Rome Arrival

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Hi all,

Well arrived in Rome yesterday and having a lovely time. Luck for us we found the energy after a late night in Turkey to go out and view the Colusseum and Palentine Hill yesterday afternoon. Those who have been there will know that you just look everwhere and there is history just lying in the grass and what do and what do you not bother to photograph. I took the photograph everthing option and delete later.

We had a great guide - ten euro each including the ticket and entry past the hourdes into both sites. Thinking of doing something similar with the garden at home on my return - menhirs are the new black.

I won't try to describe it all here as I won't do it justice. Just an amazing experience to be standing where so much history occurred. Interesting fact that got Lachie and I - being boys - is that over the period of a 100 days to celebrate an Emperor they had games there and 200 gladiators were killed and 12,000 animals used in the wild hunting scenes. Gladiators blood was drained from their wounds after death by the slaves and then sold to the crowds in small bottles so they themselves could drink it. Back then they believed a persons strength came from his blood.

Before leaving Istanbul, we took a chance to visit a Turkish Bath House - our guide put us on to what he called a real one - not a tourist one.

Well got heated up lying across this ancient (12th century) marble area and then this guy built like a wrestler came in and seemed to have taken an instant dislike to me, for what I do not know.

Using a cloth similar to a loofer and having been soaped up, he rubbed me raw all over my body. Then the "massage" started. To appreciate that - grab a tennis shoe and wet it and soap it all over. Now get the back heal of the tennis shoe and ram it with all your might down inside the toe of the shoe so it is bent into itself. Now slowly and deliberately contort the shoe in a twisting motion until the water - or in the case of a human - the air is expelled out of it with great force.

Now just to confirm that no law suit is coming your way - ask the tennis shoe if it liked the massage and tell it that a tip is expected.

Spoke to a couple of American ladies who had just been through the same thing and they said they had a woman, built like a russian weightlifter, they said she appeared to be trying to insert their own heads up their vagina's.

It is rainly heavily in Rome today and we have put some washing in to be done. Hotel Corot, like most others is very well located right across from the Rome Termini and a walk downhill to most attractions. We had hoped to get to the Vatican today but it is all closed off as they are making a few people into Saints or something similar. I am of course back in Rome with my cousin Melissa at the end of July, so have three days to get and have a look at it. Have arranged for the same tour guide from yesterday to do this for 30 Euro each - pretty good price for all that history and other wise you walk around aimlessly wondering what you are looking at.

Having been taking heaps and heaps of photos - over 300 in a week - which does not include those I have reviewed at night and deleted because they were not good or could not figure out what I was thinking at the time.

It is nice to be getting a chance to use my limited Italian from my course to confuse the Italians - Lachie is still preferring the pictionary method.

Well will sign off now as it is getting unbearably muggy in this underground internet room.

Ciao

Paul

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