Florence – Uffizi Gallery

Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! The first museum on the agenda, and one of our favorite museums of the trip, was the Uffizi Gallery. Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance (1450-1500) and this museum houses the greatest collection of Italian paintings by Leonardo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, and Botticelli. I booked our…

Lower Manhattan Historical Tour – Federal Hall & New York Stock Exchange

Hi friends, welcome back to my Lower Manhattan historical tour. In case you missed part one, you can check it out here. Heading north from Fraunces Tavern we’ll turn onto Wall Street. Currently 55 Wall Street is an event venue, hotel, and residences owned by Cipriani, but it was originally built in 1841 as a…

Lower Manhattan Historical Tour – Battery Park, Bowling Green, & Fraunces Tavern

Hi friends, welcome back! Jon and I have been living in the Financial District for four and a half years, but we haven’t truly explored the historical sights we walk by almost every day. Before Times Square, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park, Lower Manhattan was where all the action happened and the north of City…

Newport, Rhode Island – Chateau Sur Mer, Fort Adams, & Ocean Drive

Hi friends, welcome back to the conclusion of our time in Newport, Rhode Island! Our last mansion of the trip was the Chateau-sur-Mer, “Castle by the Sea” in French, and we didn’t love this tour. There was no interior audio guide, only a guide of all the trees and plants on the property, so we…

Newport, Rhode Island – Rosecliff Tour

Hi friends, welcome back to my Newport, Rhode Island series! On our last day of the trip, we grabbed coffee from The Picnic and then headed to tour Rosecliff Mansion. This mansion was built in 1899 by Nevada silver heiress Theresa “Tessie” Fair Oelrichs and sits on twenty-one oceanfront acres. Her father discovered the “Comstock…

Newport, Rhode Island – The Elms Tour

Hi friends, welcome back to my Newport, Rhode Island series! The final house of the day was The Elms, and this might’ve been our favorite because it was luxurious but not so gaudy. This home was owned by Edward Berwind and his wife Herminie. He started his career in the Navy before retiring and founding…

Newport, Rhode Island – Marble House Tour

Hi friends, welcome back to my Newport, Rhode Island series. After viewing The Breakers, we then went to The Marble House owned by William Vanderbilt. William was the  grandson of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt and brother to Cornelius II who owned The Breakers. William was one of the benefactors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art…

Newport, Rhode Island – The Breakers

Hi friends, welcome back to my Newport, Rhode Island series! On our second full day we had another leisurely morning and grabbed coffee from Drift Café. We picked up our car and drove about ten minutes to The Breakers mansion for our first tour of the famous Gilded Age mansions. You can purchase tickets for…

Salzburg, Austria – Hohensalzburg Fortress

Hi friends, welcome back to my Germany and Austria series 🙂 After leaving Eagles Nest, we drove about forty minutes to Salzburg to return the rental car and check into our hotel. We stayed at Hotel IMlaur Pitter and got a free upgrade to the Double Classic room. It was spacious, clean, and the bed…