Tag Archives: Travel

Imaginary Vacation -Prague

Today’s Imaginary Vacation is a little different from usual because it was contributed by my friend Debi who is still on her very REAL European vacation! Debi is a good friend of mine from FOREVER and she’s a teacher. And what should all who have large swaths of vacation do? Take real vacations!

Well done Debs. Well done.

According to Debs Prague is one of the best preserved (read least bombed out and restored) cities in Europe. She also says that it is exceedingly beautiful and that beer is cheaper than water there.

Sounds good to me! Let’s go!!!!!!!!

Debi (on the left) and her traveling buddy Ashley.

The glockenspiel (clock tower). At the hour, the glockenspiel will chime with music and the mechanical figures will spin around like a big wonderful jewelry box.

View of the Town Square from the Glockenspiel.

Gelato is more delicious when you are eating it on quaint street in Prague.

View of the castle from St. Charles bridge at night. Wait till after 10pm to see this beautiful bridge all lit up. It’s gorgeous.

St. Vitus Cathedral. Enclosed within Prague castle, this cathedral has incredible stained glass windows. Sometimes even when you're on vacation you should get out-of-town. Take a daytime to Karlstejn castle!

Prague looks great Debs. I’ll admit you had me at “beer is cheaper than water”. We can’t wait to see more when you get back home!

Imaginary Vacation-The Missions of El Camino Real

This week I’m mixing things up a bit and taking you on an Imaginary vacation that I have planned for myself. ”Planned” being a loosely used euphemism for “dreamed up”. This imaginary vacation goes up and down my beautiful home state of California and visits each and every mission. The California missions were established between 1768 and 1853 by the the Fransiscans. There are twenty-one missions stretching from San Diego to Sonoma. Each one is said to be one day’s horse ride from the previous although I’m not planning to test that theory. I will be most likely be riding in our noble steed Ms. Honda Accord. Tradition has it that the Friars also dropped mustard seeds along the path leaving a path of cheery yellow flowers in their wake. Better yet this tour will take you along most of California’s coast which is unspeakably beautiful.

Although I’m half-heartedly attemting to stop adding travel-based wishes to my Forty by Forty list this one made the cut. In a nod to moderation this one is an in-state travel wish. I love my home state and visiting historic churches. It’s a win-win. Now I just gotta work on getting my little dinosaur potty-trained so we can hit the road!

We start our journey at San Diego de Alcala. Feel free to visit beautiful San Diego and eat Fish Tacos to your hearts content. I also love downtown San Diego's Gaslamp district.

La Purisima Concepcion is the most extensively renovated mission and also one that I have not yet visited.

Mission Dolores in San Francisco. Anybody whose ever been to San Francisco knows what's up. San Francisco is a very specific kind of city and as a Bay Area-bred girl it feels like home.

All images and more info about California Missions can be found here.

Imaginary Vacation – Peru

Update: Hi, I just realized I’m on the wordpress homepage today! I feel so internet famous! Welcome to my blog everybody and thanks for stopping by! To see more “Imaginary Vacations” you can click the subcategory under visual learner in the sidebar.

Ooh, I am SO into this series! Next up is my friend Rachel. Rachel is both creative, fun and kind. Everything you want in a friend. She spent the last 3 years living in the Peruvian amazon as an agricultural missionary with Food for the Hungry. Yeah I know, v. cool! She specializes in tropical agricultural and did lots of cool stuff like teach composting classes. When she went she spoke zero spanish. I’m so proud of her! It’s one thing to study abroad for a year like I did in a big city, it’s quite another thing to spend 3+ years in a remote city with 80%+ humidity.

This is Rachel(on the left) cruising around Peru in a Moto Taxi.

Here’s what Rachel has to say about Peru: I put together a collection of photos from all over Peru since I could not just pick one place. Peru is comprised of 3 regions, the coast, the mountains and the jungle. And the people living in each of these areas think their area is the best. Most Peruvians do not have the opportunity to travel and only know of other parts of Peru by word of mouth. On multiple occasions I would tell people in Lima (on the coast) that I lived in Pucallpa (the jungle) and they almost all responded, “Oh it is very hot there and there are lots of insects.” And I would ask, “Have you been there?” always anxious to meet people who knew the jungle, but they would say “No, no. I have a friend (or a cousin or an uncle’s brother) who visited there.” And yes the jungle was hot and there were lots of insects, but it was also quite beautiful and so very different than the coast. I feel so blessed to have had the time and resources to travel in Peru. There is so much more to see within this tiny country than Machu Picchu. But don’t get me wrong, Machu Picchu is pretty spectacular and the mystery behind it only makes it all the more enticing to see it for yourself. But treasures of beautiful people, fabulous food, wild animals outside your lodgings, motorcycle transport make it a destination well worth a longer visit. I miss Peru and forever it will hold a piece of me. ¡Viva Perú!

Hangliding along the coast of Lima

Huanchaco, Peru is famous for their grass boats.

The Peruvian Jungle - Absolutely beautiful

Llamas, llamas everywhere!

Local-motion. Anyone whose been to Latin America knows the drill!

Macchu Picchu - I am officially putting this on my life list.

10 little monkeys jumping on the bed... I mean trees.

In Spanish sloths are called "osos perezosos" or "lazy bears" So cute!

Sand dunes along the Peruvian coast.

Rachel says that this sign sums it up. Peru is VERY GOOD!

Thanks for sharing Rach! To see more pictures of Rachel’s time in Peru as well as her beautiful pictures from the trip we took together to Colombia you can check out her blog here.

Note: If you are a blog reader and would like to submit a vacation for consideration leave me a note in the comments and I’ll contact you!

Imaginary Vacations – Costa de Sol, Spain

For our next vacation we’re joining my friend Emily on a trip to Costa de Sol, Spain. Em and I don’t just share our first name, we also share a love of blogs, travel, and bossing other people around. We are a friend match made in heaven. Now check out Costa de Sol! The Emilys command you!

This is Emily. She is too pretty. Don't worry it annoys me too!

It's a hard life in Costa del Sol.

I didn't know the Rock of Gibraltar is in Spain. Did you? Update: NOT in Spain. Ck out Laura's explanation in the comments for the very interesting explanation of where the Rock of Gibraltar is.

I like vacationing in places with klepto Monkeys. It just seems right.

If my 40 X 40 list were not so travel-heavy already visiting the Alhambra would have been up there. Perhaps 50 by 50?

I love moorish architecture. You should too.

Neolithic rocks sound nice but I'm stuck on how beautiful the views are!

Note: Scrap-booking elements and papers from Scrapersguide.com

View from my Hotel Room in Atlanta

Experimenting with the new Camera - Westin Hotel, Buckhead

Imaginary Vacations – Paris, France

This trip is to a city that I’m dying to visit. Beautiful Paris, France! My friend Kat is currently studying abroad in Canterbury, England and that lucky duck is traveling all around Europe… as smart girls should! Out of all the places she’s visited, and like many before her, she fell in love with Paris. After you see her pics I’m sure you’ll be a little in love with Paris too.

She's supercute huh? And just as these pics would leave you to believe... super fun and supertalented as well.

So classic in every way.

I die. Seriously though. I die.

Beautiful.

Kat and I both love food. She is a food encyclopedia.

Moorish architecture is always a good thing.

If you are traveling to Europe and do not have a friend with a gorgeous flat in Paris Kat recommends checking out www.hostelworld.com

This is the picture that inspired the "Imaginary Vacation" series. I think it's pretty friggin inspirational, don't you?

Lest you think I acquired some new skills, let me assure you that Kat did the photo editing on this series.

Thanks for taking us with you on such a lovely trip Kat! It’s so awesome of you to have stepped up to the challenge to leave the familiar behind and study abroad. It is a scary and wonderful experience but you’ve made it through a challenging year and I couldn’t be prouder of you!