Monument Seren del Grappa

 

The ancestral home

This is the monument in the center of the town of Seren del Grappa, from which my maternal great-grandparents came from. It is interesting the number of people with the same surname as me, I felt I found the right place... 

The approach to Castel Sant'Angelo

 

Castel Sant'Angelo

Me in the bridge approaching the castel of Sant'Angelo.

Slight return to Rome..

And a nice view from Catel Sant'Angelo. 

The Ligurian Sea

The Ligurian Sea, as seen from that same small church in Portovenere. 

Portovenere

Another view from the church in Portovenere, plus the narrator :-). 

Back to Italy...

Now resuming my photographic account of Italy, I'm switching over to Liguria, where my friend Fabio got married. Very nice town if you ask me, the church is quite picturesque, on a cliff overlooking the bay of Portovenere, near La Spezia. The scene you see is right beside a castle and a rocky coast which is a gorgeous sight.

 

É possível?

É possível olhar nos olhos de alguém e de súbito saber que a vida será impossível sem eles. Saber que a voz da pessoa pode fazer seu coração falhar, e que a companhia desta pessoa é tudo que sua felicidade pode desejar, e que a ausência dela deixará sua alma solitária, desolada e perdida.

Y morirme contigo si te matas
y matarme contigo si te mueres,
porque el amor cuando no muere mata,
porque amores que matan nunca mueren.

Anabukikonten

This has got to be one of weirdest commercial I've ever seen! In terms of fun it is almost a match for those Fox Regional Sports Ads.



This ad is, apparently, for a constuction company called "Anabuki Construction Co.", and they feature a Little Red Riding Hood wannabe dancing with some weird interpretation of forest animals. If you are curious about what she is saying, either learn Japanese, or read this translation. Anyway you see it, the thing is totally weird.

Dwarfed by Millenia of History

Behind me, the massive walls surrounding the ancient center of Rome, Palatine Hill. 

Up to Palatine Hill

The way up towards the summit of Palatine Hill, the birthplace of Rome. 

The arena and the hypogeum

A nice view of the hypogeum underneath the now missing arena. A section of it has been recreated to give an impression of how it would look like. 

View of the seating on the Colosseo

A view of the seating in the Roman Amphiteather, I bet the games there beat football, pun intended. 

Amphitheatrum Flavium

The Amphitheatrum Flavium, or as it is more comonly known, Colosseo, a monument to a culture in which men proved their courage unto death. 

Michelangelo's Duomo

Michelangelo's Duomo, atop Saint Peter's Basilica main altar, he never got to see it finished. 

The dome overlooking the Pietà

One of the domes within Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the light effects on these domes are amazing, this one stands right on top of the place where one can see Michaelangelo's Pietà. 

Rogues in the Vatican

In the midst of Rome lies the seat of the Papal State (actually, the Papal State itself), Vatican City, home to the Basilica of Saint Peter, now invaded by t-shirt-bearing rogues.

Sky and mortal

The interior of the Pantheon is a vaulted dome with a large number of coffers originally containing bronze stars to symbolize Heaven, and below it, there is me! 

The mortal and the pantheon

As you all know (or should know by now if you follow my wikipedia links), the Pantheon was build to be a temple for all the gods (hence the name). So a mere mortal such as myself is proud to stand in front of it. 

The Partenon

One of the best preserved examples of ancient Roman architecture, the Pantheon is a very imposing structure just a few blocks away from the Fontana di Trevi. 

Il Gelato

This particular item of italian gastronomy will definitely be missed, authentic Gelati everywhere, and nowhere near as expensive as the crap I get here in the UK. 

La Fontana e la Famiglia

 

La Fontana di Trevi

After a long hiatus whose responsibility is partly mine, and partly from the delays in settling down in London, I'm finally starting to post pictures from my trip to Italy. The trip itself was very interesting, and helped quench my longing for my parents (and travel partners). We arrived at Milan, and had to wait till the evening because Lufthansa managed to misplace my luggage in the next flight from Frankfurt, but that did not lower my spirits (just tire my patience a bit). Nevertheless, after a short stop at Reggello, we arrived at Rome, and went on to visit places. The first place of note was the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain), which is this marvelous monument in this picture.

King's College London

After a long hiatus in posting, I'm finally (sort of) settled in London, and re-starting my PhD at King's College. Things are awfully disorganised, but hopfully I will cope with them. Still have not posted the pictures from Italy, which is (partly) due to a corrupted CF card. Will try to sort that out at night.