|
|
You are currently browsing the Travels category.
The train ride from Italy back to France was beautiful. My eyes were tantalized by the exotic landscape of the South of France, the blue ocean, and the colorful buildings.
Villafranche…
This was hilarious…
Biot Village… a medieval village around 2500 years old. It sits on a hilltop between Nice and Antibes. Beautiful!
Waiting for the train to Monaco
Beautiful scenery…
Love the buildings…
Monte Carlo…
Took a plane from Paris to Italy – not a long flight at all. Then, the train from the airport to Florence – my first official train ride in Europe. I must say, it was very easy to navigate through town and Florence had a nice easy going vibe that put me at ease pretty quickly. Day one in Italy and I am enjoying the change of scenery and pace.
Duomo di Firenze:
Love the surrounding buildings:
Sculptures everywhere… beautiful!
Dining in the streets of Florence.
Palazzo Vecchio on September 11th – I got teary eyed seeing the American flag…
First stop is Siena! Gorgeous medieval streets and magnificent Cathedral of Siena.
And then, from a distance, thundering drum rolls echoed through the piazza. I followed the sound and found myself surrounded by drummers parading down the narrow streets. It was amazing!
Second stop… an organic farm Fattoria Poggio Alloro! We had lunch and wine tasting at the estate. All I can say is WOW!!! The food was to die for (everything served was grown there) and the farm was nothing short of spectacular.
Vineyard…
Olives…
After a few glasses of wine paired with traditional Italian food… feeling extra good, we head to San Gimignano. This village was quaint with cobble stones that lined the streets and the buildings were of course amazing!
And… shopping. I love anything that smells good 
And finally, the day ends at Pisa. I tried to push the leaning tower back. You should see me pushing real hard. I think it might have made a difference. Now, where are those photos?
So… this is what a palace looks like. WOW, as I entered, I marveled at the opulence that graced every inch of this estate! To see something so magnificent was quite an experience. Good thing I wore my comfy boots – there was lots and lots of walking. A little silly thought, but after seeing the estate, I wanted to re-watch some of the movies that were filmed there – Marie Antoinette, Valmont… I am sure there were tons of others, too.
A beautiful treasures hidden just outside of Paris. I love trees, nature, flowers, and to top it off, spending the afternoon with musician/artist, JP Voindrot… what a beautiful day!
Landing in Paris was surreal. After all, it’s been a long time dream of mine to visit France. As I stepped off the plane, I couldn’t help but smile. Suddenly, I didn’t feel tired from the hours of plane ride, not to mention, a lack of sleep… I just wanted to see everything. So, what’s a tourist to do but to ride those double decked buses that take you around town. It was the first for me and of course I had to sit on the open deck. Oh… did I mention, it was scheduled to rain? So the adventure starts…
Eiffel Tower from a distance.
Arc de Triomphe
Love the architectures… and trees, of course.
Somewhere on the streets of Paris
At last, my long awaited trip to Europe is only a few days away. Can’t believe we have only 8 days to plan, pack, decide on where to go, when to go, how to go to all the beautiful places that I’ve only dreamt about. Ah… life is an adventure!
What a beautiful day visiting a couple of the Smithsonian museums. After unloading my camera and seeing the number of photos I took of the Peacock Room, I guess you could say this is one of my favorite exhibition. It is stunningly beautiful. One day is certainly not enough to see EVERYTHING. I am looking forward to my next visit and spending more time at the art museums.
With ocean and tropical foliage surrounding this island, my trip around Taiwan was nothing short of breathtaking. From the hustle and bustle of big cities to the quiet countryside towns, each mile across Taiwan was filled with life, adventure, and childhood memories. I once read an article of a foreigner who traveled across Taiwan on a bicycle and told stories of the people he met along the way, mostly farmers and Taiwanese aborigines… and even with the language barrier, they found ways to communicate and learn about each other’s way of life. I think that’s an incredible way to experience the world.
