Hi Friends! This is one of the 3 posts that is submitted for the nomination of Best Photo Blog category by OMY Singapore Blog Awards. I must hereby THANK the panel of judges from OMY’s editorial team for selecting TravelerFolio.com as one of the top ten finalists in the Photo Blog category.

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A more relaxing sightseeing day for us, after the mad cow rush the day before. It was very hot, seemed hotter than Singapore, on 29 May. It’s always good to start Europe first from the South like Italy, as it is warmer; then move to colder regions so that by the time, those colder regions should be nearer to Summer and turn warmer.

We visited the Catacombs, which are the underground burial places under Rome. It was a mind boggling experience, seeing human bones being arranged artistically with shivers down the spine. Read the full story

We disembarked the night train at Venezia Mestre station at the Italian mainland and took another train to cross the Venetian Lagoon to central Venice.

The Grand Canal is the most important canal in Venice that forms a major water-traffic corridor to the city. A canoeing competition was going on, so it was not possible for us to take a boat ride to Piazza San Marco or St Mark’s Square in English. We had to walked through the mysterious alleyways to find our way there, giving us the opportunity to explore every nook and canny.

The alleys are brimming with small artisan shops for every visitor to shop for the exquisite souvenirs like the Venetian masks. We entered one such shop and had some fun trying out the Venetian masks.

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The next morning, we headed to Ponte Vecchio. Our tents were nestled among the olive trees in the campsite.

On the hill overlooking Florence in the daylight is mysteriously enchanting; it was like being brought back by a time machine to centuries ago.

We passed by Piazza Michelangelo, a statue of David on the hill on the south bank of the Arno River. The site was designed in 1869, with a great view of the city to offer.

Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval bridge with three segmental arches over the Arno River. There are shops built along the bridge. The striking orange and yellow colours of the bridge certainly certainly also contribute to its unique characteristic.

The reflection of Ponte Vecchio and the buildings on the placid water surface added another mesmeric effect that had intrigued us to capture the magical moment. After all, this famous bridge in Europe is so popularly painted by artists for centuries. Read the full story

We left Florence to Pisa by train. It was a short ride of about one and a half hour.

We walked into yet another famous postcard scene again - the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), one of the main centres for Medieval art in the world. The square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is dominated by four great religious edifices namely the Duomo (cathedral church), the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery and the Camposanto.

This was taken while standing at the Field of Miracle, where all three great buildings can be shot nicely in a picture. It’s a courtesy photo from my pretty buddy, Wendy, who went there in 2007.

The leaning tower is awe-inspiring! How could it lean at such a dangerous yet seductive angle? We spent almost two hours in the square, virtually trying to support the leaning tower, to create our own postcards!

Leaving Pisa for Rome, our last league in Europe.

Next: to ROME!

In Rome, we stayed in Pensione Ottaviano Hostel, which is only a short walk to St Peter’s Square. We got ourselves a six-bedder dorm in this pleasant hostel occupied by youths from all over the world. An American youth told us she worked in the hostel to make some money to tour in Europe. Perhaps we should try that too, so that we could continue our next league in Europe immediately!

One of our friends had to depart two days earlier. She wanted to visit as many attractions as possible in the day; thus, we had to squeeze our three days’ itineraries into a one-day tour! Our marathon for the day included Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Pantheon. All in a day! Phew!

The weather had turned very warm. We were perspiring while walking to Vatican City. It happened to be a Wednesday when Pope John Paul II (1920~2005) would give his weekly Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

It was still early when we were there, so we went into the Vatican Museums first.

Adam and Eve painting.

The Mummy is so well-preserved that the hair is still clearly visible.

It was so crowded in the Sistine Chapel. The chapel is very small and a part of it was closed at when we were there. The guards were very strict and they shouted across the chapel to stop visitors from taking photos. We were being warned a few times too when trying to snap photos of the world famous paintings. My friend escaped the vigilant eyes by putting his arms at the sides and at the same time, holding his camera facing the ceiling of the chapel and snapping the paintings on the ceiling, and one of them was the famous God Creates Adam by Michalangelo.

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Leaning Tower is to Pisa as Colosseum is to Rome. The mighty Colosseum is the largest elliptical amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire and one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. When we think of Colosseum, we think of the brave gladiators who fought for their lives.

Admission to Colosseum is not free and we did not enter it as we thought we could just peep through the gaps to see its interior.

We headed to the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum near the Colosseum. The forum was closing when we entered and there was hardly anyone in the forum which is now left with ruins of the past. But from a historical perspective, much more interesting than Colosseum.

The Roman Forum was the political, legal and religious centre of the mighty Roman Empire. Imagine standing in the Roman Forum which was once a centre of splendour and glory during the mighty Roman Empire is like stepping into the biggest film set ever.

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