Picture Perfect Lisbon, Portugal

From a quiet sunrise to hidden alleys and iconic blue tiles, every corner of Lisbon is beyond picture perfect. We had the privilege of exploring the historic neighborhood of Alfama one morning and fell in love!

Here are some of the places we explored:
- Miradouro das Portas do Sol: During the weekdays, the city is quiet until 9am. We arrived at this landing at 8am, about half an hour after sunrise (in November) and there were very few people around.
- Miradouro Santa Luzia: This viewpoint landing is like a secret garden with a beautiful tile mural, red doors, and a pagoda that overlooks the hills of Alfama. Our photographer said that in the springtime, the flowers and trees are in full bloom so the colors are even more stunning.

**From here, take the Santa Luzia Lift down to the first floor & explore the back streets of Alfama**

lisbonphoto2019.jpg

After a quick sweater change in the lift lobby, we continued our journey down the alleys, towards Praça do Comércio & Lisbon City Hall.

Looking back, I’m doubly grateful that we closed out 2019 with this amazing trip - celebrating our friend’s wedding, exploring a new city , and sharing my London life together!

Jon is definitely getting more comfortable in front of the camera. I guess 9+ years of photoshoots makes a man feel some way. There is hope, ladies! Force a man to smile in enough photos and one day, they’ll find a way to appreciate the memories you create!

Love, MH

Denim: Zara
Sweaters: TJMaxx, Zara
Booties: Stuart Weitzman

Jacket: Levis
Corduroy Pants: Zara

Photography: Claudia // @iheartyou.pt

MacARTHUR Place Hotel - Sonoma, CA

To celebrate our one year wedding anniversary this past July, we booked a 2 night stay at the newly renovated MacARTHUR Place in Sonoma, CA. After our honeymoon, we were skeptical that we could ever take a relaxing vacation again but boy, were we proven wrong. Not only were the rooms and grounds at the MacArthur Hotel serene and beautiful, but the town of Sonoma and the wineries in Sonoma Valley also blew us away.

We arrived in the early afternoon before our check in time. Thankfully, the hotel had ways to keep us busy. We grabbed a cup of coffee at The Porch, and rented the hotel’s Blix electric bikes* to head to the Sonoma town center for lunch. Biking takes on a whole new meaning when your gear is cute & there’s a motor doing all the work for you. I’m a convert!! We circled Sonoma Square a few times before deciding to eat at Basque Boulangerie Cafe.
*Bikes are available on a first come, first serve basis at no cost.

Within the hour, we were able to check into our room. The rooms are separated into little cottages, with each cottage housing a few residences. It felt like we had entered into a cute townhouse neighborhood with it’s own outdoor pool, spa, gym and outdoor lounging areas. We were smitten!

Our hotel room was bright and cozy - complete with a desk nook, an outdoor patio and fireplace. (Can’t wait to visit in the winter to use it.) Also, this bed… the king size bed was so comfy that I didn’t even hear Jon snoring!

The staff was also super attentive, helping us with our luggage, providing us extra blankets to sit outdoors and arranging our dinner reservation at the hotel restaurant Layla. If we weren’t committed to visiting wineries in Sonoma, we could have easily spent our whole trip just relaxing at the hotel.

It’s rare for us to plan vacations where we just relax & spend time enjoying each other’s company but our stay at the MacARTHUR Place Hotel changed our travel theory. We are such city people that we usually seek to visit cities that have a hustle & bustle, packing our itineraries by the hour. Now, we can’t wait to find the next place to go, curl up in bed & do nothing.

Hope this inspires you to travel differently than you’re used to. Let me know your favorite travel/hotel destinations in the comments below!

Love, MH

#HappilyHU year 1, done.

Photography: @meehattan

Jeju Island Itinerary - 48 hours

Jeju is a short flight from Seoul and a popular vacation destination for couples. Since my parents went to Jeju-do for their honeymoon, Jon & I thought it would be meaningful to go to Jeju to celebrate our engagement. While the main event of our Jeju trip was our engagement photos, with a personal tour guide & ambitious itinerary, we were able to check off some major Jeju bucket list items.

Manjanggul Cave - 만장굴

Underground lava tubes! *Insert flashbacks to middle school Earth Science - Stalagmites! Stalactites! Sedimentary Rocks?* Strict covered shoes policy that we somehow evaded. Last call for tours is 1 hour before closing.
Pro-tip: Bring a poncho or a hat because rain water drips unexpectedly down there.

Osulloc Tea Museum & Innisfree Cafe - 오설록티뮤지엄 & 이니스프리 그린카페

The one westside spot we visited, Osulluc Tea Museum & Innisfree Cafe is a two-in-one stop. Run through Osulluc’s green tea fields for that epic instagram photo and enjoy green tea sweets at the cafe. The Innisfree Cafe offers brightly colored tea and snacks, along with a beauty shop with Jeju exclusive skincare products. Great place to start your morning.

Cheonjeyeon Falls - 천제연폭포

There are two entrances to the park that lead to the foot of the waterfall. If your mission is to get to the foot of the waterfall quickly, use the east entrance ~10 min walk. Experience a different vantage point of the waterfall from the west entrance, and a beautiful bridge (Seon Imgyo - 선임교) you have to cross to get to the base of the waterfall. Spot the signage indicating that “you can be died.”

Seongeup Folk Village - 성읍민속마을

We were lucky that our tour guide drove us through this Folk Village on our way from the west to east coast of the island! We only got to admire the beautiful traditional buildings from the car and wish we got more time to explore, eat & shop in this area.

Seongsan Ilchulbong - 성산 일출봉

Iconic crater you can hike. Difficulty level: easy-moderate. I only say moderate because at one point my mom almost gave up and we had to convince her to keep going. Uphill route is mountain steps and downhill route is wooden steps. I would assume the views from the top are beautiful but we unfortunately had foggy and drizzly weather! Regardless, it was great to breathe the mountain air and eat yummy treats.
Pro-tip: Food is not allowed on the hike - plan time to eat before or after the hike so you’re not forced to eat all your food at the entrance like us.

If you want to cover everything we did and thoroughly enjoy it in 2 days, I suggest you plan your itinerary with some extra travel time. Jeju island is covered with hundreds of “Oreum” (오름) - essentially defunct volcanos that are like hills. Although this makes for scenic routes, it also means limited roadways from coast to coast, which equals lots of travel time. We left the island wishing we had more time to explore but saw enough to catch the Jeju-bug & want to come back to visit again!

Love, MH