Places We Visited – Page 5 – A Couple of Tourists

The Weekender: Franciscan Gardens, Our Future Wedding Venue!

January 14, 2017MargaretNo Comments

Our primary reason for visiting SoCal this time was actually to check out our future wedding venue, Franciscan Gardens. It’s located in San Juan Capistrano, about an hour from Los Angeles and San Diego. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Tie and I started dating in LA and I’ve fantasized about living there more than once. That last part might not become a reality, but at least we can get married here. Of course, the weather is unpredictable this far in advance and my dreams of having an outdoor garden wedding can still be shattered if we must retreat indoors. In the meantime, I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Anywhos, I thought it’d be fun to take y’all along on our tour of the place.

Taiwan

Crazy Cat Lady at Houtong Cat Village

January 13, 2017MargaretNo Comments

I was always more of a cat person growing up and so was intrigued upon hearing about Houtong Cat Village in Taiwan (猴硐貓村). A town overrun with cats? Count me in. Unfortunately we went on a rainy day so the cats were more damp than furry. Didn’t end up petting too many of them. Some of them were quite friendly and will snuggle up to your legs. We also saw a dog that was mostly ignored. It seems tourism is big business for this village as everything is cat-themed. The signs, the store displays, the souvenirs. Me-ow.

New Orleans

Getting Crunk in New Orleans

January 5, 2017MargaretNo Comments

Back in 2013, I was itching to attend Jazz Fest in New Orleans for my birthday. Primarily because Frank Ocean was playing, and I’m a huge fan. Also, a few of my advertising friends had worked on a campaign promoting NOLA, which made it all the more enticing. But I couldn’t find anyone to go with me so I never did buy the festival tickets. Later that month, however, Tie decided he was up for a trip down to Louisiana so we signed up for the Southwest Airlines credit card and got a free flight (the beginning of our point-chasing team). We timed it so our visit coincides with the Oyster Festival. I always try to find local events in places we travel to. Some of the most enjoyable things to do come around only during specific times of the year, and I want to take advantage of that wherever we may end up.

England

London Sightseeing: The Classics

December 19, 2016MargaretNo Comments

I’ve already covered the Tower Bridge in a previous post, but here is a photo gallery of some other London classic spots!

England

What to Eat in London

December 16, 2016MargaretNo Comments

I’ll admit, prior to planning our trip to London I was under the impression that it’s all fish and chips. Probably because Ireland wasn’t exactly foodie heaven and I kinda assumed they might have similar cuisines. On the contrary, London has much variety to offer. We’re eager to return and eat more to our heart’s content, but in the meantime, this is our dining summary.

England

Night Views and a Glimpse of British Royalty

December 14, 2016MargaretNo Comments

Like many big cities, London boasts some spectacular night views. Our favorite was crossing the Tower Bridge towards the side of City Hall. The bridge is very ornate up close, and I love the bluish-purplish illumination. It looked like you could live inside each one of the towers! Parts of the bridge was under construction, but we were still able to walk across it with many other pedestrians (and bikers, too).

England

Day Trip to Stonehenge and Bath

December 12, 2016MargaretNo Comments

The day after we landed in London, Tie and I joined a tour group for a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. From London to Stonehenge it is a 2-hour drive and then about an hour to Bath, and from Bath to London is another 2 hours. Typically I am not a big fan of tours, but if I can sit in the comfort of a coach bus with that itinerary I am a-okay with it.For breakfast, we just picked up something quick at the bus terminal. There are many tour groups in London, but we personally went with ____. We enjoyed our guide’s unapologetically cynical English humor as he gave us an overview of the buildings and parks we passed by in central London and later in Stonehenge and Bath, too. In short, British royalty owns most of the land and properties so the rich just keep getting richer. Living in Manhattan, this comes as no surprise. And there’s no such thing as a British accent, only an English one.

Switzerland

Too Poor for Basel

December 9, 2016Margaret1 Comment

I never intended on visiting Basel, Switzerland, but it was a convenient place to catch a flight for the cities we did want to go to. Still, it was a decent one-day trip. We stayed at an AirBNB on the outskirts of the city and took a train into Basel. Parking was just too expensive (as was everything else, really). I really wanted to indulge in some quality chocolate and cheese, but I wasn’t ready to pay 40 swiss francs for a cheese fondue with only bread. So unfortunately, didn’t get my foodie fix here. We made up for it in other ways.

Germany

A Mid-Century Modern Oasis at the Vitra Campus

December 7, 2016MargaretNo Comments

Lately, Tie and I have been busy renovating our first house together so I thought it’d be most appropriate to write about our visit to the Vitra Campus during our last Euro trip. It is truly an interior design lover’s dream come true. We were staying at an AirBNB in Weil am Rhein, Germany and the campus was a short drive away (they also have free parking!). Lots to see here – we ended up staying longer than expected! A brief background on Vitra – it is actually a Swiss furniture company that manufactures many works by famous designers of the past and present. Vitra Campus is a showroom, museum, and playground all bundled into one glorious span of land. And with its buildings designed by the likes of Frank Gehry, Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid, amongst others, you really can judge a book by its cover; the interiors are just as beautiful.

France

Searching for Colmar’s Moving Castle

December 5, 2016MargaretNo Comments

These days, Tie and I try to mix in both big and lesser known cities into our travels. When we told others we were going to France, many thought we might be going to Nice or Paris. This time around, however, we decided to visit Colmar, which is close to the border of Switzerland, Germany, and France. If you’ve read our previous post about the Ghibli Museum, you’ll know that both of us are big fans of Studio Ghibli films. And it just so happens that Howl’s Moving Castle draws inspiration from the quaint, charming town of Colmar. Seeing the floral-dotted canals and unique criss-cross facade on the colorful buildings in person was like watching a live-action version of the animated movie. I could see exactly why they chose this location.