When In Rome

Rome is one classical destinations along with places like Paris, Venice and New York City in my opinion. Getting around in Rome was not that difficult. The inner city of Rome is not that big so it is possible to cover a lot of the city on foot. Rome has an organized Metro system, taking the metro is just as easy as metros in New York and Hong Kong if you know how to read maps.



It is easy to get from one places to anothe like Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) and Colosseum. Just be sure to catch the train in the right direction.



There is a lot of talk about Roman (and Italian) drivers being a bit agressive.But we didn’t have that much trouble when walking around in Rome. In bigger intersections there are traffic lights but remember the green light doesn’t last very long so better keep and eye on the traffic lights because the pedestrians are not the boss around the streets of Rome.



I think most people have heard about the Colosseum (also known as Colosseo) through history lessons or movies (like Gladiator). The “real” name is actually Flavian Amphitheater (due to the Flavian emperors at the time) but it was later called Colosseo due to a colossal statue of Nero which was located at the amphitheater in ancient times. Well, the rest is history I guess.



As most of you know the Colosseum became home to gladiator fights, exotic animals fighting etc. But over the years this beautiful building declined due to earthquakes.



Some say that it is a bit of an anti-climax to come inside the Colosseum. Sure, if you expect to see interior like in “Gladiator”. But we knew that there were more ruins waiting for us inside but I still found it spectacular.



Remember to find the stairs and get to the higher lever and enjoy the view.



We started to walk with the Arch of Constantine which is located right next to the Colosseum then walked again to the Forum which is the heart of ancient Rome. I will not go into details about the ruins that you find in the Forum because I know you'll get bored.





It didn’t take us long to get on the track of the Pantheon.The area around the Pantheon is buzzing with life.Along the edges of the piazza there are restaurants and coffee shops.









Rome has an amazing amount of fountains and one of the most famous one is the Trevi fountain. If you've seen the crappy movie When in Rome, this is where Kristine Bell stole the coin. I think most people will understand why it is so popular when they get there because it is huge and beautiful.



The only problem is of course that every other tourist in Rome seems to be there and it was too crowded The legend has it that if you throw a coin into this fountain it guarantees your return to Rome…hmmm, I have to admit that I never got around to that but I do hope that I will return to Rome one day. The Trevi fountain is well worth a visit but remember that it will probably be quite crowded so it is hard to take good pictures of the place.



Piazza Navona...the shape of the piazza is long and thin and this is due to the fact that it is built on the ground of an old circus…Circus Domitianus.



The piazza was very lively as it has lots of restaurants along the edges and there were lots of people trying to sell everything from blinking flying saucers to fake brand name hand bags.





In the middle of the piazza you will find the most spectacular of the fountains in the piazza: Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (fountain of the 4 rivers) designed by Bernini. According to the guidebook the 4 giants represents the great rivers of the time (Ganges, Danube, Nile and River Plate).





Piazza di Spagna or the Spanish Steps is so crowded. After walking through some of Rome it was nice to sit down on the steps (even if the stone was quite warm from the blazing sun) and relax and look at all the people. I’m not sure if I would call the Spanish steps a disappointment but if you are only in Rome for a short period of time then it shouldn’t be at the top of the list. As with the other main attractions in Rome it was of course quite crowded and it was even hard to see the fountain at the bottom of the steps as there were so many people resting on it.



If you want to get some shopping done you can try the area around the Spanish steps but I guess you have to be prepared to cough up a bit of money beacuse shops here were tad expensive.



I have heard some horror stories from others that have gone to Rome. Pick-pockets, credit card fraud etc are just some of the keywords. So I was of course a bit sceptical before walking in the streets. Actually, I always put my wallet in my front pocket. Like elsewhere, keep an eye on your valuables in crowded places and you should be fine.



Obviously Rome has some world known attractions that had to be visited. I had an amazing stay in the Eternal City and there was so much to see and do. After you have seen all the well known monuments, churches, fountain, piazzas etc there is still a lot more to see.





And if you get tired along the way there are plenty of places where you can relax, enjoy the fantastic Italian cuisine, the excellent Italian gelato or drink some good coffee.





Have a meaningful Christmas everyone! Be thankful and grateful for all your blessings!

Read More......

Venice, Italy

Isa sa mga pinapangarap kung puntahan bukod sa Paris, ay ang Venice. Sobra akong namangha sa lugar matapos kong mapanood ang The Italian Job at The Tourist (kung saan naging instant crush ko sa Angelina Jolie, sobrang ganda niya kasi dito).



Sabi nila ibaba ko raw ang expectation ko pag pumunta ako dito para di ako ma- disappoint. Madumi. Madaming Tao. Mabaho. Mahal ang mga bilihin. Pero sa totoo lang, wala akong reklamo. Hindi naman ako disappointed, kasi matagal akong naghintay na makarating dito. Maganda pa rin ang Venice. May kakaibang aura yung lugar. Para bang magic! Visually charming! Kaya sobra akong nag-enjoy sa pagkuha ng mga litrato.



Pagbaba ng Italy, kinailangan naming sumakay sa isang water taxi o di kaya water bus, ito yung parang super cat kung nakapunta na kayo sa Puerto Galera alam niyo ang sinasabi ko. Ang Venice kasi ay parang island, parang Boracay lang pero technically, maraming maliliit na island ang Venice at isa sa mga island na yun ay connected sa isang bridge papuntang mainland Italy. Pero ang the best way na papunta dun ay mga sasakyang pandagat. Ang gulo lang ng explanation ko! Hahaha!



Isa lang ang naging problema ko sa lugar na ito, madali kang maligaw. Kahit na may mapa ako, hindi ko ito nagamit kasi ang daming narrow streets, alleys at footbridges. Malilito ka lang.



Pero simple lang ang solusyon dito, may tatlong key spots para di ka maligaw. Ito ang San Marco, Accademia at Rialto. Kung pabalik ka ng St. Mark Square, i- follow mo lang yung sign na San Marco. Halos lahat kasi ng sign sa alley ay yung tatlong yan. Di mo yan mami- miss kasi may yellow arrow na nakapinta sa mga walls ng building.



So pag pumunta kayo ng Venice, ito ang kailangan na gawin niyo: kumain ng gelato, sumakay sa gondola at kumain ulit ng pizza at pasta!


Interesting facts about Venice:


Venice really is built on water


Standard hours for shops are 9am to 12:30pm and 3 to 7:30pm Monday to Saturday. In winter, shops are closed on Monday morning, while in summer it's usually Saturday afternoon.


Restaurants are required to close at least 1 day a week and it's called il giorno di riposo.


Venice's patron saint, San Marco (St. Mark), is honored on April 25.


Over 15 million tourists visit Venice each year.


May, June, September, and early October are the best months with respect to weather to visit (and the most crowded). July and August are hot -- at times, unbearably so. April and late October/early November are hit-or-miss; it can be either glorious or cool and rainy.


Venice has around 150 canals connected by 409 bridges, and over 3000 alleyways on the 117 islands. Basically every time you see a bridge it is connecting two islands.


The city is packed full of little stores in every corner and crevice. The most common local specialties are Carnival masks, glass and marbled paper.


Venice has no sewer system; household waste flows into the canals and is washed out into the ocean twice a day with the tides.


Gondolas are hand made using 8 different types of wood (fir, oak, cherry, walnut, elm, mahogany, larch and lime) and are composed of 280 pieces. The oars are made of beech wood and the left side of the gondola is made longer than the right side to counterbalance the weight of the gondolier.


A “calle” is a street, a “compo” is a square and there is only one compo large enough to be called a piazza in Venice – San Marco Piazza.


The canals are the roads of this city. Either you walk to where you need to go or you ride on the water.


There is a railway line and an automobile passage but not directly in the city itself. It is the one place in Europe that can be considered to be free of cars and the most environmentally friendly town.


Not many of us might know that Venice is slowly sinking. Reports say that the city has sunk by about seven centimeters a century for the past 1000 years, and has subsided over 24 centimeters in the past century alone.


The Venetian buildings are constructed on closely spaced wood piles. The wood piles penetrate the soft layer of sand/mud, and rest upon the solid compressed clay that underlied the lagoon islands. The foundation lies on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these.


Famous people associated with Venice include Titian, Tintoretto, Marco Polo and Vivaldi.


The word ciao, originally from Venetian language, was adopted by Italians and later entered the English vocabulary where it is mostly used as goodbye.


The famous Venice Carnival starts around 2 weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday. During the carnival, Venetians and visitors alike dress up in the oddest of ways. Some of the highlights include mask parade in St.Marks Square, gondola/boat parades along Grand Canal and grand fireworks show on the final day.


Venice Film festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world. Started in 1932, the festival has since taken place every year in the Venetian island Lido, during late August or early September. The main awards are Golden Lion for the best film and Volpi cup for the best actor.


Venice is safe, while there is not much night life, some watering holes do stay open till late at night. But take care, noise nuisance is something the locals take very seriously.


A 40-minute gondola ride should cost 80 euros for a maximum of 6 people. For each additional 20 minutes it costs 40 euros on top of that. Evening gondola rides after 7pm cost 100 euros for 40 minutes and 50 euros for every additional 20 minutes.


Many Venice residents need a boat to work. 1 in 2 families possess a pleasure boat.


Venice is the only European city (and one of the few in the world) to have its public transport entirely on the water.


The historic city centre of Venice is divided into six quarters (sestieri) – Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, San Marco, San Polo and Santa Croce.


If you want to travel to Venice, there are several options: By car, plane, boat and train.


If by car, Venice can be reached from Germany, Austria or Switzerland via the Tauern motorway or the St. Gotthard tunnel. The motorways in Austria, Switzerland and Italy, however, are subject to a fee. In Austria and Switzerland you need a vignette; in Italy the fee is paid directly at the motorway toll stations. In the summer months you should plan a much longer journey timeas the motorways are heavily congested due to the many tourists, especially on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Generally speaking, travelling to Venice by car is not advisable as Venice is car free and you have to pay a lot of money when parking in one of the many car parks outside the city.


If by plain, Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is about 13 miles northeast of Venice; it is connected by regular flights with most European cities. Yellow line buses and blue airport buses run regularly between the airport and Venice. The journey takes about 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can also take a water taxi and line boats to reach the lagoon city. The journey lasts a little longer but leads directly to Saint Mark’s Square, or indeed wherever you want to go should you take an expensive water taxi.


If by train, The Santa Lucia train station is situated at the northern end of the Canale Grande. From here you can get to anywhere in the city both on foot and with the different boat operators. By the way, at the station there is a luggage storage service – transport to the hotel can be organised by a private carrier service at fixed prices. You can also purchase tickets for the boats directly at the train station.


and if by boat,Venice is connected to all major ports of the Adriatic Sea. Cruise ships and liners also enter the port of Venice.


Crime, especially violent crime, is virtually non-existent in Venice.


Many of Venice’s grand buildings are vacant or run down – they are simply too expensive to maintain. There are also strict laws as to what redecoration and restoration can be carried out to the buildings, especially those fronting the Grand Canal.


UNESCO has listed Venice and its lagoon as world heritage sites.


According to some estimates, there are more pigeons in Venice than people as is evident from the view at St. Mark's Square.


Gondolas are painted black in Venice, as there had previously been a law, stating them to be specifically painted in that color.


The amount of effort the gondolier uses to row the gondola with passengers is just as much as it takes while walking at the same speed.


Of course, pang finale yung request ni Kuya Bob at Gillboard. Sorry hindi ko kayang i-post yung walang takip, kasi wholesome yung blog ko. Hahaha! PM na lang. Joke!

Read More......