Scotland 2016 Part 1

I am in Doha at Hamad  International Airport right now :)

Cant wait and too excited waiting for our flight to LHR, then we are going to Scotland. 

Leaving KL..just for a while :) we love you KL

Let me check the expiry date hehe

A few times been here but I still wondering the significant of this cute gigantic yellow bear

It will be my first time to Scotland and I am very nervous because I already put high expectation..so Scotland better be great for us and stay tuned haha ;)

Paris

Finally we come to our last destination before going back to Malaysia :((((((

I have no intention at all to write about this place because I want to come here again and again and again!! Maybe because when I was in Paris I felt like I am at my own ground and place. Talking about the food here especially desserts and patisseries, it was out of mind, kebab; never tasted better than this before. Eiffel Tower? Love it to death :0 By just looking at the pictures you will know that we spent almost a day at the Eiffel Tower itself because we really really love to be there. We were freezing when we were at the highest part of the tower but yes absolutely we enjoyed every moment up there. If you are going here by yourself I think the best is to buy online ticket so that you don't have to queue in order to take pleasure getting up the tower. You can view the picture below as your guide to buy the tickets. From my experience, it doesn't necessary to get to the top of Eiffel because the view is more fine-looking and clear if you are at the 2nd floor.

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is our next destination. It is a boulevard in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, which runs between the Palace de la Concorde and the Palace Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located (I will tell more about this later). It is known for its theatres, cafes and luxury shops, and for the military parade that takes place each year on the avenue on 14 July to celebrate Bastille Day. The name is French for the Elysian Field, the paradise for dead heroes in Greek mythology. The French proudly nickname this world-famous avenue "la plus belle avenue du monde" ("the world's most beautiful avenue").

As the Champs Elysees is a famous avenue and a top Paris shopping and nightlife district, with many restaurants, movie theaters and clubs, the transportation within the city is also important. So for us to get to there was very easy; we always use metro and the stations’  name is  Champs Elysees Clemenceau (line 1 and 13), Franklin Roosevelt (line 1 and 9), George V (line 1) and Etoile (line 1, 6, 2). You can choose and look first at the map which area you want to go and get down from the metro at any of these stations. Among the brands exist at Champs Elysees are Banana Republic, Abercrombie, Zara, Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Sephora, Mark & Spencer, Yves Rocher, Tiffany & Co, and many more that will make you amazed, just prepare your cash and credit card :0  Not to forget if you are here, try to find the famous Laduree. Until now I cannot forget how delicious their macaroons taste and i really recommend this cafe.

Now let us go to a monument that is full with tradition and history; Arc de Triomphe, the most monumental of all triumphal arches, it was built between 1806 and 1836. Even though we can see many modifications from the original plans, reflecting political changes and power struggles, the Arch still retains the essence of the original concept which was a powerful, unified ensemble.It’s located at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The arches whole decorative style is entirely of the tradition of sculpture from the first half of the nineteenth century.The triumphal arch is in honor of those who fought for France, in particular, those who fought during the Napoleonic Wars. Engraved on the inside and at the top of the arch are all of the names of the generals and wars fought. There are inscriptions in the ground underneath the vault of the arch which include the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I where the Memorial Flame burns and have made the Arc de Triomphe Paris a revered patriotic site. Just around the corner of this Arch you can find a kebab restaurant that serve appetizing and tasty kebab known as Gyros :) If we stay for a few nights more here I think that will be my breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper hehe. 

Other than these, we also went to Musee de Lourve ( one of the largest museum in the world), Disneyland, and don't forget to go shopping at the famous outlet La Vallee Village and thanks God that we prepared few more luggage :) By this time both of us were very sad because that was our last destination in Paris :( Hopefully we can make a visit as soon as possible to Eiffel Tower again!! 

Lauterbrunnen & Swiss Alps

This place is one of my childhood favorite of all times. For a long period I have been dreaming to travel to Swiss and thanks God I had the chance to visit this country. After Italy our next destination is Swiss, and once again we decided not to go to the capital of the country. We preferred to go to the more nature place which is Lauterbrunnen! And one of our goals is to conquer the top of the Europe, Jungfrau J From Pisa in Italy we need to drive further up to the north about 6 hours passing through Milan (we will come to you next time) and crossed the border Swiss-Italy.

Zurich? Maybe next time :)

 If you are considering traveling by train from any place in Switzerland (or neighboring country), you may take international train connections to Interlaken; there are several direct trains - others connect through Bern or Spiez. Exit at the Interlaken West or at the Interlaken Ost Railway station, depending on your train, or location of your accommodation, or further travel plans. When traveling to Interlaken from either Central Switzerland (Lucerne region) or from the Lake Geneva region (Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux), please consider getting on the scenic train Golden Pass.

So for the whole 6 hours journey from Pisa to Lauterbrunnen was filled up with spectacular view and we really really wound up when we reached the Interlaken region. The scenery of Lake Como and Lake Lugano cought our eyes and I think view was fantastic and incredible! Interlaken is captivating and a must for every Swiss visit! The small town between the cristal-clear lakes of Thun and Brienz is surrounded by Alpine pearls such as sparkling streams, fantastic falls and extraordinary mountain scenery including the famous peaks of the Eiger, the Moench and the Jungfrau. From the Interlaken it took like half an hour more to go to our stay. We didn’t stay at Interlaken because we had another plan; to make things more amusing tonight we decided to sleep in a valley in between gigantic snow-cap mountains with waterfalls in front of our place; Lauterbrunnen J

Purposely we stopped here in the middle of the road to capture the nice view of Alps 

The next morning we have a full day to explore the Alps and of course conquering the Jungfrau. It offers all the visitors an awesome view as we take the cog railway up into the mountains to the summit of the Jungfrau Mountain (3454m), a scenic journey taking about 1 and half hours. Whilst at the summit beside the incredible views you can explore the ice palace, and if the weather is fine try your hand at skiing or enjoy a ride on the flying fox (Remember to bring your sunglasses, jacket and suitable footwear if you are planning to venture into the mountains). But for those not taking the excursion to the Jungfrau you can visit the unique Trummmelbach falls (10 amazing waterfalls in a cave) or hike the many trails of the mountains.

Lovely view from our stay

Very cozy coffe shop; befeore heading to the top of mountain

So refreshing :))

We took the train to Murren before started our trekking to Jungfrau

We love this place

See how happy and lovely she was

Playyyyy timeeee

Say bye bye to the Great Alps

All in all Swiss Alps is the most suitable place for any couples who wanted a memorable vacation. I think for us this place was fantastic and worth every penny. You will find that, not only the nature and scenery but the people the food and the air will make you smile all day long J

Pisa Tower

Our last stop in Italy was Pisa, one of the most famous spot that all travelers in the world will visit. For me when someone talks about Pisa, I will start to imagine some of creative and artistic poses that I will definitely do in front of the legendary leaning tower. So from Florence, we headed west about 1 hour journey to reach Pisa. As usual you can either drive or else there are buses and trains that take around 1.5 hours from Florence. It’s not a long drive but because we head off a bit late from Florence plus the traffic was heavy during that time, we reached our stay in Pisa quite late.  However we were so excited that after settled down and had our dinner we immediately started to walk around and headed to the Pisa Tower.While we were walking en route for the tower, I cant stop my mind from imagining how it will look like; Pisa at night J

This is Pisa at nighttime 

Smile smile

What is so funny?

Tiredness detected hehe

The best thing to be here at night is that you will own the place yourself. You don’t have to que just to take your pictures; you can take as many as you want. For a person that is shy like me, you are recommended to come at this time because you can do whatever you want to do, you know..weird poses J

So early morning we were here again, there were few couples there too. Ohh before I forget, before you enter the compound you will find a lot of booth selling souvenirs and it’s pretty cheap. Plus point they can speak Malay Language hehe and we can bargain although the price was really cheap compare to other places we stopped before. Back to the tower, we were happy that the weather was very good made the scenery so stunning and beautiful.

The leaning tower and the cathedral square

It's not easy for me haha

From my reading the leaning tower actually was a human mistake. I thought it was caused by mother nature. Known as Torre Pendente di Pisa in Italian, it is different than most medieval architecture. This particular section won't cover the highly advanced construction techniques that were used, it is important to mention how this tower's design is significant. The Leaning Tower is the third oldest building on Pisa'sPiazza del Duomo (cathedral square), the Cathedral and Baptistry were first.Utilizing many columns and archs, this tower represents an advanced understanding of weight and load characteristics, showing the Italian architectures' knowledge. Poor to the tower the architect didn't account for however, was the base of the tower being built on a dense section of clay.

Besides the tower there are few more historic attractions, you can explore the like of:

The Duomo - One of the oldest Romanesque cathedrals in Tuscany , the Duomo is beautiful in every sense of the word. The architecture is breathtaking and stunning, and it is a guarantee that you will be blown away by the intricate detail and the magnificent construction.

The Bell Tower - Okay, admit it; this is the real reason that you're going to Pisa. Come prepared for a surreal experience as you climb the stairs to the top of this world famous tower.

The Baptistery - Across from the Duomo, the Baptistery is unlike any Gothic structure you'll ever see. Stonework and original carvings from hundreds of years ago are still present and just as enticing to the eye.

All in all Pisa Tower is very interesting and worth to be visited, as it is one of the seven wonders of the middle ages, and its popularity is as strong as ever that you should make a stop here and see yourself the magnificent of the one and only leaning tower in the world ( i think back in Malaysia we also has one leaning tower in Perak ) :)