Europe Trip - Geneva & Bern, Switzerland

 It was the wettest day of all of the Europe trip days. There we were in Geneva, Switzerland. Not for Geneva Motorshow, but for witness the huge chairs with a broken leg. Called the 'Broken Chair', it symbolises opposition to land mines and cluster bombs, located right in front of the United Nations Office. During our visit, there was a campaign about opposing genocide. 

Not far from the Broken Chair was the flower clock! Oops, an aunty photobombed...

We made our way to the capital of Switzerland, Bern. I guess the name of the city is inspired by the word 'bear' because there were few statues of bear and even real bears available for public viewing! Pity the statues, have to endure the drizzle LOL

Real moving bears!

The old city of Bern, vibrant in colours with a great combination of nature and distinctive building style. We felt really relaxed in the city while we roam and explore its beauty. 

Along the main way to the Zytglogge clock tower has two rows of shops, one on each side of the road, selling items from the Switzerland famous watches, pubs to grocery stores.

Networks of wires for trains dangling above the ground. Not a usual and pretty scene but it's unique for us since we don't have such design in Malaysia. 

Near the city centre has a market where dozens of cows were placed there. How often can you see cows in a market?? I'm not sure they were for sale or just there to produce milk for the customers...

Fresh cup of milk for a reasonable price. Doesn't differ much compared to those fresh milk in bottles sold in supermarket, but it does taste slightly fresher and smoother!

An electric charging port for electric car nearby our accommodation of the night! It will take some time for something like this to be available widely in Malaysia. 

There were not much interesting things happened in Bern, but we were quite hype up on that day because we know we are going to experience snow for the first time on the next day! I chatted with a backpacking friend who went to Mount Titlis one day earlier than us and he warned us to wear thicker because the snow was pretty intense! Thus, we rested early to prep ourselves up the Mount Titlis! Watched 'Ghost of Girlfriends Past' by the forever stunning Jennifer Garner before hitting the sack...

NEXT - Mount Titlis, Switzerland!

Monte Carlo, Monaco & Nice, France!

 A8 Highway linked Italy to Monaco, the world's second smallest country (and yet most densely populated country) after Vatican City. It was a scenic route, at least to me. The highway bores through dozens of tunnels and we were rewarded with views of the Mediterranean Sea each time we came out from a tunnel. 

I'm gonna start the first photo in this blog entry which doesn't belong to me. I grabbed it from the net, showing our first glimpse of Monte Carlo city after leaving the A8 Highway and entering Monaco. Most of Monaco's building is built on a slope because of limited flat surfaces in the country. So, the network of roads in the country is basically like The Underground Tube in London, overlapping each other. 

The main sight at the city of Monte Carlo is the Monte Carlo Casino (left) and Hotel de Paris (right). Yes, the famous Monte Carlo casino is not situated in Las Vegas, but in Monaco instead!

Very posh facade of the Monte Carlo Casino. It was so high class we were not dare to step inside... 

Audi looks mundane in Monaco!

This is what I call Monaco! Supercars parked in front of a hotel!

A view of the Mediterranean Sea with a huge cruise! From here we can also see the race track of Monaco F1 Grand Prix!

Just and fair. A summon for anyone, any car.

After exploring the small city, we returned to the basement car park area for our bus and discovered this ingenious machine! When life gives you orange, you make an orange-squeezing machine! We didn't try though because it was quite costly to 'witness the miracle' once. 

Not far away from Monaco this was a Fragonard perfume-making factory in France. Perfume is a well-known product from France, so a visit to a perfume-making factory is a must!

We joined a factory tour to learn how perfume is produced. Don't be fooled that this is a hatchery! Those are NOT eggs! I can't remember those are soaps or some kind of perfume, but they are definitely NOT eggs!

After a short tour and a shopping spree in Fragonard, it's time to head to the beach! Nice (a city's name) has a beautiful pebble beach, where the beach is all made up of medium to big sized pebbles with plenty of seats and umbrellas for visitors! An airport is located nearby, so once in a while you'll see a plane flying pass above in close range. Also, there was a McD located just right next to the beach, France has the best McD among all the Europe countries we've been to! *slurp*

Sunshine boy!

An interesting toll booth spotted in Italy previously. Reminds me of Sainsbury's self-checkout machine, where we can 'dispose' our unwanted Pennies!

NEXT - Switzerland!

Europe Trip - Pisa, Italy

My friends and I were planning to go for backpacking to Europe countries, but in the end we dropped the idea and went for a tour instead. So, I was in charged of doing research on some cities of Italy such as Verona, Pisa and Milan. I was pretty hyped up when I know we are going to visit one of my dream places, and did plenty of researches before we got there. 

Basically, the Piazza del Duomo or the Pisa's Cathedral Square is made up of three structures: (From left) Pisa Baptistry, Pisa Cathedral and the one and only Leaning Tower of Pisa. We have to pass through some 'kampung' roads from the bus in order to get to the Pisa's Cathedral Square. 

Let's start with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, shall we? Built in the year of 1372, it's hard to imagine such slanting building has already stood the test of time for more than 600 years! If you pay hard attention, you'll see the engineers tried to straighten the upper levels when they realised the tower is actually slanting during construction! 

Oops! I think I had caused the tower slanted a little more!

One of the must-do at Pisa - The tower-supporting pose! Oh by the way, standing on the grassland around the Tower of Pisa is prohibited! But it's hard to get a good spot to take photos with the tower if we abide the rule... 

Playing with creativity:

Jump shots!

Modern days engineers have countered the slanting effect of the Pisa Tower to prevent it from collapsing by adding 800 tonnes of lead counterweights on the high ground. Then, the upper levels were anchored with cables while machine dug out tonnes of ground to straighten the tower. Or else, we might not have the chance to see the tower anymore!

It costs a whooping 15 Euros to climb the Pisa Tower, I mean CLIMB up the stairs! Daylight robbery to the tourists...

Speaking about robbery, the area of Piazza del Duomo is prone to pickpockets. We were very cautious with our belongings when taking photos there and we heard stories of children becoming pros in pickpocketing. Would you apprehend a child if you caught him pickpocketing? 

Facade of the Pisa Cathedral. It actually required us to buy entrance tickets to the Pisa Cathedral, but we found out that the ticket counter for Pisa Tower was giving out complimentary tickets to the Pisa Cathedral. So, few of us who were lucky enough to spot the chance, collected the tickets and headed into the cathedral. 

It's another superbly designed cathedral, as beautiful as the one in Vatican City.

Souvenir shops were located right beside and outside of the Pisa Square, so it's pretty easy to get a souvenir from there. Lastly, a railroad nearby. It is reachable to Pisa via train, but still have to walk a distance to reach the square from the station. 

NEXT - Monaco & Nice, France.

Europe Trip - Rome, Italy

 It was a day with lots of walking! Maybe that's why I'm slimmer after finishing the Europe trip! I'm not going to go into details on the historical stories of each building or monument in Rome, just photos and simple description of each would be suffice :) The photo above shows the Castel Sant' Angelo, located not far away from Vatican City and was used as a castle by popes. Beautiful statues placed at both sides of the Bridge of Angels which leads to Castel Sant' Angelo. 

Walk further down and you'll reach this huge building, not sure what's its name though...

Trevi Fountain. One of the most famous fountains in the world. Throw a coin into the pool and make a wish, but that's a catch - There are specific steps to throw the coin in. Firstly, back-facing the pool, pray and make a wish. Second, hold the coin with your right hand. Thirdly, throw the coin backwards into the pool by crossing your right hand over your left shoulder! *taught by our tour guide*

A simple lunch in McD! There was nothing to shout about Italy's McD, normal price, normal taste, but a crowded place due to the attractions nearby!

The Pantheon. Not quite visible from the photo below, there's actually a dome located at the top of The Pantheon, where a hole at the top of dome (they called it the 'Oculus') is the source of illumination to the interior of The Pantheon, also serves as ventilation purpose too. But I wonder what will happen if it rains... 

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, located beside of a beautiful roundabout. A monument built in honour of Italy's first king, Victor Emmanuel.

To me, the Colosseum is one of the greatest wonders in the world, along with other magnificent structures such as Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, Great Wall of China, Eiffel Tower and the Great Pyramid of Giza. I hope I will be able to see them all in this lifetime... Thankfully, this Europe trip crossed out three from my list! Colosseum, Leaning Tower of Pisa and Eiffel Tower!

Citroen C-Zero, the counterpart of Mitsubishi i-MiEV (ok, the automotive side of me appeared again) spotted beside the Colosseum. Lots of souvenir stalls placed around the Colosseum, and it was good to bargain here! The amount of price that the sellers can discount for you will shock you!

Looks like a lost world of Rome from this perspective.

Resting while waiting for the tour bus to come! It was a hot day... with no ice cream truck in sight :(

A simple gas station with no roof located just beside of the road. Eye opener.

NEXT - Pisa, Italy!