Going further into Hyde Park and reflecting about living in the USA

After my time of exploring the flower garden, I decided to walk towards this statue. It looked super important and I had to take a picture of it. The statue represents the British Empire and its strength. With everything that is going on now, I wonder if this statue will still be up. This was last summer, it’s crazy how things can change so quickly. Never even thought twice about statues like these. Which, I’m glad to be more aware of these issues.

Started going towards where the people were being people. I love people watching. Everybody was acting so genuine. Laughter with friends, you can tell Londoners live a nice life. When I say nice, I mean a life full of calmness. Although, in certain areas, there are parts of London that are busy just like any major city in the USA.

People sitting at the park photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Kept walking around to feel the moment. The differences in attitudes from New York City and London are very noticeable. I mentioned this before in another post. However, New Yorkers are very rude compared to the locals of this British city. It’s weird how living in new york has changed me. People say Londoners are rude and unfriendly. Try living in New York for a while. Nothing compares to the rudeness of the big apple. Afterward everywhere else, rude people seem mild.

Another view of the park photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I felt so at peace here. I always feel this way when I’m out of the USA. In the USA, lately there always some stressful event going. During the time I went here, there was a record high shooting in Chicago. Also, the feeling of not worrying about being shot by police or some crazy person. That calm vibe and feeling are expressed in the faces of the locals here. There are violent crimes in London that involve a gun. However compared to the USA, the numbers are a lot lower. According to the number of violent crimes per population.

Street lamp photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

It started to get a little dark. Saw this street lamp. It reminded me of all the videos I have seen about London. The lamp had a spooky and classic charm. Here in England, it rains a lot. A little too much for my liking. However, that feeling of being safe is worthwhile. I almost wish I could live here. Until I saw the prices of the apartments.

Stay safe everyone and remember to wash your hands!

Check out our eBook “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come true without breaking the bank. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!Here are links to hotels and other deals.For Hotels, make sure to click here. For apartments make sure to click here. For Resorts click here. For villas click here. For bed and breakfast and for Guest houses, make sure to click the link!

June 27, 2020 40

A step through time at Dublin’s Castle

In the heart of Dublin lays a governmental building on dame street. The history that these walls have seen is astounding. Never been someone who likes monarchs; however, I was convinced to come here by a few local I met. Main reason why I came here is to see the Irish history in person.

20190901_071743 — Dublin castle sign photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

When you first come into the Dublin castle area, you will notice a few gift shops. Didn’t bother going in them because I’m sure the prices are on the tourist trap side. There is another gift inside the castle that you can visit. They sell generic touristic items like key-chains and magnets. The other store outside the castle sold crystals and fine china. Things that would cost me more money to bring them back home. Imagine bring a large crystal on a trip to the USA and being stopped by a security guard at the airport. They check your bags and they find this giant rock of a substance they are not sure of. I’m a Hispanic of African descent, it’s best not to let them think I’m smuggling some new type of drug. Besides a few small crystals on necklaces or bracelets, I’m not going to take that risk.

20190901_072101 — A knight in front of the crystal store photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The whole outside of the castle really gave me that old age feel. During the times knights, dragons and wizards were a part of everybody’s daily lives. You could almost hear the classic Irish music playing as you walk around. Makes you wonder how many people passed by here. Picture the battles that were fought to maintain these walls. I mentioned this before, I wish we could have a time machine to travel back into the past. Where you can see the events happen in real time. One could dream right?

20190901_072327 — Entrance of into the courtyard of the Dublin castle photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I kept mentioning the history of the Dublin castle without actually explaining it. So, this castle was built when Ireland was on under the English rule. During the times of King John of England in 1204. Later being completed in 1230, this castle has been used as a governmental building. Even today, this is where the president of Ireland holds his meetings.

20190901_074254 — State dinning Room photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Once inside, you have to leave your bags and purses in a locker. You will have to pay to get in the castle. There are no videos allowed in the castle. You are allowed to take photos of course. Just remember to have the flash off.

The photo above is the state dining room, also know as the picture gallery. I’m guessing because people take a lot of photos here. This is actually the oldest part of castle. It was the only room to escape the many fires over the years. Also, it has never gotten any major modifications. Meaning, it has kept it’s original decorations. Truly, it’s like stepping in time.

20190901_074502 — State drawing room photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Now, the picture above is the State Drawing Room. I have no idea who the people in the picture were. I just knew they were important to the Irish history. Sadly, most of this room was destroyed by a fire in 1941. It was reconstructed in 1968, this room is probably one of the newest in the castle. Once a reception room for the king at the time, now foreign dignitaries use it.

throne at st. Patrick’s hall photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The throne room photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

What is a castle without a throne? An expensive mansion? The pictures above are the thrones I have found on my trip throughout the castle. I was expecting more to be honest. I guess movies have influenced my mental picture of what a throne should be. I was expecting a bigger chair with tons of gold on it. The one on the right is in the throne room. Apparently, this was built for King George IV’s visit to Ireland in 1821.

The throne on the left, I found in St. Patrick’s Hall. Which is the biggest room in the castle. It has a blue carpet on the floor. So, it’s hard to miss. I read this is the throne for the president of Ireland. Always cool to look at in person. When you are in Ireland, I definitely recommend taking a visit. It will be worth the money!

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels!

Ps. Got in contact with a few friends I met in Wuhan, China. Will explain it in Wednesday’s post!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

For Hotels, make sure to click here. For apartments make sure to click here. For Resorts click here. For villas click here. For bed and breakfast and for Guest houses, make sure to click the links!

February 8, 2020 18

Last day in Assisi, Italy

I was soon to be saying goodbye to Assisi for a second time. With a lot of culture connections to this part of Italy, leaving it behind would be hard again. This is something that gets harder the more times you do.

Church at Assisi photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The clam and sophisticated atmosphere is hard to match. The european small town vibe mixed with the Italian culture is diffcult to let go. In a poetic way, even the clouds were sad. Since it started to rain later on in the day.

Outside of the church of Assisi photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I was excited to be going to another part of Italy. However, I wanted to move here. Away from the stress, the hustle and bustle was nowhere to be seen.

On the hiking trial of hills of Assisi photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Hiking the mountains of Assisi is an activity that should be on every list. You get to walk the steps of Saint Francis. If you are Christian, it’s really awesome to see how this staint lived. For non-Christians, it’s a great way to see the city from a higher point of view. The mountain trial is for everybody.

The city of Assisi from the hills photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

As we ended our hike, it was time to hit the road. Assisi was going to be another memory. One that will always be on my mind when I want to relax.

Safe travels everyone and much love!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

November 27, 2019 10

My last day in Iceland

My final full day in Iceland appeared out of nowhere. There I was, thinking I had a few more days. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Spent the night before trying to capture the northern lights. That ended up in a failure. Didn’t have the right equipment on me to take a quality photo. As seen in the picture below, the only lights my camera captured were lights made by humans.

Trying to take photo of the Northern lights photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The morning afterwards was a little difficult to get up. I started to pack and get ready for the flight back home. Once done, I left my luggage in my rented locker and I was off to explore Iceland for a final time.

On another note, the awesome thing about Iceland is it’s features for tourists. One of those features are that most tours are at a reasonable price. Also, if you miss the Northern Lights, you have up to three years to go on the tour again. It is free and you can keep doing this until you see the natural phenomenon. Just remember the email to show the email receipt.

A small river photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Booked a last minute tour to see a few more sights around Iceland. Honestly, don’t remember what exact part of Iceland this was. Just knew it was somewhere in Southeast Iceland. Looking at the simple life of the Icelandic people, I noticed that fishing is a major part of their economy. I later learned that Iceland almost did not join the European Union. They had a fear of over-fishing from the other European members. That would cause their native fishes to go extinct. Of course, they made a deal and this freezing cold Island is now in the E.U.

Waterfalls photos courtesy of Hugo Morel

We ended up seeing more waterfalls. It’s hard to believe how many waterfalls are in Iceland. Still Iceland a has different charm to it. Most countries have big cities or human made tourist attraction. Iceland is very unlike other countries, all the tourist attractions are naturally made.

About 3 hours later, I went back to my hostel. Started exploring the surrounding areas again. Iceland is breathtaking, both with the bitter wind trying to freeze your lungs and the country’s beauty. It’s a shame that I will be leaving this behind but, this bitter cold is no joke! I will always be amazed to what this country has to offer.

Modern art of a viking ship photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

It’s hard to believe, how the Vikings used to travel around in this cold. Especially, traveling long distanced in the ocean. Iceland, I must visit you again. Next time when I come, it will definitely be during the summer time.

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

Check out our e-book “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come without breaking the bank: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe0

June 15, 2019 39

A sprinkle of Icelandic folklore

I don’t usually go into depth with the local folklore of the countries I visit. However, after exploring the lava caves and learning about the elves got me interested. Especially, with the local mythology having to do with the new Marvel movies. Yes, Thor is related to this Island way up North.

Lava cave tour guide telling us about the elves photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Mythology has never been my strong point. I was always been interested in the mythological adventures and thier characters. Sadly, at a young age I was discouraged to stop reading “fairy tales.” Coming from a Christian household, anything with multiple gods was against the house rules. So, it wasn’t until I was older that I got back into reading folklore.

The awesome thing about Iceland is that it’s a Nordic country. Meaning that it’s culture is similar to Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Yes, Iceland is home to the Vikings. All Nordic cultures share the same gods before christanity arrived. Having the Marvel movies being such a dominant force in Hollywood, the god Thor came to mind.

Being the god of lighting, Thor is claimed to be the protector of humanity. There are many gods like Odin and Loki. So many movies have been made out these gods from the Pre-Christian times. I could write 100’s of posts just on this topic. However to not get off topic, I will focus more on the elves of Iceland.

Icelandic elf photo courtesy of https://www.re.is/blog/the-hidden-people-of-iceland

From what are tour guide told us, Icelanders are obsessed with elves. It’s really engraved in their culture. When something goes missing, they blame it on huldufólk or the hidden people. That’s what the people of iceland call elves.

Hidden people Photo courtesy of https://icelandictimes.com/elves-in-iceland-the-hidden-people/

According to the local folklore, elves live among humans in a parallel universe. Icelanders are told to not throw rocks in fear of hitting one of the hidden people. Some of the Icelandic people truly believe that if you anger the elves/huldufólk, they will get thier revenge on you. By casting spells, damaging your car or causing you to get into a car crash. Not the elves we probably grew up to know and love. These ones are not as kind.

Elf running away Photo courtesy of https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulduf%C3%B3lk

Of course, not all Icelanders believe in this folklore. Actually, the mass majority believe the hidden people are just stories to scare children. Most believe these fairytales are used to keep children in good behavior. Looks like the locals are not fooled by the fairy dust. Our tour guide seemed to think otherwise. To me, it’s just another interesting part of the local culture.

Ps. Sorry for that random post that was untitled. Not sure why it was published. Must had a been a glitch with the wordpress application. Thank you all for the continued support!

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

June 8, 2019 18

Entering the smallest country in the world

Vatican city, the home base of the Catholic Church. A country of about 1000 people and the place where the Pope lives. Do not let the name confuse you, it’s actually a country.

Although, it’s not recognized by the United Nations as an actual country; Vatican city is self-governed. Besides speaking Italian, the Pope’s home is not apart of Italy nor Rome; even if it’s in the middle of Italy’s capital.

St. Peter’s square at sun rise taken by Hugo Morel

Entering this country feels more like an airport than immigration. You have to go through a metal detector. If someone acts up, they will have to deal with these guys.

The guards of Vatican City taken by Hugo Morel

To be honest, these guards I think are just for show. They aren’t really frightening nor to be taken seriously. Just look at those colors!

The entrance to Vatican City taken by Hugo Morel

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Much love!! Have an awesome weekend and stay healthy! Next time we will be exploring more of Vatican city.

October 13, 2018 30