Thursday, 28 May 2015

Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon




Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon



Our second day exploring Rome was spent walking to a few of Rome's most notable sights. We started off with the Colosseum, the most famous structure of the day. Entering at the bottom, we all climbed the stairs to the uppermost level you could access. The view was thrilling, panning the whole circumference and being able to see the network of tunnels and cages that were underneath the ground where the lions were kept for shows during the Roman times. Definitely a location to go mad with panorama shots!




After we ate lunch, which you can get at many local shops for a good price, sandwiches and pizzas ranging from €3-€5, we made our way to the Spanish Steps. The fastest way to get around Rome as a traveller has definitely got to be the metro, with a 75 minute ticket being just €1.50, so as long as you know your stop it's definitely worth it. We arrived at the Spanish Steps to find them unfortunately very crowded, but that didn't affect us seeing the beautiful design of them. Going at a quieter time of year could mean your experience is better.





As the steps, fountain and Pantheon are fairly close to each other, we decided to experience Rome's streets and walk from the steps to the Trevi Fountain. There are many souvenir stands so if you forgot to buy someone a gift, don't worry as you can easily pick one up when walking from place to place. Many artists have been catching on to the new trend of spray paint street art where they use various stencils and lids to create gorgeous, detailed pictures, a lot of the artist being scattered along the streets showcasing their work and creating new pieces on the go as passers by watch and buy. I had heard of the beauty of the Trevi Fountain and was eager to throw in a coin for luck, to find that it is currently under restoration till Autumn 2015, so if you want to see it when you travel, don't book your holiday for before then, otherwise you'll be moved on by guards and won't see the fountain in it's glory.




Ice cream was desperately needed after the disappointment, and Italy is famous for it's amazing ice cream. Making our way to the Pantheon, we sought out an ice cream shop and bought some, enjoying it in front of the Pantheon. Even though the Pantheon isn't as popular to see as the others, it still has interesting history and is worth it to see the stunning architectural design of it.





Wednesday, 20 May 2015

Vatican City



Vatican City

I recently returned from a cultural visit to Italy with a group from my sixth form. It was my fourth time visiting the country, but I still got to experience places I hadn't before. The next few blog posts will be sharing my trip with you, each sight at a time, from both Rome and Sorrento.


Our first proper day in Rome was spent enjoying a guided tour of the Vatican City. Our tour guide took us almost everywhere, some places unfortunately being shut to the public currently. One of my favourite spots we walked around was the Cortile Della Pigma, a beautiful courtyard type area. It has a sculpture in it called Sphere Within Sphere by Arnaldo Pomodoro.



The whole city is absolutely stunning, with intricate art work and breath taking architecture. I would strongly recommend visiting if you find yourself in Rome, whether for religious reasons or soaking up some culture, it's certainly an experience.








Thursday, 19 March 2015

Just A Small Update



I'm sorry that i've been really inactive at posting. Since January, i've had a couple of big things to prepare for which required my time and concentration more. The first being my schools production of Sunshine On Leith at the beginning of February. It was a fun show but a lot of rehearsing had to be put into it to achieve the amazing result we did. I've also been organising everything I need for my upcoming trip to Italy in a week. This trip has required a lot of preparation too and alongside the musical, I haven't had much time to blog. I hope you understand. I plan on getting back into the swing of things now and I look forward to posting my holiday pictures here and my latest book review, which you'll be able to check out on my book blog www.sailoralanahbooks.blogspot.co.uk/, so watch that page.

-Alanah

Thursday, 8 January 2015

Introduction


Introduction

Hello there everyone,

I'm a 17 year old from North East England who loves to write and many other things. One of those things is traveling. I love to soak up the culture of the world which is something best experienced first hand. This blog is going to be dedicated to my travels, including pictures of where i'm going, pictures from past holidays that were amazing, and posts talking about where I traveled to, whether this is abroad of within the UK.


Travelling is one of the things in life I enjoy and I can't wait to write about my adventures for you all to read.