Back to Reality

After 4 amazing weeks of travel, it's time to settle back into life...back into reality---but luckily only long enough to fund the next adventure.

On Wednesday, Mat returned to work on the Sand Falcon. This is now a permanent position, which means that from now, until forever, Mat will work for 3 weeks and be off for 3 weeks. I've already started the countdown, and once I wake up tomorrow, it'll only be 19 days until he's home. It is actually a leave system, which means it will definitely be every 3rd Wednesday for both starting and stopping work. With this schedule, we can plan our holidays forever. Wonderful!!!

Back in London I was able to find a great place to live. I'll be lodging in a home in East London (Leytonstone, to be exact) for 3 weeks. I have a great room in a great house. The house is owned by a very sweet lady and she rents out 2 of her rooms...that means only 3 people to share a whole house with.

Here is what it's like:

Two benefits to living in a person's home...TV and a couch.

The kitchen is very tidy. I have my own space in the fridge and cupboards and access to all appliances---like a rice cooker!

There's even a TV in here, so you can get the news while cooking and eating. Brilliant.

My room is also pretty darn good.

Note the ample storage



and the very comfortable King size bed. The feather duvet is also very warm and super poofy. It feels very luxurious.


So it seems that eventhough returning to reality is not much fun (the kids were particularly annoying this week), life is still good. A nice kitchen, a good bed...and only 19 days until I get to have another wild adventure with my best friend, the love of my life.

Back in London and gifts from home

On Sunday we said good-bye to Rome (small tear) after an amazing holiday. The 3 hour flight and the 2 hour bus ride into the city got us to Victoria station where we decided to find a hotel (there is a street full of small hotels at cheap prices). We found one (it aint the Hilton) and spent our first night freezing. We literaly woke up at 2 am because we were shivering. Mat went downstairs and got a second blanket and today, we complained our butts off. We had our pick of the remaining rooms and now we're in the hottest room in the place (seriously considering opening a window).

Because of the horrible sleep I chickened out of going back to work today (that's one problem about being in control of when you work---who really wants to?). We spent the day getting back into the swing of things and completing some errands.

I have found a new place to move into and will be moving my stuff in tomorrow, and my body in on Wednesday (after Mat returns to the ship).

While it is exciting to be back in London and even more exciting to be thinking of what to do for our next vacation (in just 3 weeks), the most wonderful thing to return to was the gifts sent from home.

Mat is super thrilled at the bringing of our laptop. He'll now have one on the ship and I'll have one in London. He's signed up for wireless broadband and should be able to surf and email regularly.

Both of us are more than pleased with the goodies sent. Frogs!!!!

But the best/craziest/most incredible gift was the very large quantity of juice crystals. Mat is over the moon and it is soooooo appreciated

good thing he's not going to have to go slowly. There is an entire bag full!!! We haven't counted, but we're convinced that there are enough for 1 per day for a year.

We also had some books sent and chocolates from Swiss Chalet. It was wonderful. The chocolates are already gone and the frogs are on the way, but the juice, the books and the laptop will last a while and will be much loved for months!

I'll be posting soon with pics of the new place and details of life back in London.

Oh, which show to see?!?!?!

Ostia Antica

On the 7th rainy day we've had in Rome we decided to take to the ruins again...this time at the old Roman port of Ostia Antica.

Here we are ready as always for whatever Mother Nature brought

On your way to the entrance to the old city of Ostia you must first pass through the necropolis, which is basically the cemetery. Regulations stated that such things needed to be built outside the city walls...and so they were.

complete with marble statues (which have now obviously seen better days)

After the fall of the Roman empire the city was no longer necessary (it was exclusively used for port facilities) and things simply began to decay. Luckily, much of the city's wonders are still semi-preserved (and thankfully some things have been reconstructed to stop further decay).

My favourite thing, of course, was the discovery of the theatre.





very cool to be standing in a real ancient Roman theatre.

Other fun discoveries (hard to narrow it down really) were this almost pristine fountain room, with floor to ceiling marble.

The cobble stones were large and clearly marked the roads throughout the city.

It was also really interesting to see how the current surroundings are intermingling with history. Those are the roots of a tree crawling their way through the walls. Understandable, since most of this city would have been covered with dirt/grass/trees over the last 1500 years.

We also found a public latrine. We found a very cool personal one in a very expensive home as well, but I really get a kick out of the shared expereince you'd get from a room like this. Notice how close the potty holes are to one another.

Almost completely preseved, is this restaurant. Notice the picture showing the customers what they would have been selling.

This is the stove

there was even a courtyard with marble floor mosaics and a fountain where people could have sat to enjoy their meal.

The bakery discovery was pretty good as well.

Here is Mat working in the mill. Grind, grind, grind.

It was an absolutely amazing day. I couldn't stop smiling at the wonders that were constantly appearing.

It even stopped raining and ended with a beautiful rainbow! Perfection.

Benedict, Baths and Bones

Each Wednesday morning the Pope holds an audience for those who wish to see him (and who request the free ticket)

The auditorium is quite grand and in modern style

and is full of people from around the world, waiting to have a 'personal moment' with His Holiness.

Yeppers, we got a ticket

and we saw Pope Benedict XVI (us and a few thousand other people)

He began with a lengthy message in Italian and then welcomed each represented group in their corresponding language: French, English, Spanish, German, Portugese, Polish and Italian. Each group seemed to be evenly represented and most even gave their own personal offerings to His Holiness, offerings in the form of song, chants...a band even played (they had tubas and everything).

It was quite amazing to be part of such a joyous occassion. It wasn't a normal Catholic mass, but it seemed to be more of a way for people to get a personal look at a man of such esteem, and a way for him to recognize their pilgrimage/faith and to make them feel connected in a very personal way. It was truly touching.

Here are the Cardinals and Swiss Guards who also shared the stage. The Cardinals read out the list of groups present within their language group (schools/churches). The Swiss Guards (as his personal guards) kept the peace....and looked good doing it (they are all baby faced sexy things -- yum).

After the mass, we travelled to The Roman Baths of Caracalla. The public baths were built in 216 and were used as a public bath/leisure centre for the Romans.

They were massive...and extravagant with their elaborate mosaics and grand statues.

Here is the remnants of a terrace used for sunbathing.

ruins

Some remaining walls were 30 meters high

The last stop of the day was pretty cool...but really really creepy; The Capuchini Bone Chapel

The bones of over 4000 friars have been used to decorate the 'crypt, ' which has been turned into 6 chapels.

There are skulls, tailbones, hip bones, ribs...every bone and complete skeletons. When you're standing a few feet away and can't recognize what they are, they just look like beautiful decorations, but once you get close...it's macabre.

A stange, but intriguing end to the day. Who knows what Rome holds next.

30 000 steps around Rome

We started our Roman walk today with the underground catacombs as our final destination. Though we got there, we decided not to go in, but we did see a load of cool things on the journey. Here they are:

Stop 1: St. Peter in Chains:

This church is said to hold the actual chains that held St. Peter, as well as Michaelangelo's statue of Moses.

The inside of the church

St. Peter's chains

Michaelangelo's Moses

Stop 2: the Basilica of St Clemente

Mentioned by St. Jerome in the 4th century, this basilica was basically destroyed by a fire in the 12 century, but the new one was rebuilt ontop.

inside

remnants of the 1st church.

Stop 3: the Basilica of St. John in the Lateran
The Lateran was the residency of the Popes until 1309 when it was moved to France. This Basilica is the world's first Cathedral (the Cathedral of Rome), founded by Constantine as the Basilica of the Saviour. Like all Basilicas, this one has a bronze door (called the holy door) that only gets opened during holy years (every 25 years).

The obelisk standing infront of the basilica

the front facade

the floor inside the basilica

inside

Stop 4: old Roman aqueduct/wall

Stop 5: filling up on the spring water from the local fountain

Stop 6: travelling via Appia Antica (the Appian Way)

This road was called 'the queen of all roads'. This road was lined by tombs for members of very important families.

Port San Sebastiano is the gate that opens up to via Appia Antica

Stop 7: the ruins of Villa of Maxentius

Built in the 4th century, it was an imperial residence and now houses the tomb of Romulus (one of the founders of Rome).

Stop 8: The Tomb of Cecilia Metella

Stop 9: The Supermarket

interesting broccoli. It's pointy.

very expensive Peanut Butter. $7

Stop 10: St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Basilica)

Built by Constantine over St. Paul's Tomb.

The outside

filled with 150 colums

the chains that held St. Paul and his tomb (beneath)

Stop 11: The Pyramid of Caius Cestius.

That was our 30,000 steps.