Barcelona...I can Dream

I have always found the Spanish culture very intriguing. With that, I've been wanting to travel abroad to Spain. More specifically Barcelona, Spain. According to US News, Barcelona is the number two greatest city to travel to! I couldn't agree more! (Even if I haven't actually been there :)

Barcelona is a city full of history and beautiful scenery! There are numberless sacred churches and cathedrals to tons of beaches and laid back bars and shopping!

How beautiful is this? I mean, honestly?!

Things to do in Barcelona are endless! A tourist could begin their adventure by going to the Museu Picasso to see all of Picasso's gallery artwork. We all know those paintings are worth a thousand words and even more dollar signs! Then you could stroll on to local seafood restaurants for fresh seafood right from the ocean! One of the ones that has great reviews is called Botafumeiro. It has a great assortment of seafood served by waiters in nautical themed clothing. Of course, you must learn the flamenco! It is a great dance that many native Spanish people know.

The beaches are something else. They are gorgeous with white sandy beaches and crystal blue water.

The beaches are never ending! I would be there in an instant if I could!

Barcelona...maybe, one day!

Holy Moses!

Every year in the Netherlands, many people travel to see the Dutch Fortress (fort). To get there, you must cross a wide river. Recently, they built the Moses Bridge.

This bridge gives travelers a unique experience in order to reach the fort.

From a distance, it gives the illusion that people are walking on water. It is an act of God, some may say! (Haha!) How neat would this be to go visit???

Netherlands, here I come!



Under the Sea

In Dubai, Hydropolis is in full force. Hydropolis is the world's first luxury underwater hotel. It includes three elements: the land station, where guests are welcomed, the connecting tunnel, which transports people by train to the main area of the hotel, and the 220 suites within the submarine leisure complex. It is one of the largest contemporary construction projects in the world.

While all 220 of the hotel's bubble-shaped suites lie on the floor of the Persian Gulf 66 feet under the surface of the water, the twin domes of the hotel's concert auditorium and ballroom will break through the surface. The ballroom's retractable roof will allow guests to enjoy open-air events, with panoramic views of the coastline and the Dubai skyline when the weather's fine.

All in all, this is a place I would LOVE to visit. Who wouldn't want to stay at an underwater resort with big fishes and sharks swimming all around you? Needless to say, Hydropolis would be an adventure never to forget!

Maybe one day...

Taj Mahal

Something I always admired about India was the clothing style with the bright colors and jewels, but I also admire the architecture! It is so unusual and bright. I could only dream of one day going and seeing it for myself! One of the most influential and most popular architectural structures in India would probably be the Taj Mahal. It was completed in 1653. Needless to say, it is pretty ancient!

The Taj Mahal is actually located in Agra, India. It is known as an Islamic tomb.

The inside has many beautiful things. There is a screen which border the cenotaphs (tomb) that is made from eight marble panels. There are also several tombs where past king and queens reside.

 There is also a 300 meter reflecting pool bordered with flowers, greenery, trees and fountains.

All in all, I think the Taj Mahal would be an unusual place to visit. It would be an awesome experience to witness the different kinds of culture that India has to offer.



Viva Las Vegas!

During Fall Break, I ventured to the wild and crazy place known as LAS VEGAS, Nevada with my family and boyfriend. It was quite the trip to say the least. My parents decided to take me along with my brother, sister-in-law and boyfriend as I was the last one to turn 21. This trip was one to never forget! We stayed at the Flamingo!

It even had REAL flamingos!! Along with some other weird birds...

We did A LOT of sight-seeing as there is much to see in the Fabulous Las Vegas!

Is this the real Caesar's Palace?

The Venetian was GORGEOUS! So much to see and do including gondola rides and shopping at the Forum Shoppes.

We went to Old Las Vegas known as Freemont Street. It was pretty cool! They did a HUGE light show known as the Freemont Experience on screens that line the roof of the walking path. It was so cool!

We did countless other things but that would take up way too long for me to explain it all! Needless to say we very much so enjoyed ourselves!

Enjoy your weekend!

An Ice Place to Visit

I recently came across an article and some pictures about this place in Jukkasarvi, Sweden. I have heard of it and seen it on television, but I had never actually witnessed true and detailed pictures along with so much information explaining it. The place I am speaking of is called Sweden Icehotel. Though this is not necessarily a very creative name, don't let it fool you. This thought of an "icehotel" is anything but normal. The hotel is located 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The room temperature is 23 degrees. The walls, beds, chairs, light fixtures, even the glasses used in the bar are made of ice. You can't unpack your clothes because they'd freeze, and the thought of getting out of your sleeping bag to go down the hall to the toilet is enough to keep you awake all night.

Though these conditions are quite extreme and seem more than unpleasant (at least to me!), thousands of people venture to the Sweden Icehotel every year! This year it has 60 rooms and 25 fully decorated suites. These rooms cost anywhere from $291 a night to $653 a night! And to think, to to freeze your buns off and sleep on ice!

Here is one of the fully decorated suites! This is quite crazy and very detailed in the ice sculpting. Bet not many people can say they have slept in an ice bed or experienced anything, even remotely close, to this!

And, of course, being in Sweden, you wouldn't expect anything else less than a lavish Absolut Vodka Bar!

This is quite the unusual place! Even though I am not a fan of cold weather, especially not 23 degree sleeping weather, I definitely think it would be a cool place to visit if I were ever in the neighborhood. Who wouldn't want to say they have seen/stayed in an icehotel? Honestly!

That's all for today! Stay tuned for next week's post! I will be venturing to VEGAS!!! So you know I will have some good information and pictures! Enjoy!

German Excursion

My graduation present from my wonderful parents was a trip to Germany (and Paris, but I already blogged about that one)! My best friend from high school and I traveled to Germany to stay with our foreign exchange student friend and her family. Needless to say, it was quite the adventure! Germany is an awesome place! The people there are so friendly and very laid back. We were able to do so many things while we were there for the month.

The shops and restaurants are just as you see in the movies. Quaint and appealing to the eye. I enjoyed shopping very much. They have so many different items to choose from that are all very German-like!

This is a great picture displaying the shops!

We traveled to Koln (Cologne) to see the Kolner Dom. It is a cathedral that began construction in 1248 and was completed in 1880. It was the tallest structure in the world until the Washington Monument was built. The cathedral sees approximately 20,000 people everyday!

The cathedral was damaged in World War II due to aerial bombing. Some parts of the Kolner Dom are still not open due to this. It has some of the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen in my life. There is not a part of the cathedral that is without intricate detail. It is exquisite.

One of the treasures of the cathedral is that there are three golden tombs inside. They are called The Shrines of the Three Kings. It is traditionally passed on that the tombs contain the remains of the Three Wise Men and there 2,000 year old clothing. There is also a 10.5 ton bell inside! This bell is HUGE! It is the largest of the 11 bells the cathedral contains.

This is the view from the top of the Kolner Dom! It was beautiful and totally worth the 509 steps to the top in a spiral staircase barely wide enough for one person let alone two people passing up and down! It was gorgeous! If only we had seen it at night all lit up! 

Something else we did was hike up a mountain to see the Schloss Drachenburg Palace. It was quite the steep hike but the palace was beautiful!  

It was worth the hike there and back!

We did a TON of other stuff! Germany is such a wonderful place to visit. I would highly recommend it! I could even give you my friend's info and you could have your own tour guide! Thanks for reading my latest post! If you have any question or comment, please write one!

Sie sehen! (See you soon)

Ciao!

Some place that I have ALWAYS wanted to venture to is Italy. Who wouldn't agree with that? Italy has soooooo much history and every aspect from photos and videos is simply beautiful. If I were to visit, I would enjoy all the Italian food especially pasta and wine, I would go shopping in the Italian shops and get some very Italian fine clothing, and I would go see the sites of the famous cities.
In Rome, I would like to visit the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, the Trevi Fountain, etc...

I would also love to go to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It has 207 columns ranging eight stories high.

Last but not least, I would like to go to Venice, Italy. It is said to be one of Italy's top travel cities and one of its most beautiful. The city is made up of "streets" of only water. Venice consists of 117 bodies of land connected by more than 400 bridges over its 150 canals. The Grand Canal is like main street, cutting through the center of the city. Who doesn't want to go for a gondola ride through Venice? It would be simply romantic.

That's all for now, followers! I hope you have a wonderful day! Arrivederci!

Beachy Keen

This summer, I was lucky enough to go on a Mexican getaway!! My boyfriend actually purchased this trip as a Christmas present. Needless to say, it was the best Christmas present I ever received! We went to Playa Del Carmen. It is just about thirty minutes away from Cancun. It is so nice and clean and beautiful. The beach, of course, was my favorite part. And how could anyone disagree after looking at this picture?

We enjoyed our time on beach! It was definitely relaxing and never dull. I wouldn't mind being back right now!

We did do some other stuff beside just lay on the beach. We went shopping at all the cool Mexican shops on 5th Avenue. This is an endless street of shops and restaurants. We spent a whole day exploring. We even had some time to take some pictures!

Last but not least, we got to hold a baby lion cub and a weird little monkey. This was one awesome experience!

This was one vacation I will never forget! I can't wait to go back on Spring Break! Bring it on!

World's Most Unique Travel Destinations

Hello everyone!
The search engine known as "Yahoo" recently wrote a brief story about unique destinations in the world. The article is titled "World's Most Unique Travel Destinations." By clicking on this link, you can visit the site and see the unique destinations yourself. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-37497479
This page should be visited because these destinations are unlike anything I have ever seen before. From underwater museums in Mexico to the land of Madagascar where most of its native plant life is seen nowhere else in the world.

What are some of the world's most unique travel destinations you've been to? Leave a comment on this post! Have a great day :) 

Je T'aime Paris

Paris is literally one of the most beautiful places on the planet! When people say it is called the city of love, I totally see the romance of the city! The French food is delicious from crepes to croissants to French baguettes, it is all exquisite. The shopping on Champs de Elysees is amazing! There are huge boutiques and tons of designer stores like Louis Vuitton and Cartier fine jewelry. There is nothing like it anywhere else! And, of course, the sites of Paris are not even describable. They are beautiful and like nothing you have ever seen.
Let's start with the Louvre. This is the museum in Paris where the Mona Lisa resides. The Louvre has five wings to the whole museum and would probably take at least two full days to tour the whole entire thing. It also has this awesome glass pyramid in the court yard show below in the pictures. Check out the website! http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en










The next on the list is Notre Dame de Paris. This is a Catholic cathedral in Paris that is famous all across the world. The inside of the cathedral was gigantic. There were beautiful stained glass windows, beautiful wood sculptures and detailed iron work.












The Arc de Triomphe was one of my favorite places to visit in Paris. It beautiful with all the detailed sculpting. It stands in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Paris for all to see. In the center of the arc lays an unknown soldier's tomb with an eternal flame. This is to represent World War I and those who served during the war.












And last but not least, the ever famous Eiffel Tower. The tower stands at over 1,000 feet. It was, at one time, the tallest man-made structure in the world and held the title for 14 years until the Chrysler Building was built. The Eiffel Tower is so amazing. You can take an elevator type thing to the top of the building and see all of Paris and even dine in the restaurant. Words cannot describe how awesome of a structure this is or how truly large it is. I would go back to Paris just to see the Eiffel Tower in a heartbeat. We visited it everyday we were in Paris. It was well worth the trip!












And I will leave you with a picture of the Eiffel Tower at night when it lights up! This was also very amazing with the flickering lights every half hour. Paris is simply one of the most beautiful places on earth--I definitely see why it is called the "City of Love."















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Welcome!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog, The {Almost} World Traveler! I am very excited to start this wild expedition of blogging with you all. This blog will be focused on places that I have traveled (especially those that I LOVE), as well as some places I hope to venture to sometime in my life! Stay posted as I will write my first post tonight on a place that I absolutely adore, PARIS!

Don't forget to add your e-mail to continue to follow my blog! http://www.danielleg09.blogspot.com/

Chou for now! :)