the inside of the restaurant to show how cozy it was. We were seated in the back wine room where we were greeted by the chef himself. The chef walked us through the specials and offered us wine paring options for our meal. The meal was fantastic! It was the perfect Italian meal!

During our stay we also stopped by the street markets to get Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner her favorite drink, fresh coconut water. In Thailand, they serve the coconut whole, and cut it open when you purchase it and it is delicious!!!

Overall, we had a blast in Phuket. We just wish we had more time to spend exploring all of the small islands off the coast of Thailand!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO,

The Traveling Honeymooners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa Monica, California

Some friends of ours were getting married in Ojai, California this past July so we thought “Why not make a weekend out of it?!” Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner had never been to Los Angeles before and she had been itching to go. So we did our research and chose to stay in Santa Monica. We both love the beach and love to walk everywhere when we travel so we figured staying in Santa Monica was a good choice.

Accommodations

A few of our friends who live in California, recommended The Huntley Hotel at Santa Monica Beach. The hotel was beautiful and had recently been refinished. The lobby of the hotel was beautiful and the hotel staff were great. We stayed in a regular room which was nice. It was not too big or too small and the bed was comfortable. The major draw to stay at The Huntley is The Penthouse, which is the restaurant located on the top floor of the hotel. While you eat, you can enjoy a gorgeous view of Santa Monica.

The Huntley was walking distance from the Third Street Promenade, where we did a bit of shopping. The hotel was also walking distance to the beach and the Santa Monica Pier which we walked multiple times during our stay.

The hotel was great! The only downside to our stay was that The Penthouse Restaurant did not offer many gluten free items on their menu and their staff was not well informed on Celiac Disease. This was a major shock to us because everywhere else we ate during our stay in California was very well informed.

Our Eats

During our stay we had some delicious meals! On Friday night we decided to meet up with some of our California native friends of ours for dinner and they recommended a restaurant called The Misfit. Apparently The Misfit was the place to be because there was a long wait and at the time, they did not take reservations. So we decided to put our name down and walk the pier until our name got closer to the top of the waiting list.

Dinner was delicious and they accommodated Mrs. Traveling Honeymooners gluten free needs with no problem at all. Even their menu states that they can easily accommodate any gluten free, vegan or vegetarian needs. They even have gluten free bread and macaroni and cheese! When we go back to Santa Monica, we would love to eat here again.

For lunch the next day we ventured out and went to Kreation Organic Kafe. This is a cute little place that serves a variety of fresh squeezed juices, coffee and teas as well as raw vegan and gluten free foods. apparently they have a few locations around Los Angeles but we visited the one in Venice. Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner got a juice called Clarity and Mr. Traveling Honeymooner got one called Serenity. Both juices were refreshing, especially since it was a hot day. Kreation Organic Kafe is located of a great shopping street so after lunch, we walked and shopped a bit before we headed to the beach!

Before we left for Ojai, we stopped at Huckleberry Bakery & Cafe. Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner got a slice of gluten free lemon poppy seed bread and a coffee and Mr. Traveling Honeymooner got an egg sandwich. Our breakfast of quick, convenient and tasty.

Overall, even though our trip was short, we had a great time!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

The Traveling Honeymooners

Our Favorite Things To Do in Vero Beach, Florida

Vero Beach is located two hours north of West Palm Beach and an hour and fifteen minutes southeast of Orlando, on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida. We love to go to Vero Beach in the winter time because the average temperature is about 80 degrees and is almost always sunny with a light breeze. Sounds like a beach lovers paradise huh?! Well it is.

Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner has spent the last twenty years visiting Vero Beach during the winter months. Her Aunt and Grandparents have homes in Vero Beach to escape from the winters of Minneapolis. Vero Beach is the perfect place to flee from the frigid Minnesota winters because the beaches are the perfect place to relax and soak up the sun. Over the years, we have come up with a list of things we love to do while staying in Vero.

1. Sitting on the beach is our all time favorite thing to do while in Vero Beach. Her family has belonged to the same beach club for the the last twenty years which we love to go to during our stay. Orchid Island is beach club oriented for the most part. However, all of the beaches are public beaches which can be accessed all along the coast line. A bonus to having public beaches are that dogs are allowed on the beaches! We love to take long walks on the beach with Bella, our baby.
   

   
2. Vero beach has beautiful walking, running and biking trails and we love to take full advantage of these amenities during our stay! Yesterday we walked Jungle Trail which is about a five mile path along the waterway on Orchid Island. We also like to walk the Barber Bridge which is a mile long each way and overlooks the Vero Beach Memorial and the waterway.
3. Vero Beach has a few shopping areas that are fun to explore. Recently we visited the shops on Ocean Drive which are located in downtown Vero. The Vero Beach Hotel and Gloria Estefan’s Hotel are located in this area and are great places to grab a bite to eat. If you are looking for a cute swim suit, stop into Twig! Twig has been in Vero Beach for as long as we have been visiting Vero. There are also cute shops on Orchid Island called The Village Shops. We love to visit both areas during our stay in Vero because it is so nice to walk outside and enjoy the town.
4. What better thing to pass the time than reading a book on the beach?!  Vero Beach Book Center is a huge book store that also hosts many events during busy season. We like to stop by and pick out books to read during our stay.
5. Golf! Mr. Traveling Honeymooner LOVES to golf! Vero Beach has hundreds of golf courses, all of which are beautiful. You can’t go wrong with any of them. However, some of them are a tad difficult…Mr. Traveling Honeymooner does his best to avoid those ones.
6. Since we bring Bella with us when we go to Vero, we love to take her to the Vero Beach Dog Park! The beautiful dog park is located at the foot of the Barber Bridge so we like to walk the bridge then play fetch after our walk. The dog park is huge and has two sides, one for small dogs and one for large. There are plenty of dogs there during the day so Bella always has a friend to play with. Poop bags, hoses and water bowls are also provided which is great!

Overall, Vero Beach is a fantastic place to visit if your goal is relaxation! We hope you can visit Vero Beach one day to experience it for yourself!

Thank you for stopping by!

XOXO

The Traveling Honeymooners

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

We live in Houston, Texas, so traveling to Mexico is easy! The flight is only about two and a half hours and Southwest Airlines flies direct! Who doesn’t love a direct flight to paradise?! We do!

Anyhow, we knew we wanted to get away after our wedding but knew we could only get away for a few days because we had taken so much time off for the actual wedding in Austin. So, we decided to go to Cabo! We got married in September, which is right in the middle of hurricane season so we knew we did not want to go to Cancun or anywhere else that is frequently affected by hurricanes. Since Cabo is rarely hit by hurricanes, we decided that would be a great place to unwind after the wedding festivities. The entire time we were there, we had beautiful sunny weather.

Accommodations

When we were looking for a place to stay in Cabo, we knew we had a short list of must haves:

1. It must be on the beach.
2. It must have a spa.
3. It must be a place where if we didn’t feel like it, we wouldn’t have to leave.

After doing some research, we chose to stay at The Resort at Pedregal. And OMG we are so glad we did! The second we arrived, we were handed margaritas…and from that moment on, everything was perfection. The staff was helpful, kind and very observant of Mrs. Traveling honeymooners gluten free needs. Our suite had its own plunge pool that overlooked the ocean, and every night we could hear the waves crashing on the beach. The resort was perfection.

We chose to have a spa day our third day there and we both agree that the massages we received were the best massages we have ever had. The spa is large but extremely peaceful. It also has it’s own plunge pool with water that helps cleanse your body and a waterfall that crashes down into the plunge pool and is very relaxing.

The breakfast at the resort was delicious and they have plenty of gluten free, paleo, and vegan options. We ate a lot of fruits and vegetables for breakfast while we were there but they also had an omelet bar, waffle bar, and juice bar.

The only downside to staying at Pedregal is that people can not swim in the ocean near the resort because the waves are too big and the undertow is very strong. So on the last full day in Cabo, we decided to venture out into town and visit a beach where we could swim. The resort is a five minute walk from town but the resort also has a shuttle if you would rather ride. We chose to eat lunch at a local restaurant that overlooked the beach and had a blast.

Overall, we had a blast in Cabo and we will be going back in the near future.

Thank you for stopping by!

XOXO

The Traveling Honeymooners

Eating Gluten Free, Paleo, Vegan or Raw in Ubud, Bali

If you are someone who is gluten free, grain free, vegan, vegetarian or have any other food sensitivity, then Ubud is the place for you to visit! Whether you want a quick, casual meal or a meal that is a bit fancier, we have found a number of different places for you to eat.

As many of you may know, Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner has Celiac Disease and can not, under any circumstances, eat gluten. At home, Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner follows the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (a version of Paleo) to stay healthy. However, when we travel, adhering to AIP can be a difficult task. We have compiled a list of restaurants that we visited during our stay in Ubud, that went above and beyond to accommodate Mrs. Traveling Honeymooners gluten free, dairy free lifestyle and still satisfy Mr. Traveling Honeymooners gluten-full lifestyle.

Bridges

This was our favorite restaurant in Ubud! While it falls on the pricey side, the views, service and the food really make it worth the money. The restaurant overlooks the creek and is surrounded by the forest which makes this spot extra romantic. We started the night off with the Nori wraps which were some of the best Nori wraps we have ever had. Mr. Traveling Honeymoon ordered the Herbed Grilled Chicken and Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner ordered the Wild Mushroom and Polenta dish. Both dishes were fantastic.

To visit Bridges’ website click here

Location: Jl. Raya Campuhan, Ubud, Sayan, Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571

Creperie

As you can probably decipher from the name, this is a crepe place. They serve galletes which are savory crepes and they also serve sweet crepes. We stuck with the savory version because we were starving after a long day of exploring. The best part about this restaurant is they can accommodate almost ANY food restriction. They have vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, etc. They also have three different types of batters. I chose to order a coconut flour gallete with mixed Balinese veggies. It was delicious! Mr. Honeymooner ordered a non gluten free gallete with tomato sauce, cheese and mushrooms and he loved his too! If we weren’t stuffed, we would have ordered a sweet crepe but we did not have anymore room in our bellies.

Location: Creperie is located off the main road and is between Seeds of Life Cafe (  JI Gootama No. 2, Ubud 80571) and Warung Biahbiah (JI Gootama No. 13 Padantegal Kaja, Ubud).  We could not find the exact address of Creperie because they do not have the address listed anywhere. However, it is not a difficult place to find because it is right off the main road.

Seeds of Life Cafe

Seeds of Life is a quaint raw food cafe and yoga studio. The vibe is relaxing and everyone that works there is very friendly and helpful. Best of all, EVERYTHING on the menu is Gluten free! They serve entrees’s, desserts and coffee! During our stay in Ubud, we visited Seeds of Life almost every day. Yes, we love this place, especially their desserts! We ordered everything that had chocolate in it because Mr. Honeymooner has an obssesion with it. We also ordered their oreo cheesecake and a few other tarts. It is amazing that we didn’t gain 100 pounds during our visit.

To visit Seeds of Life’s Website Here

Location: Jl Gootama No 2, Ubud 80571, Indonesia

Warung Biahbiah

We stumbled upon this place while walking down the main road, and we are so glad we did! They have delicious traditional Balinese food for dirt cheap! We ordered two bottles of water, two appetizers and two entrees which turned came to the grand total of $5. The atmosphere is fun and exciting and the staff was extremely helpful when trying to order food that was gluten free!

Location: Jl. Goutama No. 13, Padangtegal Kaja, Ubud, Ubud, GIanyar, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571

Alchemy

Alchemy is another delicious raw food cafe and is much bigger than Seeds of Life with a more modern feel to it. The prices are also a bit more than Seeds of Life but their selection is also much larger. For an entree and two desserts we paid about $19, whereas we paid about $7-$8 for the same amount of food at Seeds of Life Cafe. Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner’s favorite dessert was the mint pie and Mr. Honeymoon’s favorite dessert was the mocha chocolate cheesecake. The salad bar was also huge and of course, very yummy!

To visit Alchemy’s website click here

Location: Jl. Penestanan Kelod No.75, Ubud, Sayan, Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571

Cafe Wayan & Bakery

You may recognize the name of this restaurant from the book or movie “Eat, Pray, Love”. Cafe Wayan is located right across the street from Komaneka at Monkey Forest where we stayed so it was very convenient for us. Even if it wasn’t close, we would still have made it a point to visit this place! Cafe Wayan is one of the largest restaurants we visited but the service was still fantastic, as was the food. They also have gluten free apple tarts and ice cream which we were not able to try because we were too stuffed.

To visit Cafe Wayan’s website click here

Location: Monkey Forest Road, Ubud, Gianyar, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571

We hope you enjoy these restaurants as much as we did!

XOXO

The Traveling Honeymooners

To Check a Bag or Not Check a Bag?

To check a bag or to not check a bag?….the question that always rears its ugly head every time it comes time to pack.

Let’s first discuss the benefits of checking a bag…

Checking a 49.99 pound bag allows you to bring a majority of your closet with you to your destination, just in case you need to wear a swimsuit in middle of a freeze or a parka in middle of the rainforest… yes, that was sarcastic. For some reason people feel like they need to pack hundreds of outfits for a trip…of any length. Let us tell you that you do NOT have to fill a massive suitcase with useless items that you know you will never need.

So, now that we got that out of the way let’s discuss the benefits of packing in a carry on!

First, if you pack in a carry on, you do not have to worry about packing your bag and weighing it on your personal bathroom scale, or holding your breath at the airport while they struggle to lift your bag onto the scale, hoping it will not exceed the predetermined weight capacity. Who wants to pay that $75 charge anyway?! Not us!

Also, if you pack in a huge suitcase, you have to lug around a giant, heavy suitcase for the entirety of your vacation which kind of defeats the purpose of going on a relaxing vacation in the first place. AND  not to mention your chances of losing your luggage increase exponentially if you check your bag. No one can misplace your bag, except you, if you keep all of your belongings with you.

Anyhow, the above pro & con list should really help you answer the inevitable question of To check a bag or to not check a bag?  

If you are still having a difficult time deciding if you should lug around a massive suitcase during you vacation, maybe it will help you to know that Mr. & Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner traveled for 22 days across Southeast Asia with a carry on bag and personal bag each, and we didn’t even wear all of the clothes we packed. Stay tuned for How We Traveled Around the World with Only a Carryon Bag Each!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

The Traveling Honeymooners

Best Walking Shoes

To start: I am not being paid to write this article, even though I should be. I just love these ugly shoes so much.

There is NOTHING worse than traveling and exploring a new country with tired and sore feet. When we explore new places we like to walk everywhere. Partially because we would rather spend our money elsewhere and walking allows you to stumble upon cool new restaurants, markets, etc. We have met some of the coolest people walking the streets of new cities and have found some of the best local restaurants. When we travel, it is not uncommon for us to walk, at a minimum, ten miles plus a day so comfortable shoes are the first thing that go in my suitcase when packing.

I have tried MANY different styles and brands of “comfort shoes” over the course of our travels but no pair of shoes has made me want to skip down an unpaved road more than the shoes I purchased for this trip! I have walked in these shoes for twenty-one days straight. I have walked through water, forests, rocks, and have hiked up a mountain in these shoes. I LOVE them! The best part!?! They are under $70 normally but I bought them on sale at Zappos for $30. Yep! They are probably the cheapest, most comfortable shoes I have ever owned.

Mr. Traveling Honeymooner has made fun of me the entire trip because they are not the most sexy looking shoes but I don’t care. I have planter fasciitis and that shit hurts like nobody’s business.

I am sure by this point you are just wishing I would tell what kind of shoes they are so you can move on with your day (foot ache free) so here they are….

Skechers Go Walk

These shoes come is a variety of colors and styles. I personally have been wearing the gray, Go Walk 4- Pursuit but I am sure all of the styles and colors would be just as comfortable!

I hope these shoes change your life as much as they have changed mine.

XOXO

Mrs. Traveling Honeymooner

Chiang Mai, Thailand

WOW! We landed in Chiang Mai and instantly fell in love with this mountain town. It was such a nice change of pace from busy Bangkok. The weather was cooler and there was a bit of a breeze. Chiang Mai is full of ancient history, delicious food and beautiful scenery.  We knew there were so many things we wanted to do and see in this wonderful city so we started exploring right away.

We started our trip with a visit to Wat Suan Dok, a temple where ashes of former Kings of Chiang Mai and the Royal Family are kept.

The next temple we visited was called Wat Phrathat on Doi Suthep Mountain, which was founded in 1383 A.D. A road was built in 1935 to the top but many people still choose to continue to climb the 309 steps to the top. Once you arrive at the temple, you can see a 360 degree view of the entire city and explore the beautiful temple.

The next day we decided to take a bicycle tour of the southern part of Chiang Mai. We biked 25km (around 15.5 miles) through plantations, rural local neighborhoods, temples and the McKean rehabilitation Center.

We biked along the Ping River and ended up at the McKean Rehabilitation Center, which houses a former leper colony. The main road is lined with identical houses that  used to be filled with people who had Lepersy from all over Thailand. Now only 16 eople reside in these houses. The people that live there were cured from lepersy but their families are still too scared of the disease to allow them to go back home to their families. We met one woman who has lived in the community for over 50 years and her family still refuses to interact with her due to the fear of contracting the disease, even though it is not possible. The last known case of Lepersy in Thailand was diagnosed around 20 years ago but was cured in a few months. The community members have access to free treatment and health care as long as they live there. The government also feeds them three times a day. To learn more about the McKean Rehabilitation Center you can visit click here.

We continued to bike and visited a local temple and fed the fish, which the monks told us was good luck.

We biked through plantations, a fish farm and rice fields.

We loved every second of the bike tour and would highly recommend taking one in Chiang Mai.

We both LOVE cooking; well I love to cook, he loves to eat…so it was only natural that we took a cooking class in Chiang Mai!  We decided to take a class at a family owned and operated cooking school by the name of Baan Hongnual Cookery School and had a blast! We started our class by shopping for our food at a local market, then we headed to the school to make our meal. We made curry, stir fry, soup and coconut bananas for dessert. We made all of our food gluten free.

I will do a blog post soon about tips for getting around Asia and staying gluten free.

We are both animal lovers so we really wanted to see Thai Elephants during our stay.  After almost a year of research we chose to visit Patara Elephant Farm and we had a great time! We learned all about how to take care of elephants, feed them, bathe them and make sure they are healthy. I will do a more in depth post about our experience at Patara later because I do believe the topic of elephants deserves it’s own post. Until then, here are a few pictures from our wonderful experience!

ACCOMODATIONS:

We chose to stay at Ratilanna Hotel and Spa and loved every minute of our stay! It is a smaller hotel which was a nice change of pace from the Shangri-la in Bangkok and it was an added bonus that we were upgraded to a suite! During our stay at the Ratilanna, I enjoyed a foot massage and we both enjoyed the best couples massage we have ever had!

We were very pleased with the Ratilanna and would defiantly stay there again. For more information on the Ratilanna Hotel and Spa click here.

Thank you for reading our blog!

XOXO,

The Traveling Honeymooners