Roman Holiday
Just got back from a few days in Rome. A surprise trip for lady Jades birthday. I always struggle with what to get her for birthdays but over here the obvious answer is travel. I had been planning it for about 5 or 6 weeks, organised time off with her boss and set up all manner of diversions, including a surprise dinner (which she worked out), to keep her off the trail. So in the end she was indeed very surprised!
Trevi fountain was amazing, Not so the photo.
Random observations on Rome
There are loads of pick pockets. Saw a few in operation at the railway station, brazen as you like, just walking behind people fishing in there handbags, so if you go, keep your hand on your wallet. Amazing!
Ruins
Even though Rome is littered with 2000 year old ruins, chapels and cathedrals that are mostly still in use, it’s still a crazy city full of people going about there day to day business. It’s a bit surreal as you’re going into a cafe and realise the steps your walking down are over a thousand years old and these ruins are just part of everyday life.
When we went to Angkor the ruins were outside of town so there was still some separation between the ‘here and now’ and the ancients.
The Pantheon, built around 120AD and still in operation.
Religious Iconry
Religous statues sit happily next to high fashion and advertising with surprising ease. Foreground, statue of the Madonna, background, Dolce & Gabbana billboard(alas no photo). In a city so wrapped in religion, I guess it’s impossible to think that advertising and religion wouldn’t meet in the street.
Eating
Dinner in Rome is almost a full time job. On average the Romans have starters, which are followed by primi (usually pasta or risotto), which in turn is followed by secondi (generally a meat dish), then desert and liqueur and coffee. For mine, this kicks ass! A meal in this fashion is an event and lasts for hours. This is what going out to dinner is all about.
Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
We arrived at the Vatican around 2:00 on Saturday to discover that the Sistine chapel closes at 12:20 daily. Rather than visit the rest of Vatican City, we decided to come back early on Monday and see the chapel and the rest of the grounds before heading out to the airport.
Monday of course was pouring down rain and on top of that the day that the City of Rome had decided to run a practice terrorist drill shutting down public transport and leaving the city in chaos and us with out a plan. We ended up spending the bulk of our time ducking from cafe to cafe trying to stay out of the rain and then finding our way to the airport. Bummer! Have decided that Rome is still very much on our to do list and will plan a visit back there sometime next year.