During our recent visit to Germany, we went to the Porsche Museum – it is located across the street from the Porsche factory in Stuttgart. The 911, Boxter, and Cayman are manufactured in Stuttgart (the Cayenne is manufactured in Leipzig, Germany). There is also a Porsche dealership across Continue reading
My hubby and I went on vacation to Germany last week. We have a home in Germany and he goes there a few times per year. It is quite the trek & a long flight, so I make the trip with him once a year. This time we visited Baden Baden (one of my favorite cities), Stuttgart, the Black Forest area (west Germany), the city of Nancy in France, and of course, Wiesbaden, my hubby’s hometown. He was born and grew up in San Francisco, so that is really his hometown, but he also grew up in Germany. I recorded a vblog and will try to get it posted soon. I’ll post the pictures from our trip in parts since it takes me a while to select and upload them.
Our trip was from Friday to the next Sunday, so we were gone for 10 days. We took an evening flight and landed the next day around 3:00 pm in Germany. I am not good at sleeping during flights and don’t like to take sleeping pills, so I had bad jet-lag on Saturday. We made a quick stop to buy some snacks and water, and headed home. I slept all afternoon and woke up the next day! Geez! We spent Sunday at home, which was nice since I still had jet-lag. Monday we did some shopping and went out to a Restaurant we visit each time we go to Wiesbaden, it is called Kaefers’, a french bistro style restaurant, located inside the Kurhaus Casino. My hubby waited patiently as I took pictures of our dinner and dessert. It was a mellow first three days to start off our vacation, the rest was non-stop – fun – with daily visits to different cities! Next post will be….visit to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, I took lots of pictures…coming soon!
Hugs,
Paola
PS – Our visit to the Porsche Museum, a spa day in Baden Baden, and enjoying the Sonnora Waldhotel & Restaurant and Black Forest in west Germany.
This is the main entrance to the Kurhaus Casino.
Kaefers’ Restaurant…we call it the ladybug restaurant because there are lady bug figurines on the table and painted on the glasses. Lady bugs are supposed to bring good luck…or so the belief goes.
They bring you freshly carved carpaccio as an appetizer with a bread basket….but, as in many European Restaurants, they charge you for the bread & carpaccio.
My husband had a meet dish, I had this yummy salad (which I order each time we eat here)….to my surprise there was goat cheese on the bottom, I had forgotten that! The salad was so large I took most of the salmon home and had it the next day for breakfast with some fresh bread! I eat so much bread when I am in Europe….you find it freshly baked everywhere, even at gas station stores! Love it!!!
We had the strawberry tart a la mode for dessert, it was delicious!
The area where the chefs prepare the appetizers.
This is a beautiful cheese cart they have….cheese is a huge staple for meals in Europe…as an appetizer, snack, part of a sandwich, and dessert when served with fruit!
The carving station where waiters carves the carpaccio fresh for each table!
They bring you your receipt in this colorful lady bug container, with two chocolates wrapped in lady bug foil. Cute!
Happy Labor Day everyone! Hope you had a good holiday & long weekend! My hubby & I make it out to Las Vegas a couple of times every year. It makes for an easy & fun weekend getaway. We don’t really gamble & I did the club thing when I was younger. We try new restaurants or the classics for dinner, do some shopping, he golfs, we walk around the casinos, go see a show, or he takes us on an aerial tour of the surrounding areas. I have a good friend, Rosy (and her husband) that lives out there and it is always nice to visit her while we are there! Thankfully, this time she was in town, we missed her the last two times we visited because she was also traveling.
My hubby had purchased a Planet Hollywood hotel package for Las Vegas at a silent auction at a charity fundraiser we attended last year. He realized recently that the package was about to expire, so we booked the reservation. It was kind of a last minute trip.
Our room had a Christopher Reeve theme with a few Superman & movie frames:
We arrived Sunday. To my pleasant surprise, the Miracle Mile Shops mall is located within the hotel! My sister had mentioned it, so I asked about it when we checked-in! In the afternoon, my hubby took a nap and I went shopping! With my schedule, I rarely have time to go to the mall. I buy a few things on-line, but prefer to try clothes & shoes on before purchasing them. There was a modern bar called Halo in the mall, so Vegas!
We met Rosy for an early dinner at Trevi’s Restaurant at the Ceasar’s. We’d been there before, it is a nice restaurant with cafe style seating next to the large Fountain of the Gods, and we know the food is good. For dessert, which we shared, my hubby ordered Spaghetti Ice, too cute, the spaghetti and meatballs are gelato, the sauce was strawberry syrup, and the shredded cheese was white chocolate! After dinner, we did a little more shopping at the Forum Shops at Caesar’s – they close at 11pm!!! Wow, only in Vegas! We’ve been to this shopping center many times before, it is beautiful – and I like the stores, it’s a must see when in Vegas, love it!!! It was nice to spend some time with Rosy and get a friend’s perspective when shopping!
Monday was Lake Mead day. Rosy and her husband have a boat, so they took us out for the day – it was beautiful and very relaxing! So relaxing that I took a nap in the middle of the afternoon on the boat! I’ll make a separate post of Lake Mead, I took lots of pics and it deserves its own post. Rosy has taken some photography classes and it is her hobby, so she gave me some tips! Even though I had packed a red summer dress for the day on the lake, I showed my hubby a little black & white dress I had purchased the night before at H&M (at the Miracle Mile Shops) and asked him which one I should wear – he chose the H&M dress. It was perfect for the day since it is very light & comfortable.
Tuesday was check-out day. I had set my alarm for early, to try to perhaps go for a walk in the other casinos or do some shopping, but my body was tired and we both decided to rest instead. We are not big fans of buffets, but the package included a buffet at the hotel’s Spice Market, so we ate lunch there. I had a little bit of sushi, a few bites of lasagna, some blue cheese, hummus, and dessert. I am a sucker for dessert, so I saved my calories for dessert! The array of desserts was beautiful! I had a few spoonfuls of ice-cream with strawberries, a little creme brulee, and the apple filled crepe, just tasting a bit of each was enough for me! Yummy! I was satisfied, but not stuffed, a concern of mine with buffets. 
Our flight home was in the early afternoon….and it always makes me chuckle to see all the slot machines at the airport! This airport is unique! Even though my hubby and I aren’t gamblers, he played for a little while at the slots machines on Saturday night. While I stopped to take the pictures at the airport, he sat a machine and played a few minutes, too funny!
Have you been to Las Vegas? Share your most memorable Vegas story….PG story that is, just kidding! Remember, as they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!
Hugs,
Paola
PS – Our visit to the Aulani Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii.
This past weekend we visited San Francisco (SF). We have our second home there and it has become my second favorite city! My hubby was born in SF, so this is his hometown. This time we hadn’t been there since June due to our busy schedules. Since we are up there often, we don’t do the typical touristy things, but we do like to get out and explore the city. We enjoy visiting the restaurants, the shops, and just driving through the city, by the bay, seeing the architecture, homes, and people watching is always interesting in SF! We have friends up there, so we usually do something with another couple while we are there. I usually do not take pictures while we are in SF, unless it is something special, but this time I decided to take some so I could share the experience with you, hope you enjoy it!
Friday, we ended up getting in late because our flight was delayed, which is very common for SF. On Saturday, we relaxed in the morning, which I really like to do in SF – I am able to disconnect because when I am home there is always something that needs to be done. In SF, I sit in the living room and enjoy the view of the bay, while I have breakfast or read a book. I was able to write a blog post, then we got ready and hit the city.
A location we must visit every time we go to San Francisco is my hubby’s favorite German restaurant, Suppenkuche. He gets his German fix! I usually order a soup or salad – and love their bread. My hubby rarely drinks, but at this restaurant he usually orders a beer with his dinner. It is a small place and gets very crowded and loud, so we learned the trick is to get there as soon as it opens. We arrived five minutes before the door opened and there were already people in line waiting for the restaurant to open! That says lots about a place! It is a casual restaurant and they sit you at tables with other people. After dinner, we like to walk around the area on Hayes Street, do some window shopping and stop by a few key stores we like, in particular two travel stores and I like an Italian shoe store called Paolo. We noticed a new mens clothing store and a coffee shop that are built out of containers. San Francisco has so many unique shops, always interesting!
Have you been to San Francisco? What is your favorite thing or place to visit at the city?
Hugs,
Paola
PS – Our trips to Hawaii and Baden Baden in Germany.
We went for a walk by the bay, and a drive through Fort Mason and the Presidio. It is a national park and beautiful! I like seeing all the tall trees in the area!
Driving through the city allows me to see a new street or houses we had not seen in past visits.
While we are in SF, I always like to get a glimpse of the bridge…
…and of course, going over it never gets old.
Sunday, we met some friends and went to the Walt Disney Family Museum. It is run by the Disney Family Foundation. I did not even know it existed. It was a nice place to visit, lots of information regarding Walt Disney and his family, his beginnings, plans, and many successes! It was very interesting and informational! Plus, it has the Disney magic touch, with lots of nice exhibits and videos! I may do a separate posting on the Museum, I have more pictures to share and it was that interesting! It was also inspirational – Walt Disney was a visionary, artist, and driven! He wouldn’t give up on his dreams and visions, and created an amazing company that is known around the world!
By Sunday night, it was time to come home….we love visiting San Francisco (and will be back soon), but it is always nice to come home to San Diego!
It’s hard to believe another weekend passed! It definitely felt like summer time because we went to the Races in Del Mar, and to visit my grandmother and aunts in Rosarito, something we do each summer!
Friday, we went with a group to the Races in Del Mar, it was fun, nice to see the beautiful horses, and to spend time with my hubby & friends!
Saturday I woke up excited, felt like a little girl! For a few weeks now I had been anticipating this weekend because I made plans to to go visit my Mamita (grandmother) and aunts in Rosarito! They spend some time there in the summer. We’ve had plans the past few weekends, so this was the Saturday I had reserved to go visit my beloved Mamita! She is very, very special to me, as close as a mom, one of the wisest people I know and has shared her advise with me over the years. Fortunately, my nieces were able to go with me, so it was like old times (when I was single), and we took a day trip to Rosarito! Just the three of us! It was a treat to spend time with my nieces! I still see them often, but don’t get much one-on-one time with them! They are growing so fast! We chatted during the entire drive and while visiting my Mamita. It was nice to see my grandmother, aunts, cousins, and mom was also visiting, so it was an extra nice time with family!
Sunday was a relaxing day at home! Finally! We’ve been busy lately, with all kinds of fun plans & outings, but I was looking forward to being at the house & enjoying our home! I made myself a cappuccino, ok two cappuccinos to start my day, and enjoyed the day with my hubby! We did not leave the house all day….ahhhh, I needed a day like this! The car search continues, so we spent time looking for cars on-line. I decided I wanted to make my own homemade baked plantain chips, which ended up becoming a four hour process. They came out yummy, but I decided I will just stick to buying them at Trader Joe’s. Their plantain chips are quite healthy, low on fat & sodium, and natural with only oil and salt. Plus, they keep longer. But, at least I tried it and realized they are probably just as fattening due to the oil the recipe included. I’ll write a separate post of the recipe I used (found it on-line) and steps I followed.
We got to spend some time with the kitties! They are so cute! My husband showed me a trick Blackie does – when he climbs on his back. I must admit, I’ve become quite attached to the kitties! I was not much of a cat person when we first got married, but I have become attached to both of them!
Hope you had a wonderful weekend too! What did you do?
Best wishes for a great week! Let’s get lots done this week!
Hugs,
Paola