Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Goodbye Leap Day!

I am finally saying goodbye to leap day! February 29, 2012 is a leap day. This only happens every four years according to what I learned from my teachers in school. That was a long time ago and over two decades now. I guess your teachers also mentioned leap year to you in one of your subjects. It will be ending in over an hour now...Others might say, so what? I don't really care!

For me, I do care about this. You know why? There are just a lot of great things that have been happening to us since the beginning of leap year 2012. A million thanks is not enough but I am shouting it out, Thank you dear Lord for all your greatness and goodness. Thank you for all your blessings and graces. Thank you too for all the trials especially during the end of 2011. I know you will not leave me and those trials just made me more determined and stronger. Most especially, thank you dear God for the good health and the breath of life and all our talents and faculties and all the gifts of nature that you are always giving us.

I am slowly saying goodbye to leap day now! I wish everyone a better and wonderful start of the month of March. Cheers!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Where is My Madrid Travel Guide Book?

I was searching for this book for some weeks now. I know I have it somewhere in the house but never had an idea where I put it. I was looking for my Madrid Travel Guide Book which I bought during our trip in Spain last December 2011. I searched for it in our bedroom where I also have some travel books beside my bed. I also searched for it in my little library but still can't find it. I also did dot find it in our living room, kitchen and bathroom.

Where did I put that book? Sometimes I just keep on forgetting things. I badly needed it because I will be flying in less than two weeks to Spain again and will be staying most of the time in Madrid. I want to explore more the city when time permits. I believed I have more time when I will be there. We only had a day sightseeing when we were in Madrid last time.

a snapshot of the Cibeles Palace (City Hall) while we were inside the bus going around in Madrid. Taken last December 2011.

This afternoon when I had a glance of the new bookshelf at my back while sitting in front of my laptop, I saw a red-covered book. I guess, it is what I have been looking for since 3 weeks ago. I grabbed it and I am happy to know that it was my Madrid Travel Guide Book!! yohoo! I finally found it. See I was not searching for it today but I found it. This is cool.

See you later folks. Time to prepare for dinner!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Planning for A Trip To The U.S.

There are just a lot of travel plans for this year. I am hoping that most of these will be materialized. Some were already booked and some are still on its planning period. As much as possible I want to plan all these trips as early as I can to avoid hassle and stress. Undoubtedly, I already started to search for affordable airlines and cheap hotels for this plan. One of the travel destinations included in the travel plan is United States of America. I am also planning to visit Canada when time and budget are available.

Since three weeks ago until now, one thing that keeps me busy is searching for cheap Delta Air Lines Flights online. I once boarded this airline during my first holiday to the U.S. last 2008 and I am quite contented with their service.

I am also trying to make a list of the places that I want to visit in this holiday. Here is the tentative itinerary.

Las Vegas, Nevada- This was my port of entry during my first visit to the U.S. last 2008. I boarded one of the Delta Air Lines flights from Munich, had a stop-over in Atlanta, Georgia and then headed to Las Vegas Mc Carran International Airport. It was quite a long flight but maybe due to too much excitement visiting the U.S. for the first time, I did not felt so tired at all.

The "Sin City" and the "Entertainment Capital of the World" is truly fabulous! I had a lot of fun and memories in this city. That two months holiday I had there was truly a fantastic one. I can't wait to visit it again hopefully this coming summer season. I am quite excited to see some family members there.
the replica of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Las Vegas. This was taken during my visit last 2008.

Phoenix, Arizona- I am not quite sure if the wedding that I will be attending will be held in Phoenix. This is actually the main reason why I am going to the U.S., to witness the incoming wedding of my sister sometime in June or July this year. Her fiancee currently lives in this capital city of Arizona.

I would like to visit some of the sights there including the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona Science Center,St. Mary's Basilica, Tovrea Castle and I would for sure love to walk around downtown Phoenix.

Seattle, Washington- My friend who temporarily lives in Germany will accompany her daughter who will be going to one of the universities in Washington. We are planning to meet each other there sometime in July. From there, we might be taking a cross-country trip to Vancouver, Canada. I hope this will be materialized.

A sightseeing to the Pike Place Market, Space Needle or a visit to some of its museums and parks would surely be included if this trip will push through.

Vancouver, Canada- I have some acquaintances and friends living in Vancouver. They have been mentioning that this city is a wonderful place to live-in. It is being frequently ranked as one of the "best cities to live in". No wonder my friends love it living there. It is also famous for its majestic natural beauty being nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Mountains.

I am hoping that I can meet my friend in Washington so that we can make a trip to one of the beautiful cities of Canada. I consider Vancouver a wonderful and a beautiful destination to visit in the future.

There are still a lot of cities and states that I would like to include in my second visit to the United States. I have to finalize everything once I know the exact wedding date of my sister.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Fremont Street Experience

Have you been to Las Vegas? Were you able to have fun in Fremont Street Experience. This downtown side of Las Vegas is a must-to-visit when you are there. The FSE is a pedestrian mall and attraction. I remember during our visit when there were bands playing there and bikers' show and you can watch it for free. The sound system was great. I am wondering if they use a
thunderbolt audio interface in FSE.

I was amazed by the LED display "canopy" that runs along the Fremont Street Experience. This is so far the biggest LED canopy I had ever seen with 220 speakers powered by 550,000 watts of amplification. Can you imagine the sounds it is making! It was really cool visiting this side of Vegas. I truly enjoyed my visit there.

If you want to experience something unique in Las Vegas, don't miss to visit Fremont Street Experience. Here I am during my two months vacation in Las Vegas last 2008.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Fasching, Carnival in Hemau, Bavaria

I was quite lazy going out today because I am not feeling so well. There are a lot of Faschings or carnival parade going around in the nearby towns and villages like in Velburg, Lupburg, Nuremberg, Breitenbrunn, Painten, Toeging and many more. Most of the parades start at 2:00 p.m. I even told some friends that we are not going anywhere because of the cold weather besides I am not also feeling good.

these group of young people had fun dancing and singing during the carnival parade in Hemau today.

At around 1:00 p.m. when I was setting in front of my laptop, hubby knocked at my pc room and asked if I want to watch Fasching in Hemau. I thought he don't want to because he is also sick. I guess he was motivated when he saw the sun shining outside. To make the story short, we went to the Fasching to witness the carnival parade in Hemau.

Since we were almost late, there was no more available parking space near the town center and we parked our car around 500 meters from there. While on our way to the town center, there was this man ahead of us and was smoking a cigar. I am not sure if he was using a hoyo de monterrey cigar. It just came to my mind because it is a famous one.

I believed the celebration was again a success. There were a lot of groups who participated during the parade with different motives and colorful costumes. Various floats with colorful designs can also be seen. We had fun during that event. This is one thing I love about Germany. Germans love to party and to celebrate especially when it is a part of their culture and tradition.

most of the participants in this group were already drunk..at least they had fun also. see the beers they are holding in their hands?

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Cruising in Wachau, Austria

It was a pleasure cruising in Danube River in Wachau, Austria last summer 2011. In this Austrian valley, you can see a lot of picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is considered to be one of the famous tourist destinations of Lower Austria. One of the wonderful places we passed-by was Dürnstein. It is said that in this well-known place was where King Richard the Lion-Heart of England was held captive by Duke Leopold V.

Our cruise last only around two hours but I totally enjoyed the scenery around. It was very refreshing breathing the fresh air on this part of Austria.

we were about to board in a boat for a cruise in Wachau, Austria last August 2011.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Getting From Madrid to Lisbon

There are a lot of ways in getting from Madrid, the capital city of Spain to Lisbon, Portugal's capital city. I have been researching for the best, the cheapest and the most convenient way to travel from Madrid to Lisbon. Since two weeks now, I have been searching online on how to get to Lisbon and vice versa considering my time and budget.

Here are the the results of the research I made the past weeks in getting from Madrid to Spain for March 2012 travel.

Travel With the Train

You can surely travel from Madrid to Lisbon with the train. Spain's Renfe trains has a daily train travelling to Lisbon. They also have a night train called Trenhotel which departs at 22:25 from Madrid Chamartin train station and arrives in Lisbon at 7:41 a.m which is around 9 hours and 16 minutes travel time. Fares vary from 60.10 € to 203.40 € depending on the type of seats you want to reserve. The train has cafeteria and restaurant, and departs from Madrid Chamartín station (subway: Chamartín, line 10). You can visit their site at renfe.com.

Travel By Plane

I believed this is the most convenient and the most cheapest way for me to go to Lisbon or Lisboa departing from Madrid. I have been searching for the cheapest flights since two weeks now and the most cheapest one I found was from Easyjet. As of today, I found a flight departing from Madrid at 7:40 a.m. on March 13, 2012 cost 12.99 € , return flight on March 15, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. cost 15.99 €. Together with admin fee of 11.00 € and a 20-kilo baggage fee of 20.00 €, all in all the return flight only cost 61.98 €. I found the standard fare in Easyjet flight the cheapest of all.

Other airlines that serve the route Madrid-Lisboa are the Portuguese airlines Bra, Portugalia, Tap Air Portugal. The Spanish low-cost airlines Iberia and Vueling also have good reputation in this route.

By Bus

If you prefer to travel by bus or coach from Madrid to Lisbon, ALSA (alsa.es) run buses to this route. Avanza Bus (avanzabus.com) also runs a service between the two capitals. There are two departures daily from Madrid at 12:00 and 21:00. Departures from Lisbon every 10:30 a.m. and 20:15 daily.

The bus travel time from Madrid to Lisbon takes 7.5 to 8.5 hours or more depending on the traffic situation and what time the bus departs Madrid.

Driving With a Car

If you want to have more freedom when travelling, driving with a car might be the best option for you. Madrid is around 628 km from Lisbon which takes around 6-8 hours depending on the traffic and also depends on the stops and rests you want to make in between your driving. One way estimated fuel cost ranging from 70.00 to 100.00 €.

I believed I am taking the plane when I decided to go to Lisbon next month. I have to finalized this before the end of this week.

Travel trip:
Plan your trip ahead in order to avoid hassles and stress.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

My First Visit in Vienna, Austria

It is almost five years now since I visited Vienna, Austria. It was quite an adventure for me because it was my first time to have a long trip travelling with a train. Thanks to my friend and travel companion from England who was with me that time or else I won't be travelling alone with a train. Now I can already go anywhere in the world travelling in any transportation with or without companion.

As we arrived in Vienna last June 29, 2007, we put our backpacks in storage lockers located in the main train station of Vienna so that we can go around the city without heavy stuffs with us. It is really convenient and a good idea that most train stations in Europe especially in big cities have their storage lockers.

I can say that my first visit in Vienna, Austria was really a fantastic one. Last August 2011, I had another chance to see it again.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Visit to Weissenburg, Bavaria

How are you doing folks? I hope that everything went out fine to everyone especially during the cold winter days in Europe. The past days were really very cold and until now it is still freezing cold outside. This is the time of the year where I just want to stay at home and do some things in the house which are left for some times. I am really very busy since the first day of February. I don't have much time to go online since there are a lot of things to take care offline.

Anyway, I am sharing an image taken during our visit in Weißenburg or Weissenburg. This was my first trip in 2012. It is a historical town in Bavaria, Germany. There are many ruins left by the Romans there. One of the good example is the remains of the Roman bath in this town.

the Ellinger Tor (gate) in the town of Weisenburg during our visit last Jan. 4, 2012.

Friday, February 3, 2012

How To Get Cheap Medications

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

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