Girl's Road Trip

Myself and two very dear friends (Sharon & Linda) decided we'd have a "Girlie Road Trip" this past Sunday.  We decided on the Twillingate area, and we were not disappointed----It is simply gorgeous in that area.

Twillingate is close to a two hour drive, so we met just before 10:30 am and hit the road.  What is it with road trips that make us need to stop at every Tim's or coffee shop along the way??  We were driving all of 30 minutes when we made our first pit stop--ha ha.

Once we got off the main highway and settled in, we had a lot of laughs and the scenery was just spectacular.
Some of the place names are so quaint, but these little towns are breathtakingly beautiful.

This is the Twillingate Lighthouse --- hopefully you'll get time to check out the link -- it's awesome.

Here's a shot of the ocean below from the lighthouse area viewing point...

This artwork is on the side of a whale watching tour business...isn't it neat??

This sign was posted inside one of the gift shops we stopped in, I couldn't resist posting a snap of it---I thought it was so cute......

We ate lunch at RJ's in Twillingate.........DELICIOUS!!!!  We each had fresh cod (caught that morning) and chips.....yummy.  The view was great and the service was real friendly.

Last stop in Twillingate......Auk Island Winery.

This place is certainly worth a visit.  Since I was 

the driver for the return portion of our trip, the 

other two took advantage of the opportunity 

to do the wine tasting.  

After much fun and many tastes, they decided on 

the wines they would buy.

I had tried several wines from this winery 

before, as they are sold in all local liquor stores, 

so I bought two of my favorite----

a bottle rhubarb and a bottle of goosebery.

We enjoyed the drive home and decided that we should do this more often, so road trips about 

every 6-8 weeks is our current plan......we'll see how that goes--ha ha!!!

Cheers

:o)

Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is very unique, and very beautiful.  It's cobblestone streets and medieval buildings are amazing.  

There is still remnants of the city wall intact.

The narrow, winding cobblestone streets are leading you in every direction.  We walked..........

and walked.....

Tallinn has many towers---you can hardly look up from anywhere without seeing a steeple of a church or a huge stone tower.  

It was like being in another time.  I felt like we could bump into Robin Hood and his merry 

men around any corner.

This is right in the old town of Tallinn---isn't it amazing???

I could have stayed here for days.  I would have loved at least one more day to explore, and climb to 

the top of some of these amazing buildings.

I literally wanted to go down every alley......

and climb every set of these fantastic stone steps, to see where  they would take me.....

 Can you imagine if these steps could tell of the people who walked over them ????

After a very full day of exploring, it was back on the ship.  

The sun was blasting out of the sky.  Unfortunately, to get photos of the city, I had to be looking directly into the sun.  Therefore the quality here on this is not great, but you can certainly feel the majestic vibe of the city.

--------------------------

Indeed another day leaving me wanting desperately to stay longer or, better still.....to come back.

Tallinn was absolutely beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed the few photos I've posted to try and give you a feel for the place, as I saw it.

Cheers

:o)

St. Petersburg, Russia

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.....this proves it...........

I made a little sign because I was afraid we would forget the exact time.

This was the view of St. Petersburg, from our balcony on the ship at 11:20 pm!!!  

 One of our tour guides told us that late June has the shortest day of the year with only three hours of twilight---it doesn't even  get really dark at that time of the year.  We couldn't believe our eyes...and it was hard to not sit outside much longer---it just didn't feel right to go inside and go to bed when it looked like it was still suppertime!

Tallinn, Estonia, next stop!

Cheers

:o)

A Glimpse at Helsinki, Finland

After a full day at sea, soaking up the sun and relaxing in fine style, we were ready to see Helsinki.  Again, we were not disappointed---it was beautiful!

The first thing that we noticed was how clean everything was...apparently the streets are swept and cleaned every night.  It was quite evident as we roamed the pretty streets and wandered in and out of the shops.

This beauty caught my eye on Helsinki Esplanadi.

 The cobblestone streets were beautiful and the old buildings so inviting.

 I caught a glimpse of the St. Nicholas Church long before I could actually get close to it...........

 But when I did get close------oh boy!!!!!!

We climbed the steps and went inside.......spectacular is a good word to describe the church's interior......

We were a bit distracted and eager to get back to the ship because it was our good fortune to be town for the Tall Ship Races.

It was indeed our lucky day.....look at  the view we had of the 'Parade of Sails' from our balcony on the eighth deck of the ship.  I hope you have time to check the link---it was so amazing to be looking down at that from our balcony---we had the best seat in the house for the entire show!!!!!!!

Look closely at all the crew on the railings right to the top of the ship.  They were all dressed alike and we felt like we were watching something from Cirque du Soleil.  What a spectacular performance by all the ships and their crews.

It was amazing to see so many beautiful ships.  I still get goosebumps when I look at my photos, and the video in the link above gives an awesome summary of the parade.  The organization of this event must closely parallel that which goes into the Olympics---it was breathtaking and magnificent.

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse of Helsinki.  

Next stop --St. Petersburg, Russia----for two days!!!!

Cheers

: o)

Caramel Cheesecake Square, anyone???

I came upon this recipe for Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares over at one of my favorite blogs, Brown Eyed Baker.  I decided to try it, and of course, took a few snaps. 

Here's how they turned out.......Step-by-Step....

They were a huge hit.  The base, soaked in that fabulous caramel was a great chewy contrast to the creamy cheese center, then topped off with that nice layer of chocolate---what a nice treat!

Cheers

:o)