TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH 360 MALL - ICONIC WORLD STRUCTURES

This is a delayed post but I wanted to share the beautiful structures put up during 'Travel the World with 360' event at the main entrance and Atrium of 360 Mall recently. I really liked the model exhibits of Pyramids of Egypt, Eiffel Tower of Paris and Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy. The London bus and telephone booth could have been better.

Someday I'd like to see Egypt in my bucket list of places to visit. It would be  wonderful to see the Pyramids, the legacies and architecture left behind by an ancient civilization.

My husband was amused how  like a little child, I found it exciting to see these exhibits. He said you've seen the real thing. It was nostalgic for me because it reminded me of our trip to Europe. In May 2014, we visited the beautiful Eiffel Tower  while in Paris, the city of love. The view from the top level was breathtaking. I remember that morning, the skies were grey, it was cold and raining a little but we enjoyed every moment of our time at the Eiffel Tower. One of the things that captivated me during our trip to Italy was my visit to the magnificent leaning Tower of Pisa.  Need I say London bus and telephone booth has a certain undeniable charm. London is one place I always enjoy visiting.

OUR NEW YEAR'S EVE AND SPECTACULAR FIREWORKS IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA

My husband surprised me with an enchanting birthday gift last December 2014.  A trip to Sydney, Australia, followed by a trip to Singapore and Malaysia. I love to travel, a passion I share with my husband.  I know this is a delayed post but it's something I very much wanted to share in my blog. We flew first to Sydney to see the New Year's eve fireworks and stayed for a week exploring amazing Sydney. The weather in Sydney was summery and sunny in January with the weather turning very pleasant in the evenings.

Sydney is known as the New year's eve capital of the world with the world's largest and technologically advanced, visually incredible display of fireworks. The famous Sydney fireworks was held above the Harbour Bridge and Opera house. Sydney has an excellent network of transport system with trains, buses and, ferry you can use to commute anywhere.   After breakfast, we took a train from near our hotel to Circular Quay and then took a ferry to McMahons vantage point. We reached at 11 am and managed to find a spot amid thousands of people all seated so close to each other. A lot of people were camping in their tents with food and water from the previous day and even two days earlier to get the best spot possible in advance. There are various vantage points you can choose to be at. Apart from that,  fireworks can be enjoyed on special cruises with New year's eve dinner. Opera house celebrates new year's eve with a dinner as well and you can watch the fireworks .  A family was so kind enough to have us share with them a great spot right where we had the perfect view of the Harbor bridge and Opera house, above which the fireworks takes place. Food, water and make shift toilets were arranged at every vantage point for the public. McMahons is a vast beautiful place to take walks every now instead of remaining seated for hours on end. Photographers and tourists come from all across the world to Sydney to see the fireworks. 

Being surrounded by a sea of people, children and the grand scenic beauty, there was not a moment of boredom nor did we realize time fly by. At 9 pm there was a small display of fireworks for children. And then at midnight was the much awaited breath taking display of spectacular fireworks that lit up the sky. The continuous burst of plethora of colors and designs created such magic for the 1.5 million people witnessing it and to the entire world though various media.  We were awe struck and I was so excited that we got to experience the most magnificent fireworks in person. I can't thank my husband enough for this fabulous experience. Sydney celebrates new year's eve a day before rest of the world! The city council spends 7.2 million AU dollars on the fireworks each year. 

If you love travelling, how about visiting Australia? New year is just two months away and it's worth visiting Sydney and experience a spectacular new year's eve fire works followed by exploring all the interesting places during the rest of your holiday. Be sure to come back to my blog to check about all the places to visit in Sydney. If you plan on visiting around new year's eve, be sure to book your hotels and flight by end of October or early November. Other wise it's difficult to get hotel rooms and prices would sky rocket too. Should you require a visitors visa, approach the VFS office to get information on application, fees and documents to submit. Usually you should get an e-visa within 10 to 15 days after applying. We got our e-visa within a week. 

EATING OUT IN BIRMINGHAM - ZIZI RISTORANTE

In May, a few days before we left for London, our daughter took us Zizi located in the famous shopping destination Mail Box at the city centre. Zizi offers authentic Italian cuisine and is one of my favorite restaurants in Birmingham. If you enjoy Italian food you would love dining at Zizi. 

Here are some photos I took.