This series ended up being far longer than I anticipated. I could make an ebook about my travels!
Who am I kidding, no one would want to read that... let alone buy it.
Also, side note: Polarsteps was so great up until a couple days ago when it went haywire and threw a bunch of phantom travel paths on my map. Support said it has been fixed however, there was no way to remove the phantom lines. This all makes for a ton of work for me to redo all of the travel steps. It's unfortunate but I understand these things happen. Anyway, it's all updated now and working as it should, sorry to my7000 7 followers for any inconvenience.
Now that it's all back to normal, here is the link if you'd like to check out my trip!
If you missed any of the series, check it out on my social media feeds or on my blog homepage. The last post is right here!
July 22 2017
Wow, am I ever behind on this.
[Left off in Florence]
So I went up the massive dome of the Florence Cathedral the following day and man (or woman), what a climb. The view from the top was alright but in my opinion, the main attraction of the city of Florence is this cathedral. While standing on the top of the cathedral, you lose the effect it has on the city's overview.
The line was way too long to visit the actual cathedral so I skipped that and just wandered around the city with the time I had remaining.
The day after I boarded the train to Rome.
Rome has been great. It's like London in that there is so much to see and do that it's always a go-go-go feeling. The bonus for Rome though, there is actually good food there.
Day 1 was the Colesseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. All of those are legitimately ancient. 2000+ years old! The Colesseum is truly spectacular, just the wonder of an ancient civilization building such an incredible structure in 10 years, 2000 years ago. It was finished in 80 AD for the curious.
The Roman Forum was the heart of the ancient city of Rome. Unfortunately, the ruins are there, but not very well preserved from ancient times. Over the centuries, the city has been built over and over by those who followed after the fall of the Roman Empire. It is still a very interesting place to walk around (and included in the Colesseum ticket!). Palatine hill is next to the Forum and is where most Roman Emperors resided during their reign. Walking through both these places is a humbling experience. It brings to life the reality of how far we've come, but also how we aren't so different from ancient civilizations.
Day 2 was a tour of the ancient city of Pompeii. Pompeii was covered in 7m of ash after Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. For this reason, the city was extremely well preserved. We walked through the city, through the rich peoples' houses, and saw the street-front shops (well whats left of them). Being a Roman city, Pompeii also had a Forum which due to the eruption was far better preserved than the Forum in Rome. You can get a much better idea of how the Romans lived in Pompeii since it's still set up like a city and most of it is still there. Truly something to see if interested in ancient Roman history. Also met an Aussie musician on the tour. Was great to meet you, Nick!
As part of the tour, we were supposed to visit Mt. Vesuvius but the visit was changed due to the mountain being set on fire. Thanks, mafia. Instead, we visited the next largest active volcano around Naples; Volcano Solfatara.
We walked around the actual crater of the volcano, seeing and more-so smelling all of the chemicals and minerals. I'm pretty sure my shirt still smells of sulfur. We saw steam vents and natural ovens and felt the elevated temperature of the crater. Around the crater are plenty of trees, plants, and bushes. But as you move toward the center of the crater, the makeup of the ground changes, unable to grow anything. You see crystallized sulfur and calcium deposits all over. It is really neat. So much so I bought Carbonite as a souvenir. How often can a Canadian say they were inside the crater of a volcano? What better to keep the memory than a volcanic mineral!
The following day was the Vatican which was insanely packed with people. It was a cool experience as a one-time thing but for me, the museums of the Vatican are far better than anything else. Mainly because they seem to have snatched up all of the best artwork from the centuries. However, I do think the Vatican is a little overrated, or more so over-hyped.
Some advice:
The remainder of my time in Rome has been eating, drinking and sight seeing, much like the past two months.
Currently taking a break while on the way to see a pyramid here. How cool is that? [It wasn't that cool..]
I'm headed to Venice tomorrow for a couple nights and that's all she wrote. Finito! I'm headed back to Leichtenstein to meet up with my buddy and wait for my flight back home. I'll probably write another post before I leave to finish off the series.
Thanks for reading!
J
Who am I kidding, no one would want to read that... let alone buy it.
Also, side note: Polarsteps was so great up until a couple days ago when it went haywire and threw a bunch of phantom travel paths on my map. Support said it has been fixed however, there was no way to remove the phantom lines. This all makes for a ton of work for me to redo all of the travel steps. It's unfortunate but I understand these things happen. Anyway, it's all updated now and working as it should, sorry to my
Now that it's all back to normal, here is the link if you'd like to check out my trip!
If you missed any of the series, check it out on my social media feeds or on my blog homepage. The last post is right here!
July 22 2017
Wow, am I ever behind on this.
[Left off in Florence]
So I went up the massive dome of the Florence Cathedral the following day and man (or woman), what a climb. The view from the top was alright but in my opinion, the main attraction of the city of Florence is this cathedral. While standing on the top of the cathedral, you lose the effect it has on the city's overview.
The line was way too long to visit the actual cathedral so I skipped that and just wandered around the city with the time I had remaining.
The day after I boarded the train to Rome.
Rome has been great. It's like London in that there is so much to see and do that it's always a go-go-go feeling. The bonus for Rome though, there is actually good food there.
Day 1 was the Colesseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. All of those are legitimately ancient. 2000+ years old! The Colesseum is truly spectacular, just the wonder of an ancient civilization building such an incredible structure in 10 years, 2000 years ago. It was finished in 80 AD for the curious.
The Roman Forum was the heart of the ancient city of Rome. Unfortunately, the ruins are there, but not very well preserved from ancient times. Over the centuries, the city has been built over and over by those who followed after the fall of the Roman Empire. It is still a very interesting place to walk around (and included in the Colesseum ticket!). Palatine hill is next to the Forum and is where most Roman Emperors resided during their reign. Walking through both these places is a humbling experience. It brings to life the reality of how far we've come, but also how we aren't so different from ancient civilizations.
Day 2 was a tour of the ancient city of Pompeii. Pompeii was covered in 7m of ash after Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. For this reason, the city was extremely well preserved. We walked through the city, through the rich peoples' houses, and saw the street-front shops (well whats left of them). Being a Roman city, Pompeii also had a Forum which due to the eruption was far better preserved than the Forum in Rome. You can get a much better idea of how the Romans lived in Pompeii since it's still set up like a city and most of it is still there. Truly something to see if interested in ancient Roman history. Also met an Aussie musician on the tour. Was great to meet you, Nick!
As part of the tour, we were supposed to visit Mt. Vesuvius but the visit was changed due to the mountain being set on fire. Thanks, mafia. Instead, we visited the next largest active volcano around Naples; Volcano Solfatara.
We walked around the actual crater of the volcano, seeing and more-so smelling all of the chemicals and minerals. I'm pretty sure my shirt still smells of sulfur. We saw steam vents and natural ovens and felt the elevated temperature of the crater. Around the crater are plenty of trees, plants, and bushes. But as you move toward the center of the crater, the makeup of the ground changes, unable to grow anything. You see crystallized sulfur and calcium deposits all over. It is really neat. So much so I bought Carbonite as a souvenir. How often can a Canadian say they were inside the crater of a volcano? What better to keep the memory than a volcanic mineral!
The following day was the Vatican which was insanely packed with people. It was a cool experience as a one-time thing but for me, the museums of the Vatican are far better than anything else. Mainly because they seem to have snatched up all of the best artwork from the centuries. However, I do think the Vatican is a little overrated, or more so over-hyped.
Some advice:
- You are led to believe the Sistine Chapel is this amazing thing and the main event of the whole day, when in reality you stand in a room for 5+ minutes, look around, and leave. No speaking, no pictures. It is impressive but not worth the insane hype it gets in my opinion.
- Get a guided tour. It's not expensive, you get much more from a live guide and won't miss the most important attractions. They also get a shortcut from the Sistine Chapel into St. Peter's Basilica and skip all lines.
- Be prepared for large crowds and bring a small water bottle. All water fountains in Rome and the Vatican have clean drinking water!
The remainder of my time in Rome has been eating, drinking and sight seeing, much like the past two months.
Currently taking a break while on the way to see a pyramid here. How cool is that? [It wasn't that cool..]
I'm headed to Venice tomorrow for a couple nights and that's all she wrote. Finito! I'm headed back to Leichtenstein to meet up with my buddy and wait for my flight back home. I'll probably write another post before I leave to finish off the series.
Thanks for reading!
J
Here from Reddit. Cool pictures dude.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteGreat post! I found your comment about the sistine chapel amusing. I can't wait to see what you write about Venice next :) If you've got time, please visit my travel blog too! http://theroadlevtraveled.com/
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm writing my last post about the trip right now! I will definetly check your blog out :)
DeleteGood deal J. Also here from Reddit. I had heard clean drinking water flows through the fountains in that area. Good deal on a hot day. Good to know about the Chapel too. Sometimes spots are built up and are a bit, well, average. Part of being a traveler, seeing these things in person and judging for yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! You're absolutely right about being a traveler, you have the opportunity to judge things for yourself!
Delete