Europe
weekly photo challenge: reward
Back in 2006, we worked over 60 hours per week (for 6-months) so we could afford a 4-month trip around Europe. Every time, we travel – the experiences we have are our rewards for all the hard work leading up to make it happen.
One of our earliest memories of that Europe trip was witnessing a Santorini sunset – famous for a reason 🙂
What photo would you share to show reward? See other people’s interpretations here.
Happy weekend everyone!
And as always, feel free to leave us your thoughts.
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looking back at our visit to the colosseum
It’s been a very long time since we were in Rome. And when we are not travelling, we like to mentally and visually revisit places we have been. So this week, we pay a visit to the Colosseum. Italy was one of those places that we didn’t appreciate enough when we were there, so it is back on our list of countries to see all over again.
We remember lining up outside the Colosseum, then waiting to buy our tickets and then waiting some more for the guided tour to start. We felt like we were spectators entering a stadium to watch a football game….
Then the minute we lay our eyes on the inside of the Colosseum, we are transformed back thousands of years. We ignore what is really there, we cannot help but picture a stadium of roaring Romans. We can hear cheering and booing. We can see gladiators… well, we actually visualise Russell Crowe and his entourage from the movie *cringe that Hollywood has brainwashed us* 😉
Actually out of all of Rome’s iconic sites, the Colosseum is probably our favourite. How we would love to visit it again one day!
The Colosseum, as part of the Historic Centre of Rome,
was listed as a
UNESCO Heritage site in 1980.
To see the other UNESCO sites we have visited,
visit our unofficial bucket list
Have you been to the Colosseum? We’d love to hear your thoughts of it.
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a glimpse inside peter and paul cathedral
Everywhere we visited in St Petersburg, there were a lot of people sightseeing, doing what we were doing. Peter and Paul Cathedral was no different. In comparison to some of the other European churches we visited, the cathedral was probably on the smaller side so the crowd here might’ve seemed disproportionally large.
The draw card might be because the cathedral holds the remains of many of Russia’s Emperors and Empresses, including Tsar Nicholas II and his family. The last Tsar along with his family, were famously executed in the dead of the night. Though rumours say that two of the children were never found (the more famous being the Princess Anastasia), our Russian tour guide said that those stories are merely a “fairytale” made up by the rest of the Western world to make the history more exciting.
Anyway, as with other Russian buildings (such as the Hermitage and Catherine Palace) built during this era, the interiors are opulent and ornate.
And here, we shall stop writing and let you take a glimpse inside the cathedral for yourself.
Hope you enjoy our photo essay.
Please feel free to leave us any comments.
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top 5 unexpected travel gems
With the New Year almost a week in, we are back to regular blogging again. We had a festive/silly season break and it feels good to be back.
Towards the end of last year, we wrote a piece about our most disappointing travel sites and to introduce this year, we are sharing our top 5 unexpected travel highlights – places which we fell in love but hadn’t expected to.
In a world where information is so readily at our fingertips and the internet can reveal so much about a place – we avoid “researching” too much into a place we want to visit. We look for inspiration, we read about safety and basic introductory information, but we don’t read or look at everything we can about the place because we find that creates expectation and takes away some of the “unknown”. We tend to like the element of surprise. And these are our top 5 unexpected travel gems.
(5) Pingyao
Enter through the gates of Pingyao and we were transported back to centuries ago. There are no cars inside, it is all pedestrian and bicycles. Chinese history is oozing out of the walls and rooftops of this city and we LOVED it. It was our most favourite city during our time in China. As we walk along the alleyways and admire the well-preserved architecture, the only giveaway that we are in the 21st Century are the tourist shops.
(4) Lyon
Before arriving in Lyon, we did little research as we were using it more as a stopover before we headed into Switzerland, not expecting to be so blown away by it. The history and its Roman past had us fascinated for hours. We have written only about a couple of the places we visited in Lyon; the Museum of Miniatures and Cinema and the street murals. There is so much there to see and still more we are yet to share about our time in Lyon. Do yourself a favour and add it to your list for next time you are in France.
(3) Pergamum
When it comes to anything history, we love it! Visiting ancient ruins is one of our favourite things to do when travelling. Whilst travelling through Turkey, there are a LOT of ancient ruins to the point of possibly being fatigued by them. But there is no fatigue when it comes to riding a cable car and then exploring the ruins of Pergamum. The views from the top are just unbelievable across the countryside. What we found to be the biggest treat was walking amongst the columns and stones and remnants of life from thousands of years ago.
(2) Tasmania
Often left off maps and forgotten as belonging to Australia, it is one of the places in the world where we want to come back to as soon as we have left. There is just something about it that makes us just want more. There is delicious, fresh local food! There is jaw-dropping stunning scenery. There is an abundance of wildlife and there is a touch of history. Whoever comes to Australia and doesn’t put Tassie on their list is crazy!!
(1) Weliczka Salt Mines
Hands up if you thought “salt mines? – how special can they be?” We knew they were UNESCO Heritage, we knew they were important and a must-see. We knew about the history behind it but we were NOT by any means expecting to see what we saw. Climbing into a 3-storey shaft lift was only the beginning of one of THE MOST incredible places we have visited. An underground city, quite literally, that was carved out of salt.
We love having these surprises so we try not to look at too many photos of a place just before we visit!
Now it’s your turn! We would love to hear about places that you didn’t expect to be so AWESOME 🙂
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