Photo credit: Becky Wong
Hello everyone! I am so pleased to share with you below, an interview with Becky, as our fourth guest interview blog! Happy reading and be sure to follow Becky on her Instagram account! Becky, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Having lived and worked in London for over 10 years, myself and my other half left the hustle of London in May 2017 to travel indefinitely beginning by basing ourselves in Italy for a few months. We are now slowly travelling the world while working remotely, hopping between UK and the rest of Europe along the way – exploring the countryside and spending time in the great outdoors as much as I can. I’m a big fan of anything outdoors: hiking, climbing, trail walking, recently completed my first ever bike-packing tour cycling the Avenue Verte route from London to Paris! Now I want to cycle tour everywhere around the world! So far since 2017 with my other half I have been around the UK, to Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, San Francisco, Portugal, Norway, Bulgaria, Brunei, UAE, Scotland, with plenty of housesits looking after homes and the loveliest dogs across the UK in Shropshire, Hampshire, Yorkshire and Kent. This year in 2019, we plan to spend most of our time from the summer months onwards roaming further afield to USA and Asia! How long have you been a vegan? I’ve been vegan for over a year now. What prompted you to embrace the vegan lifestyle? There wasn’t just one prompt, there were many things nudging myself and my other half towards veganism over the years! The first clear prompt where I gave up eating something immediately was surprisingly squid. I used to love eating polpo, but one summer I watched a YouTube video of a small octopus cleverly freeing itself from being trapped in a jar by opening the lid itself, I then read articles about octopus being highly intelligent creatures that could solve problems and interestingly collected items to decorate their homes under the sea. Watching episodes of Blue Planet contributed to nudging me away from eating fish too. Films such as Carnage by Simon Amstell and Okja on Netflix got me thinking more about the meat industry, talking with vegetarian or vegan friends gave plenty of food for thought. Moving to Italy when we left London where a lot of our favourite meals were accidentally vegetarian/vegan at the time also made us think about the way we ate! On reflection there were many various prompts that combined together prompted me to embrace being vegan. We had already been cutting down on meat for a few years before this as we read more about animal welfare in farms, the more we learned and watching documentaries such as Earthlings, seeing talks on YouTube by Earthing Ed and Gary Yourofsky made us realise causing such animal suffering is unnecessary and cruel! There was a time in the past where a meal wasn’t a meal to me if it didn’t have meat. Looking back, it was more habit than anything at the time to choose the same sorts of meals. We’d started to eat less meat a long time even before deciding to become ‘flexitarian’ and then in time vegetarian. Once we started down the path of informing ourselves more about the farming industry it didn’t feel right to eat meat anymore. The last time I knowingly ate meat was at Christmas dinners with each of our families in December 2017! So that was it, we gave up meat altogether at the start of 2018 after watching the documentary Earthlings on our flight back to Lisbon from London (with much crying!). We cut out other things one by one that year: including milk, cheese, eggs, leather amongst other things. I wouldn’t say we’re perfect, but we do check ingredients/production labels and try our best to avoid any products that include anything from animals. I became vegan for the animals, but knowing that it is great for the environment and for our own health are perfect bonuses! What are the reactions of your inner circle about your choice to be a vegan? We had many of the usual responses that we became used to and still make us laugh including “But…bacon!” and “Where do you get your protein?”, we don’t hear these responses so much anymore - everyone’s used to our change now! Most of our friends now are also either vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian or considering making the change! We still get similar reactions from time to time though (“Not even fish?”, “What about cheese?”, “What do you eat for breakfast?”) that’s all understandable if you’re not familiar with what it means to be vegan or aren’t used to knowing me as vegan. “I could never go vegan!” is a common response and one that we had said ourselves many times over the years. For as long as most people have known me I’d been known as a “meat fiend”, my favourite meal was a steak and once upon a time I regularly arranged dinners with friends to grilled meat restaurants in London. So when I became vegan at the start everyone understandably had lots of questions. People who have known me for years reacted with a mix of surprise and sadness. Some felt that we would miss out on good food or that they wouldn’t be able to eat together with us anymore - neither has ever felt the case for us with good planning and searching for other options! We do choose where to eat/shop differently, it all feels routine now. Many of our friends and family are now very curious to dine with us these days to explore what new vegan foods options are becoming available which is fantastic. Most family and friends (who aren’t already vegan) have become very curious, supportive and accommodating when inviting us around for dinner which has been lovely! We really appreciate that so much. I’ve eaten many brilliant, delicious vegan Christmas and Chinese New Year meals kindly cooked up by our non-vegan family members, as well as friends who have surprised us with vegan dishes when we visit them at their homes. Thank you, all! What is the hardest part about being a vegan? I’m lucky in that my partner also became vegan at the same time. That would have been difficult to make the change otherwise! I don’t particularly find becoming or being vegan hard or difficult, the only change has been being conscious about what we consume (checking labels, asking loads of questions when eating out), going to different places to eat or shop, planning ahead for meals, calling ahead to restaurants to check which has all been fine to do. Changing where we eat and shop at made it an easy transition! If I really had to say what is “hard” about being vegan, the hardest part is wishing I became vegan sooner! Also accepting that you can’t change the world overnight. We just have to keep talking about it and hope that everyone around us will realise/acknowledge the cruelty that goes into supplying meat and other animal products as well as the impact it has on the environment. Another challenging part is other people’s misconceptions, thinking it’s a big sacrifice to go vegan or that it’s a phase we’ll get through before going back to eating meat and dairy. Many folks tell us what a shame it will be that we’ll miss out on traditional dishes wherever we go! Which has been a big surprise to ourselves over this last year being able to find vegan versions for traditional meals wherever we’ve travelled to, the most recent ones being French or Greek. People think we don’t have much variety of things to eat. The number of times I’ve been told “I couldn’t eat only bread and lettuce like you!” when I eat so much more colourfully now than when I ate meat. Though I know it was very different for vegans even a few years ago, I can only imagine how hard it was being vegan 10 years or even 3 to 5 years ago! How do you manage your vegan meals while traveling? Happy Cow is our best friend while travelling! We keep seeing new vegan restaurants or vegan food & drink brands exploding into the scene everywhere. I’ve always been obsessed with food, I love eating and love cooking, and that has not changed since becoming vegan, it’s just meant that a whole new world of food has opened up for me to jump into. It’s difficult in any rural areas in some countries we have travelled to where local restaurants don’t all fully understand what makes a meal vegan or vegetarian. We’ve been served dishes where they claimed it to be vegetarian in Asia which turned out to include crab or pork shavings on our ‘vegetarian tofu rice’ dishes with the waiting staff happily saying “Yes! It’s vegetarian!” More often than not, everywhere we’ve travelled to when we politely ask about the menus or have a friendly chat with the staff before ordering, the kitchen staff come back to us excitedly offering to cook up something especially vegan for us or they tell us they have a special vegan dish they already have available that isn’t on the menu. We started calling these “mystery vegan surprise menus” that we find everywhere! In Iceland we found most restaurants simply had one “vegan dish of the day” which was fun to order, sometimes it was excellent sometimes it was pretty basic! If anything, it felt great at the start just over a year ago when there were fewer options on the menus so we avoided decision fatigue but now veganism is becoming more of a trend which means we’re back to having a wide selection of dishes to choose from. I’m back to taking ages to decide because I always want to eat everything!. We’ve had very interesting conversations with our hosts wherever we travel to because we need to tell them our dietary requirements and have happily left many of our hosts trying to convince each other to make a change themselves having asked us why we are vegan, what do we eat and how we manage as vegan travellers. What are some of your favorite vegan meals? There are too many favourites to choose from so I’ll list off a few favourites over the last couple of years (while I become hungry as I write). House of Wonder in Cascais, Portugal has a big, delicious vegetarian/vegan buffet as well desserts, teas and organic wines. There is a vegetarian restaurant in Florence called Brac which we discovered by accident that fuses Italian dishes with Asian flavours! (The best gelato we had while in Florence in in the centre serving vegan ice cream, do try their Pistachio and their Black Sesame flavours!). In London, I keep going back again and again for the Aubergine Bulgogi in KJ Restaurant in New Malden. I’ve always loved eating Broccoli and Cauliflower (I was never a child who didn’t eat my greens!) so was thrilled to find a Bristol Yurt restaurant, next to Engine Shed co-working, serving the best Chimi-churi Cauliflower steaks with garlicky greens. Since going vegan I’ve enjoyed being introduced to foods like Jackfruit and Banana Blossom and eating copious amounts over this year. I’ve also been experimenting loads with vegan cooking at ‘home’ even while roaming around to different places. Do you have any advice for someone considering becoming a vegan or someone who is new to veganism? Don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up along the way and don’t try to give up everything in one go! Make sure you’re eating enough and stay healthy. I see a lot of folks not eating enough amounts of food or not eating a varied enough diet after switching to veganism, which usually is where you end up hearing people say vegan diets aren’t healthy or they’re always hungry on a vegan diet – I’ve been vegan for over a year and I’ve been so full the whole time! I love outdoor activities and I’ve never had any problems being an active vegan! Take your time in making the change, nobody’s perfect. Have fun experimenting with different ingredients in your cooking. Do ask lots of questions about what you’re going to eat, don’t be shy! A great motto I took from the book Vegan Freak when it comes to dining out is “You don’t ask, you don’t eat!” which is very true as we have discovered many times with our surprise mystery vegan menus! A smile and politeness goes such a long way, don’t be afraid to ask questions at shops and restaurants. We’ve only come across incredibly kind, helpful waiting staff and kitchen teams who go out of their way to feed us! The same goes for joining in on activities with non-vegan friends, I almost didn’t join a trip to Barcelona at the start of the year with Girl Gone International because I thought I’d be a massive pain to the group when deciding where to eat but the trip was fabulous, I met a big group of amazing, strong women and every one of them made sure I had a full, happy belly throughout the whole weekend. I’m always happy to chat about food and veganism, so feel free to connect with me on Instagram at @happycamperbecky. Have you noticed any changes in your life since becoming a vegan? I feel I’ve become more conscious about what I’m consuming because I’m thinking about where my food comes from or what is in my food – it could be that I became vegan because I was consciously thinking about my choices also, as part of why we left London. I’ve been surprised how reliant the world is on animal products and the impact in general of the production process for so many things that we consume without a thought to where everything comes from or what it’s made of. I’m trying to inform myself more and more about where everything comes from and how it is all made, which goes for many different things in our lives as well as food. I’m trying to be more intentional and conscious in the choices that I make. I always felt like life flew by in a rush while I went through the daily motions while living in London. When I decided to leave London it was with a desire to live more slowly and intentionally. It’s still an ongoing work in progress on all of those but I am learning/growing more every day. I am, and I know we are all, trying our best! What are your thoughts about the future of veganism in your country and/or globally? I’m excited to see veganism grow as more and more people become conscious of their own actions and choices, as more people become aware of the impact of what they are consuming, with the benefits to the animals, to the environment and our own health. I’m hopeful to see more people choosing compassion. It’s also exciting to see what new vegan options are created along the way. I do love to travel because of the people, the culture and especially all of the FOOD. For more information, you can follow Becky at: Instagram (@happycamperbecky) and her website www.projectanywhere.co ..... Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed meeting Becky! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om
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Wraps are quite popular across Australia, much to my delight! There were so many beautifully, colorfully, yummy vegan wraps and I'm so pleased to share some of them with you!
As in other parts of the world, even though some restaurants in Australia do not have vegan versions on their menus, they are often willing to create a vegan version for you! Yay! So, here we go! Here are three of my favorite beautiful yummy vegan wraps in Australia in Coolum Beach, Canberra, and Melbourne! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful dishes were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan wraps! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Breakfast (known as brekkie or brekky in Australia) was a beautiful experience with lots of colorful options including breakfast bowls all over the country. Here I'm sharing three of those beautiful breakfasts from three different locations in Australia which I hope you will enjoy!
As in other parts of the world, even though some restaurants in Australia do not have vegan versions on their menus, they are often willing to create a vegan version for you! Yay! So, here are a few of my favorite beautifully decorated breakfast bowls in Australia in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful dishes were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan breakfast dishes! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW All across Australia, there were yummy vegan avocado dishes that were as beautiful as they were yummy. Here I'm sharing three of those beautiful avocado meals from three different locations in Australia which I hope you will enjoy!
There was such an impressive variety of avocado dishes in Australia that were beautifully decorated so that made the whole experience even more pleasing. As in other parts of the world, even though some restaurants in Australia do not have vegan versions on their menus, they are often willing to create a vegan version for you! Yay! So, here we go with a tour of avocado dishes in Sydney, Cairns, and Brisbane! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful dishes were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan avocado dishes! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Do you sometimes just feel like having a yummy vegan quinoa salad with lots of other yummy vegetables, nuts and seeds mixed in?
Even though some restaurants do not have vegan versions on their menus, they are often willing to create a vegan version for you! Yay! So, here are a few of my favorite yummy vegan quinoa salads in beautiful Budapest, Madrid and Miami that I hope you will enjoy! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful quinoa salads were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan quinoa salads! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Vegan burgers are one of my favorite dishes and nowadays it's easier and easier to find a wide variety of yummy vegan burgers in many countries.
Here are a few of my favorite yummy vegan burgers in beautiful Madrid that I hope you will enjoy! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful vegan burgers were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan burgers! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Do you sometimes have a sweet tooth and feel like enjoying a beautiful yummy vegan dessert as the grand finale of your yummy vegan meal?
Well, here are a few of my favorite yummy vegan desserts in beautiful Budapest and Madrid that I hope you will enjoy! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful desserts were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan desserts! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Paella is one of my favorite dishes, so it's so awesome that vegan paella is becoming more and more available in beautiful Spain.
What is so nice about these yummy vegan paella dishes is that they are so colorful and different, depending on which vegetables are readily available during a particular season. Often, even when there are no vegan paella dishes on the menu, restaurants are willing to customize meals to exclude animal products. Here are a few of my favorite yummy vegan paella meals in beautiful Madrid that I hope you will enjoy! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful paella dishes were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan paella dishes! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW As a vegan traveler it's always nice to find yummy vegan meals along the journey! Thankfully, it's getting easier to find yummy vegan meals on menus around the world. Often, even when there are no vegan dishes on the menu, restaurants are willing to customize meals to exclude animal products.
Here are a few of my favorite yummy vegan hummus meals in beautiful Budapest, Madrid, and Miami that I hope you will enjoy! Click on the photo to see the name of the restaurant where these beautiful hummus dishes were enjoyed! Let us know in the comments what are your favorite yummy vegan hummus dishes! Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Have you seen our Yummy Retreats page? I hope you will join us on an upcoming trip! See you soon! A bientot! Hasta pronto! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Photo credit: Judith de Haan Hello everyone!
I am so pleased to share with you below, an interview with Judith, as our third guest interview blog! Happy reading and be sure to follow Judith on her Instagram account! Judith, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hi there! My name is Judith de Haan, I’m a 28-year-old Dutchie. I’m currently starting as a freelance writer, since I prefer being my own boss and live the digital nomad lifestyle. At the moment I’m in Tarifa, Spain, and I’ll see where the road leads me from here. How long have you been a vegan? I’ve been a vegan for almost a year now. Before that I was a vegetarian on and off for a couple of years. What prompted you to embrace the vegan lifestyle? The animals, the world, my health... In that order! I became more and more aware of the cruel way animals are treated just to be consumed by humans, and the damage we are doing to our planet. I started replacing animal products by vegan products and at a certain point I realized that I ate vegan when I was at home, but when I was with friends or family I ate vegetarian food because I didn’t want to be a burden. I realized that was silly and from that point I embraced the vegan life. What are the reactions of your inner circle about your choice to be a vegan? To my inner circle it wasn’t a big deal. Most of them are either vegetarian or try to cut back on eating meat. I had been a vegetarian for quite some time, and tried being a vegan before. To my surprise everybody tries to prepare a nice vegan meal when I visit them, I didn’t expect that and I’m very grateful. Many others had a strong opinion about being vegan, they aren’t against it but apparently since I’m a vegan I’m not supposed to eat anything other than local food, I’m a hypocrite if a travel by plane and I shouldn’t drink beer because yeast is a type of fungus and fungus is an animal… (I didn’t make that up). What is the hardest part about being a vegan? I’ve experienced that sometimes it is impossible to find something vegan to eat. So, I try to always be prepared and bring my own food. But still, not being as flexible as I used to be when it comes to eating out can be pretty annoying. How do you manage your vegan meals while traveling? Before I go I look online for vegan spots. Also, I bring my own food. What are some of your favorite vegan meals? Would you share a photo(s)? If I would share photo’s, nobody would be inspired since my meals quite often look messy… But they’re tasteful nonetheless. I always love to cook with a tajine. Lots of fruits, veggies, some couscous and ras-el-hanout and you’re ready to go. Also, any kind of salad, the more colour the better, and I love using fruit in my meals. Do you have any advice for someone considering becoming a vegan or someone who is new to veganism? Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re changing your lifestyle to something that is good for this planet, the animals and your health. But especially in the beginning it can be hard. Maybe you’ll buy some bread and later find out that there’s milk in it. No worries, next time you’ll know not to buy that one. Look online for nice recipes and new ingredients, a lot of people think that vegan meals are boring and tasteless, but in my experience it’s the opposite. Have you noticed any changes in your life since becoming a vegan? My energy level is steadier, I don’t have after dinner dips anymore and I eat healthier. In general, I feel better. And this might me silly, but when I read an article saying that people in the Netherlands eat less meat which means that less animals had to suffer and die, I’m like yeaahhhh I contributed to that! What are your thoughts about the future of veganism in your country and/or globally? In my country more and more people are becoming a vegan, which is great! As a result restaurants and supermarkets notice this new target group and grow their vegan assortment and dishes. This way it’s easier to be a vegan and maybe it’ll stimulate more people to eat less meat and dairy products. I think globally veganism will become more popular, although it may take some time. In my experience a lot of people have some difficulties with change. For more information, you can follow Judith at: https://www.instagram.com/judith_dhn ..... Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed meeting Judith! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credit: Dominique Hello everyone!
I am so pleased to share with you below, an interview with Dominique, as our second guest interview blog! Happy reading and be sure to follow Dominique on her two Instagram accounts! Dominique, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hello! My name is Dominique and I'm a graphic and surface designer living in the Bay Area :) How long have you been a vegan? I have been vegan for exactly 1 year and 4 months. What prompted you to embrace the vegan lifestyle? Well I was pescatarian for about 2 years when I discovered PETA in junior high and it completely changed my perspective on the meat industry. I was so traumatized by all the pictures I saw! Then over time I felt like I was getting picked on for not eating meat so I eventually went back to the "traditional" diet. Then about a year ago I started going back into doing research on why I even cut meat out of my diet and it was a very hard pill to swallow. I couldn't claim to care about animals and contribute to their suffering, so I stopped cold turkey... cold tofu? lol What are the reactions of your inner circle about your choice to be a vegan? My best friends know I love animals so I think they saw it coming for a while. They were understanding and don't joke too much about it anymore. Anytime we go out they make sure there's at least a vegan food option for me, if there isn't then we go somewhere else thankfully! What is the hardest part about being a vegan? The reality of the situation. The planet is dying, animals are being tortured, and it's so bad for our health. Many humans don't care about this when it comes down to it and that's what is the most heart breaking to me. How do you manage your vegan meals while traveling? Happy Cow is a life saver! I plan in advance and compile a list of all the food spots I want to go to while traveling then figure it out when I get there. Do you have any advice for someone considering becoming a vegan or someone who is new to veganism? I always tell people not to ask me questions about becoming a vegan unless they truly want to change. Any argument against veganism can be solved with proper research. The best advice I would give is to do your homework and learn about why you should go vegan, how to get your daily nutrients, and make sure you cook at home too! It's healthier and better for your budget. Have you noticed any changes in your life since becoming a vegan? I have always had a sad perspective on the human race, but becoming vegan has made it even sadder. It's tough being around meat eaters 24/7, the only vegan I know is my boyfriend and a friend from work! What are your thoughts about the future of veganism in your country and/or globally? As sad as I might feel about our current global state, I do think that more and more people are opening their eyes to the truth on why everybody should go vegan. I live in California and we do have a lot of wonderful vegan spots, but it has definitely gone up within just a year. I'm excited to what the future will hold! For more information, you can follow Dominique at: https://www.instagram.com/whimsymimi/ https://www.instagram.com/travelingherbivores ..... Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed meeting Dominique! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credit: Claudia Wiens Hello everyone!
I am so pleased to share with you below, an interview with Claudia Wiens, as our first guest interview blog! Happy reading and be sure to visit Claudia on her two websites! Claudia, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hello! I am a freelance photographer and artist since 1995. I have a masters in photo design and work for international publications, NGOs and companies, have regularly exhibitions and published three books. But I am also a yoga and meditation teacher for about 10+ years. During the past couple of years I have done several trainings in sound massage and with big gongs and offer sound massage since the beginning of 2018 and I am just starting out to give public gong baths. I am originally from Germany but have lived the past 20 years outside of my home country. 10 years in Egypt, seven in Turkey and for the past three homes I call Seville, Spain my home. Where have you attended yoga retreats as a participant? I have attended yoga retreats in Turkey, Cambodia, Thailand and Spain. Would you describe the yoga retreats you have led as an organizer or teacher? For many years I have led photography workshops. This year for the first time I developed a retreat/workshop where I bring yoga/meditation/sound and photography together. In October I led this 5 days retreat, that is only for women, in Seville, Spain. A workshop in which we use yoga, meditation and sound as tools to set creative processes in motion, to create ideal conditions for inspiration and to train our visual perception. How/why did you choose Spain as a retreat destination? Because I am living here. So it makes sense to try places that are close to home. Andalucia is a beautiful part of Spain and there is lots of nature and peace to be found. As a participant, what are the top three things you look for in a retreat experience? The most important thing is good teachers/instructors who have a profound education and can deliver safe classes, create a welcoming atmosphere and are able to hold space. Also important is the food. It should be healthy, vegetarian and prepared with love. Last but not least the place itself. It should be suitable for the retreat, peaceful, clean. In general all details should be mindfully arranged and things should be coming from a good place in the heart. As a participant, were there any aspects of a past retreat that were missing from your experience? The ones I attended in Spain were good. The ones in Thailand and Turkey as well. But in Cambodia I was unlucky, the teachers were unqualified, the space itself completely run down. Normally I research very well before I attend a retreat, so I am usually not having really bad experiences. As a retreat leader or teacher, what do you consider to be your biggest challenge and/or responsibility on a retreat? My biggest responsibility is definitely to teach/lead in a very safe way, physically but also emotionally. I think it is very important to create a peaceful atmosphere where everyone can feel relaxed, welcomed and respected as one is. It can be a challenge if people are extremely different and have very different needs. If you try to satisfy everyone you are in danger to lose yourself. So this is a delicate "dance“. For more information, you can visit Claudia at: Claudia Wiens Everyday Sustainable www.everydaysustainable.org (yoga, sound) www.claudiawiens.com (photography) ..... Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed meeting Claudia! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om During a Yummy Retreats trip to Dubrovnik, known worldwide as "The Pearl of the Adriatic", there were so many yummy vegan meals and magnificent vistas of the Old City of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic Sea that we want to share this wonderful photoblog with you!
Enjoy! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Cascais is a beautiful region along Portugal's Atlantic Ocean coast where we had the pleasure to spend a few lovely days this summer.
We hope you will enjoy our cool Cascais photoblog art gallery featuring indoor art, outdoor street art and vegan culinary art 📸🎨🥗❤️ Join us in Mallorca! You can see our upcoming retreat details at www.yummyretreats.com/retreats Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to enjoy beautiful and yummy vegan meals in Madrid? Well, here’s your answer! Yes! Si! Buen provecho (Bon appetit) as you scroll through this beautiful and yummy vegan Madrid photoblog 🥗🥑💃❤️📸 We're going to Mallorca! You can see our upcoming retreat details at www.yummyretreats.com/retreats Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Budapest, Hungary, on the famous Danube River, is one of the other beautiful places we visited this year during the lovely spring season. We are so excited to share our photoblog with some of the highlights of this majestic capital city!
We hope that you will enjoy these awesome photos as much as we enjoyed visiting beautiful Budapest! Bon voyage! We're going to Mallorca! You can see our upcoming retreat details at www.yummyretreats.com/retreats Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Here's a beautiful photoblog of our trips to beautiful Costa Rica in San Jose and in Guanacaste Province, on the powerful Pacific Ocean coast of this lovely country, including the Nicoya Peninsula, one of the world's very rare Blue Zones known for healthy lifestyles and longevity.
We hope that you will enjoy these awesome photos as much as we enjoyed visiting beautiful Costa Rica! You can see our upcoming retreat details at www.yummyretreats.com/retreats Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credits: AW Photo credit: AW
To translate the text below into your preferred language you can copy and paste the text into Google translate: https://translate.google.com/ 1. Did you know that you can request an early check-in or late checkout without an additional cost most of the time? Yes, you can either write/call the hotel in advance and ask for an early check-in (they usually grant this providing they have a room available) and then for a late checkout you can ask the front desk a day before (or the same day of) your departure (usually granted for a couple extra hours without any additional costs). If an early check-in or late checkout are not possible, the hotel will most likely accept to keep your luggage in the meantime. In summary: Simply ask for what you want/need, and in most situations, the hotel will accommodate you. 2. Did you know that you can request a bathrobe and/or bedroom slippers (or other personal items) at no additional cost? Yes, when you don't see what you need in your room, you can either call or go to the front desk and if they have them, they will provide them to you right away. In summary: No need to be shy....you can ask, and they will most likely have what you need. 3. Did you know that many hotels have discounts on breakfast prices if you did not include breakfast in your reservation? Yes, if you wish to have breakfast at the hotel (let's say for convenience a couple times during your stay), you can ask the front desk if they have discounts (sometimes the discounts are as high as 50%). In summary: If you do not want to pay the high, full breakfast prices, you can ask for a discount and they will often have it ready and waiting for you, even though they did not offer it to you upon check in. What are some of your travel tips? Feel free to share in the comments below! Have you seen Yummy Travel Tips: Flights? Or Mysore Myth #2: Debunked? Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credit: AW
To translate the text below into your preferred language you can copy and paste the text into Google translate: https://translate.google.com/ 1. Did you know that you can compare flights on various airlines for the same destinations and dates on Google Flights at https://www.google.com/flights/ plus you can track the ups and downs of prices over time through email alerts sent to you? In summary: With a little advance planning you can get great deals on flights worldwide. 2. Did you know that you can book flights to and from different cities for roughly the same price as a round trip flight to and from the same cities? For example, Madrid to Miami then Miami to Barcelona costs roughly the same price as a round trip Madrid to Miami to Madrid. In summary: Just book the itinerary that suits your needs. Don’t assume that the mix match of cities will cost more. 3. Did you know that many airlines will allow you to check in two bags at no additional cost to the first bag allowance? In summary: If you do not want to haul your second bag around the airport, you can ask if the agent would kindly allow you to check your second bag too. What are some of your travel tips? Feel free to share in the comments below! Have you seen Mysore Myth #2: Debunked? Or 3 Yummy Greek Meatless Spinach Pies? Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credit: AW
To translate the text below into your preferred language you can copy and paste the text into Google translate: https://translate.google.com/ Myth #2: One of the big attractions for me in Vinyasa Flow style yoga classes was the music...I was very motivated by the tunes (either upbeat or relaxing) during classes, so I thought that taking a Mysore Style Ashtanga yoga class with no music would be hard....maybe even boring. Debunked: Well, that myth (like Myth #1) was also quickly debunked when I realized how beautiful the sound of my own breath, and the breath of the other students in the room/shala were, all playing at their unique, individual frequency, pace and tone. It was truly beautiful and I quickly stopped missing the sound of music piping through an electronic device as experienced in other yoga classes. Another beautiful musical aspect of the Mysore Style Ashtanga yoga experience is the opening and closing mantra chants, plus some teachers chant during or after the class, which is an amazingly beautiful musical experience too! Their voices are both soothing and inspiring for me! What are some of your myths about Mysore Style Ashtanga yoga? Feel free to share in the comments below! Have you seen 3 Yummy Greek Meatless Spinach Pies? Or Madrid, Spain. Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats!? Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om I hope you enjoy these 3 yummy Greek meatless spinach pies served up beautifully in lovely Glyfada on the coast of Athens, Greece!
So have you seen Art Of The Week: Cycladic Art? Or Madrid, Spain. Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats!? Sign up for our upcoming Yummy Retreats! to enjoy yoga, arts & delicious food, exploring country after country, with a bunch of great new friends! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats Where Yum Meets Om Photo credit: AW
To translate the text below into your preferred language you can copy and paste the text into Google translate: https://translate.google.com/ This week's Art Of The Week features "At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance" by the famous French artist, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, exhibited in the beautiful and impressive Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pensylvannia. This beautiful and famous painting has a happy, celebratory energy that I find to be very uplifting. The colorful clothing of the two women contrasts happily with the more somber colors of the other figures and the background colors of the cabaret. Have you seen Art Of The Week: Cycladic Art? Or Madrid, Spain. Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats!? Sign up for our upcoming Yummy Retreats! to enjoy yoga, arts & delicious food, exploring country after country, with a bunch of great new friends! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats! Photo credit: AW To translate the text below into your preferred language you can copy and paste the text into Google translate: https://translate.google.com/ First up on our yummy Amsterdam meatless meals tour is this beautiful breakfast of granola and fresh fruit (above) enjoyed at The Breakfast Club! This cozy neighborhood cafe, close to the lovely park Westerpark, serves a yummy selection of freshly-made meals. Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats tip: The Breakfast Club is located near the Prinseneiland location of Delight Yoga where I attended a great yoga and meditation workshop. Next up is this yummy mixed vegetable pita (below) also served at The Breakfast Club. Photo credit: AW
Finally, this yummy tomato soup and fruit pie (below), on the cool menu at Cafe van Zuylen! Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats tip: Cafe van Zuylen is located in the heart of The Nine Streets shopping area, filled with cool shops, yummy restaurants, awesome architecture and cool canals, all brimming with good vibes! Have you seen Mysore Myth #1: Debunked? Or Madrid, Spain. Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats!? Sign up for our upcoming Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats! to enjoy yoga, arts & delicious food, exploring country after country, with a bunch of great new friends! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats! Photo credit: AW Photo credit: AW
To translate the text below into your preferred language you can copy and paste the text into Google translate: https://translate.google.com/ This week's Art Of The Week features Cycladic Art exhibited in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece, where the collection of Cycladic antiquities is one of the most important in the world. The impressive collection of Cycladic Art dates back to the third millennium BC. This beautiful collection includes art of marble and bronze throughout the Early Cycladic period. Seeing this vast collection of Cycladic art, including the figures pictured above, really enhanced my appreciation of Greek culture. Have you seen Madrid, Spain. Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats!? Sign up for our upcoming Retreats! to enjoy yoga, arts & delicious food, exploring country after country, with a bunch of great new friends! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Retreats! To translate the text below into your preferred language you can copy and paste the text into Google translate: https://translate.google.com/ Myth #1: Before I started practicing Mysore Style Ashtanga yoga, I thought I had to memorize all of the poses before going to my first class. Debunked: Well, that myth was quickly debunked when I was told that I could use a reference sheet provided by the yoga studio! So, that made it easier to practice since I did not need to focus so much on which pose followed the other. Rather, I was able to focus on how to connect my breath with the pose and my drishti (view or gaze)! Once I learned the postures up to the position of what is called "Half Primary", I was able to flow freely from one pose to another, with a clearer sense of direction, depth and opening, pose after pose. I'm still progressing through my personal practice with the help of experienced teachers and I have learned to enjoy the journey (not focusing on any particular destination). What are some of your myths about Mysore Style Ashtanga yoga? Feel free to share in the comments below! Have you seen 3 Yummy Zurich Meatless Breakfasts? Or Madrid, Spain. Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats!? Sign up for our upcoming Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats! to enjoy yoga, arts & delicious food, exploring country after country, with a bunch of great new friends! Peace and light, Angel Founder, Yummy Arts Yoga Retreats! |
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