Tag: travel family

Art, city, day trip, Europe, family, food, free, italy

Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

thepartyevent

Bologna is the beautiful and lively, historic capital of Emilia-Romagna, a region in northern Italy. It is full of rich history, culture, amazing architecture and it might be the most delicious city in all of Italy. And if this is not enough, there is another great reason to visit Bologna. While most cities are overrun with tourists in summer, Bologna is still very much undiscovered by foreign tourists. There were only a few other tourists, which made for a special, authentic, immersive local experience which was so delicious.

Bologna has three nicknames that sum up this wonderful city perfectly:

La Rossa, which means the red, referring to the beautiful terracotta-hued, yellow and red medieval buildings and the UNESCO-protected porticoes, as well as its communist past.

La Grassa which means the fat, referring to the rich and delicious cuisine making Bologna Italy’s gastronomic capital. Handmade Pasta, hearty meat sauces, cured meat, salty cheese and lots of other delicacies can be all found in Bologna.

La Dotta, which means the learned or the studied, referring to its university, founded in 1088. The University of Bologna is one of the most ancient and prestigious in the world.

We loved wandering the endless streets covered in Porticoes, we marveled at the painted walls and ceilings, soaked in the beauty around us and ate our way through Bologna.

La Rossa

One of the first things in Bologna that visitors will notice are the medieval buildings in different warm hues like terracotta, orange and other earthy colors. They influence most of the city center and are embellished with matching porticoes, which are beautiful roofs that are supported by columns. The special thing about the porticoes in Bologna is that they are all interconnected. They are an important cultural and architectural heritage of Bologna and represent a symbol of the city together with the numerous towers.

No other city in the world has as many porticoes as Bologna. In the historic center alone, they are about 40 kilometers long, and more than 60 kilometers long including the porticoes outside the medieval city walls. It is an international record that Bologna has been holding for more than 900 years and that today, together with the towers, the terracotta facades and its delicious food like Tagliatelle al Ragù, Tortellini, Mortadella (to name a few) – are the identity of this city.

La Grassa

The cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna region is some of the best in Italy and Bologna is called the gastronomical capital of Italy. With so much delicious food in Bologna, it can be a challenge to order only one dish… We wanted to taste it all and are so happy we did….

Bologna is the birthplace of Pasta Bolognese, or Tagliatelle al Ragù. One of the most popular pasta sauces in the world, Pasta Bolognese is never served on Spaghetti. There is no such thing as spaghetti Bolognese in Bologna. The ragu sauce is topped over Tagliatelle, a thicker flat-ribboned pasta that holds the sauce better. And it is.. Oh so good…

And then there is handmade stuffed pasta like Tortellini and Tortelloni, the different sized versions of pasta dumplings. Either Tortellini in Brodo (served in a broth) or Tortellini in Panna (a cream sauce) are so delicious. We also tried the Lasagna Bolognese which is served with green pasta and the Cotoletta alla Bolognese. One of our favorites was the fried Mortadella. Other traditional dishes and food to try from the Emilia Romagna region are of course Parmigiano Reggiano, or parmesan, Prosciutto from Parma – ham, balsamic vinegar from Modena, Passatelli, Tigelle, Balanzoni, Aperol Spris and many other delicacies.  

Eating is quite simply one of the best things to do in Bologna.

La Dotta

The exact date of the University of Bologna’s founding is uncertain but believed to have been 1088. During the Middle Ages, scholars from all over flocked to Bologna to pursue their intellectual studies. Some of the University’s most famous students throughout history include Dante, Petrarch, Erasmus, and Guglielmo Marconi. Today the University has a diverse range of programs at all levels. It also houses a vast collection of Medieval art and illuminated manuscripts.

Uncategorized

Cape Spartel, Morocco

thepartyevent

Caves of Hercules, Camels and a Lighthouse

Located about 14 kilometers west of the city of Tangier, Morocco, lies the famous Cave of Hercules, which is a fascinating archaeological cave and the most North Western point of mainland Africa. The cave has two openings. The one that faces the Mediterranean Sea resembles the shape of Africa. It is said to have been created by the Phoenicians, while other stories claim it was carved by the waves. I found the shape so interesting and love that it resembles Africa. The opening facing the land was carved by local Berbers, who cut their millstones from the rock. You can still see many indentations on the cave walls and ceiling.

Legend says Hercules, one of the most famous heroes of the Greek mythology, parted the continents Africa and Europe with his hands, forming the Strait of Gibraltar. He later rested and slept in a cave off the cost of Africa before he went on with his adventures.

The cave is free to enter and to explore on your own, but there were also guided tours available. We did not have a tour guide and it was lots of fun.  The cave system is open daily, year-round. July and August are the peak season and have the most visitors, including at the nearby beaches. 

There are so many myths and stories about the caves, which was definitely my favorite part and made it feel like we were visiting inside a magical story book. It was also a great way to get the kids interested about it. Climbing any kind of rock and visiting a cave, is a happy place for my boys, but adding the stores, made it even better and more adventurous. We still talked about the caves and stories days later…

According to one of the myth and legends, Hercules slept in the caves on his way to steal three golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides. He had to fulfill 12 tasks in total and stealing the apples, which were believed to gave immortal life to anyone who ate them, was the 11th of the “12 Labors of Hercules.” The garden of Hesperides was located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa. When Hercules was on his way to the garden he found he had to cross these mountains. Because his way was blocked, Hercules smashed through the mountain with superhuman powers, splitting its rocky face in half and separating Europe and Africa. This was how the Strait of Gibraltar was born and the reminders of this act can be found in the Rock of Gibraltar and the Jebel Musa, east of Tangier.

We loved the stories so much that we ordered several books about the Greek mythology for kids afterwards.

Discovered in 1906, the cave extends for 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) and is both natural and man-made. 

Another story about the Cave of Hercules was that it is the one end of a 15-mile-long (24 kilometers) tunnel between Morocco and Spain. People say this is how the macaques who live at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar made their way from Africa. Click here to see our adventure with the monkeys in Gibraltar:

Gibraltar – Away we wander and discover the world… (myfamilytraveladventures.com)

The pictures are a little dark with the light coming through the opening mirroring the shape of Africa. This was the place with most of the tourists and the highlight for most people. I still think the best part is the story about the cave.

We didn’t find Hercules or monkeys at the caves, but they’re worth exploring nonetheless. And the stories make it even more exciting. Again its my favorite part…

After visiting the caves, we continued to drive to Cape Cartel to see the lighthouse. We also drove by a few camels sitting with their babies. They were so cute and of course we had to stop. 

Cape Spartel is a promontory in Morocco about 1,000 feet above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, about 15 min drive West of Tangier.  It is where the Mediterranean sea meets the Atlantic Ocean! 

The Spartel lighthouse that was built in the 1860s by an international coalition (including the USA, France, Spain, and Morocco) in order to mark the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar.

There also lots of tour companies that offer half or full day tours of the caves, the lighthouse and some other places as a package.

Uncategorized

Schaffhausen, Switzerland

thepartyevent

The amazing Rheinfall / Rhine Falls

The Rheinfall / Rhine falls is the largest waterfall in Europe and is located close to the border near Schaffhausen in the Northeast of Switzerland. There are many other waterfalls that have greater drops and are much longer, but the Rhine Falls is the most powerful. Because of melting alpine caps, the water flows at an impressive rate of up to 600,000 liters per second during the summer. Even though, it is only 23 meters high, it is about 150 meters wide, making the Rhine Falls very impressive, powerful and loud.

The Rhine Falls is around 15.000 years old and originated during the last ice age. Because of tectonic shifts , the Rhine River was forced into the current riverbed. First the stream met the glacial deposits – gravel, clay and sand. Once the glacial deposits were washed away, it met with a large block of hard rock. That’s why the river became wider and more shallow before leaping over this rock, forming an enormous waterfall.

There are several different parking lots on both sides of the river. We parked very conveniently on P2 and only walked a couple of minutes downhill to get to the site. If you have read some of my other posts, you know we are known to visit many places in the late afternoon and early evening. This works out great for us, because most of the crowds already left for the day and everything is covered in the golden afternoon light. We started our walk at Schloessli Woerth, which also has a restaurant and a boat dock for tours.

We decided to walk the promenade along the water towards the falls. There is an information point, playground, benches and several view points which are all free. The entire walk around the Rhine Fall basin was about 3 kilometers long.

The river Rhine is really special to me. I grew up in a small village right next to it and even saw it from my classroom window at school everyday. (The Rhine is the largest river in Germany and it flows from the Alps to the North Sea. ) We had visited family at Lake Constance, so it was the perfect opportunity to make a stop at the Rhine Falls. I am so glad we did. It is an amazing sight.

These waterfalls have been formed in a sharp bend of the Rhine which is why it offers so many impressive views.

We walked by several little platforms and viewing points, discovering little side waterfalls and different angles.

What a gorgeous view with the castle in the background.

The highlight for the boys was dangling their feet inside the water on one of the platforms. They had seen several people do it and since it seemed harmless with the handrail, I let them join the fun. Little things (if they are not dangerous) makes kids so much more excited about a place. I want my kids to want to travel with me and have fun while doing it. Little things like this can make their day and they will always remember the Rhine Falls. It also gave me a great picture opportunity.

This viewing platform was one of my favorites. The views were spectacular, the sun was setting perfectly and we had the falls almost to ourselves. In the middle of the Rhine Falls stands a large rock that has withstood the elements for thousands of years. The rock can be reached on one of the boat tours, which must be impressive. Virtually in the middle of the waterfall, visitors stand on platforms that jut out and partially hover over the Rhine. We will be back for that Rhine Falls.

Next up was crossing the water to the other side of the falls for more spectacular views.

We continued on the path which led us over the railway bridge that was built in 1857. There is a small pedestrian pathway right next to the railroad, which crosses the river, just above the falls.  I highly recommend to walk across the bridge and admire the falls from this amazing viewpoint. 

We were greeted by these cute cows. I am not sure if they always stand there, but the kids loved it. Of course we had to take cow pictures in Switzerland, even if the cows were made out of plastic.

Schloss Laufen

Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall on the southern bank towers on a rocky cliff high above the waterfall. Most visitors (including us) stroll directly through the inner courtyard of the castle to the “Känzeli”, a spectacular viewing platform directly over the thundering Rhine Falls. From here you can get the best views of this imposing natural spectacle. In addition there is also a new visitors’ center, a children’s playground and the “Historama” (interactive exhibition about the Rhine Falls and its 1000-year-old history ) . Schloss Laufen has an entry fee:

Entrance per person CHF 5.00 per person.
Included in the ticket price: access to the Historama and the viewing platforms.
Children 6 – 15 years CHF 3.00
For groups from 15 to 29 persons, CHF 3.00 per person.
For groups with more than 30 persons, CHF 2.00 per person.
Tickets for visitors in a wheelchair, with a pram and groups of 15 or more are only available in the Visitor Centre.

Since we did not book a tour and didn’t have too much information beforehand about the Rhine Falls, I found this sign very interesting. I normally plan and get to know some facts before visiting a place, but sometimes like here, I didn’t have time and appreciated this great sign even more.

Facts & figures
 
Width of the Falls
150 metres
Height of the Falls
23 metres
Depth of the basin
13 metres
Age of the Falls
approx. 15’000 years
Capacity of flow in summer
approx. 600’000 litres per second
Capacity of flow in winter
approx. 250’000 litres per second
Lowest capacity of flow
1921, 95’000 litres per second
Greatest capacity of flow
1965, 1’250’000 litres per second

The path to the viewing platform was steep, rocky and had lots of stairs. So much more fun for the kids. We even had to go through the rock several times.

Once we arrived at the platform, we were rewarded with an amazing view and sound. This was my other favorite spot of the day. We could feel the roar and vibration of the water through our entire body. We even got a little wet from the spray of the falls. This was an experience that I will never forget. This is the place to see, hear and feel the power of the falls.

This place is also one of the photo stops of the Grand Tour of Switzerland.

I hope you liked our visit to the Rheinfall. Follow us for more of our travel adventures.

Look through and download the official brochure of the Rhine Falls in English and German. The brochure is also available in French and Italian.

Rheinfall_Prospekt_de_en_2021_web.pdf

Comment below of your favorite place in Switzerland.

Uncategorized

Lake Reschen, South Tyrol, Italy

thepartyevent

The sunken Bell Tower inside the Lago di Resia/Reschensee

The sunken bell tower inside Lago di Resia/Reschensee looks like straight out of a fairytale. The real story is not as magical and has no elves, goblins, wizards or fairies. The church tower of Old Curon, dating back to the 14th century, is the only visible remnant of a small town that vanished in 1950. An electric company built a dam, which unified two natural lakes, Reschensee and Mittersee and flooded many hectares of land as well as more than 150 houses and buildings.. The villagers tried to resist, but in the end were forced to resettle somewhere else. Only the top of the bell tower remained visible above the water.

Lago di Resia/Reschensee is an artificial lake located in the Vinschgau Valley in Italy, only a few miles of the Austrian and Swiss border. When the lake freezes in winter, it is even possible to walk out to the bell tower.

I visited the Reschensee the first time in 1995 with my grandparents and sister on the way to Italy. I remember how impressed I was as a child by the church inside the lake. It is a great memory that I cheerish a lot. Since we were driving from Italy to Germany, we had to stop there one more time to show the kids.

Numerous legends and stories swirl around the flooding and the bell tower. Local legend says that on some nights you can still hear the bells ringing — although the bells were removed on July 18th, 1950, a week before the water flooded the village and the church’s bottom half.

It was as beautiful as I remembered and the kids were as impressed as I was as a child. It was already early evening and only a few other people were there. We watched the sun go down and covered the bell tower in a golden light.

We stayed for a while and I let the kids discover and play while the sun was going down. I always try to stay as long as possible which works perfectly for my family. The kids appreciate the places much more when they can discover on their own rather than only taking a couple pictures. And usually one kid – most of the time Giorgio – finds a favorite new stone or stick that will travel along with us (even if it only for a little).

The sun went down way too fast and we continued to our next adventure.

Uncategorized

Sault, Southern France

thepartyevent

The fragrant Lavender Fields of the Provence

The beautiful vibrant fields of purple together with the aromatic but calming scent of lavender have captivated people for a long time.  Visiting the Provence in France and standing in the middle of a lavender field was on my bucket list for a long time. We had the opportunity to drive through France in the beginning of August in 2019 and I promised myself to make this dream come true.

I didn’t know at the time that August was already very (too) late to see the beautiful Lavender fields . The best time to visit is between mid June to mid July. Most fields have been harvested by the end of July. I still wanted to try to find a blooming lavender field and did not get discouraged.

I had researched before online and found several areas that sounded promising. Once we were in the Provence, we found out that most of the fields were already harvested. We drove to many sites that I had found and there were no more blooming Lavender fields.

We were ready for a break and for something to eat and stopped spontaneously in Sault. I am so happy we found this small charming village. It lays up on a hill at an altitude of 750 meters with gorgeous views of Val de Sault (which in June and July must have been painted in purple with all the blooming fields).

We parked the car and wandered around streets, old stone houses and village squares. It was such a quaint little village with lots of purple accents. We visited several shops and tasted the different nougats, macaroons and delicious lavender honey. We ate lunch and bought some nougat and lavender to take with us. There was a really nice girl in one of the shops that explained to us the difference between Lavandula and Lavandin. She told us that the higher the altitude of the field, the later the flowers will bloom and gave me direction to several possible late blooming fields.

I was so delighted to finally see purple spots of lavender fields in the distance. I am still happy today, that even though the chances were slim, we actually found Lavender fields. There was somebody working on a field harvesting lavender. We got a “hands on” lavender lesson on how it is harvested and dried in the sun. Such a cool learning opportunity and adventure I will never forget.

animals, city, free, USA

Fort Worth, Texas

thepartyevent

The Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas

The Stockyards in Fort Wort feel like stepping inside an old Western Movie. I loved the whole feel of this Western Town from the cobblestone street to the saloon doors of a bar. The Texas Longhorn and the American Cowboy are two of the most famous symbols of the Old West. They are a big reason why Ft. Wort earned the nickname “Cowtown”

We tried on cowboy hats, belt buckles and boots and felt like real cowboys. Actually we do not know how real cowboys feel, but we felt great, ready for adventure….

We first watched a traditional Western Show and learned some interesting facts and then watched our first Rodeo Show. The boys loved it and we were fascinated by the entire atmosphere. A trip to the Stockyards is not complete without going to a Texas Rodeo.

One of the highlights of our day was the great cattle heard drive – Texas Longhorns driven by genuine Texas Cowhands. This drive is held twice a day and is free. (for more information, see below). Every detail of the drive – saddles, chaps, boots and hats – is authentic and historically true. The Fort Worth Herd Steers can be viewed daily between drives in their pens behind the Livestock Exchange Building on East Exchange Avenue. Drovers are available before each cattle drive for photos and questions. (for a small fee)

In my opinion, there is no better way to experience the essence of what this historic district is all about.

The Fort Worth Herd is the world’s only twice daily cattle drive, held every day at 11:30 AM & 4:00 PM in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Drives are not held on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day. The Fort Worth Herd Trail Boss determines drive cancelations due to inclement weather and necessary onsite changes. 
The Fort Worth Herd steers can be viewed before and after cattle drives in their pens behind the Livestock Exchange Building on East Exchange Avenue. 
Drovers are available before each cattle drive for photo ops and questions.
Be sure and ask for a Steer Trading Card!

We finished the day at Cooper’s Old Time Pit-BBQ, where it’s all about the meat….