Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Europe - Part 5

Arrived in Italy! 
 The ruins across from our hotel
 Spanish steps!
 
The main shopping strip (get off at Spagna station and its right in front of the Spanish steps - Pretty much all the surrounding streets in this area are the best places to shop)
 
 
 
 Petrol stations are literally on the side of the road.
 Ma & Pa. Mum got those peach & white spotted stretch jeans from New Look in Paris. I will be taking them out of her closet at some point...
 
We just had to buy some parasols from the gypsies and once we did, about 50 other guys ran up and tried selling us crap. They were like seagulls to fish & chips.
These guys are douchers. They ask if you want a photo with them and before you say anything they start putting crowns on you and all these costumey things and take your camera, and then we find before they take the photo that they're charging 5 euro so we politely said no and they snatched the gear off of us and some of my hair got stuck in the stupid helmet thing they put on my head. Rude pricks. Dont give them money, for the love of god!
Oh! Just a tip for people that want to see the Colosseum on their own and without a tour group, I suggest you buy your tickets from the Roman Forum (next to the Colosseum) to avoid the massive wait in line (and the ticket is used for entry to both places anyway, so 2 for 1!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 After having the best tasting gelati in the freaking world!
 
This was the biggest bummer of the whole trip. I was dying to see this after seeing it in movies like Roman Holiday & Only You, but when we got to the church where its housed, I was ready to be disappointed. I was expecting this giant thing in a romanticised back area of the church covering a whole wall like in Roman Holiday, but instead it was surrounded by grim fencing in front of the church...
Still from Roman Holiday
This is the Bocca della Verita which is housed in Santa Maria in Cosmedin. The Bocca della Verita is caged at the front of the church with a line in front of it for tourists wanting to take photos of it. You then step to the right and the entry of the church is there and you can light some candles and do all that religious stuff if you want to, or you can just exit. Even though Sam and I aren't religious at all, we decided to go in and see what it was like. It was 35 degrees that day and hot as hell so naturally I wore a singlet and so did the other tourists walking into the church. As I walked in this guy and a even bigger guy (presumably a guard or something) walked up to me and said some things in Italian and motioned to the exit. So as I'm getting kicked out of the church, I'm wondering why and then I see this sign out the front                  

 But then why was I the only person that got kicked out when heaps of other women were wearing singlets? WHAT THE EFF, ITALY?! The 'Dress with dignity' line really amused me, so Sam and I walked off and laughed at how dumb it all was.
 
 
The Trevi Fountain was by far my favourite thing to see in all of Europe. I couldn't wait to see it above all the other attractions. There's something just so romantic about it. The statues, the water, the colours. I'm just in love with it.



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Europe - Part 4

 
 
 
 
 I was so sick and it was so damn windy at the top of the Arc de Triumph. 
 The 'line' for McDonalds... HAHA!
The best McDonalds I have ever eaten in my entire life
 I cant remember who the designer was, but this was the best clothing I saw in Paris.
 
 
 
 
 
 Befriending a seemingly stray Scotty dog




 

 
 

And then we head to Rome....