Looking out from the inside, windows distort the view

A gridded view of Roman life.

European street lights, symbols of history

For me when I think of something symbolic from my photos, I think of European street lights. In Melbourne our street lights are mediocre and frankly quite ugly – alien looking in fact. There seems there was minimal thought put into their design, simply functional lights on the street.

In recent blog post I read about the comparison of streets in western society versus eastern. In the streets of the east community and life takes place, and the streets of the west serve simply as infrastructure – simply a road to get you from A to B.

I think our street lights sum this up – functional without design. When I’m in Europe though I feel that the beauty and history of the street lamps brings a different perspective to the street scape. Not only are the streets for getting to point B, but they are also full of a rich and wonderful history. Symbols of something greater than what the eye can see.

Recently on my blog a ran a series on street lights I have snapped during my European travel: Light em up – A series of street lamps part 1 and part 2.

Rome – Italy

Throw one coin in the Trevi Fountain and you will return to Rome they said, throw two and you will come back and be kissed, three and you will come back and find love. I have seen many different variations of this legend but that is the one that I heard on my first visit to the fountain. I have found that all variations have one common trait – they all refer to returning to Rome. So I threw as many coins into the fountain as I could thinking that I would stack the odds in my favour – how many times could I really return to Rome and be married anyway? It either worked or regardless my path with Rome was destined to cross on multiple occasions – and I can happily advise that enthusiastic coin tossing does not result in multiple marriages!  Rome has always been high on my tourist destination list, as an archaeology enthusiast how could I resist. My first trip to Rome focussed on visiting Rome’s main attractions and they were truly amazing. My favourite visits to Rome have however been my subsequent visits, when you no longer seek out the main attractions and you can truly immerse yourself in what it is to be in Rome and soak up the lifestyle. Wandering the streets of Rome I always find something new, a new neighbourhood, a new restaurant, a new view… regardless it is always spectacular. And I find even without seeking out the attractions you often happen by them by default anyway – always throwing a couple of coins in the Trevi fountain. Why tempt fate…

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Depth: Puente Nuevo of Ronda Spain

Puente Nuevo of Ronda Spain.

The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: Depth.