Our trip to Italy was incredibly eventful. There were flight delays from Venezuela, which caused our flights from Madrid to Fiumicino Airport to be changed as well. The four of us in today's photos didn't arrive together; we each arrived on a different flight at a different time. And since flying from America to Europe is like traveling to the future 馃槄 those few moments we had left after a day of more than 20 hours of flights and waiting were used to rest, adjust to the time change, and plan what would be our first walk in Rome the next day.
Nuestro viaje a Italia fue s煤per accidentado. Hubo retrasos en el vuelo desde Venezuela, lo que ocasion贸 que cambiaran tambi茅n nuestros vuelos desde Madrid hasta el Aeropuerto de Fumicino. Las cuatro personas que aparecemos en mis fotograf铆as de hoy no llegamos juntos, cada quien lleg贸 en un vuelo y en una hora distinta, y ya que volar de Am茅rica a Europa es como viajar al futuro 馃槄 esos pocos instantes que quedaban luego de un d铆a de m谩s de 20 horas de vuelos y espera fueron para descansar, adaptarnos al cambio de horario y planificar lo que ser铆a nuestro primer paseo en Roma al d铆a siguiente.
We stayed in a beautiful and very luxurious hotel that was hosting the musicians, which was perfect for getting some rest, and that was great, because sleeping was the last thing I did in Rome 馃ぃ There was so much to see and do; the only downside was that it's located in Fiumicino, practically across from the airport, and we were about 45 minutes by train from the center of Rome. Of course, this didn't stop us; we got up early, and like good tourists, we took public transportation. Those first few hours and those first impressions of the city were spent walking around looking for good prices in local currency, but at the same time, we had our first experience in Termini and its surroundings, an area we would visit often and where we even sang, since one of the churches on our itinerary was right outside the terminal.
Nos quedamos en un hotel hermoso y muy lujoso que hosped贸 a los m煤sicos, lo cual funcion贸 para descansar una buenas horas, y que bueno, porque lo que menos hice en Roma fue dormir 馃ぃ hab铆a mucho por ver y conocer; lo 煤nico malo es que queda en Fumicino, pr谩cticamente frente al aeropuerto, y est谩bamos a unos 45 minutos en tren del centro de Roma. Claro que esto no nos detuvo, nos levantamos temprano, y como buenos turistas nos fuimos en el transporte p煤blico. Esas primeras horas y esas primeras impresiones en la ciudad fueron una caminata exclusiva para buscar buenos precios por la moneda local, pero al mismo tiempo tuvimos la primera experiencia en Termini y sus al rededores, una zona que visitar铆amos seguido e incluso donde cantamos, ya que una de las iglesias de nuestro itinerario era al salir del terminal.
I won't deny it, the area around Termini isn't all that impressive, nor is the way people and the city move; after all, it's a bus terminal, where there are always people rushing around, in addition to the hundreds or perhaps thousands of tourists who visit this impressive city. But for me, it was pleasant because it was the first thing I saw. Besides, later I discovered that the further away you get, the more beautiful everything is, as is the case with many bus terminals in my country 馃き Many of my friends shared this trip with us, and even so, I think my wife and I planned with the right people to go out and explore the city and make our plans. Another couple from our choir group, my boss, who is also named Jes煤s, and his wife, who coincidentally has the same last name as my wife 馃槣 That's why our group is called "Jesus | Medina"...
No lo voy a negar aqu铆, los alrededores de Termini no son tan impactantes, y tampoco la manera en que se mueve la gente y la ciudad; despu茅s de todo es un terminal, donde siempre hay personas corriendo, sumado a los cientos o quiz谩s miles de turistas que visitan esta imponente ciudad, pero para m铆 fue grato, porque fue lo primero que vi, adem谩s, m谩s adelante descubr铆 que mientras m谩s lejos todo era m谩s bonito, como ocurre con muchos terminales en mi pa铆s 馃き Muchos de mis amigos compartieron este viaje con nosotros, y a煤n as铆, creo que mi esposa y yo planificamos con las personas correctas para salir a caminar la ciudad y hacer nuestros planes. Otra parejita de esposos de nuestra agrupaci贸n coral, mi jefe, que tambi茅n se llama Jes煤s, y su esposa, que casualmente lleva el mismo apellido que mi esposa 馃槣 por eso nuestro grupo se llama "Jesus | Medina"...
We set out bundled up because it was very cold in the morning, but we soon realized that as the hours passed and midday arrived, the weather would be just like in Caracas. It turned out to be beautiful that day, which led us to visit many popular tourist spots like the Trevi Fountain and the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis's remains rest. Although we had the whole trip ahead of us and many exciting experiences waiting, from those first hours walking through the streets of Rome I knew I would love all the city's architecture, especially its art, which you can appreciate literally on every corner. To show you I'm not exaggerating, I'm sharing these humble photos of Quattro Fontane. You're walking along and suddenly you find yourself surrounded by four corners overflowing with art, almost impossible to photograph, since the pedestrian and vehicular traffic never stops...
Salimos abrigados porque hac铆a mucho fr铆o en la ma帽ana, pero luego entendimos que con el paso de las horas y la llegada del medio d铆a, el clima ser铆a igual al de Caracas. Hizo buen tiempo ese d铆a, lo que nos llev贸 a recorrer muchos lugares populares entre los turistas como la Fontana di Trevi o la Bas铆lica Santa Mar铆a la Mayor, donde reposan los restos del Papa Francisco. Aunque ten铆amos todo el viaje por delante y muchas emociones esper谩ndonos, desde esas primeras horas caminando por las calles de Roma supe que amar铆a toda la arquitectura de la ciudad, especialmente por su arte, el cual puedes apreciar literalmente en cualquier rinc贸n. Para que vean que no les miento, les comparto estas humildes fotos de Quattro Fontane. Vas caminando y de pronto te encuentras rodeado por cuatro esquinas que desbordan arte, casi imposible de fotografiar, ya que el transito peatonal y vehicular nunca cesa...