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Image credit: David Holt

Shah Cheragh– A mosque in Shiraz that is also a memorial to two brothers

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About Me

Hi there, I'm Luda!

I like to travel to off the beaten path places, stay in unique hotels, and eat allll the food. I also really love cat cafes and boba tea. Here you'll find my online diary filled with city guides, "how to" posts, and general (and hopefully interesting!) stories about my adventures.

Want to know more? Check out my About Me and keep an eye out for fresh posts every week :)

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WHAT’S BEHIND THIS SECRET DOOR? 🤫⁣
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One of the most mysterious, enchanting, and unusual attractions in Riga is an unassuming “apothecary” located in the central district.⁣
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The secret? This apothecary doesn’t actually sell drugs 😜⁣
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Instead, Black Magic sells chocolates, pastries, and Latvia’s most famous drink: the Riga Black Balsam.⁣
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This drink has a long and interesting history, but to sum it up: ⁣
In 1752, pharmacist Abraham Kunze created the city’s much-loved black balsam that was used to cure a variety of illnesses. In fact, there’s a legend that said it cured Catherine the Great when she visited Riga and came down with a serious illness!⁣
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The balsam’s recipe was handed down from each chief liqueur to his successor, year after year, until World War II came along. Many people had to flee the city, including those that knew the recipe. Thankfully, the employees got together a few years after the war ended and put the recipe back together to its original glory. 😋⁣
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More than 250 years later, the balsam’s recipe remains a secret, but it’s still made from the same 24 herbs as the original recipe. Nowadays, Riga Black Balsam is sold around the country and is a popular drink with both tourists and locals. Latvians say that the drink replaces the sun during the brutal winters, and is used to heal illnesses like the cold.⁣
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Back to the bar… ⁣
Although the ground floor looks like a regular cafe, just walk to the middle and look for the bookcase in my photo. Go behind it and you’ll see the cafe’s secret: a “hidden” underground section that’s decorated like an authentic apothecary, complete with glass jars, herbs, and even waitresses dressed in historical clothes! Of course, don’t forget to try a shot of the famous Black Balsam to really get into the mood.⁣
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Oh, btw: remember Abraham the pharmacist? The place where he came up with the original recipe is where Black Magic is currently located. ☺️⁣
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Now that you know the secret behind Riga Black Magic, don’t forget to add it to your itinerary! Here are the details:⁣
📍Black Magic Bar, Kalku iela 10⁣
(3 min. walk from Town Square)⁣
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🥃 Would you like to visit this place? Let me know in the comments!

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10 BEST SOUVENIRS TO BUY IN TURKEY⁣
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No trip to Turkey is complete without a few fun souvenirs. ⁣
Don’t forget to save this post and use it as a guide when you’re strolling around the Grand Bazaar! ⁣
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🍶 CERAMICS — Turkey has some of the most gorgeous handmade ceramic bowls, plates, vases, and tiles. Look for fun colors and tiles that are from Iznik (they’re the ones that cover Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and other buildings!)⁣
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🧣 SILK — If you’re visiting Bursa, don’t leave without a silk scarf. Once an important stop on the famous Silk Road, you can still find this fabric at Bursa’s specialty silk market. Check out my new post (link in bio) for my Bursa travel guide! ⁣
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🍑 DRIED FRUITS — Dried apricots, dates, apples, figs, mmm… You can find dried fruits almost anywhere, but if you really want to impress your friends, there are stores that sell them in colorful gift boxes. ⁣
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🐱 CATS — Not literally, of course 😛 Bring home Turkey’s unofficial “mascot” with a cute handprinted ceramic cat statue, a postcard, or a shirt. While you’re there, please pet a cat for me 🥺⁣
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◻️ TURKISH DELIGHT — Also known as rahat lokum, these soft jelly cubes come in hundreds of flavors. Some of the most popular include hazelnut, chocolate, coconut, pomegranate & more. They’re also great as a group present, especially for co-workers! ⁣
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🍵 TURKISH TEA — Did you know Turkey imports 10% of the world’s tea? Take some of that magic back home with a bag of authentic Turkish tea! To top it off, buy a tulip-shaped cup to reminisce of memories from Turkey.⁣
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☕️ TURKISH COFFEE — How could I mention Turkish tea without its brother? Turkish coffee really packs a punch and goes great with rahat lokum.⁣
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🧿 NAZAR BONCUĞU — These blue and white amulets are used to protect against the evil eye and can be found in almost any souvenir store.⁣
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MOSAIC LAMPS — These beautiful mosaic lamps come in all sorts of colors and make a gorgeous addition to your decor.⁣
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🛍 CLOTHES — Last but not least, I had to add this one: clothing in Turkey is cute and budget friendly- one of my favorite skirts was only 30 TLR ($5)!⁣
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📍Location: One of my favorite souvenir stores in Bursa, Turkey 🇹🇷

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WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE IN TURKEY UNDER QUARANTINE ⁣
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Today marks 3 months since we’ve had to stop our Turkey trip and make Antalya our temporary home. To put it lightly, living in Turkey during lockdown has been an interesting experience (😅) and I wanted to reminisce and tell you guys what it’s like to be in a foreign country during a pandemic: ⁣
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📱Every evening around 8PM, the Minister of Health posted new COVID-19 stats in Turkey, including the number of tests/cases/deaths/recovered. The worst was when we saw the numbers quickly climb and hit a peak of around 5,1387 infected in a single day!⁣
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🔞 Around late March, the gov’t announced that people 65+ were banned from going outside at all. Two weeks later, the ban was extended to those under 20 years old. I’ve lost count of how many times store employees would come up to us to ask our IDs and then do a double-take when (surprise) we were over 20 😅⁣
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😷 In the beginning of lockdown, it was mandatory to wear masks outside in almost all of the Turkish provinces. Now it’s on a case by case basis: here in Antalya it’s not mandatory, unless you want to enter a store. In Istanbul, you can get fined 900 TLR ($130 USD) if you’re caught without a mask⁣
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🛍 After Turkey went into full lockdown, all malls, stores, cafes, restaurants, museums, etc. were closed. Grocery stores would only work for a set number of hours and would only allow a certain # of people inside⁣
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‼️ In the late hours of April 10, the government announced a last-minute curfew for most Turkish provinces, where nobody could go outside and all stores were closed. Since people only had a 2 hour warning, grocery stores were swamped with people frantically trying to buy goods. Afterwards, almost every weekend was a ‘lockdown’ weekend where everyone had to stay at home⁣
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✈️ Turkey officially closed its airspace at the end of March, including all Turkish Airline flights. They promised to open flights in mid-April, then pushed it to May 28, and finally to June 10, when domestic and international flights finally opened!⁣
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🌍How was lockdown like in your country? Let me know in the comments!⁣
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📍The empty streets of Old Town Antalya during quarantine

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WHAT ARE YOUR (TRAVEL) PLANS? ✈️⁣
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Happy Sunday! Today we’re going to enjoy the rest of the weekend with a fun activity: planning our next trip 😋⁣
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Although we can’t leave Turkey just yet (our hometown in Ukraine is still “closed”), we’re planning to travel around the Turkish Mediterranean region. We’ll start from our current home base (Antalya) and make our way to Izmir or Çanakkale, stopping by warm beaches, pretty seaside cafes, bougainvillea-lined alleyways, and other interesting spots. 🌴🌺⁣
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Although we‘re still in the planning stage and aren’t sure when we’ll leave (2 weeks? A month?) I already can’t wait to share my new adventures with you. ☺️ ⁣
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As for the rest of 2020? We’ll see. We had about 10 different countries planned, but that’s not going to happen. I’ll be overjoyed if we visit even one or two on our list. 😅⁣
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🗺 Now it’s your turn: Are you still planning to travel after coronavirus is over? If so, where are you going or where would you like to go? Let me know in the comments! ⁣
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📍Reminiscing about my trip to Fiji back in February 🥥🤍

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HOW TO NEVER GET LOST AGAIN⁣
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I don’t know about you guys, but I’m always getting lost on my travels. 😅⁣
To make my life easier, I use a few different navigation apps - Here are my favorites: ⁣
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🗺 Best overall: Google Maps (@googlemaps)⁣
I use Google Maps in my day-to-day life as well as my go-to app whenever I travel. ⁣
It’s great for getting quick navigational information from Point A to Point B, plus you can also see user reviews for most places. Other useful features include the ability to download maps for offline use; the “Explore Nearby” tab to see cafes, restaurants, and entertainment nearby; and the ability to create lists of places you want to go. ⁣
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🗺 Best for public transport: CityMapper (@citymapper)⁣
Did you know that Google Maps doesn’t work in South Korea? Me neither, especially when I arrived at the airport and the app didn’t want to tell me how to get to my hostel. 🙃⁣
CityMapper to the rescue! This handy app has real-time data about public transport options in major cities. Besides the cute city-specific characters, the app also gives you detailed information like which metro exit to take — which is honestly a godsend when you’re in Tokyo’s Shibuya Station and there’s like 110 different exits 🤷‍♀️⁣
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🗺 Best for driving: Waze (@waze)⁣
Waze uses real-time traffic data to give you the best driving route(s) to your destination in a fun and easy-to-use app. My favorite feature is it’ll warn you if there’s heavy traffic, an accident, potholes, and even cops on the side of the road. So you can get to your destination in time — and without a speeding ticket 😅⁣
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🗺 Best for road trips: Roadtrippers (@roadtrippers)⁣
Like the name says, Roadtrippers is an app that helps you plan epic road trips. Simply set your starting point and destination, and the app will automatically help you find all the best stops along the way. They also have a ton of trip guides, from Classic USA Road Trips to ultra-specific ones like Woody Allen Film Locations in New York. ⁣
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Do you have a favorite navigation app you use? Share it with us in the comments below! 🗺🙋‍♀️⁣
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📍Location: Checking out where to go next. Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey 🇹🇷

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MINI BALAT TRAVEL GUIDE 🧡💙💛 ⁣
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Balat is one of the most colorful areas of Istanbul — just look at those gorgeous vibrant houses! 😉⁣
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The Balat neighborhood is also the perfect place to explore if you have a few extra hours or even a day. Here’s my quick & simple mini travel guide. ⁣
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HOW TO GET TO BALAT:⁣
🛳 Ferry — Take a ferry to either the Fener or Balat station⁣
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👟Walking — It’s about an hour’s walk from downtown Istanbul to Balat, but it’s worth it — you’ll see a ton of interesting things on the way!⁣
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🚕 Taxi — It’s about a 10 to 15-minute ride from downtown (Hagia Sofia) to Balat ⁣
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WHERE TO EAT:⁣
😻 Cafe Naftalin K — One of my favorite cafes in Istanbul! Colorful decor, delicious food (vegetarian options available), and friendly staff. Also, tons of cats that like to hang out around here (@cafenaftalink)⁣
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💛 Cooklife Balat — Minimalist spot that reminds me of a French cafe. Delicious pastries and coffee⁣
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💛 Atölye Kafası — Part furniture workshop and part cafe, you’ll find live music and delicious food here (@atolyekafasi)⁣
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💛 Incir AgacI Kahvesi — Super colorful cafe with a terrace and cozy ambience. (@inciragaci_kahvesi) ⁣
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BALAT CHECKLIST:⁣
🧡 Take photos of the colorful houses⁣
🧡 Check out the street art⁣
🧡 Visit an artisan studio (and maybe buy a souvenir or two 😉)⁣
🧡 Go vintage shopping ⁣
🧡 See the beautiful architecture of the Phanar Greek Orthodox College // Visit the ⁣
“other” colorful houses on Merdivenli (Ladder) street // Stroll around Vodina street⁣
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💛 Have you been to Balat before? Do you want to visit? ⁣
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📍 Balat, Istanbul 🇹🇷

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