Vatican and first day in Rome


Thu 15 Jan 2009
Vatican City
With an excellent nights sleep accounted during the flight from Bangkok (see previous story), it was wonderful to be met at the customs exit by Emanuela, who had sailed with me Christmas 2007. This tall classically featured Italian lass had made a top effort to arrive at Rome airport at 6am to collect me.

Shortly we were off toward the heart of Rome, naturally for a coffee to start my Italian adventure. To watch Italians driving is marvelous. Emanuela is no exception, and the continuous fade across lanes for a more favourable position on the left or right. "I need glasses", states Emanuela after enquiry about here skills in traffic…. "but I would not like wearing them … so I have not bothered." This made more sense, as the Mr McGoo experience continued all the way to town. I slumped into my chair a little and wondered how many more of the driving public had made a stand against spectacles….

My first day in Rome continued in much the same way. Be delighted at the wonders of this city founded so long ago, only to be close to head shaking at some of the seemingly chaotic behaviours of the locals.

To stand in front of grand scene St Peters basilica and the forecourt, currently empty but for the security detail and the barricades. The fast entry to the Vatican museum and the hall containing the old maps, the ancient globes, none of which featuring Australia in detail… and the rush of foreign tourists moving forward as a wave toward the Sistine Chapel.

In the afternoon, we had lunch at Em's place, naturally pasta and bread. The discussion turned to the "best job in the world competition" that I was only starting to be informed about, but which Em wanted to enter. Make a video, we must, perhaps two - I for each of us.

In the evening, she dropped me to my first couch guest experience, Claudia and Veronica welcomed me with open arms, pajamas and two cats. They proved very nice… another feed of pasta and get to know them. Lovely girls both.

John Nayler

Digital Marketer. Sailor. Speaker





John Nayler

Brisbane, QLD

0407 15 13 11

John Nayler

In a world where it is critical to cut through the noise and stand out, John Nayler quietly delivers significant competitive advantage through an in-depth knowledge and intense fascination with content, information and the digital world. Describing his first contact with the internet in 1998 as ‘Love At First Sight’, John successfully created the laptop lifestyle before it was a buzzword, growing a highly regarded digital and media agency, inventing and commercialising products, and launching niche magazines, from aboard his boat in the Whitsunday Islands – one of the most sought after island locations in the world. Competitive advantage is a hard-contact, tactical game which can be won or lost in the digital space. John’s education and commitment to his field, and experience at the forefront of marketing and management in the IT space, delivers an innate understanding of how to position, communicate and leverage to deliver improved visibility, lead flow, and ultimately drive sales and profitability...