Conquer Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Quick City Tour

August 9, 2015

I used to travel alone. I am keen on organizing things, keeping track of my schedules and maximizing the time spent to one place. I am the type of person that when I travel, I see to it I will visit the must-see places in the area.

Lapa Arches

When planning my route/itinerary, I list all the attractions and have an advance reading on it. Some say it is better to DIY (do-it-yourself) tour, check on the mode of transportations on how to get there and see for yourself. That does not work for me. I knew myself I can do it but I never attempted to do it. I find it more interesting and informative when you come to join a group tour. Well, it comes at a price but for me, it’s still worth it.

Why? In a group tour, itinerary is already organized by the agency. All you have to do is to hop on the coach and listen to what your guide was saying. If you have an advance reading, you can participate in asking questions or clarifications. The places of interest also were already planned and they are really focusing on the significant one. The price also includes convenience that you don’t have to fall in line for an entrance tickets.

the Sambadrome

In my case, I signed up an online membership on a tour agency, Viator. I already have tried and tested their services when i went to Europe, they have travel agency tie ups and in Rio, they have Grayline Rio de Janeiro.

I booked for a Half-day Sugar Loaf Mountain tour and part of their itinerary was a quick city tour. My pick-up time was at 8:30am in front of my hotel. They were on time. We drove out of Copacabana after the last pick-up stop near my hotel. It was worth knowing a little history of the city. It was interesting to note that Rio de Janeiro alone have more than 100 tunnels connecting several neighborhoods.

San Sebastian Cathedral

We went straight to the Sambadrome, a 700-meter hall where the samba schools dance their way during the Carnival every February. She told us that every Samba school is allowed only 1 hr and half to finish dancing the whole stretch of Sambadrome in order to cater all other participants.

Along the way, she explained to us the Favelas. She also added some insights on the railways, and other exciting neighborhood. We  passed through the main street of downtown Rio, its Sunday and nobody is there. She told us that the financial district is primarily for business only. No residential buildings in the area.

inside the Cathedral

We passed through the arches in Lapa, it was known to be an aqueduct before but now, a tramway connecting Santa Teresa neighborhood to the city center. Near the Arches is the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. As per my tour guide, more weddings are celebrated here. If you want to get married here, you need to book at least 2 years before your big day.

We had a quick visit at the Cathedral. It is magnificent. I love its architecture. I love its stained glass all the way to the ceiling. In the outside, you cannot tell if it’s a church because of its design. But it’s very nice. We were given 15 minutes to explore the place: photo opportunity, bathroom break and etc.

The bus was just waiting outside, we boarded our bus and we’re off to the Sugar Loaf. Passing along the neighborhood of Flamengo and Botofago, it’s nice to see the city even if it is that quick.

One European Dream... Pisa, ITALY

May 9, 2012

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

In my childhood, my cousin was telling me about The Leaning Tower of Pisa. I had no idea on what and where it is then. All I imagined, there was one tower built years ago and it is now leaning. 

I haven’t thought of including Pisa to my itinerary. When Ate Inday (Genivive Salinas) told me that it’s just an hour from Florence, second thought of dropping by before going to Venice was my initial schedule. After finalizing my itinerary, I figured it out that my May 9 was vacant that I can use it in going to Pisa.

Trenitalia and Eurail Tickets

Right away I checked my Eurail schedule and I also have one travel day left vacant. I decided to use it then. I checked with Trenitalia's website and got a round trip train reservation for my Pisa getaway. Train reservation just cost me EUR 10 each trip since I am using Select Global Pass with Eurail. 

The Tower and Cathedral

Early Wednesday morning, I head off to Roma Termini. I took the 7am trip from Rome to Pisa. The journey will take 3 hours. On board Eurostar bound for Pisa in Roma Termini, I was excited since this will mark as my first-ever train experience in Europe. I learned that the train schedules as to which platform the train will be is updated 5-10 minutes before departure. You must have to arrive early so as to monitor which platform you will be boarding once it will update on the train schedule board. 

Got a first class accommodation and it was cool. The train departed on time unfortunately we arrived 30 minutes behind schedule. My time in Pisa is very limited. I need to spend one and a half hours only but with the 30 minutes delay, I will only have an hour to make it up. My initial plan of walking around to get to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa was changed to taking a taxi to save time. It was only 6 Euros and it took me fast to see this lovely piece of structure.

The Cathedral

The taxi dropped me just inside the compound. I saw the Cathedral, the Tower and the Baptistery. It is such a brilliant creation during the medieval Europe. The Tower is said to be the campanile of the Cathedral. It was really leaning. As per Wikipedia, before it was leaning at 5.5 degrees but now it’s only 3.99 degrees. 

With time constraint, I immediately feast myself on the fantastic views and took several photos for souvenir. Since I’m alone, I just managed taking myself some pictures when I happen to pass by a couple also taking pictures of them, I offered a hand and in return they took pictures of me also. Thanks to them! I was supposed to climb the tower but I wasn’t able to do it because it will take time. Still I made the most out of my purpose in coming to Pisa, it’s because of the tower. What I did was just to roam around the place, take pictures around and look for souvenirs. There were plenty of souvenir shops. Prices starts from EUR 1 – 50 depending on your choice. You can always ask for a bargain.

   

The Baptistery

The tower was made of marble so as with the Cathedral and the Baptistery. It’s not that tall, it is a seven-floor building but you can really notice that it’s leaning. If you’ll come closer, the base was uneven that it’s deeper on the other side and shallow on the opposite. It was said that during the construction, the soil was not stabilized as it is softer on one side than the other. Adjacent to it was the Cathedral. Unfortunately, I haven’t gone inside since I was in a hurry but the church looked stunning. Same with the Baptistery, I haven’t gone inside too.

I just spent 30 minutes and headed back to Pisa Centrale (train station). I hailed a taxi near the area, good thing that I immediately got a taxi from there since only few are coming inside the place.

In the train station, I just waited for awhile and the train back to Rome arrived on time and we reached Rome on schedule also.