La Citta Eterna ~ Part II

This post was supposed to be posted a week after the previous, sadly procrastination and an unexpected trip to Liverpool followed by flu and cough spells while classes resumed kept me busy..

After a week into Easter break, I have been watching Gossip Girl! I must say its really interesting, similar to OTH in terms of the drama and the heightened reality sense but set in Manhattan with filthy rich and spoilt high school kids. Especially with the little Miss Know It All, Gossip Girl who's always there to expose and fuel the scandals through her blog.. haha, juicy! Oh, and also watch it for the super hot lead actors and actresses, Chace Crawford *drools*, Penn Badgley *drools* and both Blake Lively and Leighton Meester are just oh-so-gorgeous..

Alright before I get too carried away, here's the continuation of my trip..

Presenting part II, Capri - Naples..

This is the usual that we have for breakfast at Termini.. Croissants and cappuccino..

it comes as a set

mine has chocolate filling

After having breakfast, we're headed off to Naples for another day trip!

southbound at 8.15am - Napoli Centrale

Putting yesterday's drama behind, this time around we all got to travel together.

Feeling upbeat and excited about the day ahead..

I find that train stations are a popular choice to advertise fragraces in Italy. Although Napoli Centrale isn't that grand looking, still the Calvin Klein ads were everywhere.. Versace bagged Termini back in Rome..

Our arrival at Naples left us in a bit of shock and disappointment at the first sight of it. We were not expecting it to be that much congested, dirty, dodgy and somewhat chaotic, traffic wise.. almost pudu-like..

However, whilst on the way to the port we realised things (mostly food) in Naples are much cheaper then both Florence and Rome. Good for us!

Also, the people here are friendly.. We kinda got confused with the directions to the port, and this guy actually got off with us from the tram and walked with us to the right stop! If not we'll prolly keep heading in the opposite direction , waste precious time and the whole day would be ruined.. God bless his kind soul =)

Sure enough, we got to the ferry terminal in no time.. Departing from Sorrentine, we decided to board the more expensive huge jet-like ferry that takes about 45 minutes as oppose to the slower one which takes double the time.. Sure its more expensive but we're really pressed for time seeing that its winter and there's just that many good sunny hours in a day..

pricey

our speed boat, this shot is not too bad right?

took this in a rush, we got shooed inside as the boat was about to set off, haha =P

Mount Vesuvius reposing in the distance as we zipped across the Mediterranean

The beautiful Isle of Capri is a true pearl. History has it that during the Roman period, Emperor Tiberius was so struck by the incredible beauty of the island that he managed his empire from Capri.

We even studied it in literature, remember The Lotus Eater by Somerset Maugham? Er, the one where the dude decided to leave his secure life behind as he fell in love with the island... lived miserably during his final years and died overlooking the Bay of Naples? Yea, its that mesmerising.. But dont worry, I won't leave you all behind and become a recluse in Capri. Hahah!

From afar, sprouts of villas and ancient ruins dot the island right from the foot of the hill up till the cliffs..

where the rich built their summer villas...

Capri Harbour

Soon enough, we all got hungry once again.. Since we heard that you get the most authentic pizzas in Capri, we decided to give it a try..

a margherita original and a seafood version.. well, if this was meant to be somewhat a traditional pizza, it was kinda overrated..

Next, to go up to the city of Capri we boarded the funicular (cable car), which took about 8 minutes..

Once in the City of Capri, we stood around a patio for almost 20 minutes just soaking in the breathtaking scenery and busy snapping one too many photos...

brownie points to those who guesses correctly which shadow is mine!

Even on such a small island, they've got a Prada shop, wth!

Taking the bus service from Capri, we went up higher to Anacapri. The bus ride was particularly eventful.. pretty similar to taking a bus up Frasers Hill but imagine the roads being half its width, twice as windy and standing all the way (cause being the polite people we are, our seats were offered to the elder citizens). So, all we had were poles to cling on to, and we practically performed a 15 minute pole dance.. all we needed are disco lights and music..

View of the Capri Harbour, taken while on the bus when it was nearing Anacapri

prolly Anacapri's patron saint or hero of some sort..
heading back down..

A night shot of the island...

Kenny gave us all a treat by buying sparklers from one of the shops in Anacapri..

It certainly left us with great memories of Capri.. there was a funny moment when he tried litting up one of the little fire crackers and it didn't go off! haha..

With the food being so cheap, we had to have dinner first before taking the train home.. that HUGE piece of pizza you see us having? It was only 1Euro per slice and tasted not bad!

... Part III ~ Rome City...

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...