Prague - A City Of A Thousand Spires.

Itinerary: 

I was in London for work and we decided to take a long weekend trip to Prague. It's only a quick 2 hour flight from London.

I did a lot of research on hotels and chose the Golden Well Hotel because of the rave reviews online. It's a great boutique hotel located steps from the Prague Castle with breathtaking views of all of Prague (I took the photo above from the hotels rooftop restaurant).

Golden Well Hotel: (about US $365-950 per night).
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Beautiful, romantic rooms with most that have views of Prague. It's not in the heart of the city and this was perfect for us. Only a 15 minute walk and your right in the center of the city which also means that at night, the hotel is very quiet. They also have a really good rooftop restaurant called Teresa U Zlate Studne offers some amazing food as well as views of the city below.

 

The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river. Construction on the bridge started in 1357 and wasn't finished until the beginning of the 15th century. There are 30 baroque statues various saints and patron saints lining the bridge.

Prague is home to one of my favorite authors, Franz Kafka. The home in which he was born is located in Old Town next to the Church of St Nicholas. It is now a permanent exhibition devoted to the author.

A popular tourist attraction is the Prague Astronomical Clock. 

It's located in the Old Town Square and at the top of every hour features a show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.

There's a really interesting behind the scenes tour available. An elevator takes you up to the top of the clock tower where you learn about the history of the tower as well as a unique behind the scenes perspective during the hourly show that very few see.

There's plenty of restaurants located right around Old Town Square that not only offer a great mid day cocktail and snack but also has some of the best views of the city.

Another must see is the 600 year old St. Vitus Cathedral located near Prague Castle. It's the biggest and the most important church in the Czech Republic.

It’s a place where saints, kings, princes and emperors of Bohemia are buried. Check out the amazing Gothic architecture.

The John Lennon Wall is located In Mala Strana, near the French Embassy. When John Lennon was murdered in 1980 he became a sort of hero to some of the young and his picture was painted on this wall along with graffiti defying the authorities.

If you continue to walk along the Mala Strana you'll see small locks on the gate over the canal. It's called "Locks of Love". Legend has it that couples write their names on a lock and lock it onto the gate professing they're love forever. 

You then throw the key into the canal. You can also find "Locks of Love" in China, South Korea, Japan, Guam, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Russia, and the USA.

The Dancing House, also know as the Fred and Ginger building was designed by Frank Gehry.  It you look close, the house resembles a pair of dancers with the male dancer on the right pulling his female compaignon on the left close to him.

Another interesting piece of art is a sculpture located near the Wenceslas Square. Hanging by its feet the dead horse is ridden by a knight. It was created in 1999 by artist David Cerny as a parody of a right-side-up statue in a nearby public square.

One night for dinner we went to the restaurant U Maltezskych Rytiru, which dates back to the 14th century. Once you go downstairs to the dining room, you feel as if you stepped back in time. We had a really good meal and has to finish it off with a shot of absinthe.

 

Prague is a beautiful romantic storybook city. No need to spend more than 4 days there. A great city to add on to a European vacation.

South Africa - Safari & City

Itinerary: 

We're on a 3 day safari in Kruger National Park, which is an hour and a half fight from Johannesburg, and then we're off to Cape Town for 4 days.

Kruger National Park

After a 39 1/2 hour journey...a 12 hour flight from Los Angeles to London, an 8 hour layover, another 12 hour flight from London to Johannesburg, another 6 hour layover and finally a one and half hour flight into the bush, we arrived at Kruger National Park.

We're exhausted from traveling but our adrenaline kicks when they ask if we'd like to go out on the evening game drive. Our first sighting is a heard of elephants about 30 yards away. 

I always imagined the game drive would be like visiting a zoo but I was completely wrong. Seeing these animals in the wild from an open jeep is an experience that's hard to explain. 

This was the first time on vacation that I truly felt as if I was on the other side of the world.

On the evening game drives, we would have a "sundowner". We'd stop in the middle of a clearing and just enjoy the amazing African sunset while sipping on a cocktail and some fresh h'orderves that our guide would cook up on a portable camping stove.

Singita Boulders Lodge:  (about US $1,630-3,200 per person per night, all inclusive).
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Amazing exotic, romantic resort! The best we've ever stayed. One night after returning from our game drive cold and dusty, we discover that our butler has a hot bubble bath waiting for us with about 50 candles lighting the entire bathroom. There's also a bottle of champagne on ice along with chocolate covered strawberries. What a way to end a day!

Singita Boulders Lodge has been voted "best hotel in the world over 15 times" by various international travel publications and reader surveys.

It is an all inclusive resort that includes all meals, a personal butler, all drinks, including premium wines, spirits and liqueurs (excluding champagnes), and 2 open Land Rover safaris per day accompanied by experienced guides and trackers.

Cape Town

After a quick 2 hour flight from Johannesburg, we arrive in Cape Town. We're staying at the Mount Nelson Hotel. 

Mount Nelson Hotel: (about US $355-1000 per night, including breakfast).
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The Mount Nelson Hotel is an Orient Express hotel, do I need to say more? Old world glamour, luxury and style all rolled into one. Amazing service from front desk all the way to house keeping and everything in between. The list of celebrities that have stayed here is endless. There's way too many to even list them. Check out this link to see for yourself.

From our room we have an incredible view of Table Mountain. Most of the time the top of the mountain is covered in fog, which is referred to as a "table cloth". The first morning we wake up, we're in luck. The mountain is completely clear. We take the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway all the way to the top for some breathetaking views.

The next day we decide to go out and explore. We decide to hire a private guide and let them do the driving so we can enjoy the sights. We hired Hylton Ross Tours for a 2 day private tour based on the great reviews that I read online. The reviews were right. Great company with very friendly and knowledgable guides. I highly recommend them. The first day we're heading south to the Cape of Good Hope.

The tour continues with a stop at Boulders Beach, home to a colony of African penguins.

The next day we head out to explore the infamous South African wine country. Our destination is a town called Stellenbosch.

We end up meeting some friends that we met while on safari and spend the day wine tasting and lunch at the beautiful 300 year old Vergelegen Wine Estate. 

I highly recommend a trip to South Africa. It's a very long trip and expensive but it's a trip that I guarantee that you'll never forget! I'm already planning a return trip to Africa. Next time, it's Kenya for the great wildebeest migration.