My trip to Transylvania

R.B. visits Medias (pronounced Meh dee’ ahsh), one the oldest towns in Transylvania, a historic region or Romania, on Friday, July 23, 2021. R.B. poses in the town main square. In the background is the tower of the Saint Margaret Church, the visual staple of this Transylvanian town. The present, late Gothic structure of the church was built between 1437 and 1488.
R.B. visits Medias (pronounced Meh dee’ ahsh), one the oldest towns in Transylvania, a historic region or Romania, on Friday, July 23, 2021. In this photo R.B. poses by the Forkesch Tower, also known as the Goldsmiths Tower. The structure, built between 1494 and 1534, was one the three main towers incorporated in the fortified walls that protected the city from invasions.

Hi there friends, hope your summers have been wonderful. This summer I traveled to Transylvania, specifically Medias (pronounced Meh dee’ ahsh), one of the oldest towns in Transylvania, a historic region of Romania. My first stop took me to Saint Margaret Church, the visual staple of this Transylvanian town. The present, late gothic structure of the church was built between 1437 and 1488. Did you know, it is said that the famous Vlad the Impaler spent a night or two in one of the towers surrounding the church while in transit as a prisoner of the King of Hungary.

Wow, now that’s some spooky facts. Next, I went to the Forkesch Tower, also known as the Goldsmiths Tower. The structure, built between 1494 and 1534, was one of the three main towers incorporated in the fortified walls that protected the city from invasions. Today the synagogue is empty and the archival documents and books are housed in the former Jewish community offices next to the synagogue.

These two locations were definitely the highlight of my experience in Transylvania, I cannot wait to see where my next trip will take me! Until next time! La revedere!

St. Louis Bound

Your favorite bat was invited on a trip to St. Louis, Missouri this summer to see history be made.  The U.S. Olympic Team Trials were held to select the men and women that would represent Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 


I couldn’t leave St. Louis without making a quick stop to see the famous Arch where he left a very minor shadow but a huge impression as he was the only purple bat from Texas around.

R.B. Explores Portugal

A pal of mine took me along on his recent travel to Portugal.  My favorite building was the Palace of Raio built in the 1750s.  The Azulejo tiles covering the facade are a typical sight around Portugal. The intense blue color combined with the Baroque style of the building was particularly appealing and made a great photo-op, don’t ya think?

While walking around Braga,  we stumbled upon a colorful sea of flowers in what is called the Garden of Santa Barbara. I just had to inhale and take it all in.  Life is beautiful.

Braga doesn’t have a large international airport so we took the train to Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, to catch a flight home. During the train ride, I took in as much of the views as I could while the train reached 135 mph during some of the ride. Choo choo!

I love flying and having the chance to spread my wings but when having to travel across an ocean, I prefer doing it by airplane and let someone else do the flying.

 

R.B. Takes on LA

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Recently, I took a spontaneous trip to Los Angeles with my friend Karissa! Immediately landing in LA was everything we thought it would be! Naturally, we had to take some awesome pictures in front of the LAX sign. It only counts if you get a selfie.
After settling into our Air B&B in downtown LA, we headed out to explore the city with our longtime friend Jay. He took us to try out the local food, a quick swim at Venice Beach, and then we ended our day at the famous Hollywood Sign. We were having so much fun we forgot to snap a photo!
Fear not, we had such an awesome time the first day that we were up bright and early to explore. This time we made sure not to forget the camera. Day two was full of laughter, sweet treats, and a trip to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I also got to take a few candid photos with the Selena and Michael Jackson stars. What an experience!
It’s true when they say time flies when you are having a blast! Our last day came all too soon but we spent it exploring little Tokyo and stumbling upon a hidden macaroon bakery. We may or may not have taken a few for the road.
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R.B. Visits the Big Apple

r.b. train station
My friend Alanna invited me to visit her family in New York this summer. As a city bat, how could I resist?!!
As soon as we got off the train, I stretched my wings and flew a few laps around Grand Central station. Built in 1913, the station is renowned for its architecture and ceiling artwork of constellations and the night sky. It was a marvel to see it up close! Later in the day, we stopped by Union Square for some Polish food and visited the Hayden Planetarium in the evening to learn about dark matter from none other than Neil deGrasse Tyson!
Later in the week, we explored the Bronx. Alanna took me for a stroll in the New York Botanical Gardens where they had an art exhibit of work from famous botanical painter Georgia O’Keeffe. Her paintings of Hawaiian flora had me dreaming about island life, but the New York Botanical rose garden and arboretum were a short walk away and just as lovely.
I had so much fun exploring NYC, both above on the streets and below on the subways. I learned a lot and was exposed to so many cultures in just a few days. I can’t wait to go back and get another hot dog!
r.b. in front of museum

R.B. goes to Portland, OR!

Caught a flight to Portland, OR to meet up with my friend, Halie. I already felt pretty adjusted to the cooler temperature due to our current Texas winter, so being outside was a treat! Our first outing was meeting up with a group of her friends to hike at Macleay Park. We watched our friends run through the 1930’s Stone House built on the trail until a snowball came our way! Our friend group broke out into a snowball fight – it was so much fun slipping and sliding everywhere.
Later that day, we warmed up in the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) to see Dark Universe in the planetarium. It was almost too easy to get lost in space in this showing of space exploration, plus there’s no better tour guide than Neil deGrasse Tyson!
The next day our friends took us out to Latourell Falls. The weather was a little drizzly which left for a nice misty view to the majestic path. We climbed all the way to the top of the waterfall AND behind it! Gosh, the wind behind the waterfall was so strong and the volcanic rocks were almost a little too slippery to walk on, but we did it! We played around and explored the waterfall until the water from the drizzle turned into tiny ice pieces! We hopped into the car with our friends and rode to the grocery store to get ingredients for a pizza party! Our friends made the most delicious pizzas for the cold weather.
We ended the night at a reveal party of Atifact’s Spring Photoshoot – it’s a very cool, sustainably driven, design store.
Before our plane ride back home, our friends took us to the historic, Burnside Skatepark to push around a bit. Such an action-packed trip, we couldn’t have had a better time!

portland falls
RB artifact