Our Honeymoon-Road-Trip in Italy

As I posted in March, I went to Italy for my second honeymoon trip. It was our first time to Europe, as for me, it was my first time outside AustraliAsia region. So exciting! In this post I will summarize my trip that maybe could help you guys planning the trip.

Our flight was with Lufthansa, and I can say I pretty satisfied with their service. I only have an hour to transit in Frankfurt, both from Singapore and Milan. The food was good, the in-flight entertainment were good (they had the academy award winners nominees program that month), so basically everything went very well.



The journey begins in Rome and ended in Milan. So, the routes are
- Rome (3 nights) including Vatican
- Florence (3 nights) including the small cities, Chianti, Siena and Montevarchi
- Verona (2 nights) including Venice and Lake Garda
- Milan (2 Nights) including Bergamo



People asked why we chose Italy and not going to other countries in west Europe near Italy. Our answer was simply because we want to have a quality time in every city, and we are so grateful we decided to do that. We don't want to just hop in here and there, take a picture and say goodbye. We wanted that every city could 'touch' us in their most personal way and  to be able to feel like a local. To stay at the residence area, to eat where the locals eat, to ride the public transportation that they regularly use, and to visit the small cities between the big cities, because those are the real gems, the hidden treasure.





We decided to book hotels while we were in Rome and Milan (as those two are the big cities) and book BnB while we were in Florence and Verona. Thank God our hotel in Rome were a small hotel that runs by a brother and sister who could make us feel like home. The BnB(s) were so great, yet the hotel in Milan was actually a real hotel that didn't give us personal touch and make it less memorable.





Our Italy trip was actually a road trip. Even though the locals are very discipline, yet they drive their cars so fast (especially in toll road) which made me think that I wouldn't dare to drive a car in Italy. But, I really recommend you to take a road trip in Europe. The view was AMAZING and BREATHTAKING! We stopped and parked our car here and there to enjoy the view. Something that you will miss if you ride a plane or train. When we were in big cities, we parked our car and explore the city by walking or using public transportation. Don't use your car inside the city, unless you have the Italian or Parisian skill of searching the spot and parking the car.



It was couple days before Spring season actually came. Luckily our trip was started from Rome, which a little bit South and it was quite warm. Because it was still a transition, the weather was unpredictable. Checking Yahoo Weather every morning is a must! The items that I found were very important are small umbrella and fashionable yet warm hat & gloves. I prefer to always bring the hat than umbrella, because the rain was different that I have in Indonesia, which I think it is still okay to walk around when it's raining outside. You wouldn't get totally wet.





And oh, the food. This is something that will determine you had a great trip or not. Well, at least for me it is. You don't have to worry about the food when you're in Italy, we didn't have any bad experience about the food, even when we were lost in Modena, the city we accidentally visited to have a dinner on our way to Verona. Yes, in our trip, we lost couple of times. But hey, the laugh we shared when we realized that we were lost was priceless. (no, this post isn't presented to you by mastercard)









Anyway, I think those are the highlight of our trip. I will write about the story in every city anytime soon. Be waiting!

Jogja - Solo Trip : Danar Hadi Museum (Keraton Solo)

On my trip to Jogjakarta dan Solo last year, we stopped by to Danar Hadi museum at the heart of the city. One thing I remember, Solo is so clean, have good structure and everything is in its best system. I really loved it there! Too bad we didn't stay in the city, I love Solo way more than Jogjakarta!

Jogja - Solo Trip (June 2011) : Kampung Batik Solo

I fell in love with Solo the second I enter the city. I wish I could stay longer, as a matter of fact we felt the same about Solo. First destination in the city was Kampung batik Laweyan, and fell deep deep deeply. Beautiful city indeed!

Jogja - Solo Trip (June 2011) : Merapi, Borobudur, Keraton Jogja

I know it's almost a year, but it's better late than never, right? In this post, I will show you the pictures I took in Jogjakarta. I was so excited for the Jogja and Solo trip, for it was a spontaneous one. With my other Isakh family and a friend of my parents, I had a great time exploring those cities.

Our first destination was Gunung Merapi. I hope I can show the right mood I felt when I took the pictures. The sight was so great, but in the same time I know that many people still in deep sorrow because of the aftermath









We also went to Candi Borobudur. Butt we arrived exactly when the sun shine so bright. I know it's better than raining, but it was too hot. But, we still managed to listen to the tour guide who's explaining the history of Candi Borobudur.



We went to Keraton Jogja on the last day of our trip. Because we've visited Solo and went to Danar Hadi Museum (Keraton Solo) a day before, the palace in Jogja didn't impress us so much.

Dira Sugandi With Ricky Lionardi Jazz Orchestra at Java Jazz Festival 2012

"Dira (Sugandi) did another epically collaboration with Ricky Lionardi Jazz Orchestra." (via Jazzuality.com)

Just like the quote from Jazzuality.com, the performance was beyond words. I honestly didn't expect to see bunch of people lining up for almost an hour to go inside C1 Hall in JiExpo to see this performance. Within 5 minutes, the hall was filled with people. There were people who were sitting down on the chair, on the floor, standing next to the entrance door, and there were people who are still trying get inside even though it was full.

The performance itself was great. Dira proved that she is more than just a jazz singer, she is definitely the next lady jazz from Indonesia! The collaboration between Dira Sugandi, Ricky Lionardi Jazz Orchestra (and also Glorify The Lord Ensemble) created a mind-blowing performance. You know it was a really great synergy between all of them and a result of their hard work. Kudos to you guys!

It was my first time using fix 50mm f 1.4, to shoot an act or performance. I thought it only has a slight difference, turns out the calculation was totally different and to be honest, it was effin hard :-( but I think I caught some moments, a good one. Thank God they had sound check and final rehearsal. Anyway, I hope you like it. Any inputs and/or comments are welcome and appreciated

Dira Sugandi with Ricky Lionardi Jazz Orchestra at Java Jazz Festival2012

Here it is, the closing for Dira Sugandi with Ricky Lionardi Jazz Orchestra 's show in Java Jazz Festival 2012, Georgia on My Mind. Enjoy!

Video by Marthin Fort

"Georgia on My Mind" - Dira Sugandi & Ricky Lionardi Jazz Orchestra at Java Jazz Festival 2012 from Marthin Fort on Vimeo.

Got Offended. Did you see it coming?

Baru saja saya selesai salah satu episode dari The Bachelorette. Don’t make any comment, it’s my guilty pleasure series hahahaa… Judul dari episode kali ini adalah Hometown Dates, yang berarti sang bachelorette mendatangi kampung halaman empat laki-laki yang masih bertahan untuk merebut hatinya.

Despite all the shilly-shallying from the bachelorette herself in the previous episodes, kali ini ada hal yang sangat menganggu saya (tentunya selain banyak cara yang sangat tidak masuk akal dalam mencari pasangan hidup :-P). beberapa dari keluarga laki-laki, dideskripsikan sebagai pihak yang protektif. Mengapa? Karena sebelumnya sang laki-laki pernah disakiti dan mereka tidak mau ia disakiti untuk kesekian kalinya. Oleh sebab itu, mereka sangat meminta si bachelorette untuk menjaga perasaan si laki-laki.

For those of you who’ve never had a broken heart before, please raise your hand? Not just from your boyfriend or girlfriend, but maybe you best friend and/or parents did that to you. Did they mean it? Saya bisa pastikan dalam semua permintaan maaf yang dikatakan, mereka mengatakan “I didn’t mean it”. And deep down inside, you know that they’re telling the truth.

Tapi, satu hal yang saya rasa semua orang perlu mengerti bahwa perasaan sakit hati sebenarnya bisa kita perkecil kesempatannya atau dihindari. Saya tidak menujukan tulisan ini kepada orang yang memiliki niat jahat atau manipulatif ya, ini yang normal-normal saja.

Beberapa orang selalu berkata pada saya, “jangan suruh orang jaga perasaan kamu, kamu yang harus jaga hati”. Sebel banget ga sih dibilangin kaya gitu? Saya merasa mereka yang berkata seperti itu tidak memiliki perasaan. Perlu waktu yang lama bagi saya untuk mengerti hal di atas.

Tapi, akhirnya saya mengerti bahwa kita hanya bisa merasa sakit hati saat orang yang dekat dengan kita tidak melakukan hal yang kita ekspektasikan. Hal di atas terbagi dalam tiga poin. Yang pertama, merasa sakit hati. Yang kedua, orang yang dekat. Dan, yang ketiga, hal yang kita ekspektasikan.

Hal yang kita ekspektasikan merupakan hal yang kita rasa orang terdekat kita wajib untuk lakukan. Bagus apabila kita menyukainya, kalau tidak? Timbulah perasaan sakit hati. Rasa yang keluar dari pemikiran “masa dia ga tau sih gue ga suka digituin?”.

How many of you already knew that the person (or people) who have a chance to hurt us is the closest one? Why? Simply because we care about things they do. Kalau ga deket, Do you even care if they do something you dislike? No, you don’t. Bila mengetahui hal ini, tentu saja tidak ada dari kita yang bersedia untuk membawa orang sembarangan ke dalam your closest circle, right?

Terakhir, merasa sakit hati. Itu hal yang wajar. Sudah tidak terhitung berapa kali saya sakit hati. Tetapi, ternyata saya tidak bisa menyalahkan orang lain karena tidak menjaga perasaan saya. Hati milik saya, ya tugas saya menjaganya. Kalau harus tergantung pada orang lain, it’s just way too risky for me. Simply because none in this world know the exact situation I’m facing. Malas kan diajak bercanda saat lagi serius? Begitulah kalau kita mengalihkan tugas menjaga hati kepada orang lain, yang ada kalau sang penjaga hati lagi mau bercanda saat kita sedang serius, jatuhnya sakit hati karena merasa tidak dimengerti. Sekarang salah siapa?

Trust me, when you’re smart in guiding your heart, pasti tidak akan mudah tersinggung dan sakit hati. Instead of get mad, you will find it easy to explain it nicely.

Thank you SPICE! Magazine

When SPICE! Magazine called me, I thought they wanted to ask me to do a photo-shoot. I was glad, but when they told me that they read my blog and want to publish my writing on their magazine, the feeling was indescribable.

The blog post that they wanted to publish titled 'Belok Kiri (Tidak) Boleh Langsung' (you can read the entry here). When I wrote the post, not a teeny-tiny feeling that people would read it. I just write and write. And to be honest, I don't think that the post actually would be a good reading, and yet they still want to publish it.

It was all by grace :-)

Pedang Pora

In Indonesia (or maybe any other country), if the groom is in the military, the have the privilege to have 'Pedang Pora' in their procession for the wedding reception. With Lightworks & Vica Decoration, I got the chance to capture the ceremony.

Indonesian Youth Conference 2011

I was shocked when one of the committee of Indonesian Youth Conference '11 approach me and told me that they'd like to invite me as the moderator in one of the three top seminars, titled, Perubahan Kecil Yang Berdampak Besar (Small Changes With Huge Impact). The highlight was the speaker. She told me that I'm going to conduct a seminar with Budi Soehardi (CNN Heroes) and Tri Mumpuni (Women of The Year 2006 - Majalah Tempo & WWF International Climate Hero 2005), and I literally speechless.

I said yes immediately, even though I didn't have any experience to conduct a seminar. And again, it was all by grace.