EuroTrip Part1 -Italy (Rome,Vatican,Pisa and Florence)

I'm sure you have heard the song "Billionaire" ofTravie McCoy with Bruno Mars. I am not superstitious but this song has been the new year song in our house. New year song means we keep on listening this song to make some noise as we anticipate the coming of 2011. On the chorus which goes something like .
Oh every time I close my eyes
I see my name in shining lights
A different city every night oh
I swear the world better prepare
For when I’m a billionaire

It got into my mind like what if everynight you are on different city. That must be awesome.Certainly I'm not yet a billionaire.Who knows just kidding.  But I got to experience traveling Europe on tour and going different cities every night.


It was a two weeks vacation prebooked last February on NATAS fare . Since this will be our first time in Europe we have joined  a tour. Other than iterinary along the way we have a lot fun and enjoyable optional  or side trips. 

Vatican St Peter 's Square

We took  a morning trip to Vatican City and visited  St Peter’s Basilica, the most famous church in the Christian world.  Next, we visited the Colosseum, originally known as Flavian Amphitheater, where ancient gladiators fought for the public’s entertainment. In the afternoon, we stopped over to the beautiful Trevi Fountain before visiting Spanish Steps.   Made some wish *wink* . Then we visited Spanish steps is very near  Via Condotti, one of  Rome’s most elegant shopping streets.

St Peters Basilica

Bridge on our way to Vatican

Colosseum

Spanish Steps

 Next day we headed down to  to Pisa . I admired the Cathedral, Baptistery and the world–renowned Leaning Tower at Campo Dei Mirocoli, also known as Field of Miracles. 

Cathedral, Baptistery

Leaning Tower

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Campo Dei Mirocoli,

After an hour and half we travelled to Florence and upon arrival,proceeded  to Gentlemen Square and Ponte Vecchio before stopping at Peruzzi, one of Florence’s largest department stores, to shop for leather goods and designer fashion.  Florence is the place where the renaissance started. I enjoyed the place itself. Some people say its photographers heaven. It has been the birthplace or chosen home of many notable historical figures, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello and  Galileo Galilei.Also the birth place of fashio icons Guccio Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo and Roberto Cavalli.

View on our way to Florence



Florence Cathedral

Equestrian statue of Cosimo  in Piazza della Signoria




The Head of Neptune @ Fountain of Neptune, also known as "il Biancone"
 (the big white one) by Bartolomeo Ammannati, the first Florence public fountain.        

 


Arno River near Ponte Vecchio

The best gelato ice cream !

Cars are perfectly cute just like Mr. Beans' car.

Bells with wooden holder are sold as souvenier. I collect bells in all countries I visited so I got one!

The magnificient view of Florence.

Replica of "David" an artwork of MichaelAngelo.

Pinnochio on a bike.
The Adventures of Pinocchio  writer Carlo Collodi was born  in Florence Italy.      
There is a souvenier shop in Florence making wood carving items. 



Tuscany dinner! Yay!




Truly indeed! Various work of renowned artist  like Michael Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci can actually be seen. I just learned the famous scientist Galileo Galilee the man behind gravity , telescope was  once lived in Florence. There is actually a museum in Florence dedicated for the works of Galileo ,same place where he lived. Finally on dinner I enjoyed the sumptuous  Tuscan dinner. Great food!

To be continued.....

Top 10 Last 2010

Several months I did not blog . But I have my own journal and FB that can actually guide me to recall my travel diary of 2010. Living in Singapore gives us an opportunity to travel in nearby best Asian destination. I will not be including Singapore on my list but I will definitely blog something about this country and what to watch out for. If you are residing in Singapore these are top o f the list nearby places you would have to go .  

1.       Batam Indonesia -  45 minutes by ferry ride from Singapore. You have to expect sea, nature and relaxation.

This is haven for seafood lovers ,sea and just chilling out in the resorts away from city life.

We visited few places like biggest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia and mini exhibit of various Indonesian houses.

Inside the window of the biggest buddhist temple in Southest Asia

Inside the Buddhist temple :Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya

2.       Bintan Indonesia  -50 minutes ferry ride from Singapore. We have stayed in Nirwana Bintan resorts with beautiful infinite pool. The resorts itself offers a lot of activities which are fun to enjoy and spend weekend right. Take note that items on Bintan were expensive compare to Batam likely because its commercialized.

Nirwana Bintan Resort

 3.       Phuket Thailand , early bird flight with Tiger Airways. This is memorable because we almost missed our flight.

Phuket ooh Phuket white sand beach, people and party. My favorate in Phuket is the great Thai Massage. Perfect 10! . We have booked a ticket to watched Phuket Fantasy at Kamala area and see how the huge elephants perform on stage. It was a great experience . There were plenty of foreigners in Phuket hotel rates vary from each location, Kata and Patong are among crowds favourite with white sand beach and ideal for surfers. But sadly we don’t surf. We actually joined a tour around Phuket we went to different islands including classic James Bond movies were shot.  What can I say there are so many things to expect in Phuket.



Cave near James Bond Island



4.       Macau – sounds like wow Macau!  I love Macau because of its weather we went there December just after Christmas.  The place is beautiful but I did not try Casino. I am in to photography so December is a colourful month. I just can’t help fall in love with the place. We had our first Gondola ride at Venetian resorts. Macau is a must see place during holidays.

Gondola ride and she sings very well.

5.       HongKong – Near Macau is HK . Normally you enter HK then go to Macau but we did the other way. Hong Kong is a shopping get away and of Disney land should not be missed. Other than shopping we actually meet my cousin who works there. It’s small ,pretty compact but you won’t sweat at  winter time. People are fashionable and they get to wear different season’s outfit. Surely, a country that can be visited many times.

6.       Coron (Busuanga Palawan) Philippines. Clear water, perfect for water sports and scuba diving. This is the place of the Philippines we can be proud of. I ‘ve been to Phuket but I don’t want to bias but I prefer Coron’s perfect white sand. We have a boat ride from town to get into Coral Bay Resort.  Relaxation , fun and comfort living simply not because I’m also Filipino but the place itself is magnificient. Perfect nature get-away. We stayed in Coral Bay Resort  the place is ideal for those people who wants nature and nothing but relaxation. This place inspired to have my own resort someday. It’s quite, serene and loaded with interesting activities you can go kayak on your own , snorkelling , trekking  and  diving. They have cool instructor for first time divers. The food being served are great as its include fresh fish  and salad. This is an Island at night there is a curfew on light. Pretty that island used generator and during morning you can charge up your phones, camera and other gadgets you don’t want to missed.  If you want nature and experience simple life with enjoyment then Coron is the place to be.

Coral Bay Resort

Wow great food!

7.       Kota Kinabalu Malaysia . Expect mountain and resort living. We didn’t actually hike the mountain. This vacation was supposed to be photo shoot session but ended up enjoyment on the resort. We stayed in Beringgis resort  and we actually arrived on day of my birthday. Within the resort is a beach and a pool site. This is ideal for birthday party. Next time , probably we will try to climb Mt. Kinabalu  to enjoy the beauty of this place.

Sunset at Kota Kinabalu.

Beringgis Resort

 8.       Johor Malaysia  the first place I step in Malaysia. This is where we actually watch movies I guess because cheaper than Singapore . I guess I haven’t explore this place yet  but they have  a lot of seafood buffet restaurant at very reasonable prices. Ideal for group bonding like paint ball and buying commodities at reasonable prices at Jusco Mall.

9.       Melaka Malaysia . A very historical place and named as one of UNESCO heritage site.  The place brings back a lot of memories of the past  . There is lot of night life on this place and I'm looking forward for that until we visit our friend again.



A coudn't write much about the place but see the smiles on our face - we definitely enjoyed it!



10.   Taipei Taiwan , This was my nth time going  here. I was stationed at Hsinchu for business trip but on weekend i had chance to go Taipei with friends. We have visited  Taipei 101 and nearby museums with landmark places . Flora Expo was the events when I was there. Did I say I am nature lover and I love flowers so much.  Taiwan got perfect windy weather you won’t get tired walking  around. This is great when you are with girl buddies , you can shop, stop, eat and chat. I love the weather in Taipei. There is hot spring near Taipei I will surely visit the place next time I go there.

Memorial landmark in Taipei

Taipei 101

 Check out above some of the thousand photos  I got during the those trips .  I just realized that Zairah is my frequent travel buddy in 2010 .  Thank you for reading.



Better Late Than Never

Hi Everyone! Now , I’m redesigning my page. 

Why late? I have been busy for previous months with work.

Loaded with a lot of work stuffs, family events and finally because of our vacation in Europe.

So what’s the plan? First , add in my first blog spot account as a link . Then, fill in 3 subcategories which are Photography, Home is fun (includes cooking recipe I personally made) and finally Travel Buddy!

I will start doing this later at lunch break J.