My family and I were blessed to be able to do a vacation to several countries along the Rhine when we did a river cruise last week. Over the next few Travel Tuesdays I’m going to share some stories about our adventures and photos of what we saw. For starters, we landed in Frankfurt in the morning and after dropping off our bags, walked all around to explore the sights. We started off with a visit to the home of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German author, artist, and statesman. Seeing the home gave us an idea of how the well-connected lived in the 1800s and there was a nice museum with artwork attached to the home. After, we wandered through some shopping areas and also through a weekly farmer’s market. The market was filled with amazing produce and quite a few food, wine, and beer stands. It was so crowded, but we didn’t linger for long since we had to get back and get ready for our first ever visit to an Oktoberfest celebration. It was actually the first night of Oktoberfest in Frankfurt and because of that, everyone was dressed in traditional clothing. We tried our best to fit in and think we did an admirably job. What do you think? Oktoberfest was a blast. Lots of good food, namely some fantastic sausages, pretzels, mustard, spaetzle, and dumplings. We also had excellent beer, namely some wheat beer and lagers. Finally, the music and dancing! So much fun. Surprisingly a friend advised that two unexpected songs — Sweet Caroline and Country Roads by John Denver — are staples at German Oktoberfest celebrations. We had a lovely time that night. The next day we did some more exploring around Frankfurt before it was time to board the boat for our cruise up the Rhine. I’ll share more photos from the next leg of the trip next week!
Happy National Plan a Vacation Day
Today is National Plan a Vacation Day! I love being able to get away and do something different, even if it’s only a short ride to a new nearby location. This year we’re doing a family vacation with my daughter and her husband since we haven’t done one in quite a few years. I’m looking forward to spending a week with them because we always have fun together. This time we’re going to do a river cruise and I’m so excited to visit new places. The river cruise company plans excursions during the cruise, but we’ll have a couple of days where we can plan our own things to do! Can’t wait! I’ll also be heading out to California for the Romance Writers of America conference and I can’t wait to see some friends who I haven’t seen in years. How about you? Do you have any vacation plans for this year?
Happily Sharing My Danube River Cruise
For my retirement from a legal career in 2019, my husband gifted me a Danube River Cruise and we have finally been able to go. Because of the two-year COVID delay, the cruise also became a trip to celebrate hubby’s retirement and a big anniversary! We had a lovely time and today I’m sharing our first port-of-call: Budapest, Hungary.
We arrived a day early to avoid any issues with airplane delays and I am glad we did. We had delays out of Newark and barely made a connecting flight but our luggage didn’t make It. Luckily that all got straightened out by very late that night.
Budapest was actually two towns — Buda and Pest — on either side of the Danube River that were united in the latter 1800s. When we arrived in Budapest, we started our walk along the Danube. Budapest is a lovely city that is wonderful for exploring since it’s a great walking city thanks to the walkways all along the river. There is artwork at various spots along the river as well as views of Budapest’s many bridges and Pest across the way! A convenient train line also runs along the river.
Our first stop was a memorial to World War II victims who had been shot along the banks of the river. The “Shoes along the Danube” is a stirring reminder of the human element in war.
Our next stop was the Parliament Building and surrounding structures and statues. Truly beautiful.
Close to Parliament was a memorial to the 1956 Hungarian uprising against Communism. Thick metal slabs were dented and punctured by gunfire. For me it was a reminder of the brutality of life under Communism and Marxism for so many in the past and today.
All around the memorial and Parliament buildings were beautiful gardens and other structures. We kept on walking since it was an absolutely glorious day. In fact, we had beautiful sunny weather the entire time we were on the cruise! We were very lucky. We were able to stroll around the city until late that night.
The next morning we strolled to the city’s Great Market Hall where we picked up some pate and paprika! There were some amazing stalls for purchasing meats, fruits, and vegetables as well as food stalls to pick up something to eat. On the second floor, you could pick up souvenirs as well as locally made clothing, leather, and embroidered items.
On our stroll back to the hotel before heading to the ship, we passed a lovely little church.
I would definitely recommend a visit to Budapest as there is a great deal more to see and do. We will definitely try to get back there again!
Hope you enjoyed today’s Travel Tuesday!
#TravelTuesday – Biltmore Estate, North Carolina
I love to travel and am looking forward to when pandemic restrictions are lifted so that I can do some traveling. I thought I’d share with you a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit: the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. It is America’s largest home and the grounds around the home are amazing! If you either love history, gardens, nature, antiques, or wine, you may want to visit. There are charges for going on the grounds, but I thought it was worth the cost because there was so much to do! We visited the house, strolled through the gardens, conservatory, village, and did a wine tasting. You have to schedule the wine tasting, but it was worth it! We treated ourselves to a few of the wines and just had the first bottle the other night. We were not disappointed! Today I’m sharing some photos of our trip and I hope you will visit. I know I plan on visiting again since the Biltmore will change with every season.
#TravelTuesday – Looking Forward to Traveling
It’s been a difficult year with the pandemic and many lives have been lost or changed forever. I have been lucky not to have lost any close friends or family to the virus, but like many, I yearn for a return to the more normal days before this virus hit. One of the things I’ve missed the most is traveling because I love to see new things and meet new people. Before the pandemic hit I had plans to go to a number of different book conferences and my hubby had surprised me with a trip I’ve always wanted to take: A Danube River cruise. The trip starts in Budapest and ends in Vienna, but we also planned a trip to Salzburg because hubby knows how much I love The Sound of Music. We’ve rebooked the trip for later this year and I’m so hoping I can go there and do some book conferences as well so I can get to spend time with you guys!
#TravelTuesday – Miami and South Beach
I’ve got quite a number of books that are set in Miami and South Beach, including some new ones: SOUTH BEACH LOVE (May 2021) and EXILED HEARTS(Tentative title – Release Date TBD). One of the reasons why I’ve set stories there is to highlight are the interesting places in the area. Today I’m sharing some of my favorite places in case you’re able to visit one day.
La Carreta and Versailles Restaurants: Set on Miami’s Calle Ocho in the heart of Little Havana, these are two Cuban restaurants not to miss. La Carreta has a kitschy and very large sugar cart – la carreta – in front of the restaurant. Versailles is the place you’ll always see whenever anyone is reporting on happenings in Cuba. The press always goes there to get impressions from the Cuban exiles still living in Little Havana.
Vizcaya: Vizcaya is John Deering’s estate and an amazing estate right on the edges of Biscayne Bay. The home and gardens are gorgeous and speak to an era of opulence and elegance.
Jungle Island (formerly Parrot Jungle): The original Parrot Jungle was established in the 1930s and after it moved to Watson Island, was renovated after hurricane damage into an “eco-adventure” park. Still a fav place where you can roam and see an assortment of tropical plants and birds.
The Venetian Pool: Located in Coral Gables, this public pool was created from a coral rock quarry. It has a lovely Mediterranean-style ambiance and waterfalls for you to explore.
Miami Seaquarium: The Seaquarium holds a fond place in my heart. I remember sitting and watching “Flipper” do tricks in one of the large lagoons where portions of that television program were actually filmed. There are a number of different aquatic shows you can watch and a small walk along the edges of the bay.
South Beach: There is a lot to see in South Beach. The Art Deco hotels. Lummus Park. Lincoln Road. So much to see and do along Ocean Drive and the nearby streets. Lots to eat and drink as well since this is where a lot of the nightlife goes on. I’d recommend not going to this area at Spring Break times or on busy weekend nights to avoid the real party animals that can make it unpleasant.
#ThrowbackThursday – Philadelphia Flower Show 2020
With all that’s going on, I think we could all use a dose of beauty! Today I’m sharing photos from this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show in early March. It was lovely and I had a great time hanging out with my sister, niece, and a family friend. I can’t wait until next year and more importantly, to do more work in the garden soon. I’ve already been able to plant a few things and just got a shipment of bulbs that need to go in for spring and summer flowers. I can’t wait.
