Value of Vienna

     From informational tours to the sachertorte cake at a cafe, Vienna was full of surprises. The architecture was beautiful and the history was actually quite interesting. Nothing compared to old history classes in high school, which was not my best subject, after physics of course. The story of Sisi and how she was forced to marry at such a young age to a man, Emperor Lucheni, she had no desire for and spent the majority of her life away from him, how her son committed suicide and she the story of her death... just so interesting. On our last day, I had the opportunity to tour the Schonbrunn Palace which I was not about to pass up. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed to be taken, but I was seriously debating with myself whether or not to break that rule. I didn't. From the outside, the bright yellow of the palace that was a symbol of wealth, was never ending and a cheerful color compared to the grey clouds that were hanging above us, sprinkling ever so gently against our umbrellas and raincoats. The palace was definitely my favorite place we visited in Vienna. To me, palaces and churches are similar and yet different at the same time. Some people think that all palaces are the same, but to me that's churches. All churches look the same; granted there are different styles of churches, but they are ultimately the same. Not to mention, that I'm not interested in churches as much as I am interested in palaces. Palaces may be the same but they are detailed with intricate ornamentation from motifs to moldings, they are just beautiful. 

     I hope you enjoy the pictures I took on my trip to Vienna. If you ever get the chance to go, I say yes, go for it. Oh, and happy Tuesday!

     

Relaxing in the French Riviera

     A couple weeks ago, I went to the French Riviera. The group was small, no more than 20, and I enjoyed it. I loved being in a country where I could actually understand the people and communicate with them. I took advantage of every opportunity I had and spoke in French. I even befriended two of the receptionists and the owner of the cafe that we went to every morning. I did not spend a lot of money thankfully. I bought a couple souvenirs for my family in Nice, but nothing from Cannes or Monaco. In Eze I splurged on perfume from Fragonard. Was it an impulse buy? Maybe, but my mom and sister will love it... at least, I'm sure they will. The weather was cloudy in the morning every day but the sun made an appearance later on, and it never rained. The views of the cities, were nothing compared to Greece, but still better than most.

   MONACO, MONTE-CARLO:
     The first stops on our tour were the castle where the Prince of Monaco lives and the church where Grace Kelly is buried. We went to the Monte-Carlo Casino where a man pulled out a 500 euro bill as if it were monopoly money and then lost it within 5 minutes. Afterwards, I saw Rafael Nadal, the famous tennis player. For being in his 30's he is still pretty good-looking. Had I not seen a famous person while being at the Casino, I would have been upset.  

  CANNES:
      In Cannes, we spent the day on the beach and walking around. I ate a delicious shrimp salad at a restaurant and it was the best 25 euro spent that weekend.

  NICE:

      In Nice, I had a delicious breakfast that consisted of a hot chocolate, a croissant and chocolate crepes. Later, we went on a walking tour where I got separated from the group and spent the best 2 hours walking aimlessly around by myself. I loved it. I wasn't lost, I knew where I was and could have easily gone back to the hotel, but I was not about to walk away from the opportunity to venture on my own. 

     EZE:

     I have never walked on castle grounds before, so I was excited about doing that for the first time. It was beautiful!