All roads lead somewhere

It was good to see Euralia and the family again. Ten months were gone and there is a lot that can change in ten months.

The fauna and flora of Euralia didn’t stop growing and certain creatures has found refuge in my little oasis of green. A hedgehog has made his own network of tunnels to escape when i came up driving the driveway. Birds made little houses under the roof. Fish had multiplied as rabbits. Yep, it was good to see there was life in the little farm in Loksbergen. But they had to learn to live with a new resident for the next eight weeks.
A lot was planned, but i noticed soon enough that broken ribs and bags of concrete don’t mix so well. There was not much i could do the first weeks , except walking around admiring the tunnel work of the hedgehog and seeing the fish reproduce. And of course netflixen, and enjoying a warm relax hot bad to gentle the painful ribs. A shame a female specie didn’t found my safe heaven while i was away. I definitely could use the company.

But as always time just crawls further. After a few weeks one bag of cement a day became two and then three, and soon i was working again at the plans i had for the farm. One of the ideas i had was to finish the pound, It was necessary , because at the rate the fish were multiplying, they would need some more space and depth to survive the cold and there natural predators. But still , my working rhythm was way below my normal speed. 

Luckily , i had some visits of new exciting friends helping out the heavy work in the garden. . And a godchild who loved his new by himself chosen swimming pool. Swimming and playing in the water , that even made my own fish in their pond jealous. But still, my ribs were a pain in the ass. So many plans were made in the red outback , for the couple of weeks i would be in Euralia. And just one was slowly taking shape. But it is as it is. 

Our yearly city trip was coming nearby. This year my sis and i were going to Rome. A city that talks to the imagination. Romans, gladiators, popes, nuns, Caligula, Caesar, hidden treasures and more. This time we didn’t need to go with carriage number two. A plane brought us to the airport of the ancient city. From there a formula one pilot with an abusing language , thinking he was driving a mini instead of a bus full of scary passengers brought us in a minimum of time to the centre through graffiti invested suburbs. We walked  a detour of an half hour to reach our little hotel. I have to confess , that making detours in a city build on a hill is not really a good idea. But it was a charming hotel located next to an exciting club, but sadly , not having had the occasion to visit. 
Rome, Oh Rome. Always do as the Romans do. But there were not many Romans to see. The centre was invaded by tourists , visiting all the ponds there were to visit. For every god , Greek or roman and who else knows, there was one, protected by officers who had invented an own language on there little whistle . Sometimes we wondered we had stepped back in time. More precisely , 1943, an occupied city in time of war. Armed military patrolling the mayor entrees and attractions of the inner city. But as the Romans do, we just sat on a terrace enjoying a cool beer in the heat of the day, hoping this day wouldn’t be the day they blow up fountain number 65. 

But Rome did impressed me, especially ancient Rome. 
The Colosseum , the playground of the riches and the men about to die. Thinking in the past, it had to be amazing, Rome, the metropolis where all roads lead to. A white shiny marbled town full of fresco's on top of the hill. Houses that look down the valley , with the roar of the fighting gladiators in the background. We could only imagine the riches brought here from around the world. But talking about the Colosseum , it’s something i will never forget. the grandeur situated in time, even if it was in his state of ancient Rome nowadays, it would have been nothing to compare to. A building that would have blinded you on a sunny day. 
Imaging the gladiators in the middle of the arena surrounded by 80000 spectators . Even in present day , superstars don’t attract that many people. What would have been the thought of those men in the middle of the arena. Leaving there earthly life by the scream and roar of those 80000 viewers . “This is a good day to die”. 
But thinking about it , life didn’t change that much in all those years. The riches still life a life of decadency and the poor work all there life to reach this goal to finally drop dead working. We still have our wars around the world trying to own the globe. People did’t change at all, we only changed our clothing and appearance. I wonder what ancient philosophers would write nowadays. 

Time to be back in the present. Time to do some work in Euralia and to achieve that decadency, and hopefully before i drop dead. It was time to clean up , and getting the farm ready to hibernate and leave it into the hands of my previous occupants , who have been into hiding since i arrived. My plane to the other side of the globe was waiting.