Keep the paintboard, a spray can for the taggin'

One of the more interesting things about Italy is the sheer weight of artistry that it has. It as though art has become an essential part of the Italian culture, or at least it seems that way when I wandered about the streets and the markets and stalls within them. You truly get the impression that so many people are brought up surrounded by magnificent works of art or steeped in a culture that has produced so many great artists that many more people aspire to that way of life, even if it is just a hobby. The ability of people to produce gorgeous oil paintings, watercolour pictures or pencil drawings is definitely a marvel, and going to various Piazzas or alleyways filled with stalls or streets artists is a worthwhile past-time within Rome's streets.

However, perhaps one of the more unique and impressive artistic endeavours I was more incredible for the manner of its production rather than the end result. That's not to say the finished pieces weren't impressive, but it was the means by which they were created that was the real masterpiece. I saw only two of these 'spray can' artists, who created picture of Roman landmarks with nothing more than cardboard, various spray cans, a few stencils and some newspaper. By layering multiple colours of spray can paint, then adding additional layers after placing stencils on the 'canvas', these artists were able to produce pieces that were magnificent in their use of colour gradients. Using different colours to represent different parts of the day, and roughening the effect by splattering paint with their fingers or newspaper to give the impression of stars, clouds or foliage, they could produce quite a interest range of pieces with very few tools.

Yet the most impressive aspect was the speed at which they were created. Taking somewhere around 5 minutes to create, it was almost akin to performance art to watch these artworks being made, each one seeming like a combination of precision and spontaneous inspiration. An impressive talent from a place where artistic creativity almost appears to be commonplace.

Voulez vous danger

Since I've returned to Australia, I'll be doing post-trip blogging (in addition to anything else I might post about), with little grabs from various things I discovered while living in the UK, or on my journey home.

Today's post is a few thoughts as a result of my tour through the Tower of London. Though firstly, I'm going to go outside of the grounds to comment on The Tower Bridge. Or rather, more to voice my disappointment that "London Bridge" as I'd get the image of it in my head from my childhood is actually Tower Bridge, not London Bridge. When I actually saw London Bridge, I must confess I wasn't so sure why it falling down was such a tragedy. I certainly wouldn't have been crying out to any fair ladies over it.

The Tower of London itself is an interesting place, and although it was "never officially a prison", it certainly had its fair share of death. Including polar bears. No, I'm not joking, as at one point, the moat of the castle was effectively a sewer, and a couple of polar bears (given as gifts) got sick as a result of swimming in it and died. If that's not a trivial pursuit question, it should be.

I could comment about the standard things like beheadings and the crown jewels and so on, but that would be boring. However, I'd heard you got to look at the crown jewels for only a few seconds, but I went in the middle of the week and could look at them for as long as I wanted. I can't deny that a massive diamond is impressive, but I confess that I was most jealous of the phenomenal gold punch bowl with some of the most ornate carving I've seen. An American girl obvious agreed, as she took a photo of the thing before the guards came over and quickly forced her to delete it under threat of massive fines. How she could have possibly missed the multitude of "no camera" signs, I'll never know.

But the note I'll leave on is a little exhibit on torture. There was a small display asking people "Is torture acceptable?" There were three options and counters to keep track of the number of times each had been pushed. The figures were interesting:

• No: ~ 280,000
• Yes, as punishment: ~270,000
• Yes, to find information to prevent other crimes: ~170,000

That's food for thought.

Ice cream is gonna save the day

And I'd believe anything is possible when you're dealing with authentic Italian gelato. I'm a fan of dairy products, and ice cream and frozen yoghurt and particular favourites, but gelato in Italy is nothing short of a venerable taste-bud treat. The texture and creaminess are superb, as it's very light and delicate, yet somehow substantial. Add in the very strong flavour (pretty much for every single flavour you can purchase) and you're being treated to a truly decadent dessert experience.

Add into this mix the opportunity to sample hundreds of different flavours, and you can spend a lot of time (and euros) on eating a truckload of gelato. Within 4 hours of arriving in Italy, I'd already had two 3-scoop servings of the wonderful stuff. Highlights included delicious flavours from San Crispino (reputed to be the best gelato in Rome) such as cinnamon and ginger, zabaglione, and honey, not to mention eating a massive 6 scoop monstrosity that could have passed as lunch for some people.

Unfortunately, despite numerous stores showing videos on the "making" of gelato (though it simply showed them mixing a flavour with a gelato base) or displaying signs advertising the ability to watch its creation, I'm still completely oblivious as to how it is made. Well, I suppose some things in life must remain a mystery...

You let me change lanes, while I was driving in my car

No, I haven't been driving. Which is probably just as well, because driving in many European cities seems as though it requires both a well written will and a fairly good death wish. Take the majesty of the Arc Du Triomphe in Paris. No, this isn't another complaint about Paris, and I don't dislike the city as much as my previous posts have made out, I just figured that people would like to hear about the harsh complaints more than the wonderful sights. Perhaps a balance is required.

So taking the behemoth of a roundabout that surrounds the grandiose Arc Du Triomphe, you are presented with a spectacle that likely defies all normal road rules and probably several key aspects of self preservation. This invention has about seven or so major roads leading into it, and an unknown number of lanes going around it, for there are absolutely no road markings at all.

To an outsider, it appears to be a vehicular representation of chaos theory, or perhaps an exercise in kindness that uses up the majority of Paris' goodwill in its peak period of traffic. Cars enter and exit the roundabout in a seemingly random fashion, and frequently cut across multiple lanes of traffic without any sort of warning or even with what would seem like a perfectly rational use of indicator lights. Cars proceed slowly around in a mostly circular fashion, occasionally breaking to let someone in or out, and miraculously, the whole thing functions without a hitch.

Though I revisited it several times, I didn't see a single accident, nor even anything that I'd consider a close call. Somehow, Parisians manage to conduct a massive flow of traffic around the arc without major dramas. In fact, during my time in the city, despite numerous acts of driving that seemed to border on suicidal, I saw only a single accident. That was one car rear-ending another, and the way the entire street turned and gawked at it gave the impression that it was somewhat of a rarity. Perhaps the French aren't as rude and arrogant as stereotypes suggest - well, at least not on the road.

In fact I want so much money... Give me your money

Yes, that's what Paris says to travellers. I think it is possibly even more expensive than London, which I had been told was one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Some of the highlights of the overpricing rampant in Paris. (Taking into consideration the current exchange rate is 2-1 for the Aus dollar to the euro)

• A toasted ham & cheese sandwich has a special name, croque monsieur, presumably in an attempt to justify the obscene $6-14 price tag.


• The average price of a beer in most places is around $10.


• I saw a restaurant advertising a hamburger for an exorbitant $24.

But I think the kicker for me was an experience I'm almost reluctant to admit, because it involves doing something that should not be done while travelling - going to McDonalds. However, it's not as bad as you might think, I only went in for a thickshake. But I was sorely disappointed for several reasons.
For starters, they only had vanilla and strawberry flavour. What, is chocolate not sophisticated enough for Paris? Then, they ask the appallingly high amount of $4.80. Then, to top it all off, it's not even a proper thickshake. It's a milkshake, with a consistency that's almost like pure milk. I should have gone with my instincts and braved death to cross 8 lanes of traffic to get an ice-cream from Haagen-Dazs.

We can be happy underground...

Except when that underground is the Paris Metro.

My introduction to this supposedly zonderful city has not been particularly wonderful. For those who have complained about London's underground, it is perfect in comparison to Paris. My luggage isn't the lightest or easiest thing to lug around, so it makes getting around between hostels slightly challenging. Now add the Paris metro into the equation.

For that, add cramped trains, (and this isn't during any sort of busy time period) the pain of which is multiplied by several squealing children that simply would not shut up despite the (rather limited) efforts of the parents to silence them. Obviously they considered it acceptable for the infant to be producing earsplitting shrieks that would likely have contravened any local laws on noise disturbance.

The next irritation is line switches. There's lots of stations in the city, so it's likely that you can get very close to where you want to go, but the convoluted stations means that I'd imagine that in more than a few cases that it would be less time consuming to simply walk there instead. I imagine it might take 5-10 minutes to make some of the line changes because of how far you have to walk in the station. This might be okay... if Paris had discovered escalators and/or elevators. But they haven't. And they've filled their underground stations with stairs. Sometimes there doesn't even seem to be a point, as you'll climb up some stairs, only to just go down another set only a short distance ahead.

Then after dutifully following the signs, I ended up getting to a platform on the correct line, but heading in the wrong direction. Even better, there was no means to get to the other side of the platform without leaving and re-entering the ticketed area. Of course, that required me to haul my luggage halfway across the station. Again. The real kicker was the long circular staircase.

I eventually got to my destination and managed to find the place that I'm staying. It hasn't heard of elevators either. It has, however, just like the station, heard of circular staircases. And I'm four floors up. Lesson for the future - always travel as light as is humanly possible.

Ain't no mountain... just lots of hills

This is an update from the road, coming direct from sunny Lisbon in Portugal. There's been a couple of gloriously sunny days here, with a warm sun providing 18+ temperatures even at night. It's also provided me with an mild dosage of sunburn, but I think I can put up with that.

The city seems to be built entirely on hills, and I'd swear there's not more than maybe 1 square metre of ground that is properly flat except for right at the water's edge. That said, the city is beautiful, and the hills give rise (ugh, that pun wasn't unintended) to some great hilltop vistas.

I'd post a photo, but I can't plug my computer into the computer I'm using - one which also has the incredibly irritating trait of beeping upon every keypress. So to avoid further aggravation, I'll keep it short.

Seaside towers, hilltop castles, a rush-hour that sees people honking horns near continuously, and some delicious culinary treats including great seafood and very tasty custard tarts. That's Lisbon in a nutshell.