Visiting the famed city of the Roman Empire was one of the awesome trips I had in Europe. I felt honored when I visited one of Europe’s and even the world’s most visited, famous and beautiful capitals last summer 2010. The trip I had in Rome was truly a memorable and marvelous one.

Rome being called as the ‘Eternal City’, is the capital and largest city of Italy. It is one of the globe’s greatest civilizations and became the center of power, culture, religion and history. The historic center of Rome with its rich historical heritage and cosmopolitan atmosphere made Rome as one of world’s most visited capitals.

Here are some of the sights not to miss when visiting Rome

The Colosseum- also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. It is so far the most famous landmarks of this city. It was capable of seating some 50,000 spectators for animal fights and gladiatorial combats.

I and my friend Nonna from the U.S. had a wonderful time taking pictures in Colosseum.

The Colosseum during our visit last August 2010.

Piazza Venezia- You can find at its centerpiece the enormous and controversial Vittorio Emanuele Monument. Piazza Venezia is located at the opposite end of Via dei Fori Imperiali to the Colosseum. Be careful with the traffic when visiting this site. Most of the times the traffic there is enormous.

The Vittorio Emanuele Monument in Piazza de Venezia.

The Arch of Constantine- this well-preserved monumental arch is just some meters walk from the Colosseum. It commemorates the victory of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, over his rival Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312.

The Roman Forum- This is one of the most interesting sites in Rome. The hallowed ruins in Foro Romamo (Italian name) were the most powerful seat of government in the world. There a lot of historical ruins to see in this area of Rome.

St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City- This is one of the main reasons why I visited Rome. It is really one of my dreams to go inside St. Peter’s Basilica. I was very happy and contented after my visit there. Another travel wish came true. We even had the chance to go up to its cupola and had a wonderful view of the city of Rome.

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. I am so happy to be there once in my life.

The Spanish Steps- known in Italian as the Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti. The monumental stairway has 138 steps and known to be the widest staircase in Europe.

The Trevi Fountain- This is considered to be one of the famous fountains in the world. No wonder why I really wanted to see it when I visited Rome last summer of 2010. Legend says that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you will surely have a visit to Rome again. This is one thing I surely did. I just tried my luck and I feel and believed that one day I will visit the “Eternal City” again.

There are still a lot of sights to see and to experience in Rome. I would love to share it in my next post here.

If you are planning to visit Rome in the future, be sure to plan it ahead like what we did to avoid stress and hassles. I and my friend found some affordable Rome flights and hotels to stay there. We booked it immediately especially that summer is a peak season to visit Rome. Thanks to the advent of computers and internet, finding cheap flights and hotels anywhere in the world has become very easy and convenient now.

I found a deal to Zurich, Switzerland last December 2010. It was really a very cheap trip considering that the transportation, overnight in Hilton Hotel Airport and breakfast were already included during that deal. I immediately booked it because I also want to witness the Christmas market in this Swiss city.

To give you some overview of this city, Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is also the financial center of this country.

We had some hours walk around the Altstadt or old city of Zurich. I am happy with what I saw but I would be very satisfied if we have more time seeing more of its sights. At least, I was able to witness the biggest covered Christmas market in Europe and maybe in the whole world to.

Here are some of the images I took during our visit last December 2010.

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I consider Würzburg (written as Wuerzburg in English) as one of the most beautiful cities in Bavaria, Germany. I always feel like visiting Prague in Czech Republic everytime I visit there. This is because the Alte Mainbrücke or Würzburg’s Old Main Bridge looks very similar to the Charles Bridge in Prague.

I can’t exactly remember how many times I was there already. I guess five or six times. There are a lot of sights to see in this city. The travel snapshots I have below are only some of it.

the Main River that flows in Würzburg. You can see one of the statues on the Old Main Bridge of Würzburg. The building you see on top of the hill is the Marienberg, a castle in this city across the Old Main Bridge.

We took the Deutsche Bahn or German a train from Bamberg to Würzburg during our recent visit last month. We were lucky during our visit last month because there was no snow in Wuerzburg but it was still very cold.

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Let’s go travel in Europe again! This time I am bringing you back to Deutschland or Germany in English. I am featuring one of the most beautiful castles not only in Germany but in whole of Europe as well. The Schloss Neuschwanstein as it is called in German, is considered to be the most photograph architecture in Germany. It is also famous not only because it appeared in several movies but due to the fact that this castle was the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

I had been to this castle four times already and I always love it there. It is located on a hill in the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in Bavaria, Germany. I remember during fist visit where we stayed in one of the hotels in Füssen. From there, Neuschwanstein is only less an hour drive.

The castle was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria from his own fortune and from extensive borrowing of funds. It is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace. Its construction started in 1869.

I read in a German newspaper last year that the Bavarian government would like to apply it to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here are some images I took from this castle.

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This beautiful city which is located at the foot of Sierra Nevada in the region of Andalusia, Spain is truly marvelous. I feel in love with its beauty adding to the fact that we visited lot of interesting and historical sights there including the famous Alhambra.

The Alhambra is considered to be the most striking, best preserved Arabian palace in the whole world.This is the monument that still gleams bright considering much of Moorish Granada. Alhambra an Arabic word which literally means the “red one” was constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada in al-Andalus. It is occupying the top of the hill of the Assabica on the southeastern border of the city of Granada.

If you are visiting Granada, be sure not to miss Alhambra. Our tour guide told us that you must book your ticket months before especially during peak summer season. Alhambra is truly a must to see.

The Patio de los Arrayanes with the Comares tower, a crenellated fortress 45 meters high. I wish to go back again in this city and explore more about Alhambra. For some reason, I just love this place.

This is one of the famous landmarks in Paris, the capital city of France. It is called in French as Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris), also commonly called as Notre Dame Cathedral. It has a Gothic architecture and very famous for its flying buttress. Until Catholic masses are held every Sunday in this Catholic cathedral.

I am so happy to visit one of the notable historical monuments in Paris. In fact, I already visited it twice. During my first visit, I was able to go inside the Cathedral. It is truly an amazing work of human architecture.

The beautiful and historical Notre Dame Cathedral is located on a small island called the Ile de la Cite in the middle of river Seine.

A friend called me yesterday and asked me if I want to go with them a bit sightseeing to some places in Bavaria, Germany. I told her, “sure why not, just leave a message in my facebook and let me know what time are we leaving.” And so the story goes…

From my friend’s house, the way going to Kallmünz (written in English as Kallmuenz) will be passing to our home, she decided to just pick me up. We left today around 11:10 am. We don’t have snow this winter time (and I am glad about it) but still wearing a good winter jacket is a must because it is still cold outside.

To make the story shorter, we climbed the castle ruins in Kallmünz since it is located on top of the hill. From there you will have a fantastic view of the whole town and its surroundings. Here are some of the images I took today.

The name itself already says the beauty of this French city. Nice is truly nice and I love it there! It is almost a year now since we visited this city. It is called Nice la Belle or Nissa La Bella in Niçard, which also means Nice the Beautiful. It is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912.

The seafront of the city is a must to go walking or spending sometime relaxing on its beach is a nice experience too. I remember going inside a souvenir shop in Nice and telling the cashier that his place is very beautiful. I was pronouncing Nice as nice in English but I was mistaken and he was not able to understand me. Nice is actually pronounced like the English word “niece”. Be careful when talking to someone from Nice. They might not understand you.

It was only a short visit we had in Nice but it was worth seeing the place. If you are visiting French Riviera in the future, don’t miss to include Nice in your list.

The city’s main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais (‘the Walkway of the English’) owes its name to the earliest visitors to the resort.