The Streets and Windows of Avignon

“Still round the corner, there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.” – J.R.R. Tolkien ____________________ I am sharing this as part of Ludwig’s Monday Windows Challenge ____________________ Avignon in France makes a wonderful day trip destination, which really is a combination of the young urban vibe and medieval, old town settings. Today,…

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…

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…

Pisa

“Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” – Peter Hoeg About 3 hours bus ride from Rome is a place that has one of the most impressive squares in the world… Pisa, located in the Italian region of Tuscany. Our coach took us to a parking lot where we took a fun ride on a…

Churches in Rome

Some ruins of ancient times are much more beautiful than the best buildings of modern eras! — Mehmet Murat Ildan Rome has around 900 churches so it is really the best place in the world to visit some of these wonderful churches. Aside from the Papal Basilica of St Peter, here is a small church…

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…

Gondola Ride…

“Venice never quite seems real, but rather an ornate film set suspended on the water.” – unknown You can never travel to Venice and not go on a gondola ride. It may be very “touristy” or maybe too expensive…but a gondola ride is quintessential to Venice. Some people in our tour group didn’t want to…

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…

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…

Geometry in Melbourne

“I think the universe is pure geometry basically, a beautiful shape twisting around and dancing over space-time.” – Antony Garrett Lisi The definition of geometry is a branch of math that focuses on the measurement and relationship of lines, angles, surfaces, solids and points. Buildings in Melbourne using angles and lines. This is a modern…

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…

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…

Melbourne’s Short, Sharp Lockdown

“We’re all just passing time and occupy our chair very briefly.” – John Hurt From midnight tonight up to midnight Wednesday Victoria is back to Stage 4 Restrictions Lockdown. As tough and as challenging as it is, Victoria Premier Dan Andrews announced that we are doing this to prevent a third wave. This is the…