Italy trip 2007 part 3

Pompeii

For those who read the Qur'an,the Pompeii has been mentioned in the Qur'an. It was a city which had crossed over all types of sins e.g. the numerous brothels existed around the city. The people of Pompeii were defiant in their ways and were not willing to change. Allah decided to destroy the city by sending a volcanic eruption from Mount Vesuvius which destroyed the whole city in an instant.

Some of the people were too stuck in their ways that they didn't even have the chance to flee and were buried in the hot, burning lava from the volcano.

I wanted to visit Pompeii to see for myself what this city looked like. It is a massive area..and as I was doing a day trip I was not able to cover the whole area. It was interesting to see all the artefacts and there is still ongoing excavation work going on as more artefacts and buildings are found related to this once lost city.......
I've updated my photo album so click on the link to see more of the pics from Italy :)

Italy Trip 2007 part 2

Firenze trip

My cousin and I went for a day trip to Firenze (Florence) which is famous for its leather goods.
It was quite cold but I didn't mind because of the clear skies and the magnificient views.

We visited the Twin Dome church which I found the mosaic architecture fascinating. Firenze is quite a small town so it was easily accessible by foot. We walked around the town..it may not have as much museums or ancient sites to visit but it is definitely one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities I've been. We visited the jewellery shops which were amazing..very tempting to buy... ;p Also visited the leather market....I got some really nice souvenirs and some for moi too...hehehe...





It was also my first time experiencing drinking coffee Italian-style standing up at the counter at the coffee bars...it was pretty cool followed by gelati (yoghurt ice cream which was just yummy!)
Tips:
Communication is a slight problem if you can't speak italian. Luckily I had my cousin with me..but I would recommend that if you ever want to book rail tickets..either buy it from the fast ticket machines which is in English or book online in advance.
The journey takes about 1.5hrs by Eurostar and 3.5hrs by the normal Trenitalia trains..in order to utilise the full day trip in Firenze I'd recommend spending a bit extra on the Eurostar or staying overnight in order to fully enjoy the atmosphere in Firenze..it's such a beautiful place especially along the river......

Italy Trip 2007 part 1

The year 2006 has been a turbulent year for me with its fair share of ups and downs. I had decided a few months ago since I wasn't going back to Malaysia during the Xmas break, I wanted to get away for a break outside London. Since my Uncle and Aunty in Italy kindly offered me to come and visit Italy ..I thought to myself ...why not??!!

So last month I had booked myself a flight to Rome....In my previous travelling trips I have always had friends/family travelling with me so this was my first time travelling on my own to a foreign country...felt weird not having someone to travel with but it was kinda exciting at the same time. This trip was an opportunity for me to have some time to think about myself and think about the way forward for me in the year ahead ..I guess you could say it was a "trip for reflection".

On my first day in Rome, the sun was shining ..perfect start to the break. On the first day my Aunty showed me the main attractions around Rome which I had later revisited later on in the week.

Highlights in Rome: Since there was just too many places to write about I'll highlight the places which I found most fascinating on the trip.

a) Vatican City



I went to the Vatican Museum on New Year's Eve.. as it was the last Sunday of the month the queues were even longer than usual. I arrived at Vatican City at 9am and by then the queue to the Museum had stretched all the way to St Peter's Basilica. I didn't get into the Museum until 12.30pm but it was definitely worth the wait. This museum is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen.

The paintings were breathtaking..my personal favourite room was the "Maps room"- the artwork on the ceiling were absolutely amazing as you walk into the room. Although the maps may not have the exact dimensions and area of various areas around Italy totally accurate the details and colours of the artwork were so beautiful..the exact calculations and dimensions didn't really matter.

The tour around the Museum ended with a visit to the Sistine Chapel: which focused on Jesus's Resurrection. There were too many people enclosed in the Sistine chapel area at one point in time which made it difficult to fully appreciate the magnitude and size of the paintings in the chapel.










b)St Peter's Basilica

I wanted to go in the St Peters Basilica to climb up the stairs in order to see the view from the top but St Peter's Basilica was closed for the public on New Year's Eve in order to prepare for the Sunday night mass.

I managed however to take some pics of the square at night which was amazing.






























c) Colloseum

Due to time constraints, I didn't go inside the Colloseum but the view of the Colloseum as dusk approached was a perfect setting to take pics as parts of the Colloseum had the sun shining on it.
I wanted to have a look at the Roman ruins beside the Colloseum but we arrived too late to enter the area as it closed early due to the winter time.

d) Villa Borghese

This is my favourite place in Rome.....the park was originally owned by one of the high class families in Italy called the Borghese family. Due to financial problems the park was given back to the Italian State which allowed the general public access to the park.

The park is absolutely massive, I think it might be double the size of Hyde Park ..if not more....
Even though it was wintertime there was still plenty to see..with the high rise trees, the changing colour of the leaves, the various sculptures spread all around the park and just being able to just take a few moments to reflect.


As I reached the top end of the park you can see a view of Piazza de Popolo from above.

















Useful tips:
1. If you're gonna be touring round Rome I'd recommend having a good pair of walking shoes and a good street map because there is a lot to cover and everything is easily accessible by foot.
You can also buy a daily travelcard which costs 4 EUROS or a metrobus ticket (biglietti) for 1 EURO allows you to travel on buses and 1 metro trip valid for 75 minutes.

2. Unfortunately there aren't many public toilets available in the city ..so be prepared!
There are certain public toilets in the main rail station Roma Termini, most of the fast food chains like McDonalds and the coffee bars but be prepared for the long queues...

3. When walking around Rome beware crossing the roads cuz sometimes vehicles don't tend to stop for us pedestrians at the crossing.

Part 2 will continue in my next post........... :)

Year 2007..here we go!!!!

'Ello peeps...
Came back from Italy last night so haven't had a chance to update my blog just yet..
I wanna share this message my friend sent me to celebrate the year 2007...:)


"This is a toast to us, gorgeous ladies for 2007!
For the men who have us
The losers who had us
And the lucky guys who have yet to meet us... :p
Have a wonderful year ahead babes and stay gorgeous"

Happy New Year everyone!!


I'll update my trip to italy soon.....