USA Road Trip: From California to Montana

Maybe we have seen too many US road trips movies like "Lost in America", "National Lampoon's Vacation" or "Dumb & Dumber", but there is nothing better than packing your car and going on a fun adventure across America. You will be surprised how different people are across the states and the changing landscapes will keep you in constant awe. Instead of paying for an expensive ticket to some tropical paradise, we want to encourage you pack your tent and visit these three National Parks in the States this Summer: Teton, Glacier, and Yellowstone. Hopefully you will come home inspired to see more of this beautiful country.

Gear up! What to pack for a camping trip? 

We are assuming you will be camping, but if that is not your cup of tea, skip this part straight to the fun stuff!

All you need for this camping trip are some basics. We know that some people can get overwhelmed by camping, especially if it's more than for one night. We want to reassure you that you don't need an RV or a trailer, although it would be nice, to go on a long term camping trip, and by long term camping, we mean more than 3 days. By the way this roadtrip from California to Montana and back too us 17 days, and it included adding some extra miles to see friends in Idaho.

The Tipsy Gypsies did not always camp, but we've always been around pros that showed us how to do it. The difference between us and pro campers is that we actually don't own any fancy camping gear, especially sine we sold most of our stuff to travel the world. It takes time and money to collect all the cool camping gear, but you can easily do it with just the bare minimum like we did. You will be surprised how little you need. Let's get to it!

Camping gear essentials for your trip: 

• Tent REI ( Half dome) - Having a good tent is important. You don't want to wake up in the middle of the night in a pool of water and you want to sleep comfortably. This tent is designed for 4 people, so you can imagine its a very specious tent for 2 people.

• Stove - we bought a gas camping stove for like $20 from Walmart on our road trip.

• Cooking gear - pots (2), a pan, knives etc... whatever you fancy

• Sleeping bags - no name brand, they cost us about $30 each. We've had them for years, but honestly we got a bit chilly during the night in Montana (35 F temp). So if you can, it's better to invest in a good quality sleeping bag, which should last you "forever".

• Sleeping pads - we like the ones that are a bit more bulky, which are super comfortable for sleeping, but they do take a lot of space in your car.

• Cooler - where else are you going to keep your cold beer?)

• Battery powered lamp - gotta have some night light

Now that you have all you need for this epic journey, let's hit the road Jack!

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Vegas

On our way from Central Cal, we stopped in Vegas first.  Mostly because we had to, but also because Vegas is awesome! We love the enormous sugary Margaritas, all you can eat buffets, cigarette smoked casinos. There is no one right way to do Vegas. It is whatever you want it to be, as long as you are up for some fun. Vegas is for the wild bachelorette parties, all-dude reunions crashing the bachelorette parties, but also for parents with kids that want to hang out by the pool. When we get old we will be one of those 90 year old couples sitting by the slot machines, spiking their watered down cocktails with a whisky from a personal flask.

But there is more to Vegas than wild parties and drinking, the shows are absolutely incredible. We have seen all the Cirque du Soleil shows, and we get excited whenever there is a new production. There is also "great" music: Britney, Jlo, Mariah and the list goes on. Vegas is also a foodie destination. You can go to some of the most exclusive restaurants, where the meals are as much as your rent, but there are also awesome all you can eat buffets, "where you get your bucks back". Our favorite is this Indian buffet, Tambo located on the main strip. We eat there every time we are in Vegas.

The are also some fun attractions a bit outside of vegas: helicopter tours, the Salvation Mountain is very popular or the Neon Museum, where the old neon signs from vegas, once in their glory, rest in the desert. We should have mentioned this earlier but on the way from California to Vegas, along the route 66, is this incredible bottle ranch, called Elmer's Bottle Tree ranch, that you need to check out! 

Wyoming:

Grand Teton National Park

According to the NPS website, the first humans to settle in the Jackson valley and the Teton range were the Nomadic-Pale Indians, who came here more than 11,000 years ago.  Later other Native American tribes followed and settled here to hunt, fish and farm. The first Euro-Americans explorers didn’t arrive till the early 1800’s. They were mostly trappers and mountain men looking to get wealthy by hunting for beaver fur, which was high in demand during that time. With time more Americans started arriving to settle in the area, establishing homes, farms and cattle ranches. The land was difficult to farm due to the rocky, sandy terrain and the climate: long cold winters, and hot dry summers. Needles to say, life on the ranch was not easy, till the wealthy Easterners started to arrive to the West, wanting to experience the “cowboy” life and admire the magnificent mountain views. The locals quickly realized that they could charge them for food and lodging, which turned out to be more profitable and easier than growing crops and raising cattle. The newcomers were nicknamed “dudes” and “dudenes”, and the cattle ranches that provided lodging and food became known a “dude ranch”. Even today, when you drive around these mountains you will see the signs hanging over the ranches gates, “Dude Ranch”.

The Grand Teton Park is absolutely beautiful and it's a great place for camping and hikers. Although most of the national parks in the U.S like Yellowstone or Yosemite are extremely busy during the high season, the GTNP has slightly less tourists. We didn't have any problems finding a camp site and the trails were not too crowded. Having only a few days in this park, we only went for one hike, the Jenny lake trail and Cascade Canyon, which also happened to be the most popular hike in the park. We started the hike at the welcome center and hiked around the lake, with spectacular views and only a few hikers round us. Most hikers choose to take the ferry from the welcome center, across the lake to the west shore boat dock, where the Cascade Canyon hike starts. It's a good option is you don't have a lot of time and want to hike less, but we recommend our route around the lake, where you get the full view of Jenny Lake.

We continued the hike to the Hidden Falls, with more amazing scenery and wild life. We saw some beavers and a moose. There are plenty of places to stop for a short break in a shade, by cool mountain rivers. 

After The Grand Teton National Park we continued to drive up North towards Yellowstone National Park, stoping along the way and sleeping at the campsites.

Picture:

Hike on the way to the Hidden Falls

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is one of the five top most visited parks in the USA, and as you can imagine it is packed with visitors during the summer.  It spreads throughout 3 states: WY, MT and ID. Campgrounds are like hot cakes, so you need to get there early if you want one of the more popular sites. We arrived late (like 9am) and had to camp at one of the outer sites called Indian Creek, but it was still amazing. There were no showers but you could bathe in a beautiful creek. Give yourself plenty of time to get around the park because the speed limit is max 30mil/hour, and when you have so many visitors, who want to stop to take a picture in the middle of the road, it takes a while to get from a one spot to another. Regardless of that Yellowstone is an incredible place to visit!

Huckleberry everything, even beer!

Below: S'mores, an American campsite tradition.

There are many trails in the YNP, and we decided to hike the Mt. Washburn trail. It's a beautiful trail with some elevation, but nothing too hard and surprisingly not a busy trail. We did the whole hike in 4 hours total, which we felt really good about, since the estimated time was 5h minimum.

Picture: When you are out of ice you can chill your beers in a cold creek.

Montana

Bozeman

A fun little town in Montana, for the outdoors and beer lovers. There is one main street in town where you find all kinds of outdoors shops, restaurant etc, but outside the city is where the paradise starts for the outdoor enthusiasts. We stayed mostly in town tasting the booze. White dog brewing has excellent beer, the bar next doors, Bozeman Spirits, makes killer cocktails and their whiskey is very tasty. If you have time visit another great brewery outside the town, Map brewing. It's a hip place with outdoor seating and excellent beers! 

Missoula

A big university town in Montana, for a few reasons was not our favorite place during our road trip. First of all, we went to the state fair to watch the rodeo - we can only blame ourselves. Five minutes into it, we realized that watching cowboys pulling a calf by it's legs and stretching it violently in opposite directions was not our thing. Other rodeo activities included riding a horse with a piece of wood attached to it's balls, which is also not a sport that we will ever get into. Apparently, if you attend the state fair without a cowboy hat or Wrangler jeans, you are the odd ones so get ready for the stares.

We also didn't have much luck finding decent lodging. We booked a room online for about $60. We expected it to be basic, but we didn't expect the crackheads checking in at the same time. Luckily, we politely explained why we didn't want to sleep in a crack-hotel and we got a refund. Sorry, Missoula was a bit of a bummer.

But it was not all bad. As we were leaving the town, we found the most beautiful Caffe Dolce, where we stopped for lunch. Check out these ceilings and architectural details. The food was great too!

Glacier National Park

GNP was the last national park we visited on our road trip. Unfortunately, there were huge wild fires in the area during our stay so the conditions were not perfect, lots of haze and the smell of burning wood in the air. Some parts of the park remained closed, but we got to visit the park and enjoy it a little bit. 

We drove on the Going to the Sun road, with many beautiful vistas and waterfalls, where you can stop to take pictures or go for a hike.

Visit the Glacier Hotel lodge with a rustic architecture overlooking the Swiftcurrent Lake. You can eat at the hotel or bring your own picnic and eat it on the beach in front of the lake.

Whitefish

Since the hotels in Glacier National Park are very expensive and camping was not possible due to the fires, we chose to stay in a cute town near the park, Whitefish.

Photo: Whitefish, old town

Whitefish is a quaint little town, with boutique shops and great cafes where you can try delicious homemade pies!

Where to stay?

We stayed in a cozy, family run B&B, the Hidden Moose Lodge, that served amazing breakfast and in the evenings, after hikes, we enjoyed a soak in the hot tub and a complimentary (hell yes!) glass of wine by the fire place.

It's a unique hotel that acutely feels like a very large home. You can read near the large stone fire place while laying on a couch, and in the mornings your breakfast is served in a family style kitchen. You will quickly become friends with the owners and other guests.

Photo: homemade pie

Hwy 395

On the way back home, we chose to drive on Hwy 395, which is a more scenic route. We were notdisappointed as the views were spectacular. We drove past long stretches of farmland, and a lot of  ghost towns. We stopped in small towns to check out stores that sold weird stuff, learned that you can pickle pretty much anything including eggs, fish, fruit in these parts of America.

Picture above: Wheat farm somewhere in Idaho

Picture above: Cute all American town. 

Picture: What the hell, is that a shoe tree?!! Who knows a good story behind it? Apparently, these shoe trees can be found in many places in America, near highways.

We hoped you enjoyed this post. Please leave us a comment below and let us know your favorite places to road trip. We always love to hear a good road trip/camping stories.

Cheers!

NORTHERN PERU

Every tourist knows about Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, and the Sacred Valley, but not nearly as many people make the trek to Northern Peru. Although you won't see as many iconic sites we found it absolutely worth the trip. From Amazonian lush jungles to the misty highland mountains that touch the sky, all the way down to the coastal deserts. We spent countless hours driving between destinations but the view was always spectacular. Here is some B-Roll we shot for the tour company, Kuoda Travel.

Are Companies Like UNILAD Adventure & Must Do Travels Bad for Content Creators?

If you're a travel enthusiast and on social media, there's a good chance you're a follower of at least one of the digital media platforms known as UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels. 

If you aren't, in brief, these are companies built entirely around filtered self-submitted content, combined with soliciting and asking travel bloggers, filmmakers, and photographers to provide them for free, with travel inspirational content that they can then re-edit if they wish, re-label, and share as their own for profit, and in trade, the content provider will receive credit in the comments (or if they're lucky, the post description) and in theory, drive traffic to the content creator. 

These digital media platforms have millions of travel-hungry followers who eat up the material these "regurgitators" provide. According to Cityam.com, "Between June 2014 and March 2015, UNILAD recorded a turnover of £377,727". Forbes during an interview with founders Liam Harrington and Sam Bentley in 2016, learned that UNILAD can charge advertisers up to £40k for an original branded video.

We couldn't find any financials for Must Do Travels but it is a for-profit business and its follower base is a million and a half more than UNILAD Adventure at the time of this articles writing. 

Needless to say, these kids have built fantastic little empires for themselves, by doing what? By sharing content they paid nothing for. Quite brilliant if you ask us. 

So is this good or bad for content creators? Let's take a look!

In December of last year, both companies reached out to us, asking to share an excerpt from our trending film Rhythms of Peru. Excited about the possible of the publicity and potential follower growth to our blog, we agreed. A few days later, their mutilated and rebranded molestation of our precious film material was released, and we can now confidently say the pay off was... less than lackluster. "Well, your content must have sucked!" you'll say. "Maybe it just wasn't popular enough!" you'll shout.

We'll let these screenshots speak for themselves:

A huge success!!! A job well done, The Tipsy Gypsies! So after 1.1 million combined views, our Facebook must have caught fire right?

Let's take a look!

From December 11th, the date of the first publication, to December 18th a week later and well past the life cycle of this type of content, we had gained 512 followers. A descent growth you might say for one week's work! "Tragically", we had also received a Vimeo Staff Pick for Rhythms of Peru that same week, and every time we get a Vimeo Staff Pick.... up go the followers. Unfortunately, there's no way for us to collect the data on the source of each new follower but it can easily be assumed that these new followers came from multiple sources. Later on we also gained over 1000 followers just by uploading and sharing Rhythms of Peru on Facebook ourselves and letting it get a virus... we mean go viral!! Way more than UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels gave us combined.

On top of that, when Must Do Travels first shared our video, they didn't even credit us as promised and it wasn't until hours later when we noticed, and the video had been liked and shared thousands of times before they corrected it. I spoke with the founder of Must Do Travels after the incident and to his credit, he seemed extremely apologetic and promised if we shared more with them, it would be done correctly. Which in our eyes is basically the equivalent of saying, "We were going to pay you $1000 for this job, but we forgot half the money at home so here's $500. But on next job, we promise we'll pay you the full $1000!". If your only method of payment is a credit, you have to get that right every single time and we talked to multiple people where this was botched. Once the cats out of the bag, there are no re-does. 

And this shows why the credit-as-payment system doesn't work. The fact is, 99.9% of viewers will watch the video, like the video, and share the video, but only .1% are going to see your name, click your name, visit your page or wall and then if you're lucky, like or follow it. This leaves UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travel receiving 99.9% of the benefits of your content, FOR FREE! 

The largest complaint we heard from content creators is that these sites aren't even properly crediting them. While this video received more than 1.9 million views, the content creators credit can't be found anywhere. Not on the video, and not in the video description. The credit is buried in the comments as with the majority of other videos. Ours was the same until we demanded they change it.

Must Do Travels claims they care deeply about their content providers. Yet one filmmaker reached out to me, sharing that his film had been featured on Must Do Travels without his consent. It turns out some unknown person had submitted it as their own and Must Do Travels accepted this submission without question or proof. Their response to the filmmaker after plagiarizing, reaping the benefits of 190k views, and not even crediting the actual creator was,

"I assure you that we do not rip off filmmakers, as we are filmmakers ourselves and actually only share other people’s footage who have quality work and willingly ask us to share that on their behalf to help them grow awareness of their own fan pages or professional services."

Were there any repercussions to Must Do Travels or compensation for the hard-working filmmaker? Of course not. Because these companies are completely unregulated or held accountable. They did eventually agree to take the film down.

So what's a model that could work? Well, we can tell you that there are other sites just like these two with the same travel focus, same style of videos, same millions of followers, and they pay their content creators. Is it a lot? No. About the price of 1 1/2 clips from our stock footage business, for a polished one minute video. But it's something. It's a gesture. 

Which leads to our final point. Whether it be small pay or no pay, it's our choice as content creators right? Whether to share or not to share. None of these sites are breaking the law (aside maybe from when they share content without proper permission... but hey, that’s just a mistake right?) So the final question we want to ask the travel community is...

just because it's legal, does it make it right? 

Just because someone who spends thousands of their own dollars/yen/pesos... on travel and equipment agrees to create content for these companies, for free in hopes of a few new followers... does that make it okay? Travel content creation is already a hard enough business to make a living at, so do we really need some of the most popular travel influencers in the world encouraging the idea that our material isn't worth anything?

Ultimately this is bad for everyone. If content creators can't find sources of revenue, they're ultimately going to stop creating content. Although we would never encourage anyone to try and make a full time living producing content for these types of sites, they can potentially provide some additional income. 

An example you say?? Why sure! We recently had some extra footage, some free time while resting in Quito, made a little video for the travel platform TasteMade Travel, and guess what? Not only were we credited...

we were paid!

Another media platform doing it right, would be Passion Passport, who makes it their main goal to focus on and feature content creators when sharing. 

Not only do they feature the content creator prominently, they typically don't re-edit the original material, providing it as the content creator intended.

We were not paid for sharing our film with them but still found it completely worth the trade.

Therefore, there are business models that work. Models that are mutually beneficial, but when platforms like UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels continue as they do, encouraging their type of "business" model, they are setting a terrible industry standard for what our material is worth... 

nothing.

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FINAL NOTE:

After reaching out to Must Do Travels and UNILAD Adventure for comment (UNILAD has not responded to our requests), we began an email discussion with Steven Kenniff, the founder of Must Do Travels. Although our opinion still stands about the previous and immediate state of these companies, we were really impressed with Steven's engagement with us and what felt like genuine concern and an interest in improving his company to be more beneficial to his content providers. He claims they are already implementing some of our suggestions and are currently working on several ideas for this year that could include a form of payment for at least select content creators.  Therefore, we feel optimistic about Must Do Travels future but we can't comment more on UNILAD Adventure as they won't speak with us. Despite the many issues discussed in this article, we are actually rooting for these companies and want to see these platforms reach their full potential: continued success as a business, but also a respectable and profitable place for professional content creators to contribute. 

Having said that, this is, in the end an op-ed, and just one blog and two bloggers opinion.

If anything in this article resonates with you, offends you, or you find it a worthwhile discussion, please consider sharing your opinions or experiences in the comments below and also consider sharing this article with friends and colleagues so together as a travel community, we can keep this conversation going and maybe, just maybe... get them to see the light.

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CREATOR COMMENTS & COMPANY RESPONSES

We reached out to content creators who have shared with either UNILAD Adventure and or Must Do Travels. The only criteria was having more than 500k views for videos or 30k likes on photos.

Below are their opinions as well as An official response from Must Do Travels. UNILAD Adventure did not respond to our multiple requests for comment:

(To protect the privacy of the content creators, no names have been provided)

Travel Filmmaker

“It’s like expecting to get followers for your broccoli farm because a popular restaurant uses your produce in their salad.”

Travel Filmmaker

"Before editing and sharing this video, they asked me my permission. I gave them but I wanted to have a link to my youtube channel. I thought they were going put it in the description of the post. What a bad surprise when I saw that the link was only in comments... Indeed, this post didn't increase my views on my original video. But it was an honor for me to be published by this page."

Blogger

"Honestly, I don't think people really look to see where the pictures or videos came from, so no, I don't think it made a difference at all in traffic on any of my sites."

Bloggers / Travel Filmmakers

"We think that submitting your work or letting platforms with millions of followers use your content for free definitely has some benefits, however there are a few issues with the whole idea of claiming others work as their own. If they do choose to share a piece work then it can definitely receive many views, comments and/or shares that it otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. One of the annoying issues though is crediting - to be honest, most platforms suck at it! We really had to fight with one platform to make sure that our credit was given in the description of the film and not buried in the 3rd or 4th comment that no one was ever going to find, let alone read... After being shared on large platforms it brought us a minor boost in followers - nothing to write home about though. But, it does give us creditability when we are discussing a project with a client and we can say that our content has received over a million views across different travel platforms. We liked the way Matador Network went about sharing our work. They offer some money for a license of parts of your film, and although it is not a huge amount of cash, it shows that they understand that people work hard to create the content and deserve at lest some sort of renumeration."

Travel Filmmaker

"When I was just starting I was absolutely stoked to be featured anywhere and I let everyone do it no matter who it was. Maybe it helped maybe it didn’t. But nowadays I’m really particular about what pages I post my stuff on. Because on one hand, these “feature pages” are just getting loads of free content. Content that would cost thousands and thousands of dollars to produce on their own. They are using the system to their advantage hardcore. And as much as I don’t agree with that and I’d never do it myself, you have to see the other side. As a creator, when unilad shares your video you are almost guaranteed a half a million views on a video you created. This can be then used to pitch to other brands and leveraged to help you grow your brand. But not all the content creators know how to do that, so the opportunity goes largely unused. I think it would make it a lot better and a lot more incentivized if these huge companies started paying small amounts to the creators. Even throwing someone $20 to some of these smaller creators would go a long way. Seeing as they are making hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars from each video that’s the least they could do. As much as I don’t agree with it I can’t deny I still do it from time to time. You just have to know how to leverage that and come away on the + side of things"

Travel Filmmaker

"...my opinion is that we do get something in return even though it’s not money. Exposure. And something to add to our portfolio... Keep in mind I’m very much a hobbyist, people doing this professionally may have a totally different outlook. However, I don’t think posting on these travel websites is a good way of making money because the cost involved with travel is massive and the pay off is small."

Must Do Travels:

"A few of my friends and I started Must Do Travels about 18 months ago with our own footage of various destinations that we had traveled to or lived in, and from there we started to get approached by other content creators to collaborate on their footage and to promote their personal blogs/websites/social profiles, etc. Much like how you had reached out to us in hopes of having us consider your personal footage. Since we saw that relationship as a mutually beneficial one, we developed a standing partnership with many high quality content contributors that enjoy seeing their work published on our page. It gives many videographers a chance to reach a larger audience with their work than they might otherwise be able to reach if they were to just publish it on their own, especially when they may just be starting out.

Our small team still continues to travel on a regular basis to film locations that we enjoy, or that we have always wanted to go to and needed a reason to get out and do it. That’s why we formed up in the first place. Sometimes it feels like we are always on the road, living out of a suitcase or backpack.

I think we are quite a bit different than what many people might have in mind. Unlike some of the other travel sites and pages out there that I am familiar with, we do not take ownership of your content as a part of the submission process. We know the time and work that goes into filming/editing/traveling and all that, and wish to allow all contributors the right to retain all ownership of their hard work. We simply agree to share the ones that we enjoy the most. If you check the terms and conditions of many of the other pages out there who work with other content creators you will see that they often take exclusive ownership of all content submissions (meaning that they own the video or photo from that moment forward, and you no longer own your footage that you submit for consideration to them), whether they choose to use the footage or not, and often only compensate when and if they do publish the footage online.

Many of the contributors that we work with prefer our type of arrangement, as they are able to not only get distribution and promotion of their content at no cost to them, but they also retain the rights to their hard work that might otherwise not be worth giving up for the chance to possibly earn a small portion of money that wouldn’t even cover the cost of producing the footage in most cases.

We do not run ads in tandem with our content, which means that we do not generate an income off of the video views that our own content or other submitted content gets on our page. I think that the general perception out there might be that if you have a lot of views online you must be making a lot of money, but when there are no ads available to show along with the content on Facebook at this time. We also do not have banner ads on our website articles, so we don’t generate income from that web traffic either. Likewise, we do not have a television channel or a print magazine on the shelves of book stores to generate any sort of revenue. If it wasn’t for our love of travel and being videographers and video editors too I don’t know if we would still be doing it. It’s definitely a labor of love!

In addition to what we film on our own and what is submitted to us unsolicited, from time to time we come across really cool videos online when we are looking for personal inspiration on where to travel next, or get recommended a cool video on YouTube after we just watched another similar video. In those cases we may reach out to some of those content creators to let them know that we enjoyed their work, and invite them to submit their content to us if they wish, so that we can edit it and share it and then link back to their profile or wherever it is that they prefer us to link back to from the video post. Some people never respond to us for whatever reason, and some do.

I wish we could guarantee that every time we shared a video on behalf of someone that it was going to generate some specific level of success for either of us, but we are ultimately not in control of how many views, likes, shares, comments, link clicks to their profile, followers, etc. that any given video can generate. We always hope for the best, and position the content in the way that we feel it will have the highest likelihood for a successful outcome."

UPDATE AUGUST 2019:

Content creator Thomas Norway wrote us:

Thanks for a very nice post, and I agree fully with your opinion. As a content creator myself, I have had similar experiences. Sites like Unilad Adventures and Must Do Travels is great for getting views to boast about, but little more than that. I recently submitted a video to Must Do Travel. After a week I had more than 120 000 views which I felt very good about. However I gained very few followers as a result of this. As in your experience I was credited only in the comment section and not in the post description, which was a negative surprise for me. Furthermore they included my Instagram name in vertically in the upper right corner of the video, which is not very visible on a mobile format, and the logo is much smaller than Must Do Travels. Given mr Kenniffs comments here I would have expected this situation to change one year down the road.

FUN THINGS TO DO IN LIMA

 

Lima doesn't have the best reputation amongst travelers, nor the locals living outside of the city. Stories about dangerous slums and tourists getting robbed in broad day light, circle the web. Although any large city has a mix of good and bad, we found it quite the opposite of the online opinions. Friendly faces, great food, and lot's do. This article is about all the fun things do in Lima.

MAGIC WATER CIRCUIT show at THE RESERVE PARK

This is probably the number one tourist attraction in Lima, and we shamefully have to admit that we skipped it the first time we visited the city. The second time we came to Lima, we were talked into going by our guide, and we are glad we went. At night the park truly turns into magic, with every fountain illuminated with different colors and synchronized to music. There are 13 fountains total in the park, and the biggest attraction is the light show at the Fantasy Fountain. There are 3 shows per day/except Mondays at 19:15, 20:15 and 21:30, more info here. 

It's best to visit the park during the week to avoid the big crowds. People will be around, but it's much more enjoyable. About 10 minutes before the show starts at the Fantasy Fountain, everybody lines up against the railing to watch it, so make sure to get there on time. Most people choose to stand close to the railing, but we personally think it's better to sit on the benches, further from the crowd, where you get a bigger "window" to see the whole show. 

There is a level of cheesiness to the show: lasers, holograms of people and the same classic songs you've heard the street bands play on the flute, but it's the kind of cheesy that make it cool. The show is about 20 minutes long and before it ended we ran to our favorite fountain in the park -"The tunnel of surprises" to take a few pictures without any people in it. It worked!

We spent the most time at this fountain, walking underneath it and looking at the cool, orange beams of water running over our heads and occasionally splashing us with water. 

Make sure you allow yourself enough time to explore the park before the main show and getting there can be a nightmare because of the notorious traffic in Lima, but definitely don't miss it!

At night the park truly turns into magic

 

Explore Centro Historico

Head down to the historical center to start your tour of Lima. Around the Plaza Mayor you will see many colonial buildings, and the interiors are equally beautiful. In particular, the Cathedral of Lima is worth visiting as well the Archbishops palace adjacent to it. The Archbishop of Lima has a nice house to live in for sure: lavish furnishing, beautiful paintings and ornaments fill the interiors. 

Just around the corner from the main square is located the Monastery of San Francisco. An interesting place to visit because of the large catacombs with neatly organized bones that create a form of morbid art.

China town in Lima

Lima is a melting pot of cultures and people: mestizo, Indian American, African and Chinese to name the biggest groups. From 1849 till 1874 approximately 100, 000 Chinese migrated to Peru. They mainly worked as laborers at sugar-cane plantations and the cotton industry. Many Chinese immigrants never left and settled in Lima.

For the most part people live in peace today, and you will see most of the cultures food represented. Walk to China town, aka Barrio chino, one of the oldest chinatowns on the west, and to try Chifa, a blend of Peruvian and Chinese food. Chifa means “eat rice in Mandarin”. Another classic Chinese dish in Peruvian cuisine is lomo saltado, a beef stir fry. It's delicious!

Below: Plaza Mayor

 

Casa Aliaga

An impressive mansion still inhabited by one of the most prominent families in Peru, since the 16th century. Jorge de Aliaga was one of the first Spaniards, who arrived to Peru along with Francisco Pizarro. Aliaga was Pizarro's right hand and he played an important role in conquering Peru. He participated in the capturing of the Inca Atahualpa, and for his loyalty he was granted this property, next to the presidential palace in the center of Lima. Only a small part of this large estate is open to the public. The house is beautiful, but honestly the tour is very overpriced, $30/per person , to see a few rooms and a courtyard is just too much. Our tour package included it, but we would not recommend paying the full price for it on your own. They also offer a culinary experience at the mansion. A lavish dinner prepped by a chef who is a member of the family.

 

Convento de santo domingo

When the Spanish conquered Peru, they decided to express their beliefs by building as many churches as they could. It feels like there is a church on every corner, and they are always full of people.

Convento de Santo Domingo is a church and also as the name suggests, a convent for priests. Although the grounds of the church with courtyards and smaller chapels are very beautiful, the best part of visiting this church is actually climbing the tower to see the view of Lima. 

The entrance to the tower is a bit hard to find. Look for the red staircase (pic on the left), walk up to the second floor where the church organs are, enter another door and you will see stairs leading up the tower.

Left : staircase leading to the tower

Below: View of Lima from the tower

 

Murals in Barranco

Barranco neighborhood started to develop in the 19th when European settlers started to move in. They wanted to be closer to the water as bathing became more fashionable. There is no better way to explore Barranco than walking. Wander through the trendy Barranco neighborhood, and experience the colorful murals this area is known for. These beautiful murals adorn walls, cafes and private houses. It seems that all residents of Barranco prefer art over simple paint on their houses.

There are lots of cool cafes and restaurants in this neighborhood, that invite you inside for a snack or a drink.

 

Alternative Peru tour

This is a super interesting tour that takes you to off the beaten path areas in Lima. You will see some amazing views on this tour and visit the other Lima that most of the tourist don't dare to wander to on their own. We had a lovely lunch in a shanti town and we got to talk to the locals about living there. Their hospitality was exceptional. There are more exciting locations that you will explore on this tour, but we won't give away everything. It takes a whole day, so make sure to bring comfy shoes, water and a good attitude. The guides are great and they make this tour fun!

Above: Lima, shanti town. Below: Coast of Lima

 

Vista point

Just a beautiful view of the rugged coast. It was one of our favorites places in Lima. It is hard to imagine, but there were no hipsters around taking Instagram pictures, except us :)

(Location: Malecón la Herradura, Distrito de Chorrillos 15064, Peru)

 

Museo Larco and a Cafe

A fantastic museum with a large collection of pre-columbian art, and beautiful gardens.

Museo Larco was founded by a sugar lord Rafael Larco Hoyle in 1926, and it is situated in an old mansion. Inside the museum is the largest collection of Peruvian Pre-Columbian art, around 45,000 pieces. The displays of various indigenous art are very beautiful, but the truth is that most people come here to see the very graphic, erotic collection of pottery (ourselves included!). 

 

The best Peña Music in Lima

You absolutely must go see a peña music performance, while in Lima. Pena originated in the poor immigrant neighborhoods in Central Lima. It’s a type of folk music, a blend of African, Andean and Spanish roots. This folk music was played at homes and in unofficial clubs till the word got out and nowadays no matter what your social status is, everybody loves peña.

Going to Peña at Don Porfirio was the most fun we had while we stayed in Lima. Excellent music and a dance show with a great crowd and the best Pisco sours we had in all of Peru! How Nate drank and survived 13 of them, we will never know...

This is a small place and it gets busy fast, and it would be wise make a reservation. We didn't, but thanks to the merciful hostess, she managed to squeeze us a table. They literally brought a table from the back and squeezed it between another party. 5 minutes later, that the place was so packed that they were turning people away and the doors were shut. It's a bit intimidating, because it seems that every guest is a professional dancer, but your shyness will go away after a few Pisco sours. 

 

Pisco Sour Bar

Visit the Aforo bar at the Maury Hotel that it claims invented the Pisco Sour cocktail. Whether the story is true or not, this was a good enough reason for us to visit this vintage bar in the center in Lima and try their Pisco sour. 

The hotel looks almost run down from the exterior, but the interior is vintage and classic. The original wood paneling, leather swivel chair and seasoned barman making your cocktail almost enhance the experience of this drink. 

 

 

Visit the bar that it claims invented the Pisco Sour cocktail.

Where to stay

Villa Barranco

Located in the colorful neighborhood Barranco, this historic villa, turned into a boutique hotel, offers quiet and chic accommodations. Breakfast is served in the garden and the rooftop patio is perfect for an afternoon cocktail with the sunset.

We hope that on your next trip to Peru you will stop in Lima for a visit! We sure will be back, maybe next time and we will try paragliding off the cliffs!

HOORAY FOR CHILE!

Who loves Chile?!!! Noooooo, we don't mean the food you hungry dumb dumb (although we're always down for a nice bowl of those tasty beans😋). We mean the country!!! Wine, llamas, beaches (umbrellas included!), volcanoes, unbelievable martian landscapes and so much more! Our only complaint was that our 10 days there wasn't enough for this fabulous land. If you haven't been, the worlds narrowest country is a must for your next SA visit!

THE MAGIC WATER CIRCUIT

Lima has an amazing fountain and light show that goes on three times a night, five nights a week. In fact, this park holds the Guinness Book record for the largest fountain complex in the world! At about a $1 for the ticket, this evening activity is a must for any Lima visit!

Music provided by our talented Peruvian friend and musician, Tayta Ed Bird Please check out his SoundCloud page as his music is fantastic! https://soundcloud.com/taytabird

DESTINATION: PERU - Central & South

Most tourists come to Peru to visit the main attraction, Machu Picchu. This incredible ancient city, built by the Incas is undoubtedly an exceptional site, but there is so much more to Peru beyond it. Let us take you on a journey through the lakes, mountains, cities, and villages of central and southern Peru to show you the vast cultural diversity of this country.   

---

LIMA

Lima is the capitol of Peru and the largest city in the country. The Lima Metropolitan Area has over 10 million inhabitants, so you can imagine it's a large and busy place. Located on the central coast of Peru and overlooking the Pacific ocean, Lima definitely has a surfer's culture. Despite the cold weather and grey skies, you will see on any given day surfers riding the waves. The locals call this phenomena "panza de burro" which translated into "the donkey's belly", but when the sun is shining Lima is one of the most beautiful cities with a cool breeze and gorgeous sunsets. 

If you plan your vacation in Peru you will most likely stop here for a day or at least catch a layover. Sadly most of the tourists, unaware of what the city has to offer move on quickly to their final destination, like Machu Picchu, never giving this city a chance. If you know where to go and stay, Lima can be a lot of fun. 

The best neighborhoods to stay in Lima are Miraflores and Barranco. Both of these neighborhoods are very walkable with trendy cafes and restaurants.

Read a full guide to Lima here

If you don't know where to go you can sign up for one of the free walking tours. They are fun a great way to meet locals and other travelers. 

Before you go to explore the famous archeological sites of Peru, visit some museums in Lima to get a taste of the Pre-columbian culture and art. Museo Larco in Lima is a wonderful place for that. 

Museo Larco

Privately owned museum in Lima with a large collection of Pre-Columbian art, famous for its erotic pottery.

Barranco

Go on a free walking tour to explore the art district of Barranco with colorful murals.

Huacachina

This small desert oasis is very popular among young backpackers. The main attraction in the town are the sand dunes, where you can go sand-boarding or ride in a sand buggy. Huacachina is fun and definitely worth stopping by if you have the time, but one night was enough for us.  It's a relatively small place and there isn't much to do besides the activities listed, but if you're into relaxing and drinking cold beers by the pool you might want to stay a few night longer.

Watching the sun setting down from the sand dunes over the town is a must!

There are 41 islands on the lake and you can visit some of the communities that still live there, by a speed boat. There are many companies that offer a similar service that you can book from Puno. Make sure to ask for the speed boat, otherwise your journey will take much longer. 

Remember to bring some cash with you since there are no ATM machines on the islands and you might want to buy some handicrafts.

LAKE TITICACA

The highest navigable lake in the world, located on the boarder between Peru and Bolivia. The lake consists of two basins: Lago Grande situated in Peru, and Lago Wiñaymarka or Lago Pequeño in Bolivia. The nearest town is Puno, which perhaps is not the most charming, with clustered unfinished brick buildings. However, the sunsets and sunrises overlooking the lake are breathtaking. 

Where to stay

Hotel Libertador, Lake Titicaca

This is the only hotel situated on Lake Titicaca. This hotel is a part of a known upscale hotel chain in Peru. Request a room with a sunrise view. Although the rooms could use a new fresh design, the hotel restaurant serves the most incredible Peruvian cuisine.

Below: Sunrise view of the Lake Titicaca is the reason why people like stay at the hotel Libertador. Plus there are llamas roaming the grounds of the hotel. This is a perfect place for a relaxing vacation.

A glass of wine and a cheese platter, at the patio with an outdoor fireplace is perfect to watch romantic sunsets.

"The Floating Islands"

The Floating Islands of Uros are a series of islands on lake Titicaca occupied by the Uros people. They are constructed from reeds that grow abundantly on the lake. These manmade islands were designed to be moved if necessary, and they need to be constantly maintained by their inhabitants. Fresh reeds are added constantly, otherwise the islands would rot and sink. All the dwellings on the islands, even the boats are made out of these golden reeds.

Like many native groups in Peru, the Uros people wear unique traditional clothing. Woman wear colorful, oversized skirts, and the tips of the long braids are tied together with large pompons.

You will only stay about one hour on the islands total. The natives will demonstrate how the islands were built and afterwards they will offer to sell you some local souvenirs.

These beautiful and unique islands along with the colorful outfits of their inhabitants will make you feel like your on a Disneyland fairytale set!

Taquile Island

Taquile Island is much bigger than Uros, and it's a "proper" island situated on a rock. If you have ever been to Catalina island in California, you might find it very similar. Hilly rocky terrain with Mediterranean climate and blue waters surround it. Most of the locals are involved in agriculture or fishing but tourism is also thrives.

As part of our tour we ate lunch at a local restaurant: a homemade quinoa soup and a fresh trout from the lake, were simply delicious.

There are also some interesting traditions on this island. For example instead of a handshake, people greet each other by exchanging coca leaves that they carry in a shoulder bag. This culture is also known for weaving intricate textiles, and you see almost everybody, young and old, women, men and children always occupied knitting some clothing garments: hats: bags, belts etc. Knitting is such an important part of their lives and they say that if you don't know how to knit there is no way to get married.  

The island is self-sufficient and there aren't any cars on the island.

The Arequipa region is abundant in minerals, and with several mines, it's the richest state in Peru. There is a strong regionalism in this area, with many locals almost wanting to separate from the rest of Peru. They considered themselves neither Peruvians nor Europeans. The sense of pride is very strong. Arequipa is also a distribution center for the whole southern part of Peru.

AREQUIPA

A charming colonial town with a beautiful church and cafes surrounding the main square. The fountain in front of the church is a popular meeting point for tourists and locals, especially in the afternoons you will see locals, food vendors, shoeshiners and others offering their services. The Misit volcano with a height of 20, 000ft makes a beautiful backdrop for Arequipa.

Where to stay

Hotel Libertador

Beautiful hotel in a very good location and large gardens. They even have a small petting zoo with Llamas and a tortoise.

Logistics and transportation: PeruHop

We want to thank PeruHop, a transportation company who we traveled with for a few weeks to see these incredible places. We chose to travel with them because of their excellent driving records, well-organized tours, and comfortable buses. Peru is infamous for reckless drivers and unfortunately, you have to be very careful about the bus company you travel with. We were very happy with PeruHop and we highly recommend them to travelers visiting Peru. They offer a range of services: from transportation to tours, meals and accommodations. Traveling with them not only gives you peace of mind and you know you will get safely from point A to B, but you will also get to makes some stops and see some sights you wouldn't on a local bus.

A fairytale village in Czech you've probably never heard of

Some of the best places we visited on our travels have been discovered by coincidence and that was the case with Loket, a small village in the Czech Republic.

Small and mellow is the best way to describe Loket, for only about 3000 people live here. As you enter the town across it's main bridge, it may begin to look oddly familiar. That's because this little town was used as a stand in for Montenegro in the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale.

The big G sign is where the locals hung out. At the Restaurace u Karla IV. Beer was good and much cheaper than in other bars.

Despite the early hour, there was not a soul to be found on the streets and the only one grocery store in town was already closed. As we tried to navigate through the narrow streets looking for our B&B, we got a glimpse of this fairly tale town, with a castle sitting on the top of the hill. We couldn't believe that we had never heard of this place before. 

Our hotel Stein Elbogen, which we booked just a few hours earlier turned out to be better than in the pictures. Perfectly situated by the river, this beautiful mansion, painted in a tasteful pinkish color with original stone walls, used to belong to the owners of the oldest porcelain factory in Bohemia. After dropping our bags off in our spacious room, we headed down to the restaurant. We walked down an old, stone staircase with vaulted ceilings, which felt like walking through an old castle. The hotel restaurant was just like the town, cute and quiet. We sat by the crackling fire place and ordered a beer. Behind the bar the owner was casually chatting with a friend and we kept wondering where were all the people on a Friday night? 

A day in Loket

Loket castle

Saturday morning felt unusually quiet and most of the shops around the main square appeared to be closed. We headed to the castle on a self guided tour, which included some typical castle stuff like a porcelain display room, armory, and of course, a torture room in the dungeons.  We spent a few hours walking amongst the cold castle walls, and we even climbed the tower to see the view of the city. Again, there were barely any tourists around, which was great for so many reasons, but most importantly we didn't have to photoshop any of our pictures. 

The gingerbread tradition in Czech dates back to 1324 and it was probably introduced by bakers from Nuremberg, Germany. Till this day gingerbread is baked here, and Loket is known for a specific type if gingerbread called Elbogener Pumpernickel. You can see a wooden mold for gingerbread in the middle picture below.

The Bridge

After the tour of the castle we walked out on the bridge to get a full view of the town. You really get a sense of the scale from a distance. The original suspension bridge opened in 1835, but was later replaced with the existing stone bridge due to the economic crisis in 1936. From the bridge you can take the stairs down to a path along the Ohře river, where the locals like to go for walks.

The Brewery and Museum

Rodinny Pivovar Svaty Florian is an excellent local brewery with a long tradition of brewing beer. The first floor is a small museum/gift shop and the bottom floor is a restaurant and a brewery. They serve four types of beer: light, dark, and two smoked. They are all excellent! You can also try some traditional Czech food here, but we've been told that food is not as good as the beer.

At the end of the day we returned to our lovely B&B and booked another night. We wanted to spend another day here repeating what we did the first day. We also found out why the town has been so empty. Apparently, after the new years a lot of businesses close for a holiday break and reopen in late February. Some hotels might still be open but most of shops and cafes are closed during this time. We actually enjoyed the quiet and peaceful atmosphere during our stay in Loket but next time we would love to come back and visit in the summer when everything is in full swing.  

Cheers!

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SHERA

Fresh snow in Poland means it's time to get out and explore... at least it does when you're a dog named Shera...

5 Cities you must visit in Mexico

Mexico has been one of the top destinations in the world for the past few years. Despite the bad news and press, people continue to vacation in Mexico. Check out these 5 great destinations that you should visit on your next trip!

1. Mexico City

CDMX or Mexico City is one of the largest and most populated cities in the world. It's an important financial and cultural center in the Americas, with many tourist attractions. You could easily spend a week here just eating street tacos-no judgements, YOLO. 

Mexico city is filled with amazing modern and old architecture. Walk around Condesa and Roma, two trending neighborhoods with great farmers markets, restaurants and bars to experience the city life.

The historical center is full of great traditional architecture. The most iconic attractions include: Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Metropolitan Cathedral but perhaps the most important is the archaeological site, Templo Mayor - the hidden ruins that Mexico city was built on. The ruins were accidentally discovered by two electrical workers in the 70's. It has been a work in progress to excavate the old Aztec city since then.  

Catch a break and grab something to eat at the beautiful Casa de Los Azulejos. If you love museums and are willing to travel a bit outside of the city center, Museo Dolores Olmedo is also worth cheking out; and of course the famous Casa de Azul, the house where Frida grew up, now turned a museum dedicated to the artist's life and impressive art collection.

If you are headed to Mexico City read this full guide here.

2. San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende is a small charming town with a lot of history and a lot of expats, mostly from the States, living here. The colorful buildings, cobble stone streets, a beautiful park in the center where the locals gather, could fool you that you are somewhere in Europe. Spanish ruled Mexico till 1821 and although San Miguel de Allende still looks very European it is proudly 100% Mexican. This was the first city to declare freedom from Spanish rule. Every year the whole town celebrates Mexican independence day and puts on a great festival with parades, music, horse rides through the town, ending with spectacular firework show at the main square. 

3. Guanajuato

Guanajuato is another great town in Mexico that is full of character. Guanajuato is located in a narrow valley and most of the streets are small and winding, which resulted in an intricate underground tunnel system used not only by cars but also the pedestrians. Guanajuato became famous for it's silver mining back in the day, and although some silver mines are still functioning today they are also open to tourists. If you speak Spanish, there are many people who worked at the mines perviously, and now can take you on an interesting tour of the mines.

University of Guanajuato attracts students from all over the world. In any student town you are guaranteed a great night life and the best happy hour. Getting lost in the narrow alleys while looking for the best deals on drinks is part of the fun. 

4. Guadalajara

In comparison to San Miguel de Allende or Guanajuato, Guadalajara is not the prettiest city. It  might seem a little bit rough around the edges at first, but this town is definitely worth stopping by. Guadalajara is the largest city in the state of Jalisco, and Jalisco is the most famous for TEQUILA! If you visit Guadalajara make sure to try all the various types of tequila. There are also day trips you can take to the country side and see how tequila is made. 

Guadalajara is known for the best mariachi music. For just few bucks you can got to a show in El Parián de Tlaquepaque, order a cazuela (tequila cocktail) and listen to a live mariachi band. If you are willing to spend a bit more, the musicians will also play a private, mini concert at your table.

The food in Guadalajara is one of the best and very distinct from the rest of Mexico. Make sure to try: Torta ahogada aka drowned submarine sandwich-filled with pork covered in red tomato/chili sauce; birria (spicy meat stew) and sea food dishes like Sopa de Mariscos. The best place to taste all of these dishes is Mercado Libertad. We ate there everyday and loved it! Just make sure to check the prices first because we made that mistake once and ended up paying a lot more than everybody else.

Also be aware of your surroundings as it's a known hot spot for pickpockets.

5. Tulum

Tulum is a very well known vacation spot in Mexico. It is definitely less crowded than Cabo San Lucas and the resorts here seem to be less gaudy and attract more of the bohemian crowd. The warm, turquoise waters, white sand beaches and the fresh ocean breeze make this place a paradise on earth. Besides the beautiful beaches Tulum is great for scuba diving. If you aren't scared of darkness, diving in the cenotes - underwater caves is an unforgettable experience. 

You will also taste some of the most amazing sea food here. Try some fresh from the sea ceviche, a fresh sea food marinated in lime juice and served with Mexican spices. Another local specialty are shrimp cocktails, which here is prepared with only ketchup and no tomato juice. Unless you love chugging glasses of ketchup at once, we recommend avoiding this dish. If you are a vegan, there are many restaurants here serving the most delicious and high quality foods from fresh juices, smoothies and amazing salads.

English is very common in these areas due to the high number of Americans coming here for yoga retreats and relaxing on the beach. You will see a lot of foreigners here scootering and biking around the town all day and night. This is a very safe area for tourists to be carefree. 

You should also visit the Tulum ruins. This abandoned Mayan city is located on the tall cliffs overlooking the Carribean sea. The views are breathtaking! 

We hope that you enjoyed the read and we encourage you to visit some of the places we mentioned here on your next trip, and if you have been to Mexico before please let us know what was your favorite spot. Cheers!

GET TIPSY ON: BELLA LUISA

Ingredients:

Apple Slices (approx 5)

Ginger Slices (approx 5)

3 oz Lemongrass syrup

2 oz White rum

approx. 3 oz Sparkling Water

Instructions: 

In a sturdy glass muddle the apple and ginger slices with lemongrass syrup. Strain the mix into a shaker, add rum and about 3 oz of sparkling water. Lastly, mix all the ingredients together and you are ready to drink it.

Cheers!

*Recipe courtesy of Palacio del Inca, created by Alejandro

ʍɐsɹɐʍ / warsaw

An afternoon wandering around Warsaw in December, 2017.

POLAND: WINTER WONDERLAND

We were home in Czestochowa, Poland visiting my wife's family for Christmas and there was a big snowfall one day. Decided to head out to the countryside and get a few shots...

RHYTHMS OF PERU

From the heart of Lima to deep into the Sacred Valley, 'Rhythms of Peru' takes you not only to Peru's most iconic, but far beyond to experience Peruvian life off the tourist path. Filmed over the course of a month, and in collaboration with several local organizations, my wife and I were able to meet some really amazing people and participate in some really fun events. Although we visited some really amazing places, this is by no means an all encompassing portrait of the country. We did not make it to the north or the amazon this trip. I would love to go back and film a part 2 at some point. I'd like to give a special thanks to Kuoda Travel whom without their help, this film would have not been possible. 

GET TIPSY ON: PISCO SOUR

Ingredients:

2 oz Simple Syrup

2 oz Lime Juice

0.5 oz Egg Whites

4 oz Pisco

Ice cubes

Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker. Shake it well, first without any ice and the second time add a few ice cubes and shake it again. Pisco sour is served without any ice. The drink will be chilled but not watered down. 

Cheers!

YELLOWSTONE

GET TIPSY ON: IMPERIAL MULE

Ingredients:

2 oz Ginger beer

2 oz Italia Pisco

Slice of Ginger

0.5 oz Simple syrup

05. oz Pomelo juice

Ginger Ale

Preparation:

Mixed all the ingredients in a shaker, pour into a glass and top with some Ginger Ale!

Cheers!

Recipe: courtesy of the hotel Palacio Del Inka, Peru

GET TIPSY ON: GRAND PALAIS

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Sweet passion fruit syrup

3/4 oz Torontel Pisco

3/4 oz Lime juice

0.25 oz lemon infused Italia Pisco

Ice

Instructions: 

Mix all the ingredients together in a shaker. 

Cheers!

Recipe: courtesy of the hotel Palacio Del Inka, Peru

GET TIPSY ON: PERUVIAN SPRITZ

Ingredients:

1 oz Citrus juice ( Orange and Pomelo mix)

2 oz Aperol

3 oz Sparkling white wine

0.5 oz Simple syrup

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients and serve in a wine glass.

Cheers!

Recipe: courtesy of the hotel Palacio Del Inka, Peru