Been there... seen that
September is probably one of my favourite months of the year. It holds the promise of autumn while still retaining the feeling of summer. And this September will forever be special to me because I spent the first part of it in a city that, strangely...
September is probably one of my favourite months of the year. It holds the promise of autumn while still retaining the feeling of summer. And this September will forever be special to me because I spent the first part of it in a city that, strangely enough, I had never visited before - the eternal city, Rome.
I went with a friend of mine, who also had never been there before and we discovered an absolute gem of a place. The first afternoon that we arrived, we decided that our first stop had to be the Vatican. Now, we are both naturally chatty people but I must say that for once in our lives, we were totally speechless as we entered the pjazza outside St Peter's Basilica. It's so massive; it literally took our breath away. In fact, most of the photos we took there show us with completely stunned expressions on our faces.
Seeing the Pietà was an experience in itself. And what can I say about the Sistine Chapel? Suffice to say that there were tears in my eyes, I was so overwhelmed. There was also a crick in my neck as I strained to gaze at the Michelangelo ceiling for a good 20 minutes. But it was worth it.
The Colosseum was another revelation. We emerged from the Metro and there it was! Having taken part in the film Gladiator, it was so amazing to finally see the real thing. Other places of note include, of course, the Pjazza di Spagna, Pjazza del Popolo, the Pantheon and the Fontana di Trevi. And I've decided that Rome is also the home of the best ice cream in the world, of which I consumed rather an enormous quantity during my short stay.
Ice cream (and pasta and pizza) aside, I fell in love with Rome. It is perfect for a long weekend break and I will definitely be back... and soon.
Upon my return, I discovered that the theatre season was well and truly on its way with Actinghouse's Tattoo at St James. An intense German play about a father who sexually abuses his eldest daughter. I must say it was a difficult play to stage but by and large, I thought that Actinghouse pulled it off very well. At times, I thought the diction of a couple of the actors left much to be desired though. But on the whole, I thought they did a good job.
I particularly liked the interpretation of up-and-coming actress Maria Buckle who had an especially tough character to play, I also enjoyed the performance of Stefan Cachia Zammit, who, albeit a bit too young for the role, portrayed the character of the abusive father with frightening intensity. Simone Ellul's obsessive compulsive mother looked, again rather young for the role I thought, but she pulled it off, especially in one particular scene when she snaps. The other two young actors, Sarah Suda and Nick Bonanno also showed a lot of potential.
The next day, it was the turn of Notturno - a concert at the St James Music Room by young classical singers Francesca Aquilina and Nick Agius Darmanin, accompanied by pianist virtuoso Alexander Vella Gregory. Francesca is currently reading for a degree in music at Napier University in Scotland while Nick will soon be auditioning for various colleges abroad, having just attended lessons with Nick Sear of the Royal College Of Music. They both study under Gillian Zammit.
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed their recital of classical works. They both have a lot of talent and the evening definitely was a success. All in all, September was a great start. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has to offer.
I went with a friend of mine, who also had never been there before and we discovered an absolute gem of a place. The first afternoon that we arrived, we decided that our first stop had to be the Vatican. Now, we are both naturally chatty people but I must say that for once in our lives, we were totally speechless as we entered the pjazza outside St Peter's Basilica. It's so massive; it literally took our breath away. In fact, most of the photos we took there show us with completely stunned expressions on our faces.
Seeing the Pietà was an experience in itself. And what can I say about the Sistine Chapel? Suffice to say that there were tears in my eyes, I was so overwhelmed. There was also a crick in my neck as I strained to gaze at the Michelangelo ceiling for a good 20 minutes. But it was worth it.
The Colosseum was another revelation. We emerged from the Metro and there it was! Having taken part in the film Gladiator, it was so amazing to finally see the real thing. Other places of note include, of course, the Pjazza di Spagna, Pjazza del Popolo, the Pantheon and the Fontana di Trevi. And I've decided that Rome is also the home of the best ice cream in the world, of which I consumed rather an enormous quantity during my short stay.
Ice cream (and pasta and pizza) aside, I fell in love with Rome. It is perfect for a long weekend break and I will definitely be back... and soon.
Upon my return, I discovered that the theatre season was well and truly on its way with Actinghouse's Tattoo at St James. An intense German play about a father who sexually abuses his eldest daughter. I must say it was a difficult play to stage but by and large, I thought that Actinghouse pulled it off very well. At times, I thought the diction of a couple of the actors left much to be desired though. But on the whole, I thought they did a good job.
I particularly liked the interpretation of up-and-coming actress Maria Buckle who had an especially tough character to play, I also enjoyed the performance of Stefan Cachia Zammit, who, albeit a bit too young for the role, portrayed the character of the abusive father with frightening intensity. Simone Ellul's obsessive compulsive mother looked, again rather young for the role I thought, but she pulled it off, especially in one particular scene when she snaps. The other two young actors, Sarah Suda and Nick Bonanno also showed a lot of potential.
The next day, it was the turn of Notturno - a concert at the St James Music Room by young classical singers Francesca Aquilina and Nick Agius Darmanin, accompanied by pianist virtuoso Alexander Vella Gregory. Francesca is currently reading for a degree in music at Napier University in Scotland while Nick will soon be auditioning for various colleges abroad, having just attended lessons with Nick Sear of the Royal College Of Music. They both study under Gillian Zammit.
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed their recital of classical works. They both have a lot of talent and the evening definitely was a success. All in all, September was a great start. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has to offer.