Our second day in Mallorca greeted us with bright sunshine. After a restful night at Finca Son Pont, we got ready to have breakfast in this historic rural hotel. Tables were set up in the shady inner courtyard and we were going to have breakfast in the fresh air. We picked up some cereal, yoghurt, some fresh bread and locally ripened fruits and joined in the conversation with other couples who had sat down at the tables next to us. Two other...more
Our second full day in Mallorca started with an early morning stroll along the Pine Walk promenade in Port de Pollena, a beautiful seafront town on the northeast side of the island. The expansive Bay of Pollena was shimmering in front of us in different hues of blue and green. Walking along the pine-fringed walkway beside attractive hotels and villas was a great way of enjoying the morning. After about an hour and a half we sat down at our hotel,...more
Our location in Palma Nova on the western bay of Palma was very convenient with one exception: several of the hotel guests came home between 3 and 6 am in various states of inebriation and were hollering loudly to each other. Their incomprehensible utterings reverberated in the concrete hallways and inevitably woke me up. Just as I was ready to fall asleep again, another group of lager louts was coming in and making their presence known to everyone. Apart from that our little apartment at the Torrenova Aparthotel had been a great choice, because in the morning I could sit down on our large balcony overlooking the Mediterranean and enjoy a good home-made breakfast. The weather so far had been perfect and not a cloud covered the sky.Shortly before noon we started our drive to explore the western side of the island. West of Magaluf are a large number of tourist developments, many of which are still under construction. We drove on the C719 highway to Santa Ponsa, a pleasant resort town on the west side of the island. Santa Ponsa is particular popular with tourists from Ireland, Scottland, Wales, Holland and Germany. Many of the store windows feature English or German advertisements....more
As the late afternoon sun had come out, I was continuing my action-packed day in Prague. After a guided tour through Pragues Jewish Quarter, a savory and informative lunch in Pragues oldest kosher restaurant, followed by a tour of Municipal House, Pragues Art Nouveau masterpiece, I had just finished a boat tour on the Vltava River that gave me a...more
One of Pragues key attractions is the Jewish Quarter, the former Jewish ghetto of the city. So on this bright, yet blustery day I strolled from my hotel on Wenceslas Square over to Old Town Square to meet my personal tour guide for the day who would be meeting me for an informative tour of the Jewish Quarter.I met Richard just after 10 am a few...more
Always on the lookout for historical structures, I had planned a visit to another renowned Prague establishment: the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, established in 1932 at the height of Art Deco as Pragues premier hotel of that era. Martina Pavlikova from the hotel welcomed me and graciously took me on a tour of this Art Deco Jewel.The hotel was the brainchild of the original architect-owner Alois Krofta, who named the hotel after himself using the first two or three letters of his first and last name, and adding the final n, which was inspired by the Alcron, a boat from Greek mythology. It was Kroftas intention to build a hotel that would compete with the most splendid properties in Vienna and Berlin, which were more popular destinations at the time. He was successful and soon the Alcron Hotel became the preferred destination of statesmen, politicians and aristocrats.The hotels splendour became apparent right away when I entered the lobby: white Italian marble and decorative copper railings are luxurious relics of the thrilling times of the Jazz Age. The hotel was completely refurbished in 1998 under the guidance of renowned interior designer Maria Vafiades, using authentic Art Deco...more
On a somewhat cool and breezy day, bright sunshine woke me up and I stepped out on to the balcony of my room at the Hotel Jalta. This four-star hotel is located on Wenceslas Square, the main square of Pragues New Town district. To my left, at the top...more
My local experts Jitka Simkova, owner of Prague Walks.com, together with her colleague Karel had given me a great introduction to Old Town Prague. The day was getting late now and the air was definitely getting cooler.We had turned around in the...more
At the end of my delicious lunch at La Rotonde, the Art Deco restaurant at the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, my personal tour guide for my walking tour of Prague came to pick me up. Petra Bedlasova is a historian, artist and photographer, and she is...more
Many backpacking lovers often self assume that planning a trip to their favorite destination is a hard task that involves lots of labor and pain! These reluctant to take initiative steps guys daily visit their dream places in their...more
After the rain and drizzle of our first day in San Francisco, day two of our adventure began more promisingly: bright sunshine greeted us as we made our way by public bus to Washington Square, the heart of San Francisco's Italian-flavoured North...more
Our last day in San Francisco welcome us with bright blue skies and brilliant sunshine. In the morning we had already hopped on one of the citys moving landmarks and experienced a ride in the open-air cable cars that make this city such a favourite...more