It’s 2015…Hurray!! Time for resolutions, bucket lists and travel plans. But, before we do that let’s take some time to reflect on 2014, savor our experiences, learn from our mistakes and get ready for an amazing year ahead. In this post we want to relive some of our favorite experiences from our 2014 trips and share those with you.
Going Back In Time At The Feria In Spain
We’ve always wanted to experience a festival in Spain and struck gold when we found out that the Feria in Sevilla coincided with our travel dates. The entire city has a festive vibe and is sprinkled with adorned horse carriages, women dressed in their colorful flamenco outfits, and couples walking hand in hand making their way to the festival grounds…love was in the air! The Feria is organized on a big ground and is lined with beautifully decorated tents which are sponsored by families or companies and is invite only. There are community and free tents where everyone is welcome and can enjoy the festivities – there’s music, food, drinks and good-looking people….Do you need more? A very nice man saw our curious selves and invited us to his family tent, and offered us free food and drinks for the night. We love Spanish hospitality and danced the night away at the Feria. This was one of our best Spanish experiences…It can’t get more authentic that this!
All dressed up for the Feria
Dancing the night away
Making new friends
Exploring The Small Towns Of Tuscany
Tuscany is every romantic’s dream. Rolling hills, picture perfect scenery, great food and loads of wine. Movies like “Under the Tuscan Sun” have tempted us for years and we’ve always wondered if Tuscany is as wonderful as we see it in the movies, well the good news is that…It’s even better than the movies. We loved driving around Tuscany and exploring the towns of Montepuciano, Montelcino, Sienna and stopping by small bakeries, cheese farms, markets and wineries.
Bliss!
Admiring the view
Walking Along The Danube In Budapest
Walking along the Danube river in Budapest transports you to a fairy tale land. The city is lit up like Disneyland at night, and watching the twinkling lights dance in the Danube is a memorable sight. The views along the river can’t be beat, we especially loved spending time by the “shoes at the Danube monument.” These iron shoe sculptures are a solemn tribute to the jews who were killed during the holocaust. It’s simple and powerful! We spent hours along the Danube soaking is all the history and magic.
The magical city of Budapest
The Parliament Building….Amazing isn’t it!
Coffee And Deserts In Vienna
The imperial city of Vienna has some of the most exuberant and opulent cafes in the world. A place where diplomats, royals, dukes and their duchess’s once socialized and carried out their business affairs. These cafes are adorned with chandeliers, gold leaf ceilings, beautiful architecture and of course the yummiest treats. Did you know that the Sacher Torte was invented in Vienna? We binged on scrumptious cakes, pastries, apple strudel and various deserts all of which have a story and a legacy. The chefs of the imperial palace were constantly inventing sweet creations to impress the emperor and the empress, and thanks to them we get to try some of these today.
Cafe Demel was our favorite – enjoying a coffee concoction with a rich chocolate cake and apple strudel with thick vanilla custard…My mouth is watering just writing this!
The original Sacher Torte at the Sacher cafe – check out the chocolate seal on the cake 😛
Largest Ice Caves In The World
This was one of our favorite experiences. The Eisriesenwelt ice caves in Austria are the largest ice caves in the world. It took us two hours to get to the cave – Â drive, cable car and then hike, but it’s worth it. What we loved is the lack of commercialization and artificial lighting inside the cave. These caves are pitch dark and humongous, the guide has a magnesium wire that he burns to light up the cave as magnesium produces minimal heat and doesn’t damage the ice caves. If you’ve never seen an ice cave put this on your bucket list.
The views along the hike to the cave are as exciting as the ice formations inside the cave
Hiking in the Swiss Alps
 We’ved hiked in the Rockies, the Smokies but the Alps are the Alps!! Hiking among the giant peaks of Joungfrau, Eiger and Monch was a dream come true. The magnanimity of these mountains is humbling. The north face hike starts in the most picturesque town of Murren and has the best views of the Alps. We also hiked the glacier of Youngfrau aka “the top of Europe”where soft white blankets of snow surround you for as far as your eyes can see.
North Face hike in Murren
Glacier hike in Joungfrau
Biking Along Lake Annecy, France
The best way to see the charming lake town of Annecy is by renting a bike and pedaling your way through the countryside. We spent a whole day exploring lake Annecy and its cute fairy tale town. All of France is beautiful but the french Alps are picture perfect with cute wooded chalets adorned with flowers, pristine lakes and towering mountains.
Chateau’s, carousels, pristine lakes and good times with the siblings….Perfect!
Flowers flowers everywhere!!
Surviving The Highest Alpine Roller Coaster In Switzerland
Glacier 3000 boasts to have the highest alpine coaster in the world so of course we had to check it out. Getting to the coaster is expensive as you have to drive to the base of the glacier, and take a cable car ride up. I have always wanted to ride on an alpine coaster and this was my best chance. You can ride single or double and can control the speed yourself, I zipped down the mountain at high speed until I couldn’t feel my face anymore. It was AWESOME!!
Let’s get that adrenalin pumping!
Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
 I’ve written about this a few times now and I can’t stop raving about our hiking experience in the Andes. 4 days of pure hiking bliss in Peru on the Inca trail is a must for any adventure enthusiast. And the reward of seeing the lost city of Machu Picchu at dawn from the sun gate is a sight we will cherish forever. If your planning a trip to South America be sure to visit Peru and get some mountain love from the Andes.
Have you met my new fuzzy friends?
The epic hike to Machu Picchu
Shark And Cenote Diving in Mexico
For scuba diving enthusiasts like us, Â Mexico is a dream destination. From submerged life-size sculptures to gigantic coral reefs creating underwater cities to intricate cave systems, Mexico has it all. The variety of marine life and the different types of dives you can do in Mexico is great for a diver of any experience. It’s difficult to pick our favorite dive but coming up close and personal with bull sharks was definitely a thrilling experience. We can’t wait to go back to Mexico to dive with whale sharks and get some more cenote diving experience.
 
Diving with Bull sharks
 
Diving at MUSA (The largest Underwater Museum of Art) in Isla Mujeres
 
Abundant marine life at the reefs in Cozumel
There are so many experiences to share and stories to tell but these are our favorite 2014 moments. Hope our experiences inspire you to plan your trips and adventures for 2015.
Cheers to a great new year! Happy travels!!
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