r i c h m o n d p a r k

Well... it is about 12:30am and I am still up so I figure I would start writing another post. The past few weeks, I have pretty well stayed in town. The deadline that I had at work was exceedingly tight. We basically had to work on 20+ legal entities in a span of only a week. Needless to say, we worked about 15 hour days every day for a span of about 2 and a half weeks to try and get this done (you know how projects just drag on). Anyway, I am hoping this hellish job is out of the way now.

We did have a weekend where we decided to walk in Richmond Park in London however. I've never really been to a park in London where I felt like I was outside of the city but this may have been a bit of a first. The cool thing about this park was more so the fact that you could see deer! They literally came right up to us and ate off my hands haha. It was a very cool experience - especially when one of my favorite movies when I was a kid was Bambi :D

After walking about, we settled at a pub at the end of the park before heading home. It was a nice day out! But this made me yearn to see Central Park in New York again. Very few parks in the world compare to that - the feeling of being in another place entirely but still being amidst the big city. It makes me think I want to take another trip there but this time during winter!

r o m e p t II

On the second day in Rome, we tried to wake up early... but our bodies wouldn't let us. Funny story that happened that night but I won't share that on the blog lol. Anyway, not my proudest moment, let's just leave it at that.

We had ticket reservations for the Colosseum at 9:30am so we headed out to Rome Termini and grabbed some espresso and pain au chocolat on the way out. The Colosseum is huge and so iconic. Seeing it with my own eyes really made me think of the movie Gladiator - easily one of my favorite all time movies. The chants of Maximus, Maximus, Maximus rung through my mind at that instant lol. I'm a geek I know.

You could see the cells hidden underneath the Colosseum floor.. you could imagine that this was where the gladiators or prisoners were kept. It was really neat to see. After this, we continued to walk the rest of the city and saw the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain (we had to take the tourist photo of us tossing the coin into the fountain), and the Pantheon. So much history to this place... The good thing was that you could just walk around and see it all by foot.

Oh and before I get to the pictures, you really have to try the gelato at Il Gelato San Crispino. They have a good selection and the flavors I chose were delicious :D Pistachio and stracciatella... mm...

Overall this was a great weekend getaway. 2 Days in Rome isn't enough unless you're ok with just seeing the surface of the city. But if you are a museum buff and want to appreciate the Vatican Museum for instance.. you could easily use 4 days. A word of caution though... I'll say this honestly: Beware of the pick pockets in Rome. They are abundant so keep an eye on everything you have on you (ie. nothing in your back pockets and make sure your bag is where you can see it. Secondly, people here were rude and on many occasions made tourists like myself look at them in awe as they scuffed at people for asking simple questions. Not everyone is like this by any means but you should just be aware.

r o m e p t I

Living in London has its benefits. Being able to travel to Rome for just the weekend is one of them. Not often do we North American’s get the opportunity to travel to Rome let alone just pack up one backpack and head on over to Italy for a few days. But since a friend from back home in Vancouver was doing her eurotrip, I thought I would join her for a couple of days as we trotted around one of Europe’s most historical cities.

Rome was the place that I went to during the weekend of July 2-3rd, 2011. It is a hot time of year to go but it wasn’t unbearable by any means. It was between 28-30 degrees Celsius during the day but with humidity, it feels like 34-35 degrees or so. Luckily for us, there was a bit of a nice breeze too so it didn’t feel too hot but don’t get me wrong, it was still sticky and steaming with the other tourists around us.

With only two days there is a lot of walking to be done so I’ll just get right down to some of the places that I went and saw:
 

Day 1 Itinerary – The Vatican City
 

I flew from London Stansted at 6am and arrived around 9:45am at Ciampino Airport in Rome. From there, it is an easy €4 bus ride straight into Rome Termini station (Terravision). I highly recommend anyone flying into this airport via a budget airline like Ryanair take this route. If you wanted to train, you would have had to take a bus to Ciampino train station before connecting on a train to Termini. Don’t even think about a taxi as this would cost you more than €40 one way.
 

By the time I met up with my friend it was 11am (fairly good time). From the Termini station, we then took the metro towards the Vatican City. It was interesting to see but this was actually a city that is enclosed by high walls to the west of Rome (still within the city). The entirety of the Vatican is classified as a World Unesco Heritage site so much of the structures and layouts are preserved. The first thing you will see is the piazza which sits in front of Saint Paul’s Basilica. It is enormous and you really do feel small in the midst of it. Seeing the Basilica in front of you is another site that will leave your jaw dropping... but just hold your excitement until you are actually inside.  To get inside the Basilica, you will have to go through the queues for security and then go through a clothing check. Guys and girls alike, you need to have your shoulders covered and your legs covered up to your knees. So it doesn’t matter how hot it is, you will need to bring a thin cardigan or something similar before you can go in.
 

The Basilica is enormous... the level of detail and the colors within this church is incredible. The ceilings are so, so high and it really makes you marvel at how the people in those days were able to not only build such a grand structure but to also put in the level of detail that you see all over. The paintings and the details on the walls and ceilings just leave you breathless. The interior is the largest that I have ever seen inside a church and it is in fact the largest Christian church in the world. As a photographer that already sounds like an incredible sight to see but in reality, there is something that will catch your eye even more so. The Dome which sits in the middle of the basilica is enormous and so high up. The natural light it lets in is stunning and I guarantee that you will just stand there and stare at the rays of light as it flows into the church.
 

Panoramic View of Vatican City – From the Basilica, you can actually go up to the Basilica’s cupella either by walking up the 500 stairs or by taking a lift. It is not free to go up to the top of the dome but it is worthwhile. I needed the exercise even though it was already steaming hot outside so we walked it and it only took about 15 minutes to get up. From there the view is iconic and seen through so many tourist photos – still, it is something else to see it through your own eyes.
 

That afternoon we also went to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. There can be huge line-ups to buy tickets so I highly suggest that you either purchase tickets online or sign up for a tour. This way you can skip the line-up and basically just head in. The Museum itself is gigantic, you can really lose yourself in there. Too bad I didn’t have more time otherwise I would have definitely spent much more time here. Still, it was cool to see the art work and detailed, historical architecture all over the ceilings and what not. Don’t forget to take a look at the iconic winding staircase!
 

The Sistine Chapel is connected to the museum and is a natural place to progress to as you walk on through the museum. The Chapel does not allow you to take any pictures but I saw multiple people do it anyway. The guards will likely shout at you but that will be all. Lol. There is a montage of paintings on the ceiling (scenes from the Book of Genesis) that tell the story of the creation of man (Adam), all painted by Michelangelo.  Of the paintings on the ceiling includes the famous scene of god’s finger touching Adam’s finger, giving him life. The sanctuary wall is the scene of the Last Judgement. It was incredible to see that in person and to just see how incredibly large a canvas that was used by Michelangelo, it is really one of those things you just have to say, “What? How in the world can someone paint such a iconic scene on a canvas this large and still keep the original perspective and vision in mind?”

By the time we walked around the Vatican, it was 6pm (and this was with us breezing through the sites). So it was time for our first meal of the day (we had gelato for lunch :D). Since we had 3G on my vodaphone, I googled a recent blog that told us to go to this place called Glass. Obviously being in Italy, this place was Italian and we were told that the gnocchi was some of the city’s best. With that in mind, we walked down the river and passed by the Castel Sant’ Angelo. It is essentially a fortress that was built way back in the olden days. Apparently, it was used for Popes that needed protection when they feared for their safety. The walkway leading up to this fortress was littered with newly weds who were there for their wedding photos, pretty epic location if you ask me :)

To work up an appetite, we kept walking south along the river until we reached a district with lots of little bars and restaurants (one of the best aspects of Europe). When we found the restaurant, Glass, we were surprised to see that it was quite fancy - especially for Rome standards. Very nice decor and presentation, we hoped that the food would also compare to its outward appearance. And you know what? We have some great dishes - easily the best meal I had in Rome while I was there. We started off with the beef tartare and some risotto with mantis shrimp. I've always had a thing for risotto but not many places cook it that well - this was good though. Following the appetizers, my friend ordered a fried soft shell crab dish which came with chorizo powder and I ordered the lamb (perfectly cooked I might add!). Overall, it was a great meal and with great company. What more could I ask for? 

So that does it for day 1... by the time we got back to the hotel it was almost midnight and we were just knackered... and we still hadn't even taken a shower yet! I almost collapsed in there lol.
 

l a k e d i s t r i c t

Since moving to London, I have seen my interest in photography shift from “things” to landscapes and people. Not that I don’t like shooting “things” any longer, but I did start to want to seek out impactful and memorable scenes. With that interest in mind, I had heard that the Lake District would provide some incredible scenery of the mountains and of the lakes. So on the weekend of June 4-5th, I grabbed my gear and took a train up to Manchester to meet with a friend that I originally met on Flickr, Bhawi. 

When I arrived in Manchester, we set off on another road trip up north. It took about 2 hours to drive from Manchester to the Lake District area. From the pictures that I googled, the Lake District looked amazing. Mountains that were different shades of green surrounded the towns in that area and there were several pictures of lone docks or piers situated out into the still waters of the lakes. The Lake District is a place that a lot of people came to walk or hike. I am a person that loves to hike and be out doors when I can (I like hiking but I am no camping guru by any means), so before I set out to this area, I did some research on potential hikes we could take.

The thing about hiking in this area is that there are no marked paths. It is nothing like the hikes we have in the Vancouver area where there are signs or markings that show that you are on the right path. Instead, you are equipped with a compass, gps and topographical map and that’s it. It was like reading a hieroglyph! One would guess that we could easily get lost ... and we did. Haha. Bhawi was not impressed. Anyway, I decided that we could try a hike that was estimated to be about 5 hours. It was the hike up the Langdale Pikes which started near New Dungeon Ghyll. 

The paths were so obscure that we got lost from the get go. We didn’t even know where to start but just decided that this “looked about right” so we headed in that direction. So much green and the surroundings were so natural. There were a ton of sheep too.. it was like sheep country here.. Crap everywhere.. they poop a lot! Little sheep running around with their parents, grazing the grass... it sounds funny but it was really cool to be in their surroundings and to be amongst that kind of company. Literally, by the time we got to the top of the mountains, all we saw was mountains, the towns below, and sheep. No people, nothing... it got to be really quiet up there and very peaceful too. 

Anyway, onto how we got lost, we were following this “path” that ended up with us going several kilometres in the wrong direction west. When we met up with other hikers we asked how we could get up to the Pike Stickle (one of the mountains that we were supposed to climb up), they indicated that we first had to climb up another mountain before walking across. When we asked them how long it would take to get back on track, they said it would be at least 2 hours lol. So up we climbed. From the Pike of Stickle we then went to the Harrison Stickle, about 1 hour east before heading back down the mountain towards the car. All in all, it was about a 7 hour excursion haha. 

After the hike we immediately went to the local pub and grabbed a pint and some grub. Then we drove off to stay overnight in the town of Keswick by the Derwent Water lake. We fell asleep properly well that night with the hopes that we could catch the sunrise next morning by the lake. We were just too tired though and by the time we left the room at 5:30am, the sun was pretty well above the horizon. Still, we got some of that nice color in some of the following photos. Good thing we got up for this too because it clouded over very quickly by lunch time and started to rain by the afternoon! 

Although we got lost, there were many good memories of that hike. From me telling Bhawi constantly that we are almost there (to which she responded at the end of the day, you lied to me the entire day! Lol) to constantly trying to avoid stepping into the sheep poo, it all played a part in making this trip worthwhile. Oh, and the views were amazing! Too bad the weather wasn’t too great (it was pretty well overcast the entire day) but it was a lot of fun anyway. Definitely have to make a trip back here again!

c o t s w o l d d i s t r i c t

It has been a while since I last updated this blog! Life has been busy and got the best of me recently but I have been travelling since Cinque Terre in Italy! London has a way of consuming you though. Whether it be with work, travels, or meet ups with friends for dinner and drinks, you aren’t left with much time to do your own thing.

Anyway, I might as well get down to describing another trip I took. On one weekend of May 14-15^th, me and a group of friends (Ivan, Jen, Nadia) rented a car from central London in Waterloo and drove out west towards the Cotswold area. I didn’t know much about the UK as I have primarily travelled outside of the immediate area surrounding London but apparently a place that I had travelled to a few months ago, Bath, was also in the Cotswold area as well.

So out west we drove. My friend Ivan was the only one who could drive manual so he had to drive the entire way but in Europe, I believe it is much more common for people to drive stick than it is in North America. Cars are nearly 2 times as expensive to rent if you wanted an auto so we thought we could take advantage of his driving skills and he obliged haha.

The Cotswold area is a district that is filled with small towns. Some of the most famous include Bath and Oxford. On the Saturday, we started off at a reasonable time in the morning and eventually got to Bourton on the Water. This was a quaint, little, small town that had a little river that ran through it. Like anywhere else in the world, people tend to love to walk around the water and they did here too. Little bridges were built so that you could walk across and all around were small restaurants for you to sit down and eat some lunch or enjoy some afternoon tea. We also saw our first albino duck there too! It looked like a regular duck but it was white! ... Ok... moving along.

After having some lunch at a not so memorable place, we headed out towards a town called Bibury. Another small town which had a river run through it, this is a town known for its trout fishing. In fact, there was a trout farm there where you could fish for your own meal and then bbq it while you relax in the natural backyard! If we had more time we would have done this but it being a 3-4 hour activity, we decided that we had to skip it. We proceeded to walk along the River Coln and enjoyed the greenery and the natural surroundings. Scenes like this is what I like about the UK, the houses were so old and had a look that indicated that each dwelling has survived quite a bit of history. As you walk along the river, you will come up to Arlington Row which is a row of cottages that were not only old but very small. It gives you an indication of how tall (or rather how small) people were back in those days. These cottages were originally a wool store that was built in the 1300’s and only converted in the 17^th century.

For the final stop of the day, we went to Oxford, the home of Oxford University. You could tell that this was a university town as you could see lots of young students everywhere. This is where we stayed the night because we had planned to be there the entire day on Sunday. Lots of attractions here including the university itself as well as Christ Church and the Great Hall. For Harry Potter fans, this is where they filmed many scenes from the movies including all of those scenes in the dining hall! The first attraction we saw was the Bodleian Library, a school of divinity which housed some of the oldest books that I have ever seen. I kid you not, the books in this library were very well preserved but they had those enormous bindings that you thought only existed in movies like Harry Potter! Scenes from within the library of the movie were also shot here though it was told that they went through great troubles to get permission to even shoot the scene in this space. It had that old book smell and the floors creaked... very cool and full of history. Too bad they wouldn’t allow any photos to be taken :(. The architecture in the divinity school was very intricate as well, particularly in the ceilings... so you get more of my upward looking photos hehe.

We eventually made our way to Christ Church where the Great Hall was located. It was an experience seeing the same hall that everyone knows the movies for but as you would expect, the scenes in the movie make the hall look much more grandiose than the real thing. The hall was big, but not nearly as vast as in the movie. No floating candles either. Such a shame lol. Still, you had to appreciate the setting, eating here would have been quite the experience! Oh and before I forget, we also visited the Alice in Wonderland store (supposedly, Alice in Wonderland originated here in Oxford!).

So that was that. A great weekend that took no more than a 2-3 hour drive each way. Good friends and interesting musical sing-a-longs made it memorable. I love road trips – we got to stop at several locations that we wouldn’t have reached had we been travelling by bus or by foot. We were kind of rebellious and trespassed into certain areas to get some photos that you see below but it was well worth it :D Thanks Nadia for being such a great model!

c i n q u e t e r r e

Because of the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, us people in the UK received an extra day’s holiday this past week. With another 4 day weekend on the horizon, I decided that I had to go somewhere nice. I already had a destination in mind. Cinque Terre would be the place this holiday. 

Flying into Pisa is the easiest way if you are going to come from Europe and can get a direct flight. From there, approximately a 1 hour and 45 minute journey by train (will include 1 change) will get you into any of the 5 villages within Cinque Terre. If you are flying in from North America, the best bet might be to fly into Milan where a longer train journey awaits but Milan is generally a more direct route for those flying from overseas.

Cinque Terre is a combination of natural beauty (with it’s mountains, cliffs, and clear coastal waters) and rustic culture (the architecture is very old, but colorful and full of character). As you can tell by the name, the relation to 5 is that there are 5 main towns that comprise of the Cinque Terre region: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manorola, and Riomaggiore. While it may not be well known, to those that know about Cinque Terre, many cannot wait to come here on vacation. To get to each village, you have the train, the boat, and you can trek by foot. Many who come to Cinque Terre will know about the hike along the trails, which connect all 5 towns.

Being from Vancouver, I’m big on being out doors (though I am not the go backpacking for weeks while camping type) and I enjoy hiking. Naturally, Cinque Terre was the perfect location for that. The total hike would take approximately 5 hours but keep in mind that it will take much longer if you choose to take your time and visit each village. I based myself out of Monterosso (known as the town that is most touristy as it has its own sandy beaches) and it is the furthest village North along the coast.

Monterosso

Monterosso has pretty much everything you need really. Great restaurants (see below) and a beautiful coast line. It helped that I had a room in a B&B that overlooked the ocean though :D The hike from Monterosso to Vernazza would take approximately 1.5 hours. This may be the most difficult part of the entire hike as there are a lot of narrow sections with no railings (can be dangerous if you’re not being careful) and there are a lot of uphill sections (you only start going downhill a bit as you reach the next town). Coastal views are available at most stop points though!

Vernazza

At the end of the path was Vernazza. This was the town I wanted to stay in but the hotels and B&B’s were all sold out. It is probably the most picturesque out of the five. There were rocks that extended out into the bay and people just sat atop each one, reading a book or drawing. Right along the bay were several restaurants where you could sit, have a drink and a meal while looking out into the water. The bay actually acts as an inlet into the village, giving the city great views out into the water from as much as 180 degrees. I stayed here on a narrow ledge during sunset just so I could catch the town in the light I wanted to see it in.  The hike from Vernazza to Corniglia would take another 1.5 hours or so and has many ups and downs. The paths are not as narrow though.

Corniglia

Corniglia is unique in that it is situated atop a cliff and therefore has no harbor for the boats to stop along (for public transportation purposes). There is a look out point that gives panoramic views from this height, which was worth seeing – you just need to go into the village center and follow the signs. I also had some great gelato here (see below). Relatively small compared to Vernazza and Monterosso, once you’re done seeing the sights, it’s time to move along to Manorola. Unfortunately there was a landslide along the path so it was closed off. We had to take the train instead so I can’t speak of the hike from here to Manorola. It is not supposed to be as long (I don’t think it would take longer than 1 hour and there are not as many steep ups or downs). 

Manorola

Manorola was particularly tiny I thought. The architecture and the color theme were consistent for the most part with all other towns. It also had a bit of a church/cathedral which I thought were neat but I probably spent the least amount of time here. There are no beaches here so if that is what you are looking for, Manorola is not the place. The path was open from here to Riomaggiore but this one had a special name – Via dell’Amore (Path of Love). It is a path that has meaning to many that pass through. People left locks along the path and inscribed love notes on the rocks. It made me wonder how many of those relationships lasted (I just realized how pessimistic that made me sound haha). The hike from here to Riomaggiore is an easy one (all paved) but it is not without great views.

Riomaggiore

The last town of the five on my trek, Riomaggiore was also the place where I finally had my “lunch” at 4:30pm. It gave me… 1 hour before I had to get on the boat ride back to Vernazza (I had to get back there for the sunset lighting… the things we do as photographers haha). I highly recommend taking the boat ride back, it gives you a view of the towns from the water and it is a great way to relax after an 8 hour trek. 

Accommodations

While I originally wanted to stay in Vernazza, the alternative was Monterosso. I couldn’t find anything on Booking.com for the first little while, everything was a train ride away from the main towns so I was hooped. But then I emailed a few places and got some recommendations and found Il Parco in Monterosso. It is only a 10 minute walk from train station but it is uphill so I recommend you take the taxi up the first day if you are carrying loads. My room was modern and very clean but the best part yet was that as soon as I open my door, I see the ocean in front of me. There were also chairs and a table directly in front of my door too so I could sit there with a view of the sea. In fact.. that is exactly where I am as I type this J Cup of wine in hand, prosciutto and cheese at the ready, this is a nice break from the crowded beach just 10 minutes below. Overall, I highly recommend this accommodation. The breakfast is great as well and is included in the rent. Great location and quiet.. I am not sure you could ask for more!

Food

Overall I had some great food while I was in Cinque Terre. Most people who think about Italy probably think pasta synonymously. I had some great pasta (pasta, despite what some may think, is hard to cook properly. A lot of restaurants under or overcook their pasta) while I was here and I also indulged on some of their very fresh sea food (them being by the ocean and all). While I found almost all places I went to were very good in terms of taste, I highly suggest you ask your fellow local (ie. The person who owns the B&B or someone at the front desk). I was recommended to a couple of restaurants in Monterosso including Miky and Monerosso in old Monterosso (there is both a section of the town that is dubbed new and another, old). 

I ate at Miky on the first night I arrived. For starters, I had the warm seafood salad. Minimal greens but a nice mixture of clam, muscles, octopus and parsley. Very simply done, there was no sauce. The seafood was simply steamed. It really showed how fresh the seafood was! For the entrée, I had the seabass ravioli with pine nuts. Mmm… Kind of light but the portions were actually very decent.

The second restaurant I went to was called Ristorante Il Moretto. It is located in old Monterosso and it is located within a plaza that has about 2-3 other restaurants in the area. I had the seafood salad again to compare to Miky and oh boy was I ever glad I did. This seafood salad was much better (fresher tasting seafood does wonders!) and for the entrée I had seafood linguine. More clams, mussels, and prawns… but oh so good. I think I was seafood-ed out after this meal though lol.

Conclusion

Anyone who is not a resort person like me but enjoys culture and great food and doesn’t mind a little beach, should heavily consider visiting Cinque Terre. The five villages all have incredible character, a boat of great restaurants, and lots of beautiful coastlines and views. People who enjoy hiking (albeit an easy hike) will really enjoy this area of the Italian coast. I think I went at a good time though, it being May and just before the tourist season. If you come from June – September, be prepared for big crowds and hot temperatures! Anyway, I had an amazing time. It strikes me that I really enjoy traveling on my own. I got to meet some great people along the way (tons of Aussies on vacation!) as well. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading another essay from me lol.