Discovering The Best Places to Visit in Europe
I used to love the Jardin des Plantes but when I was there yesterday it seemed like it has lost a lot of its beauty. Maybe it’s because tulip season is just about over and the iris have yet to come out in flower (for the most part) so there weren’t many flowers to see. I don’t know but I will go back in a couple of weeks to see the beautiful bearded iris which should be in flower.
One month ago I planted my little garden and today I had my first strawberry. There’ll be many more in the coming weeks by look of the number of flowers out.
I love roast veges and would eat them every day if I could. I’ve trained F to cook them just how I like them so now I don’t even have to make them myself! He’s such a good boy <3
Rock It Workout – Relatively low intensity workout.
Results
28th April 2010: 25 minutes and 12 seconds
Sexy Abs Workout – This is not an intensive cardio workout but really works the arms and abs. My wrists are killing me now so I might not do this workout again. It consists of 8 rounds of the following exercises:
Results
26th April 2010: 26 minutes and 14 seconds
After a 4 hour drive from Bologna, we arrived in Turin. I only chose to go there because I’ve already been to Milan a million times before but never to Turin. It’s also fairly close to Lyon which was the next destination.
Even though it was gloomy and raining, F and I went out for a quick walk around the city centre. Most of the main sites seem to span from the main train station, along via Roma, and up to Palazzo Reale. We visited most of the cities main squares in a hour or two. So the city centre is quite small and walkable even though Turin itself is a very large city.
We only spent 2 nights in Turin but that was probably enough for me. The city is fairly quiet and has an older demographic which is quite different from Bologna but worth a quick visit nonetheless. It’d make a nice trip for a weekend getaway if you have already been to Milan and are looking for somewhere a little different.
Bologna is famous for Bolognese sauce, tortellini, and for having the oldest university in Europe, which I’m guessing would also make it the oldest university in the world.
The city is bustling with people, mainly young people, with most of them spending their time shopping, eating, or drinking coffee in one of the many cafes. My kind of city.
The most striking feature of the architecture in the city are the porticos which can be found on most of the buildings in the inner city. This was a building requirement put in place by the town planners way back when but I’m not sure why. It does make the buildings seem more grandiose and it’s convenient for staying dry when walking around the city on a wet day.
Bologna has around 40 towers around the city including one half finished leaning tower just near the centre squares, Piazza Nettuno and Piazza Maggiore. If you go up the hill on the outskirts of the city you get a great view of the towers and the old city. You can also see how polluted and hazy the city is, not unlike most Italian cities.
On my last visit to Schloss Neuschwanstein, I didn’t go up the hill to see the castle because I get bored going inside these kinds of places and you can get a good view of the castle from the road below. So I took my photos and moved on. I did regret it though because I was thinking that you would be able to get some great close up photos of the castle if you take the time to go up the hill. Well, you can’t.
I went back to Schloss Neuschwanstein last month and there is very steep 15 minute (very fast) walk to get up to the castle and once there you can’t see it that well due to the surrounding trees. Being winter, you could make out the castle without any problems but it’s hard to get a good photo. I still didn’t go inside because I knew I’d die of boredom but it wasn’t even worth going up the hill. I’m just glad I walked up and didn’t spend 6 euros on a smelly horse and buggy ride up the hill which took the same time as walking.
At least the weather was better on this trip so I took some more photos. Unfortunately I was still using my old crappy point and shoot camera back then so the photos aren’t that great and I couldn’t get a close up of the schloss. I don’t think there will be a third visit though.
My visit to Munich in March was my third time in Munich and on each visit I love it more and more. There are always loads of things going on in the centre with people everywhere enjoying themselves (take note Parisians). The shopping is brilliant, the food is better than I thought, and it’s easy to get around. Not to mention they have the best doughnuts in the world.
There will be a fourth visit to Munich.
Disclaimer: These photos do not represent the good food in Munich. These meals were, umm, different.
