Part II | CHIC Travels | Brussels

Barney and I in front of Mont des Arts, which is located in the center of Brussels and is considered a historic site. In the photo above and below you get to see Brussels Town Hall tower (which you saw HERE) peeking through the landscape of buildings. This area was highly populated way before the garden existed, and was known as Quartier Saint Roches, but by the end of the 19th century, King Leopold II had the idea of converting the hill into a temporary garden and ordered to do monumental staircases and cascading fountains. Between 1956 and 1958 the garden went under a major reconstruction and it is what you see now. 

Barney has become quite the traveler, he came with us and although it was a bit of a challenge when snow fell during one of the days we were there, we love traveling with him because it's a whole different dynamic when he comes along.

Place Royale

The Music Instrument Museum (MIM) is located in the central of Brussels and is part of the Royal Museums for Art and History. MIM is internationally renowned for its collection of over 8,000 instruments, the collection was created in 1877, to educate students of early instruments. 

Oh and let's not forget the millions of waffle shops/trucks located all over the city, that fill your nose with happiness. I love waffles, well I love sweets period, but waffles are one of my favorite treats and I made it a point I could not leave Brussels without trying the famous Belgium Waffles...I will tell you a story about that on the next edition of Brussels. 

The photo that inspired one of the shots from this outfit post, and has become favorite of mine. There is something so romantic and solitary about the look of this photo that I just love.

You can see Part I of Brussels HERE.

| Chic Travels | Amsterdam (Part II Final)

| ABOVE x BELOW | My obsession with houseboats intensified when I was here, they are so beautiful and so efficiently put together that I could have given up everything to live in this city and on a houseboat. But I also was loving the adorable Apartment/Home buildings around town, as they have so much charm, they reminded me of doll houses.

| ABOVE | I snapped a picture of this cool bike that I wish I had, mainly for display because I don't like motorbikes in general, but this one was vintage and you all know how much I love vintage! | BELOW | The love for beer became real in Amsterdam, the beer is so damn good, it was dangerous. Nothing like a cold beer after walking hours on end. Look at the cuteness of a dog taking a nap, I believe he was the restaurant owner's dog as he knew his way around the place pretty well.

| ABOVE x BELOW | Details of what was once the humble abode of one the greatest painters of European art and most influential in Dutch history, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. He lived here in the mid 17th century, but after he was unable to pay the debt of the house, he lost it and was forced to move to a rented place where he lived up until his death in 1669. Between 1660-62 the house was split in two and housed several families up until the 19th century. The house was altered several times and was left in such poor conditions that if it was not that it once belonged to such an important figure it would have been demolished.  The City of Amsterdam, bought the home and handed it to a foundation built to restore the home, the trustees of this foundation reconstructed the home and Queen Wilhelmina opened the doors in 1911 as a museum.  

| ABOVE x BELOW | Etching demonstration in Rembrandt's printing room. Replicas of Rembrandt's famous etchings hang in the room below the ceiling. 

| ABOVE | Rembrandt's collectibles that he garnered during his travels around the world. I really wanted every piece of artifact in this room, such a cool collection, look at all those head statues...amazing.

| ABOVE | Rembrandt's restful little nook, a.k.a his bed. | BELOW | The kitchen was also a pretty cool room, so different then the kitchens we know now. 

| ABOVE | The Famous De Wallen, Red Light District, where you can see all sorts of things even in broad daylight. What I was slightly surprised about was the casual demeanor in which it all takes place, it was almost refreshing. The district is busiest at night of course, with an array of different age groups and people. We had walked through the area several times not realizing it was the Red Light District until we reached the main street and noticed the ladies on the windows. 

| ABOVE x BELOW | A Guided Boat tour around the canals, which I recommend because you get to see the beautiful houseboats and much of the city, plus it's very relaxing. You also get to see the amazing architecture, which has to be one of my favorite things about this city aside from the houseboats of course. 

| ABOVE | Again, I couldn't resist taking photos of the charming buildings that hug this city, can you spot the crooked house? | BELOW | Having some gin and tonics on our last night at a bar that is housed in one of the oldest building in Amsterdam. 

Hope you enjoyed the last post coverage of my trip to Amsterdam back in July. It was a fantastic experience, I fell in love with this city so much, I saw myself living there. My husband and I definitely want to go back to be able to see more, as it was a short trip, especially that we did not get to go to Anne Frank's house, which was at the top of my list of things to do. The city is easily accessible by foot, so there is really no need for a bike, trams or buses, although it would be a fun and interesting experience with a bike as they take their bike-riding very seriously there. They even have a parking lot just for bikes, which I tried to capture but the photos were a little blurry as I tried to capture while we were on the boat tour. If you ever go, I would love to hear your experience!

Next up on my Chic Travels series is my honeymoon, so stick around for that, as it will be coming in the next few days.

| Chic Travels | A Girls Road Trip (Part I)

| ABOVE | Giving these two sillies a tour of Frankfurt's most popular areas, the Eiserner Steg Bridge, the Romer and of course we had some treats along the way.

| ABOVE | We also made a half day trip to the nearby city of Wiesbaden, a charming city that is only thirty minutes away from Frankfurt. The name Wiesbaden translates to "meadow baths" because of its famous hot springs, as well as being one of the oldest spa towns in Europe.

| ABOVE x BELOW | Our Girls Road trip started with wine tasting in two different wineries/vineyards, known as Weinguts in German. First stop was the Robert Weil Weingut, which looked like a place where you would find any Disney Princess, I personally felt like Snow White walking through the garden. This place was so beautiful, we could have easily stayed the whole day just drinking wine and chatting away. The winery was purchased by Dr. Robert Weil in 1867 and is located in the village called Kiedrich, part of the Rheingau (one of thirteen designated wine regions in Germany) which dates back to 950. 

| ABOVE | Where the fun began, wine tasting with our host/guide Jan Christensen, a #groupselfie after drinking all that wine x me waiting patiently for my wine purchase.

| ABOVE | Getting a tour of the winery's new climate controlled wooden barrels, which were bigger than all of us. | BELOW | The vintage wine cellar with their original wooden barrels.

| ABOVE x BELOW | Endless rows of vintage wine, which I asked if they were on sale and the answer was no, I would have loved to have taken one home...for storytelling purposes. 

| ABOVE | Lisi and our host/guide Jan Christensen, who was the best host we could have ever had. Mr. Christensen took his time, explained in extreme detail the different wines and the history of the winery. | BELOW | Top right picture is their new, sleek and modern wine tasting room that had automatic sliding floor to ceiling windows that opened to the the winery's vineyards, a spectacular view that I just had to soak in.

| ABOVE | The historical manor that stands so beautifully on the winery's grounds | BELOW | Lisi taking a moment to mediate and sitting atop an original water well. Side pictures depict the grounds Apple trees, Pear Trees (not pictured), Cherry Trees and the lushes flowers/roses that hug the gardens.

| ABOVE | Our second stop was the Leitz Weingut located in the popular town of Rudesheim, a winemaking town located in the Rhine Gorge and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Leitz Winery is said to date back to 1744 and was rebuilt after a bombing raid took place in the area late during the Second World War. We visited their Wine Tasting House, which was located away from the vineyards themselves. 

| ABOVE | In the streets of Rudesheim | BELOW | We stopped for lunch at the Central Hotel's restaurant Stiebler's Rauchfang, which was recommended by our host at the Leitz Winery. We had the typical dishes of Germany, Schnitzel, potatoes and more pork.  

This was a fun and adventurous trip that I took back in June with my gals Lily, Lisi and Sandy. One reason it was adventurous, was because it was my first time driving around Germany, which I wasn't too nervous about but then again I didn't foresee what was to come. I will elaborate on part two of our travel documentary. Our first few adventures were the best ones out of the whole trip, because well that's when we got to drink wine and lots of it, well my girls did do a lot of drinking, I was driving so I had to only take a sip of each wine we tasted. Stay tuned for part two of our Girls Trip. 

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| Chic Travels | Customized Fragrance in Prague

| ABOVE | Sniffing different oils to find the right ones to mix | BELOW | A technique used to blend different scents into one by crisscrossing the arms with scents in hand so to determine if that mixture is one you would like before placing it on a perfume bottle.  

| ABOVE | Clearly I found a scent I liked, I ended up doing a combination of no. 16 at fifty percent and no. 20 at fifty percent | BELOW | Different bottle options to chose from depending on your price point.

| ABOVE | It was my husband's turn to pick out his scent | BELOW| His combination was no. 4 at fifty perfect, no. 18 at twenty-five percent and no. 34 at twenty-five percent. 

| ABOVE | Preparing my scent with the two oils I selected no. 20 Lipovy Kvet (Linden Blossom) and Zeppelin (couldn't find the English translation) | BELOW | You can also buy perfumes that have already been mixed by the perfumer. 

This is the last coverage of our weekend trip to Prague back in early May. As we were walking away from the Prague Castle through the stairs that lead to the castle, we stumbled upon this charming little shop that sells customized perfumes/fragrances, it was really a matter of fate as my husband and I had been discussing the idea of finding a place where we can create our own scent. When we stumbled on this shop, we were very excited and had to make the time to stop in and take a look. Needless to say we spend about almost an hour in there trying to create our very own perfume, my husband and I both walked out with scents of our own. My perfume is almost done, I know, that is how much I loved it, it has a soft but rosy smell to it so it is perfect for day time, my husband's is soft but musky and also a day time cologne. The best part of the whole experience is that you can restock your perfume/cologne by ordering it through their online shop. So once I am done with my perfume, I just send them the name of my scent and they will ship it to me, the other great part about it is that they ship worldwide. 

If you are ever in Prague, you have to make a stop at Zámecká Parfumerie, you won't regret the experience.