Favorite Places Archives - Page 4 of 5

Why you should visit the Vatican Museum

The Vatican Museum!

Rome has so many amazing sites to visit but one of the most asked for tours when booking an Italian vacation with Life is Better Traveling is the Vatican Museum. The Vatican museum has an incredible collection showcasing painting, sculpture, frescoes, tapestries and classical antiquities including Roman, Greek and Egyptian. This huge complex consists of multiple galleries and museums. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display.

Picture: Pixabay

The popes were among the very first royalty to open their vast art collections to public viewing. Pope Julius II (1443 – 1513) began collecting sculpture during the Renaissance, early 16th century, and, ever since, most popes have taken an active interest in art and in commissioning the best artists of their time. A vast collection of accumulated collections of religious art, papal portraits and, carriages and automobiles.

Two of the most popular exhibits that you will see when walking through the Vatican museum are The Sistine Chapel, with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo and the Stanze di Raffaello decorated by Raphael. Roughly six millions visitors a year walk through the museum and take in the beauty of what this amazing museum has to offer.

Picture: Pixabay

If you are thinking of taking a European vacation, make sure to include Rome in your itinerary so you can experience the magnificent of this museum. Simply fill out the form below to start planning.

Remember, a Life is Better Traveling Travel Agent is here to help make your next European vacation amazing!

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation. Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business. Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

This Ancient Italian City is Worth the Visit

Mary Yohannan on

Pompeii, Italy should be on the list of 100 places to see before you die. If you ever take a Mediterranean cruise this is always one of the optional tours or included as a portion of one of the optional tour. Pompeii is very close to Naples. To get there by bus it usually takes 30 minutes to an hour, depending if you have any additional stops along the way.

This Roman city was thriving until the volcanic explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD which buried it under volcanic ash for centuries. Pompeii was considered to be a modern city with an amphitheatre, a public gymnasium with a swimming pool, and an aqueduct. The aqueduct would supply water to street fountains, public bath houses, and if you were really rich you would have water in your house. The city streets were also very modern for their time. They had curbs and there were houses or shops on both sides of the streets. To ensure that people would stop at intersections when on horse or horse-drawn carriage they had circular stones at the end of the streets. This was like a modern day stop sign or speed bump.

Now I truly believe that Pompeii was a city that wanted to be alive. Even though it was buried for almost two-thousand years, due to the lack of moisture and oxygen it remained very well-preserved. A large percentage of Pompeii has been excavated but there is still some of the city that wants to be re-discovered. Today there are millions of visitors to this ancient city every year. Now Pompeii is a large city. Some people think that when they take a short day tour to Pompeii that they are seeing the whole site. You really need a whole day to see the entire excavated portion of the city.

I have yet to take a whole day tour. I have always been on a tour where we are there for just a few hours. Regardless of which tour you choose you will still be amazed by the site. Most tours will take you to the outdoor warehouse which houses some artifacts and moldings of those who were frozen in time by the ash.

If you are lucky enough to get to walk through some of the houses you will be able to view the beautiful mosaics. We were told that this was a sign of wealth. So the wealthier you were the more mosaics you would have in your home. These mosaics also told stories so they were unique. All I could think when viewing these mosaics is what the excavation process was like. You really have to be extremely patient and meticulous to ensure that you don’t ruin it. I will say this over and over again in my blogs but when you are standing on a site that is thousands of years old you really appreciate your life and realize how fast it goes by. Pompeii is one of these cities where I realized that Life is Better Traveling.

Mosaic in a Home

Ready for a Quote? Simply fill out the form below and we will be in touch soon!

When in Rome…

Mary Yohannan on

If you ever find yourself in Rome, I highly recommend seeing the Roman Forum

One of my favorite tours in Italy was that of the Roman Forum in Rome, Italy. It is a sprawling mass of ruins, that once was the center of Pictures by: M. Yohannan ancient Rome, with temples, courts, markets, and government buildings in full swing until the 4th century AD. While it may appear that all that remains today are an array of ancient columns and arches, the forum is one of the most important archaeological sites in Italy. Daily excavations occur unearthing new structures and buildings. Many people will skip this part of Rome and head directly to the iconic Colosseum. But I personally, love walking between and around ancient Rome. If you aren’t interested in seeing the forum, you can still get a great view of the Eternal City from the overlooking Palatine and Capitoline hills.

The Basics about the Roman Forum:

Many tours through the forum will last around three to four hours especially if you combine a tour through the forum culminating with a tour of the Colosseum. I personally loved our tour guide, Flavia, and I still use her today for all my clients who go to Rome. She is a wealth of knowledge about the forum and the Colosseum, while enjoying a private tour. She even showed us the expansive ruins at Circus Maximus.

Picture by: M. Yohannan

What is the best time to visit and what to know:

Most tour options include hotel pickup and drop-off. If you would opt for a private tour with Flavia, then she would come to your hotel.We would make sure that all your admissions to the various sites are included, so that you can enjoy the skip-the-line entry. On some days this will save you an hour or so in line. I would recommend the Roman Forum to any visitor whether you are in Rome for multiple days or just one day. It is a must see VERY ancient part of Rome.

Picture by: Mary Yohannan

Some “Know Before You Go” from Viator.com:

How To Get to the Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is located in the area between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum in the southeastern end of Rome’s historical center. You can get there by metro and bus from most central hotels. The closest metro stop is Colosseo.

When to Get There
As the Roman Forum shares an admission ticket with the Colosseum, it stays consistently busy throughout the day and often has long lines. Choose a walking tour with priority access to jump the queue and maximize your time.

Discovering the Roman Forum Ruins
Inside the archaeological area, stick to the Forum’s main thoroughfare, Via Sacra, to pass by important ruins such as the Julia Curia and the house of the Vestal Virgins. Some of the forum’s most impressive ruins include the white marble arch of Settimio Severo, the first-century Arch of Titus, and the remains of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. If you can’t get enough of ancient Rome, there’s plenty more history just outside the city with day trips available to Pompeii and the Appian Way.

Call or Email Mary to book your next European Vacation!

Picture by: Mary Yohannan

Tulips in Amsterdam

Mary Yohannan on

What an amazing site to see, tulips in all colors carefully landscaped to look like it is a river of tulips.

Picture by: Pixabay

Not many people know about the amazing Tulips that bloom every time this year in the Netherlands. If you love flowers, then I highly recommend that you make a trip to see the tulips in around Amsterdam.

If you have ever been to Europe in the Spring time you see many vases filled with tulips. These tulips originate in Holland. The sight of them all over Europe is a sign that summer is on its way. Here are a few ways to visit the famous tulip fields in the Netherlands.

Kuekenhof Gardens

Just outside of Amsterdam in the quaint little town of Lisse, is the famous Keukenhof Gardens. These gardens are one of the most iconic places to see various displays of tulips. They offer viewing of millions of varieties in every imaginable color, and they are immaculately landscaped to make the grounds look they are flowing with tulips. Tours depart Amsterdam regularly, with round-trip transportation allowing travelers to visit Keukenhof with ease.

Picture by: Pixabay

If you are already heading the town of Lisse you may also want to stop and see the 17th-century Keukenhof Castle and grounds. You don’t want to miss the Black Tulip Museum (Museum de Zwarte Tulp) shines a light on the region’s history and the development of tulip varieties. This museum is centrally located so you don’t have to worry about getting there.

I would recommend choosing a tour from Amsterdam that visits Keukenhof and allows you time to explore Lisse. After all, there are also many amazing sites to see in Amsterdam including the Hortus Botanicus, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. You can take a leisurely stroll among the beds of vibrant tulips and combine your visit with other Amsterdam highlights such as the bustling Albert Cuyp Market—where shoppers browse for sweet treats, fresh fruits and vegetables, and, of course, colorful tulips.

Remember, a Life is Better Traveling Travel Agent is here to help make your next European vacation amazing! Make sure to contact us for the latest promotions to Europe.

This “Chilling” experience you can do in Scotland…

Mary Yohannan on

Touring a Close in Scotland is an Experience that you will find Chilling…

Subscriber, do you know what a “close” is? This is a very simple term that the Scottish people use for alleyway or Side Street. As there are many “close” in Edinburgh especially along the Royal Mile, one of the most famous closes is Mary King’s Close. It was named for Mary King the daughter of Alexander King who owned the property. It is believed that this close was used between the 16th and 19th centuries. For many years it was buried under the Royal Exchange
and was shrouded in mystery. Once it was excavated, it was found that this one close was actually made up of several close with many homes. It is believed to be around seven stories high.

Is it haunted? I will leave that up to you to find out. I will say though that there are several stories about those who succumbed to the plague were left down in the close to die. It is believed that they are still down there wandering around. Some believe that their bodies were then used to help rebuild walls or build new ones.

I will say this, having walked around Mary King’s Close personally, there is a sadness in the air that can overcome you. Whether it is the darkness of being underground, the small rooms where several families lived, the memorial to a little girl who died down there, or the various reenactments from our tour guide, Mary King’s Close was tour that was enjoyed by everyone who took it.

Don’t forget to pop down one of the many other closes that are used today along the Royal Mile. You never know where you will pop out but don’t forget to look up, you know, in case someone is dumping a bucket of water out their window.

I LOVE the Crayola Experience!

Mary Yohannan on

This is a great place for kids of all ages, even those 83 year old kids?

I can’t believe that I have not written an article about the Crayola Experience sooner! About two years ago we took the kids to the Crayola Experience in Easton, Pennsylvania as an easy trip from my parents’ house. We loved the experience so much that we used our admission that day to purchase the annual pass, which pays for itself in two visits.

Many people call it the Crayola factory because it was originally named that, but it is not the actual building where crayons are made. The original factory is down the road in the next town but very close. So what is the Crayola Experience if it is not the factory where they make crayons? It is as it is named, an Experience. There are two other locations Orlando, Florida and Mall of America in Minnesota. I have not yet been to the one in Orlando, but with the amount of fun we have at the one in Easton, I am intrigued to try it out!

The Crayola Experience in Easton is comprised of four floors with different experiences on each floor. The ground floor is houses the ticketing desk, lockers, food café, and the Crayola store. You don’t want to miss the world’s largest crayon on this floor either. On the second floor, you are welcomed into a room where you can make your own labels.

Here you can choose the color crayon you want, which the colors change daily, and make your own personalized label for the crayon. Also on this floor, you can bring your art to life with the 3D experience artwork, maybe mold some modeling clay into a new creature, or take in a short movie about the history of Crayola. You can also get your picture taken with animated crayons on various backgrounds, have simulated crayon wax drip over your head, or create a fun under the sea creature and watch as they float around on the underwater sea wall.

You will find that you can spend many hours just on level two, but once you venture up to level three you are introduced to more advanced experiences such as making crayon boats navigate through a series of locks and waterways. On this floor, you can also make your own puzzle, create a treasure box or shark hat, or make watercolors into amazing artwork. Newly opened is their Adventure lab. Here you are giving a smart table preloaded with tasks. Once you enter into the lab, there are 14 tasks in total, but you are given only three to master. Tasks can range from fun games to solving problems, to making your way across the molten, rainbow river of wax! Children must be at least eight years to do the task themselves, but all ages can play with adult supervision.

Do you remember melting crayons as a kid? If this was one of your favorite activities to do then the top floor will be your utopia! There are several stations of where you can melt crayons into shapes, make spin art, or just make your own creative art. It really is best to make sure you stay with little ones in this area, as many of the devices do get warm.

The Crayola Experience in Easton is about a half hour drive from Allentown, an hour and a half drive from Hershey, 40 minutes from the Poconos, and about a two-hour drive from Philadelphia area.

We went looking for Dracula but instead fell in love with Bucharest, Romania…

Mary Yohannan on

We went looking for Dracula but instead fell in love with Romania…

Yes, believe it or not I had spent an entire week in Romania traveling around the country with a guide in his very tiny vehicle, while enjoying the country of Romania. How did I come about taking this journey through Romania? One word…Dracula! I absolutely love Halloween and so one year my husband had the great idea that we should take a Dracula tour around Romania during Halloween. Intrigued, I looked into tour operators who did this and actually found a reputable one. After everything checked out, I booked our flights, hotels, and tours and we were off to Bucharest. Unfortunately, no Dracula tour was offered over Halloween so we opted for the beginning of November. This ended up being a great time of year to go because it wasn’t too hot or too cold.

I would love to talk about our whole trip in one article, but it would be way too long, so for this article I am going to focus on Bucharest, Romania. So what is there to see in Bucharest, Romania? Surprisingly, a lot! On our day we opted for a full-day, private sight-seeing tour of Bucharest. We first stopped at the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum which I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. After touring the grounds for two hours, we ended up having an amazing time looking at various structures that have been built throughout Romania including wooden churches dating back 1000 years. All of the buildings and monuments were physically transported from all over Romania and placed here to preserve them.

Did you know that Bucharest is one of the few cities like Paris, New York, and Rome to have an Arcul de Triumf (The Triumphal Arch)? That’s right, it is located in one of the busy intersections so if you were going by it and blinked, you might miss it. This city also has its own little Times Square with billboards and lights that take over the side of buildings. Some are in English, but most are in Romanian.

My favorite tour of Bucharest was their parliament building which is called the Palace of the Parliament, and was built in the 1980s during the reign of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. It was a long and arduous project building this massive complex, but it is now the largest parliament/administrative building in the world, even larger than the Pentagon. The palace houses the Romanian Parliament which consists of the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate, as well as the National Museum of Contemporary Art. The building boasts one of the largest convention centers in the world.

The view from our hotel room. You can see the massive building even in the thick fog.

You can see the massive parliament building even in the thick fog. This was the view from our hotel room.

Walking through this massive building makes you feel as though you don’t belong there. However, the building is so massive that curiosity really got to us. There are marble stair cases, meeting rooms that are larger than my house, carpeting that rivals the carpeting in Kensington Palace, and many treasures. We only did a 2-hour tour but we could have easily done an entire day in this building.

It is quite cheap to travel around Romania as when we were there one USD was equivalent to almost four Romanian Leu. Full meals would cost us $3 and that was with a beer. The food is very good there, and if you ever go you must try the smoked lard.

NOTE: I must give warning that in the 1980’s when many people were forced out of their homes and into apartment style living. They had to leave their pets outside. Bucharest and southern Romania have a large dog population that roams freely and they sometimes form packs. As Americans, we are kind to our animals but if you were to travel here you must be cautious when approaching any animals.

Click Here to Find a Life is Better Traveling Agent to help plan your next vacation!

Touring the TOP OF EUROPE…

Mary Yohannan on

Touring the TOP OF EUROPE…

Jungfraujoch is an actually the rail station to take you to the summit of Jungfrau. However, many people will just use the term Jungfraujoch to talk about the entire journey to the top of the mountain. Jungfrau is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. At 13,642 ft above sea level, you can get quite a bit of altitude sickness from the journey but totally worth it!

The best way to get to Jungfrau is by staying in Lucerne, Switzerland. From here you can take one of many tours offered to help you get to the Top of Europe. You can start out in a motorcoach which will whisk you off to the

Lauterbrunnen rail station. Here you will board the rare cogwheel train on a 50-minute ride to Jungfraujoch, Europe’s highest-altitude railway station sitting 11,333 feet above sea level. Along the way, travel through the breathtaking mountain pass of Kleine Scheidegg, situated beneath the famous Eiger North Face.

The best place to view the Aletsch Glacier, Europe’s longest glacier is at the Sphinx observatory. At the observatory you can enjoy panoramic views of the mountains as far as you can see, on a clear day of course. If you are there on a day with windy conditions, you may not be able to see your hand in front of your face, see picture.

You will also want to see the “Ice Palace.” An ice maze full of fun ice sculptures. Just be careful where you are walking as it can be quite slippery. You will also want to make sure to wear a nice heavy jacket as it is cold in there.

Once you are done at the observatory you can take the subway train back down to the Lauterbrunnen rail station where you can enjoy a train ride down to see the unique and iconic town of Grindelwald. Overall, this tour will take you a good eight to ten hours, but on a clear day the pictures that you will take and the memories that you will make are priceless.

Let us help you plan your next vacation to Switzerland, give me a call at 919-606-4604 or reply to this email requesting a quote.

Have you KISSED this?

Mary Yohannan on

Kissing this might bring you luck…

Photo by James Sterganos

Everyone wants the gift of eloquence and the luck of the Irish. Some say the Irish are gifted with this by kissing a stone, the Blarney Stone to be exact. It’s all down to the Blarney Stone, not Leprechauns. For over two centuries people have been coming to Blarney Castle in the south of Ireland to kiss this stone set into the battlements in the hope of gaining a silver tongue. It used to be that you were hung over the battlements from above by your ankles, and I guess it was luck if you made it back up alive. These days there’s less risk involved in leaning backwards from the parapet walkway while holding securely to a metal railing.

The origins of this magic stone are still debated. Was it Jacob’s pillow, St Columba’s deathbed pillow, or the stone that gushed water for Moses? Was it brought to Ireland after the Crusades or given to the Irish by Scot Robert the Bruce in gratitude for helping him defeat the English in 1314? We’ll probably never know. But after you kiss it, tour the ruined castle, visit elegant 19th century Blarney House, and wander around the lake, you sure will have some good stories to tell back home.

If you’re thinking of a trip to Ireland, make sure to visit this magic stone in the South of Ireland near Cork. You can easily get there as a day trip from Dublin, or if you are feeling a bit more adventurous, try a self-drive itinerary. You don’t want to miss out on the luck of the Irish, after all, when in Ireland!

Call us today to book your Ireland trip. Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect Ireland vacation for you and your family’s needs.

Phone: 919-606-4604

Email: mary@libtagent.com

About Mary Yohannan, CTA

Travel is a passion of mine and it is something I absolutely love to do. When I personally travel, I get feelings of excitement, relaxation, interest, curiosity, and a bit of anxiety. When it all comes together I have created a memory that reminds me of all of these emotions. I have traveled to 17 European countries, and in each country, I experienced what I just described. I felt excitement when we were roaming the canals of Venice and thinking this is nothing like Italy in Epcot Center. I felt relaxation in Scotland when my husband and I enjoyed an anniversary dinner on Rose Street in Edinburgh drinking Scottish beer. I was interested in touching a 1000-year-old entrance to a library while in Ephesus in Turkey. I was curious what smoked lard and Palinka tasted like in a small café in Bucharest, Romania. I was anxious going up the cogwheel train to Jungfraujoch in Switzerland while my head was pounding from altitude changes. The best part of travel is that when I am not traveling and I think of those places I instantly get a smile on my face regardless of the emotion that I felt.

#1 Rated Travel Agent in Pittsburgh by Travel Leaders

I fell in LOVE with the parks at…

Mary Yohannan on

I fell in LOVE with the Parks at Universal Studios Florida!

A few weeks ago I talked about my resort experience at the Loew’s Royal Pacific Hotel on Universal Orlando™ property. This week I want to talk about the changes I saw at the parks since having been there last in 1994.

One thing I like to do when I travel to a place that I haven’t been in a really long time is to imagine that I have never been there. Why do I do this? Easy, then I won’t be disappointed. If I really liked a place, and it changed into something hugely commercial, tacky, with poor customer service, then I tend to be disappointed. Now 23 years ago there was no Islands of Adventure™ and Universal Studios Florida™ could be done in only 6 hours. Not on this trip! It took us a good 2 days to get through everything, but we also had a secret in our pockets, Unlimited Express Passes!

When you stay at the Loew’s Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, or Portofino Bay Resort you will automatically receive complimentary Unlimited Express Passes. This pass allows you to go to the front of the line on select rides an unlimited amount of times during your visit. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone I am comparing this but for Disney people this is like having FastPasses for almost every ride!) If you aren’t staying at one of those resorts, but are at one of the other resorts you can pay an additional fee for this Unlimited Express Pass or the Express Pass, which allows you to skip the line once per ride. I prefer the Unlimited Express Pass because you are able to go to the front of the line an unlimited number of times for your favorite rides.

Having the extra passes was very helpful on our first day in Islands of Adventure™. When I first walked through the gates, which had no lines because security is handled way before you get to the gates, I was amazed by the façade. For me it felt like I was at the North Pole and Moroccan trading marketing at the same time, which gave me a very warm happy feeling. Being on property resort guests, we were able to enter Islands of Adventure™ at 8am but we were directed to Harry Potter® world of Hogsmeade. If you are a Harry Potter® fan, walking into Hogsmeade is like the very first time you sat down to watch the first Harry Potter® movie, AMAZING! I felt like I was actually in the world of Harry Potter® . Now Harry Potter® world is split over both parks and if you want to ride Hogwarts Express you must have the park to park ticket, and as much as I loved riding the train, it was not my favorite part of the Harry Potter® worlds. My favorite part was in Universal Studios Florida™ the ride Escape from Gringotts. A 3-D roller coaster taking you on a journey through Gringotts bank while escaping from He Who Must Not Be Named! But first you have to find Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida™, which is hidden behind a huge façade.

Let’s head back over to Islands of Adventure™ because I really was amazed at how real, authentic, and alive the attractions felt to me. The amount of thought, care, and detail to plan out each attraction was the most surprising and exciting part of being there. In Jurassic World™ the dinosaurs looked so real, and the ride made me feel like I was in the movie. On the Kong ride, there were many times I felt like the truck was falling but it was just the 3D effects and mechanics of the ride. I can go into each section of Islands but this would begin to get long. One last thing I will say about Islands of Adventure™ is that no matter which section you are in, you really, truly feel like you are part of that world.

Now, let’s dive into Universal Studios Florida™, the originally built portion. It is so much larger than it was 23 years ago, but to me the attention to detail was not as strong as the Islands. It felt more like an amusement park than an experience, except when you are in Diagon Alley. However, that all changes once you enter a building to get on a ride. WOW, you are thrown head first into that attraction. You feel like you are talking to Jimmy Fallon while racing around the streets of New York City, or looking down on the headquarters of Men in Black while waiting in line to shoot aliens with lasers. The details that go into the rides, are like no other amusement park I have ever been to.

Overall, I loved my experience as Universal Orlando® and we will be taking the kids there soon. Most rides you need to be 40 inches or taller to ride, but the play lands in Islands will keep those under 40 inches entertained for hours. I must warn those who experience motion sickness on 3D simulator rides, this may not be the destination for you. There are several rides where you have to wear 3D glasses to experience the full effect. The effects are amazing, but will make you feel a bit off the rest of the day.

Call me to book your next Universal Orlando vacation with your family. If you are thinking you want to split your time between Universal Orlando and Disney, that’s easy! We can easily set that up for you.

Mary is a graduate of the Disney’s College of Knowledge and a Universal Orlando Specialist.