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Appetites Abroad

A travel blog for those who enjoy eating while exploring the world!

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About Moani

Hey everyone! Welcome to my world. I’m Moani Hood – a self-professed foodie, wine lover, and travel addict. I was born and raised on the little island of Maui in Hawai’i, where I developed a passion for travel at an early age. After I spent years watching visitors enjoying their travels to my home, a strong desire was forged within me to venture out into the world and collect my own experiences.

I currently reside in the East Bay Area of Northern California with my husband and two pups. While I would love to travel the world endlessly, I do work full time in the IT industry and enjoy spending time at home just as much as I love my adventures.

Where I’ve Been

While I was bitten by the travel bug at a young age, I didn’t really start traveling until my late twenties after my husband and I got married. Together, we’ve traversed the Western U.S. and Canada on road trips, chilled out in the island nation of Jamaica, and hopped on over to Europe to experience my favorite places on earth: England, France, and Italy! We visit my Maui home often, and have recently started incorporating visits to other Hawaiian islands such as O’ahu.

I like to eat…

I love to eat (maybe a little too much), and believe that food is the gateway to truly experiencing a destination! When I think back on all my favorite travel experiences, most of them have occurred while enjoying a good meal or sipping on that perfect glass of vino.

Out of my love for food and travel, my blog was born.

I realized that sharing my experiences and helping others plan to see what the world has to offer was a calling I just had to fulfill – so here I am! While a lot of my posts and articles are food-centric, I do also share a lot about non-food-related activities. Everything in life is about balance and moderation, and that certainly applies to travel too.

Helping You to Travel

My main motivation for this blog is to help others plan their own trips by sharing my own experiences. I always enjoy getting comments from readers on posts that have helped them, and I am always here to answer any questions!

Thanks for stopping by and happy traveling!

Want to work with me?

Please send me an email to discuss any possible partnership opportunities with Appetites Abroad at [email protected].

Please note that I do not accept guest posts from third parties on Appetites Abroad.

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About Me

About Me
Hello world! I'm Moani - a food, wine & beer-loving traveler based in the Bay Area of California. I created this space to share my love of traveling to new and amazing places, eating the most delicious foods, and taking in a good drink or two. My goal in life is to inspire others to set out on their own travel adventures and see the world in all its splendor!

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📍Vecina - Phoenix, AZ Found my favorite restauran 📍Vecina - Phoenix, AZ

Found my favorite restaurant in Phoenix!

This spot is a serious gem. Everything we ate was expertly crafted with incredible, bold flavors!

If I could return and eat one dish over and over again, it would be the short rib with white bean puree and probably the best flour tortilla I've ever had. 10/10, no notes.

A close second - the gambas al ajillo. The shrimp were bathed in a spicy paprika garlic butter that you'll want to soak up every last bit of with their delicious bread.

I'm already planning to visit Phoenix next year for spring training mostly because I want to eat here again!

@vecinaphx 
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Where to eat in Phoenix | best restaurants in Phoenix | phoenix restaurants | Arizona restaurants 
#phoenix #phoenixarizona
OOTO 👉 Phoenix, Arizona 🌵☀️ . . . . Arizona trip r OOTO 👉 Phoenix, Arizona 🌵☀️
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Arizona trip recap | spring training Arizona | Phoenix travel | Arizona travel
🇮🇸 Iceland foodie experiences not to miss!!! Thes 🇮🇸 Iceland foodie experiences not to miss!!!

These are all of my favorite Iceland food & drink experiences. Save this for your trip to Iceland!

The food in Iceland kind of blew me away. I know a lot of people travel to Iceland for the scenery (because it's absolutely incredible), but I do think you should try and incorporate some of these food experiences too.

Iceland may not be the most budget friendly when it comes to eating out, but the food is definitely worth the splurge in my opinion.

What do you think you would add to your itinerary?
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#iceland #icelandtravel #icelandtrip #icelandfood

Where to eat in Iceland | best foodie things to do in Iceland | best things to eat in Iceland
🇮🇸 Day 6 & 7 of a one-week Iceland itinerary! Fin 🇮🇸 Day 6 & 7 of a one-week Iceland itinerary!

Finishing up my little Iceland itinerary series, this is how we spent our final two days in the country.

We drove from Vik on the south coast and did the popular Golden Circle, making stops at Kerid Crater, Friðheimar Tomato farm, Gullfoss, and Thingvellir National Park. In between all that, I got to pet and feed Icelandic horses and had some of the best ice cream ever at a dairy farm.

The Golden Circle was probably the most crowded of all the routes we did in Iceland, probably because it's the easiest day trip from Reykjavik. Still loved every moment though!

Our last dinner was at Forrettabarinn aka The Appetizer Bar, where dishes are small plates, encouraging you to try lots of different items (even horse 😳). All of the food was delicious, as it was everywhere we went in Iceland.

We had a leisurely final day, strolling around Reykjavik looking for souvenirs and had a delicious final Icelandic lunch (couldn't resist one more round of Plokkfiskur.

And that's the end of our magical adventure to probably my favorite place in the world. I can't wait to be back!
🇮🇸 Day 5 in Iceland of a one-week Iceland itinerar 🇮🇸 Day 5 in Iceland of a one-week Iceland itinerary!

This was probably my favorite day of our week in Iceland. Seeing the landscape of the South Coast is something else, from canyons and waterfalls to moss-covered lava fields and even a glacier lake! Incredible is all I can say.

We ended our day back in Vik to watch the sunset and chowed down on black crust pizza 🍕
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#iceland #icelanditinerary #icelandroadtrip 
iceland road trip | iceland travel | iceland itinerary | one week in Iceland | South Coast Iceland | best things to do in Iceland | Iceland South Coast itinerary
Part 3 of everything I ate and drank in Iceland! I Part 3 of everything I ate and drank in Iceland! It was a lot 🤣
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What to eat in Iceland | where to eat in Iceland | best food in Iceland | Iceland tomato farm | Iceland eats
🇮🇸 Day 4 in Iceland of a one-week Iceland itinerar 🇮🇸 Day 4 in Iceland of a one-week Iceland itinerary

Headed out to explore the beautiful South Coast (and officially obsessed with Icelandic sheep)!

Highlights:

• Breakfast at Braud & Co.
• Road trip to the South Coast
• Learned about Skyr at Skyrland in Selfoss
• Lunch at the Old Dairy Food Hall in Selfoss
• Seljalandsfoss
• Skogafoss
• Icelandic sheep!
• Lava Show in Vik
• Dinner at The Soup Company in Vik
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#icelanditinerary | South Coast Iceland itinerary | Iceland road trip ideas | South Coast Iceland from Reykjavik | best things to do in Iceland | what to do on Iceland's South Coast | Iceland itinerary ideas | Iceland travel
Everything I ate and drank in Iceland - Part 2! I Everything I ate and drank in Iceland - Part 2!

I ate so many different things in Iceland, I needed to break it up in three parts 😂

Iceland has such a varied food scene, from international dishes to Icelandic specialties like plokkfiskur (kind of like a fish pie/casserole), which was absolutely delicious.

And those cinnamon rolls...I am still dreaming about them!
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What to eat in Iceland | Icelandic food | food to try in Iceland | Iceland food vlog
Day 3 in Iceland! 🇮🇸 Our third day in Iceland was Day 3 in Iceland! 🇮🇸

Our third day in Iceland was a day trip to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula - aka "Iceland in Miniature." It was very windy and cold here but much less busy than the routes of the South Coast! We saw such a variety of landscapes on the peninsula, though I wish we would have had a little bit more daylight to add more stops.

Back in Reykjavik for the evening, we had dinner and then went on a successful Northern Lights chase!

It was a long day but awesome!
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Iceland itinerary | Snaefellsnes day trip from Reykjavik | Snaefellsnes itinerary | Iceland road trip | Iceland travel | Iceland travel tips
🇮🇸 Everything I ate and drank in Iceland - Part 1! 🇮🇸 Everything I ate and drank in Iceland - Part 1!
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Best things to eat in Iceland | what to eat in Iceland | where to eat in Reykjavik | Icelandic food | Icelandic cuisine | Iceland travel tips | Iceland trip ideas
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