Sunday, May 29, 2011

Italian Beach!

Italian beach! yay and the weather is getting hot so heading to the beach was a great idea.

after swimming in the mediterranean  sea, we had a snooze while everyone packed up and left

the beach going public in italy have much more confidence and much less costume than most south africans! and everyone is tanned and gorgeous

the top two wheels are from bens skateboarding sliding sessions

if u are going from one side to the other of romes' main station, Termini. the best and coolest thing would be to bring a skateboard

lunch at work









Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Mat in Rome

smooth criminal dada-dada-da-da-dumdum da-da-dumdum

while we were waiting for mat we saw a wedding arrive. we also saw 5 brides on this particular saturday. some were just walking around probably from monument to monument

waiting for mat who was exploring the roman forum


Add caption


we saw some churches we  hadnt seen before and explored some unexplored territory



we had lunch in Trastevere, a very decent 4 euros for a margerita pizza

i know he doesnt look happy, but he was

morning cawfee

time to, say arrivederci...

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Night of the Museums.


Above and below, some art work from the Mondopop art gallery opening.


After leaving Mondopop we walked past this photographic gallery to discover that all museums this evening were free. It also meant that EVERYONE would be around to enjoy this freeness. The queues ended up being hectic, so these were the only two galleries we actually went to. The bottom series of photos were from Palazzo Incontro The exhibition was Tiziano Terzani clic! (see here)







Friday, May 13, 2011

Ben's Birthday Cap from the Boss!

So it was my one boss's birthday today, and he gave ME a birthday present. "B" for Ben, or the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Apparently the manager of the team bought like 67% of AS Roma soccer team.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Ben's Birthday!

Yum yum yum

Birfday tie!

Mmmm...

Nom nom nom


Birfday lunch!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Venice / Venezia

massive bright blue candle holder inside a church

ag shame

yay! we are in venice by the Grand canal


expensive vaporetto, public waterbus. cheapest is 6.50 euros for an hour pass. so we didnt go on that...

this is a private water taxi, expensive of note, so we couldnt afford that either!

and this is what we could afford! a traghetto ride, a big gondola punts you from one side of the grand canal to the other for 50 cents! so this was our one and only water ride in venice! their are traghetto stops at points along the grand canal


this guy was scared stiff




apparently the venetians are a short breed of people, these are only a few of the doors we saw 
and these small people are very scarse, you only ever see tourists and hear english









our hotel in venice, great location, very close to Rialto bridge and the tourist centre of ve



grand canal, standing on Rialto bridge. the shops ON Rialto bridge are the cheapest place that i found, to buy tourist souvenoirs like cheap glass, dolls and masks.





poor venetians! even their washing is picturesque and tourist property




lunch


inside the church, ben can tell you which one, alsoo no photos and you have to pay to get in. if you are an eu citizen below 26yrs and show your passport, most places give a discount sometimes up to 50% less. also student cards have worked in some places

a fresh food market

trying to keep the buildings up





all the gorgeous metalwork







to infinity and beyond!

tourist attraction methods vary from shop to shop




beautiful basilica di san marco in piazza san marco




cool benches at a restaurant in piazza san marco



venice is famous for its liquorice and nougat. nougat is pricey, 7.50 euro per 200grams and it only comes in 200gr wedges. but it was so good to look at and all the sweets!



wooden with glass
completely wood, needless to say ben nearly started carving up the nearest wooden pole!

gorgeous glass paint blobs

piazza san marco at high tide. the water flows up through piazza drains and apparently at spring high tide you have to seek higher ground! i would try time your trip with spring high tide!

ah yes, coffee and a breakfast buffet?

shall we breakfast in the dining room sir?


view from the dining room balcony

gondala



tourist gadgets


mask shops a plenty







they have these closed wells? i assume, in the centre of most piazzas, also we didnt get a pic of it but a lot if the dorrs have removable metal pieces that slot infront of their front doors with clamps to stop the water coming in when its high tide!

a park! we took refuge here for a few minutes

tourists by the million along the grand canal



we swapped shoes for a bit and bens were so comfy! thats his legs on the left

poser





gigantic pizza, about the size of my hunger!

they lure you in with window decor and then the host pounces on you, and especially me because i took a photo!

and the pizza keeps on coming

asked ben to pose but i actually wanted to get a pic of this adorable asian/red head baby!! he was so cute!

sore feet. best thing to take with you travelling and especially to venice is good walking shoes that you know are comfortable and not the new leather boots you just bought!!!



where do these dogs live?

resting those tootsies

if you watch the dissapointing movie 'The Tourist' again. when johnny depp is being chased by russian thugs he jumps off this 2nd storey balcony, falls on the market canopies and knocks a policeman into the canal! this is that very same balcony!!!

decisions decisions...

they had the best flavours in venice!





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