Tag: Travel
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[ROME] THE COLOSSEUM
![[ROME] THE COLOSSEUM](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/p1040782.jpg?w=1024)
Rome was not built in a day. Pardon the cliche but it’s all I could think about right here and right now. The Colosseum is the icon of Roman masculinity being the site of many heroic battles fought within its colossal proportions. I’ve had the nagging suspicion that the Colosseum’s root word comes from Colossus,…
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[ROME] IN ALL ITS RUINED BEAUTY
![[ROME] IN ALL ITS RUINED BEAUTY](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/p1040617.jpg?w=1024)
What everyone should love about Rome: its historic ruins and scatters of exquisite shambles. Much of this city appears discarded – as if picked apart by fickle historians and deemed unworthy of more than an afterthought. Centuries of time gone by lay preserved in these archived sites, untouched by restoration, that are as common in…
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[ROME] PIAZZA DEL POPOLO
![[ROME] PIAZZA DEL POPOLO](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140727-155212-57132625.jpg?w=1024)
Flanked by the Via Flaminia, Piazza del Popolo was an important entry point to Rome’s city centre for travellers entering the city via the Adriatic Coast. Today, the piazza still hums with a steady stream of travellers eager to check this off their travel itinerary. We took mandatory shots with Rome’s iconic obelisk which was initially erected to…
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[ROME] THE SPANISH STEPS
![[ROME] THE SPANISH STEPS](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140727-155528-57328731.jpg?w=1024)
We took the best part of an hour to conquer the celebrated Piazza di Spagna, otherwise more fondly known as the Spanish Steps, which rises up towards the Church of Trinità dei Monti. Summer was shrouding us all in killer heatwaves. Nevertheless we managed to revel in the refined, eighteenth century atmosphere, once home to…
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[ROME] THE PANTHEON
![[ROME] THE PANTHEON](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140727-154811-56891549.jpg?w=1024)
Let there be light! Through this massively gaping hole, summer was infiltrating the cool granite dome. Indeed, you haven’t seen Rome if you’ve never been to the Pantheon. This gaping hole right at the center of the majestic relic is what we call the oculus at the dome’s apex, which allows the only natural sources…
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[ROME] PIAZZA NAVONA
![[ROME] PIAZZA NAVONA](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140727-154029-56429017.jpg?w=1024)
Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651), topped by the Obelisk of Domitian, brought to Rome in pieces from the Circus of Maxentius. Still pretty much awed by the beauty that lay in ruins all over Rome, scattered amongst the masterpieces that bring in the bulk of the…
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[SYDNEY] BOURKE STREET BAKERY
![[SYDNEY] BOURKE STREET BAKERY](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140719-204734-74854484.jpg?w=1024)
Tarts and tea at the Bourke Street Bakery on a weekday afternoon. Surry Hills is home to a flourish of yuppie bars and cafes where misfits are the new chic. People no longer go to cafes seeking lattes. Instead, we pay more physical attention to the space we spend time in. Naturally, we want to surround ourselves in a creative, culturally-inspiring, aesthetically…
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SEOUL DIARIES 027: WELCOME TO MY PIGEONHOLE
Located at a secluded corner in Gangnam district, Morning Guesthouse is virtually invisible to the foreign tourist. It took me a good hour and a half to track down Jaeyeong Building on foot from Gangnam Station in the sweltering summer heat. They have got quite a number of rooms in pigeon-hole sizes, each equipped with…
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[TAIPEI] oo3. Foodporn Ahead
![[TAIPEI] oo3. Foodporn Ahead](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20140612-202257-73377700.jpg?w=768)
When in Taipei, eat your way through Shih-Lin Night Market! We started off with these super yummy beef brisket noodles Then tracked down the legendary Ah Zong Mian Xian Had a handful of super good Sheng Jian Bao (pan-fried pork buns) And of course, BUBBLE TEA!! This ginormous wild (farmhouse) mountain chicken totally caught our…
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[TAIPEI] oo2. Le Morning Cuppa
![[TAIPEI] oo2. Le Morning Cuppa](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20140612-200746-72466906.jpg?w=768)
Good morning Taipei! Lovin my shot of caffeine in a pretty white bottle. xoxo, Viktoria Jean
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Adventures in Auckland
To sum up my third Auckland experience: 1. Mediocre room service from Crowne Plaza at 2am local time. Great chips, over-fried snapper fish. But still yum-in-my-tum after 10-hours in the skies. 2. 15°C in the day, with the sun out. What more can you ask for? 3. My favourite cereals and the works – late-night snacking essentials. 4. Thumping the…
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SEOUL DIARIES 025: HOTEL MOTEL
I’m never again staying (alone) in a motel, regardless of how good the deal. Checked out from BLU:Guesthouse Hongdae, dragged my bags through interweaving subway lines, and finally arrived at Gayang Station. First, let me take a selfie – to commemorate the end of (the first part of) my solo-venture. A long bumpy walk later, I found Baekje…
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TOKYO DIARIES 東京旅日記 IV
Friends, you know who you are and this is for you. I’ve always read about Chiba Prefecture in Murakami’s works and although Narita isn’t my favourite Japanese tourist spot, there is so much to see and shopping to do! Whuddup – look at these fluffy kitties I found: Lunch was mediocre chashuu ramen and some…
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SEOUL DIARIES 024: Seoul Fashion Week
Sometime ago, I was in Seoul. And I got to experience the rush of Seoul Fashion Week. Of course Milan was way better, because the glamour and excitement was literally in the air whereas the activities were concentrated and somewhat limited to the big fashion hubs at Myeongdong. Most local designers were alongside big names on…
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Cafe aA Design Museum | 카페 aA 디자인 뮤지엄
Imagine my joy when I finally found my way to Cafe aA in Hongdae! “Seoul Design Spot” identifies 250 unique architectural creations or designer venues selected by 100 famed designers. Cafe aA Design Museum is a European-style hangout which falls under both museum and cafe categories. I was really excited to hunt for this chill-out museum. The cafe…
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Gabae Naru | 가배나루
Hiking around Chungjeongno 충정로동 revealed many surprises about Seodaemun-Gu. First, I managed to catch the splendour of spring flowers at Dongnimmun, and was then awed by the grandeur of South Korea’s Independence Gate. Not forgetting Seodaemun’s Prison History Hall, reminding us all of mankind’s ceaseless war amongst ourselves. Out of the blue comes this charming red cafe all white-washed walls and scruffy front yard,…
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Cafe Joenill | 카페 조에닐
Late night shopping at Hongdae with iced peach tea leads to planting thy ass at this comfortable hideout, tired out from endless sights, walking with wedge-heels, and very fascinated by observations I get from people watching at Cafe Joenill. Also, it had been drizzling, and I still wanted to keep my nose. Earpiece-plugged, this was the time I fell in…
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Coffine Gurunaru | 커핀그루나루
So this is one of ’em chain coffee-stores that also offer legit mojitos and cocktails, where I tasted one of the best sweet-potato lattes I’ve ever had! Purple’s their defining colour. I’ve only so far tried one of their beverages. Everything else on their menu is the same as any of the other chain coffeehouses. Was grabbing a hot…
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SEOUL DIARIES 023: SPRING BLOSSOMS
Come spring and summer, Seoul is just so beautiful. Pictures taken at Dongnimmun Gate. Gorgeously pink, aren’t they? xoxo, Viktoria Jean
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SEOUL DIARIES 022: SEODAEMUN PRISON 서대문형무소역사관
Seodaemun Prison History Hall: a former prison since 1908 that housed anti-colonial activists during the Colonial period. After colonial era ended in 1945, South Korean government housed prisoners at Seodaemun until 1987 when it was replaced by a facility in Uiwang City, Gyeonggi Province. The main hall has three floors of exhibitions. Here, you can…
Viktoria Jean 