After the Colosseum and Roman Forum , we went straight to the Trevi Fountain , which is not only one of Rome’s more iconic tourist spots, but also is apparently, a favorite of pickpockets and snatchers . Upon arriving, I could see why, as tourists were cramped like sardines all over the place! * The beautiful Trevi Fountain which I assume is even more glorious at night when all the lights are turned on. For some reason, I kept on thinking bout that fountain stage in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 .

Rome  was my  biggest disappointment  this whole trip. Disappointment not because I wasn’t moved or impressed by the place but because we had but  one day (8 hours)  to explore  BOTH Rome AND The Vatican.  That would be the equivalent of  spending an hour in Disneyworld . Ideally, I would like to explore the city of  Rome for a whole week , and The  Vatican for a few more days  after. Hopefully one day my cousin  Clark , an even bigger History buff than myself, decides to follow his dream of being an archaeologist and actually move to Rome so that I can come and crash in his place when I visit. * The first view of  Constantine’s Arch  and  The Colosseum . Take note of the  line of tourists  towards the right going inside the Colosseum with an estimated  waiting time of 1 hour and 20min .  Now compare that to the one hour which was the total time we spent here in this part of Rome.

Since I had my cousin’s wedding for majority of the day in Florence , we only actually had about two hours to explore the city center. This resulted in the “ spot-point-click-run " shots below as I was literally running from one part of Florence to another, not stopping to truly appreciate what I think is the most beautiful city in this whole Euro trip. Everything about Florence just screams art , and no wonder this is so as Florence is where the Renaissance was born with the works of Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci dotting the “city of the Medici’s " and where the likes of Dante Alighieri and Niccolo Machiavelli  circulated their literary masterpieces.  Two hours is definitely not enough to spend in Florence and I immediately resolved to return someday and to stay for at least a week! * The Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore , better known as the Duomo , has in my opinion the most impressive outdoor facade of any church that I ha

Being the fan of fairy tales and Disney movies that she is, my cousin, Rachel , decided to get married in an actual medieval castle. And since she is one of my closest female cousins (both in friendship and in age), I was stoked to be there! Originally built in the 13th Century and located a few miles from Florence in the Fiesole Hill , the Castello di Vincigliata has been a family stronghold, a glass production center and a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II before finally settling down to it’s most fitting role, a wedding venue . But it’s not just some medieval castle, it’s a  haunted  medieval castle!

One of the pleasures of being in a foreign place is  getting lost on purpose. And while I usually get lost alone (see entries on  Hong Kong, Shanghai and Jerusalem ), for this trip, I was very lucky to be in the company of my two cousins and partners-in-crime,  Clark and Argee . For once, there could actually be a picture of me (hell-yeah!), instead of just the scenery. After the day-trip to  Monaco , we had about four hours to kill before the cruise ship was to depart.  And while everyone else was already on board the ship (sleeping/eating/gambling/enjoying the theatrical production of  Grease ), Argee and I decided to explore  Villefranche  a bit longer. * My partner in crime,  Argee , trying his best to look like one of the locals.. with his huge camera bag, US marine hat and Back to the Future sneakers.