People in Rome love celebrating and do it passionately. You only have to be in the right time and right place to catch the moment.

It’s almost like a never ending celebration in spring. Everything and everyone in bloom, sharing their love and kindness, doing things they love doing. The sun shines upon us, the new circle of life begins. 

Here in Rome, christians are holding breath waiting for Pentecost. Orthodox Church calls it the Day of the Holy Trinity. And Catholics celebrate Pentecost on the 50th day after Easter. On this day, they decorate the temples with flowers. When the sun rises, the church bell begins ringing. 

Raining Rose Petals

Panteon is a special place on this day. 

After the messa the rain of rose petals falls down on everyone under the roof. The tradition comes down to old times. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was re-consecrated to the Catholic Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs.

The red rose has always been a symbol of Jesus Christ blood. Those are firefighters who climb on the top of the roof to throw the petals through the 9 metres diameter window. If you happen to be in Rome on May 24, do not miss the Pantheon. The mass begins at 10.30, the ceremony at 12.00.

We love the city of Rome. That’s the reason we arrange so many tours there. The Pantheon is something to see, sure, yet, consider visiting it after dark, as well as the rest of the city.

Our night tour may surprise you, so check it by the link. 

This one also includes visiting Pantheon, so consider taking a closer look. 

If you thought that’s it for the events taking place during the season, wait till you hear about Infiorata. 

Infiorata

Starting from May and continuing in June, giant flower fets are being laid all over the country. 

Catholic celebrations are quite significant here, so all the streets and squares in front of the city temples are covered with astonishing live compositions. Those reveal many eternal themes of philosophy and religion, life, human existence and nature. 

People really do contribute to making those carpets, as this takes work of thouthands of florists. 

To make those canvases of flowers, artists use a whole spectrum of different-coloured buds and every shade possible. Imagine flowers being an artist palette, for that’s exactly how it works. 

At first, they sketch a painting on the ground using chalk. Then, they fill the sketch in, just like traditional painters do. 

According to legend, it was the 18 century that brought the tradition in Italy. First Infiorate festival occurred down to June 29, 1625, when Romans held it in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. They contributed it in the honour of the patrons Peter and Paul.

 Nowadays, the tradition infiltrates all regions of Italy, yet, the largest event is in the Sicilian city of Noto. Pienza, Orvieto, Bolsena, Potenzoni, Brugnato and many more are welcoming tourists to see the magnificent celebration.

If you’re into seeing more religious sites of Rome, there is a tour we set just for you. The Tour of the Churches of Rome introduces 5 churches and includes a professional guide to dive into the history of ancient architecture.

A worldwide known comedian and actor, Kevin Hart, has been announced as Yas Island’s first Chief Officer. The stand-up star is meant to help to promote this travel destination by participating in different events and activities and creating social media content to spread the word about this action-packed place. 

For those who didn’t know, Yas Island is Abu Dhabi’s one of the top tourism projects. Occupying a total of 25 square kilometers, the island is to be the world’s top travel destination. Yas Island is a home to exhilarating theme parks and water rides as well as the world-class Ferrari Abu Dhabi racetrack. 

The announcement of Kevin Hart taking up a role as the Island’s ambassador came alongside with a promotional video, that the stand-up star has posted on his Instagram account, saying how he will “Hartify” the “world’s most entertaining island”.

“There goes Yas Island’s first Chief Island Officer in a white Ferrari thinking he’s a big deal. Guess what, this is a big deal. Guess what, this is a big deal,” the star’s voice can be heard in the opening scene of a promo clip. The video follows a caption that reads: 

“Breaking news people. I got a new gig. You’re looking at Yas Island Abu Dhabi’s first ever Chief Island Officer!!! And I can assure you, I’ve been giving it 100% hart cause you know how I do…”

This whole promotional campaign is a part of Island’s effort to be put on a map and become a must-see tourist destination. At the same time, the Yas Island became a part of the international trade show, The Arabian Travel Market 2022, which took place in Dubai earlier this month.

Last summer, Kevin Hart gave a hint of what’s coming, when he shared a clip revealing that Yas Island would be his next holiday destination.

The leader of the Third Eye Blind has definitely hit the bullseye with these words. Music, and especially rock, unites people and lets them express emotions. This is why rock is never going to die as a music genre. 

In Greece, rock has always been in favor. If you are a fan of rock and you want to harmonize your vacation and musical experience, check out the list of the 3 best rock festivals in Athens.

Athens Rocks 

Where and when: Athens, June 13, 2022

If you love rocking hard, Athens Rocks is just for you. It has amazing headliners from all over the world:

Fundracar, a Greek group from Athens, performs mixed music (something between punk, rock and reggae) on a range of instruments to create a huge psychedelic vibe. 

The Dropkick Murphys, USA, play Celtic punk with social context.

The Rumjacks from Australia is a punk-folk band, famous for their energetic wild shows. 

The Villagers of Ioannina City (Greece) believes progressive heavy rock is the voice of their generation. 

To get there, plan your visit to the Athens Olympic Center. You can also purchase souvenir t-shirts, take photos, and party hard! Stage diving and midnight dances will make your head spin.

Release Athens

Where and when: Athens, June 15-July 23, 2022

12 days, 100 hours of live music, more than 30 different musicians – all of this is available at the Release Athens Festival!

Release Athens is already in favor of Greeks starting from 2016. Release Athens’ program includes both rock and the other musical genres, such as pop and hip-hop. 

Festival goes under the enigma of releasing the earth from plastic. It hosts a lot of icons, such as Iggy Pop, Slipknot, Sabaton, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – in case you missed the Rockwave Festival. 

Some previous headliners were Rhapsody of Fire, LP (2016), Thievery Corporation (2017), et cetera.

The festival will be held in Athens, but some of its events are to be organized in different areas of Greece. The motto under which the festival will go is optimism and extroversion in everything. Organizers believe in the liberating power of music – after all, this is what gave the festival its name, Release Athens. 

Rockwave

Where and when: Athens, June 21-23, 2022

Rockwave Festival, or Social Distortion in Greece, has existed since 1996 and is known as the biggest music festival in Greece and one of the biggest world festivals. It is a member of the EUROPE (Official European Union of the biggest festivals). Rockwave wants to share the art of socializing and remember the pioneers of music. 

Many famous headliners have performed at Rockwave before. Some of them are Epica, Evanescence, and The Prodigy. This year, the list of performing artists includes Placebo and Nick Cave. Everybody will find their own piece of cake!

Two stages operate during the festival, to avoid the excess crowding. As the festival is to be held in the open air, visitors are allowed to stay in the camping area of TerraVibe Park in Malakasa. If you are looking for some side-events during the festival, pay attention to the Rockwave Nights. Starting on the 19th of July in Lazarists Monastery and ending on the 20th of July in Technopolis, Athens, this event gives you an opportunity to choose the day and time of attending the festival. 

What else to see in Athens?

The capital of Greece provides tourists with a number of entertainments. We recommend taking a day-tour in Athens prior to the music festivals.

If you want to learn about the history of Athens and enjoy its highlights, either book an Athens Private Sightseeing Experience or an Athens Full Day Private Tour. This is the best opportunity to learn about the history of the most famous buildings in Athens. The difference between these tours is that Athens Private Sightseeing will give you an insider’s view of the place, and Athens Full Day Private Tour is more of a ride through all the historic landmarks (like the Theater of Dionysus and Plaka Neighborhood, where the music meant a lot). 

If you would rather chill after rock festivals, listen to some mystical stories and taste Greek delicacies on Acropolis and Athens Highlights with Food Tasting. You will see how the history of Greece is connected to modern history; listen to some mystical legends; and, of course, try local foods!

Plan your journey with us to make the most of your trip to Greece!

Bloomsday is the day every Irishman loves celebrating. 

It’s always Thursday, June 16, every year. That day, only in 1904, was described on 800 pages of Ulysses by James Joyce. 

Writing only about one day of a Dublin jew Leopold de Bloom, Joyce changed literature history forever. Some say, the author chose that day for a reason, as on 16 of June he met his future wife, Nora Barnacle.

That was also a year when he had to move from his home country to the European continent, so it’s something like a preserved memory of his motherland. Culturally-coded, it still touches Irish folks’ hearts. For every year they celebrate it along with Joyce’s fans coming from all over the world.

Back in the day, there were a lot of issues regarding literature censorship. 

Joyce’s novel was banned in Ireland until the 1960s, yet that did not stop some of the admirers who were brave enough to ignore the restructural law. That’s how the book used to travel into the country. 

That was a group of 5 men, including a gentleman who claimed to be his cosine. They had established the Bloomsday and managed to complete the book-bases route starting from the Martello Tower and ending at the Davy Byrne pub. 

One of them hired two vintage horse carriages, copy-cating the characters on their way to Paddy Dignam’s funeral.

 They are also casted themselves to be the character of the nook to drive all over the city and visit all the places mentioned in the novel till the location called “Nighttown”. 

They dropped it halfway, though, being too drunk to continue.

After that, the tradition had not been followed until 1982. This year, they founded a James Joyce museum here. 

It was officially only in 1982 when the celebration was brought back to life. 

The occasion was the 100 years since the great writer’s birth. Since then, the tradition has been progressively evolving and spreading outside of Dubai. The occasion was James Joyce’s 100th birthday.

Now one can find a monument to Joyce in Dublin. And on its streets, there are signs of Ulysses’s main character’s path. The day is equally celebrated in other countries as well.

People gather for public out-loud readings, discussions, lectures, talks, plays, and simply going the route. They also do a historical reconstruction of those times, dressing up, cooking, and drinking accordingly.

The menu is:

• Fried lamb kidneys
• A glass of burgundy
• Italian cheese sandwich, and more!

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The festival annually attracts more than 20 thousand people to Ireland. Folks usually celebrate it for a whole week. 

By now it’s more than just literature admiring though. It’s an Irish culture with Guinness, Irish music, poetry, and its native art

There’s more to see!

When visiting Ireland, consider taking a look at these places: 

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The Dublin Castle

This astonishing historical monument has been in excellent shape since 1204. To this day, it’s the main castle of Ireland and attracts every tourist’s attention. 

The National Leprechaun Museum of Ireland

That is for someone who needs some fun at the end of the day. Leprechauns are national symbolic creatures, and some truly believe they exist. 

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Guinness Storehouse

The museum is open at the operating brewery. Visitors will be told in detail how to brew one of the best types of beer in the world. Here you can taste a fresh drink made at the legendary production.

Come and try one of the best beers in the world. Freshly made, it will be an excellent addition to the lecture on how it’s made. Besides, the building has a overlook hall.