Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest

Everyday I want to blog and every day I don't have the words.  I'm sure they will come back to me.  In the mean time, I'll just post photographs.  These are from our visit to Budapest, Hungary.  On our last day before heading to the airport, we took the tube to the City Park to visit the Vajdahunyad Castle.  In 1896, the castle was constructed for the 1,000th birthday of the Hungarian State.  It was a temporary structure for the Millennial Exhibition.  The castle was built to showcase the history of Hungary through its architecture.  The people loved it so much that it was eventually rebuilt to be a permanent structure and now houses a Museum of Architecture. 

A day at Hampton Court

I think I've mentioned before that Matt and I keep a list of things that we want to do in London.  Hampton Court Palace was at the top of that list for a long time and late last year we finally made the journey.  The royals used to travel from Hampton Court to Westminster via the Thames, passing through the locks along the way.  It sounds so romantic. I knew that I needed to combine that Thames boat trip with our visit to the Palace.  So on a beautiful fall day, we crossed this one off of the list.  

Balmoral Castle, Scotland

I can't believe it's been almost eight months since my dad and brother were here and we took our jam packed road trip.  I thinks it's time to finish up the posts from our trip. My blog schedule is getting backed up.  Luckily I use post it notes in my blogging calendar and they're easy to move forward as needed.  So, lets' talk about one of my favorite stops during the week, Balmoral Castle in Aberdeen, Scotland. 

I sure do miss this guy. 

"All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils".  Those were the words Queen Victoria scribbled in her diary when she first visited sprawling estate. 

So her sweet Valentine Albert purchased it for her in 1848.  It was a private purchase which means this property doesn't belong to the Crown but rather to the Royal family.  It's been a favored residence of the family since then.    

I don't think I would ever want to leave this Highland retreat.  Queen Elizabeth spends several months each year here amongst the deer and grouse.  We strolled the gardens and walked through the ballroom which is the only interior space open to the public. 

Like all castles, it's straight out of a fairytale with incredible views in every direction.  Rolling lawns and majestic trees. 

Even with people milling about it was the most relaxing and quiet place.  Incredibly peaceful.  I can see that it must be such an oasis for a family that is usually in the middle of a whirlwind of activity. 

As majestic as it is, it felt like a home and there was an elegant casualness to the gardens.  I would highly recommend a stop at Balmoral if you are in the area.  Oh, those views.  The colors of Scotland, purple and green.

Happy Valentines Day!  Okay, I didn't get a castle from my love but I did get a new Nikon camera which I'm thrilled about.  I can't wait to see what kind of photos I'll get out of her.  She will soon be featuring prominently on the blog.  Although the D90 will always be my first love. 

 

Where's your favorite castle?

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Pont & Palais in Provence

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  Say it with me...  Awwwww.

This is my last post from our fantastic-wonderful-best-trip-ever to Provence with my sweet friends.

Matt gets a bit offended when I say it was the best trip ever, so I should clarify.

Fantastic-wonderful-best-trip-ever-without-Matt.

Our last day we spent exploring Avignon a little more in depth.

We visited the Pont d'Avignon which is a bridge that used to span the river to our little island.

Legend has it that a young shepherd boy was tending his flock when God

spoke to him and told him to follow that star... no wait.  That's a different story. 

This shepherd boy was told to build a bridge over the River Rhone.

When he shared his inspired plan with the townspeople they just laughed an called him names.

They never let poor... no wait.  Wrong story again.

Young Bénézet then lifted a huge boulder and tossed it into the river.

Suddenly they were all on board with the whole bridge idea.

 I think the poor lad died before the bridge was completed.

He's buried in a little chapel on the bridge.

 We used the audio guides which told us the history of the bridge and played the famous song.

The bridge doesn't actually span the river anymore.  Only four of the original 22 arches are left.

So it was a quick tour.

We then made our way to the Palais des Papes.

This was were I took my very favorite photograph.

This time we opted out of the audio-guide.

And I'll be perfectly honest with you, we pretty much just buzzed through.

We were eager to gather once more around a bottle of rosé

to talk about guys and shoes and world hunger and stuff.

But, mostly shoes.

Such a lovely collection of... canonballs.

I think I will forever be gushing about Provence.

But what made the whole thing the fantastic-wonderful-best-trip-ever

was most certainly the company.

Thank you, Gina, Sarah and Erin.  Miss you like crazy and love you to pieces!

Have you ever traveled with just the girls? Best trip ever?

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Coast and Castle

*I received a complimentary tour from Dublin Bus for the purposes of review. 

Editing all of these photos from Ireland is so bittersweet.

So many gorgeous sights, I just ache to be back there.

Here are some photos from the Dublin Bus North Coast and Castle Tour.

The three-hour tour with live commentary takes you to Malahide Castle

and then along the North Coast ending with a short stop in Howth.

(The price for adults is €24 and €12 for children 5-14.)

I'm starting with the pictures from Howth because it was just gorgeous and I wanted to stay.

And I saw some seals!  I was so excited!

Along with a man in purple trunks swimming in that frigid water. Brrr!

We saw swimmers everywhere that we went.

Apparently, a cold dip is supposed to be very good for your health.

I hope you enjoy the photos.  I'm having such a hard time narrowing them down.

So you will have to forgive me for the photo heavy post.

Have you ever taken a dip in the cold Irish sea?

(I think I need to add this to my bucket list.)

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  *I received a complimentary tour from Dublin Bus in partnership with Failte Ireland
for the purposes of review.
All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.