Rome, Italy: A Photo Diary of 5 Summer Days in Rome

LIGHT FROM ABOVE: THE OCULUS (EYE) OF THE PANTHEON

A Rome-ing Eye: My Photo Diary from the Eternal City, Rome 30 May - 4 June 2019 There are some places that I would revisit time and again. One such destination is the appropriately-nicknamed ‘Eternal City’ - Rome. You’d only have to ask, and for this recent trip Luxy asked me to buddy up with her. Curiously enough, the last time we were both in Rome was 5 years ago at around the same time. Having already been there, seen it, and ran the appropriately well-informed commentary; we were unburdened by the savant’s guilt of having to experience all the city’s cultural and historical offerings. The nature of this trip would be less intellectual and more indulgent - purely devoted to enjoying the Eternal City at its best, soaked in sunshine and sorbet. Well, when in Rome... #PBBxItaly #YipAdvisor  Photos of me taken by LUXLIFEBLOG, naturally.

July 12, 2019

Rome, Italy: A Photo Diary of 5 Summer Days in Rome

LIGHT FROM ABOVE: THE OCULUS (EYE) OF THE PANTHEON A Rome-ing Eye: My Photo Diary  from the Eternal City, R...

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Tiny Traveller: Little Girl vs. World, a 7 year old's Europe road trip

The wanderlust is strong in this (little) one.

FIRST, AN EXPLANATION FOR MY DISAPPEARANCE...

Hello, it's me...before I invite you to dive into my archive (arc-dive?) of some of my earliest travel memories, I feel like I owe an explanation for my absence of late. It's relevant to this post, I promise. For the past 3 weeks I've been so uncharacteristically silent on social media that a worried Aftab showed up at my house to make sure I wasn't dead and had my face eaten by cats. I've been sort of in a bad way, mentally and emotionally. Without going in to too much detail (have to keep my head doctors in business, eh?), for almost a month I've been struggling to keep my head afloat in the mire; a perplexing mix of ecstatic highs followed by extreme lows and then apathy, despite having exciting new prospects to look forward to. All of this wild oscillating between both ends of the emotional spectrum have been overwhelming to say the least and not helped by unrelated daunting tasks at hand. As always, I choose isolation rather than burden friends and family with my feelings until I 'sort myself out', so to speak. How very East Asian. 

Me in a more innocent time and with far better eyebrows.

One of the places I've been retreating to is memories of my childhood: a simpler time, carefree and untainted by troubled thoughts, when my greatest fear was not being able to take my favourite stuffed toys - I had 2 plush turtles: a small one with a yellow, red, and blue shell; and a oversized pastel pink one - with me to dinner. In the spirit of #THROWBACKTUESDAY (is that still a thing? I wouldn't know, I've been AWOL from the internet for, like, forever) here are some photos from my earliest travels which might be the catalyst for my serial wanderlust, and also proof that I've been throwing shapes since before social media was a thing. Are travel bloggers born or made? Take a look at 7 year old me, then decide.

June 06, 2017

Tiny Traveller: Little Girl vs. World, a 7 year old's Europe road trip

The wanderlust is strong in this (little) one. FIRST, AN EXPLANATION FOR MY DISAPPEARANCE... Hello, it's m...

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Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 4: Arrivederci, Roma

Thus far our Roman adventures had included the obligatory pilgrimage to Rome's more touristy destinations (the Pantheon and Colosseum to name a few) and having eaten our body weight in gelato, pasta, and pizza (even venturing to the backwoods of suburban Rome for dinner), to say nothing of meeting Pope Francis (in a way) and being dazzled by the opulence of the Vatican City. The blisters on my feet remain, even now, two weeks after returning from the Eternal City, testament to our intrepidness. But the true test of stamina was saved for our last day in Rome which also ironically was to be the most idyllic. 

Verily, the view of Rome and the Vatican City from the top of St Peter's Basilica dome is unparalleled in terms of sheer elevation. But the problem with being on top of the world isn't loneliness, it's that the one view you can't enjoy is your grandeur overlording the domain at your feet.

So we scaled the Spanish Steps up to the Villa Borghese gardens where we could appreciate the imperial stature of St Peter's, this time from across the city. 

July 14, 2014

Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 4: Arrivederci, Roma

Thus far our Roman adventures had included the obligatory pilgrimage to Rome's more touristy destinations (the Pantheon and Colosseu...

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Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 3

Release the cats!

At the birthplace of fight night and Russell Crowe (long may he live).

I smugly waved two tickets for the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill in Henry's face. As I flapped them about they gave off a faint heat, they were still warm from being freshly printed. 

"You know how they say 'A Roman queue wasn't finished in a day'? You'll see it for yourself when you get to the Colosseum and see the queues to buy tickets. You'd think they'd figure out that you can buy them online."*

*What my smug self was not prepared for was the torrential thunderstorm that rained all over my historical parade. 

Henry's face lit up. "How ever so lovely! I have not been here since I was a lad. I do hope the Colosseum has not been cancelled, I am so looking forward to watching thieves being eaten by lions. T'would be more fun than the World Cup."

July 09, 2014

Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 3

Release the cats! At the birthplace of fight night and Russell Crowe (long may he live). I smugly waved two tickets for the Co...

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Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 2

Wednesday, 25th June 2014.

On the morning of our second day in Rome I woke up early to the sounds of the hustle and bustle of Rome drifting from Via Cavour up and trickling through the old-fashioned windows of our studio apartment. T'was most convenient as I am the sort of tourist* who endeavours to wake up early, see and do as many things as possible (God forbid if one item on the itinerary goes unchecked), and be in bed by the very respectable hour of midnight. 

*A happy side effect of travelling is that it enforces a rigidity so often lacking in the schedule of a freelancer, even now, two weeks later I bolt out of bed at eight and review the day's tasks. This is hardly groundbreaking nor innovative for those who commute to 9 to 5 jobs working for other people. But I work for myself and this is revolutionary, dammit! I'm even contemplating buying a Nespresso machine for mornings!

July 07, 2014

Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 2

Wednesday, 25th June 2014. On the morning of our second day in Rome I woke up early to the sounds of the hustle and bustle of Rome dri...

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Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 1

The ceiling of Santa Maria della Vittoria church which I thought was grand enough until I visited St Peter's Basilica.

Rome wasn't visited in one day. Henry and I valiantly attempted four. They say the test of a relationship is to travel together with your significant other and if by the end of it neither have tried to rip out the other's throats then maybe, just maybe, the relationship will work. (The true test however is whether a couple can survive a trip to IKEA together) Anyway, true to form I planned this short trip down to every last detail, itinerary and all (the only exception was Cuba, that was Luxy's pièce de résistance). All Henry had to do to was to say 'yes dear' which as every smart man knows is the key to a happy union. Boyfriends and husbands take note!

July 02, 2014

Rome wasn't visited in one day: Day 1

The ceiling of Santa Maria della Vittoria church which I thought was grand enough until I visited St Peter's Basilica . Rome w...

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