Photo of the week: Ciao Roma!

Have just returned from a five day visit to the Italian capital of Roma. In short, it was the best holiday I have had in a long while!

Rome is a beautiful place and I left with an ache to see more of the country - perhaps Venice, Florence and/or Tuscany next time. The weather was fine throughout our stay, making it the perfect experience to enjoy the countless precious historical sites. And because it was winter, there were very few tourists to compete with at entrance lines, ticket booths and restaurants. If you ever want to visit Rome, please consider winter, especially close to Christmas time. You'll get to see Rome without the heaving weight of tourists, and enjoy the many brilliant Christmas decorations!

There aren't enough words to describe how incredible Rome is. I stood in awe at every street corner as I gazed at each quaint Italian coffee shop or pizzeria, and marveled at the architecture of the various ages of Rome - from classical, to medieval and finally to the age of renaissance.

The trip itself deserves a much longer review but for now, I leave you with the best birds-eye view of the place that I could find. This was taken at the top of the Spanish Steps as we were making our way to Villa Borghese. We chanced upon the most unique cloud formation I had ever seen, seemingly to highlight the powerful and unique quality of the city below - with its old crooked streets lined with colourful buildings and dotted with ancient monuments dedicated to a life centuries ago when this was the centre of the world.

Until I write again.

Winter whimsies

The cold weather is starting to get serious. It rains practically everyday now and no one can stand being still outdoors for more than 5 minutes. Today it actually hailed - small slimy pellets of ice rained down on the city like a shower of stones threatening to break glass and pavement. A good thing though that it did not last very long because we could have been stuck indoors at the university and would finally have to admit openly to sleeping in the library.

It won't be long now before it snows and then, I predict all hell will break loose as the city will be inundated with Asians (obviously unused to the white stuff) jumping and squealing about with their cameras in tow. Just the thing to bring about that warm and fuzzy feeling.

The prospect of frost-bite has driven most of us to stay home, strapped to our portable heaters and wearing 5 layers of socks and 6 layers of underpants. And even though it's that time of the academic calender when we really should be going over the books, most of us have found some other more pleasant pursuits.

For me, I have discovered the wonderful world of Downton Abbey.

Having spent the greater part of the last four years never having any time for television, it seems that I am back with a vengeance. I have been completely drawn in to the show's exquisite story-telling, period costumes, tantalizing dialogue, sumptuous cinematography, and addictive cliff-hangers.

Downton Abbey is the story of the household of the Earl of Grantham, the head of the Crawley family and landlord extraordinaire of Downton during the early 1910s to 1920s. At a time when the estate came perilously close to bankruptcy, the Earl married an American heiress but failed to produce male heirs. Such is British law that the estate and title cannot then pass to any of his daughters upon his death and so, we now have a story. Throw in bitter rivalry amongst the help, children who don't get along to the point of conspiracy, a sassy grandma (Dame Maggie Smith, of McGonagall fame), love in the oddest places, and you have yourself an Emmy-award winning tv drama series like only the English could.

My favourite bits about the series is the effective acting from all but especially by Maggie Smith, who is proof positive that not only is age ain't nothing but a number, but that women are like fine wine that ages into perfection. She is simply sublime as Dowager Countess (mum to Earl of Grantham). Another point is the fantastic work put into making everyone look so good and authentically turn-of-the-century. The costumes have clearly been put together by a team who knows their worth. And finally, the artful realism with which the writer of the series has sewn together historical events like the sinking of the Titanic and World War I into the story line makes you relate to the cast and plot effortlessly.

Refocus

I had my first exams week and felt a miserable heaviness after it. The only comfort I can find is the fact that everyone else I know seemed to have felt the same way -- though in hindsight I'm not sure if that's really a comfort after all. 

Feeling dejected I wandered around the city a bit when a brainwave struck. I kept thinking about how miserable I felt and how horrid the exam was and I realised that not only was this the most trivial heartache I have had since I left my job, I had completely forgotten what I was here for. This was supposed to be an indulgent respite from the horrors of working life back home, and a time for me to refocus, re-energise and re-train. 

I had grown only a little unhappy over the past few years and wanted to get my feet back on the right path and finally here is my chance to do it. I should be rejoicing not whinging about things, and it's high time I remind myself of the whole point of coming here in the first place.

So the exam was a brutal jolt for me to start making serious strides. That lesson is well and truly learnt. The next thing to do is to keep the spirit and body up, and with that in mind I've joined Laguna, a health and wellness spa in the city that caters to the better heeled set -- this might not be me, necessarily, but I am trying to make a meaningful change here. I closed my eyes shut and with trembling hands, swiped my credit card. 

Several times too because I'd only come to Cardiff with the bare minimum of gym essentials. I didn't have a swim suit for example (Laguna has a massive indoor heated swimming pool) or any kind of yoga apparel. Tomorrow will be my first Ashtanga Yoga class. I've heard good things about the instructor and about the technique so I am having high hopes. 

Meanwhile, I have in my haste, acquired many books to read. Admittedly I am a slow reader but this will not deter my hopes one bit. Among others, I just bought Bill Clinton's newest book, Back to Work, so that I might understand why exactly it is that the American political economy is the way it is (a favourite subject of mine) and maybe see what the old man might have to say about trying to pull themselves out of the mud, so to speak. This should be interesting. And at 208 pages, it's not too much of a monstrosity to overcome. 

In a week's time, I will be off on another adventure, this time in Europe with my favourite traveler of them all :-) I will update again just before leaving and of course post a write up on the entire trip when I get back. Til then, good night and have an excellent weekend, everyone.