Over in kilabyte's world, Mikey has compiled a great rundown of our recent trip around Italy. After I left to come to Chicago, Mikey's blog continues with a summary of experiences in Paris and Singapore.
Now that I'm waiting for his epilogue to bring his masterpiece to a close, I was thinking about the things I found amusing about our trip.
Since I left Australia in February 2005, I've been to lots of different countries, but seem to end up on the "ABC Tour" (Another Bloody Church) of each one.
If there was a church built within a 5 mile radius of where I was, I went there. Sometimes I rocked up when Mass was on, sometimes I just poked around and subversively took photos.
But by far and away the most impressive churches are found in Italy. I know that the Vatican itself is not a Church, but you've got to agree that this hallway (that butts up against the SOUVENIR SHOP for pity's sake) is pretty darn special. And that's not the half of it!
St Peter's Basilica in Rome will blow your mind; St Mark's in Venice looks creepy and haunted but I think it's gorgeous. And then there is the oft-forgotten Basilica of St Paul, a short Metro ride from central Rome. Well worth the excursion, because it is bloody huge and you won't belive how huge till you see it for yourself.
And what about the holy relics contained in the churches? I've seen wrinkled skeletons, haunting crypts, tasteful shrines, and bogus plaques. It's all right there for the tourist to see.
Why am I going on about Churches so much? I don't know. Most of my photo album is full of them, as it has turned out. I had a thing for stained glass windows for a while, and archways were another big feature. Neither of these were in short supply in the churches, let me tell you.
Every square inch of many of the ceilings were painted in such ornate detail. The Sistine Chapel is one such example obviously, but there are also plenty of others. Craning your neck to experience the whole work of art is a painful task.
So while I loved seeing the Churches and particularly enjoyed sharing it with the Griswolds on the ABC Tour of Europe, I think I'll give them a miss for a while.
So you're off the hook folks; no more Church photos for a bit.
3 comments:
And let's not forget St Francis Basilica in Assisi ot Sainte Chapelle in Paris, or Notre Dame for that matter .... ahhh!!! we could go on for hours ..... and then there was rue Pigale and Monmatre. Says something about life don't it???
Nice to see you are keeping fond memories of your trip. I hope this new religiousness isn't going to cause a renunciation of life's pleasures, such as drinking and dancing etc etc. I am so pleased all is going well there and can't wait to sit down next week and have a proper peek through the Flickr evidence of the Griswold assault on the Romans (I know strictly speaking it was Italians generally but that just sounded more battley). I will be wearing my new Vespa t-shirt with pride around the streets of sunny Adelaide and will make sure and join with our boys in a toast to Chicago and a hope that the Indian "summer" continues. Am back in Oz for the first time in a long time and am readying myself for a venture into a milk bar at some point tomorrow to pick up some local delicacies. Amen my child and speak soon.
And Adelaide is looking forward to having you home too. Might not be as flash as rue Rivoli but the Mall has "balls". Hugs and kisses in case time does not permit to catch up this time around ..... a biggy next year yeah !!!???!!
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