5 Countries 7 Cities in 18 days (Part III)

del Colosseo street

What people say about Europe countries:
"Heaven is where:
the police are British,
the mechanics are German,
the lovers are French,
the chefs are Italians,
and it is all organised by the Swiss."

Bass on Draught, one of the restaurant in Rome

Talk about 'Food'!
How can people resist Italian cuisine right?
Pizza! Spaghetti! Gelato!
All are from Italy! *''ok'' fingers to the mouth* yum yum~

Italian cuisine : Truffle risotto, seafood risotto, and various types of pasta and pizza!

Not to say that the food there are the cheapest among all the Europe countries we have been in this entire trip!

Random street in Rome

I don't know.
But the people we met there are more easy-going.
This place is just right.
Along the street you can occasionally heard random musician playing instrument and singing song.
Slow-paced lifestyle, sitting in the cafe tasting wine, enjoying life, sun bathing, kills time by meeting with people and tasting good food.
Everything seems to be more "European" than I have imagine it to be.
Talk about 'Romantic', this place is definitely more romantic than Paris!
No wonder la TVB drama "Triumph in the Skies" were shot here for some scenes!
See! Why don't they go Paris! This must be the reason!

Just married! < 3

The buildings here are very unique. They are not very modernised like in KL city.

Tall skyscrapers? No! you can hardly find one here in Rome.

But very cool la, as you walk around, the feeling where you went back time to a historical city that you can name it in the Sejarah book!

Random leftover structures of the buildings? (not sure lol)

In order to take over Rome, the most simple way is to buy a Roma Pass.
Thank God they have a very developed and organised tourist-friendly package to sign up.
This pass cost each adult €34. It is quite costly, but with the ''easier access to every where in Rome'', worth it.
Roma Pass includes free use of the city’s public transport network (including the Metro underground train, bus and tram) some of the major museum entry, and Sant' Angelo Castle and Coloseum!
(There are more, can google it up)
But this pass only last for three days la, i.e. from the day you bought it.
And you can easily get it from most of the magazine stores in the train station.

In the Colosseum (with the Roma Pass, we can cut the long queue to get priority entry)

Thank God my jie's friend are joining our trip this time. The 'fear of getting lost in the middle of no where' has now officially gone! Cos he and my jie are the two persons who has been here. So there is two persons who are a lot more familiar on all the ''how to go''. Hooray!
Her friend brought his parents too to join us. So good la, my parents have chit chatting members this time! *to share the pasar pagi's talks and all~

In the Colosseum 

Most of the historical attractions we went really amazed me. Like, how the past centuries people manage to did this kinda buildings! The crafting, the art of the building, the gigantic structures, etc. They are indeed very historical. But erm, I am not a big European history fan though, so all the places turns out all looks the same to me. Like, I get very excited for the first visit, ''wah'', then ''oo'', then ''hmm'', then ''I've seen this before, didn't we visited this place?'', then ''I must be from the past, this building look familiar to me''. HAHAH!
Sorry again for my ''kampung-ness''!

Random street in Rome

But something I did really enjoy is when we walk along the small and narrow streets of this city. I like to cherish the moment of the locals having their own time. I like the way they treat their life like there is no tomorrow. I like it when they don't live in a hectic and fast pace. I like to see they enjoy food and enjoy the moment meeting with friends and family. I like the air I breath in, the music I heard, the small cab that pass by, the cyclist who cycles slowly, the language they speak that I don't understand, the smell of the pizza and pasta, the red plant hanging beside the door of the restaurant, the kid sleeping in his mum's shoulders, ...

Instead of the people in Asia where 'breakfast' is 'breakfast', 'pass me the fork and spoon now cos I need to finish my lunch before I get back to work', and 'there is no dinner without rice!', etc.

Random mansion in Rome

We all behave differently according to the culture we are born and raised. So sometimes you may think the people there are lazy, why are they not working, and stuff like that. But this is culture, afterall. This is the culture that we and they practice differently though.

On the side note, the Metro underground train in Rome is almost like the one I described in the post on the trip in Paris. It's creepy, in certain tourist attraction's stations are very packed, and it is dangerous. After my jie's friend's family has join us together, we always move in a group of 7 peoples. Kinda a big group already. But with our ''tourist-ty look'' written all over our face, we are still the favourite target for the snatch thief. Actually they don't "snatch", they steal. If you are not cautious enough in taking care of your bag or wallet, they can easily steal your belongings with their skillful techniques within a blink of an eye. At least it was how I was informed by my jie and her friend.

On day 1 itself, we actually got targeted by a group of three bearded guys in the train station when we about to go back to the hotel. It was almost 12a.m. in the midnight. There were this three guys pretending to be a tourist by holding a map. Me and my mum notice them and were very suspicious of their intention already. How can three bearded middle-aged man who all has some big tattoos on their hands be always keeping an eye on us while holding their map. They don't even look like a tourist. No big bag, no water bottle, not wearing proper shoes, and their look, just didn't seems like a ''tourist'' to me and my mum. So immediately my mum warn us to get to the next door after the train arrived. Without surprise, three of them follow along. In the mean time while waiting other passengers to get down of the train, we quickly get in and they try to squeeze in between us. C'mon! Don't be silly, why you guys wanted to squeeze into the same compartment of the train together with us. It is 12 midnight and not even crowded anymore! We all started to stare at them with the "not this time, buddy" look. And they left the train afterwards before the door of the train closes. They already know we have been noticing them and hence difficult for them to take further action, so they gave up.

Phew. We all were panic as hell. The way passing through each station in the train takes almost like "forever" to us. We wanted to get down quickly and get back to the hotel as soon as possible before we become the target of the next thief.

Aihhh. Don't know la if we are just bad luck. For some reason, we always got this special ''treat'' from the local. I guess that is their "welcome gift" la.

Anyway, overall the trip to Rome and Vatican City is fun though. ADVENTUROUS ok!

Here are some pictures taken in Rome :

Colosseum

Colosseum

Colosseum (in the day)

Colosseum (in the night)

I have been collecting information about various kind of photographing skills before I went for this trip. 

Still a beginner trying his best to capture the best moment he seen right into his eyes. 

I didn't bring tripod, so a lot of the pictures turn out blurry in low light condition. T__T

Trevi Fountain (in the day)

Trevi Fountain (in the night)

Trevi Fountain, the most famous fountain in Rome. Impressive monument! People can toss coin into the water to make wishes. Toss it over your shoulder with your back to the fountain. Legend has it you will return to Rome if you throw a coin into the water. :D

Piazza di Spagna (a.k.a. Spanish Step, widest staircase in Rome)

Castel Sant'Angelo (English: Castle of the Holy Angel)

Castel Sant'Angelo is a museum now. It was built in the Roman emperor day.

Castel Sant'Angelo (Vatican City)

St. Peter's Basilica, a Roman Catholic church within the Vatican city

St. Peter's Basilica, the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture. It is still the largest church in the world. 

We don't really understand some of the ceremony they will be having every year. But in case you don't know, this is the place where the pope will be here wave to their religious believers.  lol. sorry if I get the concept wrong. Google it for more info. 

But confirm la, the monuments and structures inside the church are JAW-DROPPING-ly amazing. 

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica (the guard? with colourful costume!)

Pantheon

Pantheon, the "temple consecrated to all gods"

Inside the Pantheon, the dome, where sunlight will shine into the building according to the time and location of sun

Inside the Pantheon

Italian Gelato! Soft texture, creamy, and very delicious!

Italian Gelato! 

tbh, all the photos taken for the entire trip can't really show the "true pictures" of the scene, unless if you personally be in there to feel it. I'm quite disappoint with the photos turn out cos they don't trigger my whole experiences and memories when I was in there. 

I don't know about you? do you have the same thought as mine? 

Photo can't pictures the true experience/feeling.

Next post will be about trip to Pisa, Venice, and Milan.
Read Part I (from London) and Part II (Paris) here. :D