Panama!

View of Panama City

 Imagine the title of this post shouted in my best David Lee Roth impression.  The Scot and I decided to skip the end of winter in New Jersey and jetted off to Panama for some fun in the fun avoidance of the Zika virus.  Yeah, we booked the vacation before that whole nonsense started.  So, we tried to stay close to the city and didn't take any off the beaten path excursions.  The intent of the trip was to relax and drink mojitos.  You may want to put off going to Panama for awhile because I may have depleted their rum reserves.

Miraflores Lock

Miraflores Lock

 

We did some tourist-y stuff and hired a guide to take us around the city. We were some pretty basic bitches and, of course went to go see the canal.  It's boats hauling stuff...but, to be honest, kind of amazing and interesting.  I was a bit in awe of how effortlessly the locks raise and release the boats.  I won't give you a history  or engineering lesson on the canal, you can just refer to Wikipedia.

Goethals Monument

We saw the Goethals monument...commemorating the guy who finished the canal ahead of schedule and under budget.  I love a good monument to efficiency.  I bet this guy made as many post-it note lists as I do.

View from Ancon Hill

Lilly Pulitzer Elsa Top (similar) | Banana Republic Jeans (similar) | Kate Spade Sandals (similar)

 We hiked (yes I said hiked) up to Ancon Hill, the highest point in Panama City.  The view was beautiful...as was my back sweat.  And of course I find the resident hill cat.

Besides relaxing and drinking all of the mojitos, my goals for the trip also included seeing some monkeys and sloths.  I was told that the best time to see them was early in the morning.  SO, I got up at the butt crack of dawn...like before the sun.  And went over to the Metropolitan National Park.  (We ran out of time to take a long excursion to a better rain forest because we had to include a day at the U.S. Embassy in our trip due to someone forgetting his green card.)

 

 

However, all I saw were some lizards, weird trees, a bird, and the illusive jungle Scot.

After standing like an asshole for 2 hours creeping silently through the forest, we ventured back to the hotel and I Googled "best place to see sloths in Panama City."  And apparently, the Smithsonian research station 15 minutes from our hotel is the best place.  And the $5 entrance fee delivered a tree dripping with sloths.

This is David Lee Sloth and Hillary Slothman Clinton.  The let me get right up in their faces with the camera.  (Also, two David Lee Roth references in the same post...BOOM!)

This is either David Hasselsloth or Archbishop Desmond Twotoe.  The Scot and I could not agree on a name for him.

So, yes, after seeing these little guys we promptly went to a bar and made up sloth names for the rest of the day.  

Lilly Pulitzer Dress (similar) | Jack Rogers Sandals | Loren Hope Cuffs | Kate Spade Watch

 

The highlight of the trip for me was Casco Viejo, the old city.  It's one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  The entire area is a World Heritage site and the pace at which all of the gorgeous architecture is being meticulously restored is dizzying.  If you don't mind  a lot of construction and love great food and drinks...this is the place for you.  The Scot and I spent an entire day popping in and out of bars, restaurants, and old churches.  Surprisingly, the cuisine of Panama is very cosmopolitan.  I ate some of the best pizza, vegetarian food, and empanadas I've ever had all in the same city!

I loved our getaway to Panama City, but 4 days was simply not enough.  The food is wonderful, worldly, and affordable.  The scenery is breathtaking.  The weather is beautiful And my Spanish is terrible.

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Look What I Got: Panama Getaway Packing

Today I am jetting off to Panama for a short little (much needed) vacation.   As you can see from my (abbreviated) packing list, I plan to get a whole lot of sitting around at the pool done on this trip.  I purchased an inernational data plan, so you'll be able to keep up with my adventures on Instagram (i.e. probably pictures of cocktails next to a pool).

Shop the Post!

Benefit Dream Screen
New Balance Sneakers for J. Crew
Adrienne Vittadini Travel Bag
Jewels & Grace One Piece Bathing Suit
Mara Hoffman Diamond Print Dress
Tory Burch Tunic
Panama Hat
Jack Roger's Flip Flops
Kate Spade Sunglasses

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Geeking Out in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

 

If you follow me on Instagram, you should have guess by now that I took a little vacation to Universal theme parks in Orlando last week.  Tip: Spend the extra money and stay in a Universal Resort.  They are all a short shuttle, walk, or water taxi to the park.  Therefore, you can come and go as you please (i.e. take an afternoon nap).  My sister and I wanted to marvel at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Tip: Get a multi-day pass.  You'll get tired if you try to spend 12 hours in the parks, but you will want more than just a few hours, especially if you take a mid-day break to wait for the lines to die down.  The Scot just wanted to be able to go outside without a parka on.  We had different vacation goals.  So, with this post, get ready for some photo overload.  Obviously, I go a bit overboard with the camera.

 

Of course I purchased matching Gryffindor scarves...via Etsy 

because of course I wasn't paying theme park prices.

 

12 Grimmauld Place

Before you venture through the brick wall into Diagon Alley, you can take a stop in London and 12 Grimmauld Place.  Even prior to entering the thick of it, you will be astounded at how many grown a$$ adults are prancing around in robes waving wands.  However, it costs about $200 to look that whimsical.  

 

Diagon Alley is a bit overwhelming, to say the least.  every where you there are brightly colored signs and little details harkening back to the books and movies.  You can even take a little jaunt through Knockturn Alley (too dark for pictures though!).  And you have to stop off for a butterbeer.  Out of the three choices (frozen, cold, and hot), I recommend the hot butterbeer.  It's like warm butterscotch.  I am sure it's like 9,000 calories.  But since it was vacation, I had two.  

 

In all of Diagon Alley, my favorite building was the bright purple, towering owl post office.  each little window had a little owl in it.  It was just beautiful and adorable.

 

And did I mention that the dragon on top of Gringott's bank breathes fire?!  Oh yeah...there's a dragon. Hence my declaration that the place is "overwhelming."  I was able to ride the Escape from Gringott's coaster twice.  The inside of the ride is simply amazing.  They make you put your large cameras in a locker and cell phone pics just don't do it justice.  Tip: If you are just carrying a very small cross body bag you can totally take it on the Gringott's ride.  You're in a car and there is more than enough space next to you.  But the lockers are free for the duration of the ride.  After waiting online outdoors, you are brought into the main part of the bank.  Chandeliers and animatronic goblins abound.  The goblins are busy at their desks writing and counting coins.  They even creepily blink like living creatures.   

 

After (or before) you ride, you can change your money at for Gringotts notes.  It doesn't cost anything and it's a one for a dollar ratio.  But, you get to step inside and talk to the goblin in charge.  Again, he is super life-like to a creepy.  And when you use your 10 Gringotts notes to purchase two butterbeers, the staff thanks you for banking a Gringotts.  

 

Once finished at Diagon Alley, you can head over to King's Cross Station, Platform 9 3/4 and get on the Hogwarts Express to the other side of Harry Potter World.  Tip: You must get a park hopper pass to ride the Express.  The train is just a slow moving train ride, but a 3-D movie place in the "window" making you feel like you are journeying to and from Hogwarts.  Tip: The ride is different each way, so make sure to ride it twice!

 

We stepped off the train an into Hogsmeade in the shadow of Hogwarts castle.  The sheer detail is again overwhelming.  By far the best ride in the park is Journey Through Hogwarts.  Tip: If you stay at a Universal Resort, you get early admission into Harry Potter World. Head straight for Hogwarts.  This will be the longest line.  Another tip: download the Universal Parks app so that you can monitor ride wait times throughout the day.  You might get lucky!

 

For some reason I was really into photographing roof tops.  They just looked so cute against the clear blue sky.

 

While in Hogsmeade we grabbed some candy at Honeydukes and a beer at the Hog's Head Tavern.  It's definitely worth it to have a beer at Hog's Head.  Although the Harry Potter themed beers are not amazing (I think they were just Budweiser and Yuengling with a fancy tap handle), you can go out on the back patio and drink in the shadow of Hogwarts.  It's a really impressive view.

 

And then we did visit the rest of the park.  I hung out with my bud The Lorax on Suess Island.  I am pretty sure we made it on to almost every ride.  I highly recommend the Minions, Transformers, and Simpsons rides.  Also, have a beer at Moe's Tavern.  It's eerily like being in a cartoon.  I had a Duff Beer.  I was a little disappointed that a Flaming Moe is just an orange soda that (somehow) smokes.  My disappointment stemmed from 2 areas: 1. I wanted it to be alcohol that was lit on fire, which I now realize is completely unsafe for a theme park; and 2. I don't think I want to put whatever chemical makes orange soda steam and smoke into my body.

And of course there's the Jurassic Park water ride.  We didn't go on it because I really didn't need a hair tragedy and soggy underwear.  However, I was pretty proud of this photo I took.  I feel like Universal should purchase this photo for promotional purposes.

Let [Winter] Go...and talk about my Ibizia vacation (Part 1)

I thought since it's currently an ice-covered tundra here in New Jersey, that it was time to share my beautiful (and warm) Ibizia vacation.  First up in the little tour around the island is Ibizia Town (or Eivissa depending on who you talk to).  Oh and there is an outfit included in here too!

So, as you can see I finally found the perfect tulle skirt.  And I thought the perfect place to wear it was an old fort.  Well actually, this is just the entrance to the older portion of the city (Upper Town) or the Dalt Villa.  But, it's protected by a fort.  Pirates were a thing back in the day.  And maybe sneakers were not the best accompaniment to a tulle skirt, but the streets in the Dalt Villa are pretty much vertical and made of the world's slipperiest stone.  Not ideal walking terrain.

The cathedral as seen from the top of the fort.


View from the top of the fort.


An artist in the Dalt Villa


Most of the statutes in the Dalt Vila were headless.

The lower and modern part of the town is overflowing with great shops and restaurants.  We spent the majority of our ten days in Ibizia Town.  Because I love to shop...and it was pretty much the only place I could eat.  Vegetarian food did not abound in the more rural part where we stayed.  The grocery stores weren't even much help to me.  They mostly stocked parts of the pig that I don't think people should eat.  I'm not entirely sure what town we were in.  We stayed in a villa with the Scot's family....that did not have an address.  We have to give GPS coordinates to the cab driver.  Street names and town boundaries don't seem to be a thing.  I guess if you want to look it up on a map, we were a few minutes from a beach called Port de Torrent.  But anyway, back to Ibizia Town.

Graffiti.  There was a lot of anti-petroleum drilling graffiti.

I found a pretty awesome little shop in Ibizia Town called Biscuit.  Its like a teeny tiny Anthropologie.

The Scot walking down a random street.


Monument to the Corsairs (honoring pirates that protected the island)

Some random buildings.


View from the harbor

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Tulle Skirt: Windsor Store (exact)

Let it Go Tee: Groopdealz (worn, similar)
Coach Sneakers via Marshall's (worn, )
Necklace: Groopdealz (similar)
Bracelets: Groopdealz (worn here & here, similar here & here)
Watch: Michael Kors (worn)

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