They say
All roads lead to Rome. So just take any road and it should lead you to Rome eventually. Thats exactly what I did. I flew from Oslo to Milano and took the path to Rome through the beautiful cities of Florence and Pisa, famous for its renaissance art and home to several great artists Leonardo Da vinci, Michel Angelo, Donatello, Raphael(Reminds me of the Four Mutant Ninja Turtles ;-),Ghirlandiao and several others... As I explored more on why they made that statement, I found out that wherever Romans invaded and occupied(Brittany or Gaul or Spagna) they put up a Mile marker along the path specifying exactly the distance between that point in the occupied territory to a specific point in Rome called '
Milarium Aerium' which was supposedly the Center point of Rome in those days, located inside the
Roman Forum(only
ruins remain now). All roads were considered to start from this Milarium. So the reverse must also be true.
Q.E.D (Hence Proved!) ...
Ave caesar! Morituri te salutamus -
Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you. (gladiators before the fight) ...
Kill...Kill..Kill...This fervent chant seemed to resonate through the building in space and time in this
Colossal Colosseo in Rome. In the Movie Gladiator, Juba says to fellow gladiator Maximus(played by Russel Crowe): "
Did you ever see anything like that before? I didn't know man could build such things". It was so true and that showed the power and richness of the Roman Civilization hundreds of years ago. I don't support the reason for such a cause to kill and play with lives of men and animals just for entertainment, but just the architectural beauty of the whole building itself is a wonder. It is well planned with wide stairs and can seat easily around 50,000 people and whole concept of elevator to being men one level up to fight in the arena has been well thought of, many centuries ago. It apparently had 52 gates so people can be seated in their seats in just 5 minutes after
entering the Colosseo. Now all that remains is just the ruins of a
great Roman empire which once ruled much of Europe and some parts of Africa and Asia. Marching along the different streets or 'Viale' of Rome, chances are that you will come across a historical monument every 100 metres. Such is the beauty of that city and its just a view to watch a technologically advanced fast car zipping through a road with the Roman ruins and Colosseo in the background. Its purely a city of Wonder. You need a lifetime to truly explore and understand the history of this magnificient city. Remember "Rome was not built in a day". Being and there and done that, makes me feel very happy now.
To read the whole blog about my Italy Tour, Please read my Travel Blog and also individual blogs. For Photos check out my photo album
**Not all links are active as of now. So please check back later.
I was in Lisbon for a long weekend and I went to Pizza Hut. This is what I found on their Menu. Fried Mushrooms, Garlic Bread and Smiley Potatoes. Look at them, they look so cute and perfect smiley. How can you eat them, when they smile at you like that..... :) Nevertheless, the beast that I am, I ate them with great pleasure...
Photo album from besseggen trip
Another late blog... This is about the trip to hemsedal with some friends and colleagues. Hemsedal is a beautiful ski resort to the north of Oslo, roughly about 3-4 hours drive from Oslo. It has many ski slopes and some steep which makes it a very popular destination during winter. even in summer, this place is really beautiful and good for hiking, biking and kayaking. We did some hiking and also kayaking over the weekend and enjoyed the cabin experience with Sauna. All in all it was a nice trip to wind off from the busy week and the weeks before.
I ve always wanted to go visit Germany, go see the Berlin wall... and finally I did that this Easter.. Well just 6 months late in blogging about it.. been too lazy to blog.. :) I went to Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Heidelburg. A week full of walking, doing touristy things... Well you got the picture..
THE WALL that once divided the West and East berlin.. THE WALL that fell in 1990 unifying the FRG and GDR into one unified Germany.
Sunsets are always a treat, especially when you are on a boat away from the shore and all you see is the infinite stretches of waterbody... and those beautiful full moon nights with moon light reflecting off the water.. I am jus lovin it! Some of my pics which came out very well.. Enjoy!
Sun just vanishing beyond the Hoziron... leaving back quite an impression! 
Aurora Borealis, other wise called Northern Lights is supposedly a Celestial Phenomenon which can be observed in places above the Arctic Circle on a Clear night. To read more about Aurora go here. One of the places where it can be viewed best is North of Norway. So we decided to go to Tromso, a city in the North of Norway which is located 70 Deg. North of Arctic Circle, aslo called gateway to the Arctic. When you hear Arctic Circle, you already feel the cold as if you are going to be shut in a Freezer or in a Eskimo Igloo. Well to a large extent, it was like that. Temperatures around -5 and -10 Deg. C and even colder in the night with chill winds. 
Few of us friends from work decided to go here to try our luck to view the Aurora. First factor was the Solar activity which cannot be predicted much in advance and second is weather, which stood against us. But we took out chances with a forecast of not so clear skies and cloudy weather with some snow fall and medium Solar activity. Unfortunately when it cleared out, Solar activity was at its low and we could not see the Aurora even after staying in tromso for 4 nights. We did get to see some of the Arctic Museums, a Cool Arctic Cathedral and also did Dog Sledging on a Very Cold Snowy night(padded up with a warm suit to survive the Cold Outdoors :) and finished off with Dinner and Coffee in a Sami(Original inhabitants of the Arctic region, Sort of tribes) Hut. It was a cool(literally) trip all in all, but due to our bad luck we couldnt see the Aurora. Oh.. well.. maybe next time... 
Ave caesar! Morituri te salutamus - Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you. (gladiators before the fight) ... Kill...Kill..Kill...
entering the Colosseo. Now all that remains is just the ruins of a great Roman empire which once ruled much of Europe and some parts of Africa and Asia. Marching along the different streets or 'Viale' of Rome, chances are that you will come across a historical monument every 100 metres. Such is the beauty of that city and its just a view to watch a technologically advanced fast car zipping through a road with the Roman ruins and Colosseo in the background. Its purely a city of Wonder. You need a lifetime to truly explore and understand the history of this magnificient city. Remember "Rome was not built in a day". Being and there and done that, makes me feel very happy now. 
What better way to follow up one beast with another one... I mean a Concorde followed by none other couple of Scarlet red Prancing Horses! I saw a couple of Ferraris when I was touring Italy in Rome. The Home of Ferrari... What a beauty! Enjoy....
This F1 car was sighted in a Ferrari Store on 'Via Tomacelli' in Rome. The store was closed and I couldn't go inside. What a tragedy! They had lots of Ferrari Accessories for Ferrari Fans and naturally looked very expensive from Outside.
