ITALIA 07' ...the land famous for its ancient ruins, glamourous fashioon world, thin crusted pizzas, tasty lasagnes, and multi flavored gelatos...Truthfully speaking, I've always dream of a visit to Italy when i was a kid. I didn't really remember what exactly the object or incident that sparked my interest to probe this beautiful country...was it Julius Caesar in the Asterisk comics? Was it the red hot Ferrari Modena poster in my uncle's office? or was it Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator as the courageous General Maximus? Well, Russell Crowe?hell no.....Hah...wait a second, it's all coming back now....It was my uncle's WORLD CUP ITALIA 90' guide book...that's right....in the summer of 1990..yea man That's how ITALY was introduced into my world....As i browsed through the book, i was also fascinated by the magnificent stadium shots, and also there are a number of photos on the Italian daily life, football fanaticsm etc....and i got hooked up instantly.
Anyway , when i knew i have a chance to land my feet in Italy....i was damn excited eventhought the damn ticket caused me a bomb....Colloseum, pizzas, Inter were the first few things that rode my mind whenever i lingered about the trip...And so i flew there in the summer of 07' after i finished my job stint in Aberdeen..
I'm not going bored you all by telling how i find my accomodation where i did i go to have my cup of espresso and lame stuff like that...but i'd rather share some funny or rather weird incidents that i chanced upon during the trip itself...
The very first thing i learned upon my arrival in Rome Ciampioni is.....they, the Italians are not very friendly, especially those who work in the tourism sector(the Italians are well known for not being tourist friendly)
Yes u heard me........they are rude, fucking rude when dealing with tourists like me...maybe i'm a yellow skinned dude who doesn't utter a single word of Italian except 'Francesco Totti', Giorgio Armani and 'pepperoni pizza'....at the same time, most of the Italians are not very proficient in English language...so most of the conversations i had ended up in chicken and duck talk limbo type of thing...Fortunately, not all of them behaves that in that manner, there are some Italian hotties who are damn helpful when it comes to giving directions..
Their subway system quite 'cacat'....they only have 2 routes, Line A and line B..NOT really that cacat ler, but if you compared it with the Tube in London, then you will know what i mean....Looks like the great artistic skills from the Renaissance era has been passed down from one generation to another until today, as evident in the Metro trains....but as long as trains does its job, who cares, right?
Normally, when you visit about Rome, the first place that people will go to is the majestic Colloseo..if you don't know what OR where is Colloseo, chances are you haven't seen the movie Gladiator or you geographically needs to be improved..
One of the other tourist spots that are worth mentioning is "Fontana Di Trevi"which is located in the heart of the city...Fountain with sculptures of naked blokes spanking horses into hysterical state...Hehe...Beautiful...and romantism factor goes into full bloom especially at night....Some tips for you when visiting Fontana di Trevi;
- Never visit this place alone or with your guy friends. This is the ultimate honeymoon place for couples ONLY. Also, this is the 'place to be' if guys wanna score some valuable points.
- Remember to toss a coin over the shoulder. (with your back facing the fountain) People believe if you do that, you will surely come back to Rome again in the future.
- If you wanna take nice photos of the fountain, do it in the morning between 11am - 12am. Cause after that, the place will be crowded with throngs of people....Alternatively, you can pay those 'banglas' 5 euros to take a picture of you and the fountain with their lousy cameras. If you refuse, these assholes will do anything to prevent you from a taking a good shot of the fountain....(e.g. by standing in front of your camera, purposely walk past your camera during shooting and loads of other dog stunts which you don't want to know...
Enough rambling for today
