La Citta Eterna ~ Part I

Woohoo!! Easter break is here... Its gonna be a 3 week break for me.. still unsure if I'm going anywhere but I'm sure gonna post up the whole of my Rome trip this time around, in a few parts of course... so, enjoy!

Getting on with my Rome trip last Christmas..

It was already late afternoon by the time we settled down. By then, our tummies were grumbling and we were in the mood for some Italian food... The trouble is, it was slightly past 3 but restaurants in Italy normally serves lunch till 3pm and closes till it is dinner time, roughly 7pm..

Luckily, we spotted this little place that was still open, and immediately went in without thinking twice.

Seafood Fettucine, doesn't look much but it was delicious!

With our tummies satisfied, we explored the city centre after buying the weekly metro pass.. mainly to familiarise ourselves with the streets and the public transport system.

Streets of Rome:

This is just outside Rome Termini, the main train station.. and also home to thousands of really noisy birds dropping unsuspecting tiny white bombs everywhere.. Initially, we just stared at the sky, amazed at the sheer amount flying in formations, practically performing a free for all airshow.. However, over the next few days, it was more like 'Run for cover!!' till we're safely in the building..

We started the Italian experience with the first 2 days jammed packed with day trips to Florence and Capri the day after we arrived. I don't know whether it was excitement, tiredness or just a plain case of amnesia, but the 3 of us who were sharing a room forgot to adjust our watches to +1GMT and missed the first train to Florence O_O oh.my.god.

We panicked, changed in a haste and ran to the train station without breakfast. So, as a warning, I look horrible in the photos coming photos... argh..

To make up for it, we had to fork out an extra 10 Euros to take the next express train to Florence and catch up with the rest.. =( Instead, we actually got there before them by about 45 minutes!

Florence is definitely my favourite city from my Italian trip this time around. Strolling through the streets, besides it being cultural and historic, there's just this really atmospheric and pleasant vibe about the place. Absolutely loving the city of renaissance!

I suppose the city is relatively easy to navigate with a map, as it was all we had to rely on anyway and Jason, our expert map-navigator found most of the points of interest with it.

The city is best explored on foot as there is always little treasures and surprises hidden along the way. We also got to see the sights on our own pace and comfort, taking in all the elegance of the city.

First up is the landmark of Florence, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, aka the Duomo. It was built way back in the 14th century and considered to be the crowning architectural jewel of Firenze. You can actually see its skyscraping dome from miles away and as you walk towards it, there is also a unique white-green-red marbled coloured partnering tower with 3 bronze doors adorning the front of this facade.

Technically a group shot of the supposed 7 of us, but Kenny decided to go shopping at The Mall

This is the view of the dome from its interior, painted tastefully to represent The Last Supper...

exterior shot of the Duomo

As we sauntered through the streets, there were a variety of these shops along the way with displays so inviting and irresistible, an absolute must have that it was only a matter of time before we knew that we had to have one of it...

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GELATO!!!

Every single one of those flavours just looked super scrumi-yummi-licious that you'd want all of them.. after an excruciating hard time, i settled on stracciatella.

With a gelato in hand, we continued on till we reach the graceful span of Ponte Vecchio with the Arno River flowing through it.

Nearby, there were zodiacal signs on the ground arranged in a particular manner that we couldn't make sense of.. anyway, we just posed with our respective sign..


Puzzling, cancer was either the first or last of the order, beats me..

Moving on, we got to Piazzo della Signoria, overlooked by Palazzo Vecchio with a copy of the infamous statute of Michelangelo's St. David.

The family jewel of St. David is so popular that you'll find it on all sorts of souvenirs you can imagine that's sold everywhere.. mostly postcards, aprons, shorts and magnets.. its either the sole feature or a compilation of them..

This one is particularly funny:

hey, its the hello/goodbye ciao k, and not what's on your mind... lol!!

See what I mean? =)

Done with the sights, we wandered around the streets to kill time, whilst waiting for our train..

Random photos:

I know we have this back home...

... but i don't recall seeing this

surprise surprise, its actually pretty popular in Italy.. the 2nd one I saw in Florence and there's a few in Rome..

More droolings along the street:

... Part II ~ Naples, Capri...