Go Travel and See the World

Nine days more to go and I am traveling again! I can’t wait to visit countries again in Europe. Last month, I found this cheap trip to three European countries including Switzerland, Italy and Lichtenstein. It is a five days trip traveling with the bus. It  also include the accommodation, breakfasts and dinners  and the sightseeing tours of the different places in these  3 countries that I mentioned.

This the itinerary of the  trip including the  places to be visited.

First Day–  Bus trip to Vaduz, Lichtenstein. This is one of the places I wish to visit. Finally in 9 days, I will see it! Vaduz is the the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. Famous landmarks are the Vaduz Castle, the Cathedral of St. Florin  and  the Government House and City Hall.

I visited Zurich, Switzerland twice and Basel once but not in the places I mentioned here. You can see in this image the tower of Fraumünster (our lady’s minster) first church built before 874 and the Limmat River. This was taken last July 2012.
© www.webbloggirl.com

Second Day–  After our breakfast, we will  go to Ascona. It is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Ascona is a popular tourist destination located in Lake Maggiore. I would love to see its Medieval town. (more…)

When I travel, I usually go shopping. I guess travel and shopping always go together. When we travel, we cannot avoid buying souvenirs especially when we are collecting some kind of souvenirs. It is not only souvenirs we are buying, but also other goods which we like or find interesting.

During my last vacation to the United States last year, my friend asked me if I will go shopping there. I told her, yes of course! She gave me a discount coupon from Kohls. Imagine when you can get up to 25% discount? That is already a big savings!

I also remember during my first visit in the US last 2008.I told myself not to go shopping but I had proven myself wrong. Since my sister had some discount coupons from Old Navy, I indeed up buying a lot of items from this store.  My pocket  got a big hole but I was happy with the stuffs I got from Old Navy. Until now, I am still wearing the pants and shirts I bought  from them.

Shopping in Union Square in San Francisco, California during my vacation last year. You can find a lot of stores there.  I took this image when we were on top of Macsy Building.
© www.webbloggirl.com (more…)

Everybody loves a bargain but not necessarily something cheap, especially when it comes to vacations. There have been plenty of horror stories over the years about the dream holiday that has turned out to be a building site. So how do you make sure you avoid the nightmare yet still take advantage of the sizzling holiday deals that are always trying to tempt you?

When you are searching for your holiday it is best to book through a recognised travel agent. There are plenty to choose from but make sure they are insured and that they are members of ABTA, which gives you protection in case things go wrong. If you haven’t heard of the company before you can read reviews by searching for the company online. Personal reviews are often more accurate, and you can also search for reviews on your hotel and resort once you have chosen one – perfect for finding out all of the inside information and tips of where to go.

Beautiful white sand beach in Boracay, Philippines. © www.webbloggirl.com

Once you are happy with the company, then you can choose from one of the many resorts available and narrow it down to your exact specifications such as hotel rating, board basis and flight time. Most agents have sophisticated search engines that allow you to whittle down your options by various factors, which helps you to find something that’s within your price range and ticks all of the other boxes too. Bargain package holidays can offer some really great holidays without the fancy price tag and as long as you are booking with a good travel agent, you can usually avoid the building sites and Fawlty Towers of this world.

So once you’ve booked, it’s just a matter of counting down the days until you can jet off to sunnier climes for a week or two of summer bliss…

I was invited by a friend to have lunch in their house two weeks ago. Another friend was also there. After we took our lunch, she invited me to go shopping in Regensburg. We went to one of the malls named DonauEinkaufszentrum (Danube Shopping Center in English). I don’t have a plan to buy anything but I ended up buying a bag that was on sale. I went home happy because I brought with me a bag which is perfect for my travels. I should be looking  also for hardware items but decided to search leveling devices at reidsupply.com. I saw different  sizes of it and I want to buy some if we will be renovating our kitchen this spring time. From time to time, our little and mortgage-free home will be more cozy and  comfortable!

I finally visited Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius last September 2012. It is around 110 kilometers from Vilnius. From our hotel in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius, it took us almost two hours to get there. It was a bus trip and if I am not mistaken buses are only allowed up to 100 km per hour when driving.

Our tour guide brought us to the most important sights in this  city especially in the Old Town. The   Kaunas Castle,  the  City Hall and its Square, St. Francis Xavier Church, Vytautas’ the Great Church,  Kaunas Cathedral Basilica, are only some of the sights we visited in this city.

St. Francis Xavier Church in Kaunas, Lithuania during our visit last September 2012.
© www.webbloggirl.com

It was only a short visit we had in Kaunas but I am so happy to see and experience some of the sights  this city.  I am thinking of going back there again.

It is Fasching season now in Germany and in many parts of Europe. Fasching is a German word which means Carnival in English. One of the famous Fasching you can experience in Upper Palatinate Bavaria is in Dietfurt. Their carnival is unique because it is themed as “Chinese Fasching”. There are always group of musicians and bands who participate during the parade every year. Some are using soundcraft mixers especially if they have a Faschingsball or Carnival Ball.

There are over 50 groups who participate every year during the parade. You will surely enjoy watching their  colorful costumes, the  music they play and all the attractions they offer. Don’t miss to watch  a Fasching celebration if you happen to visit Germany during carnival season.

Musicians at the Fasching or Carnival in Dietfurt, Germany.
© www.webbloggirl.com

Have you heard the song Warwick Avenue?   I  finally heard it again after  a long time of not hearing  it.  We went to the karaoke bar last weekend and somebody sang it.  I am not quite sure if Warwick Avenue  got its title from Warwick Castle. Wait a minute! I found out that  it got its name in a tube station in London name Warwick Avenue.

Back to the main title of the post..I went to England last 2008. One of the places my  friend brought me was in Warwick castle.  It is  medieval castle  situated  on the bend of River Avon in the county of Warwickshire. It was developed from an original built by William the Conqueror in 1068.

That was only a day trip but we experienced a lot during our visit. We had a tour inside the castle. I was amazed on how they maintain and preserve  this historic architecture both inside and out.

If you are visiting England, get the  chance  to  visit Warwick Castle. You will surely love it there if you love history.

Warwick Castle during my visit last autumn 2008.
© www.webbloggirl.com

The castle is protected against unauthorised change as a Scheduled Ancient Monument  in recognition of its status as a “nationally important” archaeological site or historic building,  and is a Grade I listed building  together with its boundary walls, stables, conservatory, mill and lodge.

I always love to travel and travel!  I  believed in the saying that  says, “If you only  read a book and don’t travel, you  only read one page of it”.  When finances are available, I would be in the other side of the globe right now. Inspite of visiting over 30 countries for the past 5 years, I still want to visit some more.  There are a lot of places to see and one life is even not enough to see everything.

Included in my list are the 5  most colorful flags in the world.  It might be common for us to see flags that only have three colors. Germany for example has red, yellow and black.  USA has white, red and blue.

You might be wondering  which countries have the most colorful flags? Here are some that are in my bucketlist.

Flag of South Africa

South Africa– It is good  interesting to know that this country is the only nation that has six colors in their flag’s primary design. Officially known as the Republic of South Africa, this country is situated in the southern tip of Africa. There are a lot of sights I want to experience  there. Visiting  cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Kimberley are on on my list.

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon– First time to hear such a country name? If I am not mistaken I saw some representatives from this nation to the London Olympics last 2012. Etymology says Saint-Pierre is French for Saint Peter, who is a patron saint of fishermen. It is situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near Canada. I found their flag very colorful and interesting.

Grenada– I always wanted to visit the Caribbean countries and one of it is Grenada. It is known as the “Island of Spice” due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops which makes Grenada one of the world’s largest exporters. Grenada’s flag has actually three colors but its busy design and bright colors makes it seem very colorful.

The Flag of Seychelles.

Seychelles– With  its five colors  radiating out from the lower left corner,  it makes the flag of  Seychelles  very interesting. The Republic of  Seychelles is an island country with  around  islands spreading in the Indian Ocean.

Turkmenistan– Although I read some travel advisories that it is difficult to visit this country, I still want to go there  for sightseeing.  Formerly known as Turkmenia,  it is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia.   It is known to have the  most intricate of all the national flags in the world. It has four colors in its design and  the  Turkmenistan’s flag is far from having the most colors.

If bad weather, soggy camping and portaloos don’t appeal to you, grab your passport and have yourself an altogether different festival experience, somewhere other than the UK with BeatTheBrochure.

Holi Festival, India, 27^th March

The Hindu Holi Festival, also known as India’s Festival of Colors, celebrates the triumph of good over evil.  This very colourful annual event takes place after the full moon in March and is embraced by India, Nepal and Pakistan.

What to expect: a vibrant, happy affair as scented water and coloured powders are dumped on the gathered masses.

Will appeal to: grown-ups who endured Saturday morning TV programs involving gunking as kids.

Advice: pack your favourite high performance washing powder.

The Pamplona Bullrun, Pamplona in Spain, 7-14^th July

The running of the bulls in Pamplona is quite possibly the original extreme sport without the safety gear.  It’s part of the annual fiesta celebrations that honour the patron saint of Navarra, San Fermin.

What to expect: a nail-biting 3 minute race involving thousands of people attempting to outrun 6 bulls, as they negotiate the streets from Santo Domingo to the bullring.  The festival attracts around a million people.

Will appeal to: fit, agile thrill-seekers who’ve done a spot of free running.

Advice: run and don’t look back.

La Tomatina, Buñol in Spain, August

La Tomatina signifies the end of a week of partying to mark Spain’s summer festival. On the last Wednesday of August between 11am and 1pm, the biggest food fight, or to be exact, tomato fight involving thousands of people and lorry loads of tomatoes occurs.

What to expect: a writhing mass of squashed tomatoes and half-naked people.

Will appeal to: those who appreciate tomatoes, old skool family favourite, It’s a Knockout and don’t mind getting very messy.

Advice: not ideal if you are allergic to tomatoes.

First of all, I would like to thank a good  friend for her generosity and kindness.  I only met her first last spring 2012 but then we became good friends.  She and her family visited Europe and I also toured them to some areas in this continent.  When I visited  her and family last summer of the same year, I stayed in their house for some nights.  She also toured me in some of the places in Washington.  I am grateful  for your goodness Ate Thel.  You are the one of the best!

One of the places she showed me was the Snoqualmie  Falls. It was almost an hour drive from where she lives. This waterfall is 82 meters high (268 ft).  It is located between Fall City and Snoqualmie in Washington, USA. We had a walk in  some parts of the area and  also went to the observation deck to have a good view of the falls.  You can also see the Salish Lodge and Spa overlooking the falls.

After our stroll at the park, we proceeded to the souvenir shop in the area. I bought w some fridge magnets, postcards and a keychain. We also went to the  brewery  near the area and tasted some beer. It was so far a wonderful day!

Snoqualmie Falls-
© www.webbloggirl.com

There are two hydroelectric power plants at Snoqualmie Falls, both currently operated by Puget Sound Energy.

Snoqualmie Falls.-© www.webbloggirl.com