4:27 AM
Hello everyone!
Rojak here again! We had travelled to Rome. Want to know more about Rome?
We are going to talk about our first impression of Rome today! First, we will tell you about the good impressions. Just so you know. Rome is the capital of Italy. The city is big and there are many friendly people.
There are many beautiful and dramatic sculptures. Some were created by famous artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Bernini and Michelangelo. Most of those were famous pieces & many tourists came to Rome to witness the art pieces before their eyes such as Sistine Chapel. However, there are sculptures that are rather obscene to us. This is probably because we don’t see many sculptures like this in Singapore. To the people here, it’s actually an appreciation of art.
Here’s a little comparison between the Germany & Italy. We don’t have to fork out any penny for using the washrooms. (HAHA)
However, we also had bad impressions of Rome. For example, there are no proper parking lots in some places. What is worse is that vehicles won’t stop for you even though you’re crossing the zebra crossing, unlike Singapore’s. If only you were here to witness it for yourself, you’ll be astonished by the number of cigarette butts you can see lying along the streets. (We’re not exaggerating! It 100% real)
Besides that, we are also warned to increase our alertness for our belongings. That’s because there’s beggars trying to gain sympathy from us. Some were not even disabled, but were just waiting for a free lunch. There were also a bunch of people who tried to sell us things like umbrellas for 5 euro. When we rejected their offer, they will decrease the price lower by 50%. In fact, the second offer is usually the real cost price for these items.
In conclusion, we have both good and bad impressions on Rome but we still enjoyed this magnificent trip because it’s not where we are at but who we are with (:
The following day, we visited to Pompeii and climbed Mount Vesuvius. Mount Vesuvius is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Pompeii was buried under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The buildings, sculpture and even graffiti that is unearthed from excavation act as vivid witness to the daily lives of ancient Romans nearly 2000 years ago.
It’s definitely exhausting when we’re climbing. However, the thought of everyone climbing it together kept us going. Instead of whining that it’s tough, we seize that opportunity to interact with one another. At first, many people wanted to give up halfway, but in the end we still hold on and breakthrough!
When we reached the crater, we were really happy and proud of everyone as we made it! Having the courage and determination to attempt, we deserved a big round of applause. On our way down, we sang the school song together, three Eurasians even cheered for us, but we were proud so we continued singing! We also collected some volcanic rocks on our way down; some rocks even have minerals in it. We were kind of shocked when Mr. Lee told us how to differentiate the different kinds of rocks e.g. basaltic rocks are dark and denser where lighter and less dense rocks cooled faster from their molten form.
After the whole hiking ended, we were thankful and honoured to have climbed a famous active volcano as not many people get to climb a volcano. Let alone, even getting a glance of it. It was really an unforgettable and enriching experience for all of us and we will always remember those times that we’ve spent together.
Until then, Ciao!
Gute Nacht! (Goodnight in German)
With love;
Cheryl, Yvonne. Natasha and Joey =)
Europhiles :)