...do as the Romans do

roma!
home of the colosseum, the sistine chapel, and several thousand restaurants serving up some of the finest food i've ever eaten (yes, i did my very best to eat my way through all of them)


roma is a major player on the list of the world's most incredible cities -- there's just so much history here and so much to see! luckily i had my running shoes on, because I was racing around this amazing city on foot/bus/train/donkey (ok, no donkeys, but i really could've done with a donkey at one particular point of my journey) to see all the major sights in my typically short allocated timeslot of 24 hours

i did a pretty good job, but of course there's still so much left for me to achieve for next time, and my list of things to see'n'do is already prepared!!


my adventures in roma:
stroll past the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II -- i still have no idea who Vittorio Emanuele II is, or why he has his own monument, but i was gob-smacked by this building, just mind-blowing! . visit the colosseum, (il colosseo, to the locals) and search for a lion to battle, because i've seen "Gladiator", so clearly i know how to battle! (and let's face it, their outfits ARE pretty cool) . see a motorcyclists fall of his bike, and consider helping, but decide to just take photos and point'n'laugh instead -- ok, so that's not completely true: i didn't point while i laughed . catch a bus (always a bad idea for me to catch buses -- i just can't grasp the concept of them) and prove yourself right when you miss your stop and end up jogging one kilometre back to your destination . ask for directions to The Vatican City, and have a local lady laugh at you because you're already standing right in the middle of The Vatican City . watch a performance by an italian boy's choir -- consider joining in before realising that you're no longer a young boy and you never were italian . sit and wait in St. Peter's Square for a billow of white smoke signalling the announcement of a new pope, before realising that the world isn't looking to announce a new pope . jump on the metro (LOVE a good metro system!) over to Spagna to see The Spanish Steps, and considering one has never been to Spain, have a little trouble determining what is so Spanish about them -- but i'll certainly not deny them their beauty! . take in the amazing sights of the Pantheon before sitting down to your first of what will be many meals eaten here in italy . throw three coins into La Fontana di Trevi to bring good luck . eat your first of what will be many cones of gelato eaten here in italy . ask an italian policeman for a lift back to the train station on the back of his horse, and be met with a blank stare -- can't say i expected much more than that, really. almost freeze to death, but don't mind, because you'd be freezing to death in ROME!!!!


here are the photos:



stay tuned, next week: LONDON!!!


let the good times roll!!


editor's note: no motorcyclists were harmed during the making of this bog