Hi all. Currently on the train to Rome from Ancona, watching the picturesque Italian countryside roll by. The bus and train rides have been remarkably pleasant just sitting in our comfy seats, talking, resting, watching and playing lots and lots of cards. Despite Tristan’s and my utter destruction at the hands of the teachers playing 500, our enthusiasm for it hasn’t waned and it’s what we’ve been playing mostly, combined with bartoque, scum, cheat, and even some Race for the Galaxy you’ll be happy to know Dad :D.
I’m talking about small pointless things like cards not for lack of other substance, but on the contrary for too much else to talk about. All the art and sculptures we have seen recently have been amazing of course, although I still struggle to comprehend how long ago they were made. I’ve particularly liked these small figurines of animals and people made from clay that every household seemed to have some of, as they seemed like some of the useless things I’d like to collect and they were all beautifully crafted. The temples and ruins have been amazing, although a lot of imagination is needed to see what they would have looked like in their prime. My favourite has been the theatre at Delphi, as it was an outside theatre with the stage backing onto the valley, so the audience watching would always have this absolutely amazing view down the hillside to look at when the performances got too boring.
My biggest penny drop moment would have to be during our trip to the Acropolis museum, when I realised the Elgin marbles that Mr Buckingham kept going on about were not some very expensive marbles of the kind that a child would play with, but in fact the priceless statues that Lord Elgin pillaged from the Acropolis. Learn something new everyday J.
That’s all for now.
-Hamish
