Whether it’s at Walt Disney World or in Venezuela during the holidays, I love watching fireworks. This picture of the Caracas skyline – taken in sequence on New Year’s Eve – was shared with me by a friend on Facebook and it took my breath away. It almost made me wish that I had been in Caracas instead of Merida…almost

Enjoy your weekend!

Among Caraquenos, bars are like baseball games – they’re ingrained in the culture. As someone who never really frequented bars in the states, I am slowly becoming a convert. One of my favorite locales is the 360 Rooftop Bar located on the 19th floor of the Hotel Altamira Suites.

The nice thing about this bar is that the environment is very calm. The music isn’t too loud so you can hold a conversation at a normal voice and the type of music played is a mix of 80’s and 90’s pop. There are actually three levels to the bar; all of which provide a 360 degree view of Caracas. The first is completely covered on top, but the open windows offer a nice breeze. The second level is on the way to the rooftop and it’s completely uncovered. The tables there are scattered so you get more privacy. The crown jewel of the bar is of course the rooftop (both pictures were taken from there) and you get it all – the view, the breeze and the ambiance. From there, you also get the best view of El Avila.

As for the drinks, they have a pretty good selection of cocktails (5 different flavors of mojitos). The nice thing about the menu is the list of fresh-made pizzas indicating the best drinks to complement them. My favorite cocktail there is the Cosmopolitan and it goes well with the Sabas Nieves pizza (arugula, basil, fresh tomatoes and goat cheese).

If you’re only visiting Caracas for a short time, I would recommend spending one of your evenings at 360.