Tag: Italy

Florence, Italy

After a long overnight drive, we finally made it to Florence, Italy. It is the city of art and culture!

My first impression of the city was that there were a lot of naked bodies. The Italians really like the human body at its purest form. It was just awkward having a minor with you and they are asking, “what’s that horn hanging between his legs?” The only real response you can say is, “It’s nothing important child, let’s keep it moving.”

There was tons of art, as art is everywhere in this city. I am not passionate about the arts; however, there was someone with us who was and he pretty much informed us on everything.

Our volunteer tour guide told us that Florence was one of the centers of the Enlightenment movement in Europe. The art made during that time was mainly focused on religion and the human body.

When in Florence, make sure to check out the Florence cathedral. It’s hard to miss. It’s the building with the red dome. It’s truly a beautiful place inside and out.

Another site is the town hall. Our volunteer tour guide told us something about the flag on the building being amazing. Truth be told, everything he saw in Italy was amazing to him.

(All photos were taken by Hugo Morel)

Thanks for reading, next time we will be in Assisi, Italy.

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Genoa, Italy and the leaning tower of Pisa

After a crazy up hill drive with very narrow roadways, we made it to Genoa, Italy.

Although we were in the outskirts of the city, you can still feel the atmosphere. This part of Italy was a lot cooler in temperature.

The view was incredible and totally worth the drive. I have never seen such natural beauty. It made me feel like I was living in a painting.

In the photo above, you can see parts of the city.

I really enjoyed this part of Italy. I felt breathless from all the views. Don’t recommend coming here on a tour bus though. Since the roads are very narrow. If you are traveling in the mountains, bring a smaller car for safety reasons of course.

Oh yeah!!! By the way, the tower does lean in Pisa!

Next time we will go to Florence.

*All photos were taken by Hugo Morel.

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Turin, Italy

Turin, a city in the northern part of Italy. Known for being the place where don bosco lived and did his missionary work. The picture above was taken right outside of the city. The northern Italian landscape is very beautiful.

The main attraction in this city is the basilica of our lady help of Christians. The church was built by Don bosco. It was a former safe haven for poor teenagers and children.

This is the square/center for the Basilica.

The whole church was built by a man with little money. This is the original designs.

So finally, I will explain who Don bosco is. He was priest that founded an orphanage for poor childern, mainly abandoned boys. The priest is considered as a saint in the catholic religion. His miracle, according to the catholic faith, was he kept giving food to the needy when his food supply should had ran out. He kept finding food in his bag to give to the homeless, when by logic, there should not been any food left to give out.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post. Next week, we will go to the mountains in Italy. Stay safe and healthy.

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Milan, Italy

The city of fashion, Milan. The city is sophisticated as the media portrays. It is truly a gift to be even in this city.

The city’s elegance is shown in every step. As you walk piazza del duomo, as shown in the picture above, Milan’s beauty shines.

Walking down piazza del duomo, you will get to the cathedral of Milan.

You all know I had to take a photo of the light rail.

Walking around town, you noticed alot of people here drive fancy cars.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post. Forgive me for not posting as much lately. I have been doing a lot activism. What is currently going on in my country is heartbreaking. Please stay safe to all the American readers.

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St Anthony of Padua

Just a little warning, in Italy there are a lot of churches!

Now that is out of the way, the small city of Padua has a very relaxed atmosphere. *hint* take notice of how ironically the last two sentences were written (this is where you were supposed to laugh).

The city itself is very small compared to other famous Italian cities. Not many attractions here. Most tourists come here for the church. Also, most of the citizens here have never moved. There are generations upon generations living here.

The buildings in this city are very colorful. These type of colors are hard to find in the usa, if you live in the northeast or the Midwest.

The city has an interesting blue trolley/light rail system. It’s the city’s main way of transportation. There were not much cars on the road. A few cars here and there, this city seemed like a metropolitan that walks.

Now to the main attraction of this small city, the church of St.Anthony. Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He died in Padua and made the city famous. Catholics pray to St. Anthony when they need to find something. He is the saint of lost things. As you can see from the photo below, majority of Padua’s tourists end up here.  Tons of tourists traps here. They will sell overpriced items to any of the tourists that takes the bait.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post. Sorry about posting it so late. I tried a few times last week to post this. Somehow everytime, the post would get deleted. Anyways, have a safe week and stay healthy.

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Finishing up Venice and 2016

After eating our wonderful lunch, the tourist parts of Venice awaits.

Walking around Venice, you can not help but stop and enjoy the architecture. The photo above makes you feel like you are in the 1200’s.

The picture above is St. Mark’s square and Basilica di San Marco in the background. Basilica di San Marco is one of the most famous churches in Venice. The architecture of the church is the left over memories of the byzantine empire.   Which is something I hoped to see more in 2017.

 

Well, this is something that is very touristy. Being in Venice, there is no excuses for not going on a gondola. It’s part of living in the moment. Something I learned this year.

I really loved how the homes are so close to the water. It’s hard to see this anywhere else in the world.

So y’all, we reached the end of the year. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your support. I have many new ideas for this blog. Also, I have been invited to go to Portugal and Sweden. Hopefully, i could go to both. I do plan to travel to Turkey in 2017, as well.

Once again, thank you! This is all of you!

Never thought my life was interesting and now I have you all reading posts about my travels. Thank you so much for the support!!!

Have a happy New Year! Stay safe and healthy!! Enjoy time with your family and loved ones!

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The foods of Venice 

Italy is known for it’s food and it’s rich history. Different parts of Italy have different styles of food.  Venice brought it’s style and gave me something to remember.

The best pizza in my travels of Italy was in Venice. The pizza here on is another level compared to the other parts of Italy. Just remember, pepperoni is not called pepperoni here. The right word is salami. I can talk for days on how good the pizza was here. Let’s just say, new york style, chicago style and any other type of pizza style will not compare. This feels like pizza’s true motherland.

The pasta here was fantastic! Honestly, I had so much pasta in Italy that it was hard to say which one was the best. All of it was good! Truth be told, I ate pasta everyday while in Italy. No complaints!

The gnocchi was really good! It’s potatoish pasta. That really is the only way to describe gnocchi. When you take a bite, you taste the potato.  I loved it and enjoyed it. First time trying gnocchi and I was not disappointed.

How can I not mention gelato while being in Italy? This lemon blessing was no expection to the Italian food hype. It was truly a gift from heaven. Took my time eating this for obvious reasons.

Thank you for taking your time to read this! Much love! Have a merry Christmas and a happy new years!  Also, happy holidays!!! Next week, we will finish up Venice.

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Benvenuti a Venezia!

It took awhile, but we finally made it to Venezia! Drove/skipped through Austria overnight. Sorry Austria, maybe next time. I know you are a beautiful country that’s worth more than one layover and an overnight drive.

Being able to come here has always been a dream to me. To make this into a reality gives you a feeling of being on top of the world. This city is filled with beauty.

Honestly, never once did I believed, while growing up in the suburbs of San Francisco, I will be able to see this city with my own eyes.

We ended up taking a ferry to get to the main part of the city. Venice has a long highway that connects to the ports. This highway is the only way to get to Venice by car. The picture below was taken as we drove on the highway. This was the side view.

Once we were in the ferry, you could see the landmarks of Venezia. Below is St Mark’s Campanile (the redish tower) and Doge’s Place (the tanish square building on the very right).

After we landed, a rush of emotions swept over me. The historical city was under my feet. It was unreal! As you see below, the flag of Venice.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post! Next week, we will explore more of the city and enjoy the food. Much love! Enjoy your week and stay healthy!

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