Florence, Italy

After a long overnight drive, we finally made it to Florence, Italy. It is the city of art and culture!

My first impression of the city was that there were a lot of naked bodies. The Italians really like the human body at its purest form. It was just awkward having a minor with you and they are asking, “what’s that horn hanging between his legs?” The only real response you can say is, “It’s nothing important child, let’s keep it moving.”

There was tons of art, as art is everywhere in this city. I am not passionate about the arts; however, there was someone with us who was and he pretty much informed us on everything.

Our volunteer tour guide told us that Florence was one of the centers of the Enlightenment movement in Europe. The art made during that time was mainly focused on religion and the human body.

When in Florence, make sure to check out the Florence cathedral. It’s hard to miss. It’s the building with the red dome. It’s truly a beautiful place inside and out.

Another site is the town hall. Our volunteer tour guide told us something about the flag on the building being amazing. Truth be told, everything he saw in Italy was amazing to him.

(All photos were taken by Hugo Morel)

Thanks for reading, next time we will be in Assisi, Italy.

July 21, 2018 37

Just wanted to say thank you

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say thank you for your support! We reached over 1340 followers!! Another awesome milestone accomplished! We have so much more content for you all that we can’t wait to share!! Places like Europe, Asia and Africa! Have a great weekend and stay safe!

July 20, 2018 6

Genoa, Italy and the leaning tower of Pisa

After a crazy up hill drive with very narrow roadways, we made it to Genoa, Italy.

Although we were in the outskirts of the city, you can still feel the atmosphere. This part of Italy was a lot cooler in temperature.

The view was incredible and totally worth the drive. I have never seen such natural beauty. It made me feel like I was living in a painting.

In the photo above, you can see parts of the city.

I really enjoyed this part of Italy. I felt breathless from all the views. Don’t recommend coming here on a tour bus though. Since the roads are very narrow. If you are traveling in the mountains, bring a smaller car for safety reasons of course.

Oh yeah!!! By the way, the tower does lean in Pisa!

Next time we will go to Florence.

*All photos were taken by Hugo Morel.

July 10, 2018 3

St Anthony of Padua

Just a little warning, in Italy there are a lot of churches!

Now that is out of the way, the small city of Padua has a very relaxed atmosphere. *hint* take notice of how ironically the last two sentences were written (this is where you were supposed to laugh).

The city itself is very small compared to other famous Italian cities. Not many attractions here. Most tourists come here for the church. Also, most of the citizens here have never moved. There are generations upon generations living here.

The buildings in this city are very colorful. These type of colors are hard to find in the usa, if you live in the northeast or the Midwest.

The city has an interesting blue trolley/light rail system. It’s the city’s main way of transportation. There were not much cars on the road. A few cars here and there, this city seemed like a metropolitan that walks.

Now to the main attraction of this small city, the church of St.Anthony. Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He died in Padua and made the city famous. Catholics pray to St. Anthony when they need to find something. He is the saint of lost things. As you can see from the photo below, majority of Padua’s tourists end up here. Tons of tourists traps here. They will sell overpriced items to any of the tourists that takes the bait.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post. Sorry about posting it so late. I tried a few times last week to post this. Somehow everytime, the post would get deleted. Anyways, have a safe week and stay healthy.

January 17, 2017 12

Finishing up Venice and 2016

After eating our wonderful lunch, the tourist parts of Venice awaits.

Walking around Venice, you can not help but stop and enjoy the architecture. The photo above makes you feel like you are in the 1200’s.

The picture above is St. Mark’s square and Basilica di San Marco in the background. Basilica di San Marco is one of the most famous churches in Venice. The architecture of the church is the left over memories of the byzantine empire. Which is something I hoped to see more in 2017.

Well, this is something that is very touristy. Being in Venice, there is no excuses for not going on a gondola. It’s part of living in the moment. Something I learned this year.

I really loved how the homes are so close to the water. It’s hard to see this anywhere else in the world.

So y’all, we reached the end of the year. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your support. I have many new ideas for this blog. Also, I have been invited to go to Portugal and Sweden. Hopefully, i could go to both. I do plan to travel to Turkey in 2017, as well.

Once again, thank you! This is all of you!

Never thought my life was interesting and now I have you all reading posts about my travels. Thank you so much for the support!!!

Have a happy New Year! Stay safe and healthy!! Enjoy time with your family and loved ones!

December 31, 2016 14

The foods of Venice

Italy is known for it’s food and it’s rich history. Different parts of Italy have different styles of food. Venice brought it’s style and gave me something to remember.

The best pizza in my travels of Italy was in Venice. The pizza here on is another level compared to the other parts of Italy. Just remember, pepperoni is not called pepperoni here. The right word is salami. I can talk for days on how good the pizza was here. Let’s just say, new york style, chicago style and any other type of pizza style will not compare. This feels like pizza’s true motherland.

The pasta here was fantastic! Honestly, I had so much pasta in Italy that it was hard to say which one was the best. All of it was good! Truth be told, I ate pasta everyday while in Italy. No complaints!

The gnocchi was really good! It’s potatoish pasta. That really is the only way to describe gnocchi. When you take a bite, you taste the potato. I loved it and enjoyed it. First time trying gnocchi and I was not disappointed.

How can I not mention gelato while being in Italy? This lemon blessing was no expection to the Italian food hype. It was truly a gift from heaven. Took my time eating this for obvious reasons.

Thank you for taking your time to read this! Much love! Have a merry Christmas and a happy new years! Also, happy holidays!!! Next week, we will finish up Venice.

December 23, 2016 24

Benvenuti a Venezia!

It took awhile, but we finally made it to Venezia! Drove/skipped through Austria overnight. Sorry Austria, maybe next time. I know you are a beautiful country that’s worth more than one layover and an overnight drive.

Being able to come here has always been a dream to me. To make this into a reality gives you a feeling of being on top of the world. This city is filled with beauty.

Honestly, never once did I believed, while growing up in the suburbs of San Francisco, I will be able to see this city with my own eyes.

We ended up taking a ferry to get to the main part of the city. Venice has a long highway that connects to the ports. This highway is the only way to get to Venice by car. The picture below was taken as we drove on the highway. This was the side view.

Once we were in the ferry, you could see the landmarks of Venezia. Below is St Mark’s Campanile (the redish tower) and Doge’s Place (the tanish square building on the very right).

After we landed, a rush of emotions swept over me. The historical city was under my feet. It was unreal! As you see below, the flag of Venice.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post! Next week, we will explore more of the city and enjoy the food. Much love! Enjoy your week and stay healthy!

December 17, 2016 18

Munich, Germany

After leaving the Czech Republic, we arrived in Munich, Germany. The road trip was not as fun as we would had liked. A few bees went into our bus. Let’s just say, we were freaking out. It took an older Chinese gentleman to handle the bees. We are fearless youngsters!

Apparently, the thing above is a car.

Taking the subway in Munich was awkward. It was so quite! You can hear a pin drop. Whispering was close to yelling. No one was talking to each other and no music performers. It felt dead compared to all the other countries’ subways I have been to.

Throughout this city, you can feel that people were tense. By the time we arrived, there were several terrorist attacks that occured. Everybody was somewhat fearful. Even with all the unfortunate events, we still had a great time. A lot parts of Germany made me feel like I was playing an elder scrolls game.

Germany is a beautiful country. Unfortunately, we were only there for one full day. Make sure to stop by Munich during October. At this time, there is a festival happening. Just remember, this is the beer capital of the world.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post! Next week go to Italy! Much love and stay safe!

December 10, 2016 21

Taking the subway in Prague

If you are a long time follower, you would know how much I love subways. The whole thought about going to a different country, and/or city, and seeing how locals travel around is so fascinating to me.

It all starts in the morning with some potato dumplings. Those dumplings would be awesome with some cheese. They are still good regardless but with cheese, they will be an awesome cheese filled dumpling! The only thing better than that is a cheeseburger from In and Out.

Prague’s subway system is very modern. It felt like a fancier version of New York’s subway.

When taking the subway make sure to have this ticket with you. If you lost it, you will have to buy another ticket to get back to where you are staying.

This reminded me of star trek for some reason.

This is what stood out to me, the subway walls have carvings. Let’s see them try that in New York.

I love trolleys and light rails. Reminds me of my hometown, San Francisco.

Thank you all for reading this post. Have a safe week and stay heathly. Much love! Next time we will be in Germany.

November 18, 2016 10

Prague, The city that took my breath away

Has something so beautiful ever made you lose your breath? Well to me, that is Prague. The most beautiful city in Europe.

It’s hard to explain walking in the streets of Prague. One minute, you accidentally walk into a sex shop and the other, you forget how to breathe. Very turn takes your breath away.

As we walked around the city, we stopped by Saint Vitus Cathedral. I have never been so excited to be in a church. It was so beautiful!

It’s times like these, remind why I love traveling. Culture is so interesting! It’s hard not to fall in love with this city.

We walked on the Charles Bridge. The scene was something else. This bridge felt very alive. It was a lot different from the bridges in america. The bridge seemed like it was made for walking.