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Napoleon Hernandez
Napoleon Hernandez

Napoleon Hernandez

traveled in 11 countries Read more🇺🇸New York
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  • Paris and Barcelona 2024

    Monet Foundation

    July 5, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    The highlight at Giverny was visiting the house and gardens where Claude Monet used to live. We spent most of our time in the garden, where we enjoyed the peace and tranquility of Giverny in one of the most beautiful settings we had seen while traveling. It was easy to picture Monet going out and capturing the beauty of the multiple colors and textures in the garden. On top of the view the gardens were fragrant with lavender and rose aromas.

    The favorite part for Karina was a circular garden with a bench around a huge tree. For Napoleon and Nadia the best part was the lily pond where they couldn't stop taking pictures of the amazing views.    Read more

  • Paris and Barcelona 2024

    Giverny

    July 5, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The cradle of impressionism, Giverny is our first stop after arriving in Paris. The town doesn't allow car traffic, so we had to park just outside the town and walked to the restaurant where we had our first French breakfast: a quiche with vegetables, a creme brulee, a lemon tart and a chocolate muffin.

    The entire town smells of lavender and is full of very pintoresque corners and calm spaces. We couldn't remember the last time we were in a place like this.    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    La Puerta de la Bisagra
    Monumento a Cervantes delante del Arco de la Sangre

    Bonus round: Toledo

    July 21, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    United Airlines alerted us of the possibility of a flight delay due to thunderstorms and offered to change the flight at no cost. On top of that, when we checked, we realized that by changing the flight, we would get back almost 25% of the miles we spent on the airfare, so it was a really easy decision to hold back and stay an extra day.

    We decided to take it easy, and after getting delicious empanadas as breakfast, we got a rental car and traveled to Toledo, which is about 55 minutes away, driving from the center of Madrid.

    We didn't do much sightseeing but got to do some shopping from stores in Calle Comercio. The stores are of two kinds: weapons (mostly swords and katanas) and jewelry with some of the famous Toledo damasquinado. Napoleon got a few cufflinks while we also got earrings for Nadia and a beautiful jewelry set for Karina. We got to see a bit of the architecture of the town, including its emblematic city gate (puerta de Bisagra Nueva) and the Blood Gate together with the Cervantes statue close to its downtown.

    We got back to Madrid around 10 pm, happy of having finished our last day with a last horrah in Toledo.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Our (alleged) last dinner in Spain

    July 20, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    As we were getting ready to finish our trip and leave Madrid, we looked for a place to get a last, unforgettable dinner. We decided to go to "Rosi La Loca," a restaurant very close to our AirBnB with a unique atmosphere.

    The place itself and the food are crafted around themes from Alice in Wonderland and other similar tales. The drinks and the dishes come into unique plating settings, including figurines of the stories. The whole place has a pink lighting and has a very playful decor.

    We enjoyed being together after a long day of sightseeing and trying new items. The most exotic one was duck dumplings in a hoisin sauce with pears. For dessert, we got their version of Tiramisu that comes into smoking blender that was delicious and fun to eat! We were ready to say goodbye to Spain and get our flight the next day, but...    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    La Puerta del Sol

    Plaza España, Puerta del Sol y Cibeles

    July 20, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    The taxi left us couple of blocks away from Puerta del Sol and as we headed into it we found a small group of musicians playing classical pieces and although it had been a long day we stopped and listen to them for a while. Afterwards, we finished the walk and arrived at Puerta del Sol, which happened to be a plaza. This place is famous because it is the equivalent of Times Square during the New Year celebration, and thousands of people come together to see the clock on the tower get to midnight.

    We continued walking towards Plaza España where there is a famous monument to Cervantes showcasing Don Quijote and Sancho Panza. We then headed to dinner and just before heading home we did a quick visit of Plaza Cibeles, which is renowned because it is the place where the Real Madrid celebrate its championships.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Almudena Cathedral and Royal Palace

    July 20, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Our next stop was the Royal Palace and the Almudena Cathedral. We first visited the Cathedral, which is relatively modern as it was consecrated by John Paul II in 1997. The building seems to take influence from moorish designs , and it seems a bit similar to Sagrada Familia as it comes on its use of light for the glass windows. The chapels lying around the main body vary in style from roman/medieval to a very modern one dedicated to John Paul II. The sculptures and altar work are really beautiful, and we left thinking that there are plenty of beautiful churches in Spain.

    We then stopped by the Royal Palace, which was a pleasant surprise. None of us had ever seen anything like it. While the full palace is made of 3,400 rooms, visitors are only allowed within 35 of them. The feeling we got from the visit is that we couldn't imagine another place showcasing as much luxury as we saw. Full paintings on every ceiling of the rooms, silk on every drape, and just incredible pieces of craftsmanship. For example, there was a room fully made of porcelain panels that were so masterfully put together that the seams were almost invisible. We also saw the dinner services of multiple kings and the throne room that was first utilized in the palace.

    With just a little bit more to see, we left the palace and took a cab towards Puerta del Sol to end our sightseeing day.    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    ¡Es un osito mamá, mira, es un oso!Tristezaaa 😔Mario time!

    Parque de El Retiro

    July 20, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    El Retiro is one of the most famous parks in Madrid, just like Central Park is famous in New York. Since this was our last day and we hadn't really visited Madrid, we decided to see as much as possible.

    We started by heading to Puerta de Alcala, which is just outside the park. To our disappointment, it was under renovation and was not visible at all. So we just headed straight into the park, and right away, we started finding characters in costumes that were irresistible for Oliver (and for us given how happy it made him).

    As we strolled into the park, we found a pond where one could rent a small boat and row around. The pond had turtles and fish that came outside the water every once in a while.

    We then headed towards the Crystal House (which was also closed for renovation) and ended our walk in the Fountain of the Fallen Angel, the only monument in the world dedicated to Lucifer. We took a quick refresher just in front of the fountain and took a cab to our next destination: the Royal Palace and Madrid's famous Almudena Cathedral.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Granada

    July 18, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Just like the previous day, we arrived before mid day and left our luggage at the rental. We then went to take a tour of La Alhambra, one of the most iconic human-made structures on the entire world. Our tour lasted 3 hours and went through the three main areas of La Alhambra: Generalife, Alcazaba, and Nazari Palace.

    Generalife is the largest area, and it was the place where generals arrived and rested in Alhambra. It is filled with lush gardens and beautiful fountains. The guide told us many stories and legends about the Generalife while we were walking its full extension.

    The three main areas are all connected through a central plaza dedicated to Carlos V. After the visit to Generalife, we walked through the Alcazaba, which is the oldest part of the complex. It is full of ruins of walls and towers where soldiers used to live and defend the city.

    Overall the Generalife and Alcazaba were not as impressive as Cordoba Cathedral in terms of architectonic style. However, our opinion changed once we arrived at the Nazari Palace. The work on the walls and floors of the palace is unique and showcases some of the best moorish work known today.

    We visited most of the iconic places of the palace, including Patio de Comares, where the pool is set up as a mirror and Patio de los Leones. The work on the walls of the Palace makes it easy for the sight to wander and find new places to explore and see.

    We enjoyed what we saw on the visit and the only detail that made it hard was that our tour guide was in "speed run" mode and we were rushing the 3 hours through the complex with limited opportunities to take on the sights and take pictures.

    The last stop in the area was in Jardines Alberto, where we enjoyed some of the local Nazari cuisine. We got Vizier Lamb and Nazari chicken, and it was really good; Nazari food is significantly more complex than the one found in the North, combining fruits and nuts with meats to create unique dishes.

    We got back home, and at night, Karina and Napoleon visited the Hammam Al-Andalus arab baths. The place is built on top of an old arab bathhouse that was converted into a bread oven after the Christian conquest forbid public bathhouse. The place is amazing with four different pools at different temperatures, a sauna, and a massage area.

    Once the session was done, they got dinner on their way home, and the full family got ready to get back to Madrid the next day.    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    Cordoba's narrowest street
    Our little munchkin was a trooper!!Is it a mosque or a cathedral? Schrödinger's building!

    Cordoba

    July 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    We arrived in Cordoba just before mid day, and the day was really hot. Each year the highest temperature in Spain is reached in Cordova, and we could tell why. The kind of rock used to build the city gets warm during the day and releases the heat at night (even at 9 p.m., we were at 35 °C and felt like we were walking inside an oven!)

    We dropped the luggage at our rental apartment (probably the best one we got during the trip) and headed out to our tour of the Jewish Quarter and the Cathedral Mosque. Our guide was named Miguel and was really knowledgeable. We walked through very picturesque alleyways and streets in Cordoba while he was telling stories about how the quarter came into existence across the centuries.

    In the second part of the tour, we entered the Cathedral Mosque, a unique building declared as humanity heritage by the UN. The building started as a mosque, and when the town was captured by Christians who didn't have the resources to demolish the old building, they decided to reutilize it and convert it onto a cathedral

    The way in which mosque and cathedral elements mix within the architecture of the building is unique and, at times, surreal. The building is magnificent although to make a point the Christians decided to play with the lighting and left the areas that look more like a mosque with shadows while the Cathedral main space is possibly the most illuminated one in the world.

    We loved the tour and the gardens and spaces of Cordoba but were exhausted of the last few days, and the heat was unbearable. We got lunch at Bodegas Mezquita and tried salmorejo (an Andalusian version of gazpacho) and bull's tail stew.

    Once we got home, the unanimous decision of the family was to honor the long-held tradition of having a midday nap to deal with the heat. We woke up around 9 pm, and since Oliver was still sleeping, Karina and Napoleon went for a walk to the Roman Bridge and the city of the gate while doing some required shopping along the way.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Kari's celebration at Nerea's house

    July 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Nerea's family kindly invited us to celebrate Karina's birthday at their home. They prepared gazpacho, sangria, and humus and bought several dishes for us to try, including albondigas and bacalao al pil pil.

    The dinner was delicious and the company couldn't be better. We talked about the trip, food in Spain, kids, life in Spain vs. other places in the world and a little bit of everything else. Nerea's dad made an interesting comment about sightseeing, mentioning that in his opinion, the best monument in Spain was Segovia Aqueduct as it doesn't require extensive amounts of time to be comprehended (as opposed to El Escorial, for example) while it clearly is a sight to see. So it is as efficient as can be as a national monument.

    The dinner ended with a pear cake with a single candle and ice cream. It was a wonderful evening, and we were grateful for having been blessed with it.    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    Hugging my little munchkin!Party Party! 🥳 Thank you, Nerea!

    Valle de Colgamuros y Escorial

    July 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We went to visit two different yet unique places on Karina's birthday: el Valle de Cuelgamuros and the El Escorial Palace.

    Our first stop was the Valle. It houses an incredible basilica carved just inside a mountain. It is an imposing place, and one of the things that called our attention was the sculptures inside the basilica, including the figures of two imposing angels guarding the entrance, and those of monks overseeing the people attending the service. As luck would have it, there was a mass at the time we came in, and for that reason, we couldn't take a picture of the place.

    The basilica is crowned by a massive 150-meter high cross with a depiction of the 4 evangelists at its bottom. The cross is visible from the esplanade.

    From there, we drove 20 minutes to reach El Escorial, an obligated scale for those who are tourists in the area of Madrid. El Escorial is a Palace-Convent that is famous for holding the remnants of most kings of Spain and their families. The Convent-Palace shows the close connection that existed between Church and Monarchy at the peak of the Spanish Empire. The most impressive room of the complex is the Library, which was designated as a room to study books but also to perform studies on astronomy and mathematics, amongst others. The second part of the complex is the Covent, which also includes the tomb rooms for Spanish royalty.

    Nerea met with us at El Escorial and made the tour as we caught up and talked. Afterward, Nerea suggested for us to stop at a nice restaurant just 3 kilometers away, where we enjoyed some tinto de verano, octopus, and salad. We were ready to head into our final destination of the day at the heart of Madrid.    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    1Te castigaré en el nombre de la luna!Fusion!Push past your limits!Esoteric art, ninth form. Rengoku!

    Segovia Aqueduct

    July 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    We found a restaurant close to the Alcazar and had our first experience with Castilian cuisine in Asador David Guijarro. For dinner, we had a dinner menu, including Judiones de la Granja (a dish very similar to Fabada but with large beans from San Ildefonso) and lechoncillo. The lechincillo was very similar to Peking duck, but with pork. It is crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside, and absolutely delicious to eat. The deserts were also amazing, especially the dessert in the form of a candle and full of yogurt ice cream that the kids had.

    After dinner, we walked towards our inn and did a small stop at the Aqueduct. It is very impressive as it has stood the test of time, having been built almost two thousand years ago. It was functional until about 50 years ago, and it is a testament to the ability of Roman architects. The double arch design is functional, beautiful, and interesting all at the same time. The funniest part, though, was that as we started taking pictures, we started to make funny poses, and we kept going while laughing like maniacs in the middle of the street. To the credit of Segovians and other tourists, no one seemed to actually care or judge us for it, and got some really funny pictures for kicks and laughs. What a great way to finish the day!    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Alcazar de Segovia

    July 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    It was fairly late when we left San Ildefonso grounds after the fountain show, and we headed back to Segovia to see the Alcazar. The building is on the top of a hill inside Segovia, and Oliver fell asleep as we started driving. When we got there, Karina decided to stay back with him, and so Nadia and Napoleon went in with only 40 minutes to visit.

    The building itself is impressive, with an amazing view of the entire city. It was used to house the army that was charged with protecting the city, and the building houses a collection of armors and weapons. The building itself has some moorish influences. We particularly liked the towers on the outside of the building, which turned out to be an inspiration for Walt Disney's castle.

    Although the visit was rushed, it was totally worth it. The art, the views, and the memory of running around trying to capture the moment in images to share with Karina will stay with us long after we go back to New York.    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    Proof of fatherly love! ❤️

    Palace of San Ildefonso Farm

    July 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Coming into Segovia, we left our luggage at the inn and drove another 20 minutes into San Ildefonso, where one can visit the palace that was used by the royal family as a summer residence. The palace itself wasn't that impressive, with only a few interesting items along the way (in a way, the arrangement of the rooms reminded us of the European furniture collection at the Met).

    What was fun, though, was visiting the gardens, which holds more than forty fountains within its walls. Turns out we arrived at the time that the garden offers a show with the fountains and we had a blast! (literally and figuratively). During the show, guards of the garden led us to four different fountain plazas within the garden. The water reaches a height of almost 30 meters in one of them, and the water reaches to the audience! Nadia was really happy getting wet during the show, but Oliver got scared by the water a couple of times. Napoleon was holding Oliver on his back during the fourth show when the water reached its peak height and washed their back out of the blue! They started running further away from the fountain but couldn't escape from getting fully drenched by it.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Aguilar de Campoo

    July 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The trip to Lagos de Covadonga made us reconsider our decision to head into Picos de Europa with a car rental. The road is very narrow at times, and one has to figure out how to handle incoming traffic, usually by having to make maneuvers with only inches of spare room at the edge of the road. So we changed the plan and decided to head towards Segovia/Madrid earlier, and that way, we wouldn't have to pack too much driving in a single day but split into two parts.

    We decided to stay at a nice hotel into Aguilar de Campoo, midway, between Covadonga and Segovia. This town was a pleasant surprise in many respects. When we walked around, we found it to be quaint and picturesque, built with a medieval wall (pit included) and a central plaza.

    Since the place where we wanted to have dinner was full, we headed to a nearby Italian place as option B, with very low expectations about having good Italian food in Spain. However, we were blown away by the dinner. We had one of the most delicious pizzas we have ever had all while enjoying tinto de verano and a nice caprese salad as well. Nadia ended up almost eating a whole pie herself, and even Karina, who was not hungry, ended up getting four slices as well.

    Coming back into the hotel, we took a very needed shower and slept to continue our way into Segovia.    Read more

  • Spain 2023
    Hopscotch professional.Nadia skipping bombs!! 💣Oliver asked why the cows 🐄 made lots of poonpoons!

    Lagos de Covadonga

    July 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The Covadonga Lakes is a beautiful place located about 20 minutes driving from Covadonga. The lakes were created from glaciers that melted after the last ice age and created a beautiful, breathtaking scenery in the midst of the mountains.

    A good portion of the area around the lakes is owned by local farmers, and there are plenty of cows and bulls walking around the natural pasture. There are two lakes, and there is an elevated hill between the two that allows for a full sight.

    We were somewhat tired from the last few days and didn't want to overexert ourselves going around the trails. We mostly stayed close to the upper lake and to the elevated sightseeing place as we absorbed the views. We got a little snack on the only restaurant in the lakes before heading down, and we got one last fabada at the local restaurant as we were leaving Covadonga and continuing the trip.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Covadonga

    July 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    The next stop for us was Covadonga, a town with a registered population of 58 right into the mountain area called Picos de Europa. The town is home to the famous Covadonga Virgin, which according to historical record help Visigoths to push back Arabs from the area in 722 under the leadership of Pelayo, who prayed to the image of the Virgin held within the cave system. The battle arguably initiated the creation of the modern Spanish state as it was the first battle where Christians were able to defeat Arabs.

    The town itself is beautiful, built right on the mountain with trails that follow a river that seeps through the rock and comes all the way down. The vegetation is made of forests, ferns, and moss and is very relaxing. Below the Virgin Sanctuary, there is a famous 7- armed fountain that, according to legend, will help whoever drinks water from its seven arms to find love within a year. With Karina and Napo set and Nadia not willing to take the water, we didn't get to try it out.

    The town is mostly made of hotels, restaurants, and rural houses that are built around the Covadonga Basílica. Walking its streets at night is magical, and it has a different experience from visiting the town during the day.

    From a culinary perspective, we found here two traditional foods from Asturias: fabada and cachopo. Fabada is a dish made with broad beans cooked with a bit of chorizo, morcilla, and a piece of pig skin. It is absolutely delicious and fulfilling. Cachopo, on the other hand, is a dish made from veal filets, where two of them are put together and filled with goat cheese and ham, and finally breaded and fried. The cachopo is not for the faint of the heart as a single order weighs almost 1.5 kilograms and can be shared with up to 6 people. This was the only time in Spain that we simply couldn't finish our food although we wanted to.

    Covadonga was also the first time where we had to get two different rooms, as the rural house where we stayed had only rooms for 2 people each. Since Nadia wanted to stay with Oliver, we allowed them to stay on the room upstairs, and we had to say they knew how to behave. We had one of the best nights of sleep in the town and took breakfast the next day from Bea, the house owner. From there, she let us know that unless we had property on the area of the lakes, we wouldn't be allowed to travel by car there, and our options were a cab service or a bus. Since the cab traveled further into the area and would drop us very close to the upper lake, we decided to take the cab service and spend the morning at Covadonga Lakes.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Parque Natural del Carbaceno

    July 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    The Carbaceno Natural Park is a unique concept that we had never seen before. The park is a combination of a natural reserve and a zoo, but not in the traditional sense. In this park, the animals have very large expanses of land where they can walk around, with some spaces being as large as 1 kilometer squared. The park was built on top of an old mine and is also an example of how some human-made structures can be recycled to give a bit back in terms of natural spaces.

    The park has some unique species, including some animals close to extinction, like White Rhinoceros. We saw a pack of deers moving around as elephants were walking nearby and a very cute pack of brown bears. The park has a funicular system that we used to visit several areas and get amazing views of the animals from high up.

    We also saw several venomous snakes that the park has from around the world, including royal cobras, green and black mambas, and spitting snakes.

    To top it all, the park has a show involving hunting birds. The show lasts an hour and showcases different birds around the world. The trainers would leave the birds free, and they would set up baits to show how falcons kill on the wild. It was an amazing show as some of the birds would fly just a meter or two in front of us, with one of them even brushing Napoleon's head, and we got to see firsthand how amazing these creatures are.    Read more

  • Spain 2023

    Casa Rural Areitz-Soroa

    July 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We drove about an hour and a half before we reached the place where we decided to stay, a cute rural house outside Bilbao. The road close to the rural house was very narrow, and we drove on top of a very small get sturdy Roman Bridge built in the year 300 at the expense of Karina's nerves while driving. (Everyone here loves roman bridges! They are more trustworthy than modern ones).

    The house is run by Ion and Sonia, who have spent thirty years of their lives on the project of building a self-sustaining house. Apart from hosting people on the property, they hold education sessions for kids to teach them how to minimize their impact on the environment while doing some fun activities like having them cook their own bread and get apple juice. In our case, we got to enjoy the natural setting of the farm, and the kids got to see from a fist hand perspective cows, chickens, pigs, and rabbits in the midst of a light rain. Nadia was also very happy since we all got to pet a rabbit thanks to Sonia. 🐇


    Dinner was a bit difficult as we were tired and yet had to drive 20 minutes to the nearest town. Although they would not serve dinner during weekdays, the restaurant decided to graciously make dinner for us. We drank natural cider (and they explained to us that we weren't supposed to let it rest but drink it as it had air bubbles from serving it).

    The discovery of the day in terms of food was entrecot, which is a very tender and juicy beef cut taken from between the 7th and 8th rib. We really liked it and hope to be able to tell our butcher to cut it for us once we get back to New York!    Read more

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