Samomatic

Arriving in Genoa at 7am. I was surprised how nimble the cruise ship can be manoeuvring into the narrow harbour for docking.

The old city of Genoa is on the World Heritage List (UNESCO) and the city is an important seaport in northern Italy. Unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to explore the city.

Our excursion took us to Santa Margherita Ligure. Santa Margherita is on the Italian Riviera in Liguria.

We had a short time to explore the city, we hiked up the hill to Chiesa di San Giacomo.

The unique church interior with many chandeliers.

The main square on market day with many local vendors.

Taking a ferry, we followed the coastline and arrived at Portofino, the beautiful playground for the rich and famous.

The town originated as a fishing village, no new houses have been built since 1935.

A relaxing stroll from the harbour to the yellow San Giorgio church overlooking the semi-circular harbour. The beautiful harbour is dotted with little wooden fishing boats to multi-million dollar yachts.

I wish I had more time to continue exploring the paths surrounding the town but after about 1hr in the town we boarded the ferry again to go back to Genoa.

Back on board the Mariner of the Seas, a beautiful sunset as we head off to the next port.

Continuing on our brief stay in Rome. We woke up nice and early to tour around the main attractions.
The Roman Forum with some buildings dating back to 8th century BC. That is 2800 years ago!

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Enjoying a fresh cup of cafe latte and pastry by the counter (sitting down cost more).

The very friendly baristas.

Ah the mighty Colosseum! It takes about 10 minutes just to walk around the outside (our mighty guide was trying to find a washroom!).

It was completed by 80 AD with seating for 50,000 spectators.

Legionnaires waiting for tourist to take photos. If they see you taking photos of them they will demand money from you.

In front of the triumphal arch.


I found Albert Einstein hiding in a small alley!

The statues lining the circumference of the Saint Peter’s Square.

The inner workings of St. Peter’s Basilica. It was breathtaking with the amount of details and decorations.

Though it must be terrible for truly devoted Catholics, as the church is full of tourists with little respect for silence and flash photography.

From the top of the Basilica overlooking St Peter’s Square.

Il Vittoriano is a monument built to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The giant building is referred to as the ‘wedding cake’ by the locals.

By mid-day we had to leave Rome and head to Civitavecchia to board the cruise ship, Mariner of the Seas.
The sheer size of the ship took us by surprise, it took us almost 4hrs to explore all the decks and facilities on board!

The busy port of Civitavecchia, one of the most popular ports of call due to its distance from Rome.

Sailaway party on the pool deck as we depart for Genoa.

Some of the figures we posed with at the casino. :)


Sunset. Time to get some food!

With its roots stretching back as far as 2,500 years ago. Rome is a paradise for ancient buildings, cobblestone streets, and little alleys.

Flying with Air Transat, the budget airline between North America and Europe.

Taking a breather after rushing from work to the airport.

We caught sight of Italy after breaking through heavy clouds!

Checked into the hostel and just try to find our bearing near the train terminal….

Someone calls me and I turn around, it was my aunt and 2 cousins. What are the odds of running into someone in the middle of Italy?

Walked into a local market as they are cleaning up for the day.

The city is just a marvel of architectural gems. Even the street corridor is full of detail.

The Chapel of the Nativity at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

The little detail of Space Invader made me chuckle.

My job is to wander off as I see something interesting; Carmen’s job is to figure out where we are and how to get back on track.

The city becomes very quiet in the early afternoon for a siesta and avoid the direct sun.


Roads leading to Piazza di Spagna, the base of the Spanish Steps.

On Ponte Sant’Angelo around sunset. The pace slows down in the evening, people sit outside for a drink and chat till midnight.

She is still reading the map….

On the last leg of our trip we went on a day-trip to Laoshan [嶗山] on the outskirts of the Qingdao city. The information from various sources were very vague and especially hard to find during the low season.

In the end we took the public bus, which only cost us a few RMBs but rumbled through the different districts. Paddy laughed at me when I started nodding off on the bus.
Upon entering the main visitor center, all the visitors have to purchase their entrance tickets and transfer to the designated buses. We were quite amused by their new ticketing system which checks the fingerprints!

The landscape of Laoshan and Tai Shan are very different. At 1133 meters it is the only mountain whose peak is over 1000 meters and the highest mountain along China’s 18,000-kilometer-long coastline.

The mountain is also known for the Taoist Temples. In its prosperous time, there were 9 great palaces, 8 great temples, and 72 nunneries.

Many pilgrims come to the mountain to tie their wishes and blessings on trees along the paths.

The big boulders stacked on top of each other, making up this imposing mountain. In the summer, Laoshan has many natural springs and waterfalls. Laoshan Mountain mineral water is a speciality, which claims can be used to cure diseases.

Switchbacks near the top of the mountain.

We were amongst the handful of visitor that day, but you can see the stalls lining along the trails waiting for the travel season to begin.


We had actually made a wrong turn, but then stumbled across this beautiful town cascading down to the sea.

On the bus back to town we saw rows and rows of fishing boats and just jumped off the bus.
“Do you know if there are any more buses today? We are about 20km away from Qingdao….”

The boats had finished their catch in the morning and now safely anchored in the harbor.

Eventually we did find the right bus and got back to town. Inside a big department store the New Year celebration is in full swing. Many variety of gifts and traditional food to prepare for visits.

A quick stroll through the market before packing up and heading to the airport.

I should have brought back a few feet of those sausages back to Hong Kong.

The whatever it takes attitude in China can be seen clearly by this bicycle-mopper inside the airport terminal. Genius!

They didn’t even try to dress up the bike, the man here probably uses the same bike to get to/from home each day.

Goodbye Qingdao, that was fun!