The Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany

#3 on my lovely list is to hike through the Black forest to get to the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. The Black forest in near Munich, Germany, which is where we will start this adventure. Munich is one of the more prominent cities in Germany. I decided upon the Hotel Laimer Hof because of the very European-inspired rooms. The architecture is what drew me in, but I have to say for this particular hotel I didn't find much information on it. Yes, it has a website that says there are 23 rooms in this hotel and that the rooms are on the small side so if you are travelling with a family, you will get a couple rooms put together for you. Other than that, not too much other than some very flattering pictures of the residence. So, on the next subject.
 What to do in Munich? Well, there are plenty of fun things to do in Germany (especially if you are German, like me!), however, I would visit the quaint town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This town reflects the stylings of its historical past through the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. This town has shoppes, restaurants, and St. Jakob's church, which hosts the Twelve Apostles altar.

On to the main event: The hike. To get to this fairytale castle you have to hike through the Black forest which will take a couple hours, so expect this to be a day trip, but many say it's worth the trek. The Neuschwanstein Castle was built by King Ludwig II in the 19th century. The castle was inspired by the operas written by Richard Wagner. The inside of the castle tells the story of one of his operas. This castle was the inspiration for Cinderella's castle in Walt Disney World. So thats all for now. Stay Lovely!


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Verdi's Aida in Cairo, Egypt

#2 on my wonderful travelling list was to watch the annual performance of Verdi's Aida at the Cairo Opera House in front of the Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. I'll start with where to stay in Egypt. After some research, I decided that I would stay at the Nile Hotel because it was very well rated and because it overlooks the Nile River which is a must when your going to Egypt. For the most part, it operates like a normal hotel. I would stay in just a regular room, no fancy suites or anything like that, because I'm not sure I would want to spend that much time in a hotel when I'm in one of the most interesting cities in the world. But I would want to sightsee...
 I would start with  some monuments. The first on that list is the Alabaster Sphinx. This is different from the Sphinx your probably familiar with. This one is smaller, coming in at 26 ft long and 13 ft tall. Who this Sphinx was built for is unknown though it is thought that is Amenhotep III who built the Luxor Temple. What makes this sphinx different is that it was made with Alabaster, or Calcite, which was thought to have solar connections by the ancient Egyptians. Now as far as the show at the Cairo Opera House, Aida is showing in January 2012, the 27th through the 31st. And it is being shown in their Main Hall, as it should be. For those who don't know, Aida is the story of a Nubian princess who gets captured by Egyptian guards, and becomes a slave to the Pharaoh in Egypt. She then falls in love with the Captain Radames who is the son of the evil Pharaoh Zoser who wants to take over as the main Pharaoh of Egypt by killing the current Pharaoh. However, Captain Radames is supposed to marry Princess Amernis. But he falls in love with Aida, and they are both put to death for unlawfully being in love. At the end of the opera, Amneris becomes Pharaoh of Egypt and brought Egypt to a period of peace because of the love Radames and Aida had shown her. Well thats all for now. Until nexr time, Stay Lovely!

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Learning to Surf in Honolulu, Hawaii

 Yesterday I told you about the 10 trips I'd like to take right now, so this week, since I'm so travel-crazy, I've decided that I'm going to break down these trips for you, like where I would stay, what else I would do in that location, and all the ridiculous other things I feel like putting in each post. #1 on the list (these don't go in the order I would like to do them in, just FYI) was learning to surf in Honolulu, Hawaii! Let's start with accomodations for the stay, shall we? I looked at a couple of less than impressive resorts, but I finally found one that is just so darn adorable I can't even handle it. It's so cute! It's called the Puakea Ranch. It is particularly small, but that adds to its charm. Like the name implies, its not really a resort or hotel, I'm not really sure what you would call it to be quite honest, because its not really the way Americans think of a ranch. Anywho, they house four, yes four, bungalows. These bungalows are all super adorable and sophiscatedly unique. The one I was most drawn to was the Cowboy House. I was reluctant to actually look at because the name was not all that intriguing, but it is different from what the name implies, but what do I know, I'm not a cowboy! What I was drawn to in this bungalow was its counrty charm and its simplicity. The bedroom has white linen sheets and the whole house has a good amount of woodwork, which adds some country charm to its beachy surroundings. One thing thats also really cool about the Puakea Ranch is its dedication to being eco-friendly. All of the bungalows have access to their gardens, fruit trees, organic eggs from their chickens, and live orchid plants. The only thing that I should mention that could be a possible complication is the price. The rates vary depending on bungalow and the time of year you plan on visiting. I would visit in autumn when the rates are the lowest for the Cowboy House, but even then the rate for 5 days will set you back $350. Though, I'm not sure I would mind for a bungalow that insanely charming.
  Moving right along, to the Adventure section of this post. I said that I wanted to learn to surf in Hawaii, so finding someone to teach me that is definitely a good start. I should've mentioned this before, but Puakea Ranch is in the region of Kohala, so it would then make the most sense to find an instructor along Kohala's beaches. One of the critically acclaimed beaches in the area is Anaeho'omalu Bay, or "A Bay", offers kayaking and caneoing for those who are interested, but you know I'm looking for surf lessons which this beach offers at their Ocean Sports hut. This beach is obviously beautiful, I mean its a beach in Hawaii, but like other beaches in Hawaii they offer luas and fire dancing when the sun goes down. So that's that.

  Another activity that I think would be fun if your in Hawaii would be to see some of the Petroglyphs, or lava-rock carvings that were etched into the stones by Native Hawaiians. At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is probably your best bet at seeing these guys in their most natural and untouched light. So anyway, that sounds like a fun Hawaiian weekend getaway for now. Stay Lovely!

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Around the World in a Blog Post

When the seasons transition, I find that all I want to do is TRAVEL. I'm not exactly sure why this is, but I know that I have the urge to explore somewhere new and exciting. So, I have listed for you the top 10 vacations that sound the coolest right now(!):
1. Learning to surf in Honolulu, Hawaii
2. Watching the annual performance of Verdi's Aida at the Cairo Opera house in Egypt.
3. Hiking through the Black Forest in Germany to see the Neuschwanstein Castle.
4. Have a picnic at the Villa Borghese Gardens in Rome, Italy
5. Visit China for the mid-autumn Zhongqiu festival, which celebrates the mythical Chinese lunar goddess of immortality. This is also called the Moon Cake festival where round pastries are filled with lotus-seed paste, which represent the radiant moon, and are marked with Chinese symbols for longevity and harmony.
6. Learn calligraphy in Kyoto, Japan
7.Visit Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France
8. Take a cable car down Lombard Street in San Francisco, California
9. Run across the Anzac Bridge in Sydney, Australia
10. Learn how to dance the Tango where it originated- Buenos Aires, Argentina

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