Rome - ancient buildings, beautiful fountains, spectacular churches and a damn fine bowl of pasta

In August 2011, I spent a 1.5 weeks in Italy (not enough i know). My first stop was Rome, a city that offers ancient buildings, beautiful fountains, spectacular churches and a damn fine bowl of pasta.

Modern Rome is very much a tourist city, with many Ancient Roman landmarks located within close proximity. In fact if you think about, Rome was probably designed to be walked around all those years ago, hence why most of the major landmarks are within walking distance. Here is a photo of the busy Via Nazionale (Nazionale Street), one of the busier streets close-by to where I stayed.

Via Nazionale (Nazionale street), Rome

Rome is a city well known for its fountains, in particular, Trevi Fountain. It was an Ancient Roman custom to build a fountains at the endpoint of aqueducts that brought water to Rome. According to a trusted source i know (AKA Wikipedia), legend holds that if a visitor throws a coin into the fountain they are ensured a return to Rome. Another legend says that two coins will lead to a new romance, and three will ensure either marriage or divorce. Yet another legends says that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder. I'm not one to believe in these sorts of things, but i did throw a coin in (just in case). 

Trevi Fountain, Rome

When people think about Rome, they almost definitely think about the Colosseum (and maybe Gladiator). Whilst I had seen photos before, it was amazing to stand inside the Colosseum and to appreciate the enormity of the structure. In it's glory days it would have been something special.

The Colosseum, Rome

The Vatican is another place on the "must visit" list in Rome. In some respects it lived up to its reputation and in others it fell disappointingly short. It is no doubt a place of beautiful architecture etc, but for the so called home of the Catholic Church, I couldn't help but notice the lack of spiritual feeling there. Perhaps it was the hoards of tourists, but the Vatican (mainly St Peter's) did not feel like a church or place of worship. Never-the-less it was a beautiful place. Below is a picture of a stained glass window behind the Sanctuary of the Altar in St Peter's Basilica. A simple yet stunning piece of artwork. Also featured is the roof of St Peter's Basilica. How they painted something this large and so beautifully amazes me.

Stained Glass Window, St Peter's Basilica, Rome

The inside of the dome in St Peter's Basilica, Rome

 Below is another water fountain. This one was a little different in that it featured human-like and animal/beast like creatures. Nothing more to really say about this.

Water fountain (opposite the Pantheon), Rome

As mentioned earlier, Rome offers many ancient buildings, and they don't come any more ancient than The Pantheon, a nearly 2000 year old building. Amazingly the building is still in very good condition. Originally, The Pantheon was a pagan temple, but later was converted to a church.

The Pantheon, Rome

The roof of the Pantheon, Rome

 The Vatican is well known for its churches and buildings. However, St Paul's Basilica, in the southern part of Rome, seemed to me a far better attraction for several reasons. An equally beautiful basilica when compared to St Peter's, this church had fewer tourists and a much better vibe about the place. The dome of the Basilica was decorated with a golden mosaic artwork which was spectacular. How they create such amazing details with broken bits of tile is wonder to me.

St Paul's Basilica, Rome

The mosaic artwork on the dome of St Paul's Basilica, Rome

And lastly, the food. I was very much looking forward to trying real pasta and pizza in Italy. My first few meals were rather average (touristy type pizza and pasta). I wanted the real traditional stuff. Finally I was directed to a restaurant in the Jewish Quarter of Rome. It proved to be super hot tip as this pasta was probably the best I've ever eaten. A spaghetti carbonara with crispy chunks of bacon...drool.

Spaghetti Carbonara, Da Giggetto restaurant, The Jewish Quarter, Rome

 So there's my view of Rome from the lens. Stay tuned for Cinque Terre and Venice.

WYD 2011 Madrid - Viva La Espana

In August 2011, I was fortunate enough to travel to Spain for World Youth Day (WYD) 2011, a Catholic youth gathering with more than 2 million youth from around the world. The trip was fantastic, both in terms of the spiritual and photographic opportunities which i was exposed too. Here's a selection of photos which will hopefully convey some of what i experienced.

I travelled to Spain with a group from the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese. Our first stop was Bejar, where we would spend the first 5 days of our trip. Bejar is a beautiful small town of 15 000 people, located around 3 hours west of Madrid. In the winter months, the town boasts some nice ski fields (at least that's what we were told). However, we were there towards the latter part of the Spanish summer...and boy did we feel the heat. Never-the-less, Bejar, was a still a beautiful sight to behold. Below is a shot of the river that cuts through the town. Once upon a time, Bejar boasted several textile factories (the white building below). The factories are not in working order anymore, but they still allow you to picture the Bejar of old.

Bejar - the river and abandoned textile factory

During our time in Bejar, we learnt a lot about the Spanish way of life. In particular, we noticed that the people of Bejar loved to frequent their local parks (which incidentally also had free wi-fi). From morning till night (and i mean 11pm) families, young and old, would wander through the park, sitting and chatting, or exercising on the park's gym equipment. There certainly seemed to be a culture around spending time in the park. Below is a photo which captures some Spanish Senors taking a stroll in the park.

Spanish Senors strolling in the park, Bejar

The Spanish have a strong Catholic tradition and their churches certainly show it. Decorated with gold and beautiful statues. Here's a few photos to give you an idea.

Crucifix

Sanctuary behind the altar

Statue of Mary

Lectionary for morning prayer in Spanish

 After our few days in Bejar, we moved on to Madrid for the main festivities of WYD. As i mentioned earlier, there were approximately 2 million people gathered for the event. Yes it was crowded and very hot, but the experience was worth it. Captured below is one of the more peculiar moments of WYD. The heat was crippling during the mid-day sun. To the rescue came Madrids finest fire fighters, spraying the crowds with their hoses. As you can see, everyone was enjoying the free shower.

Fireman (Sam) to the rescue!

So yes, it was hot...and we were thirsty. And for a hard earned thirst, you need a big cold Sangria. And the best cold sangria came from the Art and Wine Bar in Madrid. Sangria became a daily ritual. 

Sangria!

So that's my short teaser of Spain. Would i go back in hurry? Absolutely, there is so much more to see. Viva La Espana

I'm a photographer, not a criminal!

I'm a photographer, not a criminal!!! more on that a little later.

It's been a long while since my last blog, overseas travels and life in general (laziness) have kept me away. Today is my less than grand return to the blogosphere...

My photobuddy, Kane, was back from Armidale for the weekend. It has almost become a ritual that whenever he is back in Newcastle we head out for a photography session. We had grand plans for a sunrise shoot at Dudley rocks, but with the terrible storm overnight and the rain/clouds this morning, that option was ruled out pretty quickly. Instead we headed in to town for breakfast at 3 bean cafe (eggs benedict...drool!) and then off for a photo session. 

We headed to Newcastle Train Station, a spot that i had been thinking of for a while now. I had the composition for the shot pretty much worked out in my head out before i even got to the platform. We set up and started to fire away a few shots when we were interrupted by a City Rail employee (in an angry tone), "what are you guys doing?" Me, "umm taking photos of trains...is that ok? The employee trudged off. A few minutes later another employee walks up to me "Do you have permission to take photos on the platform? You'll have to talk to the station master". I reply "sorry i didn't know it was illegal to take photos in a PUBLIC place". He walked away...Kane and I kept shoot. It's almost as if they assumed i was going to do something illegal...seriously, i'm just a photographer, not a criminal. <Rant Over>

Anyway, after taking a number of pictures i realised that my preconceived photo composition wasn't quite working. I changed tact a little and a new view caught my eye. Sometimes its just funny that the shot photo you weren't planning to take turns out to be much better than the planned shot. 



Anyway here it is, edited in Lightroom.

Newcastle Train Station

Cheers
Elroy