The Westminster Abbey in London, England

I might not be able to witness personally the wedding of Prince William and Kate today, April 29, 2011 in London, England but I am appy to see once in my life the church where their wedding took place.

The Westminster Abbey, also called as The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster is a church with a Gothic architecture. It is located in Westminster, London, England (UK), located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.

I had a wonderful trip in England last Autumn 2008 and one of the sights I enabled to visit was the historical Westminster Abbey. More updates to come soon!

Lastly, best wishes to the newly wed, Prince William and Kate. Thanks to the live program of ZDF. I was able to watch almost the whole ceremony.

taking a pose at Westminster Abbey in London, England. I was there!

The Westminster Abbey is a traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth realms. The abbey is a Royal Peculiar and briefly held the status of a cathedral from 1546 to 1556.

taken during my three weeks vacation in England last 2008. I am happy to be there! Thanks to my friend Dae Loy for taking pictures of me. truly appreciated!

The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine "Kate" Middleton began at Westminster Abbey on Friday, 29 April 2011 at 11:00 am BST (UTC+1). Prince William, who is second in the British line of Succesion to Queen Elizabeth II, first met Middleton in 2001, while both were students at the University of St Andrews. Their engagement, which began on 20 October 2010, was announced on 16 November 2010. wikipedia.

Read More

Travel Souvenirs from Monaco

What do you do when you travel? Of course, there are a lot of things to do and experience. Some might only love seeing the sights of a certain place. Some want to experience the specialty or local delicacies of that place. Others might want to go shopping.

Monaco, officially known as the Principality of Monaco is one of the beautiful countries I visited in Europe. It is the second smallest country in the world, next to Vatican City.

I did some shopping in Monaco especially for travel souvenirs like postcards, magnet, caps and shirts. I would love to have some personalized key chains from that country but I don't find a shop that is making such souvenirs. Thanks to Personal Creations who gave me an idea of on how to make personalized travel souvenirs. I wish to visit again Monaco in the future.

Read More

Winter Visit to Neuschwanstein Castle in Hohenschwangau, Bavaria

The Neuschwanstein Castle is the famous castle commissioned by King Ludiwg II, king of Bavaria, Germany in 1868. More than a million of tourists and visitors from all over the world visit the castle every year.

The Schloss Neuschwanstein, as it is called in German, is located on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. It was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Neuschwanstein as seen from the valley. This was taken during my second visit to the castle last winter 2010.

The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.

the main entrance of the castle.

Read More

Pasta Italiana

It was so far one of the best vacation I had. The beautiful Cote d' Azur or French Riviera in France and the Blumenriviera in Italy simply captured my heart. One of the best thing that I experienced was the different pasta that we ate every dinner time. I never ate so many Italian pasta in my life but only during that vacation. Breakfast and dinner were included during that trip and it was truly a very cheap holiday. I guess, I need Lipofuze this time to get rid of the extra pounds I gained again during that vacation. This is only the problem because everytime I travel, I always have the appetite to eat. I always wanted to sample especially the specialties of a certain place.

Don't you know that there are around 1,500 to 2,000 kinds of Italian pasta. This is what our tour guide mentioned to us as we were passing Savona in Italy. I wish to share more of that spring vacation in my other travel sites.

Read More

Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Rome, Italy

I always feel happy everytime I remember my past travels. Thanks to the creation of digital cameras where we can always turn back time by viewing over and over again our travel images.

I have here an image of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Rome, Italy. It is called in Italian as The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland).

This was taken during my Europe tour with a friend last August 2010.

It is a monument to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. The monument was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885; sculpture for it was parceled out to established sculptors all over Italy, such as Angelo Zanelli. It was inaugurated in 1911 and completed in 1935.

The monument, "chopped with terrible brutality into the immensely complicated fabric of the hill", is built of pure white marble from Botticino, Brescia, and features majestic stairways, tall Corinthian columns, fountains, a huge equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. The structure is 135 m (443 ft) wide and 70 m (230 ft) high. If the quadrigae and winged victories are included, the height is to 81 m (266 ft). credit

Read More

View From Our Hotel in Pietra Ligure, Italy

Happy Easter everyone! I guess, I am still having a jetlag or buslag, whatever it is called, at the moment. The last vacation that I had is still in my system. It was truly an amazing trip after visiting some countries in Europe. The view alone from our hotel was already priceless. I never think about dehumidifier because the place where we stayed is fine and the weather was perfect during that trip.

We stayed in Pietra Ligure, a municipality in the Province of Savona in the region of Liguria in Italy. I love that place and it always reminds me of my home. Some hills around and the sea, it was simply beautiful. I hope to share some more updates here and in my other travel sites.

Have a lovely week to all!

Read More

The Regensburg Cathedral in Bavaria, Germany

The Regensburger Dom or Regensburg Cathedral is a prime example of Gothic architecture in southern Germany. It is dedicated to St. Peter and considered to be the famous landmark of the city Regensburg in the state of Bavaria, Germany.

view of Regensburg Cathedral in the foreground the Donau or Danube River. taken during our visit last August 2010.

The Cathedral is also the burial place of important bishops, including Johann Michael von Sailer (1829-1832, memorial built by Konrad Eberhard in the south chancel), Georg Michael Wittmann (1832-1833, memorial also by Konrad Eberhard in the north chancel), and Archbishop Michael Buchberger (1927-1961, likewise in the north chancel). In the western part of the central nave stands a bronze memorial for the Prince-Bishop Cardinal Philipp Wilhelm (d. 1598), the brother of Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. wikipedia

Read More