Throwback Tuesday: A Day in Milano

Time for another Throwback Tuesday!

This time my snaps from my second visit to Italy and first time visit to Milano.

And Bo was still a cute toddler.

This is the city where Bo first learned to run, chasing the doves :).

It was back in 2008, when I was posted in Geneva, Switzerland, for my first assignment.

My mom stayed with us for 6 months and we managed to travel around whenever we had time. 

I remember  vividly that it was our first Easter Break trip in Europe.

Good thing about Easter Break in Europe is that it lasts for 4 days.

Yuup..Friday to Monday it is.

And we practically stayed in the central of the continent, where traveling around Western European countries are super easy.
We took the liberty to visit Lugano and Mendrisio in Switzerland, before heading to Milan and stayed day for a day.

First destination:  the Duomo.
The one in Milano is the third largest Gothic cathedral in the world and many have been captivated by its intricate details. 
When we went there, the Cathedral was undergoing quite a major renovation.

The next stop was Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle II.

Window shopping only  it was, as we had just had a crazy shopping session at Mendrisio Factory Outlet :).

 

We went to Castello Sforzesco, an imposing architecture full of history as well.

 And as I said, this is the place where Bo started running around chasing the birds.

The flocking birds around those magnificent buildings!

That's my #throwbacktuesday.
What's your wonderful memories today?

p.s : I will keep my Throwback Tuesday features but will post it every Wednesday or Thursday :).

Throwback Tuesday: Dusk at Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary

"Pak, I want to see the purple sky!" That night, I talked to my husband about our next Easter break trip. 
"Purple sky?", he slightly frowned his face.
"Yuup..I saw it on google images, wonderful purple sky over the Danube. Overlooking this beautiful Parliament House." And I showed him the pictures.
"Aah..Budapest! Off we go there then!" exclaimed my hubby.

Budapest, here we go!

***
What can I say.
I love looking at all those photos taken during our trips here and there.
And as I haven't really done blogging seriously during that time, I took the liberty to have them posted years after.

Time for Throwback Tuesday, which I haven't done for a while because of,- you know, - my works :).

So are you ready to travel back in time with me?

For this week, I have some snaps from our trip to Budapest, Hungary, back in 2009.
I know...2009.
That was  years ago!
But I still vividly remember our 5 days trip there.

I wrote about our trip to  Budapest in Throwback Tuesday as well before, read that in Fascinating Budapest.

And one of the lovely spots we truly enjoyed taking pictures there is the Buda Castle.

We went to Buda Castle twice during our trip.
One was when it was almost close, and later when it was closed already.
While planning for our next stop, we waited for a while and suddenly the Castle was beautifully lit and voila!
We had the whole place for ourselves :). 

 

So what do you think?

Dusk at Buda Castle is breathtaking, right?

All photos were taken by my hubby, Rudi Frakarsa (Google Plus +Rudi Frakarsa , IG @frakarsa and twitter @Rfra75).

I was busy nursing Bo as he was just a boy at that time

Happy to be back here again someday!

Do you have some memories to share?

Feel free to join me on Throwback Tuesday as well.

Throwback Tuesday: Davos in Summer

Summer is coming...
Surely the heat is hitting the NYC for the last 2 weeks and many surely cheer for that.
After wondering around the super cold spring, suddenly the weather is super warm down here.

And speaking of summer, we have such  beautiful memories of Davos in summer.
Have you heard of Davos?
Many of you are probably familiar with this famous city in Switzerland.
Annually hosting World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos is beautifully situated in Canton Graubunden, south-east part of Switzerland.
Davos is also well-known for its ski resorts as well as other winter sports like ice skating and ice hockey.

But for us, Davos is epic during the WEF.
This super special event is the annual meeting of global leaders from many parts of the world and from different walks of life, including top-notch CEO, celebrities and Head of States/Governments, standing next to each other  with no entourage. It is very special because the Forum is uniquely inviting all those VVIP without their usual 'entourage',- be it security personnel, assistant, protocol or whatsoever. Acess is extremely limited, restricted only for the VVIPs :).
 Every winter, usually January, Davos turns into an extra special global stage as the eyes of the world are on it. I remember vividly all the efforts we have to take in order to prepare visits of our dignitaries.
But I won't talk about that now..
I want to show you Davos in summer :).

Welcome to Jakobshorn, Switzerland...

I got a chance to visit Davos in summer 2008 with Udi et Bo.
We stayed there for 5 days and although I was in the middle of series of meetings, we got a chance to enjoy this beautiful city while the sun is still up there.

We visited Jakobshorn, taking the funicular and stayed up for a while.
Up there, it's beautifully serene and peaceful indeed.

And the vista is amazing..

the peak...minus the snow :)

We even saw some people tracking near the Jakobshorn.
It is one of the mountains around this area.
In winter, it has 14 pistes for skiing. But it looks beautiful as well in summer.

let's have lunch :)

Bo, Udi and I also strolled around the village, enjoying the green scenery and crystal clear river flowing around the Rinerhorn. I love it!

At the last day, we enjoyed Davoz Platz and its street arts.

Taking pictures here and there with Bo :)

And we met some llamas and Bo (as well as his mom) couldn't resist to take pictures with them :) 

Do you have any beautiful memories to share with us?

Throwback Tuesday: Paris in love

It's already a new week and Throwback Tuesday is here.

I know being sentimental can be problematic sometimes, but I guess I found looking at our stories and photos in the past very relaxing and therapeutic.

Do you think so as well? 

So, anyway..this time we took you back to 2010.
I hope you don't mind :).

And Paris is where we're heading to.

To the city of lights.

Or as many have dubbed, the most romantic city in the world.

And even to make it more special, our visit to Paris  at that time was such a rare combination of Valentine's day and the Chinese New Year. 
Paris during Valentine's Day.
And Paris during the Chinese New Year.
Interesting, isn't it.
Although we didn't really celebrate Valentine's Day or Chinese New Year per se, I considered ourselves lucky to witness that colorful celebration in Paris.

cheers from Eiffel Tower.

It took us around 5-hour drive from Geneve, where we resided from 2007 - 2011, to Paris.
Bo was only 3 years old at that time and as you know traveling with young children can be full of 'drama'.
And we were lucky that both of my kids seem to have the same 'itchy feet ' and curiosity over new places, peoples and cultures. So I general, traveling with my kids were mostly enjoyable, with no particular problems.

I remember Bo pretty much loved playing with his stroller at this point.
And balloon.
So we managed to have all of these favorite toys of his ready before continuing our trip, particularly since we took public transportation most of the time.

The trip itself was made possible thanks to our dearest friends and photo mentors, Mas Hedi et Mba Cessy, who never run out of patience with us, the apprentice :).

So, off we went to Paris on the 13th of February, staying there for 2 short days only, with the aim of enjoying the Gong Xi Fat Choi and Paris in love. Lots of love.

Starting with the tour de Montparnasse, we climbed to the 59th floor of the building to enjoy the City of Lights in full-fledge. 

Not to mention our  culinary tour to Tang Frere or the china town and our search for the lost 'klenteng' or Chinese Temple have completed our journey at that time.

Before hitting Hotel de Ville where the defile du dragon started, we managed to visit the Eifell Tower, the Louvre Museum, and the surrounding.


Barely make it on time, we arrived in Hotel de Ville, where the celebration was held, right when the parade was about to start.

And what a celebration it was!

the dragon..so colorful :)

Full of characters from the famous Chinese legends, so colorful, so detailed.
Dragons, knights, emperors, princes and princesses, judges, and more...

Chinese New Year in Paris is indeed festive :)

The make-ups, the costumes, the expressions..
It was really a festive day, not only for the Chinese who celebrated the New Year, but also for us, the spectators.

the three ladies :)

Red was obviously dominating the scene, but I managed to find one wise man (at least I thought so ) with PURPLE (my favorite color) beard.

Afterwards, we hit the road again and headed to Les Champs- Elysses.
Took more pictures here and there.
Enjoying precious moments with our dear friends and families.

Well, for sure it was quite a colorful weekend.

Most photos were taken by Udi, my hubby, while the family pictures were taken by Mas Hedi or Mba Cessy.

Speaking about Paris, I have one beautiful Paris bag, with Eiffel tower on it,  made by my dearest friends, Suzie Icus. 

Icus is a loving mom of Abin, a cute baby boy, who has admiringly founded Itaco together with her students. Teaching in a vocational school, Icus has inspired many of her students to start creating various kinds of DIY and crafts, like pouches, bags, even t-shirts and pin. I even orders beautiful endek Bali pouches, t-shirt and pins for my breast cancer team's souvenirs.
You wanna see them? 

Thanks to Icus for providing me this :)

Aren't they lovely!

I sincerely hope Icus and her students will continue doing their great jobs and we will have more and more entrepreneurs.

Well, what di you think?

Any memories you would like to share with us today?

Do you have the same impression of Paris in love?

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)

Throwback Tuesday: Fascinating Budapest, Hungary

I cannot help but rekindle my joy to wandering around Europe as I open my album at Facebook.
Such remarkable days as we enjoyed our first posting in Geneve and had a chance to actually explore this part of the world.

This time, I have Budapest.

This capital city of Hungary is truly a living proof of the grandeur of the past and the inexplicable elegance of nature.

Bo and I enjoying the night scene at Budapest :)

The trip was made in 2009.

Almost 7 years ago.

That summer break we decided to visit the city of bridges and stayed there for 5 days. Flying from Geneve with EasyJet, Bo was only 3.5 years at that time.

But he proved to be a great companion, happily traveling with Mama et Bapak and took his pram whenever he was tired.

We had quite a full itinerary here.

Pretty much using Trip Advisor as my 'private guide', we managed to see most of the highlights in this beautiful city.

Castle Hill, Buda Castle, Fishermen Bastion, Heroes' Square, St. Stephen Church, Citadel, Chain Bridge and so many more.

We strolled along Danube, which has been dubbed as one of the most beautiful rivers in Europe.

We took the tour to the famous Parliament house. I remembered vividly that it was rainy that morning. But we got our 45-minute tour inside this magnificent building. I couldn't recall the details but it was lovely.

Something that I love so much about Budapest is its purple sky. When the sun sets, sparkly purplish and orange sky is certainly a feast to my eyes.

Walking around the city was such fun as well, as we found so many beautiful statues and landmarks.
Like this super cute police officer :).

We managed to visit Szent Istvan,  also known as  St. Stephen Church.
Indeed, it is the largest church in Budapest with its 96-metre-high dome and incredible interior. Undoubtedly, this church wows each and every one of its visitors.
 

staying outside

I love the colorful marble mosaic outside, though it's not really the original part where the church was first built in 1845.
And once we stepped in, this is what we see.

And finally, we made a brief stop, twice actually, at the Buda Castle. We didn't take many pictures inside but when we waited for a while to catch our breath, the Castle turned amazingly beautiful with the lights on. Take a look...

So, that's the recollection of my memories in Budapest, Hungary.
Now that we reside in the US, we kinda miss Europe and its beautiful cities. 
Looking at all those pictures certainly make you feel nostalgic :).

I remember discussing Europe trip with my friend, Fita Chakra, who made the trip with her husband last year. We discussed a lot about the best route in Europe and cities that she should not miss. Being a great children books' writer, I believe traveling and exploring the world will be very beneficial for her. For sure it will inspire her more on her upcoming books :).  They didn't manage to visit Budapest but I know they had so much fun visiting Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Venezia, and so many more. Those are the cities I have visited as well.  So I guess I will certainly come back with more stories and photos from those cities.

What memories you love to share with us today?

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)