PLACE #43 - Barcelona, Spain

May 14, 2014 - May 18, 2014

In the spring of 2014 myself and my my travel companions (my other half and his sister) embarked on a two week trip to Europe. Barcelona was our official second stop of the trip.

Barcelona is very beautiful and quite large, unlike other cities in Europe.  I liked Barcelona, but it fell short if my very high expectations. I heard a lot of great things about Barcelona prior to my arrival and I imagined this city to be out of this world. However, once I arrived I realized that there might be just a bit too much hype about it and not enough substance. This reminded  me about my experiences in Paris.

See my best photos of Barcelona on my Flicker page!

Overall Barcelona is really beautiful, historical and therefore filled with tourists to the max. All tourist attractions are almost impossible to see in a 4 day period because of lengthy line ups and crowded places.

La Sagrada Familia Church build by Gaudi is a world famous landmark which I just had to see while I was there. This tourist attraction was number one on my list of things to see in Barcelona, and I'm sure that was the case with another 15000 people who came to see this Church that day. Ticket line extended for two blocks and lasted for 2.5 hours and these tickets were time stamped for a time slot about another 2 hours away from the purchase of the ticket. In short, one will need a full day to just see Gaudi's Church.

Once inside I realized what the hype was all about. This church is very beautiful and awe inspiring. But to be honest, it didn't feel like a church to me - it was just a complex architectural structure filled with tourists. Every detail seemed to be in it's right place and every line and curve has been carefully though of.

Barcelona is very large and it's impossible to just walk through the city and see all there is to see. For me Barcelona is a mix of Los Angeles, Paris and Moscow (I know it sounds odd!) It reminds of LA because it is large and everything seems to be spread out. Barcelona is similar to Paris because of tit's linear cityscape. And it reminded me of Moscow because it felt large and colourful, like Moscow. There were also a lot of Russian tourists in Barcelona.

All tourist attractions are scattered throughout the city and you will most definitely will need to use public transit to get from place to another. Barcelona has the highest number of vespas and small motorcycles on the road. In my opinion Barcelona is a Vespa city, just like Amsterdam is a bicycle place.

On our last day in Barcelona, we rented vespas to drive around the city and what a great idea that was.  it's so much fun to drive along the shore and through the streets of the city. It's also a great way to see more than one attraction a day because you can easily get around the city.

Overall, I liked Barcelona. But what made this experience special for me are my dear friends whom we met in Barcelona and had a pleasure to spend 2 days with while in Barcelona.  Our friends arrived to the city a day after us and we spent most of our time together, which is always fun. 

Our accommodations in Barcelona were also great. We rented an apartment located just a block away form the famous La Sagrada Familia Church. This apartment had a large terrace that overlooked unfinished structure of La Sagrada Familia where we spent many memorable evenings together with our friends drinking wine and playing cards. And nights like this made my Eurotrip 2014 very memorable and enjoyable.

PLACE #42 - Lisbon, Portugal

May 11, 2014 - May 14, 2014

In the spring of 2014 myself and my my travel companions (my other half and his sister) embarked on a two week trip to Europe. Lisbon was our official first stop of the trip.

Lisbon is one of the most favourite cities I've visited so far. There are a few contributing factors to that:
One - the city is very beautiful and full of history.  
Two - our accommodations were absolutely amazing!  Hostel where we stayed was the best hostel I've ever stayed in.
Three - our close friends were traveling through Europe at the same time as us, so we met with them to spend one amazing day with our close friends in Lisbon, and that's a bonus point in my books.

Check out some of my best shots of Lisbon on Flickr!

Lisbon is relatively small, especially the old part of the city, so walking from one end of the city to another was very cool. I loved narrow cobblestone streets that would tangle more and more once you get closer to the center if the city.  Almost every building is adorned with intricate ceramic tile mosaic which Portugal is famous for. Every street is very picturesque and unique in its own way.

It seems that economical situation in Portugal is a bit unstable and as a result the city is extremely affordable. Delicious food and wine are very inexpensive, especially if you are brave enough to dine at a "hole-in-a-wall" kinda place. Most places around tourist attractions are pricy and the food is not that good. The best thing to do is to find a small place full of locals and  you will be able to enjoy an authentic Portuguese meal that is out of this world. Traditional Portuguese dish is bacalhau (salted cod, potatoes and onions topped with eggs). Which is very tasty. Assortment of wine is also spectacular and it's a lot cheaper than at the LCBO.



The economical struggle is noticeable on the streets of Lisbon as well. Many buildings are abandoned and left uninhabited. The city can not afford to repair some old structures and no one else wants to take on the burden of keeping up with the crumbling apartment buildings, so there they stand half ruined with chipping paint and missing windows, covered in graffiti.  Lisbon was covered in graffiti everywhere and not the cool "street art" kind of graffiti, but in very plain and aggressive type - "Hey, I got a spay paint can, let's write some angry words on this building!" - that kind of thing. There seemed to be a juxtaposition here where the classical old seemed to collide with the rough new. I found that to be very interesting.

Lisbon is filled with tourists and most people speak English, so getting places and asking for directions is very easy. There are a lot of tourist attractions in Lisbon. I visited most of them and my favourites are - the tower of Belem, Castelo de S.jorge, and just walking through the city streets. 




Belem is located just outside of Lisbon, a short train ride away. The defensive tower of Belem was build in the 15th century and is now know as one of the most recognizable  landmarks of Portugal. There is an old monastery in Belem where many centuries ago monks invented Portuguese custard tart which is a world famous delicacy. Right beside that monastery is a small bakery where I tried the most delicious custard tart ever.


Castelo de S.jorge is a huge castle and a defensive port where many royal families resided many centuries ago. It's located on the top of a mountain with an unbelievable view of the whole city - a spectacular city scape of Lisbon.

Lisbon Destination Hostel was just great. Located on the top floor of an operational train station  in the heart of the city this modern and very affordable hostel had everything any traveler may need - friendly and knowledgeable staff, free city tours, delicious breakfast, clean amenities, fun activities and the list goes on and on. I would highly recommend this to anyone and I will most definitely stayt there myself again!

Overall, I had a lot of fun in Lisbon and would love to come back again.

PLACE #41 - Porto, Portugal

In the spring of 2014 I embarked on a 2 week journey through Europe. Porto, Portugal was my first stop. Well, actually it was only a 10 hour layover on my way to Lisbon.

During my very short stay in Porto my travel companions and I walked through the curvy streets of the old parts of the city and enjoyed magnificent views of the Douro river from the famous King Louis the First bridge.

Check out some of my best photos of Porto here!

Most of the businesses seemed to be closed on Sunday. So we just wondered through the city, had some delicious Porto wine and carried on with our trip.

Porto is a small city and although we've been there only for a few hours I think I got a feel of what the city is like. Porto is very beautiful and  full of history, but it's very small city. I also think it's very laid back where it's easy to relax while enjoying an espresso or a glass of delicious port.

PLACE #28 - Budapest, Hungary

Please CLICK HERE to visit my Flickr page for highlights from this trip.

Budapest was a city of surprises for me. Not only was it very picturesque and clean, it was also quite modern and cool.

The place where we stayed was very hard to call a hostel, or a hotel, or even a B&B, because it was so unique. I highly recommend it to anyone who is visiting Budapest! We stayed at the Lavender Hostel. It was established by an artist named Adam (unfortunately we were not able to meet him in person), whose vision for the hostel included wall murals, strange sculptures, and interesting artifacts positioned on the walls instead of the floor. Lavender hostel consists of several renovated apartments in an old building located in the center of the city and close to public transit.

Budapest is separated by the Danube river into two separate cities: Buda and Pest, which were united into one city in the early 19th century. There are many beautiful bridges that connect the two sides, and Elizabeth Bridge was built by an architect who also built the Tower Bridge in London. For 23 years, until 1926, Elizabeth Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Pictured above is the famous Parliament Palace located on the Pest side, which closely reflects the style of the Parliament House in London, as the two were also built by the same architect. There are many beautiful buildings in Budapest that feature many different architectural styles. However, the Pest side of the city is much younger and most buildings on the Pest side are only replicas to reflect a certain style and to tie in with the Buda side which is truly much older and where the buildings are authentic.

Budapest's subway system is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground. Its iconic Line 1, dating from 1896, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.

Budapest has a very interesting and tragic history associated with WW2. At first Hungary was an ally of Germany, but then the Nazis occupied Hungary for a little less than a year at the end of the war. Soviet troops liberated Hungary from Nazi occupation, but they in turn also began to occupy Hungary, making it part of the Soviet Regime for many decades.

There is a very interesting and interactive museum called "The House of Terror" which is dedicated to the Nazi and Soviet occupation of Budapest. It's a very graphic and dark place. There is an "oil tank fountain" installation in the lobby of the building. See picture below.


Budapest is also a very cool and modern place. There are many art galleries, museums and exhibitions there. The night life is very vibrant and uplifting. People are very friendly and nice and are very receptive of foreign tourists. One of the coolest places I've been to was a "Ruin Bar" in Budapest.

"Ruin Bars" are located in formerly abandoned buildings in the city and are very popular hot spots. Live music with the best Hungarian bands, charming retro décor, unique atmosphere and late opening hours make these places perfect for partying. The concept is simple: find an abandoned building, do not renovate it, invite some artists and designers to add a 'special touch', play interesting and out-of-the-box music - and now you have a very cool and unique place. I highly recommend it to anyone!

Overall, I loved Budapest. If I'm in the neighborhood, I'll definitely stop by!

PLACE #27 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Please CLICK HERE check my Flickr page to see highlights from this trip.

"It's a good thing you came in the summer, it gets quite depressing in the winter time..." - quote from Eurotrip. That's how I imagined Bratislava, I actually didn't want to come here, even though the plan was to stay here for just 1 day as a stop-over0city on our way to Budapest. But I was wrong about everything. It's quite pretty and charming and very inexpensive. We rented an apartment right in the city beside main Square for only 50 Euros! The city itself is small and reminded me of Prague, well it used to be the same county at some point.

There are not many things to see or do there except for walking through the old city (takes about 20 minutes), sip coffee or inexpensive alcohol beverages at a cafe, or you could walk up to the Bratislava castle. That's pretty much all I did!


Bratislava Castle is the main attraction. It's located on top of the hill and provides quite a pretty view of the city down below. They also say that when atop the maintain one can see Austria, Slovakia and Scheck republic. That's actually correct!

My stay in Bratislava was very brief and I can't comment on much more. I don't think I'll go back, but who knows.

PLACE #26 - Vienna, Austria

Please CLICK HERE and check my Flickr page for highlights from this trip.

Vienna is very beautiful. For me it was a larger version of Prague and a more 'soviet' version or Paris . It's located in the center of Europe and it shows. Vienna embodies variety of European cultures, languages and architecture.

One of many things that stood out for me in Vienna was how grandiose and lavish all buildings in the center of the city were. Vienna was at it's prime in 18-19th century which is reflected in architecture quite well. Many buildings feature details in Art Nouveau style or large scale sculptures (picture below).


One of the main attractions is the St. Stephen's Cathedral (pictured above) located at the main square at the center of the old city. It's quite spectacular! (inside and out) it was built in the 12th century and for several centuries after it's completion remained to be the tallest structure in the world.

Another major tourist attraction is the Hofburg residence palace as well as their another palace that served as their summer residence - Belevedere Palace. Both are very beautiful. But my favorite would have to be the summer residence, primarily to the fact that Gustav Klimt exhibit is held there. He lived in worked in Vienna his whole life and even designed many architectural details that decorate Vienna buildings. Being a huge fan of his work I absolutely enjoyed my trip to the Belvedere Palace.


Vienna is also a city of music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived in worked in Vienna during his most productive years, which also turned out to be his last. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of Mozart's death.

Mozarthaus is a museum dedicated to life and death of Mozart in Vienna. It's located in the apartment where he resided. This is a very cool and interactive place.

Overall, I really enjoyed my stay in Vienna and I will definitely be back.

Accommodations :
Coming Soon

Food drinks:
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Travel :
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PLACE #23 - Paris, France

Paris! Paris was probably one of the most disappointing experiences of the trip. Growing up I've heard glamorous stories of the "city of love" and the" fashion capital of the world". I had pained this glamorous and extravagant picture of Paris in my mind that when i actually arrived there and witnessed not what I've imagined I felt sad.
To be fair, the city was very lovely, busy, and "so french" - but it wasn't what I thought it would be.
Palais Garnier - famous opera house, which inspired novel The Phantom Of The Opera is an architectural marvel. The ceiling is painted by March Chagall. The interior is so intricate and detailed it feels that you are in a magical paradise.

The Louvre was a must see for me. This place for me embodies all the beautiful and priceless things in life. Seeing all those artwork pieces that i know all too well was an experience like on other. Check out some of the art pieces that caught my eye at the Louvre. Or have a look at why I love going to museums at "Art Museums Inspire Me".

Paris is very well planned and executed city. The city's grid is precise and clean, architecture is superb. I enjoyed just walking down the streets gazing at buildings.

Our stay lasted 5 days and our accommodations were quite unique. Few cities in Europe have offerings of very short stay apartment rentals. That's what we did. We rented actual apartment for only 5 days. And boy let me tell you - it was very small. The whole apartment was no bigger than my living room alone. It was nicely decorated and had all the things you'd need, yet everything was very compact. Which makes you think do we really need that much space!

I would love to go back and experience more. My cousin actually lives in Paris, maybe I'll come for a long visit.

PARIS IS: Parisian/French, lined, crisp, straight,

PLACE #22 - Prague, Czech Republic

Prague was stop number 5 in my Eurotrip of 2009. This was my send visit to Prague. I've been in the city for one day when I was about 12. It was stop over on my way to Bulgaria. Prague reminded me of St.Petersburg or even Moscow. I think that Prague is a middle ground between Europe and 'Soviet'. It's evident in it's architecture, people, even the language.

One of the famous landmarks in Prague is depicted in the photo above Astronomical Clock.
As the legend has it, the clock was build by an engineering genius back in 1410.

During our stay ion Prague we took a free walking tour. This is actually a really cool thing to do if you ever go to Europe. And it's a very well known concept, we actually took the same walking tour in Amsterdam. The way it works is that a guide gets paid by all participants of the tour tipping him/her at the end of the tour. So it's in their best interest to "guide you well". You don't pay for the tour, but at the end you tip your guide accordingly.

The city itself is very colourful, especially the buildings. Every building was painted in some fort of a bright pastel colour from bright yellow to purple and lime green. It looked so cute, as if all houses were toy houses.
PRAGUE IS: Historic, Spooky, semi-russian, communist-like

PLACE #21 - Venice, Italy

Venice was my favorite city from Eurotrip! I love the fact that it was so hot. I loved that it was so Venetian. It turned out to be exactly as I imagined it to be! I loved that the streets were to narrow and old. I loved that they had gelato stands on every corner! I loved how colourful and vibrant the city was. I loved the fact that you could get lost so easily. And I loved the fact that you can walk through the whole city in just 20 minutes.

Saint Mark's Basilica is the highlight of my stay in Venice. It was probably the most peaceful 27 minutes of the whole trip. The inside of the Cathedral was decorated with intricate mosaic and the outside was just a work of art! There's a balcony on the second floor of the cathedral that overlooks Piazza San Marco. The square was full of tourists, like always is. but as I sat on the balcony a warm breeze surrounded me, everything became quite and peaceful. suddenly no one was rushing anywhere. I looked over the balcony and noticed one pigeon sitting on the ledge. It looked like he was too taking break form busy streets and was able to find some peace on the balcony of the Saint Marks Basilica.

The Murano Glass is absolutely beautiful. I bought myself a Murano glass ring for only €2. I wear it to this day!


Another thing I loved about Venice was how "artistic" it was. Every building, every corner had some sort of artistic influence, which reminded me of art masterpieces I learned about in school. For example, photo below features a building with staircase designed by no other than Da Vinci himself!

Venice is an old city and it shows: Crumbling buildings, chipping paint, cracking sidewalks, yet it;s so beautiful. This city reminded me of a Grandmother - warm, old and wrinkled.

VENICE IS: Hot, Sticky, Touristy, Dog City, Old, Crumbling, Poetic.

PLACE #20 - Amsterdam, Netherlands

This picture was taken from the tallest church in Amsterdam

Amsterdam was stop number 3 in our quest to conquer Europe. What a marvelous place! It's quite different from the rest of Netherlands, at least that's what all the locals say. The city is dominated by 20-something " free spirits" with no possessions. Most of them randomly walk the streets from one bar to another. We stayed at the hostel which was located in the upper level of the Bar. And the only entrance to the hostel was through the Bar's main entrance...That was fun.

Streets in Amsterdam are very small and narrow, there are practically no cars. Everyone bikes and a small number of people have motorcycles. While in Amsterdam I've visited Anne Frank Museum. Which was one of the most hunting experiences of the trip because I got be in the exact room where she lived and I saw her drawings on the wall.

We also climbed the tower of the Westerkerk ("west church") which was completed in 1638 and is the tallest in Amsterdam (85 meters). We climbed all the way to the top and on our way up I was able to take this amazing photo of the oldest bells in Amsterdam.

I also visited the sex museum, but I will not post any photos from there so don't even ask. But I do have tons of photos from there! We also walked through the Red District, which as definitely different. I did not get any photos from there - it's illegal to take photos pf employees of Red District. I also learned that all employees of Red District are recognized employees who pay taxes and have same legal rights as any other employee in Netherlands. Also as I was told many of the Red District beauties attend some sort of prestigious University and use this kind of "part-time" job to pay their tuition... interesting.

One lazy afternoon, while I was enjoying company of my friend in the bar below our hostel, I overheard a song playing on a radio. That song stuck with me for the whole trip. I later learned it was by Anouk, whom I enjoy listening to this day!

AMSTERDAM IS: Naughty/Sexy, Young, Artistic, Free, Dangerous, Sinful, Cat City