Kate & Joseph's Travel Blog

7 Jul 2012 - "Pick" Pic of the Day

Nighttime Cruising on the Danube River in Budapest

5 Jul 2012 - "Pick" Pic of the Day

Church and Town Bell Tower in Markt Square in Cracow (Krakow) Poland

One of our favorite "Piazzas" all time

This is just one piece of it...this place is massive!

4 Jul 2012 - "Pick" Pic of the Day

For this July 4th, we were in Auschwitz, Poland.

It was a somber reminder of the horrors of the past and a respect for the freedoms we all have in America

Happy 4th!

Updates Coming Soon

Joe's had enough of Kate's picture taking already and attempts a defenestration

Updates coming soon

Merry Christmas - 2011

Merry Christmas!

You most likely have landed here because you just received our Christmas Card!

Welcome to our little travel blog, featuring photos, videos and updates from all our travels. We keep updating even when we are not traveling, so be sure to follow us and check us out every once and a while.

Look for an end of the year wrap up slideshow with all the pictures from this past year in the next week or so.

For now, take a look around, check out some pics and be sure to take the 2011 Year in Review Quiz...can you identify all the flags on the tree?

Thanks for stopping by and have a very happy, safe and Merry Christmas Season!

Be sure to email us if you see anything you want more info on, or have any problems or questions about the site at kateandjosephqcy@gmail.com

2011 Year In Review Quiz

Homeward Bound - August 29, 2011

Last leg of our trip = 2 hr. drive to Milan Linate Airport.

For the first time ever, we were actually early to the airport only to wait an hour to check in for our flight! First flight provided a beautiful aerial tour of the Italian Lakes region and Swiss Alsp (narrated by our Italian seat-mate), but we didn’t have our camera! Our flight was also late taking off meaning little time for connections in Dublin. Good thing the new terminal is well-marked! However, we still found ourselves nearly running to the final boarding call at the gate because we had to wait to identify our bags as part of the new security system in Dublin.

Despite these setbacks and Hurricane Irene, our flights we’re heading home…and ready to be back state-side. We had a great trip, but it will be nice to get back into a routine instead running off from place to place, see people at home, and sleep in our own bed. It’s amazing how much we saw and did in 2.5 weeks. We traveled to 8 countries, drove 47 hours in the car for a total of 4,275km,visited with family, celebrated 2 birthdays and an anniversary, sampled tons of local cuisine…and even found time to relax! Now that’s a good vacation! Where to next? Back to school for me, back to work for Joe, and hopefully this time we’ll actually spend the next few months organizing our pictures instead of planning another trip!

The Gritty Trip Driving Details

Drive to Italy - August 28, 2011

The Mirna Bridge in Istria - 4,521 ft long

Frustrating driving day…we only had a 3hr ride from Rovinj to Lisa & Benson’s, but it took forever. One down side to visiting Istria is border traffic on the two lane road that connects Croatia and Slovenia. Croatia is slated to join the EU in 2015, so until then, passports are inspected at the border on the return journey to Slovenia and the EU. There are two checks, one for Croatia, and one for

Slovenia

. Fortunately, we only hit about 40 min. of traffic at the border because it was early in the day, but I can only image what it must be like later on when people are leaving at the end of the weekend. Inspection doesn’t appear to be very thorough since EU holders seemed to be waved through, and even our passports were not scanned ut rather quickly flipped through. Guess if you’re from the right countries, they don’t care too much. Finally got a car stamp in our passports, though!

We thought it would plenty easy to find something fast and decent to eat off the highway in one of three countries we drove through today, but alas we had absolutely no luck…not even at Pizzeria Da Pasqualino e Cinzia near Lisa & Benson’s. Ended up waiting for L & B’s favorite restaurant opened at 7pm for food. We had a relaxing dinner at Setti Santi in Monte Berico overlooking the city of Vicenza. We finally got a chance to have gnocchi, and Joe got his bacala and polenta. We even caught a glimpse of Palladio’s Rotondo on the way to the restaurant which Jefferson modeled Monticello off of. Finished the night at San Marco Gelateria in Montegalda for one more gelato. Too bad no place at home has figured out how to make good gelato. Grom, please come to Boston someday!

Istrian Beach Holiday - August 27-28, 2011

Although we are technically in Croatia this weekend, the region of Istria has changed hands so many times that it is really a mix of cultures. Throughout the past century, it has been part of Venice, Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia, and now Croatia. Three language dominate here: Croatian, Italian, and English, and the region seems to be popular with European tourists from all over. We neither met, nor saw any other Americans here, so we joined the Europeans and had a relaxing beach holiday in Rovinj/Rovigno..

Highlights:

Golden Cape: Our apartment was a short walk from this nice wooded area on the water with walking/biking paths. There were plenty of rocks to claim for sunbathing and swimming in the clear, blue-green waters of the Adriatic, and the bed of pine needles under tha canopy of trees provided shade along the shore. Found a great spot for swimming near a small jetty that made it easier to get in and out of the water in between the waves. It was the perfect place for a hot, humid day! We came here to swim twice…until our fun was interrupted by a huge jellyfish floating a few feet away from us in the water! I’ve never seen Lisa run out of anywhere so fast!

Rovinj: Looks like we hit the town on the right night. Tourists, locals, and vendors crowded the streets for a big town festival, Vecer Ribarske Tradicije/Serata della Tradizione Marinaresca. We wandered the slippery cobblestone streets of the Old Town, grabbed beer for the boys and gelato for the girls, found our way to St. Euphemia’s at the top of the town to watch the vatromet (fireworks), and caught part of the 2 Celloss concert by Luka Sulic & Stjepan Hauser on our way out of town. Great evening in town!

Food: Dinner at Sidro on the patio facing the marina was a good pick (thanks, Rick!). The bavette tartufi (pasta in a truffle cream sauce) was delicious, and the raznjici (pork on a skewer) and cevapcici (similar to sausauge links) were decent. Food was reasonable priced for a waterfront restaurant.

Money: Croatia is on the kuna, and once we learned to divide the price of everything by 7 to convert to euros, we got the hang of money here. Despite all the tourists in this area, prices seem a little lower compared to other countries we’ve visited.

Lodging: Malena’a two bedroom apartment next to her own home was perfect for us! We had plenty of space including a kitchen and two balconies. Everything was very clean, and we were a 10 min. walk from the beach. No Internet, but we survived. Even though we were a good 25-30min. walk from town, for a beach vacation, this was a great spot!

Unfinished Business: Biking the Golden Cape, buying aqua shoes so we can get in/out of the water easier like everyone else!

Drive for the Ages /Ljubliana - August 26, 2011

A Drive for the Record Book:

Tell me that sign isn't confusing...

On the road again driving from Vienna to

Croatia

, and setting a record: being in 4 countries in 24 hrs! At this point, we’ve driven on nearly all the major highways of Austria, and we’re glad to be moving on to another country! So glad we didn’t take the A2 to get to Vienna. It was in lousy shape with little scenery. The Slovenian part of the drive was much better. We made a short stop about half-way in Ljubljana. It was the perfect place to stretch our legs on a 6hr driving day.

Highlights:

Old Town: Quaint cobblestone streets, squares and fountains make Ljubljana a pleasant place for a stroll, shopping, or a meal at one of the many sidewalk and riverside restaurants. The Old Town is built on two sides of a river and is connected by lots of bridges, including one with the city’s mascot, the dragon. The river is very picturesque with its willow trees planted on the banks. From Preseren Square, we were able to take in much of the Old Town…and even stop in at the TI and free WCs! Very user friendly!

St. Nicholas Cathedral: What a beautiful Church! Pictures and words don’t do justice to this 18^th century Church. The pink marble columns, ceiling paintings and golden accents were stunning! So glad we stopped inside for a look!

Language: English is widely spoken here along with Slovenian. Signs are in both languages making it an easy place to visit.

Food: Burek made for an interesting dinner. For 2 euros you get a huge portion of beef (or cheese) wrapped in phyllo dough. Kinda like a cross between a beef wellington and steak sub. Super greasy and probably awful for you, but it tasted pretty good! Joe washed his portion down with Cockta, a strange Slovenian cola that tasted like lightly carbonated grape soda. Apparently it was popular during the Communist Era as a substitute for Coca-Cola, which was hard to find then.

Gas Prices: 1.23 euros for diesel is about the best rate we’ve seen on this trip

Unfinished Business: We just missed the Trznice, a huge outdoor market (picture a much classier Haymarket) where vendors sell fruit, veggies, and lots more on a big square. I bet it would have been much healthier than having burek for dinner!

Viennese-Slovak Birthday August 25, 2011

Happy Birthday Kate!

I’ve spent my birthday in some great places in recent years…Disneyland (25), Martha’s Vineyard (26), Gran Canaria (27), Granada, Spain (28). This year was no exception. How many people can say they spent a birthday in two countries?! Although I hate the sound of it (because it sounds so old), it’s official…I have now entered a new decade, the thirties. I can’t complain about my birthday celebration, though, because it was jammed packed with great sites and delicious food!

We started the day in Vienna where we toured Schonbrunn Palace, the Opera House, and St. Stephen’s and indulged in various Viennese cakes. We finished the day with a early evening trip and birthday dinner in Bratislava, Slovakia. What a day!

Viennese (Birthday) Cake

Why get one big cake when you can order 5 different pieces of cake from 3 bakeries? It was like wedding-cake tasting all over again!

Kurkonditorei Oberlaa: Tried the obligatory Sacher-Torte (Vienna’s famous chocolate cake) = a little too dry for my taste even with whipped cream not to mention the fact that I don’t want any kind of jam in my cake, especially not apricot! Overall not terrible, just not my favorite. SchokoMousse Torte topped in chocolate glaze was very tasty, and my second favorite.

Demel: Truffeltorte= amazing and so rich! Definitely my favorite even though it was more expensive (4 euros) than other places.

Kaffe Mayer (Bratislava): least expensive of the bakeries we visited, but the truffle cake here was good, and my third favorite. Kaffe cake took fourth place…it had some kind of jam inside and crushed walnuts sprinkled on the outside that took away from the good coffee flavor

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Joe's Note: Before this trip, this was all he knew about Bratislava, and had visions of this happening...it did not

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Bratislava

After trekking across the city yesterday, and searching for the train to Bratislava for an hour at the wrong station, we were determined to get there today. We made it in plenty of time to roast on the on the one hour trip.

We were pleasantly surprised with

Slovakia

’s capital city. A Communist nation until 1989, and one with Czech Republic until the early 90’s,Slovakia has spent the last 18 years trying to find its way as an independent country, and now a member of the European Union (2009). Although much of Slovakia is rural and very poor, Bratislava is an up-and-coming place with a lot of potential. Hopefully the wealth it brings in will be distributed throughout the country. Time will tell.