While I was in Valencia last year, I was on my way to meet my friend and I came across the Serranos Gate or Torres dels Serrans (in Valencian). I had some time to kill, so I went to explore. The Serranos Gate was 1 of 12 gates that made up the city walls of …
When in Valencia, a fabulous place to visit is the City of Arts and Sciences or Cuidad de las Artes y las Ciencias. One day, I had arranged to meet my friend, Mark, and as I walked along the dry Turia riverbed, suddenly, I saw these huge buildings looming up in front of me. If …
The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch. Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2019 will bring joy, happiness, and new adventures! I arrived back in the UK in time for New Year and saw the beginning of 2019 at my brother and sister-in-law’s party …
Most people come to Bangkok for its food, its temples, its vibrant nightlife, and its general laid back attitude to life. And why not? It’s a fabulous place for first-time visitors to be introduced to Thailand. But, before long, the chaos, the traffic, and the constant battering of your senses starts to get to you …
When in Rome, one of the best places to get an idea of what an ancient Roman stadium looked like in its hey-day is the Circus Maximus (Circo Massimo.) Today, it’s a recreational park used for concerts, performances, and celebrations. It sits in the shadows of the Palatine Hill, holding onto a thousand secrets of …
I can’t believe how time flies sometimes, especially when you’re having fun, but here we were, our last day in Rome, it had come round so quickly, but we had seen a lot in the short time we had been there. On our last day, we decided to take the metro to Circo Massimo, not …
Today we’re taking the metro to Flaminio and starting off our day at Piazza del Popolo, a circular square with three fountains. On the north side is a gate called the Porto del Popolo, once the beginning of Via Flaminia, an important ancient Roman road which led to the north of Italy. Piazza del Popolo …
We left Rome on the Friday morning, after buying train tickets from the most unhelpful, unfriendly person. I really think she is in the wrong job to be serving customers. A smile is all it takes! Undeterred, we had a while to wait, so we had coffee and watched people hurrying through the station from …
From the Colosseum, the Roman Forum is seconds away, so I walked towards the entrance only to be met by a really long queue. The ticket for the Colosseum includes the Roman Forum, but by this time it was late morning and the crowds had started to arrive. I noticed a pathway to my left …
Only the second day in Rome and it felt like we’d done so much already. Today we’re off to the Colosseum, a huge oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city. Emperor Vespasian started the massive feat in 72 AD, but it was Titus who completed the job in 80 AD with Domitian making modifications …
We found ourselves in Piazza Navona, a lovely little square full of life with street artists, selling their paintings, imposing churches and palaces, and inviting cafes and restaurants all around. It didn’t take us long to choose a restaurant with a ring-side view of everything that was going on. Piazza Navona is an oval-shaped square …
Our guide left us outside St Peter’s Basilica and before going inside, we stopped to gaze over St Peter’s Square, designed by Gian Lorenz Bernini. Striking in its own right, the square is surrounded by Tuscan colonnades with 140 statues of various saints on top. The structure was built in two arcs on either side …