GARGANTUAN steps

Saturday, January 03, 2009

new seven wonders of the world: europe

Happy New Year and 2009 to everyone. Time really seems to pass faster as I age and to revive the age old cliche, it seems like yesterday when I first arrived in London. Chinese New Year is just round the corner too! Think looking forward to events just makes time seem to pass much faster.Meanwhile, I've been wanting to get down to typing this entry and I've finally decided to do so! I've always travelled with a purpose (albeit some silly ones at times) and one of them is a plan to see all the nominated New Seven Wonders of the World. I've finally covered the finalists in Europe and it is time to move on to the rest of the world. And I can also concentrate on visiting Europe properly, as opposed to travelling out of the way just to catch one of these sites (which was what happened in my recent trip to Fussen and also previously to Granada). I've put them according to the sites that are the least significant to me to those that I would very much love to visit again. Some of these places are worth the extra effort and cost just to visit.

 France - Paris: The Eiffel Tower

Tour Eiffel

The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 and it stands at a height of 325m. I went there at the end of my first year in London with my parents, during the summer holidays, and might be going back to Paris again at the end of my third year. Definitely a remarkable piece of modern-age engineering, it represented nothing more than a global icon to me, with not much history attached to it. Parisians detested it at first, but I think they love the money that it generates. The ride up to the third floor was quite a thrill by itself and the views from there were amazing, though the wind was extremely chilly up there. I don't think anyone would miss it once coming to Paris, and it is apparently the most visited attraction in the world.

Germany - Fussen: The Neuschwanstein Castle


Schloss Neuschwanstein

The Neuschwanstein Castle (New Swan Stone Palace) was the last of the wonders that I visited and I think a few factors added up to it being below my expectations. Firstly, the view of the castle from the Marienbrucke was spoilt by a fence of scaffoldings blocking the southern facade. Secondly, it would definitely have looked much more picturesque with quite a bit more sunshine (but it is my fault for going in the winter). Thirdly, the tour was a hasty half an hour, and though the interior was splendid, I would have liked a bit more time to explore it on my own instead of being rushed with thirty to forty other tourists and a guide with a heavy German accent. The Neuschwanstein Castle was built for the Bavarian King Ludwig II and it was never completed, but formally opened to the public in 1886 after his untimely death. It is apparently the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland and I think this has much more significance to the Americans than to anyone else.

United Kingdom - Amesbury: The Stonehenge


Stonehenge

The construction of the Stonehenge apparently began a few hundred years (3000 B.C.) before the Pyramids of Giza but the huge monolithic rocks were only put in place after the pyramids. As my aunt put it, if you want to see really huge rocks, this is the place to be. I think the circle of stones being enclosed within a 30m perimeter makes it hard to appreciate them. You are handed an audioguide at the ticket office entrance and then you just encircle the stones from a distance, listening to the guide rambling about something which would be much more interesting if you were within 2m of the stones, let alone 30m. But just thinking about how such huge rocks were transported from such a distance (250km) can really make one be impressed with the Brit's human ancestors. I visited the Stonehenge last Summer, together with Raymond and Daryll and I will most probably be going back again with my brother this coming summer, possibly on a road trip from London to Bournemouth for my cousin's wedding.

Italy - Rome: The Colosseum


Colosseo

The Colosseum was built between 70-80 AD and its past depicts a bloody scene. There was once a celebration in it that lasted for 123 days, involving 11000 animals and 10000 gladiators. This is also the only attraction in Europe to be one of finalists of the New Seven Wonders of the World. To me, what it represents is one of the most intact architecture of the Roman Empire in Rome itself, and the true significance of the empire lies actually in the Roman Forum, which is in much ruins, just beside the Colosseum. This battleground for the gladiators of ancient times looks really frail and brittle as compared to what it might actually have looked like in the past, but it still is impressive, considering that it has survived an earthquake, and tourism.


Interior of the Colosseum - The Arena

Greece - Athens: The Acropolis


Acropolis

Nothing symbolises civilisation more than the Parthenon of the Acropolis, and it is a sight to behold to see it towering above the city. What it represents is significant, but it was a pity to have visited it when maintenance works were being made. (I should make it a point not to visit such sites during winter) The Acropolis was built between 450 to 333 BC and it has suffered much since than, being used to store gunpowder during the Morean war which exploded, causing much damage to the buildings. I think an audioguide would have come in very handy there, though I'm not too sure whether we overlooked getting one there or there weren't any there in the first place. Definitely worth a visit, if not to see a pile of ruins, than for the weight of the history that it carries. I have good memories of my second year Christmas holidays there with my brother, Lynette and Fon.


The Parthenon

Turkey - Istanbul: The Hagia Sofia


Ayasofya

The Hagia Sofia (Sancta Sofia) was the second world wonder that I saw on my trip to Greece and Turkey with my brother two christmases ago. One word that describes it is that it is really huge, and it was built way back in 537 AD, only to be replaced as the world's largest church a millenia later by St Peter's Basilica in Rome. This church was converted to a mosque (thus its minarets) during the Ottoman period and is now a museum. One should hire one of the many tour guides prowling the entrance to get a good insight to this building, it was definitely well worth the money when we did so.


Interior of the Hagia Sofia

Russia - Moscow: The Kremlin and Red Square


Moskovskiy Kreml

If the Acropolis symbolises civislisation, than the Kremlin in Moscow symbolises power. I think its reputation precedes it and there is a sense of foreboding walking along the Red Square and going into the Kremlin. I think I was more afraid about being stop by the KGB than anything else. Russia was possibly the toughest place for me to get to, and being within it, you find that the people are as hostile as the country is to the world. However, for the history that it represents, it is definitely one of the top sites that I would like to visit again. One must definitely visit the Armoury, and make sure you don't get ousted away from the exhibits by Russians. St Basil's Cathedral at the end of the Red Square is also to be viewed from all sides, and one can never get enough of it.


St Basil's Cathedral

Spain - Granada: The Alhambra

La Alhambra

It was a tough choice deciding which I enjoyed more, the Alhambra or the Kremlin, but I think the Alhambra just edges it in terms of its beauty. The Alhambra means the 'red one', because it is a fortress built on a cliff with red rocks and it was completed in 1353. It use to be the house of residence of the Muslim rulers in Granada. It is really peaceful and serene in there (if you ignore the crowds there and imagine yourself living there) and the architecture is beautiful, and if I dare say, perfect. I remember going all out just to get there from Seville, buying the Granada Pass and all the additional transport costs, but in the end, even Mike and Fon agreed it was well worth the money paid. I will definitely be back one day.


Inside the Alhambra

It's now time for me to explore the rest of Europe properly, including the big cities Berlin, Milan and Madrid which I would really love to see. A few other places include the Scandinavian countries, Poland, Portugal and Morocco. And I would like to go back to Turkey one day too! School begins tomorrow, so that's really quite a dread, and it's non stop all the way till June, with only a 4 day Easter break. Wish I had more holidays like this one.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

posted by Gabriel Yan at 6:15 PM 1 comments

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.
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


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!


Dad, Mom and Me at one of the New 7 Wonders of the World
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). 


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: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

posted by Gabriel Yan at 8:35 PM 0 comments