Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The Cathedral
The Baptistry
A view of Pisa
Here you have a black & white shot of Pisa, taken from atop the tower, using Dads camera for the first time!Adam & Lauren atop the Pisa tower.
The climb wasnt as hard as expected, but the view from the top was excellent. We all took some photos , Bens photo is on his camera however.The field of Miracles.
From the top of the tower, you can see the Baptistry at the back, and the cathedral infront.The classic Tower Photo
The leaning tower of Pisa
Ben the expert photographer took this lovely photo of Lauren & myself infront of some tower that has a lean......Pisa
Today we visited Pisa and the field of Miracles, We got some good shots, and got to go up the leaning tower! Unfortuantely i lost the hotel keys whilst we were there, which created some problems as the owners of the hotel live accross the otherside of florence and dont speak the best english. Eventually we got let in. We then had some excellent pasta at a local restraunt. Im going to put a few photos up. Tommorow Venice!
Pisa
Today we visited Pisa and the field of Miracles, We got some good shots, and got to go up the leaning tower! Unfortuantely i lost the hotel keys whilst we were there, which created some problems as the owners of the hotel live accross the otherside of florence and dont speak the best english. Eventually we got let in. We then had some excellent pasta at a local restraunt. Im going to put a few photos up. Tommorow Venice!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Arrival in Florence
Well we have left Rome, disappointingly so much more to experience. But time & money is short. Rome really emptied our wallets lol. We have arrived in Florence at the lovely soggiorno madrid. Lauren & I ducked out and seen the Uffizi as you can see from the photos. Tommorow we see Pisa. Its unfortunate that we only have 1 full day in Tuscany as it seems a place full of things to see. But we have to do the best we can with the time we have. It really is unbelievable. Europe is just so full of history and culture, there is so much to soak up. I would really like to study the history in so much more depth, perhaps i shall at Uni when i return. I shall post some photos of Pisa and its leaning tower tommorow Night.
Ciao.
Ciao.
Botticellis Primavera
Unfortunately these were the only photos i could get. There was works from Da Vinci & Michelangelo as well as heaps of other brilliant pieces.The birth of venus by Botticelli
The streets of Florence
We arrived in Florence, and found our great Hotel. Very nice. Whilst Ben slept off a hang over from australias defeat the night before, Lauren and I decided to visit the Uffizi. Firenzas best art gallery. Unfortunately i got told off for taking photos, but i managed to get some good ones before i realised you were not allowed too.Our 4 star hotel.
The Hostel in Rome was crap. With Ben moving out the first night after meeting up with his friend skye. Lauren and i decided that two nights in the hostel in the Roman heat was enough. We upgraded to luxury in the 4 star Hotel Ariston. We got the room for about a 65% discount as well. It was awesome a great nights sleep, a great shower. Leaving us refreshed to meet back up with ben and travel to Firenza (Florence)Castel d'Angelo
We travelled 30 minutes in both directions , missed the first 15 minutes of the Australia v Italy game to get to this Castle, the fortress of the Pope, directly connected via underground tunnel to the Popes Library in the Vatican for his escape in the event of an invasion, and the place was closed on mondays. We got a good Gelati on the way home though.Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa
Here is the statue, it shows an angel stabbing St.Teresa with a Dagger, through which she her soul becomes connected to god. Its an incredibly shocking piece of art by Bernini who was one of the Vaticans most reknowned artists, the description talks of St.Teresa being penetrated by god himself. I reccommend reading up on it, to fully appriecate this work of art.St. Maria della Vittoria
The St.Maria Della Vittoria home of Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa. A small & Quaint church, but very beautiful.St.Peters
An exterior shot of St.Peters , the day before The Pope had given an address from this very spot. Unfortunately we found our too late.St Peters
No photo could ever capture the feel of St.Peters. Their is a spirtuality about the place, which can never be captured on digital media. My advice Don`t look at these photos, instead book a flight to roma, and visit St.Peters yourself.St.Peters
St.Peters
An interior shot of St Peters, Flash photography was not allowed, so some shots may be slightly blurry. Also Photography is not allowed in the sinstine Chapel. Photos would not do it justice however. It has to be seen to be believed. Back to St.Peters, People say they need proof of god in the form of miracles to believe. The miracle is man and his ability to create a masterpiece such as St.PetersScience.
This is the opposite wall. depicting science. Religion also depicted rome, whilst Science is set in Greece.The Divine truth
This room shows the Divine truth from two forms. Religion and Science. This photo is Religion, you can see God at the top, Jesus & the prophets below, and holy men below, with truth flowing down. Keep in mind that the painting you see is the entire left wall of the room. With science being the right wall. These works of art are of enormous scale.A statue of Apollo
This is a statue of apollo the greek god of knowledge & truth. The vatican Museo had heaps of greek artwork which really shocked me. This piece is significant as the face of apollo is the same face that Michelangelo used for Jesus Christ in his Last Judgement in the Sinistine Chapel, as Jesus is seen to represent divine truth.Our tour guide Paul
This was paul, he gave an excellent tour, a most insightful man, who knew just about everything there was to know about the Vatican. He was american believe it or not lolThe queue to enter the Vatican City.
This was a lovely 2 hour queue, in 30+ degrees heat in order to get into the Vatican with our tour group. Lovely wait.Monday, June 26, 2006
Give me comments
Our last night in rome, and with Ben meeting up with Skye and staying with her, Lauren and I decided to upgrade to a bit of luxury for the night, getting a room in a four star hotel accross the street from our Hostel for half price. Its very nice. Tommorow we head to florence, where the weather promises to be above 40 again.
Before i go, please people who are reading this post comments on the photos. Under each photo is a link that will say 0 comments or n comments where n is equal to the amount of comments made. You will need to register on the site to post comments, but it would be really cool if i could get some feedback on the photos we are posting.
Until Florence. Ciao
Before i go, please people who are reading this post comments on the photos. Under each photo is a link that will say 0 comments or n comments where n is equal to the amount of comments made. You will need to register on the site to post comments, but it would be really cool if i could get some feedback on the photos we are posting.
Until Florence. Ciao
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Adam & Lauren infront of the fountain
After we threw our coins into the fountain ensuring our return to Rome according to legend. We took a nice self portrait.
Trevi fountain II
Trevi Fountain
Possibly the greatest fountain i have ever seen. The trevi fountain was originally sourced by an adeqeduct who's water source was miraculously found by a virgin. The artwork on this fountain is amazing.
The Oculus
The ocolus, this photo and indeed no photo could ever do this justice.
Panatheon Interior.
The circular interior of the panatheon. Each little section had magnificent works of art. The real treat however was the roof with the Oculus letting in a ray of light. It truly took my breath away.The Panatheon
The magnificent Panatheon. The interior of this place is stunning.
Church interior
One shot of the inside of the church, it was a sight to behold.
St Maria in Trastevere
We went here to find a statue out of Angels & Demons, a Dan brown book we both read. However it was the wrong church. It did however happen to be the oldest church in Rome!
The Tiber
The main river that flows through rome, looks completely different to the city. Looking like a river nestled in the country as opposed to the dirty city that rome is.The Roman Forums
Intact building.
One of the few intact buildings within the forum area, the rest are just ruins.The arch leading into the Roman Forums
Here you can see the entrance point into the Roman forums. The old epicenter of Roman politics.
Colosseum Interior.
The largest intact bit of the Colosseum. The Romans actually picked it apart bit by bit as time went on and reused the materials in other buildings. They did this for all of their imperial age buildings.
The Colosseum!
Us in front of the Colosseum, we got there early and avoided all the queues, and the death heat. 40 degrees in Rome.Germany to Italy.
Our makeshift anti death chill device.
Here we have our blanket, which consisted of three towels, the aussie flag and both our jackets. It was crap.
Bens method of beating the death chill.
This was bens attempt to avoid the chill, Get stupidly drunk and pass out. It worked too until he woke up the next day. Here you can see him with the metre long scotch. 11 scotchs for 8 euros. it was meant for 11 people. He did it solo.
The fan camp of doom.
The fan park in Kaiserslautern. Each bed had a mattress............ And that was it. Nothing more nothing less. There was no security lockers either. It didn't seem that bad during the day as it was hot. However come nightfall the death chill hit the fan Camp and the place became like the artic. We froze our collective balls off, using whatever we could find as blankets. Thankfully it was only one night!
Our last game Spain vs Saudi Arabi.
The stadium is at the top of a mahoosive hill so it took ages to get there, when we did the game turned out to be pretty poor, with spain not giving a rats. I got to see Fernando Torres who is being linked with a move to Manchester United so that was good but he was only on for 10 minutes or so.
The Four Musicians of Bremen.
From the Brothers grimm tale, this statue shows the four musicians who intended to make their way to Bremen. If you can find the story behind it do so. It makes this statue so much more enjoyable. We searched for days for it, and it turned out we had walked past it numerous times.Binyam celebrating our departure.
After a week and half of having to deal with us here is binyam celebrating torres style upon our departure. Not really! he wanted us to stay forever. Mahoosive!Lauren Enjoying her trip.
Technical Difficulties.
We ran into some technical difficulties, the damn Computer wouldn't pick up the Camera via USB. they must have disabled it, we shall search for another Internet cafe tommorow. Apologies.
Day 1 Roma
Our first full day in rome, and its still god damn hot, temp probably hitting 40. We walked a marathon today. Covering a good percentage of what we wanted to see, The colosseum and panatheon to name but a few. Going to upload some photos now, some of Bremen, Kaiser & todays travels in Roma.
Grazzi!
Grazzi!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Arrived in Roma
We have now arrived in Roma.
Its incredibly hot, the train to the city center, was exceptionally slow and hot, and we had trouble trying to find the hostel. We have found it now and things are all good. Im going to get back and add some more photos at a later date.
Its incredibly hot, the train to the city center, was exceptionally slow and hot, and we had trouble trying to find the hostel. We have found it now and things are all good. Im going to get back and add some more photos at a later date.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
We leave Bremen.
Today we leave Bremen, its been a good week and half, very enjoyable very relaxing. Binyam has been an excellent host. We now set out upon our Italian, French, English & Scottish adventure. But not before we head down to Kaiserslautern for our last match. Spain vs Saudi Arabi, I'm expecting a goal fest! I'm not sure if or when im going to be able to upload more photos, it depends on the internet cafes in the cities we are in. But i'll do my best to keep the photos coming. Its off to Kaiserslautern!
its official I'm a hooligan
Whilst going around germany in my england top I've experienced some rather interesting banter. Whilst at the fan fests two little 8 year old germans come up, and pointed at our English mates and myself and Said Hooligans!.
Then at the hamburg game i asked for a magnum ice cream from one of the walking vendors. And he goes magnum for the hooligan? Then he had the nerve to ask for a tip! He then proceeded to beg me not to get into fights.
An interesting look at the way the English are percieved over here, although so far only German fans have caused any trouble.
Then at the hamburg game i asked for a magnum ice cream from one of the walking vendors. And he goes magnum for the hooligan? Then he had the nerve to ask for a tip! He then proceeded to beg me not to get into fights.
An interesting look at the way the English are percieved over here, although so far only German fans have caused any trouble.
The czech Cam????????
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
21st of June
England got a draw last night 2 all against sweden, they played quite well in the first half, the best they have played so far. Even in the 2nd half aside from looking weak on set pieces, they kept the swedes at bay. This result sees England top the group, and face Equador in the last 16, with potentially portugal or holland in the quarter final, and possibly Brazil in the semi final.
Kick off
The saudis to kick off, they would loose 4 nil, we seen two goals. Apparently if you look at the replays of the 2nd goal you can see Ben & Myself on TV. the shot that shows behind the goal, look for the aussie flag. Unfortunately my camera went flat, after this shot.
A close of of a saudi fan.
The saudis
The saudi fans, they weren't happy at the end of the match.
Ukraine fans
