Venice the City of Romance - Day 1

Hotels in Venice are generally quite expensive. For budget travelers like me, it may be a better option to stay outside Venice.

I stayed in Mestre, a small town only 15 mins away from Venice. My hotel was right next to the bus stop, as well as the train station.  There were buses running from Mestre to Venice every 10 mins from 5:00 am till midnight. The hotel itself was inexpensive, very clean, cozy and convenient with daily buffet breakfast (I love, love, love hotel breakfast!!). So what else can I ask for?

You will never understand why people call Venice one of the most romantic cities in the world until you go there yourself. There are no cars, you can only walk, take a ferry or a gondola. When you were there it felt instantly like you time-traveled 600 years back to the most glorious days of Venice.

The city naturally has a classic dark undertone like an instagram filter is automatically applied everywhere

And, lovebirds, Paris is not the only place where you can lock your love to a bridge.

I loved how the gondola, the greenish water, and the reddish brick wall in the background created a perfect sense of harmony. Italians really are natural artists.

It felt good enough to be just there randomly walk around. But Venice has way more to offer. Palazzo Ducale near the St. Mark's Square is a must-go.

Birds chilling out at the St. Mark's Square

Inside Palazzo Ducale

The Palazzo Ducale has more than 1500 years of history and was rebuilt, extended and restored over the years. In the late 15th century, a violent fire broke out and it took them almost 100 years for the reconstruction to complete. After that, the palace remained pretty much the same as we see it today.

I wasn't that familiar with Northern Italian arts and I didn't have time to read about it before the trip. So I couldn't say much about the art works in Palazzo Ducale. One of the most famous thing about this place, however, is the bridge of sigh.

You can easily understand how it got the name because the palace, where the richest and the most influential people stayed, and the cells of the prisoners were only separated by a canal and connected by the bridge of sigh. It was where a prisoner could catch a last glimpse of freedom.

 

Heaven on the left, hell on the right

I have been to one of the cells, it was so dark and it felt ominous. Actually what else could you think of when you were in a dimly lit cell where people only suffered, probably till death. I thought it was a bad idea to take pictures inside but I did....lol. Just it was way too creepy to post it here.

To wipe off the creepiness. I am posting a beautiful picture of Venice taken right outside Palazzo Ducale, for no obvious reason. (except to wipe off the creepiness lol)

After that we went straight to dinner. This restaurant was recommended by one of my friends who has been traveling around the world and knows only the best places to eat. Everything served here was so nice, from the homemade bread, to the homemade pasta and the swordfish <3

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Travel tips:

#1 When it comes to food, you can never go wrong with Italian restaurants. But the ones located near where traffic is heavy are tend to be (heavily) over-priced. Even if you have no idea where to go, rule of thumb is to walk a little further from the main streets. The place where we had dinner was just 5 mins away from the Grand Canal. But it was cheaper and the food served looked waaaaay better than the ones facing the water.

#2 Adding to #1, as I suggest you to walk a little further from the main streets, don't walk too far. It's extremely easy to get lost in Venice. You may not be convinced because I get lost basically everywhere lol. But all of my friends including those who I think they can store maps in their brains with built-in GPS say the same.

 [1 July 2014] I am writing this blog more than one month after my Italy trip. Looking at the photos you have no idea how much I am missing this place. I am looking forward to the second time I go there, and I know I am going to have so much more fun than the first ;-)

My Italy - Prelude

I studied Fine Arts for 2 years in the university besides my Engineering major. Textbooks in Western art history usually begins with the astonishing 200 years between 1400-1600 in Italy, what people commonly called the Italian Renaissance. 

I have only come across the important works of art briefly in the textbooks and I always wanted to see the masterpieces with my own eyes. My plan was to follow the development of art, which started in Italy, later spread all over Europe and reached its peak in Paris (A hint of my next destinations LOL).
 

Therefore, the coming travel journals may sound a little boring for those who have absolutely no interest in art. But it is important for me to write down what I learned during the 10 days, and to remind myself how much I used to enjoy art.

It may as well serve as a very simple art guide in Italy for those who are interested but never have the chance to learn more about art. I did my homework and I can show you only the interesting and essential facts :-)

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It was a 13-hour midnight flight and I would be reaching Milan at 8 am the next morning. For some reasons I couldn't sleep on the plane so I took some snapshots instead.

I sent this picture to my family during the trip and it took them 2 weeks to realize what was it.

At first I thought these were clouds, but quickly found out they were snowy mountains!

I only managed to see 2 sunrises during the entire trip. This one I saw on the plane was very beautiful, the second one I saw in Florence was beyond words.

As a side note I have requested low-fat-low-cholesterol meals for my flights. And they actually looked and tasted way better than regular in-flight meals! They replaced oily omelet with warm grilled chicken breast, hash brown with low fat mashed potatoes, and served with plentiful colourful fruits and vegetables. For those who are tired of regular airplane food and/or as health-conscious as I am, give it a try next time!

 

It was a 10-day trip in Italy and our plan was to start with Venice, then Florence, Rome, and finally Milan again. We were catching a 11:30 am train to Venice on the day we arrived at Milan. Before the ride we found a seat in a cafe called Bistrot Pasticceria. I ordered a sandwich filled with cream cheese, tomatoes and shrimp. The bread was so soft and the cheese was so rich it tasted almost like a savory cheesecake. Yum!

After that our adventure in Italy began.


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Travel tips: 

#1
Apparently Italians do not normally use skim milk to make coffees. I tried to order skim milk cappuccino several times but they looked at me as if I was ordering lemon cappuccino. So I eventually gave up trying. 

#2

As soon as we arrived at the Milan airport we got ourselves vodafone SIM card for EUR 20 with 1GB data. After activating the SIM card I kept receiving SMSs from vodafone, all in Italian. I'd suggest you DO NOT IGNORE THEM. I used google translate and found out they were activating a number of services. If you don't bother to find out which of them are free of charge, disable them all.  

Sydney Trip Finale

What's better than having giant cherry tomatoes for breakfast?

Hmm... How about grilled salmon, baked oysters and passion fruit Greek yogurt?

On my last day in Sydney, I decided to have breakfast in the Sydney Fish Market before heading back to the lodge and check-out. And I, again, hopped on a wrong bus and had to get off at the other side of the harbour. So I unintentionally gave myself the chance to walk over a huge cable-stayed bridge in a beautiful morning...

I was amazed to find out how many Australians ride a bike to work

Despite my mistake I got to the fish market at around 8:00 a.m..

Who could have guessed the fish market was in fact a fruit lover's paradise. And guess what I found? GIANT GOLDEN KIWIS!

OMG!!

A list of what I eventually had for breakfast (in chronological order):

- A box of giant cherry tomatoes

- A giant golden kiwi

- An apple

- 2 baked oysters

- A large piece of grilled salmon

- Passion fruit Greek yogurt

- Half a dragon fruit

After checking-out the lodge I decided to make my 3rd attempt to the Sea Life Aquarium. I hopped on a ferry to the Darling Harbour but was distracted halfway at the Cockatoo Island.

I learned about the Cockatoo Island when I researched about places to watch sunrise in Sydney. The page that I read suggested camping in Cockatoo Island, and I thought it was a joke.

No it was not! 

There were tents for real!

It was a small island no bigger than our Victoria Park in Hong Kong (I later Googled: Cockatoo Island measured 18 hectares, the Victoria Park 19 hectares). On one side of the island sitted around 50 tents facing the sea. On the other side stood several old factory buildings.

Driven by curiosity I decided to get a quick look inside the factories.  And there I saw.....

...a waterfall...

...houses with human face...

As I continued to explore, I felt almost like Alice in the wonderland

Of course it was an art exhibition, but there were no signs, no introduction and no posters telling you what you were about to see. The artists were doing a marvelous job using the old factory space to create a dimension that was so real, yet so unreal. As I did not expect to see anything extraordinary, it was amazing when art hit me in the most surprising way.

I spent around 2 hours in Cockatoo Island and after that I no longer wanted to go to the aquarium. I decided to visit the Art Museum instead, which was located inside the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens.

On my way to the museum

Entrance to the museum

I was impressed to find Picasso's and several very famous artists' works there.

Picasso granted this lucky (poor) lady the most amazing (boring) job in the world

A selection of contemporary works that I like

Sounded like a messed up woman like me

I stayed until the museum was closing and I had around an hour to sunset. Since Botanic Gardens was in fact connected to the Sydney Opera House. Despite I was not particularly interested, I thought there was no harm just to have a look.

If you ever wondered how the Opera House looks like from the behind, this was it.

Walking around all day carrying my baggage, I was exhausted when I finally reached the Opera House. I found myself a front row seat facing the harbour and watched the sky slowly changed colours.

If you ever realized I haven't mentioned what I had for lunch this day, it was because I didn't have anything. I went on with my journey with an empty stomach until around 7 pm when I eventually felt I have accomplished all my "missions" in Sydney.

How my AUD 3 dinner looked like

After dinner I randomly walked around the CBD and along the train stations until it was almost time to catch my flight back home.

I am going to end this entry and my first solo trip with something interesting I found outside Sydney's McDonald's

You get 543 kJ on every dollar you spend. Sounds like a great deal. But I am not sure if it's a turn-off or turn-on.

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[Updated on 21 May 2014]

So this is the end of my very first solo getaway. I have no idea, at that time, how this very trip gradually led to the drastic changes in my life. I was in Sydney from 19 to 23 Apr 2014, as I am now writing this post nearly a month after the trip, looking back, not too long ago, I am amazed how much I have changed, for better or worse.

"Life was like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're going to get" - Forrest Gump 

All I can say is, I kept drawing extra dark chocolates from my box since the trip. It was sour. It was sweet. And it left me with a very bitter aftertaste. Nevertheless, people still love dark chocolates.

After all, you can only live once. Nothing should stop you from exploring and experiencing life. My life journey has so far been full of surprises, happy and sad.  I wish you all good luck on your journeys too, my dear friends <3

Something interesting about the lodge

I have to say one of the reasons that I picked Sydney as my first solo trip's destination was this beautiful lodge that I stayed. The manager there was very friendly and was making every effort to make travelers feel at home. It's a shame I didn't take more photos of the lodge especially the lovely notes the manager left here and there. Out of the limited selection of photos I am going to share with you some interesting things that I found out about this lodge. 

Happy travelers saying thanks to the lodge's manager. (Including me!)

Nice selection of books :-)

Where I grabbed an apple a day.

#1

This is one of my favorite photos of the entire trip: at the top it was a photo of the common room that I took. Pay attention to the right hand side of the picture frame, there was a photo stuck on the wall. And it was, in fact, a photo of the common room itself. I found it very interesting so I took a photo of the photo and then the same photo as the photo, and put them together. LOL. 

#2

Sorry sweetie I didn't mean to call you creepy but you did freak me out....

This doll was sitting in my room next to a mirror with her head facing my bed. I wasn't aware of her existence until midnight when I was about to turn off the lights, and found her staring straight into my eyes. I feel bad for calling her creepy because it looked like she was hand-made. But seriously, she freaked me out to the extend that I didn't feel comfortable to touch her or put her aside.....LOL

#3

This shampoo and conditioner smelled EXTREMELY nice. Wonder where can I get them in Hong Kong.

The lodge has a shared bathroom (that was spotlessly clean!!) but I wasn't sure if shower gel, shampoo and conditioner were provided before I got there. When I checked-in the lodge I saw there were 3 bottles sitting in the bathroom so I safely assumed I had all I need. But at night when I was taking a shower and read the labels carefully, I realized they were shampoo, conditioner and conditioner......LOL

One of the best days of my life - Day 2 in Sydney

Nothing beats waking up to the morning sun. It was 6:30 in the morning when I opened by eyes and greeted by the sunbeams shining through the window.

It was my plan for today:

Drummoyne --> Darling Habour --> Taronga Zoo --> Manly Beach --> Watsons Bay --> Darling Habour ---> Sea Life Aquarium --> Bondi Beach --> Drummoyne

Yes I know it was ...errr....overwhelming... lol

At the Drummoyne wharf

The Taronga zoo was just opened when I got there, however I was apparently the only one awake.

Wake up, buddies!!

No trip to Australia is complete without meeting a Koala.

Spot the Koala

This little fellow was way too energetic. He kept zooming around in a circle I couldn't properly see his face.

This is how he should look like..lol

According to my very unrealistic plan I have to leave the zoo before noon. However I was obviously having too much fun and it was already 1:00 pm when I finally hopped on a ferry to Manly.

I didn't expect the Manly area to be so busy. I was expecting something like Taronga Zoo but I was terribly wrong. There were shops, restaurants, supermarket etc... you name it.  And it reminded me of the Stanley Market in Hong Kong but of course, 20 times its size. 

This kid on the left sang like a pro!!

I did a little bit of research on Sydney's beaches and I knew the Manly beach should be beautiful. But it was out of my imagination to be this beautiful...

I can be here for hours <3

and...er....hot...lol

*blush*

I was already starving when I left Manly so the first thing I did when I have reached the Watsons Bay was to eat. I didn't know if I should call it lunch or tea.

This salad was extremely good. I literally finished it in 5 mins.

There was a beach at Watsons Bay as well but it was not particularly impressive. It was "the Gap" that I was after. I got there after a 10 mins walk from the wharf and the only word that came to my mind was

"Woooooooow..."

Where the sea meets the sky

It was already nearly 4 in the afternoon so I couldn't possibly go back to the Darling Harbour for the aquarium without missing the Bondi Beach. The sea or the aquarium? The sea! Of course!

The Watsons Bay and the Bondi Beach was (sort of) connected and I *believed* it couldn't be wrong to keep moving south. So here my adventure to the Bondi Beach began.

Despite my numerous attempts to climb this rock, I failed. So I decided to take a picture of it instead LOL

And it turned out to be an unbelievably scenic walk...

I later found out it was the Macquarie lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in Australia, that I have unintentionally passed by...

It was around 5 when I finally got to the Bondi Beach, and my experience there was so pleasant I have to call it one of the best days of my life.

A heartwarming scene

The sand was so soft. The beach was so beautiful.

Too cute <3

I stayed there for more than 2 hours. I walked around, played with the sand, and finally sat down facing the sea when the night closed in.

 

 Then I gazed at the stars, listening to "the Moon Song" from the movie "Her".

I was suspended in the beautiful solitude and it was beyond words. I can only share with you the song that I was listening to at the beach and hopefully you can feel what I felt...

 

I am ending this day's entry with a video that I took at the Bondi Beach. I have watched it 20 times myself <3