hopefully for 1month!
i really want to continue with part 2 of the euro trip post.
i'll try to find the time and motivation to do it!
exactly 1 more month to my birthday.
Happy nights!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Euro Trip
It was really a well spent 10 days over there. We flew off to Venice first, stayed for 2nights then took the train down to Rome, stayed for 3 nights, then train down to Florence, stayed for another 3 nights and back to Venice for the last 2 nights. We also went up to Pisa during our stay in Florence since it was only an hour ride away. You might have guessed it, the leaning tower was the only reason for going there.
All of the research and planning we did was extremely beneficial and valuable. Not too bad for us 1st timers! My greatest concern prior to the trip was our accommodation. I believe many would agree that a lousy lodging alone would be enough to ruin the whole trip. The 3 hostels we booked online was purely based on other user's review. My cousin, whom has been extremely helpful, gave his opinion when i showed him a few hostels which i short listed. However, due to much procrastination, those places were fully booked when we were about to pay for them. So we had to look at others and trust our own judgement this time round. But all in all, i would safely say that we are incredibly lucky or maybe, born to be travelers because the 3 hostels we booked was really what any back packers would have wanted. There's free breakfast and the environment was decent too. Definitely value for money though we could have gotten better deals if we searched earlier.
I've uploaded a few hundred photos on facebook which was pretty insane and i don't think many will look through every single one of them but i know i will! This was also the first time i used my phone's camera so extensively that the amount of pictures i took totaled up to around 4gb.
So lets look back!
We took the 0140 flight from Singapore to Dubai where we will transit from there to Venice. The journey was around 7 hours long! But luckily, Emirates airline have good entertainment onboard. The refreshments was quite yummy as well.
We thought we could go out of the airport to take a look while waiting for our next flight but apparently, you are not allowed to when u are transiting flights. So we grabbed some starbucks and waited impatiently for the next 3 hours to come
We took bus no.5 from the airport to our hostel which was about 10mins away. We saw the actual pictures of the area we're gonna live in on Google Map so we instantly recognized the place when we alighted.
Breakfast served to your room!
What better way to start the day than to have breakfast at the balcony and enjoy the really cooling weather!
Basically we visited the some of the main attractions in Venice over the 2 days. The more popular ones would be the "Rialto Bridge" and the "Piazza San Marco aka St Mark's Square" which is the main public square in the city where the Doge's Palace, Bell Tower, St Mark's Basilica and other museums can be found!
We decided to opt for the easier travel option which was to take the water bus (6.50euros per person) to St Mark's square. It's possible to walk there which will take around 20-25mins but we felt the need to try taking those boats at least once.
Royal gardens!
Souvenirs galore
Doge Palace and St Mark's Basilica(the one with the Dome) in the background
I think we paid around 5-8euros to go up the Bell tower. The view from the top was amazing
This is the only chinese restaurant we came across. Feels so homely all of a sudden. haha
Some were extremely dodgy while majority of the others were really very "Venice-esque". You can actually find some restaurants hidden in some corner. It's also very tempting to just sit on the steps by the canal and relax.
Imagine having a meal with your friends in such tranquil surrounding. I wouldnt want to leave
Carnival masks are very popular in Venice. There are so many different kinds, each with a meaning behind them! How nice it would be if we get to witness a masquerade party.
When people talk about Italian food, I'm sure the most common ones would be Pasta and Pizza!
and you wouldn't want to miss their Gelato Ice cream. It's so nice and addictive that we had to buy at least 1 every day.
Don't get fooled by the classy looking wines we ordered. It cost us only about 2.50euros! Almost the same price as their mineral water. Amazing!
And lastly, Martina! one of the extremely friendly staff at "Feel Inn"
All of the research and planning we did was extremely beneficial and valuable. Not too bad for us 1st timers! My greatest concern prior to the trip was our accommodation. I believe many would agree that a lousy lodging alone would be enough to ruin the whole trip. The 3 hostels we booked online was purely based on other user's review. My cousin, whom has been extremely helpful, gave his opinion when i showed him a few hostels which i short listed. However, due to much procrastination, those places were fully booked when we were about to pay for them. So we had to look at others and trust our own judgement this time round. But all in all, i would safely say that we are incredibly lucky or maybe, born to be travelers because the 3 hostels we booked was really what any back packers would have wanted. There's free breakfast and the environment was decent too. Definitely value for money though we could have gotten better deals if we searched earlier.
I've uploaded a few hundred photos on facebook which was pretty insane and i don't think many will look through every single one of them but i know i will! This was also the first time i used my phone's camera so extensively that the amount of pictures i took totaled up to around 4gb.
So lets look back!
And after another 5 hours of flight, we landed safely at Venice's Marco Polo Airport! I remembered smiling happily to myself the moment we stepped out of the airport because the weather was extremely cooling even with my jacket on! So we more or less knew how our next 10 days would be like. Awesome! haha. We had to buy bus tickets before boarding the bus. Took us quite awhile to figure that out. We also bought a map and city guide which was absolutely essential and it cost us 2.5Euros. Without the map, i doubt one can find his way back to the bus station when roaming in Venice.
Breakfast served to your room!
What better way to start the day than to have breakfast at the balcony and enjoy the really cooling weather!
I will always remember my reaction the moment i walk up that bridge. The scenery was simply unbelievable. I couldnt believe i'm actually in Venice, and not looking at Google Image. hahaha. We bought our tickets to Rome too. It's 75Euros per person. Most expensive ticket amongst the others we bought.
Basically we visited the some of the main attractions in Venice over the 2 days. The more popular ones would be the "Rialto Bridge" and the "Piazza San Marco aka St Mark's Square" which is the main public square in the city where the Doge's Palace, Bell Tower, St Mark's Basilica and other museums can be found!
We decided to opt for the easier travel option which was to take the water bus (6.50euros per person) to St Mark's square. It's possible to walk there which will take around 20-25mins but we felt the need to try taking those boats at least once.
Royal gardens!
Souvenirs galore
Doge Palace and St Mark's Basilica(the one with the Dome) in the background
I think we paid around 5-8euros to go up the Bell tower. The view from the top was amazing
This is the only chinese restaurant we came across. Feels so homely all of a sudden. haha
And of course, one of the many things that we were extremely fascinated about are their alleys!
Some were extremely dodgy while majority of the others were really very "Venice-esque". You can actually find some restaurants hidden in some corner. It's also very tempting to just sit on the steps by the canal and relax.
Imagine having a meal with your friends in such tranquil surrounding. I wouldnt want to leave
Carnival masks are very popular in Venice. There are so many different kinds, each with a meaning behind them! How nice it would be if we get to witness a masquerade party.
When people talk about Italian food, I'm sure the most common ones would be Pasta and Pizza!
and you wouldn't want to miss their Gelato Ice cream. It's so nice and addictive that we had to buy at least 1 every day.
Don't get fooled by the classy looking wines we ordered. It cost us only about 2.50euros! Almost the same price as their mineral water. Amazing!
And lastly, Martina! one of the extremely friendly staff at "Feel Inn"
Before we checked out, we decided to book another 2 more nights for the following week as we will be coming back to Venice from Florence before flying back to Singapore. Gotta love this place!
On the day when we were supposed to take the train down to Rome, we did an exceptionally stupid thing. BEING LATE!
That morning didnt start off well. We slowly took our time packing up and eating our breakfast. It was only when we were about to leave that we realised we are actually gonna be LATE for the train. Rushing down to the bus stop didnt help as the bus took a good 15mins to arrive........
That morning didnt start off well. We slowly took our time packing up and eating our breakfast. It was only when we were about to leave that we realised we are actually gonna be LATE for the train. Rushing down to the bus stop didnt help as the bus took a good 15mins to arrive........
I'll continue with part 2 sometime soon!
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