Tag: virtual

My Travels – Week 3

I will admit, one of the “travelling challenges” did not go so well this week. For week three the “travel” itinerary was as follows:

Week 3:  “Travel” to Egypt and Morocco 

Challenges:

  • Virtually visit a one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day!
  • Pick out the top three most interesting things you saw on your “travels”.

I did pick out the top three most interesting things I saw while I virtually travelled in Egypt and Morocco, but I did not visit a tourist attraction/interesting spot each day. (My travelling was sporadic at best this week, unfortunately!)

I did enjoy the virtual travelling I did do, however. Both Egypt and Morocco were stunning places to “visit”. The top three most interesting things I saw were:

1) Oudaias Kasbah in Morocco

This neighbourhood is absolutely stunning, and I thoroughly enjoyed looked at the beautiful pictures of this place. My favourite parts of this area of Morocco are the vibrant, blue walls and unique-looking doors!

2) The White Desert in Egypt

This unique Egyptian desert amazed me. It is comprised of large, white chalk mountains that give the effect of winter snow! (I absolutely love the snow, so I loved this desert from the moment I saw it!)

3) Abydos Temple in Egypt

This temple is truly breathtaking, with its large pillars and fascinating hieroglyphics. This three-level temple is made from limestone, and was built for the Egyptian god, Osiris. The temple is also unique in that it contains at least seven sanctuaries built for Osiris, Isis, Horus, Ptah, Re-Harakhte, Amun, and Pharaoh Seti I.

Another place that I found particularly interesting while I was “travelling” was Fes el Bali. This city is definitely an interesting place to see, and the tanneries are especially unique locations to visit while there.

Yet another very interesting spot that I found in my “travels” was the Thistlegorm Dive Site in Egypt. Found in the Red Sea, this dive sight contains a shipwreck from World War II. The ship in question was an English ship called the Thistlegorm which sunk in 1941.

Of course, one’s visit to Egypt cannot be complete without a trip to the pyramids of Giza – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This magnificent site does not disappoint. From the great Sphinx to the massive pyramids themselves, this historical site is well worth “visiting”!

As always, I loved the opportunity to virtually visit these spectacular places, and hope you had a wonderful time virtually travelling this week as well!

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

My travels – Week 2

Well, here I am! Week two of travelling around the world virtually!

In case you – like myself – you forgot what exactly Week Two was supposed to entail, here is the travel layout that I laid out in my post a couple of weeks ago:

Week 2: “Travel” to Petra, Jordan and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Challenges:

  • Find out one really unique fact about Petra. 
  • Pick out your favourite watery creature that you saw while “diving” at the Great Barrier Reef.

On Saturday, I posted a poll on my Instagram to see which destination I should travel to first for week two of my travels. After leaving it to the voters for a time, I came back to find that I was destined to travel to the Great Barrier Reef first! I saw beautiful coral and fish in some amazing underwater pictures, and even got an underwater tour courtesy of a turtle with a camera attached to him! My favourite part of my travels that day was definitely seeing the ocean through the eyes of a turtle – it was truly a unique experience! On Monday, I found myself discovering the different sea creatures of the Great Barrier Reef. I was trying to find my favourite “watery creature” to complete the Travel Challenge for the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, I found the perfect creature – the Mantis Shrimp! This little guy is so intense! At only ten centimetres longs, the Mantis Shrimp does not seem intimidating at first, but do not underestimate them – they are powerful predators!

To find out more about these amazing creatures, check out this link:

https://www.barrierreef.org/the-reef/animals/mantis-shrimp?fbclid=IwAR2rxipyf1QWT3cSrtZwnCKt6TuZpzVr6tP9TbNfTVbMY2YsACyPIFi4ek8

Tuesday, I “travelled” to Petra, Jordan. I was especially excited about exploring this fascinating city, because ever since I first saw pictures of the Rose City, I wanted to visit it! I found it so intriguing and mysterious, and wanted to know more. My virtual expedition gave me just such a chance. On both Tuesday and Wednesday, I saw some spectacular pictures of Petra. Today, I read up on some of Petra’s history, as well as some different facts about Petra, Jordan. To complete my other Travel Challenge, I found a unique fact about Petra, which was that the city is 85% unexplored by archeologists! I found this fascinating, and think that it makes this the Rose City seemingly all the more mysterious! I also went on a virtual tour of Petra, which was also really interesting. Not only was it a virtual 360 tour, but it was an aerial tour as well, which I found gave a really amazing perspective to the city.

I had fun exploring both The Great Barrier Reef and Petra, Jordan this week! Although very different places, both of these tourist locations had very unique and spectacular sights to see and adventures to offer. I cannot wait to see what I will discover during next week’s “travels”!

My Virtual Travels – Week One

Last week I laid out my virtual travel plan for travelling virtually around the world, and proceeded to travel to Paris and London virtually, and attempt to complete my travel challenges! Below is the layout and travel challenges for week one:

Week 1: “Travel” to Paris, France and London, England.

Challenges:

  • Virtually visit one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day!
  • Virtually find the perfect coffee shop of cafe to hang out at! <3

I began my travels last Saturday in Paris, France. First, I visited l’arc de triomphe. I looked at some beautiful pictures of this tourist site, and then watched a short virtual tour of l’arc de triomphe. I really enjoyed getting to see l’arc de triomphe “up close”. On Sunday, I “visited” the Notre-Dame Cathedral, and got to see its ornate design. On Monday, I explored Sacre Coeur in Paris. Tuesday, I visited to the Louvre Museum. I found the giant glass pyramid in front of the building very fascinating!

Wednesday, I “visited” London’s famed Big Ben. I looked at some picturesque photos of the enormous clock tower, and watched a virtual tour of Big Ben, which showed the inside of the clock tower where the giant bell is located. Also, I watched “360 video” tour of London, which proved to be very interesting and fun! Today, I visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. As I did before, I took a look at some stunning pictures of the famous tower, and the proceeded to watch part of a virtual tour of it. Unfortunately, I missed visiting a tourist attraction on Thursday, but for the most part, I completed the first travel challenge for week one!

I also searched for coffee shops in both Paris and London, trying to find the best coffee shop to complete the second travel challenge. Partway through my search, I decided that I was going to find the two best coffee shops – one in Paris and one in London. For the best coffee shop in Paris, I chose Cuppa – Salon de Café, since the drinks and food look amazing and very aesthetic, and the shop itself also looks nice. As for the best coffee shop in London, I chose Attendant Fitzrovia. The entrance of this coffee shop really drew my attention, as it is very unique-looking, with an ornate, arch-like doorway which leads to a staircase that descends to the cafe itself. It’s coffee and food look very good as well!

Week one of my virtual travels has flown by, and I am having a wonderful time so far. I hope you have followed along and tried to complete the travelling challenges along with me; and if you have not joined with me on my travels yet, it is never too late to start! I cannot wait to see what this coming week’s travels have in store!