Ladee's Travels

Nuremberg, Germany - Back Bude Cafe

I am in Nuremberg for a few days before joining a river cruise to tour a few Christmas Markets in Germany and Austria.

I started my first morning in Nuremberg with a French croissant and latte.

This is a view of the neighborhood.

This little shop is down the street from the apartment and will make a good place to start the day.

This is a self serve place so I figure out how to make my coffee.

I pick up a white paper (but didn't see the tray) and selected a croissant from the cases.

There is a large selection including other breakfast pastries and some hot dog type of sandwiches.

Fueled and ready for a day of touring, I made my way to the Nuremberg Castle. This advertisement for the Christkindlesmarkt shows a nice map of the markets and will come in handy throughout the weekend.

Transatlantic - A Full Day of Travel

The flight left Phoenix and flew 10 hours directly to London. I slept soundly for about 8 of those inflight hours. I landed at Heathrow midday, took the shuttle from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 and had a light lunch.

I didn't shop but there were plenty of options.

Next leg is a British Airlines flight to Düsseldorf. This is a view before we left the ground.

Midway

A little inflight snack in festive holiday shapes.

Landing in Düsseldorf.

My passport was stamped upon arrival and I had about an hour before my next flight. I saw a smoker's lounge sponsored by Camel, complete with a clear warning that smoking can kill you. Other than that, an interesting grab and go (or grab and sit) place. Nice airport.

The next leg was in a smaller plane. I had to check my carry-on luggage plane side. We sat on the plane for awhile, something about traffic around Frankfurt.

I think that I like this plane because it is red.

The good news is that the lower altitude gives great photos.

I had my first taste of the famous German Christmas cookies with ginger.

We landed in Nuremberg to a scene straight out of Casablanca.

My home for a few days in Old Town with NBF Melanie.

Phoenix, Arizona - Full Moon Rises Over Tovrea Castle

I have been waiting for months for the full moon to align with the Tovrea Castle so that I could have this type of photograph. I was astonished as the dark night sky started to brighten and then I saw the edge of the moon shining through the windows on the top level. It was an astounding sight.

You can see a prior post of the Tovrea Castle, the inside and outside in daylight, click here.

Miami, Arizona - The Cats of Miami

A town wide project to paint cats throughout.

Miami-based artist Marianne Collins remembers getting up around 5:30 a.m. and painting until it got too hot each day for months on storefronts, doorways, planters, and trash bins around Miami's historic downtown. Her objective? To line the streets with 121 original painted cats and other creatures.
(Source: http://www.globemiamitimes.com/cats-of-miami/)

We had a fun time finding a few of the 121 cats.

Las Vegas, Nevada - Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon is a National Conservation Area 20 miles west of Las Vegas. It has easy access and is also very accessible for great pictures with an abundance of "pull over" parking areas throughout the park. Many thanks for fellow adventurer Vicki for the Lexus four-wheel-drive trek to photograph this beautiful canyon. Best at sunset and sunrise. We were there for the sunset part and need to return in the early morning to catch the light on the other side of the canyon. The area also has a lot of hiking and biking trails.

There is a very nice visitor center with exhibits and a gift shop. Make sure to get your National Park Passport stamped!

Rocky Point, Mexico

A few hours of drive time and you are on the beach. The condo has Paris decor and a magnificent view from the 14th floor.

When we (as young folks) used to visit here, we would stay on this same beach. Sandy Beach had no hotels, no condos. We camped right here, on the beach!