tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56070494749065967902024-03-14T10:47:07.818-04:00MissVacationLife is short and the world is big so don't wait...travel! MissVacation has moved to: http://missvacation.wordpress.com/Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-17075925019231998952014-04-28T18:39:00.003-04:002014-06-10T05:03:07.069-04:00Blog has moved!My blog is now moved to: <a href="http://missvacation.wordpress.com/">http://missvacation.wordpress.com/</a>! Please visit there for my latest trip reports :) Just got back from Greece, see my trip reports there :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-51535942310642795952014-03-07T20:30:00.000-05:002014-03-07T21:07:30.849-05:00Quick Guide On How To Plan A Day Trip to Hallstatt<h2>
Quick Guide On How To Plan A Day Trip to Hallstatt</h2>
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I have received few emails throughout the year on how to plan a day trip to Hallstatt so I am putting this quick guide to help, it's very easy!</div>
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Train Tickets</h3>
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The Austrian Rail website is by far the easiest rail website I have seen, website is <a href="http://www.oebb.at/en/#">http://www.oebb.at/en/#</a></div>
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It is a very informative planning tool, everything you need to book your day trip to Hallstatt...well almost everything :)<br />
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There are three ways to get to Hallstatt:</div>
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Option 1: Regular trains (most expensive)</h4>
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If you are going on weekdays by train use this option, for weekend trip look at option #2 below. First, finding the train on the website by inputting your departure station (most likely to be Salzburg, if Vienna it's doable but will be a long day)! So let's put from Salzburg to Hallstatt, select a date from the calendar, and then departure starting at 05:00 am:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lm5oeTw-Xbo/UxpEg1a1HJI/AAAAAAAAKEA/8n0LESfjguA/s1600/hallstatt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lm5oeTw-Xbo/UxpEg1a1HJI/AAAAAAAAKEA/8n0LESfjguA/s1600/hallstatt1.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div>
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Click on Book ticket and the results look like this:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhvhomnws90/UxpGES0geaI/AAAAAAAAKEU/Ct9qMq0rqCI/s1600/Hallstatt3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhvhomnws90/UxpGES0geaI/AAAAAAAAKEU/Ct9qMq0rqCI/s1600/Hallstatt3.gif" height="536" width="640" /></a></div>
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Click on "I would also like to book a return journey" and select the return time, I use 16:00. Add passengers traveling with you. Then click on calculate fare for time tables:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rVbqzq4qyrE/UxpQbnpxLMI/AAAAAAAAKE0/t_1o4SlzVzQ/s1600/Hallstatt4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rVbqzq4qyrE/UxpQbnpxLMI/AAAAAAAAKE0/t_1o4SlzVzQ/s1600/Hallstatt4.jpg" height="538" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since I added passenger for 2 adults, the price displayed are for 2 people. For this example, I choose the 6:12 am arriving 8:47 am. Click on "Details", it will display the full information:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QbmBsIpiT1k/UxpjT8QuxPI/AAAAAAAAKFE/PSwAe2u_QQs/s1600/hallstatt5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QbmBsIpiT1k/UxpjT8QuxPI/AAAAAAAAKFE/PSwAe2u_QQs/s1600/hallstatt5.jpg" height="352" width="640" /></a></div>
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The train number IC 541 departing Salzburg on 6:12 am, no platform shown yet probably too early, so make sure when you get to the train station, double check the platform on the display and the train number before boarding the train. Note that the train direction is to Wien Westbahnhof, but you'll need to get off at Attnang-Puchheim to change to another train. Click on the "i" icon next to IC 541 for the list of train stations in which you'll be passing on the way:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D_m7k4H5g-s/UxplrTJY2GI/AAAAAAAAKFU/Z0n5grqvOHM/s1600/hallstatt6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D_m7k4H5g-s/UxplrTJY2GI/AAAAAAAAKFU/Z0n5grqvOHM/s1600/hallstatt6.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div>
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You'll get off on the 2nd stop: Attnang-Puchheim, arriving 6:58 am. Attnang-Puchheim station is a very small station, so don't worry about the 17 minutes to change train, you'll have enough time to walk across the platform. Change to train number R 3406 departing 7:15 am and arriving 8:47 am. Note that the direction of the train is heading to Obertraun Dachsteinhöhlen. Click on "i" icon for details on the 2nd train:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iXzEggb7NRk/UxpnRJvBuxI/AAAAAAAAKGE/75XBuWWurtM/s1600/Hallstatt8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iXzEggb7NRk/UxpnRJvBuxI/AAAAAAAAKGE/75XBuWWurtM/s1600/Hallstatt8.jpg" height="580" width="640" /></a></div>
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It will be a long ride, 20 stops to reach Hallstatt but you'll pass by many picturesque towns, lakes, and mountains! <br />
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Hallstatt train station is just one platform with the sign "Hallstatt". Once you get off, walk down to the path to the pier, there's a small booth there to purchase the ferry ticket. If no one is there, don't worry, you'll be able to pay when boarding the ferry, ticket is around €2.40 . The ferry time table accommodate the train schedule pretty well so you won't be waiting for long. The journey across the lake to Hallstatt town will be amazing so have your camera ready! The ferry will drop you off at the ferry station: Hallstatt Markt.<br />
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For the return trip, either take the 16:32 or 17:07 train to get back to Salzburg for dinner. Make sure you check the ferry schedule so you will not miss the train! The ferry departs at Hallstatt Markt the same when you arrived. The 16:32 train from Hallstatt to Attnang-Puchheim heads to the direction "Wien Westbahnhof", whereas the 17:07 train heads to the direct Linz/Donau Hbf, either one you'll get off at Attnang-Puchheim to change train back to Salzburg, direction is Salzburg.<br />
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If you want to book online, click on the price of your desire train/time, then you have an option to select the class, and then click "confirm fare":<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-10xObEXskrU/UxpwBo_D2QI/AAAAAAAAKHA/YSHYik8sYpc/s1600/hallstatt11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-10xObEXskrU/UxpwBo_D2QI/AAAAAAAAKHA/YSHYik8sYpc/s1600/hallstatt11.jpg" height="564" width="640" /></a></div>
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You have an option to register for an account or proceed without registering which leads to the payment page:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FNfiB7vT1OI/Uxpwtc6rGlI/AAAAAAAAKHQ/drlQqOGHBY0/s1600/hallstatt12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FNfiB7vT1OI/Uxpwtc6rGlI/AAAAAAAAKHQ/drlQqOGHBY0/s1600/hallstatt12.jpg" height="562" width="640" /></a></div>
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Please note that the currency is in Euros, which usually credit card charges a foreign exchange fee of 3%, there are no foreign exchange fee credit cards available in the market :) If payment is rejected, you can try to call your credit card company and let them know that you are making this purchase and try again. </div>
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Option 2: Weekend trains (best value for group travel)</h4>
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To save cost, I would strongly recommend Saturday or Sunday if you are traveling with a friend or friends. This is because Austrian Rail offer a very good deal on a day pass called Einfach-Raus-Ticket cost 35 euros (as of 2014) good for 2-5 people traveling together. The Einfach-Raus-Ticket is valid all day during weekends and public holidays on all suburban and regional service trains as well as on the Raaberbahn (R, REX and S-Bahn trains); whereas for weekdays, it's valid from 9:00 am to the next day 3:00 am. For day trippers like us, we would like to maximize the time to spend in Hallstatt so would take the earliest train possible! If weekdays, the earliest is 9:00 am which gets to Hallstatt before noon, definitely not worth the saving! If you are planning to get the Einfach-Raus-Ticket, you can either buy online by clicking the "Einfach-Raus-Ticket" instead of "Ticket" on the first page:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhvhomnws90/UxpGES0geaI/AAAAAAAAKEU/Ct9qMq0rqCI/s1600/Hallstatt3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhvhomnws90/UxpGES0geaI/AAAAAAAAKEU/Ct9qMq0rqCI/s1600/Hallstatt3.gif" height="536" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then you'll select a date for the pass to be valid and select the total passengers traveling together:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e-0GnQrXoko/Uxpx640bXAI/AAAAAAAAKHk/xEW0QT0qO8Q/s1600/hallstatt13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e-0GnQrXoko/Uxpx640bXAI/AAAAAAAAKHk/xEW0QT0qO8Q/s1600/hallstatt13.jpg" height="520" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can also purchase the pass from the automated ticket machine, remember to have cash with you because automated ticket machine required credit cards with smart chip and a pin number to pay!</div>
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Since the pass limited to REX, R, and S-Bahn trains, it will be different to find the correct trains. Go to the route planner: <a href="http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en">http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en</a></div>
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Input from Salzburg to Hallstatt, date, time, click on return journey put in date and time. Then on "products" select Einfach-Raus-Ticket from the drop down menu:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8bKyMktK5U/Uxp5WqNj_MI/AAAAAAAAKH4/eiRObyQZhEo/s1600/hallstatt14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8bKyMktK5U/Uxp5WqNj_MI/AAAAAAAAKH4/eiRObyQZhEo/s1600/hallstatt14.jpg" height="474" width="640" /></a></div>
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Click search connection, as you can see, only the R and REX trains are displayed and takes a little bit longer to get to Hallstatt.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NjJLENBUZCQ/Uxp50z6rGwI/AAAAAAAAKIM/3g5S9S7QQKI/s1600/hallstatt15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NjJLENBUZCQ/Uxp50z6rGwI/AAAAAAAAKIM/3g5S9S7QQKI/s1600/hallstatt15.jpg" height="512" width="640" /></a></div>
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Option 3: Bus (cheapest)</h4>
Alternatively, a cheaper way is to take Bus 150, back to using <a href="http://www.oebb.at/en/#">http://www.oebb.at/en/#</a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oNzo7g3WlQg/UxpqZrQS9MI/AAAAAAAAKGU/Hv-h0c5JC4o/s1600/hallstatt9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oNzo7g3WlQg/UxpqZrQS9MI/AAAAAAAAKGU/Hv-h0c5JC4o/s1600/hallstatt9.jpg" height="566" width="640" /></a></div>
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From Salzburg, take Bus 150 to Bad Ischl bus terminal, departing Salzburg at 6:45 am from platform F and arriving Bad Ischl bus terminal at 8:10 am at platform E. Then you'll need to walk over to the Bad Ischl train station to take the train R 3406 departing at 8:20 am at platform 1 to Hallstatt. This is the same train as above and will get to Hallstatt the same time - 8:47 am! The price shown above is for the train only, you'll need to purchase the bus ticket separately. The bus ticket is around €10.10.</div>
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On the return trip, you can either take the 16:32 or 17:07 train or if by bus will require 2 stops:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h7CtkFaWvIE/UxpthxzzCEI/AAAAAAAAKGo/8UqIgwH-i3k/s1600/hallstatt10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h7CtkFaWvIE/UxpthxzzCEI/AAAAAAAAKGo/8UqIgwH-i3k/s1600/hallstatt10.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div>
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Take the bus 543 from Hallstatt Lanh (this is different than the Hallstatt train station located across the lake), this is the bus station in the end of Hallstatt town. Departing 17:31 and arriving 17:39 at Hallstatt Gosaumuhle. Then change to bus 542 leaving at 17:40 (not sure if 1 minute is enough time since I didn't take this bus), which heads to Bad Ischl bus terminal arriving 18:10. Lastly, switch to bus 150 again leaving at 18:24 and will be back to Salzburg at 19:53.<br />
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I hope this quick guide is easy enough to follow and plan your own day trip to Hallstatt! Have a great time and I am sure you'll! If you still have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here or email me!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-26432797627974531142013-12-13T16:12:00.000-05:002013-12-17T16:55:34.103-05:00Grand Cayman Day 7 - Swim With Dolphin<h2>
Day 7 - Swim With Dolphin</h2>
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Happy times always go by so fast......our one week vacation had come to an end - our last full day in Grand Cayman! Early in the morning after I woke up, I checked the weather forecast back home, urggg snow storm expected 3 - 5 inches with low in 15 degrees (that's not even half of 85 degrees here!). I am thinking to myself can I not go back? Alright got to enjoy our last full day with the hot sun - activity planned for today: Swim with Dolphin wohoooo! I always wanted to try that but never really make it until now :D Well another good reason was I booked Sunshine Suites through Expedia and Expedia was having a special of buy one get one free dolphin swim at Dolphin Cove, can't beat that right? I contacted Dolphin Cove weeks ahead and scheduled a time, all of the available times were in the afternoon at 3 pm and the only morning available was today at 10:30 am.</div>
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We left the hotel at 9 just in case we made some wrong turns and will take extra time to find the place hehe. There are two dolphin swim facilities in the island one is Dolphin Cove and another one is Dolphin Discovery (next to the Turtle Farm). We got there pretty smoothly and arrived around 9:30 am, one hour early! We parked at the back lot where the sign pointed us to, we could've parked at the front much closer! We checked in, hand over my Expedia voucher, and paid $139 for both us. I think we were the earliest ones there since I don't see anyone at the dolphin area. The facility is like open to the sea:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UawOq8hg5C4/Uq-vDejjGfI/AAAAAAAAIas/x9ulNW1poAg/s1600/_X0A9270-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UawOq8hg5C4/Uq-vDejjGfI/AAAAAAAAIas/x9ulNW1poAg/s1600/_X0A9270-3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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There was a floating platform there and I spotted at least 3 dolphins in there :)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6sK9U04TPSk/Uq-wVu4pCzI/AAAAAAAAIf0/4f_QrXdn0ZI/s1600/_X0A9270_stitch-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6sK9U04TPSk/Uq-wVu4pCzI/AAAAAAAAIf0/4f_QrXdn0ZI/s1600/_X0A9270_stitch-3.jpg" height="186" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since we got there early, we checked out the parrots and the touch tank. The guy who worked at the parrots area was friendly, he introduced us to each of the parrots there. First one was the talkative parrot, he was so cute!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-daofzMZDqys/Uq-vDoNpFrI/AAAAAAAAIa0/gk6z2IbwaWQ/s1600/_X0A9279-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-daofzMZDqys/Uq-vDoNpFrI/AAAAAAAAIa0/gk6z2IbwaWQ/s1600/_X0A9279-3.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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The second was the green male one, the female was red colored, I love those tropical colorful birds!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IhUeg74HEDI/Uq-vGAcdj2I/AAAAAAAAIbA/Ql0bUES2pLg/s1600/_X0A9290-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IhUeg74HEDI/Uq-vGAcdj2I/AAAAAAAAIbA/Ql0bUES2pLg/s1600/_X0A9290-3.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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This one was doing his morning exercise - pull ups LOL!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-alYaJwOL7Zo/Uq-vG9DHELI/AAAAAAAAIbI/vh4_1uR8tRw/s1600/_X0A9294-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-alYaJwOL7Zo/Uq-vG9DHELI/AAAAAAAAIbI/vh4_1uR8tRw/s1600/_X0A9294-3.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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The trainer hand signed and he opened his wings!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5tEA3jdKC4E/Uq-vHdRGtoI/AAAAAAAAIbM/W8SIcKZtmik/s1600/_X0A9304-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5tEA3jdKC4E/Uq-vHdRGtoI/AAAAAAAAIbM/W8SIcKZtmik/s1600/_X0A9304-3.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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This one liked my husband LOL!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kigocDlqkt0/Uq-vJTjVZ2I/AAAAAAAAIbc/OrtBTtgVrnE/s1600/_X0A9325-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kigocDlqkt0/Uq-vJTjVZ2I/AAAAAAAAIbc/OrtBTtgVrnE/s1600/_X0A9325-3.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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The trainer told us that it was harder to train parrots than dolphins! Also, he had to train parrots one by one because if they trained together, they'll fight! He also helped to take a picture of us holding the two white parrots :)</div>
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Oh...with the exception of those two..they liked to be trained together! </div>
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Afterwards another guy showed us his touch tank. He said he used to have more show and tell sea animals but due to more strict restriction of captivating sea life, he couldn't keep them. He showed us a jelly fish and explained different types of jelly fishes. </div>
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There was also a Caribbean lobster there.</div>
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Next, we went back to see the Love Birds....they are gorgeous!<br />
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Aren't they pretty?<br />
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Time for our dolphin swim!!!! We had a total of 6 people, 4 of us booked the Dolphin Swim and the other 2 booked the Ultimate Dolphin Swim (cost more, more tricks, but same duration). We were given a life vest which was mandatory and then 4 of us went to one section with one trainer and the other 2 went to the other side with another trainer. It was a small group just 4 of us so we didn't have to wait long to take turns. The unfortunate thing is no camera is allowed; they have their guy to take photos which will be for purchase sighhhh!!! We left our DSLR camera on the bench next to the floating platform, only few of us there and only ones who booked that time slot were able to access the area so we felt it should be secure (we asked about their lockers and they said the lockers are small can only fit your wallets and cellphones).</div>
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Our dolphin's name is Nemo so cute!!!! The water was cold when I first dipped in but soon I felt warmed up. We swam out few feet away and instructed to put our hands out. Nemo swam by and we touched it...oh boy first time touching a dolphin.....its skin was much softer than I expected!!! Then, we took turn to get a belly to belly ride with Nemo!!! It was amazing that Nemo just popped up straight and I grabbed on him and swam together! We also took turn to pose for a kiss with Nemo :D Lastly, Nemo showed off his big jump right in front of us. I forgot to time how much time we spent on the water but it wasn't rushed. Sometimes I thought Swim with Dolphin is a tourist trip sort of activity but this changed my mind after getting so closed to this intelligent sea mammal! </div>
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We got out of the water and there was a rinse shower near-by then headed to the restroom to get change. We went back in the gift shop and checked out our photos...oh my god completely rip-off: $25 for a 5x7 print and $99 for all pictures on CD!!!!! I would think $10 per print should be fair but $25 for one (not even include the digital copy) are you kidding me!!! And the pictures didn't come out to be nice, the camera wasn't great and the photographer...not really professional. URGGGG what should I do in this case? I have thought of not purchasing but at the end we decided to buy one just to show that we did the dolphin swim!!! </div>
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Here is the picture....over exposed and the print quality was not great either!!!</div>
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Well at least we did had a good time and will always remember it! With the purchase of any of their swim programs, they included a complementary trip to Stingray City or the Turtle Farm. I really wanted to go Stingray City but we been there before and it was very windy so the sea would be rough...so we decided to go to Turtle Farm. I asked how we get the free tickets to the Turtle Farm, the lady said since we got buy one get one free, they can only give us one free time and we'll need to pay for one. It was $15 so fine ..... I swiped my credit card three times in this place LOL!!!! We drove there ourselves or else we would have to pay for the transportation fee -.- </div>
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She gave us the wrist band and said we can use it in another day if we want to but it was our last day so we had to go today. We drove to Alfresco for lunch which is located in the West Bay area. It wasn't too hard to find since it's located right in front of the main street not hidden inside like Heritage Kitchen. We sat outside facing the beautiful beach! The view was unbelievable at that time of the day!</div>
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The outdoor seating area at Alfresco, hubby was busying deciding what to order while I went around and took pictures!</div>
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We ordered Pina Colada, BBQ shrimp, Jerked Chicken Sandwich, and the Steak Sandwich and while waiting for food....more photos hahahaha! You can't blame me, look at the view!</div>
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There was a stairway to get down to the beach as well!</div>
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Here came our food! The BBQ shrimp was okay but only 4 per order and it was almost $9 CI! I always thought seafood should be cheaper in island places but I guess they imported the shrimps....<br />
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The Jerked Chicken Sandwich was really spicy, love it!</div>
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Hubby's grilled steak sandwich was really good too! Overall we both enjoyed both the food and view at Alfresco!</div>
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Our lunch with great view came to be $51.33 included tips..not bad at all Cayman price-wise! There were a few lizards/iguanas roaming around but they were pretty small so wasn't that scary!</div>
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We sat there for few more minutes after lunch to enjoy the view. We met a couple who sat next to us, they were from New Jersey! They also did the Dolphin Swim earlier in the week and they loved the experience!<br />
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Next off we drove to Turtle Farm, parked right across the street at Dolphin Discovery. The farm had a sign posted that last admission for today is 3:30 pm, they probably had an event going on afterwards. We were lucky to made it there at almost 2 pm. We went in and it was not that big as I expected. First I saw was those giant turtles swimming area...it's their mating and nesting area.<br />
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You might not able to tell how big those turtles are but see the picture below where my husband stand close to it....</div>
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Then there were a lot of tanks, some that you can touch the turtle some that you can't. I put my GoPro into the tank to get some photos of the little turtles swimming by.</div>
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There was an alligator cage but didn't look interesting. On the other hand, we spotted a huge iguana on the ground!</div>
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More!!!!</div>
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The other side of the farm was a "water park" but you need to pay extra to get into....I left the farm in less than an hour. We drove back to the hotel and searched where to have our last dinner at Grand Cayman. We had a lot of grilled seafood already and Italian cuisine so we wanted something different. We picked Yoshi Sushi which is located across the street from the Westin so it was within walking distance from Sunshine Suites. We didn't make a reservation and luckily there were low tables available.</div>
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It was pretty busy and I saw many people who ordered take out from here...I guess that indicated the food shouldn't be too bad!</div>
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When it comes to sushi, hubby can eat ALOT of specialty rolls! He ordered 5 rolls and a yellow tail sashimi and then we ordered two rice bowls and the waitress was looking at us and asked are we sure LOL!</div>
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Beef Teriyaki Rice Bowl, the sauce was pretty good but it could be better if they didn't cut the beef up into cubes which made it not as tender as it could be.</div>
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All the food on our table hahaha!</div>
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Look at the sushi rolls he ordered! I liked the spicy tuna roll :)</div>
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Hubby ordered a beef rice bowl too, forgot the name but we both agreed that the Teriyaki one was better!</div>
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Alright how much was the bill for all those food?? ......$101 included tips, the 2nd most expensive we had hehe.<br />
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The worst of vacation.....packing up....urgg how did I managed to get all those stuff into the luggage when we came? LOL!!! We didn't bought much souvenirs this time but the two conch shells from Acquarius Sea Tours took some room but they were pretty so had to fit them in! We packed our winter coats as well since we thought it would be silly to wear them to the airport LOL!<br />
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Goodbye Grand Cayman!</h2>
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Our flight was at 3:45 pm but we were told to be there at least 3 hours ahead and the hotel's check-out time was 12 pm. Since we'll get back to Boston at 7:45 pm, if I don't have a good lunch, I would faint...seriously I can't be starved LOL! We waited till 11 am when Sunshine Grill opened for lunch, I wanted to order 4 shrimp tacos but the order is either 2 tacos for $10.95 CI or 3 tacos for $13.95 CI. I talked to the waitress about it and she asked another waiter and they said they could place an order for 3 tacos for $13.95 CI and then half an order of $10.95 CI for 1 taco totally 4 tacos for $24.29 USD :D I really like their service and think about the customers first! I ordered take out and take them back to the room to enjoy our last meal at Grand Cayman. They were good but not as great as we had them few nights before. We checked out at 11:45 am and then drove to the airport. The drive wasn't bad...just follow the sign...arrows pointing to the airport. Car rental return was easy and fast as well! </div>
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There were a line of people going through the security check point and it was hot there...oh gosh great that we packed our winter coats! We got through security in an hour so we had 2.5 hours to spare. Inside the gate area was packed with people, we had a hard time finding two empty seats! We waited for a flight to board before we got seats! It has a sign "free wifi" but we couldn't connect -.- oh well the 2.5 hours I spent editing our photos :) Hubby walked around and checked out some shops here he said they were expensive..like 2X - 3X the regular price! Time for our flight goodbye Grand Cayman!!! We landed at 7:30 pm and it was snowing out oh nooo I want white sand, not white snow!</div>
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Conclusion of our trip....food is very expensive, more than other islands we had been. The food is good on average, we didn't had a bad meal but we also didn't have an impressive meal. In terms of food, I would prefer Aruba I felt like Aruba had more varieties and more budget friendly. Hubby of course preferred Cancun since he absolutely loved the fresh mussels there. One thing that I really like about Grand Cayman.....snorkeling especially Stingray City! If I have a chance to be back in the future, I'll definitely spend more time on snorkeling (first have to get hubby to learn how to swim LOL). One thing that I dislike about Grand Cayman......shops and restaurants are far apart from each other; there's not much we can go within walking distance. So without a car, it would be quite inconvenient! The other islands we went were usually set up hotels on one side facing the beach and the other side of the road are shops and restaurants. I felt there weren't much to do after dinner, I enjoy checking out shops after dinner or just walk around a nice area....Hawaii so far is the best to do that! One last thing I like about this trip...the weather was very comfortable, not humid and not too hot at all, although it rained one morning and two other days were just passing showers. The world is too big and we have too little time so don't wait...travel!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-20465615209764548912013-12-12T07:01:00.000-05:002014-02-12T20:20:15.186-05:00Grand Cayman Day 6 - Beach Beach Beach<h2>
Day 6 - Beach Beach & Beach</h2>
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We have been in Grand Cayman for 6 days now and we haven't really spend much time on the beach so today our plan was all beach! It was a sunny day unlike yesterday so it was perfect for beach! First stop the most famous of the beaches - Seven Mile Beach! We got there early before 9 am so it was still nice and quiet and we were able to set up our travel best friend - our tripod LOL! People passing by were looking at us, probably thinking we were weird but we don't mind as long as we got some great photos of us together :)</div>
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An advantage of being there early besides avoiding the crowd is the angle of the sun which gives the pretty turquoise water color and softer light to make you look great on photos. At noon, it'll be harsh light which gives very dark shadow on your face unless you have a flash. Afternoon up till 3 pm is good too and after that it's harder to get the turquoise color because of the water reflects the sun. To get the golden sunset color, be there an hour before sunset. Any time of the day, don't forget to apply sunscreen, the Caribbean sun will burn you easily!</div>
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My pretty sandals from Guess :)</div>
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We walked back to our hotel and took our car and drive to the next one....the Public Beach. There was a big parking lot at the Public Beach and a lot of vendors here from renting beach chairs to selling food. It was started to pack here!</div>
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Since a lot of beach chairs were set up here, it didn't give much space for us for photos so we headed back to our car and off to the next beach.</div>
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Art display made from wood at the Public Beach.</div>
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We arrived at Cemetery Beach, as indicated by the name...in front of the cemetery. The cemetery was very colorful filled with flowers. We passed many cemeteries on our drive to the East End yesterday and I noticed that many cemeteries were right next to the beautiful ocean.....pretty place to rest in peace :)</div>
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We parked right at the front of the cemetery as many people parked there and then there was a little pathway on the right way to enter the beach. Much more quieter over here than the Public Beach, better view as well!</div>
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I spotted a nice palm tree on the beach so that was where we set up the tripod :) I always had a picture in my mind to associate white clouds, turquoise water, white sand, and a palm tree to make it a perfect picture of paradise haha...found it!</div>
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That was the palm tree we photographed in..right in front of a waterfront mansion.....imagine living in this house, waking up everyday and see the beautiful beach so jealous!</div>
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A panorama of the Cemetery Beach, plenty of beach area!</div>
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We continued to walk up where there was less people and a nice background with houses :)</div>
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Cemetery Beach is my favorite beach!</div>
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We spent quite some time on Cemetery Beach....I really don't want to leave!!! But then I got hungry and time for lunch! I picked Heritage Kitchen based on reviews of fresh seafood at decent prices! Heritage Kitchen was tricky to find, how to find it? When you drive from Seven Mile Beach area to West Bay via West Bay Road you'll see an Esso gas station on the left and John Gray Memorial United Church on the right, turn left at the street in front of the gas station, it will have a sign that said Boggy Sand Rd. Continue to the end of the road and turn left, you'll see two blue houses, one is the Powell Museum and another "hidden" on the back is Heritage Kitchen.</div>
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The Powell Museum and craft shop:</div>
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Heritage Kitchen:</div>
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We parked our car right on front of Heritage Kitchen and checked out the Powell Museum and its gift shop. Free admission to the museum so check it out!</div>
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My stomach was calling me so time for lunch! Their menu:</div>
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I ordered the conch soup, the fried conch fritters, Cayman style snapper for hubby and Cayman style grouper for myself, oh and a can of orange soda....total was $42 USD. Cash is accepted here but you'll get Cayman Dollars back for change, the lady did conversion back and forth :D</div>
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Cute displays and with the Trip Advisor logo.</div>
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It was across the street from the beach so pretty view for lunch.</div>
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We went to the back side and sat on the picnic table where there was shade....it was comfortable under the shade! We waited for our food and in between there were at least 3 tour buses stopped by!!! Here came our food! The conch soup was very good, we liked the mild spicy flavor! The fried conch fritters were okay; I am not a fritter fan.</div>
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My Cayman style group, it was pretty good.</div>
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Hubby's Cayman style snapper....fresh!</div>
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It was good value for a fresh fish lunch! After lunch, we stopped at the West Bay Beach, a lot of vendors here selling stuff too!</div>
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We made a loop around West Bay to Turtle Farm then passed by Hell and then came back down and another loop to Morgan's Harbor. There wasn't much scenic spot to stop and see on the way though......afterwards, we drove back to the hotel.</div>
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We headed back out for dinner...we had a hard time deciding where to eat and hubby missed the crab claws so we went back to Da Fish Shake!</div>
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We got the front seat facing the sea again but no luck for a beautiful sunset as the clouds were covering the horizon grrrrr! Hubby ordered the mussels, it was $14 or $16 CI very expensive and it disappointed us! It was only 8 mussels oh wow extremely expensive and it wasn't that good! Hubby was hoping for the mussels he had in Cancun :(</div>
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But the crab claws were good and he enjoyed it at least!</div>
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The view at night with the bright star...wonder what's that star?</div>
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I had the burger, it was good and the fries were very good!</div>
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Hubby ordered the fish and chips, it was okay.</div>
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I had so many fried food in Grand Cayman and they gave me a lot of pimples ahhhhh!!!!</div>
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Here came the bill.....$95 USD (tips weren't automatically added to the bill so we made it a little bit over 15% to add up to $95). The food wasn't bad but we weren't impressed. We drove back after dinner and reviewed the photos we took today, it is always a fun activity to see the pictures we took :) Tomorrow will be our last full day in the island and to swim with the dolphin!!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-5336089454341779992013-12-11T22:10:00.000-05:002013-12-14T23:40:03.702-05:00Grand Cayman Day 5 - Drive to East End<h2>
Day 5 - Drive to East End</h2>
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After two days of going on tours, we gave ourselves a break...plan for the day: drive to East End area. I woke up early as usual and while hubby was still snoring, I continued to write my blog. I went to get breakfast, it was sunny but I saw a massive black cloud uh oh! After breakfast we were ready to head out and when we opened the door, it was raining out! It wasn't just passing rain but pouring rain!!! We stepped back into our room and tried to check the weather....internet was down, double GRRRR! We waited and waited and continued to peeked out the window to check it out, the rain finally stopped in an hour - it was almost 10 am! </div>
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Alright plan has changed, we went to Camana Bay to check out the stores, nothing we were interested in :( Oh well since we only had been here during our first night and it was dark, now I had the chance to take some photos in daylight....well not really light, the sky was still cloudy! It was quiet here in the morning probably bad weather and still early, but we saw some folks from cruise ship shopping tours.</div>
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We went up to the observation tower, the floor was wet, really wet that I was afraid that I might slip! The stairs up were quite colorful and I really enjoyed the mosaic tile wall, pretty and creative wasn't it?</div>
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We walked around the mall and saw wild chickens roaming around...well the wild chickens are all over the island haha!</div>
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The mall was decorated with Christmas decorations!</div>
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I found this waterfall wall which I like the seashells on the wall:</div>
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We spent probably half an hour in Camana Bay, while walking back to the parking lot, there was a farmer's market today!</div>
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Next stop, we drove to George Town for lunch, yes it was lunch time already and I haven't done much yet due to the rain. Driving by the gas station...oh gosh....gas is expensive at $5.68 CI per gallon! (We were glad that we rented a compact car which has very good gas mileage, we had the car for one week and only had to refuel once at $26.67 CI)</div>
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We decided to have lunch at Casanova By The Sea, the parking lot behind it was full so we had to park across the street; we were lucky to find a spot! We sat by the water and had a wonderful view of three cruise ships.</div>
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We both ordered a virgin pina colada and hubby ordered the "LINGUINI NOSTROMO" (seafood spaghetti):</div>
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The spaghetti was pretty good. I ordered the "PENNE CONTADINA" which was penne with chicken and mushroom in a cream sauce. It was creamy and good!</div>
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The bill came to be $51.61.....yep Grand Cayman is expensive!</div>
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We began our mini "road trip" to the East End of the island. We drove down the N Church St to S Church St and first stop: Smith Cove Bacadere. There was a parking lot and we walked across the street to get to Smith Cove, it was a little beach area with some rock formations, we saw a picture of the rock looked like an iguana but we couldn't get the right angle to see it probably it was higher tide. There were few people snorkeling here.</div>
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Another colorful iguana at Smith Cove:</div>
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We continued our drive and stopped at a small marina where we saw this leaning tree.....urg is it still alive?</div>
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Back on the road again, we passed by many beautiful houses in South Sound. We even found the Bodden Sisters Christmas Display house, I wondered how it looks like when the lights are turned out at night?? Next, we arrived at the famous Flip-flop Tree! If you forgot to pack your flip-flops come here and pick a pair LOL just kidding!</div>
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This was somewhere along the road....whenever we spotted a nice area, hubby tried to pull over and find a parking spot get off to take a photo.</div>
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Tips: if you want to drive a loop around East End best to turn to Frank Sound Road heading to Rum Point and then turn right to start the loop from Old Robin Road instead of starting from Seaview Road (basically going clockwise to do the loop instead of counter-clockwise). The reason is if you are starting from Seaview Road (counter-clockwise) all the points of interest are located on the right hand side and driving on the left make it inconvenient to stop. We went counter-clockwise and many times we passed the place and had to do a U-turn back to find a parking space!</div>
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We passed the blowholes and stopped at Gun Bay where there was a beach and the Cayman Castle Villa:</div>
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Cayman Castle Villa:</div>
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We drove pass Morritt's Resort and was looking for Barefoot Beach but no luck! We did however found Davinoff's Concrete Sculptures!</div>
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The giant concrete crab, silly hubby!</div>
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The big concrete blue iguana:</div>
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and an alligator: </div>
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A small stingray on the sand:</div>
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Turtle and mermaid:</div>
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We drove as far as Old Robin Road the intersection to Rum Point and we turned back to try to find Barefoot Beach once again....failed :( We should've printed out Testudo's Snorkel Guide with us on how to reach Barefood Beach: <a href="http://caymansnorkelblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/snorkel-guide-barefoot-beach.html">http://caymansnorkelblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/snorkel-guide-barefoot-beach.html</a></div>
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On the way back we stopped at few beaches.....the beaches here were small....</div>
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We made a stop at a craft and souvenir shop right across from Tukka Restaurant:</div>
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Then we saw this giant propeller where the Wreck of the Ten Sails is located.</div>
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Another small beach:</div>
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We made it back to the hotel at around 3:30 pm so total trip was around 3 hours. We didn't find as much interesting places as we would like but it was a nice drive to see the other side of Grand Cayman. Once we were back to the hotel, hubby was busy checking out Amazon deals of the day LOL so I walked across the street to Seven Mile Beach! Turquoise water and white sand...how much I miss you two!</div>
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The Westin Hotel on the back:</div>
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I didn't spend much time since we will be back tomorrow for more photographs :) I walked back to the hotel and rest a bit before we headed out to tonight's dinner: Lobster Night at Solana at the Marriott! </div>
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We headed out around 5:30 pm and drove to the Marriott Hotel, we parked at the hotel guest's parking lot and went in to ask where to park for dinner. The front desk person said it's okay to park at the hotel guest's parking lot. We went in and the facility was pretty nice....more of a resort feel!</div>
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We picked a seat right in front of the beach, not on the beach but good view enough!</div>
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I checked at the restaurant's website before we headed to Grand Cayman and saw there was a dress code so hubby packed a pant and a pair of shoe but once we arrived at Grand Cayman, we felt it might be weird if he wears a long pant LOL. He ended up wearing a nice shirt, a nice short, and flip-flops (not the Old Navy flip-flops of course) and it was fine. We saw other customers wearing shorts and flip-flops as well! The waiter helped to take a photo of us :)</div>
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The restaurant was decorated with hanging lamps...it was pretty but not pretty for photos because it'll make your photos to look like orange-yellowish color!</div>
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Lobster night - you can order as many dishes as you wish for $75 CI, the whole menu is lobster dishes except for the shrimp spring rolls! </div>
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To start, we ordered the virgin pina colada again, lobster bisque, and shrimp spring rolls. The lobster bisque was good although it wasn't the creamy kind:</div>
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Shrimp spring rolls, it was crunchy but not our favorite:<br />
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The waiter suggested to order 2 orders of the grilled lobster tail because the other main courses are small in portion, he was so right! The 2 grilled lobster tails...they were very good!!!</div>
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Hubby ordered 2....</div>
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and I ordered 2 hahaha! (See what I mean by the yellow lights completely throw the white balance off!)</div>
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The sun has set and once again I had no luck as the clouds covered the horizon!</div>
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I ordered the lobster curry, it was small portion, taste was just okay....first time trying lobster with curry!</div>
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Hubby ordered Lobster Thermidor, he wasn't a fan of lobster thermidor so he thought it was average:</div>
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Well since it was unlimited LOL..I ordered another lobster bisque and a steak...the steak was very good!</div>
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Hubby ordered another lobster bisque and another grilled lobster tail and with a steak :D</div>
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So in total we had 4 cups of lobster bisque, 2 order of the shrimp spring rolls, 3 lobster tails, 2 steaks, 1 lobster curry, and 1 Lobster Thermidor, we did pretty good right? </div>
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By the way, don't forget the Explore Cayman book, inside there's a coupon of 20% off the entire bill at Solana! I showed the coupon to the waiter and he wasn't sure so he checked with his manager and came back told us that 20% does apply!!! The bill of the lavish dinner plus two drinks: $160 CI that's around $192 USD included tips and 20% off, we added in extra tips to make it 20% since we had good service and the coupon saved us 20%!! It was the most expensive dinner we had in Grand Cayman but probably the most memorable well worth it!</div>
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On the way exiting the hotel, I took some night shoots :)</div>
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I do like the twinkling effect on Christmas trees :D</div>
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Hubby suggested to drive to the Bodden Sisters' Christmas Light Display, yay thanks hubby you really know what I want!!</div>
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Oh wow, it was unbelievable, it was probably the best private-home Christmas light display I ever seen! Hubby pulled over at the curbside, we didn't went in since the gate was closed so I took a few snap shoots:</div>
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Very festive!!! If you happen to be in Grand Cayman in December, you need to check that out!! Driving there was very easy, past the cruise port and continue on S Church Street!</div>
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It was a relaxing day for us even though it started unpleasant with rain but we still had some fun afterwards. Tomorrow will be beach day, pray for better weather!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-21572045092276108332013-12-10T21:29:00.000-05:002013-12-12T22:48:00.223-05:00Grand Cayman Day 4 - Stingray City<h2>
Day 4 - Stingray City</h2>
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Finally this was the day to Stingray City; the main reason we chose Grand Cayman for our vacation! I woke early as usual and started to pack.....beach towers check, sunscreen check, GoPro check, camera check hahaha! We waited at the front lobby at 9:10 am and in few minutes or so Captain Mario came to pick us up! Next, he stopped at Holiday Inn and picked up two girls from New York....oh yes we all escaped the snow :D In no time we arrived at the marina and went up to Captain Mario's ship...I should say a yacht! The yacht was big, clean, and comfortable. There was another couple who arrived earlier and Mario said we had a small group today - only 6 of us! We were so lucky, I felt like we were on a private tour on a beautiful yacht! Have to see it to believe it...time for photos!!!</div>
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Sail out to the turquoise water of the Caribbean Sea!!</div>
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It was already fun just to photograph around Mario's yacht! The seats were very comfortable plus the warm sea breeze, how wonderful life is!</div>
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It was an overcast day but in some area still managed to get some blue sky in my photos :)</div>
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There were already two Red Sails boat there at Stingray City Sandbar but fortunately we went to snorkeling at the reef first.</div>
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We arrived at the reef and snorkeled, the sea was rough that day so had to work harder to swim hehe. Hubby is a non-swimmer so Mario keep an eye on him to make sure he is alright; he had snorkeled before and comfortable in water! I took mostly videos and forgot about photos with my GoPro but Mario had an underwater and took a lot of photos of us which we can download for free afterwards! Some photos of the reef that Mario took that day:</div>
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Mario also went down and got the eel out, he knew exactly where the eel live, oh my when I first saw it, it was big! Mario was very close to capture some photos while I was a few feet away capturing video! Then I was drifted and getting closer to the eel and I tried to swim away LOL!</div>
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No idea how long we stayed at the reef but Mario said we can take our time, there was no rush since only 6 of us :) I got tired and went back in the yacht and just relax! </div>
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Don't I look relax?? </div>
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Blue sky, white clouds, and turquoise water...picture perfect!</div>
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I felt like a celebrity hahaha!</div>
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Next stop, we headed to Starfish Point and passed Stingray City Sandbar again, this time there were three ships there. I like our ship better hahaha don't be jealous!</div>
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We arrived Starfish Point and another small tour was there but they left a few minutes later so we had the whole area ourselves wohooo! We drove to Rum Point on Sunday and we couldn't find Starfish Point, wish we know how to get here since it's very picturesque! </div>
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This is how paradise looked like in my dreams.....</div>
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Mario helped to take a photo of us with the starfish, love it!</div>
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Mario's yacht - "Big John"</div>
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Hubby pretending to be the captain, where are we heading next captain? Hahaha!</div>
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I forgot to ask his name but he's Mario's crew who made a delicious fresh and spicy conch salad, it was very good!</div>
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We just love the ship!</div>
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I was standing on the ship and took a pano of Starfish Point, it would be perfect if it was blue sky and white clouds all the way, dark clouds were coming from the left :(</div>
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Another jetski tour arrived and we left to Stingray City Sandbar!!!</div>
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We had pizzas for lunch :)</div>
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We arrived at Stingray City, spotted a stingray already!</div>
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It was my first time seeing a stingray besides on TV and they were a lot bigger than I thought!!! I heard that they are friendly so I wasn't afraid to get on water and I stuck my GoPro underneath to get some videos and photos! They must know we have food; they swim to us like crazy!</div>
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It was an unique and amazing experience to be so close to the stingrays! They were very soft when gliding pass me!</div>
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Their faces were just like cartoons LOL so cute!</div>
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This fish kept following the stingrays lol probably for food but I doubt he can fight with the rays :P</div>
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Those 100+ lbs stingrays bumped to me like bumper cars LOL!</div>
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Mario and his crew instructed us on how to hold the stingray....the stingray we were holding named Lily, the biggest one here! The bottom of the stingray was very soft but the top was very rough. The moment has came, we kissed the stingray hahahaha (and will bring us 7 years of good luck)!!<br />
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Afterwards, it started to rain really hard too and we headed back! It was an awesome day, the time we arrived the dock was like 2:30 pm so the 3.5 hours tour ended up being 4+ hours totally worth the $50 (husband felt so too)! We tipped $20 since Mario and his crew were great, they were very professional, helpful, and fun. I did not felt like I was in a tour; no rush at all, I was very impressed and appreciated their excellent service! I would not hesitate to recommend Acquarius Sea Tours to everyone! </div>
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While on the way back, hubby asked me how and why did I chose Acquarius Sea Tours! I told him I searched the top rated Stingray City tours and ended up with top 5 choices. Then I compared the number of stops; I looked for tours that offered 3 stops: snorkeling at the reef, Starfish Point, and Stingray City with the longest duration....ranged from 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 hours. Although Acquarius Sea Tours was the most expensive of the 5....$50 per person but it was the longest duration and with free photos to download. I picked the right tour this time and ended up very lucky on choosing the right date with only 6 of us! Mario said the tour tomorrow have 30 people! If you are going to stay for a week like us or even longer, I recommend first to check the Cayman Port website for ship schedule (<a href="http://www.caymanport.com/shipschedules.php">http://www.caymanport.com/shipschedules.php</a>) pick a date with no cruise ship or the least cruise ships. Then, email the tour and request a day with less people, that would give you the best chance of having a small group :) Of course, I would recommend Acquarius Sea Tours!!!</div>
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We got back to the hotel, shower and rest. We had used up our energy for the day LOL so we decided to stay in our hotel to have dinner tonight. Sunshine Grill ranked #2 in TA so we must try it, it would be a shame to stay in Sunshine Suites and not have a chance to try out Sunshine Grill! We ordered the fried shrimps and calamari for appetizer, they were yummy!</div>
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I ordered the shrimp tacos since I am not a fish lover and hubby ordered the famous fish tacos!</div>
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Both were excellent, we preferred the shrimp tacos :) This was the cheapest dinner we had in Grand Cayman - $52 USD included tips!</div>
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This was our best day so far in Grand Cayman, good night!!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-88501852955609002412013-12-09T07:15:00.000-05:002013-12-12T07:16:09.337-05:00Grand Cayman Day 3 - Sea Trek<h2>
Day 3 - Sea Trek</h2>
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As usual, I woke up before 6 am sigh got used to waking up early so couldn't go back to sleep more. The thing that I like to do early in the morning while waiting for hubby to wake up is looking at pictures we took the day before....great way to start my morning :) Hubby finally woke up and took shower while I went to the breakfast room to get breakfast. Breakfast was the same everyday but we didn't mind. After breakfast, we went to the hotel front desk to ask if they could store our camera for us. We told the front desk lady our horrible room break-in story we had previously so we have to make sure our camera is secure and she went to talk to her manager. The front desk manager came out and she said she can store our camera in her office where it'll be locked and no one can access except her. We felt better and left it with her and then we headed out to George Town - plan for the day: <a href="http://www.snubacayman.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=19">Sea Trek</a> at 11:30 and then shopping!</div>
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We got there very early around 9:30, we found Sea Trek which located on the back of Casanova By The Sea and The Cabana, there was a small parking lot on the back. The guy said they could switch us to the 10:30 tour since we were early yay! We asked if we could park our car there and do some shopping and then come back at 10:15, he said sure!!! We walked to the cruise terminal shopping area, there we mostly jewelry stores and not much souvenir stores :( We walked back at around 10:10 and we filled out the forms. The guy asked where we staying and I told him Sunshine Suites and he gave us 10% off of $89 (saved $20 for two of us) great!!!</div>
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We waited couple of minutes for other cruise ship people to arrive. Next, we headed out to the boat where he took us to the other boat and on the way he reviewed instructions to us. He thought us three important hand signals: ok, not ok, I want to get up immediately. He also said when we stepped down to the ocean floor via the ladder, stop every 3 steps to make sure our ears pop! We got to the other bigger boat with the Sea Trek helmets, the guide told us it weighted about 70 lbs! But when underwater, it'll feel like 15 lbs. We took turn to go down, I was the 2nd to the last hahaha! The water was cold when I first stepped in but quickly I felt warmed up! The moment the guy put the helmet on me oh my it was heavy!!! I slowly stepped down the ladder and stopped every 3 steps to make sure my ears popped. The whole process was very smooth and before I know it...I was down at the ocean floor!!</div>
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Walking on the ocean floor probably felt like walking on the moon like floating around LOL! The shape of the helmet made the view looking weird when looking on the sides due to the bent corner so best to look straight :) There were only 6 of us total plus 1 guide and 1 diver so we had a small group which was great!! There were school of fishes following us!! The guide poured some fish food on our hands so the school of fishes came eating hahaha!</div>
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Then, we played a passing the ball game well it's not a ball looked more like a submarine toy hehe. Look straight or else if you look on the side, you'll see the distance much closer than actual and you'll miss the "ball"! Then, we walked to another area where the guide showed us the corals. The place was marked so we walked on sand and not have to worry about stepping on rocks or corals, also they put a rope to make sure you are not touching the corals.</div>
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Hubby trying to grab the fish but missed haha!</div>
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There were many fishes following us. Note that do not step too high or else you'll kick the sand up and will make the water more muggy!</div>
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Don't we looked like astronauts?</div>
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The guide did a few tricks like taking off the helmet to blow an "O", I had it captured in video not photo so couldn't show pictures! Then, the guide took a sea urchin and placed on our hand, the sea urchin sort of suck on your hand so you can turn up side down and it'll stick on you :D He also placed a sea spider on our hands too, it was so small!!!</div>
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The 45 minute dive quickly passed and time to get up :( Walking up was easy where my ears keep popping haha! We got back and tipped the guide $20 since they were very friendly and professional! I saw the 11:30 group and there were at least 10+ people, we were so lucky to get on the earlier tour with less people! We rinsed off and went to the bathroom to change. Afterwards, we asked if they have suggestion on where to park in town to do more shopping. They said just leave the car here :D</div>
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We walked to Da Fish Shack for lunch, the view was spectacular! We didn't have our DSLR camera with us so we use the GoPro Hero 3+ to take the photos, that's why the pictures are wide angle.</div>
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We ordered the mango smoothie and virgin pina colada again hahahahaha! Both are good :)</div>
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Appetizer: we ordered the crab claws, it was fresh and delicious! Hubby thought this was better than Duke's steampots he had last night!</div>
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There were tons of flies, they loved the crab claws as well so once we finished we put it on the side to attract them there and it worked!! Here came our two main courses, hubby ordered the steamed snapper and I ordered the Seafood Rundown. Both were great and look at the view!!!</div>
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We highly recommended Da Fish Shack for seafood!!</div>
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The bill for the lunch....$82 USD included tips, expensive but well worth it!</div>
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After the wonderful lunch, we walked to the waterfront shops to do more shopping. There weren't much shops that we like, hubby was disappointed but he managed to buy two items: a magnet lobster and a turtle that has pretty Grand Cayman and starfish on it. We got back to our hotel around 3:30 pm and hubby took a nap. For dinner, we headed out to Macabuca Bar & Grill for the Monday night BBQ buffet for $17 CI per person (a bargain in Grand Cayman). Driving there wasn't bad although we took the wrong road, instead of keeping on the left to NW Point Road, we kept straight on Town Hall Road..but we got back out to NW Point Road :) When we arrived Macabuca, we were early so not much people there and we grabbed a good seat facing out to see the sunset.</div>
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I always had bad luck catching the sunset; it always got covered but massive clouds on the horizon!!</div>
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We ordered the mango smoothie and virgin pina colada again haha, I think they all use the same mango juice to make the mango smoothie because they all tasted alike LOL! This was my first plate! The ribs were good, the best was the fried fish!</div>
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We liked the best were the corns haha so I went to get two more! The pasta was good too, I like the mild-spicy sauce.</div>
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After sunset, more and more people came.</div>
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Total price for dinner: $63.25 included tips not bad :) </div>
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We headed back to the hotel and when I shower there was no hot water! I waited and waited and ran out of patient lol so I took shower with "cold" water actually the cold water wasn't too cold! I called the front desk and they said they just fixed it and should have hot water in 10 minutes or so!!!! </div>
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Overall it was a fun day, I never imagined walking on the ocean floor and see many fishes. One day I would like to dive.....until hubby learns how to swim haha! Good night Grand Cayman, tomorrow we'll be heading out for Stingray City yay can't wait!!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-32745274050548191512013-12-08T17:08:00.000-05:002013-12-11T07:22:33.859-05:00Grand Cayman Day 2 - Driving to Rum Point<h2>
Day 2 - Driving to Rum Point</h2>
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Waking up without the beeping sound of alarm felt so great....yes we are on vacation! Plan for today - driving to Rum Point; we originally scheduled a tour to Stingray City with <a href="http://acquarius.ky/">Acquarius Sea Tours</a> but they called us days ahead saying that the weather will not be good so we rescheduled to Tuesday. Today was Sunday and no cruise ship on port so it'll be a good day to Rum Point! While hubby was still sleeping, I went to the breakfast room to take some "grab and go breakfast" (free included in room price). The choices were limited but adequate for breakfast: muffins, bananas, cereals, oat meals, juices, yogurt, and milk. </div>
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After the quick breakfast, I reviewed the direction to Rum Point with hubby and it was confusing with lots of rotaries. I went to the hotel front desk and grabbed some maps, the best maps I thought were from the Cayman Good Taste magazine and the Explore Cayman coupon book. We literally ripped the maps off from those books and marked the way according to Google Map on which exits to take on each rotaries! Off we go again!</div>
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It was around 9 am when we left and early morning there wasn't much traffic which was great because we could drive slow. I was keeping track of each rotaries ahead and still we got off track when we were on Shamrock Drive but managed to get back on :) On Rum Point Drive, we saw a cute little marina and stopped for photos:</div>
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Continue on our drive, we arrived at Rum Point just before 10 so total time around an hour. There were plenty of parking spaces when we got there perhaps we were early. Got to have a picture with the landmark - Rum Point barrels :D</div>
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There were a few restaurants and shops there which owned the facilities so you can't bring your own food and drinks; that was fine since we planned to have lunch here anyways :) Walking on the path to the Rum Point beach, I saw the colorful picnic tables with the gorgeous turquoise water on the background!!!</div>
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Here it was the beautiful Rum Point!</div>
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The colorful iguana, I didn't keep track of them though!</div>
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We got there just before people start to arrive so we quickly set up the tripod to take some photos of us! Aww the color of the water was too pretty, it looked just like in postcards!</div>
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It was a windy day so that was the reason why Acquarius postponed our trip to Stingray. But it was a perfect day for Rum Point! This place was so beautiful that I stopped at every few seconds to get some shots!</div>
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The hi-low dress looked great when windy hahahaha! Although it was windy but it was warm wind so don't need to worry about getting cold! It was so comfortable!</div>
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I told hubby to take a photo of me watching the beautiful turquoise water.....I wish that's the scene I see each morning waking up! </div>
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The birds picked a great place to live, I am so jealous of them!</div>
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They wouldn't let me to come close LOL!</div>
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I spotted a couple went off snorkeling:</div>
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Yes...relax, you are in Cayman Islands!<br />
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Time for lunch at the Rum Point Wreck Bar & Grill, their menus were tied with a coconut on the picnic table, pretty smart right?</div>
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First, we started with the iced cold mango smoothie and virgin pina colada (I have zero alcohol tolerance, one drop of alcohol would make me cry LOL)! Hubby's mango smoothie was delicious!</div>
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Hubby ordered the catch of the day, the fish was grilled and poured with a curry sauce, pretty good!</div>
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I ordered the fried chicken tenders with BBQ sauce pretty good as well! Having lunch with good food and awesome view.....priceless!</div>
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Total cost of our lunch with jaw-dropping view: $45 USD included 15% tips :) After lunch, a group of people came back from sailing and all headed to the restaurant! We continued with photographing the beautiful area! More photos to share:</div>
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Look at the view....paradise! I don't want to leave!</div>
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I did a pano as well, blue sky, white clouds, and turquoise water!</div>
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Last view of Rum Point before we leave:</div>
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I really don't want to leave but must move on to next stop: Starfish Point. Ummm.....we couldn't find the pathway to get there, all we saw was an empty beach area with tons of grass and trees, oh well save for the Stingray City tour! We drove back and on our way we stopped at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park. I didn't want to go there since I saw some photos in TA posted by other people of snakes (I can't tell you how much I am afraid of snakes, I would seriously scream and my legs will freeze). I told hubby I will not go into tree area; I will only stay on the path and if we see any snake, he has to carry me and run!! Compromised so we went in. </div>
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I remembered I saw a coupon in the coupon book which saved us $2 per person so it was $18 USD for both of us. A model of the park:</div>
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Heading out first we arrived at the orchid garden....no orchid blooming at this time of the year so sad...we were here for orchids! Warning....we forgot our bug spray, there were tons of mosquitoes in this swap/bridge area. I stand still for few seconds for a photo and got bit at three places urg!!!!</div>
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We were amazed by the gold-ish color underneath the water, don't know what they are but we quickly ran away since the mosquitoes were having dinner on us!!!</div>
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But as soon as we got out of the swap area, it was fine!! On the path to look for the island Blue Iguana, we passed many strange looking plants and flowers:</div>
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I love how this yellow flowers hanging down!</div>
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Next, we arrived at the color gardens where each garden has a theme..this one my favorite pink:</div>
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Hum..is this a tree branch or the tree trunk?</div>
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This exotic plant..don't know what it called...it's weird that the flowers bloom inside like a pot of grass!</div>
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We got out of the color gardens and arrived at the palm tree area/ lily pond.....no blooming lilies as well :(</div>
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More unique plants and flowers:</div>
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Ahhh finally we spotted a Blue Iguana taking a nap underneath the picnic table!</div>
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Hubby was brave enough to slowly and quietly come up close to take some photos, careful don't touch it since it'll bite!</div>
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Mission accomplished, we can leave now LOL! Hubby insisted to walk to the iguana habitat to see more iguanas....NOOOOOOO!!! I was in high alert walking the trail to make sure I don't see any snake on the branches!!! Hubby walked in front first to check before I proceed hahaha! More plants of flowers on the way:</div>
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We saw a bird as well, it stopped and posed for us :D</div>
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A little lizard on the tree:</div>
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A toad climbing on the tree too!</div>
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We arrived at the iguana habitat, it was walled, and hubby peeked inside, no blue iguanas!! Alright time to run back!!!</div>
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We made it out of the park without seeing any snake yay!!!! Don't forget to check underneath your car before leaving :D</div>
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The drive back to the hotel wasn't bad at all, just follow signs to Bodden Town, then to George Town, then to Seven Mile Beach! It was so much easier than driving to Rum Point! We made it back to the hotel around 3 pm and rested a little before we headed out again for dinner. We picked Duke's for dinner tonight!</div>
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I haven't seen those oil lamps for a long time!</div>
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For appetizers we ordered the baby back ribs, they were delicious!</div>
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The garlic and butter shrimps were great too!</div>
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I ordered the Seafood Jambalaya, it was like the seafood parella, a little bit salty for me!</div>
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Hubby ordered the classic seafood steampot, it was ok only.</div>
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Total cost of the dinner with a coke and a mango smoothie: $95.31 USD included tips! Pretty expensive but it's Grand Cayman! Duke's appetizers were much better than their main courses we thought! </div>
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We had a wonderful day today, took a lot of great photos of Rum Point!! Good night Grand Cayman..see you tomorrow!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-13852103264112463402013-12-07T17:11:00.000-05:002013-12-10T06:36:42.375-05:00Arriving Grand Cayman<h2>
Winter escape to Grand Cayman</h2>
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It has been freezing cold and snow is coming on its way but we escaped it (well at least for a week) to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands where average temperature is mid-80's!!! I have been to George Town only half a day during a cruise years ago so it's great to be able to spend more time to explore the island. Usually weeks before my trip, I will start packing and having daydreams about my trip but this time I have been too busy with work to even think about it and then before I realized...it's time for vacation! Don't worry, I planned ahead for this trip and booked all the excursions :)</div>
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The 4 hour and 15 minutes flight felt so long but thanks to JetBlue's in flight TV kept me entertained. The flight attendants started to pass out customs and immigration forms; a hint that we are soon arriving the island! Each person has to fill out a white cardboard embarkation form, you must keep the bottom section till you leave the island! Only one blue (customs declaration) form is required per family with the same last name. I carried two pens with me hahaha prepared right? We finally arrived at Grand Cayman wohooo! The moment I stepped out of the flight oh boy I wanted to change my sneakers into flip flops right away....it was warm and humid! The airport is very small so you actually have to walk out of the plane via the stairs and then walk into the building. The passport control was slow then we claimed our luggage and headed out to car rental. The lady said go across the street and turn left....we found out it was actually turn left and walk to the end of the road and then cross the street! It wasn't a long walk though!</div>
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I reserved the car weeks ahead on Expedia, the rate for one week for a small compact car is $128 included tax, not bad at all compared to the price of taxi from airport to hotel around $24! I also did my research from Trip Advisor and found out that a driving permit is required and it will cost $20 USD but someone said that an international permit will work so hubby went to AAA and got an international driving permit for $15 and it's valid for one year. Important to note that driving in Cayman Islands is on the left side.......and most of the cars' driver's side are on the right!!! Sighh by the time we arrived all the available compact cars' driver's seat are on the right and the only left side cars are the big SUVs which we don't want to upgrade. Hubby took a few seconds to practice in the parking lot and off we go!! </div>
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Warning...I printed out a map from Google map but it wasn't detailed enough to make it out of the airport area to Seven Miles Beach!!! We followed cars and generally guessing on the direction "right turn" LOL and there were tons of rotaries but we managed to made it to our hotel...Sunshine Suites! I highly recommended to print out a more detail map to show at least each rotary on which exit to take! By the time we arrived the hotel, it was almost 4 pm! We were upgraded from a studio to a one-bedroom suite; difference was a king bed instead of queen and addition of a sofa bed. I got a good rate from Expedia - $122 per night excluding tax, good deal for Cayman Islands! Our room was clean, it has all the amenities, the only down sides I could think of were the AC was loud and the bathroom was small.<br />
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Our one-bedroom suite with a spacious sitting area.</div>
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A large fridge to store drinks!</div>
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The king size bed, it was pretty comforty!</div>
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Small but clean bathroom.</div>
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As soon as I arrived in the room, I changed into my shorts and flip flops! There was an event tonight at Camana Bay - Parade of Lights from 6-8. I was thinking to take the bus to go since it will be dark when we come back and hubby wasn't familiar with the road nor diving on the left nor on the right side of the wheel! I checked with the front desk, the lady said best to take the taxi back since Cayman bus at night wasn't reliable...urg!! Hubby decided to drive! Venture off we go driving slow; speed limit was usually 40 mph! We passed Camana Bay when we were driving from the airport to the hotel was we know the way, it was straight down on Esterly Tibbetts Hwy, passed two rotaries. We safely arrived Camana Bay yay!!!!</div>
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We walked to the waterfront area to see if we could find a table with a good view for dinner but unfortunately all the good seating were reserved. We ate at The Waterfront Restaurant:</div>
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We got there early so it was pretty empty. The salt and pepper hahaha! </div>
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We ordered two appetizers and two main:<br />
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The Moroccan meatballs, it was alright but at $9 (Cayman Island Dollars) for 3 meatballs....pretty expensive!<br />
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Calamaris were pretty good.<br />
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Hubby ordered the lime and chili shrimp pasta, it was the first time we had spicy pasta and it was good!<br />
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I ordered the steak sandwich, it cooked medium as I wanted and it was yummy! The total cost of the dinner was $74 USD (the bill showed both amount in Cayman Dollars and US Dollars, the restaurant automatically converted to US Dollars by $1 USD = 0.8 CI which is the standard in the island), ohhh forget to mention $74 USD included 15% gratitude. Most restaurants included 15% tips in the bill already so don't forget to check!</div>
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After dinner, we walked around to get a good viewing area and it was packed with tourists and locals. We heard that the show actually starts at 7 pm. As we were looking for a good spot, we passed trees wrapped with lights and a big Christmas tree - the atmosphere was filled with holiday spirits!</div>
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The locals already reserved the best viewing area with their beach chairs and coolers. We walked pass the big Christmas tree, it was beautiful at night with the lights turned on and a lighted water fountain :)</div>
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This was the 2nd time that I associated shorts with Christmas tree, love the feeling!</div>
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I went up close and took a pic of the beautiful Christmas tree, the clouds on the background made the photo dramatic :)</div>
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All the spots right next to the water were filled so we stand on the back row but it was unobstructed because people were sitting down in front of us. We waited and waited for it to start, the wait was so long we felt like. Then the lady in front of us told us it should start at 7 pm but it's already 7:06 right now but it's Cayman Island late is normal LOL! She was also nice to point us to the other side of the bay where the tents were for less people, greater chance to get a good spot, and the view should be better! We took her advise and walked to the other side of the bay where the tents, yep she was correct, it did offered a better viewing since the buildings of the bay is now the backdrop. The show finally started at 7:15 ish!!! </div>
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The first boat was decorated as a Christmas tree with lights, you couldn't see from the photo but you could see from the water reflection:</div>
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The second boat was by the Glass Recycling with a lot of multi-colored LED lights:</div>
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The 3rd boat was Santa themed and Santa and Mrs. Claus were on the boat :)</div>
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Then the other smaller boats came out from the other side and didn't came over to our side so we decided to leave so we don't need to stuck in traffic to get out of the mall. It was a fun event but we weren't impressed. The tents filled with local vendors:</div>
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Driving at night was an adventure since it was our first night on the island, on the rotary, we took the wrong exit to Seven Mile Beach!!! That led us to West Bay Road instead of Esterly Tibbetts Hwy but it still work to get back to our hotel. We passed by many hotels along the Seven Mile Beach and then saw the sign Sunset Suites but we passed it LOL! We had to go around to the next rotary and turned back but we safely made it back to our hotel! That concluded our first night at Grand Cayman :) </div>
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We checked the weather forecast at home and it was 90% of snowing so we escaped the snow hahaha or else the scene at home would look like this:</div>
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Can't wait for tomorrow!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-7258632562564466982013-08-07T20:43:00.000-04:002013-09-21T07:20:28.456-04:00Madrid Day 5: Day Trip to Avila<h2>
Day Trip to Avila</h2>
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Our last full day in Madrid also our last day trip, we went to the walled city of Avila! We picked Avila because of its beautiful medieval walls and not just seeing it but also walking on it! Avila is not as popular or well-known as Toledo or Segovia so before we arrived, I was expecting it would be a small town that we'll spend only few hours in. I guess another reason why it's not as popular is the distance, although not much further from Segovia but the train is much slower ~ it takes 1.5 hours to get there by train. We took the 8:30 am train from Chamartin arriving at 9:54 am. I was thinking to take an earlier train but then I saw that many tourist sights open at 10 am anyways. When we were on the train, the train passed by many mountains...middle of nowhere. Literally, middle of nowhere, some farms with horses and cows, few houses, and once in a while a deer! The mountains I saw were very dry and I don't see much roads. I was constantly checking the time to see when will we arrive.</div>
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5 minutes before arrival, my eyes were looking around hoping to see the city wall but I couldn't locate it. We arrived, the station is pretty small and we walked out, there were signs pointing to the tourism office. It was at least a 15 minutes walk, passing through local houses and not much shops and then there it is the Walls of Avila! We are here!!! Also note that Avila is much cooler than Madrid and in the early morning it was in the mid 50's degrees Fahrenheit so maybe bring a light jacket! But it gets warmer in the afternoon! </div>
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On the right is the tourism office where you can get a detailed map for 50 cents; there are free maps also available inside the entrance to the medieval walls but less details. </div>
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Photos on the outside of the wall first! We saw this very old tree on the outside and hubby wanted a photo with it:</div>
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The medieval walls of Avila!! There are tour trains available too if you don't want to walk....</div>
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It was a perfect day, blue sky with clouds and breezy to make sightseeing comfortable!</div>
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We walked through the walls and inside the city to find the entrance but it's not there, the entrance is outside the wall. We passed the Cathedral of Avila:</div>
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We walked into an office to purchase our tickets, only 5 euros each which provided access to both sides of the medieval walls. The right sides are all accessible while the left sides only a section is accessible. In the office, we walked up the wooden stairs (felt like we were walking up to the attic lol) but before we know it, we are up on the walls!!! The walls are simply amazing! It was hard to imagine walking on a thousand year old wall; the yellowish color made me felt like I am in a castle with walls!</div>
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We walked and stopped every few steps to take photos and without much tourists, it was like a dream for photographers! We went up almost every semicircular towers, the stairs up the towers were very steep so be careful and hold on to the rails! There are 88 semicircular towers total maybe we went up to like 15? Up on each semicircular towers offer a unique view of the city, there are too many angles in which we can take great photos of! I really don't know how to explain it in words and a photo worth a thousand words so here they are:</div>
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The view of the semicircular towers up from a tower:</div>
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We saw an old couple up on the tower too and they asked us to help them take a photo, in return, they helped to take a photo of us on the point and shoot camera:</div>
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The views are stunning from up here and a little breeze from the wind, so relaxing!</div>
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The view of an old cathedral (across from it is the tourism office) and the right street is the way we walked from the station. I love the orange tone of the cathedral and the red roofs of all the houses in contrast with the blue sky and white clouds made a great photo!</div>
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The stairs up to the tower, very steep and some are uneven so hold on to the rail like I did :)</div>
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More views of the semicircular towers:</div>
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Walking along on the wall, we saw a very old abandoned house:</div>
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We continued on walking and taking photos, I was trying to see if I see a four column structure outside the town. I have seen photos of the city enclosed by the medieval walls taken from the four column structure called the Los Cuatro (The Four) Postes. We keep on walking....</div>
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I like the view of this photo, one side is the medieval walls and the other side is the modern city parked with cars:</div>
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Another church inside the wall:</div>
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Another perspective of the wall:</div>
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It was so much fun taking photos of here and there!</div>
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This "bell" tower looking structure reminded me of the Greek islands!</div>
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The atmosphere was so relaxing in Avila!</div>
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We walked all the down to the very end hum...I wonder how many feet or even miles we walked! The Walls are well maintained in great condition:</div>
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I pulled out the detailed map I purchased and located the Los Cuatro (The Four) Postes, it is located across the bridge (see photo below on the right side) and then turn right and walk up to the hill.</div>
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The houses enclosed inside the medieval wall:</div>
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We went as far as we could able to access and then walked down to have lunch. Yes, it was lunch time already!! We didn't want to walked all the way back to the Cathedral side for lunch and walked all the way back so we hoped to find something close by. We walked across the bridge and saw some umbrellas out, luckily hubby's instinct was correct, that was a restaurant. It was a bar like restaurant, we walked in and asked if there's any English menu. Urg....no English menu and the waiter barely spoke any English! But fortunately he called his wife who came in and she spoke a little of English! We ordered the set lunch, hubby ordered a fish fillet, and I ordered a steak both with fries and a huge salad. The food was acceptable for $19 euros total including two sodas.</div>
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After lunch, we walked up to the Los Cuatro (The Four) Postes, it was much of a shorter walk than I anticipated! It really took less than 10 minutes to get up there. There are also buses (actually a van) that stops at The Four Postes but the schedule is like ever half an hour or so.</div>
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Here's a photo of The Four Postes on the left and the walled city of Avila on the right, now I can clearly see that it is a walled city! </div>
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There were a lot of tourists stopping by The Four Postes so we waited for our turn to take some photos. There is also an observation deck on the right side of The Four Postes but in my opinion, The Four Postes gave a better view of the city than the observation deck because there are more trees to distract the photo. I had to trim down the trees:</div>
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The observation deck on the right side see the photo below. This photo is taken from The Four Postes, strangely there is a big rock that you can step to have a photo with the beautiful city of Avila:</div>
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"This is my kingdom!" yep that's what hubby trying to express in the photo LOL!</div>
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Doesn't this look like in ancient Greece too? We waited until all the tourists left and we have the place all to ourselves wohooo!</div>
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One more view of The Four Postes and the walled city of Avila:</div>
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Alright time to walk back to the city to see the other section of the medieval walls! On our walk back inside the walls:</div>
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This section, present the ticket to enter, it was a very steep way up!!</div>
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Boooo! I am here LOL! This section of the walls give another view of the Cathedral (on the left) and the city inside and outside!</div>
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The orange-red roof houses with the dried field on the back and then mountains on the way back added many layers to the photo:</div>
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Another different church/cathedral outside the city walls:</div>
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Only a partial of the left side wall are accessible so it wasn't a long walk as the other side. We came back down, OMG I didn't realized we were that far up, looking down while walking down was scary for me LOL! I tried not to look down and just grabbed the handrails and follow the steps down. After we got down, we walked out of the city walls and to the cathedral for a picture:</div>
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There are restaurants and cafes outside the wall as well as inside especially the area around the Avila Cathedral, filled with restaurants and shops. </div>
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We walked on the outside circumference of the city walls to get back to the tourism office area to walk back to the train station: </div>
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Walled city of Avila......good-bye!!</div>
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Good-bye you all good looking cathedrals!</div>
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We thought of taking the bus back but it was hard to know which bus will stop at the train station and also no idea of the schedule. Walking wasn't bad, we passed a convenient store to buy a soda. I bought the tickets for the 4:49 pm train back to Madrid, when we arrived the station, we were early so I changed the ticket to the next train back. The train tickets were 9.4 euros one way per person so totally worth the trip cost to visit Avila! We would've stay later but then we will be flying back to the US the next day so we need to head back to Madrid early and then pack up. I would love to stay in Avila overnight, I seen photos where the medieval walls are illuminated at night, must be great to take night photos of the walls!!! We had a great day in Avila, it was a relaxed day although a little be far from Madrid but manageable for a day trip! </div>
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We got back to Madrid before 6, took the Cercanis train back to Sol, and had a great seafood feast dinner at Venta El Buscon! We were here for the meat feast last night and today we came back for the seafood feast haha! The seafood platter for 30 euros, enough for two of us! This is our favorite restaurant in Madrid, great food and great value!</div>
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Yummy!!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-63099355242400464212013-08-06T13:43:00.000-04:002013-09-22T15:47:17.861-04:00Madrid Day 4: Day Trip to Toledo<h2>
Day Trip to Toledo</h2>
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After Segovia, I really enjoyed taking day trips to near-by cities and towns from Madrid so I was looking forward to our 2nd day trip: Toledo. We took the early train at 7:50 am from Atocha (trains to Toledo are leaving on the lower level of the train station) arrived at 8:35 am. Toledo train station is very pretty, probably the prettiest train station I ever seen! It really reminded me of Sevilla; its Moorish architecture. The photo below was taken when we were returning to Madrid:</div>
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Once we walked out of the train station, there were plenty of taxis available to get you to the city center but we took the bus instead. You need to turn right and walk out of the train station and there's a bus station. Take urban buses numbers 5, 61, or 62 to get to Plaza de Zocodover, that's the last stop and also the city center very close to the Toledo Alcazar, city buses are blue and cost 1.4 euros per person. It was a nice ride, I was looking out the window to get my first view of Toledo. We arrived Plaza de Zocodover...well it doesn't look like a plaza where I pictured as a big opening of space...it wasn't that big but with a few restaurants. We had our breakfast in one of the restaurant there oh boy it was expensive! 9.52 euros for a cup of coffee and two croissants! I asked the waiter for direction to the tourism office, it was just down the same street but it opens at 10 am, knew it! </div>
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Since nothing is open yet, it's best to walk across the bridge to have a full view of Toledo! We walked down to the back of the Alcazar and of course a photo of it first:</div>
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I saw the bridge crossing the other side so we followed the way to get to the bridge, if I remembered correctly that I saw the bridge on google map before, it is the Alcantara Bridge. We walked down many steps and even walked through a park to get there! I was thinking urgg wait until we have to walk all the way up to get back later LOL! Here's the bridge!!!</div>
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Can you see me on the bridge? LOL!</div>
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The stop arches as the doorway to the bridge:</div>
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The bridge is a great location to take photos and best of all, not much people during the early morning wohoo!</div>
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Look at all the fun we had taking photos on the bridge ;)</div>
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That's the bridge back to the train station!</div>
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The Alcazar on the top!</div>
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After we cross the bridge, turn left and there is a small road to walk down to near the river for more views! Beautiful landscape!</div>
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We didn't bring our tripods with us but we found a place to set our camera and have a photo of us two :)</div>
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The walk up to the other side of the hill wasn't too bad! However, even in the early morning at around 9:30, it was getting hot! I bought two bottles of water with me and before we got up, we already drank a bottle! Good that we walked over during the morning or else I don't know if I can be motivated to do the walk during the burning afternoon! Half way up:</div>
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We finally got up and the gate was closed but lucky a lady came out and opened the door for us! This is Castle of San Servando:</div>
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On the Castle of San Servando, it gives a very nice view of Toledo and the Tajo River!</div>
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The view of the Toledo! The roads coming down from each side looked like it wrapped the city like ribbons, don't you think so?</div>
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Me and the castle :)</div>
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We walked all the way, across the bridge, and walked all the way up to get back to the Alcazar! Before getting in the Alcazar, we walked to the tourist office to get a map of the city first! When we got to the Alcazar, it was packed with people waiting for it to open! Silly me that I didn't do my research and thought the Toledo Alcazar will be like other Alcazars we visited in our trip, I was expecting a castle-like but it turned out to be a huge Army Museum!</div>
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When we got in, it didn't look like any fortress at all, majority of the place inside were rebuilt! Some remains of the fortress:</div>
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This Army Museum is huge, we walked floor to floor, it seemed endless!</div>
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Lottery machines? hahahaha!</div>
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We found a room, it was one of the remaining rooms and damaged:</div>
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We walked out to a courtyard accidentally and found a beautiful staircase, now this looked more like a palace/castle/fortress!</div>
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The details of the door: hummm VC stands for...something of Castile?</div>
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This is how huge the staircase is compared to me haha! I really liked the two staircases joined into one and the red-orange brick color with the white stones, no need to be golden and lavishly decorated, it's already grand like this!<br />
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We noticed there's a layer of nets on the top of the courtyard; probably to keep away the birds from nesting inside the building! Great idea to protect the place!</div>
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Hubby from the other side:</div>
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I was getting hungry so we walked around to find the near-by exit to exit out this huge maze! After we got out of the Alcazar, we saw there's a library on the other entrance of the Alcazar and it said it gives the best view of Toledo! Well, I was too hungry that we skipped that and walked to the Cathedral hoping to find some place to eat. Even with a map, the small narrow and windy roads made it very hard to navigate around the city! Long stairway down....oh please don't tell me that I need to walk back up again!</div>
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Very small cobblestone roads, on the back I can see the Cathedral!</div>
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We passed some souvenir shops and of course swords which Toledo is famous for!</div>
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Before we found any restaurant, we already at the Cathedral, beautiful Gothic cathedral!</div>
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Weather changed so fast, it was sunny and blue sky and now it's cloudy and make everything looked colorless :( We didn't went in the Cathedral because I was so hungry and also that they charged 8 euros per person admission fee and no photography allowed inside! I would go in if photography is allowed!</div>
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We found a restaurant very close to the Cathedral and totally a tourist trap!!!! Maybe that's why I didn't even bother to take down the name of the restaurant! </div>
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Hubby ordered a shrimp spaghetti and do you see any shrimp? Yes very little ones that barely noticeable!</div>
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The set lunch included a dessert which is a scope of homemade ice cream urg!!! The bill came to 21.45 euros and guess what, the waiter and the owner couldn't figure out how to use the credit card machine without pin number! So we had to pay cash...our limited cash sighhhh!</div>
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fter lunch, we continued to walk around and it was hard to figure out the direction even with a map! We tried to walk to the Jewish quarter but ended up totally in a different direction LOL! The roads are already small enough and with constant cars coming and you have to really pushed yourself to the wall for the car to get through >.<</div>
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We ended up walking out of the center and toward the city gate, here give another great view of the medieval city:</div>
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Ohh and blue sky now too!</div>
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We decided to walk down to the city gate, The Puerta de Bisagra, to take some photos. On the way we passed by this old church! Love the blue sky and the clouds!</div>
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Inside The Puerta de Bisagra:</div>
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We walked out of the gate for a photo of the front side:</div>
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Alright...how to get back? Walk back up? I really don't want to with this heat! So we hoped to walk on the way back to the train station and hoping to pass by a bus station to take the bus back. Yep we found it and across the Tejo River, the view of Toledo is so pretty too so we got off the bus and walk back to the bridge LOL! We went in a convenient store to purchase a cold soda, hydrated ourselves before walking back to the bridge. It was burning hot that I had to open my umbrella for shade!</div>
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Beautiful Toledo!! Left side is the Castle of San Servando, on the right is the Alcazar, and Alcantara Bridge in between!!</div>
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We walked back to the train station, not too far away and took some photos of the prettiest train station.</div>
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Inside the train station, there are very beautiful lights hanging down as well as the color stained glass windows! </div>
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The old style ticket counters are still there (no longer used) but very classic! It was so colorful too! </div>
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See what I mean by the prettiest train station I ever seen?</div>
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I booked the 5:25 pm train back to Madrid but when we were there, it was only 3:35 pm! I changed the ticket to the next train back, fee of charge. I have heard that the Toledo trains are used by commuters too so it was not uncommon that train will sold out so definitely recommended to purchase tickets in advanced!</div>
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We got back to Madrid by 4:30 pm and it was too early for dinner so we went back to our hotel to do some research on where to eat. I found Venta El Buscon with excellent reviews so we decided to go there for dinner. From the internet, it said it only opens till 1 pm but the information is wrong, they do serve dinner as well! Venta El Buscon is very closed to Puerta de Sol! When we got there, we saw two menus posted on the outside:</div>
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We decided on the meat menu for two for only 18 euros! It was a busy bar/restaurant! There is also a live singer there too, loud atmosphere but the food is excellent!</div>
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Our set meat dinner for two! Huge plate of fries, salad, and the gigantic plate of grilled meat! Let me see if I can remembered all: sausage, ribs, steak, and chicken! Hubby usually don't eat chicken in restaurant because most places overcooked them but this time, hubby said it was the best grilled chicken he ever had! The chicken was very tasty and tender, cooked perfectly!!! We definitely recommended Venta El Buscon and we came back twice!</div>
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It was a nice walk back to the hotel after a huge dinner! We walked pass the "jamon museum" a restaurant for all kinds of jamons! We both are not a fan of hams so we skipped that but here are some photos:</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-15079485730937800552013-08-05T19:43:00.000-04:002013-09-18T20:55:02.619-04:00Madrid Day 3: Day Trip to Segovia<h2>
Day Trip to Segovia</h2>
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When I was planning our Spain trip, I have read many great suggestions on day trips from Madrid so it was hard to decide which ones to visit with limited amount of time. I kept adding days and finally made our trip a 3 weeks trip, yea used up all the vacation days I have earned in the year LOL! There are so many UNESCO World Heritage sites around Madrid that could easily be done with a day trip! After reviewing those sites, my top 5 were: Toledo, Segovia, Avila, El Escorial, and Aranjuez. But since we only had 3 days for day trips, we picked Toledo, Segovia, and Avila!</div>
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First day trip: Segovia! We purchased the train tickets online, we didn't pick the discounted tickets because it wasn't that much of a difference since it was around 10 euros single trip per person but the full priced ticket gave the flexibility to make changes. I booked the 7:38 am train arriving at 8:05 am to get a head start before tour groups arrive! Note that the trains to Segovia departed from Chamartin train station not Atocha. To get from Chamartin, we walked to Atocha and took the Cercanias train to Chamartin station. Cercanias train is faster than metro only takes 13 minutes and stopped only a few stops. Make sure you purchase the ticket on the right machine, there are two types one for the metro and one for Cercanias train! Both have English menu so won't be hard to navigate. You'll only need to select the destination station name and it will show the price. We found out that the Cercanias train also stopped at Sol so on the return trip, we'll stop at Sol, closer to our hotel!</div>
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Chamartin is not as big as Atocha so it's easier to navigate. There were two big display boards that show the train number, destination, and departing platform. Sometimes the departing platform number showed up 15 minutes prior to departure but don't worry you'll have time to go down the escalator and have your luggage x-ray (very fast process) and board the train! Our coach wasn't that full and the ride was very quick around 30 minutes ride only! When we arrived Segovia train station and walked out, we were in the middle of no where. I am serious, it's really located in the middle of no where LOL! Picture of the station below......walk straight out and there is a small bus stop.</div>
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Two bus lines stopped at this station and the line that took us to the town center is Line 11 so double check! There is no bus schedule posted....well there is one semi-hand-written LOL. Our train arrived at 8:05 so we just missed the 8:10 bus!</div>
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Oh one thing I forgot to mention, we chose Segovia on Monday instead of Toledo because I heard that many museums will be closed on Mondays in Toledo while Segovia majority of the sites are open o Mondays! The bus came, the bus ticket was around 1 euros each if I remembered correctly and the last stop of the bus is at front of the famous Roman Segovia Aqueduct! That is also where you can catch the bus back to the train station! Also take a photo of the return bus schedule because sometimes the next bus is an hour away! We didn't so we came back to take it haha, here it is the return bus schedule:</div>
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OMG here's the famous Segovia Aqueduct! I never seen a Roman aqueduct before in my life so it was a unique experience!</div>
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I made the right choice once again to arrive early although many shops and even the tourists office are still not open (tourists office opens at 10 am) but it gave us many opportunities to have the town ourselves and free to take photos without annoying tourists blocking the views hahahaha!</div>
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We walked through the Aqueduct and turned right to walk up. It gave a very nice view of the town as well as the Aqueduct! Here we are at the Segovia Aqueduct!</div>
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The town itself has its charm as well!</div>
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The only disadvantage of being early is that the light is "harsh" so it gives a very hard shadow on photos. The colors will be darker than photos taken in the late afternoon!</div>
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Since the tourists office opens at 10 am and we didn't print out any maps beforehand, we really had no clue which direction to take to Segovia Cathedral. But quickly we figured it out! When you walked through the Aqueduct, there are three main roads, take the one on the right side: Calle Juan Bravo and it'll get you to the Segovia Cathedral. It was quiet and we started to see the arrival of tour groups! On our way to the Cathedral, we walked pass the Church of St. Martin:</div>
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Segovia Cathedral! It was huge! </div>
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The details were unbelievable!</div>
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A tour group was in front of us and they took turns taking photos at the front of the cathedral. We were waiting for our chance and within minutes they left! They didn't went in the cathedral! That was one reason why we tried not to join a tour since majority are rush! We went in the cathedral, it was only 3 euros each! </div>
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The interior of the cathedral is very beautiful in gothic style! I like the columns and how they joined together! Very hard to imagine this was built almost 500 years ago, how in the world back in the days without machines to even make those huge tall columns and put them together? Amazing architecture!</div>
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Not much people in there so it was very easy to take photos, it was totally worth the 3 euros!</div>
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After the Cathedral, we continued our way to the Alcazar. Before going into the Alcazar, there is a sightseeing platform on the right side of the entrance to the Alcazar, be sure to stop by to have a great view of the plains:</div>
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And a picture with the view of course!</div>
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When looked down, it was a sudden drop of hundreds of feet down! Walking in through the gate, the trees covered the view but I can see the castle!!! I have heard that the Alcázar of Segovia is one of the inspirations for Walt Disney's Cinderella Castle (the other one is the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany which we had visited last year!).</div>
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The castle....from this side of the view, it didn't look too much like the Cinderella Castle but I have seen photos taken from the other side that looked very much alike! I wished I had a chance to see the other side, which is on the bottom of the mountain, need to drive in order to get a view from that side!</div>
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Still, another fairy tale dream came true :) I wish one day I could visit all the great castles in the world hehe!</div>
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Tickets can be purchased on a separate building on the left of the castle, 6.5 euros per person cash only!! There is a restroom in the ticket building/cafeteria which cost 50 cents euro to go in but wait because there are free restrooms inside the castle!!</div>
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Entrance to the castle is a bridge, if you looked down, you realized you are at a cliff! Talking about defense, it's a perfect location to build this castle! Inside the castle walls, very unique style to Segovia housing where their walls have a unique pattern to it:</div>
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We walked around and entered all the rooms we could enter, it was a fun experience to explore the castle. This is more like a fort than a palace....well it was a royal palace, then converted to a prison (probably the nicest prison lol), then a military academy.</div>
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The patterned wall...we actually saw a few houses under construction along the way and they created those patterns by putting a layer of cement, flatten it, stamped a model of the pattern there, then took it out and scrap off any excess cement!</div>
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We went upstairs and walked out to a terrace, here you can see another side of Segovia. We walked on the castle walls to the watch tower (no entrance) and it really gave us the castle feel :)</div>
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Then we walked back in and into another section where there are interior rooms. </div>
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I guess this section was from the royal palace!</div>
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Mosaic tiles wall:</div>
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Another palace room:</div>
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Pretty stained glass window:</div>
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The Throne Room:</div>
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Some armories...urg hubby definitely having a great time posting with them LOL:</div>
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Afterwards, we walked back to the entrance and enter through a separate entrance to climb the tower! It was tall and the stairs are narrow and dark but it was manageable! We saw a couple bought their three kids: one around 3-4 years old, one just learned how to walk around 1-2 years old, and one infant! We watched them coming down, the dad carrying the infant while the mom hold both kids walking down! If the little kids can do it, it really wasn't that hard :)</div>
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From the top of the tower, it offers a great view of Segovia and its Cathedral!</div>
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The other side was completely like a desert (well it was dry grass/hay covered the ground)! Can tell it is a dry climate place.</div>
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On the top of the tower, big area to go around and have wonderful views of Segovia:<br />
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Looking down from the tower to another section of the castle:</div>
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After the castle, we walked back down and went back to the center of the town for lunch. We passed by again the beautiful Segovia Cathedral! Now, it was past noon so the color stands out more in the photo:</div>
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The major shopping street straight to the Segovia Aqueduct. If you are feeling thirsty, be sure to stop by Carrefour supermarket for drinks for less. A bottle of cold water is less than 50 cents euro and a bottle of soda is 1 euro! I can't tell you how many times we went in and out of that market to get drinks LOL it was hot out! The cashier lady probably think "what are those two Chinese doing coming in and out?" hahahahaha! There was one time we went in bought two bottles of drinks, went out, drank the whole bottle within a minute, and then went back in again to get another bottle!</div>
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Segovia houses' walls are so unique!</div>
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We walked to a Chinese restaurant for lunch....yea after 2.5 weeks, we missed Chinese food (primarily stir-fried vegetables since we ate too much meat dishes in Spain!) The restaurant name is Chino Hong Kong, it was pretty hidden but the entrance looked like a Chinatown Gate! Their menu have a lot of choices and pretty cheap too compared to other restaurants in central Segovia. Our lunch bill came to be 20.45 euros with few dishes of food, soup, and drink! The taste wasn't bad at all, not tourist trap place!</div>
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After lunch, hubby decided to take the back road so we ended up walking up the hill!!! For sure we burned all the calories we ate during lunch! One of the stairway we had to walk up, photo was taken after we walked up!</div>
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Casa de los Picos "The House of the Points", that's how its named:</div>
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We didn't have specific place to visit since we visited the major sights. So hubby explored the back roads and we saw more unique patterned walls:</div>
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I like the flower patterns of this house!</div>
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We went back to the Roman Aqueduct to get a map to see if there are other point of interests. And of course more photos of the Roman Aqueduct! It was now the afternoon so the lighting wasn't as harsh as early morning but more people. </div>
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It was too clear of a sky, it would be much prettier if with blue sky and white fluffy clouds!</div>
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Doesn't this looks like a sunglasses ad? hahaha!</div>
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From the map, we walked down to the outer edge of town to see its city walls. The road coming down:</div>
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Some remains of the city wall:</div>
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One side is the residential houses while the other side is the old city wall, very interesting contrast:</div>
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City wall and the tower:</div>
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We continued along the city wall and ended up found this place, it was next to the Segovia Alcazar. Here you see locals' gardens in this pot of land on the bottom:</div>
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The castle on the back:</div>
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From there, we turned around and walked to the other side of Segovia. We passed many small roads!</div>
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We saw this luxurious home...wish this is my home with great view and a big pool! I want to jump in that pool on this hot weather!</div>
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The monastery: </div>
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Statue of San Juan de la Cruz:</div>
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Another church tower:</div>
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We ended back to the Roman Aqueduct. Segovia is not a huge town so it can be easily navigated by foot!</div>
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We walked to the bus stop and try our luck...but the next bus is in another 20 minutes!!! This is one of the times that there's more than an hour in between the next bus! I booked a late train, at 8:12pm, back to Spain so we have plenty of time if we missed the bus. The bus already parked there but the driver left to take a break and it left exactly at 5:20 pm! We got back to the rail station before 6 pm so I went in the ticket office to see if we can switch an earlier train. Since our tickets are full priced tickets, we were able to change or ticket without extra fees. We took the next train and got back to Madrid by 7 pm!</div>
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After we got off the train, we had no clue which Cercanias train to take back to Puerta del Sol, I went in the ticket office and asked. The officer said any train from platforms 2 or 3. We walked up to the ticket machine and purchased our ticket (good that we did!) and went in a train from platform 2. Although no ticket is needed to get in the platform nor to get into the train but once arrived at Sol, getting out of the train station requires a valid ticket!! So don't save a few euros and be caught with a fine!</div>
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The moment we stepped out of Sol station, it was hot! I mean hot as in you can see the heatwaves raising up from the road! Did I mentioned already that the hottest time of the day in Madrid is not noon, instead it's around 5pm-7pm after the whole day the road been heated by the hot burning sun? We walked along the way to get back our hotel and hoping to be able to find a restaurant we like to have our dinner. We picked Le Mario by its 9.5 euros menu! Le Mario is a grill-pub restaurant, we sat at the bar table and watched the waiter/cook grilled our food :)</div>
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Grill is ready!</div>
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A big piece of freshly grilled sausage!</div>
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Here came my ribs and baked potato:</div>
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It was a good deal set dinner! For desert, I chose the vanilla ice cream, and the waiter made a drink on the house for us. It was mango smoothie with alcohol...too bad I don't drink! Hubby drank it and he said was very good!</div>
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We went back to our hotel, very tiring by now after a full day of walking but it was totally worth it. Segovia is a very beautiful town worth to spend a day to explore! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-4401556741337981582013-08-04T15:51:00.000-04:002013-09-22T13:40:30.121-04:00Madrid Day 2<h2>
Madrid Day 2: Around the city</h2>
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Sunday in Madrid wasn't as bad as in Seville, I mean in terms of finding things to do and see (all the shops closed at Seville on Sundays). It was as busy as regular weekdays. We had the full day to see all the major sights and it wasn't many to see in Madrid except for museums so we took it very easy. We first started off with breakfast, we walked out from our hotel heading to Puerta del Sol and just selected a place open for breakfast.</div>
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Right near the Sevilla metro station, we went in a cafe/bakery that served basic breakfast:</div>
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After a croissant and and a drink, we continued on to explore Madrid, the capital of Spain. We arrived Puerta del Sol where the famous Madrid symbol - statue of a bear eating fruits from a tree, lots of people were taking turn to have a photo so we waited for few min before our turn:</div>
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Puerta del Sol is a very busy square with many street performers and souvenir shops! Then we continued our walk and within few minutes we arrived Plaza Mayor. The plaza have many restaurants but probably not the best while expensive. I saw a group tour arrived there already in the early morning!</div>
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The plaza didn't attract to us as much so we heading our way to the Royal Palace. We passed by Plaza de la Villa and went in to take some photos:</div>
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In between Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Villa, there's a famous market: Market of San Miguel. It wasn't as big as La Boqueria in Barcelona but similar where there are food stands ranging from cheese, fruits, and tapas. </div>
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We reached the end of the road and there is the Catedral de Nuestra Señora la Almudena, very beautiful white structure.</div>
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Next to the Cathedral is the Royal Palace! The beautiful gates and lamppost remained me of Versailles. </div>
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One thing I liked about the Royal Palace more than Versailles is that it is all white on the outside while Versailles is mixed with different colors on the front and yellowish on the back. However, no photography is allowed inside!!! That was the reason we didn't went in!</div>
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Instead, we went into the Catedral de Nuestra Señora la Almudena.</div>
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Entrance to the cathedral:</div>
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Before entering the cathedral, I pictured the interior to be very traditional but it turned out to be completely different. It's very "modern" that it's very simple, white, bright, and yet colorful on its ceiling! I couldn't help but standing right in the middle with my head up and keep taking photos of the colorful ceiling!</div>
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I almost forgot to have a photo of myself inside the cathedral!</div>
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I strongly recommended to come in and take a look!</div>
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We went to the back to have a view of the Royal Palace, we noticed the absolutely magnificent door! Huge door craved with unbelievable details, it is a piece of art by itself!</div>
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Another beautiful door at its entrance! It was speechless to think how much work a person or group of people put in to make those doors!</div>
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Before leaving the Cathedral, remember to check out the Romanesque church beneath the Cathedral (we didn't know about it until BennyMalaga pointed out in TripAdviso so thanks Benny!) He also mentioned that you can also visit the museum at the roof and get wonderful photos of the city below. We missed both!!</div>
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After we were done with the cathedral, we walked back out to the other side of the Royal Palace:</div>
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Time for lunch, time flies when having a good time! I booked Tapas Gratis El Biombo with discount and found the restaurant, near the Royal Palace. When we got there, it just opened, and we were the first one there. The waiter barely spoke any English.....uh-oh! No English menu either.....we are in trouble! The waiter did his best to explain to us, all he know how to say is "beef" "pork" "shrimp". He showed us a set menu, from body language and some English, I think he said pick 4 tapas. After spending more than a week in Spain, I have figured out some Spanish in the menu LOL like "shrimp" "chicken"..... We ordered a beef, chicken, pork, and shrimp tapa and have our fingers crossed! </div>
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The waiter bought us a plate of foie gras!!! Omg it was great!</div>
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It was good size too, we were almost fill after finishing the whole plate! Then, he bought us a plate of white asparagus, those were huge!</div>
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Here came the 4 tapas we picked, they weren't bad.</div>
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After the 4 tapas, the waiter came and clean up our table, at that time I was thinking we are done but then gave us new plates! At this point, I was thinking....maybe a dessert? So we waited and waited and then he came back with a huge steak!! Urg...did we order that? Or is it part of the set menu? </div>
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Although the steak quality in Madrid and most part of Spain isn't great, but the taste is pretty good! We were so full! My husband and I were guessing how much this meal going to be! Since it's a pretty small and local restaurant, they might not take credit credit then we'll be in trouble! We didn't bring much cash out because of our limited cash after the burglary! I told my husband if it came out to be more than 50 euros, you need to run back to the hotel to get more cash LOL! He said you go because I don't know the way back hahahaha! The moment has arrived....the bill...it was 30 euros phew!!! And they accept credit card hehehehe!</div>
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We had no clue what we ordered and how much but 30 euros for that much food, it wasn't bad at all! Here's the photo of the set menu, if you know Spanish, maybe you can translate to us haha maybe we got ripped off LOL! </div>
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The waiter asked us for dessert but we were totally full!!!</div>
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After the big lunch, we burned it off by walking to the Templo de Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple. It was very hot in the open so I was hiding in the shade and hubby ran out to take photos of the reflections.</div>
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We went inside as well, it is a small building with 2 floors, some areas have air conditioner so they were cool but still some areas were boiling hot! Inside contained some artifacts from the ancient template like hieroglyphics:</div>
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Here is a model depicting the original temple. The temple was originally built in Egypt but later relocated to Spain in 1970:</div>
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After the temple, we were finished with all the sights we aimed to visit today. Then, we walked all the way back to our hotel to take a nap and rest. We came back out at night for dinner, we didn't make any advanced booking so we didn't have a place in mind for dinner. We walked to Puerta del Sol and browsed through menus posted on the outside of restaurants. We sort of missing Asian food so we picked Sakura. It is a Japanese restaurant but ran by Chinese (yep we knew it won't be authentic). Their set dinner was okay included a spring roll, a soup, choice of entree, and rice or noodle. I ordered the chicken teriyaki and fried noodle but were okay not too bad. Total for 2 set dinners and 2 soft drinks were 21 euros pretty inexpensive! After dinner we went back to the hotel and went to sleep early because the next day, we'll be making a day trip to Segovia!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-68069105153721328612013-08-03T15:51:00.000-04:002013-09-14T15:52:52.443-04:00Madrid Day 1<h2>
Madrid Day 1: Retiro Park</h2>
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Last major city of our trip: Madrid where we'll be based to make three day trips to the nearby towns/cities. We arrived Madrid from Barcelona via train at 11:10 am. It was hot hot hot in Madrid but it was dry heat so not as bad as I thought! We strolled our luggage from Atocha Train Station to our hotel: The Westin Madrid. It was at least 15 minutes walk and yea it might be funny we arrived by feet into a 5 stars hotel but we had to conserve our cash after our room break-in in Barcelona. We were left with 200 euros to make it for 5 days!!!! </div>
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The hotel is beautiful really looked like a 5 stars. We were upgraded to a Premium room, the room was very comfortable! I love the room color tone - light yellow; a feeling of warmth :) </div>
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The Westin comfortable bed! When I lied down on the bed, I felt relieved that we safely left Barcelona and finally could have a good night sleep. </div>
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When I opened the closet to use the safe (well I no longer trust any hotel safe!) to put our passports, there is a warning message that the safe is not guaranteed to secure your valuables and if you have any valuables please contact the front desk to be stored in the hotel safe! I wished I saw that message earlier in our trip!</div>
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Lunch time, we went down to the La Rotonda Restaurant in the hotel where its famous for its stained glass dome to see it and have quick tapas. The restaurant was running a summer special on tapas: 4 tapas and a glass of wine for 15 euros (a bargain compared to other menu prices at the restaurant). We actually were there to just see the stained glass dome but we don't want to walk in to take photos and walk out hehe!</div>
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I walked into the restaurant and the huge stained glass dome with hanging birds and butterfly ornaments were spectacular. I also like the purple and green cushioned furniture added elegance to the restaurant...like in a royal room!</div>
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We don't drink alcohol so the waitress was nice enough to substitute soft drinks for us. We ordered 8 tapas, the 4 mini deserts counted as 1. Here they are...very colorful and pretty looking! </div>
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Hum..where should I start first? I was happy even looking at them...even though they were very small tapas. Some were very special combination which gave an unexpected taste and texture but some were just average. The deserts were good but not awesome.</div>
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Eating here with the beautiful atmosphere already worth the price :) The famous stained glass dome:</div>
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After lunch, we walked over to Prado Museum which was a few steps away from the hotel, we didn't went in since we are not museum fans. Instead, we walked over to Retiro Park.</div>
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San Jerónimo el Real, right next the Prado Museum:</div>
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Walking in the Retiro Park, it was a huge park and we were looking for the Crystal Palace:</div>
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We finally found it, the Crystal Palace:</div>
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We don't know what are those colored dishes hanging down and on the floor for.......it would be much nicer without them, then it will be pure "crystal" palace.</div>
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Imagine having wedding photos taking in this Crystal Palace?? I think it'll be very dreamy and fairy-tale like! </div>
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Then, we turned back and walking to the Independence Plaza.</div>
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Alcala Gate:</div>
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Then made a turn to Plaza de Cibeles, a very nice building!</div>
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We walked back to the hotel, it was hot! Actually the hottest hours are from 4-6 pm, we can literally feel the heatwave coming up from the heated ground! We went back to the hotel and had some cool drinks and to relax a bit before heading for dinner. I made a reservation at Amayra Restaurant at 8:30 pm with 50% off discount from http://www.eltenedor.es/</div>
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The restaurant was a short walk from our hotel, not hard to find. We went in and it was a bar but walked further into, that was where the restaurant located; it's actually inside a hotel. The decors were modern and chic; the waitress spoke okay English.</div>
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Here are what we ordered!</div>
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Shrimp salad with melon....very refreshing after a hot day:</div>
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Another shrimp tapa with sliced fish and egg:</div>
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Shrimp and salmon with cheese and salad:</div>
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I ordered the Segovia roasted pork. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender. It was different than the Chinese styled roasted pork that we had. </div>
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Hubby ordered a fish fillet, he said it was okay but definitely not worth 36 euros (half price is still 18 euros).</div>
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The bill came to 50.5 euros with 50% discount already! It was an experience to tried out new food, food was good but not great, it's definitely not worth it if without the discount...with the discount..it was good.</div>
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We walked our way back to the hotel, we definitely felt a different atmosphere than Barcelona. Perhaps, the location we stayed at was a little bit quieter. There was a police van right near the hotel at all time so it felt safer. The hotel exterior at night, the building next to it was very luxurious! The LED lighting of the building next to the Westin was very pretty:</div>
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The Westin Palace at night:</div>
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La Rotonda Restaurant at night with the beautiful glass chandelier:<br />
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Finally, we were able to have a good night sleep on a comfortable bed and yes we always double locked our doors!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-13886319555006271432013-08-02T20:29:00.000-04:002013-09-12T20:04:51.782-04:00Barcelona Day 4<h2>
Barcelona Day 4: My First Soccer Game!</h2>
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Our last full day in Barcelona, we didn't have much plan for sightseeing (I was still recovering from the incident) and also the Joan Gamper Trophy soccer match tonight at Camp Nou. Hubby took out the tourist map and looked at which places we could go. He decided to go to Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya </div>
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and to see the Magic Fountain. We were originally planned to go to the Magic Fountain at night to see its night water show but since the incident, we didn't have the mood and afraid to go out at night :( We took the metro and got off at Espanya station. Right off the station, I saw the two towers that looked like St. Mark's Square. We walked up to the Magic Fountain and unfortunately it was shut off! But there was another waterfall right in front of Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.</div>
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We had to wait a few minutes to get a spot for the photo:</div>
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We helped some tourists to take a photo so in return we asked they to help us take a photo :)</div>
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It was a long walk to get up the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya but there were elevators on the side to make it an easier way! We got to the top and there was a nice view of Barcelona:</div>
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The two towers that looked like St. Mark's Square tower on the back and the Magic Fountain was off:</div>
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Stairs leading up to the entrance of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya:</div>
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We didn't went into the museum since we are not museum type of people. We sat there for a few minutes for the view and then went back down. We walked across to Arenas de Barcelona, it was the bull fight ring of Barcelona now converted to a shopping mall for lunch. We really didn't have the mood to shop so we just went straight up to the top floor for the restaurants. We walked around the circular perimeter to see the menus of the restaurants and we picked La Lola. It looked more upper scale than restaurant we found in the malls in the US, the food was pretty good surprisingly! Hubby ordered a bucket of steamed mussels (they were fresh) and a fish plate while I ordered a sandwich. The sandwich was good and was huge, enough for two! Sorry for not taking any photos!</div>
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The lunch bill came to be 29.75 euros, it wasn't bad for its food quality and quantity. We walked around the roof and here have spectacular view of the plaza:</div>
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Afterwards, we took the metro right back to our hotel. We stayed in our room to pack up since we'll be leaving early tomorrow morning. </div>
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We had an early dinner in the hotel restaurant CentOnze again since its kitchen open throughout the day. After dinner, we went back to our room changed into our jerseys and took the metro to Camp Nou. The game started at 9:30 pm and we got there around 8:00 pm. We got off at Palau Reial station and then walked to the stadium, the walk was about 10 minutes. On our way walking there, we saw tons of people heading the same way! It was getting crowded as we were near the stadium and there were many vendors there selling FC Barcelona gifts!</div>
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This whole road was parked with buses (must in hundreds)! I would not suggest paying extra to go on a tour that included bus transportation...I could not imagine how long it'll take the bus to get out of here after the game!</div>
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The stadium is huge!! We couldn't find our entrance nor have any idea where to go. We followed the crowds through the gates, there were staffs there scanning our tickets. Once we are in the grounds of the stadium, there were people lining up taking a picture with this statue:</div>
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A big poster of Messi and Neymar!</div>
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From there, we found our entrance and access gate: Door 19, Entrance 8, Row 1, Seat 12!! I woke up at 4 am on the day the tickets went on sale at the FC Barcelona website to get those tickets! Ticket went on sale at 10 am Barcelona time which mean 4 am my time. I set the alarm, woke up, ran to my laptop to purchase tickets. The website was down and I kept trying! After few minutes of trying hubby said let's go back to sleep and wake up later to buy. I told him to go back to sleep and I'll wait. I tried for another 5 minutes and finally the website was back up :) All the good seats right in front of the entrance where players will be entered were sold! So I picked the section on the right of the entrance, row 1 wohooo! </div>
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My ticket :)</div>
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Actually there were a few VIP rows in front of our row 1 but it was okay, our view was still great!</div>
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I turned around and asked the guy behind us to take a photo of our back LOL! I thought it would look cute hehe!</div>
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Hubby thought not much people would come to see a friendly match but turned out the stadium was nearly full! I never been to a sport game before so it was my first game ever....and it was in Camp Nou watching FC Barcelona, pretty cool! Although I am not a sports fan but the atmosphere inside the stadium was like a party!</div>
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List of players playing in the match:</div>
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Messi was right in front of our eyes woah! The only disappointment was that our 70-200 mm lens was stolen so it was hard to get a real close up of the players :( Messi scored the first goal right after the game started, it was so fast! The first half of the game, majority of the activities were near our side of the goal so it was great. Also they scored goals very fast so it was exciting!</div>
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Three guys tried to stop Messi but failed!</div>
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Here came Neymar!</div>
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The first half of the game was FC Barcelona vs FC Santos 4-0!</div>
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During the 15 minute break, people pulled out their sandwiches and ate.....urg..we thought we can't bring in food and drink in the stadium LOL!</div>
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Picture of me in jersey, first time ever!</div>
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Hubby with is Neymar Jr jersey (look at the boy staring at him: "what is that weird guy doing?" LOL)</div>
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The game resume and the location of the goal changed so the 2nd half of the game was taken place with the majority of the activities on the other side of us.</div>
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Fans cheering for another Barcelona goal!</div>
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It was 10 minutes left the score was 7-0 so we were sure Barcelona will win and we left to avoid the crowd. We saw a few people started to leave too! It was not a bad idea to leave a little bit early so we don't need to be stuck in the train with crowds, would be even luck if can squeeze into the train! We got back to La Rambla before midnight; we were holding very tight to our bags and thankfully we got back to our room safely! I was very worried about getting back very late a night since the incident so phew!!! Overall, we enjoyed the game (final score was 8-0 by the way), it would be perfect if not the incident and we will still have our lens; I would have have more fun practicing taking sports photos! </div>
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The next morning our train from Barcelona to Madrid was at 8 am so we got up very early and took a taxi from the hotel right to Barcelona Sants Station. Before our trip, I planned to take the metro but after what happened, we would rather spend extra to get us safely to the train station. Taxi cost was only 10 euros and it was fast too so definitely worth it!<br />
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Lessons we learned from our hotel room burglary</h3>
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We definitely paid a big price for the lessons we learned from our hotel room burglary and wanted to share with all of you! At first we thought Barcelona is the capital of pickpockets so as long as we watch our belongings and hold on tight to them, carry little cash and valuables as possible with us when going out, and leaving valuables inside the hotel room safe should be fine. If you think like us, please think again! Through the great community of contributors in Trip Advisor, we have uncovered scary but very important information regarding the safety of hotel room locks.</div>
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An article published by Forbes back in November, 2012 titled "Security Flaw In Common Keycard Locks Exploited In String Of Hotel Room Break-Ins":</div>
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<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/11/26/security-flaw-in-common-keycard-locks-exploited-in-string-of-hotel-room-break-ins/">http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/11/26/security-flaw-in-common-keycard-locks-exploited-in-string-of-hotel-room-break-ins/</a></div>
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proved that certain hotel locks manufactured by Onity can be easily opened with a homemade device! </div>
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Also, a video demonstrated how the device is used to unlock hotel room doors from ABC news:</div>
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<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/faulty-hotel-locks-demonstrated-abc-news-report/story?id=17531528">http://abcnews.go.com/US/faulty-hotel-locks-demonstrated-abc-news-report/story?id=17531528</a></div>
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This is so far the only logical explanation on what had happened to our room since there were no surveillance cameras in the hallway; the robbers got into our room without any physical damage to the door and no logged entry. This security flaw not only vulnerable to hotels in Barcelona but throughout the world! </div>
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We learned from this horrible event that never ride in the same elevator with others as you never know who are hotel guests and who are not. When you feel being followed, do not continue to go back to your room, instead, go back to the hotel lobby. The suspicious people following you are mostly interested on which room you are staying in. Do not count on the hotel room safe to keep your valuables safe. If you have valuables that you don't want to lose, contact the hotel and ask to use their safe, in that case, the hotel will be liable for all your valuables inside their safe! That's the safest place in the hotel! </div>
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We'll do this from now on and continue on our joy of traveling and photography!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-29153924732686167422013-08-01T22:22:00.000-04:002013-09-05T21:02:55.145-04:00Barcelona Day 3<h2>
Barcelona Day 3: Park Güell, Casa Batlló and Casa Milà</h2>
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We tried to get as much sleep as we could since we need to get up early to get to Park Guell before the crowd...we tried but didn't work well after the incident. I guess that's called post traumatic stress disorder; it'll take us time to recover. We took the metro to Lesseps (L3) stop and got there around 8:30 am. Right out of the metro, there were signs pointing to Park Guell. It was a long walk and the last part required a walk up a steep inclining road. So glad that we bought bottles of water with us, even it was early in the morning, it was getting hot! We finally reached Park Guell just before 9 am and it was nearly empty yay! We walked in and the first thing we saw was the lizard! I have seen pictures on the web of the lizard with people crowded to get a photo of it, now looking at it with no people at all felt very different! When I posted the photo to my Facebook, one of my friend asked "where are all the people?" LOL!</div>
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Lizard and I :)</div>
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The two what I called "gingerbread houses" :)<br />
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The mosaic tile ceiling:</div>
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Gaudi designed this area as a marketplace...too bad it was never used as a market or else it'll be a very unique outdoor market!</div>
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Then, we walked upstairs to colorful curvy mosaic benches!</div>
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I really like the pinkish color tone one with a cute cartoon face!</div>
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We saw a huge tour group coming so we hurried up and snap a few more shots.....</div>
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It was getting hot...so I couldn't imagine if I come here during the afternoon...hot and crowded! The only downside about being here so early is that the light quality is harsh which gives dark shadow and harder to get a colorful and blue sky photo.</div>
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We walked down to the colonnaded pathway with sloped columns:</div>
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Afterwards, we started to walking back, here we can see the columns supporting the terrance:</div>
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Leaving Park Guell....five girls were sitting there waiting for their tour group:</div>
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The walk back to the metro wasn't as bad as getting to the park, easier to walk down hill! We stopped by a bakery and had a quick breakfast. </div>
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Next stop: Casa Batlló!</div>
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We took the metro again to Passeig de Gràcia and Casa Batlló was a quick walk away. My first impression of Casa Batlló......colorful! I like the pastel mix of color of its exterior wall and the balconies which looked like an animal's face.</div>
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I prepaid the tickets online and the online ticket valid for any day during the one year period...very convenient! There was almost no line at all to get in. Once I stepped in, I was once again mesmerized by the strange unique decors. Words can not describe what they are or what they look like so just enjoy the photos :)</div>
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Hubby listening to the audio guide since we are left with one camera so we had to take turn :(</div>
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The blue tiles ranging from light blue on the bottom of the house gradually increasing to deep blue on top of the house!</div>
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Match my dress?</div>
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We walked out to a terrace and here more color mosaic tiles:</div>
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Te exterior wall..I like the flower patterns on the top!<br />
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Hum...what's the purpose of those plates sticking out?</div>
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Hard to find a sharp corner in Casa Batlló:</div>
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The dark blue tiles on the top:</div>
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Is that Gaudi?</div>
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We found our way to the strange looking and yet colorful rooftop:</div>
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The roof top of Casa Batlló compared to Palau Güell...it's more in pastel colored tone while Palau Güell is more vibrant sharp colors.</div>
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Walking back down....</div>
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More weird patterns on the ceiling...</div>
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I was only planned to visit Casa Batlló since I like the unique interior decors more than Casa Milà / La Pedrera. However, hubby convinced me that since we are so close to Casa Mila, we should go in and see then I can show photos in my blog to show the differences of the two. Good point hubby!</div>
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We walked to Casa Milà, you can't miss it since it's a huge building:</div>
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Hubby took the camera and photo the detailed balconies...yep that's Gaudi's style - can't be that simple!</div>
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Since I was planning to go in Casa Milà, I didn't prebook tickets online so we had to wait in line. Fortunately the wait wasn't bad at all! We walked in and we were in the middle of it!</div>
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We waited in line to get in the elevator, the route started from the roof then going down which is clever! More weird looking chimneys:</div>
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The difference of Casa Milà...bigger roof and the chimneys focused on the structure, the curvy lines instead of the color.</div>
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From the rooftop, we can see Sagrada Família under construction!</div>
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After the roof top, we continued the route walking down, here we saw a model of the building:</div>
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Another differences of Casa Milà is that its a furnished apartment...here's the sewing room:</div>
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The kitchen.....our modern cook top inspired by Gaudi??</div>
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Storage room?</div>
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A green bathroom:</div>
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Dining and living room:</div>
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Office with telephone and typewriter:</div>
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The building is huge but only certain areas are opened for public visit during the day. There's a secret tour at night!</div>
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After seeing the three Gaudi's houses...my favorite is Casa Batlló for its colorful pastel exterior and strange decors interior. Casa Milà is a furnished apartment so it wasn't as strange inside as Casa Batlló. If you have time, I'll recommend to see all three! If not, pick one and you can't go wrong :)</div>
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By now we were starving so we walked back to the metro station and hoping we could find a tapa restaurant for lunch. We found Tapa Tapa and completely fooled by its name! Even though there were many selections of tapas, the food was like a fast-food chain quality; over-cooked and not fresh!</div>
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Tapas were very small dishes compared to what we had in Seville and cost more. Bill was 23.75 euros.....we waited at least 15 minutes for our bill! It was getting busy but still we shouldn't be waiting for 15 minutes to get our bill!!</div>
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We headed back to the hotel to rest a bit and walked back out to Barcelona Cathedral. We walk passed by many clothing stores....but we had no mood for shopping :(</div>
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For dinner, we headed to Wok Yutaka (Carrer del Rosselló, 307), a buffet style restaurant; it's able 8 minutes walk from Casa Mila. Sorry for not taking any photos! The restaurant was clean and maybe its location, it was pretty empty. However, the food was good for its price. Two of us the bill came to be 36.9 euros with two drinks and unlimited grills. The buffet have both cooked and uncooked food. Cooked food included stir-fried noodles, beef, chicken, vegetables like in a Chinese buffet. The raw food included shrimps, squids, razor clams, ribs, vegetables, salmons which you can pick and hand over to the chief....the chief will grill those for you. The chief pour salt and pepper as spices which came out to be pretty good. For unlimited grilled seafood for just 14.50 per person...it was a bargain!</div>
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We walked back to Casa Batlló for some night photos:</div>
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Since it's our last chance to take night photos of Barcelona (tomorrow night will be the game at Camp Nou), hubby wanted to take some more. He was attracted by the Agbar Tower and really wanted to go to take a night photo, we decide to go. We took the metro to Glòries (L1), when we walked out of the metro station, we were under a bridge...very dark and quiet. At that moment, I was scared but once we across the street, we saw the tower and there were a few people there taking photos so I felt a little bit relief.</div>
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Here it is the colorful Agbar Tower at night:</div>
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After a few shoots, we quickly walked to another closer entrance of the metro. I was holding tight on my purse as we walk. The metro was very hot and train service at night slowed down so we had to wait for like 8 minutes before the next train arrived. It was a long day, the most sightseeing day since we arrived in Barcelona. We tried to see it as much as we can after the incident but it really did impacted our itinerary!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-16189635118935544222013-07-31T20:34:00.000-04:002013-09-01T23:11:16.714-04:00Barcelona Day 2<h2>
Barcelona Day 2 - Sagrada Família</h2>
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Due to what happened last night, we really had no appetite for breakfast but our trip must go on! I booked the tickets to Sagrada Família three months ahead to avoid the queue and so glad I did! When we got there, even it was early in the morning, there was already a line formed! Sagrada Família opens at 9 am and our ticket to access the Nativity tower was at 10 am, we got there around 9:15. We walked right in the entrance to have our ticket scanned, no wait at all wohoo!! The exterior was mostly covered with scaffold, I was hoping to get a photo of the Passion façade but it was half covered :( Without further due, we walked inside and wow it was taller than I imagined! </div>
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The first thing that caught my eyes were the light shining through the stained glass windows, very colorful! I guess it would be even better if without the scaffolds blocking some light! The stained glass and the sun rays added colors to the white interior. </div>
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The green lights shined in gave me a feeling that I am in the middle of a big forest filled with trees!</div>
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The curvy columns resembled trees and branches!</div>
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I was mesmerized by the details; every corner I looked was unique.</div>
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When I looked up, it gave me a feeling of fresh air, openness, calmness, and peacefulness. I imagined it would be so much more beautiful if the scaffold didn't block the light coming through the ceiling. Too bad! But it was still very unique, I have never seen any basilica, church, or cathedral in that style. Within the central area, there was no standing allowed; everyone must be seated. I literally sit in one row, looked up, take a photo, walk to the next row, sit down, looked up, take a photo, and repeat! I tried to get different angle shots. Here's my favorite: </div>
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I was so into taking photos of the basilica that I almost forget to have a photo of myself inside. Usually hubby does that while I was taking photos but now since we are left with one camera, we had to take turns :(</div>
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It was almost 10 am and the bright sunlight through the stained glass windows painted the basilica!</div>
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We checked our phone for time to make sure we didn't past our time to go up to the tower. In order to get to the entrance of the Nativity tower, we had to walked out of the main building. There was a line waiting to go up, the wait wasn't bad, and the staff didn't let us to be in line until almost 10 am. Since we had a few minutes before we can even get in line, I walked around to take some photos of the details.....no wonder it took so long to complete, every single structure is a piece of art!</div>
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Finally our turn to wait in line....it wasn't bad!</div>
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There is only one elevator to go up the Nativity towers and then we had to walk down. </div>
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The view of Barcelona from the top of the Nativity tower. I personally don't think the view is impressive.</div>
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We walked across the bridge to get in another tower to walk our way down. I looked out and saw the construction progress....still plenty more to complete!</div>
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The spiral stairs were narrow and only can accommodate one person....</div>
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It seemed endless but it wasn't that bad to go down. There were a few sections where you can step into and rest so you are not blocking others' way down. From a photo perspective, the spiral stairs were artistic!</div>
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We got out around 10:45 am and the huge line was all the way to the back side.......must book your ticket ahead to save your precious vacation time! And not to mentioned it was hot out too, I can't imagined myself standing in line for 2 hours under the sun!</div>
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We got back to the hotel and asked if the manager was there to gather the info and then headed to the police station to file the police report. The manager showed us a log of the electronic door and it showed no record of who got in after we left our room! I wasn't surprised....if the robbers are able to get into our room without damaging the lock, that means they have a way to break the code to get in without recording to the log. But they are unable to confirm on how they break in because Spanish law - no camera in the hallways. Urggg...to protect the privacy of the guest, they are not allowed to see who the guest bought into their rooms. What??? I really don't see how that law protects the guest; it's more like protecting the thieves! But the hotel was able to see from the surveillance cameras outside the entrance and the elevator. The manager told us that they saw the two guys came in the elevator with us and they moved very quickly so it was very suspicious. They also checked the door logs of the rooms near our room and no one entered those rooms when we entered our room so that confirmed that those two guys are not hotel guests!!!</div>
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The manager offered to walk us to the police station to help us file the police report. He said expect a long wait since there will be other victims!! The walk to the police station was pretty far, when we got there, there were two people ahead of us in line. This was the first time in my life in a police station reporting an incident!!! That feeling wasn't great at all! The manager told us that this was his 5th in the same police station during his 3 years living in Barcelona! First time was a hotel guest got robbed right in front of the hotel after he got off the taxi. Second time was his house got broken into. Third and fourth time were he got pickpocket. And fifth time was us :( We wrote down as much as we could think of our stolen items and spent the morning searching for the serial numbers we registered in Canon's website. The manager did the translation for us and the police officer type in the report. The whole process took like 2-3 hours and the manager said it was a record since this police officer type pretty fast. We signed the report, obtained a copy, and walked back to the hotel. </div>
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It was way past lunch time and thankfully the restaurant in the hotel, CentOnze, opened from lunch all the way to dinner. We decided to have lunch in the hotel, we really don't have the mood nor appetite to search where we want to eat or what to eat. The food quality was good and price was very reasonable consider a restaurant in a 5 stars hotel. They also have a fixed three course menu for lunch and dinner and changes daily. </div>
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After lunch, we decided to at least visit one more place so we are not wasting time even though we really have no mood for sightseeing. We visited Palau Guell, Gaudi's first work, and it was a walking distance from the hotel. The admission fee is 12 euros per person and no line at all! The building was closed for renovation in 2004 and recently reopened to the public in 2011!</div>
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Gaudi's Palau Guell effectively use it's space wisely! On the ground floor or basement, it's the stable for horses:</div>
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Then, we walked up to the main floor. The ceiling was again filled with details!</div>
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From the central hall, you can see the floors and the dome:</div>
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Palau Guell used wood as the main construction and decoration materials.</div>
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The stained glass windows were characters from Shakespeare's play: Macbeth and Hamlet.</div>
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The visitors room where guests would be greeted before entering the central hall. Beautiful window frames!</div>
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The visitors room's roof, decorated with hardwood and gold leaves ornaments.</div>
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The Terrance:</div>
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The Gaudi's roof with twenty colorful chimneys:</div>
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There were other buildings' roof packed together which ruined the view of this colorful and yet strange roof!</div>
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I think it's worth to see Palau Guell, you can start to see the beginning of Gaudi's crazy imaginations starting with the roofs! It was not crowded at all too so you can have the space and take your time to explore this building. </div>
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On our walk back to the hotel, we passed by La Boqueria so we went in to get a smoothie. This smoothie stand, it's really emphasizing on juices....look at the huge tubes! There were staff on the back constantly cutting fruits and mixing them and then poured into the big tubes! </div>
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Hubby got a mango smoothie and it was fresh.</div>
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More photos of La Boqueria since the photos from yesterday were stolen.</div>
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You name it, most likely you'll find it in La Boqueria!</div>
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Dried nuts and fruits:</div>
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Those colorful bottles.....guess what they are? I didn't realized until I looked closely and read the labels...those were different flavors of salt. Fruit favored salt....you ever had that before? I was going to buy some but I really have no use for them. </div>
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We got back to our hotel and rest. Originally, I booked a dinner at Cera 23, a highly rated restaurant but after what happened to us, we don't feel comfortable walking out at night. So I cancelled the restaurant and stayed in the hotel for dinner. I know we might be biased but after knowing that we were being followed, we don't want to take a risk of losing our only camera!</div>
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Dinner at CentOnze....since we had the lunch menu already, at night we went with a la carte menu. Husband ordered a lamb shoulder, he said the meat was very tender and cooked right. I ordered a steak, it was certainly better in quality than the steak I had in Spain so far. We didn't order much as we had no appetite but the food was good. It will take time for me to not letting the incident to affect my mood but I tried my best to not think of it and enjoy the rest of the trip as much as I could! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-76045828632211737732013-07-30T19:37:00.000-04:002013-08-30T17:18:26.590-04:00Barcelona Day 1<h2>
Barcelona Day 1</h2>
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After 4 days in the beautiful and peaceful Seville, our next stop of our trip was the busy and architectural wonders of Barcelona! We booked an early flight from Seville to Barcelona on Vueling, the budget airline in Spain; it was almost the same price as taking the train but duration was 1.5 hours vs 5.5 hours. Our flight was at 8 am so we checked out our hotel at 5 am and walked to Prado S. Sebastian to catch the airport express bus to the airport. At first we were worried about walking alone early in the morning; it was before sunrise and still dark out but the street was well lit. It was very quiet and I was a bit worried but the bus came after around 10 min of wait (EA bus is every 30 minutes starting from 4:30 am, check the Seville tourism website at: <a href="http://www.tussam.es/">http://www.tussam.es/</a> for details). Few people were in the bus since it was so early in the morning so there were spaces for our luggage. The bus was clean and it took around 30 minutes to get to the airport. Seville airport was smaller so it didn't took us long to get through check-in and security. We had to wait almost 2 hours but it was okay since I rather to be early and wait than taking the risk of missing our flight.</div>
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We arrived Barcelona at 9:30 am, we followed the sign and went downstairs to take the A1 airport express bus to get to Pl. Catalunya. There was a huge line of people and there's a machine to purchase the ticket with your credit card (if it is chip-based). You can also pay by cash; there's a lady there to sell you ticket. The wait wasn't bad because there was a line of A1 buses waiting to bring tourists to the city center. The bus made 2 other stops and finally Pl. Catalunya, when we stepped out of the bus, we had no clue which direction to take! We finally asked the lady beside the bus and she pointed the way to La Rambla where our hotel located. The walk to our hotel was less than 10 minutes and we walked in this beautiful revolving door - Le Meridien Barcelona! Our room wasn't ready yet, the front desk lady told us to leave our luggage and come back around 1 pm or so to check again. Sighhh....anyways we walked down the busy La Rambla to find a place for lunch. We didn't walk that far because I heard about pickpockets so we were very cautious since we were carrying our valuables!! </div>
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We were looking for a tapas menu and found Choquito....wrong choice! Well, I was expected high prices and not so good food on La Rambla but we wanted to stay close to our hotel. Our lunch was two plates of tapas and one seafood paella to share and two sodas, bill was 40.67 euros!!! The paella was okay not as salty as I thought, food overall was just okay. We took our time to eat since we have time to kill!!! Alright...by 12:30 pm, we walked back to our hotel and check and the lady told us to wait few more minutes. We finally got our room key and got to our room....it was clean and modern decor. </div>
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We rested a bit since we got up very early today and then we went to the famous La Boqueria to check it out the food market. Wow it was very crowded and colorful! We were extra cautious; I was holding on tight on my zipped purse!</div>
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The moment I entered this food market, there were many food stands selling freshly blended juices and smoothies! All different fruit combinations, you name it! Mostly are 1.5-2 euros per cup as well as cup of fruits.</div>
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Egg stand, doesn't this feel like Easter?</div>
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And of course Jamons (Spanish hams)!</div>
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We found El Quim, the famous seafood stand/bar! Since we didn't have a great lunch, we figured let's have some good seafood. We waited for like 5 minutes and found two seats! We were so lucky before we were almost the last ones they take orders and close. The waiter gave us a card and a pencil to fill out, their menu is expensive but it was well worth the money! We ordered a plate of steamed mussels (fresh and yummy), grilled gamba (jumbo shrimps), and grilled razor calms. Let me tell you this, they grilled right in front of us and each dish were perfectly made! It was the best grilled seafood we ever had! The bill was 41.9 euros and we felt it was totally worth the money! Sorry I couldn't show you pictures because.....well continue reading!</div>
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Then we headed back to our hotel which is just a few blocks away from the market. We also bought some fruits for later tonight so after we put the fruit in the fridge, we went back out to an official FC Barcelona store, located right near La Rambla, for jerseys. I bought tickets for the Joan Gamper Trophy when it first became on sale online and the game will be taking place on Friday!! Hubby wanted to buy jerseys for both of us so we can wear them to the game LOL! Hubby got Neymar while I got Messi hahaha! It was expensive but it's like once in a life time that we have the chance to watch a game at Camp Nou!</div>
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When we got back to the hotel, we stopped a few min and took picture of the colorful revolving door.</div>
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We got in the elevator and two guys run in the elevator...we waited for a few seconds and then hubby pulled out our room key to inserted into the elevator to activate it. We pressed our floor button and asked those two guys what floor they are in, they said same as us. We got out the elevator and we had a feeling that we were being followed......I began to walk faster and quickly got back into our room. The guys passed us so we thought they were hotel guests and their room were down the corridor. We got inside our room, double locked our door, and rested a bit. I then research on where to have our dinner, we decided to go to La Paradeta for seafood! I heard that they take cash only and I don't want to carry a lot of cash so I told hubby watch out what you ordering! We were in our room for an hour before heading out for dinner. We locked up our valuables including cash and lens in the safe and double checked we locked the door. We thought our belongings would be safer to be in the hotel room than with us. Not this time!! </div>
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We walked to Catalunya to take the metro, bought the T10 ticket (10 trips for 9.80 euros), took the L3 Subway towards Trinitat Nova, stop at Diagonal, change to L5 towards Vall d'Hebron, stop at Sagrada Familia. The metro stations in Barcelona were very hot, no fan, no AC!!! But the metro was fast, we never have to wait more than 5 min for the metro. We were very cautious in the metro station since I read a lot of pickpockets and I was carrying cash for our dinner. When we switched lines at Diagonal, there were metro staff there checking tickets so hold on to your tickets, don't discard them right after use, wait until you reached your destination! We got to Sagrada Familia stop at no time, the moment I stepped out and turned my back OMG I saw the famous Sagrada Familia! It was much larger than in picture!</div>
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I couldn't wait to take a picture of it so we walked across the street to take some photos. We'll be back tomorrow morning!! We then walked to La Paradeta which is located on the back street behind the church. It was not hard to find at all! We got there at 7:30 pm and the restaurant opens at 8 so we had to wait but I was the first in line LOL!</div>
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When it opened at 8, there were like less than 10 people in line and of course I was the first :) I walked in and take a quick look at the seafood before deciding on what we what! The "waitress/cashier" spoke enough English to let us know the choices. This seafood restaurant, I should say cafeteria, is special in a way that you pick the seafood you want, pick your style of how you want to be cooked (usually three choices: grill, steam, fried), oh tell them for how many people and they'll make the correct judgement on the amount, and you paid by the weight (sometimes each for crab). I found out from a review that must try their tomato sauce mussel so we did! We ordered A LOT!! Three different clams/mussel, two with tomato sauce and one grill, a whole crab (it's already cooked), grilled jumbo shrimps (they are two of the most expensive we ordered), grilled razor clams, fried calamari (two of them was too much for two people), and grilled Finland lobster (the most expensive). The ordering process went on very fast so decide ahead! With two sodas, bill came to 67.9 euros hahaha it could be less without the lobster and shrimps!</div>
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Here I was ordering :)</div>
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I strongly recommend that you ordered the grilled Escopinya Berberecho, the middle one of the clams, those are very light weighted (price by the weight) and very yummy!</div>
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After ordering, we picked a table, it's a self-served cafeteria style, see picture below:</div>
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Our bill and we were number 1 hahaha! The yummy clams that I strongly recommended cost less than 1 euro!! We really wanted to go back for more!!! The Finland lobsters were 17.65 euros....we never had that kind of lobster so wanted to try. Well..if you are like us from New England or any place with great lobsters, you'll be disappointed. Their Finland lobsters were frozen so the meat wasn't crunchy. Well we had to try or else we'll never know right? The jumbo shrimps were 11.54 euros, they were very good. </div>
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We waited a few minutes and I heard someone called number "uno" that's our food! I sent hubby to go pick up the food lol. See the two windows? One for pick-up and the other one is for trash after you are done :)</div>
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The whole crab (pre-cooked) for 8 euros, it was okay.</div>
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Here came the mussels in tomato sauce, first time I had it with tomato sauce and turned out to be great!</div>
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Another clam with tomato sauce!</div>
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Two calamaris turned out to be this huge plate, 1 should have been enough!</div>
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The excellent grilled calms for less than 1 euro!! It was the best! The grilled razor clams were okay according to hubby, not as good as the ones we had at El Quim earlier but still good!</div>
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I kept going back and forth to pick up our food LOL, see our table is getting crowded?</div>
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The most expensive two...Finland lobsters and jumbo shrimps!</div>
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By the time we were finished, there was a huge line of people waiting outside! Be there early!!!</div>
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We had a great dinner, it was a great experience as well! We took the metro back to our hotel. La Rambla at night is still very busy filled with tourists! We got back to our room, hubby walked right straight to the desk to turn on his laptop, and I noticed our safe was broke open on the floor next to our bed! OMGGGG I felt like I was having a heart attack!! I looked inside and EVERYTHING IS GONE except our two passports and our house keys!!!! I yelled OMG hubby we got robbed!!!!! My husband turned to me, he paused, and then gave me a hug. He said calm down, he walked to the closet where the safe was, it was damaged!!! I went to call the front desk and told them what happened!!! Few minutes later, the front desk manager came in and then she called security. The door wasn't damage at all, how the robbers got in without breaking the door????? I told her the whole story and the two suspicious guys who came in the elevator with us earlier. She called the police and the police came in. She translated for us and we requested another room since we were no longer feel safe in this room! She moved us to another room in a different floor. We grabbed our belongings and got to the new room. I was still shocked and couldn't believe what happened! We lost almost all our valuables...most importantly our lens since that was the one of the most important reason for our trip - photography!! My camera was also stolen and that was why I also lost the pictures I took during the day!!! Now we were left with one camera and one lens! I was speechless....it was the most horrible moment in my life!!! My husband stayed calm and he kept telling me that most important is that we are safe, thanks hubby!!! We tried to sleep since we booked Sagrada Família at 10 am tomorrow and then have to go to the police station afterwards!! It was so hard to fall asleep, every time I closed my eyes, I saw the broken safe on the floor! The whole night, I felt unsafe knowing that robbers are able to access our room without breaking the door!!!! We had traveled to Europe for the third time now and been to poorer countries like Mexico and have been very cautious of our valuables. Never in my life that I felt so unsafe! This totally ruined our trip! Big lesson learned...never get into an elevator with other people when going back to your room and do not think that the hotel room safe is the safest place for your valuables!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-63956520660712552982013-07-29T18:32:00.000-04:002013-08-28T18:26:54.595-04:00Cordoba, Spain<h2>
Daytrip to Cordoba, Spain</h2>
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At first I was planning to stay two days and spend the full two days in Seville until I saw photos of The Mezquita, the red and white striped horseshoe arches attracted me as I never seen any mosque/cathedral in that style. After research, I found how easy it was to do a day trip to Cordoba from Seville; it's only 45 min train ride away! This made my mind thinking and debating and we made our decision to add 2 more days to Seville in order to make a day trip to Cordoba :) I have been waiting for train ticket to be available for purchase in Spain rail Renfe website: <a href="https://venta.renfe.com/vol/index.do">https://venta.renfe.com/vol/index.do</a> Advanced purchase save 70% of the original price, discounted ticket usually available for purchase 62 days in advanced. However, I learned that during the summer season, Renfe re-adjust their schedule and ticket prices so sometimes it might not be available for sale exactly 62 days ahead so be patient and check everyday, the savings will worth it!</div>
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Cordoba here we come! We took the taxi from our hotel to the train station since it's fast and inexpensive less than 10 euros! I booked the 8:50 am train from Seville and arrived Cordoba at 9:34 am. When we arrived Cordoba, we went to the tourist office located inside the train station to get a map of Cordoba. The walk from the train station to the entrance gate was around 15 minutes.</div>
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The entrance gate:</div>
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It was quiet since it was still early in the morning. When I first walked into the gate, I saw flower pots hanging on the walls of white houses, it was very unique. I told myself we can come back later, we have to get to The Mezquita first to avoid the tour groups! We walked another 5 minutes, the narrow roads all have street names labeled so it wasn't hard to find our way to The Mezquita. We reached The Mezquita...well that time I didn't know it was The Mezquita from the outside. </div>
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We walked inside and there was a courtyard and we stay a lot of people already lined up. I told hubby to line up first while I go purchase the ticket. Ticket purchase was fast and by the time I came back with the tickets, we got in at almost no time! Here's a photo of the courtyard:</div>
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We walked in and it was dark inside but we could clearly see the red and white striped horseshoe arches! There were so many of those arches, at one angle they looked like infinite. The pattern reminded me of candy canes haha! The Mezquita is very big inside, just one floor, almost like a huge room! Before we got there, I was worried about how to take a photo without people coming into the frame of my photo. It wasn't too hard especially we got there early and it was a huge place so you might be able to find a corner without too much people blocking the way. That was what we did, we tried to walk to a section where less people and we found some!</div>
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Here's hubby taking a photo of the arches:</div>
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The interior of the Mezquita is lit by natural lights from the windows and some hanging lights so at different angle and location, the color of the picture will be slightly different.<br />
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I tried to take at every angle that I can to get a different look of The Mesquita.<br />
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As we walked toward the center of The Mezquita, it got brighter and brighter; the center is the brightest part of the mosque/cathedral. We stepped into the middle section and it was totally a different atmosphere! The architecture turned immediately from an Islamic-style mosque into a cathedral! I have read about it and saw photos of it but it completely blew off my mind! I was like "wow"! It was a beautiful cathedral with a huge dome in the middle and lavishly decorated ceiling! This is one of the most beautiful cathedral interior I have seen so far. I was very impressed by the details and designs. You have to see it yourself to feel it; it was indescribable! </div>
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We usually don't sit down to spend some time to look closely in a cathedral except when the cathedral's architecture amazes us The Mezquita is one of them!</div>
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We walked out and back to the Islamic style mosque. Two different architecture styles and both are beautiful.</div>
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I like the lights shining through the columns in this photo:<br />
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Another cathedral style dome in a room that is connected to The Mesquita:</div>
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Lamp hanging down to lit up the interior of The Mezquita:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18.046875px;">The Mihrab:</span></div>
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More photos of the horseshoe arches:</div>
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I was waiting for this guy to move so I could take a photo without people being too noticeable...I waited 10 minutes and he's still standing there! I guess he's really taking his time appreciating this beautiful place so I can't blame him!<br />
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There are so many interesting things to see inside The Mezquita like this window frame:</div>
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The arches are going endlessly....</div>
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So lucky that no one walked by!</div>
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Another beautiful ceiling:</div>
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We spent at least two hours in The Mezquita! By the time we walked out, we were overdue for lunch. Another photo of the outside of The Mequita with the bell tower. On that street, many souvenir shops and some restaurants including Burger King LOL! </div>
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We walked to Calle de las Flores, the street filled with flowers! We were there in late July so maybe due to the dry weather, the flowers were pasted full bloom....but they are still pretty hanging on a white wall!<br />
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Those blue pots and red/pink colored flowers with green leaves truly add color to the white washed walls.</div>
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The old town of Cordoba, most of the cute houses are white sometimes with yellow windowsill.</div>
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Here's the entrance to a restaurant with a roll of flower pots! Another interesting thing about the old town is that some restaurants are tucked inside so you have to either walk into a narrow road to enter or sometimes walk inside a souvenir store to enter the restaurant! You'll see menus out on the main road and pointing to the entrance of the restaurant.</div>
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We picked to have lunch in a restaurant called Taberna El No. 10.</div>
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We ate inside for AC and there was some construction out so we don't want to have dirt in our food.</div>
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The waiter here speak very good English and they do have English menu. Inside the restaurant, there are some wine cask in the middle. A glass of wine is definitely cheaper than a can of soda!!! Too bad for us that we don't drink!</div>
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We ordered grilled squid, the sauce was yummy and the squid cooked just right. The fried shrimps were good too!</div>
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I ordered the pork cheek stew with sauce, pork was yummy! Remember again, Spain's pork quality is way better than beef! The bill came to 29 euros, a little bit expensive but at least the food was good.</div>
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After lunch, we walked to the near-by Alcazar. Cordoba's Alcazar is a lot more smaller than Seville's, actually there's not much to see in the interior of the fortress. However, we were able to climb up the tower to have great views of Cordoba. </div>
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Here's a photo of a statue at the entrance of the Alcazar:</div>
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Roman ruins left inside:</div>
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The tower we were able to climb up to through very narrow stairs. The climb wasn't too bad since the tower wasn't too tall but the stairs were very narrow that it barely fit two people. So if there are people coming down at the same time, it will be difficult!</div>
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The Royal Stable we saw from the top of the tower:</div>
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The beautiful view of Cordoba, with The Mezquita on the left, part of the Alcazar on the middle, and the Roman Bridge on the right.</div>
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After the tower, we came back down to its main attraction which is the gardens! Water sprinkled from both side while flowers and trees on each side, very beautiful!</div>
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The view of the fortress from its garden, doesn't this look like in a storybook?</div>
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Although it wasn't the time of peak blooms, there were still many colorful flowers in the gardens:</div>
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The gardens in Seville's Alcazar is huge, very green and lush while the gardens in Cordoba's Alcazar has a good view and a romantic palace feel. Both are different and unique on its own way. </div>
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After the Alcazar, we walked along the riverbank to the Roman Bridge and saw an abandoned windmill:</div>
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The Roman Bridge:</div>
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It was very sunny out so be sure to constantly apply sunscreen! The view from the bridge:</div>
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After the bridge, we walked back to The Mezquita and saw the beautiful outside wall:</div>
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It was around 4pm and since our train to get back to Seville is at 8:30, we have plenty of time to explore Cordoba. We looked at the map and follow it to other sights through the city. The tourism map was excellent with some photos of the main sights and some history of each. We walked pass the shopping area, it was quiet and some shops were closed. Here we saw a big foot painted on a mirror LOL!</div>
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We walked to the Roman ruins, it was a good walk from the old town:</div>
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Plaza de las Tendillas, the shopping area:</div>
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We took breaks in between to get hydrated then continued our walk to Plaza del Cristo de los Faroles. </div>
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Hubby liked the patterns on the ground so he wanted to take a special photo:</div>
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We walked around the city and then decided to walk back to the old town hoping to find a restaurant open for early dinner....there's none!!! All the restaurants re-open at 8 for dinner haha we forgot we are in Spain! Alright, we decided to visit souvenir shops for souvenir shopping! We walked past a narrow way and saw this building...it reminded us of Greece!</div>
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We checked out a few restaurants and their kitchens were all closed...but at least their entrance are very beautiful that I enjoyed taking photos of them!</div>
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Cute aprons for water bottle? Haha!</div>
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Narrow twisted roads....need good driving skill?</div>
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Pretty entrance of a hotel:</div>
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We walked in many souvenir shops and found this one to be the most reasonably priced and varieties of souvenirs! This shop is located on the way back out to the city wall:</div>
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More beautiful places we walked by:</div>
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On our walk back to the train station, we saw a sign "Hotel Boston" (we are from Boston area) LOLLL!</div>
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We have no clue what this building is but it's very nice and also pinkish colored!!!</div>
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We arrived the train station around 7 pm. There's a cafe inside the train station so we bought something to drink. Hubby ordered an ice latte and it was good!!!</div>
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We got back to Seville at 9:15 pm and without much thinking, we decided to take a taxi right to Albarama Restaurant to dine there again since the food is so good and we were so tired by now to even think or walk. The only bad part is the taxi ride! The taxi driver ripped us off! The taxi ride from our hotel to the train station was less than 10 euros, so I was expecting the ride to the restaurant would be around the same. I was looking at the meter closely and it was very odd that there were two prices, one that changes by mile and one that is fixed. I was about to pay the driver 10 euros and the taxi driver pressed a button and it totaled like 13 euros. Fine 3 euros more than I expected so I paid the driver 2x 10 euro bills. He gave me back 2 euros change! I tried to tell him I paid him 20 euros! He barely speaks any English and act like he gave me the right change! Oh gosh and cars behind were beeping so blahh I was too tired to argue so I walked out! I totally felt that he ripped us off by purpose! </div>
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Oh well..time for some great food! We walked into Albarama and we didn't have to wait for a table. We were looking at the menu and thinking which dishes we haven't tried yet? We ordered 5 tapas and the waiter suggested we have the 5 first then if not enough we could order more later.</div>
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Here are what we ordered! Shrimp salad....yummy and filling!</div>
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A fish salad..forgot what fish it was but it was decent:</div>
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Fried calamari with squid ink sauce rice, good!</div>
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Mushroom with pork and sauce and grilled pork. Both were excellent! Our conclusion about Albarama: you can randomly pick any dishes and they won't be bad, they can only be good or excellent!</div>
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After dinner, we walked back to our hotel, our last night view of Seville!</div>
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The Cathedral at night:</div>
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A beautiful lit building:</div>
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Lastly, our hotel: Hotel Alfonso XIII</div>
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Good night Seville, we really enjoyed our 4 days stay here..it was relaxed and great food!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-61651821249457663782013-07-28T06:44:00.000-04:002013-08-28T18:29:43.053-04:00Seville, Spain Day 3<h2>
Seville Day 3 - Flamenco</h2>
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Another cloudy morning to start with! Today was our last full day in Seville so our plan was to explore places we haven't been to like the rest of Plaza de Espana which include Plaza de America and María Luisa Park then flea market on Feria and Metropol Parasol. When we get to Plaza de Espana, it was getting cloudy again! Our dream of having blue sky and white puffy clouds photos was not getting any luck! Early in the morning, the fountain haven't even turned on yet, and the plaza was nearly empty so great time to take photos with a tripod :) That is the only problem of going on vacation only two of us, there's no one to take photos of us together! Especially now that both of us use DSLR cameras, we are not comfortable to hand over an expensive camera to a stranger to take photo of us and that person might not even know how to use a DSLR camera. I do carry a point and shoot with me to ask other tourists to take photo of us once a while but most of the time, he/she will take a photo of us two and totally ignored the view of the place! However, it's still better than no photos together hehe!<br />
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Here we are again in Plaza de Espana, tripod set and smile!<br />
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2nd floor at the plaza, the walkway is closed...I wondered why they closed majority of the section on the 2nd floor??</div>
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Beautiful beautiful Plaza de Espana; my favorite plae in Seville!</div>
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It was very cloudy that not even a spot of blue so we decided to move on to Plaza de America. We walked through María Luisa Park which is big, there were some signs here and there to point you to the right direction to get to Plaza de America. I was a little disappointed, since it was under renovation! Here's the Museum of Arts and Traditions of Sevilla right across from Plaza de America:<br />
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There's a little park right near the building and we saw a grandpa feeding pigeons with his granddaughter and we went over and did the same. I have a bag of crackers with me and oh boy those pigeons were not afraid to fly to you to get food! I was holding crackers in my palm trying to break them into smaller pieces, and those pigeons somehow know it and just flew up to my and start picking woah! If you ever want to take photos of holding pigeons, come to Plaza de America haha! They are better than the pigeons at St. Mark's Square in Venice; at least there are no one in your photos!</div>
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Hubby attacked by pigeons LOL!</div>
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On our way walking back to the hotel, I spotted this lovely bright flowers:</div>
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We walked to the shopping street of Tetuan and it was empty! Let me tell you this, do not go on shopping or plan your shopping day on Sunday, everything is closed in Seville!!!</div>
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So we decided to head to lunch which we decided let's headed to the further part of Seville. I found two restaurants that are highly rated: La Azotea and Barajas 20 Tapas in which they are close together. It was about 15 min walk from the Cathedral to La Azotea and when we got there, it was closed for lunch on Sunday! Then we walked to Barajas 20 Tapas, it is also closed for lunch on Sunday!! What a bummer!! Then we walked to the flea market on Feria thought flea market should open on weekends. WRONG!! It is also closed on Sunday! Oh my!! </div>
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Alright..so now we tried to headed back to the center tourist area hoping to find a restaurant that is open for lunch. We passed by Metropol Parasol, the "mushroom" structure:</div>
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They closed the stairs to walk up :(</div>
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We passed by Casa De La Memoria at Calle Cuna (the place we wanted to go to watch a flamenco show) and it was open! We walked in and purchased our ticket! There are two show times, we picked the one at 7:30 so right after we could have dinner. The lady said there's no reserved seating so be here 15 min early to get good seats!</div>
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By the time we got back to the Cathedral area, hubby wanted a place to eat a whole plate of shrimps. So we found a restaurant right near our hotel, EFE Café. Another wrong choice...the waiter barely speaks English and their service is very slow! I ordered from a set lunch menu (it was like 9 euros for a salad, a main, and a drink) and hubby ordered 1/2 portion of shrimps around 8 euros. The shrimps were just okay, not the jumbo shrimps we wanted.</div>
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Food was just okay as well. Not impressed with this lunch! Then we waited for 15 min for the bill OMG!! The waiter kept forgetting it blah!! Finally the bill and he charged us two times on the shrimps, the bill clearly listed 8 euros, 9 euros, and 8 euros again!!! Then, we had to wait until the waiter to come over and asked, and he said that's the whole portion of shrimps. I told him, we ordered 1/2 portion not the whole portion! He said the other waiter mixed up, he wrote whole portion instead of 1/2 portion and what we got was the whole portion! I found it very suspicious since if he really messed up, why not the bill listed the whole portion price which is 16 euros at once instead of listing the 1/2 portion 8 euros twice??? And 16 euros for 16 small shrimps???? Gosh! I was not happy and finally he crossed out the 2nd charge of 8 euros, the updated total was 21.5 euros. I paid cash and leave; don't want to stay there any longer! GRRRR!!</div>
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Despite all the unfortunates, it was clear blue sky by now! I really wanted to go back to Plaza de Espana for photos and hubby felt it so he said let's head back. Love you hun!!! The light quantity and quality really make a big difference on your photos! Just how I dreamed about it...blue sky with white clouds:</div>
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Gorgeous colors!!!</div>
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Since walked so much today, we headed back to our hotel to rest. We took a nap and headed back out at 7 pm. We got to Casa De La Memoria at 7:15 and the first row was already full of people! We sat on the second row facing the middle of the stage. This place is like a room, with the stage on the center and then two rows of seats bracketing the stage. There are also seats up on the 2nd floor as well but I don't think the view is good from the 2nd floor. The seats and the stage is very close less than 3 feet away from the 1st row! The place was half filled I would say and the performance begins exactly at 7:30. There's another show at 9 I think. A young lady walked to the stage and said no video of photo during the show!! The performers will have some time at the end for us to take photos!! Awwwww I was so ready for some action photos! Well, I guess we'll just concentrate on the performance then! </div>
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First, two guys came to the stage, one is the guitarist and another one is the singer. He sang a traditional Seville song, although we couldn't understand the lyrics, but it sounded good. The whole song was pretty long, then the flamenco dancer came out! She's young and she performed well! It was our first time watching a flamenco, it was very good! Her dance lasted at least 10 minutes wow! Then back to singing again for few minutes. Another male dancer came out and danced for another 10 minutes or so. I liked how they arrange the 1 hour show, we get to see both female and male performing flamenco. Lastly, the female joined and they both danced together. That was the best part, liked the interaction. Afterwards, she indicated photo time (it was short only a 2-3 minutes so get your camera ready and click click click)!</div>
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It would be perfect if they let us take photos during the show...I guess hard to tell people to not use their flash? Anyways overall, it was a great show! </div>
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On our walk back to the Cathedral area, we were checking out menus to determine where to have our dinner. We walked by a cafe, forgot to check its name but it was right after the Church of the Savior (by looking at Google map, it looks like it's Cafe Universal). We saw a list of tapas in their English menu. Tapas time wohooo!!!</div>
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We chose to sit inside since it was a bit windy out. The cafe is very classic and cute:</div>
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Here we go again with our tapas....we ordered 7 dishes!!</div>
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1. Seafood salad mix, it was a good appetizer tons of seafood with vinegar sauce (on the left)</div>
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2. Avocado stuffed with seafood salad, it was our favorite! The avocado and seafood salad fit so well together, perfect combination (on the right)!! It was so good, I wanted more!!!</div>
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3. Fried shrimp, it was crunchy (on the left)</div>
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4. Pork with mushroom on a sauce, good as well (on the right)</div>
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5. Another fried shrimp, this one is also crispy and good!</div>
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6. Main course, hubby ordered a garlic shrimp, pretty good!</div>
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7. I ordered a sirloin steak......urg the steak meat was from a very old cow! We had a hard time cutting it and forget about chewing it! This was the only dish that we aren't satisfied with, well it's not their cooking, it's the meat itself! We learned that beef in Spain aren't that good quality, so better to go with pork. They have very tender pork!!</div>
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It was a great meal and the bill came to 39.6 euros with two sodas. Not bad at all! I would recommend this if you want to dine nearby before or after the flamenco show!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-84406188933046116932013-07-27T19:59:00.000-04:002013-11-08T19:48:58.992-05:00Seville, Spain Day 2<h2>
Seville Day 2 - The Alcazar</h2>
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Buenos días Sevilla! We woke up around 9 am,I was planning to head to Real Alcazar when it opens at 9:30 to avoid the crowd but when I looked out the window, it was cloudy!! Oh noooo! We can't just wait and wasting our precious vacation time! So we did spend some time taking photos of the beautiful hotel staircase!<br />
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We walked out to have an early lunch at the cafe next to the Seville Cathedral, the waiter barely speak English. We pointed him the menu and he managed to mixed up 2 out of 3 plates we ordered LOL! Food was okay, bill was 15 euros.<br />
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After lunch, the sky cleared up back to blue sky again wohooo!! Real Alcazar was just few steps away and there wasn't a long line by the time we got there. The courtyard of Real Alcazar with La Giralda on the background. When we first walked in, there were many doors LOL, we didn't know where to start! We picked the door on the right and navigate there first.</div>
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We walked in and there were displays of beautiful fans, they must be priceless! We have seen few fans without price tags in shops and we were curious and asked for price...one was over thousand of euros woah!!! Must be some famous painter painted the fan!</div>
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We walked from one "house" to another, from courtyard to courtyard!<br />
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Each is unique and we had a fun time photographing.</div>
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The orange color made it felt like Seville Spanish architecture!</div>
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We walked upstairs and inside are some porcelain tile displays. The view from up here was great can see both the Alcazar and La Giralda.</div>
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We came back down, the wall is decorated with beautiful porcelain tiles and a taste of Muslim architecture.</div>
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Another courtyard:</div>
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Another one:</div>
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Then, we walked inside a room, it is the Hall of Ambassadors (as I have seen in my online photos)!! The hall was magnificent with the sparkling gold ceiling and detailed tiles. I felt like I was looking through a kaleidoscope!</div>
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Walked through the hall is the Courtyard of the Maidens, the architecture is just incredible! Even the arcs are filled with detailed! Words can't describe how details it is and photo can barely captures its true beauty. You have to go there see it yourself!</div>
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We can't get enough photos of the Courtyard of the Maidens! Then we walked through buildings, we have no clue where we were at this point!<br />
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We walked out and ended up in another courtyard. I like the orange building with green plants and a very blue sky with some clouds!</div>
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This hallway is very bright colored, the bright orange and yellow made it one of its kind! Doesn't it match my dress as well? hehe!</div>
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I have seen photos of those "cups" before and I found them haha! They were located right in front of the entrance to the Alcázar Gardens! You can't miss them before you exit the Alcazar :)</div>
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Alcázar Gardens:</div>
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The garden is very rich with plants!!</div>
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I don't think we have walked half of the garden but we were hungry by then lol. On the way out, I noticed this tree on the wall, very bright green colored so I have to have hubby take a photo of me and the tree :)</div>
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Hubby liked the pattern of the rocks on the path and the light it reflected:</div>
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After we exited the Alcazar, I planned to walk to La Cava del Europa for lunch. It was located in the Santa Cruz are so it was a good walk through this local neighborhood. There are many souvenir stores here and prices are cheaper than around the Cathedral area. The twisted little roads around this area made it difficult for me to find my way lol and I saw this tile map!</div>
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The walk was 20 minutes or so since we stopped by souvenir shops (it really should take less than 10 minutes from the Alcazar)! We arrived at La Cava del Europa, it was a small but new looking cafe with tables outside. We preferred to sit inside for air conditioner haha! They do have English menu! We ordered tapas to try out different dishes! We ordered a cold almond "soup"....it was freshly made but we didn't like the fact that they added something to it that made it salty.</div>
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The crispy shrimp, it was rolled in a thin sheet of skin and deep fried:</div>
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Sardine fish I think it is:</div>
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Tuna maki, similar to sushi:</div>
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Steak with bell pepper:</div>
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Another fish plate:</div>
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The bill came to be 27.8 euros with two sodas. Not bad and the food was good!</div>
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After a full lunch, we walked back to the hotel to take a rest. Hotel exterior:</div>
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The courtyard of the hotel where the restaurant is located, it was empty when we got back around 3 pm so perfect timing for photos!</div>
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View of the courtyard restaurant from the 2nd floor:</div>
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Beautiful hotel!!!</div>
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The one thing that I had a hard time with Spain is all the restaurants are close during 5-8 pm. I get used to eating dinner at 6 pm at home so I starved a lot before the 8 pm dinner lol! 8 pm is still 5 hours away and to fill our time, we took our tripod and went over to Plaza de Espana again for photos of us two!! By now, the weather is not at its best, it was cloudy, I was hoping for blue sky with clouds!!! So then, we just need to focus taking shots that's lower ground and not to include much sky!</div>
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Here's one shot we like with the roses along its riverbank:</div>
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On the stairs of a bridge with a little bit of blue sky:</div>
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The colors didn't come out as we hoped for when it's blue sky so we left and went back to the hotel. We can easily burn time by going through our photos and select the ones we like! Plus searching for where to eat for dinner! I searched the list of restaurants on Trip Advisor and found this one: El Pimenton, it is rated #4 in Seville and reasonable price range so there's where we went for dinner!</div>
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El Pimenton is very easy to get to, right near the Cathedral. It has a special menu, 3 tapas for less than 9 euros, where can you beat that???</div>
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Here are some of their tapas menu but in Spanish:</div>
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Don't worry, they do have an English menu and their waiters speak very good English! The 8.95 for 3 tapas, not all the tapas in the menu are included in the deal. But even without the deal, the tapas are around 3-4 euros each! Here was our meal:</div>
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1. Shrimp with potato salad, very good!</div>
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2. Spanish omelete (they were very good) 3. Fried shrimp and 4. Fish fillet with potatoes and a spicy sauce</div>
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5. Chicken stew I think, the sauce was yummy!</div>
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6. Fried fish with an egg, those were crispy and tasty, it was a big plate too!</div>
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7. Mini hamburger and 8. Another fish fillet</div>
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9. don't remember what is this but it's good!</div>
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Total bill for the 9 dishes meal with two sodas came to be 32.7 euros!!! El Pimenton totally deserved its 4th place ranking for the best value for food! Out of all the cities we visited in Spain, Seville has the best food in terms of quality and price! A couple who sat next to us looked shocked on the amount of food we ordered LOL! They also found this restaurant through Trip Advisor. We highly recommended El Pimenton!!</div>
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<a href="http://missvacation.blogspot.com/2013/07/seville-spain-day-3.html">Continue to my Seville Day 3</a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-17474576458842177542013-07-26T18:49:00.000-04:002013-11-08T19:47:47.495-05:00Seville, Spain Day 1<h2>
Seville Day 1 - Seville Cathedral</h2>
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This was our first time in Spain and our first stop was Seville. At first my plan was to stay for 2 days but after I saw photos of many beautiful architectures, I decided to stay for 4 days including a day trip to the nearby Cordoba. We arrived in Seville last night at 12 am; we spent the whole day yesterday flying from Venice to Madrid then took the last train to Seville. By the time we got in Seville, we were exhausted but our beautiful hotel: Hotel Alfonso XIII and its comfortable bed got us a great rest!<br />
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The famous Hotel Alfonso XIII was completely renovated last year! We liked headboard of our bed and the glamorous chandelier (it was hard to take a photo of the chandelier, it looked 10 times better than in photo)!<br />
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Bathroom was very new with nice decors.</div>
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We got up at 9 am and ready to venture out to explore Seville......but...it was cloudy out! I heard about the hot Andalusia summer and was prepared for it but turned out it was very comfortable the whole time we were there with a cool breeze from the wind! The only downside was (don't know why if this was normal) all the 4 days we stayed in Seville, it always cloudy during the morning and cleared up by noon with sunny blue sky! I planned to get to sights early in the morning to avoid the crowd for great photos but that totally messed up my plan!! As both of us are photo enthusiasts, lighting quantity and quality are very important for us! We ended up checking our emails and Facebook during the mornings then lunch then sightseeing.</div>
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Our hotel location was superb, within minutes of walk from the main sights: the Cathedral and the Alcazar! On the way to the Cathedral, there were many cafes and restaurants, we stopped by a cafe for a quick sandwich for breakfast. Then, we walked around to get the feel of Seville central; there were many interesting and beautiful architectures!</div>
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We thought this rounded building was very unique:</div>
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Side view of the rounded building, amazing architecture!</div>
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The Cathedral is right in the middle of the block, it's a huge cathedral that you can't miss it! It is very big that we walked around its perimeter to find the entrance! This is not the entrance but can give you an idea of the size of it...even the door made my hubby looked small:</div>
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By the time we got to the entrance, it was already 11 am and there were a line of people to enter. The wait wasn't too bad, less than 10 minutes. While we were waiting in line, we were mesmerized by the details of the structure.</div>
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The Seville Cathedral is the third-largest church in the world!! However, only certain areas are opened for visit so we spent an hour or so in the Cathedral. The massive columns and tall ceilings made me wondered how they built this more than 400 years ago!</div>
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Christopher Columbus' tomb!!</div>
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The Cathedral is lavishly decorated with details and sculptures.</div>
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Beautiful lamps, looked like Arabic style!</div>
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The Giralda (bell tower) from the courtyard of the Cathedral.</div>
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The courtyard of the Cathedral:</div>
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It was hard to fit the whole Cathedral into the frame, it was huge!</div>
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After the Cathedral, we were searching for place to have lunch. I have heard the delicious tapas so we were looking for tapa restaurants! We walked by Genova with Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence so can't go wrong!</div>
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The restrooms are located on the 2nd floor so as I walked up, I noticed the very home-feel decors.</div>
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Majority of the restaurants in tourist areas have English menu, phew since I only know Hola and La cuenta, por favor haha! We ordered the potato salad, it was creamy!</div>
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We ordered the "jamon" (Spanish ham) and grilled squid. We aren't fan of hams so it was just okay. The grilled squid was yummy!</div>
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Main course we ordered seafood paella, it was big enough for 2! I have heard that paella is salty but this one is pretty good, not as salty as I expected it to be.</div>
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Hubby also ordered a mango smoothie which was great, highly recommended it! The total bill came to be 27.5 euros.....wow we felt it was so inexpensive after Venice!</div>
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After the yummy lunch, good time to have a sightseeing walk! Seville is a very walkable city, main tourist attractions are within walking distances! We walked down to the bullfight building just to see the building itself (I researched that there's no bullfight in Seville in the month of July). The museum is still open although we are not museum people :)</div>
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Heading back to our hotel direction, we passed by the Torre del Oro (Golden Tower). We didn't went up the tower to see as I heard the view of Seville's river was nothing special.</div>
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We passed by a small park (Jardines del Cristina) and we spotted a pigeon's home:</div>
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Another great building across from our hotel:</div>
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A huge tree near the University of Seville:</div>
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We continued our walk to Spanish Plaza (Plaza de España) and walked across another park with this interesting building:</div>
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Plaza de España, here we are! OMG it was so beautiful, I totally agreed that it's the most beautiful plaza in Spain! It was more beautiful than another photos I have seen of it!</div>
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I was surprised on how quiet it was; I was expecting filled with tourists! But that was great so we could easily take photos without much wait! The structure was impressive along with the "river" and pond which add reflections.</div>
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The roses planted along its riverbank added bright colors to the yellowish-orange structure. The plaza became one of my favorite spots to photograph in Spain!</div>
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We were there at least two hours taking pictures of here and there, just everywhere in this plaza is breathtaking!</div>
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We went back to hotel and rest a bit before going out for dinner. All the restaurants in Spain open from 8 pm for dinner (I was starving by then lol)! For dinner, I picked Albarama Restaurante Tapas, it is rated #6 in Seville and prices are very reasonable! We got there before they open and we had to wait a bit. We chose to sat inside, we followed the waiter walked through a narrow hallway and inside was spacious.</div>
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After Venice where the cheapest appetizer started from 10 euros and main course started from 20 euros, the menu from Albarama is very affordable (around 4-5 euros per tapas portion)!! We loved the idea of tapas; small plates and inexpensive so we could try out different varieties! First, we ordered 6 tapas:</div>
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1. Scallop with salad, ingredients were fresh, the sauce was excellent!</div>
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2. Shrimp with avocado rice, the rice was creamy but not too heavy!</div>
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3. Grilled squid, cooked perfectly and a tasty sauce!</div>
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Whole table of color food, I was so happy by just looking at them!</div>
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4. Grilled of some type of fish with black noodle (squid ink noodle) and mango</div>
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5. Tuna with jelly on the bottom</div>
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6. Steak with potato </div>
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All the dishes were delicious and hubby couldn't resist but to order 3 more plates. He ordered the whole fish menu LOL!</div>
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7. Sea urchin with fried egg on top, he said it was okay</div>
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8. Another fish dish that he said it was okay as well</div>
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We were very satisfied with the food! It was the best meal we had so far! The total bill for 8 dishes plus two soft drinks....48 euros!! It was the best value for the quality of food!! Another photo of Albarama when we were leaving the restaurant:</div>
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It was a nice walk back to the hotel, it was still not dark yet! Hotel exterior:</div>
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We had a great first day in Seville, beautiful architectures and delicious inexpensive food!!! I highly recommended Seville to any Spain itinerary!</div>
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<a href="http://missvacation.blogspot.com/2013/07/seville-spain-day-2.html">Continue to my Seville Day 2</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-81842557864308776892013-07-24T05:28:00.000-04:002013-08-28T18:31:43.332-04:00Venice 2013 Day 6Our 6 days in Venice went very fast, today was our last day in this beautiful island! We tried to enjoy it as much as we could since it will be years before we'll have a chance to come back again! I woke up at 8 and hubby was still sleeping, I really wanted to go out to take photos of the early morning in Venice when it has less tourists. I told my hubby that I'll take a quick walk out to St Mark's Square and be back soon haha!<br />
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Venice, looked very different during the early morning, the day, and the night but still beautiful on its own way. When I walked right out of the hotel, it was almost no one on the street! The view of parked gondolas and the island of San Giorgio Maggiore on the back:<br />
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The hallway outside Doge's Palace, it looked so different when it wasn't packed with people!</div>
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Doge's Palace:<br />
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There were a few early birds and joggers:</div>
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I really like the quiet side of Venice; I felt so calm and relaxed to enjoy this beautiful city.</div>
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I went back to the room and hubby was getting ready :) We wanted to get something to eat before our adventure, the cheap and good place is Bar Mio (address is Teso Mauro right on Calle Frezzeria). We found this place three years ago and we found it again; it was very close to St Mark's Square. They have very good and inexpensive sandwiches, 1.7 euros each!</div>
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After a yummy breakfast, we took the water bus to San Giorgio Maggiore (we still have 12 hours left on our 36 hours travel card), I heard the view from the top of the bell tower there was the best, better than from the bell tower in San Marco. After we got off the stop at San Giorgio Maggiore, the view of San Marco here was awesome!</div>
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To entrance of the bell tower is located inside the church. The church is worth a visit as well!</div>
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When we were there, they have a special collaboration with Swarovski which places a huge Swarovski crystal lens in the middle of the church to give a unique view of the church. The name of the crystal is "Perspective".</div>
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Then, we followed the sign to the entrance of the bell tower. We purchased our ticket and waited a few minutes for the elevator. It was a small elevator so maximum 6 people can get in at once, good choice that we came here early in the morning! </div>
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The view from the bell tower was amazing! I would say it gives the best view of Venice from up top! </div>
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Looking down at the San Giorgio Maggiore island:</div>
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San Giorgio Maggiore church on the right and the Giorgio Cini foundation on the left.</div>
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View of St Mark's Square:</div>
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Pier on the bottom, and San Marco on top:</div>
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Panorama of Venice!</div>
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The 360 view of Venice was incredible up here! We highly recommended it!</div>
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Afterwards, we took the elevator down and when we reached the ground floor, it was a line queuing already!</div>
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We got back to St Mark's Square and I saw zig-zagging of gondolas!</div>
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For lunch, we walked around and tried to avoid restaurants at St Mark's Square, we found this restaurant tucked under the bridge called Trattoria Alla Rivetta with Trip Advisor sticker! The cover of its menu is very unique so I took a photo of it!</div>
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We never had the spaghetti with cuttlefish ink sauce so hubby decided to try! It was pretty good but a little bit salty at the end (we heard about it being salty but it was less salty than we expected)!</div>
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I ordered a soup since I wanted something light and hubby ordered mussels as appetizer.</div>
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I saved room for tiramisu haha! The tiramisu here was very smooth and creamy, only 5 euros! We both liked the tiramisu here than in Da Mamo. The bill came to 44.2 euros.</div>
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After lunch, we continued our way to explore the back roads on the right side of St Mark's Square We tend to spent majority of our time on the section between St Mark's Square and Rialto Bridge and never really stepped into the right side of St Mark's Square We passed by a gelato shop which Trip Advisor recommendation sticker so I had to go in to try! I picked the coffee and rose flavors. Coffee flavor was good but I really don't like the rose flavor that much since it has a little bit of bitter taste.</div>
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We just walked around without a map and stop to take photos whenever we spotted a nice view :) I guess that was our favorite activity in Venice!</div>
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We ended up at San Lorenzo. We liked the pattern of the huge wooden door!</div>
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We continued our back road walk, don't ask me where we were, we had no clue haha!</div>
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After the wonderful walk, we went back to our hotel to rest a bit; it was getting hot out! The sun during end of July was very strong and temperatures in the upper 80s! Oh one thing I forgot to mentioned, Venice in the summer doesn't smell bad! A lot of people told me be prepared for the odor, majority of the time, we didn't noticed any odor at all!</div>
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We went back out at around 5 pm and wanted to take a gondola ride! We didn't get a chance to take one last time we were here since it was so cold in March! I read that the official price is 80 euros per ride for 40-50 minutes but not everyone followed that price. I walked up to a gondola station right in San Marco and ask for the price, the guy said 120 euros!!! I said no thanks and walked away and then another guy ran to me and said 100 euros. I felt like they were being dishonest so we said no thanks and walked away! We walked to Campo San Moise and there was a station there. I walked up to ask and the guy said 80 euros for 50 minutes...yep that's the right price! This gondola station is popular, we saw many tour groups took the gondolas from here. I think it is a company operated station. The down side is you can't pick the gondola! Since hubby wanted a very nice decorated gondola, we walked to the opposite side of the station where it seem like it is privately operated. We asked for price and it was 100 euros for 50 minutes, but the gondola is what he wanted so we were willing to pay the 20 euros extra!</div>
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Off we go...our first gondola ride! We first started off going through back canals, the view of Venice from here is "up close and personal" I would say! </div>
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Hubby picked this beautiful gondola, doesn't I look like a queen LOL!</div>
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Our gondolier was humorous and he throw me his gondolier hat as prop for my photos haha!</div>
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Then we got out to Rialto Bridge and the golden ray of sunset...perfect timing for photos!</div>
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Then, we got back into the back canals again. This time, hubby came back to sit with me and we both spend the rest of the ride to enjoy the little canals of Venice!</div>
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The 50 minutes ride ended quickly! Our gondolier helped us take a photo together:</div>
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For dinner, we decided to go back to Alla Rivetta again since it was pretty close to our hotel and food was good. Hubby ordered a seafood soup, it was yummy!</div>
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Hubby ordered fish fillet and I ordered a steak, both were good. And we had to order tiramisu again for desert! The bill was 66.1 euros!</div>
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After we finished our dinner, we left the restaurant and noticed the floor was wet and people were carrying their umbrellas! We were so lucky that it was pouring out while we had dinner wohoo! Venice, sunset time after the rain:</div>
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Venice - we'll miss this beautiful island, we hope we'll have a chance to come back again later on!! I was very glad that we had 6 days in Venice, we were able to take it easy and truly enjoy Venice! Ciao!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-83238871936833514462013-07-23T20:24:00.000-04:002014-02-20T21:01:10.513-05:00Venice 2013 Day 5<h2>
Venice 2013 Day 5: Burano and Murano</h2>
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We didn't get a chance to visit the nearby islands of Burano and Murano last time we were in Venice and I told myself, I have to visit them both the next time! So I made sure we have a day trip to Burano and Murano this time! And we were very glad we went because both islands were amazingly beautiful! </div>
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We woke up early in the morning so we could be at Burano early in the morning before it is packed with tourists. It was pretty easy to get to Burano; we took the route 4.1 from Zaccaria (St Mark's Square stop) to F.TE NOVE "B" then walked over to F.TE NOVE "A" to switch water bus to route 12 to Burano. It took almost an hour and a half with wait time in between the two lines. It was a long boat trip but definitely worth it! We arrived Burano around 9:30 am and the island was nearly empty; we felt like we have the whole island ourselves!</div>
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From the water bus stop, we walked straight to the end of the street where this very cute pink cafe is located. It looked like it came right out of a story book like a toy house don't you think? If I can choose a house to be my childhood dream house, this will be definitely it!</div>
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That area was where most of the online photos I seen taken from, the pastel and bright colored houses on each side of the canal. I had this pictured in my mind but it turned out to be more colorful and beautiful. Just by looking at it, it already made me happy. Doesn't this look like a dreamland? Please don't wake me up!</div>
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In fact, the color of the houses are regulated! No two houses next to each other have the same color! We walked by each house and whenever we saw a house we like, we'll stop and have few photos with it. It was so much fun doing so! I love the reflection of the colorful houses as well....another reason to be here early!</div>
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I never thought orange, blue, and purple could match so well together! </div>
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Ladies, if you were like me who spend a lot of time packing for the trip to make sure you pack the right clothes that will match the place, then there's no need to worry about it for Burano because no matter what color you picked, it will blend in! I am sure you'll be able to find a house that'll match your color :)</div>
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Another side of the same street...gorgeous!</div>
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I like light colors but this bright pink somehow caught my attention!</div>
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I told hubby to run over to the other side of the canal to take a photo of me, the houses, and reflections! This is one of my favorite photos!</div>
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How can I not have a photo with a pink boat!!!</div>
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After the main street, we walked through small streets and let me tell you, the whole island houses are colorful not just the main street houses! We stopped by this yellow house and placed my camera on the window of the house opposite of it to take a photo of us two LOL! It was the best photo of us together of our trip except the ones we used a tripod! Now I am looking at it.....it looked like a greeting card!!!</div>
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Then we saw this fuchsia colored house with color matching flowers, I just like it so much!!</div>
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The house next to it is baby blue, it really matched my hubby's outfit LOL so I made him stand there so I could take a photo :)</div>
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We had so much fun that time passed by quickly! It was already lunch time! I was planning to have lunch at Da Romano (address: Via S.Martino DX 221) after I read a lot of good reviews about it but unfortunately there was a death in the family so the restaurant was closed when we were there!!! We checked out menus from a few restaurants nearby and decided to have lunch at Restaurant Galuppi. The interior decors were nice with a lot of paintings, the food was just okay...a little bit on the expensive side: two pastas and mussels as appetizer total 44.55 euros!!</div>
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The restaurant has wifi and this is what they gave me for password...the longest password I ever seen in my life lol....wondered who can remember that!!</div>
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Food was just okay!</div>
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After lunch, we headed to the other section of the island...still filled with colorful houses!</div>
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A house with a very leaning tower!!! Oh, a local fishing right in front of his house woah!</div>
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Me..walking down the street of the colorful Burano island :)</div>
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I saw this pastel green-blue house with matching colored plant of course and this lady was doing her laundry!</div>
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Even the cat on this island is relaxing!</div>
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My favorite pink!!! What I really like about Burano is that locals really spend time on color matching their houses and well decorated with flowers and plants! No one house is the same!!!</div>
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A very bright red house...reminded me of Memo!</div>
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Another fuchsia house but decorated with two green plants on the entrance!</div>
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Hubby likes this yellow house with the blue windows and the two barber-poles at the front door!</div>
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A blue house hanging a fuchsia shirt, the color contrast really stand out!</div>
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My favorite pastel pink with color matching curtains and two hanging plants!</div>
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Burano is really like a dreamland! It is the most colorful island I ever seen in my life! If you seen another other island more colorful than Burano please let me know!!</div>
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We left Burano at around 2 pm and headed back to stop by at Murano - island famous for its glass. I pictured Murano as an island filled with glass souvenir shops and factories...I was wrong! It was not the factory as I pictured factory to be...but instead, the island is similarly beautiful as Burano but bigger in size!</div>
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First, we walked pass a glass factory where they open their back door so tourists could see the factory...workers blowing glass. We didn't get to see the actual blowing the glass though!</div>
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After we walked straight from the Murano stop (Murano island has many water bus stops....I forgot which one we got off though), we turned right and both side of the canal was filled with souvenir shops! Instead of shopping, we enjoyed the view of the island more!</div>
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The big huge blue colored Murano glass display right at the front of a bell tower!</div>
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I didn't realized hubby took this photo LOL!</div>
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Very nice but expensive Murano glass!</div>
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The Grand Canal of Murano!</div>
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We left Murano around 4 pm and rest a bit in the hotel before heading out for dinner. Today, I insisted on having pizza! I told hubby that if I didn't get a chance to have pizza in Italy this time, I'll regret it LOL! We took the water bus to Accademia since we purchased a 36 hours travel card to save us time and energy to walk all the way there from San Marco! We went to the ATM machine to get some cash and then we were too lazy to find a restaurant so we had our dinner at Bar Foscarini, right next to Accademia Bridge. The view was breathtaking of the Grand Canal!<br />
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We ordered two pizzas, prices were a little bit more expensive than what we seen but it was reasonable for its location! Total for two pizzas and a bottle of water was 30 euros (the cheapest dinner we had in Venice!). </div>
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Yummy!! We don't think it's possible to have a bad pizza in Italy!!!</div>
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As we were enjoying our pizzas, we saw 8 gondolas passed by, must be a tour group or something!</div>
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After dinner, we took the water bus back to St Mark's Square on the way people were taking photos of the Grand Canal......with their iPads LOL!!</div>
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Reflection of San Giorgio Maggiore on one of St Mark's Square water bus stops' glass windows, I thought it looked like an advertisement banner!</div>
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It was still early when we got back to St Mark's Square so we decided to take a little walk before heading back to our hotel! We passed by a bakery, wondered if those are pastries or candies....</div>
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Another church and bell tower on the back side of St Mark's Square....</div>
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Urggg..this building looked like it's going to fall!</div>
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Speaking of narrow roads in Venice, here's a very narrow house! </div>
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After an half an hour lovely walk, we walked back to our hotel and rest. We weren't tired at all so we had an idea....we took our tripods out to take some portraits of us in this glamorous hotel! When we had our wedding photos taken in Venice, our first choice was at Hotel Danieli because of its grand staircase but due to room availability, we weren't able to stay at Danieli. Then we found out no professional/commercial photography is allowed inside the hotel according to our photographer! So this time since it's not for professional/commercial purposes, we were able to take photos of ourselves :)</div>
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This photo was taken after we got back from Murano:</div>
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The rest of the photos were taken late at night around 11 pm so not much people around the lobby and public areas hehe! Here are a few photos to share!</div>
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I like the angle of the staircase and the Murano glass chandelier on the top!</div>
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Photo of us with the famous Danieli grand staircase!</div>
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Looked like painting of a king and queen hahaha!</div>
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We walked out to St Mark's Square but there were no water puddles for reflections so we didn't stay for much photos and walked back to our hotel. One photo though.....I like the mysterious and dreamy mood from this photo:</div>
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Can't love enough of Venice! Another great day and great night!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15085482157708486109noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607049474906596790.post-3271978391158983032013-07-22T11:43:00.000-04:002013-08-28T18:31:58.284-04:00Venice 2013 Day 4We liked the quiet side of Giudecca for three days and today we moved back to the tourist side of St Mark's Square Since the hotel check out time is 12 pm, we didn't had to rush so we didn't set any alarm and just wake up whenever. We woke up around 9 am and went down for breakfast then came back up to pack and wait. We called Hotel Danieli to see if our room is available, unfortunately not yet! So we waited and checked out around 11:30, took the ferry shuttle to St Mark's Square and within few steps, we arrived Hotel Danieli! I have seen pictures of its grand staircase but the moment I walked into the hotel, I was still amazed by it! I love the orchids hanging down made me felt like a floating garden!<br />
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Check in was fast and our room was on the other building which we walked through a hallway with windows looked out and see tourists talking photos of our "bridge" LOL! The first thing I like to do when enter in our hotel room is take photos of course! Our room was spacious in terms of Venice central locations, but we preferred our room at the Hotel Gritti Palace, it was more grand.</div>
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The bathroom was a little dated...</div>
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Walk in closet area:</div>
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We settled down a little bit and went out to the Doge's Palace which is a few steps away from the hotel! We went straight in with our museum pass, the line for tickets wasn't too bad though. It was a hot and humid day so visiting museum was a good plan! We walked inside the center court, it was a lot bigger than I thought!<br />
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We walked to the 2nd floor to browse around before going in the palace. On the 2nd floor, it gave another view of the busy St Mark's Square from the top.</div>
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The long corridor:</div>
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The Basilica was under repair so it was covered with scaffold or else it would be a perfect photo!</div>
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We had to wait few minutes for each photo for people to walk away.....</div>
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A grand entrance to the palace:</div>
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Then we saw a sign of no photo allowed inside the palace!!! GRRRRR, I was disappointed again!! The palace was beautiful decorated with lavish painted ceilings and 18th century furniture. I wished I could take some photos!</div>
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Then we walked to another section of armors and swords, I saw people snapping photos so I took one too then realized it was still under the no photo zone!</div>
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There were windows which gave a pretty view of the busy Venice!</div>
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I really like the colored glasses of the windows:</div>
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The view of the center court from the 3rd floor:</div>
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Then, we followed the sign (the walking route was clearly marked and well planned so don't worry about not having a map!), we went down to the jail cells. The hallways here were narrow and kind of dark so watch your step!</div>
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View of the outside on the Bridge of Sighs (that was the prisoners' last look of the outside world before they went to jail haha!)</div>
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A closer look of the Bridge of Sighs from one of the windows:</div>
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We were done with the palace and by this time we were hungry! We tried to avoid having lunch around St Mark's Square as most people warned about tourist traps! We walked and walked until we saw some restaurants outside the square, we were so hungry that we just picked one.....Hostaria Galileo. Food was a little bit more expensive since it was outdoor but the food was pretty decent for 34.65 euros! I really like the seafood spaghetti sauce!</div>
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After lunch, we had an idea......to search for the places we had our wedding photos taken three years ago! That time, we hired a local photographer and he bought us through back roads so we had no idea how we get to each place. We were looking at our wedding photos and tried to find hint on where we were! The first location we found was a back road pier that gave a wonderful view of the Rialto Bridge:</div>
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Since we didn't bought our tripods out with us, we had to ask a tourist passing by to help us to take a photo using my back-up point and shoot camera:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Og1jPFsaf64/UgAFCBhIJJI/AAAAAAAAF5E/GhN2Q23phhA/s1600/IMG_0007-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Og1jPFsaf64/UgAFCBhIJJI/AAAAAAAAF5E/GhN2Q23phhA/s1600/IMG_0007-2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Three years ago:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnSS4rumLLE4ZjrH1H_J9ODNreoSE8IlR6yBqr_iUNZJDOUoCM-u3vTnA4hB019g3dvkUB-lpWXln5SG16AAfm8svY3yJ_A8NG9bDc6D6XQF8aMQlk5bOHIrC4BIAon04-Hx9DBEr4pww/s1600/IMG_9729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnSS4rumLLE4ZjrH1H_J9ODNreoSE8IlR6yBqr_iUNZJDOUoCM-u3vTnA4hB019g3dvkUB-lpWXln5SG16AAfm8svY3yJ_A8NG9bDc6D6XQF8aMQlk5bOHIrC4BIAon04-Hx9DBEr4pww/s1600/IMG_9729.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another angle:</div>
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Three years ago:</div>
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Our scavenger hunt bought us back a lot of wonderful memories! Next stop, the door arch! We were very lucky to found it by walking around and checking out each back roads! We came across this quiet yellow-themed street:</div>
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We found the door arch!!!!</div>
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Three years ago (we couldn't remember if I was on the left door or the right door lol!):</div>
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Last one we tried so hard to find was this staircase....we tried many times but still couldn't find where it was!!! If anyone of you know which street or square this is please contact me to let me know!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbiCJoDpNc2TcyxYN5SU5_PWtLaD3U5m3qcLH4blky3qAtiC-8c_02tbWZT3nLoav6lQ9fbES2rUcunvC_XhPl0_0x4cHGIRBqjbKmdIpN5goNRDrYkcNH41-_orblWR3AHh5CtziP5Ie/s1600/IMG_9751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbiCJoDpNc2TcyxYN5SU5_PWtLaD3U5m3qcLH4blky3qAtiC-8c_02tbWZT3nLoav6lQ9fbES2rUcunvC_XhPl0_0x4cHGIRBqjbKmdIpN5goNRDrYkcNH41-_orblWR3AHh5CtziP5Ie/s1600/IMG_9751.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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We had no idea how long we walked to find those places but it was fun! As we tried to walk back to San Marco, we found this colorful pinkish-red theme square, I couldn't resist to do a jump haha!</div>
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One activity that I like about Italy was walk till I get tired and then rest by taking few scopes of gelato!! We passed by this gelato shop which had the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence so we had to try! </div>
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They didn't have the tiramisu flavor so I picked coffee and pistachio, the pistachio was really good! Forgot to mention the shop name is Gelato Fantasy!</div>
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We finally got back to St Mark's Square and saw a huge cruise ship sailing by....</div>
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We went back to our hotel to rest a bit and went back out for dinner. Our plan for dinner was Da Mamo which have high reviews on Trip Advisor! We walked pass St Mark's Square again, it was almost sunset time, the sunlight was beautiful!</div>
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Da Mamo was pretty hard to find even though I printed out a google map. It was very close to Rialto Bridge but on a back street. It was filled, we didn't make a reservation but was very lucky that we got the last table!! For appetizer, we ordered sweet and sour shrimp with sardine, it was good!</div>
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I ordered seafood spaghetti; seafood was fresh and the spaghetti was perfectly done! The sauce was on the light side, it would be perfect if the sauce was heavier with seafood flavor.</div>
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Hubby ordered a mix of fried seafood, those were good as well. </div>
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We saved some room for desert finally! I had tiramisu of course, it was very creamy and huge portion! I was very satisfied hahaha!</div>
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Hubby ordered creme brulee, it was fruit creme brulee and it was beyond our expectation!</div>
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Lastly...on the house, chocolate with wine inside (I couldn't eat it since I don't drink wine but hubby had one and it was good he said)! Total price of the meal was 70 euros for very good food and desert!</div>
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After a great dinner, we had a wonderful walk back to St Mark's Square and walked pass by souvenir shops:</div>
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I got one of those goldfish faucet and a fish bowl with two goldfishes inside, total for 75 euros!</div>
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After we got back to the hotel and shower, we weren't tired so we decided to take our tripods for night photos! Since our hotel was just a few steps away from St Mark's Square it was very convenient to go out for night photos hehe! It was around 11 pm and St Mark's Square was still filled with people!</div>
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Love the day and night view of the beautiful Doge's Palace!</div>
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The band was still playing late at night...very romantic atmosphere!</div>
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Reflections from a puddle of water....it was not flooding nor raining, the water came out from the drain due to high tide:</div>
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Us at St Mark's Square :)<br />
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Dreamy night at Venice!!!</div>
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