Eating in Vienna

February 6, 2015February 5, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / 2 Comments

Austria was once the center of the Habsburg Empire that stretched from France to Russia. Austrian cuisine has evolved over the centuries, greatly influenced by its diverse heritage. Many of Austria’s distinctive dishes reflect the country’s mixed nationalities. The coffee culture, one of the important traditions in Vienna was introduced when the Turkish army invaded Europe and introduced coffee beans to the Viennese. Similarly, the wiener schnitzel originated in Italy, and the sausages were German delicacies. All this different food plays a major role in Austrian cuisine today, and we couldn’t wait to try it all. Here are the some highlights of all the food we tried:

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Photo of the Week: Horseback

January 26, 2015May 10, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / 2 Comments

Reykjavik, Iceland

A few years ago, there was an episode of the Bachelorette where they went to Iceland. A few months later, we saw a promotion for a self-guided tour around Iceland inspired by that episode that included horse back riding. Horseback riding is fun in theory, but when the temperature out is below zero, it can be uncomfortable to say the least.

We took advantage of the promotion and headed to Iceland for our honeymoon. We were there during the winter time when everything in Iceland is frozen and covered in frost. If we were smarter, we would have opted out to go sit in a lodge with a hot cocoa, but where’s the fun in that, right? Instead, we went out horseback riding in the freezing cold. We layered up, and if I remembered correctly I had on at least 5 layers of clothing. I looked like a giant orange marshmallow on a horse, here is a picture of me on horse back. Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: St. Peter’s

January 5, 2015May 10, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / 1 Comment

Vatican City

We’re back! Happy New Year everyone. The first post of 2015 is a photo taken from our first trip together back in 2007 to Italy. Memories!

We made the pilgrimage to the Vatican and scaled the 551 steps of winding narrow stairs to get to the top of St Peter’s basilica. This is the sweeping panoramic view from the top of the dome overlooking the square and the rest of Rome in the distance. We fell in love with the ancient city and it helped ignite our love of traveling.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing. If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Year in Review – 2014

December 31, 2014March 20, 2015 / fpalazzetti / Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again. The end of December is when everyone looks back over their year and makes lists. So far be it for us to not follow the trend.

2014 was one hell of a year for us. In addition to starting this blog, we still found some time to travel around the world while working full time. We were on the road almost once a month in 11 separate trips. We finally got to cross off Australia and Peru from our bucket list, which were over 2 years in planning. We’ve even literally flown around the world – flying only eastward to Australia through Abu Dhabi and then eastward home through Los Angeles. We also visited our 6th continent – only one more to go! The more we see on our travels, the more we wanted to see.

Some of the more impressive stats include: over 91,000 miles flown, on 42 individual flight segments. 7 countries, 5 continents. We spent over 26 hours flying in first class, 70 hours in business, and countless hours in coach. 12 of those flights were over 8 hours long, and 5 of those 12 were more than 12 hours – thats a lot of long-haul flying. Even with all that however, we fell short of of the re-qualification threshold for American Airlines Executive Platinum status – 100k miles. It looks like next year we’ll have to settle for being just Platinum. This means no more unlimited domestic upgrades, and no 8 SWUs for international flights, but we still get lounge access and priority seating/boarding, etc. We also have a stash of points built up this year we’ll work on using up in 2015.

Our trips in 2014 included:

Jamaica
London and Dubai
San Francisco
Peru
New Orleans
Hong Kong
Trips to Toronto
Austria
Australia

This past year we specifically planned more travel than normal in order to maximize the benefits of our status. This resulted in a lot of busy weekends and running around packing, unpacking, and repacking. In fact, it felt like we spent most of 2014 living out of our suitcase. All this travel definitely took its toll on our bodies. Between the long-haul flights, meals in airport lounges, time changes, jet lag, busy weekends, and packed schedules to fit as much in as possible on our trips we both feel a bit worn down. Even though we loved every minute of of our whirlwind year, we’re also looking forward to some R&R time at home this winter. For 2015, we have a lot of ideas of where we want to go, but nothing concrete planned. We are excited to start planning our next adventure around the world (any suggestions?). It’ll be hard to top 2014, but we can’t wait to see what 2015 brings. We wish everyone a safe and happy new year!

Photo of the Week: Bird’s-eye View

November 24, 2014May 10, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / 1 Comment

London, England

Earlier this year, on our weekend trip to Dubai, we had a long layover in London and decided to venture out of the airport. We spent the day lounging in a pub and hitting up a few tourist sites. The one place that we absolutely had to visit was St. Paul’s Cathedral, one of the most historical and recognizable landmarks in London. St. Paul’s Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of London, and is located in the heart of the city near the millennium bridge. Many important services have been held in the hallowed hall of this famous church including the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill.

Coming off a red-eye flight and climbing up 528 steps to the Golden Gallery, the highest point of the outer dome, was quite challenging. The stairs were narrow and winding as you ascend to the top. Once you reach the pinnacle, the panoramic views of London are worth the effort and make you forget your fatigue. From our vantage point we could see down the River Thames, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey in the distance.

Photo of the Week: Frozen

November 10, 2014May 10, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / Leave a comment

Thingvellir, Iceland

On our trip to Iceland, we had a car and drove around the Golden Circle. One of the stops was at Thingvellir National Park in the south west. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to the world’s longest running Parliament, first congregated in 930 AD. At that time people gathered here from all over Iceland every year during the Commonwealth period. Now, Thingvellir is still considered to be the main meeting place for Icelanders, where they come together and and celebrate the most significant occasion in the history of the nation.

Aside from it’s historical significance, Thingvellir is also the land of many dramatic landscapes. Walking through the park, you can clearly see the rocky cliff of the largest exposed continental rift between the North American and Eurasian plates. This picture is of the frozen Oxara river in the heart of Thingvellar. The tundra landscape was as desolate as it was breathtaking. In late November, winter here is well under way, and we had to cover up in many layers just to stay warm.

Photo of the Week: Grooming

October 27, 2014May 10, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / Leave a comment

Gibraltar

A few years ago on our trip to Morocco, we made a little side trip to Gibraltar, an oversea British territory. This rocky peninsula is located at the South of Spain where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. One of the main attractions was the Rock of Gibraltar, a giant rocky citadel. This fortress was once considered one of the Pillars of Hercules in ancient times.

This picture captured an intimate moment between these monkeys as they groomed each other. Climbing up the rock, one of the things you’ll notice is the abundance of wild monkeys lounging around the side of the road. These Barbary macaques were descended from a North African breed and brought to Gibraltar over a thousand years ago. They continued to thrive in their new environment and have become a major tourist attraction. They are extremely sociable and will fearlessly approach people for food. It’s important to keep a safe distance (and a tight grip on your stuff) from the macaques because they are wild and can become quite aggressive if they perceive that you’re withholding food.

Photo of the Week: Poseidon

September 29, 2014May 10, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / Leave a comment

Sounion, Greece

I grew up reading Greek mythology and dreamt about visiting Greece one day. So when we finally started traveling, Greece was at the top of the list. This is the temple of Poseidon at Sounion, located on the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula overlooking the Aegean Sea. This temple was built around 440 B.C and dedicated to the god of the sea. People from far and wide come and pay homage to Poseidon here and pray for safe passage on their travels.

According to Greek legends, this is where Aegeus fell to his death. The story goes: Aegeus’s son, Theseus, sailed off to Crete to fight the Minotaur. Before he left, he promised his dad that if he returned safely, he would hoist up a white sail so his dad would know long before the ship reached land that his son was safe. He entered the labyrinth and with the help of Ariadne, he was able to defeat the monster. On the way home, in a moment of jubilation, he forgot his promise to his father and left the black sail up. From afar, Aegeus thought that his son was dead, and overwhelmed with grief, he jumped into the sea. The Aegean Sea was later named after him.

Places I Want to Go: Hallstatt, Austria

September 10, 2014October 27, 2014 / lifeafter9to5 / 1 Comment

[via fanpop.com]

A few months ago in a moment of impulsive spontaneity Fausto booked us on a flight to Austria this Fall. We talked about it for a few days and then completely put it out of our mind for the rest of the summer. Now as October is fast approaching, I started to think more about what I want to do when I get there.

The original plan was to stay 3 days in Vienna and soak in some culture, music, and pastry. But as I started planning, I realized we’d be remiss to go all the way to Austria and not see the country-side. So while looking for places nearby that we could visit for the day, I came across this beautiful picture of Hallstatt. This idyllic town is about 3 hours away from Vienna by train, nestled between a lake and towering mountains in the backdrop.

If this looks familiar to you, it’s because this picture and others like it have been used in many screen savers. In fact, this place is so beautiful that a replica of the village has been created in China. I can’t wait to see the real thing for myself in a few months.

Photo of the Week: Illuminated

September 1, 2014May 10, 2015 / lifeafter9to5 / Leave a comment

Paris, France

This photo was taken at the Eiffel Tower, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Paris, perhaps in the world. While we were there, we decided that it was a good idea to go up to the top of the tower. Even though the line was long, we were not deterred, that is, until a few hours in. Four hours later, we FINALLY made it to the observation deck. The view was amazing, but I am not sure it was worth the wait.

The line down was almost just as long and we didn’t make it down until midnight. At this point we were starving because we hadn’t had dinner, so we decided to spread out a scarf and have a picnic on the grass right at the base of the Eiffel Tower. A guy came by and try to sell us a 5 Euro bottle of champagne. Again, for some reason we thought this was a good idea. It was not.

It was a long night full of bad decisions, but it was memorable. We will never forget the night we had dinner under the Eiffel tower with a cheap bottle of champagne.

life after 9to5

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