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  • Luke Palmas
  • Luke Palmas

Europe

Travelling Solo on trains from Paris to Rome En savoir plus
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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas

    A minor (major) deviation

    25 novembre 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    From Camogli, I left for Torino to meet an old work friend who lived there. We kinda just strolled around for a bit and ate some food. It was actually so good to see a familiar face on this trip, really makes you feel normal for a bit. After the meeting, I took the high-speed 3 hours to the next destination, Florence!En savoir plus

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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas
    111

    Florence!

    25 novembre 2024, Italie ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    This city is the capital of Tuscany, and boasts a long history in trade, art, culture and wealth. It's many piazzas and churches in the historic centre are a UNESCO world heritage site. It's also the setting for Assassin's Creed II. I will not comment on whether the former or latter is the reason I came here. The great thing about Florence is it's extremely dense. Walking from my hotel to a view of the city I managed to see the big 3 landmarks all on foot. The Santa Maria Di Fiore Duomo, the Palazzo Vecchio and the Ponte Vecchio. So far I love it but I'm sure there's more praise to come tomorrow, cya soon 👋.En savoir plus

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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas
    San GimignanoView down from Torre Grossa🦅Sang No 1Snag No 21SienaSiena DuomoUnfinished Siena DuomoMe on top of the unfinished Siena Duomo1Carbonara

    San Gimignano and Siena

    26 novembre 2024, Italie ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today, I ventured out of Florence and further into Tuscany to two beautiful medieval towns (that were both also featured in Assassin's Creed). San Gimignano is special in its prevalence of domineering towers. These were built to show off how much wealth each family had and could be seen from far around. I had two excellent sandwiches in this town. I fear this trend will not continue back home. After meeting some nice Americans who helped me out with the confusing bus system of Tuscany I made my way to Siena. Originally a rival to Florence this renaissance town was always competing for the best trade and greater landmarks. The Duomo of Siena was built in completion to the one in Florence but was so ornate and so expensive that it eventually ran out of funding and remains unfinished to this day. Watching the sunset over the rolling green hills of the Tuscan countryside is definitely a sight I'll never forget. Dinner in Firenze was particularly yummy and quite cheap too which my wallet and I loved.En savoir plus

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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas
    Palazzo Vecchio (again)
    😨This one had me standing like a statueDavid (replica)1AffoghatoSynchronising againValue!Bells from afarBells up close

    Some more Florence

    27 novembre 2024, Italie ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Today I explored the capital of Tuscany for the first time in daylight. Firstly I went to the Ufizi galleries where I finally realised I'm not as much of an art person as I thought I was because I was in and out in 50 minutes. After, I went to the best pizza shop in Florence (according to some awards and a YouTube channel). It was actually fantastic tho so no complaints here. I even ate with a knife and fork, (which is really hard btw) so props to me. Later, I headed to Palazzo Pitti and trusted my gut and completely skipped the art museum section and went straight to the garden. I'm glad I did because I loved it. It offered great views of the city and some excellent landscaping. Later, I headed to Vivoli's which is according to many, the best gelato place in Florence (that's open on a Wednesday). Tbf I had the best Affoghato I've ever had so maybe it being Wednesday was lucky. Because for some reason I wanted to climb more stairs I chose to climb 416 up the bell tower for the Duomo, which was a small price to pay when compared to the actual price of admission. (YOLO). For dinner I had Gnocchi Ragu at the same place as last night because it was only 15 euros for wine, water, a main and a side dish. This Tuscan part of my journey has really blown me away. It's stunning beauty and delicious food has left me hungry for more.En savoir plus

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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas
    Me and the Vatican
    1Penne alla Carbonara Nevio style1The pantheon is massive2Me and Zia AnnieRoman PizzaGelato!

    ROME!!!!

    28 novembre 2024, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    I've arrived in Rome woohoo!!! My last stop on the journey has arrived and it's the most special because I'm here with family I haven't seen in 17 years. So after a LOT of catching I went for some strolls with an excellent guide, Zia Annie. I finally got to try Roman Pizza and a "real carbonara" by Uncle Nevio (altho I was assured by my cousin Lorenzo that I'm going to have an even more "real carbonara" later). Rome is so big and sort of overwhelming but what makes that acceptable in my mind is ik I will definitely be back.En savoir plus

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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas
    Not the Sistine chapelI had no idea this was in this roomPOPEMOBILE1No idea that this was here111

    The Vatican and Castel Sant' Angelo

    29 novembre 2024, Cité du Vatican ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today Zia and I decided to check out the Vatican museum. This gargantuan museum has probably one of the largest and most valuable collections in the world and it feels like it goes out of its way to comment on how wealthy the Catholic Church is, hmmm. Putting that aside, there are some amazing things in here that just transcend pop culture that I had seen before and didn't even know were like, "The Creation of Adam" and that one spiral staircase. Thanks to Zia's wealth of knowledge on Italy I got to truly appreciate the map room that depicted every single part of this country in an absolutely captivating way. The Sistine chapel is a room I had been hearing about all my life and it truly blew me away. The amount of detail in the ceilings and walls just made my jaw drop. You're not allowed to take photos there so sorry I can't share it☹️. Later, for an amazing view of Rome we hiked up Castel Sant' Angelo. Viewpoints really place the stress and chaos of a city in a different light as you are calmed by the breathtaking views. (Credit: Zia for that thought.) For dinner we had home-made Pappardalle with Wild Boar sauce, which was absolutely fantastic. Thanks to Zio Nevio for "acquiring" the boar and for Zia Annie for turning it into something special.En savoir plus

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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas
    Gladiator fighting!!The book that started it all

    Ancient Rome 🏛️

    30 novembre 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Sorry for the late post, I thought it went through but it didn't. Today Lorenzo, Zia and I went to the one and only Colloseum. Huge expectations for this as, 17 years ago I was brought to the gates but didn't get to go in. What first surprised me about this very ancient and excavated part of the city is how much it feels like Disneyland. Currently (and hopefully forever) the street leading up to this grand stadium is pedestrianised, so you feel like you're in Anaheim approaching the castle like in a fairytale. The building actually felt bigger in person and it's amazing it's still standing 1900 years later. Afterwards, we went to the Roman forum, and enjoyed a town centre formerly bustling with slaves, aristocrats, and ancient Romans and now bustling with modern Romans and tourists. In the past when I'd seen Roman ruins it was always just one temple or a small field or a random Ampitheatre like I saw in Vienne, but I cannot stress how much there is to see in Rome itself, the sheer amount of old buildings is just so impressive. Ever since I got an ancient Rome book from here 17 years ago an interest in Ancient history had always been blossoming inside me and today was the culmination of that, so it was very special.En savoir plus

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  • Luke PalmasEuropeLuke Palmas
    11It didn't quite focus but hey it's coolKeyholeCircus Maximus1Mouth of TruthNo I didnt think this was the ColloseumPiazza Della CampidoglioRoman ForumThe Wedding cakeSt Peter's Basilica"A real Carbonara"1Family!

    The finale of the trip

    1 décembre 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Well that went fast. My final full day in Rome and thus my final day in Europe has arrived. So much for me to process, so many new connections made, lessons learned, memories created A LOT. What did I learn? I was told by someone wise that I'm not going to know that straight away, so this trip will have some important times of reflection. Anyways, the first thing we did was along the Tiber to the Aventine hill where I got another perspective on the Eternal city and a peer into the most beautiful keyhole in the world. After checking out Circus Maximus briefly, I did NOT get my hand snapped off by the mouth of of truth. A short walk over Piazza del Campidoglio provided some lovely views of the Forum and Colloseum once more. St Peter's Basilica is the biggest church in the world and that is soooo obvious inside. My breath was taken away multiple times in there wow. Lastly, to cap off the trip I had the best Carbonara I've ever had (thanks Lorenzo). I wanna thank Zia Annie, Zio Nevio and Lorenzo for all being so lovely and hospitable. It was genuinely great to make these new connections. Hope to see y'all again soon 👋En savoir plus

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    Fin du voyage
    2 décembre 2024