Rome The Travel Show

But first on BBC News, The Travel Show.

He was one of the most feared and notorious emperors

ancient Rome has ever seen.

So why is he suddenly finding new friends online?

Also on this week's Travel Show...

As the countdown to Rio continues, we take to the waters

of Copacabana Beach.

Yes!

Halfway!

This week's Global Gourmet takes on a traditionally

British challenge.

It should be nice and soft inside.

And we meet the man who is definitely cut out for life

on the road in Trending Travel.

Few cities in the world can rival Rome's wealth of artistic heritage.

The city is awash with priceless treasures, from ancient statues

to famous paintings.

It is easy to see why Rome is the third most visited

destination in Europe, after London and Paris.

When you're here, without even trying you can spot so much history.

But the building I am mostly interested in seeing

is Nero's Domus Aurea.

Nero's Golden House is so beautiful and provided the inspiration

for a lot of the architecture here in Rome.

Even some of the paintings and frescoes in the Vatican

copied Nero's style.

And if they can't find the funding to restore Nero's Golden House,

a really important part of Rome's history could be lost forever.

Nero was the fifth Roman Emperor and the last of the Julio-Claudian

Dynasty.

His palace was built between 64 and 68 AD and was definitely meant

to get the neighbours jealous.

Covering the size of three modern-day football pitches,

with lavishly painted walls encrusted with precious gemstones,

it was where the in-crowd partied and the Emperor flashed his cash.

After Nero's death, his palace fell into disrepair and eventually became

buried underneath centuries of urban development.

That was until 1930, when the sections you can see today

were first excavated.

Hey!

Hi.

Hi, I'm Ade.

Nice to meet you.

Welcome to the Domus Aurea.

Shall we go in?

Yes, of course.

My guide for today is one of the archaeologists responsible

for the ongoing excavation and preservation of the Domus Aurea.

And it is a daunting project that will cost at least another

30 million euros to complete.

Here there is a room, similar to the cave.

As you can see by the decoration of the vault.

You can see in the centre of the vault there is a mosaic

with a representation of Ulysses giving the cup

of wine to Polyphemus.

What was it like when this was first built?

How did it feel, the sound?

Yes, the sound, the colours, the entering of light.

So there was light coming in as well?

Yes.

And these are fantastic.

Yes, because we can imagine all of the walls covered

by frescoes or marble slabs.

What is obvious to me is that excavating and preserving

the palace is a massive task and it is a real race against time.

Whenever it rains, the weight on the already precarious

2000-year-old roof increases and the roots from the trees

at ground level are causing continuous structural damage.

This is a unique monument, it's the house of Nero.

And we have to conserve ancient monuments.

So it is very important to work here for the next generation.

To allow the archaeologists to do their job, currently

the site is only open to tourists at weekends.

But with the Italian government strapped for cash,

Rome has had to become increasingly creative about how it raises money

to preserve its past.

And Nero's Domus Aurea is one of the first sites to turn

to crowdfunding for help.

Since 2014, companies funding restoration projects have

Since 2014, companies funding restoration projects have

been offered tax breaks.

Luxury label Todd's bankrolled the Coliseum's current

restoration while Fendi, better known for fashion

and philanthropy, picked up the tab for the Trevi Fountain's refurb.

But is crowdfunding the way forward?

So far, only 21,000 euros have been raised via crowdfunding.

And most of that has come from tourists rather

than Romans themselves.

But what the project has done is raise awareness of the urgent

need to find new funding models when it comes

to excavation and preservation.

While crowdfunding might not be the total answer to the problem,

it can certainly prove to be part of the solution.

And crowdfunding isn't just happening here in Rome.

It's a trend that is gathering momentum all over the world.

So here is The Travel Show's rundown of other historical sites that have

had a little help from their friends over the years.

America was home to one of the first big-scale crowdfunding campaigns,

19th century-style.

Back in 1885, locals in New York rallied together to fund

the granite plinth which holds the Statue of Liberty.

Back then, New Yorkers raised more than a quarter of a million

dollars for Lady liberty.

That's around ?4 million in today's money.

A pristine beach in New Zealand bought through crowdfunding

has been handed over to its new owners, the public.

Nearly 40,000 people donated almost two million US dollars

to buy the Awaroa beach in the Abel Tasman National Park

on the South Island.

The purchase means the beach will remain out of private hands,

so that's a good result.

And back in Italy, Pompeii is the latest historical site

to call the public to help, where a crowdfunding site to restore

the Domus of the Centaur has just been set up.

Dating back to the second century BC, it is one of the doomed city's

most important buildings and is currently closed to tourists

until restoration work can be completed to make it safe to visit.

Next on The Travel Show, it's this week's Global Gourmet.

It's high summer in Britain, so picnics are the order of the day,

if the weather plays ball.

And what better treat to take along than the humble Scotch egg?

Long derided as a tasteless petrol station snack,

but for this week's masterchef it's a thing of gastronomic beauty.

Hi, I'm Matt Reuther, head chef at the Princess Victoria

in Shepherd's Bush.

And one thing that is always on my menu is the Scotch egg.

It's a quick and easy stack, it's very tasty.

With beer, it's a very good bar snack.

Supposedly it was first made in Fortnum Mason's fine foods

outlet to the rich and wealthy.

Whether that' true or not, no one really knows.

They have got a reputation for being pretty bad, to be honest.

This is a supermarket brand Scotch egg.

I mean, it's hard.

It bounces!

A decent Scotch egg has good quality meat

and we use Tamworth pork.

A decent quality egg, you cook it for six minutes,

six to seven minutes, depending on the size.

Now we're going to peel the egg.

It should be nice and soft inside.

This is our Scotch egg mix.

Seasoned sausage meat, tarragon, grain mustard.

It's going to take 100 grams of that.

Just turn it into a flat patty.

Take that egg, in the middle.

The next stage is the panne.

Which is flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

First of all, we dip it in the flour.

Then the egg.

Just to give it that nice crunch, so you have got the soft

egg and the firmer meat and the crispy coatings.

It all adds to the Scotch egg experience.

Cook the egg for eight minutes in a hot fryer.

Now we leave it for one minute to rest.

Just make sure the meat is fully cooked through.

After one minute resting, we cut it in half.

And there you have a perfectly cooked Scotch egg.

Service, please!

Still to come on The Travel Show...

Carmen is here with Trending Travel.

And we're in Rio to get a head start on this year's Olympic swimmers.

This actually is the starting point for the swimming marathon.

The Travel Show - our essential guide,

wherever you are heading.

Hello and welcome to Trending Travel, where we explore what is hot

online in the world of travel.

I'll be bringing you through those essential apps,

I'll be bringing you through those essential apps,

videos and blogs to take with you when you leave home.

Our top social media stories this month begin off the coast

of Australia at the Great Barrier Reef.

According to scientists, this year the reef has

experienced its most severe coral bleaching on record.

It's thought that by now, almost a quarter of its

coral has already died.

Whether the cause is climate change or pollution,

there are real fears that tourism figures will dive if the reef

degradation continues.

Now billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson has

launched his own online campaign to help save this

unique natural wonder.

Over the last 20 years, sadly, things have gone

in the wrong direction.

And something has to be done about it.

In the town of Jesolo in Italy, tourists are being offered a "sun

or your money back" deal.

Any visitor who books sun loungers at either Green Beach or Oro Beach

will be given a full refund if more than 3mm of rain falls

on any given day.

With current temperatures reaching over 30 degrees,

tourists will most likely be paying full price for their sun loungers.

Meet Bandito and Luigi, the best friend cat and dog team

who have over 30,000 followers on Instagram.

Owners Seb and Finn say on their Twitter feed

that they are the first pug and cat in the world to walk 1000

kilometres across Spain,

including the Camino de Santiago Trail.

Images of the pair travelling have racked up thousands of likes,

with plenty of loyal Twitter followers expressing

their adoration for them.

And when Richard McCor, otherwise known as Paperboyo,

was told to go and transform the world, he took it literally.

Richard has travelled the globe taking pictures of famous landmarks

using simple paper cutouts to transform the viewers'

perspective of them, often in a humorous way.

So far, he has accumulated 178,000 Instagram followers from his work.

So, my first transformation photo, as it were, was the Big Ben one

in London, which I put on my Instagram in June

last year, 2015.

Before I did the Marilyn Monroe one, the photo that had the most likes

was the Lego man Arc de Triomphe one that I did last year.

So it has only been a year that I have been doing this but it has

gone down really well and has been received really well on Instagram.

We love staying connected with you all online and don't

forget, we're on Facebook, Twitter and email.

You have been sending us some great stuff this month,

especially via Twitter on Tuesdays using #TravelTuesday.

A shout-out to Sophie Rose's Barbados beach and Chris Boulton's

Plitvice National Park in Croatia.

Check out our Twitter and Facebook pages for loads of exclusive travel

show content and top new stories to keep you up-to-date

and inspired for your next world-class adventure.

Now, let's look at the viral videos that have been clocking up

the views this month.

Daniel Windsor and his best friend spent a week exploring

Iceland to make this film.

They say on their Vimeo page that the landscapes

were never-ending, along with the days.

The sun set at 11:30pm at night and rose at 3:30am in the morning.

The film shows off the country's beautiful, rugged landscape.

Directors Mathieu Bernat and David Guersan went to Scotland

to craft their short film, aptly named Isolation.

It portrays a man who leaves society behind to travel alone in a camper

van around the Highlands.

They say he attempts to uncover the secrets buried within

the mysterious and dramatic landscape on show here.

And finally, a sweeping time-lapse of Walt Disney World in Florida,

where Anthony Cortese attempts to capture what he says

is the extraordinary magic of the place.

The footage was shot over the course of two years in four theme parks

and he claims that he got some of the best shots simply

by being in the right place at the right time.

And don't forget to check out our website for all the ways

that you can get in touch or if you have seen anything

online that you think we should be looking at.

See you next time.

Thanks, Carmen.

Well, to end this week, we head to the city that will be

at the centre of the world's attention for the next few weeks.

The Olympic Games open in Rio on Friday after years of worries

about whether the city will be ready.

We sent Ayo Akinwolere to test the waters - literally.

It is a big year for Rio.

The Olympics are coming.

In a beach life city, with swimming races in the waves

of one of the world's most famous curves of sand - Copacabana.

Now, I'm not an Olympian but four years ago I set a world record

for swimming across the deepest stretch of water in the world out

in the Pacific Ocean.

Yes! Whoo!

And tomorrow morning, I am going to be meeting a local

swimmer who tells me he has got a challenge for me

out in those waters.

But first, let's rewind a bit.

Here's what Rio's beaches are notorious for.

Pollution and trash.

Some of it is visible, some lurks in the waves.

The city promised to clean up its waters before the Olympics,

but a lot of people who live here still aren't convinced

swimming is safe.

But the bit of water that matters most for

the Olympics is on Copacabana.

And the World Health Organization says the water there

is suitable for swimming.

That is not the case for all of Rio's beaches,

so check before you get wet.

It's quite early out here in Rio but what a wonderful sunrise.

It's absolutely stunning.

In just a few moments, though, I am going to be

taking on a challenge out there in the ocean.

I'm not quite sure what it is yet but from what I've heard about how

unclean the ocean is, there is clearly cause for concern.

But also, I'm not going to lie, looking at that ocean,

it's quite choppy.

I'm a little bit worried.

You finally made it!

Look, we've been in touch for a while and I know you said

you had a bit of a challenge for me.

What are we doing today?

Well, actually, we're here in Copacabana Beach and this

is one of the best places in Rio and Brazil for ocean swimming.

So my challenge to you is, why don't we swim a bit

of the Olympic course, which will take place just here,

starting here in Copacabana Fort?

We're actually going to be swimming part

of the Olympic course?

Yes.

Are you kidding?

No.

What?!

All right, is the water cold? Not so much.

All right, you just look after me, all right?

Let's do this. Let's go.

I'm only doing a small part of the swimming marathon course.

The Olympians will be swimming ten kilometres here.

Yes! Halfway!

Mate, this is wonderful!

Why is this buoy here?

Well, I brought you here because this actually

is the starting point of the swimming marathon.

No way!

Yes, there's a big rock down here where it's attached to.

And that is where the platform of the swimming marathon will be.

This is the start of the Olympic marathon swim.

Copacabana that side, Sugarloaf that side.

And the fort that side.

So idyllic, man.

So idyllic. Wow!

You guys are really lucky here.

And you have got the weather for it as well.

Yes, this is our winter! Yeah, man!

Don't come to London in winter, mate.

It's just not the same!

I would not put you in the sea there, trust me!

All right, here we go.

Let's finish this.

Now, this one isn't exactly a scientific test

of whether the water quality is good enough.

I just love swimming in the ocean.

We're lucky to have this beach almost to ourselves.

When the Olympics come to town, there will be thousands

packed onto the sand.

How was it?

Just over a kilometre out in the ocean and we got to taste

the Olympic course as well.

What an amazing swim.

I'm so glad I did that.

Thanks a lot, Vitor.

I'm happy that you enjoyed it.

Everyone is welcome here.

Of course.

I'll be coming back, definitely.

Well, sadly, that's all we've got

time for this week on The Travel Show.

But coming up next week...

Christa is testing her nerves on stage in New York to take part

in The Moth, a group dedicated to the art

of open-mic storytelling.

It's fugu, the Japanese pufferfish, right?

You know the one that if they prepare it

slightly wrong, you die!

I was like, aaah!

Find out how she did when she went before

the judges next week.

Don't forget, you can follow all of our travels on social media.

All the details are on the bottom of your screens right now.

But for now, from me and all of The Travel Show team

in Rome, it's goodbye.

Good morning.

A typical mixed bag for this weekend, the last weekend of July.