Advertisement
Published: August 25th 2010
Edit Blog Post
After three weeks at home with my INCREDIBLE family and friends (thank you thank you... I love you dearly and couldn’t live without you!), the clouds had lifted a bit and it was time to head back. I am not sure if I was completely ready for it.... in fact, I know I wasn’t, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right. And, how could I give up Italy, France, Spain and Morocco, especially when its already mostly paid for? And duh, its Italy, France, Spain & Morocco... & kiting! Let’s not forget kiting! That would make me not only currently residing in a mud puddle, but a complete moron too, so I strapped on my power pack and my steel armor and headed back at it. I am going to vow at this moment to not discuss the recent storm for the rest of my journey. Even though aftershocks are evident, this is a travel blog most importantly, not a memoir.
Ok, so I landed in Rome with... you guessed it, another lovely case of jetlag. It always gets me when I head this way much worse than when I head home. But, with only a couple of days
in Rome, I refused to let that get me down. Rome was not built in a day and you definitely cannot see it in a day either. Or two days for that matter, but you can certainly try.
I checked into my hotel near Vatican City and promptly signed up for a 3 hour tour of the smallest country with the largest church. Yes, that’s right, if you didn’t know that Vatican City was its own country, you do now. Even being the smallest, I have no doubts that it’s also one of the grandest. Our tour guide, funny enough, was from Detroit! She has been living in Rome for over 10 years and knows every little detail, story, nook and cranny of this place. It was a little “information overload” and I could have used some tape for my eyelids at times, but with such remarkable architecture, art and faith filling my sight and ears, I couldn’t possibly be nothing but mesmerized by this experience. I learned more about Catholicism, Michelangelo, Raphael, every Pope, Saint, King, Queen, statue, fountain and brush stroke than I ever thought I wanted to know.... and it was wonderful. The shear beauty of the
Vatican Museum, The Cistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica was truly astounding. And, to be standing in there very place where Pope’s get elected and so much history has been made is something I will hold with me forever.
After a good night’s rest and a 6 am wake up time (a habit since heading back!), I set off for another day in sunny Rome. And, just when I thought the Vatican was enough, Rome gave me the Colosseum. I took a cheap tour that turned out to be way cooler than I expected and just the right amount of information. Or, maybe I was so blown away by what I was hearing about the Roman Empire that the information stuck in just the right places in my brain. Did you know that over 700,000 people were killed in the Colosseum purely for human entertainment? Or, that even though Gladiator fights were held from 80 AD to 479 AD (a very long time ago!), bones from the dead are still found in the sewers of Rome? Or that the holes in the Colosseum are from Romans trying to chisel out the internal metal structure for other uses, like weapons, during
the fall of the Roman Empire? I learned a multitude of other interesting facts, myths and legends about the rise and fall of the Empire and the start of Christianity in Rome, but I’ll save that for your next Social Studies class or your own trip to Rome and move on to Florence instead. There is much more to see in Rome than what I saw, so another trip is a must. But, I got a good taste of it, and that will do for now.
I was off to Florence that night with the intention of seeing Venice after that. Originally I was going to Corsica, France after Rome, but it looked like a bit too much work to get out to the island and figure out stay and transportation. I always wanted to see Florence and it was only a short 1.5 hour train ride away. I spent the day with two friendly British girls, Ailsa and Lucy, who were traveling Italy for a month and knew way more about art and poetry than me. It was perfect! I didn’t really have a plan for Florence and they seemed to have a great one, so latch on I
did. We toured museums, Dante’s House and the church where Michelangelo and Galileo now reside, or their tombs that is. About half way through the day, I got an email from my friend, Frank, from Holland (you know, Lancelin, Australia’s very own “Frank the Tank”)... he said, “Trisha, grab a boat and get your butt out here. We have a car and a tent and “somewhat” room for you, or we’ll make room. Just do it.”... or something along those lines. So, just like that, I had had enough of the museums and churches and I was on a ferry to France. Off to meet up with Frank and off to KITE! After about 3 weeks not kiting, I was soooo ready! Arrivederci Italy ! Bonjour France!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.105s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 12; qc: 63; dbt: 0.0594s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
durban accommodation
non-member comment
fun
Thanks for a great post, interesting and full of great pics. I enjoyed looking through this. Thanks for "taking me with you"!