MY JOURNEY - ROME

[Kiya]

A very early start for us on Monday 20th leaving home at 2 AM, thankfully the weather was still & quiet & the road to Dyce airport Aberdeen was not busy.

We arrived at airport around 3 AM & soon we were free from our heavier cases at check in, we wondered the airport to see if any where was open for a coffee but, unlucky for us no where was yet open but, we still managed to have a ciggy or two.

Time passed quickly & we were boarding the plane, really excited at this time, we made our way to reserved seats & pleasantly surprised how roomy seats are & plenty of leg room.

My brother David already had his kindle open while I'm busy looking around & keep an eye outside for movement of plane, we were sitting right at the wing & could also see engine.
Once everyone boarded & seated, belts checked we were on the move..............first photo plane moving out


Taxing down runway


I love it at this time listening to the roar of the engines & take off, because we were seated at row 11 quite near the front I passed a remark to David " at least we'll be airborne before the folks behind us " it took him a moment to think what I was saying.

So far into the journey & a beautiful sunrise was appearing above the clouds


The plane seemed to take a sharp turn & my stomach was left behind


After a 2 HR flight we were touching down at Franfurt airport, no worries of collecting cases here, we wouldn't see them again till reaching Rome.

This was the boring part of a 3HR 40min layover, the airport is huge all modern, plenty shops, cafes etc very clean with very clean toilets...........more than what I can say for back home at Dyce.

Time passed quickly when you get into conversation with fellow passengers & soon heading to the gate, I managed to get a few photos of part of Franfurt & our plane


Close up of our plane, if you look closely you will see the pilot


To be continued............

[LovelyLadyLux]

Lovely sun-scape shot Kiya! Get well soon ....... Waiting to hear the next installment!

[Grandad]

Well, that's a start Kiya.....but don't tease us.....looking forward to Rome.

I also like the sunrise picture, above the clouds I always feel as if you could just walk out on them.

A bit worried about picture #6......I wouldn't travel on an aircraft with only one engine. Only joking.......

[Ruby Slippers]

Great stuff, Kiya! Encore - as soon as you feel like it!

[Kiya]

Arriving at Rome (FCO) Leonardo da Vinci airport at 2PM on time, we collected cases & headed for arrivals , there to meet us with my name on a board easy to spot we met out taxi driver, taxi I booked from home to take us to hotel & for returning to airport on departure day, after introduction he took care of my heavy case, poor David was left to fend for himself. We came to our taxi a lovely black Marcedes shining under the sun, very clean inside & out. About 25mins later we arrive at the Rome Cavalieri Hotel way up in the hill overlooking Rome city & Vatican.


We were greeted by the door men & at reception & soon in the lift taking us to the fourth floor, once in room & dumping cases we were ready for a strong coffee & ciggy, thank goodness we're allowed to smoke out on the balcony.
After having a good look around & freshened up we were ready to crash out.

Tuesday 21st...... Having a late breakfast we are ready for visiting the Colleseum, we take the free shuttle bus from hotel that takes us down to Piazza Barberini (the main square Rome central) from here you can get to most visiting sites.
We decided to use the metro underground, OMG! never in my life have I been in a metro before, so many people rushing here & there, we were totally lost & by chance over heard an English couple heading also for the Colleseum, getting into conversation with them the man offered us to tag along with them.
At our stop we parted ways from the English couple & we headed out of metro & there before us the Colleseum, we were a little early so had a coffee at one of the cafes then crossed over to the pre paid ticket office to pick up entrance tickets, the ques for folks not booking tickets before hand was very very long so we was able to by pass them, from here we were directed to a spot where we met our tour leader & the rest of our group about 15 of us altg.
We were led into level ground to start , then underground, then up to the third tier looking down on the inside of Colleseum, also some old building's surrounding the Colleseum on the outside.

From outside



Entrance to the main floor, the stonework in the fore front of photos etc is where the floor rested upon & all main activity happened


Now we are underground


Now up on the third tier looking down & outside at surrounding old buildings








It was truly amazing!!!!

This day is not over yet..........To be continued.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Absolutely FANTASTIC photos Kiya! Terrific!!

Can you just imagine living in those times? Those photos really bring on the imagination of wondering what it would have been like way back when to have walked those halls and tunnels. They definitely look quite dark and forbidding. Add to that all the sounds, smells and crush of people and animals...........ewwwww the imagination is now into overdrive but the Colleseum is/was definitely some place!

Can you imagine the man who designed it and all the workers who put their blood, sweat and tears into making it?

Wonderful photos Kiya!

[Grandad]

What an incredible piece of Roman history.

Your pictures bring the whole thing to life Kiya I could hear the roar of the crowd as one gladiator slayed another, or a lion grabbed a mans head.......very atmospheric. That's a big 'Thumbs Up' in Roman fashion from me.

But from the ancient to the modern, I am a people snapper and I also like your snap of the men in the first picture....that picture says a lot to me. Another thumbs up

[Horus]

Jealous, Jealous, green with envy, even with your bad incident you are a lucky, lucky girl
Great photo's and they show off the place really well, all it takes is a bit of imagination to put yourself back into the shoes of all those many thousands who suffered and died there for the entertainment of others, it really makes you think what a barbaric world it was at that time. I remember seeing a programme and it showed a tunnel not unlike the one in you pictures that they had recently excavated and it led many streets away from the arena, the boffins said that they thought it was used to drag away all the dead and maimed people and animals from the arena area above without having to pass the spectators. A novel bit of info was that all the dead animals were later sold off as meat to anyone wanting to buy it!

[Kiya]

Horus you are right, if you look at the 9 photos of the Underground photos, photos left-right 7th & 9th..... if you were dead this passage is the way out for you.

[Kiya]

Once the tour guide had finished you were free to wonder about yourself but, once outside the Colleseum there is no getting back in unless you bought more tickets.
We crossed over to one of the cafes & had some light lunch & coffee before hiring a taxi to take us to Roma Termini (Rome main train station ) I believe it's the 2nd biggest railway station in Europe.
We didn't have far to go & we arrived at Piazza dei Cinquecento where the station is located.
Because we had the afternoon free I wanted to have a good look around the station to find our bearings for the next day train travel, next day was a very early start so wanted to be prepared.


At the square there are many little stalls selling souvenirs, food stuff, clothes etc etc etc, we didn't bother here & headed back to Piazza Barberini, from here we asked directions for the Trivi Fountain & headed down a side street with many little shops, you must check all the side street shops to get your souvenirs & such like much cheaper.


Finally we arrived & as you see on the link I gave you all for the "live web cam" you follow the crowd in an orderly fashion along the path. As you see in photos it's covered in scaffolding which made it difficult to get good photos.
There is a sign saying not to throw coins but, most folk did it anyway & so did we (either for "good luck" or a "return journey" normally the coins would be under water.


On the way back to the Piazza we had to stop & have some ice-cream, I took a mixture of flavours....it was delicious & creamy .

Back at the Piazza we had a seat at the Triton Fountain, some folks were having a drink but, I let this one go by, I believe it's fresh water.

I found online since coming home some info on the Triton which explains its history far better than I could.

Up above there was helicopters flying around , it must have been a great view of the city from that height. I've no info about the choppers but, I do know they are for tourists.


Finally we head to the opposite side of the Piazza to catch the shuttle bus back to our hotel, lots of walking done, feet aching & need of a well earned rest.

[Kiya]

Forgot to add info on the Trion Fountain.........

Started and completed in late 1642 and the first half of 1643, the Triton Fountain in Piazza Barberini is a masterpiece of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).
Author: Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Date: 1642-1643
Materials: travertine
Supply original Aqueduct Happy
The artist was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII Barberini (1623-1644) the completion of the work as "public ornament of the town" in the middle of the square is dominated by the new palace of his family.
Represented on the valves of a huge shell, upright and scaly legs of a sea monster, the Triton rises steeply with her head tilted back in an effort to blow the large whelk (conch or tortile) supporting arms raised upward and which emits copious water that irrigates the entire work. Expression of the new Baroque conception of space, in the sculptural fountain includes and absorbs completely the same architectural structure: the shell on which the newt is in fact the upper basin of the fountain, and the banister at the bottom is replaced by four dolphins with intertwined tails , among which are placed the papal coat of arms with bees, the heraldic symbol of the Barberini family.
At the same Bernini, you must also design a fountain for the use of passers-placed source in the square in the corner of the Via Sistina, known as the Fountain of the Bees (now on the beginning of Via Veneto).
The Triton Fountain has recently undergone several restorations. The first, built in 1987-1988, was followed by the extraordinary interventions of 1990, with subsequent maintenance of 1991-1992 and 1998.

To be continued.........

[LovelyLadyLux]

Fascinating stuff! The buildings, fountains, sculpture are fascinating and the history is actually so very real. Love it all!

I do have a question ....... on some of the buildings as in your photos there is the head of an angel, wings etc. What I want to know is how in the olden days did they get the head up there? Did they sculpt it in place on the building? or did they sculpt it on the ground and then somehow move it UP there and how did they affix it?

Super interesting Kiya! The Colleseum was terrific.........waiting for more

[Grandad]

LLL asked: did they sculpt it on the ground and then somehow move it UP there and how did they affix it?

That is an interesting point LLL, particularly with respect to this picture.
http://www.egypt4u.com/forum/gallery/im ... ge_id=5394 (sorry, don't know how to insert others pictures )

But I must say the camera was working really well Kiya until the mishap. More really good pictures, and I see brother David getting in a few but where are you???

A question: It is many years since we went to Italy and then we didn't get to Rome. We are told that Italy is very expensive; can you give us some examples of costs, an ice cream, a coffee, a short taxi ride, Colosseum tickets; for example.

[LovelyLadyLux]

@ Grandad - that was exactly the photo & sculpture I was talking about. HOW did they get it UP there? I understand all the fancy stone work etc. and I understand some sculptures that have been placed sitting ON something but some of the sculptures seem to be hanging in space! Remarkable given the times they were made in. Equally remarkable they've lasted this long too.

I'd love to know the prices of things in Italy too. How much is a cup of coffee? AND did the waiters want Baksheesh?

Seeing Kiya's photos has made me think - I have an American cousin, former JAG (attorney in the US Military) who has retired to his "villa" in Italy. He absolutely loves living in Italy and only forces himself 'home' to California (Hollywood no less) every few years. Need to think about going to visit him ........ His mom and my grandmother were sisters. When we came to Canada his mom went south (and married) into the USA.

[Kiya]

LLL sorry cant help you with your question above, I'm sure if you did a google you would find more info.

Grandad I only snapped David more or less when he wasn't looking my way or I prepared camera & gave him a shout to turn round then snap, as you see with his photos the frown on his face, he hates having photos taken.
As for me your kidding! with the mosquito bites & face swollen like I'd been 6 rounds with Mohammed Ali.......no way!!

Since David was paying for everything from Weds morning I tried to remember getting the receit's from anything he paid, cafes, souvenirs etc.

To give you an idea of cafe price down town Rome for 2 baguettes, 1 cappuccino & half beer total bill was 29 euros, the cappuccino was 5 euros & any other cafes varied in prices upwards.

If I remember rightly the ice-cream was around 8 euros but I did have a mixture of flavours.

With the local white taxis at ranks I thought were reasonably priced but, what you have to remember here "do not" accept a taxi where the driver gives you a price before your even in the taxi, by law they are all on the meter, an example taking us from Piazza Barberini (down town Rome) to our hotel about 25 mins away was around 13 euros.
Coming back from Vatican-hotel....10.50 euros, 2 drivers at the Vatican tried to rip us off but he was soon told where to go by me........thats another story.

For the Colleseum I booked online at home, a pre-booking fee 2 euros, entrance 12 euros & tour guide 9 euros, a total price for 2 adults 46 euros..........and the metro taking you to Colleseum from down town Rome 1.50 euros each.

An example of train price, I booked online our day to Pompei using 2 trains....from Roma Termini-Napoli Centrale (Rome-Naples) from Rome the best to book is with http://www.trenitalia.com/ there is 3 types of train, for Naples I chose the IC.....Intercity which took 2 hrs with scenic view, they have carriages of 6 seats & comfortable, we had carriage to ourselves.

For any of these trains you can book online up to 60 days before date of travel, the sooner you book the better getting the much cheaper fair, I got ours for only 9 euros each both ways....total 36 euros.
The train taking us to Pompei, as said before more like metro with 19 stops (terrible) was I think 1.50 euros each, the final stop for this train is Sorrento.

For the Vatican I also did on line, a pre-sales fee 4 euros each & full price ticket 16 euros...total for 2 adults 40 euros.

For anyone thinking of going book as much as you can online & skip the long ques which can be anything 2-3 hrs.

I'm not looking at any photos today just feel really lousy so bear with me folks.

[Grandad]

I must have missed this post Kiya until now. Thanks for your response, it is always interesting to me to have some idea of costs country to country.

What you have said is much as I expected. Daily essentials and treats like snacks, refreshments and ice cream are on the pricey side but that is to be expected and just taking advantage of tourists. Much cheaper around the corner where the locals go I expect. Taxis sound fair and probably much cheaper than London or Paris. Like most cities, public transport is usually cheapest way to travel (except London where the underground is grossly overpriced IMO).

Hope you will soon be able to sort some more pictures for us. I have enjoyed your notes and all pictures that you have posted so far. Thank you

[bigken]

Lovely pictures Kiya from a lovely place, I'm with Horus Jealous, I'm sure I've mentioned and even posted before but i had the pleasure of going to Rome back in 2009 for the Champions League Final . Sorry to say it was only for a day, but the sun was out, topped with a alcohol ban , so we set of on FOOT to have a walkabout ( are intention was to see the Colosseum ).
Our travels took to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Altare della Patria, through an area called Argentina, the Pantheon until finally we found The Colosseum


Spanish Steps



Trevi Fountain


Altare della Patria


Argentina


Pantheon


AT LAST






By the time i'd got to the airport after the game i had blisters on my blisters but it was well worth it, had they not banned alcohol we wouldn't have seen anything, but i feel that i have definitely got some unfinished business in Rome

[Grandad]

I remember your pictures BK

I believe you have just been to Luxor. How about giving us your honest up to date impressions of Luxor today. We have not been this year, first time missed in nearly 20 years.

We always stay at the Steigenberger, where do you stay, and how are things in general in Luxor right now?

[Kiya]

Hi folks, I'm back not a 100% but feeling a lot better than I was, I'm not sure where the last few days have gone, been so drugged up & sleeping off/on & lost 10lbs in weight , must start eating again & build my strength up.

I recognise all your pics BK, when we were there 20th-27th I think it was on the Tuesday 21st there was a big game with Roma & ????...........Roma lost to 7 - 1......I wondered why there wasn't any street parties following the match

Anyways hopefully get back with some more photos today for you all

[Kiya]

Wednesday 22nd.........A very early start at 5am, after breakfast we headed out & decided to take one of the local taxis from the rank just outside the hotel grounds, it takes around 20mins from hotel to Roma Termini, not too busy on the roads this early in the morning but, the termini was busy as ever, thankfully the day before we had a good look around & knew we had to head underground for the Intercity train to Naples at 07.26am.
I had booked the train from home & reserved seats so with no more ado when train arrived we headed for our coach & seats with printout in hand, all we had to do was get comfortable & wait for staff to come along & check PNR code on printout.
We were soon on our way & settled back to enjoy the scenic route taking 2hrs to Naples, the carriage was very comfortable each having 6 seats, we had the carriage to ourselves.
It was on this journey we found the bottle of water in David's holdall leaking & my camera dripping wet , all we could do was wait & see if it worked at Pompei.
Arriving at Naples & heading once more to underground to catch train to Pompei, as long as I saw train arrive showing "Sorrento" above engine we had it right.
This was a nightmare from start to finish standing all the way with 19 stops before reaching Pompei. I'm not going into detail again as you all know what happened here.
After dealing with the Pompei police we headed for the site, camera in hand & only 3-4 photos then disaster struck with camera so no more ado than to pack it away.
Both of us already deflated we entered the site, it was a case of take your pick which way to head off, we sort of just followed the crowds, here you have to be very wary on your feet with very uneven slabs, cobbles, sometimes watching more down for safety rather than up & around.
It is as you imagine 2000 years before a busy little town with many streets, shops, houses etc, we came across an open warehouse that was locked up but you could see in to a vast collection of what looked like wine jars, food containers etc & standing on the middle of floor on shelves the remains of some bodies covered with the volcanic ash, at this time we're not sure if these were the real thing or plaster casts, even so it enters your mind the tragedy , suffering & pain these people went through, it really is heart wrenching.
After walking up & down round & round many streets the weather started to close in with dark clouds looming over us & wind became fairly high with what felt like a light drizzle of rain, we had enough & wondered back to the cafe for a nice hot cappuccinno .
We already had tickets for returning to Naples that can be used anytime that day but, you have to remember to validate them in the machines at the platform otherwise they will not be accepted, the thought of doing this part of the journey again was nightmarish but the sooner it was over the better.
We arrived back at Napoli Termini far too early for our train back to Rome, however having a good look around at the termini & a bite to eat we ventured outside & had a walk about some of the streets nearby, what a shock to the system compared to Rome the streets were filthy with litter everywhere, overflowing garbage buckets, numerous empty beer bottles everywhere, beggars coming at you, poeple young & old asking for cigarettes, obvious drug users laying about.....it was disgusting!! not a good first impression on arriving at Naples, but, I'm sure further afield Naples has some beautiful areas.
Leaving Napoli Termini at 6.30pm arriving at Rome 8.30pm it was good to be back here & jump in the nearest taxi to take us back to the hotel to a long awaited soak in a hot bath, it had been a long very exhausted tiring day, a good sleep was welcome.
Sorry folks I have no photos worth seeing of Pompei....