On our way to the Domus Aurea tour we had booked for 9:30am we stopped first at Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. We had to go through security to enter the church – maybe due to the fact it’s Vatican property. We then had a short detour to Arch of Gallienus which was an…
A couple of days ago City Wonder Tours cancelled our tour of the Colosseum and Forum. I’d booked with them mostly because it was convenient, since it’d be the same company as the one that led us to the Sistine Chapel. I managed to get on a tour with Walks of Ital (Walks), who I…
A 6am start for a 4km hike to to Vatican Museums for a tour that basically is get into the Vatican Museums 90 minutes before it officially opens and head straight to the Sistine Chapel before it gets too crowded. The room itself is worthy of the attention it gets, it really is impressive. “No…
We had no activities booked for our first full day in Italy, though the Pope has an audience on Wednesday mornings, and although you are supposed to have a ticket it’s entirely meaningless – no one checks, and the Pope himself has said you can attend without one. So we started the morning early, heading…
This day started at 8:30am Monday, at Intercontinental Hotel in Hong Kong, and ended 42 hours later at 8:30pm in Rome, having done the Ferris Wheel ride on Hong Kong Island, and the Borghese Gallery in Rome, with a 12 hour overnight flight thrown in. We enjoyed our last breakfast in Hong Kong. Evicted at…
Disneyland opens at 10am, so we had plenty of time for our breakfast at the Intercontinental. And it’s a great breakfast. I liked the thick slices of smoked salmon, and Jess was impressed by the large size Yakult. We caught the MTR to Disneyland and arrived about 10:30. Walking down “Main Street” builds the hype….
Up at 3am to get to the airport to catch our 7am flight back to Hong Kong. This time we were taking Mina’s mother with us for her to stay in Hong Kong with Mina’s sister. We were down the back of the aircraft this time which meant although it was noisy we got a…
Jess spent the morning in the pool of the hotel with her cousins who stayed the night with us. We had to be out by midday, and had found a place at the Midas Hotel at 2pm. We had time to kill so we took the kids to Dreamworld at the complex. This is an…
Coffee isn’t that popular in Philippines but I need one to start the day. Mina’s sister gave me these “Japanese Coffee” contraptions that did the job. This morning our first stop was the cemetery to visit the graves of Mina’s father and sister. On the way we stopped for a coconut drink. Cemeteries here are…
Up bright and early to beat the heat, and go to the market. It’s much hotter and more humid in the market, and the three of us were sweating a lot. In the street preparations were being made for the local “barangay’s” (local district) fiesta the following week. Washing was done the local way. Mina’s…