Monday, October 28, 2013
Places I have been: Bermuda
I went to Bermuda a few years ago on a cruise with my family and cousins. It was my first cruise and it was a lot of fun! The first two days were sea days so we explored the ship and lounged by the pool. The next two days we were in Bermuda. The first day we went on an excursion helmet diving. We put old school looking helmets on and slowly went down under the water with our guide. We got close up with the fish and other marine life. The next day we went to Horseshoe Bay with the pink sand beaches and enjoyed the clear water and rocky hideaways along the coast. It was cool seeing the pretty fish swim so close to me in the water. The next day was another sea day then we were back home in port.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Places I have been: Arizona
I went on this family trip a few years ago so the details are fuzzy, but here are the places we visited and things we did in no particular order (since I forget).
I know we flew into Phoenix. This was exciting for me because this was around when I was reading Twilight and a lot of parts of the Phoenix airport were mentioned in the book.
Once we left the airport it was like a whole different world. There were not many trees. There was desert and cactuses. REAL cactuses in the wild, haha. I had never been somewhere this different before. And it was hot. But not humid, which was different as well. Our hotel was beautiful! I also remember being at the pool and having the wear flip flops round while walking on the deck because it was SO HOT. The pool water was not refreshing. It was wayy to warm.
One trip we took while staying in Phoenix was to Tuscan and the OK Corral. On the way back, we stopped at Saguaro National Park and looked at the scenery of all of the cactuses.
The next place we stayed at was in Sedona. On our way there we stopped at Montezuma's Castle, a 'castle' built into the rocks.
With the beautiful red rocks, it was amazing a place like Sedona existed in the USA. We drove around the town then went back to our hotel because the little that was around closed early. The next day we got ready for our "Pink Jeep Tour" that would take us onto the rocks. I just couldn't get over how pretty this place was!
It was kind of scary being on the edges of these rocks, but it was beautiful!
As a side trip in Sedona, we visited Winslow Arizona, from the song "Take It Easy" by the Eagles. This song was playing continuously while we were here.
We also visited Meteor Crater, the site where a meteor hit the earth. It was literally IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. There were no cactuses. Nothing. Just a small campground for campers and Meteor Crater. Things being in the middle of nowhere was a theme on this trip. Our GPS navigated us to a Dairy Queen in the middle of nowhere too. We didn't thing there would be one where we were headed, but sure enough there was one there. We got to all of these sites via historic Route 66 which was cool.
Our last major stop was in Flagstaff, Arizona near the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon really was Grand. It almost seemed fake from the perspective of it all. It looked like a painting.
We saw the donkeys, hiked a little bit down the trail and saw the goats! Definitely bring water if you plan on hiking! Because of the elevation, it gets warmer as you descend down the path.
I know we flew into Phoenix. This was exciting for me because this was around when I was reading Twilight and a lot of parts of the Phoenix airport were mentioned in the book.
Once we left the airport it was like a whole different world. There were not many trees. There was desert and cactuses. REAL cactuses in the wild, haha. I had never been somewhere this different before. And it was hot. But not humid, which was different as well. Our hotel was beautiful! I also remember being at the pool and having the wear flip flops round while walking on the deck because it was SO HOT. The pool water was not refreshing. It was wayy to warm.
One trip we took while staying in Phoenix was to Tuscan and the OK Corral. On the way back, we stopped at Saguaro National Park and looked at the scenery of all of the cactuses.
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| Saguaro National Park |
The next place we stayed at was in Sedona. On our way there we stopped at Montezuma's Castle, a 'castle' built into the rocks.
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| Montezuma's Castle |
With the beautiful red rocks, it was amazing a place like Sedona existed in the USA. We drove around the town then went back to our hotel because the little that was around closed early. The next day we got ready for our "Pink Jeep Tour" that would take us onto the rocks. I just couldn't get over how pretty this place was!
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| "Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona" |
We also visited Meteor Crater, the site where a meteor hit the earth. It was literally IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. There were no cactuses. Nothing. Just a small campground for campers and Meteor Crater. Things being in the middle of nowhere was a theme on this trip. Our GPS navigated us to a Dairy Queen in the middle of nowhere too. We didn't thing there would be one where we were headed, but sure enough there was one there. We got to all of these sites via historic Route 66 which was cool.
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| Meteor Crater |
Our last major stop was in Flagstaff, Arizona near the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon really was Grand. It almost seemed fake from the perspective of it all. It looked like a painting.
 |
On our last day, we stopped at an Observatory (I forget the name of it), another crater/Volcano and the edge of the painted desert.
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| Painted Desert |
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| Crater/Volcano |
Friday, October 18, 2013
My top trips (EF College Break)
I am looking into 3 different trips through EF College Break. Has anyone ever gone on one of these trips? Anyone know someone who has? What was it like?
My 3 top trip choices (well 4) are the London/Paris/Rome Trip, The European Panorama Trip and the Grand Tour of Europe Trip. The Australia/ New Zealand one I would like to go on after this first trip to Europe I am planning.
Overview of each trip:
London/Paris/Rome
Length: 12 days
Cities Visited: London, Paris, Rome
Countries Visited: England, France, Italy
Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Versailles
Starting Price: $3,039
Price with excursions ect...: $3,755
Thoughts: I don't know about spending 1 night on a train. It seems like I would be wasting time on a train for what I am spending. This trip would be good if I end up not being able to save enough for a longer one, however I would like to visit more places when I go to Europe to see the most I can while I am there. But this is better than nothing and is shorter so I will not be away for as long (I could add the stay ahead option where I go to London earlier then meet with my tour group once it starts). Take into account about $50 a day for food/souvenirs.
Total Price: about $4,355
European Panorama:
Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Amsterdam Bike Tour, Versailles, Mount Pilatus
Starting Price: $4,187
Thoughts: This is also a good alternative if I can not save enough for the Grand Tour of Europe. I would get to see Ireland on this trip and skip Madrid, but I would only get to see one city in Italy (Florence), not Venice or Rome. I get 4 days in Paris instead of 3 like in the other two trips. Take into account about $50 a day for food/souvenirs for 25 days.
Total Price: about $6,200
My 3 top trip choices (well 4) are the London/Paris/Rome Trip, The European Panorama Trip and the Grand Tour of Europe Trip. The Australia/ New Zealand one I would like to go on after this first trip to Europe I am planning.
Overview of each trip:
London/Paris/Rome
Length: 12 days
Cities Visited: London, Paris, Rome
Countries Visited: England, France, Italy
Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Versailles
Starting Price: $3,039
Price with excursions ect...: $3,755
Thoughts: I don't know about spending 1 night on a train. It seems like I would be wasting time on a train for what I am spending. This trip would be good if I end up not being able to save enough for a longer one, however I would like to visit more places when I go to Europe to see the most I can while I am there. But this is better than nothing and is shorter so I will not be away for as long (I could add the stay ahead option where I go to London earlier then meet with my tour group once it starts). Take into account about $50 a day for food/souvenirs.
Total Price: about $4,355
European Panorama:
Length: 25 days
Cities Visited: Dublin, North Wales, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Lucerne Region, Florence, French Riviera, Barcelona
Countries Visited: Ireland, Wales, England, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain
Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Amsterdam Bike Tour, Versailles, Mount Pilatus
Starting Price: $4,187
Price with excursions ect...: $4,896
Thoughts: This is also a good alternative if I can not save enough for the Grand Tour of Europe. I would get to see Ireland on this trip and skip Madrid, but I would only get to see one city in Italy (Florence), not Venice or Rome. I get 4 days in Paris instead of 3 like in the other two trips. Take into account about $50 a day for food/souvenirs for 25 days.
Total Price: about $6,200
Grand Tour or Europe
Length: 30 days
Cities Visited: London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Heidelberg, Lucerne Region, Venice, Rome, Florence, French Riviera, Provence, Barcelona, Madrid
Countries Visited: England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain
Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Versailles, Amsterdam Bike Tour, Mount Pilatus
Starting Price: $4,847
Thoughts: This is my top choice of tours, however it is expensive. I need to take into account the fact that I will need money for food/souvenirs. With about $50 a day for food for 30 days that is $1,500 dollars. So the total price comes to be very high. I would get 3 days in Amsterdam as opposed to 2 days like in the European Panorama trip. Also a plus is that I can use the stay ahead option and spend a few extra days in London before my trip starts.
Total Price: about $7,300
Have you ever gone on an EF College Break trip? About how much money can I expect to spend on food? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Price with excursions ect...: $5,773
Total Price: about $7,300
Have you ever gone on an EF College Break trip? About how much money can I expect to spend on food? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Sagittarius
My zodiac sign is Sagittarius. As a Sagittarius, one of the descriptions I have noticed that is mentioned a lot when looking through my horoscopes is the mention of travel.
According to a horoscope app I have on my phone, some major characteristics of my sign are:
"Restless energy and the need for personal independence keep a Sagittarian moving in many directions. They become experts at adapting to the culture or climate of their immediate environment. Always ready to travel for business or pleasure (and sometimes because of the overwhelming urge to escape). Sagittarians are all too willing to break free of the confinements of responsibility and work."
This describes me so well. I just can not wait until I can finally get out and explore the world! I feel as if I am itching to travel.
One day this day will come where I can explore!
According to a horoscope app I have on my phone, some major characteristics of my sign are:
"Restless energy and the need for personal independence keep a Sagittarian moving in many directions. They become experts at adapting to the culture or climate of their immediate environment. Always ready to travel for business or pleasure (and sometimes because of the overwhelming urge to escape). Sagittarians are all too willing to break free of the confinements of responsibility and work."
This describes me so well. I just can not wait until I can finally get out and explore the world! I feel as if I am itching to travel.
One day this day will come where I can explore!
Places I have been: Alaska (Part 2)-Land Tour
The land portion of our trip started with us boarding a coach bus at the cruise dock in Seward, Alaska. We had an 8 hour drive ahead of us so we started early. The first portion of our drive took us onto one of the main highways in Alaska that is featured on the TV show Alaska State Troopers. I had never watched it but when I came home from the trip I watched some episodes and could recognize the places we had been! During the drive, we drove through Anchorage and our driver told us about the city. We also drove through Wasilla and stopped for lunch there. We also stopped at an overlook of Mount McKinley (Denali). The long drive really did not feel so long because we were seeing sights along the way and stopping. Getting there really was half the fun. We were in the middle of nowhere. I lost cell service for a while. It was amazing seeing how untouched everything was. The scenery was beautiful. After we had arrived at our hotel we walked along the little strip of shops and restaurant places surrounding the hotels. We ate dinner and explored some more. There was even a Subway there. Subs were around $10-$12. It was crazy how much more expensive it was! It is this expensive because they must ship in all of their supplies and they can not grow fruits and vegetables well in Alaska.
The next day we took a bus tour of Denali National Park. We drove into the park on a bus and toured the entire park. We stopped along the way looking at wildlife like moose, dall sheep,bears and of course Mount McKinley!
I was on the edge of my seat for most of the bus tour as we twisted around tight corners on the edges of cliff faces while other buses were driving in the opposite direction. It was scary. But we made it out safely.
The next day was our last day. We boarded the McKinley Explorer train at 12pm. This train has an open glass ceiling and a dining car on the bottom layer. It was really cool to experience. Technical difficulties forced us to get off the train before reaching Anchorage. Due to the rapid increase in temperature over the previous days, ice break up had begun and was starting to flood parts of the tracks. The permafrost was also melting and bending the tracks. We were going very slow the entire time we were on the train. At one point we had the option to get off at the next stop and take a bus ride the rest of the way to Anchorage. We decided to do this as we did not know what time we would eventually get to Anchorage.
The train was fun while we were on it and I am sure it would have continued to be fun. We were served drinks and we ate a nice dinner in the dining car while aboard. Once the problems started many other customers were getting antsy and started arguing with the tour directors about missing their flights ect.... Who books a flight home the same day you are taking a 8 hour train ride. Anything could happen! Why leave a 2 hour window to get to the airport and not longer! That was aggravating listening to the fights and complaining of others and I felt bad for the tour guides. I'm glad the cruise line had it all figured out to help us out while on our land tour.
Once in Anchorage we found our hotel. The next day we walked around Anchorage. We went to a movie about the big earthquake that happened and browsed in some stores before we had to head to the airport to catch our flight home.
What a wonderful trip it was! It really opened my eyes to all there is to see in the world and how diverse the USA really is.
Check out the video clips I took of our trip to Alaska:
The next day we took a bus tour of Denali National Park. We drove into the park on a bus and toured the entire park. We stopped along the way looking at wildlife like moose, dall sheep,bears and of course Mount McKinley!
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| Dall Sheep |
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| Moose |
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| Mount McKinley (Denali) |
I was on the edge of my seat for most of the bus tour as we twisted around tight corners on the edges of cliff faces while other buses were driving in the opposite direction. It was scary. But we made it out safely.The next day was our last day. We boarded the McKinley Explorer train at 12pm. This train has an open glass ceiling and a dining car on the bottom layer. It was really cool to experience. Technical difficulties forced us to get off the train before reaching Anchorage. Due to the rapid increase in temperature over the previous days, ice break up had begun and was starting to flood parts of the tracks. The permafrost was also melting and bending the tracks. We were going very slow the entire time we were on the train. At one point we had the option to get off at the next stop and take a bus ride the rest of the way to Anchorage. We decided to do this as we did not know what time we would eventually get to Anchorage.
The train was fun while we were on it and I am sure it would have continued to be fun. We were served drinks and we ate a nice dinner in the dining car while aboard. Once the problems started many other customers were getting antsy and started arguing with the tour directors about missing their flights ect.... Who books a flight home the same day you are taking a 8 hour train ride. Anything could happen! Why leave a 2 hour window to get to the airport and not longer! That was aggravating listening to the fights and complaining of others and I felt bad for the tour guides. I'm glad the cruise line had it all figured out to help us out while on our land tour.
Once in Anchorage we found our hotel. The next day we walked around Anchorage. We went to a movie about the big earthquake that happened and browsed in some stores before we had to head to the airport to catch our flight home.
What a wonderful trip it was! It really opened my eyes to all there is to see in the world and how diverse the USA really is.
Check out the video clips I took of our trip to Alaska:
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Places I have been: Alaska (Part 1)-Cruise
I went on a cruise to Alaska with my family earlier this year.
We left from Vancouver, but only ended up spending a few hours there overnight before we left. I wish we had time to explore the city and see the area before we left. We did get a quick tour while on the bus to where the cruise ships left from which was nice. It seems like a nice city and had great scenery! I hope to return sometime.
Our first stop of the cruise was in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Our excursion for the day was going on the Deadliest Catch boat tour. We got off the ship and headed to the other part of the dock for our tour. This tour was very informative and exciting! The boat our tour was on was the same boat from the TV show The Deadliest Catch. If you have seen the show, you will know this boat. It is the boat that the giant wave crashed into and damaged. Our tour guides were both fisherman and crabbers, the one tour guide was actually on the show at one point! The premise of the tour was to show everyone how crabs are caught. They showed us how they baited the traps,put them out, and brought them in. They caught all different kinds of crabs. Once caught, there were viewing tanks on board that they put the crabs in to give us all a closer look. They even let us hold some of the smaller crabs! Along the way they also baited fish hooks and caught some fish as well as prawns, starfish, and other sea creatures which we were allowed to touch and hold as well.
At one spot along the way, they threw overboard some fish guts and attracted hundreds of bald eagles!!!!! They were flying everywhere!! I have never seen so many bald eagles in my life! Our joke for the rest of our trip we would always say "Look! AN eagle" as in one eagle. Not the hundreds that we saw that day. What a sight!
After this excursion, we explored the rest of Ketchikan. We walked down historic Creek Street. This area used to be where the prostitutes were.
We saw totem poles, and many touristy gift shops owned by the cruise lines. These gift shops/jewelry stores would be present at every port of call for the rest of the trip.
Our next port of call was Juneau, Alaska.
Our excursion at this post was a "Photo Safari". We started off with a whale watching tour. We saw a few humpback whales, but only one whale tail. Thank god my sister got it on camera!
The next part of the safari was a nature hike through the area surrounding Mendenhall Glacier. We ended the hike with various overlooks of the Glacier. The nature hike was fun! Even though it was late may, nothing was really blooming yet, but the scenery was still very pretty! The Mendenhall Glacier is the first glacier I ever saw. I remember learning all about it in a lot of my classes I have had, so it was cool to get to see it in person!
Our final port of call was in Skagway, Alaska.
The excursion we chose for this trip was a bus/train ride to the Yukon in Canada.
We started off with a scenic drive by coach bus to Carcross in Canada. Along the way there was GORGEOUS scenery. Snow topped mountains, bright blue and green water. It was amazing that this exists. It really opened my eyes as to how big the USA really is and how little of the world I have seen.
I felt like I was on top of the world. The further we drove, the higher we ascended into the mountains. It was neat seeing the scenery around us change as well. Less trees were growing and there was more snow the higher we went up. Our bus driver stopped at various places along the way to allow us to get photos which was great!
We passed the "Carcross Desert" as we reached our destination. It really is a desert. There are sand dunes here, surrounded by snow capped mountains.
When we reached Carcross, we walked around and saw the huskies. There were adults giving sled rides and puppies we could pet and feed treats. There was also a museum with taxidermy animals that people caught in the area. There were farm animals and helicopter rides and we got a free meal.
Once we were done looking around this town. Our bus driver took us to the train station so we could board the train to ride back down the mountains to our cruise ship. This was filled with more breathtaking scenery as we descended through the mountains and snow.
Once back to the town of Skagway we walked around a few gift shops then it was time to go and we boarded the ship once again.
Our final 'destination' was Glacier Bay National Park. This was really an 'at sea' day as we were just cruising through the park. But there was a nature guide on board to tell us about the history of the park and all of the glaciers and the natives that live there. This day we got to see the famous Marjorie Glacier. The cruise ship stopped in front of this glacier for a full hour so we could watch it calve and change before our eyes. This park was breathtaking.
Can you believe these are real pictures I took? The water was smooth as glass and reflected the mountains perfectly!
We saw many glaciers within the park, but the Marjorie Glacier was the largest.
Our cruise ended in Seward, Alaska. We disembarked and boarded our tour bus to Denali National Park the same day.
Look for my blog entry tomorrow all about the land portion of our trip to Alaska!
We left from Vancouver, but only ended up spending a few hours there overnight before we left. I wish we had time to explore the city and see the area before we left. We did get a quick tour while on the bus to where the cruise ships left from which was nice. It seems like a nice city and had great scenery! I hope to return sometime.
 |
| Vancouver |
Our first stop of the cruise was in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Our excursion for the day was going on the Deadliest Catch boat tour. We got off the ship and headed to the other part of the dock for our tour. This tour was very informative and exciting! The boat our tour was on was the same boat from the TV show The Deadliest Catch. If you have seen the show, you will know this boat. It is the boat that the giant wave crashed into and damaged. Our tour guides were both fisherman and crabbers, the one tour guide was actually on the show at one point! The premise of the tour was to show everyone how crabs are caught. They showed us how they baited the traps,put them out, and brought them in. They caught all different kinds of crabs. Once caught, there were viewing tanks on board that they put the crabs in to give us all a closer look. They even let us hold some of the smaller crabs! Along the way they also baited fish hooks and caught some fish as well as prawns, starfish, and other sea creatures which we were allowed to touch and hold as well.
At one spot along the way, they threw overboard some fish guts and attracted hundreds of bald eagles!!!!! They were flying everywhere!! I have never seen so many bald eagles in my life! Our joke for the rest of our trip we would always say "Look! AN eagle" as in one eagle. Not the hundreds that we saw that day. What a sight!
After this excursion, we explored the rest of Ketchikan. We walked down historic Creek Street. This area used to be where the prostitutes were.
We saw totem poles, and many touristy gift shops owned by the cruise lines. These gift shops/jewelry stores would be present at every port of call for the rest of the trip.
Our next port of call was Juneau, Alaska.
Our excursion at this post was a "Photo Safari". We started off with a whale watching tour. We saw a few humpback whales, but only one whale tail. Thank god my sister got it on camera!
The next part of the safari was a nature hike through the area surrounding Mendenhall Glacier. We ended the hike with various overlooks of the Glacier. The nature hike was fun! Even though it was late may, nothing was really blooming yet, but the scenery was still very pretty! The Mendenhall Glacier is the first glacier I ever saw. I remember learning all about it in a lot of my classes I have had, so it was cool to get to see it in person!
 |
| Mendenhall Glacier |
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| Mendenhall Glacier |
Our final port of call was in Skagway, Alaska.The excursion we chose for this trip was a bus/train ride to the Yukon in Canada.
We started off with a scenic drive by coach bus to Carcross in Canada. Along the way there was GORGEOUS scenery. Snow topped mountains, bright blue and green water. It was amazing that this exists. It really opened my eyes as to how big the USA really is and how little of the world I have seen.
 |
| The Yukon |
 |
| Carcross Desert |
We passed the "Carcross Desert" as we reached our destination. It really is a desert. There are sand dunes here, surrounded by snow capped mountains.
When we reached Carcross, we walked around and saw the huskies. There were adults giving sled rides and puppies we could pet and feed treats. There was also a museum with taxidermy animals that people caught in the area. There were farm animals and helicopter rides and we got a free meal.
 |
| Pretty water |
Once we were done looking around this town. Our bus driver took us to the train station so we could board the train to ride back down the mountains to our cruise ship. This was filled with more breathtaking scenery as we descended through the mountains and snow.
 |
| Old Bridge the train used to use |
Once back to the town of Skagway we walked around a few gift shops then it was time to go and we boarded the ship once again.
Our final 'destination' was Glacier Bay National Park. This was really an 'at sea' day as we were just cruising through the park. But there was a nature guide on board to tell us about the history of the park and all of the glaciers and the natives that live there. This day we got to see the famous Marjorie Glacier. The cruise ship stopped in front of this glacier for a full hour so we could watch it calve and change before our eyes. This park was breathtaking.
Can you believe these are real pictures I took? The water was smooth as glass and reflected the mountains perfectly!
 |
| The Marjorie Glacier |
We saw many glaciers within the park, but the Marjorie Glacier was the largest.
Our cruise ended in Seward, Alaska. We disembarked and boarded our tour bus to Denali National Park the same day.
Look for my blog entry tomorrow all about the land portion of our trip to Alaska!
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