Exploring Bangkok Day 2

Day 2 in Bangkok was the day of discovering the markets.  We woke up early and started our tour.  Our tour left early, and we were to be gone all day, this is where the hotel choice is extremely important, and these are the tips and trick a travel agent can help with. Our hotel had a full breakfast ready for us starting at 6 am.  Their service was amazing, after the first day they knew what each of liked to drink and how we preferred our coffee.  We were able to have a good breakfast before heading out to our tour since we weren’t sure when we were going to have time to eat again since it was an all-day tour.  They even packed us some fruit to take for a snack. 

We started with the train getting on a train to head over to the train market, we took the train through the Bangkok countryside and straight through the market.  We then got off the train had some time to shop in the market, grab some fresh mango, and catch a quick glimpse of the train going through the market.  It was so interesting seeing it from both perspectives.  We got to see it from the actual train and then from the ground.  Not going to lie I actually had a teeny tiny anxiety attack as that train was going through the market full throttle, as all of the Thai people and tourists kept shopping as if nothing was going on.  In their defense, this happens several times a day in their world. 

After the train markets we went ahead to the water markets, now this was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.  We sat 4 in a canoe with someone steering at the end and there were shops up and down the canal.  There were also other canoes that had food, ice cream, fruit and water.  There was a canoe making pad Thai, fried rice, chicken, pork, it was literally one of the best experiences of my life.  I didn’t think anything could top this day until on the way home we saw an elephant just roaming in someone’s backyard and my life was made.  

Roaming Rome in 24 Hours

Rome, one of the most iconic cities in the world.  A city at the tope of everyone’s bucket list.  Rome, the very first city I discovered in Europe has quickly is usually everyone’s first stop in Europe.  Depending on the type of traveler you, Rome could be visited by plane, cruise or train.  I’ve visited Rome every which way and it’s a different feeling each time.  

            When Rome is discovered by land there’s usually more time to immerse yourself in the culture, in the sights, and let’s be real the food. Pasta in Italy just tastes better.  When you visit Rome by cruise ship there are few hours to visit the city.  The point of a cruise is to give you a little taste into a lot of destinations for you to decide if it’s a place you’d like to return. A cruise is also a great way to see a lot of places in in a short period of time and on a budget. 

            There is no way you can see all of Rome thoroughly in 1 day I’ll tell you the fastest way to get all of the sights done quickly in 1 day. The port of Rome is called Civitavecchia, which is roughly an hour and a half from the city of Rome.  The most economical and fastest way to get there is by train.  The train from Civitavecchia drops you off right in front of the Collosseum.  There’s not enough time to walk into the Collosseum but you can admire it from the outside and take your picture and go take a walk through the Roman Forum.  

            From the Collosseum we took a walk to Pantheon. Fun fact about me this was my 4 visit to Rome and I had never visited the Pantheon before.  At the Pantheon, we decided to grab a bit to eat from a hidden restaurant & eat right on the steps while half of the group went in. 

            Next on the list was the Trevi Fountain, being the middle of November, which is considered off-season.  It made all of this fairly easy.  There weren’t many tourists doing the same things we were.  The streets weren’t as crowded, which made it all a lot easier to get around and the sites were more enjoyable than before.  The Fountain of Trevi was basically empty compared to my first visit there.  We were able to visit the fountain toss a coin and make our wish.  

We also decided to make a quick stop at the Spanish Steps.  When I visited the first time, the Spanish Steps were so crowded you couldn’t even go up the steps.  There were people sitting literally all over the steps.  This time they were basically empty.  Perks of travelling during the off-season.  After this it was a rush to find a taxi to take us to the train station to get back to the port.  If you aren’t as rushed as we are I suggest the bus.  Public transportation is very reliable in Europe; we were actually waiting for the bus when we realized if we didn’t make it across the city in the next 30 minutes we were going to miss our cruise.  After that it was a seamless run through the train station to catch the last train back to Civitavecchia.