Hotel Due Torri, Rome in 2016

I settled into the hotel room at Hotel Due Torri and had gotten ready for the day exploring. I decided to begin the day by walking without a planned direction and within 5 minutes I arrived at the Pantheon. By the Pantheon I enjoyed some gelato.

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Rome

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On my first night in Rome I visited Trevi Fountain. Around Trevi Fountain was very crowded. There was a movie or commercial shooting there, however I don’t know if thats really the reason for the crowd.

Rome

Rome

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On the second day (July 9, 2016) I went to Castel Sant’angelo.

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Later in the day I enjoyed a Merangue at Antico Forno.

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I began my third day in Rome (July 10, 2016) at Borghese Gardens.

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After visiting the Borghese I went on a Viator tour of the Coliseum.

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The Fourth day (July 11, 2016) was a trip to Pompeii and a climb to the top of Mount Vesuvius. I didn’t plan my outfit well, but still made it to the top of the Volcano after exploring Pompeii.

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The next day (July 12, 2016) started with a Viator tour of the Vatican.

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After the tour with Viator I walked around the city and found the Vittoriano.

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There was a tour with Viator that was for a dinner at a family’s villa Casa Sospisio. The tour begins as a walk to the villa from a meeting point. Once you arrive at the villa there is a tour of part of the villa. One room in the villa was a theatre. Theres a part in the theatre where they discovered a ruin that was hidden by a wall before. Once you’ve been shown around the villa there is dinner. A good part to know about is that purchasing this tour helps the family keep the villa as their home.

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The last day I had in Rome I visited the Trevi Fountain for the second time. It was much less crowded compared to the time I visited before.

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For the rest of the last day I had in Rome I visited the Capitoline Museum and Hotel de Russie for treats.

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Nymphenburg 

 

On my final day in Germany I walked from my last hotel the Holiday Inn Express Munich City West to Nymphenburg. Walking over was much better than taking a taxi because of the fall colours and surprisingly warm weather. Unfortunately after a few hours at Nymphenburg I was so tired that I had to taxi back to the hotel.

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The Mystical Castle

The night before touring Neuschwanstein Castle with Viator, a staff member at Hotel an der Oper gave my mom and I some insight about the connection between Neuschwanstein Castle and Walt Disney. Neuschwanstein Castle was an influence for some of Walt Disney’s creations, such as the film Fantasia. Along with the castles connection to Disney, there is the historic yet unresolved tale of King Ludwig II “The Fairytale King.”Stories take place everywhere, but even just walking into the castle feels like walking into a storybook.

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Hotel Dukes Palace, Belgium

On a train I passed the border which separated The Netherlands and Belgium. After the train ride I took a taxi, which was a shorter ride in a quainter space.

I arrived in Brugge in almost no time at all. Brugge looked like the setting in a fairytale and I happily got lost in it.

Hotel Dukes Palace

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…and into Brugge

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Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii Tour

Touring Pompeii with Viator

Early morning in Rome, I met with the group and travelled to Pompeii. There was one stop along the way, which I used as time to buy chocolate. The day was guided with amazing storytellers.

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After exploring Pompeii, it was time for pizza in Naples; the essential for climbing up Mount Vesuvius. How far you climbed up Mount Vesuvius was your choice, which made the tour suitable for all age groups.

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Snow cones and then it was back to my temporary home in Rome.

Tsarskoye Selo

Tsarskoye Selo with Amawaterways

Travelling to Pushkin from Saint Petersburg, we were early enough to beat the lines at Tsarskoye Selo. Amawaterways gave us a tour of the palace, taking our group through the history of the different rooms, including a romantic spot for Catherine the Great. There was a great amount of destruction there from World War II, as some parts were still being restored. Once the tour of the rooms which we were able to see was over, it was time to explore the gardens freely.

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Saint-Paul de Vence

 

Saint Paul de Vence is one of the oldest villages on the French Riviera. beginning as a bustling town in the Middle Ages, it also became a protective force for Provence run by Francois I. Later in the 20th century the Saint Paul de Vence was a home to French actors and artists, such as Marc Chagall.

The village…

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and views

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Amawaterways River Cruise in Russia and London

First Cruise and First Time in Russia

As the plane started to descend to Moscow, the plane tilted and I saw a dome shaped building through the clouds.

Shortly after arriving I was on a bus tour to Amakaterina. My Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Mom, Dad, Brother and I travelled along the river with the rest of the passengers to different cities and villages. The cruise provided music, dance, language classes and surreal sunset dinners. However before all of that happened, I had a day in London.

London

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Amakaterina

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Floating hotel

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Sunset cruising

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Misty days

Moscow

The beginning of our journey

Red Square

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The Kremlin Palace

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Lunch cruising through Moscow

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Uglich

The mystical town Uglich that dates all the way back to 937.

One story I still remember is of Dmitry Ivanovich, Ivan the terrible’s last son who was banished to Uglich. Tragically he was found dead one day, ending the line of the Rurik Dynasty.

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Yaroslavl

During my time here I got to stroll through the markets, as well as go inside a former governors house. A lady dressed for the time period show the group around the place. Near the end a miniature ball was featured, for those who decided to dance.

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Svirstroy

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Goritsy

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Saint Petersburg

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The Hermitage Museum/ Winter Palace

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Canals

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Tsarskoye Selo

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The Disneyland

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The beautiful grey building is the bookstore we stopped in shortly.

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After exploring Saint Petersburg some more I went to a ballet at The Hermitage. We took a hydrofoil there and back. On the way there our first hydrofoil stopped working and another had to come and pick us up. We all transported to the other hydrofoil in the canal. The ballet we saw was “Odette.”

The next day we went to Peterhof and then the Yusupov Palace. However I won’t be showing photos from Yusupov Palace.

Peterhof

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