All posts tagged: travel

LAKE NATRON, TANZANIA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

From Dar Salaam, our group traveled to an area near Lake Natron. This was my favorite part of the trip- it was by far one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had. It was through Kilombero North Safaris, and we stayed in a camping/hunting  lodge for a couple days with a group of professional hunters. We got to practice shooting at an open air range with a master firearms instructor, and learned how to shoot different kinds of rifles. Akram, who runs Kilombero North Safaris and owns the lodge we stayed at (and many other hunting lodges throughout Tanzania), stayed with us along with some of his family. They were amazing people and by the end of our stay, we felt like one big family. One of the days we visited a primary school of over 700 Masaai children, and we gave them bags of school supplies, clothing, and food. They held a naming ceremony where they gave each of us  Masaai names, dressed us in traditional Masaai clothing, and sang for us. They …

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

     I had never been to Africa before. I was so anxious and excited leading up to the trip. We had an incredible itinerary with lots of exciting things planned and a lot of charity work involved. I didn’t know where to begin to prepare myself, so I decided to begin by going through my closet and packing up half my wardrobe to give away while being there. We knew we were going to visit a primary school which really needed school supplies, so we packed up suitcases filled with school supply necessities. I also had to get the necessary shots before traveling to Africa (and if anyone knows me they know that is my biggest fear in life), so I had major anxiety leading up to that. I also knew I was going to meet the President of Tanzania, which I was really excited about. I packed up 8 big bags of luggage and was finally ready to go. I had no idea what to expect out of this trip, but I was looking …

TANZANIA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

My trip to Tanzania was indescribable. I feel like no words or blog post can do it justice. It was the trip of a lifetime and I am extremely blessed to have experienced it.  I didn’t want to take a vacation…I wanted a life changing trip.  I went with an incredible group of friends which made the experience even more unforgettable. We did so much that we had a trip and vacation all in one which was really special.  We did a lot of charity/community service work in the city of Dar Es Salaam, stayed in a camp near  Lake Natron and visited the Masai people and their villages, experienced a wildlife safari for the first time in the Serengeti, and ended the trip on the beautiful white sand beaches of Zanzibar and Mnemba Island.  I can’t sum up the trip  in one post, so I am planning to do a couple posts to break things up and make it easier to read. Because I traveled all over the country of Tanzania, I will split …

PORTLAND, OREGON

Published by Nicole Isaacs

      Portland is such a cute city! I spent a weekend in Portland recently and had so much fun exploring. Of course I ate my way through the city because that’s what I do, but not only does the city have great food,  downtown Portland has so much character and I really loved the vibe. I will highlight a few of the yummy places I visited. The food truck scene in Portland is crazy! There are food carts everywhere throughout the city and the food is really good. I was surprised how many Middle Eastern food carts there were serving Shawarma, Gyros, etc.  I ended up eating a great Philly Cheeseteak out of one of them. The owner of the truck was from Philly so he knew what he was doing. See below! MOTHER’S BISTRO & BAR My crew and I had brunch at Mother’s Bistro. It is a popular brunch spot in the city and there is usually a wait on the weekends.  We put our name down and walked around the area for …