No matter which side of the island you visit, the French or the Deutsch, St. Martin and St. Maarteen do not disappoint. As per usse, I arrived on the island with itinerary from months of research in tow. Hubby has to hit balls (tennis) at each destination. So we secured a lesson from him and began to check all of the fun things we had planned on the list. The airport is fun, just because its located so close to the beach that if you were to google or even search Greenbook for photos on this destination, you are bound to catch a photo of people that appear so close to the plane that they can touch it. The island offers great rates for rental cars. St. Martin/St. Maarteen are definitely great destinations to explore on your own. The hotel was in Sint. Maarteen, the Deutsch side of the island. Immediately off the beach at a very nice resort. Sint. Maarteen is definitely a destination to do nothing at all. However if you need more, the nightlife is vibrant and you can eat until your heart's content. While venturing over to the french side, I purposely ordered escargot for dinner as my quintessential french experience. Horseback riding is available as well as a shopping mall. As a bonus to my daughter's first international trip, we had to take the ferry to Anguilla. So she could get a third stamp. I must say that I felt the weight of traveling while black during this trip. There was a distinct divide between complexion of the tourist and the complexion of those working on the island.

I was tempted to leave a tip in the "history" category for all the culture immersive things to do. Not necessarily historic but coming from the western protestant persuasion, Istanbul was my first eastern, deeply muslim cultured experience. Istanbul quickly climbed to the top for best vacation spot, tied with Lagos. We employed the service of "with the locals" as a 2 day guide. First let's talk about being prepared to respect local customs. Women should bring a scarf to cover your head if visiting an active mosques. We arrived via Turkish Air. We took pre-arranged car service to our hotel: Hotel Empress Zoe. My first boutique hotel experience. The architecture and decor was amazingly beautiful. There were house cats to greet you in the dining area. The view from our suite was perfect. Overlooking the town and ocean. The narrow streets and erratic driving can be compared to that of NYC, India or Africa. We settled in an area with great energy right off the ocean and tourist friendly. Words don't do justice to how beautiful and authentic the hotel was. Istanbul is a place we felt comfortable roaming around and exploring on foot. We could not say the same about western Africa. I think this is the reason this trip was so impressive. We had time to explore on our own day and night as well as hit us specific spots with our guide. We intended to hit the Suleymaniye Hamam bath house. We missed the small window of operational hours. On the lists of things I had to experience in Turkey were the Suleymaniye Hamamm, hookah, the Blue Mosque, the Asian side of the country, the Grand Bazaar and the Hagia Sophia. The most memorable aspect of this visit was how peaceful it was. The call of prayer in the morning was unbelievably settling. The shopping in Istanbul is amazing!

Its extremely difficult to categorize this tip as "traveling while black" because as a tourist, I believe blacks are "tolerated". Not to take away anyone's traveling experience where they've particularly dealt with discrimination. Due to the rich discriminatory and racist history in the Netherlands, our personal experience was not particularly uncomfortable or we were not overtly aware we were black tourist in Amsterdam. I'll preface this tip that way. Part of our ignorance could be due to the fact we were distracted by all that Amsterdam had to offer. We felt free to roam the city throughout. We stayed in a mixed residential and commercial area in a commercial hotel chain. We utilized public transportation each day into the city. We arrived during the week, so we were a part of the day to day hustle. The Netherlands were stop 1 or 3 during this European excursion for us. We were especially excited to take part in all of the tourist attractions we'd researched prior to arriving. There are several "beat the line" ticket purchase options that are super helpful to take advantage of if you want to maximize your time. Else you could stand in line half the day for some of these things. One popular attraction is the "Anne Frank House". The lines were hours long. We did everything here. We blended in what seemed to be a pretty diverse tourist and local population. We have a tradition of hitting McDonalds and Starbucks wherever we travel to get a since of how they market to the demographic. We shop with the same focus as well. I typically research all the things locals do to get a since of life outside of tourism and tourism alike. To that end, I tried the herring. It was definitely an acquired taste. Super rich and fatty. I mistakingly ate it with my hands. Even after washing with soap, my hands smelled of fish hrs after. We cruised the canal tours. Strolled through the red light district where we got to see some of the freakiest toy stores and window shows. Stopped in the infamous coffee shops and had one of the best nights in a long time thanks to an enhanced ECS system. The Hash museum was dope!! Our trip out to Paris via train was nostalgic and relaxing. There wasn't an abundant amount of brown, butterscotch and black faces. But again we were not overtly aware we were traveling while black in the Netherlands!! There's so much to explore. As with every travel destination, if you desire more than a lazy vacation and venture out for more, do your research to optimize the experience. Enjoy!!!

I am giving this "things to do" tip, as most people think of Paris and its romantic nostalgia before considering all of the other aspects that attract visitors. We visited Paris as a second stop in Europe immediately after getting married in the states. Our wedding date was set purposely relative to the French Open qualifier. We hopped a train from Amsterdam. I recommend traveling intra Europe by train and bus whenever possible. We do not speak a word of French. Like most English primary speaking tourist, you'll hear that not learning at least a few phrases to get by was to our detriment. We traveled by car service to what seemed to be the long way to our quant Parisian boutique hotel right outside of the Eiffel Tower. We quickly checked in and walked around for food. The only good aspect of our Parisian experience was the French Open. Our first day in the city, the first meal gave me food poisoning. I believe it was the whole shrimp in my salad. I spent the evening laying on the cold bathroom floor of the hotel. Without speaking French, walking seemed the best way to explore. Although we ventured on the bus once. The French in Paris were not particularly friendly or welcoming. We shopped, ate authentic French macaroons (my favorite are still from a little European bakery outside of Detroit in the states), crepes, McDonalds (because you have to visit McDonalds in every destination of your travels. Even if for something small and specific to the demographic. We were the average tourists in Paris after a day at the open. Each of my travel destinations, I have to shop the open markets and eat food native to the area. It's "the culture I travel for". Paris has some of the best sought after shopping in Europe. The best designers in the world set up shop here. If you appreciate museums, Paris has some of the most popular in the world. We did not drift along the Siene river, but we were amongst thousands of people who set a lock on the "Locks of Love Bridge". Like many popular tourist attractions, its best to do your homework in advance. Buy tickets in advance if you dont want to spend half your day in line or miss out all together!!

The beauty of traveling to London England is that you can choose to frolic about as a tourist or a wanna-be local. London was stop the third stop on this trip. We chose to be tourist this first go round. One of the amazing things I recommend when traveling from Paris to London is to take the train through the English channel. The ride is amazing. Upon arrival, we had to hail a British cab. We chose to lodge outside of the city. Each day, taking the train was an adventure. The Aloft hotel sat adjacent to a conference center off of the water. We got to commute into work with the locals, which is the best people watching experience. Most of our meals, breakfast and dinner were either in the Aloft restaurant or from the litany of dining choices in the conference center and subway area. Aloft was the last stop at the end of the line. One of the exceptions was fish and chips from a local pub. We took a ride on the London Eye, providing scenic views of the London bridge. Immediately after, we visited the Sea-life Aquarium. Do have and purchase tea in London. We purchased ours from the iconic Soho shopping district. The icing on the cake would have been a concert or live music. Hubby is not about that nightlife, so we'll save that for the next time, solo or girls trip.

Lagos was my most expensive and most rewarding travel experience yet. When budgeting for this trip, My family of 3 included, airfare, visas, vaccines, hotel, transportation from the airport to the hotel, and guide services each day. We chose to use the services of a guide because Lagos is not location for tourists to roam aimlessly. My travel plans always come about with culture exploration in mind. This is also why we decided to employ a guide. Our guide had personally travelled to several countries on the continent. His commentary and expertise really provided the biased insight #EatLoveTravelExperiences is here for. The best parts of the trip that the average tour guide could not provide where eating with a Nigerian family and venturing into one of the most culturally dense neighborhoods for local suya, without feeling like American "lunch meat" along the way ;-). It was worth every penny. Don't travel to Nigeria without having done your research and due diligence. Be smart and aware. It was very hard to capture photos here. I wanted to freeze every moment and image without encroaching on the preserved way of life for these people. It almost felt rude and invasive. Our trip was in 2018. Taking my 16 yr to Africa before she chose to travel anywhere else in the world was super important to me. She witnessed every walk of life in Lagos and neighboring Banana Island (one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of the continent), Lekki, and Surulere,