Travel


22
Feb 10

Weekend Update + Top Seven

Hello all! What did you do this weekend? Alan and I had a jammed packed weekend of fun. Friday night was our friend’s 21 birthday, Saturday we spendt in bed and out doing errands, as well as learned a new board game called Settlers of Catan (which is so much fun, although I have to say that towards the end it got pretty cut-throat). Finally on Sunday we, went hiking, ate some Ethiopian food, and saw Shutter Island. Needless to say the weekend went by so fast!

Going to the Ethiopian restaurant gave me an intense desire to go traveling. Here is my top seven list of places to visit

1. Ireland

photo lg ireland 300x239 Weekend Update + Top Seven

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12
Nov 09

Old Town Scottsdale

Hello All! Yesterday I spent the day in Old Town Scottsdale with some of my friends that are visiting from Germany. I never realized how pretty it was until yesterday. I love the colors and seeing all the chili peppers hanging from beams in front of old western looking stores. I also really enjoyed walking through the garden that is in front of the civic center. It is beautiful! It was so nice to walk around a garden full of flowers and water features (I forgot it was November, it was so nice!). The garden also contains multiple sculptures, including one that spells out Love. It was such an enjoyable afternoon. Please go check it out if you get the chance!

Image from tripadvisor.com

Image from tripadvisor.com

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7
Oct 09

Things to do in less than a day when in Arizona.

Before we head out to the rest of the known world, Sarah and I decided that we’d check out all that Arizona has to offer.  First off, I’m assuming you’ve been to Arizona before.  (If you haven’t, head straight for the Grand Canyon and Sedona for some breathtaking views of the natural world.)
We made our way from Tempe with the goal of attaining some delicious biscuits and gravy at Mike and Rhonda’s Place, a 24 hour diner in Flagstaff.  We hopped into Sarah’s car and took off for the I-17N which thankfully had minimal construction.  After about a 45 minute drive, we stopped in a little town called McGuireVille which has a fantastic restaurant called “restaurant”.
In the middle of this town is one of my favorite natural wonders that exists in Arizona, aside from the Grand Canyon, Montezuma’s Well.  This isn’t some tiny well in the middle of the town… It’s a huge crater with ruins from the Sinigua tribe built into the cliff face.  It’s quite incredible to see.  The Sinigua tribe built up a complex of irrigation canals for agricultural purposes to the right of this well, which I highly recommend you make the trek down to.  It’s quite peaceful down in the canals and incredibly beautiful in the fall.  Very, very green.  We made the trek back up the side of the well and back into our car back on the quest for biscuits and gravy.
About 40 miles outside of Flagstaff, we decided to make a short detour in Sedona for a scenic route and to check out Tlacquepaque, a cool little shopping center styled after a mercado in Guadalajara, Mexico.  It was cool architecturally, but in my opinion the art inside is very kitschy, expensive stuff.  Why yes I would like a buddha statue for $40,000! Oh cool free shipping?  We did end up buying something but it was to tide us over until we found delicious biscuits and gravy.  That something we bought? Kinder eggs from Germany!  They are small little milk chocolate eggs which contain a cool little toy inside that you assemble.  We crossed the road, illegally, which ended up being a highway to get to a UFO shop.  The place was decked out with “greys”, the little aliens with the enormous eyes, as well as a replica of the mercury spacecraft from humanities early adventures into space.  Unfortunately the store had closed early for the day so we never got to experience the joys of aliens…
We ended up back in the car zooming down the highway on our way to our goal of Flagstaff.  We arrived after what seemed like quite a distance (it was only 40 miles from Sedona), and headed for Mike and Rhonda’s in search of biscuits and gravy.  We pulled up to it and… it was closed.  We couldn’t believe it.  A 24 hour diner that we came all the way from Tempe for was closed!  At this point we were starving and settled for a place called Alpine Pizza, “Flagstaff’s oldest pizzeria” and enjoyed a pepperoni pizza and some breadsticks.  We didn’t find biscuits and gravy, but we did end up having a lot of fun on our day trip.

Before we head out to the rest of the known world, Sarah and I decided that we’d check out all that Arizona has to offer.  First off, I’m assuming you’ve been to Arizona before.  (If you haven’t, head straight for the Grand Canyon and Sedona for some breathtaking views of the natural world.)

We made our way from Tempe with the goal of attaining some delicious biscuits and gravy at Mike and Rhonda’s Place, a 24 hour diner in Flagstaff.  We hopped into Sarah’s car and took off for the I-17N which thankfully had minimal construction.  After about a 45 minute drive, we stopped in a little town called McGuireVille which has a fantastic restaurant called “restaurant”.

In the middle of this town is one of my favorite natural wonders that exists in Arizona, aside from the Grand Canyon, Montezuma’s Well.  This isn’t some tiny well in the middle of the town… It’s a huge crater with ruins from the Sinigua tribe built into the cliff face.  It’s quite incredible to see.  The Sinigua tribe built up a complex of irrigation canals for agricultural purposes to the right of this well, which I highly recommend you make the trek down to.  It’s quite peaceful down in the canals and incredibly beautiful in the fall.  Very, very green.  We made the trek back up the side of the well and back into our car back on the quest for biscuits and gravy.

About 40 miles outside of Flagstaff, we decided to make a short detour in Sedona for a scenic route and to check out Tlacquepaque, a cool little shopping center styled after a mercado in Guadalajara, Mexico.  It was cool architecturally, but in my opinion the art inside is very kitschy, expensive stuff.  Why yes I would like a buddha statue for $40,000! Oh cool free shipping?  We did end up buying something but it was to tide us over until we found delicious biscuits and gravy.  That something we bought? Kinder eggs from Germany!  They are small little milk chocolate eggs which contain a cool little toy inside that you assemble.  We crossed the road, illegally, which ended up being a highway to get to a UFO shop.  The place was decked out with “greys”, the little aliens with the enormous eyes, as well as a replica of the mercury spacecraft from humanities early adventures into space.  Unfortunately the store had closed early for the day so we never got to experience the joys of aliens…

We ended up back in the car zooming down the highway on our way to our goal of Flagstaff.  We arrived after what seemed like quite a distance (it was only 40 miles from Sedona), and headed for Mike and Rhonda’s in search of biscuits and gravy.  We pulled up to it and… it was closed.  We couldn’t believe it.  A 24 hour diner that we came all the way from Tempe for was closed!  At this point we were starving and settled for a place called Alpine Pizza, “Flagstaff’s oldest pizzeria” and enjoyed a pepperoni pizza and some breadsticks.  We didn’t find biscuits and gravy, but we did end up having a lot of fun on our day trip.


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6
Jun 09

Heidelberg Part 1

I just got back from a day trip to Heidelberg. I spent the last two years of high school living in Heidelberg, so was excited to go back and visit all the old haunts. While there I met up with my old friend Sam and together we had many exciting adventures. The ride to Heidelberg from Aachen was uneventful although it does have beautiful scenery, at one point on the drive you cross over the Mosel River on a huge bridge and the view is just breathtaking. Also it is a joy to be on the Autobahn going superfast! I love it!

Upon arrival in Heidelberg we made our way to the Crowne Plaza Hotel. This hotel is really fine and is in the perfect location, only meters away from the Hauptstrasse, which is where almost everything to do in Heidelberg in located. From there Sam and I made our way the Starbucks on the Hauptstrasse, a place we spendt much time during highschool. The Starbucks does not have the typical interior of an American starbucks. It is located in an old building, the interior of it is painted pink with white crown-molding and some crystal chandeliors hang from the ceiling. There are numerous tables as well as a couch and some green plush chairs. Inside there is a small round tower with two tables at the top where you can look out onto the side streets and down towards the river. A fun place to sit and people watch as you enjoy your coffee.

After coffee we headed down towards a candy store that only sells gummys. It is amazing they sell gummys in flavors you would never think of, all kinds of fruit flavors, beer flavored, coffee and tea flavors. They also make them in all kinds of designs. They have the gummys shaped like bears, fruit, leaves, cups, people, horse shoes (a symbol of good luck), lips, and even have a selection of adult entertainment gummies! )It is a shop where you (or at least I) shell out a lot of money quickly.

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30
May 09

Finally, Arrival

Finally made it to Germany! The various flights here went exactly as scheduled, and were uneventful. While the view for most of the time was just the clouds in the sky, the flight from London, Heathrow to Dusseldorf had great views. We flew over the British channel and could see all the boats and ferries out on the water, we also flew over Holland.It looked like a quilt of various shades of green, browns, and yellows from the sky. Very beautiful.

Landing in Germany carried with the awesome feeling of finally coming home after a long absence, everything had that familiar vibe to it. Nothing to exciting happening so far, just trying to deal with jet lag. It was most definitely a challenge to stay up until a decent hour yesterday. Upon arrival in Germany we went directly to visit my Oma (grandmother). She had baked a Strawberry Kuchen (cake) and had coffee for us. Five mugs of coffee later and I was still fighting sleep! The cake she baked was delicious, not overly sweet like the cakes in America. There is the bottom if the cake which is actual cake and then there is fresh strawberries on top covered in a glaze, very tasty.

Later in the evening we then went to Landhaus Odinius (which is owned by various members of the family) and had a drinks called a Drecksack, which is cola and beer mixed together.Surprising they taste good together and was just what was needed to help me stay awake. The rest of the evening just involved catching up and much needed rest. This morning we went to the Saturday market. The market is in a town called Julich. The market fills the center of the city and spills out into the streets. Recently in Germany they celebrated Maifest (Mayfest), and the streets still had the flags strung out, giving it a very fun and festive look. The market was very similar to any farmers market you would find the United States. There were various stalls with fresh produce, flowers, honey, cheese, and even one that sold freshly made pasta. It was a great place to stock up on fresh vegetables and buy a few flowers.


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27
May 09

New Adventure

A new travel adventure is about to start! Tomorrow I leave for a three week trip to Germany with my brother and sisters! I am a military brat and lived over there for many years and I am excited to go back to visit family and friends. I will be in the Cologne, Aachen area, as well as a quick trip over to Heidelberg. While there I will keep you updates on all the fun things and adventures I encounter (one of these will include a trip to the tattoo parlor!) Keep checking back!


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18
May 09

The seafood quest (san diego gaslamp quarter)

On our last night in San Diego before heading back the next day, we were craving seafood. Sarah and I decided to embark on a magical journey to find good seafood in the downtown area. Before heading out, we asked the fun friendly staff guy at the Hotel St. James in the Gaslamp quarter to recomend us some good but affordable seafood. He directed us to what he referred to as a “cheap” affordable dining experience. He gave us two choices for seafood. We decided to head to the one further away thinking it would be more delicious and tasty due to the distance.

Walking around at night in the Gaslamp quarter is a trip. It was fun to walk through all the different types of people playing guitar, drinking at walk-up bars; a very cool environment to be in. When we found the first place there was a guy outside playing Wonderwall by Oasis. Unfortunately, the song was more memorable than the name of the seafood place. Probably because the price was ridiculous so we passed on it.

We decided to head for the second restaurant hoping for a bit better prices for delicious tasty seafood. As we were leaving to the next, we headed back the same way we came. This turned out to be an exercise in hilarious frustration as it was the complete opposite direction. We tried to follow the directions of the front desk staff as best we can, but apparently we are map-challenged. We managed to get re-0riented and make it to Osetra which also turned out to be very fancy, but we decided to go anyway. After being lost and hungry it was time to eat!

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6
May 09

Ocean Beach

On this post I would like to talk about one of my favorite places in San Diego, Ocean Beach I love the feel of this place; it has a very hippy, stress free vibe. First off let me describe the town. The town has a very surfer, beachy, laid back atmosphere. There is one street (Voltaire) that is full of little shops and restaurants, plus it has little coffee and smoothie stands located on it. By the way, the smoothies there are the best. Alan and I tried smoothies from two different places and both were amazing! I think their trick is that don’t use any ice cream or anything like that, they are strictly made from fruit, ice, and juice. Yum! The town is full of beach houses where it was quite common to see people out in there front yards barbequing and having a great time.

The beach itself is beautiful. It is separated into two separate beaches by a sand dune. On one side is the dog beach. This is a great place for dogs and their owners to enjoy a fun relaxing day together. As a side note let me just say that San Diego is one of the best places to have a dog. Almost every single restaurant and shop was dog friendly. In many of the cafes there were canisters of dog treats and bowls of water set out for four legged customers. Next time we visit San Diego, maybe one of us will bring a dog…

Ok so back to talking about the beach. The strictly human side of the beach is long, on one end there is the dune and on the other end a beautiful wooden pier. Ocean Beach is mostly just sand, not the place to go if you are looking to collect some seashells. While Alan and I drove around for a half of an hour looking for a parking spot, the beach did not appear to be incredibly crowded. Along the beach there various types of people, some families and many young adults as well as seagulls. The seagulls on the beach offer their own form of entertainment, they are quite vicious and if anyone left out food, those birds swooped down and grabbed it before anyone could blink an eye. This was amusing to watch. Also on the beach was a group of people learning how to surf. Apparently, the waves at Ocean beach offer a great opportunity to learn this sport. Alan and I spent our time pursuing more relaxing endeavors, mostly tanning, and playing Egyptian Rat Screw with a few dips in the ocean, which was freezing!

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