February | 2016 | upaiblog

Light Rain, 13°C

St. Peter’s Basilica

Even though St. Peter Basilica is not a church with the highest ranking in the Catholic chruch, it is one of the four Papal Basilicas and the only one which is located in Vatican. Therefore we can agree it is the most scared and important Catholic chruch in the world.

If from the exterior you can fell its greatness, wait until you’re inside. Your eyes will be spoilt by so many masterpieces from the renaissance sculptures and painters.

Words can’t really describe how magnificent St. Peter is. Regardless whether you are a Catholic or not, you must visit this chruch if you have a chance to be in Rome.

buildings, palatine, rome

Clear Sky, 15°C

Via di San Gregorio, 58

Palatine, the highest of the Rome seven hills was the opulent residences of caesars.

If you want a prove that in the old days things were built for last, you can see the remnants of huge caesars residences complex here at the Palatine hill. Today, some thousand years after they were bulit you can still see the Roman designed baths and other buildings complex, while I doubt if a modern bathroom can survive even a hundred years.

Palatine Hill along with the Roman Forum is an open-air museum which can be visited with a single same ticket to enter the Colosseum, unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to visit the Roman Forum this time.

building, colosseum, rome

Clear Sky, 15°C

Piazza del Colosseo, 3

I had always thought that if you are a caesar you don’t have to please (read: bribe) your own people to keep the power but I guess caesars are like apples, there are bad ones and there are several less bad ones.

Vespasian was the lesser evil , undone his predecessor, Nero’s land grab and built an amphitheater right smack in the middle of Rome as a place where his citizens could be entertained.

The irony is that the amphitheater is better known as the Colosseum from the Colossus of Nero statue used to be placed nearby rather than its original name the Flavian amphitheatre.

arcbasilica, rome, stjohnlateran

Light Rain, 13°C

Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano

If you guess that St Peter basilica in Vatican is the highest rank of Catholic Church in the world you might be surprised that you’re wrong. The honor belongs to the St. John Lateran Arcbasilica in Rome.

Older than St. Peter Basilica, St. John Lateran Arcbasilica is a magnificent church with rich histories dating back to the early catholic church. Although the exterior is rather modest compared to the St. Peter, the interior is breathtaking with all decorations, frescoes and the huge twelve apostle statues.

Don’t leave Rome without visiting it.

michelangelo, museum, vatican

Moderate Rain, 11°C

Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

Who says there are no tourists in Europe during winter? The attraction spots in Rome including the Vatican museum were jam-packed with tourists.

It can be partially explained by the fact that last week was Chinese New Year when most Chinese spend their long holidays seeing the world. So note to myself, avoid chinese new year holidays!

The museum itself is still a great place to see the Christians and non-Christian historical artifacts. The booyah moment will be definitely when you are in the Sistine Chapel admiring Michelangelo’s frescoes The Last Judgement and The Creation of Adam among others.

Unfortunately it was jam-packed and no photography is allowed but it is still an awesome place to be at least once in your life.

cathedral, cupola, dome, florence

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

I saved the best for last, the cathedral’s dome or cupola. Yes, you can also climb it.

Although it is slightly higher to climb with its 463 steps it is surprisingly easier on your knees. And like the tower you will also be rewarded by great views of Florence after climbing the dome.

Ps. Florence is a great compact city with awesome cultures and suprisingly cheap yummy foods. I will definitely come back again in thr future. Our 2 nights stay is simply not enough ☺.

cathedral, church, florence

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

The main bulding on the complex is the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral itself. It is the third largest church in the world after St. Peter in Vatican and St. Paul in London.

When it says large it is insanely huge. St Peter in Vatican must have been built later to overwhelm this cathedral.

belltower, duomo, florence

Giotto’s Bell Tower

A visit to Florence will not be a complete one without seeing the The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore complex. This main cathedral complex which is also known as Il Duomo di Firenze, includes several historic buildings.

We started with its 84.7 m bell tower, called Giotto’s bell tower. Anything with height is my favourite so it is a bit subjective if I said that the view from the tower is magnificent.

Unfortunately there is no other way to enjoy the views other than climb its 414 steps. But after the last step you will be rewarded with great views!

florence, michelangelo, square

Clear Sky, 6°C

Piazzale Michelangelo

If you are happenes to be in Florence and lucky enough to have a clear evening then head off to the Piazzale Michelangelo.

It is a small hill just south of the historic city center where you can enjoy a gorgeous panoramic view of Florence at susnset. As a bonus you can also see the bronze copy of Michelangelo’s David.

pisa, tower

Clear Sky, 12°C

Leaning Tower of Pisa

We stopped by at Pisa just to see the Leaning Tower as apparently there are nothing else to see here.

So after put our bags to the expensive left bag facility at the train station, off we went.

The tower is actually a bell tower of the Pisa cathedral. As a proper tourist I couldn’t resist take a photo pose trying to “unlean” it.

The poor engineer that designed the tower foundation must haven been fired I would imagine but this tower shows you that you can turn a lemon into a lemonade 😊.