Sightseeing

Santa Cecilia in Rome; A Surprise Under the Church

May 2, 2012
Thumbnail image for Santa Cecilia in Rome; A Surprise Under the Church

I’m just going to say this up front; this was the last thing we did and probably my favorite experience of the trip. And it’s a little odd that it has nothing to do with food, right?

We arrived at Santa Cecila to find it closed for a mid day break. My tip; get there when they open in the morning, or after mid day break and head right for the crypt. There were a couple of dozen people waiting, some clearly part of a tour group, when a nun in full habit arrived to open the locked doors to the church from within. We were there to see the crypt and headed there as soon as we entered the church.

The entrance is inside the tiny gift shop to the left as you go through the front doors. There is a small fee for seeing the crypt. I paid the nun and she handed me a heavy key and spoke to me in Italian. I didn’t quite understand what it was for, but I figured we had to unlock the door to enter and that I’d bring her the key right back.

It is said that Saint Cecilia was an aristocrat and an early Christian who was martyred in her home in AD 230. The church which stands in Trastevere today is built on top of that home which was used in her time as a secret place of worship. The remains of a tannery can also be seen in the area beneath the church. The first church on this site was founded in the 4th century and the present church was first built in the 9th century. Cecilia’s remains and those of her husband and his brothers were moved here from the catacombs of San Callisto. When her …

Read the full article →

A Visit To Trajan’s Market in Rome

April 23, 2012
Thumbnail image for A Visit To Trajan’s Market in Rome

Even after many trips to Rome there’s always something new to see. I must have walked past the ruins of Trajan’s Market dozens of times and never really gave it much thought. This time I thought, “how is it possible I’ve never been in to see a 2000 year old market?”

They were taking down installed pieces from an art show when we arrived so unfortunately there were parts of the museum which were off limits to visitors. Still, we decided to go in and they discounted our tickets by a couple of euro. The entrance to the museum is on Via IV Novembre, but you can see the curved three story building of the market’s offices when standing in front of the Forum on via dei Fori Imperiali.

Inside the museum’s entrance is the vaulted Main Hall of the old market. Now, in the niches which once held shops, are various statues.

Trajan's Market

Once through the Hall and out into the open areas, it’s easy to imagine this as a bustling market almost 2000 years ago. According to what I’ve read, certain sections were set up for certain types of businesses, so on one street were all the taverns, and another area might have held all the wool sellers or jewelers.

Trajan's Market

Trajan's Market

Trajan's Market

Trajan's Market View

The view of the “Wedding Cake” or Victor Emmanuel Monument from the top of Trajan’s Market. In all my trips to Rome I’ve never been inside this structure. The Capotoline Museum buildings are in the back, to the left.

Finally from the chapter of my (yet unwritten) book called “Places I’d Like To Live Someday” check out these three apartments. They can all be seen from the top sections of Trajan’s Market so I can just imagne the views they have from their balconies…

Trajan's Market View

Trajan's Market View

Trajan's Market View

For more on Trajan’s Market, check out:
Read the full article →

Wandering Naples

November 9, 2011
Thumbnail image for Wandering Naples

In my last post I explained how going to a new city for the first time is a little like going on a first date. While I had my concerns about Naples, I’m happy to say we got along just fine.  I didn’t exactly fall in love like I did with Rome (there’s nothing like your first love, is there?), I think we could certainly hang out and get to know each other better. In other words, I would love to return for another visit, this one was way too short.

In the way that Rome can be sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and romantic, Naples can be brash, loud, and bold, but also sweet. Everything seems larger than life in Naples; clothes are tighter, brighter and more bedazzled, makeup is bolder and hair is bigger. But the sweet is there too, literally, with pastry shops around every corner, and figuratively, with people who seem genuinely concerned that you enjoy their city. In short, if Rome is like New York, then Naples is like New Jersey. This is not a put-down in any way, but rather an observation that like the rest of Italy, and the US for that matter, there are big differences between the various regions of the country and that’s what gives each place its unique character.

We did a lot of walking throughout the city and never felt unsafe even though people had warned us that Naples was dangerous and dirty. Like any large city, you need to be aware of your surroundings and we were.

I had a long list of places I wanted to see and while we hit quite a few, we also spent one day out of the city at Herculaneum which gave us only two full days in Naples itself. We made a …

Read the full article →

A One Day Visit to Temples of Angkor and Abacus Restaurant

November 8, 2010
Thumbnail image for A One Day Visit to Temples of Angkor and Abacus Restaurant

October 7, 2010

Even though I visited the temples on my last two trips to Cambodia, I knew I could not come all the way to Siem Reap without  seeing them again. This time my goal was an abbreviated tour with an emphasis on photography instead of the history which I’d already heard twice. Fortunately, Lori’s friend Lynn had booked Dara Ly (Ponheary’s brother and licensed tour guide) for a day to see three of the most well known temples, Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm and invited me to come along. Dara is quite an avid amateur photographer and now well known for guiding his clients to the perfect spots for photos.  If you’re interested in planning a trip to see the temples, check out my post on “Tips for Visiting the Temples of Angkor.”

Angkor Wat:

We began our day around 8:30 am with Dara and the driver waiting for us in front of the guesthouse. Our first destination was Angkor Wat and we arrived at the rear entrance. Most tours enter Angkor Wat through the front, walking across the causeway. While I think this is preferable for a dramatic entrance (especially for first time visitors), the sun rises behind the temple, effectively back lighting it and making a front-on photo almost impossible in the early morning. So, Dara knowing we wanted to take pictures, had us going in through the back which also helped us avoid the early crowds.

We made our way through the temple, climbing farther and farther up and into the center of the complex. The uppermost center tower is now open to 100 people at a time, strictly controlled by a pass handed out at the bottom. This was closed last time for restoration but I’d seen it in 2002 and I was happy to see it open again, especially with …

Read the full article →

Tips for Visiting the Ancient Temples of Angkor

November 3, 2010
Thumbnail image for Tips for Visiting the Ancient Temples of Angkor

I’ve visited the temples of Angkor on both of my previous trips in 2002 and 2007 and each time spent at least three days seeing as much as possible. This time, I only spent one day revisiting three of the most popular just to take photos. In all, I’ve seen sixteen temples which is only a fraction of the ones open to tourists, but below are my tips to make seeing the temples as easy as possible.

What to see:
A lot of people ask if they can “see Angkor Wat in a day.”  The quick answer is yes and no. Angkor Wat itself is is a single large temple complex (some say the largest religious building in the world), but the area which makes up Angkor Archaeological Park refers to a huge ancient city covering about 230 square miles comprising many different temples and was once home to almost a million people. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

So, while you can see the main temple of Angkor Wat in a day, you’ll miss out on so many others by limiting your visit. And while I believe that spending only one day in Siem Reap seeing the temples should be avoided,  the reality is, if you only have one day, the three I saw in a day on this trip (Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm) offer a great mix of different styles in Khmer history and are certainly an acceptable option rather than not seeing them at all.

Read the full article →

San Francisco 2010-Ton Kiang, Exploratorium and Katana-ya

September 29, 2010
Thumbnail image for San Francisco 2010-Ton Kiang, Exploratorium and Katana-ya
September 5, 2010
Day 3

This morning we met David’s sister, her husband, and their two boys (ages 1 and 4) for dim sum at Ton Kiang in the Richmond District. It was a long bus ride down Geary, but at least it was a straight shot and it took us about 30 minutes to get there. We arrived at 10:30am and were sat upstairs in an almost empty room. The upstairs room has larger tables than downstairs. The place filled very quickly and by the time we left there was a long line waiting outside (and yet no one in line for the dim sum place next door).

The various dim sum dishes we had were all very good. We ate wonderful shrimp and mushroom dumplings, sticky rice and meat wrapped in leave packages, roasted duck, Chinese broccoli and too many other various dumplings to count. I was so taken with my adorable nephews that I completely forgot to take photos of the food! The check for 4 adults and 2 children was about $80 before tax and tip.

Afterward, David and I took the bus to the Exploratorium where we met back up with the family and spent a couple of hours there wandering around with the kids. This is a really fun and at the same time, educational, place for children of all ages. There are tons of hands on science exhibits on which the kids can experiment. They particularly enjoyed the big bubble maker, the indoor climbing playground area and the various spinning and whirring gadgets. Admission $15 per adult, and $10 per child age 4-12.

From the Exploratorium we walked over to the nearby beach where were got a panoramic view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a warm but hazy day and the beach was crowded with people sunning themselves, flying kites, and kids and dogs everywhere. We didn’t have …

Read the full article →