Italy Trip – Teaser Trailer

The one-month Italy trip has been planned and was supposed to be completed two years ago. However, it was cancelled first time due to pollen allergy in 2014 after spent two weeks in Paris. Then was again cancelled last year due to failing to reserve a visa appointment time slot. Therefore, I traveled to Banff … Continue reading “Italy Trip – Teaser Trailer”

The one-month Italy trip has been planned and was supposed to be completed two years ago. However, it was cancelled first time due to pollen allergy in 2014 after spent two weeks in Paris. Then was again cancelled last year due to failing to reserve a visa appointment time slot. Therefore, I traveled to Banff National Park in Canada instead. Finally in this Spring everything worked out right.

This trip focused on North Italy, covering Rome/Vatican City, Siena, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Milan and Venice.

The long history of Italy creates all kinds of cities with their own unique culture. The whole trip is filled with excitement. While be amazed at how those ancient tradition and architecture being kept in good condition, we experienced local culture, meet with local people. It was an exhausted while interesting trip.

Italy Trip – Food

Italy is an interesting country. From 2pm to 6pm, all restaurants are closed for ‘Napping Time’. As I am an early bird for sunrise and noon sleeper, I have to grab whatever I can find in small shops. With sandwich and a bottle of Coke usually, I enjoyed sitting at the big plaza watching all kinds of people and on-going events. The Italy food is typically pizza and pasta with high calories. With my 30lb camera bag and 30k steps walking in those cities each day for a whole month, I was surprised to find out no weight lose after returning back home. This country is not a place to lose weight.

Italy Trip – Hotels

Compared with US cities, hotels in Italy are indeed not expensive. You can easily find nice ones below USD$200 with great location and breakfast. 4 Euro/night city tax was charged at checking out. Overall, hotels are comfortable and clean. Most ones are in old buildings with high ceiling and feel pretty spacious. There are a lot of rooms at Hotels.com, Booking.com and Airbnb. To be aware that, some hotels are virtually from private apartments. Things could go wrong as they claim never received the booking even I got ‘guaranteed booking’ email leaving myself speechless. Better call those apartment style hotels for confirmation before get stranded and then look for other accommodations which can mess up the travel plans.

Italy Trip – Transportation

Italy has fully developed railway networks covering most locations you plan to go. The schedule and price can be easily found in smart phone application ‘Info Treni’. You need to enter the exact station name, which can be found in google maps or other map apps. Before boarding the train, you need to validate ticket at the little machines in station. Anyone without ticket validation will be fined even you bought the ticket.

Check-In device in train station in Italy trip
Check-In device in train station to help travelers in Italy trip

The seat and carriage number is printed on ticket. While the ticket is in Italian, it could be easily ignored for the first time. With oversized luggage and be driven around by other ticket holders, it is not fun at all.

Most seat has power outlet allowing you to charge laptop/cell phone. It is enjoyable to play with your cell phone and watching the beautiful view outside during traveling.

Italy Trip – People

About Languages

People in big cities with tourists speak good English. However, in small towns, the old generation only speak Italian. I would like to highly recommend the powerful app Google Translator (Needs internet connection). It translate voice between languages. That was how I communicate with locals in Lucca, a medieval town. This app is also capable of translating text from camera video into the one you understand, which makes possible to shop in stores with all products with Italian texts. Just point your cell phone to anything you are interested in.

Italian Attitude

General speaking, travel in Italy is very secure. Attractions with tourists all have army man on duty (not regular policeman, heavily loaded with war filed weapon). It may have something to do with the recent terrorist attacks in Europe. However, watch out pickpocket. Precaution is always preferred to prevent any losses.

Money is not the sole objective to Italian running business. Whenever feel like to, they may stop what they are working on and spend quite some time chatting with you freely. They also take care of their business while holding a glass of wine in hand. Whatever makes them happy, they go for it. However, this casual attitude occasionally causes issues.

The Troubles

The ‘Napping Time’ from 3pm to 6pm is one good example. When we first arrived at Rome, the hotel shuttle driver is not there. After I called the front desk, I was told the driver didn’t feel like to come that day. And they didn’t tell me in advance… $%&@%% One more example, my friends told me they finally arrived at a famous restaurant they spent certain time looking for the location and found that, the door was open but nobody doing business. The reason? The chief had a bad mood that day. In Milan, as I left the key in room to catch the early train, it took me 8 international phone calls and couple of text message to finally get the receipt of the stay.

It might be the driven factor that there are a large number of artistes in Italy as they follow their mood and not struggling to make a living. Nobody knows.

Italy Trip – Photos

Below I would like to share preview photos from the trip. One photo for each location. More stories are yet to come in the near future. Keep an eye on.

Roman Forum. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Roman Forum. The ruin shows the glory of ancient Rome. Colossal seen from far distance. Preview photo from my Italy trip.

The ruin shows the glory of ancient Rome. Colossal seen from far distance.

St Peter's Basilica. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Holy light, St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Dusk in Medieval Town Siena. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Dusk in Medieval Town Siena. It was my 2nd stop after Rome. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Florence, perfect sunset. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Florence, perfect sunset. It was one of my most unforgettable sunset in this world’s famous city. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Lucca, a lazy afternoon. Old buildings from our room window. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Lucca, a lazy afternoon. Old buildings from our room window with good view of this medieval town. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Pisa Leaning Tower. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Pisa Leaning Tower, a man standing before sprinkling water in lawn after sunrise. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Manarola, Cinque Terre. Tide splash. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Manarola, Cinque Terre. Tide splash. I was lucky to be there to catch strong wind and tide. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Milan Duomo Plaza with pigeons. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Milan Duomo Plaza with pigeons. Those birds are not afraid of people. They see millions daily. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Venice. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Venice, the city on water. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Colorful town Burano. Preview photo from my Italy trip.
Colorful town Burano. It is located about 20 mins boat ride from Venice. Preview photo from my Italy trip.

Songquan Photography is the author of this article and reserve full rights. You are welcome to repost. Please credit the author.

___________________________________________________________________

Original URL of this post:   https://bestcityscape.com/?p=40932

New York City Public Observatory Deck – Top of the Rock

Rockefeller Center is located at 6th Avenue and 50 street, the heart of midtown Manhattan. Due to its close proximity with a handful of landmark areas such as the Empire State Building, 5th Avenue, Times Square, the observation deck (Top of the Rock) has stunning unique view. If you are looking for very ‘New York’ shots, … Continue reading “New York City Public Observatory Deck – Top of the Rock”

Rockefeller Center is located at 6th Avenue and 50 street, the heart of midtown Manhattan. Due to its close proximity with a handful of landmark areas such as the Empire State Building, 5th Avenue, Times Square, the observation deck (Top of the Rock) has stunning unique view. If you are looking for very ‘New York’ shots, this is the one you must not miss.

This observation deck has quite unbeatable view although it does not have 360 degree vista with only north and south visible. Outdoor platform allows crispy sharp images as no trouble from window glass. Tripod is not allowed. Again, the magic bean bag is a big help for night shots. The check-in time is only 30 minutes to 1 hour as most tourists rush to the more famous Empire State Building.

Location: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
GPS: 40°45’31.92″N  73°58’45.63″W
Waiting time to reach the deck: 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Recommendation: 4 stars out of 5.

North
A perfect view of the whole Central Park from above

South
The Empire State Building is surrounded by hundreds of skyscrapers.


The Empire State Building and skyscrapers of Times Square

Skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan

The Empire State Building and binocular. The new One World Trade Center in far distance (Completed in 2014)

If the cold air is too much to you, walk inside to enjoy the nice view through windows.

For more beautiful cityscape photos of New York City, please check the Full Collection.

Songquan Photography is the author of this article and reserve full rights. You are welcome to repost. Please credit the author.

___________________________________________________________________

Original URL of this post:  https://bestcityscape.com/?p=38926

New York City Public Observatory Deck – the Empire State Building

The name of the Empire State Building is derived from the nickname of New York – The Empire State. It was named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. With 102 floors and 1,454 feet in height, the Empire State Building kept the world record for 40 years after its completion in … Continue reading “New York City Public Observatory Deck – the Empire State Building”

The name of the Empire State Building is derived from the nickname of New York – The Empire State. It was named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. With 102 floors and 1,454 feet in height, the Empire State Building kept the world record for 40 years after its completion in 1931 until the topping out of the original World Trade Center’s North Tower in late 1970.

It is interesting to mention that, claimed to be a building to dock airship, the true reason behind was to compete with Chrysler Building nearby, which was under construction at that moment, to be the worlds’ tallest building. The building’s Art Deco spire, designed to be a mooring mast and depot for airship, added 200 feet extra height.

The building’s art deco design bears the cultural and artistic marks in early 20th centaury. It is also a popular landmark in numeric movies such as King Kong, Sleepless Seattle, Independence Day…

Location: 350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118
GPS: 40°44’53.80″N  73°59’8.73″W
Waiting time to reach the deck: 1-2 hours
Recommendation: 4.5 stars out of 5

The Empire State Building has one of the most popular outdoor observatories in the world. You can pay extra fee to access 102nd floor. The space is compact without impressive view through the glass window full of stains. I would suggest to stay with the regular admission without pay extra money.

The observation deck has several features any photographer dreams of:
Outdoors: Long focus length is possible to photograph landmark buildings in far distance without degradation of image details. You may also use wide-angle lens without worrying about glass reflections.
360 degree non-obstructed view: Good view of locations such as Times Square, Brooklyn, downtown financial district, 34th street, 5th Avenue, East River, Hudson River.
Couple of drawbacks to be noticed:
No tripod: The security will keep your tripod till you finish your trip. I would suggest carrying bean bag instead to get nice shot at night.
Too many tourists: Budget 2 hours waiting time to access the deck.
Can’t see Empire State Building itself.
Strong wind: Be well prepared for wind and cold temperature. Dress in layers. You can stay indoors if the weather is challenging.

North
Midtown skyscrapers featured with Times Square

Buildings are nicely lit at night, especially Times Square and 42nd street.

The shadow of the Empire State Building

Rooftop view from above. Good to shoot tilt-shift miniature effect.

Crowded skyscrapers and the 5th Avenue

East
Panoramic view of East River and Brooklyn


A beautiful view of the Chrysler Building. This is the one I talked about in competition with the Empire State Building for the tallest building in the world. Not only the famous landmark in New York City, but also a master piece art deco skyscraper.

South
The skyscrapers of financial district in far distance featured by the new One World Trade Center. East River on left and Hudson River on right.

You have good view of another iconic skyscraper – The Flatiron Building. One of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers.

Business office buildings near the Flatiron Building, including New York Life Building (Tower on left) and Metlife Building (bell tower on right)
SBT_6639comb

West
New Jersey State and Hudson River in far. 34th street and transportation hub, Pennsylvania Station close by.


 

For more beautiful cityscape photos of New York City, please check the Full Collection.

Songquan Photography is the author of this article and reserve full rights. You are welcome to repost. Please credit the author.

___________________________________________________________________

Original URL of this post:   https://bestcityscape.com/?p=38873