my story

What a let down :-(

2012-02-15T14:18:00.000+05:30

Finally the curtain drops on the age row of the C O A S (Chief Of Army Staff).He is presently on tour of UK. The SC, The Government through the their Council , the Defence Minister all have praised the COAS and expressed complete confidence and faith in him . Things seem to have been sorted out , the dust has settled and one of the most regrettable event in the history of Indian Defence Forces and G O I has come to pass.
However till the day of hearing , almost every one of the Defence Forces (all three wings included) serving and retired , were very keenly following the case . They were fully behind the Chief ,. In fact very large numbers must have prayed for the SC verdict to be in favour of the Chief . Countless people , including yours truly expressed their views on whatever medium they had access to .By evening COAS had withdrawn his petition.Everyone of us who had backed the COAS felt a strong sense of being let down.
Next day reading the details in news papers large number of us came to know , for the very first time , that The COAS , over a period of time , more than once , informed the Govt his acceptance of the DOB of 1950.That being the fact , only a fool would have expected the SC to uphold his claim of DOB of 1951 . The COAS is definitely no fool . So the question is why did all these unfortunate and regrettable events take place . Or are there many more facts of which we are totally ignorant and is the answer to be found in the dark corridors of power ?
SC , Government Council and the DM have all praised the distinguished service rendered by this gallant soldier . All of them said they have no doubt about the honesty & integrity of the COAS . Well , if one takes their word at face value , COAS may have been successful in defending his honesty & integrity but he has lost "credibility" with a very large number of defence personnel and mature thinking civilians.
By this case the COAS has not only lost his credibility but he has done a very grave disservice to the defence forces where he had served with such distinction . With this case , The Babus who have always been looking to marginalise the Services will now run amock like a bull in a china shop . This one case has done immense and irreparable harm to the cause of the Services from which they may never recover to take their deserved place in decision making hierarchy.

Rhinos are feeling sad !

2012-02-10T11:42:00.000+05:30

Rhinos all over the world are feeling very very sad . They were considered number one thick skinned living beings on the earth , but now are at number two.They have been replaced by Indian Politicians due to their behavior . Even when caught red handed watching porn clipping while attending Assembly session they claim they have done no wrong. Even after the S C cancels 122 licences they still claim that it is not an indictment of the Government . Even after evidence keeps mounting they still keep claiming that A Raja has done no wrong. They keep increasing quota , quota within quota , quota within quota within quota , they would increase it to 100% if they thought they could get away with it , all the time claiming that it is being done with the sole purpose to uplift condition of the downtrodden , the muslim minorities , the SCs , the OBCs etc etc.Even when half the population is starving they claim that per capita income has increased to more than Rs 50,000/- Even when............
So , with heavy heart the Rhinos have given up their number one position .

Performance review -The Babudom.

2012-02-08T11:54:00.000+05:30

Thank God for small mercies! Finally finally inefficient babu can be chucked out after 15 years of service.
But why after 15 years why not earlier?. What is the point in carrying around garbage for 15 long years . Any senior worth his salt does not require 15 years to evaluate the performance of a person working under him .Now let us hope that this rule is followed and implemented vigorously and honestly . Aam Admi may have very valid reason to believe that this may not be done because firstly it will be another babu who has to implement this order.Considering the present culture of "you scratch my back and I will do the same for you" prevalent in the babudom , this looks unlikely . Secondly even earlier it was very difficult to proceed against babus due to the way hurdles were placed in the process . eg State could not proceed against a babu even if he belonged to the state cadre of the same state . Even before taking any action against a babu , sanctions had to be obtained from any number of agencies . That meant it could take years to proceed against a guilty babu.Hopefully all such loop holes and escape routes have been taken care of in the new rules. If that is not done it would be business as usual for one of the most inefficient administrative service in the Asia region.

Transparency still a distant reality - PM.

2012-02-07T09:18:00.000+05:30

Prime Minister Manmohan Sing , while addressing conference of Chief Secretaries at New Delhi on 03Feb 06 stated that "efforts to ensure transparency,accountability and probity in public life would take a long time". At another time in the same address he said , " we still have long way to go in our efforts for ensuring transparency , accountability and probity in public life."

There can not be a worst form of misfortune for a country to hear and to read the total surrender and the helplessness being projected by the Prime Minister to the very persons who have been largely responsible for such a sorry state of affairs.Remember he was addressing the Chief Secretaries of states .

These worthies must have not only heaved a sigh of relief but also smiled to themselves at being indirectly told by the Prime Minister himself to carry on with the old ways for indefinite period of time .

The Chief Secretary of a states is an IAS (State Cadre) or AIS (All India Services) officer with minimum of 13 years of service ( selection grade ) or 14 years of service(Super Time Grade,reduced from 16 yrs in 2008.)

IAS Officers are trained to handle government affairs. This being their main responsibility, every civil servant is assigned to a particular office which deals with policy matters pertaining to that area. The policy matters are framed, modified, interpreted in this office under the direct supervision of the Administrative Officer in consultation with the Minister.
Now it goes without saying that the Civil servant is custodian of all the records pertaining to the govt affairs, policy matters and every thing connected with the same .He also holds all the notings on file which hold recommendations , views, agreements , disagreements etc etc of the policy matter. These files / bundles of information, be it routine , important or of vital national interest are very very zealously guarded by these civil servants.Even the information to which an individual is entitled will not be given to concerned person under one pretext or the other.Remember the strongest opposition to RTI Act had come from the Babudom. For obvious reasons , their specific and strongest opposition was in making public the "noting"on file.Even now when RTI Act is a reality the Babus made sure that it was in a very diluted form.
.Our Prime Minister should have called a spade a spade and asked the Chief Secretaries to pull up their socks along with the socks of junior babus under them in bringing transparency and probity in the public life . The PM himself and his Government must hold The Babudom accountable as they are responsible to implement the the policies laid down by the Govt.
( Note :Author has taken some information from the IAS pages of wilki and other sources from the internet.)

Age controversy - Army Chief.

2012-02-04T10:17:00.001+05:30

This one got published on 06/02/06 , albit with some editing by the Editor . Portions in bold lettering omitted in published piece.

The number of e-mails & forwards on the internet , Number of letters to Editor being published in The Hitavada and other news papers are clear indication to the degree even the aam adami has been aggrieved by the shabby way the Politicians and the Babus , which means the Government,has treated a gallant and senior most soldier of this country.There have been a fair number of officers of the defence forces who for one reason or the other have asked for change in their recorded date of birth . The Babus and the politicians have agreed for the requested changes in those cases. It would also be interesting to know the number of Babus, who , with the connivance of the fellow babus in the concerned ministries have quietly changed their own date of birth without even raising of an eyebrow.
If all that is true then the question arises as to why only in this particular case the Babus and the politicians are acting in such mulish way .After all what harm can be caused in another 10 months if 1951 is accepted as DOB by the Govt, which the General claims to be the correct date.And this very question was being hotly debated in our circle , as it must be a topic of discussion among majority of the citizens.One thought to emerge was the promise of the Chief of the Army Staff that he would deal very strictly and punish the guilty officers involved in the Adarsh , Sukhna and other lurking scandals involving the babus , the politicians and unfortunately very few officers of the defence services.Now the answer to emerge to that question was if the defence officers are severely dealt with in the additional 10 months , they may come out with all the details and lot of many more skeletons may tumble out of babu & political cup boards.To me , knowing our politicians and the babus as as well how the case has developed , this seems most probable reason as to why the concerned people do not want to give the General additional 10 months he gets if the DOB of 1951 is accepted.

Munshi Premchand and his Journalist.

2012-01-21T11:20:00.001+05:30

I studied in a government Hindi medium school.In one of our Hindi text book there was a lesson ,a story by Munshi Premchand . It has now been almost 50 to 55 odd years so I do not recollect the name of the story nor the class in which I read that story.Still I very vividly remember that there was a passage in that story where a Journalist is elevated and becomes an Editor.The passage was about how the writings of that Journalist , from being sensational , attention grabbing and at times even irresponsible , after being made an Editor,become balanced , reasoned , logical , sober and presenting unbiased view of things .Today I can not tell why I still remember it so vividly . Was it because it was a "V Imp" lesson and almost every year there was a question in annual exams based on that passage or was it because it had made a lasting impression on my young mind.I would like to believe it was the latter reason.The"v imp" question in annual exams asked was to write the reasons which could have brought about such a change.Which could have converted an irresponsible Journalist in to a responsible Editor . If it was a full question of 30 odd marks , we were expected to write couple of pages. If it was in the form of "short notes" with 10 odd marks we were expected to write couple of paragraphs.Now of course I do not remember what all we wrote and how we filled couple of pages but I remember the crux of the matter . The crux of answer , in one word was "RESPONSIBILITY".The journalist realises that as an Editor he had authority but with that had come much, much bigger responsibility to the general public and hence the change.
Now a days I indulge in day dreaming .I indulge in wishful thinking.My day dreaming and wishful thinking revolves around that Premchand story I had read and studied 55 odd years ago and our elected representatives , the MPs , The MLAs and the Ministers of modern India.
I day dream and think wishfully that once a Politician is elected as representative of the people becomes an MLA , an MP or made a Minister will realise their "RESPONSIBILITY".I day dream they will work of the betterment of the country and the population. I day dream they will raise above cast , creed , narrow minded regional thinking and petty vote bank politics. In short they will behave in a responsible manner. I day dream a Minister will take decisions which are in the best interest of the country even if it may not be in the interest of his cast , religion or his region. I day dream an Elected Government will NOT take decisions NOR make policies with an eye on vote bank and are NOT in the interest of the country.I day dream that our politicians become men if integrity , are honest are not corrupt .
However it is the biggest misfortune of my country that exactly the opposite of what is expected is happening.

Sadly what I see and read is that for vote bank a Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is created , Person from backward region with murder charge against him is put up as candidate and made CM after being elected .Politicians have become grossly corrupt and cheated the country to the tune of thousand of corers of rupees.Sitting MPs are bribed to vote for the party in power . Criminals lodged in jail are fighting elections . Integrity and honesty have become forgotten words. Persons with criminal background , corrupt and dishonest backgrounds are being put up as candidates by ALL the political parties .Unfortunately I can go on and on endlessly.

They will be elected . They will become MPs,MLAs,Ministers.Unfortunately they will not realise the RESPONSIBILITY reposed in them . They will never ever become the Journalist of Munshi Premchand..
I day dream about that Journalist and our politicians. I will never stop day dreaming because the end of day dreaming would also mean end of HOPE !!

Letter to the Editor.

2012-01-19T11:54:00.004+05:30

Sir,

A few points about the statement of Mr Pallam Raju , Minister Of State for Defence .He had said,"It is un-healthy and does not auger well for the Ministry or the forces."

Firstly. When a person has exhausted every available statutory and official channels available to him for the redressal of his grievance , if not satisfied , as a last resort approaches the SC. There is nothing "un-healthy" about it.Even if that person happens to be the Chief Of Army Staff , it still does not make it unhealthy , but is a natural progression in our system , to seek justice and to get the grievance redressed.

Secondly . The Minister should have included the Country but omitted the Ministry when he said it does not auger well for the "Ministry or the forces".Yes, when a Chief of Defence Services has to approach the SC to seek justice it surely does not auger well for the forces as it is likely to adversely affect the morale of the forces and that is not well for the Country. So far as the Ministry is concerned, it means the "babus" . Nothing bad ever happens to the babus. One can be certain that even if the Chief wins the case in SC , nothing will happen to the babu on whose noteings decision of such vital and far reaching consequences was arrived at. So the Ministry would be unaffected.

Thirdly . Why is every one so surprised at this development.The writing has been on the wall for some time . Such a thing had to happen.Only surprise is that it did not happen sooner.The "older generation" of officers was taught and brought up in the services "to obey and to follow". Even "in service" applications for redressal of grievance were rather rare.The wars of 1962 , 1965 , 1971 and Kargil operation did help to maintain, to certain extent , the respect for and the authority of the defence forces.Unfortunately tnings have changed for the worst.Those who have National interest at heart and are following the relations vis-a-vis the babus and the defence forces would not have failed to notice how , over the last 65 years the babus have succeed in undermining and diminishing the authority , the prestige,the rights and the "precedence"of the Denence Forces . Up to 5 th pay commission . the older generation officers , though not happy, never went public.Things have changed since then , The babus and the Govt got a jolt when , after every thing failed,the Defence forces went public with their dissatisfaction with the recommendations of the 6 th pay commossion.It is high time the Govt and the Politicians woke up to the mechanisation of the babus and start giving credit and the respect to the to the defence forces which they richly deserve .

PM Velankar

After a long tome some thing got published the very next day , 20-01-12.No cuts at all :-).
Editor added three odd lines at the end .

Letter to Editor.

2011-12-30T10:44:00.002+05:30

Sir ,

A news item published in 28 December 2011 issue of The Hitvada caught my attention.

It was about award of two and half years in jail and imposition of fine of Rs 10,000/- for taking bribe of Rs 300/-

Out of curiosity I just googled for "corrupt Indian politicians". The search revealed 4,490,000 entries . The figure was mind boggling . Further search at wiki link ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_politicians_in_India_charged_with_corruption ) gave incomplete list of Indian politicians charged with corruption.

Few of them were acquitted for various reasons.

As given in the above link Sukh Ram was tried for unaccounted sum of Rs 3.6 Lakh and sentenced to 3 years in jail.For another scam when he was Telecom Minister he was sentenced to 5 years in jail . In this case amount of money involved is not known to me.

Taking the punishment mated out to the hapless DDA official as datum, Sukh Ram should have got 2400 years of jail and a fine of 96 Lakhs.Mind boggling !!

Suresh Kalmadi is being tried for alleged scandal of Rs 95 crores . If ( and it is big IF ) found guilty he should get jail for approximately 62000 years and a fine of Rs 2850 crores.MIND BOGGLING !!!

A Raja and others charged with alleged corruption of 176000 crores, If ( and it is big IF ) found guilty , would get a jail sentence of 16600000000 years and a fine of Rs 5280000 crores. MIND BOGGLING !!!

It would indeed be interesting to see the amount of Jail sentence and fine these worthies are awarded , If ever they are found guilty or may be they have different laws for the rich and the politicians.

PM Velankar,Nagpur.

Hotel Gasthof Fuchs,Matrei am Brenner ,Innsbruck.

2011-09-29T18:17:00.005+05:30

After dinner at Sahib restaurant we proceeded to Hotel Gasthof Fuchs which is in municipality of Matrei am Brenner about 17 kms south west of Innsbruck .
Reached there by about 21:30 . The route , the countryside as well as the location of the hotel was picturesque surrounding.
The hotel itself was old style built mainly of timber , with timber flooring . No air-conditioners and for heating there were radiators. Hotel had photogenic qualities . Our photos have turned out quite well.

(you can see enlarged photos by clicking on them. Click "back" arrow to return to blog)

As I said , Old Style Alpine Hotel.Do not miss the Sun Dial .

Interior Decor on the first floor.

The Reception.

No Lifts , the staircase .

Picturesque surroundings.

At the hotel

Well maintained flower beds.

Innsbruck.Austria,Europe Trip.

2011-09-29T08:53:00.002+05:30

First place to be seen in Innsbruck was " The Golden roof ".As the coach could not go to Golden roof , We were dropped near Tiroler LandsTheatre in Innsbruck from where it was only a short walk .
Of all the things it started raining .we had no choice but to part with some dough. Topkars also wanted a umbrella so we went and bought an umbrella for 5 Euros. Later it stopped raining and did not rain throughout our trip ;-(
It appeared that other than " Golden Roof " there was no plan to visit any other place as we wandered about aimlessly and were generally led to where the coach was waiting to take us to Sahib restaurant for dinner after which we were to go to the hotel where night stay was planned.
But before that little gen on Golden roof .
It is a three storied balcony with with 2657 fire gilded copper tiles . It was built in 1500 AD for Maximilian I , Holy Roman Emperor who would sit facing the main square where sport tournaments and other public functions were held.Our photos :-

(you can see enlarged photos by clicking on them. Click "back" arrow to return to blog)

The Golden Roof.

Golden Roof.

Imperial Palace ,Innsbruck.

Helbling House , Innsbruck.

Buildings in square of Anna's Column.

Another view Imperial Palace.

Annasäule, Anna's Column,Innsbruck.

Two views of

Bridge on River "Inn"

Statue of Maxmilian I ln background Modern Sculpture near Imperial Palace .

Modern Sculpture near Imperial Palace .

Two views.

Sahib Restaurant , Innsbruck.

On the way to Innsburck, Europe Trip .

2011-09-27T16:12:00.000+05:30

From San Marco Square we had reached back Terminal Tronchetto by 12:55. Got in the coach without wasting any time and proceeded to Rangoli Restaurant at Padova.
Lunch was over by 14:30 and we set course for Innsbruck,Austria.
After covering a distsnce of about 350 KMs.Reached there by 19:00.
The route passes through some of the most beautiful countryside . Castles and big Villas from the past can be seen all over Austria and that part of Italy, and our route had its share of these Castles and Villas. Take a ride from Rangoli to Tiroler LandsTheatre in Innsbruck where we were dropped for further sight seeing.

(you can see enlarged photos by clicking on them. Click "back" arrow to return to blog)

Rangoli Restaurant Padova . We had lunch here on 12 May before proceeding to Innsbruck.

The Castle of Sabbionara (also Castle of Avio), near village of Avio.

Beautiful mountain ranges en route Innsbruck.

Castel Beseno, Besenello, Italy

Castello di Presule, Province of Bolzano-Bozen, Italy.

Outskirt & subrubs ,
We are almost there in Innsbruck.

Venice Part 2,Europe Trip .

2011-09-26T15:40:00.001+05:30

After the Gondola trip we did what other 50,000 odd people did that day . We did sightseeing , and yes , it is estimated that almost 50,000 tourist visit Venice every day and which proves Venice as one to the most sought after tourist destination of the world .

Its popularity is due to uniqueness and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage . For the rich and famous it had become a place to be seen in and so its popularity as tourist place increased many fold.It became a place for Venice Film Festival , Venice Biennale which further attracted the visitors for their cinematic , cultural , musical and dramatic contents. Revival of Venice Carnival also helped.So far as architectural attractions are concerned it has St Mark's Basilica , Piazza San Marco , Grand Canal and Palaces of Doges which was the residence of Doge of Venice , Supreme Authority of Venice republic.
There were no Venice Film Festival , Venice Biennale or the Carnival so we are the poorer for missing out on all that cinematic , cultural , musical and dramatic contents :-)
We die see the other attractions from the out side . I felt that Piazza San Marco which has St Mark Besilica , the famous St Marks clock tower, Doge's Palace and other historical monuments and pillers , as the most popular tourist place .
However in recent years the city is threatened by "High Water" or "Aqua Alta" which is flooding by high tides particularly in Autumn and Spring.This is caused even by adverse high winds .Large areas are flooded .In many localities lower floors have become unusable .Stagnant water gives rise to unwelcome smells and for some days makes life difficult for local people.The city seems to be fighting a loosing battle against times . An impression strengthened during our gondola rides where almost all the buildings needed re- plastering . The canal water dirty and stagnant.
But today we still have the Piazza San Marco and all the wonders . Have a look as long as they are there.

(you can see enlarged photos by clicking on them. Click "back" arrow to return to blog)

Hotel Daniele , haunt of the rich & the famous.

On the Left.
Another view Daniele.

On the Right.

View of Doges Palace

Doges Palace , San Marco Square , Venice.

St Marco Clock Tower .Must see Wiki page on this.

On the Left.
Another view of St Marks Clock Tower.

On the Right .
Basilica of St Marks as you enter San Marco Square.

Basilica of St Marco, Piazza San Marco.

Column of San Marco or commonly known as Venetian Winged Lion.

Column Of San Teodoro at the entrance of Piazza San Marcos.

Our Group at Piazza San Marco.Basilica of San Marco in the background.

Basilica of San Marco in the background.
Do not miss
The Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of St Mark's above the arch.

On the Left .
Doges Palace & St Marks Bell Tower.

On the Right .
Another view of St Marco Basilica.

General view of Piazza San Marco , Red Tower is St Mark's Campanile or St Marks Bell Tower.

On the Left .
San Marco Square,

On the Right
Canal bridge near San Marco Square . Sorry for the house with peeling plaster.

A restaurant at San Marco Square , Footpath restaurants are very common & popular .That part of the World.

Aftre this we return to Tronchetto terminal , Have dinner at Rangoli, Padova and Proceed to Innsburck.

Venice - Finally at last !!! Europe trip.

2011-09-24T16:55:00.000+05:30

Generally all the tourist cruises from Terminal Tronchetto end at the jetty right in front of Hotel Danieli. As you get on to the footpath from the jetty you see large number of kiosks, stalls and small shops selling memorabilia gift items etc . What struck me most was that uptill then , all such shopsin other cities were selling megnetic stickers , miniature models relating to the city in clay , china,cast iron and "T"shirts with city motifs. Whwere as most of these shops in Venice were selling garishly painted very beautiful to ordinary looking male & female masks !Apparently "Venetian masks" have centuries old tradition and worn on manyoccassions but particularly during the carnival of venice.
When one was looking around the area our tour manager was busy herding the group to the Gandolas , which also start from the jetty at Hotel Danieli. So all of got in gondolas , six to each gondola and went for the much talked and hyped gondola ride . I felt that it did not deserve all that hype . May be the reason could be that the gondolier was not singing, it was middle of the day with bright sun shine and Priti and I were not alone for the ride :-)
Any way here are the photos :-

Getting in . Mark the horizontal stripe shirt of gondolier ,that and a cap is must wear for them so was singing of ballads .Obviously times have changed.

Gondola ride . four copassangers , no moon , nither romantic ballads :-(

After leaving the jetty , entering the city water ways to follow ride route.

Bridge of sighs.

Walls of many many buildings are fighting a loosing battle against time !

Almost half way through the ride ..

Hotel old form outside , renovated from inside :-)

Ride over.

Venice, (Part three) the cruise,Europe Trip .

2011-09-23T09:26:00.001+05:30

From terminal Tronchetto to jetty near hotel Denieli where we were to go is about 5 Kms. It took about 45 minutes to cover the distance.It was a very memorable and enjoyable experience . I think during our cruise we saw the frontages of 12 to 13 islands on the right and 14 to 15 islands on the left side. The magnificent buildings we saw on them were mostly Churches, Cathedrals or Basilicas. If all the 117 islands offer such visual , artistic and academic delights one would need at least 15 to 16 days to see Venice City, If you doubt my word just see what we saw during our cruise :-

Ferry boat in operation.

What a sleek beauty.

Church of the most Holy Redeemer.

Le Zitelle (officially Santa Maria della Presentazione)

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute ( English : The Basilica of St Mary of Health ).

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Square of Besilica of St Marco, with Saint Mark's Campanile& Doge's Palace(on right) .Venice,Seen from the canal.

Mind you these we saw during the cruise are on the frontage so about 18 odd days to see Venice fully ?

Venice (part Two) Terminal Tronchetto, Europe Trip.

2011-09-23T08:34:00.000+05:30

Having had a good nights sleep we got up bright and early. All ready to face whatever the city of Venice had to offer.Any way all good things have to wait . The city is well connected by rail and road however as the whole of the city is spread across 117 small islands , water and canal routs form most vital link of communication & transport. And for this , there are plenty of harbors, marinas , jetties and sea side sidings. The tour hand-out had promised a cruise to and a Gondola ride in Venice , so first we had to go to Terminal Tronchetto .It is almost a fair sized harbor and yacht marina.Along with extensive use by locals this is the point from where tourists are taken to Venice . A clean and well organised Terminal.

View of Terminal Tronchetto from flyover approach road.

Luxury Liner berthed at Terminal.

"Q ing" up to board our cruise yacht.

Boarding for cruise.

All set to face whatever is to come :-)

Venice, Italy, Europe Trip.

2011-09-23T05:30:00.003+05:30

There are so many so many things to catch up with that I am just not finding sufficient time to do all of them . Our incomplete car trips, photos to be titled and mapped and also the travel blog of Europe trip .
Got too involved with our Mumbai -Pune trip of January 2011 so badly that did not do the blog. :-(
Any way at least one small little post.
From Florence were to go to Venice.The distances are such that we had to stay over night at some place . That place happened to be Padova.In its own right Padova or Padua as it is locally called is a city worth visiting , However we only had dinner in Hotel Rangoli and stayed over night at Hotel Mantagna , here are photos of these two places.

After having dinner here we went to Hotel .

Checked in 22:30.Went to bed for well earned rest !!

Priti liked the car, but we had decided to restrict shopping ONLY to magnetic stickers :-)

Florence City, Italy, Europe Trip .

2011-09-20T17:04:00.004+05:30

After the photo shoot at Michelangelo Square descended in the city .
Florence is considered "the cradle of Renaissance" because of its Monuments , Churches , Buildings and Squares. There are roughly,(only considered "major" given) :-
20 Religious architectures,
18 Museums,
14 Villas, mainly all over & outside city built by Medici s,
2 Arches,
11 Palaces,
8 Parks, and
19 Squares.
All considered tourist attractions .
We saw
one square of one palace (Piazza della Signoria, or Square of the Lordship),
one church( Florence Cathedral or Basilica of Santa Maria) and
one Baptistery ( San Giovanni).
plus what we saw in panoramic tour.
It was worth it.
If you have to see cover all of Europe & all of Scotland in all of18 days, may be that is all you have time for :-).
Now few photos of what we did see :-

North side facade , Florence Cathedral,Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

Main Portel Basilica de Santa Maria del Fiore.

Bell Tower of the Basilica.

"Gates of Paradise" of Baptistry of St. John
or Florence Baptistry or Battistero di San Giovanni

The Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") is the town hall of the city.

Fountain Of Neptune,
(the face resembles that of :Cosimo I de' Medici's )
Piazza della Signoria,Florence.

In Piazza della Signoria or Square of the Lordship there are many more beautiful statues . I could not photograph them but click here if you want to have a look

Florence, Italy, Europe Trip.

2011-09-20T15:28:00.006+05:30

Yesterday we had lunch at Ashoka restaurant and gone round and round the city before going to a hotel in Montecatini for night halt.
In the morning went and saw Pisa. The Pisa visit was over by about 11:30 . After which we set course for Florence .
First photo shoot and sightseeing halt was Michelangelo Square. It is named so because of a statue of David by Michelangelo which dominates the square. It is situated on a small hillock and offers most beautiful panoramic view of Florence City .So much so that it has been printed on numerous picture postcards. No wonder it is one of the most popular tourist spot .Here have a look .

"David" Michelangelo Square , Florence.Sun position not good :-(

Sun position good . Shot angle not so good :-(

View of Florence from Michelangelo Square.

Panoramic view of Priti :-) , Michelangelo Square.

Panorama Photo Florence City stitched by me.

Do not know how to increase size :-(

Diversion .

2011-09-20T11:49:00.001+05:30

Did not write any blog yesterday .
As I am writing only small blogs , at the most two per day , there was plenty of spare time .
Even before I had started writing this journey blog , I have been mapping the the trips undertaken by Priti & I.
I had mapped our road trips done in our good old faithful Maruti 800 during the years 1999 , 2000 , 2001 and 2002 . For some unknown reasons or may be some thing else , like panoramio etc fascinated me , I had stopped mapping the road trips.Thereafter I took up mapping the USA trip and now have just about finished mapping our Europe trip . It was when researching for the mapping info of Europe trip that I came across travel blogs written by others. Got some good gen and required info from those blogs. It was then that I decided to write my own travel blog , the result was last few blogs.
Anyway talking to Dadoo made me realize that I must at least complete mapping all our road trips . So I started on that . The very first map gave routing problems which just wont go away or get solved . Being Iam what I am I kept after it for almost 18 hours . So no travel blog .

To assuage your curiosity here is the link to my maps.You will have to click on "My Places" in the left margin and select whichever map you want to see .
http://g.co/maps/jkukm

Leaning Tower of Pisa.Europe Trip.

2011-09-18T10:03:00.001+05:30

Now to see what Pisa is famous for :- The Leaning tower .
However as is my wont some info and gen about the tower.( Taken from wiki )

The tower has seven floors.The height of the tower is 183.27 ft from the ground on the low side and 186.02 ft on the high side. The the walls base is 13.42 ft and at the top 8.14 ft. The tower has 296 steps. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees .This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 12 ft 10 in from where it would be if the structure were perfectly vertical.

A popular tourist activity is to pose for photographs pretending to "hold up" the leaning tower and preventing it from falling. Too true . I have taken a photo of Priti doing just that :-)
Being a free standing bell tower,( meaning the bell tower does not form part of the church or the cathedral structure, which was a common practice , here it stands separately) It has 7 bell which are tuned to musical scale.The heaviest bell is 3620 Kgs , lightest 300 kgs and others fall in between .No pun intended :-) . Total weight of all seven bells is 13,496 Kgs.Which is almost 13.5 metric tonnes !!!!

Not Leaning here ?

Pisa Of the Leaning Tower,Part two,Europe Trip.

2011-09-18T09:41:00.005+05:30

Caught a shuttle bus from tourist coach parking area for Leaning Tower location . The distance is about a kilometer and a half or so and we took about 10 to 15 mts to reach the destination .The path leads through narrow lane lined on both sides by shops selling souvenirs. memorabilia and gift items .

The shops.

Pisa is famous for its Leaning Tower but where the leaning tower is located is called Square of The Cathedral ( Piazza del Duomo ) or also as Square Of Miracles ( Piazza del Miracoli ).and the leaning tower is actually a free standing "Bell Tower" of the cathedral !!
The square is supposed to have four buildings of great hisstorical significance . One of course is the leaning tower, most famous of all , the second is the Cathedral , third is Baptistery,and lastly building of historical significance is camposanto. It so less well known and compared to other buildings so innocuous that , to be truthful , yours truly did not even visit it :-(
The Baptistery , Cathedral are grand and beautiful buildings from in and outside and worth a visit for their own sake . Hear have a look for your selves:-

The Baptistery of Saint John, Pisa.

Another view,The Baptistery of Saint John, Pisa .

Priti at Baptistery.

The Pisa Cathedral.

Another view , The Pisa Cathedral.

AND NOW WHY PISA IS FAMOUS :- , Sorry next blog :-)

Pisa of the Leaning Tower.Europe Trip.

2011-09-17T05:31:00.001+05:30

After about 50 minutes ride of the coach from Hotel Tuscany Inn we reached parking area reserved for tourist coaches. Regular shuttles ply between this coach terminal and the shuttle stop near the leaning tower. Apparently coaches are not permitted in town . I would not know what happens to tourists coming in cars !!
I had heard about the car wash and even sat through one wash when we had visited Bhupen in Louisville.But at this terminal I saw a Coach wash for the first time . It was there may be because large numbers of coaches made it economically viable !. Of course a car was was also around.

Car and coach wash at coach terminal Pisa.

Car wash , seen earlier :-)

Large brushes rotate at high speed. Soap and water sprayed .The brush mounting moves forward & back.Horizontal brush moves up and down . Front and back wind shields are cleaned by both Vertical as well as Horizontal brush. Vertical brushes clean sides and horizontal brush cleans the roof as the brush mounting moves back and forth. The coach comes out sparking clean . Of course I did not hang around to see the whole process . I had a group to catch :-).

Caught up with the group and then the group caught the shuttle :-

The shuttle.

Shuttle plies between tourist coach parking and tower of Pisa.

Bye Bye Rome, Europe trip.

2011-09-16T16:13:00.001+05:30

Trevi Fountain was the last sight seeing stop and we left for Pisa . However we were going to Pisa via Florence and a night halt at Hotel Tucsany Inn in Montecatini .
While researching for maps and this blog it is revealed that The town Montecatini ,popularly called Montecatini Terme,because of the theremal spas, has a population of only about 20,000 but with 250 odd hotels caters to some 200,000 tourists every year who come to visit the famous thermal spas and the splendid gardens maintained by the city.Our tour manager did not tell us any of this nor did we go any where in the city as we had checked in at midnight and checked out at 0800 in the morning to go to Pisa.
Rome to Florence is about 300 K Ms.While going to Ashoka Hotel , Florence for dinner we passed through a beautiful spot on a hill known as Michele Angelo Square . During the city tour we passed it once more and finally before leaving Florence for Montecatini we passed the the same square for the third time .Not only that next day while returning from Pisa we had a photo stop at the same square .Obviously not much thought was given to route planning or to efficient time utilization.Time taken in going through Michele Angelo Square three times could have been better spent in seeing more sights.
Hotel Tuscany Inn was quite O K . We had a room with very good view of a railway line a some castle loook like buildings on hill tops and so took some photos from the room in morning .

From Room 301, a Panoramic view Montecatini Town.

Express Train going some where .
Photo from room 301 of Hotel Tuscany Inn.

View of old town of Montecatini from room 301.Old town is 290 meters above the New Montecatini Town.It is called Montecatini Alto, alto meaning high .Visible on the Left is St Peter's Church and Bell Tower.On the right is Villa Gaia dating back to 1870 , now a hotel.

Hotel Tuscany Inn where we stayed.

Next morning it was back on the road............

Trevi Fountain,Rome,Europe trip.

2011-09-15T15:36:00.005+05:30

After Vatican we had lunch and went to see Trevi Fountain . The last monument in the itinerary to be seen in Rome .

The fountain is located at the junction of three roads ( Tre Vie in Italian , hence the name) .The backdrop of the fountain is an imposing structure26 meters high and 20 meters wide and actually form part of the fountain. It is the largest Baroque fountain ( A style in painting, sculpture, architecture and any form of art work made popular during that particular period) in the city and most famous fountain in the world. Took photos but priti refused to go close to the fountain basin so all the photos are from some distance.

The central statue is Oceanus,God of all Water.

Priti at Trevi.

View of the Basin, we did not throw any coins.

I was aware of the legend that if one throws a coin by right hand over ones left shoulder one gets to come to Rome a second time.What I did not know was about throwing of other two coins . Throw of second coin finds you love . Throw of third coin results either in marriage OR in divorce.The On hearing the version of three coins , Priti and I said we have only thrown the third coin . A statement which caused some merriment in the group.
We had seen Colosseum, Vatican City , Trevi Fountain and had panoramic tour of Rome . We had seen all that . The group Including myself were happy to have seen Rome . After doing the research for Avismarniya Europe Tour-Google Map and this blog , I now know that we did not see was much more that what we saw!!!! But then that is the down side of all the group tours :-).
After spending the night we head for Pisa.

Saint Peter's Square,Vatican, Rome ,Europe Trip.

2011-09-15T09:52:00.004+05:30

When we came out of Saint Peter's Basilica through door of Good and Evil ,we had our first view of Saint Peter's Square . Remember we had first gone to the Museums and entered the Basilica from the museum side , without going through the Square.
What we saw was good. It was enormous , too Grand , too large and too massive in scale to be encompassed in one human glance.
History of the square tells us that "The open space which lies before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace"
Today when we see Saint Peters Square we realize the completeness with which the genius of Bernini met the QRs

( Quality requirements) of Pope's directions . I have no words to describe the grandeur, the beauty and the architectural achievements attained in creating this fantastic structure , one has to see it to believe it . I do not even have photos to do justice to it , One can find such photos at this page of wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Peters_Square and also at google images . Photos for the remembers of our visit are given :

Saint Peter's Basilica view fro Saint Peter's Square.

We were at the Museum gates at around 1300 and the last photo taken in Square was at 1430 . So In one and a half hour we had seen the Vatican Museums , Saint Peter's Basilica , Saint Peter's Square and the Vatican City and this tells its own story of our visit.
From here we go to lunch and on to Trevi Fountain.

St Peters Basilica, Vatican, Rome, Europe Tour.

2011-09-14T16:09:00.003+05:30

As you enter and go round in side the basilica you really are totally confused as to where to look . From the top , the celings of the roof, the sides from floor to the ceiling, the flooring it self . Almost every square inch of the huge and vast surfaces have paintings of indescribable beauty by old masters . Every niche has statues , artifacts,objects collected over the ages of tremendous value of antiquity and beauty .No wonder people from all over the world, irrespective of cast, creed or religion , come to see the wonders offered by Vatican . It was heavily crowded when we visited . Keeping up with the group and the crowds between them ensured that I did not have satisfactory photo-op or the viewing.Some photos were taken but on odd occassion the distance from the object was too far for the flash to be effective. Any way what I shot are here for your viewing :-)

Click to view full photo.

Papal Altar and Bernini's Baldacchino ( canopy ) in St Petrrs Basilica ,Vatican.

Door of Good and Evil . This is left panel it shows Evil.

Door of Good and Evil. This is right panel it shows Good.

The door of Good and Evil is the second door from the left We had exited the basilica from this door and stepped out to spectacular view of Piazza San Pietro.

St Peters Basilica, Vatican,Europe trip.

2011-09-13T17:19:00.001+05:30

When you get out after visiting the Museums , you generally come out near the right side of the basilica near Chapel of Pieta. As expected there was large crowd . Everyone wanting to get a good photo of the "Pieta" by Michale Angelus Bonarotus. It was going to take some time to catch a good shot However the group was urged to move move & move , so got one shot . It was too far for flash to be effective . Slightly closer and got another shot . Though not all that satisfactory but some thing is better then nothing. Here is my effort :

Click to see full photo.

The Pieta

Good write up and technical as well as academic information about Pieta can be had from many sources . However here is a tit bit I had gathered during my searches . Exactly where I do not recollect now . It goes thus:

Immediately after installation, Michael Angelo , standing by his creation and enjoying people going around praising his art work . Among the crowd some doubted if it was really his creation . This made Michael angry and he carved out is signature on the clock of the virgin . Later he regretted his actions and vowed never to put is name on any of his further creations . A vow he followed faithfully.If you don't believe me go here .

Vatican Museum, Rome, Europe Trip.

2011-09-12T12:19:00.003+05:30

Chasing the Vatican guide and being herded by the tour manager we entered Round Room , Octagon Room and the corridors of the museum . With this haste , we finished the Vatican museums really fast . Not too many photos .What were taken are given here .
The photo below is from the location Octagon courtyard or Octagon Hermes hall . Only one photo could be clicked here . It is photo of Venus with her son Cupid.

Click to see full photo.

Venus Felix and son Cupid.

After crossing a corridor with nice statues and beautiful ceiling paintings we reach Round Room .

The photo below is from the round room ( Sala Rotunda). Nero's bath is placed centrally . The flooring is made of very beautiful mosaic designs . Around the walls in niches are giant statues of Gods and Goddesses. In the photo below is the bronze statue of Hercules of the Theatre of Pompaii , flanked by two poses of the statues of Goddess Demeter. Poor quality of photos is regretted , but the statues were magnificent !!

Bronze Hercules flanked by Goddess Demetre

Couple of more corridors , a small courtyard where even though good and beautiful ceiling paintings were there , I could not take any photo worth putting up here.
It appeared that we were out of the Museums and following a corridor to the Basilica. I saw a good statue of St Gregory the Illuminator, last photo from museum area.

Then we entered St Peters Basilica.

Vatican Museum , Rome , Europe Trip.

2011-09-12T08:11:00.005+05:30

After ascending the ascending spiral staircase / ramp we reach Cortile della Pinga or The Pine cone Courtyard , so called because of the large bronze pine cone fountain positioned in the niche of the half dome structure. The pine cone is 4 meters high flanked by statues of a pair of peacocks. I have not been able to find dimensions of the courtyard but it is big and divided in four grassed squares by paved paths .The center of the courtyard and the crossing of paved paths holds a Bronze Sculpture by Arnoldo Pomodoro.It consists of two concentric spheres. The outer sphere is supposed to represent the Earth and the inner sphere Christianity .The sculpture is appropriately calle "Sfera con Sfera" or "Sphere within Sphere." Outer sphere is 400 cm.The spheres rotate independently of each other . Good description based on research . The Sphere and The bronze Pine cone would have looked great at close range, but here is the sad truth : our Italian guide seemed to be in tearing hurry and was rushing through the pine cone courtyard , the tour manager was chasing from behind .Now I know exactly how the cattle being herded feel when they are denied to eat at leisure and are pushed ahead :-) Between those two, the Italian Guide and the tour Manager, and the fear of being saperated from the group resulted in us just taking some hurried photos . These photos do not do justice to the Pine Cone or the sculpture of Sphere within the Sphere but here they are :

Click to see full photo.

"Fontana della Pinga" OR "Pine Cone Fountain".

Click to see full photo.

Sphere within the Sphere.

Click to see full photo.

Sphere within the Sphere. Pine cone court yard,Vatican.

From here go proceed to The Round Room.

Vatican Museums.Rome. Europe tour.

2011-09-10T11:34:00.003+05:30

We were in the foyer of the museum at 1300. Nice specious and well lit place . It had big block of carrara marble. It had bass reliefs of pope on one side and some sculptures on the other three sides. There was athe famous circular stair case of the vatican museums . Generally people photograph it from the top looking down so that it looks like an Indian well with staircase along the circumference!! It also has an ascending ramp for use by physically challanged . Took photo of this ramp , looking up and in my photo it looks like ascending canopies :-). Have a look at carrara block & ascending canopies.

Bass relief & Sculptures.

Ascending Ramp,Vatican Museums.

After ascending we reach the square of the fountain of the Pine Cone .Visit that in next blog :-)

Vatican, Rome , Europe Trip.

2011-09-09T12:45:00.001+05:30

I have been told that my blogs are too long and put off potential readers . Any way I thought if I cover one thing in one blog reader gets the full info in one reading . However if excessive length is going to put off potential reader the very reason for writing the blog, other then my own desire , is defeated.
So now on it is short short blog .
I had no idea at all that ,Vatican , Vatican See , Vatican City. Vatican City State , Stato della ciito del Vaticano all have different connotation and there is subtle difference by what they mean . I have no intention nor sufficient knowledge to enlighten any one.So far as I am concerned Vatican had connotations of Sistine Chapel , Pieta and last but not the least ,Venus de Milo.I do not know if they are available now or not but when I was doing my Engineering Diploma way back in 1960-61, we had Kohinoor engineering drawing pencils. The company logo was an image of "Venus de Milo" . Every cardboard pack of dozen pencils had this logo printed . What beauty.
Vatican city is the smallest city state in the world , with land area of only 110 acres and population of vatican nationals numbering only about 800. It was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty signed between Cardinal Secretary and Prime minister Benito Mussolini of Kingdom of Italy.It is the seat of Episcopal Church for 1.2 billion Catholics.
For us who had gone there as tourists, it had much to offer including the Sistine Chapel :-).
Our group was taken through the entrance gate for Vatican Museums and passing through various halls and corridors we finally got out of Basilica Of Saint Peter.
Along the perimeter wall I think the gate was the original one , looked really really ancient .

Click to see full photo.

Entrance for Vatican Museums.

Next blog we see the Museums .

Rome Panoramic Tour.

2011-09-06T09:16:00.001+05:30

After having a look at the Colosseum we were to proceed to Vatican City . Transit from Colosseum to Vatican City was termed as "Panoramic tour"of the city . As mentioned we drive around and see whatever is there to see :-).
Lot of "No Entry" and "One Way" traffic boards come in handy and you cover lot of distance in going to a place which may be much closer :-)
So, let me take you on a Panoramic Sight Seeing Tour of Rome .Tour Manager is also supposed to double as guide. He was mostly on the mobile phone . What ever information is given about the sights is "googling " efforts of your's truly.
Just out side the Colosseum is The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) .

Click to see full photo.

Erected to commemorate the victory of Constantine over Maxentius , 312 CE

Click to see full photo

The Arch is 21 m high 25.9 m wide and 7.4 m deep.Central Arch is 11.5 m high and 6.5 m wide.
Side arches are 7.4 m and 3.4 m .

Click to see full photo.

Temple of Venus and Roma as seen from Colosseum.
Click to see full photo.

Another view on Temple of Venus & Roma.

I choose to include photo of Temple of Venus & Roma mainly because of the inner architecture of the dome . It very very powerfully reminded me of the domes of Golconda , Bijapur and many more Indian structures.It can be seen just across the road on the East of Colosseum.Huge columns seen in background were part of ruins of Roman Forum.
Major land marks , ( on my side of the coach, you see due to curtains on the windows and the speed it was not possible to cover 360 degrees of view) during this panoramic tour are given below .
About one and half Km North of Colosseum ,was Basilica Saint Mary - Santa Maria Maggiore. A beautiful monument .

Click to see full photo.

Besilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

About one to two Km S-SW from Colosseum : Basilica of St John Lateran.

Hazards of photoing from moving coach :-(

About one to two Km W-NW from Colosseum : Church of Santa Maria di Loreto and Trajans Cloumn.

A check on google images reveals that the Church of Santa Maria di Loreto is a beautiful monument from outside as well as inside.Where as Trajans column is a marvel of construction.Built to commemorate the victory of Emperor Trajan,it is 125 ft high . Has a diameter of 11 ft,with internal staircase giving access to viewing platform at the top.Outer surface of the column is engraved with Roman history.

Within 100 meters of the above is a monumentally massive monument of monumental beauty is monument of Victor Emmanual II..I am adding two photos. one to show hazards of photoing from moving coach another even good photos can also be taken from moving coach.

Bad photo.

click to see full photo.

Good Photo :-)

This massive monument in white marble was built to honour Victor Emmanuel II , the first king of unified Italy.The structure is 443 ft wide and 266 ft tall . Relative sizes of tourists and the structure gives a fair idea if the hugeness of the monument . It has huge equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel , two statues of Goddess Victoria riding a chariot drawn by four horses, many other statues , bass relief's and fountains .

As the monument was going out of view , on a hill of modest height , another monument came in view. This I found was Captioline Hill . This the , the smallest but most sacred and important of the seven hills of Rome.In ancient past it had many famous and beautiful temples . Around 15oo Pope paul III commissioned Michelangelo to build grand structure to indicate new spirit of Rome . The temple , Places and strustures today house museums.Two photos taken through the wind-shield given below.

Capitol, Rome.

Capitol, City hall & Museums,

A little while after we had passed the Capotoline Hill and gone about couple of kilometers we approached Victor Emmanuel II bridge across river Tiber . On the other side was a towering cylindrical building . It is Mausoleum Of Hadrian or more commonly known as Castle Saint'Angelo.Two photos of this majastic structure :_

Click to see full photo.

Saint Angelo Castle & Saint Angel Bridge.

Click to see full photo.

Some restoration work is going on.

While going over the bridge I clicked this massive sculpture ,

Click to see full photo

Research indicated that this is one of the four massive allegorical travertine sculptures on the bridge . Google images shows the bridge with all the four sculptures as also four columns with statues at either ends of the bridge . The bridge was worth a leisurely stroll .

In fact each and every monument shown and described above deserved a guided tour of sufficient duration . Any way it was brought home to us that in a "Group Tour" one can not have every thing . And this awareness was to remain with us throughout the tour.

After this next stop was Vatican !!!

09 and 10 May 2011. ROME,Italy.

2011-09-05T16:52:00.000+05:30

There was a time when Rome, Italy conjured the visions of Sofia Loren , Gina Lolobrigida, Requel Welch etc. Now the times have changed . This time Rome evoked the pictures of Colosseum, Vatican City and Trevi Fountain.But that is life !!!!
Fiumicino International Airport,is the airport for Rome. It is about 40 to 45 Kms from the city centre and on the western sea coast . Descend circuit and approach to the runway in use was over the sea and it had some beautiful views . Sorry no photos :(
At this point in time even though the visit is only few months old, I can not recollect how the airport looked like or other details .No photos as well . I think it may have some thing to do with the psychology of reaching the end of the journey , the destination.Things and details are noticed when one has time . At the end of the journey one is in a hurry to collect the baggage and get on with early exit from the airport.
Landed at Fiumicino International Airport,Rome at 20:15 local time . Our Thomas Cook rep , Citing late arrival as a reason , instead of taking us to Trevi Fountain and "Time Elevator show" as per the itinerary , took us straight to Gourm India restaurant for dinner. This did cause , and justifiably so,some grumbling .We had next days lunch also at the same place.

Restaurant entry from main street.

Even at 20:30 local time there was sufficient light .Our group at Gourm India .

Gourm India Dining hall .

After dinner was over, we went to our hotel, Best Western . We were given room no 425.

10 May 2011, Morning.

The morning was nice and sunny ,excellent for sight seeing!

The programme was : Guided tour of Colosseum, Vatican City .There was no guide for Trevi Fountain.visit. Approximately one and a half to two hours which we took at these places , rest of the time was "panorama visit" of Rome , which really means that we ride around in the coach and look around the city sights !!!Except for the photos taken at these three places ALL other photos were taken when on panorama visit , that is to say from the moving coach.!!!

COLOSSEUM.

(Throughout the blog wiki has been used extensively as source of info.)

Click to see full size photo.

Approaching the Colosseum. Photo taken from the coach.

The Colosseum is a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists visiting it each year. It is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft) long, and 156 meters (510 ft ) wide, with a base area of 6 acres . The surviving part of the outer wall's comprises three stories.There are windows interspersed at regular intervals.The height of the outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft). The perimeter originally measured 545 meters (1,788 ft ). The central Colosseum arena, where all the action took place, is an oval 87 m (287 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers of seating.It was on this arena that all the gladiator fights or any other public functions were performed.The wooden flooring of Colosseum arena has been destroyed due to earthquakes , stone robbers and ravages of time & fire , A wooden platform to show the arena as it existed in ancient times has been partially constructed and is visible at the far end in the photo below.