We are back from our wonderful trip to Italy... Though it is nice to be back where CSI:Miami is actually televised in English, and traffic signs are actually followed, we are sad to have to leave such a beautiful country.
So, what do we write about? Instead of the usual boring stuff about how much fun we had vs the rest of the people who didn't take the trip, we'll just note some of the highlights of the trip.
1. While its really amazing that the Colloseum in Rome is still standing after thousands of years, its even more amazing that back then, people actually died as gladiators in this place, fighting wild animals, and each other so the population could get entertained. Speaking of Gladiators, notice at the bottom of the picture, you'll see some unshaven, slightly overweight, Italian mafia dudes scamming some tourists into a really "authentic" photo-shoot. Ahh... the hardships of the modern day Gladiator.
2. Ahh.... the romance of Rome reflected at Trevi Fountain at night... This is nightspot where hundreds of tourist and local lovebirds hang out at night to soak in the wonderful atmosphere. We threw a couple of coins over our shoulders into the fountain, a tradition to ensure that we return to this wonderful place. Note to future visitors, when you throw your coins, make sure you don't hit the hundred plus street vendors trying to sell you roses/shinny objects/fake bags/("Insert useless souveniers here"). I think hitting them with the coins only ensures that you buy some useless souvenier back!
3. To the vatican! Since we're are in Rome, might as well go see the biggest Church in the world! Here's a picture from the top after climbing 500+ steps of the dome of the Basilica(=Church). The shadow in the left, is of the dome that we are standing on! We were huffing and puffing from the climb, when someone in the back said [Imagine deep south accent here] "Y'All tired? Know why? Cos we close to the the Lord Y'all! Y'all CAN'T handle the LOOORRDD!" That aside, its an amazing view from the top, and attending mass at the church was a spiritual experience.
4. What trip to the Vatican would be complete without the guards?? Here's a quick picture of the dudes Bob & Joe, dressed up in their wonderfully color coordinated costumes/uniforms. Joe on the right looks a little bit angry. I would be too, if someone gave me those color combinations to wear, and hordes of people point at me and post my fashion sense on their BLOGS. Still, with their wonderfully snazzy, but really sharp looking halberds (the stick thingy Bob is holding), they look mean enough to keep out most people from that private entrance.
5. Apparently, getting into the Vatican Museums was a lot harder than into the Church. Here we are, at the bane of all Eurotrip travellers... the LINE. This picture doesn't do justice to how long the line was... We walked 15 minutes from the front of the line to the BACK! Even the Priests in front of us left the line 1 hour before the front doors closed! So... if even priests don't get in... we didn't even bother to try! Well, since we threw coins into Trevi... I guess we will be coming back!
6. So here we are at the Leaning Tower of Pisa... No this is NOT where Pizza's originated from. Its amazing to see such a HUGE building almost on the verge of falling down, just... hang here, almost in mid-air. Nothing smart-ass to write here, thought it would be nice to have a picture of both of us, just in case you wondered if the husband was even present on this trip!!
7. Then... off to Florence we go, where there are really-really old paintings and statues! Here we'll make an exception and show 2 picures. We gotta take look at the statue of Donatello, one of the great artists of Florence, standing dignified & stoically outside the world famous Uffizi Gallery where Bottichelli's Venus is stored. Too bad they named a ninja turtle after this dude... He must have been turning over in his grave, fuming with anger together with Michaelango, Ralphel, and Leonardo...Heroes in-a-half-shell! On a more picturesque note, here's a breathtaking shot of the Ponte Vechhio across the Arno river. They put really nice jewelry stores over the bridge with really nice shiny objects... and yes, we took a look at the stores.
8. Sunset at Venice... the other city of Romance. Except that there are no cars allowed, and you substitute scooters for speedboats... Here's a great shot as we arrived into Venice from the local public bus/boat. Over here the DHL and UPS boats are worst drivers than they were on land... and everything has to be boated in from the mainland, so prices for everything are pretty steep as well. But then again, romance in Venice is priceless, even if your bank account doesn't think so!
9. Yep, you can't put a price on romance, but you can sure take a picture of it! Here's our attempt a recreating a poster in our living room wall. Its of a couple kissing on the Riva (riverfront) in Venice, with gondolas in the background. Let us know if this picture is close enough to the poster the next time you guys visit!
10. Finally, what visit to Venice would be complete without a Gondola ride. Our Gondola dude was named "James Bond". He musta been really a secret agent, cos he took a lot of phone calls on his cell phone while he was boating us along, undoubtably classified information from his secret contacts... ;) Our favourite song that he sung was "so-lee mia... coka-cola... tiramisu...." you get the idea... I'm still amazed at his skill of taking a phone call with one hand while paddling along with another one... Must be a skill passed down from generation to generation! Here's a shot of the sauve dude hitting on my wife!
Happy New Year 2006 Everyone!!! Hope that everyone had a fun and safe celebration!!!
