2010 marked the
first year we traveled to Eastern Europe, we selected Prague for its Christmas
Markets and were so excited to experience a new culture!! We also explored a different option for
our accommodations and booked a ‘secret hotel’ through lastminuet.com The
description was a national chain located in the city center, we ended up
spending less than £80 and once the purchase was confirmed we learned we were staying at an Ibis hotel that had all the amenities we needed and was centrally located.
After a
wonderful few days in Lymington enjoying everything from having a booth at a
craft fair, hosting a baby shower for our friend Janine and celebrating an American Thanksgiving in Lymington with Di and
Phil’s close friends James and Gemma, we were ready to jet off to Prague!
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| Lymington craft show we participated in. |
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| The table is set for the American Thanksgiving dinner in Lymington, thankful for friendships! |
The drive to London should have been an
indicator of what was ahead, weather wise...The snow began to fall and
visibility of seeing out of the windshield became less as the drive continued.
We made it safely to the Holiday Inn Gatwick and parked in long-term parking, I
left my large suitcase in the trunk of Di’s car, it was out of sight and an
ideal place to store my luggage since upon returning to Gatwick, I was meeting
my friend Swati and staying at the same hotel before we ventured off to Rome to
meet more friends. So I took my
small magical red suitcase, the size of a small carry on (American standards)
and the lightness made it extra convenient. Perfect!
Our flight to Prague was so early, before 7:00am which would allow us to maximize on a full first day! Everything
went smoothly. Di and I both had aisle seats and there was a nice couple sitting next
to me. A conversation started as we were deplaning and the
wife turned to me and asked if I was on the Las Vegas to Gatwick flight and I
said yes…thinking how did she know that. The couple said they were on the same flight. Then she said wait, is your name
Monica? She remembered seeing the
sign the Lymington cab company had with my name on it. Hello twilight zone, but it was kind of funny at the same time. It's a small world after all.
Upon arriving to the city center, we were lured in by the delicious smell of cinnamon! We soon discovered stalls offering the sweet goodness of Tredlnik-a delicious traditional Czech Christmas treat. These sweet
delicious treats are cooked on long rotating skewers over hot coals and
immediately after baking they are rolled in cinnamon sugar and almonds.
Traditional Tredlnik, yum! .
After we had a taste of the local treats, we took a bus tour of the city. The architecture was just stunning, but traveling caught up with me and I had a quick snooze on the bus and got a second wind of energy! We wandered around and explored before heading back to our hotel, the city was nicely decorated for the Christmas season.
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| Christmas decorations in Prague |
When we arrived back at our hotel we decided to see what was showing that evening at the Opera House. We were in luck! There was a ballet performance and we didn't have much time to get to the Opera House to get our tickets. We bought tickets for under £20 and had about 25 minutes til showtime. We went to the first place we could find to eat a quick meal at, Subway...yes, seriously and our evening of fun began.
Sitting inside of the same Opera House that Mozart once performed in was just surreal.
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| View of the stage inside of the Prague Opera House |
The ballet was just beautiful and so inexpensive. We soon confirmed what we had read about prices in Prague, its such a reasonably priced city!
During intermission we had some bubbly, traditions must continue- of course!
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| Cheers! |
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| Stunning chandelier and the detailed ceiling at the Prague Opera House |
Our first day in Prague was wonderful and the adventures ahead were filled with exploration, laughter, and valuable travel lessons. We look forward to sharing more with you!!
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