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thatsalexblog-blog · 7 years

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ROME

Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated commune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union after Paris, London and Berlin by population within city limits.

Ancient Rome

I think everyone is interested in learning Rome’s history. Ancient Rome was originally an Italic settlement dating from the 8th century BC that grew into the city of Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it ruled and to the widespread civilisation the empire developed. The Roman empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world, though still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world's population) and covering 5.0 million square kilometres at its height in AD 117.

In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, and parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. It is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world.

Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the construction of an extensive system of aqueducts and roads, as well as the construction of large monuments, palaces, and public facilities.

By the end of the Republic (27 BC), Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond: its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia and from the mouth of the Rhine to North Africa. The Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia. It would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak. Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would temporarily divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century.

Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of universal history from the pre-medieval "Dark Ages" of Europe.

The Founding Myth

According to the founding myth of Rome, the city was founded on 21 April 753 BC by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who descended from the Trojan prince Aeneas, and who were grandsons of the Latin King Numitor of Alba Longa. King Numitor was deposed by his brother, Amulius, while Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, gave birth to the twins. Because Rhea Silvia had been raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine.

The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, so he ordered them to be drowned. A she-wolf (or a shepherd's wife in some accounts) saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor.

The twins then founded their own city, but Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over the location of the Roman Kingdom, though some sources state the quarrel was about who was going to rule or give his name to the city. Romulus became the source of the city's name. In order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem, in that Rome came to have a large male population but was bereft of women. Romulus visited neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables he was refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins with the Sabines.

Another legend, recorded by Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, says that Prince Aeneas led a group of Trojans on a sea voyage to found a new Troy, since the original was destroyed at the end of the Trojan War. After a long time in rough seas, they landed on the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, but the women who were traveling with them did not want to leave. One woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent their leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they soon realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships.

The Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid, where the Trojan prince Aeneas is destined by the gods to found a new Troy. In the epic, the women also refuse to go back to the sea, but they were not left on the Tiber. After reaching Italy, Aeneas, who wanted to marry Lavinia, was forced to wage war with her former suitor, Turnus. According to the poem, the Alban kings were descended from Aeneas, and thus Romulus, the founder of Rome, was his descendant.

Sightseeing

There are a lot to visit in Rome. Here’s some of the top ones

Vatican Museums

Roman Forum

St Peter’s Basilica

Palatino

Museo e Galleria Borghese

Colosseum

Pantheon

Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)

Piazza Navona

Piazza di Spagna & The Spanish Steps

Castel Sant’Angelo

Galleria Colonna

Palazzo Barberini

For more check out this site --> https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/attractions/a/poi-sig/359975

Sources: Wikipedia

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/attractions/a/poi-sig/359975

#rome #Italy #travel

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thatsalexblog-blog · 7 years

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PARIS

Next stop Paris. A city that everyone wants to visit. Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles) and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits. The city is both a commune and department and forms the centre and headquarters of the Île-de-France, or Paris Region, which has an area of 12,012 square kilometres (4,638 square miles) and a population in 2016 of 12,142,802, comprising roughly 18 percent of the population of France. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europe's major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion (US $687 billion) in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe.

The City of Paris is but the core of a built-up area that extends well beyond its administrative limits. Commonly referred to as the agglomération Parisienne, and statistically as a unité urbaine (a measure of urban area), the agglomeration has a 2013 population of 10,601,122, which makes it the largest in the European Union. City-influenced commuter activity reaches well beyond even this in a statistical aire urbaine de Paris (a measure of metropolitan area), that had a 2013 population of 12,405,426, a number one-fifth the population of France, and one that makes it, after London, the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union. Although joined in a single urban tissue, Paris' lack of administrative and economic cohesion with its suburbs has been a longstanding problem, but a 2016 'Metropole of Grand Paris' economic and environmental initiative covering an 814 square kilometres (314 square miles) area and a population of 7 million, exists since 2016.

Top 10 reasons to visit Paris

1) The buildings and Monuments

Paris has some beautiful and historic buildings and monuments. Here are some that you must see

The Eiffel Tower

The most famous of all, and one of the most iconic constructions in the World.

The Arc de Triomphe, at the end of the Champs Elysees.

Notre Dame Cathedral, the most visited attraction, which dates back to 1163.

The Sacre Coeur Basilica, located high above the City in Montmartre.

The Louvre Museum, which contains the Mona Lisa and many other works of art.

2) The food and wine

Sample the many delicious cheeses, bread, patisserie, pates, the great French wines, the gourmet restaurants, as well as paying a visit to the Champagne Region, which is just a day trip away.

3) The shopping and fashion

Go for the Sales, visit the great department stores Lafayette and Printemps, stroll along the Champs Elysees, or visit the annual fashion shows.

4) The culture

Visit The Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and so much more.

Admire the art at the Musée d'Orsay, Musée Picasso, the modern art at the Pompidou Centre, and Monet's famous "Nymphéas" (Water Lilies) at Musée de l'Orangerie.

5) The theme parks

Great days out for the children (actually for the whole family) at Disneyland® Paris and Parc Asterix.

6) The history

There is so much so much history to see in Paris. Just selecting 3 favourites, I suggest the following:

Notre Dame, the great Gothic Cathedral, built in the 12th and 13th centuries. La Conciergerie, famous as the prison, where so many were held before execution at the guillotine during the French Revolution in the 1790s. Here you can see Marie Antoinette's prison cell, which was converted into a chapel in her memory.

The Palace of Versailles, the royal castle and hub of French political power for a century, after King Louis moved there in 1682. This is a little outside Paris, but only a short journey, and well worth a visit.

7) The parks and gardens

Walk in the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Gardens) on your way from the Louvre Museum to the Champs Elysees (or vice versa). This is a place where I like to rest weary feet, linger over a coffee, or have a light lunch with a small pichet (carafe) of wine.

Visit Luxembourg Gardens, perhaps the most famous gardens, where you can just sit in the Sun, listen to music at the weekend, play boules, or even buy the honey produced in the garden's bee-hives at the end of the Summer.

Or you can visit one of my personal favourites, Parc Monceau. This is much more informal than Luxembourg Gardens and a little off the beaten track, though not all that far from the Arc de Triomphe.

8) A boat trip on the river Seine

Yes, you can take a cruise on the River Seine right through the heart of Paris. You can eat on board some cruises, or you can just relax and take in the great views, including Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the romantic bridges of Paris.

9) The night life

Paris has some fabulous night life. I love the jazz clubs, for which Paris is well renowned, but even more popular with tourists are the great shows at places such as the Lido, the Moulin Rouge and the Crazy Horse. You can eat and be entertained.

10) Disneyland

Last but not least, the European Disneyland. If you visit paris with your children, it will be an unforgettable experience for them. If you are with your friends, still, I highly recommended.

Sources: http://www.whyvisitparis.com/Top-10-Reasons-To-Visit-Paris.html

#paris #france #travelling

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thatsalexblog-blog · 7 years

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LONDON

London is one of the most popular cities in the world and one of those beautiful places that we need to visit at least once in a lifetime. As we all know, London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans who named it Londinium. Since the 19th century, London was historically splitted between Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire which today makes up Greater London, governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

London is a leading global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism, and transportation. It is one of the world's leading financial centres and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world. London is a world cultural capital. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. London is the world's leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.

SIGHTSEEING IN LONDON

Palace of Westminster and Big Ben

Trafalgar Square and Admiral’s Gate

London Eye

Buckingham Palace

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

Covent Garden, Leicester Square Piccadily Circus

British Museum

Madame Tussauds

Windsor Castle

Tate Galleries

St Paul’s Cathedral

Westminster Abbey

Saint James Park

Sea LIFE London Aquarium

The Royal Observatory of Greenwich

Eltham Palace

Freud Museum

The Charles Dickens Museum

London National Gallery

Science Museum

Bank of England

Emirates Stadium

Stamford Bridge

Hampton Court Palace

Kensinghton Palace

Banqueting House

Kew Palace

London Bridge Experience

ZSL London Zoo

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

The Shard

King’s Cross Station

#london #england #travel #lovetravel

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