3-day Isle of Skye tour review. Day one.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer -
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

 At 8:30 am my husband and I were standing next to the travel agency on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, where we became acquainted with our fellow travelers. We will spend the next three days in the journey with the travelers from China, Ireland, Spain, US and all of them are really nice people!
And of course, I'd like to share my impressions with you )

1-day trip to Minsk, Belarus.

Last summer my husband and I had a business trip in Minsk, Belarus and we had some free time to explore the city. While I am working on the review of the 3-days tour to the island of Skye, I'd be glad to tell you about 1-day trip to Minsk.
Minsk was founded in 1067, but this city looks quite new. This is not surprising, because most of Minsk was destroyed during World War II, and within the city almost no historical buildings, excepting a tiny area in the center of the city.
People nostalgic for Soviet times love Minsk, because that city has retained all the best traditions of USSR of the 1980s. I like Minsk, because the streets are wide and clean, air is fresh, and there is no traffic jams. It's the real island of Soviet life, that's surprising for Muscovites.
Well, let's take a walk  )

Teddy Bears in Edinburgh

I fell in love with Teddy bears many years ago. I buy my new friends in each trip, so you understand why "Canongate Crafts" is my one and only hidden treasure in Edinburgh.  They sell absolutely adorable hand made teddy bears.
On this photo you may see my traveling teddy bear Puzyrek ('Phial', hi is second from the left) with his new friend Angus (second from the right) and Angus's friends.

Where to eat and drink in Edinburgh

Edinburgh has many very good restaurants and other eating places. We were pleasantly surprised by the food because we had no problem finding what we wanted to eat. From fish & chips to haggis, even the fried foods were good and didn't give us any problems, even though we don't eat much fried food at home. 

The list of my favorite places to eat and drink in Edinburgh is below

3 days in Edinburgh. Day 3. Arthur's Seat

On third day we decided to walk up Arthur's Seat following this route.
Arthur's Seat is one of the must-do's in the Edinburgh. There are numerous different options for hikes and walks and several different ways to reach the peak, all of varying degrees of difficulty.
There are two parts to Arthurs Seat, The Crags and Arthurs Seat. The easiest and simplest ascent is from the East, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch, a small artificial loch located between Dunsapie Hill and Arthur's Seat.

3 days in Edinburgh. Day 1. Royal Mile

At first a few details about Edinburgh. The central area of the city isn't very big, and if you walk fast, you can get from one end to the other in a couple hours. The city is split into 2 parallel areas, the Old Town, which was the central part of the city for centuries, and the New Town which was started in the 1700's to alleviate overcrowding in the Old Town. The center of the Old Town is called the Royal Mile, and stretches from Edinburgh castle to Holyrood Palace, home to the British Monarch on her visits to Edinburgh. The Royal Mile is full of interesting places, stores, museums, restaurants, etc. The New Town and the Old Town are separated by the The Mound (once upon a time it was the city's garbage heap) and connected by the Waverly Station, the main train station. Also in between the two parts are the beautiful Princes Gardens, and the National Gallery, the main city museum.

Useful links for visiting Scotland

Undiscovered Scotland - my favorite site for planning trip to Scotland.

The Internet Guide to Scotland - another excellent site for planning

Highlights of Scotland  - thematic self-guided tours to Scotland

Highland experience tours - guided tours in Scotland

Taste of Scotland - cuisine and restaurants in Scotland

Walk Highlands - guide to walks and hiking in Scotland

Walking Scotland - another site with walking routes in Scotland

Edinburgh - things to see and do in Edinburg

Scottish tourist maps - amazing illustrated maps of various areas around the west of Scotland and Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Every map is masterpiece!

You can read more about trip to Edinburgh here:
Men's day trip to Edinburgh (Only photos)
First time to Scotland. Trip details
3 days in Edinburgh. Day 1. Royal Mile
3 days in Edinburgh. Day 2. Calton Hill and Britannia
3 days in Edinburgh. Day 3. Arthur's Seat

Stay tuned!

First time to Scotland. Trip details.

We had this trip to Scotland  in June 2010. 

I think it will be very useful to share technical details of this trip for first-timers .

Men's day trip to Edinburgh (23 February)

Bahamas cruise, day 4 - Coco Cay island

On the last day of the cruise we went to Coco Cay.
There's just one way to get Coco Cay island - aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Royal Caribbean owns this island - every square inch of it. Now you probably won't see the name CocoCay on a map, but it's there. Coco Cay is one of the Berry Islands, it used to be called Little Stirrup Cay, and if you find it on a map, it will be under that name.
I absolutely love this island. The water is just gorgeous, turquoise and crystal clear! Lots to do, or you can just relax!
The day was warm and sunny, and the water temperature was warm. We snorkeled and we saw lots of exotic fish!  Later we went to the BBQ that was provided on the island, and we finished this day on one of RC excursions.
It was absolutely excellent ending of cruise! An unforgettable experience!

Just me

Bahamas cruise, day three - Nassau

Новое утро - новый порт.
Сегодня прибыли в Нассау. Первым делом прямо с корабля попадаем в центр информации для туристов, получаем карту местных достопримечательностей и идем исследовать остров.

Bahamas cruise, day two - Key West

Bahamas cruise, day one - Miami and welcome aboard

Ok, it was my first cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas  and I’m pleased to share the details and the photos with you. Majesty is not the biggest or equipped with most bells and whistles, but for me she is a wonderful ship. Majesty’s 4-night itinerary is a great way to try out cruising and try a new destination.

First Day of the Year

Hello dears!

Hope the first few days of 2012 have been treating you well.

I decided to start the new year with a walk on Appia Antika.

It’s hard to get up out after a night of partying, but we woke up early and started our trip at 9AM!

Mystic forest (Parco dell'Appia Antica)

Violet Fiat

Vespa

Superman

Frescoes in Rome

Red Fiat