Rome Sweet Rome

 

Since the moment Chanelle and I pulled into this city, I wasn't able to shake the lyrics from Pink Floyd's Time out of my head:  "When I come home cold and tired, its good to warm my bones beside the fire."

As we were already one month deep into our Euro trip, being in a new city everyday was becoming both a mentally and physically exhausting feat.  Arriving into Rome Chanelle and I decided right off the bat that we were not going anywhere for a least 3 nights. 

Rome sweet Rome

Rome served as a better home away from home than I could have asked for.  It had this overpowering sense of security about it. Most people have a character in their life that they feel completely at ease around; someone that produces this contagious relaxing aura that you just can't get enough of, and you feel the weight of the world melt in their presence. 

This was the feeling Rome gave me.  I have never felt more poised and at harmony with the world in my entire being.

We booked a hostel last minute and it ended up costing us way more than we hoped to spend, but it was located right in the heart of the city so we agreed.  Walking into the hostel, there were two Indian gentlemen at the reception.  I chatted to them for a while recounting the parts of India I had visited. 

"No way!"  he kept saying.

"You are friend," he said to me in broken English.

 Then he turns to Chanelle and says, "And you will be my sister today! Yes you will be my sister..."            

That was a strange statement for the both of us and I gathered he was slightly intoxicated, but he was entertaining so we listened to him rant for a while.  He went on and on about how upset he was to see our corrupted youth this day and age, and how all our morals have gone to hell, and then he continued with stories about the wild days he had in his youth.  At the end of his spiel he turns to us and said,
 "But I can tell that you are good girls, so I'm giving you 50 euros off your price, because you are my family today".   

 Score!

To top it all off he offered us a free bottle of wine.  As if I couldn't love Rome anymore already.



The lads at reception



There might have been Vodka in that watermelon

He really liked Chanelle

The next morning Chanelle and I visited the Coliseum, one of the seven man made wonders of the world.  What an incredibly eerie place.  It was hard to believe that we were trailing in the same footsteps dating back to 80 A.D.

I couldn't fathom an idea of what the earth was like back then, but walking through the ancient walls you could almost feel it.   You could sense the history and power of the place coursing through your body with every step you took.  The only time I have been so moved by a building in my entire life was when I visited the Taj Mahal in Agra.  It was a very spiritual experience.








Still time for a little gladiator reenactment

 
 
 
 
 

Suprises in Hawkshead

When I travelled Europe, I flew into London initially to meet up with Catherine who was visiting her relatives there for a few days before I arrived.  After we had sufficiently conquered the city, we started bussing and train hopping northbound through the UK with no concrete plans in mind.  Leave it to Catherine to close her eyes, circle her finger around the map, randomly strike down on it with full force and say "There! That point shall be our next destination."

"Great Catherine, but where the hell is Hawkshead?"

Hawkshead, it turns out, is a tiny little village in the Lake District of northern England. One of those towns with hardly any tourists, and where all the residents know each other by name.  It is also quite possibly the most beautiful area I have ever seen, with rolling green pastures serving as the immaculate backdrop in all directions.



Hawkshead


 

Our hostel was situated a mile up the road from the bus station.  Our eyes were peeled for any sort of grungy looking building (for that's what hostels usual consist of) but this was not your average hostel.  Originally a colonial mansion, it had been converted into a hostel twenty years ago, and was set amid beautiful flower gardens and held a most majestic view of the lake below.




Hiking to the Hostel





Catherine sunbathing outside the hostel after our long hike up




Pony and Lenai


That evening we went exploring in some of the nearby pasture fields, which we were drawn to because of this cute little pony, when we stumbled upon an old cemetery from the 1800s.  Towards the top of the cemetery, a dreary old church came into view.  It looked fairly abandoned so we approached it for  a closer look.  Suddenly an elderly man appeared at the doorway and said,  "Good evening ladies! Are you here for the concert?"

 "Which concert would that be?" we inquired.

 "Oh well the annual accordion orchestra concert of course!" he stated.

Catherine and I looked at each other completely bemused.

"Yes! Of course we are here for the accordion orchestra concert!"




The Church




 Despite the rundown exterior, the church was remarkably well maintained inside.  At the front of it, were ten musicians ranging from 10-70 years of age.  The three with accordions in their hands made up the first row, and the back row consisted of a pianist, a cellist, a few on the violin, and the rest on the flute.  Watching them was a small audience of about 25 people.  We quietly slipped into the back row, and remained there memorized for the next hour listening to the melodies of Moon River, Pirates of the Caribbean and Celtic Connections. The sound produced was so beautiful it was hypnotic.  By the end of the hour the whole church was so absorbed in the music that everyone began clapping their hands and stomping their feet to the beat.   I think that's when I leaned over to Catherine and whispered, "Are we in a run-down church on top of a rolling hill in the English countryside listening to an accordion orchestra concert right now?"

 Just your typical Saturday night overseas.


Catherine and The Pony



I think he liked us...