Galleries galore!




Holy moly, you want galleries full of wonderous things to see, and an education on the history of Rome, well this is your place to get it!


First was an old bath-house (pre-Christ) that was turned into a church by Michelangelo.



Eros at the Colosseum


Well a little bit of a treat... and it was in the shade, an exhibition on Eros. A little bit of pottery at the exhibition...... warning... adult themes again!!!

Colosseum







Boy this place was big! And lots of fighting in it, also a lot of animal cruelty, 9,000 animals were killed in the first year alone. They also they flooded every now and then to simulate sea battles! The place was built on the ground of Nero's lake, at his palace, which was drained. Subsequently after 500 years or so the place fell into disrepair and the materials of the Colosseum were plundered to build new places in Rome.




did I mention steps!!!!


Well, a bit of a weather update - its been bloody HOT! and we have gone up and down six of the seven hills of Rome.... what does that mean... a heap of steps!!!!! A HEAP!!!!! Mind you the buns are now very firm! Oh by the way, these steps were designed by Michelangelo to celebrate the end of the plague in Rome. There you go!




Ok, on to elephants in Rome...



A bit of a history lesson, Emperor Hadiran first brought elephants to Rome following a battle with someone (I forgot who). As a result they feature in some of the public works around the place. The Romans also stole a few obelisk's from Egypt. So here's a picture of both....

On the streets of Rome


There are a lot of beggar's and gypsies... with a large amount of people with physical difficulties and deformities. This one had a lot of people intrigued...

Vatican part III




And a few more shots from up top... cause it was a long and hot journey to get these so you have to see them!!

Vactican part II





Now the thing they dont really mention too much in the guide books is that Rome is FULL of steps. The Vatican City & St Peter's is no exception... OK, so technically Vatican City is a separate state! Anyway, the walk to the Cupola of St Peter's is 550 steps up and its HOT.

Just popped in to see the Pope...





Well Wednesday the Pope gives a bit of an audience if you're around in Rome. We were a little busy at the other end of his place in the museum. Oh boy, HUGE!


Patheon



Huge building in the middle of town. Another church with a hole in the roof!

The groovy pad...


Huge place (well for Rome)


Shots from the street. Nice part of town about 3min walk from Campo di Fiori.

Ahh, Rome....





Well we arrived in Rome. Its beautiful and warm...well hot. We have a little problem with the internet...its not on at the apartment...oh well.... so the posts will be a little slow as we have to use a non-secure service. Anyway... boy, have we been busy.




First day...Fountain of Trevi and Spanish Steps... and heaps of tourists.




Heathrow...

Just landed Heathrow, quick turnaround now, at least we get into the First Class Lounge. Next stop Rome...and the chaos begins! Oh its a lovely summer's day in London* bright, sunny, warm - NOT!

*sarcasm alert

Just landing in Singapore

Just a quick update... just landed in Singapore... and Paul just turned down an upgrade to 1st class so that we could sit together!!! What a honey! Boarding call now... later all

... and we are off...

... and we are off... and failed the first major hurdle... duty free... couldn't find anything we 'needed'!! Just saw an Antinov(sp) air cargo plane at the airport. I'll post a pic once I boot up the laptop. Its a big plane.

Oh, now I haven't told some of you where we are going... and I'm not going to.... you'll just have to see as we go. I will tell you we are going to seven countries though.

Okey dokey, enough for now.

Kings