After taking those pictures and seeing how americans park their cars in multi-level parking lots (and wondering if I’d accept to have my car hoisted to the 4th “floor” in such a parking system), we walked to Chelsea Piers. On Pier 59 people play some sort of golf. It’s not a “normal” field, but we saw many people practicing it. There were thousands of balls laying around and I was very happy to pick 3. We were 3 and these were just laying around. Well, not anymore.

Golf is not so popular in Romania. I think there is a club in our city area, but very few people play it. Very few. We saw some golf equipment in a store in the Parndorf outlet near Vienna. This was the only contact we had with the sport, seeing something in a store window. So you can now understand how thrilled we were to hold these 3 used and scratched golf balls. Since I am a total lady, won’t go into detail to what kind of jokes we made back then, you can only imagine.

After adopting these 3 poor unloved golf balls and getting sick of dirty jokes, we did some more walking at talking until something else caught our attention. Yes, I can say I have seen the Gay Street too and of course took a pic I can show now back home.

Our friend showed us the building he once lived in. They would share the rent in a VERY small apartment. It cost him 500 USD/month to live in an apartment as big as my smallest room back in Romania. Even if his family lived in a decent sized house in Queens, he wanted to live in Manhattan.

For a young man, interested in going out and having fun, this was the best choice. Still for me the best idea would have been to live in a quiet area in Queens for instance and just go visit Manhattan. But we’re not living here and perhaps know nothing about the way people prioritize here.

It’s been a nice moment for him to remember some of the places he used to frequent and also realize how far he’d gone. He’s owning an amazingly beautiful house in Atlanta, has an amazing wife and kid. The old days of living in a small rat-box like apartment are gone, but there are still many memories and cool places to show to those 2 Europeans who just want to see it all.

After trying some Italian Cannoli and taking some more pictures, we realized my BF forgot the lens cap of his camera near the Chelsea Piers. Yes, quite far from where we were. Since the chances to find it were slim, our friend took us to B&H to replace it so that his lens won’t get dirty or scratched. The Empire State Building was close and he invited us to see it too.

It was Wednesday, so the tourist crowds meant just few people who were patiently waiting to get into the Observatory. It gave us enough space to see the amazing floors and all the luxurious design elements in the building. And then we stopped at the security check and I had to leave those 3 balls there. Can’t really guess why, maybe they were scared I’d drop them from the 80th+ floor, who knows. Since they weren’t vital to us, I just left them with the security guys and enjoyed a spectacular view in that cloudless day. Manhattan and the near boroughs looked just like in a dream. Money well spent.

Almost 1 hour after we took the lift back to the first floor, when I remembered I had some balls. And yes, I got back to the security check to get them back. The dialogue will surely make a funny memory for the security guy too for years to come:

“Hello, I left some balls”

“Ah, golf balls. Wait, they’re dirty”

“Yeah, they’re used. We found them”

“…”

“We don’t have these in my country”

“…”

“We’re from Europe”.

Yes, I am sure he’ll always remember the crazy European who came back for her … balls.

[View with PicLens]

We got off the subway near the Court House and then followed the signs to the Brooklyn Bridge. Few days ago we went directly to the shoreline and missed the entry to the bridge. Contrary to our beliefs the Brooklyn Bridge doesn’t start directly near the water. In that day we took a lot of pics at Pier 17 and then even got to see the Wall Street and then Battery Park and take the first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Can’t say we regretted not walking the bridge.

Well, we finally saw the right path and started the walk and talking picture job. The Brooklyn Bridge is beautiful, cannot say otherwise. You can find about how it got built and see the lower side of Manhattan. The only issue is that you’re between the cables, so taking pics of the skyline without some vertical “strips” is kinda impossible. There’s a lot of people, mainly tourists I assume, especially since few actually crossed the bridge entirely. As many other places in New York, it could use a fresh coat of paint.

After passing it entirely we tried to find the way to a subway station, to get back to Queens, where we’re living at some very dear and hospitable friends of ours. A nice gentleman gave us the good direction and, few meters from the subway entrance we noticed that you can actually walk on the Manhattan Bridge too. You can guess this was looking better than the idea of getting back home, so we started our journey on it too.

I would sound “crazy”, but I gotta admit I like this one better than the more famous Brooklyn Bridge. Maybe because it’s all “metal” and I assume there’s been a lot of work put into it. We took some more pictures of it and Manhattan skyline + the Brooklyn Bridge, then we noticed on the street we got into there were a lot of Chinese characters in the shops’ names. Yep, we got right into Chinatown.

What’s to be said about it? A lot of graffiti marks on the walks, dirt on the streets and the Chinese merchandise I personally dislike in my country. Very cheap and of a sinister quality. Even if now all these seemed ‘cool’, since we were not in Europe, not even in “real New York”, we refrained from buying stuff, especially since we didn’t need anything. I did enjoy seeing so many “asian” faces; I find them beautiful. Another thing we noticed was the big number of jewelry shops. And some items, although at too high price for us to afford any, looked amazingly beautiful. Talent and skills, gold and precious stones, the perfect recipe.

Then we found a subway station, another dirty and unkempt one. We’re getting used to seeing this in NY and it’s a pity, really. They have an amazing public transportation system, we’re amazed about how well it all works. But the stations are a disgrace for such an amazing city. And we’re not talking Bronx here, we’re talking MANHATTAN.

Anyway … here are the pics. It was a great “trip”, can’t wait to see some more from the Big Apple.

[View with PicLens]

The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park.

This is what we find out from the official High Line site I recommend you to visit to get all the details.

And this is how you get there or can obtain more details:

The High Line is located on Manhattan’s West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues. Section 1 of the High Line, which opened to the public on June 9, 2009, runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street.

For park information, please call the High Line Information Line: (212) 500-6035

And now the pictures:

[View with PicLens]

We would talk so much about it, she was anxious to personally see what’s so wonderful that we wouldn’t shut up.

Long story short: we got up in the car (we like to drive, even if it’s almost 800 km) and drove. It was December 30th. In Timisoara the winter was “normal”: -20 degrees (Celsius), freezing cold. Almost all the way through the Serbian mountains was cold too, but, the moment we got “on the other site”, we saw the numbers go up. FAST.

In the morning, our first stop was Kotor Bay in Montenegro. We ALWAYS stop there, it’s an amazing fjord and it would be a pity to not spend some minutes admiring the amazing views. As opposed to Timisoara, where our families didn’t even enjoy getting out because of the cold, in Montenegro it was “spring”, or at least that’s how we felt. Approximately 15 degrees (again Celsius), a huge difference from what was when we left our country.

We had ice on the roads, they had sun and palm trees:

Who said life was fair?

As in any normal city, we have lots of travel agencies in Timisoara (where we live in). With amazing offers to get you to the other side of the world, discounts, 5 star hotels, anything you want. Still there were still people who complained about problems once they reached their destination: the rooms they booked weren’t available, the 4 star hotel looked like a 3 star hotel etc. Some of the issues were pretty minor, but others could really ruin the vacation for you.

And since we always thought the best people to know about their accommodation facilities are the ones to own the “shack”, we tried a different approach. The first stop was of course the huge Booking.com, we were pretty reluctant to use since we live in Romania and thought it would be pretty difficult to book a room and especially have the credit card work to solve all the things needed to confirm the booking. Well, we were wrong. In under 2 minutes my credit card was checked and considered valid, the room was booked and we also received an email confirming all these details.

After reading honest reviews from the people who were already there, seeing on the map the exact location and distance to the city area Numismata would take place, and browsing through tens of possible hotels, we made our choice.

The day we arrived there some nervousness was normal. What if my credit card wasn’t OK? What if they didn’t keep the room available? What if? Well, everything was working nicely. I said my name at the Reception, they confirmed the booking, gave us the key and in few days our positive review was posted on the site, marking yet another good “transaction” for the hotel.

From that moment on, all our bookings were done online. Sometimes we’d go to the hotel’s site an book the room or use booking.com again. This way we found excellent rooms in Berlin, Munich and even Croatia. The last “find” was a studio apartment we were so pleased with this summer was the third time we’d go there.

All done from my computer back home. See all possibilities, read all reviews and then decide. No promotional texts coming from agency people who might never have seen the place, no lies, no exaggerations. What we saw online was what we got. No surprises, except for the positive ones, when we realized the place was even better than what we expected from the online presentation.

In our case there is “no contest” in this area. In a way I kinda feel sorry for the travel agencies in my city I just ignore, but we are used to working on all details on our own. Maybe we lost some amazing discounts, who knows. But we like to get in touch with our hosts as soon as possible and prepare for our trips on our own.

What’s your choice in these cases? Do you rely on travel agencies in your city to do the work for you and just take one of their offers? Do you book your own accommodation online and go from there?

Now we’re back. With a new updated design, based on an amazing wordpress theme, modified so that it does have the unique look the blog should have. With many many images (will be posted these days) and of course many stories and recommendations.

You’ll be able to make a virtual visit to: Austria, Germany, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania, Albania etc. Find sightseeing recommendations and first hand advice from people who have done both the talk and the walk

Should you personally own a good restaurant or a hotel, please let us know. We’ll promote it in the featured category and you can also get feedback from our visitors who have tried your services.

And still, I’d have some scares when it comes to going to this particular one.

The picture was taken in Shkodra (Albania) this summer.

Looks like he/she doesn’t have too many patients right now.

In our summer vacation we were able to visit a country that was pretty interesting in many aspects. And the most interesting one was they had LOTS of Mercedes cars.

Guess what that country was …

Was it Italy? Was it Serbia? No.

It was  ALBANIA.

You can see my car (the light coloured Opel Corsa). I have a Mercedes behind me, 2 on the other side of the road, another following the VW on the street and (you can’t see them, but they are there) lots of other Mercedes cars. Some are very old, we saw some newer ones too and 2-3 of the latest release. Still, they seem to have a passion for Mercedes

Any new blog has to start with a “Hello world!” message, even if most new blogs don’t have yet ANY readers, except for the blogger who’s creating them. Still, we’ll surely obey the (un)written rule and say a HUGE HELLO! to all of you who will come to read these articles.

“Blog my travels” is a project dedicated to all of you who travel and love every minute of it. I got the idea in one of my (few but amazing) travels. We (me and my boy-friend) spent 10 wonderful days in Cavtat (near Dubrovnik, Croatia) and, even if I was busy with my sun tan all day long, there were still moments I felt like doing something more than reading a book or playing Sudoku.

We visited some paradise like places and I just felt the NEED to tell someone about this. Sure thing, our friends will hear about our vacation for many months to go, but why not have it all written down? I’d love reading these articles in years and recalling all those wonderful times.

Please consider this project to be an “open” one. Should you wish to also contribute stories about your own vacations and amazing places you have visited, please feel free to register an account and become an editor. We’d love having more article writers in this project since it would really help us cover more about this world.

There will be many posts about all kinds of experiences we had in our journeys, so please stay “tuned”.