G is for Gondolas

Venice has always been one of my dream destinations and it finally came through one fine day. This famed city with canals for streets is just glorious, day or night. Our visit was of course culminated with a ride on the traditional Venetian transportation, the gondola. There is just something romantic and wonderful with gondola rides. And I often associate them as a culmination of a romantic date.

Gondolas moored at the Grand Canal.

Gondolas and a view of the Santa Maria della Salute

A gondola ride comes with a hefty price at €80 for a 40-minute tour and €100 for an hour tour, but if it your first time in Venice, taking a tour down the Grand Canal, which we learned is 5-meter deep) or the smaller canals (which are 2-meter deep) is well worth it! The gondoliers, who are Venetian locals and can speak sensible English, will tell you lots of information about the City that you will never learn from elsewhere too!

The family with our gondolier, Marco.

Cruising through the smaller canals offered lots of views of old houses, residences, palaces and schools.

Our dashing gondolier.

Gondolas here, there, and everywhere!

I hope you enjoyed our Gondola tour. Want to see more GREAT G's? Click on the badge below!

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F is for Freudenstadt, Germany

The FOUNTAIN in FREUDENSTADT, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany.
This is Freudenstadt, a town in the Northern part of the famous Black FOREST in Germany. It was one FINE Sunday when the FAMILY decided to go for a drive through the Black FOREST and then stop by FREUDENSTADT for lunch and a little sightseeing at the Marktplatz, FREUDENSTADT's central feature which is surrounded by arcaded houses. It is one of the largest market squares in Germany with an area of around 11 acres.


The Stadtkirche (Town Church) at the South corner of Marktplatz was built in 1601-08 and restored in 1951 after WWII. It consists of two naves at right angles to one another, one for men and the other for women. It also has a lectern of 1140, borne by figures of the four Evangelists, and an 11th-12th century font.


And with a spacious green FIELD, our little one really had lots of FUN frolicking about!
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E is for Europa Park

For the letter E, I would like to feature Europa Park, the largest theme park here in Germany. A day in this park takes you different European countries such as Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Russia, Iceland, Great Britain to name a few.

Before the main gate of the park, you will be greeted by the great statue of Euro Mouse. There is something eerily familiar with their official mouse logo, don't you think?

Elves, clowns, mermaids, fairies and ente (duck) too!

Of course, there is the Enchanting fairytale world for the kids and the young at heart.

Exhilarating Mega Coaster Ride!

If you are the more adventurous one, why not try the Exhilarating Mega Coaster Ride? It would indeed be a jaw-breaking one-and-a-half- minute ride of your life experience!

ENTRANCE/EINGANG/ENTREE to the 4D Cinema.

And if you love movies, get into the 4D cinema and experience the 4th dimension! Get wet, feel the tremors in a 15-minute animated show that you will surely enjoy!

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D is for Dad

D if for Dad!

My Papa turns 59 today. And although we are miles apart, my heart celebrates this day.

Pa, this poem is for you:

Dad

He never looks for praises
He's never one to boast
He just goes on quietly working
For those he loves the most
His dreams are seldom spoken
His wants are very few
And most of the time his worries
Will go unspoken too
He's there.... A firm foundation
Through all our storms of life
A sturdy hand to hold to
In times of stress and strife
A true friend we can turn to
When times are good or bad
One of our greatest blessings,
The man that we call Dad.
Dad - © Karen K. Boyer

I miss you Papa! I love you! We all love you! May God bless you today and always.

My D entry for this week is Dad! Got a D to share? Join us at ABC Wednesday!

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C is for the Cupola di San Pietro

Visiting the Vatican City was a dream come true! Setting foot on the Piazza di San Pietro was a mystical experience. And climbing up the 320 winding and narrow steps up to the highest point of the CUPOLA was the highlight of our trip to St. Peter's Basilica, by far the most grand CHURCH I have ever seen! There was so much to see and absorb once you enter Saint Peter's Basilica so that you cannot decide where to start looking first: up or down, left or right. LOL!

The Cupola as viewed from inside the Church.

The mosaics.

Details of the Cupola as seen on the first level, just a few steps from the lift/elevator.

But anyway, back to the Cupola. It is by far, the largest and grandest dome on earth, and measures around 43 meters in diameter, and is Michelangelo's last great work. The dome sits on four great arches that stand on four massive piers, each with a perimeter of 71 meters. Inside the church, it is really high up so that it would take an elevator ride to get a closer look at the mosaics and the details of the dome.

A view of the Piazza from the top of the Cupola. A famous view among photographers.

The 320 steps to the top of the Cupola is a series of stairs, one that is too long and then, winding, and then too narrow. There was this really looonnggg stairs that goes round and round and round, you would think it was endless! You wouldn't know when to take one step or two steps. And being a dome, the walls begin to slope as you ascend. Try to imagine this with a one-year old in your arms.You would indeed be having vertigo or claustrophobia because some parts of the stairs are way too narrow. It was indeed quite an adventure to go up but I would still climb up should another opportunity arise.
*Do click on the photos for a larger view.

If you do get the chance to visit the Vatican, be sure to climb up the cupola. It would be worth all the trouble!

Join us on ABC Wednesday, now on its 5th Round!

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Z if for Zoo

Today's ABC Wednesday letter is the last letter of the alphabet: Z. My Z for this week is ZOO.

Allow me to take you into the wild for some of the great animals of the Zoos here in Japan. Showcasing here the animals from the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, and Zoorasia and Sea Paradise in Yokohama. I love going to the zoos here because they are well-maintained, the natural habitats are recreated for the different wildlife, very accessible even to the physically-challenged, and most importantly, the animals are well-taken cared of. A zebra would have been the perfect Z for my zoo animals but unfortunately, I never got to seeing them in my zoo visits. One day just isn't enough to see all of them!

Animals from the wild: tiger, gorilla, Japanese black bear and panda in Ueno Zoological Gardens.

The Red River Hog and the African Crested Porcupine in Zoorasia.

The Indian Elephant in Zoorasia and the Gorilla's Palm in mine. :D

The huge Pelican in Sea Paradise

Creatures of the Water: The penguin in Zoorasia,
Red Flamingo, Seaturtle and Polar Bear in Sea Paradise.

Wanna see more ABC Wednesday posts? More can be found here and here.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

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Y is for Yokohama...

It's Wednesday once again and this is my first ABC Wednesdays post for the year.

Today's letter is Y for Yokohama... the city where I live is one of Japan's oldest port cities. It is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Opening of the Port of Yokohama this year!

Allow me to give you a quick tour around this charming big city.

The Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, one of the oldest buildings here that is made of thousands of red bricks! The inside of the warehouse has been converted into a cultural hall, shopping boutiques, restaurants and novelty shops.

Photos clockwise:
1. The imposing Landmark Tower, Yokohama's famous landmark.
2. Wanna go for a roller coaster ride? It goes down under a dark passage. Eerie and exciting!
3. The Giant Ferris Wheel and Cosmo Clock at Cosmo World in Minato Mirai.
4. A View of the bay and beyond in Minato Mirai. Can you see the Marine Tower ahead? This photo was taken last year when I was only a few weeks pregnant.

L: The Nippon-Maru (the Sail Training Ship) at night in Minato Mirai.
R: A night view of Minato Mirai area.

The Yokohama Landmark Tower at night.

The penguins in Zoorasia (Yokohama Zoological Gardens) - a zoological park dedicated to the display and preservation of endangered species.

Clockwise:
1. The beautiful Yamashita Park on a fine Spring day. Flowers bloom in Spring!
2. This is one of the flower exhibition beds in Yamashita Park showcasing the beautiful spring flowers of Japan. Each spring, various landscapers and gardeners participate in this event and display their best spring produce in a very colorful and wonderful mix of flowers and greens!
3. This is very typical scene in Yamashita Park especially on fine days such as this... People from all ages come to the park to paint and capture the beautiful scenery, even dogs tag along!
4. A view of the port from Yamashita Park.

More ABC Wednesday posts can be found here and here.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

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