La Citta Eterna ~ Part III

From the messeges you guys left me, seems like option A was the more popular choice and so A it shall be and we'll continue where I left off.

Just to refresh a little, previous posts were about Florence and Capri Island, so finally here's my first day in Rome during my trip, Caesar's empire here I come! Legend has it that Rome was founded by twins Romulus and Remus, both nursed by a she-wolf in the woods when they were infants (yup, just believe it).

Once again the best way to travel in most European countries is on foot and Jason, the unofficial tourguide manage to locate all the attractions with only a map in hand, way to go!!

Here's one of the many ruins found in the city, this one has quite a number of cats roaming about it:

We visited Basilica Sant'Andrea della Valle next, a beautiful church with impressive interiors:

look at that ceiling!

on the way to our next attraction, stopped for photos =)

The coolness of exploring by foot, we stumbled upon their local marketplace - Camp de Fiori. We were curious about the merchandise sold here, and went poking around.

pretty much like an average pasar..

.. a gardenful of flowers..

.. fresh fruits aplenty..

.. and local produce. yup, its a market alright.

However, this is something you don't see everyday:

look at the size of that!!

A short stroll later, we arrived at Piazza Navona, a relatively popular square buzzing with tourists. Lots of souvenirs, snacks and funfare wares around.

that isnt a real statue

After leaving the square, we came by a dude selling spray paint artwork. I'm sure most of you have seen the internet clip of it.. really fascinating to see how its made..

Ah, finally something from the history textbook - The Pantheon. Temple of the gods built in ancient Rome, 125 AD. Simply amazing to think how well its been preserved through time.



The Pantheon was converted into a church in medieval times and later used as a tomb for kings and famous people like the painter Raphael.

there's actually a tiny figurine of a horse in one of the many squares.. don't bother spotting it..

We then had lunch (typical Italian pizza) and it was late afternoon by the time we got to Fontana di Trevi. Originally a water source found with the help of a virgin, the Trevi Fountains is just one of those tourists sites thats uber crowded at just about any time of the day.

It was said that if one were to throw a coin into the fountain, he/she will return to Rome. Needless to say, I threw XD The coins are collected at night and used to fund the poor. However, moments later, we saw a guy going round the fountain with a hidden device in his sleeve stealing coins -_-!!



As we wanted to have both day and night shots of the fountain, we waited for nightfall.. thank goodness it was winter thus not making the wait in the cold unbearably long:


Our final mission of the day was to get night shots of the great Roman architecture - the Colosseum. Off we were marching and we saw this along the way in the window pane:

cool deco

But what caught our eye was something way more interesting... I highly doubt if its available back home. Hmm, what is edible and has strong resemblance to the male species' reproductive organ?? Go on, take a wild guess before you peek..

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PENIS-SHAPED PASTA!!!!!

it was hilarious..

We briefly contemplated on whether to buy it, but none of us wanted to eat it or bring it home to our families.. so yea, we didn't get it..

random shot

Finally, we manage to get there after a long walk..

in case you didnt know, we were there during Christmas time

Well, more on it later.. hehe..

... Part IV ~ Rome City Day Two...

i'm back..

Hi people..

It has been forever since my last post.. Lots have happened since then: had my final exams, went back to Malaysia for a 6-week break, came back to Aber for my graduation, went off for a family trip and now finally settled down in Manchester..

So this post is sorta a note to let all know that I'm doing alright over here, no worries.. It does get a bit lonely sometimes since currently I'm all alone here (its pretty obvious right, if you guys notice how often you can see me appearing online on MSN msger), but its only temporary till the school term starts..

On another note, I would like to ask your opinion on your reading interests of my up-coming blog posts.. Are you all still interested in reading the rest of my Rome trip which was last year or should I abandon it and start on my graduation bit, ie:

A. to pick up where I left off
B. to start afresh

Yea, so let me know in the comment area below.. Guess you all won't need that much time but I'm giving it till next Thursday for opinions to come in.. and the reason for so is because I'll be away! haha... Only 4 days here and I'm off once again XD

Alrite, till next week.. Have a good week!!

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...