This guest post makes me want to book a flight to Italy! No wonder George Clooney bought a villa here 11 years ago! One of Italy’s lakes, the majestic and tranquil Lake Como can be found in the heart of Lombardy in Northern Italy, and while it’s neighbour, Lake Garda, offers a more tourist-inspired retreat, Lake Como holidays provide added elegance that is seldom seen elsewhere in the area. The villas that scatter the shores alone are enough for you to gaze upon it in awe, without even considering what is waiting for you to explore beyond them. While you may be able to embark on a little celebrity spotting…
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12 Hours in Florence
In contrast to the sunny Tuscan landscape that I had been daydreaming of for years, the Tuscany that welcomed us was wet and dreary. I was with my team, filming a documentary in Rome. But a couple of days before our shoot wrapped up, we had an opportunity to make a side trip to Florence, the romantic capital of the Tuscan region. We only had 12 hours to spare. At 6am in Rome, we boarded the speediest train I had ever sat on. And by 7:30am, we were strolling the streets of Firenze, birthplace of Michelangelo, Boticelli and the Renaissance. The rain, although light, was relentless. But the locals didn’t…
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Widespread Cuteness in the Streets of Rome
Italians love their cars, especially the luxe kind. But it is not the Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, Lamborghinis or the Ferraris that make my heart skip a beat. In Rome, mini cars rule! You’ll see them everywhere… zipping by the narrow cobble stoned streets like bumblebees on streroids… Shoved Parked in slots that could only accomodate Vespas… Innocently hiding behind bushes… Parked right in the middle of the road in support of non-conformity… Or just quietly contemplating on life and love… Side note: Later, I found out that in Rome, mini cars or micro cars that have 50cc engines are classified as mopeds so a person does not…
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Footnote: Underneath St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome
One of the air vents for the crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, 2012. “There are over 100 tombs within St. Peter’s Basilica (extant to various extents), many located in the Vatican grotto, beneath the Basilica. These include 91 popes, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart, are buried here, having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI. Also buried here are Maria Clementina Sobieska, wife of James Francis Edward Stuart, Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her throne in order to…
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One Fine Day in Rome
We almost didn’t make it, my team and I. We received our Schengen Visa just two days before our scheduled flight, and our plane tickets mere hours before takeoff. Everything, it seemed, was against our going to Rome to cover the historic canonization of the country’s second saint, San Pedro Calungsod. But with his intercession, things eventually fell into place. Letters of endorsement were signed, permits to shoot and Vatican media passes granted and most importantly, production funds released. All in the nick of time! Before we knew it, we were boarding a KLM flight to Rome, our hearts swelling with gratitude for being blessed with an opportunity of a…
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Riding the Iron Horse
The first and last time I travelled long-distance by train (and by long distance, I mean more than a hundred kilometers) was three years ago, going to Assisi from Rome, Italy. My crew and I just arrived at the Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino from Manila, sleep-deprived with body clocks six hours ahead of local time. We were in Italy to film a documentary. Still disoriented, we were whisked into a van and brought to Roma Termini, the train station where the last morning train to Assisi was about to leave. We needed desperately to get on that train, otherwise, we would waste a whole day of production. As…
