Round-the-World

aprile - luglio 2016
Un’avventura di 104 giorni di Aaron and Flora Leggi altro
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  • Giorno 20

    Pantheon, Trevi Fountain

    3 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    On the way home from the Vatican City, we chanced upon the Pantheon. Rome is a bit like that. You think you’re just walking around a corner and then BAM!! You look up and your eyes get assaulted (in a good way) by some beautiful architecture bursting with history. We decided to rest our weary feet and sat on the steps facing the Pantheon. We soaked in its beauty from the outside whilst listening to a busker playing the guitar. It was the perfect way to wind down after a whole day of being on our feet.

    The Pantheon has the biggest brick dome in the history of architecture. It was originally built in 25 BC and dedicated to all the Roman gods. These days, it is used as a church. We got in just in time before the Pantheon was closed for the day.

    As we made our way to dinner, we were stopped in our tracks yet again. The Trevi Fountain. The Romans didn’t like to do things in small scales – this fountain is humongous! Following tradition, Flora threw a coin over her shoulder into the fountain. Apparently this means that she will definitely return to Rome. She awaits that day with great anticipation. Rome has been a real marvel.
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  • Giorno 21

    Viv's Birthday & Public Transport

    4 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We stayed in for most of today, only venturing out for Viv’s birthday dinner in the city. We had dinner at a beautiful Italian restaurant where Kez claimed to have had the best lasagne in her life. Big call, Kez!! Flora hasn't been in Melbourne for Viv's birthday in the past 10 years but when she is around, they do it in style, in Rome!!

    Warning: Rant to follow.

    Driving in Italy is crazy but taking public transport isn’t without its own perils. It takes 45 minutes to travel just over 5km to the city centre by bus. The entire time is spent being packed like sardines. Upon realising that the bus is too full to get on, passengers at the next stop jump on anyway and force the occupants to shuffle along millimetres at a time.

    The bus does not move, naturally, because its doors cannot shut. We wait. The bus driver doesn’t say a thing. The doors stay open. ARGH!!! The worst part of this is, we took the bus at all hours of the day – early-ish morning, late morning, early afternoon, early evening and late evening – still packed! Never again. I thought commuting in peak hour in Melbourne was bad.

    Rant over. I still love you, Rome!
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  • Giorno 22

    Catacombs of St Callixtus

    5 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We checked out of our beautiful apartment in the late morning. We were so reluctant to leave! We know that getting accommodation on AirBnB is a gamble – sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We struck gold on this one. I wonder when our next pot of gold will be.

    We stopped by at the Catacombs of St Callixtus just outside of Rome on the way to the Amalfi Coast. This place is just fascinating. It served as Christian cemetery from around the middle of the 2nd century AD. Up until mid to late 3rd century AD, Christianity was illegal. People who were caught or suspected of practising Christianity were killed. Feeding Christians to the lions were seen as entertainment in ancient Rome.

    Christians were mostly slaves with no money to buy proper land for burial. This is how the catacombs came about. Bodies were wrapped in linen, placed in small rectangular cavities dug into the earth, and sealed with a stone slab bearing inscriptions of name, age and date of death. As more people died, they dug deeper into the ground, hence, the tombs at the top are the oldest, and the tombs at the lowest level are the newest.

    This catacomb was particular important as it housed the bodies of 16 popes, and St Cecilia. A statue of the latter in her buried position is displayed in the catacomb. Most of them were murdered for their faith. We weren’t allowed to take photos in the catacomb as a sign of respect for the dead.

    This is a must see if you ever get the chance.
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  • Giorno 23

    Pompeii Part I

    6 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Warning: Long post ahead!

    This is the highlight of the trip so far, according to Flora. She is a lover of ancient history, especially ones of archaeological nature. We got a tour guide to show us around after numerous advice from people that have visited before. A very wise decision indeed.

    First established in 6-7th century BC, Pompeii was engulfed in a thick layer of ash and lava when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Pompeii was downwind of the eruption and bore the brunt of the first phase of the eruption. However, what survived the onslaught of debris was preserved very well. We started in the auditoriums in which the Pompeiians would have enjoyed a day of entertainment. Much of the stone seats were preserved.

    It is amazing how much archaeologists have managed to deduce from their findings. As we walked through the streets of Pompeii, the tour guide pointed out the impressions in the stone made by wagon wheels back when Pompeii was an important, bustling city. We touched the bricks and mortar of the city which was more than 2000 years old. Can you imagine touching something that old? These guys sure know how to build things that last.

    The more we looked, the more in awe we were of this ancient civilisation. They have thought of everything: advanced plumbing system, drainage, stepping stones on roads so pedestrians crossing puddles in the road wouldn’t get wet, public baths, public toilets, shops that sold food like modern-day cafeterias, even brothels!

    Shops selling food still had their thermopolium (or counters) intact. These were often clad with different pieces of marble. Over 2000 years ago, the Pompeiians were already making marble benchtops! Some of the thermopolia were so well preserved that the marble was in excellent condition and the earthenware jars (or dolia as they were known) that are embedded in them to keep hot food were still completely intact. Curry, anyone?

    The guide took us to a seedy part of the city where brothels were in abundance. How did one know that a house contained a prostitute? Easy, just look out for the stone penis that hung above the door (no joke!). There is believed to have only been one purpose-built brothel. Lupanare was a two-storey brothel with small, cramped, windowless rooms for entertaining clients. In each room, there was a stone bed where a mattress would have laid to render sexual services. On the walls, there were erotic paintings or frescoes that have been extremely well-preserved. These showed all manners of sexual positions, assumed to be somewhat of a menu of the services offered. There were lots of chuckles when we saw this.

    The public baths cut a very different picture. It was a very large compound, complete with male and female change-rooms. Male and female hot baths were separated. The warm and hot baths were heated by a furnace behind the wall which fed pipes underneath the bath floors. The mosaics and frescoes that remain were astounding.

    Finally, we came to a warehouse where archaeologists have stored all the earthenware, statues and tables uncovered during careful excavations. Amongst the collection, there were some plaster casts of victims of the eruption. In 1864, Giuseppe Fiorelli, the director of excavations, discovered a technique to capture body shapes trapped in volcanic ash after soft tissues had decayed. He instructed his diggers to pour plaster into hollow pockets, let them dry for a few days before chipping away at the volcanic ash to reveal whole plaster cast of victims at the time of their death. CT scans of some of these plaster casts have since revealed near-complete skeletons and full sets of teeth.

    As I look at Mount Vesuvius from the ancient square, I can’t imagine the terror felt by Pompeii’s inhabitants as they watched volcanic ash and lava spewing out of its mouth. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland and it is a matter of time before it erupts again. The last eruption was in 1944 but it was not destructive. There are approximately 3 million people living within the red zone of Vesuvius. With the chaotic traffic in the area, one would hope that the authorities have got a bulletproof (or volcano-proof) evacuation plan.

    There is so much to write about Pompeii, but perhaps it is better told through photos. Flora could have spent days just roaming around this ancient city. If you appreciate ancient history, this city should be on your bucket list.
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  • Giorno 23

    Pompeii Part II

    6 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    More photos of Pompeii.

  • Giorno 23

    Pompeii Part III

    6 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    More photos of Pompeii. It deserves three posts!

  • Giorno 23

    Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius Part I

    6 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We had spent more time than expected in Pompeii. Upon the promise of a smaller but even better preserved ancient city on the other side of Mount Vesuvius, we leave Pompeii and jumped in the car.

    Unlike Pompeii, the deep volcanic material which covered it preserved wooden and other organic-based objects such as roofs, beds, doors, food and even some 300 skeletons. Herculaneum was a rich city with a high concentration of fine houses until the Vesuvius eruption buried it under 20m of volcanic ash. Until today, 75% of it still remains buried.

    In 1981, many skeletal remains were discovered on the beach and in the first six boat chambers. It was previously thought that most, if not all, inhabitants had time to escape unlike Pompeiians. It now appears that a large number of inhabitants had perished whilst waiting to be rescued from the sea. Studies done on the skeletons indicated that the victims died during the first volcanic surge in which saw temperatures of about 500 degrees celcius.

    Photos of these skeletons are confronting. One can imagine the bodies huddling together as they tried hopelessly to escape the heat. Some can be seen to throw a protective arm around another poor soul, to no avail. It brought home the real terror they would have felt as they awaited certain death.

    As the sun started to set, we drove up Mount Vesuvius for a view of ancient and modern cities below it. We have to keep reminding ourselves that this volcano is merely asleep. Let’s pray these ancient cities will not be buried for the second time in history, taking with them the modern cities that have taken root.
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  • Giorno 23

    Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius Part II

    6 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    More photos of Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius

  • Giorno 24

    Capri Part I

    7 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    As we got on the ferry at Amalfi to an island called Capri, it felt like we were going to Rottnest, just off Perth, only our backdrop was the breathtaking Amalfi coastline. Definitely does not look like Fremantle B-shed! To say we were flabbergasted would be quite an understatement. This part of the Italy is unbeatable – the most beautiful part of our Italy trip so far, and that’s a huge call.

    The ferry transits in Positano before crossing the Mediteranean Sea to Capri. Positano looks amazing from the sea. Tomorrow we find out that it is even more incredible up close.

    Our main goal upon arriving on the glorious shores of Capri was to find a ferry to take us to see the Blue Grotto – a cave with waters that glow fluorescent blue due to the light coming in from the entrance to the cave. We somehow chanced upon an English couple who had been pounced on by a local offering a private tour of Capri on his boat. Flora’s ears perked up as she senses a bargain. She approaches the couple with an offer to share the private boat tour with us, Viv and Kez. 25 Euros per person for 6 people on a private boat versus the commercial sardines ferry with 40 people onboard for 18 Euros. It’s a no-brainer. Although, what kind of boat does he actually have?? A sense of dread washed over us. He brought it around and we rejoiced with our great win. The boat is beautiful!

    For two hours, he took us to little caves around the island and also gave us an insight to Capri. This island is a holiday mecca for the rich and famous. Mussolini had a castle perched on top of a tall cliff. Sophia Loren has a private house isolated from everyone else, on top of yet another cliff. The skipper rattled off some more names that we ooh-ed and aah-ed at but instantly forgot. He took us to a private bay with only one other small boat where Aaron promptly dived into the crystal waters. No one else was game enough to freeze to death. Aaron thinks it’s the clearest water he has ever seen.

    We had lunch by the marina. We’ve been eating out almost every lunch and dinner since arriving in Italy and it’s not working wonders for our budget. Then again, you don’t go to Italy to miss the amazing food. After lunch, we defied death and took a bus to the famed chair-lifts at Anacapri. All bus drivers in Italy must be rally drivers in their past lives. We were a mere 100mm from dropping off the face of a cliff that this narrow road perched on. Aaron lost the plot. Flora thought she’d have to knock him on the head to calm his nerves.

    We eventually arrived unscathed to the chair-lift station. Single chair-lifts take us on a 15-minute journey to the top of Capri for an incredible 360 degrees panoramic view. Aaron’s vertigo proves to be a problem yet again but he really hasn’t got anywhere else to go (haha!). Flora thoroughly enjoyed the chair-lift ride. This is what it must feel like to fly (very slowly). Life is beautiful. This is a view we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
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  • Giorno 24

    Capri Part II

    7 maggio 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    More photos of Capri from a private boat.