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Where to Stay in Ubud:
📍Mandapa, the Ritz-Carlton Reserve @mandapareserve

We stayed at Mandapa, the Ritz-Carlton Reserve, the most luxurious section of the Marriott Hotels and a private refuge overlooking Balinese Jungle.
Last year This year, it received an award as the best upcountry hotel in all of Indonesia, by Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia.
Mandapa is located close to the center of Ubud (it might be 40 mins because of a traffic but if you’re lucky, it’ll be just 10 min by car), but it’s not just a regular hotel; it’s a village! You’d never guess it has such a huge territory until you see it by yourself.
It’s spread through the green slopes of a hill. and the reception with a restaurant and lobby sits on the top, and villas, spa, and the rest of the territory being located below. Just look at there views!
Public pool is also located somewhere mid-way closer to the bar, the breakfast area and the Sawah terrace, an Indonesian restaurants open after breakfast time.

It has its own rice fields, a farm with cows (brought from local farms for kids club a few times a week) and ducks, and its own stretch of the Ayung River! And yes, their kids club is fantastic, with kids faving lots of activities, from walking through the puddy rice fields, DIY activities including applications with local plants and making key-rings, and feeding animals on the farm!

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Simply the best place in the world 🥹🥹🥹 ...

Caribbean is always a good idea, do you agree?🩵🌺🦜🥥

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Take this day trip from Miami: Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale makes for a relaxing day escape from Miami.
It is located around 45 minutes to an hour from South Beach and is often called the “Venice of America” because of its extensive canal system filled with yachts and gondolas.
Boat rides are practically mandatory here. To explore the canals, you can take the Water Taxi, ride the Jungle Queen riverboat, or even hire a private gondola.
The canals are lined with luxurious villas, many with private yachts, and gardens featuring modern sculptures.
For shopping, restaurants, and galleries, head to Las Olas Boulevard. For a historical perspective, visit the Stranahan House Museum, the oldest surviving house in Broward County, built in 1901. Originally a trading post with the Seminole people, it later became the residence of Frank and Ivy Stranahan.There’s also a pleasant riverwalk, several museums, and plenty of dining opportunities.

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Are you visiting @lumini.scence at the Westminster cathedral with the story narrated by Hugh Bonneville? Absolutely phenomenal experience, accompanied by live choir. Don’t forget to book in advance! ...

Save this hotel for your stay in Siem Reap, Cambodia:

📍Anantara Angkor @anantaraangkor
Anantara is always one of our top-hotels to stay at, and Siem Reap wasn’t an exception.
Anantara Angkor is a small (only 39 accommodations!) but a lash hotel located pretty close to the Angkor Archaeological park protected area (it takes about 10-15 min to get to Angkor Wat by car), with a restaurant, a few shops and a large public pool nested under frangipani trees.
We received a wonderful welcome with a traditional krama scarf, a refreshing drink, and a foot massage, and during our stay staff was extremely friendly and helpful – we simply couldn’t ask for more attentive attitude.
We stayed in a marvelous Henri Mouhot two-bedroom suite decorated with details from Angkor Wat and other local temples. And yes, we not only had a private pool but also a spa room with a jacuzzi!
The food selection at their Chi (meaning ‘herb’ in khmer’) Restaurant & Bar was amazing.
We had the best introduction to Khmer cuisine we could ask for with many produce being sourced locally like fish from Tonle Sap lake. They had some western dishes as well.

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📍Design district, Miami

The Design District is one of Miami’s most famous neighbourhoods, known for luxury fashion and modern architecture.
Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome at Palm Court is probably the most iconic installation here!
Tiffany & Co. is decorated with Damien Hirst’s butterfly artwork, the Museum Garage parking structure features impressive art on every side, Louis Vuitton Men’s is the brand’s first freestanding men’s store in the United States, and one of the restaurants also features work by Zaha Hadid.
Dior even has a rooftop café here - we were lucky to enter it without any queue and spent some great time there tasting their signature desserts!
Make sure to visit the open-air Nader Sculpture Park, which opened in 2024 and displays around 50 sculptures by Fernando Botero (whose house we had previously seen in Colombia), Julio Larraz, and others.
There is also a food hall offering a wide selection of cuisines, including Italian, Japanese, French, Israeli, and Mexican.
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A unique activity not to miss in Florida? Spot Alligators at Everglades National Park @evergladesnps 🐊🐊🐊👇🏻

In Miami, you have a chance to experience something completely different from South Beach – and it’s just about an hour’s drive away from it.

Make sure to visit the Everglades National Park, established in 1947, which protects part of the original Everglades ecosystem and its animals.
It’s an unmissable spot if you want to understand Florida, with its endless moors with potentially dangerous wildlife!

We took a one-hour guided airboat tour through the park. Although we saw many impressive bird species, we primarily came to see the alligators. They are iconic in this part of the world, and of course we couldn’t miss the opportunity to see them in the wild.
We were lucky enough to spot more than a dozen alligators of all sizes, from tiny babies to enormous adults. They are surprisingly difficult to spot without a guide. Most hide when boats approach, though some seem completely unbothered.
The trip felt perfectly safe as long as everyone followed the instructions. There’s also a themed shop there as well.
Besides the boat tours, there are also walking trails to explore. We also saw crocodiles and alligators in protected enclosures.

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Victoria ship traveling around Europe and the UK is quite a unique attraction – and if you happen to be in a city where it is currently docked, try to visit it!

Nao Victoria is the exact historical replica of the ship of the same name that was the very first to circumnavigate the globe in the early 16th century!

The Magellan expedition, consisting of 5 ships – Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria, and Santiago – departed from Seville, Spain, on 20 September 1519 – 270 men were recruited for it.
Magellan himself died in 1521 during the voyage on the shores of today’s Philippines near Cebu, and the circumnavigation was completed under the guidance of Juan Sebastián Elcano, one of the crew members.
The Victoria ship is the only one surviving out of five that returned to Spain in 1522, finalising the first recorded trip around the Earth – with only 18 people on board.

It’s absolutely mind-blowing how such a small ship with just a few dozen people on board could bravely fight all the uncertainties and dangers of such a voyage five centuries ago, without modern navigation tools, modern medicine, and with limited knowledge of the shores – just remember that the Magellan Straits in South America were discovered during this trip!

The Nao Victoria @lanaovictoria you see today was constructed in 1991 in Spain after a detailed study of the documents describing the original ship’s size, various characteristics and equipment. In 2004 – 2006, following the original Magellan’s itinerary, it also circumnavigated around the globe.

Don’t miss this chance to see the ship for yourself! It’s docked at the St Katarina docks close to the Tower Bridge till the 12th of July.

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🦝🦝🦝Hidden gem of Miami:
📍 Raccon island, or Sandspur Island, accessible only by boat. Our boat trip took around 45 minutes each way.

Sandspur Island is better known as Raccoon Island because of its population of wild raccoons. Some visitors brought fruit to attract them, but we only brought water after being told that raccoons love drinking fresh water. Of course, we took all plastic bottles back with us.We saw around five to seven raccoons, and they were absolutely adorable. A few people also arrived by kayak, and overall the island seems to be becoming increasingly popular.

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The journey itself was lovely, passing luxury villas and waterfront homes. There’s even a chance to spot manatees – sadly, we spotted none. ...

Is this in Europe? No, it’s Miami!

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens @vizcaya_museum is a fascinating and eclectic estate well worth visiting!
This villa and garden complex was built between 1914 and 1923 on the shores of Biscayne Bay for businessman James Deering, who was deeply inspired by European culture.
He and his associates purchased numerous historical objects – mostly Italian and French – transported them to Miami, and created an elaborate mansion and extensive gardens to house them.
Take a stroll through the Renaissance-style gardens with their staircases and grottos, admire the unusual combination of Italian sculptures with subtropical plants, spot the large stone barge near the waterfront resembling a gondola landing, and explore the lavishly decorated rooms inside the mansion.
Unfortunately, local climate and hurricane activity have damaged the property on several occasions, and many rooms were under renovation during our visit.
Vizcaya is also a popular location for weddings and professional photo shoots (special permits are required), and many films have been shot here as well.

Follow @purpurpurpur for more travel inspiration and find more itineraries and hotel reviews at Purpurpurpur.co.uk, link in bio #purpurpurpur_guides🔎🌎

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