Now when you walk out of that train station… It’s a massive unbelievable building… Yes if you have watched the game of throne series you will feel like you are one of the cast in that movie… 

With the heat hitting the back of our necks and the loud voices of people talking and tour guides trying to Share their knowledge about this massive building… You will definitely loose it. But stay calm there is a less stressful way to enjoy it all at your own pace.

Lets start. If you take the train… The B line will drop you right at the collesseo… Exit and you are right there. Grab you a bottle of water from the train station.. The large bottle is €3.50…if you wait and get it from the guys outside they try to sell the small ones with a block of ice so no water around it for €2.50.

Once you have your water… You will have a couple of tour guides approaching you with some ideas. But wait!! Actually before going to the place I suggest you download an app called “Ricky Steve audio europe” once you download the app download the main attractions for rome like the collesseo. 

Now get you a ear piece and you are set to tour the collesseo with your very own tour guide. 

The entrance fee is €12 per adult and free for anyone under 18yrs old. Yeap.. That’s right under 18yrs is absolutely free. 

Now with your Ricky Steve app and your €12 euro you are set to tour it all by your self. 

But if you decide to just want to gift the tour guides then they will charge you 

€27 per adult and €15 per kid… Which in my case does not make any financial sense. 

So plan well… 

Now why the visit the collesseo… 

The Colosseum or Coliseum , also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre  is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and sand, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built. The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72, and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heirTitus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96).These three emperors are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named in Latin for its association with their family name (Flavius).

Location	Regio IV Templum Pacis (“Temple of Peace”)
Built in	70–80 AD
Built by/for	Vespasian, Titus
Type of structure	Amphitheatre
Related	List of ancient monuments in Rome
The Colosseum

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000;  it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such asmock sea battles (for only a short time as thehypogeum was soon filled in with mechanisms to support the other activities), animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome’s most popular tourist attractions and also has links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit “Way of the Cross” procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

So now that you have an idea about this magnificent building let’s share some of our pictures with you… 

3 hours of walking and soaking in all the beauty rome as to offer us… Yeap.. It’s the free walking tour in rome and its so worth the 3 hours of walking. 

Let me share with you a bit about rome told by Google search then after I can share my pictures.. 

The city of Rome originated as a village of the Latiniin the 9th century BC. It was initially ruled by kings, but the Roman Republic was established in 509 BC. During the 5th century BC, Rome gained regional dominance in Latium, and eventually the entire Italian peninsula by the 3rd century BC. The population of the city at this point is estimated at about 310,000 people.^{[citation needed]}

With the Punic Wars, Rome gained dominance over the Western Mediterranean, displacing Carthage as the dominant regional power. The Roman Empire was established under Octavian in 27 BC, after Julius Caesar‘s conquest of Gaul, followed by a period of civil war. The city of Rome now surpassed a population of one million, likely the first city in historyto reach this size (compared to world population of about 200–300 million at the time).

At the peak of Roman imperial power in the 2nd century, the population of the city numbered about a million people^{[citation needed]}, a size that it never attained again until its becoming the capital of theRepublic of Italy in 1946; close to three percent of thepopulation of the empire lived within its limits. Following the Crisis of the Third Century and the transfer of the imperial capital to Constantinople in AD 330, Rome entered a period of gradual decline.

After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Rome managed to hang onto the empire, still known as the Roman Empire but long centered on the eastern Mediterranean, until the 8th century as theDuchy of Rome. But the city was reduced to a fraction of its former size, being sacked several times in the 5th to 6th centuries, in 546 even temporarily depopulated entirely.^[1] With the final loss of imperial control in Italy, Rome became the capital of the Papal States in medieval Italy. The Papacy struggled to retain influence in the emerging Holy Roman Empire, and during the Saeculum obscurum, the population of Rome fell to as low as 30,000 inhabitants. Following the East–West Schism and the limited success in theInvestiture Controversy, the Papacy did gain considerable influence in high medieval Europe, but with the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism, the city of Rome was reduced to irrelevance, its population falling below 20,000.

Rome’s decline into complete irrelevance during the medieval period, with the associated lack of construction activity, assured the survival of very significant ancient Roman material remains in the centre of the city, some abandoned and others continuing in use. Rome began to recover some importance in the late 15th and 16th century. TheSistine Chapel was restored in 1480 and decorated by Michelangelo in 1508–1512. Construction of theApostolic Palace began in 1589. Construction of St. Peter’s Basilica was begun in 1506, the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture. TheRoman Renaissance was cut short abruptly with thedevastation of the city in 1527, but the Papacy reasserted itself in the Counter-Reformation, and the city continued to flourish during the early modern period.

Rome was annexed by Napoleon and was technically part of France during 1798–1814. During the Italian unification in the 19th century, the Roman Questionreferred to the status of Rome under the temporal power of the popes. Rome was declared the capital of the kingdom of Italy on 27 March 1861, but the Italian government could not take its seat there because it was defended by a French garrison. Rome was eventually captured in 1870, and the dispute was finally resolved with the Lateran Pacts of 1929 establishing the Vatican State. Rome served as the capital of the Italian Empire and Fascist Italy from 1870 to 1943. During this period, population hextupled from about 250,000 to 1.5 million. ThePalace of Justice was completed 1910.

Yeap.. Thats just a bit about rome… Now let’s get to the fun part… Pictures 

They looked so scary…. 

Rome Explorations Continues… 

Wow!!!! This city is like going through a magical moment of life… Each eye turn tells a story… Each building has a significance… 

Today kids and I ventured out… Seem like the train system here is pretty simple. 

They have 3 lines… 2 are active now… A LINE and B Line. 

You can buy a 1 day pass, 72 hours pass, 7days pass or just go for it like us and buy 1 month pass. Kids under age 10yrs are free to ride the train… So this means not pass for my 7yr old son… 

Each 1 month unlimited ride pass is €35 ($39)… So got all 4 of us pass which we can use for thr train and the bus any other transport. Oh and the A line can get you to the airport.

After we arrived at the main Temini station which seem to be the meeting point for all travels with train and buses. Now we realised the place was filled with Indians and loads of Indian restaurants… Hopefully tomorrow on our free walking tour I will be able to find out why all the Indians… Since in australia it seem like more Asians… 

Anyways we had Indian lunch and after we took the hop on hop off bus which took us around the city for $15 each for 1 hour 40 min straight ride or hop off and back on again. But that’s the price for a day pass. 

We had amazing time getting to see all the prominent buildings… We did not get off to tour any.. We plan on doing that on our next trip into Central. 

So here are a few pictures from the roof top seats of the hop on hop off bus.. 

Rome Exploration Continues…. 

Ok so we arrived late last night in rome and did not get to see much. 

But this morning we walked around and checked out our neighbourhood. Well I must say rome is true to its acheteural buildings and grafities on the walls. And little alleys all around. We live very close to a train station and as well as a busy street so thats good news for us. 

Today we walked to get grocery and also get a sim card. 

Here is the most intriguing thing. When we arrived at the airport, which is what I do at almost all airports when we arrive is to get a sim card. So I went to the counter to buy a sim card all excited. 

I felt like I needed someone to wake me up from my sleep. The lady said for me to get 5gb data without minutes to call or a number to even receive calls is €130 a month… 😄… That’s exactly $146 a month… 😩😲. 

Anyways I just told her we don’t need it that bad… She said oh remember there are no WiFi on the streets… Am like is that suppose to be your sales pitch… Lol!!! 

Well so next day we walked from our apartment about 2min to Vodafone and got 5gb,300 minutes to use for calls and I can recieve calls for 1 month all for $50 which is about €45. So done deal for me. 

After we walked all around our area… We noticed most things close for sesiater from 2pm till 4pm…i totally agree with them on that… It’s super hot and humid around here a nap will be great for all. 

Overall… I think I might fall in love with this city… 

Rome Explorations Begins and Continues 

Yes our time in Australia is up and we are off to our new adventures. 

We have enjoyed truly what Brisbane has to offer… We have done the beach and also the great barrier reef. We have made LLF’S. 

We have created memories that will last as a life time in Brisbane australia. And with that we are super grateful. 

Hope to visit other parts of Australia again in the future… 

Australia exploration ended… 

Rome begins 

So one of our travel goals is to visit some of the 7 wonders of the world… And so far I believe we are doing well with that. 

Visiting Australia one of our goals was to dive The great barrier reef.  Since my husband and I and our kids have Padi open water diver certification. Super fun right. 

Well I could not do the dive as I had to get to Ghana to apply for my shengen visa. So I miss the dive but the whole clan went and their feedback and pictures are what am sharing. 

From my 14yr old… “mom it was really cool but most of the reef is bleached and not as magical as it is on you tube or as people have seen it. But I enjoyed it thoroughly” 
From my 15yr old.. “it was a really beautiful experience and enjoyed the scenery too” 

From my 12yr old.. “omg mom it was incredible… And vast and just interesting… Love it” 

From my 7yr old.. “mommy I did not want to leave… I was in the open water and saw some fish..” 

My husband… “am glad we have been able to show our kids that and did the dive. But our dive in phillippines was as amazing. Still enjoyed it all and watching our kids faces suprise and exploring is my reward…” 

From me  😧 I wish I could have made it to dive too… Send more pictures. Lol… 

Here are all their pictures they took

Australia exploration Continues.. 

Being from Africa is such an amazing feeling every time I get to go there and explore and be Ghanaian. Yes BE a Ghanaian. 

Since we started our 5yr world tour I have visited Ghana 2 times in our 3rd year. And both times I have evade sure to enjoy each visit to the max. 

With my best friends there and most of our God kids as well as my family it makes perfect sense why each visit is very special to me. 

Ghana is surely a beautiful place to be its my comfort zone for sure as it provides me somthing none of the countries I have visited have yet to provide FREEDOM.. 

In Ghana i speak the language, I know my way around, I have family, friends, I can be me and dont have to worry about language issues. So I say every visit to Ghana is surly one to remember. 
Here are a few shots of my rent visit ( had to go impromptu because I could not get shenzen visa in australia). 

Hope you all get to visit my beautiful home Ghana one day.. 
If you do decide to visiting Ghana.. Comment on this page and I will be more than happy to give you some tips on enjoying Ghana to the fullest 
Picture with a practice member in our office an one of my aunties..

My many night out moments

Our sunday got hyped up when we decided to take on a new adventure. Sailing at the morten bay boat club. 

There are just so much to do each day that life is offered go you and for us it was the fun of sailing. 

Its our very first time saling so we had no clue what to do or what its all about. 

Well I must say its seem like a very fun and exciting water sport. 

It took 3 hours and we totally enjoyed it with some almost splash of water all over us and so much laughter we truly enjoyed every minute of our 3hours. 

Here are a few pictures of our sunday fun…

Getting our boat ready 

Thats us helping put our boat together 

Life vest on 

Our sail boats ready to take off..

Destiny ready to sail

Mj is ready to take off

And let the sailing begin

Our son got a hang on it..steering the sail boat

Destiny in the other sail boat sailing her way out the boat docking area..

Really an amazing experience and really enjoyed it all
Australian Exploration Continues…

Buddha’s Birthday is a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism to commemorate the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddha and founder of Buddhism. According to the Theravada Tripitaka scriptures^[which?] (from Pali, meaning “three baskets”), Gautama was born in Lumbini in modern-day Nepal, around the year 563 BCE, and raised in Kapilavastu.^[2][3]

According to this legend, briefly after the birth of young prince Gautama, an astrologer named Asita visited the young prince’s father—King Śuddhodana—and prophesied that Siddhartha would either become a great king or renounce the material world to become a holy man, depending on whether he saw what life was like outside the palace walls.

Śuddhodana was determined to see his son become a king, so he prevented him from leaving the palace grounds. But at age 29, despite his father’s efforts, Gautama ventured beyond the palace several times. In a series of encounters—known in Buddhist literature as the four sights—he learned of the suffering of ordinary people, encountering an old man, a sick man, a corpse and, finally, an ascetic holy man, apparently content and at peace with the world. These experiences prompted Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a spiritual quest.

Thats the story I found about the celebration and in brisbane this year marks 21st year since this birthday celebration started. 

At the event they have different things to do and enjoy. With the budha bath wish where you are to pour water on the budha statue while saying 3 positive sentences that they paste in front of you. 

Also they have the budha prayer area to get some flowers or candles and you take it to the budha as an offering while you pray and make a wish. 

And also there is the food…yeap…lots of places to indulge in some asian style dishes. 

Over all its a great experience to be able to be here and celebrate the birthday of a great budha. 

And events are on from April 28th till april 30th. 

So after Buddha events we branched out for some more fun…like watching the movie fate of the furious. 

Thats just another prop mj wanted to pose with 

A little witch on the streets of queens street mall

This woman was so great at scaring you…mj was so scared and gave the best night scream ever

Really a day to remember with enough fun to last us the whole weekend. 
Australia EXPLORATION Continues….

So with our large family…transportation can probably be one of our biggest expenses depending in which country we decide to explore.

When we started our trip we th kids were shorter snd grown…but after almost 3yrs things have changed..they got taller and dont look like toddlers anymore so travelling in a taxi or uber can be a challenge for us. 

And Australia is one of those countires that have tested us and made us aware our kids are growing snd we will need a 6 to 8 seater van or take the bus or train or go large and get two taxis. 

But one thing that has really woken us up from our sleep is when i called for a taxi to take us to a place about 25min from us and am told is going to cost us $60 usd one way and am going to need 2 taxis or the maxi taxi for $100 usd. 

I had to let the taxi go since I could not bring myself to pay that much for 25min drive. 

So we decided to dedicate our day and time learning the bus routes and train system. And i must say it paid off bigtime. 

We all buy the gocard which is $8 usd per adult and $4 usd per child. And thr child is from 4 to 14yrs. 

So we all got a bus card which is also for the train. And we load it up with $15 usd each. 

Now right infront of iur apartment is the bus stop which can connect us everywhere. The highest we have paid for a bus ride is $3 usd. And even better for longer distance. So for about $10 usd i can go to the same place that i would have paid $60 usd if i did not know. 

Oh and it gets better…on weekends all child cards travel for free. And during the day off peak thr child fare is half the price. And adult price on weekends is half price too…now thats how we travel. It takes longer but we get to see thr beauty of REDCLIFFE and brisbane and Queensland. 

Comfortable bus and train rides everyday at a cost that will not wipe out our bank account. All beacuse we did the reasearch and now know the system. 

Below is what the cards look like so if you do visit australia dont worry to try out their way of travel..

The child gocard

The adult gocard…
Australia EXPLORATION Continues….