Photo of the Week - Monks at the Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok

While in Bangkok, we toured the Grand Palace with a private guide. It was an amazing experience for us, as she is a Buddhist and really wanted to share her beliefs with us. We made offerings and enjoyed the temples, the Reclining Buddha and watching the school kids enjoy their day trip to their Grand Palace.

We enjoyed taking photos, and admiring the beauty of the palace and the temples. There are over one thousand Buddha images, including the famous Reclining Buddha.

While resting and enjoying the temple, we were privileged to experience the Monks come into the temple and start their meditations. It was peaceful and a highlight of our trip to Bangkok.

Photo of the Week - Las Vegas on New Years Eve.

OK, so this week's photo of the week isn't anything beautiful or spectacular, unless of course you love crowds and New Years Eve! This past holiday season, we chose to rent a house in San Diego, spend a few days in LA (Montana had never been to LA) and spend New Year's in Las Vegas.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about Las Vegas at TripAdvisor

We had ALWAYS sworn we wouldn't go to Las Vegas for New Years, but this year we thought "Why Not?" We had a blast!

We started with dinner at Craftsteak at the MGM (that is where we were staying), which was amazing and way better than any other time we had eaten there. We then took our hats, blowers and champagne out to the strip.

The Las Vegas strip closes on New Years Eve to traffic from 5 pm until 5 am. (This makes traffic a nightmare) There were DJ's blasting great music and music videos and people everywhere. We were told there were over 325,000 people on the strip! It didn't feel overly crowded though.

Just before midnight a girl in the crowd let her champagne cork loose, and the bottle was pointed at my butt :-). Before I knew it I was covered in Champagne, oh well, when you are with 325,000 people celebrating the new year, then you can't expect not to get a little wet!

For the countdown to midnight, the large screens on the hotels starting counting down, midnight came and there was an uproar from the crowd.  $500,000 of fireworks were launched off the roofs of the major hotels and everyone was excited and happy!

We are really glad we did this for New Years Eve. I don't think we need to do it again though. We like Las Vegas when it is nice and quiet.

How did you spend your New Year's Eve? Comment Below:

Photo of the Week - The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica California

The Third Street Promenade is a great place to spend an afternoon while in Santa Monica, California.

You can wander through the shops, have lunch with a friend, have a coffee, watch the people go by, or enjoy the street performers. There are many volunteer ambassadors for the Third Street Promenade, who are volunteers and are there to help you find what you're looking for.

We really enjoyed our afternoon at third street promenade and had an amazing lunch at La Sandia which is on the third level of Santa Monica Pl.

So the next time you're in Santa Monica don't forget to spend an afternoon at the Third Street Promenade.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about hotels and things to do in Santa Monica

Photo of the Week - Santa Monica Pier and the Arlington West Memorial

Last weekend Warren and I went to Los Angeles to see the LA Lakers play at the Staples Center. Few know it but I am a big Lakers fan! I also love to watch the celebrities at the game (hey what can I say). We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows in Santa Monica and stayed just a couple of nights.

This photo is from the Santa Monica Pier on a sunny Sunday morning in November.

It is the Arlington West Memorial, Santa Monica and is a project of Veterans for Peace. Each Sunday from sunrise to sunset, this organization displays the memorial known as "the Arlington West Memorial". It really is a site to see and this photo doesn't do it justice.

The crosses represent each fallen soldier and the red ones actually represent 10 military personnel. The draped coffins represent the fallen soldiers in the last week.

We didn't realize that it was temporary and only displayed on Sundays. We must have visited the Santa Monica Pier on a Sunday last year as we thought this was a permanent display. We were sad to see how many more crosses there were from last year.

Have you seen this memorial? We would love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about hotels and things to do in Santa Monica

Photo of the Week - Sea Lions at the Pier 39

The Sea Lions at Pier 39 were a highlight of our trip to San Francisco in August. At first I was unsure where they were. I knew they were down by Fisherman's Wharf, but where was still a mystery to me. After a quick look on our IPhone we knew they were at Pier 39. We were going to try to avoid Pier 39 as we aren't fans of the touristy places. Some we are good with but Pier 39 looked over the top to us.

It was really busy and cold (August can be really cold in San Francisco, around 60 F). We had just finished an awesome segway tour with City Segway Tours.

We were going to skip it but I insisted (I have a way of doing that). I really wanted to see the famous sea lions. So we braved the cold wind and walked to the pier. Pier 39 is a typical tourist attraction, packed with people, shops and restaurants like Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Once there we figured out we had to go to K Dock. We started out upstairs by the restaurant. There weren't many people there, but it was really cold with the wind.

So I went downstairs where most of the people were. There was a great guide there that was telling people about the Sea Lions and their hypothesis on why the Sea Lions liked to hang out here. They have only been doing this for about 20 years. They think that the big earthquake may have changed where they used to beach, and San Francisco Bay is free of predators for them, but had a great food source.

No one really knows why they started coming to Pier 39, but I can tell you the tourists are ecstatic, as I am sure the businesses on Pier 39!

When you are next in San Francisco, make sure you check them out. They are a lot of fun to watch!

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about hotels in San Francisco

Photo of the Week - San Francisco Fairmont Lobby

This past summer, Warren and I were looking for a place to visit that was cooler than everywhere else. We chose to spend a few days in San Fransisco as part of our 2 week adventure to Las Vegas and the Central Coast of California. We got our wish as it was quite cool but we didn't care as we loved the city!

Since Warren travels to Calgary a lot on business and stays at the Fairmont, he is a presidents club member so it only made sense that we stayed at one of the two Fairmont's in the city. The Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square was sold out, so we chose the Fairmont San Fransisco. We were very happy with this choice.

The Lobby of the San Francisco Fairmont

Located in Nob Hill (at the top of a Hill) it was central to most everything we wanted to see. The Cable cars (which we loved to ride on) stopped just outside of the hotel and made it easy to get around (although they can get quite busy). There were many restaurants within walking distance and the lobby (as you can see in the photo) is beautiful. The staff were accommodating and friendly, and we were upgraded to an amazing main building suite .

The best part for me was when I discovered that this was the very first Fairmont. The history on this property is quite incredible and dates back to the beginnings of San Francisco. Tony Bennett first sang "I left my heart in San Fransisco" in the Venetian room.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about the Fairmont San Fransisco at TripAdvisor

Photo of the Week - Observatories on the Big Island Hawaii

One of our absolute favorite trips was our tour up to the top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island in Hawaii. We were staying for a few days at the Mauna Kea Resort area and knew that we wanted to do the trip up to see the Observatories. We did a tour with Hawaii Forest and Trail Tours, primarily because they were voted in the top five on Things to do on Kona on TripAdvisor.

It was hard to believe the weather changes. We started in the afternoon, swimming in the pool at 90 F, and by the end of the day we had climbed up to below 30 F. Thankfully they included parkas and gloves!

It was a spectacular tour and we will do it again! This photo is of the observatories at sunset. We stayed at the top (about 14000 feet) until the sunset then went down to a lower level (to the information center) and pulled out the telescope to see the stars.

The Observatories at the Top of Mauna Kea at Sunset

Photo of the Week - Port Douglas, Queensland

Recently I was going through photos of our trip to Australia. I am in the middle of transitioning the website's look and feel (we would love to know what you think) and was working on some pages in Australia. I came across this photo. We had just arrived in Port Douglas, Queensland, after flying in to Carins from Melbourne and driving for the first time on the other side of the road for 2 hours.

We visited Australia in August of 2008, and it had been quite cold and windy in Melbourne and Sydney. We were happy to have found some warm weather so Montana and I went to check out the town. We found this park down the way from where we were staying. People were hanging around enjoying the sunset...so we joined in.

Have you been to Port Douglas in Queensland?

Please comment below on your experience in Port Douglas, or on our website's new look and feel...We would love your feedback!

Photo of the Week - Chicago Hot Dog

While in Chicago recently on a conference, I took and extra day to tour the city. A fellow conference attendee and I decided to go on a segway tour (as you probably know Warren and I are fans of the segway!). Part way through the tour we got to have a break and try a Chicago hot dog.

I didn't know that there was such a thing but hey...when in Chicago try their hot dogs! The stand we went to was down near the John G. Shedd Aquarium. I was told that the only way to have a hot dog is "Chicago Style":  Beef Hot dog topped with mustard, onion, relish, tomato, hot pepper, celery salt and a pickle. Kethcup was only on request and expect to get kidded about it.

Unfortunately I don't like most of the toppings so I opted for just mustard (I didn't dare ask for Ketchup!) Cath, my segway buddy) went for the whole thing:

She enjoyed it! So hey, you never know!

If you are going to Chicago check out the Chicago CityPass for a great price on passes into the citys biggest attractions.

What is the coolest "local specialty" that you have ever tried while on vacation? We would love to hear in the comments below:

Photo of the Week - Chinese Garden in Darling Harbour, Sydney Australia

We were amazed at the beauty of the Chinese Garden in Darling Harbor, Sydney Australia. While touring around on a hop on hop off bus in Sydney, the tour guide (a recording) said that the next stop includes Darling Harbour and the Chinese Gardens. Warren piped up and said he wanted to check them out. We are so glad we did!

The Chinese Gardens were created by the Chinese community in Sydney to celebrate Australia's 1988 Bicententary. We had a lot of fun in the gardens. Not only did we enjoy the incredible foliage, they also had a place where we could rent Emperor and princess costumes to take photos in all around the gardens. We had so much fun with this!
Check out our pages on Australia for planning your Australia Vacation.

Find and book Sydney tours and activities on Viator.com. Book ahead to save time and money!



Photo of the Week - Monte Carlo Harbor

Nothing says opulence like Monte Carlo, Monaco, especially it's Harbor. The yachts are absolutely incredibel and defines wealth.

On our trip to Nice, France, we splurged and took a helicopter to Monte Carlo for the evening. (It wasn't much more than a taxi really). This was  a view of the harbor and a few of the yachts. These yachts make the speed boats behind them look tiny.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor

Photo of the Week - The Plaza in Central Park

This week's photo is of the Plaza hotel peaking through the trees in Central Park. New York City is an amazing city. We love to go for the weekend, both as a couple and with Montana. Montana absolutely loves New York for the excitement and shopping of it all.

Warren and I have a soft spot for New York City as our very first trip away together over 13 years ago was to Manhattan. We stayed at the Plaza solely due to the movie Home Alone 2 (if you can remember that one!). We have done that a lot in our travels. We choose a hotel or destination because of a movie we liked. Hey inspiration can come from anywhere!

Through a series of mess ups (on the hotels part) we were upgraded to the actual "Home Alone Suite" It was HUGE and overlooked 5th Avenue. It was a perfect first trip away together.

Since then, the Plaza was bought, renovated and reopened in 2008. The Plaza now offers 282 hotel rooms and 152 private condo hotel units. It is operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

One day we would like to stay in the Plaza again, but with the prices around $1000 a night, we will have to find a more "value for our money" type of rate.



The World Famous Plaza peaking Through the Trees in Central Park

 Have you stayed in the Plaza in New York City? Comment below on your experience

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor about the Plaza

Photo of the Week - The Macau Tower, Macau

On a tour of Macau we were taken to the Macau Tower. We didn't have any desire to go there before, but were happy we did. The tower gives you a lovely view of Macau, and China. There were many activities available including bungy jumping and the Sky Walk (where you walk around the outside of the tower).

It is worth the visit if you are visiting Macau.

Macau Tower peaking through the Trees

But I do have to say, Toronto's CN Tower is still taller! (yes we are from Toronto, Canada)



For more information on Macau, try the Lonely Planet Guide for Hong Kong and Macau.

Photo of the Week - Eiffel Tower Paris, France

On a recent trip to Paris, we spent a lovely afternoon in the Parc du Champs de Mars, just below the Eiffel Tower. We were not sure of our plans, so didn't book a time online to go up the Eiffel Tower, because of that we missed it as we weren't willing to wait the 3 hours in line to venture to the top.

Not sure what we missed out on, but we did climb to the top of the Arc De Triomphe, so we still got an amazing view of the city, at sunset too. We really enjoyed our couple of hours napping in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower on a Beautiful Sunny Day in Paris

 The book we found most helpful on our 3 day whirlwind through Paris was Frommer's Paris Day by Day (Frommer's Day by Day - Pocket). It helped us figure out exactly what we wanted to see, and if we came across anything that we weren't sure about it gave us enough of a description to answer our questions.
We highly recommend it for Paris!

What do you like about Paris? Comment below, we would love to hear about it.

More travel Facts about the Eiffel Tower.

Photo of the Week - Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California

I love to watch the sun set. Warren says that I wore him out of sunsets when we were in Hawaii. That could be true!

This is the sunset over Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California. We stayed at the Blue Dolphin Inn (which we highly recommend for a romantic getaway) and had a patio oceanview room.

We could snuggle in the patio "loveseat" under a blanket and watch the sunset each night.

This is my favorite sunset photo from that trip:

Sunset at Moonstone Beach,
Cambria, California

If you have a favorite sunset photo, please send it to me or link it in the comments section below.

Photo of the Week - Mauna Kea Sunset in Hawaii

Wow, 3 weeks in a row, I must be on a roll with these Photos of the week!

This week I chose the sunset in Hawaii. The summer is ending here in Toronto. The kids have gone back to school, and there is a slight chill in the air. I was starting to think about the Christmas and New Year's holidays. That means it will be quite cold here soon. So what sprung to mind but Hawaii!

Hawaii is one of our absolute favorite destinations. This photo of the sunset was taken from a house we rented in Mauna Kea on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island.

My favorite time of day!

Do you love Hawaii? Please share your favorite images of Hawaii with us and we may display them here as a photo of the week on future Fridays.

Contact us here:
http://www.excellent-vacation-ideas.com/contact-us.html

We always welcome comments, or suggestions for our photos!

Photo of the Week - Amsterdam Canal

OK, another Friday has come along, and so does another Photo of the week. This week I chose one of my favorites from Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is one of our favorite cities in Europe. We went back there for a visit in July 2010.
I love this photo as it was the view from the front of our hotel, the Grand Amrath. I love how is shows the homes of the people in Amsterdam, from walk ups across the canal, to houseboats on the canals.

It is free to dock your boat on any of the canals, so many people hook up and don't leave...makes sense to me if that is the life you want.

Do you have a favorite travel photo you would like to share? Contact us here:
http://www.excellent-vacation-ideas.com/contact-us.html

When in Amsterdam, don't forget to take one of the many Amsterdam canal cruises to get a different view of the city.

What do you like about Amsterdam? Comment below:

Photo of the Week - Alabater Mosque in Cairo

So Photo Friday isn't really a regular feature in our Travel Journal, I thought that I would like to showcase one of our photos today. I enjoy the photos that many of my favorite travel blogs and websites post so I thought, "Hey why not!"

I am not promising to showcase one every Friday, but I will try. If you have a favorite travel photo that you would like me to showcase, please feel free to send a note to me through our contact page here:
http://www.excellent-vacation-ideas.com/contact-us.html
and we can arrange that.

So for today's photo:

Alabaster Mosque in Cairo
(Mosque of Muhammad Ali at the Citadel)

Not bad for my attempt at being "artsy".

What do you think? Comment below I would love to hear any tips of tricks you may have! 

Photos of the Week

April 2009

Spouting Horn, Kauai
Kuranda Scenic Railway, Queensland, Australia
Streets of Amsterdam

March 2009


Big Island, Hawaii, Sunset
Chinese Gardens in Sydney, Australia
Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney, Australia
Wailua Falls, Kauai, Hawaii