http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Kris-Chat/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Kris Chat en-us Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:49:58 +0000 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:49:58 +0000 This year's Annual Girl's Trip to Puerto Vallarta was fantastic We stayed at Velas Vallarta an allinclusive resort. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Jalisco/Puerto-Vallarta/blog-81357.html I've lived in Austin now for eight months Since I've been acting like a tourist in my own city thought I might share a few of my 'Best of Austin' pics. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Austin/blog-55144.html Monday morning I woke up after sleeping in past my intended wake up time quite sore from the miles we walked the previous day but refused to let that hinder me from walking the same amount or more for the second day in a row. My Swiss friends were off to work and so I was solo today.I arrived at the same central bus station as the day before and felt I had good bearings right away. I headed the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-50879.html I was traveling to New Jersey for work so I decided to take a couple of extra days to tour Manhattan while so close by. Conveniently my hotel in Secaucus was near a bus route that was a 30 minute ride into Manhattanrsquos Port Authority bus station. While waiting for the bus Sunday midmorning I met up with three Swiss men there on a marketing business trip which were staying at my same hotel http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-50881.html Today we visit Madridrsquos Palacio Real the Royal Palace built in the 18th century which is conveniently only a couple blocks away from our hotel. For me the exterior of the palace its architecture and decor and its viewpoint of Madrid was the most interesting thing. We of course wandered through the interior rooms that were open to the public but while nothing like here at home in the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/blog-8547.html Ready for our second 'summer adventure' Linda and I headed for Henderson and Las Vegas for another long weekend of fun. Since it was a holiday weekend we decided to get a jump on things and so came in late Thursday night. We checked into the Boulder Station hotel since we knew we'd just be sleeping there. The next morning we headed out to Henderson where we stayed the next three nights at th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Henderson/blog-9948.html The 'summer season' starts out with Linda and me taking a trip to Chicago one of our new favorite cities Our hotel was the Hyatt conveniently located on the Miracle Mile.We flew in Friday checked into our hotel and then headed to Rush Street for drinks and dinner at Le Colonial. The food there was delicious Afterwards we wandered down Rush Street trying to decide which of the many bars to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-9943.html We are off to Seville We departed from Madridrsquos Atocha train station traveling to Seville via the highspeed AVE train. We went first class which was a fun experience and included in our ticket cost was meal service including wine. It took us only a short 2.5 hours to get from Madrid to Seville.We arrived in Seville and had a short cab ride to our hotel. The Hotel Simon was formerly a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Seville/blog-8548.html This is our first full day in Spain and what a full day it ends up being Unfortunately I'm still sick but damn it I'm not about to miss out on the PradoAfter a good night's rest and a stop at the corner Starbucks....I know I know....we head out to walk to the Prado.Along the way we come to the Puerta del Sol the square central to Madrid's famous sights. We pass by the governorrsquos of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/blog-8543.html Today we tour the Seville Cathedral and the Barrio Santa Cruz old Jewish Quarter. Irsquom finally feeling 100 again yea So after breakfast we make the short walk over to the cathedral touted as being the 3rd largest in Europe. It is impossible to imagine how large it actually is unless you are there in person. The exterior is a fine example of Gothic architecture at itrsquos most imp http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Seville/blog-8621.html Today we tour the Alhambra Palace. We arranged 1000 am reservations while back in the states as all the guidebooks highly recommend. We were so glad we did because several other tourists we ran into were turned away when they tried to get tickets.This was my favorite thing and Angiersquos that we did on our trip. The Palacios Nazaries is the Moorish Royal Palace built in over a span of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Granada/blog-8623.html SaturdayWe decide to skip the train which would involve a connection and opt for the wiser choice of travel by bus from Seville to Malaga. The buses are more comparable to touring coaches and are quite nice for a bus. From the bus station it was a good 40 minute cab ride to the timeshare resort Dona Lola which is located in a remote area of Malaga. We are happy to find our room to be qui http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-8627.html We tackle our Tangiers today via the Coast Africa tour. We talked our new five girlfriends into joining us for the tour so on this day we are eight. Although still quite hot outside I wisely opted to wear jeans instead of my usual legbaring shorts knowing we are going to a country populated mostly by Muslims.This is the longest we will journey in a day trip as it took us about 3 hours by bus http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/blog-8628.html We start out the morning with train travel to Granada. Upon arrival we check in to our hotel the Alhambra Palace Hotel which is in close proximity to the Alhambra Palace.After settling in our hotel Angie and I decide to check out the cathedral which is a 16th century Renaissance building. The interior walls are covered with limestone making this interior seem much lighter in comparison to mo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Granada/blog-8622.html Today we tour Rondo a much larger Andalusian whitewashed village than Casares but with more sights to explore. Here we ooohrsquod and aaahrsquod the not to be missed view of the El Tajo the gorge and its 18th century gorge spanning bridge the Puente Nuevo which connects the older Moorish part of town with the more modern section. We also viewed the oldest bullring in Spain built in 1 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Ronda/blog-8630.html Our last day of fun Today we tour Gibraltar. Upon arrival we were met by minitour buses to take us on our 90minute tour of lsquothe Rockrsquo which wound itrsquos way up near to the top discussing a lot of the Rockrsquos political and military history with the following stops Europa Point the view point of the straits of Gibraltar and Morocco but we couldnrsquot see anything http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Gibraltar/blog-8631.html And our journey begins There are three of us for the '2005 Annual Girl's Trip' myself Angie and Peggy.Unfortunately I got the flu the Monday prior to our departure and as I'm traveling to Spain I am still sick I can't believe how long this thing has hanged on We arrive into the Madrid airport after a looong flight that began last night from LAX to London then London to Madrid at 830 p http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/blog-8532.html Today we tour the quaint lovely village of Casares itrsquos probably immediately apparent how much I enjoyed this tour. The ride up to it is about 40 minutes up through the Sierra Bermeja reserve which is gorgeous countryside and with skies full of eagles and other birds. The bus takes up a long windy road and as we approach our destination we turn around a bend and there is a breathtaki http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-8629.html