One of my ultimate travel destinations is Europe. It was a dream come true when I finally went last year on a 7-country, 20-day tour in Western Europe. I’ll share some snippets of the tour, 1 country at a time, starting with Italy.
Rome
Rome is the most beautiful city for me - ok, it’s actually a tie between Rome and Paris. :)
We were lucky that we were in Rome on a Sunday. When the Pope is in the Vatican City on a Sunday, he gives his papal blessing at the St. Peter’s Square at exactly 12 noon.
St. Peter's Basilica
While waiting for Pope Benedict to come out and as the crowds started to thicken, my Canon Ixus conked out! Huhu... So with 20 minutes left, I scoured the streets near the Vatican to look for a camera shop! Good thing I found one and bought a new digicam. 😆
St. Peter's Square
And yes, I was back at the St Peter's Square before Pope Benedict came out. There's the silhouette of Pope Benedict in the window. The blessing takes about 15 minutes. And he took time to greet various nationalities in different languages including us Pinoys. 😇
Pope Benedict at the Papal window
The top sites to see when in Rome are:
Sistine Chapel. This is where cardinals meet to elect the pope. Michael Angelo’s work just took my breath away. So detailed, intricate and perfect. I couldn’t count how many times I uttered “wow”. I was so engrossed that I forgot to take video footages as I was walking! 😍
Sistine Chapel
There are also a lot of interesting sculptures and artworks.
But don't just look at the art pieces - look up and down - everything is just so beautiful. 😍
Sistine Chapel
St. Peter’s Basilica. This houses a lot of popular masterpieces. Two of which are Da Vinci’s Pieta (which he sculpted at age 24!) and the altar by Bernini.
Altar at St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's statue
St Peter's Basilica
Trevi Fountain. It’s a tradition that for a guaranteed return to Rome, you have to toss a coin. The right way to toss a coin is to turn your back from the fountain and using your right hand, toss the coin over your left shoulder. So Rome, I shall return. :)
Trevi Fountain
Roman Forum. This used to be a piazza surrounded by temples and monuments where the public life of the city took place. It's the social, political and economic seat of ancient Rome.
Roman Forum
Colloseum. This is where gladiators fought as well as wild beasts. Some Christians may have been persecuted here too.
The Colloseum can accommodate up to 50,000 spectators. It was completed in the year 80 and it took 8 years to build it! Whoa...
Colloseum
Outside the Colloseum, you'll see men in gladiator costumes. You have to pay them if you want to have your photos taken with them.
Scala Santa. It’s a staircase in Pontius Pilate’s palace where Jesus passed during the trials. It was brought to Rome by St Helena. The way to pray is to go up the stairs on your knees and say penance and petition on each step of the 28 total steps.
Scala Santa
Assisi
The entire village of Assisi has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. We visited the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. St Francis is one of only 2 saints who had the gift of stigmata (the other one is St. Pio).
Assisi
Assisi
We also visited the Basilica of Mary Queen of Angels. It's known as church within a church because there’s literally a small church inside.
Basilica of Mary Queen Angels
The basilica houses the relic of St. Francis and the Rose Garden (of thornless roses). Story has it that one time when St. Francis was tempted by the devil, he threw himself in some thorny bushes and where his blood dropped, thornless roses sprouted. There have been several attempts to grow the thornless roses elsewhere but all were futile. Here's a photo of the Rose Garden where you can also find a statue of St. Francis.
St. Francis and the Rose Garden
Pisa
Pisa is supposed to be a 3-hour drive from Assisi but our travel time stretched to 5-6 hours due to heavy traffc in the highway. We spent the night in a hotel just a few meters away from the Tower of Pisa.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
We also visited the nearby Duomo Cathedral where we decided to attend an Italian mass. :)
Duomo Cathedral
P.S. Don’t forget to try the gelato when in Italy! Yummy!:) I had gelato almost every meal! Haha… Also be extra careful when in tourist spots (especially in Rome) – there are a lot of pickpockets, snatchers and con artists (disguised as tourists asking for directions).
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This trip is part of my 20-day, 7-country Best of Europe adventure. Budget requirement is approximately USD3,500 (including airfare, accommodation, land arrangement and travel taxes).
