Prior to embarking our 10-day Western Mediterranean cruise, we stayed in Rome to see the city and to visit the Vatican. I had very high expectation of Rome as I visualized those written in books and destination blogs. After passing through the immigration, we followed the signage to get us to our pre-booked shuttle to our hotel in Termini. While The Parents and I were seated on the bus, we just looked at each other and shook our heads, that spoke volumes! My mother blurted out, "it's like Manila!" I couldn't agree more. It was the month of May, it's very humid, the surroundings were so dry and brown, and the highrise residential buildings had laundry hanging by the windows. The roads were also narrow and the traffic very busy. Or maybe a cultural shock where Vancouver is clean and green, roads/ streets are wider than what I was seeing in Roma, and most importantly, it is prohibited to hang your laundry outside your window. So yeah, this exists in Rome, aside from the glitzy and glamorous photos seen on glossy magazines and vlogs.
However, it's not at all bad, we actually enjoyed our sight-seeing tour aboard the Hop On Hop off bus and we also enjoyed authentic Italian dishes and met with my college friend based in Rome. So it's all good!
With Ailyn (R), a friend back in college based in Rome
St Peter's Square in the Vatican City with The Parents
Castel Sant'Angelo
While she was getting down the famous stairs, I snapped a photo of hers!
As first time cruisers, my parents and I just went with the flow but I also did my homework, I read reviews and watched videos of amateur and pro cruisers bound for Alaska. I wanted to stick to my budget so we did DIY walking tours and also paid reasonable price for organized tours. I was happy with the result 😊
We embarked this 7-day cruise from Seattle and disembarked in Vancouver. We live few minutes north of the Peace Arch border so we took the one-way ticket to Seattle aboard quick shuttle and from there, our unforgettable first cruise experience commenced.
I had always wanted to see Munich so when I got the chance to do so 😊I traveled with my parents and boy, were they elated! We flew from YVR to Munich via London. We stayed on a hotel adjacent to the Munchen Hauptbahnof where it was so easy and convenient to/fro Munchen International Airport and to points of interest.
I wanted to see Hofbaeuhaus because of the history it holds, so The Parents and I paid a visit to the most famous beer garden in the world, complete with oompah band and enthusiastic diners. We didn't stay long because The Parents were not happy with the ambiance so we dined at La Valle and lingered at Marienplatz.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Clueless
Not updating my blog that I forgot it existed :-) It only hit me when I wrote a comment in a boating blog that yeah, I had a blog! So did I run out of my creative juices? Ah nah, with the proliferation of other social media other than blogging, I thought it's easier for me to put my rants and raves in pictures and links. I just simply write about my travels and my reviews in
tripadvisor in words and pictures versus writing in my online diary. I think, it's doable.
That is also so convenient with Pinterest. So here I am.
I am also an active reviewer at google maps. If the photo I posted in this blog is identical with the photo at google maps, yeah, that would be me.
So yeah, I have been writing since I created this blog but I have since deleted my vintage posts 😊
I wanted to be an artist or a chef or a farmer but as fate would have it, I ended up in the healthcare... and help save lives. I have a happy and sunny disposition in life!!! I believe in Cinderella, haha!!!
