The Colosseum

Travel Post #18: The Colosseum

Originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Colosseum is found at the center of Rome, Italy. This iconic mass is one of the most famous sights in all of Italy. Constructed nearly 2000 years ago, it was utilized for gladiatorial contests, public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animals hunts, dramas based on classical mythology and executions. During that time it was capable of seating 50,000 spectators! The floor is no longer in existence enables visitors to see down into the maze of rooms and hallways which were underneath the floor. This is where the gladiators, animals, and condemned prisoners were kept until they were raised by ancient Roman elevators.

Visiting this architectural and engineering wonder is a most when journeying through Rome, Italy!

Check Out Their Website: http://www.the-colosseum.net/

Amway Center

Travel Post #17: Amway Center

“This is unlike anything Orlando has ever seen. It will be unlike any arena ever built."

The Amway Center opened its doors in the Fall of 2010. This arena truly is a work of art! It is an architectural dream composed of a modern mix of metal and glass. The building’s exterior features an ever-changing video screen that looks over the interstate. With a capacity of more than 20,000 seats the arena is equipped to host extraordinary events. Seats range from the good ole nose bleed section to founders and presidential suites, loge seating, court side and superstar seating to MVP tables and hospitality suites. You can find it nestled next to Church Street Station-a popular Orlando hot spot.

Who calls this arena home? The Amway Center is home to the Orlando Magic, the Orlando Predators and welcomes the elite concert series, ice shows, hockey championships, indoor soccer, Olympic ice and track trials, professional bull riding, and much more.

Check Out Their Website: http://www.amwaycenter.com/

Orlando's Farmer's Market

Travel Post #16: Orlando's Farmer's Market

Is the weather screaming Spring and sunshine? Are you in the mood for live music? Do you have a dog that needs to go for a walk? In my case... do you have an obsession with unique handmade jewelry? If you answered yes... the Orlando Farmer's Market is for you! On any given Sunday you will see tons of people roaming around Lake Eola. This dog friendly environment serves as an enjoyable excuse to get out of the house. Merchants with plants, produce, pet supplies, photography and more set up shop right in the heart of downtown Orlando.

Check Out Their Website: http://www.orlandofarmersmarket.com/

Grand Ole Opry

Travel Post #15: Grand Ole Opry

Initially, the Grand Ole Opry started as a radio broadcast in 1925. Today it has flourished into Tennessee's most visited attraction. The Grand Ole Opry is dedicated to honoring country music and its history. Its stage has been graced by:

• Hank Williams
• Patsy Cline
• Minnie Pearl
• Dolly Parton
• Garth Brooks
• Reba McEntire
• Carrie Underwood
• Brad Paisley

... and many more.

Around Christmas time you can find the New York City Rockettes at the Grand Ole Opry House. We had the honor of sitting front and center to watch the high kicks this past year (note: my bestfriend is the gorgeous Rockette in the pictures). Below are pictures from behind the scenes after a show.

Check Out Their Website: http://www.opry.com/

Ground Zero

"Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)"

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Teaching a class full of innocent children

Driving down some cold interstate

Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor

In a crowded room did you feel alone

Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her

Did you dust off that bible at home

Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened

Close your eyes and not go to sleep

Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages

Speak with some stranger on the street

Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow

Go out and buy you a gun

Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching

And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns

Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger

Stand in line and give your own blood

Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family

Thank God you had somebody to love

Travel Post #14: In September of 2010, I visited Ground Zero. It was a solemn experience that brought back memories of 9-11. I remember exactly where I was standing, what I was doing, thinking, etc. During our visit we saw firefighters outside of the station and people visiting the memorial.

Check Out Their Website: http://www.national911memorial.org/site/PageServer?pagename=New_Home

Bayview Gourmet

"Life is too short; eat dessert first."

Travel Post #13: Bayview Gourmet is located in the heart of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. A few options off of their menu include:

• Crabber Burger: Grilled Gulf Coast lump crab cake, dressed, topped with provolone cheese
• Kotzum Avenue: Homemade fresh Quiche with crab, asparagus, mushroom, and spinach or ham and swiss.
• Fried Green Tomato BLT (my favorite): Toasted wheat bery bread with fried green tomatoes, crispy bacon, lettuce, and a garlic mayo

New Years Day 2011: We visited the restuarant on January 1st of this year and were pleasantly surprised with complimentary black-eyed peas (those who know me are aware that I wasn't pleasantly surprised, but others were). This is how Southerns prepare for the New Year. In the South, eating black-eyed peas is thought to bring prosperity and good luck. While we were eating lunch, a local news reporter came to talk to us about our traditions for New Years Day. We made sure to bring up the Pennsylvania tradition that includes eating pork and sauerkraut.

"Pennsylvania Dutch superstition says that eating pork brings good luck because a pig roots forward to look for its food, while chickens scratch backward and cows stand still."

Check Out Their Website: http://bayviewgourmet.com/

The Hard Rock Biloxi Resort

Travel Post #12: The Hard Rock Hotel in Biloxi is not just for hotel lodging; it also houses a casino, restaurants, and is home to many concerts throughout the year. Our frequent visits to the greater Biloxi area often include trips to the local casinos that are located on large barges, but the Hard Rock is among one of our favorites.

The resort and casino were constructed in 2005 with a scheduled-to-open date set as September 1. A couple days before the scheduled grand opening, Hurricane Katrina came ripping through the Gulf Coast and destroyed the newly built casino and resort. After the major set back, it opened to the public on June 30, 2007. The opening concert was performed by Kid Rock.

Check Out Their Website: http://www.hardrockbiloxi.com/

Loveless Cafe

Travel Post #11: Do you crave authentic Southern cooking... biscuits and red-eye gravy? The Loveless Cafe on the Natchez Trace Parkway is the place to go. During a visit to Nashville, Tennessee we stopped by this cafe one afternoon to cure a hangover that was the aftermath from the night before.

A little history lesson: Lon and Anne Loveless began serving southern fare from their front porch to travelers on Highway 100. A small hotel was added later on. "The Biscuit Lady" is who made this place famous. She began her career at the cafe as a dishwasher while still in high school. Carol Ellison passed away in 2010.

Check Out Their Website: http://www.lovelesscafe.com/

Mini Europa

Travel Post #10: At the foot of The Atomium you will find Mini Europa. WARNING: This place is like going to a run down miniature golf course, but it is still entertaining!

This site in Brussels has the reproductions of the most commonly visited monuments in the European Union. Throughout the park, roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented. The models are interactive with buttons to push and moving parts.

I would recommend stopping by before or after your visit to The Atomium, but cross your fingers that would do not go on a day that one of the schools has a field trip.

Check Out Their Website: http://www.minieurope.com/en/index.html

The Atomium

Travel Post #9: The Atomium is comprised of a cluster of giant spheres representing the atomic structure of an iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times. The model was constructed for the 1958 World's Fair. This gigantic structure was built by Andre Waterkeyn who also had an idea to build an upside-down verision of the Eiffel Tower... that would have been a sight to see!

If you are ever in Brussels, Belgium it is worth the train ride to see this unique monument; even if you only have time for a quick photo.

Check Out Their Website: http://atomium.be/

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Travel Post #8: Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France. It is also accredited as the world's most visited cemetery with thousands of visitors annually strolling around the graves of those who have enhanced French life over the past 200 years.

Here is an interesting fact: "At the time of its opening, the cemetery was considered to be situated too far from the city and attracted few funerals. Consequently, the administrators devised a marketing strategy and in 1804 with great fanfare organised the transfer of the remains of La Fontaine and Molière. Then, in another great spectacle in 1817, the purported remains of Pierre Abélard and Héloïse were also transferred to the cemetery with their monument's canopy made from fragments of the abbey of Nogent-sur-Seine (by tradition, lovers or lovelorn singles leave letters at the crypt in tribute to the couple or in hope of true love)"

When visiting this cemetery allow a couple hours to explore the grounds. Pack a lunch and just get lost...

Here are a few famous sites we witnessed:

• Honore de Balzac- French novelist
• Stiv Bators-ashes sprinkled on the grave of Jim Morrison
• Sarah Bernhardt-actress
• Auguste Comte-father of Positivism
• Clarence Jogn Laughlin-photographer from New Orleans, Louisiana
• Jim Morrison-singer and songwriter with The Doors
• Louis Visconti-designer of the Louvre and Napoleon's Tomb
• Sir Richard Wallace-English art collector and philanthropist
• Richard Wright-American author write Native Son

Check Out Their Website: http://www.pere-lachaise.com/perelachaise.php?lang=en

Realizations

Travel Post #8: Realizations-The Walter Anderson Shop

Realizations is a small shop located in the heart of downtown Ocean Springs, Mississippi. This shop houses wall-to-wall Walter Anderson pieces. The artwork is stripped of color allowing the purchaser to paint using watercolors of their own choice. I personally have quite a few pieces of artwork that have been painted to match the décor of my home. Not far down the road you can find the Walter Anderson Museum that contains his family’s artwork and a biographical video.

Brief history: Walter Inglis Anderson was born in the early 1900s in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a painter, writer, and naturalist. Anderson lived most of his life rather reclusive on Horn Island in Mississippi. He painted the primitive conditions that he experienced such as the landscapes, animals, sea creatures, and foliage. He then passed away in 1965.

Check Out Their Websites: http://www.walteringlisanderson.com/

http://www.walterandersonmuseum.org/

The Shed: BBQ & Blues Joint

Travel Post #7: The Shed BBQ

I travel to Ocean Springs, Mississippi a few times a year and there is one stop that I make regardless of our predetermined plans… The Shed! Visiting this BBQ joint is certainly an experience, yes experience! Upon arrival on the property you immediately become a ShedHed. The décor includes license plates hanging from the ceiling, classroom chairs as seats, horse statues, old car parts, and anything else you could imagine being found in a junk yard. The backdrop is, of course, a clear shot of the bayou. To give you the full picture I found this paragraph on their website: "Once there was a guy that spent most of his out-of-class time at Ole Miss scouting out, jumping in, and rummaging through dumpsters and street side garbage piles. The highlight of his week was the "night before trash day." After graduation, he wanted to move back to the Coast. One sobering morning he surveyed all he had collected over the years. It was Everywhere, it was Insane: warped used two by fours, old tin roofing, bent nails, ugly windows, mountains of pure, unadulterated junk! Not knowing what to do with it and not willing to part with a single plastic bucket or warped record, he built a trailer out of the larger parts and loaded the rest on top of this homemade junk hauler (picture here the Beverly Hillbillies on steroids) and moved back to Ocean Springs."

Now that you know what to expect aesthetically, the food is superb. I recommend the pulled pork sandwich with a side of potato or pasta salad. A majority of others select the ribs. You really can’t go wrong when selecting items off of their menu.

Check Out Their Website: http://theshedbbq.com/

Nags Head

Travel Post #6: Nags Head, North Carolina

Nags Head is a bustling beach town nestled in the heart of the Outer Banks. The best way to fully experience Nags Head is to rent a cottage on the beach and fill it with beach chairs, coolers, and company. Our annual trips to North Carolina are for the 4th of July and typically include: horseshoe tournaments, an occasional Alabama Slamma, copious amounts of beach chairs and beer (It can be purchased at the Brew Thru), nightly home cooked meals, body surfing and the newly added cornhole competitions. If you do not bring amazing chefs along with you, here are a few places I suggest: Dirty Dicks Crabs and Awful Arthur’s Seafood. For those that aren’t interested in soaking up the rays, Corolla Island is located near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and while there you can witness the wild horses running along the sand dunes. Speaking of sand dunes, check out Jockey’s Ridge Stage Park while you are in town. Don’t forget your kite!

Check Out Their Websites: http://www.townofnagshead.net/

http://www.dirtydickscrabs.com/ordereze/intro1.html

http://awfularthurs.com/