The Belcourt Castle

Location: Newport, Rhode Island

Did you know that this castle is considered to be unique among the mansions in Newport? It's because of its hunting lodge style composed of 60 rooms.
This castle is a 114-year old which has 50,000 square feet medieval style design.

Belcourt offers traditional tours (including ghost tours, too!) and is also famous for its antique collections.

We were suppose to sign up for a tour but we lacked time. It was more than an hour wait for the next tour schedule so we decided to just cancel it.

We did some photos just outside the castle, right close to the main entrance and at the front.

It might be good to try the ghost tours if you want spooky adventures! :).

The Cliff Walk

If there is one good exercise that you need to have in Newport, R.I., take the Cliff Walk. Take note that this might be strenous to some, but you can take control of it on your own. You can take slow walks to fast walks or jogs; - it's the way you like it.

The cliff used to be an undeveloped coastal shoreline in the 18th century. It was developed, redeveloped, and repaired at times in the older years.

This 3.5 mile picturesque walk overlooks the spectacular Atlantic coastline and named one of the "50 Places of a Lifetime."

Just some few things to bear in mind before you do the walk: - there are no restrooms along the trails, and no food/drink stands either. Be sure you have some fluids with you and use restrooms before you go.

Green Animals Topiary Garden

From Newport, we headed further to Portsmouth where the Green Animals Topiary garden is at. The garden consists 7 acres of land, a white summer residence, farm outbuildings, a pasture and a vegetable garden.

There are 80 topiaries in the whole garden with 21 animals and birds in addition to geometric and ornamental figures. These designs are sculpted from yew, California privet and English boxwood.

The garden is considered to be the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the US.

One part of the garden has an awesome scenic view when you are at the Victorian house overlooking the Narragansett Bay.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

The museum has expanded! Art lovers, time to visit this museum when you are around Philly. A good news indeed for those who love photography, sculpture, fashion and textiles.

The Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building was added, which was the first expansion of the museum since it was opened 80 years ago.

The building was renovated costing to $90 million in public and private funds. Its interior features a skylit galleria that links the existing structure to a 59,000 sq. foot addition. There are four main galleries; a high-ceilinged space for sculpture, a gallery for works on paper, space for modern design, and a gallery for customes and textiles.

With the new expansion, the costume display can expand to more than five times its original size.

It's worth visiting for the art lovers, don't you think?

There will be a minimal admission fee to visit the Perelman Building alone. If you prefer visiting the whole museum, you have to pay at least $14 - to cover entrance to both buildings.

Enjoy the various displays of art! :)

RoseCliff - Newport, R.I.

Another Gilded-age mansion worth visiting is the Rosecliff. Today, it is considered one of America's most romantic settings for weddings.


Rosecliff is snow-white covered mansion with classic lines, and has the largest ballroom in Newport. Once captivating design inside the mansion is the heart-shaped staircase which provides the ideal setting for wedding occasions.

This house was completed in 1902 costing to $2.5 milion. It was then became the venues for many most lavished parties, fairy tale dinners including a party that featured the famed magician Harry Houdini.

The Elms - Newport, R.I.

Me at the back portion of The Elms

This mansion was formerly a summer residence of Mr. & Mrs. Edward Berwind from Philadelphia and New York. Berwind was famous in the coal industry where he got his wealth.

The Elms was built in the 18th century and completed in 1901 with a cost of $1.4 million. Its interior furnishings and decorations are Renaissance-inspired with accents of an 18th century French and Venetian paintings and Oriental Jades.

The Berwind couple obviously love the gardens with classical revivals that were developed between 1907 and 1914.

It also has marble and bronze sculptures, a park and with a lower garden that displays marble pavillions, fountains, a sunken garden and carriage house with garage.

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Have fun!

The Breakers - Newport, R.I.

While the Marble House is considered to be the extravagant summer house of the Vanderbilt family because of its extravagant architectural designs, The Breakers is considered to be the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages".

The Breakers were purchased as a wooden house by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt in the 18th century. It was then renovated to a villa replacing the earlier wood-framed house that was destroyed by fire.
Richard Hunt, (also the architect of Marble House) redesigned the villa creating a 70-room Italian Renaissance style palazzo as inspired by the 16th century palaces of Geno and Turin.

Furnishings and fixtures were done by Allard and Sons of Paris, while the relief sculpture was done by Karl Bitter, an Austro-American sculptor. The family quarters' decorations were courtesy of Ogden Codman, an architect from Boston.

The Marble House - Newport, RI

This is so far my favorite visit in seeing a mansion, - the Marble House. It was built in the 18th century and is one of the most extravagant summer house or "cottage" built for Mr. & Mrs. William Vanderbilt during America's Gilded Age, built in Newport, RI. The couple hiredRichard Morris Hunt as the builder and designer of the mansion.
Hunt was inspired with a neoclassic design and combined it with massive Corinthian columns, a 10-ton bronze, steel and crystal grille entranceway.

The main entry hall (as you can see above) is made entirely of yellow Sienna marble!

As you go along, you'll just run out of descriptions as you'll be amazed with the fully lavished designs all thorughout! If you want to visit, you can either opt to choose an audio tour for your convenience and learn the detailed history about Marble House.

NOTE: Strictly, photos are NOT allowed inside :(.

Rhode Island - The Ocean State

Rhode Island is famous of its nickname as "The ocean State" or to some it's called "Little Rhody." It's the smallest state in the US with only 1,545 square miles including Narragansett Bay. It's name was derived for the Isle of Rhodes (in the Mediterranean Sea ) or for its red clay. Adriaen Block, a Dutch explorer perhaps named it "Rood Eylandt" which means Red Island in Dutch.

Although the state is small, there are lots of interesting places and scenic visits to see. If you are planning a trip and you plan to be driving mostly, prepare for those narrow, mostly one-way roads in Newport. I am not sure driving around Providence, but we were in Newport most of our visits, so that was an experience on our part. If you have your map, you won't get lost...remember, it's just a small area :).

Buildings of ancient architectural designs such as mansions and castles are plenty to visit. They are mostly in one area in Newport.You can either choose to walk while visiting the mansions one at a time, or you can drive.

Aaahhh! We had a wonderful time visiting different mansions!

(more on my next post...)

Unique Trip Experiences to Switzerland

I haven't been to Switzerland yet, but I'm hoping someday my dream of visiting Switzerland will come true! I travel a lot in the US and doing all the itineraries as planned are all worth memorable.
It amazes me to know that there are lots of unique experiences to be done in Switzerland! Being a country of dramatic landscapes and with strong cultural influences, it must be a memorable experience to cherish.
Trip experiences can be enjoying and I believe it includes enjoying the culture of the country you are visiting as well.
Discover Swiss "Pearls" and you will be amazed that Switzerland has a lot of unique trip itineraries to enjoy. One of the activities worth doing that I would like best for example is to see the Grandstand View. I would also love to try the experience of doing the medieval papermaking. Just in case, it would be the most unique and productive trip experience I have done in all my trips. It's nice doing an actual activity and at the same time learning the history behind it.
I am basically a nature lover and I love to visit and learn various histories of nature, and as I see it, Switzerland has a lot to offer for travellers.

Here are my top 5 picks of the activities I consider unique and worth enjoying when visiting Switzerland:

Grandstand View

Staring an elephant in the face

Medieval Papermaking

Learning About Our Neolithic Ancestors

Ghost Walk through Zurich

Switzerland has a lot of special things to consider when visiting. Discover those "gems" today!

Our Rhode Island Adventure

I know I'm a little bit behind sharing our trip to Rhode Island, couple weeks ago. Although, I'm a li'l bit delayed I would like to share some few to begin with. I will try to recall all the places that we visited later.

Anyway, the whole trip was a lot of fun. The only thing that was a bit of a hassle on our part was that the place where we were supposed to stay (Lady Victorian Inn), wasn't able to accomodate us due to the fact that the in keeper messed up the date. Instead of putting on the correct date, the record said it was on another month! Harry, (the inn keeper's name) was apologetic, and was able to recommend us a nice place (another inn), the Spring Season Inn few blocks away from their place.

We started our planned itinerary that same day we arrived...and the day was so sunny and warm! :). I will continue on my next post :).

Disney's California Adventure - 3

Golden State:

• Soarin' Over California

This ride is like a virtual reality. You get to sit in an open simulated airplane and then see a seem-like breath taking scenes of California. The scenes are in a big screen but looks like you're in it! :). It feels like you're really up in the open air, and soaring and swooping like an eagle! Gosh! Did I tell I'm scared of heights?...I closed my eyes most of the time. LOL!

• Mission Tortilla Factory

This is fun thing to do if you love tortillas. You go take behind-the-scenes look at tortilla production. Of course, you'll always get a free taste! :).

• The Bakery Tour

Another tour where you can watch as bakers create fresh sourdough bread before your eyes. With free taste of a freshly baked dough! :).

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Disney's California Adventure - 2

There are lot of things to do inside, but I would only be sharing my experiences to the attractions I went into.

Hollywood Pictures Backlot:

1. The Twilight Zone-Tower of Terror - I thought this would only be a regular elevator ride with ghostly effects...well, I like those things, but hubby and I didn't have the idea of sitting in that huge elevator and had a free fall of more than 100 feet down (3 times)! Take note: Be sure to wear that seat belt...or else, you would find yourself flying and hit yourself all around, LOL! My legs were shaking on that ride and I won't do it again!

2. Turtle Talk with Crush - Good place to take your kids. You'll get to see a turtle called "Crush" who talks with the kids. An interactive chat session for kids and Crush is just cute to see him talking to the kids. Humorous turtle too! :).

"Bug's Land:

3. It's tough to be a Bug! - This is a 3D show with the usual 3D glasses that they provide to watch the show. On the show, you also get to feel crawling "friendly" bugs under your seat...eeewww! But above all, it's fun! Nothing creepy!

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Disney's California Adventure - 1

December 9 & 12, 2008
We had visited Disney twice since our hotel (Doubletree) is close to the park in Anaheim, California. It was nice to be in the park (in another place, lol!) due to the fact that we frequented Disneyworld in Florida the previous years...much bigger. But nothing else is much different when it comes to Disney. It's always a good thing to become "child-like" once in a while :).

Honestly, we enjoy kiddie rides better than the roller coasters and other high thrill rides, LOL! I and my husband are scared of heights, although in my case, I would always want to overcome and try thrilling rides, which I would end up NOT doing it when I'm alone, hahaha...

More coming on my next post.

See ya'll!

Drive Safe This Summer

For drivers, whether you like it or not, the fact is that the biggest cause of fatal car accidents is driver distraction.
Talking on cell phones for example is considered dangerous, according to the National Highway Traffic Administration. During summer, drivers are most likely to make calls thinking driving conditions are fine and it's just okay to take their mind off the road.

Did you know that when you compare reflexes and response time of a driver on a cell phone with that of a drunk driver, those ones on the cell phones face worse? And another thing, it's even not a valid reason using headsets because they aren't any safer! Drivers are 4x more likely to get into car crash when they're on any phone, even a hands-free one.

It's because conversations can lead to "inattention blindness" in which you miss up to 50% of safety cues, like flashing brake lights on the car infront of you.

So, next time you're on the road, buckle up, stow your cell phone away, - and pull over if you must take a call. A trip delay is much more worth than losing your life! That makes sense, right?

Drive safe!

Auto Body Shops

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Lackawanna Coal Mine

A tour going underground! That's Lackawanna Coal Mine Tours in northeastern Pennsylvania. The tour begins with a 250-foot descent below the earth, through a mine car, once used by miners. You will be led by a tour guide to a one-half mile through the winding underground gangways and rock tunnel while explaining the mining geology, etc... The tour group will also experience the extreme darkness, the way the miners usually work.

The Anthracite Heritage Museum is located separately just next to mine in Mcdade Park. Here, more information will be learned about the history and the people in the region. The museum is open year-round, from 9AM to 5PM, Mon.-Sat. and noon to 5PM Sunday.

If you want to experience the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tours, it's an hour tour and are offered daily from 10AM-3PM frm April 1 to November. Or better yet, visit lackawannacounty.org

Have fun!