#misstomadame

Wanna know one of the best parts about living in Europe? Well, I’m sure you already know this…

Being able to travel to other countries so easily and for the LOW!

This September I met up with some friends in Sicily, for the last hoorah of the summer.

I’m not sure if I would actually want to live in Italy but I do think out of all the countries I’ve visited so far… Italy is my favorite and that might simply be because of the food.

My experience in Rome 2 years ago was amazing,  but getting to experience a completely different side of Italy with some of the most amazing beaches I’ve ever seen was what really what did it for me.

If Sicily isn’t on your travel bucket list, I suggest you add it.

You’ll understand why… very soon!

Travel: 

I booked my round trip flight from Paris to Palermo through the Opodo app for a whopping 125 euros!

Paris to Palermo with Easy jet

Palermo to Paris with Ryan air

Where we stayed: 

Our Air Bnb Palermo was short a short drive away from Mondello Beach!

Sign up for Air bnb using my link and get $40 off your next stay! Sign up for Airbnb

and now for the good stuff…THE BEACHES! 

Where we went:

Mondello Beach

Why not throw in some shopping on the beach while we’re at it.

Scopello:

Scopello Village: 

Dinner at Bar Nettuno

Bar Nettuno Scopello

Bar Nettuno Scopello

Bar Nettuno Scopello

Bar Nettuno Scopello

Bar Nettuno Scopello

San Vito Lo Capo

San Vito Lo Capo

San Vito Lo Capo

San Vito Lo Capo

Favignana Island:

We took the boat from Marsala to Favignana Island for 25 euros each round trip with Liberty Lines.

Liberty Lines Marsala

Liberty Lines Marsala

Liberty Lines Marsala

  You’ll need some form of transportation while on the island. Lot’s of people are on bikes/electric bikes & scooters. You also have the option of renting a small car!

I rented an electric bike (I honestly can’t remember how much it was lol) but I want to say it was about 25 euros for the day!

We arrived on the island at about 10am and our boat back to Marsala was scheduled for 6pm. So we had a few hours to visit as many beaches as we could. We spent about an hour and a half (sometimes more) at each beach and we are able to visit 4 different ones, all beautiful in their own way!

Cala Rossa

Cala Rossa- Favignana

Cala Rossa- Favignana

Cala Azurra:

Cala Azurra- Favignana

Cala Azurra Favignana

Cala Azurra- Favignana

Bue Marino:

Bue Marino Favignana

Bue Marino Favignana

Bue Marino Favignana

Bue Marino Favignana

Bue Marino Favignana

Bue Marino Favignana

Bue Marino Favignana

Scalo Cavallo:

More Food….

Le Antiche Mura Palermo

This was actually our Air bnb Palermo host restaurant. It was just a short drive away from where we were staying and the food was amazing!

Le Antiche Mura Palermo

Le Antiche Mura Palermo

Le Antiche Mura Palermo

Le Antiche Mura Palermo

Le Antiche Mura Palermo

Le Antiche Mura Palermo

Poldo 2 Mondello

Mondello has a nice downtown area full of a bunch of restaurants and bars!

Poldo 2 Mondello

Poldo 2 Mondello

Poldo 2 Mondello

and what’s Italy without a Cannoli…or 2.

Sicily, you did not disappoint. 

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As always,

Thanks for reading!

xx Shalize

But most of all I love your food.

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband and I went on a HUGE summer vacation this year. Japan was actually our first destination which took place in the beginning of July and we ended the month with our 10 day trip to Guadeloupe.

Guadeloupe Blog & Full Details: Guadeloupe Blog Post

Guadeloupe VLOG: Watch the Guadeloupe vlog here!

What you might not know is that we didn’t just decide on going to Japan randomly!

Watch full Tokyo food tour here: Visiting Tokyo VLOG – What we ate!!

Our main reason for going was to visit Gaylor’s oldest brother Sydney, who has been living in Japan for 10 years now. We really do have family alllll over the world!

My mom/my family in Florida…

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Processed with VSCO with kt32 preset

Gaylor and I and his parents in France…

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My other brother in law Funch and his girlfriend Jessica in London but soon Canada?!

Funch and Jessica

Brother and Sister in law

and Sydney in Japan….

Literally all over the world.

We went to Japan for 7 days with honestly the smallest amount of preparation ever. We didn’t want to overwhelm ourselves with too much planning and scheduling…in addition to the fact that we decided to stay in Tokyo for the whole trip instead of venturing to some of the other top destinations in Japan (we’ll save those for next time).

We took this time to just enjoy being in Tokyo with Sydney, and we also celebrated our two year wedding anniversary while we were there! ❤

and what did we learn during our trip…

Tokyo has great food.

Here’s what we ate/did:

Okonomyaki at: Sakura Tei

According to wikipedia: “Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “how you like” or “what you like”, and yaki meaning “cooked”. Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with the Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the country.”

Sakura Tei Tokyo

Sakura Tei Tokyo

Sakura Tei Tokyo

Yakitori @: Toriyoshi Akasaka

The Japanese version of bbq, looks simple but was so so good… especially because this restaurant was all you can eat and we did that just that…

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Toriyoshi Akasaka

Ramen @: Got Subo

My brother in law brought us here because his friend is a chef at this restaurant. I’m not even exactly sure if it’s considered an actual restaurant because it’s pretty much like a small bar with about 5/6 bar stools along the counter where people eat quickly and go. (There are actually a lot of places like this in Tokyo)

Oh, and your order ramen from a vending machine outside!

SO COOL.

Gotsubo Tokyo | Ramen

  Gotsubo Tokyo | Ramen

I always thought of Ramen as this…..

But turns out you haven’t had real ramen until you’ve had ramen that looks and tastes like…..

THIS.

  Gotsubo Tokyo | Ramen

Deff. the best thing I had in Tokyo besides sushi and sashimi of course. We’ll get to that soon…

Udon @: Taniya Ningyocho

Udon in tokyo

Takoyaki:

You won’t have a hard time finding this at all. Typical Street food, easy to find anywhere!

Takoyaki Tokyo

Takoyaki Tokyo

Tsukiji Fish Market:

You haven’t had sashimi until you’ve had it here. 

Tsukiji fish market

Tsukiji fish market

Tsukiji fish market

Tsukiji fish market

tsukiji market

tsukiji market

Sake at Kurand sake market @: Kurand Sake Ueno

Unlimited self serve sake for 30euros!

It was the perfect way to be able to try literally any kind of sake and discover all of the different flavors/styles that are available. Endless options and drinking lol.

Kurand Sake Market Ueno

Kurand Sake Market Ueno

Kurand Sake Market Ueno

Kurand Sake Market Ueno

Kurand Sake Market Ueno

Sushi. Of course @: Sushi Midori

What surprised me most is the ratio between the fish and the rice. They are deff cheating us every where else, the fish is HUGE in japan and the rice is small.

Every where else the rice wins. Hmmm.

Midori Sushi Tokyo

Midori Sushi Tokyo

Midori Sushi Tokyo

Midori Sushi Tokyo

Burgers? @: Burger Mania Ebisu

It shocked me when I asked my brother in law what his favorite food in Tokyo was and he said burgers…

but I understood after eating.

burger mania Ebisu

burger mania Ebisu

burger mania Ebisu

burger mania Ebisu

Rainbow things @: Kawaii Monster Cafe

Honestly, not worth all the hype.

I was so excited to go to this cafe after seeing all the cool insta posts from influencers…

It’s funny now, but my husband and I felt completely out of place haha.

Literally felt like Chuck E Cheese- Tokyo Style. Maybe it’d be worth it to go back one day once we have children though!

Kawaii Monster Cafe

Kawaii Monster Cafe

Kawaii Monster Cafe

Kobe Beef @: Mon cher ton ton Rappongi

Naturally, I saved the best for last.

This was our 2 years anniversary gift to ourselves and although it was on the pricier side, it was well worth it.

I might have lied when I said the ramen and sushi were my favorite. It’s ok to have a few favorites though right?

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

Mon Cher ton ton rappongi

All I gotta say it… (like many things in Japan).

You haven’t had beef until you’ve had Kobe beef and you haven’t had Kobe beef until you’ve had it in Japan!

If this post didn’t make you hungry I don’t know what will.

Brb. Gonna go eat now.

As always thanks for reading.

xx Shalize

Bonjour a tous!

A little bit of a different topic today!

Some of you might or might not know that before I became “MisstoMadame” and moved my entire life across the world… Starting my first season at just 19 years old,  I spent some of my best years as an NBA dancer for the Orlando Magic (in my hometown Orlando FL).

The Orlando Magic has just recently announced that the “Orlando Magic Dancers”ar…

Bonjour a tous!

I have quite a bit of travel coming up and I don’t even know if excited is a big enough world to describe how freaking excited I am!!

I’m not a super picky traveler, I’d personally rather spend less money on a ticket and maybe take a little longer getting to my destination if that means I can have a little more financial freedom while I’m on my actual trip.

With that said, I’m…