Go Travel and See the World

One of the best ways to explore Europe is through cruises. Whether you want to experience a cruise in the Mediterranean, Baltic, Scandinavia, a Danube cruise, Canary cruise and many other destinations in this continent, there are a lot of travel companies and agencies that offer cruise trips in Europe.

The cobbled street of Kaunas, a city in Lithuania in the Baltic region. This is one of the places we visited during our Baltic trip recently.

One of my travel wishlists in Europe is to go for a cruise in Scandinavia and in the Baltic Region. I was in the Baltic region lately but only visited the countries of Latvia and Lithuania. It has been my dream to step on these lands and finally three weeks ago, I was there. It was a combination of bus and cruise trip and I was so happy and contented after that trip.

Last Tuesday, I received a travel flyer that offers cruises in Scandinavia and in the Baltic States. I was so excited when I read it because it is exactly the cruise that I am looking for. This travel agency has special offers at the moment. If you book before November 3, 2012, you will receive a discount of 200.00 Euros which is already a big savings for every traveler.

Here are the travel destinations included in this cruise trip.

Stockholm– the capital and largest city of Sweden,  is famous for the name “The Venice of the North”. It is the oldest town of Sweden and also its most populous city. The Gamla Stan or the Old Town is a must-see in this city.

Helsinki– the beautiful capital of Finland. The city is founded in 1550 and became the Finnish capital since 1812. It is known as the “Architecture Capital of the North” and also dubbed as the “Daughter of Baltic”.

Tallinn– Estonia’s capital city is also a must-to-see in the Baltic region. The historic Old Town of Tallinn is included in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1997 and also a must to visit for tourists.

St. Petersburg– a world class city and a dream destination of many tourists worldwide including myself. No wonder Petrograd, the old name of St. Petersburg, is listed by UNESCO as among the top 10 destinations worldwide. It is considered as one of the most beautiful places on earth according to many travelers. The historic center of St. Petersburg is a must to visit.

I am planning to book this cruise anytime this week. I hope I can still  reserve  a seat.

Welcome to the year-round island Cyprus! There’s always a new world to discover on this island, here are some ideas for those who are planning a Cyprus vacation …….

Lying at the crossroads of three continents you find Cyprus; where East meets West and a new experience waits under the sunny sky every day. Discover championship golf courses, beautiful sun kissed beaches, and breath-taking mountains.

The expansive coastline provides a wide variety of beaches to choose from. Secluded bays, lively resorts, golden beaches, rocky coves – take your pick it is all here in Cyprus. There are many activities offered on the island with water sports featuring strongly. The waterpark offers a thrilling experience, or even try a bungee jump for those more daring travellers. If you want to discover the magic of the underwater world try snorkelling or even diving in the warm crystal clear seas. To be enjoyed all year round are the sports of windsurfing and sailing, thanks to steady winds and calm predictable seas, while coastal cruising and deep-water fishing are also popular. Some even use the island as a port for a short cruise to other nearby countries.

More than a place just for lazing in the sun, there’s lots of events happening in Cyprus all the year round. There is a lot to enjoy here from cultural performances, sports events, religious festivals, to informative conferences.

Visit the town of Ayia Napa to acquire the very best of both worlds. The islands buzzing party paradise bustles with leading clubs and trendy bars. Yet there is also a peaceful and relaxing side to this once fishing village; snow white beach fronts and narrow cobbled streets that lead to serene shady squares. Make a visit to the medieval monastery for a stroll around its stunning gardens. Bathe on the silvery sands of Nissi Beach crystal sparkling waters or just watch the world go by at a cafe in the atmospheric main square.

Step back in time with a visit to one of the best preserved sites of a prehistoric settlement found in the Eastern Mediterranean – Choirokoitia. Its reconstructed round dwellings provide a vivid representation of what life was like at the dawn of civilisation.

Lying on the coast is Paphos the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Here you can admire the exquisite floor mosaics of the Roman villas depicting scenes from mythology, arguably the best in the eastern Mediterranean. Nearby lay the impressive underground Tombs of the Kings, carved out of solid rock and decorated with Doric pillars. You may enjoy an ancient Greek play performed in a Roman theatre on a cliff with the most spectacular view overlooking the sea.

Many fine examples of Byzantine art have survived on the island, which you can see for yourself in one of many Cyprus’ painted churches. With origins that go back thousands of years you can marvel at that pageantry of Greek Orthodox religious festivals that held are on the island. Tour the priceless collection of artefacts that are displayed in the various archaeological museums; objects spanning the island’s history, including pottery, coins, jewellery, tombstones and statues.

Visit HolidayCheck for more information on a Cyprus vacation and to start planning your holiday today.

Autumn season in Europe is inevitable! In fact, it is already here and the weather is already getting cold. Despite  that, I am still happy because I am experiencing again the beauty of nature during fall season. This is the best time of the year when  we can see the most colourful environment around us. We even call it the “Golden October” because the plants and trees that surrounds us are already turning its colour into gold, yellow, orange, red, brown, pink and what else do you think? Such a  real beauty of nature!

Colourful trees during autumn season.

Yesterday while waiting for my friends to pick me up to go grocery shopping, I went to our garden. It was the first time I went around our backyard and took pictures of the different plants and flowers that are slowly withering due to cold weather. All of the flower bulbs like tulips, narcissus, dahlia, gladioli and lilies were gone now. I miss all the flowers in our garden but I don’t need to worry because I will see them again during spring and summer season next year.

Autumn in Europe is really beautiful. This is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Autumn is the transition from summer to winter. For some, autumn season is a sad one for them due to the feeling of melancholy. The nice sunny weather of summer is slowly gone and the chilly winter season is about to come. During autumn season, you can experience foggy morning and daylight. The skies are turning grey because the sunshine is hiding away.

Autumn in Europe attracts millions of visitors from around the world. This is the time of the year where tourists can witness the coloured autumn foliage in most countries in Europe.

Some of the flowers that are still in our garden during this Autumn time.

I believed I am lucky to witness the change of environment. I simply love Europe despite of the different seasons in this continent. Whether it is spring, summer, fall or winter, I always see to it that I appreciate this beauty of nature. And talking about nature, I will for sure plant more flowers and plants in our garden next spring time. Next year, I am  thinking of getting some Vegetable Plants in our backyard.  What do you think  folks?

I guess I need to go around our area before weekend comes. I need to hunt for beautiful and colourful autumn foliage! Keep yourself warm during autumn time!

Are you traveling outside of your country? Does the country you are visiting uses another currency? If that is the case, you need a Currency Converter in order for you to know how much travel budget or allowance you need during your trip. It is also a part of your travel plan, knowing the currency of the country you will be visiting.

We are thankful that with the advent of computer and internet, we can already browse and search anything online. Most of the things we need to know are already searchable online.With just a click of your mouse, searching for anything is already possible. If you want to know for example about Foreign Currency Services, you can surely find a lot of infromation online about it.

Euro bills.

If you are planning to travel and want to know the Currency Exchange Rates of different monetary units, I can say, it is very easy as eating peanut. Travelex for example can help you with that matter.

We had a trip to Hungary last June 2012. My friends from the United States were trying to convert the equivalent of one US dollar (USD) to Hungarian Forint (HUF). As far as I can remember, 1 USD was 210 HUF that time. My friend exchanged a hundred dollar and that was around 21,000 Forint. She said if she had this amount in US dollar, she can already tour the whole of Europe. We had a great time in Budapest during our visit.

I am also very good in converting currencies everytime I travel. I always see to it that I know the currency conversion of the country I am traveling. In this way, I will not go over my budget or pocket money when I travel. Thanks to all the information I get from online.

Like any other cities I visited in Europe, Riga is also beautiful. It is the capital of Latvia and also the largest city in the Baltic States.

It was quite a long trip for us that day because we started our journey from Klaipeda, one of the cities in Lithuania. Before that, we had a short sightseeing in one of the famous sights in Klaipeda, the Curonian Split. I will share about this sight in my next post.

Our journey from Klaipeda to Riga was around 300 kilometers. It was really a long trip with the bus but I love it because we can see the surroundings we passed by.

We also had a short stop-over in The Hill of Crosses, near Siauliai. This place was truly amazing. Imagine seeing hundreds of thousands of crosses here of all kinds. Truly unbelievable but so far it is the place where I see thousands of crosses.

We only had a short seeing in Riga but we did saw and experienced a lot including the Old Town with the Roland Statue, House of Black Heads, Town Hall, St. Peter’s Church, Museum of Occupation of Latvia and some other sights in this city.

The city will be the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. The city hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 and the 2006 IIHF Men’s World Ice Hockey Championships.

The House of Blackheads.  This is where the merchants-to-be had their guild. Part of this building is the tourist information office, the rest is a fascinating museum. The upper levels house grand ballrooms while the basement has a wine cellar and several exhibits relating to trading in Riga.

Riga was founded in 1201 by Albert of Bremen as a base for the Northern Crusades. It developed as the major trade hub of the Eastern Baltic during the high days of the Hanseatic League, ruled by the Archbishop of Riga. The Reformation reached Riga in 1522, which ended the Archbishops’ power.

Travels and tours! Vacations  and holidays! One  of the  great things to experience in life  is to travel and see the world. I believed I am one of the lucky ones who  always have the chance and the opportunities to travel. How I wish that I can do it more often. 

Last September 2011, I had the chance to  spend a ten-day holiday in Turkey. It was  not enough to see everything but at least I did saw and experienced a lot.  We landed in Ataturk  International Airport last September  19, 2011 to be exact.  It is  good to be a German citizen because we are no longer  required for a visa to visit Turkey.  Áfter the security control pass,  our tour guide gathered us up at  the airport. We proceeded to our hotel in Kumburgaz. 

Our beds with rattan headboard.

I was surprised because our  room  is furnished with  Rattan Furniture. The headboard of our bed is made of rattan and there is this  Rattan Garden Dining Set  in our  little terrace. I love its setting.

After we freshen up, we proceeded  to one of the function rooms of the hotel  and there, our tour guide shared us some information of what will happen to our 10-day tour in Turkey.  After some questions and clarifications, the meeting was done.

Since our hotel is located some meters away from the beach, we ended up walking there. The temperature was perfect because it was  summer in Turkey. It  also has a swimming pool and a garden. I  noticed their beautiful  Garden Accessories near the pool  including their garden sets that are made of rattan.

The beach in our hotel in Kumburgaz, Turkey.

That trip we had in Turkey was quite cheap  with almost everything included in it. The airfare, hotels to the different places we visited, tour guide, transportation and breakfast and dinner  were already included.

Some of the places we visited include  Izmir, Bursa, Ephesus, Bergama, Troy, Aphrodisias or Aphrodite, Ayvalik and of course Istanbul. More details about this trip in my next posts.

Travels and tours! Vacations  and holidays! One  of the  great things to experience in life  is to travel and see the world. I believed I am one of the lucky ones who  always have the chance and the opportunities to travel. How I wish that I can do it more often. 

Last September 2011, I had the chance to  spend a ten-day holiday in Turkey. It was  not enough to see everything but at least I did saw and experienced a lot.  We landed in Ataturk  International Airport last September  19, 2011 to be exact.  It is  good to be a German citizen because we are no longer  required for a visa to visit Turkey.  Áfter the security control pass,  our tour guide gathered us up at  the airport. We proceeded to our hotel in Kumburgaz. 

Our beds with rattan headboard.

I was surprised because our  room  is furnished with  Rattan Furniture. The headboard of our bed is made of rattan and there is this  Rattan Garden Dining Set  in our  little terrace. I love its setting.

After we freshen up, we proceeded  to one of the function rooms of the hotel  and there, our tour guide shared us some information of what will happen to our 10-day tour in Turkey.  After some questions and clarifications, the meeting was done.

Since our hotel is located some meters away from the beach, we ended up walking there. The temperature was perfect because it was  summer in Turkey. It  also has a swimming pool and a garden. I  noticed their beautiful  Garden Accessories near the pool  including their garden sets that are made of rattan.

The beach in our hotel in Kumburgaz, Turkey.

That trip we had in Turkey was quite cheap  with almost everything included in it. The airfare, hotels to the different places we visited, tour guide, transportation and breakfast and dinner  were already included.

Some of the places we visited include  Izmir, Bursa, Ephesus, Bergama, Troy, Aphrodisias or Aphrodite, Ayvalik and of course Istanbul. More details about this trip in my next posts.

There are always a lot of things we discover when we travel. I hope do you the same. We learn how the people live in a certain place, its culture and tradition and some other things that might be of interest to us.

I just remember my recent trip in the United States. Some of the places I visited are San Francisco, Union City, Oakland, Berkeley and some other more.

One day, I and my sister drove with a friend to San Mateo, a city in San Mateo County in California. Our new friend Mary had a doctor’s appointment that time to this city. While she was at the hospital, I and my sister decided to go a bit walking in San Mateo. It was maybe around an hour walk.

After our friend’s doctor’s appointment, we proceeded to Stanford and Sta. Clara and had a dinner in Burlingame. It was truly a great day for us.

Here are some snapshots from San Mateo.

These looked like old historical buildings in San  Mateo. It reminds me of Europe.

The Century park Plaza in San Mateo.

Are there another travel plans going on in here? Talking about travel plans, yes, there are a lot of plans  but the problem is when? But I guarantee there will be for sure short travels to happen before 2012  will end. Before it will happen, I need  our garden get ready first this autumn time and before  winter comes. I can still see some flowers in our garden and I need to slowly cut it down before the snow falls. A lot are already withering and slowly dying due to cold autumn time.

Last week, I already started to put all the plants and flowers from our terrace inside the house. I also started to gather some of our garden decors. The plants need to be trimmed down so it won’t break when the snow starts to fall down this winter. There are still a lot of things to be done in our garden these days and I am thankful that we already started to do it.

The empty flower pots, pails, bags of garden soil and other garden accessories and decorations must also be stored in a cool place. We always put it in our old garage. I don’t know if we still need to mow our garden this autumn time. I guess we did not do it last year because we were too busy with some home renovations.

If all the things above will be done soon, I can say that I am ready this coming winter season and for the spring time to come next year. I still need to check next spring all the flowers that I wanted in our garden. For sure, more garden accessories are also coming soon!

For now, let me just enjoy the beauty of autumn time with its beautiful and colourful surroundings.  I always love it. Keep yourself warm especially if you are outside and  when you walk around!

Our patio, the garden set  still needs to be cleaned and kept  in our old garage. Some of the flowers are slowly dying due to cold autumn weather.

For my next travel, I would love to keep it secret for now. Have a lovely day to all!

My vacation in the United States is over. I am already backed home since two and a half weeks. There are a lot of happy and memorable moments I had especially the trips I experienced to the different places in the US.  My longest stay is  in Las Vegas, the city which is called as “The Gaming and Entertainment Capital of the World”. I can’t imagine that I already visited it for the second time. I feel so lucky everytime I think of it.

Don’t you know that I have some favorite hotels where I always go for sightseeing in Las Vegas Strip? Here is the list;

Caesars Palace– Everytime I go there, I always feel like I am in Rome, Italy especially if I visit the replica of the Trevi Fountain. Sightseeing alone in this hotel is not enough for a day especially if you want to entertain yourself in its playground. I guess you know what I mean about it. I am not really into gambling but more on sightseeing and window shopping.

The statue with fountain  in front of the reception in Caesars Palace Hotel.

Caesars Palace has around 3,960 rooms. I can’t imagine how elegant and beautiful are the Furniture in each hotel rooms especially in its suites. You will never get bored when you are inside because there are just a lot of things to see and experience like shopping, dining, shows and entertainment or simply go walking around.

The Bellagio– There are a lot of things why I keep on coming back to this luxury hotel. I love watching the Fountains of Bellagio. I also feel in love with its Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. I feel like I am in paradise when I see the plants and flowers inside with some Indoor Water Features like fountains. These attractions in Bellagio are truly worth to see. I wish to have an overnight in this hotel in my next visit.

The Fountains of Bellagio at Night. Fantastic show!

The Mirage– This hotel has 3,044 rooms and is located in Las Vegas Strip. I love this place because of its attraction especially the Atrium. There you can find numerous palm trees, water features and other rainforest flora. I think something is missing inside, a Garden Furniture where you can sit and relax while watching the nature inside the Atrium. Probably in my next visit there..Just kidding folks!

Mirage has a lot of attractions including its artificial volcano, Aquarium, Cirque du Soleil and more.

The Grand Canal Shops at  the Venetian Las Vegas.

The Venetian Las Vegas– If you want to feel like visiting Venice, Italy, he Venetian hotel is the best place for you. You will feel like you are in Venice here because this hotel is patterned after this city. The Rialto Bridge, St. Mark’s Square, the Grand Canal with its Gondola Ride, can be seen and  experienced  there. This hotel also features a lifelike replica tower of St. Mark’s Campanile in Venice.