"All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
After a quick overnight ferry cruise filled to the brim with church goers and 3000 hail Mary's later the shores of Italy beckon! Landing in the very functional (if not much else) city port of Ancona a train was hitched onwards to Rome, with visions of participating in glorious and bloody gladiatorial combat! Failing that the tourist thing would suffice.
I once heard the phrase "Rome in a day", which is totally impossible to actually perform. There is so much to see here that it can become overwhelming. I mean most other cities would be chuffed to have ONE of the incredible churches/cathedrals/ruins/museums found here.
So with that in mind you can imagine I am not sure where to begin. Many of you have already been here, and will know what I mean when I describe "visual overload". When it comes to exploring the city you only really begin to realise the enormity of the task when the incredible building you have just been admiring for the last half an hour is just a toilet and isn't even important enough to make it on the map. Suddenly you feel very small. I wouldn't even dare explain in detail the amazing sights we have seen, or how many pairs of socks have died through seeing it - I'll focus on the "vibe".
Firstly, Italian is really a beautiful language. It flows and rolls so smoothly compared to other crazy tongues muttered recently. The beauty of it coupled with the advent of mobile phones might explain why Italians talk so much and talk so loudly that it can be difficult to distinguish a heartfelt discussion from an argument approaching blows.
Italian food is, as expected, very nice and simple in it's brilliance. Pizza, pasta, coffee/hot choc and gelati are all firm favourites. Interestingly though the best pizza title still rests with Slovenia and best coffee/hot choc with Belgrade. But uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, there may just be a new champion around the corner.
Rome has many big ticket attractions we all know and love:
1. The Colosseum - the big famous sports stadium where the gladiators fought. Vulcan was my favourite. Interestingly there are no longer trapdoors that lions spring out of to maul unwary combatants. Although street hawkers have taken the places of said felines.
2. A Kazillion Fountains including Trevi Fountain - in which lie the wishes of a million tourists and an equally impressive collection of Euro coins, making it a favourite after dark hang out of Gypsies.
3. The Pantheon - the best preserved Roman ruins in existence probably. The gaping big hole in the roof sucks when it rains though.
4. The Vatican City - home of the worlds biggest church - St Peter's, the Vatican museum (containing the Sistine Chapel) and the big P man himself! Unfortunately I could not find the pope-mobile and the papal song and dance stage spectacular the Pope holds every Wednesday after bingo wasn't on.
Crossing roads here is akin to Russian roulette. The golden rule is basically "cross half way and pray". Better yet find an organised tour and walk inside them, that way they can cushion the blow for you.
On a more modern tangent, Rome is perhaps as close to heaven as possible for women. The city layout represents a cyclic pattern of beautiful churches, shoe shops, leather shops, cafes and bank machines. All a girl needs. Any spare space usually contains a church, you can never have enough of them it seems.
Some ruins and exhibits have glass panes around them, which sometimes turns them into a bit of a zoological exhibit of cats and the homeless. Some others have even higher security, the Vatican City for example has a very strong stance against Swiss army knives. Normal knives are fine though. I figure the pope's personal Swiss guards don't want to deal with the challenge of a Swiss army knife fight. "I cannot defeat this crazed tourist, he parries all my toothpick lunges with his tweezers!". The Vatican has also indicated clearly via signs that men in pink one piece bathing suits will not be allowed entry. I think that's fair enough.
Here you can enjoy works by favourite Renaissance artists such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael (he's the leader of the group, transformed from the norm by the nuclear goup). It was a personal highlight of mine to see the "creation of Adam" in the Sistine Chapel. Sadly the number of tourists in the museum and basilica does make it difficult to enjoy anything in privacy, it literally becomes a river of bodies that sweeps you along from which you desperately clutch at branches to pull yourself out and into the eddies.
So having completed stage one of the Italian job, it is now north to Florence that travel must go. Here I am sure there will be more delectable food, yet more jaw dropping sights and the chance to uncover more facts about the Italian dialect - such as whether Tellitubbi is a type of pasta or just a stupefying kids show that defies all sane thought.
After a quick overnight ferry cruise filled to the brim with church goers and 3000 hail Mary's later the shores of Italy beckon! Landing in the very functional (if not much else) city port of Ancona a train was hitched onwards to Rome, with visions of participating in glorious and bloody gladiatorial combat! Failing that the tourist thing would suffice.
I once heard the phrase "Rome in a day", which is totally impossible to actually perform. There is so much to see here that it can become overwhelming. I mean most other cities would be chuffed to have ONE of the incredible churches/cathedrals/ruins/museums found here.
So with that in mind you can imagine I am not sure where to begin. Many of you have already been here, and will know what I mean when I describe "visual overload". When it comes to exploring the city you only really begin to realise the enormity of the task when the incredible building you have just been admiring for the last half an hour is just a toilet and isn't even important enough to make it on the map. Suddenly you feel very small. I wouldn't even dare explain in detail the amazing sights we have seen, or how many pairs of socks have died through seeing it - I'll focus on the "vibe".
Firstly, Italian is really a beautiful language. It flows and rolls so smoothly compared to other crazy tongues muttered recently. The beauty of it coupled with the advent of mobile phones might explain why Italians talk so much and talk so loudly that it can be difficult to distinguish a heartfelt discussion from an argument approaching blows.
Italian food is, as expected, very nice and simple in it's brilliance. Pizza, pasta, coffee/hot choc and gelati are all firm favourites. Interestingly though the best pizza title still rests with Slovenia and best coffee/hot choc with Belgrade. But uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, there may just be a new champion around the corner.
Rome has many big ticket attractions we all know and love:
1. The Colosseum - the big famous sports stadium where the gladiators fought. Vulcan was my favourite. Interestingly there are no longer trapdoors that lions spring out of to maul unwary combatants. Although street hawkers have taken the places of said felines.
2. A Kazillion Fountains including Trevi Fountain - in which lie the wishes of a million tourists and an equally impressive collection of Euro coins, making it a favourite after dark hang out of Gypsies.
3. The Pantheon - the best preserved Roman ruins in existence probably. The gaping big hole in the roof sucks when it rains though.
4. The Vatican City - home of the worlds biggest church - St Peter's, the Vatican museum (containing the Sistine Chapel) and the big P man himself! Unfortunately I could not find the pope-mobile and the papal song and dance stage spectacular the Pope holds every Wednesday after bingo wasn't on.
Crossing roads here is akin to Russian roulette. The golden rule is basically "cross half way and pray". Better yet find an organised tour and walk inside them, that way they can cushion the blow for you.
On a more modern tangent, Rome is perhaps as close to heaven as possible for women. The city layout represents a cyclic pattern of beautiful churches, shoe shops, leather shops, cafes and bank machines. All a girl needs. Any spare space usually contains a church, you can never have enough of them it seems.
Some ruins and exhibits have glass panes around them, which sometimes turns them into a bit of a zoological exhibit of cats and the homeless. Some others have even higher security, the Vatican City for example has a very strong stance against Swiss army knives. Normal knives are fine though. I figure the pope's personal Swiss guards don't want to deal with the challenge of a Swiss army knife fight. "I cannot defeat this crazed tourist, he parries all my toothpick lunges with his tweezers!". The Vatican has also indicated clearly via signs that men in pink one piece bathing suits will not be allowed entry. I think that's fair enough.
Here you can enjoy works by favourite Renaissance artists such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael (he's the leader of the group, transformed from the norm by the nuclear goup). It was a personal highlight of mine to see the "creation of Adam" in the Sistine Chapel. Sadly the number of tourists in the museum and basilica does make it difficult to enjoy anything in privacy, it literally becomes a river of bodies that sweeps you along from which you desperately clutch at branches to pull yourself out and into the eddies.
So having completed stage one of the Italian job, it is now north to Florence that travel must go. Here I am sure there will be more delectable food, yet more jaw dropping sights and the chance to uncover more facts about the Italian dialect - such as whether Tellitubbi is a type of pasta or just a stupefying kids show that defies all sane thought.
4 comments:
Ahh, Italy, where gelati connoiseurs heap scorn on Baskin, Robbins, and their piddling 31 flavours. 31 flavours of chocolate gelati, maybe, on a quiet day!
Ahh, Rome, where the Coliseum still harbours felines - even if they are the domestic size, there is like 40,000 in that one ruin alone!
Did you check out the Vatican Museum? I remeber walking in there thinking 'this'll be good, they'll have some good stuff here' and then in the first hallway (not even a proper gallery, just the corridor, were 800 statues and busts from ancient rome. 800. Just lining the hallway cause they had no where else to put them. Amazing.
Hope Florence is great, but don't forget Siena - Tutti Pizza, slices as long as your freakin arm man (ok, forearm for Gad, but still freakin huge!)
we need figures!
I need account details!
you know the rest...
I'll write something worthwhile next time ;)
keep practicing!
Who the hell wrote that last comment? lol
Hello fellow Aussies!
we have your vehicle.
we'd pay you, but all correspondence was lost.
know what we mean?!
how's your paddle hand?
Did you know ping pong is an olympic sport?
We'd tell you more, but you never know who is on this.... people like us it seems!
(PS: ping pong & dong dong won't be bothering you again, as I can't remember my password! Worked out who we are yet!?)
Junior ping pong is travelling well. Can't wait till xmas! ;)
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