I Miss Nice, France

The name itself already says the beauty of this French city. Nice is truly nice and I love it there! It is almost a year now since we visited this city. It is called Nice la Belle or Nissa La Bella in Niçard, which also means Nice the Beautiful. It is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912.

The seafront of the city is a must to go walking or spending sometime relaxing on its beach is a nice experience too. I remember going inside a souvenir shop in Nice and telling the cashier that his place is very beautiful. I was pronouncing Nice as nice in English but I was mistaken and he was not able to understand me. Nice is actually pronounced like the English word "niece". Be careful when talking to someone from Nice. They might not understand you.

It was only a short visit we had in Nice but it was worth seeing the place. If you are visiting French Riviera in the future, don't miss to include Nice in your list.

the seafront in Nice, France during our spring trip last April 2011.

The city’s main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais (‘the Walkway of the English’) owes its name to the earliest visitors to the resort.

Skywatch Friday
Weekend Reflection
Scenic Sunday
Shadow Shot Sunday
Sunday Snapshot

Cruising in Cinque Terre, Italy

Happy New Year 2012! I hope you are having a wonderful start of the year. I can't complain until now but still hoping for a very great 2012 with more travels. I am happy to share my first entry for 2012. Let me share to you about one of the most beautiful trip I had last year. This was in Cinque Terre, the five coastal villages in the Italian region of Liguria. These five villages include Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso which belong to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

After our short sightseeing in Monterosso (I love the beautiful white beaches here), we boarded a boat for a short cruise going to Riomaggiore. We also a short sightseeing in this lovely village. On the main street of Riomaggiore, you can find an assortment of cafes, bars, restaurants, and of course, gelaterie. There are also alimentari shops selling the typical yummy Italian fare: fresh fruit (strawberries, cherries, and nespole), an assortment of salumi (salami, mortadella and the like), cheeses, olives, etc.

We proceeded to Vernazza after Riomaggiore boarding a train. This is where we spent the rest of the day. It was so far a lovely trip seeing some of the beautiful coastal areas in Liguria, Italy. I hope I can have more travels for this year.

the boat where we had a short cruise from Monterosso to Riomaggiore last spring 2011.

the beautiful beach in Monterosso, one of the Cinque Terre in Luguria, Italy.

some buildings in Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy.

Our World-Tuesday
Orange Tuesday

NF Waters
Watery, Wordful
Outdoor Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

I Love Madrid, Spain

Another dream come true! I had the chance to finally visit the capital city of Spain. Madrid is awesome! I love love love love and love this city. For me, it is the most unique city I visited in Europe. I can't exactly explain as well but there is something in Madrid and in Spain as a whole that captured my heart. I fall in love with this country.

I have been to some big cities in Europe like Vienna, Budapest, London, Brussels, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Zurich, Luxembourg, Paris, Cologne, Rome, Monaco, Venice, Frankfurt, Munich, Verona, Salzburg, Dresden, Las Vegas, California, Manila, Cebu, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and so many more but Madrid is simply unique.

When I visited Monaco last spring of this year, I told myself, if I have the chance to choose where I live now, I would choose Monaco. Sad to say, it changed suddenly. When I recently visited Spain, I changed my mind. No more Monaco and how I wish I live somewhere in Spain right now.

Ah, I am dreaming again. But dreaming is the only thing I can have and it is for free. In fact, most of my dreams are coming true now. Most of the places that I am dreaming and aiming to visit went to reality. I was there, to the places where I can never imagine I was.

There are a lot of things I would love to share during our 8-days trip to Spain. I wish I have more time to slowly share it here or maybe in my other travel blogs. So please, sit back and relax..more updates and travel images about Spain to come soon!

Lastly, I would like to say,

"Live with your dreams,
Work for it and One Day,
Those Dreams will slowly come true."

Ruby Benz

I wish I had the chance to go inside this palace but a day trip in Madrid is not enough to see everything. I wish to visit this city again in the future. Taken during our visit last December 10, 2011.

The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) is an enormous palace, one of the biggest in Europe, with scorching plains of concrete around it. Though it is the official residence of the King of Spain, the royal family does not actually reside here and it is generally used only for state ceremonies. The Royal Palace is considered to be one of the most emblematic and beautiful buildings in Madrid, not only for its location on a bluff overlooking the river valley but also for its architecture and the artistic treasures to be found in its rooms.

The Matthias Church in Budapest, Hungary

It's over two months now since we visited Budapest. This is the capital of Hungary which is considered to be one of Europe's enjoyable and delightful cities. It was indeed an enjoyable travel we had. One of the highlights during that trip was our sightseeing of the different landmarks in this city.

If you happened to visit the Buda's Castle District, you will for sure see the Matthias Church. This was was said to have a Romanesque architecture in 1015 but later and the was constructed into late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century.

a very interesting architecture in Budapest. I had the chance to visit it last August 2011.

The Matthias Church was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of medieval Hungarian Kingdom. It is officially known as the Church of Our Lady.

Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy

The Saint Mark's Basilica, officially known as Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is the most famous church in Venice, Italy. It is one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies at the eastern end of the Piazza San Marco.

the beautiful painting in the front entrance door.

Saint Mark's Basilica taken from St. Mark's Square. I took this image during my third visit July 2011.

Originally it was the chapel of the Doge, and has only been the city's cathedral since 1807, when it became the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, formerly at San Pietro di Castello. For its opulent design, gilded Byzantine mosaics, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power, from the 11th century on the building has been known by the nickname Chiesa d'Oro (Church of gold).

Europe Travel in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Frankfurt am Main is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is simply called as Frankfurt. This city is the financial center of Germany and the the largest financial center in continental Europe. It is home to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Trade Fair, the European Central Bank, the German Federal Bank and the many large commercial banks.

The images you see below were taken in Römerberg (written in English as Roemerberg), a famous square in Frankfurt.

a fountain in the middle of Römerberg. I also love the interesting and historical buildings in the background. These images were taken during my second visit last November 2010.

The Römer, a medieval building in Frankfurt am Main and also a famous landmark of this city. This historical building has been a Rathaus or city hall of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt is Germany’s second most expensive city, and the 48th most expensive in the world. It is also named as a world city.

The Royal Palace of Brussels in Belgium

The Royal Palace of Brussels is the most imposing building in the capital city of Brussels, Belgium. It is called in French language as Palais Royal de Bruxelles and is the official palace of the King of the Belgians. It was modified by King Leopold II in 1904. It is located in front of Brussels Park where we also had the chance to sit and relax.

a lion statue in front of the Palace fence.
These images were taken during our visit last August 2010.

the beautiful garden in front of the palace.

The palace is situated in front of Brussels Park. A long square called the Paleizenplein/Place des Palais separates the palace from the park. The middle axis of the park marks both the middle peristyle of the palace and the middle of the facing building on the other side of the park, which is the Palace of the Nation (the Belgian Federal Parliament building). The two facing buildings are said to symbolize Belgium's system of government: a constitutional monarchy.

The Seine River in Paris, France

I did had the chance to visit Paris, France for the second time last month. It was again a very interesting and worth- remembering trip despite the rainy and cold weather. It was supposed to be summer in August but the weather was so unfriendly. You can see the famous river in Paris which named Seine. Here is the image I took during our visit last month.
The Seine (French: La Seine, pronounced:) is a major river and commercial waterway within the regions of the Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie in France. It is 776 km (486 miles) long, rising at Saint-Seine near Dijon in eastern France near the Swiss Alps, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre. It is navigable by ocean-going vessels for about ten percent of its length, as far as Rouen, 120 km (75 miles) from the sea. Over sixty percent of its length, as far as Burgundy, is negotiable by commercial riverboats and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating - Excursion boats offer sightseeing tours of the Rive Droite and Rive Gauche within the city of Paris. more here