Rome’s beautiful but gruesome treasure. This church is the oldest circular church in Rome, dating back to 460AD. Why it was built in this circular shape, no one knows. Today, most visitors will come to see the gore of Santo Stefano Rotondo. For in the 1500’s the Jesuits took over the space and painted huge …
One of my very favourite places in the world to see and photograph graffiti is here. Beautiful Roman graffiti & street art is prolific, incredible and can be quite controversial. Freedom Rome seems to let its artists have an immense amount of freedom or leniency when it comes to graffiti and street art. What many …
Some times the best days are the ones that are completely unplanned. Today when I awoke, I had no destination in mind for my long walk. So, I simply decided to walk! Come get lost with me in Rome and see what treasures I found this morning. To Begin It is a drizzly morning today; …
On my first trip to Rome 5 years ago, I had planned out my days to include a trip to all of Rome’s biggies and most interesting places for me. This included the Colosseum, Vatican Museum, Domus Aurea, etc. Now that I am here a second time, and I am on a tight budget, I …
Visiting Italy is a foodie’s dream come true. The quality of ingredients is high, the pure simplicity of the dishes is magic. No matter what your heart desires, with a little research, you will be eating amazing food in Rome. Eating on a Budget My first visit to Rome was one of sampling the amazing …
Oh what a fun market in Rome! And it is open every day of the week but Sunday’s. Here you will find food, fruit and vegetables, condiments, pasta, flowers and souvenirs. The lively little market at Campo de Fiori is one of my all time favourite markets ever! Brief History I first discovered this beautiful …
This trip has turned into one full of the most lovely outdoor nature adventures! Today I visited the free rose garden in Rome. I recently discovered this even existed, and low and behold it only just opened for the season. How lucky am I? Getting There The address is Via di Valle Murcia 6, and …
Rome can be a very busy city indeed. Being here in April, I thought I might escape the big crowds, but alas, I am sardined in with other visitors by late morning every day. A perfect escape from the crowds is within the beauty of Rome’s Botanical Gardens. The Site The current gardens have been …
I didn’t have time to visit this gallery on my previous trip to Rome in 2018. So it was on my list of places to go this time. I purchased the 15 Euro ticket on line and booked an opening time slot of 9am. A tour of the Doria Pamphilj Gallery is definitely worth exploring …
There is so much history in Rome, it is ridiculous, in the best of ways. On my first visit in 2018, I saw the biggest attractions. Some of these made such an impact on me, I am back to see them a second time. One such site is the Pantheon – being in a magical …
For my long daily walk, I decided to take the bus to a new to me area. Time travel to Mdina & Rabat was on the menu today. Mdina is an incredibly old city and up until 400 years ago, used to be the capital of Malta. It is full of history, a gorgeous cathedral …
I think all readers know by now that I am a market fiend. As soon as I arrived in Malta and got myself settled, you better believe I started googling local markets. 😊 Well I found one, within walking distance. What a beautiful market in Birgu I found early on a Tuesday morning. This is …
Easter Sunday is a day of huge celebrations here in Malta, for it is the resurrection of Jesus today. The church bells have been ringing for hours! Fire crackers have been booming, people have been throwing confetti and candy from their windows as processions pass by on the streets below. Happy Easter from Malta! I …
Being one of the most religious days of the year for a Catholic, I thought it would be interesting to visit St. Lawrence’s Church on my walk this morning. It’s Good Friday in Birgu, well everywhere in fact, and probably one of the most important days of the year for a Christian. St. Lawrence’s Church …
I took the ferry across to Valletta, with no plans other than to explore old town inside the stone walls. After walking around for a while, I peeked inside a doorway only to discover a beautiful church. From first glance it looked amazing, so I thought what the heck, I’ll head on in. As it …
After visiting St. John’s Co Cathedral in the morning, and dodging the crowds on the Merchant’s Street, I was in need of a quiet space for the remainder of the day. Close to where I was, is the museum of fine arts, and I thought spending an afternoon at MUZA would be perfect. MUZA is …
After being in Malta for a few days, and specifically being here over Easter, I can see that many of my posts are going to centre around religion. This is the first, experiencing Our Lady of Sorrows Procession on this past Friday evening. From what I have been told, Malta is 98% Catholic. The country …
Unbeknownst to me, when I left the flat for my morning walk a couple of days ago, I quickly discovered it was a holiday. March 31st was Freedom Day & the National Regatta in Malta. Here in Malta, Freedom Day is March 31st. This day is the anniversary for the withdrawal of the British troops …
Wow. I’m in love. ❤️ Looking out the car windows on the ride from the airport, I knew I had made a great choice in visiting this country. I have been here a few days now, here are my first impressions of Malta. Most structures are made of huge limestone blocks ranging from ivory to …
A brief post to document happenings. Yesterday I posted about PVR to YYC. This post covers YYC to LHR, the airport & flight. The duration from YYC, Calgary to LHR, London Heathrow, was 8.5 hours of flight time. I arrived at the airport at 13:30. A free shuttle taxi service was provided by the hotel. …