Travel smarter, travel light.
Reuters is reporting a British Airways crew in New Delhi delayed their flight’s departure by 13 hours because they did not get sufficient rest in their noisy hotel rooms. Passenger fury at the crew’s decision surprised me, placing their schedule ahead of personal safety
Should the crew have continued the flight despite their unrested condition?
After a long journey that crossed the extent of the old empire from Britannia and across the Land of the Gauls, I finally stand within the walls of the Roman capital. Weaving across the Via Sacra, bumped and jostled as I crane my head to see the majesty that was Rome. Behind me is the Temple of Vespasian, a small edifice for this great emperor that Domitian squeezed into the space between the Tabularium and the Temple of Saturn.
Down this road Caesar marched in triumph before being declared Dictator of Rome, and set the way for the Republic to become an Empire after the turmoil of his assignation. His temple stands at the centre of the Forum signifying his central role in Roman history, so great a leader his successors took his name to connect their reign with Julius Caesar’s legacy.
In front of me, the Rostra where Rome’s famous orators delivered their great speeches. I can almost see Marc Antony striding to the platform from the Curia, his words protecting Caesar’s memory in death as he protected his friend’s body in battle.
Next to the Temple of Julius Caesar is the Temple of Vesta and the living quarters of Rome’s Vestal Virgins; their sacred duty to maintain the eternal flame in the Temple. I feel Roman standing at the sacred centre of the capital looking up the Via Sacra towards the Arch of Titus and the great Temple of Venus and Roma.
Listening I hear accents from the far reaches of the globe, people drawn to Rome like me to see the city that brought forth the modern world. Can they imagine their lives without the technology of their Roman rulers?
The parchment ends with this intriguing question but did he imagine that the great Roman Empire would collapse under the weight of its own expanse and the incompetence of emperors unfit to bear the title Caesar. Roman advances in technology and art forgotten, their great structures quarried for raw materials and society reverted to subsistence levels for centuries. The Forum continues to draw travellers from across the world. Come join us and marvel at Rome.
Sandwich after sandwich disappeared in to the nun’s round belly, the Tuscan countryside whizzing past the window as we headed north. We left the train in Firenze (Florence), and as it crept out of the station realised our food still sat on the luggage rack. Our daughter giggled, ‘I bet that nun eats our food.’ I hope she did.
Train travel makes you relax, providing time to gather your thoughts, write your journal and prepare for the next destination. People seem friendlier without the constraints imposed by airlines, and the nausea of security lines to upset their travel karma.
Europeans enjoy a fast and efficient rail system and even the most inexperienced traveller can navigate the ticket machines and schedules with a little preparation. Rick Steves maintains a comprehensive guide on selecting and using your Eurail Pass. a must read before you go.
European trains also provide a comfortable sleeping arrangement for overnight travel, a couchette is a basic bed in a shared compartment (4-6 people), a mobile hostel. We boarded the overnight train in Venezia (Venice) for Muenchen (Munich), stowed our bags and changed into our comfort clothes. A long day walking through Venice (we got lost, a must do in Venice) had prepared the family to sleep almost anywhere, and the cozy couchettes welcomed us to the land of nod.
We woke the next morning approaching Munich, left the train and stored our bags in a locker before a quick breakfast and heading off to Dachau fresh and ready to experience our first day in Germany.
Ride the rails on your next European adventure, and enjoy the leg room.
Darren Rowse, Digital Photography School, shares his tips for improving your travel photographs and his description of tour photo stops exactly matched my experience. My guiding principle:Take as many photos as possible at each location using various techniques and settings.
In China I used more Kodachrome a day than most of my tour companions used the whole trip but I have one great photo of every place we visited. With digital there is no excuse to not take those extra frames, just remember to put the camera away and experience the place as well.
I am a fan of the Amateur Traveler Podcast and this week Chris Christensen spoke with Scott and Sheryl who quit their Silicon Valley jobs to travel through Europe for a year. Documenting their journey in their own podcast, A Year in Europe, Scott and Sheryl share their experiences and show you just how easy it is to travel.