Adding this notepad to my Paris collection! <3
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Category Archives: Europe
Piazza Navona, Italy Rome
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones (“games”), and hence it was known as ‘Circus Agonalis’ (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to ‘in agone’ to ‘navone’ and eventually to ‘navona’.
Domitian’s Stadium
With its ornate fountains, baroque palazzi and pavement cafés, Piazza Navona is central Rome’s showcase square.
Posing at the Fountain of the Four Rivers ;D
Today interest centers on Bernini’s extravagant Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). Commissioned by Pope Innocent X and completed in 1651, it depicts the Rivers Nile, Ganges, Danube and Plata, representing the then-known four continents of the world.
DID YOU KNOW? The Piazza is featured in Dan Brown’s 2000 thriller Angels and Demons, in which the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, the “Fountain of the Four Rivers“, is listed as one of the Altars of Science. During June 2008, Ron Howard directed several scenes of the film adaptation of Angels and Demons on the southern section of the Piazza Navona, featuring Tom Hanks.
The beautiful paintings along Piazza Navona!
Awesome paintings indeed!
Super love these paintings!!! <3
Bar and Ristorante along the sidewalk
A police car was roaming around, looking for unauthorized sellers of fake bags etc. Of course, those sellers quickly hid their goods and just came back after. XD
Fontana di Nettuno (Neptune fountain) at the northern end.
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Notre Dame Cathedral
Visited the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
Notre Dame de Paris or Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, (‘Our Lady of Paris’ in French) is a Gothic cathedral is the famous Gothis cathedral that is located on Ile de la Cité, which is the small island in the middle of the River Seine and the historical centre of Paris where originally most of Paris was situated.
This is the WEST FRONT of the Cathedral.
The west front of the cathedral is one of its most notable features, with its two 69-meter (228-feet) tall towers. The Galerie des Chimères or Grand Gallery connects the two west towers, and is where the cathedral’s legendary gargoyles (chimères) can be found. The gargoyles are full of Gothic character but are not medieval – they were added during the 19th-century restoration.
My souvenir photo 
One of the beautiful sculptures of the cathedral.
The King’s Gallery is a line of statues of the 28 Kings of Judah and Israel, which was redesigned by Viollet-le-Duc to replace the statues destroyed during the French Revolution. The revolutionaries mistakenly believed the statues to be French kings instead of biblical kings, so they decapitated them.
Entrance from the West side:
The famous cathedral is also an active Catholic church, a place of pilgrimage, and the focal point for Catholicism in France – religious events of national significance still take place here.
Gargoyles look out from the tower.
While I was taking photos of the cathedral, beside me was another photographer snapping away. Here’s a candid shot of him. 
The cafe just beside Notre Dame Cathedral.
Aux Tours De Notre Dame – The towers of Notre Dame
Notre Dame Cathedral at night!
Notre Dame Cathedral is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in the world. It was restored and saved from destruction by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, one of France’s most famous architects.
Location: 6 place du Parvis Notre-Dame, Île de la Cité, 4e, Paris, France Features: Medieval Stained Glass; Romanesque Sculpture Architecture: Gothic
Remember Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Photography by: Sarah May Tanhuanco
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My 2012 travel planner ♥
Here’s my 2012 TRAVEL planner! As you can see, each page has different travel photos and other vintage stuffs! I just don’t have the time to take each one of them. hehe. When I saw this planner, I knew that from the bottom of my heart (haha) I NEED to buy this ASAP! And I did! Oh I love turning the pages and reminisce my travels! ♥ I can’t wait to write down my new travel adventures here! 2012 you’ll be great! Cheers!
All photos by: Sarah May Tanhuanco
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St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
I was so excited to visit the St. Paul’s Cathedral here in London. Here I am, posing happily at one of the entrance. St Paul’s is the cathedral of the Diocese of London. The Diocese is made up of five episcopal areas: Willesden, Edmonton, Stepney, London and Kensington. St Paul’s is London’s cathedral and embodies the spiritual life and heritage of the British people. Cathedrals serve a wide community. A cathedral houses the seat – or in Latin, cathedra - of the bishop, making it a centre for Christian worship and teaching, and the Christian mission.
Tourists snapping away! The bus is so cute and colorful!
Me and the tall St. Paul statue in gold.
This is the west front of St Paul’s is dominated by a triangular relief depicting the conversion of the cathedral’s patron saint to Christianity. Above it stands the figure of St Paul himself, flanked by other apostles and the four evangelists.
As the nation’s church, St Paul’s has also been the site of state funerals of British military leaders, including Admiral Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and of the wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill.
I just had to take this photo. Someone left an apple! Was it Snow White’s?
The statue of Queen Anne that stands in front of St Paul’s. Anne was the reigning monarch at the time of the cathedral’s completion.
Tourists of all ages. Children having their field trips, teens hanging out, families gathered together etc. This was taken during lunch time, so almost everyone was sitting down at the Cathedral steps and munching on their food. Nomnomnom.
Starbuck’s Coffee just beside the Cathedral. Of course, I went in and ordered my favorite White Chocolate Mocha. :p
I LOVE this shot! It captured The St. Paul’s Cathedral dome and the RED telephone booth! However, I discovered that this booth is just for display and cannot be used anymore because … well, if you want to know visit this booth at the back of the Cathedral and open it *wink*
View of St. Paul’s Cathedral near the Millennium Bridge.
More about St. Paul’s Cathedral, visit: http://www.stpauls.co.uk
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Palace and Garden of Versailles, France
The Château de Versailles, which has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for 30 years, is one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful.
Hello there! So happy to visit Château de Versailles!
Such a beautiful and enormous place!!!!
In 1661, Louis XIV commissioned André Le Nôtre with the design and laying out of the gardens of Versailles which, in his view, were just as important as the Château. The works were undertaken at the same time as those for the palace and took forty years to complete. But André Le Nôtre did not work alone: Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Superintendent of the King’s Buildings, directed the project from 1664 to 1683; Charles Le Brun, appointed First Painter of the King in January 1664, produced the drawings for a large number of statues and fountains; and, a little later, the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart drew up increasingly understated scenic plans and built the Orangerie. Lastly, the King had all the projects submitted to him and wanted the “details of everything”.
The laying out of the gardens required enormous work. Vast amounts of earth had to be shifted to lay out the flower beds, the Orangerie, the fountains and the Canal, where previously only woods, grasslands and marshes were. The earth was transported in wheelbarrows, the trees were conveyed by cart from all the provinces of France and thousands of men, sometimes whole regiments, took part in this vast enterprise.
Since 1992, the gardens have been gradually replanted, and after the devastating storm of December 1999, the work speeded up to such an extent that quite a few sections have already been restored to their original appearance.
History taken from: http://en.chateauversailles.fr
Photography by: Sarah May Tanhuanco
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Tower Bridge, London
Walking towards the Tower Bridge and enjoying the beautiful view of London! Hi there!
While walking on the bridge, I took a photo of it’s shadow! The waters are calm and the sun is just perfect! Viola! Nice photo of the Tower Bridge!
London’s Tower Bridge is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world. Sometimes it’s mistaken referred as the London Bridge. The Tower Bridge contains two massive towers which are linked together. The bridge stands at a height of 60 meters and the height of each tower is about 43 meters. The middle part of the bridge can be lifted up when huge ships pass through that way. In the past, the bridge was lifted nearly 50 times per day. But now it’s only lifted around 1,000 times a year.
One rare moment. haha! Candid shot! I love it!
To reach the location by subway via London tube:
The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill (District, Circle), London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee)
London Underground stations: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/stations/1000238.aspx
For more information of the Tower Bridge History visit: http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/EN/BridgeHistory/
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Yummy food at Cathay Pacific!
Traveling is so much fun! But the long travel time sometimes make it dull.. So choose a good airline that provides entertainment (lots of music, movies, games) and “YUMMY” food! I went to Europe and rode Cathay Pacific airlines. I love their service! The friendly staffs, clean plane and delicious food! Plus FREE cup noodles anytime, imagine the hours of travel without food?? NO WAY. I’ll starve!!!! :p 
Here’s my dinner!!! I can say this is one of the best airplane food!With Haagen-Dazs and TimTam too! So yummy!!!! It made my night..:)
Thanks Cathay Pacific! Will book a flight soon! :)
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Can’t get enough of this
After touring around St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, me, my brother and my mom went to Starbucks to have a drink. I love White Chocolate Mocha so much, that I needed to order it here too! The taste was waaaaaay better than what we have here in the Philippines. Sweet and mild, this hot drink is perfect for the cold weather.
Liberte~ Egalite~Fraternite
Visited France and roamed around different stores. I came across this nice car plate and quickly bought it. Planned to replace my recent car plate to this one! haha! But I changed my mind and decided to keep it as a remembrance instead. I miss France! <3
Hmmmm… Maybe I should start collecting car plates from all over the world!
It would be awesome!
