Wurzburg, Germany

February 18, 2020February 12, 2020 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

Oh, Wurzburg – what a gorgeous city. Our 4^th stop on our Rhine and Main Christmas Market River Cruise was the city of Wurzburg. This place had it all! A palace (Wurzburg Residence), a fortress (Fortress Marienberg) and wineries as far as the eye can see – literally! They also had a wonderful Christmas Market, but it was almost secondary to everything else there was to see!

Our first stop in Wurzburg was the Residence. This palace of the prince-bishops of Bavaria was modeled after Versailles and you can see it immediately as you tour! Photos were not permitted inside, but I got some gorgeous pictures through the rain of the small but amazing gardens.

The Residence – looks like a compact version of Versailles.

The gardens…

I bet they are amazing during the spring and summer!

We headed back to the boat for lunch, then began walking – over to the “Old Stone Bridge” where every day, locals gather to enjoy the company of friends and a glass of the local wine. We hiked up to the fortress – an imposing structure – that is surrounded by vinyards and walking paths. The view of the town from the Fortress was amazing and it was worth the climb!

The Fortress! And a fortress it was!

Very Cinderella-esque!

Well, my German is pretty rusty, but I think we get the point!!

We took the meandering walk down into the village after visiting the fortress. The hillside (and hillsides as far as the eye can see) are sprawling vineyards!

A look down towards the river – that is our river boat in the distance!

Statue in the vineyard.

From the bottom – a look towards the fortress.

We strolled back over the Old Stone Bridge, partook in the local tradition of a drink, then found our way to beautiful Christmas Markets throughout the old city. All in all, it was a great day with fabulous sights and memories to last a lifetime!!!!

I am standing on the Old Stone Bridge here – getting ready to enjoy my glass of wine!

Europeans take their wine consumption seriously – there are STIFF fines if an establishment gives you a short pour! Same applies to beer!

This photo really captures the day – two glasses of white wine, enjoyed amongst new friends, with a breathtaking fortress in the background! THIS is why I travel!!!!

Frankfurt, Germany

January 21, 2020January 10, 2020 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

Europeans have a wonderful commitment to their heritage. After so much of Germany was destroyed during WWII, many of the cities, towns and villages vowed to rebuild in the old style. They used photographs, paintings and what may have been remaining of architectural drawings to recreate their ancient buildings and streets. The effort to rebuild after such devastation would have been immense to begin with, but to reinvent medieval city centers that effectively embrace a thriving citizenry was herculean!

While in Frankfurt, we enjoyed a huge Christmas Market (with the lights on), Limed our way around (even getting stopped by the German police to make sure we weren’t drinking and scooting – we weren’t, by the way), visited the Frankfurt Zoo and got a real taste of the popularity of the German Christmas Markets!

Here are my favorite pictures!

Our first booth – classic!

The main “old” center square – beautifully decorated.

Christmas trees, anyone?

A gorgeous two story carousel!

The top of the main square.

Sycamore trees line the walk along the Rhine.

The Frankfurt Zoo was a lovely treat. It was quiet, well established and a fabulous example of an inner city zoo experience.

Yes, it is a cone of French fries with sauce on top…so American! hahahaha

The darker it got, the more magical it became.

I love the classic quality of the Christmas tree.

Eat, drink (but don’t drive) and be merry!

Expedition Amsterdam – Day 4

January 13, 2020January 12, 2020 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

Well, we have come to our last day – and I think the timing is just right! We really did SO much on this trip and it was absolutely amazing! I think for us, a four day stay was just right – enough to learn how to get around the city, see some major highlights, wander around winding streets and canals, and think about the things we haven’t yet seen.

Today we did our final Rick Steves’ audio tour and this one was about and through the Red Light District. This is the oldest section of Amsterdam and a place not for the faint of heart. As Americans, we are often rather sheltered in our everyday lives, and the Red Light District of Amsterdam makes Fremont Street in Las Vegas look like kindergarten! As this is a family show, I won’t post any pictures or give you many descriptors here, but let’s just say the folks in Amsterdam embrace their ability to live a life less restrained by a government attempting to impose and enforce moral values. For what it’s worth, it seems to be working in Amsterdam.

We visited the Jordaan neighborhood again today, strolled back and forth, in and out of the Red Light District, “Chinatown”, the old city, the Damstraat area and everywhere in between. All told today, we took over 18,000 steps!!! We ate some more of the famous Amsterdam French fries, I tried a waffle with chocolate and “caramel” (but is actually tasted like melted circus peanuts) and enjoyed dinner at a small Pad Thai place. We even popped into a pub near the Jordaan that had Oriental RUGS on the tables instead of table clothes. It was different!

We have explored a lot of this really cool city, but there is still a lot to do for another trip! Until next time, Amsterdam! Keep doin’ YOU!

I love the mugs at our hotel!!!

The architecture is so captivating!!!!

One of the tidal flow gates – they open and close to allow “fresh” water to clean out the canals and help to control water levels.

Kelly’s “Polish” smile and my “American” smile at the Anne Frank house.

The Westerkerk in the distance.

So many people say, “I don’t want to travel to Europe in the winter because it will be cold”. Well, it was in the 40s and 50s while we were here. There were numerous flowers blooming and plants budding. There were fewer crowds and great prices. Why wouldn’t want to travel to Europe in the winter?

Classic Amsterdam hooks and pulleys throughout the city – and we even saw some in use during our visit!

What a view!

Check out the houseboat roofs! There are some 2500 houseboats in Amsterdam – some are for sale for over a million dollars! WHAT!!!

I really loved taking pictures of the Westerkerk.

Here is the pub with the carpets on the table.

It was a little strange – anyone ever hear of this or seen this before?

The “best” French fries in the city?? Well, the fires were great but we liked the sauce from another fry place. This one had 24 different options!

Ah, the Amsterdam waffle – and boy, was it good!!!!

My favorite traveling companion and I.

In the old city.

Strasbourg, France

January 9, 2020December 31, 2019 / Denise Smith / 2 Comments

I have to admit, I am a Francophile. I love France and all things French, so when we arrived at our second port of call, Strasbourg, I immediately felt at home! As this was our only port in France, I really soaked in the French culture, but also admired the unique marriage with German culture presented in Strasbourg. After all, in 1914 alone, the Alsace region of France changed nationalities eight times!

We enjoyed our Christmas Market touring and also became truly besotted with the charm and enchantment of Strasbourg. Some would say it is too German to be French, and too French to be German, but I think it is just right!

Here is my photo diary! I hope you enjoy it!!!

Many of the streets of Strasbourg are lined with beautiful sycamore trees. These nests are for storks!

The tram system in Strasbourg is pretty special! In many places, it runs on grass to help reduce noise and a couple of the trams have mower blades underneath to keep the grass neatly mowed! Cool!

How do you deliver packages to the medieval streets of Strasbourg?

The architecture!!!

Notre Dame Cathedral of Strasbourg

The decorations were beautiful and sometimes, a bit outrageous!

We were in Strasbourg during the day and did not get to see the lights, but I bet it was gorgeous!

Classic Europe

The old winding city streets were so charming!

Vin chaud? White or Red?

Even early in the day, the Christmas Markets were busy.

The rivers are the lifeline of Strasbourg.

Some new friends – swans everywhere!

I was in France – a banana and Nutella crepe was a MUST!!!

More bird friends outside my Juliette balcony on board.

Strasbourg river walk.

The happy tourists!

Amazing Alps

January 7, 2020December 24, 2019 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

When we travel, we love day tripping!!! We have day tripped our way around the French countryside, southern and northern Italy, Scotland, England and now, the Alps!

Day tripping allows for a GLIMPSE of a place. It is hard to “dive in” when you only have a short amount of time, but when we travel abroad especially, we want to see as much as we can, so the old American pastime is right up our alley!

This trip to Germany, Switzerland and France for our Christmas Market river cruise really lent itself well to a day trip. While staying in Basel pre-cruise, we took a day and headed to the Alps. We picked up our rental in Basel early morning, drove about an hour and 45 minutes to Interlaken, and decided to go a bit further, up to Grindewald (elevation 3,392 feet). There, we parked and bought the world’s most expensive train tickets (about $200 US per person – YIKES) for a 45 minute cog train ride up, up, up to our first train station, Kleine Scheidegg (elevation 6762 feet).

Grindelwald, Switzerland

Grindewald from the window of the train.

The cogs! The lifeline!

This teepee is at the Kleine Scheidegg station. I do not know why!

Time to change trains! And yes, it was snowing.

Here, we checked out the place, and boarded the Jungfrau train – another cog that brought us THROUGH the mountains to the highest train station in Europe (which happened to be IN the mountain) – Junfraujoch, elevation 11,333 feet!!

One of the small settlements on the way up to Jungfrau (young girl). Do you see the glaciers in the background? Amazing!!!

The train station in the mountain.

Outside the observatory. It was cold and windy!

In the ice castle IN the mountain!!!

We explored but it was snowed in – but we wouldn’t have changed that experience for anything! It was so cool!!!!!

After we got back down from Kleine Scheidegg, we drove to Lauterbrunnen, explored briefly at dusk, went to a pizza place (yeah, seriously) and then drove back to Basel. This was a fabulous day trip and we took SO many gorgeous pictures.

Here are the rest of our favorites!!!!

Looking back as we journey towards Klein Scheidegg.

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. We had spent much of the day in Grindelwald and climbing Jungfrau (by cog railway), then decided to take another small mountain pass at dusk and were treated to this delight!

This gorgeous waterfall is the first thing you see when you enter this valley. Absolutely stunning!

If a cemetery can be pretty, this one fits the bill.

Well, you have to have beer with pizza!

Any European road trip must include a stop at the Autogrill. The rest stations in Germany (just like Italy) did NOT disappoint – adorable trinkets, great food options, but expensive water – you should buy it in town at the local corner store – not here – oh, and if you need to use a bathroom – bring along a Euro!

My German isn’t that great, but the word for “exit” is kinda funny! And I feel like a 10 year old when I say it:)

My Yearly Travels as seen through my Ornaments

December 24, 2019December 21, 2019 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

I used to find it really hard to choose a special keepsake from each of our trips. I loved so many cool “things”, but it just isn’t reasonable to get them all! So a while back, I decided to get an ornament from each of our trips.

Every year, when we put up our tree, it is a wonderful opportunity to remember our travels and stories as a family. It is something I treasure and our tree is really full of US.

Here are the ornaments I got this year.

Paris. January 2019

Disneyland Paris. January 2019

Symphony of the Seas. February 2019

February 2019

Disney World. February 2019

Tuscon Arizona. April 2019

Tombstone, Arizona. April 2019

Bearizona. April 2019

Las Vegas, Nevada. April 2019

O’hau, Hawai’i. October 2019.

Strasbourg, France. November 2019

Switzerland 2019

6 Things I learned in Hawai’i

November 26, 2019November 17, 2019 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

I loved so much about Hawai’i. Not the least of which was visiting my sister and nieces. But some things surprised me about Hawai’i and I wanted to share those thoughts with you! I loved visiting a state in the US that was so different and because of its distance from the mainland and/or its unique history, has maintained so much of its Polynesian heritage and held tight to the characteristics that make it so wonderfully distinctive.

Here is my list….

1. Everyone called me “Auntie”. I heard this a dozen times or more from Hawai’ians – as a sign of respect in their culture, a woman (I cringe to say “older”, but let’s face it, I AM older than those who called me Auntie) who is older is afforded this lovely term of endearment. I would imagine this is similar to women being called “ma’am”. Now, I am guessing with how foolish some people are, some women would be offended by this title – but clearly they do not understand the honor. An Auntie is a mother – but better! Someone who can nurture and love; direct and give advice. They are the favored adult as they offer much of what a parent does, without the harshness that should befall parents as they train their children. Being called Auntie was a treasure.

I am the Auntie of these two adorable princesses!! Here we are at the beach at Hickam AFB!

2. While I did see some stray kitties here and there, chickens roam the island at will! This was fun to see, as all the hens had chickies following them around this time of year! They were fun and adorable and we got to see a lot of Hay-Hays!

Hay-hay!!!!

3. I don’t believe there are any squirrels in Hawai’i – but they have the mongoose, which takes its place as they island scavenger.

I didn’t get an mongoose pictures, but here is Char with one of the resident kitties at Hanauma Beach.

Sable meets a kitty that lives at Kualoa Ranch

4. This makes sense but I hadn’t thought about it before in these terms – the cost of things in Hawai’I are really high. Of course, that is somewhat a reflection of the tourist economy, but it more so a reflection of the cost to import all these everyday goods to an island stuck literally in the middle of the Pacific!

I have some group space reserved on a Hawai’ian island cruise for June 2021 on Norwegian’s Pride of America. This is probably one of the more expensive cruises most people I know will take, but there is a good reason for that. This particular ship, Pride of America, is one of the only sea-going cruise ships registered in the US. That is really important to note because of regulations for vessels registered in the US – the crew MUST be Americans (who demand a higher wage, require health insurance, workers’ comp and so on and so forth) and the registration is much more expensive than the typical cruise ship registrations in the Bahamas (where most US market cruise ships are registered). Add to the US regulations for US registered vessels, and you have the high cost of goods needed to outfit such a cruise weekly – once these things are examined, it is easy to see why Hawai’i is so expensive. For the traveler considering either a Hawi’ian island cruise or a trip in general, you have to ask yourself is the cost worth the trip?

5. Black Sand Beaches are hard to find!!! This was one of my desires, but it just didn’t work out!!! This leaves something cool for me to seek out when I go back in 2021!

I’ll be searching for those black sand beaches when I go back….but clearly, there was nothing to complain about!!!!

6. All beaches in Hawai’i are public! This is so cool and neat to think about – even the fancy hotel BEACHES are public (not the pools and amenities) so you can go to Aulani on O’ahu and even if you are not staying at the resort, you can still swim in the cove that has so many neat tropical fish and snorkel there!

Hanauma Bay

Beach and cove at Aulani

I really enjoyed my trip tremendously and look forward to the next! I would love to hear about what YOU found interesting about your visit to Hawai’i! Explore the world, learn from your surroundings, and bring home the best souvenir available; a new perspective!

Dole

November 19, 2019November 17, 2019 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

One of the cool places we visited during our trip to Hawai’i was the Dole Plantation. The grounds of this beautiful farm were luscious, well manicured and a delight to enjoy for a few hours. There was a FABULOUS gift shop with all manner of hand-made, authentic Hawai’ian gifts as well as the “cheap” touristy baubles you may expect to find. And of course – there was DOLE WHIP!!!!!

At the Plantation, one can get lost in the “World’s Largest Maze” – this was gorgeous – and the maze was made out of hibiscus plants!! Also, you can tour the Dole Plantation botanical gardens (which we did not do in the interest of keeping the toddlers with us entertained) and you can also take a 22 minute train ride tour of the plantation. Char and I did the maze (again, no toddlers – we would probably still be searching for them) and we all did the train ride!

Such beautiful gardens….and Char and Sable make it even more beautiful!

This maze was gorgeous!!!

This lei gets around!!!

The beautiful red soil of inland O’ahu seems perfect for growing not only pineapples, but also sugar cane, bananas, veggies of all sorts and fruit! In fact, I am not sure what wouldn’t grow there!!! The train tour highlighted many of these plants and told the story of the Dole Plantation as well as the rich history of cultivation on the island. It was fun and informative!

This old machinery was pretty cool looking!

Banana groves

Check out that gorgeous soil!!!

Sable on the train wearing her fancy Hawai’ian gear!

Something else I noticed a lot of on the island as a whole and certainly at the Dole Plantation, was the initiative to use green energy – Dole has a small solar farm on the Plantation and I would guestimate that somewhere between 20-40% of the homes on the island also use solar energy. I mean – why wouldn’t you???? Every home in the military communities near where my sister lives have solar arrays and businesses do as well. I haven’t had a chance to research the incentives or company practices for solar, but I love seeing communities embrace the advantages of green energy!

Visiting the Dole Plantation was super fun day and a stop in O’ahu that I would certainly recommend for anyone! It was easy going, informative, entertaining and worth the money for the tours we took! I think when my family returns in 2021, we will definitely go back to the Dole Plantation!!!

Hanauma Bay

October 29, 2019October 30, 2019 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

As I ventured around the island of O’ahu, I could easily see how import the preservation initiative is there in Hawai’i. There is definitely a lot of development, but the afterthought of that development is on the minds of Hawai’ians and those who visit. The conservation effort and protection of the ‘aina, or land, is viewed as a matter of Hawai’ian kuleana (responsibility and privilege) and I wanted to highlight one of the efforts I saw on this short trip.

We visited the amazing Hanauma Bay State Park. This bay has a long, beautiful history that includes use by native fisherman to the recreation of kings. In the mid 1900s, this location gained fame as a fabulous snorkeling area due to its unique horseshoe bay shape and volcanic rock coral beds. This area is home to species of fish that are only found in this sweet little bay. By the early 1990s, efforts to “save” this bay from over exposure to humans and maintain the rarity of its ecosystem spurred a conservation effort whose results are seen today.

The snorkeling here is nothing short of amazing! I saw more species of fish here than I have anywhere else! And we even saw an octopus that was beyond amazing!!!! I tried to get a video, but my phone in a water-safe bag just didn’t do the trick as well as I would have liked!!!! Our video isn’t the best quality, but you can see the really awesome octopus we saw! Thanks to my videographer, Char!

One of the fabulous initiatives at the Hanauma Bay State Park is the request that those who enjoy the park’s gorgeous swimming area adhere to the upcoming Hawai’ian Reef Safe sunscreen law that will take effect January 1st, 2021. Hawai’i is the first state in the US to ban the sale of sunscreens containing the coral-harming chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate. With my own reef safe sunscreen in hand, I enjoyed the beautiful snorkeling in this gift from mother nature!!

There are so many ways we can help maintain the glories of this earth and still enjoy them. Using Reef Safe Sunscreen is an easy choice to make. Also, making sure we pack out what we pack in, we didn’t feed the fish (although I wanted to) and we did not step on or remove any coral from this reef. Here are a few more pictures from Hanauma Bay. I look forward to returning here with the rest of my family and enjoy once again the majesty of this gorgeous place!

A Hui Hou

October 18, 2019October 18, 2019 / Denise Smith / Leave a comment

If you know me, have read this blog or follow my Facebook business page, you KNOW that I am a huge Disney fan! I won’t bore you with the particulars, but let’s just say I take every opportunity available to do anything remotely Disney related! And when I found out I was going to be able to visit my sister in Hawai’i, I immediately found out how we could make a visit to Disney’s Aulani a reality!

For three amazing days and two fabulous nights, we felt like queens on vacation – gorgeous beaches, fabulous pools, no shortage of activities and sunsets beyond compare. We enjoyed meeting characters, the lazy river, snorkeling and a sense of calm and rejuvenation – which by itself was miraculous while traveling with two toddlers!!!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I will seriously go over the recommended blog parameters. I kept taking so many – because it is SO beautiful!!!! I would love to share with you my favorite pictures from Aulani – descriptions in the captions.

I love how Disney gently weaves the history, culture and Hawai’ian experience throughout this incredible resort – from the shave ice stations, to Dole whip…..yes, mom – DOLE WHIP, to the exposure of Hawai’ian words and folklore into the very space surrounding guests. As with all my experiences with Disney so far, I feel enveloped in the theme of Aulani and have to say A Hui Hou…..until we meet again!

Koi Pond with the lobby in the background

Main pool at Aulani

View from the 11th floor towards the garden/pool area

Lagoon 1 – Aulani’s beach area – Fabulous snorkeling and if you are staying at Aulani, there are free beach toys, boogie boards and beach chairs! Paddle boards and snorkel gear for rent.