After our final exams in High School, we did, as most of the classes do, a trip to Lloret de Mar. At the beginning, we wanted to do the trip with our whole class, but that didn’t work, so we were only 3 of us who booked the trip.
Lloret de Mar
Lloret de Mar is a coastal town in Catalonia. It is located 40 km (25 miles) from Girona, and 75 km (47 miles) from Barcelona. It is a basically touristic town, with a lot of hotel, restaurants and party offers. We didn’t do much sightseeing during our stay, because at that time, I weren’t much interested in that.
Where to stay?
As one of us knew a person who rent an apartment there, we decided to stay there, because it was much cheaper as an hotel, and we were more independent.
A negative aspect of the apartment was, that it is up on the mountain, so either we had to walk the whole way down, or we asked the house owner to drive us down. On our first evening, we wanted to walk the way down by foot, so we started our way, but at one point, there were no lights, and it was completely dark. Then we heard noises from everywhere. So we were so afraid that we called the house owner to come for us. Finally she drove us down to the center of Lloret.
What to do?
Basically, all day was the same, we got up and relaxed. At lunch time, we cooked a meal and then we got ready to head to the beach.
In the afternoon, we headed back to the apartment, and in the evening we went out. Lloret de Mar is the party destination for students in Europe. Especially around June, all the Luxembourgish students come there. Before we went to a disco, we always had a cocktail at one of the beach bars. They offered cocktails of one liter
About…
I really liked this trip, but I think Lloret de Mar isn’t really a place to stay with children, especially around June. All the hotels along the coast are full of students who want to party. And this can be really noisy. If you want to do a trip with friends, I can recommend it, because it is equipped for party people.
What do you think about the party destination Lloret de Mar? Where did you celebrate your high school graduation?
The Hotel Le Méridien Beach Plaza****
During our weekend trip in Monaco, we stayed in the Hotel Le Méridien Beach Plaza. Since it was the first time for me in a more luxury hotel, I was absolutely amazed. We booked our trip with Emile Weber, a luxembourgish travel agency. They also recommended us this hotel. Basically, the hotel fits perfectly in the whole Monacan atmosphere. As it was only a 3 days trip, we didn’t have enough time to explore the whole hotel with its spa etc. but that what we enjoyed was perfect.
Room
We had a Deluxe Room and I loved it. Even if we used it only for sleeping, I really enjoyed the room. We had two king-size bed, which were really comfortable. Secondly, we had a balcony with Sea View. I really love to have sea view. This is a really important point to me. If I’m on holiday, I want to see the sea as soon as I’m awake.
The last positive aspect of the room was clearly the bathroom. I have to admit that I didn’t like the presentation of it (color etc.), but it had a television in it. How cool is that? Perhaps I’m the only person who is so television addicted, but I would love to have a television in my bathroom. But this wasn’t the only favorite in the bathroom, I really liked the shower. It was so huge and with two shower heads. I really don’t have a negative point in regard of the room.
Pool
As almost every hotel, this one also had an indoor and an outdoor pool. We tried them all, but nothing is so awesome as a private beach with access to the sea. No crowds of people who are located too close, no fear of being robbed etc, only civilized people from your hotel. I was really sad that we stayed there only for 3 days, so we went only once on the private beach.
Situation
The situation for the hotel is good and not so good. On the one hand, the situation of the hotel is perfect, because it is not that far away from the city center but at the same time it is far enough to spent a calm evening sitting in the hotel bar. But on the other hand, especially for people who are not so good by foot, the hotel is located a little bit too far away from the city center. Especially, because in Monaco, you have to call for a taxi, and even then, it is not sure that a taxi will come and pick you up.
In conclusion, I can only recommend this hotel for every occasion, and I would enjoy it to stay there another couple of times.
Prices for a Classic Room without City View start at 212 € per night.
The first things, which come into one’s mind when you hear Monaco, are surely: luxury, yachts, rich people, gambling and perhaps also tax haven. And let me tell you this, most of it is absolutely true.
Monaco
The Principality of Monaco is the second smallest country in the world. It has two borders, on the one hand France and on the other hand the Mediterranean Sea. French is the official language of Monaco, but it also has a traditional national language, Monegasque, which is now spoken only by a minority of residents. Their head of State is Prince Albert II with its wife Charlène.
Feelings
You really feel the money. The whole city atmosphere shows that there are living a lot of rich people, and they show it. If you’re walking through the street, you mostly find expensive luxury boutiques, but they also have normal stores. To be honest, I felt a little bit embarrassed when you walk through all the people wearing all the expensive brands. But I really appreciated their clean city. While it was the most expensive city I’ve ever been, it also was the cleanest city. Our taxi driver told us, that you’d get punished immediately when you throw something on the street.
Sightseeing
As Monaco is a really small country (yes I can say that because Luxembourg is not really known as the most biggest country), it doesn’t have so much sightseeing as perhaps other cities.
Casino de Monte-Carlo
The first thing one should visit is surely the Casino. It is not only famous for gambling and entertainment, but mostly, because it has served in many movies (James Bond, Ocean’s Twelve and even Madagascar 3). For information, it is owned by a company, which owns also almost every principle hotels or establishments in Monaco. Tip: it is not allowed to make pictures inside.
Formula 1 circuit
Once a year, the streets of Monte Carlo transforms in a racecourse. The Monaco Grand Prix differs from the others, because they don’t have a special racecourse, but they have to built it up on their normal streets and remove it after the course.
So when you’re in Monte Carlo, you literally walk on the racecourse. At that time, the prices of hotels and everything increase enormously.
Yacht Club
I think it is a must do when you’re in Monaco to just walk along all the yachts. They are so beautiful to see and luxurious.
Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
Even if you’re already visited a lot of aquariums, you should definitely visit this one. They offers a lot of spectacular animals, but the highlight of the aquarium for me was the incredible view over Monaco from the top of the aquarium. If you want to enter the aquarium, and you’re still a student, be sure to have your student card with you to get a discount.
Have you ever been to Monaco? I absolutely have to return, because I’m sure that I don’t have discovered everything that this little country offers.
During our stay in Seefeld, we went for one day to Innsbruck, which is the capital city of the federal state Tirol. It is absolutely worth to make a small trip there, because it only takes about 40 minutes with the train from Seefeld.
To be honest, I wasn’t very interested in sightseeing in that time (shame on me), but thankfully my father-in-law took some very beautiful pictures. I was more interested in shopping, but there were two things, which fascinated me.
Europe
- Belgium: eating in the Atomium in Brussels check!
- Croatia: Plitvicer National Parc
- Denmark: picture with the little mermaid
- Estonia: visit old Tallinn
- Finland: Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi
- see the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi
- France: climb up the Eiffel Tower
- Germany: Neuschwanstein Castle
- Gibraltar: meet the apes check!
- Greece: Zakynthos: swim in the Navagio Bay check!
- Athens: visit the Acropolis
- Iceland: swim in the Blue Lagoon
- Italy: take a gondel in Venice
- picture with the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Switzerland: Matterhorn check!
North America
- Canada: Niagara Falls
- USA: Gran Canyon
- Los Angeles: picture with the Hollywood sign
- New York: Liberty Island
- San Francisco: Pier 39 with the sea lions
- Yellowstone National Parc
Central & South America
- Argentina: Perito Moreno glacier in Patagonia
- Brasil: take a picture with the Statue of Christ the Redeemer
- Mexico: visit the Maya city Chichen Itza
- Peru: exploring the Machu Picchu
Asia
- China: walk over the Great Wall of China
- Hong Kong: watch the skyline by night
- India: visit the Taj Mahal
- Indonesia: having a look at the actif volcano Semeru in Java
- Japan: eating Sushi
- Philippines: see the Banaue Rice Terraces
- Singapore: stay at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel
Middle East
- Dubai: climb up the Burj Khalifa
Oceania
- Australia: climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge
- Bora Bora: stay at the Four Seasons Hotel
- New Zealand: see a Kiwi
Africa
- Egypt: visit the pyramids
- Morocco: ride on a camel check!
- South Africa: Safari in the Kruger National Parc
Caribbean
- Bahamas: swim with the pigs in the water
- Dominican Republic: drink out of a coconut
Antartica
- Antartica: sailing through the Drake Passage