Invitations

I had quite a tiring day today.  There are a lot of things to do both online and offline. The weather was also so hot outside today but thanks to our old stone house where you feel like you are inside an airconditioned room.

Anyway back to the main topic. This is one thing I love in my life in Europe.  I received a lot of invitations the past days  from  events, gatherings, birthday parties,  group travel and shopping escapade. The biggest  deal for me is  the invitation for a birthday party  next week.  I am planning to make customized gift cards as presents. This sounds unique and I already experienced doing it before.

Yesterday, I also received a call for a trip but my friend in facebook sent me a message that it won't push through. I guess not so many people are coming. There will also be an event tomorrow for a Pinoy Summer Festival. I will try my best to come when all my assignments are done.

I guess that is all for now. Thanks to all my friends for  always remembering  me thru invitations of any kind.  I truly appreciate it. Have a nice weekend ahead!

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Euro Travel in Vernazza, Italy

I was asked many times by friends who went with me  during our spring trip to Italy,  if there will be a trip like what we had there  last year. One of the places we visited was Vernazza in Italy. First time to hear about this place? It is actually one of the 5 villages of Cinque Terre. It is the fourth town heading north...It has no car  traffic and you can go there with a train or by foot.

Vernazza is located in the province of La Spezia in Liguria, Italy. It is a famous fishing village.

With regards to my first sentence here, I told my friends that I will let them know once  I can find the same trip like what we had last year. I also want to experience the same trip again.

I took some images from  Vernazza as  proofs that I was there. Here they are!

It is very interesting to know that some house owners made their home a store. That is quite a good idea.

The Cinque Terre  signed in Vernazza, Italy.

This little village along with the other 4 Cinque Terre villages are very famous for tourists and visitors. The windows of the houses where they  hang and dry their clothes looks interesting.

All these images was taken during our visit last April 2011.

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Top Places To Visit in Norway

Getting ready for another trip? How about Norway? It  is one of the  five  Scandinavian countries along with  Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.  It does not belong to the European Union countries but it is a member of the Schengen Agreement. This country is  famous for the complex and deep fjords along its west coast. Traveling Norway can be a promising experience since it is known for its amazing and varied scenery.

Here are the top places  I wish to Visit in Norway.

Oslo

Everytime I visit a certain country especially in Europe, my first target is always its capital city. That is why the first city that  I wish to visit in Norway is Oslo. It is the largest city of Norway and the third largest city of Scandinavia. This city rank among the most expensive city in the world but I am quite sure that  we can find there budget hotels during your stay.

There are a lot of things to see and experience in Oslo. You might want to go for a walk in one of its park. A visit to its Royal Palace, the Oslo Cathedral, the University of Oslo and other interesting buildings and architecture here are recommended. This is a good news to all museum-lovers, visiting the museums in Oslo is free. Not only that, Oslo has a lot of interesting museums to visit. For sure, you will have a great time in this city.

Various discount airlines fly to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Depending on your departure city, you can always find cheap airfares especially when planning booking for your trip  ahead of time.

Oslo, Norway. taken by my fb friend Bernard.

Trondheim

Another old but beautiful city worth to visit in Norway. It is considered to be the oldest of Norway's major cities. You can experience everything in this city from music to arts, culture, nightlife, student life... all combines into making Trondheim one of the most exciting city centers of Northern Europe.

I will not surely miss the marvellous Nidaros Cathedral, the second largest church of Northern Europe when I visit this city.

Bergen

Another wonderful city to visit is Bergen. It is very famous for its beautiful nature and lovely surroundings. A walk or a hike around the area will give its visitor an unforgettable adventure trip. There are a lot of attractions in this city. Pick the ones that you like most especially if you are only visiting  for a day or two.

Kristiansand

This city is called “the jolly capital of the South”. Its nickname simply catch my attention. This city is sometimes called as Kristiansand S to distinguish Kristiansund in western Norway. S stands for South. I would love to experience the largest festival in Norway which is held in this city. It is called the Quart Festival, a multi-day music festival.


For you holidays to Norway, don't miss to read airline reviews before booking your ticket. There are a lot of affordable airlines that fly to all major aiports in Norway.

Other interesting places to see are Bodø, Drammen, Tromso, Nordkapp, Stavanger, Lofoten and Drammen.

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Visit to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain

We are finally backed from our trip in Spain. It was a long and tiring trip we had but it was all worth-it. It was again another dream came true when I visited Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia region. This city is also the second largest in Spain after Madrid. This is another interesting city I visited in Europe. A day trip in this city is not enough to see everything. This is also the reason why I would love to visit it again in the future.

One of the sights we visited was the Sagrada Familia. This famous architecture  commissioned by Antonio Gaudi is now listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since November 2010. This architecture is truly amazing. Called as Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family or Basílica y Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia in Spanish, this is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona.

I am still quite tired from our Spain trip. For now, I would just like to share some images taken from Barcelona. More travel stories and updates to come in my other travel blogs below;

See The World
Travel Euroasia
Europe Travel Pad

 

View of the Nativity façade during our day trip to Barcelona last July 14, 2012.

a detail of the  Nativity part of Sagrada Familia. 

The style of la Sagrada Familia is variously likened to Spanish Late Gothic, Catalan Modernism and to Art Nouveau or Catalan Noucentisme. While the Sagrada Família falls within the Art Nouveau period, Nikolaus Pevsner points out that, along with Charles Rennie Macintosh in Glasgow, Gaudí carried the Art Nouveau style far beyond its usual application as a surface decoration. wikipedia.

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Garden Stuffs

I love the new patio in our garden. Sad to say, we can no longer install our gazebo because it was replaced with this new patio. I love that gazebo design i found in the garden center but I can no longer have one. We actually still have a room for a gazebo in our garden but hubby don't want to have one in that area. If I don't get very busy next year in summer, I would love to have that gazebo back in our garden. Another project that is still waiting is a little garden house. I can still wait till hubby built one.

The Poppy Peridot flowers were also gone now.

White tulips from our garden last spring time. They were gone now.

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The Würzburg Residence

So far, this is one of the most beautiful palaces I visited in Germany. The Residence in Wüzburg is truly a work of art. I have been there for a lot of times but it was only during my recent visit last  July 2, 2012 when I had the chance to go inside the palace. Sad to say, taking photographs  is not allowed inside the building.


Interiors include the grand staircase, the chapel, and the grand salon. The building was dubbed the "nicest parsonage in Europe" by Napoleon. It was heavily damaged during World War II, and restoration has been in progress since 1945.

I was actually touring  relatives of  friends who came to visit Europe for some days.  One of the cities I showed them was Würzburg. It was so far a  wonderful time I had with them.

Here are some of  the snaphots I took during our recent visit last week.

Garden façade of the Residenz. This looks more beautiful when all the roses in the  garden are blooming.

Court  of the Residenz in Würzburg, Germany.

 

The front  of the Residenz and the Cour d'Honneur

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Travelling from U.S. To Europe

Most of the time  planning  our trip ahead of time  to  any destinations  around the world  will surely save  us time and  money. We also avoid stress and hassles in searching for cheap flights and accommodation.  Taking for example my friends who were  looking for Cheap flights from Florida to Italy, they had a hard time looking for cheap trips  because they  made their  bookings  too late.   Always remember not all last minute travels are cheap especially going to Europe.

The St. Mark's Basilica in the middle and the Ducal Palace on the right side. This was taken as we toured a friend from the U.S.  last summer 2011.  This was already my third time in Venice, Italy and I always love to visit  this beautiful city.

I  had a friend who toured  Europe last 2010. She already informed me  starting late  2009 that she will be visiting Europe.  I told her that she can avail of cheap travels if she will plan it ahead of time. I helped her in trying to find Cheap flights from New York City to Paris including cheap accommodations. She visited Europe last August 2010  but she bought  her plane ticket in February of the same year.  Imagine that  is almost 6 months advance  of buying her ticket  and she  truly found a cheap flight to Europe.

I accompanied her in her travels during that time.   I also helped her in finding cheap hotels and accommodations, plane tickets from one European city to another and  train tickets as well. We visited  6 countries in Europe including Italy,  France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.  Imagine spending only around 1,500.00 Euros for three weeks in these 6 countries  with everything in it.  We really had some good travel deals during that Europe tour we had last summer 2010.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Seine River that flows in this city. This was taken during  my  second visit in France capital  together  with a friend from the U.S.

This is what I have been telling to some friends who wish to make a tour in Europe, always plan it ahead of time and for sure they can save time, money and effort. If you are travelling from U.S. or any parts  of the globe  to Europe, always remember to  plan everything ahead  of  time.

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