Rome

Rome has captivated my heart for longer than I can remember, but i honestly didn't think it was going to completely surpass my expectations...wow. 

Beautiful architecture surrounds you, along with delicious pizzerias and the never ending streets that are just as beautiful as the next and the easiest to get lost in, and don't even get me started on the history! I've seen so much beauty in this world, but nothing will ever compare to the beauty that Rome holds. Rome is the most beautiful city, rome is life. 

Out of all the beauty I have seen in this world, I can't compare anything to the beauty I discovered in the streets of Rome. All you need to do is turn a corner and a magnificent structure will appear out of nowhere and leave you standing in awe. Whenever you think about the worlds most well known landmarks, you kind of expect them to be a little disappointing when you actually see them for yourself. This is not the case AT ALL when it comes to the Colosseum, this humongous structure might be the most beautiful building I have ever saw in my life, and the history it holds, oh my the history! This entire city is breathtaking, from The Pantheon to The Vatican City, everything is more incredible than you could ever imagine. 

We spent 5 nights in Rome, we ate more food than you can imagine, walked further than I have ever walked before, and took in so much culture and beauty.

Rome has captivated my heart, and nothing will ever stop this magical city being one of the most special places to me.

This was the first time I have been to Rome, but it certainly won't be the last. 

Have you been anywhere you can't stop thinking about?

The Blog-tember Challenge: Day 9 | Rome

 

When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere.

- Saint Ambrose 

Friday, Sept. 9: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?

If I could go anywhere in the entire world it would be Rome. In fact though, I am going to Rome very soon, and I don't think that I have ever been so excited about something in whole life. 

For as long as I can remember I've had the biggest fascination with Rome, although I'm not sure where it came from. Maybe it's the history of the city, I absolutely adore walking through museums or runs etc and learning about their history, you can have fun learning! I've never known a city to have such amazing architecture  the city just screams "explore me" and I cannot wait to do just that! I can't wait to be standing in awe in front of the colosseum, walking through the vatican or through the catacombs, everything in this city seems incredibly divine. 

There's a Roman saying "Even a lifetime isn't enough time to see Rome" and I don't think i've ever believe a quote so much in my life. Rome is certainly one of the worlds most fascinating cities, and I'm truly excited to have the opportunity to visit the city.

Rome Bucket List

Rome Bucket List

Rome is not like any other city. It's a big museum, a living room that shall be crossed on ones tiptoes. - Alberto Sordi

Hello lovely readers! As most people know, I'm a lover of all things lists, especially those of the bucket variety. So I've came here today to share with you my Rome bucket list that will be full of all the wonderful things I hope to do whilst in the beautiful city.

Colosseum

Pantheon

Vatican Museums

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

Roman Forum

St. Peter's Basillica 

Sistine Chapel

Piazza Navona 

Palatine Hill

Castel Sant'Angelo 

Capitoline Hill

Catacombs of Rome

There are actually sooooooo many more places that I need to visit when in Rome, but I'm sure I'll have PLENTY of pictures to share with you of all the beautiful places I've visited.

Have you visited Rome?

What was your favourite part?

Time is precious

If I were to received a pound for every time I logged on here and began writing a post, only to delete everything I've wrote and close it, I would be UNBEARABLY rich. I absolutely adore blogging, it's one of my favourite things to do, but sometimes I wonder whether I actually have enough to talk about to continue to keep my blog alive, to continue to keep it interesting enough for people to come here and read. I just worry that I don't have the imagination to create wonderfully interesting reads. 

I'm finding that most of the time I'm struggling to find the time to come here and talk to you, my life has been taken over by work, and when I'm not working I'm most likely reading, or catching up on TV shows. I just never seem to have enough time to do all the things that I so desperately want and need to do in my life. 

The last year of my life and more so the last few months I've found myself falling into that horrible pattern that nobody wants to fall into. I wake up, I go to work, where I'm barely even treated like a human being with feelings, I then get home with barely enough time to eat, and then head off to bed. When I get home I'm lucky if I get to have some form of interaction with my other half, which is completely insane considering that we live together! I swear I don't see why I'm paying for a mortgage, I'm out of the house more than I'm in it. 

Hell is repetition, and my life is repetition. 

There's so much I use to want to do with my life, still so much that I want to do. I miss the times where I had the spare money and spare time to not work in a horrible stuffy office, instead I would get to run around with my camera and be crazy creative. 

When I was in University I would have gave anything for it to be over, for me to finally enter the real world with my degree and find a wonderful job that I could fall in love with. Little did I know the real world was never how I pictured it, how people told me it was going to be. No one ever told me it was going to be this hard, no one told me that no one would care about all I've put myself through in order to try and be the best version of me. I always thought that once completing University I would actually be able to fall into the career of my dreams. 

Work, bills, work, bills. MY ENTIRE LIFE. 

My partner and I have booked a trip to Rome very shortly, and I'm more excited about this than I have been about anything in such a long time. I can't wait to spend an entire 5 days in awe staring at the beautiful historical structures that will be standing before me, to be running around with my camera and not having a care in the world. I will completely be in my element, having my camera in my hand and my soul mate by my side. I've literally left myself completely broke in order to book this trip because it was the only way as I have less money now than I have ever had. That's completely hilarious considering this is my first 'real' job, my first real job and I have no money. 

I love certain aspects of my life, I really do. Actually, I love every small detail about my life, aside from the pathetic excuse of a job I currently have. I'm not saying this is an awful job, I'm not saying that people can't enjoy it because it really isn't the worst thing in the world. Honestly, it's just the kind of thing I always said I would never do, it's not the kind of thing that I've worked my entire life  I have a naturally creative mind and not one thing about this job fits my personality. I actually feel like my talents are going to waste, and I'm stuck here now, I don't know what the hell to do to get out, to get out there and do what I was destined to do, be the person I'm truly meant to be. 

In ways my life is a lot more than I thought it would be at this point, I have a wonderful partner, family, and even extended family. I am surrounded by the most wonderful people, people that I find inspirational and just love more than words can express, especially my wonderful better half. I just wish I wasn't stuck in a job I can't stand, I wish it was easy to escape into something that will fill my days with happiness. 

My hun and I 

My Biggest Dreams: Rome - The History

ROME 

When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere.

- Saint Ambrose 

I've always had a rather large fascination with Roman history, along with this comes a great desire to explore this beautiful city.  I've spent countless hours reading up on the city, I've came to realise that not only is this city incredibly beautiful, but there is a rather large amount of magnificent ancient Roman architecture that just has to be explored. 

Colosseum

The Roman Colosseum, often referred to as Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built in 72 A.D, this Colosseum is still the largest amphitheatre in the world today. This amazing architectural structure has a total of 80 entrances and can hold a whopping 50,000 people in it's grounds. Although this structure is incredible to the eyes, one thing that shouldn't be forgotten when taking in this site, is the rather large amount of cold-blooded deaths that took place within the colosseum. As well as the mass amount of murdered criminals, the Colosseum also homed to many gladiatorial fights, with the last one taking place in 435 AD. This structural beauty is known as the Romans most popular monument and was built for 3 specific reasons. It was built as a gift to Roman Citizens from the Flavian Dynasty as a means of increasing their popularity, to stage entertainment, various different forms, and to show the world what Roman engineering looks like. This structure is the first thing on my list upon visiting Rome, in fact, it was the thing that birthed my fascination for the city and it's history. 

The Pantheon

The Pantheon was originally built during the reign of Augustus during 27 BC - 14 AD, but was then rebuilt around 126 AD. Even after 2000 years, The Pantheon's dome is still the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome. This structure is one of the best-preserved Ancient Roman buildings and has been used a considerable amount throughout history. The Pantheon is actually a Christian Church and has been used as such for a number of centuries, although due to being rebuilt twice beforehand, this isn't actually the original Pantheon, but is still extremely ancient. The tombs of this structure tell the story of a doomed engagement, the famous Renaissance painter, Raphael, is buried inside, along with his fiancee, Maria Bibbiena. Like quite a lot of ancient architectural buildings, this one is no different in the respect that their is a lot of history to be learned about it. 

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is a city square that is located in Rome. Built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built by Emperor Domitian in 86 AD, the square follows the form of the open space of the stadium. This square is arguably the most beautiful and famous one to exist in Rome. The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, also known as The Fountain of the Four Rivers, is the main attraction of this square, which was constructed between the years of 1647 and 1651 on the request of Pope Innocent X. This fountain consists of four figures which each represent a river from a different continent - The Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata, this is just one of the three fountains situated on the Piazza. The others being the Fontana del Nettuno, also known as The Neptune Fountain or The Calderari, and the Fontana del Moro, also known as The Moor Fountain. The Neptune fountain was built in 1576 by Giacomo della Porta and consists of statues of Neptune which are surrounded by sea nymphs, that were added during the 19th century. The Moor Fountain, which was also by Giacomo della Porta, consists of a statues of a Moor holding a dolphin, which was added in the 17th century, the tritons were added later during the 19th century. 

Another great part about The Piazza Navona is The Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, which was again commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1652 and was completed in 1670. St Agnes was buried in the catacombs at the present basilica of the church and is one of the great Roman virgin martyrs. The most notable part of the Basilica are it's mosaics, the shrine of the virgin martyr St. Agnes, and the catacombs.

1. Musei Capitolini

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   One thing that I have a huge love for is the fantastic art that people create, which is why The Capitoline Museums are such a fascination to me. These are a group of art and archeological museums that are located in Piazza del Campidogilo. The smaller building was opened to the public in 1734 by Pope Clement XII and contains a fine selection of Greek and Roman sculptures. Art is a wonderful thing to see, it's interesting to view the various different creations from artists, especially for someone like myself who isn't too good at art.

   
   

   Church of San Luigi dei Francesi

   

   
   

   The Church of San Luigi dei Francesi or The Church of St. Louis is a Roman Catholic church in Rome that is located near Piazza Navona and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Denis the Areopagite and St. Louis IX. This beautiful architectural structure was designed by Giacomo della Porta, who also built various fountains located at the Piazza Navona. On the walls of this church hangs 'The Calling of Saint Matthew, which is a reminder that art that is 400 years old was modern when this church was first built. Some say that Rome as a city is actually a living museum, the works of art hanging on the walls of this church could prove this quite easily.

   
   

   Palatine Hill

   
   

   

   
   

   Palatine Hill is one of the most ancient parts of the city, some of the findings here date back to the 10th century BC, and is one of the seven hills of Rome. The Palatine is the location on which the first settlers built their huts, following this is became a residential district. There isn't much to see here, but at the same time there is, most of what can be seen here are the remains of what once stood here.

   
   

   
   

   Castel Sant'Angelo

   

   
   

   
   Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as The Mausoleum of Hadrian is a towering cylindrical building located in Rome that was built as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian. Inside of this fortress you can find The National Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo which retraces the history of this structure. The Castel Sant'Angelo has undergone several renovations over the last few centuries, mainly to strengthen the castles defences. This castle is considered to be one of the most desirable tourist attractions in Rome. 
   
   There's a Roman saying "Even a lifetime isn't enough time to see Rome". Never could a saying ever be more true, there's far too much to view in Rome, far too much beauty and architectural history to take in. Rome is most certainly one of the worlds most fascinating cities, especially to someone like myself who has a huge love for the city. I can't wait to visit Rome. I can't wait to stand in awe when looking up at the Colosseum or The Pantheon, I can't wait to walk around the beautiful city of Rome with my camera, taking photographs of every single little thing, because I won't want to miss a thing.
   
   To see the post that gave me the idea for this series of posts, click here and to check out my bucket list, click here
   
   Until next time
   
   xo

Life's Not A Dress Rehearsal

I've spent my entire life in education, why you might ask? The answer will always be the same, because I was pushed into it, because I was told that this was what I had to do to become successful, to get the job of my dreams. I've came to realise that this was the biggest mistake of my life. I enjoyed College and would quite happily say that it was the best time of my entire life, everything about it was perfect and at that moment in time, I had never felt the passion that I did then for Media...little did I know that was soon to take a horrifying turn. I began my degree in September of 2012, after the first few months I knew it wasn't for me and following my car accident and all of the terrible things that I encountered during these months of my life, I decided to drop out of uni and I had never felt happier, I was stress free. This was all until I decided to go back, due to the fact that I am not a quitter and that I didn't want to disappoint, I never want to disappoint. 

I'm now in my final year of University and most people would say that it would be the stupidest thing ever to give up now, but is that really so true? nothing has ever made me so stressed, this stress has caused me to get extremely behind on my work. My Final Year Project and Dissertation are due in around 2 weeks time….I've not even started it and I completely lack all motivation to do so. Naturally this is stressing me out but I am completely confused as to where I go from here, I just don't know what to do. 

I just want to skip forwards in time, I want to throw myself at the world and to start my life completely. I'm absolutely terrified of failing in life, it's my biggest fear and it's something that I need to overcome. I'm terrified of looking back in 10 years time and wondering where my life went wrong, wondering why I'm not where I want to be. I really hope that I am where I want to be. 

There's so much I want to do in life, no dream is too big for me to hope it comes true. In one of my earlier posts I created a bucket list, it was full of a wide variety of things if I do say so myself. Well in this post I'm going to give you a list of just 10 things, 10 major things that I want to achieve in my life, whether that's visiting a place or just doing something, I would also like to point out that these are in no particular order. 

1. Rome

For as long as I can remember I have always had a rather large fascination with Roman history and with this comes a great desire to explore the city. I've spent so many hours on the internet reading up and just looking up certain things about the city and I've came to realise that along with just how beautiful the city is, there's also some rather magnificent ancient Roman architecture that I would absolutely die to see. The Colosseum, like most people, is the first thing on my list, the pictures already show just how amazing this structure is, but to see it in person? Yes please! Another big thing on my list to see when visiting the city of Rome if The Pantheon, this structure was originally built during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) but was then rebuilt around 126AD, even after 2000 years the Pantheon's dome is still the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome. There's so much to see in Rome, so much history to take in, I can't wait to visit this beautiful city, I can't wait to fall completely in love.

2. Paris in a weekend

Those who know me will know that I don't have a very big love for France, it's not one of my top places, I see Paris as being a little bit overrated, especially with places like Prague and Venice in the world, but there are some things in Paris that I absolutely have to see, I aim to take Paris by storm in just one short weekend. The number one thing that fascinates me when I think about Paris is The Louvre, although I'm not good at art myself, I love to see the work of others, I absolutely adore it. The Louvre is filled with many, many beautiful works of art, including the world famous Mona Lisa, I just know that I could spend hours here just standing in awe. Obviously if you go to Paris you have to see Eiffel Tower, although I don't have a huge fascination for this, I would still like to see it and get myself a few cheeky pictures. Paris is filled with beautiful monuments, that's the main reason I want to visit this city, I want to see Notre Dame Cathedral, which dates back to 1163 and The Roman catholic Basilica of Sacre Coeur. I want to visit the lock bridge, take in the culture, admire the art and take Paris by storm. 

3. Swim with Sharks

I love Sharks, I think they are one of the most wonderful, beautiful and misunderstood creatures alive today. There's not much to say about this, the title of this section pretty much speaks for itself. The only issue here is that I cannot swim and due to bad experiences with learning to swim when I was younger I have a little fear with learning to do so, but with this being such a big dream of mine, that's just something I have to overcome to that I can experience this. 

4. Have my own family

This is probably my biggest dream of all, if I can't do anything else in life but this, then I wouldn't actually care. For as long as I can remember I have always dreamed of having my own little family. When your time on this planet is up there isn't much you can leave behind that will actually matter, besides who you were and who you left behind. My family will become my legacy, when I'm gone from this world, I will live on through them. Having a family could be one of the most beautiful gifts in life, with this comes a life of adventure and a life of change. I can only imagine how wonderful this experience will be, I can't wait to make it my own experience.

5. Accept myself for who I am

Life is too short to spend another second at war with yourself, this is the motto I will continue to live by. It can often be hard to accept yourself for who you are, to understand that you are you and you are all you are ever going to be. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though! You get to decide who you are, you get to decide the kind of person you are going to be, the paths in life that you are going to take, you have the ability to change anything about your life should you wish to. I am me, I am the only me that is ever going to exist, I have countless number of freckles, heterochromia, the rosiest of rosy red cheeks ever possible, two feet, two arms, a head and a brain that makes me who I am, a brain that determines who I want to be and all that I can ever become. I've grown to accept this a little more over the past few years, I'm an awkward person, but that makes me who I am. I'm kind hearted and that's probably the most wonderful thing about me. It can take a life time to figure out who you really are and to completely accept it. That's what I hope to do, I hope to accept myself for who I truly am and to be thankful that I am me. 

6. New Zealand

New Zealand is arguably one of the most spectacular places that this world has to offer, just take a look at the breathtaking scenery if you don't believe me. Naturally, as The Lord of The Rings is one of my most favourite films, exploring the location of filming is an absolute must, especially hiking around Mordor! One of the main things I'd like to do in New Zealand is explore the the scenery because it's absolutely breathtaking in photographs, I can only imagine what it's going to be like standing right there in the middle of it. I want to visit the 'adventure capital of the world' that is Queenstown, the fun that could come from visiting this location is pretty much guaranteed, along with the views from scenery as well, what's not to like? I want to visit Milford Sound, which is often described as one of the natural wonders of the world. 

7. Japan

What can I say about Japan apart from the fact that I have had a fascination with this country for the longest time. One thing I aim to do before visiting Japan is to learn the language, or at least some of it. I want to see The Icicles of Misotsuchi which are the icicles that appear on the mountain located near the Awakawa River. Takeda Castle, although this was destroyed around 400 years ago, the stone wall still exists in it's original style. One of the main reasons I would absolutely love to visit Japan is to visit the historic landmarks, such as Shuri Catle Park, which harbours ruins from the Ryukyuan culture, Hiroshima Peace Memorial, which is the only building remained standing after the atomic bomb explosion during August 1945. I want to take in as much of the Japanese culture as humanly possible. 

8. See Taylor Swift live in concert

It's not a big surprise to anyone who knows me that this is one of my dreams. Taylor Swift has been my idol for such a long time and I fully believe she always will be. I just adore everything about her, she's just a wonderful human being. It's horrible knowing that I have still not seen her in concert, I just haven't been able to afford to when she's released tickets. I will see her, it doesn't matter which era this is in, but it will be a thing, it will happen. 

9. Prague 

The diversity of the city's architecture means there is something for everyone to enjoy. This city has so much architecture to offer, from Romanesque chapels and cellars to Cathedrals and palaces and gardens. There's so much I want to see in Prague, possibly too much to list, so I'll just talk about a few of them. Prague Castle looks absolutely breathtaking and is the largest ancient castle in the world. There's so much to see at Prague Castle that it could take days to full appreciate everything that it has to offer, from churches and gardens to Royal residences. Tyn Church is a gothic looking Church that can be viewed from all over Prague. The Church has two towers which can be admired due to their pure beauty, I've read up a lot about this church and have found that although this Church is wonderful to see during the day time, it's absolutely gobsmacking to see at night, so when I eventually get the chance to visit Prague, I aim to view it during opposing times, day and night. 

10. Berlin

One of the most important things I want to do when I visit Berlin is to explore the Jewish History, so I will visit The Judisches Museum. I want to visit the Berlin Wall and immerse myself in Berlins art scene. There's so much to take in, so much to experience. I love museums and there are so many to visit in Berlin, including the world famous 'Island of Museums' I want to visit The Brandenburg Gate, which is one of the best known landmarks that Germany has to offer. I want to visit The Holocaust Memorial, which is a memorial in Berlin that's dedicated to the Jewish victims of the holocaust. 

I could have talked about my most important and biggest dreams for hours and hours, but I had to stop myself, I haven't quite told you everything I want to see in these countries/cities, I haven't completely explained everything I  hope to achieve with my dreams because it would take far too long and this post is long enough as it is, I may take the time to take each one of these dreams and expand on the reasons why they are my dreams and why they are so important to me, so look out for those blog posts! I'm going to take a city/country a week and just tell you everything I love about it, that could make for some interesting reads.

Until next time!

Keep dreaming…

xo