Western Europe Wiggle | FindPenguins

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Western Europe Wiggle Traveler
Venice - Walking Tour
October 13, 2015 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
Squeezing in a bit more to our short stay in Venice, we went on a walking tour today before we left. Unfortunately it was raining pretty heavily, but with the high tide (more on that later) it kinda felt like the city was being drowned.

There was interesting history on the tour, but what I kept noticing was the water level. It's just insane how close this place is to being underwater. You can see it clearly in the last 3 photos - the water's about 5cm below the street/plaza level. At one point our group was standing on a "sidewalk" like (#6) while a boat went past and the wake wave continued onto the stone to soak the shoes of about half the group.
We learned that in very high tides (acqua alta) they place mini-tables on the streets to walk above the water. A flood covers 15% of Venice about 4 times per year!

It was also interesting to see how boats are used exactly like cars here, to the point of little traffic jams and minor altercations about people's driving abilities.Read more
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Western Europe Wiggle Traveler
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Rome - Exploring
October 14, 2015 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
We'd booked a walking tour starting later in the day (yes, you have to book and print out your tickets for a free walking tour - Italy in general seems oddly bureaucratic while simultaneously lax about rule-following), so we had the morning to wander.

There was a great view (#1) from the Trinità dei Monti, just at the top of the Spanish Steps (#2) (empty because they're closed for renovation). On the way we also saw orange trees at the roadside (#3), walked through the Villa Borghese Gardens (a smallish park we realised is bigger than Vatican City, #4), and via the Piazza del Popolo with its twin churches (#5).
Stopped for lunch at a traditional Italian place and had my fist taste of really good Italian food (#6). Pasta always seems to be in small portions here (5 ravioli for 8€ ouch) and you order primo/secondo plates in addition.Read more
Needs more food.
11/7/15Reply
Traveler It took a while but I did a food post later. I didn't take photos of every plate/gelato I had in Rome, unfortunately
11/8/15Reply
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Western Europe Wiggle Traveler
Rome - Walking Tour
October 14, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
The walking tour took us to some of the interesting-but-not-superstar level sights in the city (which is a good thing because we were going to see the big things anyway).

We saw the Column of Marcus Aurelius (#1), with its very detailed spiralling relief story, the remaining side of the Temple of Hadrian (#2), pockmarked by the removal of valuable brass (used by Romans to strengthen stone structures, apparently unnecessary). We also saw the Pantheon, but being almost hemispherical inside, it was difficult to photograph (if you're interested: http://www.monolithic.org/domes-more/the-panthe… ).

I particularly liked the Sant'Ignazio Church because it had painted ceilings to make it look like it had high arches and a dome (#3,4), when in fact it has flat ceilings (look closely at the photos!), all done by a priest who painted as a hobby.

After the tour we wandered across Piazza Navona, with its Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers, #5), and later Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland, the largest monument in Rome, #6), both lit up very nicely at night.Read more
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Western Europe Wiggle Traveler
Rome - Roman Forum
October 15, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
On the way there, we got to see the Altar from last night in the daylight with another column, Trajan's Column (#5), near excavations of Trajan's Forum (#6). Seems like anywhere they dig in this city they run into 1000+ year old ruins.

This was the centre of Roman civilisation from around 2500 years ago. It's actually quite well preserved considering (maybe because) it was covered in sediment/debris after the Roman Empire fell ~1500 years ago.

Entirely by accident, we entered by a side entrance (near Trajan's Forum), skipping the huge line at the entrance. We followed another Rick Steves guide to give some context to the ruins, but basically lots of temples and Caesars' houses and a few government buildings.
I was most impressed by the Basilica of Maxentius, so huge to have been built in ~300AD, especially when you consider the remaining part is only one side and is missing the taller nave section (in the left background of #2, oh btw that's just the Coliseum further away on the right).Read more
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Western Europe Wiggle Traveler
Rome - Colliseum
October 15, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Right next to the Roman Forum, and visible from all around. Such an impressive ruin, such a grand scale! Once again we used the Rick Steves audio guide to give us a bit of history: I didn't know that people got to go for free, it was a way of keeping the masses occupied so they didn't revolt. We went kinda late in the day and had online tickets, so there was basically no wait in line, yay!
It was a bit unnerving seeing the guards with automatic rifles everywhere, though (#4).

On our way back we saw the beautiful clean river Tiber (#5). I can now see how green alien crystals could infest the area without anyone noticing.
Also came across a small road intersection with a fountain on each corner that was really nice (though impractical because there's no space to stand and look at the statues, #6).Read more
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Western Europe Wiggle Traveler
Rome - Vatican Museum / Sistine Chapel
October 16, 2015 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
The last big things to see in Rome were in Vatican City (with impressive walls, #1). First, we went to see the Vatican Museum (including the Sistine Chapel).

The museum is half about the items on display, and half about the rooms themselves, with their beautifully painted ceilings and walls (#2,3) (by famous names like Raphael and Michaelangelo but not quite on the level of Versailles IMO).

At some point, the crowd all begins moving in one direction, and you're trapped in a human mass conveying you along a winding route to the Sistine Chapel. I was a bit disappointed by this: I'm sure many people just want to see the Chapel and could take a more direct route, while those that actually want to stop and admire the rooms get pushed along (if you're afraid of crowds just don't bother).

The Chapel itself was impressively painted, and made appreciable with Rick Steves again, pointing out and explaining the features. The quiet hum in the sardine-packed Chapel was frequently interrupted by a jarring man on a loudspeaker booming "SHHHHHHHHHH. SILENCIO. SILENCE. NO PHOTOS. NO VIDEOS". Kinda ironic.Read more
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Rome - St Peter's Square
October 16, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
After the Sistine Chapel we walked around the corner (not taking the ~18€ tour that would've let us skip 10 mins walk and that someone was trying to sell on every street corner) to St Peter's Square. Wow, it's gigantic!
Despite its size and the fact it wraps around you, the Basilica manages not to loom over you. Apparently the idea is that it's like comforting arms.
The line to get in to the Basilica ran along half the circumference of the square (which is a circle btw) but "only" took about 30 mins to get in. During that time we listened to another Rick Steves guide pointing out the features of the square.
Oh, and Vatican City hires Swiss guards and has them wear this traditional uniform (#5). Still looks quite good I think!Read more
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Rome - St Peter's Basilica
October 16, 2015 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Breaking this up into a separate post because there was lots to see!
After getting through the security check and the clothes-etiquette check (slightly worrying because I had shorts on, instead of pants as recommended) we made it in and decided to go inside the Basilica before climbing the dome.

Again, wow, what a gigantic impressive building!
Very pretty though not as ornate as some other churches I've been to - probably because detail would get lost in this huge expanse. Again it doesn't feel as vast and imposing as it really is - Rick Steves explains that many features inside help it feel a bit more intimate, like the statues further up columns actually being larger than the closer ones and the altar canopy (#4, with nice God-rays behind) filling some of the vertical space.

Among the many amazing sculptures was Michelangelo's Pietà (#5), and one I took a really terrible photo of, that turned out to be the Tomb of Pope Alexander VII (http://www.wga.hu/art/b/bernini/gianlore/sculpt…) - I love the way the stone looks so much like cloth.

And I took a pretty sweet photo sphere that is now viewable only on my phone because Google removed the web viewer, grrr :{Read more
Wow opulence much
11/10/15Reply
Traveler It's supposed to be the biggest/fanciest church so... I guess that's the point
11/11/15Reply
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Western Europe Wiggle Traveler
Rome - St Peter's Basilica Dome
October 17, 2015 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
After seeing the inside of the Basilica we went to go up the dome, only to find it had just closed (being Italy, there were no signs saying when it would close). Damn, we should have gone up first! However, we had an extra day with nothing planned so we came back the next day to walk up the 550 steps to the top.

About halfway up you're standing on the roof of the main nave area so you get an up-close view of the church structure, and then go inside for a view down and around the inside of the dome (#2). Up close you can see all the "paintings" are actually mosaics made of thousands of tiny pieces of coloured glass. Many paintings here were copied using this technique and replaced, for longevity.

Next the really neat part, walking up the dome itself, in passageways that are clearly forced to fit around the shape of the dome (#3,4).

Finally you're standing in a caged-in area with spectacular 360 degree views of the city and the ant-people below. That viewing area is visible in #5, which might give a better sense of scale to the photo of the whole basilica from 2 posts ago.Read more
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Rome - Food
October 17, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
How have I been in Rome so long without a food post?! I think Rome had my favourite food choices of anywhere on this trip, especially when you consider price (Paris also had some great food but it was much more expensive). Most of these places were in the area around Piazza Navona, but you had to hunt for them (preferably online) to avoid the expensive tourist trap places.

Here are some of my favourites/notables:
Pizza at Baffetto (#1), was recommended by our walking tour guide. The place was packed, with a line to get in, and the pizza was excellent and reasonably priced.

I averaged at least one gelato per day in Rome (so good, so cheap - usually 3.5€ for 3 scoops), and right beside Baffetto was the 2nd best gelato place I found, called Frigidarium. The best gelato had to be Giolitti, where the blueberry sorbet was just amazing (#2). And free whipped cream on top. Very Roman system: pay at one counter, order at another, no free seating inside or outside.
I also tried a "cannoli siciliani" (#3) at Dagnino. It's a hard biscuity tube filled with chocolate chip ricotta. Although Dagnino apparently makes these well, I just thought they were weird (also, expensive).

At a place called Il Fico I had an excellent lasagne (#4), which was much more about the pasta than the meat/cheese compared with other lasagne I've had. Also here I had an AMAZING parmigiana di melanzane (eggplant parmesan) that I ate too fast to take any photos - probably my favourite dish in Rome.

Basically every pasta dish I had was very good, but these ones (#6) from Osteria Della Suburra, along with the huge antipasti dish (#5) was probably my favourite combination of price and taste (PS. I'm not that much of a glutton, that's Gyurme's food too!).Read more
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Rome - Baths of Diocletian
October 18, 2015 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Having a few hours to spare on our last day, we decided to check out something we'd walked past many times but never investigated. Turns out it was the Baths of Diocletian, now part of the National Roman Museum. It was a bit pricey to get in because there was a modern art exhibition on there too (13€ for an 8-day pass to a bunch of museums we didn't have time to visit).

Anyhow, these baths were the largest ever constructed by Roman emperors. It's a huge site for a single complex - larger in land area than St Peter's Basilica. A lot of the original structure has broken down, but what remains still give a sense of the grand scale of the place (#1,2,3) and its craftsmanship (#4 - Hercules vs Achelous). Part of the original frigidarium (cold bath room) has been turned into an entire church (#5).

There were also a lot of assorted artefacts arranged around the area with little ceremony (#6). I guess when you dig up your 500th 2000 year old broken statue/sarcophagus it's not that special any more. I thought the museum itself was pretty average.Read more
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Rome - Goodbye! (with a snag)
October 18, 2015 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
I had a great holiday and got to see tons of places/things/cultures that I'd heard about. Cheers, Europe!
Time to get back on a plane for a little 6 hr flight to Dubai, then the long 13.5 hrs to Melbourne and 3.5 hrs to Auckland (29 hours from departure to arrival).

Unfortunately, as we were checking in, they told Gyurme he couldn't get on the plane because (as a New Zealand permanent resident, but an Indian citizen) he needs a visa just to transit through Australia. Wow, ok, couldn't someone have mentioned this earlier? The Australian embassy in Rome was already closed for the evening and you can't get the visa once you're already on the flight plan, so Gyurme had to (expensively) rebook his flight through Singapore instead. Luckily we were plenty early at the airport so had time to sort it all out. #2 is Gyurme looking rather defeated/displeased afterwards.Read more
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Melbourne - Touchdown
October 20, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
Just to claim I've actually been to Melbourne now :P
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Whangaparaoa - Home Again!
October 21, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
It's good to be home! (photo from Orewa beach nearby)

Seeing as many people have asked this, I think my favourite places/things were Norway (for the very modern yet green city of Oslo and the amazing scenery towards Bergen), Madrid (for the [I know it sounds bad to say this, but] suprisingly first-world city that I wasn't really expecting, with good/cheap food and drink and my favourite hostel of the trip), London (for the museums and history), Munich (felt like a city I could live in), and Rome (for the food and oodles of history). Also the Sagrada Familia wins best church hands down (although I wasn't really a fan of Barcelona).

I think that wraps it up for this trip, bye!Read more
Daniel RobertsonMoar Whangaparaoa photos!
11/6/15Reply
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Trip end
October 21, 2015