- Ze Frank is a genius
- High security, high speed
- Mail money scheme, a long line and silly outfits.
- Pickpockets
- Spanish Steps
- Borghese park - funny bikes and a Segway
Apologies
This video has nothing to do with anything but I think is the funniest video I have seen for many a year. Ze Frank is a genius whose podcast "the show" was one of my favorites. Once again to the plant go my thanks.
Anyways, if its a tad crass, apologies in advance, just skip it.
OK ... because Ree said I could, one more
High Speed:
Currently on the train from Rome to Naples. Speed is 298km/hr. Its quite quick when you look out the window). Obviously not an open window.
Been travelling for at least 3 minutes before Drew became "starving" and Zoe "needed" a drink. Bear in mind they had breakfast 45 mins ago and drinks just before they boarded the train. Kid brain wiring is at least consistent. Hunger is highly correlated with food just packed away, the need to interrupt an interesting conversation or either during daylight or nighttime hours when sugary or fried food are in a 3 mile radius.
Pickpockets and the like
We have read a lot about the criminals of Rome. Pickpockets in the main. I spent hours reading the various sites and have grudging respect for the good ones now. They are good as very few get caught. Whats worse is that in Rome (actually I think the whole of Italy) you cannot arrest or charge the pickpocket if they are less than 18. Inother words, even if they pickpocket a policeman and get caught red handed, they get taken to a police station, fill in a form saying that they are under 18 and then get released (not sure what happens to the "loot". The danger spots are tourist locations, central stations in Rome and Napoli and the local train from Napoli to Sorrento via Pompeii (lots of stops, lots of tourists oh and today and tomorrow the family Dembo).
Current favourite pickpocket tricks include
- The old throw the baby trick - classic Gypsy trick. usually 2 or more approach you and either push a swaddled baby into your arms or kind of underarm it from short distance to you. Most instinctually would catch the baby and as you are catching so your pockets are being cleared of possession. It must be very hard to follow the official advice to either not catch the baby or just drop it. Its obviously not a baby just a swaddled doll, but you would imagine instictually you would catch it.
- Crowd the exits - this is most popular in Athens and the local Italian trains. In Athens the manoeuvres are usually more well dressed men crowd the subway train exit and as you leave the train by squeezong past the well groomed, nice suited men, your pockets, once again revert to their virgin state. In Italy, its usually more young kids. A group stands near the train exit and as the doors open begin to get out then pretend they have made a mistake and turn back into exiting traffic. There is a lot of bumping and excuse me talk as the rest of the gang behind you, cleans out your pockets.
- Begging Cardboard sheet in / around the face. Usually youngish beggar comes up close, speaks to you in Italian and pushes a piece of cardboard near your face...you know the ones "i am poor and need money because i dont have a job or desire to work because my Gypsy culture has no respect for either work or education". as the cardboard is pushed toward your face or into your chest, it acts as a screen for the collaberators to get to your poclets.
- Sidewalk bag grab from off the shoulder (often by Vesper riding crim).
- Bag snatch from under your cafe chair
- Pocket clearing from jacket left over the back of a chair
- Standard crowding and pickpocket moves
- Point to money on the ground and ask if its yours. The old distraction trick. As you bend down to pick it up, the trade for the floor money and your wallet money occurs on the sly.
- one of my faves is the spill the icecream or tomato sauce on your back (or at least telling you they did). Then a confederate (usually a well dressed business man type) helps clean you up, the pickpocket goes through your pockets or walks off with the bag you put down.
- I think they are missing the most basic of tricks, the midget gypsy in a stroller trick. "You must see the bay-bee"
OK, so I am a littel obsessed by it all. Think I will do a bit of gypsy aka "Roma" research and write more about that at another time.
There are a huge number of webisites devoted to the pickpockets and lots of youtube videos showing the thieves in action.
Trust nobody
We are like family Fort Knox. Trusting nobody we demand photo ID from train conductors, checkout chicks and even each other! Kids have their backpacks on their front, clipped straps going round their back and locked zippers. They have sore necks from their metronomic side to side "criminal awareness" checks.
Their are a lot of signs around warning to be careful but we still see many people with wallets or mobile phones poking out their back pockets with half unzipped backpacks and shoulder bags over the shoulder not over the neck and shoulder. We see people leave their bags under their chairs at cafes, or hanging their jackets over the back of their chairs. Its a dog eat dog world and the best advice on the sites is to be less easy to steal from then the people around you.
Last week our friend Rosie (who was in Rome on a high school trip) had her phone pulled out of her hand as she walked with friends in the trains station! They were stopped by 2 girls talking quickly in Italian and acting very distressed. When they stopped to listen, the girl pulled the phone from Rosie's hand and ran. Rosie and her friends chased and caught the girls who then said they dropped it and when that didn't work started getting quite physically rough. For the time this went on, Rosie was calling out "help" but nobody walked over. Keep in mind this is at busiest train station in Italy and nobody stopped to help a youngish teen girl calling for help - chivalry indeed.
After a while, Rosie got concerned the thieves may begin to get more rough and walked away. Only a phone after all.
Still struggling with the lack of interest in helping a girl calling for help. The ghost of Kitty Genovesee.
Mail tidbit
In Greece it costs in $1 Australian dollars to send home a postcard. In Italy it costs $3.50. That seems a lot.
Of the many money making schemes of the Vatican, one is the Vatican post office. As you leave St Peters past the Swiss Guards in their quite silly outfits and the line to the WCs, the post office comes in to view.
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| Swiss Guard - Ridiculous uniforms - serves them right for their banks allowing Nazi deposits of Jewish money during WW2. Long memory baby! |
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| Line to the WCs outside St Peters. I counted more than 200 in the line. |
I guess its quite cool to have your postcard stamped with the Vatican postal stamp on top of a Vatican Stamp. Suffice it to say, i havenever stood in a line to put a letter in a letterbox nor have i seen every letter mailer at the aforementioned mailbox having their picture taken.
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| Mailing card to classmates |
The Spanish steps
Don't really get them. Big, wide (widest in Europe) marble staircase with the Spanish Embassy at the bottom and a church at the top. Built with much fanfare in early 1700s which isnt old for Rome, but predates Cooky finding Australia. Kind of a place to be seen in the past, with writers various getting inspiration whilst seated here andphotographed by Paparazzi.
Now the budding poets of the world may as well take off their berets and get a coffee as they would have little to no chance of getting seen (wood for the trees) - there are quite a few tourists also getting seen.
The fountain at the bottom is called the "Fountain of the ugly boat" (really) and was sculpted by Bernini. Well actually by Pietro Bernini, the father of the one you have heard about.
In 2009 an "artist" dumped half a million plastic balls down the steps. The year before he turned the Trevi Fountain red.
Borghese park
Kind of the Central Park of Rome, the park was once a part of the Cardinal Borghese private gardens. Rich family, one was a pope, one was a Prince. Got their name and coat of arms slap bang in the middle of the entry to St Peters Basilica.
The park was about 10 minutes walk from our apartment and a calm, grassy green break from the hubub of the streets of Rome. There are trails to walk, paved roads, monuments, fountains and from the one lookout, a fantastic view of the city.
On one day we hired a four person "Italian Rickshaw" called a Riscio. Drew's feet almost reached the pedals. The pedals charge a little motor at the back so although there are no gears, its pretty easy pedalling. For the record, its is impossible to even pretend to have once been cool (never mind being cool) when riding one of these beasts.
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| View of Rome. Overlooks the Piazze Del Popollo.. |
There are heaps of other hire vehicles. We got overtaken by a guy on a Segway as (usually) teenagers on pedal gocarts raced by. There are hire bikes and rollerblades as well.
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| Overtaken by a segway |
After an hours riding, it was definitely time for a Gelato. Gotta hand it to the Italians, they make a damn fine Icecream. Wait for San Crispino - said (at least by them) to be the best icecream in the world.
We had lunch in the park then, and I would have denied this but for the photographic evidence, one of us had a little afternoon nap. Others of us, had a little jump.
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| Lunch by the water |
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| Time for an après lunch run and jump |
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| Playing along by pretending to be asleep |
On our last day in Rome everyone was a bit frazzled. Travel can cause weary bones. We woke early and got to the Sistine chapel before 7:30. The lines get so long that even by 7:45 it was at least a 90 minute wait to get in. By 8 you would have had to wait more than 2 hours plus the museums become sardine cans as all the tour groups (about 14352 of them), jump the queue.
After the Vatican, we took a few hours off then headed to the park to replenish our Gelato stores and have some Segway fun.
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| Carbo loading |
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| Sugar hits kids brains...READY |
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| Gladiator having a break after a tough day |
A bit of video action.
The Segway it must be said, heaps of fun and ultra intuitive. It's called a Segway as it sounds the same as segue which means a smooth transition between ideas. It's inventor is a really interesting character called Dean Kamen who invented the first drug infusion pump.
Deano as I like to call him, got rich, invented other stuff and has a really cool house on an island he owns just off Connecticut. I mean, really cool. He has a bit of a Stonehenge replica on the island and is "off the grid". He "probably" has crossed the line between genius and crazy. Although not recognized as a nation, his island of "North Dumpling" has a constitution, flag and national anthem. It bans incandescent lights and is said (by Deano) to be the only nation fully self powered after the US coast guard cut the power cable to hisnislandna few years ago (even though he and George Bush 1, had signed a non-aggression pact). For real.
I had read somewhere that he ironically, died in a Segway accident. Not true, Deano is alive and kicking. The British guy who bought the Segway company a few years ago, did, however die in a Segway accident after his all terrain modified Segway, with him on it, fell off a cliff.
Arriving in Naples. Better put on the strait jacket, lock and load, get the knuckledusters on, learn ninjitsu and mentally prepare to drop any babies thrown my way.
Arrivederci
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