The Ultimate Jet Setter

Weeze Station The cheapest way to get to Berlin from Marseille found was a Ryanair flight from Marseille to Dusseldorf. I went on this trip with my friend Christine* from California. Our flight took off at 9.15 and we landed at 10.45. Although Ryanair claims the airport is in Dusseldorf it is actually in a town called Weeze which is in the middle of nowhere. This was obvious when we landed at the airport, we then got a shuttle bus to the train station where we waited for about 30 minutes for a train to Dusseldorf. The train was €15.10 for a single to Dusseldorf. We got on the train at 11.45 and got to Dusseldorf at 12.52. We had booked our tickets in advance online as they were considerably cheaper than if we had booked them on the day. Dusseldorf station was very busy and there are several places to eat here. We went totally authentic and had bratwurst and currywurst, currywurst is a bratwurst with a curry sauce on top and is delicious. It was also quite cheap, the currywurst was...

Piazza del Popolo Statue at Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo On our last day in the beautiful city of Rome we had to check out of the hostel by 11am. Our flight wasn't until 5pm so we had a few hours to kill so we got the Metro to Ottaviano where we got some food. It was a simple place that had hot food such as lasagne and roast chicken as well as pizza slices and calzone. After lunch we went to the main shopping street in Rome, Piazza del Risorgimento. I thought it was average, the shops were ok. Not really much to write home about but there is an indoor market on the street which is quite good. Got some salami to take back with me. We then found ourselves at Piazza del Popolo, there is a statue there as well as a few restaurants and is a very large open space. We then took the Metro from Flamino to Termini. It was about time for our flight so we went back to the hostel to get our luggage then got the same bus from Termini as we did at the start and went to the airp...

Sliced Steak On our last full day in Rome we went to a the  Porta Portese  market in Trastevere. We got the same bus from Termini at around 11am, the market went through several long streets. They stalls are selling pretty much everything from leather bags, door handles, cassette tapes, foodstuffs to clothes and lingerie. The market is very big but one can certainly find a bargain if you look hard enough. I got a tan leather shoulder bag for €30 euros, it looked relatively new also which was surprising for a market. After shopping we went to a nearby cafe for a snack and a hot drink. We then walked from Trastevere along to the Ponte Cestio where there is a bridge which leads to an island on the river. There are more restaurants, cafes and a few churches on the island. It's quite cute but a small island within Rome. We then found ourselves at the Largo di Torre Argentina which is an outdoor cat sanctuary in Rome. We strolled around that area and back t...

Roma 26th March 2011 Coloseeum Colosseum We woke up at around 8am and left the  hostel  at about 9am as we planned to see a lot that day also. We went straight to the Colosseum, we walked from our hostel as it is in walking distance. It took approximately 15 minutes and is a nice way to see Rome. We did not purchase tickets in advance which I would highly recommend you do when you go to Rome if you are not going as part of a tour. The queues are ridiculous especially during high season. We were there in March which isn't particularly hot but it was still very busy.  There are several tour guides around the Colosseum touting for business, I would recommend a tour if you are not aware of the Ancient history as my friends and I were not so a tour would have been quite helpful. The rates are pretty reasonable but shop around and you also may be able to haggle. You could also try to tag along with the tours whilst in the Colosseum as no on...

Gelato The Pantheon  We woke up at 7.15, got showered and dressed and got breakfast at the hostel at breakfast at 8.30ish. There was 2 slices of bread, cereal, juices and hot drinks available. We took the Termini Metro to the Pantheon. It was very beautiful and historic at the same time. There are cafes, gelaterias and a few fountains around that area also. We then we walked to Piazza Navona which had 2 more fountains, a few nice restaurants and gelaterias. Then walked to Campo de Firfoni next where there was a market selling glass and metal jewellery, fruit and vegetables, gadgets and pasta. We then walked along the river to the Angels Bridge. St Peter's Square In St Peter's Basilica Next we had lunch at a nearby restaurant, Dawn* and I had a salad and bruschetta and Porter* had gnocchi. Italy is known for it's amazing food as well as wine which I will be talking about throughout the blog. I sampled some of the gnocchi, I'd never had it before....

Roma 24th March 2011 I am a student on a year abroad and whenever there is a break in the schedule I go travelling so I decided to  write a blog about what I got up to and what I saw. Hope you enjoy it. So I went to Rome with my two friends Dawn* and Porter*, we flew from Marseille to Rome Ciampino which is one of the smaller airports in Rome and mostly caters for the budget airlines. We flew using Ryanair  which is a European budget airline. The service is adequate and you are only allowed one bag as hand luggage and any other bags are chargeable. You must also make sure your bag fits in the bag template so there is always a worry when travelling if it will fit or even if they will ask you to put it in the template device. So we all took rucksacks but holdalls or small suitcases are also allowed but only one.  We landed in Rome at 3.15pm and bought a return ticket to the main Termini Station in Rome. The bus journey was 40 minutes long with no air...