Balancing Corporate & Homesteading Lifestyles
Affirmation – I Make Positive Choices
Affirmation: I make positive choices for the best of my body, mind, and soul.
I am happier and more productive when I am healthier. For this reason, I make positive choices for the best of my body, mind, and spirit.
I start by eating right.
Even though it takes longer and may cost a little more, my body deserves quality foods that will help me be healthier, feel better, and even live a more prosperous life. I am a part of nature and I choose to eat as close to nature as possible, choosing whole, fresh foods whenever I can.
I have let go of my craving for processed foods because I know cravings subside after a few short days of healthy eating.
I choose to exercise regularly.
It doesn't have to be a formal program at the gym, but it can be something as simple as walking with my partner, dog or children after dinner. I make a point of getting my body moving each day.
I exercise my mind.
Although, there's nothing wrong with the occasional television show, I feed my mind primarily with books, programs and discussion that allow me to learn and grow.
I nourish my soul with regular communion with my Creator.
No matter how busy I am, I take a few minutes each day for prayer and meditation. I meet regularly with other spiritually minded people because I know, together, we can help each other achieve greater depth and understanding.
Self-Reflection Questions:
1. Am I taking the time to eat food that is good for my body?
2. Have I fed my mind anything nutritious lately?
3. Do I make time for prayer and/or meditation?
Gaining Focus: Caring Enough to Take Action
Would you love to have more focus in life?
We all admire some people’s ability to concentrate, whether they’re training for the Olympics or solving a great societal problem. These folks with great focus have discovered something very important: If you're focused on a goal, you have an easier time getting where you’re going.
But can you really create focus just by willing yourself to have it? Or is this trait a secondary characteristic of something else?
It’s All About Passion
Broken down to essentials, caring about something is the foundation of focus. After all, the more passion you have about something, the easier it is for you to pay attention to it. Focusing on something that holds no meaning to you can be very challenging.
If you look at anything spectacular that you've ever done, it probably involved something that you cared about very deeply. This isn't just a coincidence. Focus isn't about discipline; it's about passion.
Notice the people you know who really struggle with life. You're likely to find that they haven't found something to really care about. If you’re in this position, you can really suffer. However, when you’re able to open your heart and truly find something you’re passionate about, happiness is the result.
Ask yourself what makes you cry. Is it the images of starving children on TV? Is it music?
Can you imagine the focus and clarity you’d experience if you spent the majority of your time on the thing or things that matter to you the most?
Caring puts you into the perfect state of mind; you're stimulated enough to take real action, but not to the point of feeling apprehensive or overwhelmed. In fact, when you truly care, it's harder to not take action!
Finding Your Passion (And Your Focus)
So now that you know what you need to gain focus, let's get back to finding the thing that you care about the most.
This process will help you find your passion, your focus, and greater happiness:
- Make a list of the things that you’re truly passionate about. These aren't necessarily the fun little things you like to do when you have some free time, though they might be. These are the things that you consider to be most important, the worldwide challenges you would fix if you were given a wish.
- These should be things that fascinate you so much that you’d gladly spend your life studying them.
- Organize your list. Put the items on your list in order by the amount of emotion you feel when you imagine yourself being part of each one.
- If there is nothing on your list yet that makes you cry, keep writing. Don't stop until you've found the one that does make you cry. You'll know your passion when you see it.
Using Your List to Your Advantage
Now that you have your list, ask yourself how much discipline would be required to be part of those items. Would you have to force yourself to focus on them? Or does the mere fact that you care about those items so much simply result in focus?
Although each item will certainly involve times when you have to enlist some self-discipline, the big ones won’t take much.
If you feel it’s a challenge to focus on your career, relationship, or any other part of your life, that's a great sign that something needs to change. Go to your list for ideas and options. Try a new career that fills you with a sense of caring and you'll never have to “work” another day again.
Manifesting Wealth & Abundance
Manifesting wealth and abundance begins from within. You have to appreciate what you have in your life already – your family, friends, and job – instead of focusing on what you wish you had.
Often people waste precious time thinking about what they don’t have. They start to believe their lives will improve if only they had more money, or more friends, or more gadgets. They think about what’s lacking instead of the abundance that is already overflowing into their life.
Positive Thinking Brings Abundance
If you appreciate what you have, you’ll be inspired to take the necessary actions to bring more of what you want into your life. From a practical point of view, this all starts with living happily with what you have.
Now at first, this may sound rather counterproductive, but living happily with what you have doesn’t mean you’re completely satisfied and fulfilled. It simply means that you appreciate all the good parts of your life, and you recognize that you can take those things you have, even if they are few, and build upon them.
Very often we take our lives for granted and forget to give thanks for all that is good. If you’re having a tough time recognizing the goodness in your life, then make a gratitude list and continue adding to it everyday. For example:
- Be thankful when paying the rent because this means you have a place to sleep.
- Be thankful for your winter coat because you’ll stay warm this winter.
- Be thankful for your family because of their love, support and guidance you.
- Be thankful for your job because it has allowed you to provide for your family.
If you can be happy with what you have now, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the better circumstances that are coming to you in your future. Just imagine how much more you’ll appreciate your eventual move to a large home with a spacious property if you begin to enjoy your current humble place.
Keeping Up with the Neighbors
Remember, the term “wealth” doesn’t only relate to money. You can be wealthy by having a loving family who visits often or friends who care for you like one of their own. There’s much more to life than who has the latest designer purse or fanciest sports car in the neighborhood.
If you constantly compare yourself to your neighbor, based solely on material possessions, you may not fully understand what your neighbor’s life is like. He may appear wealthy with his BMW, but perhaps he is suffering in his personal life. Be very careful making judgments about others because you never truly know what’s going on behind closed doors. Material possessions alone do not make an abundant life.
First Steps Toward Wealth
When you don’t have a lot of material possessions and monetary wealth, it ironically becomes easier for you to learn how to save money. Saving money is paramount if you want to build monetary wealth, but in order to do so, you have to learn how to delay gratification. That means you must make sure you’re making more money than you’re spending. Ideally you want to pay for everything you have, not finance it – without truly owning your possessions and going into debt, you’re actually moving farther away from wealth.
Besides saving money, the real way to build wealth is to make more money. That may sound rather obvious, but too many people aren’t making the money they can and should. You have to make the conscious decision to get unstuck from your dead-end job and the rat race.
You have to rise above the crowd and do something different. That may mean you have to discover creative ways for you to make more money. For many people today, that may mean getting involved in a virtual office or an Internet-based business, but whatever the case might be for you, you can elevate yourself.
If you’re unhappy with the money you’re making, you have to starting thinking about ways to increase the amount of money you make so you can realize your dreams. Now go get started!
Eliminate All But The Essentials: A Guide to De-Cluttering Your Life
If you have an endless list of tasks that need to be done, and most of us do, it can be overwhelming. The list just gets longer and longer each day because you can't get today's list completed, and more tasks just keep coming at you.
If you can pare your list of to-dos down the most important tasks, you can keep your planning and time management system simple.
A simple list of the 3-5 most important things is all that nearly anyone needs to be very effective and successful.
Follow these steps to manage your time and make success your reality:
- Get rid of the extra stuff in your life. Unless you live like a monk, you have more stuff than you need or use. If it's not important to your life, consider getting rid of it. You spend a lot of time and money on those things that provide minimal value. Eliminate the clutter in your life and you eliminate a lot of the clutter in your mind.
- Eliminate the trivial. Start by making a list of everything that you feel you need to get done. Cut the list in half. Don't worry; you can come back to those items later. Now go through the same process and cut the list in half again.
- Review your goals. What have goals got to do with eliminating all but the essential? Reviewing your goals allows you to see what tasks are most essential. Assuming that your goals are very important to you, they provide an excellent tool to evaluate which tasks are the most important to you.
- Be aware of what's essential. The essential things are those that support your goals. Pay your bills on time, work toward your goals, and take care of yourself and your family. Life is short; spend it on the most important stuff.
- Evaluate your other commitments. Is the weekly poker game worth it? Golf every Wednesday? Clubs, charities, committees, and more all take time. Eliminate the extra activities that mean the least to you. This includes all the people in your life, too. Some people you're stuck with, others are optional.
- Minimize your sources of information. We all spend too much time receiving information and too little time doing worthwhile tasks. Cut back on TV, newspapers, browsing the Internet, email, Twitter, and Facebook. It's largely wasted time that could be better spent.
- Review your list regularly. Periodically, take a look at your list of things to do and go back through the elimination process. Don't worry about the stuff that gets axed. If it's important, it will come back around after the really important stuff gets done.
- We have a tendency to do the things that are the easiest; what's important is to do the critical few items each day.
- Simply ask yourself what the advantage is to getting an item done and what is the disadvantage to not getting it done. Don't choose tasks based on what is the quickest or most enjoyable; that's what average people do. Be exceptional and do the most important items.
If you spend all day on important tasks, your life will be remarkable.
Life doesn’t have to be an endless list of obligations. The key is to recognize that only the most important tasks really matter. When you can see that, you feel free to start chopping obligations.
Most of us major in minor things. Focus on the most important stuff and feel comfortable letting the rest slide. You'll have more free time and your life will change for the better.
How NOT To Build A Chicken Coop
Learn from my mistakes ... how NOT to build and plan a chicken coop.
I've been wanting chickens for a few years and it took me about that long to convince my husband that we needed, or in other words, that I wanted them. Because this was "my" thing, I tried to find a coop and yard that I could put together myself.
We now have a combination of 2 coops and 4 yard areas that make up our "chicken compound."
Although I made many mistakes along the way, luckily my chickens are forgiving and don't seem to be holding my mistakes against me.
The blue coops
Once my husband agreed to chickens, my search for a coop started. I looked at photos and ideas and debated whether to build or buy one. Eventually I found one on Amazon that I liked. The reviews were decent and it said it would work for up to 4 chickens so I bought 2 thinking I could set up 2 coops for my 9 chickens.
Surprisingly, putting the coop together was easy. I got them both together with a little help from my son. They were a little smaller and lightweight than I expected. Let's just say, knowing what I know now, they wouldn't have been my choice, but they worked well enough in the beginning.
I worked very hard to make the coops secure. I added hardware cloth around the bottom of the coop, to bury in the ground, once they were in their permanent location.
Putting them on the side of the house with my garden and bee hives was our logical decision. Plus, my home office overlooks the area and would allow me to keep an eyes on things during the day.
The chicks were only a week old when I started getting everything together, still living in a tote under a heat lamp in my dining room.
As the days started getting warmer, I was ready to let them spend some time outside. To keep the little rascals in the pen, I had to reinforce the sides with hardware cloth.
That stuff is NASTY. I cut myself so many times that I lost count. Since this was my first time using wire, I made it a lot harder than it needed to be ... but I wanted it to be perfect.
To secure the hardware cloth against the pens, I used zip ties. They worked very well. I now have a large supply of zip ties in all sizes. They have many great uses!
So far so good
Things were moving right along. I had my 2 coops and 2 pens ... now to pull them together and create a safe and happy place for the flock.
There's nothing like winging it and as much as I thought I had thought it out ... nothing worked like I planned. Ugh, with 9 chicks living in my dining room, I knew I was going to have to come up with a solution soon.
What now?
After much thought, I realized 2 coops was not going to work for the yard set up that I had in mind. With safety as a primary factor, I needed to have an enclosed area with protection on all sides and above. We have too many hawks and owls, not to mention other predators. I didn't want to lose a chicken for lack of trying.
I had chickens a long time ago, and not that I put as much thought into it then, I was very sad when I lost one. I will never forget my 3 old hens who at this point were no longer laying. They always flew out of the protected yard and walked around the farm. One morning I woke up to hundreds of feathers scattered across the yard. Coyotes had gotten them.
The modifications begin
Other than starting over, I came up with the idea to connect the 2 coops together. I needed my husband's help at this point. We had to cut out sections of each of the coops so they could be joined together. This actually helped to make it more solid.
Since each coop had a yard area, we enclosed one yard with sheet metal ... so my coop had 3 roosting areas, 4 nesting boxes, and a little yard.
This was a great idea in theory but failure in practice, which I would later discover. I thought the hens would spread out in their apartment style coop, but noooooo, they just squished all together in one of the roosting areas. At first, this was fine because they were small, but the problem became more evident as they grew bigger.
Without realizing the problems ahead, I thought my coop issue was solved. With one coop, I would only need to figure out how to connect one coop door to the pen/yard.
I put the pen/yard a few feet from the coop and herded everyone between the two as needed. Sometimes it was easy and other times no one would cooperate and I'd have to catch them one by one. It was a comedy.
As the babies grew, which they do quickly, I added a second yard/pen to the first. This was very easy. I pulled a door off each pen and zip-tied the two together. This doubled their space ... But I still couldn't figure out how to connect the coop to the yard/pen.
I came up with a lot of different ideas but nothing was practical. I realized it was time to get my husband's help again. He was confident he would find something. A little while later he came back with some shelving he intended to use for his chain saws and viola! We had a tunnel. The spacing between the bars are large enough to squeeze my hand through so I can open and close the coop door easily.
I added a picket fence and cinder blocks along the tunnel to make it look a little nicer. With a few flowers, it added a lot to the area. Although I chose "chicken safe" flowers, I used the hardware wire to keep them from eating them all.
Next, I moved the two yard/pens to the back of the coop and connected them to the tunnel. I also bought a third yard/pen and connected that to the existing set up.
Where I went wrong
As much as I hoped this would work ... hope doesn't always make things happen ... and it didn't in this case.
So, why didn't this work ... first, the chickens like sleeping together. They didn't space themselves out but all squished into the nesting box of one coop and tried to sleep there. Also the little yard was too small too and all liked to congregate there until it was time for everyone to go out. Not practical for the flock.
And not practical for me either ... anyone who knows coops will see this is not set up for an easy clean. DIFFICULT sums it up.
To clean, I had to remove each roof (there are four) and lean down into the coop and scoop out all the dirty bedding. The summer heat was rough enough, I could NOT imagine doing this all winter.
On the plus side, because of the small size, keeping the coop warm would be easy but that that's not enough. The flock needed a REAL coop.
So back online and a lot more searching and I came across this coop and decided it would be perfect ... or so I hoped this time.
Here we go again ...
I ordered the coop ... it was reasonably priced ... more than my blue coops but that was to be expected as this looked to be the real thing and just what I wanted. I couldn't build this coop myself for this cost (we checked lumber costs etc.), so I pulled the trigger.
It arrived (from Oregon) in a big truck, and was dropped in my driveway. My son and husband spent less than 2 hours putting it together. Everything fit perfectly, the instructions were clear and I was happy!
But with another coop to add to my "chicken city," a new problem developed ...
The ramp was too high to fit into the existing set up of the 4 pens that I had fitted together so perfectly ... so I bought a 5th pen. I left off one side to put up against the coop to put up against the coop and secured with zip ties. The full length of the pen wouldn't fit so I overlapped to the 2 pieces to shorten it and zip tied it together. Then I connected it to the adjacent yard/pen and problem solved. This is my current set up.
Lessons learned: PLAN! and plan again. I thought I had it figured out but was wrong and had to keep making modifications until I got it right. In the end, I'm happy with the way things worked.
Although my chickens don't get to run free in my back yard (they do get time out when I can sit with them), they have room to flap their wings, run, scratch, roost and they are safe from predators. I raised these babies from a day old and love them! They are so much fun and very interesting to watch, they are a great stress-buster and provide a lot of entertainment and relaxation. I enjoy spending time with them.
Although the girls used to lay their eggs in the old coop, they now are laying in the new one. Everyone sleeps in the new coop now except little Chicken Nugget, who switches between the two. She occasionally prefers to sleep alone in the old coop. I used to move her to the other coop with the rest of the flock but now I let her stay. It's her choice.
I made a lot of mistakes in this chicken journey and found my unplanned ideas worked better than those that I planned. The biggest take-away is to think it through ... saving money in the short run, may cost you more in the end. And most important, chickens are forgiving ... do the best you can with what you have ... and keep you're fingers crossed ... hopefully it will work out just fine.
Below is a picture of my set up as it is now ... one - four are my connected pen/yards ... it's a work in progress that has already changed many times, and I'm sure with more changes to come. Good luck and just enjoy your chickens ... there is much to learn from them if you stop and take the time to observe.
Silence is broken
Changing times
I don't know about you, but I do not like the time change! Neither do my chickens. The once peaceful and silent mornings are now broken with VERY early morning crowing thanks to my confused rooster.
Prior to the time change, we had an idyllic routine that worked for everyone. Now this "Fall Back" thing has thrown a wrench in our once so perfect schedule. It has wreaked havoc on Rooster Ricky who continues to crow on his old schedule. Or maybe it's me that's messed up and he was crowing this early all along and I didn't hear it because I was sleeping. Regardless, the time change has us all a little backwards right now.
Disturbing the peace
In my opinion, the morning crowing is not loud. With Ricky in the coop and the windows shut, the sounds are muffled and faint. I hear it, but that's because I'm already awake. Now the cat and her morning meows wake me up every time, but that's a different story. Back to Ricky ... my neighbors may see things differently, but knock on wood, so far so good. We will have to see what happens next year when many sleep with open windows.
On a side note, Ricky is about 7 months old ... he was supposed to be a "she" but oops. I bought 2 unsexed chicks knowing there was a 50/50 chance for a roo. Thank goodness I only got 1, I couldn't handle 2 in my small flock. Ricky only started crowing in late September, so we are relatively new in this adventure. Hopefully, to help block his "music," I planted a row of elderberry bushes along the fence. Once they grow, maybe they will create a little barrier and minimize the free flow of rooster talk. As a last resort, I have a crowing collar but I do not like it, neither does Ricky or the hens. It goes around his neck only allows him to let out a a weak sort of pitiful crow. I tried it on him once. It lasted 5 minutes. Between him trying to get it off and the hens pecking at him (even though it was hidden under his feathers), I did not like that option. Only time will tell ... if it should become a problem.
The ambiance of a rural neighborhood
During the day, the crowing is not much of a worry, the barking dog and bahs of sheep create a lot of noise. So, in the big picture, Ricky's intermittent crows add to the ambiance of a quiet rural neighborhood, plus I'd rather listen to him crow than the non-stop barking dog ...
But that's just my opinion ...
Note: Daylight Savings Time was introduced in the US in 1918 as a wartime measure to save energy. It's not about the farmers as many people believe (read here to learn more about the history of daylight savings time).
A ghostly walk through the haunted streets of Prague
A ghostly walk through the haunted streets of Prague.Looking for a special gift or a fun family night? If you said yes, then Amazon Explore might be for you! Many options are available. Below is my tour experience: A ghostly walk through the haunted streets of Prague. About Amazon Explore: Each session uses real-time communication with local hosts through one-way video & two-way audio to give you a true sensation of "being there" as you visit vibrant destinations and participate in bucket list activities.
You can walk down a street of your choosing, getting a panoramic view of your surroundings, and ask questions about anything you see. When a shop catches your eye, your host can enter, browse items, show you an item from all angles, and ask questions directly to the shop owner. You can then purchase the items (even those not available on Amazon.com) and receive them at your home as simply and securely as if you were shopping on Amazon. There is something for everyone!
UPDATE: Sadly Amazon is no longer offering these tours. They end 10/31, however if you didn't have one scheduled, they are no longer scheduling new tours.
Curious yet? The good news is you can try your first experience for FREE! The experience must be $50 or under, enter code EXPLOREFREE at checkout and give it a try! --->Click here to give it a try!<--- or keep reading to find out more about some of the available experiences.
Meet our guide for this tour: Mark. An American, who used to live in MA (small world). This tour was the first that we had other people join us. There were 2 other couples.
I am guessing this is why Amazon may do away with this program, just not enough people doing it. I would have sooner BUT I didn't know it existed until a few weeks ago.
is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people.
Throughout the city there are references to Golem. "The story of the Golem is one of the most famous stories of Jewish history. Tradition recounts that when persecutors rose up to attack us, the Maharal Yehudah Loew, chief rabbi of Prague 500 years ago, created the Golem, a manlike creature made from the dust of the earth, endowed with “life” by means of a secret Kabbalistic formula. Through the Golem, the Maharal brought about miracles for the protection of the Jews."(Source) More about the Prague Golem.
Prague is a city of many layers and just as much of its history lays under the streets as well. For example, in the 19th century, many streets in Prague were raised by one full story from their original level as a way to avoid constant flooding from the Vltava River, which was a frequent problem for anyone living along its banks. At that's just the beginning. Keep reading to learn more.
The Withered Arm and Buried Alive
One of the stories Mark shared with us was about the withered arm hanging from the ceiling in Kostel Sv. Jakuba Vetsiho <--- click here to learn more.
Kostel Sv. Jakuba Vetsiho (St James the Greater) is a beautiful example of baroque architecture. Originally, the church was built in the 13thcentury but was destroyed by a fire in 1689. All was lost, however, it was later rebuilt.
And the arm ... no one really knows when it got there but the story of how it got there is legendary in Prague history ... in short, a thief was stealing jewels from an icon of the Virgin Mary and the statue seized his arm and wouldn't let go. Some people found him in the morning and could not free his arm from the statue's grip. Since destroying the statue was not an option, they cut off the thief's arm and hung it in the back of the church as a warning. This occurred sometime in the 16th or 17th century and it still hangs there today.
Then a century or so later, Count Jan Václav Vratislav of Mitrovice died and a great memorial was built for him inside the church. The problem was the Count was not really dead. After his funeral noises could be heard coming from the memorial. People thought it was his "restless soul" and prayed for his salvation until the noises stopped.
In a later renovation of the church, workers opened the Count’s tomb and found his body outside of his coffin. The Count had been buried alive and escaped his coffin, but was trapped inside the stone monument.
A Little Prague History
A settlement was first established in the area of Prague Old Town around the 9th century and became a town in the 10th century. The town was most notable for its marketplace with a healthy trade in leather and beer. (My kind of place!)
Because of the constant flooding by the Vitava, they raised the city about 13' so that the former street level now became cellars. Raising the street was a gradual process and took decades to complete. In some places the 13' was inadequate and the level had to be raised again to around to as much as 22'.
Under the House of the Two Golden Bears there is a labyrinth of chambers and cellars. Some of these join up with the cellars of surrounding buildings. Some of these basements have been traced back to the 14th century.
Also, legend has it that there were secret tunnels once used by the criminal fraternity of Prague, and these were said to lead all the way to the Church of Our Lady Before Týn and the Old Town Hall.
It wasn't until about 1784 that Prague was recognized as a city. Prior to that it was really a group of 4 towns: OId Town, New Town, Lesser Town (Malá Strana), and Hradčany (the area surrounding Prague Castle).Each town had its own governance, legislation, parish churches, etc. In 1784, Emperor Joseph II combined the 4 towns with the Old Town Hall responsible for all of Prague’s administration.
Below The City Streets
Sections of the Old Town Hall date back to the 12th century. The original use of this foundation is not fully known because most of the records were lost in the great fire of 1689.
Researchers have found some evidence that some of the rooms below the Old Town Hall were originally used as dungeons or torture chambers for religious prisoners while others were likely used as kitchens, tanneries and breweries.
Many of these tunnels and chambers are now 6 -22 feet below the present street level. Around the 13th century the street level was raised due to flooding by the Vitava. The old houses below ground became underground areas and were used as cellars.
There are also underground chambers beneath the House of the Stone Bell. According to legend there is a chapel beneath the house, dating to the 10th century when Christians were a minority and afraid of persecution from the pagan rulers of Bohemia, particularly Princess Drahomira, the mother of Saint Wenceslas.
There are many more legends and stories of secret tunnels beneath many of the city's famous landmarks just waiting to be discovered. As new areas are excavated, who knows what other mysteries will be uncovered.
Josefov (The Jewish Quarter)
One of Europe's oldest cemeteries is located in Prague. It is located the Josefov, the Jewish Quarter. Josefov was established in the Middle Ages when two Jewish communities in the region merged. This area became a part of Prague in 1850.
The name Josefov is a tribute of the Jews to Joseph II, the ruler who integrated this community into the Czech society.
The cemetery holds around 12,000 visible tombstones in a small yard. Underneath these tombstones are thousands of other graves. From the 15th century to 1787, the rulers of Prague forbid the Jews to bury their dead anywhere else. Because of the lack of space, the graves had to be stacked on top of each other.
In the above photo you can see the wall surrounding the cemetery and if you look closely you will see the tomb stones on top.
There are two significant graves located in this cemetery: the oldest, which belongs to one Avigdor Kara (a poet), who died according to the records in 1439 and the well-known grave of Jehuda ben Bezalel who is known for creating the “Golem of Prague”.
Click here to learn more: Documentary evidence reveals that Jews have lived in Prague since 970 C.E. By the end of the 11th century, a Jewish community had been fully established.
Check out my tour: The Ghosts of Philadelphia (Note: Sadly Amazon is no longer offering these tours.)
Check out my Barcelona tour:
Gaudi and Modernism: a journey through Barcelona’s breathtaking architecture
Gaudi and Modernism: a journey through Barcelona’s breathtaking architecture
Looking for a special gift or a fun family night? If you said yes, then Amazon Explore might be for you! Many options are available. Below is my tour experience: Gaudi and Modernism: a journey through Barcelona's breathtaking architecture.
About Amazon Explore: Each session uses real-time communication with local hosts through one-way video & two-way audio to give you a true sensation of "being there" as you visit vibrant destinations and participate in bucket list activities.
You can walk down a street of your choosing, getting a panoramic view of your surroundings, and ask questions about anything you see. When a shop catches your eye, your host can enter, browse items, show you an item from all angles, and ask questions directly to the shop owner. You can then purchase the items (even those not available on Amazon.com) and receive them at your home as simply and securely as if you were shopping on Amazon. There is something for everyone!
UPDATE: I read today 10/14/22 that Amazon soon will no longer be doing these tours. Last weekend they were offering 50% off deals and I can no longer find them available. Anything posted is current as of today but is subject to change at any time.
Curious yet? The good news is you can try your first experience for FREE! The experience must be $50 or under, enter code EXPLOREFREE at checkout and give it a try! --->Click here to give it a try!<--- or keep reading to find out more about some of the available experiences.
Meet our guide for this tour: Paz. With a heavy accent, her English was good and for the most part very understandable. I really enjoyed the fact our guide was a local! She was very knowledgeable about Gaudi and his architecture and modernism. I wish I had asked her more questions. Over the tour, we learned that she live closed by and is 7 months pregnant.
The ability to see these images real-time and interact with the guide makes these tours so amazing and addicting.
Our tour started at: Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. Built between 1901 and 1930, it is the largest complex built in Art Nouveau style. It was a fully functioning hospital until June 2009, when the new hospital opened next to it, before undergoing restoration for use as a museum and cultural center in 2014. For more information, click here.
The 2nd part of the tour was Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Familia. The architecture is amazing! When finished, Sagrada Familia will have 18 towers, representing the 12 apostles, the 4 Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Jesus. There wiil be three facades, each with an entrance and a different them: birth (Nacimiento), passion/crucifixion of Christ (Pasión) glory/resurrection (Gloria).
Construction started in 1882 and still underway and it's completion is the center of a heated battle. When it was planned, there were no surrounding buildings ... today a whole block with apartments and stores has been built where the final piece of the complex was planned to go.
More resources about the history of this building:
Check out my tour: The Ghosts of Philadelphia ----> or book the tour to experience it yourself!
The ghosts of Philadelphia: learn about the city’s gruesome past
Looking for a special gift or a fun family night? If you said yes, then Amazon Explore might be for you! Many options are available. Below is my tour experience: The ghosts of Philadelphia: learn about the city's gruesome past.
About Amazon Explore: Each session uses real-time communication with local hosts through one-way video & two-way audio to give you a true sensation of "being there" as you visit vibrant destinations and participate in bucket list activities.
You can walk down a street of your choosing, getting a panoramic view of your surroundings, and ask questions about anything you see. When a shop catches your eye, your host can enter, browse items, show you an item from all angles, and ask questions directly to the shop owner. You can then purchase the items (even those not available on Amazon.com) and receive them at your home as simply and securely as if you were shopping on Amazon. There is something for everyone!
Curious yet? The good news is you can try your first experience for FREE! The experience must be $50 or under, enter code EXPLOREFREE at checkout and give it a try! --->Click here to give it a try!<--- or keep reading to find out more about some of the available experiences.
The ghosts of Philadelphia: learn about the city's gruesome past
This was my first time trying Amazon Explore. It was so much fun and engaging, the 90 minutes seemed to fly by.
Thank goodness my tour was from the comfort of my couch because it was rainy and windy Philly. night (tour started at 7PM). My guide braved the elements with a smile and never skipped a beat. She was very knowledgeable, well spoken, funny, and very personable.
Although my tour was scheduled as a group, I was the only person that showed. Up to 7 people can join a tour. Normally everyone is muted, and you can click the hand icon if you have a question and your guide will stop the narrative and respond to your question. Since it was only me and my guide, we had an open mic and chatted more freely. We even exchanged ghost stories.
Although I spent a lot of my childhood in Jersey, right outside Philly, this 90 minute tour was very informative especially if you like history and eerie tales of the unexplained. It's the things you won't learn in history class.
Philadelphia is a great place to visit! If you haven't already, nothing beats actually being there BUT this tour is a great alternative and much better than a video or photos someone took. Speaking of photos, there is a photo button on the screen and you can take as many photos as you'd like. If you are lucky you just might catch the image of an apparition in your photo. Below are a few of the scenes that I captured.
I have 3 more tours booked so look for more reviews coming soon:
(1) Gaudi and Modernism: a journey through Barcelona's breath-taking architecture
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