Stopover in a Yotel

On my way to Ireland with a stop-over in London, I've booked a hotel, motel, nope, a Yotel. That's right, a Yotel.
Located in the south terminal and an elevator ride to floor 0 (that doesn't sound right...) and the doors open bringing you to the friendly crew at 'Mission Control' to check-in.
Walking down the hall to my abode for the night it felt like I was on a Star Trek episode; the cabin has everything you need and really is quite cozy. Mission Control will deliver food, drinks or any other items you may need.....what, no Replicator?
London-Gatwick, Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol and a city centre hotel in New York all sport these cozy accommodations that come in a variety of sizes. A great place to be for a stop-over and you don't even have to leave the airport - so handy!

Hola from Spain!

Santa Barbara Castle

In the heart of Alicante sitting atop Mount Benacantil at 166 metres is one of the largest medieval fortresses in Spain - Santa Barbara Castle. It dates back to the 9th century and has been captured, conquered and bombarded by different forces over the centuries. In the 18th century it was sometimes used as a prison but eventually was abandoned till 1963 when it was opened to the public and has everything you would expect a castle to have: cannons, a palace, dungeons, moat, ruins of a Church, and a lookout tower. There is a lift to bring you up to enjoy the castle, its views as well as the cafe's, museums and vendors selling their wares if you desire but it's a great little hike up!

The Spanish Ship

Armed with 140 cannons and a crew of 1160 men in 1769, the largest artillery ship in the world, the  'Santísima Trinidad' set out from the Cuba navy yard. This monster of a ship was part of many historical events while sailing the seas, including the American War of Independence, the English Channels missions, it helped capture an English convoy formed by 55 vessels, and fought in the Espartel's Cape.
During the Trafalgar Battle in 1805 the Santísima was seized by the English and although they did their best to save the vessel, the ship sank 25 miles south of Cadiz.
Eventually a replica was built of this magnificent ship and is available to tour, dine and enjoy a cool one on the deck while enjoying the sun and view of the castle!

A little taste of home!

While strolling through Alicante, I stumbled upon a sweet little place, the Canada Cupcake Cafe and almost jumped for joy, I figured for sure whoever worked there HAD to speak English, over three months of travelling and hearing many different languages, you crave for a conversation in your native tongue. Indeed, a kind young man, Shawn - owner & operator of this fine establishment was working behind the counter and hails from Beautiful British Columbia. The cafe offers many tasty hot and cold beverages and their handcrafted cupcakes come in a variety of sizes and dozens of flavors. A comfortable place to take a break and take in the photos and cards on the wall - all familiar to this Canadian girl!

While travelling through Europe, I've been using a service called Airbnb, once again I was fortunate to have another fantastic host. While standing in the office of Pedro's home I was looking at the World map posted on the wall - most of it is in Spanish - as I pointed out where I hailed from, I freaked out - just a little - good ole Valleyview was on the map!
Valleyview! My home town to less than a population of 2,000 inhabitants and here it is on a Spanish map (a world map no less) on another continent!

Coves del Canelobre (Candelabra Caves)

A few kilometres from the village of Busot is Golden Hill where you will find the magical Candelabra Caves. They are more than 800,000 years old and despite having more than 50,000 visitors annually, I found myself in this 70 metre hole in the ground - alone. There was a guide, he brought me down, showed me the stairs to go down and come up, be careful  - there's water and left me to my own devices. Thankfully the background music playing was soothing and angelic-like and aided in dissipating my fears of being alone underground; unlike the opera music that played in that  dark hole in Budapest - really, I don't think that was necessary.
The formations of the stalagmites here resemble candelabras - voila! - a name was born.

Denia

A three-hour tram ride to Denia took me to explore the amazing Castle here! It was built in the 11th century by the Arabs and sits high up on the hill of the town with glorious views of the sea and mountains. There is an Archaeological Museum within the Castle walls and a lovely cafe to enjoy a sweet pastry and of course a cold cerveza!

Altea

A sweet little town with a pretty blue-domed Church at the top of hill with more amazing views of the mountains and sea - I would never tire of that view! Altea has a beautiful, long promenade for strolling along soaking in the sun and lots of spots to sit along the water.

My last day here in Alicante, I enjoyed every ray of sunshine beaming down. Hiked for the third time up to Santa Barbara Castle, walked along the promenade and through my favorite place - Canalejas Park with its magnificent 100 year old ficus trees. These trees cover the entire length of the park with shade!

Sunshine year round, mountains, the Mediterranean Sea, siesta time and chilly cervezas - living here would be real easy.

Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment below.

Adiós!

The French Riviera

After spending a few weeks in frigid temperatures I decided to head to warmth - the southeast corner of France in The French Riviera or as they call it Côte d'Azur.

Nice

Nice - is well, nice (how can I not say that?), the sun was shining and my new home was less than a two minute walk to the sea!

Castle Hill is the site where the ancient Greeks first set up a trading post and founded the city of Nice several thousand years ago. The castle had been dismantled by soldiers of the French King Louis XIV in 1706; now only a few foundations and fragments of walls and ruins remain within what is now a lovely park. Castle Hill Park, which sits above Old Town in Nice has playgrounds, snack bars, souvenir shops, ruins, walkways with mosaics embedded in them, and a man-made waterfall which has remains of the former 11th century Cathedral in behind it. A great place to spend an afternoon soaking in the gorgeous views of the sea and mountains over Nice and the surrounding area, I was happy to spend a couple afternoons here to sit and enjoy being in nature.

Walking the Monastery grounds in the Cimiez area, you will find Olive Trees, gardens, a beautiful Monastery and The Archeological Museum; the ruins near the museum, you can see where the arena, amphitheatre, baths and basilica once were.

Square Head - this is the key symbol of the city's contemporary architecture. At first glance the 30m high and 14m wide structure looks like a sculpture of sorts but it actually houses the offices of the Louis Nucéra Municipal Library inside!

Monaco

Hopped the train for a day of exploring Monaco; once there, took a bus tour around the area and wandered the grounds at the Palace of Monaco and a stroll through the Japanese Gardens. It's mind boggling they host the Monte Carlo car race through the narrow streets of Monaco, it is a small area!

St. Paul

The last couple days in France; London-living from Canada Rebecca came to soak up some sun and dip her toes in the Sea. Luckily it was two of the warmest days during this trip! We caught a bus to St. Paul, a medieval village and it truly looks something off a postcard. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, it is an artists delight with its many art galleries. There are many boutiques, cafes, fountains and statues; and the winding streets create an interesting maze of a walk! The views are pretty fabulous too.

As evening came and stomachs were growling, downtown Nice we headed and ended up at Benvenuto Restaurant, we were promised it was the best Italian food around. It was indeed and the nice looking French speaking Italian waiter had me thinking a trip to Italy needs to happen sooner than later! The last day in Nice, shopping, exploring and I might of made Rebecca go on the ferris wheel with me.

Vienna!

Vienna is a beautiful city filled with many museums, art collections, theatres, opera houses, restaurants, and more. Here's a few of my Vienna stops.

St. Stephens Cathedral (Stephansdom)

One of the most important gothic structures in Austria, St. Stephens Cathedral stands proud in central Vienna. Built in the 12th century this is one of Vienna's most famous sights; you can climb up the 343 steps to the Tower Room, the tallest of the 4 towers for views across Vienna. St. Stephens has the second biggest free-swinging chimed Church bell in Europe and is an amazing building inside and out.

A monument against War and Fascism

The Gate of Violence; Street Washing Jew; Stone of the Replublic; and Orpheus Enters Hades - a site to commemorate the victims of the Nazi Regime in Austria (1938-45) and those killed in the air raids of the second world War.

The Kunst Historisches Museum

- A few displays in the Kunst Historisches Museum - one of the many museums in Vienna.

The Wiener Royal Orchestra

No other city has been home to so many international renown composers - Schubert, Strauss, Schoenberg and Berg were all born in Vienna and composers Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms, and Mahler all lived here. All through the main square in Vienna, tickets are available to partake in any one of several performances. Growing up listening to my sister Sandra play piano I am a fan of classical music, and so a performance of The Wiener Royal Orchestra was in order. They played several compositions from Mozart, Strauss and others and included a little Opera and Ballet.
(Please check out this site where you can enjoy music written and composed by my sister)

The Giant Ferris Wheel

A Vienna landmark and the world's most famous ferris wheel is a must to take a spin on. Built in 1897 it has survived natural disasters and war; at one point in 1944 fire and bombs destroyed most of the technical installations and all of the cabins, it was of course rebuilt and back in business the next year. You may have seen it in movies like 'The Third Man' or 'The Living Daylights'.

Petit Point

I stumbled upon a Petit Point store in Vienna and of course had to check it out. My Grandmother created many incredible pieces and received several awards for her work - one she did 'The Last Supper' had over a million stitches in it. Sadly, a huge portion of her creations burned in a house fire. The Petit Point store carries beautiful framed creations, jewellery and much to my delight, handbags. Petit Point is the finest possible needlework, a Petit Point stitch is a half-cross-stitch done typically on a silk canvas which requires up to 361 stitches on the square centimetre (2350 on the square inch) and slowly becomes an amazing work of art! The handbags are incredible - one day I will own one of these beauties. Check out these beautiful works of art here.

For New Year's I took in the 'Mamma Mia' musical, featuring the music of ABBA - in German! It was a great show with a talented group of artists.

Thanks for reading - next stop  - Nice.

Merry Christmas from Prague!

Christmas was very different for me this year - on another continent, in a strange city and on my own. I was up early and headed out the door to do more exploring in this beautiful city.

Took a boat ride on the Vltava River where views of grand old buildings and many landmarks can be seen from the water. Seeing as it was a tad chilly, I savored the hot raspberries with ice cream dessert and enjoyed the sunshine streaming in through the window!

Checked out Wenceslas Square - many historical events and demonstrations have occurred here and in medieval times it was a site of several public executions. The National Museum dominates the square with its stunning beauty and size. A walk through Kampa Park to burn off dessert is where I discovered some unusual pieces of art and just down the road from here is another large park with a memorial dedicated to the vicitims of communism. Christmas Day ended by going for out for supper at Valcha - an away from the tourist area restaurant that serves amazing authentic Czech food.

One of the most popular sites here is Charles Bridge - in 1357 building started and was completed the beginning of the 15th century. This stone bridge is stunning - over 500m long and 10m wide and decorated with baroque statues. Strolling along the bridge one can enjoy the buskers and artists peddling paintings, photography, jewellery and more. When you cross the bridge a climb up the Old Town Bridge Tower will provide you with amazing panoramic views of the city!

Prague Castle, is of course, another must see here! It is noted in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest, ancient castle in the world. The complex sits on over 18 acres and St. Vitus Cathedral - the largest temple in Prague lives on the grounds as well, the size of this cathedral is jaw dropping!

Shooter's Island which sits under the Legion Bridge in the middle of Vltava River is a beautiful place to go for a walk, sit on a bench and take in the amazing views of the city! It also hosts a playground and a restaurant on the island and once upon a time it was a place for Prague shooters to practice the art of shooting from bows and crossbows.

Down the street from Wenceslas Square is Old Town Square with several ancient buildings and Churches dating from the 12th century, the Jan Hus Statue, which was erected in 1915 sits in the middle of the square; and the world's third oldest Astronomical clock that was installed in 1410 is still ticking!