The return of the 'knocking' bird

I shifted from a hotel to a serviced apartment two days ago. This is a much more spacious place as compared to my previous hotel room. (This is an apartment, after all) A one room apartment. I kinda like the window or roof, i would say...as its a piece of glass that substitute a part of the roof. There's one in the living room, one in my bedroom and a smaller one in my bathroom.

Yesterday morning, I was waken up by a bird that kept knocking on the glass in my bedroom. The sun was bright as usual (I left the shade up the night before-a mistake), it's only 5am...as i squint my eyes to look at my watch placed on the night stool, right beside my bed. The bird was making alot of noise. It took me quite some time to ignore it... and to fall asleep again.

This morning, the same old bird came by my window again. And at 5am...I was awaken...yet again! by the same bird...or at least I think it's the same one. A morning call, one which I do not welcome. Although this time my shades were down from last nite, there's still a faint light which escaped from the gaps of the window. At least today, the light wasn't that blinding. Again, I needed 15mins or so to get over that annoying sound...and doze off again. Later, I woke up at 7:00am feeling rather tired. I hope the bird won't come by again tomorrow...for it's a weekend and i really need a good and long sleep.



The living room's cozy and all...hmmm...but rather simple.




The opening beside the cupboard - where the bird likes to hangout.




From the 'seat'...you can 'relieve' your other need of star-gazing too.




The lobby - where you can get wireless internet for €2.95 an hour

Firenze - Home to Michelangelo's David

My trip to this small but compact city started with a buzz. A morning buzz, that is. It's 6am, the deafening sound of my hotel room's phone startled me fron my slumber. I answered, still not knowing why I have gotten such an early call. 15 minutes later, I was rushing out of my door, with water still dripping from my face and my hair...a mess. I couldn't possibily care about the hair, the train's leaving in 30mins. The walk from my hotel to the station is a rough estimate of 20mins. It's raining when I headed out, the air was chilly...I ran all the way without looking back. Lucky for me, I reached the station just before the train arrive. Two hours plus later, I'm off the train...and so begins my exploration of this tourist bound city.


My ticket to Renaissance
My first stop, the Uffizi Gallery. This place is filled with paintings from the Renaissance age. The Adoration of the Saint, The Deposition, The Holy Virgin...you can see plenty of these works of art done by great artists of that era, Boticelli, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, to name a few.


Queue to Renaissance
The queue was awfully long...lucky for me...i only waited for about an hour. The estimated waiting time for this high season is between 10mins(which I dont think is possible at all) to 3 hours...or at least this is what was written on the panel by the entry.


Clock Tower at the Uffizi
This clock tower's bell can be heard from the furthest reach of the town. Almost every tower in Florence has one of these...and on every hour or half an hour...you can hear the sound made by these bells. A wonderful experience...while you were haggling for prices at the open air market.


An invitation to David's
This queue is much shorter compared to the one at the Uffizi, but the time was just 8:00am. Luckily I've got my ticket the day before...thus, when the gallery opened its doors at 8:15am...I was granted the privellege to venture first. David's tall, muscular and bares all.


Dome at the Duomo
This place is the largest structure you can find in this city. It's like a symbol that marks the center of the city. The lighting inside was very poor. Dim, lit only by the lights from the candle stands placed near the gigantic pillars that supports the building and the gentle evening rays of the sun that shone through the colourful glass windows high above.


A view between two banks
This is a picture I took right before sunset. The bridge which I stood on was one of the few that connects Florence's two riverbanks. This bridge houses quite a number of shops (old Florentine gold stores mainly) and street hawkers (mainly black people), displaying their GCs and LVs on a piece of white cloth they placed on the stone floor.


Famous as a Gelato
This cup may look like just another cup of ordinary ice cream. But I guess you have to try it and do yourself a grading. Almost all the books I read about this city, pointed me to this shop. Either it's one of those advertising gimmick that this shop has pulled with the books' authors or if its really that good...I can't really tell. I love 'em all.

Dawn to Dusk

Dawn at 5:30am. It's summer now...the sky's already bright when I get up everyday. In the morning, that first ray of light will shine through my hotel window and onto my bed. The cool morning air, the light traffic and for the sake of sight-seeing...it's always good to go for a walk.

Dusk at 9:30pm. The street lights would illuminate the piazza in front of my hotel. I would usually have my dinner, walk around a little bit, watch as the merchants close their shops as the clock strikes eight, the sky is still bright.

Venezia - Where the old culture...is now ancient

I had only got off the bus and walked into San Marco, less than an hour but my memory stick was already filled with pictures that I've taken effortlessly. It was not easy to resist. Every corner of this place is worth to be taken a token of memory of. Perhaps I should get a larger capacity...but then again I might need to consider getting an extra battery too. My old P8 was really heated up...it hasn't been put to use that intensively for a long long time. I couldn't possibly post everything I've taken on here, so I've only chosen a couple.

No footnotes, for now. Pietoso.

From here to there

After 12 hours of long haul flight, I arrived at a destination which has been very foreign to me all this while. Here, I must wait for 4 hours before flying another 2 hours to my intended destination. This place has alot to offer, alot to be seen and alot more for me to explore. This is the main gateway to the new world. I'm in a foreign land, where I am now a foreigner from a country far far away.

Four hours went by in a breeze. I got onto a smaller plane which brought me to where I am now. I'm in a small town...just outside the city, which is famous for its canals and gondolas.


This is a small town...life here is quiet and peaceful. On a Sunday afternoon, there are barely any cars on the streets and you can see some folks sitting by the sidewalk cafe...sipping away on their favourite iced-beverage and chit chatting with their pals next door...taking their weekend break.


Most shops are close today. I went for a walk just now, with the summer sun blazing in the sky...the temperature was way past 30 degrees.

I went out of the hotel and opposite to get myself a 'melone' gelato. A northern wind starts to blow when I took my first mouth on the ice cream, surprisingly the wind did not carry with it the heat from the sun but instead it was cooling. I've never felt this good walking under the blazing sun. I took a couple of pictures of the piazza...and some criss-cross walk by the buildings around me, snapping pictures as I go.

Can't recall how long time has passed, but I did not come back till my camera's battery went dry, which I've then put it to charge once I got back...took a bath...and while I wait for the evening bus to bring me into the town tonight...I'll upload some pictures for my fellow blogger friends to see. Beware though, loading all these could be a drag for those on a slow connection.