Irish pub videos

Top of the morning !
I was surfing around youtube and I found these videos from the Musical Irish pub crawl. This will give you a taste of what it was like to there ! Which was just amazing !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOaZiAv-d7o&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE8-GXwf-qU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEAnajfR0gw&feature=related

This is the Oliver St. G bar in Dublin on the Temple Bar Rd. I was there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOaZiAv-d7o&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0b8nEAsL2k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoF89tqjSWk&feature=related

These are some videos that other people posted on YouTube from the
Musical pub crawl.

More pics from trips soon

Hello to everyone ! I am going to post some pics during the holidays of my 12/04 trip to Europe and from Hawaii.
Tricia

Tricia's Travel book... now available =)

Hello !
On this trip I took a book that Mallorie designed for me of photos of our beaches here in Florida. I also incuded photos of Hawaii where I'm from. It was a hit ! It's a small 5*5 hardbound book (like a coffee table book in a bookstore only smaller) and when people asked where I was from I showed them the map on the front. Then they could browse through the photos on the inside. Just part of the cultural exchange.

Tricia
http://destin-beach-portraits.com

How I traveled...

*** Shameless plug here ** the sign on the wall behind me is for my business
http://destin-beach-portraits.com

Dear Brave and Adventurous people !

The following is how I planned out my trip to Europe. I used the Rick Steves website and guidebooks for basic information. Since I had been to Europe (and India in 98), I had a bit of experience to go on this time.

I flew to Rome with my Delta sky miles and stayed at the Alder/Bellsuite hotel. It was excellent and in a good central location. When you arrive at the Rome airport just go down to the rail station, purchase a ticket and ride into Rome. From the main station go to Pzzia Republic and then left down National street. The next day I took the on / off tour (you can find them back at the bus station which is beside the train station) just for an orientation. I went around the circuit twice so that I could catch most of the commentary. The next day I made plans to go to places that the bus doesn't go. The Treviso fountains, Pantheon, etc.

I took the train back to the Rome airport and then flew to Vienna. I think next time I will just buy a euro rail pass. It's just alot of hassle going through the airport security. But anyway, I stayed in the old town Vienna at Hotel Schweizerhof. Again a great place and location but it was a challenge to find. Again, you need to take the express train from the airport to the city center. I took the on/off tour and then stopped at different places the next day. The best place for lunch was in the Mozart gardens. There is a terrace resturant that overlooks part of the gardens. I wish I had planned for more time in Vienna. I didn't get a chance to go to the museums or tour the Opera house... well something to do next time. Also the Vienna orchestra takes a summer break in August so plan accordingly.

Then I went back to the Vienna airport to pick up the rental car. I have to say I did pretty good for not being able to read any of the road signs. I did get confused trying to get on the autobhan out of Vienna but once out I did fine. Here's another Tricia Travel tip: You only get ONE chance at an exit because there will only be ONE sign for it. I just followed the sign to each town as I went along. Along the Melk to Turrin area is just amazing. Lots of vineyards and small towns along the river. But do make reservations ahead of time because I almost got stuck without a room. Also be sure to ask what kind of gas the car takes (disel or unleaded)and be sure NOT to cross the border. I stayed at the Hotel Post in Groller kg . It was a wonderful hotel across the road from an alpine lake.

After the Danube I drove down the (or up ... as the case may be) to the alpine lakes just southeast of Salzburg. That was very beautiful. Besure to drive during the day to take in the scenery. I stopped in Halstatt that night. The best shopping was in Halstatt because it was mostly local handicrafts. The town looked like something from a movie set. Very clean and picureisque. The next day it rained as I drove towards Salzburg. It was tough finding a room their because of the festival going on. I didn't think it would be quite that hard but I really had to check lots of places for a room. In Halstatt I booked a room through the tourist info place. I stayed on the lake at Gasthof Simony. My room was on the top floor (lots of stairs) but it was worth it for the view.

THe next evening I stayed outside Salzburg and rode the bus to town. I stayed at Hotel Unterberg. It was located next to the cable car lift that takes you up into the mountains. Good location. I didn't care for the hour bus ride. The hotel was very nice for the price 64 Euro. But the front desk wasn't helpful nor friendly.

I did find a room finally next Residenceplazt( near Mozartplaz) Which again, can't beat that location. I dropped the car off at the Salzburg airport and took a taxi to town. It was easier than the train and the same price. I stayed at Hotel Am Don. I went to the ticket off which is in Mozartplaz (the tourist info is a seperate but a great place to go to too). I got lucky and scored a ticket to the Salzburg festival... they usually sell out of tickets in Jan for events. I had to hurry around and find something nice to wear and I was glad I did. It was a very swanky event. Although Salzburg wasn't cheap I kept hunting and found a dress and shaw. I took Bob's sound of music tour and that was excellent. They also take you to the Luge ride. The next day there were no tickets available for the festival but I did go to a concert in the church beside the Mirbelle gardens. It was flute and piano. excellent ! I was going to go on Maria's bike tours (which meets at the mirbelle gardens ) but I was just too beat.
The next day I bought a ticket to Germany via train

For myself personally I was just in Germany to train my recently promoted assistant to staff photographer. So I only toured the immediate area where she lived. Which I have to say was very beautiful. See my website for portraits in Europe to be posted by Dec 08 http://destin-beach-portraits.com

We then decided to drive to Paris. Which I have to say the GPS (called TomTom) was very handy. I will definitly get one next time with a rental car. It gives you a map and verbal instructions. I didn't realize how many toll road there were to Paris. Where I live in the south we don't have very many of those. We did get stuck in the wrong toll booth once but then we figured out that it took credit cards. We drove to Versailles and stayed at Cheval Rouge. The GPS found it for us.

Then it was hard to figure out parking her car in Versailles the next day. We had planned to take the train to Paris but ... also the parking was expensive. So we drove into Paris and the parking was even worse. But we found a space and then
TT tip : parking is free on Sunday in Paris (that's what the front desk lady said)
We stayed at Grand Leveque on Rue Cler . Wonderful place.

In Versailles we bought the museum pass which was great because we could skip the ticket line.

At the Eifel Tower the light show comes on late in the summer. 11pm, 12midnight and 1am.

I took the Big Fat bikes tour and it was great. I did the day and night ride. At night we got to ride around the Louve... there was a cello playing and it made it hauntly errie. !!!

The latin quarter was the place to be at night.

You can't rent a bike with an American credit card. You have to have a European one with a chip in it.

It's not worth getting a week's subway pass because they expire every Sunday. Unless you are there on Monday and plan to stay for the week.

From Paris I took a Ryan air flight to Dublin. But I wish I had taken the train. It's a long ways out to the Beavuis airport and you have to leave 3 hours early for the flight. But it was a good flight.

In Dublin, I did the hop on and off tour. I would take the one with the driver who narrates the tour.. while driving. That was the best hop on/off tour I've been on. Very funny. I stayed at Arlington Hotel but I think next time I would recommend Oliver St. Gregory's place. It's in Temple Bar and upstairs is Irish music every night. You also don't have to walk to far for shopping and food. I bought some very beautiful Irish sweaters too. I also took the same company's Malhide tour. Malhide is an 800 year old castle north of Dublin. It was nice to get out into the countryside.

Also everyone should go on the Musical Pub crawl tour. That was the highlight of the trip !

Then I flew to London on Ryan air. Good flight but Stanstead is so far away. I took the train to the grand central station and then the tube to Victoria Station. That was pretty easy. I stayed at Cherry Court B &B. Excellent location to the tube and for flying out of Gatwick. I did the on off tour to see the highlights. Everything is very spread out in London and walking was well.. very long. But the tube is quite expensive. I think the next time unless I'm planning on staying in England longer I'll just do a day trip there. They are not on the euro nor on the eurorail system.

I flew out of Gatwick (which was a real pain) on to Switzerland. I landed in Geneva. And I just took a direct train to Zurick and stayed there two nights and then flew home. I did the greyline tour (which was the best one there) They did a trolley ride and then my ticket included a train trip into the mountains... The Top of Zurick. There's also a hotel up there. Lets see I'll have to look up where I stayed at there. In Zurick I stayed at hotel iPR group. Division iPR house. It was actually a very nice place. I wish I had my own bathroom there but otherwise it was close to everything. There were shops and eateries. I would like to have had time to take the choclate train and shopped in the old town. But it was time to go home.

I did this whole trip on my own except for the week in Germany and the weekend in Paris. I had a blast and if I can do it so can you. There's no need to wait for someone to go with you. And besides, you can do what you want, when you want to do it... or change your mind !
Tricia

Wrap up

** the photo is out the window of the airplane. nice clouds huh

Hello !
I am going to go back through my posting and add more to each entry. The keyboards in Europe were different for each counrty. The letters are in different places and the symbols were different and it was a challenge to find the symbols I needed . LOL.

I had a great flight back. Good weather. Overall for the trip the weather was really nice. Just a couple days of rain, or.. just scattered rain. It was an amazing trip.. I sometimes think I can't belive I pulled it off.

There were actually lots of solo women out there traveling. I'm glad to do this while I'm young and not 80. I got an execellent workout walking and climbing stairs everywhere. Europe... the ultimate stairmaster LOL. I think even the muscles in my toes have definition now. LOL.

I have to say though if it wasn't for the fact that I needed to do laundry and take some warmer clothes I probably would have kept going.

I am working on a business plan now to take my company international. I'm going to set up photographers around the vacation hotspots in Hawaii, Florida, and Europe (to start with). For professional family portraits on vacation. So next year I hope to stay in Paris for July and August for 6 weeks. If you want to come visit, you can reserve a space on my couch. =)

As soon as I figure out how to post photos on here I will ! I think I can post video too. I will work on it this weekend

Boujour, Averi Derchi, Gost got, bye, luck of the irish, yodel to ya'll !!
Tricia

Yodel lay he hoo , Swiss alps

Insert yodeling here ***

Hey ! Well I landed in Geneva and decided that since I only had one day I would just go straight to Zurick for 2 nights then fly home. So I took a train through the alps and found a hotel room in Zurick.

I took the town tour and found a swiss choclate shop and other handicrafts. Then I took the train to the " top of Zurick". There is a hotel up there with a look out tower. It was very quiet and peaceful the perfect way to finish a great trip.

Tricia

** pic captions: Myself in the new town of Zurick while on the greyline trolly tour and the other one was from the "top of Zurick" in the mountains

Lefty London

Hey ! I'm back now but I didn't have inernet access to finish my blog while in Europe. I am going to post an entry for each country and then go back to each blog and fill in with more " stuff" . And also about where I stayed and how I did it.

I landed in London ( insert British theme music here). It's the island off the coast of Ireland . Ok, I got that from the singer at the Irish pub but I thought it was funny.

The weather was beautiful !!! They have been having lots of rain and I was worried sightseeing would be limited. But I did the hop on hop off grand tour of sights. Big Ben, Buckingham palace, Kensingston palace, Tower of London, the "current" London Bridge (the original is actually out in our AZ I believe), ferris wheel, Westminister Abby, St. Paul's cathedral. I didn't get a chance to go in to most places. They were very spread out and I had limited time. I went to the Globe theatre... but as luck would have it they didn't have a Shakespere play going on that afternoon they had a play about the American revolution !! lol. I thought that was pretty funny. I did go to the Keningston Palace gates to see the Princess Diana memorial. It was kinda surreal being there. Ya know you see it on TV so much but to actually be there was kinda like... being in your TV set.

But I have to say the saddest thing was that I missed the Hogwarts express by one day. I forgot that I landed there on Sept 1... but I didn't make it to King's cross station till the morning of Sept 2.... but I did get my pic with my cart half way through platform 9 3/4. Which I'll be posting later.

Well off to hike the swiss alps.... and some yodeling.
Tricia
PS) that left hand driving really freaked me out. LOL .

** pic captions: myself trying to get through platform 9 and 3/4. The British airways London Eye ferris wheel, speaker corner (where the condemed were allowed to have their say before hanging. now anyone can stand on their pedestal to have their say), the london bridge, Diana's memorial at Kensington palace, and Big Ben

luck of the irish

top of the morning to ya,
i had great day and a half in the emerald. i toured the city and then went to the country side to see malhide castle. most of their art gallery and museums were free so i went through a few. i really enjoyed the evening irish gigs around temple bar area. the last evening i did the musical pub crawal tour that a couple of musicians host. they talked about the different types of songs \; reels, gigs, hornpipes, polkas, and the time signatiure they were in. they said all of the music is oral and learned and passed around the countryside... kinda like a slow email smile.
mostly the traditional methods are exactly opposite of the good habits were supposed to not do in western classical music. for example you pound your foot with the music not clap your hands.. that interfers with the drinking after lol.

i have had great irish luck this trip... only 2 days of rain. it a beautiful day in london today. gotta go now.

The Irish were the only country that I noticed that had nicknames for everything... now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt my Grandma Keffer (maiden name McCoggin) was sooo Irish. We have nicknames for everything. The Irish ones I like the best were

The monument in the middle of town.. it was a tall silver pole. It's " the stilleto in the ghetto" or the one of the fountain of the sea goddess. One night someone pour some beer in in and she got very foamy... hence the "fluzzie in the jucuize"

May the luck of the irish be with you. tricia

Pic captions: The singers are from the Musical pub crawl, the sign .. well click on it and read it LOL, The statue is Molly Malone otherwise know as the "dish with the fish", "tart with the cart".

ps when i get back home i'll put more info on my entries and about where i stayed etc

american in paris

boujour !!
Well the weather was much better this time than the last. even though it was still cool. i did the day and night tour of paris, sat at the tullierills gardens for lunch. i rode my bike , on my own, down the sine river, . Also a boat ride too.
i ate as much chocolate as possible. i went window shoppping, climbed the arc de tripmpphant. my time is running out... more later. im in dublin ireland now. the gig is up lol

Post Trip comments: I didn't have time to add everything I did in Paris. I took the Daytime and evening time bike tours through Paris. I highly recommend those. On the night tour we rode around through the Louve museum (outside) and there was a single chello player playing .. it was just haunting.. ooooo. I also got to go to the Rodin Museum (remember the statue of the Thinker). That was lovely

Pic captions: The Eiffel Tower at night and during the day. The mona lisa and a pic of the grand gallery at the Louve

Paris or bust

After spending some time in Germany. I drove through the countryside to Paris. So much fun.

Salzburg music festival

Greetings,
I got a last minute ticket to THE Salzburg music festival concert. She is a world renowned piano played from Japan... and i'll have to write her name in on here later. So I had to go shopping really fast for something to wear because.. this was a ancy concert. After shopping in the afternoon I did Bob's sound of music tours. We drove all over the counntryside where they filmed the movie and the Mirabelle gardens ( which would be a great spot for portraits :) And we went to a restrurant that overlooked the valley that the helicopter flew through to film the opening scene.
The next day I just took a break and walked around salzburg. I was going to do a bike ride but just didn't have the energy. I got another concert ticket that afternoon at the Mirabelle gardens for flute and piano. He was amazing. He played a wood lute that sounded well amazing. What else can i say. I also went to the Catholic Mass that moring ( only because they don't let you in other wise). Where mozart played on the pipe organ. I walked up to the front ( but stood to the side) to listen to the choir and the organ. The acoustics were great !!!!.
I then finished off the evening at Mozart's birthplace. It's now a coffeee wine bar.

Than off to Germany... and back to work. I need to train up Mallorie for portraits in
Europe. =) hard life... lol
Tricia

** pic captions: Tricia at the backside of the house used in the Sound of Music, Tricia dancing in front of the glass gazebo for Sound of Music, Tricia along the tree lined road in sound of music, Mozart statue, Tricia taking the summer luge ride. Mirebelle gardens were they filmed " do re me"

** Post trip comments: The I went to at the Festival was Mitsuko Uchida. She played
a modern piece by Werke von Schonberg and Beethoven sonatas.

Lake District in Austria

Greetings !
After I danced on the Danube I headed over to the Lake District close to Halstatt. It was so amazingly gorgous. It was getting dark so I found a place near a a pristine alpine lake. So I took a lovely walk the next morning and then went down to Halstatt.

I spent the next night at Halstatt. It looked like town from a movie set. Great shopping and a quiet lake. They had great hiking and the salt mines.

Then the next day I drove through small mountain towns to Salzburg. It was raining so I didn't stop. I got a hotel room near the alpine lift. The rain stopped so I walked around Salzburg and found the jack pot store. A sheet music store that had a whole shelf of sheet music.

Pic captions: the lake photo is from the Lake Distict a couple of hours driving time from Salzburg. The other one is the B&B I stayed at in Halstatt
Tricia

walttz on danube

well after i got back on the autobhan. i turned off at tulln. it was amazing. then i drove down the river danbue through the towns. the weather was perfect for pics. blue skies and white clouds. lots of people out biking. i decided to keep moving since i knew a storm front was coming.

i drove down toards halstead. but it was getting dark so i stopped at an alpine lake hotel. again, words cant describe. i got up early and im in halstead today. i got a room at a place the overlooks the lake here and theres a coffee icecream shop below it. i was going to go on the luge ride but it just started sprinkling. i may have to do that tomorrow. i think ill go shopping and have lunch by the lake.

diekshin, tricia

Driving on the autobhan ... in circles

hey, well i got a nice upgrade on the rental... from a vw to an audi a4 v8 standard. vroomm... but at first i couldnät get it out of the parking lot. i asked the parking attendant , at least he was cuute, how to reverse it. u have to push the shift down then over. ok, well i did fine till i drove through vienna... and i missed the turn and ended up in some city on the outskirts... i was then wondering if this was such a good idea. i was going around in circles till i stopped at the international place for directions... the GAS station. smile. he got me back on the autobhan.

vroom , Tricia

coffee in vienna

hello ! i made it to vienna late yesterday afternoon. ive been siteseeing this morning. and then had lunch on the terrace overlooking mozarts park. it was beautiful. another day of perfect weather. it was great. i had an herb salad and glass of rose wine topped with fruit icecream... the high life. im on my way to a concert and then finish the evening at the coffee house.

off to salzburg tomorrow.
tricia

Post Trip ! I didn't make it to the coffee house as planned. I couldn't find the right street.

** pic captions: those street musicans in Vienna were excellent.. they were probably trying to earn money for lessons at the conservatory =). Everything in Vienna was also " mostly Mozart"

chow rome

well i am off to vienna in a few hours. i must say this rick steves guide book is great. the hotel im at now is a great location for everything. buses, trains, tours, etc. this hotel alder is great too. i think a few american places could take notes. i had a cappicano this morning... and i never drink coffee. but with two packets of sugar is was really good. as they same when in rome do as the romans do... drink a cappicano .

i think next time i will take a walking tour though. then that way i can hear about the historical significance of each area.

i have been showing off my travel book to everyone. mallorie designed a book for me of my photos of florida and hawaii. then i can show the people i meet where im from and what it looks like. ... a bit of international marketing for our area.

chow tricia

** The fountains were the famous Trivolli fountains. They were my favorite.
I wish all clothing stores were as honest as " expensive" lol
And the street that started it all in Rome " propaganda" lol

chow rome

boujourno, by the way this is in lower case because this is an itlian keyboard and i cant figure out how to work it...

today was beautiful . perfect picture day. blue skies and white puffy clouds. and it was hot... i loved it. so i took the big camera and the video and got some great shots.

i also made it to pzza navona. i walked in circle for awhile before i found it but once i was there i had a great lunch and watched people. i also went to the pantheon i think it was the original rotunda. very beautiful

tricias travel tip 3 tt3 for short smile.
when your feet hurt that means you need to stop for gelato icecream. i just wanted to make sure that all the shops were serving their very best. i highly recommend valentinos on the way to the trevso fountains... the pineapple flavor rivaled the ice cream at the dole plantation in hawaii .. now thats saying something.

off to Vienna tomorrow
chow tricia

** pics, the building ruins they said were while Cesar was killed on the Ids of March. And the other one... we'll I was just trying to figure out how I could have taken a wrong turn and ended up in Miami !!

hello rome

boujourno from Rome,
Had a great day siteseeing around town. i took the tour bus .hop on hop off. it was great. i got a good orientation of the city before walking around. mets lots of people. a couple from atlanta, a lady from pitsburg, and some british ladies... quite a few american families over here on vacation. thats a good sign... i am working on taking the company international for portrait sessions in europe...so i liked seeing that. i had lunch at a sidewalk cafe near the vadican. had a smooth glass of red wine and then off for some shopping. i m about done with christmas shopping... but i cant tell you what i bought. i did make it to the trivoli fountains. they were amazing... better than i thought they would be. and around to the spanish steps... one more night ride on the bus and then back to the hotel. ive been eating lots of gelato which has been off set by all the walking lol. the people are very friendly and its pretty easy to get around. there was a wedding at the church near the trivoli fountain and then they had photos made through the city. what a great backdrop for photo op. The national museum was very nice too. very quiet, not too many people. that would be a great place for pics too. sorry if im rambling but if i make notes now i can print them back home.

Tricias travel tip 1 order a veggie meal even if your not a vegatrain ... sorry cant spell its late im tired... because you get your meal before everyone else on the plane and they are usually better. they were jealous of me because i had fruit and bagel... they had cold cereal. lol

ttt 2 take the hop on hop off tours they are great.

Chow for now Tricia

pics: Tricia enjoying some Gelato and the wine I had for lunch

landed in Rome !!!

hey everyone, i got to rome a couple of hours ago. Great flight and i found the hotel easy. i had some good italian food and ready to go explore. its a bit chilly 80 degrees... gotta find a light jacket. lol
more tomorrow, Tricia

pics ! The founation is from the pzza Republic
the other one is the Vatican

Leaving tomorrow !!!

Hey ya'll !
I will be leaving for ATL tomorrow at 1pm and then for Rome at 7pm. I will arrive in Rome at the local time at 11am. Friday. Some of you may know that I am planning on setting up business in Paris and Germany for tourist portraits. =) If you want to visit me next summer I'll put up a sign up sheet next spring for the sofa... it's free... but it's small. =)

Ariverdic ! Tricia