An 'All-Things-Beautiful'… Blog
The end of an era Celebrating every milestone to the fullest is becoming more of a norm than a novelty these days. Me, being the perpetually extra person that I am, have absolutely no complaints about this new age of gender reveals, babymoons, and push presents! Waseem and I have traveled…
Happy Fri-Yay!! Another long overdue 2016 travel diary today… Istanbul! Waseem & I traveled to Greece and Turkey last spring for our third wedding anniversary. All of my Greece posts went up in a somewhat timely fashion but I really dragged my feet with sorting through my photos from Istanbul. I feel like I’ve mentioned it so many times already but I got so sick in Greece that our few days in Turkey were such a delirious blur. I slept almost the entire time and barely got to sightsee so TBH looking at these photos makes me a little sad too! I’ve always wanted to visit Istanbul and while I’m so happy to have visited, I do really wish I was able to soak it up a little more! We did get to check off two of our top sights to see though – The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet was so generous in hosting us and we really couldn’t have picked a better location! Sultanahmet is the heart of old Istanbul and many of the major attractions are all here and in walking distance. The cobblestone roads were so charming and it must have been a little off season when we went (maybe?!) because nothing seemed to be crowded. It was very quiet & serene, we loved just strolling.
The Four Seasons is actually a century-old former jail! Who would think something like that would be converted into a luxury hotel?! The jailhouse was the first in Istanbul and was built in Turkish neoclassical style and underwent redevelopment in the 90s to preserve its history and architecture. The property now has 65 hotel rooms and suites with a gorgeous landscaped courtyard filled with flowers where we had breakfast every morning. The courtyard used to be the jail’s exercise yard, what a serious makeover! I love visiting places with tons of rich history, the property has so much character making our experience all the more unique.
We checked in at night and there was a yummy platter waiting for us (Waseem gobbled up all the Turkish delights!); we room service’d some tea for my throat and I went right to sleep. I woke up to such a lovely view of the Blue Mosque right from our balcony in the morning! You’ll see everything I’m describing in the photos below 🙂
Enjoy!
Maui is one of my husband & my favorite destinations in the world. Our first trip in 2014 was our most enjoyable vacation we’ve ever taken & we’ve been dreaming of visiting again ever since! Since moving to LA almost two years ago, we’ve been looking for any excuse to go since it’s such a short flight from here and we finally pulled the trigger for a quick weekend getaway in October for my 30th birthday. This post is SO long overdue but I got pregnant soon after and life has been a whirlwind ever since! Before our lives get flipped completely upside down in 2017 (in the best way possible!), I’m making it a point to backtrack and get all of my remaining 2016 travels up on the blog! *ahem* Can’t fall behind while I’m brainstorming babymoon destinations! 😉
We stayed in the southwest side of the island during both visits – Kihei during our first trip and Wailea this past October. Kihei is a working/beach town so this time around I wanted a more luxurious experience in the gorgeous resort community of Wailea – just south of Kihei. Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea was so generous to host us for my birthday and it was such a wonderful quick trip! I’ve stayed at Four Seasons Resorts around the world and this is the first hotel I’ve experienced with staff that will remember your name every time!
They were undergoing some renovations during our stay and they let us know beforehand that there might be some noise but we honestly didn’t see or hear a thing. I do believe that their renovations are now complete anyways! The friendly staff welcomed us with tropical drinks and fresh leis before we were quickly transferred to our ocean-view room – where we had even more treats waiting for us! We had a huge fruit and cheese platter that we seriously munched on all weekend lol at one point we were scooping cheese with more cheese it was so good haha!
Since our trip this time was for such a short weekend, we stayed at the resort most of our time (aside from one Road to Hana day of course!). The property is huge and restaurants are so good so if you’re not in the mood to explore the island, there is more than enough to do at the hotel! We had my birthday dinner at Ferraro’s and the food was amazing of course but what I loved most was the atmosphere. It’s located outside and oceanfront so the temperature, sounds, and fresh air are so relaxing! It was already past sunset by the time we made it down for dinner but even without the views, I was loving all the fresh Hawaiian air and the sounds of crashing waves.
The beach and reef are spectacular so even though the Four Seasons has amazing pools, you have to take the couple steps down to the beach. We spent our first afternoon strolling along the shore and playing in the water. The next day we loved our time at the adults-only pool and lounging in our cabana. The friendly service was so quick and the drinks were awesome!
A huge thank you to my husband for such a great birthday while I was moping about turning 30 lol! & to Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea for the lovely stay! Let’s get on with the photos..!
Good afternoon from LA!
My husband and I got home from South America yesterday and spent the day on the couch with our cats watching netflix and just recuperating from our busy two weeks away! I’m back to work today and ready to share with you some of our travels! As you may have noticed from my previous two posts – I will be breaking this trip down over several posts instead of one large travel diary. There is just too much to share!
We began our trip in Puerto Iguazú & then made our way to Buenos Aires where we spent 3 lovely days at the Four Seasons Hotel. This was my first Four Seasons experience and it was nothing short of luxurious! Located in the cultural center of the city in the affluent Recoleta neighborhood; the area was super safe and very close to historical landmarks, great restaurants, and shopping. All of Buenos Aires feels like different parts of Europe but Recoleta is all Paris!!!
I fell in love with everything about the hotel upon arriving. The hospitality and service were absolutely amazing, every recommendation the concierge made for our nights out were a slam dunk! An equestrian theme runs throughout the Four Seasons Buenos Aires beginning with a gorgeous sculpture on the front lawn which is even more beautiful at night. Splashes of blue are found throughout the lobby representing the sky of Buenos Aires as well as the Argentine flag – the lobby was my favorite place in the building because I loved the color palette so much. We stayed in a mansion-view junior suite where we had stunning views of the city as well as the largest avenue in the world: 9 de Julio. Our suite was super spacious with separate living and sleeping areas each with large balcony-like windows – directly above the hotel’s heated Roman-style pools.