Rainbow Magicland

is a new amusement park in Rome! And we have been there!
The Rainbow Magicland opened in the end of May, 2011. When we went in the middle of June, things were still not fully up and running. This was balanced by a discounted ticket, and a bonus for the next visit. For us who are bound to come back, this was good. Next time we'll only pay ten euro (instead of 35!)
We had a wonderful day, although hot. I strongly recommend sunscreen and hat, the Italian sun can be merciless.
There was a mix of attractions open, mostly the ones geared toward younger children. But some of our group ventured on the roller coaster, called Shock. Awesome! While they were up there the rest of us went to the Mary-go-round, at a more normal pace....
The problem with the roller coaster, the Colorado boat and other popular rides was the line. For the roller coaster the line was so long it took over an hour of waiting before you got to go. A long time to wait for less than a minute of screeming? The people sure thought it was worth it.
We had a nice burger-menu lunch. A lot of food for the money (Euro 8). It is probably good to bring your own water, because it is quite expensive. And you need to drink a lot!!
The Planetarium was awesome with 4D film. To add to the effect of the film (about Sammy the turtle swimming in the sea), they sprayed water on everybody! Cool.
The park is having some growing pains, but will be marvellous once all that is sorted out. They are already constructing new parts of it, the plan is to make it really, really big.
All in all it was a great day, and for sure we will be back. Hopefully we will be able to try more rides then.
Have a look at some of our pictures and impressions of Rainbow Magicland!

The value of being polite

Being polite and kind is really not that difficult, is it? I mean, it doesn't cost anything, absolutely nothing.But it's very valuable to the one who is on the receiving end.

To illustrate: For many years I lived in Rome, and I absolutely loved it! The only problem was public transport.Especially at rush-hour. It would take about one hour to get home from the centre, by bus. Now, you don't want to stand for one hour, so everybody did their best to get a seat.In those days, Roman buses had about 20 seats.But the capacity of a bus was 200! You can figure out for yourself how many people were fighting to get those seats.Now to my point about kindness and being polite.If you could have seen the not very old ladies (ladies?) pushing and shoving to get to those few seats! It really brought out the lower nature in people, I can assure you that.

Not many people were polite, saying- "After you, please!" Now this might be an extreme case. (and No, I never pushed to get a seat). Of course, when people are tired after having worked the whole day, it's easy to forget ones manners.

But what about other times? When the bus is not overcrowded, for example. Is it so hard to say PLEASE, THANK YOU, IF YOU WOULD LIKE, MAY I etc ? No, it's not hard, but it's a question of habit. We can consciously train ourselves to be polite.

You want a good reason why you should behave in this way? Don't worry, I'll give you five!

1. It makes for good relations with other people.

2. It reflects well on you, gives people a good impression of you.

3. It also reflects well on your parents, after all they were the ones teaching you!

4. It makes other people feel goOd.

5. It actually makes you feel good yourself.

So next time you feel like being impolite or rude, think about these reasons and change course. Let's wow to keep up the habit of being polite!

The Fountains of Rome

Everywhere in Rome you can see big, cast iron fountains. They look like big noses, and that's how they are referred to in Italian (nasoni). They provide potable water, without ever stopping.  Some do have a tap to close and open, but a lot are just gushing forth water. Day in and day out. But the water doesn't go to waste, it's used for other purposes!

The water comes from a reservoir some 70 miles away. The water flows under-ground, therefore it is always nice and cool! At present there are over 2000 fountains in different  parts of Rome. Often they are placed close to open markets or squares, available to all. But you might find them on the side of some little road, as well. It is really neat during the hot part of the year (April to October). Many people carry little bottles to fill up with fresh water.

Some people like the fountains so much they want to buy one and take it home! There are models available for sale, they ship all over the world. These fountains weigh about 200 pounds! But it really is a nice memory of Rome.

All those living and visiting Rome appreciate these fountains. Many people living in Rome regularily go to the fountains to bring home water for drinking. Many houses do not have really good water in the taps. From the fountains they get clean, cool water - always available!