Category Archives: Salt & Straw

Places you need to visit at least once in your life!

Paris;

I really wanted to visit Paris ever since I was a kid specially because of Disneyland. I am so glad when the first time I went to Paris I was 22 and the memories I have are so clear. Kids don’t remember anything!! The best age to travel is actually when you can remember what you did, where you went and all those amazing strolls down the aesthetically pleasing streets! You need to stay in a good neighbourhood so that you can actually walk and enjoy your trip. Shopping and cafe culture is something you cannot miss out on in Paris. You need to dress a bit formally in Paris; unlike Los Angeles. They have the biggest Sephora in Paris and you can literally find anything! There was even a cute little Sephora next to our hotel as well. I hate how convenient shopping is in Paris and you literally end up buying whatever catches your eye. Which means you end up buying things you don’t need.

Amsterdam;

This is definitely the most safest city after Zurich. Literally everyone is so sweet and kind. I love the tram culture in Amsterdam, you can never get lost in this amazing dutch city. The canals, weather, food and super easy going lifestyle is what attracts people to visit this amazing place over and over again. You need to try seafood here, particularly the famous SeaFood bar. The weather is super pleasant and you might even need a jacket after sunset (that is if there’s no heat wave). Avoid going to Amsterdam in June & July since chances are you might get caught in middle of a heat wave and it might just ruin your trip. Personally for me, I hate summers and I hate hot weathers. The best time to visit Amsterdam is definitely Autumn and spring.

Norway (Fjords);

I have never visited Norway but this is on my bucket list for the future. Not every trip has to start and end at Champs-Élysées or Rodeo, You need to experience naturally aesthetically pleasing sites too. Fjords are a slice of what heaven would look like. If you don’t know what an amazing piece of land Norway is you need to start looking up (specifically their Fjords). I am grateful to my father to have told me about this amazing piece of land and one day I plan on going there with him and the rest of my family. I’ve always traveled with my entire family and I don’t understand how people can just fly off themselves whilst leaving their families on one side of the world. My father always included us in his plans and I will forever be grateful to him.

Los Angeles;

Flights to LA can be hell tiring and the the jet lag takes at least a week to get over. But is it worth it? HELL YESS!! As soon as you get out of LAX the cool breeze can make you forget about the long flight and how tired you actually are. You just need someone who knows all the places. You need to stay in a safe neighbourhood. I absolutely loved Glendale. The apartment where we stayed was a 5-6 minutes walk from Americana The Brand. I used to walk by myself every single time. People are extremely warm and welcoming. Three things I loved the most was my salt & straw ice cream, In-n-out burgers and Boiling crab. You need to try these things if you’re in Los Angeles(or some other city). I prefer walking when I’m travelling, I hate using any sort of transportation. Absolutely loved Laguna beach and Malibu Beach there, you just need to make sure you don’t slip when a wave comes right at you, just hold your ground. I once had my back towards the ocean, a huge wave just came right at me and I had to make sure I didn’t budge and stand perfectly still( i’m extremely bad at swimming); almost went into the pacific. Sharks are on of my major fears ever since growing up (probably because I watched ever single scary shark movie) I was the only one that close to the water. But oh well I was brave I guess. I just love walking on the beach, soaking my feet in the water and enjoy the sound of the waves. The skies in California are literally out of this world.

Iceland;

This place is yet again on my bucket list. You’ll see geothermal hot springs billowing with white smoke, moss-covered lava fields stretching into the distance, dazzling white glaciers slicked over mountainsides and if you’re lucky you’ll see the Northern lights too.

Nothern lights – Iceland

Peak viewing season for the northern lights is always September through March when the nights are long, during winters darkness can extend for approximately 19 hours. Arrive about five days before a new moon, and you will have a very dark week ahead, perfect for seeing the lights. List of places in Iceland where you can witness Northern lights;

– Hella

– ReykjavĂ­k

– Höfn

– SkĂłgar

– Snaefellsnes

Next attraction is the Blue Lagoon. It’s a a geothermal spa, located in a lava field near Grindavík and in front of Mount Þorbjörn.

Lake Tahoe, Nevade;

I went to Lake Tahoe last year, it was summer the season, the lake had all shades of blue and it was so pretty. South Lake Tahoe is a more touristy spot and but you can definitely spot some secluded places with minimal or no people for your photography. Emerald bay was a bit crowded but definitely worth the views. Tahoe has lakes, Greenery and snow capped mountains at the same time. If you plan on going to The States do add driving to Lake Tahoe, you’d love it.

Yosemite National Park, California;

If you truely want to be awed and experience mother natures true beauty you need to visit Yosemite National Park. It includes peaks, canyons, cliffs, domes, rivers, lakes, immense waterfalls, lush green meadows, wildlife, and forests. If you’re lucky (or unlucky) you can also spot a bear just strolling around you. Just don’t feed them and don’t walk off by yourself since the park is packed with wildlife. I saw the biggest squirrels at Yosemite. Literally huge and fat. You’ll see the worlds tallest sequoia trees here too. You’ll feel like you stepped into a fairytale.

I’ll be adding more places to this amazing list. Stay tuned for more✨

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P.s if you’ve ever been to any of these places don’t forget to reach out and share your experience!

Places you need to visit in Pasadena/Glendale Los Angeles, California.

Hey guys! I write this while I still fight my jet lag! My routine is still not on track. Anyways, we stayed in Pasadena, and were located in the heart of Pasadena about 5 minutes walk away from their famous Colorado Blvd. I opt for walking my way around places when on a vacation because we can’t do that back in my country. LA is known for its weather, it was pleasant during the days and got super chilly right after sunset (Similar to what it was in December 2017).

Salt & Straw

I cannot put into words on how much I loved their chocolate gooey brownie ice cream. The ice cream had brownie chunks in it and was super yummy. I have always been a Haagen-dazs kinda person but this ice cream was just AMAZING. Definitely worth every calorie. I wasn’t really calorie conscious on this trip. Also this is only Available in the States and was previously introduced in Portland, Oregon first.

In-n-Out burgers

This chain of burgers, fries and milkshakes is only available in the State of California. NO OTHER STATE or country. I’ve never really liked beef burgers but their burgers are an exception. The texture and they’re very basic yet taste amazing. At the end it all comes down to quality maintenance, something they’ve managed to do so well. Due to covid and monkeypox we just got it via Drive Thru instead of going in the outlet. The line at the drive thru used to be crazy, easily took us 20 minutes or more each time. You definitely should try their Burgers. Fries aren’t that good but the burger just melts into your mouth. So it’s definitely worth it.

Starbucks

Okay so starbucks is everywhere! But I have some favourite drinks which I would definitely recommend. Previously I had only tried their basic unflavoured latte but this time due to the summer and heatwave going on I opted for cooler drinks instead. I would definitely recommend strawberry creme frappe & cookie frappe. These two were my favourite. Plus I don’t know about you but I hate flavoured coffee. Makes me sick. Coffee itself had such an amazing and strong taste, why would anyone want to change to into caramel or any other pathetic taste? Just blows my mind. So if you want a hot drink just stick to their basic latte. Also before you order any new drink from them just ask the person taking your order if they would recommend that particular drink to you, and just tell them what you actually want/ or like, if they’re kind enough they will definitely recommend or suggest something. Atleast they were super sweet in Pasadena (Colorado blvd) Los Angeles. They even told me they’d change my drink if I didn’t like it. So shout out to them for being extra sweet.

85c cafe

They had an amazing collection of pastries, cakes and a huge variety of bread. The coffee was just average, but the hype regarding their bakery items was on point. This was a 3-4 minute walk from my hotel and a go to place due to the convenience. The funny part is that I actually went to this french crepe cafe near this bakery first (for breakfast) but their menu didn’t really fascinate me so I left that cafe and stumbled upon this cute bakery.

The Boiling Crab

Let me tell you one thing. I never liked seafood just because I grew up watching Little Mermaid. And I always believed that if I eat fish i’m causing harm to the mermaids. Yes! That was me growing up. And guess what? I never bothered eating sea food until we traveled and the first time I ever had sea food and king crab was in Amsterdam. My entire idea has completely changed. Number one there are no mermaids (as of now) and number two you definitely need to try seafood when travelling because Pakistan has the most pathetic quality seafood ever. I loved Fried COD and King crab, but this time I actually ate shrimps for the very first time and I LOVED IT. We got fried shrimps, boiled shrimps & king crab, fried calamari, corn on the cob and cajun fries (absolutely loved these). You don’t need anything except a crab shell cracker and your hands! This was definitely very unsophisticated but the taste was still worth the experience. Just make sure you wash your hands before and after the meal thoroughly. We went here twice. For the first time we ordered the spiciest sauce for our crabs and shrimps, I literally had tears in my eyes while I ate my meal. I couldn’t even wipe them off because my hands were a mess!! They literally give you a bib so you dont ruin your shirt and they lay out a disposable sheet on the paper on which you actually eat your meal! If you are ever travelling to LA you definitely need to try this!

On our short trip we also visited 4 Indian restaurants 1 in LA, 1 in Minden (Nevada), 1 in South Lake Tahoe and 1 in Oakhurst. Ended up ordering the same thing; Yellow tarka dal, chicken tikka masala (extra spicy), Palak Paneer(spinach and cheese), garlic naan/ green chilli naan and Vegetable samosa. My top favourite one would be the one in Tahoe, the best food. I am big fan of Dal. I mean who isn’t. Specially when you’re away from home and you want some good desi comfort food. We had also ordered barbecue but it was nothing like what you get in Pakistan, there was no taste just a red color added to the meat, so didn’t really give that barbecue vibe. Just remember ordering the food extra spicy when you’re travelling in the west, otherwise your desi food will be more towards a dessert. Thank me later.

Urth Cafe

Okay apparently this was the first time I had cucumbers in my veggie cheese omelette and it was so weird. Literally wasted the entire thing! I only thing I loved was their coffee. The lady serving us complimented me and told me how pretty I looked, so it made me forget about the cucumbers in my omelette. The croissant however wasn’t that fascinating either, Idk maybe my expectations were super high. The only thing I loved was the ambiance and how sweet their staff was. The breakfast was just okayish.

Porto’s Bakery And Cafe

This place had an amazing variety of breads & desserts. Personally I loved the Tres leches cake and their egg bread. The egg bread literally metled in your mouth, it was super soft and airy. While the Tres leches cake was just perfect. I absolutely love milk cakes and this was a good find.

Raffi’s Persian Food

I don’t eat beef. I prefer having lamb kebab’s over beef. When I was here in 2017, they had Lamb Koobe’deh which I loved but this time they only had beef koobe’deh and it was so disappointing. I ended up ordering their chicken option instead. If you’re someone who doesn’t mind having beef then this is definitely a place to go. This is a Persian restaurant and quite famous in Glendale.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts 🍩

Have you even lived your life if you haven’t had Krispy Kreme doughnuts? I’d been craving for these doughnuts since the past 4 years now (since my last trip to US). These aren’t available anywhere in Europe, which was shocking. Personally I don’t like doughnuts with fillings, I prefer the ones which are plain from the inside and loaded with flavour on top. My personal favourite will always be classic glazed, strawberry glazed with sprinkles and chocolate glazed with sprinkles. The strawberry glazed has a legit strawberry flavouring and would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves doughnuts. They’re always freshly made, super soft and flavourful.

Absolutely hated the Chinese food in Los Angeles. Though we went to one restaurant, Panda Inn (Glendale). It was overly priced and had no taste at all. The only thing I liked was Edamame wok fried. That is it. We had ordered vegetable chowmein, egg fried rice, sweet & sour chicken, orange beef and crispy garlic chicken. We ordered way too much food and it got wasted. I had high expectations for some reason. This is an old restaurant and was recommended by my father since it there since his college days. If you’re someone who wants to spend a lot on food which has almost no taste, you should definitely go there. Portions in America are huge so order accordingly.

Will be posting more from my trip! So stay tuned for more!✨🤍