Travel Tips

Seattle Washington is a great place to visit for many reasons. Whether you are a nature lover or more into the things that define a civilization such as shopping malls, museums, and one Starbucks, Seattle has a little bit of everything to offer its visitors. In fact, visitors could quite easily find that they have done and spent all that they should have rather early in their travel time if they aren’t careful.

Below you will find a few great things to do on your trip that won’t require robbing the children’s college fund in order to pay for. I’m all for paying good money for good fun, but if I can find good fun for free, that means there’s more money left for things that would have otherwise been off limits because of prohibitive costs. So go ahead and plan the dinner train, you can make up the cost by eating breakfast from a box two mornings in a row or spending an afternoon in one of Seattle’s many great parks.

If you’d rather find indoor activities that are free, here are a few suggestions:

1) Frye Art Museum. Not only is the art top of the line, but the architecture is glorious as well. Through January of 2007, the Frye Art Museum is host to a very unique sound sculpture called Trimpin: Klompen this exhibit is comprised of 120 wooden Dutch shoes that literally dance before your very eyes. This exhibit is only one of many great exhibits that are sure to delight everyone in your group. This museum focuses on contemporary art from the 19th century to the present.
2) Museum and Arts Center. This particular museum is located about 50 miles outside of Seattle but might be worth the drive, especially if you enjoy taking in the scenery of the area. The fact that the museum is free is sometimes enough to make it worth the drive. Among the many exhibits that you or your children may find interesting is an exhibit of mammoth and mastodon in addition to a video on the mastodon excavation. In addition to this exhibit there are other exhibits that feature local artists and pioneer and historical displays.
3) Bellevue Arts Museum. This museum is only free on the first Friday night of every month. In addition to free admission and great art, there are live music and lectures from 5:30-9:00 pm. I feel this bears mentioning here because there are times to visit when this is free and I feel that this is a culturally significant activity that the entire family can enjoy.
4) Seattle Asian Art Museum. This museum is free on the first Thursday and the first Saturday of each month. Currently there is an exhibit of exquisite Buddhist art that represent the influences of Indian, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, and Japanese artistic interpretations.
5) Wing Luke Asian Museum. This museum also offers free admission on the first Thursday of every month. Here you will find art and exhibits that are devoted to the Asian Pacific American culture. There is also a multimedia station that allows visitors to hear interviews with Japanese American citizens who were forced into internment camps during WWII. I think this is a museum that should be on everyone’s to do list whether you can make it on one of the free days or not. There is a lot to be learned here and I hope that you will be up for the lessons.

While these museums are for the most part smaller museums, they still represent a significant contribution not only of art, but history to the world of art and artists. Even if the cultural offerings of the many museums aren’t that appealing to you on a personal level, the benefits to your children might be surprising-especially when you consider the fact that you didn’t have to pay a dime for admission.

After the end of the second world war, during Russias offensive against the Nazis, many small countries fell under the umbrella of the Soviet Union. When the wall came down and the cold war ended, many of these small republics declared impendence and one of these countries is Romania.

Tourists from the United States can get to Romania by boarding Austrian Airlines. This is the preferred carrier since it has daily flights from the Atlantic as well as to other cities in this country.

If the people are traveling across Europe and have arrived from another country, it is still possible to get to Romania by riding the train, renting a car or on a bus. The travel time will be from 2 to 6 hours depending where the person is coming from given the terrain.

Romania has some sights to offer people dating back to the middle ages. The most visited castle in this country is the Peles castle that is the work of German new renaissance architecture.

It has over 160 rooms and each room shows signs of excellent craftsmanship as done on the windows, chandeliers, leather, ebony and ivory sculptures.

A smaller castle not far from the first is Pelisor Castle. It has 70 rooms. This smaller version was constructed a few years after Peles was built since the new king did not appreciate the vastness of the other structure.

Both of these places can be found in the town of Sinaia that is situated at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains in the Prahova Valley.

Another historical castle that has importance in Romanian history is the Bran castle. This fortification, which is often, called Draculas castle served to protect the citizens from invaders.

Most of the castles in Romania are open from the Tuesday to Sunday from 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. People should not plan going there then on Mondays since this place is closed. It is best to do other things then to make the tip worthwhile.

To the east of Ukraine is the Black Sea. There are many fine hotels and beach resorts along this area. Some of these places have remnants of Greek culture as far back as the 7th century B.C.

The main beach resorts covers a total of 45 miles and these include places like the Eforie, Mamaia, Jupiter, Neptun, Saturn and Venus.

There are also health spas in this country to help the body relax after walking up the steps of castles and museums that is exhausting for those who dont exercise often.

The two most famous rejuvenation treatments known as the “Gerovital” and the “Aslavital” can be availed at the beach resort before continuing on with the tour.

Romania also has treasures such as the Voronet Monastery Church in Bucovina that can compete with the Sistine chapel in Rome. This is because most of the artwork in this place and others were hand painted and are still in good condition today.

In most of the monasteries and churches are excellent vineyards so the tourist can taste something another glass of wine that is just as good as those produced in Italy or France.

There are a lot of places and things to see in Romania. This just shows that the former Eastern bloc countries are worth visiting just like those in the West.