Bran Castle Tour

I love seeing tours of old homes on blogs.  Between Naps on the Porch blog has shared some of my favorite home tours so I thought I'd do my own type of home tour.  Okay, so this home happens to be a castle, but a home none the less.  A former royal residence dating back to the late Medieval period, Bran is a rustic kind of place, what you'd expect of a castle built in that time.  Though it is not as lavishly decked out as its neighboring Peles Castle, Bran castle was a wonderful tour.  I snapped lots of pictures of Bran's furnishings because my Mom wanted details for her paintings so without further ado, 

Let's knock and go on in...

Here, a timeline of Rulers associated with Bran Castle.

I thought it was interesting to note that Vlad (III) Tepes, known as Vlad the Impaler and whom the character Dracula is said to be based upon, had not lived in the castle.  Despite this, the castle is known as Dracula's castle.  At the base of the castle, many vendors are selling souvenirs of Dracula based paraphernalia.

A view from a castle window
 

 

What castle is complete without its own armory?  The torture tools add a homey touch.

This was a relaxed, go as you please, tour and was inexpensive.  The tour cost let you take as many photos, without restrictions, as you wanted which was nice considering we'd been to another castle who made you pay additional if you wanted the liberty to take pictures.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little tour into Romanian culture.  Have a good weekend.

Castles & Carpathian Mountains

The first time I traveled to Romania it was blanketed in snow, not bad for a South Texas girl who rarely sees snow, but it didn't paint a true picture of the lands.  This time around, we traveled during the month of June and the views and roadways were much nicer.

Travel tip** If you haven't heard, Romania's roadways are not well maintained...important to know when factoring travel time to and fro.  What may depict as four hours driving on an internet map might actually take six, etc.  That's a signification consideration if traveling with little ones or on a tight timetable. 

But back to the views.  Because weather permitted, we traveled north thru the Carpathian Mtns., Sinaia and into Brasov.  At each, the views were breathtaking.  We visited the Bran, Peles, and Pelisor castles, traveled the Transfagarasan, and ate some wonderful food.  If pictures speak a thousand words, I'll let them say their piece...


Transfagarasan

 

Upon arriving to town, the Bran Castle emerging over treetops gave a sneak peak of what we were in for,

but first things first

lunch!  A bean soup with smoked pork served in a bread bowl.  Don't let my poor photography detract from the fact that this soup was yummy! 

After we refueled, we headed over to Bran Castle.  The scenery along the cobblestone walk up to the castle was like something out of a movie.

I'll follow up this post with pictures of our tour inside Bran Castle.  There were no restrictions on taking photos inside the castle which was great.  Between touring Bran, Peles, and Pelisor, although Bran is not as elaborate, I much preferred the loose vibe of this tour which was pretty much go at your own pace.  I preferred it out of the three castles.  I'll clarify a bit more in a separate post about Peles Castle.  'Til then, have a wonderful week.

 

San Antonio Way

We made a day trip to San Antonio the other Saturday and what a perfect day to do so.  We finally had a break between rainy and cold days; the clouds parted and the sun shone, the temperatures stayed cool and it felt like heaven. 

Lucky for us, we're close enough to spend a day in San Antonio and be back home in less than two hours.  We can visit just about anytime we please, but if you're planning to make a stay of it, all the better.  San Antonio is a wonderful city to visit and you'll be glad to have the extra time to really check things out.

For our day trip, I was on a mission to get to the market (a.k.a. El Mercado or Market Square).  The market is downtown and has leveled parking for a fee that makes it very convenient to get to. 

While many people come to visit the famed River Walk, Market Square is where the fun is really at.  The colors, the smells, and music are so festive.  It's hard not to feel happy in a place like this and who doesn't want to feel happy? Here are some pictures of our visit around the market.

Beautiful Yellow Rose metal art inside one of the markets.

Did you know the yellow rose is not the state flower of Texas?  Blue Bonnets are the official state flower, but the yellow rose has gained fame through songs, the original, of course, being, "The Yellow Rose of Texas."  You can read more about that here if you're interested.



One daughter found the shopping quite enjoyable.

One daughter was glued to her phone :)

We watched this lady create these vibrant flowers, securing them to wreaths.

We ate at Mi Tierra, a very touristy spot to dine in the market.  Though it wasn't the best food, the bakery inside was worth checking out and the margaritas & mariachis made up for what the food was lacking.

Inside Mi Tierra

we were wide-eyed and drooling as visions of sweets danced before us.

 Mariachis singing while we ate was great entertainment for our youngest traveler who'd never seen such a thing.

I found music in the street just outside the restaurant.  Blues, a favorite, lead to a little dancing in the street.

And the shopping continued...

 Does the smile tell you she finally settled on a purchase?

  To end our time at the market, we watched some young ladies dance.

We took the girls to the San Antonio Zoo after our time at the market.  It was a great way to spend time outdoors with the family.  If you're considering a family trip or just looking for an easy paced get-away, San Antonio is a great place to consider.  I hope you enjoyed looking at all of the colorful sights.  Thank you for letting me share my wonderful day with you.


 

 

The Stars at Night...

Are big and bright, deep in the heart heat of Texas.  Temperatures have ranged between 103 and 106 degrees Fahrenheit.  There are countless photos that people have snapped of the temperature read inside their vehicles so I won't show you mine that read 113 degrees! in a parked vehicle, of course.

So how do we beat the heat, you wonder?

Like this,

and this.

We floated for hours at Reimer Ranch Park in Travis county.  We also visited Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels.  The lines were not as bad, mid-week, as I imagine they'd be on a weekend.  If you 're ever in Texas, these are not bad spots to visit.  

We stayed in Austin...was nice to visit my old stomping grounds.

This motel is smack in the middle of great dining and shopping on Congress Street, and just a few minutes from down town.  Actually, it's pretty central to a lot of Austin attractions.  You can easily get to Barton Springs pool and park, the capitol, 6th street, you get the idea.

We ate here, which is walking distance to the motel.  It's not my favorite Mexican food place in the world, but is in walking distance to the motel, is good, and reasonably priced.  

The scene was much the same, a few shops have changed...many have remained the same.  One noticeable change was the addition of many food trucks.  I like the "chicken" signage for this truck.  I suspect the recent tv show series on Food Network has had something to do with the food truck phenomenon in Austin.  I can say that there were slim to none on Congress, with the exception of 1st Thursdays, five years ago.

All in all, it was a nice little get-away.  Austin, I miss you.

Get Luby-fied with a Butternut Brownie Pie

If you live in Texas, it's likely you've heard of Luby's Cafeteria.  Luby's Cafeteria opened in San Antonio in '47.  Luby's serves up southern favorites like fried fish, chicken fried steak, carved ham, fried okra, mashed taters, mac n cheese, chocolate ice box pie, pecan pie, and a whole slew of other favorites that are too many to mention.

It is a cafeteria so the whole spread is lined out before you and I guarantee that you're eyes will be bigger than your stomach.  I have many fond memories of going with my Grandma to eat there, and still enjoy a meal from Luby's from time to time.  

There are a few copied recipes shared on the web.  Luby's has published recipe books so I'm not sure if folks got the recipes from that source and shared them or got them from somewhere else, but I'm glad they're available because some are so darned good.  

Here's one of my favorites Luby recipes:

Image Source

Luby's Butternut Brownie Pie 

Servings (8) 

 4 Egg whites

 1/8 Tsp Baking powder

 1/8 Tsp Cream of tartar 

1 1/4 Cup Sugar (divided use) 

14 Graham cracker squares, broken into pieces(about 2 cups) 

1 Cup .+ 2 Tablespoon Pecan pieces(divided use)

 1 Cup Whipping cream

 1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract 

 Directions:   Preheat the oven to 300 F. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie plate with butter. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and baking powder until soft peaks form. Beating constantly, add cream of tartar and slowly add 1 cup of the sugar until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the graham crackers and 1 cup pecan pieces. Spoon into prepared pie plate. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. In small chilled mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream just until it begins to thicken. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat. Top pie with whipped cream and sprinkle the remaining pecan pieces on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 8 servings. Nutritional Information: per serving: 518 calories, 30g fat, 306mg sodium, 197mg cholesterol, 47 percent of calories from fat. 

If you're ever traveling through Texas and happen across a Luby's, I hope you give it a try.  Here's to hoping you have a good weekend.

Cheers,

The Kitchen Witch


p.s. Sharing @ Foodie Friday. ...a great source to find many great recipes.