Winter 2023 - Timmy the Snowman hang’n in New York City’s Time Square
Happy holidays! I hope you take some time out of your busy life to spend time with your close family and friends. With all the tension in the world, it is important for your mental health to think about and take care of ‘you’. Keep warm, stay safe, share positive energy, live happy. :)
Click on the image to view the holiday video or click here
For 2023, I decided to visit 2 cities which have been on my list of places to visit for many, many years. In late spring, I explored Constantinople for 2 weeks! Of course Constantinople is now known as Istanbul, but there’s something magical about the name “Constantinople” which makes it feel more mystical city, far, far away, where you can discovery spices and rare gems from all over the world. Well, it is a mystical city which IS far, far away (from NYC or SF) where you CAN buy amazing spices and rare gems from all over the world! Although I did not buy any spices or rare gems, I saw a lot of it in the Grand Bazaar, in the city center where all the action happens! You can literally buy ANY THING there!
Here are 2 videos I created which captures my visit to Constantinople, the second video I call ‘Cat-stantinople’ since the video is a collection of cats from the magical city. Enjoy!
I’m visiting Rome during December, so I will be sharing some images and maybe even a few videos here, so come’on back! Travel with Rome with me! There’s no place like Rome, there’s no place like Rome, there’s no place like Rome! :)
2023.12.05 - Ok, day 1 in Rome has been pretty amazing! I walked the streets that Julius Caesar walked, I touched the marble that Michelangelo sculpted, and I photographed the clouds that he painted! How did Rome ever come to be?!? If you haven’t been, you MUST plan a trip! I’ll share some photos here, but of course it’s not the same as experiencing Rome in person.
An amazing view from the top of the Alter of the Fatherland in Rome.
Poetic trees just outside of the main train station of Rome.
The amazing Trevi Fountain, it’s unbelievable that this was created. It is absolutely impressive to see this in real life! Las Vegas has NOTHING on Italy! Originally, I thought this was a Michelangelo, but the actual artist is Nichola Salvi.
Dramatic clouds of Rome, these are the exact type of clouds you see in the Michelangelo paintings! If you ever ask ‘is that real?’, the answer is YES! These are REAL clouds!
Visiting the Vatican
2023.12.06 - So today, my main destination was the Vatican. I walked an hour and a half from my hotel to Vatican City, mainly because walking is the best way to explore any city (in my opinion). I felt it was a perfect day to find Jesus (well, to find a painting of Jesus since I’m not really religious, more spiritual for those who know me :) ). Here are a few photos I shot of my Vatican Day.
The Vatican is just a few minutes away! I can feel the spirit!
Almost there! Just have to walk through these columns.. impressive!
Finally, the short path to the Vatican… I actually waited at the gate and was hoping the Pope would come out to visit me.. but alas, I guess I’m not on his visiting guest list.. so unfortunately, I did not get an audience with Pope Frances himself. Maybe next time? :)
Just a short walk from the Vatican, I wondered over to the Pont Sant’Angelo and noticed the halo backlight on the statues of the bridge (translation of Pont for those who are interested). This is not photoshopped, it was the actual light. It felt a little spiritual to me. I was wondering if I was the only one who saw it, I was so inspired, I spent extra time to take in the spiritual vibes of these beautiful silhouettes. See the next 2 images with the same halo backlight.
Protective Angel
Fighting Angel
Security in front of the beautiful Christian Dior Xmas tree on the Spanish Steps.
A beautiful silhouette of the same Christian Dio Xmas Tree. The dramatic clouds make it seem as if it was burning! Why are the clouds in Rome so dramatic? :)
To close out the evening, I had a nice pizza at a restaurant right by the Pantheon. As i was enjoying my HUGE salami pizza, I was just taking in the fact that I was having dinner in Rome, with a beautiful view of the Pantheon! I feel lucky… :)
Vibrant blue skies over Julius Caesar! Look how vibrant it is!
Wondering around the back side of the Alter of the Fatherland, I took the challenge of walking up the 124 steps to explore the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli. It was well worth it! There is art on every single wall, this basilica is essentially an art gallery at the top of a hill. And I got some steps in!
Two thirds of the way there, only a handful of steps to go! Would you take this challenge?
Check out the sky above the Leonardo da Vinci museum.
The moon, stars and planets are so bright in the evening sky! Ignore the power cables :)
I can’t get enough of this monument! It is hard to see how impressive this is in photos, but when you see this in real life, it just blows your mind. This is the Alter of the Fatherland and it is grandiose! To get to the top, there are 243 steps and from bottom to the top, it is 81 meters (266 feet) high! The entire thing is made of marble!
Day 5 in Rome is a slightly more modern kinda day, the modern side of Rome. I decided to visit the MAXXI - National Museum of 21st Century Art. The building was beautiful, but the art was just meh, but it was a nice pivot from all the religious art, ruins and architecture. Variety is good. Here are some photos of the MAXXI.
External shot of the MAXXI
This is how she reacted to my bad hair day! I guess I should take the additional 10 minutes to do my hair in the morning before visiting museums.. haha
Internal shot of the MAXXI
I was craving fettuccine bolognese, so I stopped by my favorite square to have early dinner, the Pantheon square. I really love the view. Also, that margarita was REALLY strong!
The drama of Day 6 in Rome! You must see these dramatic art pieces.
So for Day 7, I made a point of going to church! Well, not really church, I made a point to get up early (relatively), shower, and walk over to Vatican City so I can see the Pope! I figured I have to at least see Pope while I’m here in Rome. Right?! Wouldn’t you? Well, my timing was impeccable! I walked from my hotel, ALLLLL the way to the Vatican, made it through 2 security screenings and got to the front of the crowd to see the Pope giving Sunday.prayers/mass (not sure what since I’m not religious) 2 minutes JUST before he appeared at the window! It was meant to be! Or maybe he knew I was there for the first time in my life and he waited for me to show up before he spoke his words of world peace. :) I’d like to think it was the later, but I REALLY think it was because I arrived at 11:58 AM local time and he steps to the window promptly at noon every Sunday. In any case, I can’t believe I actually saw the Pope! Here are some photos from that experience and other snappies I took throughout Day 7 of my Rome visit.
Can you see him?? He’s in the window with the burgundy rug, and you can see the big screen on the left. See the zoomed in photo below.
After being blessed by the Pope himself (with ten thousand other peoples in the crowd, I walked by the Tiber River. How amazing is the weather?!?!
I forgot to get the name of the photographer, but this is one of the most beautiful photo of Elizabeth Taylor I’ve ever seen in person. I just had to share.
Dramatic horses… caught my eye and just love the energy of this street/wall art. Very modern, very contemporary, very dramatic.
Rocker girl! just that! :)
I finally visited the Colosseum on Day 8 of my visit to Rome. I walked by the Colosseum every single day, exploring it on the outside on the very first day, but I wanted to explore Rome from the streets before entering some of the main sites. Also, you’ll also see a photo of the outside of Julius Caeser’s home, well, his front door. It seems very humble for such a big man of Rome. I should have used the photo gallery widget earlier, but here’s a nice collection of my Colosseum tour and the Rome Forum. Enjoy!
I walked all the way to Julius Caesar’s home and shot this image. This is the entry gate to the building where Caesar lived, very humble.
Join with me on Day 9 of my Rome visit to check out the artwork inside the Altar of the Fatherland, and some beautiful views of Rome from the very top of that grandiose monument. Warning, there are some nude artworks! Don’t say I didn’t warn you :)
Day 10 - Can’t believe how many times I’ve been to church during my Rome trip! I spent over 3 hours at the Vatican today! :) Here’s a collection of both traditional religious art and some modern religious art. Most of the images in this collection are from the Vatican museum. Enjoy!
Also, did you know that Rome also has a pyramid? Check it out, I randomly walked by it so I took a snappie.
I took a pic of the Pope’s Lambo too! Well, it’s probably not the Pope’s Lambo technically, it belongs to the polizia of the Vatican, so it protects the Pope :)
Day 11 - For someone who is not religious, I’ve been spending A LOT of time at the Vatican! All together in the past 2 days, I must have spent over 8 hours at the Vatican, both the Museum and the Basilica itself! But wow! It’s amazing! And did you know there are 551 steps all the way to the top of the dome! Yeah, I took it as a challenge and walked the entire way up! I can’t imagine doing that in the heat of summer, but luckily it was a nice cool (not too cold) winter afternoon, so I didn’t sweat TOO much :) enjoy!
Day 12 - Another nice sunny day in Rome. This collection of images is a bit eclectic because I captured what caught my eye. Most are photos of the artwork of the Borghese Gallery and Museum. Enjoy!
Day 13 - I decided to take a short trip to Napoli, just a 2 hour train ride from Rome. I arrived just after 1:00 PM and was REALLY hungry (I didn’t have any breakfast.. my bad). I walked around, and around and around until I found a tiny little family Italian restaurant that look so ‘Italian’ that I had to go in. As you can see from the first snappie below, I ordered linguine with clams (mind you I’m lightly allergic to shellfish) and yummmmmmyyyy! Ooof! I haven’t had it in years and because I was starving, it just sounded so good! And it was :)
I wondered around the waterfront of Napoli for an hour and was not really inspired, so I decided to head towards the Via S. Gregorio Armeno, which was a top 10 sites to visit. Good thing I did because it did not disappoint. This area was pop’n! (or ‘lit’ for those who are younger). This area was full of locals hawking their wares to the many, many, many (see the photos) of visitors from all over the world. One thing I learned is that people in Italy are hyper serious about their Christmas Villages. Up and down many of the narrow streets of the via S. Gregorio Armeno area, there were shop after shops of anything and everything you can buy to build your perfect Christmas village. I’m curious to see the internal of a real Italian family home.
Day 14
Day 15 - I took a quick trip out of Rome to a small town, Tivoli. I spent most of the afternoon at the Hadrian’s Villa.
Day 16 - I can’t believe it! 16 days in Rome, it’s been amazing! I visit two other cities outside of Rome (Napoli & Tivoli), but I spent the majority of the 16 days in Rome. It’s very interesting because I am not bored of Rome just yet! Most likely, I’ll be visiting Rome again soon! Well, maybe not too soon. Maybe next year! December seems to be a great time to visit Rome, the weather is cool (sometimes cold, but not too cold) and the crowds are not as big as crowds during summer. In any case, here is a collection of the photos I shot on the last day in Rome… enjoy!
