Monday, May 31, 2004
Wednesday Night - Fat Freddy's Drop
Having been so disappointed by our first attempt to see Fat Freddy's it was good to have another chance on their way back home. This time the venue was Neighbourhood (which we had already been to to see Groove Armada).
If you have not heard Fat Freddy’s before they are a typical Wellington band in that you can't really categorise their music. They have a bassey backing track, tinkling keyboard's, funky guitar and jazzy sax, trumpet and trombone. They put on a very professional show although some of the members like sugar2tone (a.k.a. Toby Lang from The Black Seeds) looked very tired. You can't really blame them, they have been on a whirl wind tour of Europe and probably partied most nights too. The bar was nicely filled and the sound was great, Dallas' vocals are really amazing from soulful heartfelt melodies to fast raps. Lou did say that she thinks the songs were a little too long.
Thursday - Chelsea Flower Show
Lou here. I have always wanted to go to the Chelsea Flower Show and seeing as it was just down the road from where I work there was no stopping me. The show is an annual event where professional gardeners gather together to display the fruits of their labour and gardening enthusiasts come to be inspired.
The highlight was the 'Show gardens'. These where especially designed and constructed for the event and show off the best in gardening creativity. One of the most impressive ones was of course the NZ garden '100% Pure New Zealand Ora - Garden of Well Being'. It was the first entry for NZ and won a gold medal. I hope my photos turn out ok, then I can upload them to the photo gallery. The evening was lovely and balmy which made the session very pleasant. I didn't see Maggie Barry but was told that she was there filming for her garden show back home.
Saturday - Homelands
Homelands is a dance music festival remarkably similar to the Gathering in NZ. It goes from 1 pm Saturday to 6 am Sunday. The location is in the middle of rolling country side a short bus ride from Winchester (1 hour on the train from London). The main difference between Homelands and The Gathering is that it is much better organised. There were regular trains and buses throughout the day and most of the night. We arrived at about 6 pm. The forecast was for heavy rain through the weekend so when it started, as we entered the front gate, we were glad that we brought our rain coats and appalled at how many others hadn't. The rain stopped about 20 mins latter and it never returned!
There were many big acts we wanted to see and luckily their times were staggered. The festival is divided up into different areas - Live, House, Drum & bass, Hip-Hop, Cheesy house etc. So to see the acts you move around the different tents. The acts we saw were Groove Armada (DJ Set), DJ Hype (originally in the ganja crew), MC Tali (from NZ with Roni Size backing), Grand Master Flash (gave us a lesson in the History of Hip-Hop) and Faithless (the highlight of the night, the tent was absolutely packed!). By 1 am all the good acts had finished we got bored and tired by 2 am so investigated when the trains were leaving. The next one was 3:30 am. We arrived at waterloo station at 4:30 and walked through London at dawn, which was nice, to catch the night bus home.
(0) comments
Having been so disappointed by our first attempt to see Fat Freddy's it was good to have another chance on their way back home. This time the venue was Neighbourhood (which we had already been to to see Groove Armada).
If you have not heard Fat Freddy’s before they are a typical Wellington band in that you can't really categorise their music. They have a bassey backing track, tinkling keyboard's, funky guitar and jazzy sax, trumpet and trombone. They put on a very professional show although some of the members like sugar2tone (a.k.a. Toby Lang from The Black Seeds) looked very tired. You can't really blame them, they have been on a whirl wind tour of Europe and probably partied most nights too. The bar was nicely filled and the sound was great, Dallas' vocals are really amazing from soulful heartfelt melodies to fast raps. Lou did say that she thinks the songs were a little too long.
Thursday - Chelsea Flower Show
Lou here. I have always wanted to go to the Chelsea Flower Show and seeing as it was just down the road from where I work there was no stopping me. The show is an annual event where professional gardeners gather together to display the fruits of their labour and gardening enthusiasts come to be inspired.
The highlight was the 'Show gardens'. These where especially designed and constructed for the event and show off the best in gardening creativity. One of the most impressive ones was of course the NZ garden '100% Pure New Zealand Ora - Garden of Well Being'. It was the first entry for NZ and won a gold medal. I hope my photos turn out ok, then I can upload them to the photo gallery. The evening was lovely and balmy which made the session very pleasant. I didn't see Maggie Barry but was told that she was there filming for her garden show back home.
Saturday - Homelands
Homelands is a dance music festival remarkably similar to the Gathering in NZ. It goes from 1 pm Saturday to 6 am Sunday. The location is in the middle of rolling country side a short bus ride from Winchester (1 hour on the train from London). The main difference between Homelands and The Gathering is that it is much better organised. There were regular trains and buses throughout the day and most of the night. We arrived at about 6 pm. The forecast was for heavy rain through the weekend so when it started, as we entered the front gate, we were glad that we brought our rain coats and appalled at how many others hadn't. The rain stopped about 20 mins latter and it never returned!
There were many big acts we wanted to see and luckily their times were staggered. The festival is divided up into different areas - Live, House, Drum & bass, Hip-Hop, Cheesy house etc. So to see the acts you move around the different tents. The acts we saw were Groove Armada (DJ Set), DJ Hype (originally in the ganja crew), MC Tali (from NZ with Roni Size backing), Grand Master Flash (gave us a lesson in the History of Hip-Hop) and Faithless (the highlight of the night, the tent was absolutely packed!). By 1 am all the good acts had finished we got bored and tired by 2 am so investigated when the trains were leaving. The next one was 3:30 am. We arrived at waterloo station at 4:30 and walked through London at dawn, which was nice, to catch the night bus home.
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Monday, May 24, 2004
Oleanna
On the spur of the moment one Friday night we decided to go to the play Oleanna by David Mamet. Two Hollywood stars where performing the play, Aaron Eckhart (Sliding Doors) and Julia Stiles (Ten things I hate about you and State and Main). They took a little while to warm up, or was it that the audience took a little while to warm up to the style of the play, but things rapidly heated up and led to a shocking climax. The focus of the play is sexual politics on campus. Julia Styles played Carol, who at first appears like an earnest but confused young student but ends up as a manipulative, calculating, raging feminist. Aaron Eckhart played a university professor eager to gain tenure and free young minds. The play questions which is more important to him and reveals that he is just as conventional as the campus elite and therefore hypocritical. Interesting stuff. The dialogue style is at first challenging with the actors interrupting each other mid sentence, making the exchanges fast and stilted, but worked well in the end.
Museum of Gardening History
Whilst on a ‘Lambeth to the South Bank’ walk we came across the only Museum of Gardening History in the world. It is housed in an old church and had a lovely café. Outside is a fine example of a 17th century Knot garden. This is when the bones of the garden are little shrubs that intertwine like a Celtic design and flowers and other plants are planted inside the gaps. Very pretty but high maintenance I would imagine.
World Press exhibition
The above walk also took us along the South Bank arts complex. This area is where the Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre, National Film Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Hall are situated. The Globe Theatre is also close by. We have tickets to stand in the ‘yard’ for a performance of ‘Much ado about nothing’. I’m looking forward to seeing the famous tapestries. Theatres are almost as prevalent as pubs here. Well, that may be exaggerating, but the music hall tradition of the old days has evolved into a thriving concentration of theatres for musicals and plays, concert halls, opera houses and dance venues.
In the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall was the World Press exhibition. This is a display of the finalists and winners of the annual photojournalism awards and tours the world. We’ve seen the 2002 and 2003 versions back in Wellington but it is always an eye opener. The display is divided into different sections e.g. Sport, Environment and War. The war images are always shocking and make you feel very uncomfortable. But it is very important that people see these photographs as it gives a small insight into the plights of war torn countries and the poor public majority who suffer the consequences of the decisions of the ruthless and greed motivated minority. One picture that touched me was of the back of an old Chinese man who suffered from Aids as a result of selling pints of his own blood so that he could afford to pay for his children to go to school for one term. My eyes swell up with tears just thinking about it. The notion that a parent would do anything to better the life of their children is something I always associate with Chinese immigrant culture but is, of course, universal. We feel so fortunate that by fate we were born in a rich and beautiful country full of opportunities. It makes me look at the beggars on the streets here in London a little cynically.
BBC – Home of the World Service
Whilst on the same walk we passed the home of the BBC world service. The BBC is housed in many buildings in London and across the UK but we thought this building was kind of cool. Unfortunately we couldn’t go in but we checked out the shop which had all the great comedy and drama series on DVD and video for you to buy. Browsing the shelves you realise how much great work and entertainment comes out of the BBC. What a great institution, although we can only enjoy the radio side of it as we are still are enjoying a TV free lifestyle (o:
Borough Markets
Whilst on a little drinking and curry spree with Laurence he suggested we check out the Borough Markets near London Bridge. We went on a Saturday mid morning and enjoyed browsing around the many food stalls. We bought some Ostrich burgers for lunch. They were delicious but didn’t taste much different from a good quality meat pattie burger. Had to be tried though.
Hampton Court
This past weekend we went to Hampton Court palace. It was quite expensive to get in but pretty worthwhile. Unlike some other historic places we’ve been to so far in the world, you can really imagine what it was like to live there in its hey day. I guess this is because the Brits place a lot of importance and money on heritage and restore/maintain places of significance so well. We wandered around the King’s and Queen’s apartments and the beautiful gardens. The Tudor Kitchen’s (the most extensive surviving 16th century kitchens in Europe) were cool as there were people dressed up in the servant garb of the day, cooking and chatting away. As you walked around the palace you could almost hear the many servants rushing around tending to the residents’ every need.
Cricket at Lords
Yesterday we went to the hallowed cricket ground of Lords. We had to go early to sort out our tickets at a side gate and what do ya know the Kiwi team bus pulls up and the players piled out. I turned into a teenage school girl and got all excited, much to Joseph’s disapproval! Yes folks, those cricket dudes are quite delish up close. I wished them all well and took some paparazzi shots. I hope I didn’t jinx them as they didn’t perform very well. We lost the test match but will hopefully fair better in the next matches. It was great to be at the home of cricket. Unfortunately there were some dodgy old Brits sitting behind us who insisted on making rude comments about the Kiwi side at regular intervals. They were harmless really but it did get on my nerves so I shouted ‘Go Kiwis’ a lot and clapped and cheered madly when ever we scored runs. I walked past the member’s area which looked more like my style. The main clubhouse is a lovely historic building and the men have to wear suits and ties in the member’s stands. The tone was slightly lowered when two streakers invaded the pitch in quick succession. I believe the fine is £1,000. Another proud cricketing tradition, the Mexican Wave, did the rounds as well. The NZ version of the Balmy army, The Beige Brigade, was out in force. Although it would’ve been great if they all sat together and chanted ‘Give em a taste of Kiwi’ and other Kiwiana songs. We weren’t even allowed to display NZ flags. I’m not sure why. Bummer dude. Anyway, I enjoyed it as it is one of the rare times when you can publically display pride in your country….even if your side isn’t playing so well.
(0) comments
On the spur of the moment one Friday night we decided to go to the play Oleanna by David Mamet. Two Hollywood stars where performing the play, Aaron Eckhart (Sliding Doors) and Julia Stiles (Ten things I hate about you and State and Main). They took a little while to warm up, or was it that the audience took a little while to warm up to the style of the play, but things rapidly heated up and led to a shocking climax. The focus of the play is sexual politics on campus. Julia Styles played Carol, who at first appears like an earnest but confused young student but ends up as a manipulative, calculating, raging feminist. Aaron Eckhart played a university professor eager to gain tenure and free young minds. The play questions which is more important to him and reveals that he is just as conventional as the campus elite and therefore hypocritical. Interesting stuff. The dialogue style is at first challenging with the actors interrupting each other mid sentence, making the exchanges fast and stilted, but worked well in the end.
Museum of Gardening History
Whilst on a ‘Lambeth to the South Bank’ walk we came across the only Museum of Gardening History in the world. It is housed in an old church and had a lovely café. Outside is a fine example of a 17th century Knot garden. This is when the bones of the garden are little shrubs that intertwine like a Celtic design and flowers and other plants are planted inside the gaps. Very pretty but high maintenance I would imagine.
World Press exhibition
The above walk also took us along the South Bank arts complex. This area is where the Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre, National Film Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Hall are situated. The Globe Theatre is also close by. We have tickets to stand in the ‘yard’ for a performance of ‘Much ado about nothing’. I’m looking forward to seeing the famous tapestries. Theatres are almost as prevalent as pubs here. Well, that may be exaggerating, but the music hall tradition of the old days has evolved into a thriving concentration of theatres for musicals and plays, concert halls, opera houses and dance venues.
In the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall was the World Press exhibition. This is a display of the finalists and winners of the annual photojournalism awards and tours the world. We’ve seen the 2002 and 2003 versions back in Wellington but it is always an eye opener. The display is divided into different sections e.g. Sport, Environment and War. The war images are always shocking and make you feel very uncomfortable. But it is very important that people see these photographs as it gives a small insight into the plights of war torn countries and the poor public majority who suffer the consequences of the decisions of the ruthless and greed motivated minority. One picture that touched me was of the back of an old Chinese man who suffered from Aids as a result of selling pints of his own blood so that he could afford to pay for his children to go to school for one term. My eyes swell up with tears just thinking about it. The notion that a parent would do anything to better the life of their children is something I always associate with Chinese immigrant culture but is, of course, universal. We feel so fortunate that by fate we were born in a rich and beautiful country full of opportunities. It makes me look at the beggars on the streets here in London a little cynically.
BBC – Home of the World Service
Whilst on the same walk we passed the home of the BBC world service. The BBC is housed in many buildings in London and across the UK but we thought this building was kind of cool. Unfortunately we couldn’t go in but we checked out the shop which had all the great comedy and drama series on DVD and video for you to buy. Browsing the shelves you realise how much great work and entertainment comes out of the BBC. What a great institution, although we can only enjoy the radio side of it as we are still are enjoying a TV free lifestyle (o:
Borough Markets
Whilst on a little drinking and curry spree with Laurence he suggested we check out the Borough Markets near London Bridge. We went on a Saturday mid morning and enjoyed browsing around the many food stalls. We bought some Ostrich burgers for lunch. They were delicious but didn’t taste much different from a good quality meat pattie burger. Had to be tried though.
Hampton Court
This past weekend we went to Hampton Court palace. It was quite expensive to get in but pretty worthwhile. Unlike some other historic places we’ve been to so far in the world, you can really imagine what it was like to live there in its hey day. I guess this is because the Brits place a lot of importance and money on heritage and restore/maintain places of significance so well. We wandered around the King’s and Queen’s apartments and the beautiful gardens. The Tudor Kitchen’s (the most extensive surviving 16th century kitchens in Europe) were cool as there were people dressed up in the servant garb of the day, cooking and chatting away. As you walked around the palace you could almost hear the many servants rushing around tending to the residents’ every need.
Cricket at Lords
Yesterday we went to the hallowed cricket ground of Lords. We had to go early to sort out our tickets at a side gate and what do ya know the Kiwi team bus pulls up and the players piled out. I turned into a teenage school girl and got all excited, much to Joseph’s disapproval! Yes folks, those cricket dudes are quite delish up close. I wished them all well and took some paparazzi shots. I hope I didn’t jinx them as they didn’t perform very well. We lost the test match but will hopefully fair better in the next matches. It was great to be at the home of cricket. Unfortunately there were some dodgy old Brits sitting behind us who insisted on making rude comments about the Kiwi side at regular intervals. They were harmless really but it did get on my nerves so I shouted ‘Go Kiwis’ a lot and clapped and cheered madly when ever we scored runs. I walked past the member’s area which looked more like my style. The main clubhouse is a lovely historic building and the men have to wear suits and ties in the member’s stands. The tone was slightly lowered when two streakers invaded the pitch in quick succession. I believe the fine is £1,000. Another proud cricketing tradition, the Mexican Wave, did the rounds as well. The NZ version of the Balmy army, The Beige Brigade, was out in force. Although it would’ve been great if they all sat together and chanted ‘Give em a taste of Kiwi’ and other Kiwiana songs. We weren’t even allowed to display NZ flags. I’m not sure why. Bummer dude. Anyway, I enjoyed it as it is one of the rare times when you can publically display pride in your country….even if your side isn’t playing so well.
(0) comments
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Cancer research - Race for life
I did a little 5km run last night to raise money for Cancer research. It was one of 120 around the country. It was a lot of fun! Joseph came along to support and two other ladies from the office were participating as well.
The weather forecast threatened showers and thunder storms but luckily the skies cleared for us.
The atmosphere was great. At the beginning lots of ballons were let off and during the race we were encouraged by the race marshals and finally, serenaded by a groovy jazz band near to the finish line.
I did the run in a not to shabby 35 minutes and more importantly raised £70 through sponsorship. This should help the charity reach their £20,000,000 target.
(0) comments
I did a little 5km run last night to raise money for Cancer research. It was one of 120 around the country. It was a lot of fun! Joseph came along to support and two other ladies from the office were participating as well.
The weather forecast threatened showers and thunder storms but luckily the skies cleared for us.
The atmosphere was great. At the beginning lots of ballons were let off and during the race we were encouraged by the race marshals and finally, serenaded by a groovy jazz band near to the finish line.
I did the run in a not to shabby 35 minutes and more importantly raised £70 through sponsorship. This should help the charity reach their £20,000,000 target.
(0) comments
Monday, May 03, 2004
Rome Trip - Day 5
Today was Vatican day. We met up with our tour guide and other tour members at 10 am and headed for the line to go through the security check. This is the longest line I have ever seen. I must have been at least 600 - 700 metres long. Luckily it moved quite fast.
The Vatican is a separate country with its own postal service (much more efficient than the Italian one) and army (the 100 Swiss guards). The Papal art collection has about 14,000 pieces so we got the highlights such as the Raphael rooms, the map room, various statues, baths and sarcophogi. Of course the best part was the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica, truly over the top!
The guide gave us some interesting history of the Raphael, Michelangelo and the Popes. The popes behaved just like kings with their own states, armies, indiscretions and massive egos (every picture had at least one character with the face of the current pope).
Today was definitely the best day of the trip and a good way to round off our stay.
Today was Vatican day. We met up with our tour guide and other tour members at 10 am and headed for the line to go through the security check. This is the longest line I have ever seen. I must have been at least 600 - 700 metres long. Luckily it moved quite fast.
The Vatican is a separate country with its own postal service (much more efficient than the Italian one) and army (the 100 Swiss guards). The Papal art collection has about 14,000 pieces so we got the highlights such as the Raphael rooms, the map room, various statues, baths and sarcophogi. Of course the best part was the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica, truly over the top!
The guide gave us some interesting history of the Raphael, Michelangelo and the Popes. The popes behaved just like kings with their own states, armies, indiscretions and massive egos (every picture had at least one character with the face of the current pope).
Today was definitely the best day of the trip and a good way to round off our stay.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Rome Trip - Day 3
Today we had a plan to follow a route described by our guide book that would take us past statues, fountains, ruins, churches (of course) and the Pantheon. However we ended up wandering across the river and through Trastervere, a less touristy, more relaxed part of town. The hill behind Trastervere affords a great view of the city, you can see the domes of all the churches.
Later in the we visited the Castel San Angelo which was originally the mausoleum of Emperor Hardrian but was later converted into a fortress, then into a Papal residence complete with a passageway connecting it to the Vatican. It cost 1 Euro instead of 8 because it was May Day (bonus) but the dungeons were closed (bummer). We happened to bump into Lou's friend from work Rachelle and her boyfriend Robin. We dined with them then strolled passed the Coloseum (lit in lime) at night.
Italian food
In all other countries we have traveled we have found it hard to find good food (usually until the last night, where we find the perfect restaurant). I guess we are price conscious (i.e. tight) and don't eat chicken or pork so we are hard to please. We have had no such problem here. Meals are 8 euro or less and many Pizza and Pasta meals have no pork or chicken. Yay.
For lunch the Pizzarias sell Pizza by weight. You choose the size slice you want and they weigh it. there are gelaterias everywhere (Lou has had one everday).
Rome Trip - Day 4
After a late night we went straight to the Pantheon as it closed at 1. It wasn't too busy and entrance was free (we are on a roll). the Pantheon was a pagan temple, was later converted into a church and contains the tomb of Raphael. It has a simple circular shape and the dome has a hole in the top which lets in a stream of sunlight. The bronze from the roof was removed to be used in the Vatican which is a bit of a shame. the forcast was for rain so we had planned to spend the day at museums but as it was so nice we headed for the park to enjoy the sunshine and play some hacky. It was nice to get away from the crowds of tourists and amongst the locals.
Today we had a plan to follow a route described by our guide book that would take us past statues, fountains, ruins, churches (of course) and the Pantheon. However we ended up wandering across the river and through Trastervere, a less touristy, more relaxed part of town. The hill behind Trastervere affords a great view of the city, you can see the domes of all the churches.
Later in the we visited the Castel San Angelo which was originally the mausoleum of Emperor Hardrian but was later converted into a fortress, then into a Papal residence complete with a passageway connecting it to the Vatican. It cost 1 Euro instead of 8 because it was May Day (bonus) but the dungeons were closed (bummer). We happened to bump into Lou's friend from work Rachelle and her boyfriend Robin. We dined with them then strolled passed the Coloseum (lit in lime) at night.
Italian food
In all other countries we have traveled we have found it hard to find good food (usually until the last night, where we find the perfect restaurant). I guess we are price conscious (i.e. tight) and don't eat chicken or pork so we are hard to please. We have had no such problem here. Meals are 8 euro or less and many Pizza and Pasta meals have no pork or chicken. Yay.
For lunch the Pizzarias sell Pizza by weight. You choose the size slice you want and they weigh it. there are gelaterias everywhere (Lou has had one everday).
Rome Trip - Day 4
After a late night we went straight to the Pantheon as it closed at 1. It wasn't too busy and entrance was free (we are on a roll). the Pantheon was a pagan temple, was later converted into a church and contains the tomb of Raphael. It has a simple circular shape and the dome has a hole in the top which lets in a stream of sunlight. The bronze from the roof was removed to be used in the Vatican which is a bit of a shame. the forcast was for rain so we had planned to spend the day at museums but as it was so nice we headed for the park to enjoy the sunshine and play some hacky. It was nice to get away from the crowds of tourists and amongst the locals.
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Rome trip - Day 2
OK, Buon giorno all. I'm feeling a little more refreshed this morning! The thing about these short trips is that by the time you get to know your way around it's time to leave. We are still at the preliminary stages of Rome orientation.
We are also getting a little bit of 'Big City Fatigue' (refer to earlier posts about Big Church Fatigue as well). Rome is another city with magnificent buildings, monuments and churchs. Our next trip is going to be to a smaller place where we can relax and enjoy the environment more, i.e. not have to worry about getting to all the sites so that we can tick them off in our 'Sites to see' list. (don't worry, we don't actually have a list like this!).
Having said this we are enjoying Rome. Yesterday we went to the coliseum and the Forum area. We were lucky enough to latch onto a free tour at the Forum ruins. This was a bonus as we felt a little out of our depth with regard to ancient Roman history. Sure, we've heard of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Brutus et al but I forget what happens to whom.
Rewind....
The coliseum
Forgive any mistakes I make as I'm attempting to document this with out my guide book at hand. The coliseum is where the Gladitorial fights took place. When it opened for business the Emperor Augustus held a festival for 100 days to celebrate. In that time 2000 gladiators (mostly slaves) and 900 animals perished. Not my idea of celebrating! So basically the coliseum represents death and torture for sport (Joseph's gloomy words). I must say that I had a nasty taste in my mouth whilst imagining how the slaves must have felt. You can see the corridors and cells under the arena floor where the unlucky ones would have waited for their moment of glory and ultimately death. Eeesh.
The structure was only a shell. We are quite lucky as the Romans built their structures with bricks then covered them with a marble veneer. The marble has since been quarried however it means that the brick structures still remain for us to see. Apparently the Romans got the marble idea from the Greeks. The Greeks built the whole of their structures in marble and that's why there is not much in the way of ancient ruins there.
The Roman Forum
The Forum complex was where all the business of ancient Rome took place. Yes, that's right, all the backstabbing and power struggles. As mentioned before we caught a free tour so learnt a little more about those times.
We saw the final resting place of Julius Caesar. Apparently the Senate never wanted one person in power so initially they had two people (plus the Senate underneath them). However Caesar was very ambitious and wanted all the power for himself. The Senate sent him out to what they thought was certain death. This was to fight the Gauls (in what is now France). The Gauls had never been defeated before. However Caesar conquered and formed his own army with which he marched back to Rome and took over. The Senate dudes weren't too happy about this and invited him to a meeting where they promptly stabbed him in the back. The people went up in arms and made Caesar a demi god. So he got what he wanted in the end!
Other highlights in the area is the place where the eternal flame was kept. The Vestal Virgins looked after this important symbol and lived a life of luxury in exchange for their celibacy for 30 years. There is also the spot where Mark Antony gave his famous speech "Friends, Romans,Country men, lend me your ears...."
Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain and more churches
We stumbled upon the Spanish steps whilst walking down the main shopping street. Also the Trevi Fountain was in that area. It was very grand. We didn't throw a coin into the fountain to ensure our return as we are not sure if we will have time to return. Rome (and the Vatican) is the home of Catholicism and so it has many beautiful churchs. One has a chapel designed by Raphael. It was very beautiful. It's great to see great art in the places they were created for...not out of context in some art gallery.
Off to see more stuff now.
(0) comments
OK, Buon giorno all. I'm feeling a little more refreshed this morning! The thing about these short trips is that by the time you get to know your way around it's time to leave. We are still at the preliminary stages of Rome orientation.
We are also getting a little bit of 'Big City Fatigue' (refer to earlier posts about Big Church Fatigue as well). Rome is another city with magnificent buildings, monuments and churchs. Our next trip is going to be to a smaller place where we can relax and enjoy the environment more, i.e. not have to worry about getting to all the sites so that we can tick them off in our 'Sites to see' list. (don't worry, we don't actually have a list like this!).
Having said this we are enjoying Rome. Yesterday we went to the coliseum and the Forum area. We were lucky enough to latch onto a free tour at the Forum ruins. This was a bonus as we felt a little out of our depth with regard to ancient Roman history. Sure, we've heard of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Brutus et al but I forget what happens to whom.
Rewind....
The coliseum
Forgive any mistakes I make as I'm attempting to document this with out my guide book at hand. The coliseum is where the Gladitorial fights took place. When it opened for business the Emperor Augustus held a festival for 100 days to celebrate. In that time 2000 gladiators (mostly slaves) and 900 animals perished. Not my idea of celebrating! So basically the coliseum represents death and torture for sport (Joseph's gloomy words). I must say that I had a nasty taste in my mouth whilst imagining how the slaves must have felt. You can see the corridors and cells under the arena floor where the unlucky ones would have waited for their moment of glory and ultimately death. Eeesh.
The structure was only a shell. We are quite lucky as the Romans built their structures with bricks then covered them with a marble veneer. The marble has since been quarried however it means that the brick structures still remain for us to see. Apparently the Romans got the marble idea from the Greeks. The Greeks built the whole of their structures in marble and that's why there is not much in the way of ancient ruins there.
The Roman Forum
The Forum complex was where all the business of ancient Rome took place. Yes, that's right, all the backstabbing and power struggles. As mentioned before we caught a free tour so learnt a little more about those times.
We saw the final resting place of Julius Caesar. Apparently the Senate never wanted one person in power so initially they had two people (plus the Senate underneath them). However Caesar was very ambitious and wanted all the power for himself. The Senate sent him out to what they thought was certain death. This was to fight the Gauls (in what is now France). The Gauls had never been defeated before. However Caesar conquered and formed his own army with which he marched back to Rome and took over. The Senate dudes weren't too happy about this and invited him to a meeting where they promptly stabbed him in the back. The people went up in arms and made Caesar a demi god. So he got what he wanted in the end!
Other highlights in the area is the place where the eternal flame was kept. The Vestal Virgins looked after this important symbol and lived a life of luxury in exchange for their celibacy for 30 years. There is also the spot where Mark Antony gave his famous speech "Friends, Romans,Country men, lend me your ears...."
Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain and more churches
We stumbled upon the Spanish steps whilst walking down the main shopping street. Also the Trevi Fountain was in that area. It was very grand. We didn't throw a coin into the fountain to ensure our return as we are not sure if we will have time to return. Rome (and the Vatican) is the home of Catholicism and so it has many beautiful churchs. One has a chapel designed by Raphael. It was very beautiful. It's great to see great art in the places they were created for...not out of context in some art gallery.
Off to see more stuff now.
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