Wordless Wednesday - Porta Nigra (Black Gate)

Wordless Wednesday

Leaning Tower of Pisa

This is one of my favorite photos of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. This was a day trip out of Florence, only an hour or so by train. From the train station, we took a cab and boy I'm glad we did. If you decide to walk, it'll probably take you about 20 minutes on a brisk pace. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes like sneakers and UGG boots if you're visiting Italy. See more photos.

A doing the compulsory pose. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the bell tower of the Cathedral and is the third oldest building in the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square).

From Wikipedia: The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the highest side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m (13.42 ft) and at the top 2.48 m (8.14 ft). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons.. The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. The tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees.

Wordless Wednesday - Would You Like Some Whine?

Just looking at this menu makes me want to take some diet pills. All the food sounds delicious. I don't think I'd go to the WHINE bar though. :o) I saw this menu board in one of the restaurants near Campo di Fiore in Rome, Italy. I had to stop dh so I can take this photo. There are a lot of restaurants in Rome with outdoor seating and they have menu boards displayed outside. This is mostly written in English for the tourists.

Photo Hunt #9 - Warm

This week's theme is WARM. While preparing for our our summer vacation, I purchased two hand-held fans. It was used countless times during our vacation. I added a larnyard to the fan and my daughter had it on in this first photo. We were waiting in line to get into St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and my son is using the fan right here since it was in the mid 80's that day. This next photo was taken on an outdoor Italian restaurant in Borgo Pio, near the Vatican.

While in Switzerland, we wished it was warm when we went up the Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe). We were up at 11, 782 ft where the temperature was 11 degC with a windspeed of 28 km/h. It was in the middle of June but it definitely wasn't warm up there. You can see more of our visit HERE

Even though it was summer time, we brought our winter jackets trip for this day trip to Jungfraujoch. It helped to keep us warm the entire excursion.


Visit www.tnchick.com/pshunt for more Photohunters.

Munich Then and Now

This is my entry to Lola's Diner's Cabin Fever Margaritaville Carnival. It's been a long winter and we all crave for warm weather. What better way than to blog about our favorite summer vacation, and pretend it's warm outside.

I will be talking about a part of my family's Europe summer vacation which I blogged about before and my summer vacation to Munich when I was 15 years old for my entry to Lola's Cabin Fever Margaritaville Carnival. (You can find the links to some of my Europe vacation posts on the left sidebar)

It was a great summer vacation. We visited 7 countries: Italy, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany. Each country has it's own charm and we enjoyed the food and the sights. In Germany, we visited the cities of Trier, Kaiserslautern, Kohl, Berlin and Munich. Germany and Munich has always been a special place for me. It was the first European country and city that I visited.

I first went to Munich during my summer vacation when I was 15 years old. The first photo above was taken somewhere near Marienplatz. That's me on the left getting some coins from my purse. I remember having a photo in front of the city building in Marienplatz but I couldn't find it, so this will do. I fell in love with Germany especially the Bavarian countryside with its' green rolling hills and picturesque villages and houses. I even had my first taste of french fries in Munich. That's why until now, I eat my french fries with mayonaisse, just like the Europeans. :o)

It was a short trip, just a week but I made a lot of good memories and I promised myself that I will be back someday.

Fast forward 23 years later. When our vacation was still in the planning stage, I told my husband about my wish to go back to Munich. He agreed and I added it to the list of cities we will visit. On the last week of June, I finally fullfilled my dream of going back to Munich. This time, I was with my own family. We were on our last leg of the month-long tour, after visiting 6 other countries. It felt awesome going back and seeing it from a different perspective.

I had fun touring the city with dh and my kids, going to the most famous beer hall in the world, HofBrauhaus and the restaurant Ratzkeller. Walking around the city brought back memories. It was great seeing my kids enjoy the Deutsches Museum (Science and Tecnology museum) just as I did when I was younger. I also took home the ultimate Bavarian souvenir, a limited edition authentic Black Forest cuckoo clock which you can see here.

A lot of people were amazed that we brought the kids with us. It's a no brainer really. We are lucky to have such well-behaved kids and had no problems whatsoever. We wouldn't have enjoyed our vacation if it was just dh and I. I know some people think otherwise but to each his own. So would we do it again? Yes, we will. I want them to have the love of travel just as I did.

PhotoHunt #8 - Nautical

This week's PhotoHunt theme is nautical. Here are some photos of some ships and a boat from our vacation in The Netherlands.




The photos above were taken in a place called Madurodam near The Hague. It is an amusement park that is filled with miniature buildings and scenes from all over The Netherlands. The Maduro family wanted to honor their deceased son George, who died as a prisoner in Dachau so they built this miniature city.

This last photo is of the coastal tourist town called Volendam located in the northern part of the country.

Wordless Wednesday - No Parking Space? No Problem

Wordless Wednesday

PhotoHunt #8 - Bridges (of Venice)

Venice is probably one of the cities if not the only city in the world that has a lot of bridges. Since it is composed of 126 islands and separated by about 200 canals, it has a lot of bridges and boy let me tell you, it is a lot! I read somewhere that it is connected by about 450 bridges. For this week's Photohunt, I'm posting a number of bridges I photographed in Venice last summer. I photographed a lot of bridges in all seven countries we visited but I have to keep this post short. I used up most of the system memory in my notebook from the more than a thousand photos I accumulated.

The most famous bridge in Venice is of course the Rialto Bridge shown above. The best way to see it in my opinion is from a gondola. The gondola ride costs an arm and a leg plus another arm but it was well worth it. I posted about our gondola ride here. We stayed in a hotel near the Accademia and to get to St. Mark's Square, we had to pass a lot of bridges. If you plan on staying for a couple of days, I recommend staying at a hotel not too close to St. Mark's Square. Doing this will let you discover the real Venice, far from the tourist area.

This next bridge is the Accademia bridge or Ponte dell'Accademia . It also crosses the Grand Canal just like the famous Rialto bridge. I took this photo while in a water taxi on our way to the hotel.

This next bridge is one of two that is next to our hotel. It just goes to the yellow house on the left. This is an example of the small bridges around Venice. You cannot go anywhere without crossing a bridge or two.


This bridge is the famous 'Bridge of Sighs'. It was made in the 16th century and connects the Palazzo Ducale aka Doge's palace with the prison cells. It is made of white limestone. It was named the Bridge of Sighs by Lord Byron in the 20th century. The prisoners after sentencing, crosses the bridge and had their last look out the window in the bridge before being imprisoned in the dungeon with no outside windows.

This is what the inside of the Bridge of Sighs look like. It is very narrow. You can see part of the window at the right side. The view is of the pedestrian bridge on the other side and the Grand Canal waters. You need to go into the Doge's palace to go to through the Bridge of Sighs.

This is one of our last memories of Venice. We just passed the large bridge in the background, one of the many that crosses the Grand Canal. This was taken from the water taxi on our way to the train station. I never thought that I would fall in love with Venice, but I did. I'm glad that we made it a part of our Europe trip last year. It is a magical and beautiful place. You should go and see it for yourself.

Wordless Wednesday - Venice Garbage Boat

See more Wordless Wednesday here.

The Wednesday Papal Audience - How to Get Tickets

A visitor emailed me and asked for advice on visiting the Vatican and attending the weekly Papal Audience. I decided to write this post to share my experience and help those who plan to visit Rome.

When I was planning our trip to Rome, Italy last year, I knew that attending the weekly Wednesday Papal Audience is something I want to do. I read in a travel forum that I can get some tickets for this event from the American church in Rome. So I googled the website of the Santa Susanna church and emailed them to ask for tickets to the Papal Audience. I didn't hear from them until a few days before we left for Italy. They emailed back and informed me that they reserved the tickets for me and it will be ready for pick-up the evening (after 6 pm) before the audience. This is convenient although you need to take a taxi to reach the church depending on where you are that day. There is no fee for the ticket but they accept $ donations.

I also found out through reading Rick Steves' travel book about Rome, that you can get tickets directly from the Swiss guards that are posted on the entrance to the bronze door. Since I have no idea where this place is, I scrapped this idea. So there we were on Tuesday at the Vatican, we just finished the 3 hour visit to the Vatican museums. (If you plan to go, I suggest going in the afternoon where there are no lines to get in the museum.) We were wandering around, we turned a corner and I looked up and saw on the top of the stairs two Swiss guards and a big bronze door. Voila, there it is! There was a problem though, a barricade was placed at the bottom of the stairs and a Polizei was standing guard. So I told dh I'm going to try to talk my way in. I don't know why I said that when I don't know all but 10 words in Italian. Anyway, with my handful of Italian, I asked the policeman if I can go up the stairs to ask for some tickets for the Wednesday Papal Audience. I think I said something like "Perdone, I want tickets to the Papal Audience" while pointing towards the door. He probably know what it is because he said "Si". So there I went. I asked one of the Swiss guards in English if I can get four tickets. He went inside and came back with the golden Papal Audience tickets. So my advice is, if you will be at the Vatican days before the Wednesday audience, you can get these tickets. The bronze door is on the right side of the square if you are facing St. Peter's Basilica.

If you want to get a front row seat, you need to get there very early. When we arrived, it was around 9 AM and the first 10 rows were already occupied. We still had a good view of the Pope. As you can see from the photos, no one could really get up close because of the steps leading to the stage. Bring an umbrella because it can get very hot in the summer. Bring some water to prevent dehydration. The audience starts at 10 AM and there are big screens at strategic places so you can still see what's going on even if you are seated far away. Remember to dress appropriately if you are visiting the Vatican. I saw some people turned away because they wore shorts, mini-skirts, low-cut blouses or sleeveless shirts. The audience lasted for about 3 hours, it is LONG. The Pope did not say the Mass, he gave his blessings to those who attended and acknowledged the big groups that came from all over the world. If you are a Catholic and plan to visit Rome, I recommend going to the Wednesday Papal Audience.

If you have other questions about the Papal Audience, Vatican museum tour or Rome/Florence/Venice questions, feel free to email me. You will find my email address under MY LINKS at the right sidebar of this blog. :o)

PhotoHunt #6 - Hat

This week's PhotoHunt theme is hat(s). When we visited The Netherlands last summer, we went to a small fishing village called Volendam. It's a touristy place with many shops selling souvenirs and such. There are also a couple of places where one can have their photo taken wearing a traditional Dutch costume. On my daughter is a Dutch cap or Dutch bonnet. This is usually made of white cotton or lace. It is sometimes characterized by triangular flaps or wings that turn up on either side.

Happy Birthday to a Dear Friend

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Vicky. I met her through

blogging years ago. We became good friends and corresponded

through email and phone calls. I got a chance to meet her

in person when we went to Germany last summer. It was

great to finally meet her after all these years. This photo

was taken in the Japanese garden in Kaiserslautern.

SkyWatch Friday #6 - Atomium

The Atomium in the outskirts of Brussels in Belgium.

Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn for the International Exhibition of Brussels, that took place here in 1958, the Atomium is a structure that is half way between sculpture and architecture, symbolising an iron of crystal, magnified 165 billion times. (Source: Atomium.be)

These people on the top were cleaning one of the pods. They used a

zip-line to go down. Pretty cool.

Photohunt #5 - Aftermath

This is Michelangelo's Pieta on display at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In the aftermath of the attack by a deranged visitor in 1972, it was enclosed in protective glass. In the incident, the statue was struck 15 times and broke off the tip of the nose of the Virgin Mary.


Compare that to Michelangelo's other Pieta in Florence. There is no protective glass and we were able to walk up and touch it. (shhh, it's a secret LOL). In this second version of the Pieta, the man holding Jesus is supposedly Michelangelo himself.

Skywatch Friday #5

This is the Aletsch Glacier, Europe's largest. It has been

retreating for nearly 150 years. I took this photo from a

restaurant at the Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe) in

the Bernese Alps of south-central Switzerland.

This is Europe's highest-altitude railway station at 11,332 ft.

See Jungfraujoch photos here.

Skywatch Friday #4

Neuschwanstein Castle

Schwangau, Germany

(Thanks to Arija (see comment) for pointing out that Hohenschangau is the other castle in the area. I intended to put the village (Schwangau) where this castle is located.) :o)