June 2, 2015

Tanya's Daily Scoop
TRIP COUNTDOWN
Next Trip Departs In: 4 days

I wanna go EVERYWHERE!

Hello Hello!
By now you probably know just how much Elisa and I love the Tuesday Daily - because it's TRAVELIN' TUESDAY...duh

And as much as we love planning our trips, we love sharing them with you!

While I have 2 up coming trips (Lake Tahoe, and San Francisco) before I'm on my way to be on the same schedule as Elisa. 
She has shared a great deal of information today on our upcoming trip to Europe, and I will go ahead and share "other" stuff. Travel stuff of course! (insert wink here)

Hotels Hotels Hotels and New emerging plans!!!

I am so relieved that I got so many bookings taken care of over the past few days. 

San Francisco - Done
Road Trip to the MLB All-Star Game - Done
Puerto Rico - Done
Dallas - Done

Plans are all set for our road trip from NYC to Cincinnati. Yay! More on this trip as it approaches.

And the plans that I have been carving out have actually been for our Spring 2016 Trip back to the Azores and to the mainland Portugal and beyond (Spain, France, and Andorra)!!!

A few sights that I'm excited about and that I have already put on our working itinerary are:

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain

credit guggenheim.org

San Juan De Gaxtelgatxe on Gaxtelgatxe Island, Spain

credit: es.wiki

Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, Spain

credit: earthxplorer.com

The never ending works of Gaudi at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain

credit: suitelife.com

More Gaudi at Parc Guell in Barcelona, Spain

credit: telegrapgh.co.uk

Another Gaudi - La Pedrera in Barcelona, Spain

credit: cntraveller.com

Claude Monet's Garden at Giverny in Giverny, France

credit: giverny.org

And return visits to places like Saint Chartres in Chartres, France

Honfleur, France (gotta go and get some amazing bretzels!) Read Elisa's TBT story on her visit to Honfleur HERE

And one of my favorites...
Mont Saint Michel, France

How can I not be excited with all of this amazing travel in my future?!

I hope that you've enjoyed reading about my plans and that you read all about my plans with Elisa as she's shared them with you today!

And if you enjoy seeing travel pictures anywhere near as much as I do, then please check out my PHOTO GALLERY - as new pictures as ALWAYS being added.

So while I was at it yesterday I had asked the kids a few travel related questions and here's what I came up with...

NAME THE TOP 3 PLACES THAT WE TRAVEL TO?

DOMINIC:
ICELAND
QUEBEC, CANADA
LIECHTENSTEIN

COSETTE:
ITALY
NEW YORK
HAWAII

NAME THE TOP 3 PLACES THAT YOU'VE NEVER BEEN THAT YOU WANT TO GO?

DOMINIC:
IRELAND
ALASKA
ENGLAND

COSETTE:
FRANCE
GREECE
TAHITI 

ALWAYS GREAT TO HEAR FEEDBACK FROM THE KIDS!

And not to worry about it - I'll be working on getting their lists into action too!!!

As for today it is another stable day, we are heading out to see Dream and Star this afternoon... I'm pretty sure that Jet and Chaplin are coming with us!

Silly kids!

A butterfly landed on Jet's hand yesterday!

That's about all for today! Catch ya back here tomorrow for more fun!

I'm outta here,
-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
TRIP COUNTDOWN
Next Trip Departs In: 22 Days

Travelin' Tuesday is here!! 
Welcome back folks!!

I have some fun stuff to share with you today!
My week started off great - not thrilled about the nasty, rainy weather we had yesterday, but other than that, it was a productive day.

I mentioned yesterday that I decided to consult with one of my favorite books: 
1000 Places to See Before You Die and check out what it says about the cities I will be visiting on my upcoming Milestone Birthday Eastern Europe Trip.

Here is the lowdown on what I found...
Thanks to Patricia Schultz for putting this amazing collection of “MUST SEE” places around the world in her book - below are her suggestions for the cities of Prague, Krakow, Budapest and Vienna. 

This was nothing noted in the book about Bratislava, but I know there are amazing sights we will be seeing!

I've highlighted in RED those sights that are already on mine and Tanya's itinerary.  We will have to chat to see how we can fit in those that are not.

Prague, Czech Republic 
> Castle District
Considered by many to be one of the most beautiful sights in all of Europe, located above the Vltava River. In this area are found:
      * Charles Bridge
Commissioned in 1357, this medieval bridge is one of Prague’s mot recognized icons.  It spans the Vltava River from the Old Town to the Lesser Town that leads up to Prague Castle.
      * The Old Town Square
It lies on the east bank of the Vltava River just off the Charles Bridge and is the heart of Prague.  I twas the neighborhood of Franz Kafka.  

It houses the 200-feet high Prague Tower with the 600 year old Astronomical clock and a panoramic view from the top of the “City of One Hundred Spires” It is also the home of the 14th Century Church of Our Lady of Tyn.
      * The Royal Palace
The Old Royal Palace is part of the Prague Castle, Czech Republic. Its history dates back to the 12th century and it is designed in the Gothic and Renaissance styles
    *  St George’s Basilica
Houses the ancient collection of Czech art
     * Sternberk Palace
Houses six centuries of European art.
      * Prague Castle
this fortresslike collection of buildings and courtyards which dates back to the 10th Century.  The spiritual center is the 14th Century St. Wenceslas Cathedral, the patron saint of Bohemia.              
        * St. Vitus Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert is a Roman Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, the seat of the Archbishop of Prague.
 
> U Fleku
Prague’s oldest and oat famous beer hall. It is comprised of six large tavernilke roos of communal tables, outside gardens and shade trees. 

> Estates Theatre
This theatre was a magnet for classical musicians for centuries. Gustave Flaubert is quoted as saying “the three most beautiful things ever created in this world are the sea, Hamlet, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni” - and Tanya and I have tickets to see this amazing Opera at this theatre in the City of Music, while in Prague.
  

PRAGUE TOWER, PRAGUE

ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL, PRAGUE (wikipedia)

Krakow, Poland
> Rynek Glowny
The Main Square in Krakow, there are may sites within this area and we plan to spend our first day in Krakow strolling around Rynek Glowny.

> Wawel Hill & Cathedral
People lived on the Wawel Hill at least as early as fifty thousand years ago.

The Wawel Cathedral, "Katedra Wawelska" in Polish, was the coronation site of Polish monarchs and remains Poland's most important national sanctuary. Thanks to its 1000-year-old history and numerous treasures the Krakow cathedral is arguably the most interesting place in the whole country, with the adjacent Wawel Royal Castle being the close second.

WAWEL HILL CATHEDRAL (en.wikipedia)

Budapest, Hungary
> Castle Hill
Castle Hill, known as Várhegy in Hungarian, was first settled in the thirteenth century. It includes not only the Castle but also Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church, there is an entire town & community up in this area.
Royal Palace (Királyi palota). Probably the most popular attraction on Castle Hill.  
Today, Buda Castle is home to the Hungarian National Library, the Budapest History Museum and the National Library. 

Other attractions include the Lion Courtyard; the Matthias Well, a bronze statue of King Matthias; and the statue of the Turul Bird, the mythological bird of the Magyars.

> Danube Bend
The Danube bend, just north of Budapest, is perfect for daytrips for those who want to see more of Hungary outside its capital. It is called the Danube Bend because if you take a look at a map of Hungary you see that between Esztergom and Szentendre the river turns sharply south in the direction of Budapest.

> Gerbeaud Cafe
The famous Gerbeaud Cafe on Vörösmarty Square in downtown Budapest looks back to more than 150 years of history.

> Hotel Gellert  
The hotel was erected on the right bank of the river Danube between 1916 and 1918 and  is one of the most famous historical hotels in Europe.

> Grundel (Famous Restaurant) 
Gundel Restaurant (Gundel Etterem) bears aristocratic majesty in its several rooms with antique furniture, walls, glasswork.

DANUBE BEND (minibusbudapest.com)

FISHERMAN'S BASTION, BUDAPEST (fishermansbastion.com)

Vienna, Austria
> The Imperial Apartments
This was the home of Emperor Franz-Josef in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

> Lipizzaner Horses of The Spanish Riding School
Founded in 1572, the Spanishe Reitschule preserves classic dressage.  Morning exercises are open tot he public.

> The Treasury 
The collection includes the imperial crowns of the Holy Roman and Austrian empires and select treasures from the house of Burgundy and the Order of the Golden Fleece.

> Vienna Boys’ Choir at the Hofburgkapelle
Dating back to 1498, the choir has performed internationally since 1926.

> Albertina Museum
The Albertina contains one of the world’s largest collections of graphic art as well as approximately 25,000 architectural drawings and a new photography collection.

> Belvedere Palace 
This sight  was actually two 18th-century palaces separated by landscaped gardens featuring both Viennese art and Gothic and Baroque.

> Kunsthistorisches Museum
The art collection has works from the ancient world and all over Europe - from Italian and Femish collections and the world’s largest collection of paintings by Pieter Brueghel the elder.

> St. Stephens’ Cathedral
This edifice dominates Vienna’s city skyline with its towering Gothic spires and contains monuments, sculptures and paintings.  Catacomb tours are also available daily.

> Schloss Schönbrunn
Built by the Hapsburgs between 1696 and 1712, this palace contains 1441 rooms but only 40 rooms are open to the public.The grounds were opened to the public in 1779 and contain a hedge maze, reproduction Roman ruins, a botanical garden and a zoo.

> The Stoatsoper (Vienna State Opera)
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera.

There are also a few Eateries on the list:
a) Demel and Sacher’s - Open since 1887. Known for their five-layer chocolate Anna torte and the chocolate Sacher torte.
b) Hawelka Cafe - Known as the prototype for the European cafe culture.
c) The Heuriger Experience - These alfresco wine taverns are located along the edge of the nearby Vienna Woods, filled with bonhomie, singing and Viennese accordion. 

THE STOATSOPER (VIENNA STATE OPERA) (viennaconcerts.com)

SPANISH RIDING SCHOOL, VIENNA FEATURING THE LIPIZZANER HORSES (thirteen.org)

As you can plainly see, Vienna clearly has the most number of sites on the list from this book. 

I hope you enjoyed all the information about what Patricia Schultz has to say about places to see in these four European cities.  So much to truly see everywhere in the world!!

That's all folks for today!!
See ya back here tomorrow for W2GW!!

-E
xoxo