The Road Trip of a Lifetime Wednesday, Sep 16 2009

On January 1, 1999  legendary investor Jim Rogers embarked with his wife on a Guiness World Record setting road travel crisscrossing the globe passing through 116 countries, covering more than 245,000 kms of highways, dirtroads, deserts, tundra, steppes, urban jungles and war zones.   This trip took them more than 3 years to finish in their custom made, Mercedes Benz station wagon. (The map above traces the route that Jim Rogers made for his record setting voyage)

Being born in an archipelago, I often yearn of doing a loooooong road trip with a distance of at least 2,000 miles (which is nearly impossible if you’re living on an island).  One item in my “Bucket List or Things To Do Before I Die” is to travel the length (or what’s left of it) of the famous, though decomissioned, Route 66.   This highway, nicknamed, America’s Main Street, stretches 2,448 miles and starts from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California.     This was inspired by the 2006 animated movie, Cars.  And I intend to do this with my daughter.

Another crazy road trip that I want to embark on is to drive a car/SUV from Tierra Del Fuego, the Southernmost tip of the American continent all the way to Anchorage, Alaska.     It’s an outrageous idea shamelessly copied from Ewan McGregor’s road trip from Scotland to Cape Agulhas in South Africa.

I’m not filthy rich like Jim Rogers or famous like Ewan McGregor to be able to finance or find sponsors for those road trips.     Then one evening, over dinner,  my very good friend Ajarn Pudpadnoy Omglin (a legend in muay thai and considered to be one of the top 3 fighters of all time) shared to me and my family about his plans of doing a road trip from Paris to Bangkok on his 60th birthday (that’s 2 years from now) as an honor to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.    He intend to do this journey with three friends, two of whom are Thais.  And to my surprise, he said that if it is ok, he wants me to be part of the long voyage.

Those words sounded like a TV announcer declaring my lotto ticket number as the jackpot winning combination.   Of course, I want to join that trip.    The voyage  will be financed by a Thai Billionaire (who must remain unnamed) who has a collection of more than 1,000 antique cars, military vehicles and even a decomissioned Norwegian military submarine!

Though it’s still two years from now, the route and date of the voyage is already planned.   We will leave Paris during summer (Of course!  The bitter European winter will definitely decimate the bodies of 4 Southeast Asians accustomed to tropical weather) then go up north to the European capitals Berlin, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm then down to the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), then to Minsk, Moscow, across to the Russian tundra,  down to the former Soviet States Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, then eastward to Tibet, China then go down to Laos and finally, to Bangkok, Thailand.   There’s no estimate yet of how long the journey will be.

To say that I’m excited is an understatement.  But I really have to prepare for this trip because I will be the youngest person in the expedition.   This early, I am already preparing by studying first aid, navigation  and the geography of the route (this is my forte) and of course, I have to study even just the basic of several European languages.

Two years is enough time to prepare, but given my situation,  having a full time job, a family to support plus other engagements and commitments, I’m concerned that it may not be sufficient.  I’ve also been asking some of my friends in religious services (either as priest or pastors) to pray for this trip to push through and for the health of King Bhumibol, in whose honor this voyage is being dedicated to.

But whatever happens, I will still live by one of my principles.  That is prepare for an opportunity even though there’s no assurance that it will come rather than an opportunity coming and I am not prepared for it.  Looking forward to June 2011.

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Meeting an Online Friend Friday, Jun 5 2009

This trip happened almost two months ago and only now that I will be able to make a post about this  (which only goes to show how messed up my calendar is lately, which in turn, leads to my firm belief that life is too short to have a full time job).  But I sincerely think that I should write about  the memorable visit my family made to a friend I first met via the internet.

It started last year with a certain Rayzor Matthews who kept on posting comments in this humble blog.  First, I was impressed by his English writing skills, then I was awed by his diverse range of knowledge.  The comments he made led to several exchange of ideas which also led me and Rayzor to discover that we have lot of things in common.    Last December my family planned to have a Luzon road trip which includes visiting Ray and his wards in San Fernando La Union, taking advantage of the long Christmas break (Our original idea is to spend Christmas with the children in their orphanage).  It was, however, postponed due to Beck’s winning in the Mrs. Philippines pageant and with my work load (one of the hazards of working for a US company is that although there’s a holiday in the Philippines, on the other side of the globe, business continues).

Last Holy Week, part of our itinerary is to pass by San Fernando, La Union (on our way to Vigan) and to finally meet Ray and his nak muays and pay a visit to their children’s home.

Ray’s father , Pastor Abraham Duclayan is the Senior Pastor of Christian Praise Fellowship Int’l, in San Fernando La Union.    Part of their church’s ministry is running a children’s home called Christian Praise Children’s Home.  This “home” was established by Pastor Duclayan in 1987 where they initially cared for 30 neglected children from the Cordilleras.    Some of the kids are orphans, foundling or fatherless.   For more than 20 years, Pastor Duclayan and his family has nurtured and took care of more than 300 children who grew up and became good Christians and productive citizens of this country.  Some are already working abroad and some have answered God’s call and worked in a ministry.

Pastor Duclayan and his church are some of the true heroes of our country.  They selflessly work for the welfare of abandoned and neglected children and gave them hope, dignity and chance to grow.  The Duclayans work without expecting any praise or recognition.   I never felt so humbled meeting people like Pastor Duclayan and Ray.

To know more about the children’s home, please visit their website:

www.christianpraisechildrenshome.org.

This is the facade of Christian Praise Fellowship church and the orphanage.   Pastor Duclayan built this from donations and support of good samaritans.

Pastor Abraham Duclayan, my friend Ray and his young muay thai warriors.  One of the programs of their children’s home is developing kids through sports.  And Ray’s chosen sport is muay thai.   These kids are the future of muay thai in the Philippines and it is my desire for them to continue what they have started and see them compete in international muay thai competitions and bring home medals, honor and glory to the country.  With their able instructor, Kru Ray, they are not far from that dream.

To Ray,

With all sincerity, I am deeply honored to meet you and your father.

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Holy Week 2009-Sumaging Cave, Sagada Wednesday, Apr 15 2009

Perhaps the most visited site in Sagada is the Sumaging Cave, which is about 30 minutes walk from the municipal hall.   The best selling travel guide, Lonely Planet has even listed Sumaging Cave as one of The Best Adventure Travel Destination In the World for 2009.

The cave boasts of magnificent rock formations with very imaginative names such as, “pig pen”, “elephant’s trunk”, “king’s curtain”, “crocodile”,”queen’s bath tub”, and “chocolate cake”.    There are cave rocks that have more creative albeit naughty names such as “The King”, “The Queen”, “The Prince” and “The Princess”.  One has to see the actual rock formations why they were given these nicknames.  I didn’t post the pictures of those rocks because I intend to keep my blog rated General Patronage.

We only went up to the second level of the cave as RP is with us and she’s not big enough to wade through chest deep waters to the other side of the cave.  Perhaps, when she’s older, we will go back to this cave and have a more exciting spelunking adventure.

On the way to Sumaging Cave, one will pass by this idyllic landscape.

The JRR Tolkien fan in me lead me to imagine that this is the entrance to the Mines of Moria.

The limestone formation dubbed as “The Chocolate Cake”.

The “King’s Curtain”

The Queen’s Bath Tub

Mini Rice Terraces

I thought RP will not be able to do this rope climbing part of the cave.

On the way out of the cave.   Watch out for bat guano dropping on your head.

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Holy Week 2009- The Hanging Coffins of Sagada Tuesday, Apr 14 2009

Sagada, Mountain Province is a 6-hour back-breaking, butt-numbing and nausea inducing trip from Baguio City.     Been meaning to travel to this town for more than ten years (my best bud Christian has been inviting me to travel with him to this place even before I got married).   What can I do, I have a young daughter who I fear might not be able to endure the roughness of the trip.    At least now, I think she’s old enough to do the trip that’s why we proceeded with this journey.

All throughout the long drive, I often asked myself why would a group of people would establish a community (that grew to a town) in the middle of a mountain?   And why would city dwellers would endure such a trip to this remote town?  In our four day stay in Sagada, I understand the answers and I came to appreciate and became prouder of the resilient Igorots more (and Filipinos, for that matter. I’ll be writing about this in future articles).

First stop, the Tourist Center in Sagada Municipal Hall (beside the post office).   All tourist are required to register in the Tourist Center before they embark on a tour of Sagada.

First stop, the coffins of Lumiang Cave.   The coffins are shorter than the normal lowland coffins because the dead were placed inside the coffins in a fetal position (they were tied up first in a sangadel (or the death chair) where relatives and friends would pay their last respects).  The Kankaneys of Sagada believes that when people were born, they descended from the realms of Kabunyan, and when they die, they go back to Kabunyan.  That’s why the dead are placed in a fetal position just like when they were born into this world .

Near the Lumiang Caves, we discovered by accident a small cave under a bridge.  The cave is very adjacent to the roadside and from there, one can see the coffins that are placed inside. Our guide told us that those are the coffins of the mothers who died during childbirth.  They believe that these mothers are unclean because they were not able to fully give birth, and thus are not worthy to be buried in Lumiang Cave.

I asked my guide if the people living in Sagada are still buried in this manner.    He replied that since the residents of Sagada embraced Christianity, this practiced has almost ceased.  People in Sagada are now buried in a cemetery and not in caves or in hanging coffins.   The last person “buried” here was in 1986.

This is a good topic for a debate, the coming of Christianity has introduced innumerable things to the people of Sagada that has changed their way of living.  Now these things have also threatened the heritage and culture of the people of Sagada (I am tempted to use the term Kankaneys but I am not sure if all “Sagadans” are from this tribe), among them is the manner of being buried in caves and hanging coffins.    There is a movement across the globe on preserving the culture of indigenous tribes.   Now, can Christianity be considered as one of the culprits in diminishing the way of life of indigenous people?

Insensitivity to local customs.   The coffin below was unfortunately vandalized by a tourist.   The culprit bore a whole and and tried to remove the skull from the coffin.

The hanging coffins near Echo Valley.   Not everybody in Sagada are considered worthy to be “buried” in this manner.  Among other things, somebody must be married and must have grand children to earn the right of this manner of burial.  Our guide explained that their relatives are buried in this way to prevent wild animals from destroying the coffins and ravaging the corpse.   Also in this way, the coffins endure the harshness of the years and weather as they are exposed to the wind and sunlight which protects the wood from the effects of moisture.   The last “burial” was done way back in 1992.

The Echo Valley.  The huge limestone at the right side of the picture is where the hanging coffins can be found.  One has to go way down this side of the hill to be able to see the hanging coffins.  Beck and RP with our guide Manong Greg.

On our way down to the hanging coffins, we came upon this huge wall of rock.  Our guide says that rock climbing enthusiasts would scale this rocks.

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My Double Birthday Celebration Thursday, Aug 28 2008

My family and I were in Thailand during my 33rd birthday (August 7) and celebrated it with our two groups of friends.  The first was sort of an advanced birthday blow-out because we held it on July 31 and Beck, RP and I are leaving Bangkok for Pattaya the following day.    The whole RP contingent, including Philippine Sports  Commissioner Ambrosio De Luna joined the celebration.  We dined out at Relax, an outdoor restaurant within the Suan Lum shopping complex.    I would tease the RP team that who would have thought that from eating sisig at our usual get together at Aysee’s (a known dining place beside Ultra) we will end up savoring Tom Yum Goong in Suam Lum, Bangkok

 The second celebration was on August 7, this time with the trainers and boxers of Fairtex Pattaya including one Korean who’s also training and staying at Fairtex Hotel.   Ted, the Camp manager, advised me that the trainers would only eat Thai food and it would be best to let them choose the place.   Our favorite trainer Chok and Ram volunteered to be the organizers of the party and brought us at a simple roadside diner along Naklua Road.  There, I sampled one of the best Thai food I ever tasted.  The food was so great that Beck and I went back to the said restaurant on our last night in Pattaya.

The RP Muay Thai Team pigging out at Suan Lum.  Everybody ate to their heart’s content except for two sorry individuals, Jonathan Pulosan and Ricalene Aquino.  These two have to maintain their weight as they will still be competing in the finals of the Prince Cup which will be held on August 2 (two days after the celebration)

Romnick, what the hell are you doing?

 The picture that will break the heart of thousands of women.  Me with Naruepol Fairtex and his lovely wife.   Hundreds of netizens have used “Naruepol Fairtex girlfriend” as the search term they encoded  in search engines that led them to my blog.  It only means that lot of women are interested to find out the marital status of Naruepol (well, I can’t blame them.  He’s a quintessential tall, dark and handsome guy).   Ted (the camp manager of Fairtex Pattaya) even told me that groupies from the US would travel all the way to Thailand just to see Naruepol.  We’ll sorry gals,  the very lucky girl is a Thai. 

The place is just a small roadside restaurant along Naklua Road.   The restaurant is so small and simple I never imagined I will be tasting one of the best Thai cuisine ever.    I sort of made a rule of thumb that in Thailand, the best way to sample Thai cuisine is to eat in small roadside mom and pop restaurants. And its good on the budget too.   I treated more people in Pattaya than in Suan Lum and yet my total bill is less than half of what I spent treating the RP team in Bangkok. 

Thai cuisine is one of my favorite (along with Indian food). I remember when I first came to Thailand way back 1997 as a student, I never like spicy food.  But when I came back from Thailand, I could only eat spicy food. 

 

My birthday cake courtesy of Naruepol Fairtex and his wife.  Thank you very much, Lek (Naruepol’s nickname)

 Beck and Me together with the fighters and trainers of Fairtex Pattaya

 Be Inspired.  That is the motto of Fairtex Gym.   Well, if you are with these guys, you will surely be inspired to train hard. Me with the three reigning muay thai champions from Fairtex Gym.   From left to right:  Naruepol Fairtex (Lumpinee Champion and Champion of Thailand), Kaew Fairtex (Lumpinee Champion and Champion of Thailand) and Yodsaenklai Fairtex (Lumpinee Champion, Radjadamnern Champion, WBC Muay Thai Champion and the 1st  Contender Asia Champion)

 This is one of the best birthday gifts that I ever received.  Yodsaenklai gave me as a birthday present one of his fight shorts.  He used this in one of his fights in Europe.   I am planning to wear this short in one of my fights as well but figured that it would be much better if I’ll just frame this for display together with this picture. 

 

 

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The Da Vinci Code Trail-L’Eglise Du Saint Sulpice Wednesday, Jun 25 2008

Yes, we did our Paris exploration during the Holy Week and have visited three gothic churches gracefully aged by the centuries;  the exquisite Sainte-Chapelle which was built to hold the crown of thorns that the French King Louis IX believed Jesus Christ wore during the crucifixion, the monumental Notre Dame Cathedral made famous by a hunchback and the church’s gargoyles  and the mysterious Church of Saint Sulpice which is time and again, linked to the mystery of the Holy Grail.   But no, we’re not doing a visita iglesia which is done by devout Catholics in the Philippines during the sacred Holy Week.   In the first place, Beck is a Baptist while I’m an agnostic.  Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame Cathedral are some of the finest examples of medieval artistry and craftsmanship.   Napoleon Bonaparte once said about the Cathedral in Rennes ”  The Rennes Cathedral makes an atheist to feel uneasy”.  These two churches has the similar effect.

Since we are on the trail of the Da Vinci Code, the next stop after Notre Dame is L’Eglise Du Saint Sulpice, the church mentioned in the novel The Da Vinci Code,  where Jacques Sauniere tricked the Monk Silas by telling him that the keystone is hidden in the Church of Saint Sulpice underneath the obelisk that lies on the ancient rose line.  Actually, what is buried is just a box containing a reference to the bible passage in the Book of Job “Hithertho shalt thou go and no further”.    This church is just one metro station away from the Notre Dame Cathedral so off we go.

The fountain of the Four Bishops- this fountain is found in the Place Saint Sulpice, a peaceful park with flowering chest nut trees that belies the mystery and intrigue surrounding the church beside it.   

 

The nave of the church.  This church was linked to the Holy Grail mystery, when a real life Sauniere, who is a humble parish priest discovered coden documents hidden in one of the pillar of his church.   When he showed this documents to his superiors, he was instructed to bring the documents to Saint Sulpice.  When he returned to his own church, he suddenly have inexaustible funds at his disposal that enabled him to enlarge his church and build a huge mansion.   

 

The church’s pipe organ, which is one of the largest pipe organs in the world. 

 

Near the high altar of the church

The white marble obelisk mentioned in the book The Da Vinci Code

 The gnomon and the brass line of the church.   The brass line is the “ancient rose line” referred in the cult classic book.   This brass strip marks the original zero-longitude line which originally passed through Paris, before the the said line was relocated to Greenwhich, England. 

 

 

 

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The Da Vinci Code Trail- The Musee du Louvre Friday, Jun 20 2008

Ahh, Paris, the city of light, the city of my dream.    I’m determined to accomplish several items on my Bucket List, or 101 things to do before I die.   First is to visit the Louvre and see the actual Mona Lisa.  I intend to walk the streets of Paris with the spirit of exploration and discovery.  So I vow to accomplish another item in my Bucket List; that is to explore a foreign city without any tour guide and without asking for any direction with just a map to help me around (not even a GPS).  

 Conspiracy theories is always a fascination of mine and one of my favorite subject is the divinity of Jesus Christ and the supposed history of the different churches and religion.    I’ve been meaning to read the novel The Da Vinci code but decided to read other books such as The Templar Revelation, Holy Blood Holy Grail and The Sion Revelation.  But fortunately, I was able to watch the movie adaptation and decided to visit the Parisian landmarks shown in the film.   So first, stop, one of the largest and famous museum in the world, the Musee du Louvre, where the movie started. 

 

At the courtyard of Musee du Louvre.   I didn’t know Beck is taking my picture while I’m busy taking shots of the glass pyramid.  This giant pyramid serves as the entrance to the museum and was designed by the renowned architect I.M. Pei, he’s the same man who designed the Essensa Tower at The Fort, Taguig City, Philippines.    There are several controversies surrounding the building of this pyramid, including the urban legend that the pyramid is made from 666 glass panes, which is the number of the beast, according to the bible.    This led to the calculation and actual counting of the panes which resulted to 673 glass panes and not the mythical number. The 666 legend again resurfaced in Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code. 

 Some  Arago Medalions, the bronze markings that Robert Langdon followed in the last scene of the movie The Da Vinci Code, can be found in the courtyard near the pyramid. These medalions were placed to commemorate Francois Arago, the French mathematician and physicist, for his work on calculating the meridian of the Earth. 

Here I am trying to copy Tom Hank’s pose in the last scene of the movie The Da Vinci Code, only in my version, its daytime. 

Me standing beside the famous statue, Winged Victory of Samothrace, a statue of the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike (not the shoes). It is displayed at the stairs leading to the Denon Wing of the museum.  In the movie, this was shown during the scene wherein Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu are leaving the museum to escape the police. 

The main hallway of the Denon Wing.  In the novel and movie The Da Vinci Code, Jacques Sauniere’s body is found here and also the coded messages or a series of clues that leads to the location of the Holy Grail.  The paintings of the great and renowned artists of the Renaissance are displayed here. 

 The famous painting, The Madonna of the Rocks a.k.a The Virgin of the Rocks.   There are two identical copies of this painting, one is found in Louvre and the other is in the National Gallery, London, both attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci.   In the book, The Templar Revelation, the authors observed that the image of the baby Jesus (the one at the left, with the Madonna/Virgin Mary) is shown praying to the Baby John the Baptist (with St. Elizabeth).  The painting also shows that the infant John the Baptist seems to be giving his blessing to the infant Jesus.    This is one of the basis to the hypothesis that Leonardo da Vinci implies the superiority of St. John the Baptist over Jesus Christ.   In Dan Brown’s novel, behind this painting is where Jacques Sauniere hid a key to a vault.   Yup, I looked really haggard. 

RP doing the Da Vinci pose (the pointing finger of the right hand is pointed upwards) in front of the painting “David”. This pose is often repated in several of the paintings by Da Vinci.  In Raphael’s painting “The School of Athens” which is a fresco in the the Vatican, Leonardo the Vinci is potrayed as Plato and he’s doing this pose. 

Beck, RP and I posing in front of the Mona Lisa, arguably, the most popular painting in the World and for all time.    The enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa has inspired, songs, poetry, movies, even conspiracy theories and urban legends.   In the novel, Robert Langdon theorizes that this painting is both an image of a man and a woman.     I’m not fat, I’m wearing four layers of clothing to protect me from the bitter cold.

To protect the painting, it is secured by a bullet proof and shatter proof glass.    The victim has been a victim of theft and vandalism during the last century.   Another crossed item in my bucket list, that is to see the real Mona Lisa in Louvre.

The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most secured art work in the Louvre.  Nobody can get close to the painting and is manned by several security personnel on both sides of the panel where the painting is displayed. 

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Memoirs D’un Sejour Court En France-TGV Tuesday, Jun 17 2008

There’s always an irony in maintaining a journal (either a diary or a blog),  when you have so much to write in your journal, you have so much to do that you have no time to write in it.  When you have the time to write, its because nothing is happening to you that is worth writing in your diary. 

The past three months has been very hectic, and events (travels, competitions, family reunions and work) and happenings really caught up with me and I failed to finish my entries about my family’s short sojourn in Rome and Paris.   As if to remind me, last weekend, HBO aired Mr. Bean’s Holiday and The Da Vinci Code , all which were shot in France.   And every scene of those movies reminded of the trip to the country that I’ve always wanted to do ever since I learned that the origin of my  name is French and ever since I started reading about Napoleon Bonaparte (I was 7 years old, so in essence the trip is 25 years in the making) 

One item in my bucket list is to cross two European countries via the Eurorail or TGV.   There’s a certain appeal for me in riding a train wherein you can get to see the the countryside and the common people of a certain place in their everyday lives, even if you’re traveling at 300 kilometers per hour.   

The security at the Rome Termine and Milano Centrale are very lax.  No security check nor inspection were made.   Small handcarry bags can be put on the overhead bin but larger luggages must be placed in the storage rack.   No tags were placed on the bags and the security at the train station doesn’t check if the bag that you are carrying really belongs to you.   Its disheartening to think that if this is being done in the Philippines, you have to say goodbye to your luggages forever.  

From Rome, we made a one hour stop-over at Milan.  Then we boarded a TGV for the 12 hour journey to gay Paree.   Quickly I observed the difference between the French and the Italians.   The train to Milan is of course, has mostly Italian passengers.  They are very warm and would greet Bon Giorno to complete strangers.   Whereas the French, I’ve observed, are more detached that borders on being a snob. 

We arrived in Paris around 12midnight. I am only wearing an office jacket that is only good for keeping you dry during rains.  Beck teased that everybody in the train are wearing extremely thick jackets and overcoats as if they will be climbing Mount Everest.   Will I be able to survive the biting cold of Paris?  Serves me right for underestimating the climate and the season and overestimating my tolerance for cold weather.   Remember, we made the trip last March, and in Paris and in other parts of Europe and the Western Hemisphere, its just the end of winter. 

RP waiting at the Rome Central Termine for the TGV to Paris

Beck and RP inside the TGV

Crossing the French-Italian border.  At the background is the Alps mountain range that forms the natural boundary between France and Italy.

Home along the Riles-French style.    Who says that only in the Philippines you can find houses located beside the railroad tracks?

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Roman Holiday- The Local Cuisine Friday, Apr 4 2008

Cultural Relativity-the tendency to judge or view another culture by comparing it to one’s own.   

Iron Chef America, Boy Meets Grill, Food 911 and other shows at Food Network are some of my favorite TV shows, isn’t it obvious that me and my family are gourmands?  But how do you pig out when all prices are multiplied by 60? (the peso-euro exchange rate)  Do we have to say goodbye to all those food, glorious food?   Rome has come up with a solution, the Formula.   Under this scheme, diners can choose 3 to 4 dishes (depending on the restaurant) for their primo (first course), secondo (second course), contorno (salad) and bibite (drinks) .  All this for just 15 to 20 euros…not bad for an authentic Italian cuisine, moreover, the serving is really generous.   

Primo is usually pizza or pasta or rissotto.  In the Philippines (cultural relativity at work), pizza or pasta or anything with rice are usually the main event.  Not in Italy.   There, those three are just for appetizers. 

Another observation that I find amusing is the way Italians drink their coffee, standing up in the bar, in the same way we Pinoys drink out shot of liquor. 

 

Beck, while waiting for our lunch at Ciao Bar.   This restaurant is just outside the walls of the Vatican.  We sampled the best Italian food during our trip in this restaurant.  Best for value too. 

This is the best pizza I’ve tasted during our Roman Holiday. 

RP enjoying her gelato, just outside the Vatican.  One scoop costs 5 Euros, ouch!  But I have to admit, this gelato is so creamy and great tasting that we didn’t mind having it for dessert even if its 7 degrees Celsius outside. 

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Roman Holiday-The Spanish Steps and The Fountain of Trevi Thursday, Apr 3 2008

From the Vatican, we took the Metro to go to the Spanish Steps, arguably, the high-end shopping district of Rome.   We were surprised with the number of people in Piazza di Spagna.  Now I know why in a travel book, it is advised that if one likes to visit the said piazza, is to go there between 2a.m. till 9a.m. 

We found two locations that was used in the movie Only You.   

 

The high end shops and the people who mill at Piazza Di Spagna

The Spanish Steps- it is difficult to appreciate the beauty of this stairway with all the people sitting on its steps.    The egg yellow building on the right is where the famous English Poet John Keats lived and died. 

A marker on the side of the building stating that in John Keats spent his last days in this house.  One of my favorite poems is his “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”

Beck and RP enjoying their stroll amidst the busy streets of near the piazza.

Fontana Di Trevi-The fountain that started the legend of throwing coins in the fountain and making a wish.    Actually, the legend started that if you throw a coin in this fountain, you are ensured to return to Rome.  This fountains have been immortaized  in countless movies, songs and novels.    Like the Spanish Steps, it is difficult to capture the real beauty of this fountain with all of the people visiting it.   I suggest that you visit this at night, when the the fountain and the waters are lit. 

Trevi got its name because three streets (tre via) converge on the fountain.

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