City of the Week

Tel-Aviv, Israel

Tel-Aviv, Israel has always been on my list of top ten cities to visit, but has moved into my top five in the last few years.  Not only is it the biggest city in Israel, it's also becoming a very popular destination for domestic and international travelers alike.  It's huge array of beaches, bars, cafes, restaurants and upscale shopping, as well as it's cosmopolitan lifestyle and it's 24-hour culture has made it's reputation as 'a city that never sleeps'.  With less than an hour drive to Jerusalem, and less than two hours to the Dead Sea, there's plenty to keep you busy if you want to 'get out of town' for a bit.  Tel-Aviv is also home to an elusive mermaid!  The government is so convinced of this mermaid, that the mayor of Tel-Aviv has offered $1,000,000 reward if you can get solid proof that there is, in fact, a mermaid.  I have attached some pictures (courtesy of Tel-Aviv travel sites) for your viewing pleasure.

Tel-Aviv shoreline

Tel-Aviv city center

Atel-Aviv shoreline hotels

Jerusalem, Israel

The Dead Sea at sunset

Viva Italia!

I decided to pull a tip for Europe yesterday because Jeff and I have decided on our next trip...wait for it... Italy! I'm already researching! Haha. We put a bunch of destinations in a hat yesterday (because we couldn't decide) and we ended up pulling Italy! We're going to try and plan to go for at least ten days (trying our hardest for two full weeks).
The plan is to fly to Venice and spend 3 days there.  We plan to take a train to Florence and stay there for four nights while taking day trips to Pisa, San Gimignano and Sienna. Since we'll be in Tuscany, we're planning on renting a car and staying two nights at an agriturismo before heading to Rome for the remainder of the trip (hopefully that will be another 4 nights).  We'll fly out of Rome.  Obviously we're just in the planning stages right now.  Does anyone have any ideas for us?

Travel Tip Tuesday

(Please note that this tip was pulled from http://www.alltraveltips.com/europetips.shtml)

• When traveling to Europe, consider off-season which is mainly from October to April. You will be able to save on airfare, and find more budget rooms.
• Use a guidebook. Guidebooks cost approximately $20 and will save you a lot of money. An up-to-date guidebook pays for itself on your first day in Europe and you will learn about best places to stay, eat and visit to get more value for your dollar.
• Use ATMs rather than travelers checks. You'll get your cash cheaper and faster. Note that they come with transaction fees, but you can minimize them by making fewer and larger withdrawals.

Top Ten List

Amanda's Top Ten Travel Adventures

(to do before she dies)

1. 
   
   See the Northern Lights
2. 
   
   Visit Jerusalem, Israel
3. 
   
   See The Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
4. 
   
   Stay at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (in a suite)
5. 
   
   Visit a Tuscan Winery
6. 
   
   See Paris at Christmas
7. 
   
   Ride a camel in India
8. 
   
   Visit my family's native country of Slovakia
9. 
   
   Spend two weeks on a volunteer mission in Africa
10. 
    
    Visit Chania, Greece

Jeff's Top Ten Travel Adventures

(to do before he dies)

1. 
   
   Visit Tiananmen Square, Beijing
2. 
   
   See the Terracotta Army (in a museum)
3. 
   
   Visit Great Wall of China
4. 
   
   Visit the Taj Mahal, India
5. 
   
   See the Northern Lights
6. 
   
   Travel down The Nile
7. 
   
   Visit Jerusalem, Israel
8. 
   
   Hike in the Canadian Rockies
9. 
   
   Visit the Great Spynx of Giza in Egpyt
10. Too see the launch of a space shuttle

Close to Home

Welcome to my Blog!

Although this isn't my first blog, it is my first blog about travelling!  The main purpose of this blog is to have something to remember our trips by.  You know what they say, once it's on the internet, it's out 'there' forever! 

As you can see from our 'Last Five Trips", other than Orlando, we've kept our adventures pretty close to home, but that's going to change!  Although I've travelled south many times, Jeff has never been outside North America.  Our goal is to see at least 10 countries by our 10th Anniversary.  Jeff thinks that'll be an easy task as he's already seen Canada and the US.  So this gives us nine years to see eight more countries.  Maybe I'm just overly ambitious (in a very expensive way), but I'm hoping we can squeeze in a few more countries by then.  Jeff and I have already booked our 1st Anniversary trip to St. Lucia in October.  We are getting really excited about it!  It'll be the furthest we've ever gone from home. 

I want to start this blog off by adding our journal from Orlando.  Since we still have a bunch of time before October (until I get to brag (who me?) about St. Lucia), I'm going to post one journal entry a day (or every other day) from Florida.  Please excuse us if the journal entry is overly cheerfull and obnoxious, you know how it is when your on vacation!  Similarily, if the entry is extremely boring to any of you, I apologize.  I realize that this probably isn't exciting to anyone but myself (I can imagine your 'bored out of my mind face'; similar to the reaction you get when you show random people pictures of your baby eating, sleeping, walking, crawling, etc.)

Please feel free to leave any comments, questions or tips for us to use on our adventures!  Here are some things you can look forward too (other than guaranteed boredom) as weekly additions to my wonderful (oh ya!) blog:

• Travel Tip Tuesdays
• City of the Week Thursdays
• Travel Quote Sundays

Cheers!

xoxo