Guest Blogged by Simi

Rome, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, a tourist’s dream and a city obligatory to be visited has a charm that is less than all the things written in books about it. Looking at it with one’s own eyes is like day dreaming. Rome was one of the places which were on my top list to be visiting whenever i could. The Colosseum, the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire with capability of seating 60000 spectators, built for gladiatorial combats in 70-80 AD – this was what i had read about the Colosseum but i can asur anyone who will ever see it, that it IS one of the wonders of the world. Keeping in mind the technology of the time and the greatness of artichecture of the structure is like an unbelievable task.
The other sites in it worth mentioning and seeing are the Roman Forum, the Domus Aurea, the Pantheon, Trajan’s Column,Trajan’s Market,the several catacombs area, theCircus Maximus,the Baths of Caracalla, Castel Sant’Angelo,the Mausoleum of Augustus, the Ara Pacis, the , the Pyramid of Cestius, and the Bocca della Verità. Each representing its own greatness of art and history.

One of the things which i already knew and wanted to witness was the smallest nation in the world – Vatican City- it is surrounded by Rome, and hosts Saint Peter’s square with Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Villas and museums deserve an eye which can appreciate the true beauty, they have a historical background that can astonish anyone and still proving themselves the wonders of the modern world. The culture which is protected and respected in Rome also adds to its beauty, the original language is reported to be Latin but now it has evolved to Italian.

Apart from the fact that it is an ancient city, it is in no aspect a backward one, the technology used there is visible from the transport system not only provided everywhere but managed in a good way too. The living standard was also all upto the mark and the Rome Hotels were equally good to as people brag about Paris Hotels and Dublin Hotels.

Now about my Spain visit,I visited it last year when I had vacations after my Exams and i had read in one the books the about the beauty of Barcelona, not only this but i wanted to see the place which was known to have come in being in 3^rd Century BC ( according to some legends). This time i had choice to choose and i opted for Spain, Barcelona was one of the marvellous cities of Spain i had a chance to visit. We had a guide to help us in being able to see all the charms of Barcelona.

He was not a professional but had some old ties with the family so volunteered the job. The first place i wanted to visit was Plaça Catalunya it had a historical background, and then came the commercial areas of the city, as it’s known to be one of the major economic centers. The parks and both the beaches are marvelous. Going to Barcelona without visiting them is like comparable to not even going there. I visited the museums too, because one of the chief objectives, apart from having a change, was to dig in the pages of history and see the things that are still available to be witnessed.

The people of Barcelona and their culture presents a beautiful image, it’s a bilingual city with the two languages, Spanish and Catalan spoken widely, I was told that the Catalan culture was repressed in the days of democracy those days, but now they are working on it to give it the- respect it deserves. Barcelona has a comprehensive local public transport network that includes a metro, a bus network, two separate tram networks and several funiculars, aerial cable cars, one airport and a seaport which has an honor of being the ninth largest container port of Europe.Just like any good city the Barcelona Hotels were as good as the ones mentioned before, living here was though a bit expensive than i thought but the overall experience was fabulous.