Inspiration: Stuttgart

As I mentioned after Porsche Dad, Andrew and I took the train into Stuttgart Schlossplatz or "the city center of Stuttgart. We climbed up the stairs from the Hauptbahnhof (station) and were instantly teleported into a bustling city.

The Schlossplatz is home to the Center for the Arts, the New Castle (which is in the background of a few photos), the Alte Kanzlei, and great people watching benches. Here's the reason why Dad and Andrew are the two worst people to site see with... we walked so fast (for no apparent reason) that I was only able to snap photos and not really learn what each building/landmark was! Aye, aye, aye!! (Not to worry, with Rick Steve's at my finger tips in Italy I was running the show!)

So unfortunately I learned what these landmarks were when we returned home and I googled them! Nonetheless here are some of sites around Stuttgart!


This is all that remains of the old city center (Schillerplatz) of Stuttgart. During WWII most of the city was destroyed and rebuilt.



As we wandered we found this beautiful bell tower adjacent to the Old Castle.


The further we walked away from the tower the closer we got to the goods... check out the banner on the left side of the picture :)


Around the west side of the Old Castle were these incredible tree canopies. I fell in love with their translucentness and shapes.


Back at the Schlossplatz where all the people were. You can see the Center for the Arts in the background.


One of the many fountains in the center behind the New Castle.

Even though we did not spend much time in Stuttgart and Germany we had a great time exploring the city and the sights. I would recommend to anyone heading to Germany soon to visit Stuttgart!

Now I'm not biased (after all I am German) but the next stop on our European Vacation was the stop I was looking forward to the most... Siena, Italy in the heart of Tuscany.

Inspiration: Porche

Let me preface this post... so Andrew wanted to go to Germany, drive on the Autobahn and see some factories. All good, great, grand. Alicia was just along for the ride, right? Wrong... when my mom said we somehow by the grace of God were given access to Porche's factory tour I about flipped my lid. I'm not a connoisseur of automobiles but if there is one automobile that revs my engine it's Porche. And for all you American's out there it's not "Por-sh" it's "Por-sha."

Okay, sorry about that :) Where was I? Oh yes, so this trip was about the cars and boy did we see them. When we arrived at Porche we had to check our camera's, bags and jackets into lockers- you aren't allowed to take anything on the factory tour. We had this adorable German student who lead us through the engine room, upholstery room (did you know all of Porche's interiors are hand sewn on 6 machines!) and the various stages of the assembly line. Since I wasn't allowed to photograph I sat back and reveled in the awe and majesty of a hand build Porche.

At the end of the tour I was waiting for my new car keys to the 911. That didn't happen. But what did was our tour of the museum. Much smaller in scale than Mercedes but just as impressive, here are some of my favorite pics. I love how all the cars smile :)




What was Mr. Porche thinking! I love it!!


Such a beauty.


The German's have this design stuff down! How would you like to have this for your trophey case?


This is the view looking up and out from the front doors of the museum- the overhang is mirrored glass. Trippy but very cool.

Next train stop... downtown Stuttgart with Dad and Andrew- the two worst people to site see with. Stick around and you'll see why!