Paris, France

Paris in the fall!  Something I’ve always dreamed of doing, and here I was!  This was our last stop on our European journey.  It was our first day in Paris, and I had to see the Eiffel Tower!  So we walked, and walked some more, thinking that it would be a short journey there, but it was actually located at the other end of the city from where our apartment was (who knew).  Finally, I could see it!  We were almost there!  It was so exciting to finally see it! I had to get my first snap shot of it (show below!)

As we got closer and closer, I had to get more and more shots of this magnificent structure from every angle!  (don’t worry I won’t show you all of my pictures as it will probably bore you to  death).  But I do want to say, that the Eiffel is a lot bigger in real life than I expected it to be, and it felt so powerful to be right beside this gigantic framework!

 We ate lunch at the park beside the Eiffel Tower (we stopped at a bakery on our journey there and  grabbed a baguette and a drink).   This felt good.  I felt like we finally reached our destination.  This is what Paris is about, when you think Paris you think the Eiffel Tower (for me atleast). We spent the afternoon here, hanging out on a bench and watching the people and scenery.  It was the perfect day!  On our way back, our feet were aching and it was a chore to get back to the apartment.  That night and the next day our feet were still in pain, and I would say that it ruined the following day, as we both were unable to do anymore walking.  One tip of advice: get to know the subway system as soon as you get to Paris. It is too big to walk everywhere!  The subway system is a very simple system and it would have saved our feet from all of this agony!  However, to me, it was worth the walk to see the Eiffel Tower!

Bacharach, Germany

The town of Bacharach, Germany – has existed before the time of the Romans.  It’s name can be led back to the celtic settlement – Baccaracum. The first mention of this town was in the year 923.

This was our second destination in Germany (the first was Dusseldorf where our plane landed). We arrived in Bacharach by train, then made our way by foot with our luggage in hand (about 100 yards) to the heart of this adorable little town.

It is a very picturesque town with timber framed houses and cute little restaurants, patios, shops and a delicious bakery conveniently located right across the street from where we stayed at Pension Lettie’s.  We stayed for 2 nights, which I believe is more than enough time to see everything there is to see in this little town.

The first day we toured up to Castle Stahleck (shown in picture) which is now a hotel.  We enjoyed a piece of Apple Kuchen and a cup of coffee on the balcony of the castle which overlooked the beautiful view of the Rhine River.

We decided to explore the town further, travelling down an unknown road which led back into town.  Then we saw a path going into the vineyards and decided to take it!  This led us to  a tower (shown in the picture) which we climbed all the way up and enjoyed the view.  Afterwards, we trecked further up the vineyards until we reached a plateau.  From there we sat on a bench overlooking yet another beautiful view of the town and Rhine River.  We ended off our excursion by going back into town to the local grocery store, buying some meat and buns and had a picnic lunch beside the Rhine River, watching the freight boats and ferries go by.

From Bacharach we took a day trip to St. Goar which is just a train stop away.  St. Goar has a castle called,  Castle Burg Rheinfels, where you can actually go on a self guided tour.  I would highly recommend this tour as it was quite historically interesting!

More to come….

Greece

Breathtaking views in Crete

Where to begin.  I would highly recommend Crete to anyone looking for an adventure filled with beaches, history and amazing food!  One tip of advice, you need to rent a car!  This is part of the adventure!   However, be prepared to drive on winding, narrow roads, on the edge of mountain after mountain.  However, it is these mountains that allow you to see Crete’s geographic beauty like you have never seen anything before.

The constant views of the ocean, olive grove farms, and mountains, combined with the hot sun and warm air blowing through your hair as you are driving on the edge of a mountain, makes you question, how could there not be a God who created all of this?  All I can say is have your camera ready because the breathtaking views are non stop! 

We stayed in the small town of Piskopiano, about a 1/2 hour outside the city of Heraklion.   Although we stayed here for the whole week, we made sure we took a road trip every day!  However, because Crete is a massive island, I believe we only saw about 1/4 of the island since it’s so darn big!  We found a few hidden gems A.K.A beaches that kept us coming back for more!  One in particular was Vulisma Beach (shown in the following pictures).

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Gorgeous view at Vulisma Beach

Vulisma is one of those beaches where the sand is so white and soft, and the water so clear, warm and turquoise!  We went to a local shop and bought a pair of goggles and spent the day floating around.  There was one area in the water where there were rocks, sort of like coral (you can sort of see it in the picture above).  It was neat snorkelling over top of this coral and seeing the different fish hang out here inbetween the rocks! We ate lunch at a restaurant across the street: some Chicken Souvlaki on a pita and a beer!  Just writing about this makes me want to go back for more!