| July 31st, 2010 | No Comments » | Ireland, Travel, Travel Tips
When I first read about the free walking tours that SANDEMANs NewEurope offers, I was a little apprehensive.
My first thought was “How good could a FREE tour actually be?”. It was just one of those offers that simply sounded too good to be true. To our surprise, the SANDEMANs New Dublin tour was worth every minute of the almost four hours that we spent scouring through some of Dublin’s most famous sights.
Where it Starts:
Between Dublin Castle and City Hall on Dame Street [Map]. Just be sure to look out for the tour guides in the RED shirts.
Meeting Times:
11AM and 1PM
What you’ll see:
Dublin Castle, Dubh Linn, Dublin’s Medieval Walls, Viking Remains, Norman Dublin, Georgian Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, Adam and Eve Church, The National Library, Famous Writers, Temple Bar, U2- Origins of the rock legend, Ha’Penny Bridge, Spire of Dublin, City Hall, Trinity College, Leinster House, Chester Beatty Library, St. Stephen’s Green, 1916 Easter Rising and more!
Cost:
FREE! Although, if you truly enjoyed this tour (which I guarantee you will), then be sure to tip your guide what ever you can afford to. These guides rely on their tips. In our personal experience, our guide was excellent and we loved the fact that he intertwined humor into the tour which made the history a bit more interesting.
The SANDEMANs New Dublin Tour is described as “A FREE 3 hour tour we wind down the quiet streets and bound through bustling boulevards, uncovering the hidden sites as well as the famous ones.” and in my opinion, it was that and more!
| July 27th, 2010 | 2 Comments » | Ireland, Travel, Travel Tips
The Sights of Dublin.
There are so many things to see in this city that I’m not sure where to even start! I feel like I learn something new each and every time that I visit this city but this time I feel that I’ve learned more than ever before.
I’ve compiled a list below of some of the top sights to see when visiting Dublin. Considering Dublin is a very walkable city, it should be no problem to cover a lot of these sights in less than two days.
Dublin City Hall
Built between 1769 and 1779, the Dublin City Hall is located exactly next to another famous sight in the city; Dublin Castle. The architecture in this place is amazing, and it’s one of the finest buildings in the city.
Tours of Dublin’s City Hall are available FREE of charge to groups who arrange in advance. If a tour isn’t your thing, then just walk through the open doors and head up the half spiral stair case until you arrive at the top floor. Be sure to bring your camera along in order to capture some of the beautiful art work, paintings and tile mosaics that are displayed here.
Location: Dublin City Hall on GoogleMaps
St. Stephen’s Green
This beautiful public park was built as a gift to the people of Dublin from the Guinness family in the 19th century. Adjacent to one of Dublin’s most popular shopping streets (Grafton St), St. Stephen’s Green is a place that you could easily spend the better half of your day. On a sunny day during the summer months you’ll find that St. Stephen’s Green is packed with all of the Irish that are trying to take advantage of a day without rain! Most tend to either walk the park, lay out in the sun or bring a lunch and have a nice picnic while being surrounded by a plethora of flowers, trees and lush green grass. St. Stephen’s Green also has a pond that you can bring the kids to feed the ducks.
Location: St. Stephen’s Green on GoogleMaps 
| July 24th, 2010 | 7 Comments » | Greece, Photography, Travel
1. The Incredible Sunsets of Santorini, Greece.
2. Liz & I sitting on the white volcanic cliffs of Sarakiniko Beach on the island of Milos.
3. Taking a pitstop along the southern coast of Santorini.
4. “The Pigeon Girl” out front of the Parliament Building in Athens.
| July 20th, 2010 | 11 Comments » | Egypt, Travel, Travel Tips
1. Always ask for the bill after your finished eating at a sit down restaurant. If you don’t ask, you’ll never get it and you’ll waste your day waiting to pay for your meal.
2. Learn how to haggle. Egypt is all about haggling, whether it’s for a water at the corner store, a souvenir at the market, or a non-metered taxi fare. We even haggled for the price of our hotel room in Dahab. Seriously, everything is negotiable!
3. BYOTP! (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper). You’ll be hard pressed to find toilet paper in most restrooms in Egypt. The toilets here have a built in bidet spray nozzle so if you don’t have toilet paper with you, prepare to walk out of the bathroom with a wet or dirty behind.
4. Accept that you’re a foreigner an you will be stared at all day, every day. Literally.
5. Be careful who you trust. You should be able to figure out who is genuine and whose not after the first two minutes of conversation. If the person starts mentioning “baksheesh”, tell them “shukran” (thank you) and simply walk away.
| July 19th, 2010 | No Comments » | Netherlands, Sponsored Posts, Travel Tips
Note: This is a sponsored post from Easytobook.com. As you know, I normally do not accept sponsored articles on Pause The Moment unless I feel that the article is relevant to the site content and if it may be of interest of my readership. I chose to accept this article because I felt that it may be useful for some of my readers who may be planning on visiting Amsterdam in the near future. Feel free to leave a comment below if you find this article useful.
Amsterdam is one of the most popular European cities to visit in the world. The beautiful canals, green parks, stressed-free atmosphere and obviously the Red Light District and coffee shops- all make it a desirable location to visit over and over again. Because many visitors tend to come back to Amsterdam for a second or third round, we gathered here some of the best hidden hot-spots which are not mentioned in the standard guide books but still worth visiting:
1. “Ctaste”- dining in the dark restaurant – Address: Amsteldijk 55 1074 HX Amsterdam
Tel: +31-(0)6 22335366:
This is a truly unique experience for everybody! Enjoy an evening where you will be using your all senses- except seeing naturally.
The food is served by blind individuals and before entering the dark eating room, you will be welcome in the restaurant’s lounge area where you will get a wide explanation about the whole experience. For those of you who are allergic for some kinds of food- no need to worry- the waiter will give you the chance to inform him about things you simply cannot or do not want to eat.
2. “Café Vertigo”- Address: Vondelpark 3, Amsterdam, NH 1071 AA Netherlands:
This charming café could not be located in a better spot-right in the middle of the famous Vondelpark, underneath the Dutch Film Museum. Not only the location will blow you away but also the décor and the delicious food. The combination of the green surrounding, relaxed environment and the sounds of birds- will all make it an incredible after noon. The greatest advantage of this café is the option to visit the film museum after a pleasant lunch.
| July 16th, 2010 | 15 Comments » | Egypt, Photography, Travel
1. Waves crashing on my friend Crumb in Alexandria, Egypt.
2. The Alexandria Library (Bibliotheca Alexandrina)
3. Just another day on Egyptian Public Transportation.
4. Mmm, Egyptian Tea!
| July 14th, 2010 | 2 Comments » | Greece, Travel
Believe it or not, the island of Milos has more than 70 beaches! Yes, 70! It’s hard to believe considering the island measures only 14 miles from East to West and 8 miles from North to South.
The four of us decided to rent a car or the day and split the cost which made it very affordable at 35 Euro/day. Minutes after Nick signed his life away, we were on our way to see only three of the seventy plus beaches that saturate the quiet island of Milos.
Our first stop was one of Milos’ most famous beaches, Sarakiniko. When we arrived we realized exactly why it was one of the best beaches on the island.
Sarakiniko
Sarakiniko beach is the most photographed landscape in the Aegean Sea. This isn’t your typical beach back at home. Sarakiniko is made up of bright white volcanic rock that takes its form from being cut, and carved by the wind and the waves of the sea. There are many caves that line the edge of the sea and there is even a small natural bridge that can be crossed.
If you’re an adrenaline seeker, there are many cliff jumping opportunities here! As usual, make sure you swim out to the spot first to find out what the depth is before jumping!
Pahena
Pahena is a less known beach on the north side of the island located just down the street from the town of Pollonia. We originally had planned on visiting Papafragas but we ended up parking ourselves at Pahena for a few hours after we saw how nice of a beach it was. Plus, the waves were crashing and I couldn’t wait to go for a swim!
Pahena was a sandy beach with some big waves. Nick and I must have spent an hour or two riding the waves, and just enjoying swimming at this beautiful secluded beach as the girls laid out in the sun. There were only seven people on the beach at the time when we were there, including us four!
Paleochori
This cliff side beach was much different than any other beach that we had visited that morning. This beach seemed as if it was more suited for families. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as secluded and private as the other beaches we had visited. I like to visit beaches that don’t offer sun chairs, and beaches that aren’t so commercialized. I’d rather find a gem of a beach hidden behind some cliffs. For families and tourists, Paleochori beach might be your best bet. There were umbrellas and sun chairs to rent here, and even cliff side cafes that offered full menus.
No matter where you go in Milos, you’ll surely run into a beach. I would highly recommend this island if you’re looking for a lesser known Greek island with an assortment of beaches. Since the island isn’t so “popular”, it doesn’t get half the tourism that Santorini, Ios, Mykonos, or any other famous Greek island gets which is good in my book.
—
FYI: Renting scooters can be an issue here if you do not hold a motorcycle license in your respective home country. In Santorini, it’s no problem. No motorcycle license necessary. In Milos, the police have a problem with it and the rental agencies won’t rent to you unless you have a MC license because if you get pulled over it’s not only you that has to pay a fine, the rental agency does too!
If you have 2-4 people and you’d rather enjoy your day in a rental car, you can do so for around 35-45 Euro. Shop around, there are many places to rent from and the prices vary. The first shop we went to offered us a car for 45 Euro/day. The second shop which was 100 yards down the road offered us a car for 35 Euro/day. Deal!
| July 11th, 2010 | 9 Comments » | Greece, Travel, Travel Tips
Everyone wants to visit the Greek Islands at some point in their lives, right? I mean, how could you resist the famous sunsets of Santorini, the beautiful beaches of the somewhat undiscovered island of Milos, or the all night parties on Ios, and more.
Getting to Greece
As far as getting to Greece itself, I cannot give you too much advice other than to keep an eye out on Kayak.com in order to try to find a decent flight from your country to Greece. They’re generally pretty expensive if you’re traveling from outside of Europe. For us, we flew from Cairo to Athens for a mere $145 USD including all taxes and fees. You can actually find cheaper flights to Athens from Cairo from time to time.
Another idea would be to find a cheap flight to somewhere in Europe or Northern Africa (Egypt) like we did and then find a budget airline from that flies from there to Greece. If you have the time to layover for a few hours in between switching flights it can definitely save you a lot of money rather than going direct to your destination. As for finding budget airline carriers, check out this website called WhichBudget.
Getting to the Islands
It’s very easy to travel to the Greek islands from Athens. The main port in Athens is called Piraeus and is easily accessed by Metro/Train from almost anywhere in the city. The metro and trains are very efficient in Athens and they run from 6AM to 12AM which is pretty convenient if you ask me!
You can book your tickets for the island of your choice by going down to one of the many ticket offices at the port of Piraeus. The most popular lines are Megajet, Blue Star, Anek, and a few others. Figure out where you want to go and what the ferry timetables are by going to (Greekferries.gr).
Once you figure out where you want to go and which ferry company you will need to take then either head down to the the port of Piraeus to purchase your tickets, or make it easier on yourself and purchase them online at your ferries official website. If you purchase online, you will receive a booking reservation number which you will have to provide at the ticket office before boarding your ferry. You’ll also receive your hard copy tickets at the ticket office on check-in.
FYI: Ferry Prices from Piraeus (Athens) to Santorini: 34 Euro. Prices vary when you travel from island to island. For example we paid 16.50 Euro for our ferry from Santorini to Milos.
- Austria (6)
- Contiki (22)
- Croatia (6)
- Czech Republic (3)
- Egypt (16)
- England (2)
- France (8)
- Germany (4)
- Greece (5)
- Ireland (21)
- Italy (21)
- Monaco (1)
- Montenegro (2)
- Netherlands (5)
- News & Announcements (10)
- Photography (23)
- Pictorials (2)
- Reviews (1)
- Spain (8)
- Sponsored Posts (1)
- Switzerland (4)
- Travel (114)
- Travel Tips (14)
- Travel Video Spotlight (3)
- Travel Videos (5)
- Trip Preparation (3)
- Unrelated (1)
- USA (3)
Our Favorite Quotes
When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
—
