Month: June 2012

New from Hampton Inn…..

June 21, 2012Business Travel, ThoughtsBusiness Travel, Experience, Hampton, Hilton, Question, Traveltraveling4numbers View all 2 comments

Creepy stick-it notes left by housekeeping on the headboard of the bed. The worst part about this is that I did not notice this note, which I assume was present the entire time since I decline housekeeping while staying, for 3 nights. As I was getting ready to leave this morning I noticed it. I don’t know if it is limited to this specific Hampton as I haven’t seen it at others recently. However, as this has proven, I may have just missed it previously.

On a more positive note, I do appreciate the fact that Hampton is trying to make sure that guests know that they are receiving clean bedding. I just think that there must be a better way to do it!

Here is a picture of the note.

Travel Photos – Einsiedeln, Switzerland

June 20, 2012Travel PhotosAbbey of Einsiedeln, Church, Einsiedeln, Photos, Swiss, Switzerland, Traveltraveling4numbers Leave a comment

Had we not had a little extra time while making our way back to Zurich at the end of a trip in May, 2010, I probably would have never seen the Abbey of Einsiedeln, luckily we did manage to squeeze it in. The town is relatively close to Zurich but feels like it is completely cut-off from the metropolitan area (approximately 40 kilometers). The Abbey is obviously the focal point of the town, but we did have a light lunch in the town which was good (unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the restaurant). As you can see from the photos below, the Abbey is quite impressive from the outside. The inside is also quite striking. Please enjoy!

Abbey of Einsiedeln (*** – Very interesting but probably not worth going extremely far out of your way to see it)

One more picture of the exterior (look for the Nuns walking down the steps)

A view of the city of Einsiedeln, Switzerland from the entrance of the Abbey

Travel Photos – Venice, Italy

June 11, 2012Travel PhotosItaly, Photos, Travel, Venicetraveling4numbers One comment

The next installment in my travel photos series comes from Venice, Italy. I have traveled there twice, once in 1989 and once in 2008. Unfortunately, I was too young to remember much from the 1989 trip and none of those pictures are in a digital format so all I have are photos from a 1-day, rain-soaked, trip to the city in 2008. These pictures do not do justice to how beautiful the city is but they do capture what the city looks like when the crowds are gone. Enjoy!

Piazza San Marco (***** – Central to everything in Venice. Quite touristy but still a must visit)

One more…

Rialto Bridge ( *** – Charming but nothing much to it)

Grand Canal

Another….

And another….

I know these aren’t the best photos due to the nasty weather but hopefully they convey some of the beauty of Venice. Look for some more travel photos posts coming up and a post detailing some future travel that should result in more extensive trip reports.

Travel Photos – Rome, Italy (At Night)

June 7, 2012Travel PhotosItaly, Nighttime, Photos, Rome, Traveltraveling4numbers Leave a comment

I am saving my primary travel photos entry for Rome until a later date but I did not want to exclude what may be my favorite city in the world so I decided to pull together the few nighttime shots I have of the eternal city into a blog post. Please enjoy a look at Rome after dark…..

The Pantheon (***** – Probably my favorite ancient site. When I visit Rome I typically go through the Pantheon several times as it is free and ends up on my walking path across the city)

Piazza Navona (**** – Would be five stars if not for the constant hawkers. Sorry for the picture quality on this one, a little blurry)

Travel Photos – Zurich, Switzerland

June 6, 2012Travel PhotosPhotos, Swiss, Switzerland, Travel, Zurichtraveling4numbers One comment

Today I am back with another entry in my travel photos series. This time the pictures are from Zurich, Switzerland during a trip I took in May, 2010. I am going to pass on making comments on the pictures this time as Switzerland just did not interest me as much as other places and I honestly do not remember the names of the buildings/river/streets in the pictures. Zurich is a very nice, clean city but it lacks the charm of other European cities, at least to me. (It is also much more expensive) This is not to say I recommend avoiding Zurich, it is just that I would not value time there as highly as I would most other cities in Europe.

All of that being said, please do enjoy the pictures as Zurich is a very picturesque city.