Amsterdam Canal Cruise

On February 6, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Netherlands6 Comments

With all of the different canals in Amsterdam, taking a canal cruise is a great way to see the city and learn about its architecture as well as its history. We had also taken a walking tour of the city, but touring by boat was truly enjoyable. Most tours will take you by famous sites like the Anne Frank house, but you also see various other areas of the city that you might not otherwise see.

Our tour provided headsets in order to listen to the audio presentation of the tour. We learned about why the buildings lean toward the water and have hooks suspended from the roof. Because the buildings are so narrow, furniture is hoisted from the street level up to the windows in order to get them inside and the buildings lean so that the items can be raised without hitting the walls. The buildings are narrow because they are taxed based on the width of the building, so most of them are narrow and tall.

Leaving the Bay and Heading Towards the Canals

People don’t just live in the buildings along the canals, but they also live in houseboats on the canals. Most of them never move and some of them don’t even have engines. There are various styles from simple and small to large and luxurious. In a city that is made up of hundreds of canals, house boats are a great way for people to live downtown and enjoy everything that city has to offer. Needless to say, in a city where bicycles outnumber residents, it isn’t uncommon to see bicycles on the decks of the houseboats. There were even some whimsical boats and a few that were half sunken, but not repaired.

There are many choices of canal cruise tour companies to choose from in Amsterdam and the size of the boat will determine what canals you can see and which ones you can’t. There are even small tours that offer drinks and food, which makes it more of a fun excursion rather than an actual tour. We chose a medium size tour boat for our tour, but if we ever do it again, we’d probably choose a private tour with wine and the famous Dutch cheese.

Top Sights for a Three Day Trip to Rome, Italy

On February 4, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Italy7 Comments

Rome is a beautiful city with a fascinating history, interesting culture, and wonderful food. During our two week visit to Italy, we spent three full days in Rome, which was just enough time to see some of the most important sites within the city. We stayed at a boutique hotel that was right on the Piazza Navona, which gave us a central location to explore the city. Since we only had three days in Rome, we made sure to see as much as we could, but we also kept it at a casual pace with plenty of time to relax and people watch on the many restaurant patios. These were the top highlights for our visit to Rome in no particular order.

View of the Colosseum from the Roman Forum

The Colosseum – This is obviously one of the most recognizable locations in Rome and certainly not something to be missed. We visited during the off-season, in February, and even then the crowds can be quite large and lines can be long. There will be many tour guides outside of the Colosseum offering to take you on a tour and allowing you to jump into a shorter line.
Walking the Museum Halls
Vatican Museums – The Vatican Museums house thousands of works of art that have been collected throughout the centuries. There is too much to see in a single visit and we had to choose between focusing on sculptures or paintings during our tour of the museums. The final stop of any tour of the galleries is to see the interior of the Sistine Chapel. Often you don’t get a lot of time in the chapel because of the large crowds and long lines, but we were fortunate to get to spend as long as we wanted.
Marble Floors and the Interior of the Pantheon
The Pantheon – Surrounded by the streets of Rome, the Pantheon is a fascinating piece of history in the heart of the city. The exterior of the Pantheon reveals its true age and classical architecture, but the interior looks like it could have been built recently. The interior of the dome is quite stunning and all of the marble floors, various statues, and beautiful artwork are worth making your way through the crowds to see.
Fountain of the Four Rivers and the Palace in Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona – We were fortunate to have our hotel located right on the Piazza Navona with amazing views from our room. The fountains are quite beautiful and during the day there will be artists and vendors selling items to the tourists as well as musicians playing a variety of music. Seeing the fountains at night when they are lit up is one of our favorite memories. Another reason to visit the Piazza Navona are all of the restaurants and cafes that are located in and around the piazza.
View of the Roman Forum from Above
The Roman Forum – Walking the paths of the Roman Forum might be our favorite memory of visiting Rome. We would recommend buying a bundled ticket that includes both the Colosseum as well as the Roman Forum. It would be a shame to visit Rome and not take the time to see the Roman Forum with the thousands of years of history and culture that it represents.
Inside of Saint Peter’s Basilica
Vatican City and Saint Peter’s Basilica – Obviously the Vatican Museums are wonderful to visit, especially with the inclusion of the Sistine Chapel, but just visiting Vatican City is worth it. There is something truly special about walking through Saint Peter’s Basilica and seeing the incredible artwork and architectural details. Stepping outside of the basilica and heading into Saint Peter’s Square is equally impressive with all of its historical significance.
The Columns and Statues of the Monument
Altare Della Patria – Located about halfway between the Colosseum and the Pantheon, visiting Altare Della Patria is worth visiting for several reasons. There is an observation deck on the roof that provides stunning views of the city as well as the Piazza Venezia, which is across the busy street from the building. There are the statues of the chariots and horses that can be seen from throughout the city. It is also the location of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. As with much of Rome, there are also many choices of restaurants in the area.
Trevi Fountain in Rome
Trevi Fountain – This might be the second most photographed location in Rome with its beautiful statues, flowing waters, and iconic scenes from the movies. Legend has it that if you toss a coin over your left shoulder that your dreams will come true. Money is collected from the fountain and used to provide food for the less fortunate, so even if your dreams don’t come true, you’ve done a good deed. It is a wonderful place to sit and take in the beautiful scenery and enjoy a sunny afternoon.
City Views of Rome

Regardless of how many days that you have or the time of year that you visit, all of these locations should be on your itinerary. It is difficult seeing a city with a history and culture as diverse as Rome’s in such a short amount of time, but if you relax and walk the streets to visit each of these locations, you will certainly go home with incredible memories. We certainly treasure the time that we spent in Rome and in Italy in general.

Wat Si Saket in Vientiane, Laos

On January 28, 2020January 28, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn LaosLeave a comment

Wat Si Saket is a Buddhist temple and museum in Vientiane, Laos. There are many wats, or temples, in Vientiane and Wat Si Saket was the first that we visited during our day-long tour of Vientiane’s inner city. Built in 1818, it might be the oldest wat as many of the wats have been destroyed and rebuilt due to the many wars and invasions of Laos. Because it is a museum as well as a temple, there are many ancient Buddhist statues on display within the temple grounds.

The Wat Si Saket was built in the Siamese style of Buddhist architecture, making it different than a lot of the other wats that we visited during our tour. The architecture and artwork were definitely fascinating with so many different details on the various buildings. As with most wats, there were stupas all around the exterior wall of the temple where important Buddhist priests and other citizens are entombed. There is also a typical drum tower, which the priests use to call people to the temple for prayer.

Because the inner city of Vientiane is so walkable, it is easy to visit multiple wats in a single day. Starting with Wat Si Saket is a perfect starting point since it is open to the public from 8:00 to 17:00 seven days a week. It might seem strange to have so many temples in a country that is communist, but as it was explained to us, the political system is communist, the economy is capitalist, and the majority of the people are Buddhist.