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Rome is great. Loud, lively and invigorating. In fact its so invigorating I might go somewhere quieter for the New Year’s to have a bit of a rest.

A Roman Christmas

Nickjenkins
2003-11-20 11:12:08

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Thursday, 24 Dec 1998 08:43:42

Rome is great. Loud, lively and invigorating. In fact its so invigorating I might go somewhere quieter for the New Year’s to have a bit of a rest.

I've been to the Colosseum, the Pantheon, St Peter's Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps and a few of the less than famous landmarks in Rome. I've also sampled the world famous gelati from 'Giolitti' and drunk litres of excellent coffee (standing up - they charge you exactly three times the price if you want to sit down to drink it).

My tip for travelling in Rome is : use your elbows, Romans don't believe in queues only elbows.

I arrived in Rome for Christmas and it was the first European city I had visited. As an introduction to exotic European culture Rome was an eye-opener.

Most non-Europeans perceive Europe as far more homogenous than it actually is. The concept of European Union was, I think, less of a shock to the rest of the world than it was to the countries of Europe. Visitors from foreign lands usually don’t think in terms of visiting individual countries but rather of going to ‘Europe’ to see the ‘Europeans’. It is a much easier and more manageable concept.

So most people, myself included, arrive on the shores of ‘Europe’ expecting to find a land full of people who, apart from the small and inconvenient fact that they speak different languages, all exhibit the same quirky little cultural traits that make them European. For most people, myself included, an education is not long in coming.

I stayed in Rome in a self catering apartment which I shared with a couple of people. There was Fabian the French traveller who was touring Europe as a kitchen hand, and Gabriel and Fiona who were language students from London.

Over some rough wine and a game of ...