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Well…final day in Paris…
It wasn’t as interesting as the day before however saw a few interesting places…
Day kicked of by going to the Concierge which is a formal jail. It was alright…not as spectacular as the other places I went to.
After that went to the Basilique de Sacre Cur (I’m really not sure of the spelling). A very beautiful place…although it was a considerable climb up to it, however it was definitely worth it. Got wonderful views of the city from up there.
After that decided to to La Defense which is an aiea outside of central Paris, this is a more recent addition to Paris with relatively high buildings, had a nice sky line.
Went back to the hotel, and then went to the laundry. Met a couple of interesting people there…I first met a photographer who was half Spanish and half French and he was very pissed off at what France is turning into and about the problems that are happening between the immigrants and the government. Then I met a Lebanese guy who came to France around 8 years ago or so. He works in IT so we had a few things in common to speak about.
Went back to the hotel, dropped off the laundry and went out for dinner. Went to a place that specialises in Mussels (is this the correct spelling), the food over there was really really nice.
Went back to the hotel and went to sleep relatively early…around 12.30 am because I had to wake up at 5 am in order to catch my plane to Rome.

Cheers!

Bonsoire everyone,
Day kicked off with some french pastries and orange juice.
First stop, the Louvre. I think this is the biggest museum I ever saw in my life. From what I read you need several months like 4 or 9 months (i don’t exactly remember) to be able to look at every piece in the museum. So I decided to just take one of the guided tours (which lasted around an hour and a half) which just covers the important things (and not wasting time on getting lost). Some of the highlights which I really liked are ofcourse the Monalisa, the former French finance ministry (which was located in the Louvre until around 1980. Believe it or not they had a bedroom for the finance minister. A very nice job perk. I know many of you will tell me that I should have stayed at the Louvre for quite a while, but you know what…I want a break from museums and get a feel of real life in Paris.

Anyways after the Louvre decided to go on a walking tour which was recommended by the Lonely Planet. And WOW….very impressing. Away from all those touristic places again and see the diversity of the people in Paris. I’d call today the most international day in my trip. You will know what I mean in the following pics. I saw Muslim halal shops, a Jewish Synagogue, African food stands, Indian restuarants, Turkish restaurants, Chinese restaurants, etc.
Check out the following pictures and you will know what I mean….remember…all of these were taking during ONE day…feels like I went around the globe….

Cheers!

Check out the following 3 photos and guess where I was…

Well…..it was in the Toyota showroom in the Champs Elysee

Cheers!

Bonsoir everyone,
Day kicked off by having breakfast at a place called Paul. Had some very tasty french pastries and orange juice. Went to the closeby famous Notre Damn, very very impressive designs inside there.
AFter that it was time for today’s long walk (and climb too). Took the metro to Arc de Triomphe. I’m not going to talk about the history of the place, however from what I understand it is one of the biggest traffic round abouts in the world today. In the middle of the roundabout there’s the Arc which houses a little museum.

After around 240 steps there’s the museum and a little bit after that there’s the roof. On the top there’s an open air terrace where you have a very beautiful view of Paris…what a charming city.

Went down and its now time for the world renowned Av des Champ Elysees. Now this street is loaded with all sorts of shops (from Cartier to Nike to Mercedes Benz) and restaurants (where I had my lunch stop). Frankly I was pretty impressed at a few of the shops I went inside. I might post about that in a short while.
After a relatively long but pleasant walk arrived at the obelisk. Which was dedicated to France by Muhammad Aly in 1831. I was later told that the reason he gave this present to France was because one of the French researchers was able to decode hieroglyphics which was a very very important discovery. Following is a photo showing a fountain in the park, the obelisk and you could see the Arc des Triumph in the back.

Anyways infront of the Obelisk is the nice Jardin des Tuileries which is basically a very nice park. Walked across to the park to reach the Louvre.

Hmm…what should I do now…it was too late to enter the Louvre….oh a bus station. Went to the bus station went onto a random bus and took it till the end of the line and came back. It is always nice to go out of the tourist spots and see Paris in action.

Cheers!

Bonsoire everyone,
I just want to start by saying that the keyboard layout in france is sort of different than the ones in the rest …so i probably wont be as ‘talkative’ as before.
Woke up early in the morning to catch tyhe bus to Terviso airport. The ride took around an hour. Arrived at the very small airport, but it took sometime…there was a queue at the checkin desk, another for luggage control and one for the metal detectors. The flight was delayed for around 40 mins, but I really can’t complain since the ticket was very very very cheap. Plane ride was ok…I think it was a boeing 777-800.
Arrived in Paris BVA airport which is also a very small airport. Took a & hour ride on a bus to Paris. Wow…what a charming city. Took the metro to a station near the hotel. My hotel was very conveniently located in rue Rivoli, within walking distance from the Louvre and Notre Damn. Checked into the hotel, left my luggage and went out. It was already dark, so I decided to head for the Eiffel tower. It was a pretty long walk over an hour but it was definitely worth it. I dont have any tools to compress and rotate the picture but look at this glowing beauty:

Anyways the internet cafe has to close…so I gotta run.

Cheers!

Well…met several people with different nationalities on the trip so far…I will just mention a few of them…
When I took the train from Florence to Venice met a South Korean couple in the train station. On the train met a girl from Ethiopia who has been working in Italy for the past 4 years. In Florence met and Irish guy in the Trattorie I had dinner the first night. Met an Australian girl in Venice. Met an Australian guy today morning. Met an Irish couple today too. Each person has his story…and all of them were pretty friendly.

Ciao!
Akef

Ciao everyone,
2nd day in Venice….as I previously mentioned…a very charming place. Woke up pretty late today…around 9.30 am or so. . Met some australian dude in the hotel reception….went and had breakfast at a cafe near the hotel. Had a couple of cornettis and a capaccino (not sure of the spelling). First sight of the day…some Jewish history. It is claimed that the word ‘ghetto’ first came out of venice. The place where the Jews were allowed to stay was a certain foundry in Venice which was called the ghetto. Now the story is pretty long…but basically the Jews were only allowed to do certain jobs…like lending money(because Christians weren’t allowed to lend money at the time) and medicine. All Jews were to stay in the ‘ghetto’ during the night. Anyways…visited Museo Ebraico which is a musem that has some Jewish religious silverware. From there took a tour to 3 sinagogues. One of them was used by the German Jews, another by the Italian Jews and the 3rd one used by the French Jews.
After that took a Vaporetto to Forrovia (which is the stop near the train station). After that walked to a Church in the area of San Polo. Really beautiful from the inside, but again…unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside. Went and took the Vaporetti line number 1 till the end of the line just before sunset…the buildings in the canal are really awesome.
Went to Piazza San Marco which I have visited yesterday, but I wanted to see what the square looks like in the night…again…very beautiful. Passed by a supermarket, bought a few things and headed back to the hotel. Went out for a quick dinner at Brek. Went back to the hotel and took some clothes to the self service laundry. Spent around 1 hour there and came back to the hotel.
Called up the hotel in Paris to make a reservation and should be going to sleep pretty soon because I have a flight in the morning to Paris.

Arrivederci

Arrivederci

Venice….Venice…what a beautiful place you are.
Now as most of you probably know…Venice is one of those cities that are very very unique….considered to be very romantic…has beautiful buildings…and has been talked about by many writers….artists and singer. I remember hearing some song by Mohamed Fawzy (not sure of that though) called ‘layaly el 3omr fi Vinicia’.
Venice is a city that doesn’t have cars (in the most part of it…I’m not talking abou tthe outskirts)….its all connected by canals and waterways. The main public transport is something called the vaporetti…which is the equivilant of the ‘otobees el nahri in cairo’ but there’re the differences…lets just start by cleanliness…anyways…moving on..

Started the day by going for breakfast…had some cornetti (croissoin(not sure of spelling) which is filled with things like jam). Went to the train station where the tourist office is located…inquired about the major places that should be visited…got a pass to be used on the vaporetti…which also offers some discounts on entrances to touristic places like the museums.
First major site of the day, the Peggy Guggenheim collection. This is an awesome collection of modern art…mainly from the 20th century. If you’re into art visiting this place is definitely a must.
After that went to another gallery…Gallerie del’ Accademia (I think its spelt that way) which housed older works….mainly 16th and 17th century I think.
Went to the Piazzi San Marco, or San Marco square…wow…very beatufiul. According to the Lonely Planet Italy guidebook I have, Napolean said about it its the ‘finest drawing room in Europe’. Insha2Allah I’ll be posting pictures of it…and you’ll know what I mean. Went into the Basilica di San Marco….WOW….gorgious…beautiful…fantastic….unfortunately taking pictures wasn’t allowed inside…I highly recommend that you visit this place.
Wandered around the city…went back to the hotel. Went out again…took one of the vaporetti’s and took it from the begining of the end of line…a very pleasant experience.

Anyways…I need to go now…
Ciao!

Akef

Well…yesterday was pretty loaded…extremely tiring too…but definitely worth it…
Day kicked off by waking early and checking out of the hotel. I didn’t really want to come back in the middle of the day to take my luggage out of my room…so I might as well just check out early…
Started the day by a visit to the Duomo…a very beautiful cathedral in Florence. Now…as you all know….Italy is home to some of the most important artists of all time…so when it comes to ancient religious places….in a lot of cases it was those artists who designed and implemented those buildings. The Duomo is one piece of art…its very beautiful designs…I really can’t explain much…but you know…when when you go inside it…its just breath taking.
After the Duomo went to a place called the Palazzo Vecchio (not sure of the spelling). This building has been around for several hundereds of years…over the years it has changed several times…..especially from the inside. I’m not going to go for the full details but the ceiling in that building…was WOW……gold plated ceiling…and I’m talking about a big hall….the ceiling must at least be 8 meters high…more I think…
Went and grabbed a panini stuffed with smoked turkey, lettuce and tomatoes…mmm…very tasty.
After that went to the Uffizi…this is like THE gallery in Florence. It is home to very important pieces that came from around the 15th and 16th centuries I think. Touring this place took a considerable amount of time…there are lots and lots of pieces.
Went back to the Duomo….and decided to go up to the dome…now…I didn’t really expect it to be such a long way up there on the stairs…an extremely exhausting part of the day.
On my way back to the hotel….I decided to try some of the icecream..gelatie…really nice…yes it was very cold…but I really had to try it….very very nice…very tasty…wished I had more…
Went back to the area were the hotel is located, had a quick late lunch at spizzico which is a local fast food chain I think…its alright…nothing special but its fine.
Went back to the hotel, picked up my backpack and went to the train station which is like a 5 minute walk from the hotel.
Arrived at the train station like 30 minutes before the train’s departure…the train was full this time but it was still a comfortable ride. 3 hours later I arrived in Venice…wow….beautiful city…very beautiful from first site.
My hotel is like a 10 minute walk from the train station. Checked in my luggage..went for dinner
Had their local speciality…ciccuti…hmm…I don’t expactly remember what it was called….I’ll post you on that later.
Anyways…I gotta run…
ciao!

Ciao everyone…
I wasn’t able to write the post for yesterday so…here we go…
Well..yesterday was more of a shopping day….not that I bought a lot of things…actually just a couple…but it was a different experience…
Day kicked off by waking early so that I can take a bus to a place called Luccio(I don’t remember the exact name) which had a place called The Mall. Basically this has several factory outlets for fashion designers…like Armani, Gucci…these kinds of designers….and over there they offered like at least 30% on a lot of things…discounts reached over 50% on several things. But hmm…all I’m carrying around with me in this trip is my backpack…which is fully loaded. The suits were very nice….and their prices dropped from a couple of thousand euros to like 300 or 400 euros….yes I know this isn’t that cheap…but it’d be an Armani suit…;) Anyways…I just bought a shirt. The journey from Florence to the Mall takes around 1 hour. We stayed there for 2 hours and then took the bus back.
For lunch…mmmm….very very tasty….I had a couple of things…but one thing I really liked was some pasta with mushrooms…I don’t remember the exact name however I wrote it somewhere…when I find it I’ll post it. But basically it was just pasta….with mushrooms…but I think they were the juciest (is this the correct spelling?) I ever tasted in my life.
For the rest of the day I wandered around the city…got oriented…saw the Duomo which I was planning to visit the next day from the outside.

Anyways….I’ll write what happened on the 4th day in Italy tommorrow because my time is running out and I’m really exhausted…you’ll know why tommorrow when I tell you what I did in my 4th day…;)

Ciao!