My Travel ABC's

I saw Mandi's ABC travel list and was immediately inspired! So here's a little ABC on my travels!

Age you went on your first international trip.
From early on in life I talked about going to Paris.  I can remember being 7 or 8 and saving my allowance for my Paris trip.  I didn't actually leave the country (unless you count Canada but back then you didn't need a passport so I'm not counting it) until I was 20 when I visited my college roommate in London (she was doing a study abroad program).  I didn't make it to Paris until after I graduated from college.

Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where.
I'm not a huge beer drinker but I have to say Kolsch in Cologne and most recently the fruity beers I had in Belgium are probably my favorite.  Oh, but wait!  I'm forgetting my all-time favorite!  And I've only found this in the UK - cider with black currant (I think it's called a snake bite).  Delicious!  Funny about this drink?  When one of my co-workers ordered it for me, they had to qualify it was for a girl.  Cider is like beer, right? 

Me & Diane enjoying our cider with black currant in London

Cuisine (favorite).
I'm sure this comes as quite a shock, but Italian!!  If I were ever to write a travel book it would be filled with pizzerias (and gelato and cappuccinos!).

Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why.
I have lots of favorites, but probably my number one favorite is London.  I'm definitely an Anglophile and have been most of my life.  Plus as soon as I get to London I feel like I'm home.  Least favorite?  A few years ago it would have been Venice, hands down.  I went for the first time in the middle of summer and it was so hot and super smelly.  But then a few years ago I went back (in the winter) and it was much better but still not in my top ten.

Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”.
I had a hard time with this one...  Although I would probably say the view from the airplane on my first trip into London.  Looking down as the plane came in for a landing I knew I had found my second home.

Favorite mode of transportation.
I love the metro.  While I was living in London I got so used to being able to take the Tube pretty much anywhere I needed.  Add in another brief stint in Bonn and using their metro.  A close second would be trains.  I really do enjoy a good train ride.

Greatest feeling while traveling.
Getting to learn about a new place and experiencing new things.

Hottest place you’ve traveled to.
So this probably isn't the hottest place I traveled to but it is the one that stands out.  My first time to Italy was in the middle of July and being from the Pacific Northwest I had never really experienced heat and humidity until then.  It stuck out because when I got home from this trip I was moving to Houston (where it was hot and humid) and I just kept thinking how am I ever going to survive living in weather like this.

Incredible service you’ve experienced and where.
Jana & I have experienced a couple of great waiters (one in London, one in Vienna, and one in Zagreb) and I think my favorite was the one in Vienna who gave us Hotel Sacher pens (we were eating in the hotel cafe).

Journey that took the longest.
I think one of my trips home from Bonn I had to transfer a couple of times and I think a plane was delayed.  It just seemed to take forever before I finally got home.

Keepsake from your travels.
I love postcards!!! I send most of them out, but I usually keep one or two.  My other keepsake would be magnets.

Let-down sight, why and where.
El Greco's house in Toledo, Spain - it might not have been a let down, but I wouldn't know since we never found it!!  We searched and searched but to no avail.

Moment where you fell in love with travel.
I'd probably have to go back to the plane landing in London on my first ever trip.  Although hearing my parents talk about their official honeymoon (they bicycled around Europe for two months) probably instilled a love of travel in me from very early on.

Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in.
I don't know - it was probably a work hotel but I'm not remembering any that stand out so maybe the hotel in Budapest (it was brand new and gorgeous!).

Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?
I love taking pictures!!  This might be a tie between food (especially cappuccinos) and doors.

Mmm, cappuccino

Santorini, Greece

Passport stamps, how many and from where?
From my latest passport, I have 32 stamps (UK, Ireland, Germany, Croatia, Greece, Mexico, Austria, and Italy and a few others that I can't read what the stamp says).

Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where.

I'm totally copying Mandi on this one but the catacombs in Paris.  Similarly the crypt of the Cappuccin monks in Rome.  Lots of bones, some just stacked, some artfully arranged.

Recommended sight, event or experience.

I don't know if I can narrow this down - Tower of London is probably one of my favorite places to visit as is the Eiffel Tower.

Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling.

So I'm going to copy Mandi again on this one and say food.  You have to eat, and why not enjoy it! :)

Touristy thing you’ve done.

You name it, I've done it! :)  Disneyland Paris, maybe?  Or the Eiffel Tower?  The Colosseum?  Taking pictures of everything and anything?  Oh, I've got loads of examples.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle - Disneyland, Paris

Unforgettable travel memory.

The ruined Moorish Castle in Sintra, Portugal.  We climbed all over the ruins and just had a grand old time.

Moorish Castle Ruins

Visas, how many and for where?

I don't think I've had any visas - but I have had 2 work permits - one for when I was in London and one for when I was in Bonn, Germany.

Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?
I think when my colleagues took me to a winery near Bonn.  I don't remember the name of it.

eXcellent view and from where?

The London Eye - looking out over Parliament.  It's just like the Peter Pan ride!  Only for real! :)  Cabo da Roca in Portugal - the most western part of Europe - looking out and seeing nothing but ocean for miles and miles.  Oh, and how could I forget?  The view from our own private terrace at our hotel in Lisbon.  The view was nice, but having our breakfast every morning and enjoying the view was fantastic!!

View from the London Eye

 

Cabo da Roca

Lisbon, Portugal

Years spent traveling?

Since that fateful trip to London way back in 1997, I don't think I've stopped traveling!  

Zealous sports fans and where? Hm, this would have to be a toss up between the Germans and the Brits.  Both are pretty zealous.

Cannon Beach

For President's Day I decided to head down to the Oregon Coast for the weekend. My plans were simple - to relax, read, and take pictures. Normally I set my camera on auto and snap away, but this time I wanted to play with features, maybe change an aperture or shutter speed. I had been reading up on my new favorite site, The Pioneer Woman, all sorts of tips on how to take your camera manual. A good thing to remember when your plan is to expand your picture taking horizons is the manual for your camera. Whoops! I did still play around with my camera features but not to the extent I was hoping to.

I decided too late to decide to go to Cannon Beach and so I wasn't able to get a ocean view room, so instead of splurging on a hotel room I decided to splurge and get two massages! I arrived on Friday afternoon just in time for sunset and spent time on the beach until my fingers were cold. There was a seafood restaurant across the street from the hotel so I walked over there for dinner.

Saturday morning I woke up and started the day off by taking a run on the beach. I then grabbed my camera and spent time on the beach. Next up - a massage! Ahhh, it was fantastic! Although the masseuse would ask me random questions just when I was about to fall asleep. Afterwards I drove out to Ecola State Park, as from there you can see the lighthouse, which is a few miles offshore. As I got out of my car I felt the wind and saw the very ominous clouds. And then it started raining - the rain was biting, pelting rain and the wind was driving it sideways. I looked around a bit, but really couldn't see anything so I jumped back into my car. The rain subsided a bit so I drove to the next parking lot and looked around a bit. There was a trail I could have taken to see the lighthouse but as it was still threatening to rain I decided to drive back to town for lunch and to look around. The sun eventually came back out and I spent a lot of time walking on the beach before once again noticing the dark clouds. I headed back for the hotel and was almost there when the rain started. This rain, however, came with a huge rainbow over the hotel. Beautiful!

Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday - run on the beach, walking out to Haystack rock, playing on the rocks uncovered by low tide and then a massage. Ahh. As I was walking off the beach I saw one more sand dollar (I loved finding sand dollars as a little girl) and bent down to take a picture. As I walked off a little girl ran up to see the sand dollar and picked it up and added it to her collection. Some things never change! I checked out and began the drive back to Seattle. And that ends my weekend away. You can see more pictures here, but be forewarned they are much more of the same.

And why has it taken me so long to post? Well, I got back to Seattle and my throat was hurting. Thinking I was coming down with a cold, I drank some OJ and went to bed. Unfortunately it wasn't a cold, but instead strep throat. Yuck! The medicine is doing its job and I am on the mend!

Sneak Peek

I'm back!  Where was I this time?  Vienna & Budapest, with a stop in Bratislava.  With Christmas, work, etc., it is shaping up to be a busy week and I'm not sure when I'll get to my pictures or a trip report but thought I would post this sneak peek.  

My feet in Buda & Pest!

I wasn't sure it would turn out, but I think I like it.  More to come...

Au revoir

Where in the world am I going now? I'm sure to no one's big surprise I'm off across the pond again. This time it is Paris and Hamburg with my dad. We've been talking about visiting relatives in Hamburg for years now and finally decided to do it this year. First stop will be Paris - while Paris has now moved down to about #4 or #5 on my favorite city list (depending on if it is day or night), it is my dad's favorite city. We are going to try and make it out to Giverny (Monet's house) which I am very excited about as it is spring-ish and the flowers should be blooming. I'm also excited about cappuccinos and crepes! :-)

Where to next?

It always seems to happen. I get really busy at work and all I can think about is vacation! Even though I'm leaving in a month for Italy, I'm already itching to plan the next one! The short list for next year's annual vacation in November is:

Vienna & Zurich
Budapest & Warsaw
Stockholm & Oslo

For fun I've added a poll asking for input on where I should go! It's located to the left under the about me section.

Other places on my long "in my lifetime" list are (in no particular order):
Fall Leaves in New England
Macchu Piccu (Peru)
Christ the Reedemer statue (Brazil)
The family house in Germany (on my dad's side)
Great Wall of China
Pyramids
Hawaii
Australia
New Zealand
Tokyo (and of course Tokyo Disney!)

Where I've Been

I saw this on my friend's website. I've actually been looking for something like this to map out where I've been. As you can see, there is a lot more of the world left for me to see!



create your own visited countries map

And here's just the good ol' US of A. The west coast I've visited, the rest of the country I need to work on.



create your own visited states map

At the airport

It's the end of my trip and I'm at Heathrow airport waiting for my flight to take me home. It's always with mixed emotions that I greet the end of a vacation. On the one hand it's always nice to sleep in your own bed and be able to do laundry. And after this trip, I'm looking forward to hot water and water pressure!!! (more about that in the trip report to come later) And of course the other side is, I'm going home so no more hotels, no more sights, no more trying to communicate in a mix of English and the language of whatever country I'm in at the moment. Which is probably why I start planning the next trip so soon after the last trip ends!

Watch this space for the trip report (hopefully complete with pictures!!).

Sunday morning in Paris

Ah, Paris!! It is our last day here before continuing on to Roma. We are taking it easy today as yesterday we did a whole lot and my feet still hurt! Earlier the smell of freshly baked crossaints was wafting through the lobby of the hotel. Yum, crossaints! Paris is definitely the city of lights and hopefully that will be evident from my pictures at night - if they come out, that is. I haven't quite mastered taking pictures at night. Oh well.