Italy, the home of romantic scenes, the locations of famous action sequences and the place where you would most likely find a lot of stunt doubles, due to the aforementioned famous action sequences.
Naturally, being a scene of action sequences and romantic scenes, possibly both in the same film, it’s a great place to visit, if you do ever get the opportunity.
We did, and it was quite the trip.
Venice was the first stop, which naturally tied with Rome as the place to get our feet wet, quite literally. Venice is possibly the first image that comes to mind when you think of romantic Italy, where the lazy canals were perhaps the first thing you want to experience once you got a whiff of the atmosphere. Steve, being a gamer, certainly appreciated imagining that Ezio fellow diving into the waters, or whatever it is that virtual assassins do during their down time. Riding the gondola was a bit on the pricey side, but if you do get to visit Venice, the two words I can only say with such vigor are thus: worth it.
For those who would like to experience a cruise in the canals but save a little bit more cash, the Vaporetto will be a great alternative. These are big bus boats that follow along a predetermined route. Do your best not to exaggerate the ‘R’ sound and throw around dramatic gestures- the temptation will always be there for as long as you are in Italy, but do try to save it for when you retire to one of the gorgeous villas.
After our relaxing time in Venice, we were pumped, excited and ready to see Italy’s capital, Rome.
In stark contrast to Venice, Rome was a lot busier, and in a word, more solid, I suppose. Regardless of one’s religion, the Vatican and its buildings were beautiful to behold, and definitely worth a tour. Vatican City is essentially the capital of the capital of Italy, the headquarters of the big P. We were absolutely humbled by St. Peter’s Basilica as it was both wondrous and breathtaking- we felt instantly transported back to the Late Renaissance period. Again, regardless of religion, there is just something about holy structures that make you think of the driving force behind its architects, engineers and labor men that sort of sends chills down your spine.
Finally, since contrast seemed to be the theme of our trip, we went to visit the Colosseum, or the Flavian Amphitheatre, as it were. A structure built by people with the names Vespasian’ and Titus are bound to be respectfully epic, and our expectations were completely blasted out of the Venetian waters, as we did have the foresight to leave them floating there before visiting Rome.
While currently bereft of gladiators and deadly combat, just entering such an iconic structure was absolutely thrilling, and we at least managed to have a glimpse of the glory that was Imperial Rome.
There were still so many places to go and so many things to do, but being able to visit two very popular and iconic destinations in Italy was a blast. We are definitely going to come back rather soon, hopefully. Nothing beats a walk through history.
