“Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret”– Oscar Wilde Toledo is one of the oldest and most unique cities in Spain and is the former Spanish capital before Madrid. It stands beautifully high up on a hill above the Tagus River and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. From the Mirador del Valle, you…
Category: TRAVEL DIARY
Art in Barcelona
We crossed spacious streets, with building resembling palaces, in La Rambla promenade ; the shops were well illuminated and there was movement and life… I did not decide to go to sleep, even though I wished to, so I could rise early and contemplate, in daylight, this city, unknown to me: Barcelona, capital of Catalonia….
La Cite de Carcassonne
La Cité in Carcassonne, located in southern France, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the whole country. Millions of visitors come every year to this huge fortified city on a hilltop. From afar, this medieval fort looks like something out of a children’s story book. This castle was decided to be preserved…
The Palace of the Popes
“It doesn’t matter where you are. You are nowhere compared to where you can go.” – Bob Proctor On our way to Avignon… The walls of Avignon are a series of defensive stone walls that surround the city in the south of France. They were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their…
The Splendour of Monaco
“I avoid looking back. I prefer good memories to regrets.” – Grace Kelly Monaco is one of the world’s smallest country (second only to the Vatican). And so as not to be confused, Monaco is very small but essentially has everything that is expected of a regular country and Monte Carlo is a neighborhood inside…
Another day in Florence
“Stand on a bridge over the Arno River several times in a day and the light, mood and view change every time. Firenze is magnetic, romantic and busy. Its urban fabric has hardly changed since the Renaissance and its narrow streets evoke thousand tales.” – Lonely Planet Our first day in Florence was very hectic…
The Streets of Florence
“Florence is one of those cities that most of us want to experience at least once (but most likely hundreds of times)!” – unknown Florence, as foreigners and tourists call this city, is known to locals as Firenze. Previously, it was called Florentia in Latin, then Fiorenza in Old Italian. Here is the Florence skyline from…
Rome on a Rainy Day
“It does not usually rain in Rome, which makes a wet day somewhat of a special occasion.” – unknown While planning on this trip, we didn’t even have a clue that these two iconic Roman buildings, the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine, are just standing quite near each other. The first time we found…
Vatican City
“Church is who we are not where we go.” Author unknown Vatican City is the world’s smallest fully independent nation-state. It is home of the Pope and is known for the Sistine Chapel, the St Peter’s Basilica, the St Peter’s Square and the Vatican Museum. We were dropped off by our tour bus outside the…
Rome at Night
“Italy will never be a normal country, because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice.” – Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of Italy… __________________________________🚞🚎🚗🚃🛫🚠 Travelling to Rome when it was nearly night time gave it a feeling of…
Assisi
”A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” – Francis of Assisi __________________________________🚞🚎🚗🚃🛫🚠 Travelling from Burano to Assisi, the scenery was simply breathtaking. Glad we were awake the whole time to experience it all. Please click image to enlarge. __________________________________🚞🚎🚗🚃🛫🚠 Assisi is a small town in Central Umbria. It is a UNESCO Heritage…
Colourful Burano
“I am a believer that colors affects people’s moods.” – Lily Pulitzer __________________________________🚞🚎🚗🚃🛫🚠 On the Road from Venice to Burano… Burano is just a day trip away from Venice on a vaporetto. It takes about half an hour travelling time between the two islands. This is what can be seen along the way. Please click…
Venice …Breathtaking by Day
“It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the feeling of a city like Venice, where everything is just beautiful colour and gorgeous buildings that are so peaceful. You can roam around and get lost in the labyrinth.” – Nanette Lepore Oh Venice… who wouldn’t fall in love with you! It is a…
Venice … Magnificent at Night
“In the glare of the day, there is little poetry about Venice, but under the charitable moon, her stained palaces are white again.” – Mark Twain We had a full day in Verona… so some decided to just stay in their hotels to rest. But the day wasn’t over yet for those who opted for…
A Glimpse of Verona
With the limited time that we had, it was a surprise that we were even able to see quite a bit of Verona First thing that we saw as we alighted from our coach was the Resurrecturis, a beautiful neoclassical architecture. Later on did I find out that this was the main entrance to the…
The Serenity of Lake Lugano
“Stay close to the serenity of a lake to meet your own peace of mind.” – Munia Khan __________________________________🚞🚎🚗🚃🛫🚠 It was very early and we were on our way to Lugano. Such refreshing scenery to start the day. Please click image to enlarge. __________________________________🚞🚎🚗🚃🛫🚠 Lugano, Switzerland is also called “Monte Carlo of Switzerland” because of…
Mt Titlis
”The snow is sparkling like a million little suns.” – Lama Willa __________________________________🚞🚎🚗🚃🛫🚠 Back on the road … Lucerne is so close to the Swiss Alps (about 30 minutes or so) so it’s not surprising that the tour passed by Mount Titlis, which is the highest mountain in central Switzerland.Even just seeing the view from…
Lucerne
“Visiting Lucerne is like going to Disneyland: You can’t imagine that it is real because it looks like a movie lot.” – Brad Thor Switzerland was one of my dream destination since when I was younger … and this was all coming true now. So you can just imagine how excited we were…. Will it…
Next Stop-Rhineland…Heidelberg
Start of the Day This was a usual day. We woke up at 6:30, breakfast at 7:15 then placed our luggage in front of our room door. We were talking to the other people from our tour when all of a sudden there was commotion. 2 boys from our tour group plus the driver of…
Amsterdam and its Canals
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventure we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru Amsterdam has so much beauty… its bridges, its canals, its streets, its cafes, its skewed houses… Please click image…
First Stop…Netherlands
“Think of the beauty that is still left all around you and be happy.” – Anne Frank But …going with a group with about 20 or more individuals isn’t easy … there will always be clash of characters as you will learn later on in this blog. First stop over is in The Hague, Netherlands….
Get On that Ferry…
Please click image to enlarge. Little did we know that a few minutes after we landed on the port… an unfortunate thing was going to happened. From the waiting room, all the members of the different tour groups were told to meet up with their respective Tour Director so we all had to leave the…
Goodbye London
“Still round the corner, there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.” – J. R. R. Tolkien Walked around and we saw some architecture that is really so Londonish. Is there even such a word? Passed by the Shard which looks so amazing when seen in close up. You cannot miss this building,…
London – Day 2
“In London, everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in.” – Paddington Bear Day two and feeling refreshed after a restful sleep. From the Hammersmith Station we took the Piccadilly Line to Leicester Square Station. We didnt take this London Sightseeing Bus and we didn’t go to the casino…just some photo op. And…
Walking the Streets of London
“Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul.” After a gruelling flight from Melbourne to Manila then an overnight stay there, followed by a 14 hour direct flight from Manila to Heathrow then about an hour train ride from Heathrow, Jack and I arrived in Hammersmith Station, London at about 9 pm. Oh gosh, we…
Our first grand European Holiday
“Work. Save. Travel. Repeat.” I come from humble beginnings so going on overseas holidays is not a regular thing for me. So my life is exactly just that quote above. After my Asian travel in 2012, going on a big European tour took a lot of determination and a lot of savings on our part….
An Overnight Stay in Bohol
“Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” Since we were already in Cebu, Jack and I decided to take an overnight trip to Bohol. From Cebu, we took the SuperCat ferry to Tagbilaran City, the capital city of Bohol. (Please click image to enlarge) One of the most fun and most popular destinations in…
Macau – Wonderful Mix of Cultures
“Hong Kong and Macau are both very dynamic cities. I am always inspired about the culture, people and food in these two cities. There is always so much to do and so much to explore!” – David Beckham My husband and I weren’t feeling well when we left Hong Kong but felt so much better…
Hongkong – a City of Contrasts
“It is better to travel well than to arrive.” – Buddha It is fun travelling especially if you are with family. Year 2012, Jack and I went to Hongkong with my sister, Pilar and my niece, Pam and my nephew, Ram. Another thing which made it more enjoyable is, I wasn’t the one doing all…