http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Magicleaf/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Magicleaf en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:52:55 +0000 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:52:55 +0000 Lava by definition molten rock expelled by volcano during eruption.Lava and volcano are definitely not the vocabulary I need to use in my daily life. Growing up in Taiwan I am quite familiar with dead volcano. Now living in a metropolitan area of Houston lava and volcano seem so distant impossible unimaginable. Until my trip to Big Island where I accumulated many many of the once in a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Big-Island/blog-439942.html Now this is what I called a real adventure.Standing on the Green Sand beach two miles from Ka Lae South Point admiring its rare beauty I can't believe we made it here. Twenty four hours ago I didn't even know the existence of such thing green sand beach. See I am one of those people who just don't have time and quite lazy to have a planned itinerary. I devoured the entire book of Bi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Big-Island/blog-439915.html A day in Luxembourg City the most beautiful balcony in Europe. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Luxembourg/Luxembourg-City/blog-356550.html Bruges....I like its meandering canals narrow cobblestone streets and magnificent squares. It's quieter and more romantic than Brussels. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-356553.html I still had the book Paris 1999 sitting on my bookshelf collecting dusts. It took me nearly 10 years to get to Paris. School work money always get in the way.......Finally I am in Paris city of light city of romance and cit of crepes. We over indulged on Nutella crepes. Few days in Paris was a memory of lifetime. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-325429.html I have train narcolepsy. Mysteriously I have always managed to wake up right before my destinations. When I opened my sleepy eyes today I have arrived the capital of cuckoo clock Triberg. Triberg is also the capital of tourism in Black Forest region. We were fortunate enough to escape bus loads of people. The advantages of traveling during off peak season. The waterfall was beautiful but no http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Baden-W-rttemberg/Black-Forest/blog-341370.html December 31 1999 we had a blast at the millennium celebration at Magic Kingdom. Today the thirtysomething me had a blast at Epcot. Vacationing wasn't the purpose of this trip. But we all agreed that we just had to squeeze out some fun time. The moment you step out your arrival gate at the Orlando International Airport the allure of Disney is ubiquitous. There is something about Disney th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Florida/Orlando/blog-353487.html It is no doubt that winter in Chicago is punishingly cold. The windchill like knifes cut through your skin without any mercy. The lake looks arctic. Snow storms icy roads....... But I've always found ways to enjoy winter in Chicago. This year is no exception ChristkindlemarketChristkindlemarket located at the Daley Plaza has been a Chicago holiday tradition since 1996. Decorated lavishly http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-349997.html I love Chicago. I love window shopping at the Magnificent Miles.I love doing my Sat long runs at the lakefront trails.I love the buildings and the stories behind each one of them.I love the endless summer festivals.I love having four seasons here Always delighted to see flowers blooming in the Spring just can't stand the bursts of heat waves in the Summer time witnessing that beautiful fall co http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Houston/blog-347678.html We grabbed the Map for the Young Travelers and quickly located a Frietkot fries shack nearby the hostel. The early morning train ride from Luxembourg to Brussels had left us hungry. Yes our very first stop in Brussels was a fries shack The crispy fries with mayonnaise or curry sauce were absolutely delicious. Who cares about the fact that they are fattening As far as I was concerned http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-341316.html We spend an afternoon visiting Schloss Schwetzingen the summer residence of Elector Carl Theodor 17241799. I would love to have a summer residence with beautiful garden like this tooThe garden design uniquely reflected both the French formal style and English natural style. Several weddings were going on in this afternoon. We watched hundreds of red balloons released into the blue sky to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Baden-W-rttemberg/blog-340308.html It was a bit of culture shock when I arrived at Heidelberg. BadenBaden was elegant and clean. Heidelberg was chaotic not so elegant and not so clean. Nevertheless it definitely has its charm and beauty that attract so many visitors yearly. Heidelberg Schloss landmark of Heidelberg sits on a hill overlooking the Neckar river. I was fascinated by this majestic ruin and its eventful history http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Baden-W-rttemberg/Heidelberg/blog-340062.html I firmly believe that vacation calories just don't count because when you start counting then you miss a whole lot of good food and adventure. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-339040.html As the train took us towards Frankfurt Main Hbf from the airport E and I were so puzzled. How can we be the only 2 people riding the train Looking out the window there were only 3 people walking very slowly on the plate form. It was 800 Friday morning. Where is everyone Where is the rush hour and traffic jam We finally realized it was a public holiday. I don't like public holidays in Euro http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Frankfurt/blog-330467.html Canals crooked buildings bikes sex and the periodic smell of weeds in the air. Amsterdam is truly a unique and diverse city. The MarketsI had the most fun in the markets It was definitely worthwhile to spend sometime walking through Albert Cuypmarkt Bloemenmarkt and Waterlooplein. At Waterlooplein I found quite a few interesting things that are not legal in the U.S. There were also charmi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-336180.html It is kind of hard to completely recall my Munich experience since I was under the alcohol influence quite a lot. Here is a list of things we didOktoberfestSelfguided Munich historic walking tour with a lot detour to cafes Visited Hofbrauhas at 1000 amExperience The Best of Life is Wurst I think this is a catchy line from an Australian commercial according to this guy we met in Munich. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-336182.html If there were a place that I can be stranded for few days during this trip I wold pick BadenBaden with no second thoughts. I love its elegant streets with unique boutique shops perfect for window shopping. It has a very classy building Kurhaus that housed its famous casino. The building was inspired by Palace of Versailles. Its interior decor is also very elegant quite different from tho http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Baden-W-rttemberg/Baden-Baden/blog-336890.html It was a perfect fall weather for hiking although the hike to Neuschwanstein was steep not easy. After climbing the hills the ultimate fairytale castle stood there welcoming our arrival. Wow was the word I used when I saw the castle. This is where a fantasy did come true. The romantic castle was build by King Ludwig II from 18691886. The construction stopped with the king's death and it w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Neuschwanstein/blog-336183.html I hardly had any chance to run in solitude and never had a chance to run through country roads.It was amazingly refreshing. All I could see was different shades of green.All I could smell was the freshest air mixed with the earthy fragrance from soil and grass.All I could hear was the music orchestrated by birds insects my breathing and my feet pounding the trail. One is a lonely number but I f http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Indiana/blog-320681.html Location Kickapoo state parkDistance 10KThis is the toughest 10K race I've done so far There were 3 large uphills and 3 large down hills on the course. To complete a 10k race we had to run two loops outch that is a total of 6 hillsIt was a cold Saturday morning. Prior to this race I spend most of time running indoors to getaway from the snow. I have been so used to flat course. Runn http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/blog-325112.html