Well look at that, blogger has all kinds of new templates and fancy stuff, I'll have to consider doing yet another site revision in the future, since I must be looking hopelessly out of date by now.

Anyhow, I've found myself in a position to write (obviously) about the events of the past while. It's raining outside (of course) so we're taking advantage of some cheap internet, I decided I'd begin work on updating everyone on the events of our bike trip. I have here with me my official "Mainland Europe Historical Document" filled with wonderful point form accounts of our crazy life thus far.

Don't expect the whole thing to be finished today though, and most definitely don't expect it to be short. So sit back ladies and gentlemen, grab some food and drink, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy...

Friday, May 7th

James, Jon and myself hopped a train to Glasgow Prestwick Airport. It just so happens that the airport is located about 40km away from the city, much so our annoyance. We then boarded our Ryan Air flight to Rome, and away we went. Unfortunately, within the first hour we'd already had problems. Hydraulic problems, actually. Everyone on the flight deck was looking a little nervous (James was trying to contain a bout of air rage), and the mood didn't calm until we completed our unscheduled landing at London Stanstead. After about an hour of waiting, we once again took off and made our way to Rome. When we picked up our baggage, I had the lovely surprise of finding that they'd ripped one of the straps off my backpack (the same one I took to Australia). Thanks a lot! I tied the severed strap onto another part of the backpack and hoped it would hold out. (And like a true good Canadian backpack, its held out through everything and continues to do good service.)

Since Europeans love putting their airports way the hell outside of the cities, we had to buy a bus ticket for 8Euro to get to Rome. From there we hopped the Subway to our next destination where we had to take an aboveground train to Prima Porta. But no! The train had just shut down for the eve, we had to find alternate transportation. So we discovered a nearby tram and rode it for awhile, then found a bus where the tram ended and rode on that for a little while more - not really sure where we were or where we were going. We met a few Canadians and an Australian on the bus though, and thought to go to their hostel instead since the bus stopped right there. We tried that, bus it was full so back on the road we were. We waited for another hour for the bus to Prima Porta, and managed to meet a pair of French ladies who were going to our camping destination, they hooked us up with a ride from the shuttle bus, and we finally collapsed in a small cabin for the night.

Saturday, May 8th

We got up and headed straight to Rome via the now-running train, it dropped us off right outside Piazza Del Popolo where we were greeted by our first views of Roman splendour (along with a nice Obelisk in the middle of the piazza). From there we made our way to the Spanish Steps, a nice place, but also the site of our first encounter with thieves.

We climbed the steps, and reached the top only to be cornered by 5 Italians speaking fluent English and suddenly wrapping strings around our fingers. They insisted we make a wish because the strings were good luck. Then, they demanded 25 Euro. We all scoffed at this (though they'd effectively pulled each of us to different corners of the steps) and said thanks but no thanks. For my part, it was the worst bout of naivety. I told the man I'd be willing to give him 1 Euro for the little bracelet, he continued to ask for more, but I said to him 'No, I'll give you 1 Euro. I have a 10, and you can give me change.' His head bobbed up and down and he promised 'Yes, I'll give you change I'll give you change.' When I dished out the 10 Euro bill, he stuffed it in his wallet and took off, when I demanded my change, I was confronted by 2 large Italians in my path. Trying to restrain my anger, I cut my losses and left. James and Jon had also managed to escape by this point, each by just throwing all the change in their pockets at the thieves and leaving. It wasn't the best way to start our day.

After that we visited Piazza Colonna, and then Piazza Venezia. At the far side of Piazza Venezia from where we entered stood the magnificent Vittorio Emanuele monument. We could see the fabled Colosseo from here, so we headed straight there, with a brief stop at the Mercati Traionei along the way.

We walked around this most popular and well known of Roman structures, trying spectacularly hard to ignore the hawkers constantly buzzing around us. Truly impressive.

Palatine Hill (Palatino) and the Roman Forum were nearby, so we hit Palatine Hill first, paid the entry fee, and walked around the peaceful (hawker-free!) grounds for a good hour and a half. There was a small museum in the middle, many impressive views of the city from different corners of the hill, and a lot of ruins. We were constantly saying to ourselves "Think of the people that have walked here!" It was really great.

After that we toured the Foro Romano, or Roman Forum (Political Heart of the Empire), 15 feet below the current street level and filled with thousands of tonnes of ruins. I noted that its odd that the Forum then is 15 feet below the current street level, and yet the Colosseo (right beside the Forum) is apparently right at the same level it used to be.

Next we went back to the Colosseo and took a tour of the interior, it's such a shame to see how much in shambles it is, but it was still great just being there and imagining the former splendour.

Ancient Rome has a way of really capturing the imagination, of making you take a few moments to stop and just try to take everything in: the ruined buildings, The incredible wealth of history right at the fingertips...

The remaining sites of the day were: Piazza de Campidoglio, Teatro Marcello, Isola Tiberina, Porticco D'Ottavia, and Piazza D'Rotunda including the (exterior) Pantheon. We really enjoyed everything here, touring the small streets and getting a feel for the Italian culture. We'd like to come back one day, now that we've completed the touristy portion of the tour. Just come back with some cash and enjoy ourselves living the lifestyle.

Note: The most annoying thing about Italia is their bloody siestas. It's not as noticeable around the main touristy areas, but throughout the country it becomes really obvious that everything just shuts down usually around noon until 3ish for a big, looong lunch break. We marvel at a country that can waste so much of its time doing nothing.

Sunday, May 9th

First thing in the morning we headed to another country. The smallest country in the world actually, with a population of just over 500: Vatican City. The admired the Piazza San Pietro for a little while, then queued up for entry to the huge St. Peters Basilica. It was absolutely beautiful inside, wide wide open spaces, huge sculptures, and each dome was covered in beautiful paintings. We wandered around for a while enjoying the somehow restrained opulence of the place. It was definitely one of the highlights of Rome. Unfortunately though, in a theme that would be repeated (causing a lot of anger) through our trip, the Sistine Chapel was closed, so we never got to see one of if not the most famous work of art in the world.

Castel S.Angelo was next, along with Ponte S.Angelo. Followed by Piazza Navova and the interior of the Pantheon. Even though the interior was cool, seeing it so soon after St. Peters really tarnished our enjoyment of the place - it just couldn't compare.

Finally, we completed our time in Rome in the best way possible. With a real Italian Gelati. We found a shop right beside the wonderful Fontana Di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) and bought some incredibly delicious gelati, then we relaxed in front of one of my favourite spots in all of Rome. I can't think of a better way to spend an hour or two in Rome, and I highly recommend the Trevi Fountain along with a Gelati to anyone who ever plans to visit.

Jon left our company later in the day, as he headed back to Glasgow and James and I went to a different airport to continue on our journey. Once again, we were charged an exorbitant fee to get to the airport (€11), but we spoke with an American fellow for the bulk of the trip and it was quite interesting actually. He related to us all kinds of stories about his travels around Europe and around the World. We were buoyed by his account of a biker he met in the Himalayas, and his subsequent firm support of our decision to bike through Europe.

Our Volareweb flight was delayed by an hour and a half (big surprise), and we were a little dubious about the quality of their jets when we saw duct tape covering one side of the wing, along with various dents all over the frame of both Volareweb jets we saw. Nevertheless, we boarded and headed for Venice.

When we arrived, we were sold a €5 ticket to Mestre because that was how to get to Ca'Noghera. When we got to the train station we found out that the bus to Ca'Noghera had stopped running half an hour ago. Once again our plans had been maimed by crappy European Low-Cost Carriers. Having no way to get to our destination, and no idea which way to go via foot, we ended up trying to sleep in an alley beside a church, and when that became too uncomfortable we moved back to the train station and collapsed there until the 6:30am bus to Ca'Noghera arrived.

We were especially amazed when the bus from Mestre to Ca'Noghera took us right to the Airport, stopped, and then drove the opposite direction from where the friendly bus services lady had directed us the previous evening. Once again, we learn that Italians are really, really hard to trust.

We arrived at our camping destination, and crashed in a small cabin for a few hours before heading to Venice.

Monday, May 10th

COMING SOON!


Actually, my time is almost finished so I'd best wrap things up here. I'll try to get back with the next few days as soon as possible. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves people. Remember that the 60th Anniversary of D-Day is right around the corner, so do the Vets a service and pay your respects. But to be honest, there's never a time when everyone involved in the Wars doesn't deserve our respects, it shouldn't be only on the major occasions their sacrifices are recognized. (I've been undergoing a lot of nationalism and a lot of post-war thinking lately, having been to the D-Day beaches and Vimy Ridge - but those are accounts for another day!)

Peace out folks.