GARGANTUAN steps
Monday, July 09, 2007
au revoir
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
'liberty, equality, fraternity'
- motto of France
My parents came over to London the day after I got my results and thankfully, I had good news for them! I don't have to come back at the end of August for the resits, and I must say, I am pretty happy with how I have performed, except perhaps for just one paper. But overall, I feel that all my studying has paid off and it was more or less time for me to go home.
'liberty, equality, fraternity'
- motto of France
My parents came over to London the day after I got my results and thankfully, I had good news for them! I don't have to come back at the end of August for the resits, and I must say, I am pretty happy with how I have performed, except perhaps for just one paper. But overall, I feel that all my studying has paid off and it was more or less time for me to go home.
But first, I went for an 8-day tour of Europe (Venice, Rome and Paris) with my parents which was pretty eventful! It really wasn't easy organising the holiday, cause I am used to travelling by on a shoe-string budget, but it was going to be different with my dad around. I was much afraid of whether the lodgings I booked were adequate (pictures aren't sufficient proof)
Well, as usual, the pictures and the short write up to follow!
Days 1-2: Venice
Once again, it was back to Venice for me and the weather was really blazing! I thought it was bad, and by the time we made our way to our hotel from the bus station, I was already perspiring profusely. The lesson learnt here is not to go south of London for holidays. There was nothing much to do on the first day because my parents were quite tired.
The next day, we made our way to St Mark's Basilica and this time, we took a lift up the bell tower, also known as the Campanile. We wanted to take a ride on a gondola but the sun was just too hot to enjoy such a ride.
Dad and Mom and the Canal Grande Venice
Mom and Dad and St Mark's Basilica
Pala d'Oro
The Golden Altar in St Mark's Basilica
The Golden Altar in St Mark's Basilica
View of St Mark's Basilica and Venice from the Campanile
After about 24 hours in Venice, it was now time to make our way to Rome. I didn't throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain the previous time I was there, which is suppose to ensure your return to Rome, but here I was, back in the Eternal City in less than a year, and this time, we started off on the wrong foot.
Day 3-5: Rome
My dad was pretty cheesed off that I booked a Bed and Breadfast in Rome, and that the owner of the house could not communicate in English, much to his despair. He was trying to arrange our transport back to the airport and also where to leave the keys, but to no avail, and he got extremely fed up and angry. Thankfully, I managed to settle the problems.
The next day, more problems struck. My dad was pick-pocketed on the Metro (the Roman version of MRT or Tube) He was pushed into the train and was busy trying to grab a pole above to hold and in a blink of an eye, his wallet was parted with him. He was quick to notice his wallet was gone, but it was too late, and it was impossible to suspect anyone on the train. We spent the rest of the morning trying to find the police station and me also trying to get Fontane to find a plane back to London as soon as possible. My dad was upset enough to want to cancel our holiday to go home. Thanfully, we weren't able to find any cheap flights back and we had to carry on with our holiday.
We spent our first day in Rome checking our the Colosseum, Roman Forums, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. We then spent the next day in Vatican City where my parents actually climbed right to the top of the dome, which was a good 112m high! And there was the usual Sistine Chapel visit and a visit to Castel Sant Angelo. We got more daring this time in the Chapel, taking a picture WITH the frescoes!
The next day, more problems struck. My dad was pick-pocketed on the Metro (the Roman version of MRT or Tube) He was pushed into the train and was busy trying to grab a pole above to hold and in a blink of an eye, his wallet was parted with him. He was quick to notice his wallet was gone, but it was too late, and it was impossible to suspect anyone on the train. We spent the rest of the morning trying to find the police station and me also trying to get Fontane to find a plane back to London as soon as possible. My dad was upset enough to want to cancel our holiday to go home. Thanfully, we weren't able to find any cheap flights back and we had to carry on with our holiday.
We spent our first day in Rome checking our the Colosseum, Roman Forums, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. We then spent the next day in Vatican City where my parents actually climbed right to the top of the dome, which was a good 112m high! And there was the usual Sistine Chapel visit and a visit to Castel Sant Angelo. We got more daring this time in the Chapel, taking a picture WITH the frescoes!
Dad, Mom and Me at one of the New 7 Wonders of the World
The Colosseum
The Colosseum
Dad, Mom and Me on the dome of St Peter's Basilica
Me and St Peter's Basilica
Dad, Mom and Me in the Sistine Chapel
Me and the Terme de Caracalla (Baths of Caracalla)
The Tomb of St Paul (behind the grill)
We spent our last day in Rome checking out two new sights I have never been. One of them was the Baths of Caracalla which was in ancient time, some shopping centre (really huge single level one with swimming pools) and also to Basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Wall, which was where St Paul was buried. Today was also the Feast Day of St Peter and Paul, which is a holiday in Rome, and a Day of Obligation in Europe, but we didn't attend mass.
Day 6-8: Paris
I spent my last three days in Paris, and my dad had an enjoyable time eating KFC, his favourite fast-food. I must say, I did have a lot of fast-food whilst I was in Paris, from KFC for lunch, and then Macs for Breakfast, and then KFC for dinner again, in between being filled with chinese food. Didn't try any of the local cuisine in Paris! But then again, there aren't really any local cuisine in Paris (I might be wrong there, so please do correct me).
We did the usual touristy things, going to Notre Dame (and also for Saturday evening mass there). Unforunately, I didn't get to go to the top to get a closer look at the gargoyles which kept dear friend Quasimodo company because the queue was extremely long.
I went to the Louvre the following morning and it was really HUGE! they have three wings, and two of them were 700m long!!!! Utter craziness, so I just brought my parents to see the Mona Lisa (which I didn't dare take a picture of) and also to have a glimpse of Napolean's Apartments! In the afternoon, we went to see Napolean's Tomb which was really humongous!!The third morning was spent at the Eiffel Tower, taking the lift right to the top of the tower! The views were fantastic, but it won't be on my vote for the next wonder of the world. (the results which by the way have been announced). We then took a river cruise down the River Seine which is apparently a Unesco World Heritage site and it was quite a nice way to end our tour. We went down Champ Elysee (which is the Orchard Road of Paris).
We did the usual touristy things, going to Notre Dame (and also for Saturday evening mass there). Unforunately, I didn't get to go to the top to get a closer look at the gargoyles which kept dear friend Quasimodo company because the queue was extremely long.
I went to the Louvre the following morning and it was really HUGE! they have three wings, and two of them were 700m long!!!! Utter craziness, so I just brought my parents to see the Mona Lisa (which I didn't dare take a picture of) and also to have a glimpse of Napolean's Apartments! In the afternoon, we went to see Napolean's Tomb which was really humongous!!The third morning was spent at the Eiffel Tower, taking the lift right to the top of the tower! The views were fantastic, but it won't be on my vote for the next wonder of the world. (the results which by the way have been announced). We then took a river cruise down the River Seine which is apparently a Unesco World Heritage site and it was quite a nice way to end our tour. We went down Champ Elysee (which is the Orchard Road of Paris).
Dad and KFC
Dad and Mom and The Notre Dame Cathedral
The Two Pyramids in the Louvre
Me and the Louvre
Dad and Mom and Napolean's Tomb
Dad, Mom and Me and the Eiffel Tower
The Tour Eiffel
Notre Dame Cathedral seen from the River Seine
Thus concluded my Europe tour with my parents, which they must probably have enjoyed because we ended touring everyday by around 2-3pm, and they could then go back to the hotel to rest, rather than visiting all the funny shops (like we did in China, visiting jade factories, enamel factories etc which took up a lot of time) It has been a good holiday (on my parents account) and it is now time to enjoy a good break in Singapore!
Labels: Church, Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, Europe, Family, France, Italy, Museum, Paris, Rome, Seven Wonders of the World, Travel, Venice
posted by Gabriel Yan at 8:35 PM
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