Wanna Go Back to Rome ( Italy ) ( part 1 )

In 2009 I went to Europe and visited some cities in Italy such as Rome , Milan and Venice. In this post I will discuss more about my travelling in Rome.

As the in which I rode travelled from Rome's international airport to the Colosseum , which is one of the world' wonders, I realized how Rome has preserved its history quite well. Most buildings , including offices and places of contemporary needs still retain their old frames , as reflected by their architectures and worn stones. Regrettably, many of the beautiful homes with historic front sides are marred by irresponsible individual's grafittis. 

Homes and Shops with historical architecture

Irresponsible Grafitti shown on the right-hand side

After about 20 minutes , I arrived at the Colloseum. In the past , it was used for the public's entertainments, of which some are gladiators' battle and wild animals' fight. The Colloseum's architecture represents the Roman Kingdom's mighty ability of crafting structure.

Crossing the road to the Colloseum

Front view of The Colloseum

I did not enter the Colloseum because we had to pay to enter the space of the Colloseum.  Instead , I wandered around the Colloseum to take some photos. I saw some tourists having horse rides and I thought it should be wonderful if you want to know better about the Colloseum's vicinity with less fatigue. One interesting thing I found was the giant cages of lions , which were used to prepare lions for fight in the Colloseum. 

Scene in front of the retired wild animals' cages

Another is Italians wearing gladiator costumes to earn a living.

Modern Era Gladiators (click image for a clearer view)

I also ate some Pizza Margherita , which plainly but sumptuously consists of pizza bread , mozarella cheese and tomato sauce , which I bought from a booth . The booth is typical of many booths scattered around Rome ( different booth styles in other cities like Milan ). It sold various snacks and bread varieties such as doughnuts , candies , crisps , burgers , pizza and hot dogs , which are freshly made.

Rome's snack booth

Not less important is the Arch of Constantine. It is situated very near to the Colloseum. The Arch had inspired similar structures such as Arch de Triomphe du Caroussel. It is also often called the Arch of Victory, as it is used to celebrate war victory by the Roman Empire.

Arch de Constantine - just beside the Colosseum 

While waiting for the bus fetching us from The Colloseum , my family stopped by a train station. Just at the entry was a snack bar selling a complete range of square pizzas , hot dogs and gelatos (Italian ice-cream) .

Snack bar at train station near Colloseum

I will post another trip I had in Rome another time. I hope that you enjoy reading this post just as I did with my trip.

The Wonder of Jeju Island ( South Korea )

In September 2010 , I went to South Korea for a holiday with my family. Our itineraries were Seoul , Busan , Daegu and Jeju Island. In this post I will specifically tell my journey in Jeju Island.

Jeju Island is popularly known by South Koreans as a retirement city and a honeymoon island , perhaps because of its peaceful and magnificent landscape as well as sparse population, which makes it far less packed than the three previously mentioned cities.  Furthermore, Jeju Island is often called a museum island, since it has the most number of museums per unit area. Among some museums I visited were the glass museum and tea museum.

It was very unfortunate that there were heavy rains due to typhoon during that period, making it more difficult for me to go around. Nevertheless, I could get my hands on Jeju's well-known souvenirs like carefully-harvested honey , red cactus chocolate , organic Suloc green tea and Horse Bone supplement. The organic honey and horse-bone are exclusively sold in Jeju Island. Moreover, it has a unique or cute container featuring Harubang , an icon of Jeju ( please see image below ). Another rare product I purchased was the horse-bone supplement. It is said to incorporate a high content of calcium necessary to sustain the strength of our bone. According to my tour guide, both the horse-bone supplements and the honey's manufacturing processes are monitored by the Korean government's research agency . 

Horse-bone supplement

How the supplement looks like

Jeju organic honey - Harubang container

I also had a trip to The Tea Museum . Inside the museum , visitors can go around the building learning about South Korea's tea history, which includes the ways ceremonies are conducted along with the different utensils used. At the end of the museum route , people can have a look or buy various green tea products manufactured from green tea leaves planted in Jeju Island, which is known to have the best green tea in Korea due to its favorable climate. Below I will include the products I bought in the Suloc Tea Museum .

Green tea seed serum made from 100% organic green tea plants in Jeju Island

Superior Jeju Suloc Green Tea Powder

If you are museum lovers , do not forget to include Jeju Island in your trip. There are many paintings museum and other odd museums as well such as adult museum , which I did not visit since I am underage.But ultimately, you will feel calm and peaceful after you come to Jeju Island.

Memories in Tokyo

I went to Japan in 2007. One of the cities I visited was Tokyo. Some destinations I went to were Asakusa Kannon Temple, whose equivalent name is Sensoji Temple and Ginza as well as Harajuku , the latter two are world-renowned shopping districts. In this post I will describe the atmosphere I cherished in Amakusa Temple.

When I approached the temple, I was amazed at the large gates and huge lanterns. It was the most well-polished temple I have ever visited. The gates were bright red and smooth, not rusting like temples generally located elsewhere. What astounded me more was the large number of visitors of this temple. The crowd was so packed in every direction that I had difficulty deciding to which direction I should walk.

Front Gate of Azakusa Temple