Cēsis Castle Latvia

We previously visited Turaida Castle in Sigulda so check out that post too if you like castles. That one has a really good museum, a great park area, and an interesting castle structure. However, if you want to see a more typical medieval castle, then the 13th century Cēsis Castle is better. The museum isn't as good and the park grounds are smaller, but the castle is really cool to see. Next to the castle is the old town area of Cēsis, which is another great place to hang out. Heck, go ahead and plan on visiting both towns because castles are really cool and Latvia is a great place to live or vacation.

Kuldīga Latvia

We can't travel outside Latvia during the COVID-19 restrictions, but we could maintain our social distancing while exploring the town of Kuldīga about 2 hours away. There were quite a few other people with the same idea, but we all tried to give each other extra room as we walked around. Here's a sign of the times about keeping the required 2 meter distance.

Archaeological Paphos Cyprus

The Paphos Archaeological Park and Tombs of the Kings are two great outdoor sites in Paphos that are definitely worth visiting if you're there. They're sizable park areas for walking around by the coast and checking out the ruins up close.

You can generally walk all over and even inside a lot of it including the tombs. The Archaeological Park has many preserved mosaics with a building built over them along with some that were left outside. I've seen such mosaics in museums but it's interesting to imagine the ancient houses over them in their original locations by the sea.

Paphos Cyprus

We continued the European winter escape plan to Paphos (Pafos) Cyprus. Many Europeans and some Americans like to vacation in one big 3-4 week break if they have that kind of vacation time available. I prefer taking a week here and there over a season or throughout the year. Summers in Latvia are the best time to be here so winter is the better time to plan vacations.

February is the off-season in Cyprus with some resorts and restaurants closed for the season and some places under renovation. Our hotel was mostly full of other northern Europeans seeking some sun so even the off-season is somewhat busy. Some parts of town felt closed, but overall it was bustling enough. It felt comfortable instead of crowded which is what I imagine the summer season is there.

Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace UAE

Qasr Al Watan is the Presidential Palace in the United Arab Emirates. The palace was first opened to the public on 11 Mar 2019, so our visit was within their first year of public viewing. They were well organized for tourists with buses shuttling people from the visitor center to the palace.

It's a beautiful building still used for official purposes but you can peek in on some of these official rooms, such as the particularly impressive "Spirit of Collaboration" meeting room. Standing under the main dome is an awesome sight to see like many other domed capitals of the world.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi is a new art and civilization museum with more museums planned for the area so this will be an even better destination for museum lovers in the future. The building is amazing with a cool interlaced dome floating over it all and water around the buildings underneath. I took many pics of the building and some of the main exhibits showcasing art over time and around the world. It's an interesting concept and journey through the museum.

Al Ein UAE

The 5-day pass for Big Bus includes an all day bus tour to Al Ain near the Oman border. This day trip to the ‘Oasis City’ of Al Ain includes eight key landmarks such as Al Qattara, Al Hili Fort, Al Hili Tomb, Qasr Al Muwaiji, National Museum, Al Ain Palace and Al Jahili Fort. It was an interesting day exploring the earlier history of the emirates and how things were not that long ago before they became a rich oil country.