Browsed by
Author: Aukse

Amor Loco Restaurant, Nayara Springs, Costa Rica, February 25, 2023

Amor Loco Restaurant, Nayara Springs, Costa Rica, February 25, 2023

Comments 1 comment

Amor Loco restaurant is located at Nayara Springs within the sprawling Nayara resort in Costa Rica. This restaurant definitely wins for funkiest decor. Nayara Springs is the adults only section of the resort, and this restaurant is definitely geared towards romance. The vibe was like a hookah-lounge mixed with a steakhouse or bistro. There were plush velvet couches and chairs, purple, red and blue lighting, along with photos of all sorts of celebrities both old-timey and current, plastered along the…

Read More Read More

Nayara Resorts, Costa Rica, Rum Tasting (Henry’s Bar, Nayara Tented Camp) February 28, 2023

Nayara Resorts, Costa Rica, Rum Tasting (Henry’s Bar, Nayara Tented Camp) February 28, 2023

Comments 1 comment

Henry’s Bar up at the Nayara Tented Camp is a very cool and chill place to hang out any time of day. The best part about it, though, was the special Rum Tasting that we booked there. Our bartender and teacher, Joseph, was amazing. He was super nice, chatty, and very knowledgable and passionate about rums, and spirits in general. He was definitely one of our favorite staff members the whole week. The spread of different rums was intimidating, but…

Read More Read More

Ayla Restaurant, Nayara Tented Camp, Costa Rica, Feb. 28, 2023

Ayla Restaurant, Nayara Tented Camp, Costa Rica, Feb. 28, 2023

Comments 0 Comment

Ayla is the brand-new full service restaurant up at the Nayara Tented Camp at the Nayara Resort in Costa Rica. We ate here on one of our last nights, and considering that at home we are transitioning to a Mediterranean diet, and we recently ate at Galit in Chicago (check out my review here!) which serves very similar fare, eating at Ayla was definitely on the list for us. The ambiance at Ayla is glamping chic. Ayla is in a…

Read More Read More

Nayara Resorts, Private Bird Watching Tour, Costa Rica, February 2023

Nayara Resorts, Private Bird Watching Tour, Costa Rica, February 2023

Comments 0 Comment

So like I mentioned in my overview post here, Nayara offers about a billion different tours ranging from super adventurous to very low key. We are definitely more low key travelers, and picked a few tours that challenged us a little, but weren’t anything like zip lining or doing anything having to do with cliffs. Brian and I are extremely amateur birders, and I keep a life list in a note in my iPhone. I really keep thinking I should…

Read More Read More

Nayara Resorts, Costa Rica – Pools overview (February/March 2023)

Nayara Resorts, Costa Rica – Pools overview (February/March 2023)

Comments 0 Comment

As I mentioned in my intro post here, there are three different resorts in one at the Nayara Resorts Grounds at the base of the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica. Each of those resorts has a different vibe, and there are also several pools you can choose to hang out at. There are also a group of hot springs pools between Nayara Gardens and the Tented Camp. We checked out most of the pools, and I break them all down…

Read More Read More

Nayara Resort Overview, Costa Rica, February 23-March 2, 2023

Nayara Resort Overview, Costa Rica, February 23-March 2, 2023

Comments 3 comments

We just got back from an amazing anniversary trip to Costa Rica, and this post is going to give you a bit of an overview of the resort and what we did there. In the weeks to come, I’ll be posting individual articles providing more detail about the important stuff: excursions and activities, the pools, and the restaurants. I booked Nayara Gardens on a stay 7, pay 5 deal, and it’s a great deal! Everyone was so surprised that we…

Read More Read More

Pasta Veneta, Chicago, USA, February 17, 2023

Pasta Veneta, Chicago, USA, February 17, 2023

Comments 0 Comment

Pasta Veneta is one of the newest restaurants in the poppin’ west loop area, and I visited here recently with my cousins. This place prides itself on making fresh pasta, and it shows. There is a sizable appetizer menu, but the mains are all primarily pasta based. The space is very open and very fresh and new, with a casual, bistro-type of feel. There is a very heavy straight-line/geometric shape thing going here, which is really cool. The lighting was…

Read More Read More

Nicaragua, February, 2018

Nicaragua, February, 2018

Comments 0 Comment

Every single person I told that we were going to Nicaragua said, “Whoa! Why on EARTH would you go there?” Well, there are a thousand reasons to visit this beautiful country, and when we visited, it was a relatively safe place to go, since politically it was pretty chill at the moment. That did all change shortly after we were there, which is a massive shame, but you can still totally visit this country, see absolutely amazing sights and feel…

Read More Read More

Galit Restaurant, Chicago, USA, February 2, 2023

Galit Restaurant, Chicago, USA, February 2, 2023

Comments 1 comment

We were excited to try Galit, one of the newest Michelin-starred restaurants on the block, earning their first star just last April. Galit is a pretty casual-ish Middle Eastern food spot, with an extensive Middle Eastern wine selection including some of the big names like Chateau Musar from Lebanon among other lesser-known wines. The space is pretty large and has bankettes, tables, as well as a long bar-like table along the bustling open kitchen. I love open kitchens, and I…

Read More Read More

Costa Rica, March, 2014

Costa Rica, March, 2014

Comments 0 Comment

We are leaving for our second trip to Costa Rica THIS WEEK, so I thought it would be a good time to start all of the Costa Rica content with a short little nostalgia post about Brian’s and my first trip to this gorgeous country in 2014. Brian and I had just started dating about 3 or 4 months before this trip, and if you really want to get to know someone well, go on an adventure with them! I…

Read More Read More