TRAVEL

Hello Rome | Fiumicino

Hi Lovely Readers, Welcome back to my blog. Finally a travel  blog YEAHHH!!! It has been a while that  I wrote a travel blog, meanly because I didn’t travel. (I am not complaining!) Let’s be honest, London has a lot to offer so I am still pretty satisfied with everything I am discovering in London city.

We all need to get away sometimes to just relax and get some fresh  (new) energy. We had an extra long holiday weekend, so this time we went for a short trip to Rome, Fiumicino. Meanly because we were invited by a relative in Fiumicino, which was really nice and fortunately we had some time to spend in Rome.

Two years ago I went to Rome for two weeks, so I already saw a lot in this amazing city. I didn’t blog about that trip, so in this blog I will include all the best of my two weeks trip I did to this ancient city. Of course on top of my experience during my latest trip.

Like all my travel blogs, I am going to tell you what we saw and where we ate. This time we slept at a relative place which was in a really nice apartment in Fiumicino near the airport. If I can find any pros and cons, I will let you guys know.

If you like Italian food, seafood and wine…Don’t Go! I would suggest to definitely check the restaurants below in this blog for the details where to eat. Enjoy!

What did we see

Let’s go back to my trip from two years ago, because back then I saw lot from Rome. Unfortunately I didn’t had my canon M10 camera back then, so some pictures are not so great.  (I KNOW) But I really wanted to show them to you to have an idea how beautiful it is there.

  • Foro Romano (If you buy a ticket here, you also get access to the Colosseum with the same ticket) Via della Salara Vecchia, 5/6, 00186 Roma RM

Here you will find a lot of ruins of important ancient government buildings. This was the city centre of ancient Rome. Just to walk in this amazing ancient place, made me fantasise how Roman people lived back then. (too be honest I just love history, so I have this fantasy with a lot of historical places/ monuments)

Also the Colosseum is a must see… just imagine sexy gladiators fighting in this theatrical area!

The mouth of Truth is such an iconic monument if you saw Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. If you are at this spot, you will probable want to put your hand inside the mouth of Truth.. and feel a bit like Audrey Hepburn.

The must see places in Vatican City is the St. Peter’s Basilica , the Sistine Chapel And the Vatican museum 

A tip is to buy your ticket for the Vatican museum online, so you don’t have to wait too long.

Then after you visit the museum, you will enter the Sistine Chapel (no pictures are allowed). If you leave this Chapel, you can choose to go left or right (right is the exit for groups) but I went anyway to the right, because this way will lead you to the St. Peter’s Coppola.

So this means you don’t have to wait in the queue again and this will save you a lot of time.

The view from the Coppola is amazing! There are a lot of steps up, but trust me it is worth it!

 

This is a nice square where you can find one of Bernini’s fountains and a lot of creative people selling there art.

Fontana di Trevi is my favourite fountain ever around the world. It’s so massive and beautiful ,I could sit there for hours.

(Almost impossible with all the tourists) But I really enjoy just looking at this fountain. It is super romantic and reminds me of the movie La Dolce Vita.

 

On this square you can find the “twin” churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

 

  • Via Nationale and Via del Corso

On the Via Nationale and Via del Corso you can find the high street shops, the exclusive shops and the mainstream shops, for the shopaholics among us.

Look through the hole to see the st. Peter’s Basilica from the secret garden. It is really an one of a kind view.

At the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore you can find the baby crypt of Jesus Christ. If this doesn’t make you want to go to Rome.. I don’t know what will 😛

 

From here you will have a great view on the Foro Romano and of course lots of Roman history in this museum.

This is a square without a church, with lots of food markets on the street.

 

Best view of Rome and great for a nice walk. For the romantics among us… this is a great place to walk around and just enjoy the environment.

At this market I bought a leather black jacket with fringes. Still in love with it! I am pretty sure Via Sannio was the Flea Market we went to. You can find a lot of second hand clothing, army  survival stuff, motorbike clothing  and  lots of new leather clothing. It is located near San Giovanni metro station, were you also can find the St.John’s Lateran Archbasilica ( Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano)

In Frascati it is nice to have dinner at night. From here you will see the lights in Rome.

This time we saw some new things in Rome, yes it is possible !

Somehow I missed this fountain the first time I visited Rome. It is not a big fountain, but for me it was something i definitely wouldn’t want to miss.

Also, this one was on my list. Not that I am a big fan of skeletons. But there is much more to see than the skeletons. Like the Caravaggio painting “Saint Francis in Prayer”.

I am a big fan of Caravaggio and of course in Rome you can find a lot of his paintings.

This Basilica used to be a part of a huge Roman spa. A spa for the whole city. There are still some parts left of the original Spa.

  • Leather shop Very Pel Via Cavour, 174/176, 00184 Roma, RM

The owner makes every leather item in his shop. It is a small shop where you can find leather bags and jackets. The bags for men are amazing. Also, the leather jackets for women. Because it is all handmade the prices are higher but the quality is excellent.

Go to the boulevard and the Pontile di Ostia for a view of the beautiful sea. Lots of locals in the weekend having fun in this area. You can have drinks, have dinner, eat Gelato or go out in this area.

Where did we eat

Different restaurants are good in this area. This area is alive at night with lots of street artists just on the other side of the river.

One of the best Arancini you will find in this place.

They have the best pizza’s in town and my favourite Insalata di Mare.

If you love seafood like me, really try this seafood salad. It is really amazing!!! I will never forget about this one!

This time we ate at these places

OHHH this restaurant was AMAZING! We ate like twelve different seafood dishes and that was just before the main course.

Here they have excellent Italian pizzas. They were once or twice champions in making the best Italian pizzas.

You can get the best coffee at Sant Eustachio !

You can find it at Piazza di San Eustachio, 82, 00186 Roma RM

Advantage

In Rome, you have a lot of Drink water in and around the city. Not all fountains, but you will always find a fountain with Drink water. Just bring you water bottle with you to fill it up somewhere.

Everywhere you would like to go in the city is walk-able, but if you don’t want to walk a lot, just take the bus or metro. It is cheap.

Some roads in Rome are made with these lava stones. This makes it sometimes a bit difficult to walk on, so bring your most comfortable shoes with you. You will need it!

Disadvantage

For me the best period to go is in September. In August, it can be too hot. Beside this I can’t think of any disadvantages.

Wow I see I saw a lot in Rome, but there is always something new to discover in this city. This city really has a special place in my heart. Very romantic, great food and lots of history…

So enjoy every moment when you are in this magical city!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja 

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LIFESTYLE

Hello London | How to find a JOB

Hi Lovely Readers, hope you are all well. In this “Hello London” blog I would like to discuss with you how to get a JOB in London. This will be just some general tips for you to use as a guide in your journey finding new opportunities in this wonderful city.

The reason why I want to share this with you guys, is because I think finding a new job in a different country can be overwhelming sometimes. Where do you start, where should I look for a job and do I know the language enough to do a great job? Lots of questions I was thinking even before I moved to London. Of course, you need to be prepared before you arrive because you want to work as soon as possible and be productive. I am not going to lie, I was scared in the beginning and not so confident. How could I work in an environment where they only speak English? But in time I was getting more and more confident to get the job I wanted. If you have a good support team, that will help a lot! For me, it also helped start writing in English, so I started this blog to learn and get familiar with the language.

After my first job interview, which went well for a first time. I was super excited and I got more comfortable in how this interview procedure works. After this interview, I just had two more interviews. I was lucky enough to choose one of the two companies I had an interview at (they both wanted me to work for them) and after two months I am happy I have chosen to work for the company I am working for today.

I feel so much better now I work again and meeting new people. I know how it feels when you are looking for a job and it still isn’t happening for you. I felt the same sometimes, but trust me there is a job for EVERYONE!

Don’t worry about your English if you can explain yourself or describe things, it will be fine.

Of course, depends on the type of role you want, but if you have studied or have a degree in any kind of way, it should be just fine. So, no worry… check the rest of the blog and get inspired again to find the job you always wanted in London.

Me on the day that  I moved to London

So where should you start

Start with getting your (CV) Resume together. Learn about what you should or shouldn’t say in the Resume.

  • – Keep the Resume simple.
    – No photo needed.
    – Let the recruiters know you are based in London by placing your address and phone number on the Resume. (Preferable an UK number, but if recruiters can’t contact you via your number. They will send an email)
    – Tell mostly about your achievements for each role you did (only the roles that are important for the new role)
    – Max two pages
    – Leave everything that isn’t important for the role away
    – Use key words that they use for the new job description also in   your previous job experience  (This way recruiters can easily find and scan your Resume to see if you are a match)
    – After work experiences comes the studies and degrees.

If you have done this then the next step is just to send…send..send away the Resume on as many job related websites as possible. Of course, you should check which site has more the kind of job opportunity that you want than just random job opportunity sites.

The first step is done, you are online and recruiters can find you!

My experience is when I placed my Resume online, usually the next day I got a phone call or email from a recruiter with a job opportunity. It can be so fast! And if not… just adjust your Resume a bit and try again. If you don’t get any respond, ask for help and let someone check your Resume. It is always better to have an extra pair of eyes to check everything is okay on the Resume.

Which sites should I use

After your Resume is ready for the world, you can check online which sites should I subscribe to or which sites has the job opportunities I am lusting for. This can be different for everyone, so I am just going to give you the ones that I used and I found a lot of job opportunities.

Prepare for the actual interview

After everything is done. Your Resume looks perfect, you have applied on opportunities online, received some phone calls and emails. It is a match and you are invited to go to a job interview.

YEAH! You have done great! This means that they like your Resume and just want to see if the person behind this Resume is also a match for the company.

This can be overwhelming, but don’t let this affect you in anyway.

You can do this! And the best way is to prepare yourself:

Know about the company

What do they do, what are the products and services, read the latest articles about the company, about the company culture and so on.

Basic questions preparation for every job about you
  • – How would you describe yourself?
    – How would others describe you?
    – What was your greatest success?
    – How did you achieve it?
    – What has been your biggest failure?
    – How could you improve yourself?
    – How do you handle criticism?
    – Do you work well with others?
    – Do you need other people around to stimulate you or are you self-motivated?
    – Are you accepted into a team quickly?
    – Can you act on your own initiative?
    – What motivates you?
    – What do you dislike doing?
    – Can you work under pressure?
    – What interests do you have outside work?
    – If you could be an animal which one would you be?
    – Where do you see yourself in 3 years’ time? / What are your long-term goals?
Basic questions preparation about your previous job
  • – How much does your last job resemble the one you are applying for?
    – What do you think of the last company you worked for?
    – Why are you leaving your company?
    – How did you get on with your previous manager/supervisor, coworkers and subordinates?
    – What did you do on a day to day basis?
    – What problems did you encounter in your last job?
Basic questions preparation about the new related job
  • – Why do you want this job? think what you like about the company and what you like about the job role.
    – What qualities do you think will be required for this job?
    – What can you contribute?
    – Why do you want to work for this company? / Why should we employ you?
    – What do you know about this company?
    – What interests you about our product (or service)/or working for us?
    – You have not done this sort of job before. How will you cope/succeed?
    – What do you like and dislike about the job we are discussing?
    – What are you looking for in a new job?
    – What level of salary are you looking for now?
    – Why you are interested in the role?
    – What you think will be expected of you in the role?
    – What you know about the role?
    – Give me four of your strengths?
    – Why you would be good at the job? / Why do you feel you are suitable for the role?

If you prepare these questions before, it will help you to feel more confident during the interview. You will see the interview will be more like a conversation than an interrogation. Of course, they will not ask all questions on the list, but if you know all the questions, you  will be able to  improvise easy at any question that comes your way.

So good luck guys, I really hope this will help someone to get the job they want here in London or anywhere else. Keep in mind, this is my experience so far and I found a job that i really like. So just do your research on how to improve your resume and prepare for the interview.  Remember if they like your resume, halve of the work is already done!

Preparation is the key

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

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LIFESTYLE

Hello London | Living Abroad

Hi Lovely Readers, welcome back to my weekly London blogs. This time I will mention something a bit different. This blog will be about my tips for you when visiting  London. I am living in London for more than two months now, so I am not an expert yet, but slowly becoming a Londoner and I am liking it so far! From this month I am also started to work again and that feels so great!

If you would tell me ten year ago, would you live abroad? I really could not have imagine something like this. I have always admired people for doing this and now that I have done it… it feels like I am on top of the world and it is POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE! Of course it will be a bit difficult in the beginning, you need to adjust to a whole new environment, maybe a different culture, but yeah.. if you just do it and figure things out on the way.. you can do it! My reason for moving to a whole new country is for LOVE, but that is not the only reason. I always wanted to experience living abroad, but I didn’t had the balls to do so before. Living in London for more than two months made me realise… I am doing it, it is possible (also for me) and the nicest thing is I am sharing this experience with someone that I truly love.

Here are my three tips when visiting London

• Tip number one: Take the bus

Just sit in front of the bus and enjoy the view on the way!

Instead of taking the tube… take the bus! It is much cheaper than the tube and you will see much more of the city. Especially the rush hours in the morning and after work will be super packed in the tube. Almost no fresh air and really hot. The bus can be also hot if it is very sunny, at least in two seconds you are back in the fresh air. Bus rides usually takes a bit longer, but trust me you will see so much more of this wonderful city and you can take a second bus in a certain time (I think within a hour or less) for free. (You need to check in again, but they won’t charge you for it) Oh one last thing.. In the bus you NEVER check out.. so just check in and you are done.. you can put that Oyster card away now.

• Tip number two:  Sightseeing during the week

If you want to enjoy seeing some museums or other sightseeing attractions, go early and go during the week. It is much more enjoyable during the week. Less tourists and more space to see the actual attraction. I am not sure this will also count for the big tourist attractions like the London EYE and so on, but I am pretty sure it is much quieter during the week to visit a museum (which is one of my favourite things to do in London).

Just walking near the Thames

 

• Tip number three: Walk around

If you walk you see so much more!

In the centre (zone 1) everything is walkable. You can easily walk from Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden to the British Museum. I am not saying it will be in ten minutes, but on the way you will see a lot of shops, restaurants and many new thing. Walking through the city gives you a much more understanding where everything really is located and this way you will discover a lot more places that you wouldn’t see if you only take the tube.

Every borough and buildings are different, even the cabs!

Always something cute to see, like this small house with a lot of flowers!

So these are my top three tips that I could think off since I have been living in London. Hope you can use these tips and discover a lot more places while in London. Next blog will be about some tips to find a job in London (of course from what I have experienced so far).

See you around!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

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LIFESTYLE

Hello London | The Bull or BullSh*t

Hello Lovely Readers and Welcome Back to my “Hello London” blog. A bit later than suspected, but here we are with some excited things for you to do while in London. This time it will be for the ones that want to spend that extra cash while in London. Don’t worry… there will be also a lot of content for everyone else on today’s blog, such as something for the art lovers and something for the designer’s lovers.

These are the places I have been exploring last week:

This is definitely one of the best restaurant I have been for an excellent supreme steak! (Yes, it was that good!) We went for the CUARTETO MENOR. These are four pieces of 1,2 kg steak of the Cuadril Rump, the Agosto Sirloin, the Ancho Ribeye and the Lomo Fillet. This and some fine Argentina red wine… what else do you need? We had an amazing dinner, but I must say this place is very expensive. So be warned! If you have some special celebration this is definitely a recommendation.

The Bull Steak Expert

Yummy!

Yes, we bought an Ostrich egg at Wait-rose. I never ate an Ostrich egg before (there is a first time for everything) and we tried it like a scrabble egg, a tortilla and it taste much creamier than a chicken egg. One Ostrich egg contains as much as 24 chicken eggs. So, when you finally open up the egg, try to save the shell (I heard they are worth something) and just make a lot of egg based recipes will you can.

This museum is displaying International and modern contemporary art- exhibitions, free displays and daily events. It is just on the Bank side from Black friars station and walking here gives you the best panoramic view of the city, St. Paul’s and the river Thames. The Tate Modern is located just a few minutes away from the station. It is a massive building and a lot to see when you are in. It is admission free and also a lot of free collection displays. I liked the display VOICES, especially the one from Janet Cardiff   and the one about Stuart Hall. On every floor there is so much to see and if you would like a 360-spectacular view you must go to the 10th floor.

Tate Modern

View in front of the Tate Modern

One of the display of VOICES.

After visiting the museum, you can go from the Millennium Bridge to the other side of the river to St. Pauls. Also, the view from this bridge will be amazing!

View from the 10th floor. AMAZING!!!

View from the 10th floor. Can you see the Millennium Bridge?

The City

Of course the Shard

 

The Tate Britain is an art museum and part of the Tate galleries in England, like the Tate Modern. You can find some beautiful art from Britain, paintings, sculptures and some modern art. A nice thing here is you can join the free guide walks a few times a day and one is about the great collection they have of J.M.W. Turner.

Tate Britain

One of the many collections in here

Hugging marble (couldn’t see who the artist is, but love how huge it is)

Lot of beautiful paintings by British artists

This is also located near the river in between the borough Pimlico and Westminster.

This is a great place for events like sample sales or designer’s outlet. And it is just minutes away from Bond street. I went to the designer outlet on the 20-21st of July. To be honest not everything looks nice and in perfect state, but if you take your time, you can find some nice designer clothing from Isabel Marant, Chloe, Ralph Lauren and many more unknown and known brands. Here I bought a t-shirt for men for my boyfriend and a lavender silk top for myself. They always have events planned so just subscribe to their site to be notified about the upcoming events. (Sometimes you also get some extra discounts if you are on their mailing list)

So, what did I tell you, no BullSh*t right!?  A lot to explore for everyone right? Enjoy the rest of the week and if you know some spots that you want me to explore let me know on misswidjaja@gmail.com.

See you around!

 

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

 

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