Update in Pictures (4)

So here is another update in pictures. This one involves some random photos from Rome, Prague, and Pompeii. Both Pompeii and Prague are eventually going to have their own posts (when I find time) but until then, I will post photos that I know won't fit into my general thoughts about the two sites.

Just in case this is too blurry for you to decipher, I'm just going to tell you what it is. It's a photo of my gorgeous hands shuffling a deck of overpriced Prague tourist playing cards. But just because they were overpriced doesn't mean they weren't worth every penny. Playing cards are indispensable no matter where you are. Rummy 500 has become a popular "staying in" activity while I've been abroad. All my friends love it and it usually is accompanied with drinking and appetizers.

This particular round of Rummy was special though. It was a long escape from the cold of Prague to play Rummy 1000 (how ambitious is that?) with my dear brother Michael, the unseen photographer in this picture. It ended up being a very epic battle, which I eventually won by a close margin. We played for a while amidst cheap but good Czech beers and bacon-flavored potato chips. This may seem like an odd choice for a late snack, but Prague is a weird place.


I really just posted this picture because it's one of the more amusing ones from Prague. However, I always like to give things a deeper meaning so I'll give this one a shot.

These are the sort of things you learn to enjoy in sightseeing. This was a bit childish of me when you think about it. I mean - mocking a skeleton? That's pretty low, even for someone as immature as myself. But sometimes its very important to give things a playful atmosphere. Even though this museum (Prague's Museum of Natural History) was weaksauce compared to the museums in D.C., it was still a very enjoyable and relaxing time looking through the collections. Sometimes I can't help but feel like a kid in such a jumbled mess of old items. This is just me playing the part.


This is one of the trains from Napoli to Pompeii. I quickly noticed that while Naples is a lot trashier (and more boring, etc.) than Rome, the graffiti there is much better. It's a very interesting topic and one that applies to both cities. Rome has a real trouble with graffiti, and hardly any of it is worth looking at it. In my marketing research class, we had an argument about whether it would be better to clean the grafitti in Rome (and risk it being rebranded) or to just replace it with better artwork. I personally think contracting real graffiti artists would be the better choice and could give the city some more character.


Every now and then, I have a day where I just fall in love with Rome once again. This was taken on one of those days. The weather was terrible and I was exhausted, but I felt like I was seeing all the monuments, statues, ruins, artwork, etc. for the first time. It is truly an amazing place.

Ciao!
Matt