Our flight was at 10ish, but because we stayed at Treviso, we needed to get up as early as possible to get to Marcopolo airport. It's hellish to get train at such wee hour. Lesson learnt. The train, though according to the trenitalia website and schedule at the board at the station showed xxx time, they never showed up! In the end we wasted so much time and finally, fortunate for us there's a shuttle bus that went to Marcopolo! Phewwwww! It cost us 7 Euro each.
We arrived just in time. The queue for RyanAir was long but at least it's fast moving. As many of you will have probably known, traveling by RyanAir means leaving no loophole for them to dig out money from you. Make sure that your luggages aren't too big or too heavy (please refer to the baggage size requirement) and also no extra carry-on at all. Umbrella? Forget it! They're real strict that even before we boarded into the plane, they carried out the measurement thing again to measure everyone's carry-on. So if u're thinking u can run away from the check-in desk, it doesn't guarantee u anything really.
The pilot was very funny... I still remember how he told the passengers to turn off everything electrical, including "sexy toys"... heeheehee. It's pretty good flight we had, which took us about 2 hours or so to reach Brussels Charleroi airport.
Arriving in Brussels, the first thing that greeted us was the super cold weather! I was clearly not prepared for that. We packed really light, so expect no warm jacket in there! So i had to wrap myself with literally everything from my baggage, which resulted me into an indescribable piece of sh*t. Haha. We took the shuttle bus Charleroi to go to Brussels Midi station. The bus ticket cost us 13 Euro each and took us probably 1 hour. But well it's a pretty decent ride.
Fortunately we stayed nearby the Brussels Midi station so we only had to walk from there to our rented apartment. On our way, we bought Liege waffle along the way from a vendor machine and had it to fill our stomach a bit.
Our apartment was an amazing place, really. It's a loft that's greatly taken care of. We stayed with one of the hosts, Peter and he's really such a friendly guy. He made us tea the moment we just arrived. We chitchat at his little garden and then we made a move out to the city. First stop: THE FRITES! I was kind of skeptical when they said the Belgian fries was something i MUST try. I mean, come on, how could it ever be so different? We paid 3.5 Euro and our perspective towards Frites/fries just changed! :D
And then of course we went to the Grand Place area... visited the Chocolate museum (ticket cost 5.5 Euro each), watched the buskers on the street (they're seriously amazing performers!), saw the Mannekin Piss, tasted the escargot soup (OMG I MISS THIS SO MUCH), rented the bike...
I miss Brussels, I really do. It's really unique and pretty in its own way. Let these pictures tell the story, ok?
For dinner, we had another round of Chinese food that cost 17 Euro for us both. Really just couldn't resist it! :D and then went on to try the real deal Belgian beer. Belgian beer is more sour than normal beer, still prefer the normal one though :) It cost us 7 Euro for both to have the beers.
And then we went back to Grand Place and I bought some pralines from Neuhaus. The real deal. Ahhh... :)
Monday, September 12, 2011
Day 8 - 6th August 2011 - Venice
On the third day, we decided to visit Burano an island which is famous for lace-making. I personally really like lace, that's why the trip to Burano uplifted my mood a little bit. We also visited the lace museum which cost us 5 euro each to enter. Not much to elaborate about, but I love lace! Hahaha. I love seeing how they're made. So pretty...
After that, we visited Giardini for the second part of Biennale we hadn't visited. Compared to Arsenale, Giardini was much more happening and exciting! There were halls dedicated to each country... I remember seeing the ATM that played really loud (and horrible) music when you accessed to it. There's a pipe organ on top of it that linked the activities altogether. Quite awesome, it really drew people to withdraw or do any kind of transactions there.
In the evening, we went back to Treviso and did what the local people do! Having tramezzini and spritz by the street. :) We had this awesome anchovy cheese tramezzini that really lingered in our minds... then we went for the real dinner. I was craving so badly for Vongole, so we just stopped by the first restaurant we saw that had it. It's yummy! So there ends our story in Venice.
After that, we visited Giardini for the second part of Biennale we hadn't visited. Compared to Arsenale, Giardini was much more happening and exciting! There were halls dedicated to each country... I remember seeing the ATM that played really loud (and horrible) music when you accessed to it. There's a pipe organ on top of it that linked the activities altogether. Quite awesome, it really drew people to withdraw or do any kind of transactions there.
In the evening, we went back to Treviso and did what the local people do! Having tramezzini and spritz by the street. :) We had this awesome anchovy cheese tramezzini that really lingered in our minds... then we went for the real dinner. I was craving so badly for Vongole, so we just stopped by the first restaurant we saw that had it. It's yummy! So there ends our story in Venice.
Day 7 - 5th August 2011 - Venice
In the morning, we only strolled around Treviso. To be honest, I love this small town. Even right in the middle of the city we could see something beautiful as this...
Also the fact that people could walk together with dogs going in and out shops is just amazing... i really want to live here. Shortly after, we departed by the boat to visit Venice again, this time for the La Biennale. For people who are familiar with the art industry, this is one of the most prestigious exhibitions in the world that one can't miss. Okay, perhaps a little bit of overhype there. It cost us 20 Euro per ticket to enter and it's valid to enter the Arsenale and Giardini. We went to Arsenale first, which was a let down for me.
But I love seeing how turqoise the color of the water was in Venice. Around the exhibition place, the water activity was quiet. That's when I could savour the tranquility of the turqoise Venice water and watch cute hunks topless blasting out music loudly from their private boats. ;)
At night, we went out for a hearty Italian dinner with all the friends. Closed with a gelato dessert. Much love.
Also the fact that people could walk together with dogs going in and out shops is just amazing... i really want to live here. Shortly after, we departed by the boat to visit Venice again, this time for the La Biennale. For people who are familiar with the art industry, this is one of the most prestigious exhibitions in the world that one can't miss. Okay, perhaps a little bit of overhype there. It cost us 20 Euro per ticket to enter and it's valid to enter the Arsenale and Giardini. We went to Arsenale first, which was a let down for me.
But I love seeing how turqoise the color of the water was in Venice. Around the exhibition place, the water activity was quiet. That's when I could savour the tranquility of the turqoise Venice water and watch cute hunks topless blasting out music loudly from their private boats. ;)
At night, we went out for a hearty Italian dinner with all the friends. Closed with a gelato dessert. Much love.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Day 6 - 4th August 2011 - Venice
Our trained reached Treviso station at about 6.30am. The reason why we stopped at Treviso is because the place of our friends where we stayed at was in Treviso and not exactly in Venice. If you're staying in Venice, the train should take you to Santa Lucia.
He came to pick us up, we had simple Italian breakfast then headed out to Venice. The train tickets cost 5 Euro for both of us. Perhaps already familiar to you, in Venice, it's time to get lost! But before that, you can head straightaway to the ticket office to purchase your boat ticket. We stayed around 3 nights there and we got the 48-hour tickets which cost us 56 euro for 2 tickets. Basically with this ticket, you can go to every island surrounding Venice, like Murano, Burano, etc...
Our first stop was of course the San Marco and then the Bridge of Sighs (which was a shame when we went there. The whole bridge was covered with advertisement. BIG SIGHS). And then we headed out to Murano, the island which is famous for its glass production. We had lunch at a trattoria which cost us both 40 Euro... We had lots of pastas, wines and fresh fish! Yums!
To be honest I didn't really enjoy Venice that much. First of all it's very hot over there and plus the big flood of tourists! Argh... So I'll just let pictures tell you the story...
At night time, we went out for a wine tasting event which our friends' father invited us to. It's fabulous! We had almost bottomless supplies of wine and hams!! The wines are all very wonderful and cheap too. Truly one moment not to forget about.
He came to pick us up, we had simple Italian breakfast then headed out to Venice. The train tickets cost 5 Euro for both of us. Perhaps already familiar to you, in Venice, it's time to get lost! But before that, you can head straightaway to the ticket office to purchase your boat ticket. We stayed around 3 nights there and we got the 48-hour tickets which cost us 56 euro for 2 tickets. Basically with this ticket, you can go to every island surrounding Venice, like Murano, Burano, etc...
Our first stop was of course the San Marco and then the Bridge of Sighs (which was a shame when we went there. The whole bridge was covered with advertisement. BIG SIGHS). And then we headed out to Murano, the island which is famous for its glass production. We had lunch at a trattoria which cost us both 40 Euro... We had lots of pastas, wines and fresh fish! Yums!
To be honest I didn't really enjoy Venice that much. First of all it's very hot over there and plus the big flood of tourists! Argh... So I'll just let pictures tell you the story...
At night time, we went out for a wine tasting event which our friends' father invited us to. It's fabulous! We had almost bottomless supplies of wine and hams!! The wines are all very wonderful and cheap too. Truly one moment not to forget about.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day 5 - 3rd August 2011 - Rome - Venice
This was the last day for us to be in Rome. We decided to go to the Trevi fountain (reachable by metro stop at Piazza Barberini) first thing in the morning. Like what that we'd been advised, throw a coin inside to ensure a come-back to Rome. That's exactly what we did :) The water inside the fountain was crystal clear I am still wondering how it could be kept that way. Put such kind of fountain in Asia and believe me it won't sustain that long. Again and again, it's another tourist trap for pickpocketing, so really watch out for your belongings. Plus, it's really really crowded there too.
From the Trevi Fountain we walked a bit to the Jewish ghetto, also called the Ghetto di Roma. It's not a place to be on your must-visit list, believe me. We had lunch at Gigetto al Portico d'Ottavia as suggested by our Roman friend and the food wasn't bad at all but it ain't very cheap. The total bill came up to about 35 euro for the both of us.
From Jewish ghetto, we planned to visit all the churches that we planned to visit. First stop, San Giovanni in Laterano. It's the oldest and ranks as one of the four major basilicas in Rome. (BTW, we're both Catholics that's why the trip to basilicas mean something for us). We rented the audio guide for 5 euro each. And the good thing is it wasn't crowded at all so we could really take our own sweet time admiring every corner of the beauty.
It's already afternoon and we got lost while trying to go to the other one, St. Mary Major, so we just strolled around that area and came home to pack our stuffs before leaving for Tiburtina train station to catch our train to Venice at 10.36pm.
We're lucky because there's a direct bus from our apartment to Tiburtina, though it took us about 45 minutes to reach there. Here's one tip for those of you who choose to go to Venice by Trenitalia, arrive at least 30 minutes earlier than your departure time, because it happened to us that we still need to go to Termini and catch the train from there! I can't imagine how it could have been if we arrived any later than that. Sighs. It seemed like a normal thing by the Italianos though.
Because of some stupid online system, we had to buy different coaches for each of us. I was put inside an all-women room and my boyfriend in an all-guys room. Don't think that it's all comfortable and all. First of all, there's only one small fake aircon inside that little room, and the aircon simply wasn't working! We had to get the officer to open up the window for us so we could get some air! And again I was lucky because mine was at the most top bunkbed (there were 3 tiers) so I got the most air circulation. But the noise... argh the noise! It's ridiculously small, hot and stuffy.
All's in the mind, they said. So I tried not to think about it, I brought along my eyemask, put it on and quietly went to sleep. BTW I was put inside the same room with this mom and daughter from England. In an instant I felt like I was in Harry Potter getting ready to go to Hogwarts with Hermione. LOL.
From the Trevi Fountain we walked a bit to the Jewish ghetto, also called the Ghetto di Roma. It's not a place to be on your must-visit list, believe me. We had lunch at Gigetto al Portico d'Ottavia as suggested by our Roman friend and the food wasn't bad at all but it ain't very cheap. The total bill came up to about 35 euro for the both of us.
From Jewish ghetto, we planned to visit all the churches that we planned to visit. First stop, San Giovanni in Laterano. It's the oldest and ranks as one of the four major basilicas in Rome. (BTW, we're both Catholics that's why the trip to basilicas mean something for us). We rented the audio guide for 5 euro each. And the good thing is it wasn't crowded at all so we could really take our own sweet time admiring every corner of the beauty.
It's already afternoon and we got lost while trying to go to the other one, St. Mary Major, so we just strolled around that area and came home to pack our stuffs before leaving for Tiburtina train station to catch our train to Venice at 10.36pm.
We're lucky because there's a direct bus from our apartment to Tiburtina, though it took us about 45 minutes to reach there. Here's one tip for those of you who choose to go to Venice by Trenitalia, arrive at least 30 minutes earlier than your departure time, because it happened to us that we still need to go to Termini and catch the train from there! I can't imagine how it could have been if we arrived any later than that. Sighs. It seemed like a normal thing by the Italianos though.
Because of some stupid online system, we had to buy different coaches for each of us. I was put inside an all-women room and my boyfriend in an all-guys room. Don't think that it's all comfortable and all. First of all, there's only one small fake aircon inside that little room, and the aircon simply wasn't working! We had to get the officer to open up the window for us so we could get some air! And again I was lucky because mine was at the most top bunkbed (there were 3 tiers) so I got the most air circulation. But the noise... argh the noise! It's ridiculously small, hot and stuffy.
All's in the mind, they said. So I tried not to think about it, I brought along my eyemask, put it on and quietly went to sleep. BTW I was put inside the same room with this mom and daughter from England. In an instant I felt like I was in Harry Potter getting ready to go to Hogwarts with Hermione. LOL.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Day 4 - 2nd Aug 2011 - Rome
Day 2 was spent around the Colosseum. We chose to utilize our Roma Pass for Colosseum (Roman Forum & Capitoline Hill share the same ticket as Colosseum) & Villa Borghese. Anyway, let's get to Colosseum first.
To reach Colosseum, simply take the metro and stop at Colosseo. We did Capitoline Hill - Roman Forum - Colosseum. If you are using the Roma Pass, you can simply go in the lane for Roma Pass holders & group booking (and laugh at those who are queueing for 2 hours out there under the sunshine). To ease your tour inside there, go download the Rick Steves Colosseum & Roman Forum audioguides from the iTunes store. It also came with a map that you can download and print, but we didn't do that and it's still pretty okay for us. I'm not a history heavy person so I'm gonna skip the history part of Colosseum and whatnots... besides you can find them online too.
But to be sure, if ever you're thinking to skip visiting these places, please don't. It feels amazing to walk inside the neighborhood where the ancient Romans (like Julius Caesar!) used to walk on and see the stadium inside. The Colosseum was amazing too... we still couldn't believe it that the ancients built that by their own hands without any machinery at all! It's really well worth all the queue (if you plan to!) and the money to get in.
We spent about 3-4 hours to see all the places and then we walked out to Ciuri Ciuri, a Sicilian cafe to have a light lunch. I had brioche with gelato (!!!!) and my boyfriend had a ball of deep fried rice with some cheese and fish. They both tasted wonderful. I found out this little cafe online.
The reason why we had to have a light lunch was also because we're heading off to Villa Borghese after that. To go to Villa Borghese, simply take the metro down to Spagna station. From the exit, please look out for bus 52, 53, 217 or 920. Don't repeat what we did, we walked! And i think it took us almost more than one hour to reach there. It's super exhausting!
So what is Villa Borghese? What can I see at Villa Borghese? Is it worth visiting Villa Borghese? The answer is: HELL YES. Villa Borghese is a huge (with capital H) compound used to be owner by a rich guy... now inside there what you can find is a luscious greenery parks, gardens, lakes, and of course the Galleria Borghese! That's the main reason we're there.
Galleria Borghese is a gallery that houses some significant part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculpture and antiques. Some of the works you could find inside are such as works by Bernini, Rafael, Canova, etc. You must reserve for tickets before going to Galleria Borghese. If you don't want to use Roma Pass for this, you can simply go to their website and reserve for it. But if you're using Roma Pass like we did, you have to call them and mention on what dates and what times you will be there. And they will give you the confirmation code shortly after. It's about 2-hour long, our slot was from 3pm - 5pm. It's really worth visiting.
After the museum, if you feel like strolling down the parks and gardens with your loved one (or even with family!) please do so outside the gallery. You can rent a bicycle, double bicycle, seigway, etc. to go around the huge park. We rented the double bicycle for 10 euro an hour and we really had fun with it. I think it's also one of the most romantic spots I've ever been to (our friend made a proposal to his girlfriend there.) It's not crowded and you can have your own little spot anywhere because it's that huge. There's also a lake behind where ducks swim... Highly recommended to visit :)
Total time spent was about 3-4 hours then we caught the bus to go back to Spagna to visit the Piazza di Spagna (aka Spanish Steps). I didn't imagine Spanish Steps to be like what we saw before we reached there, to be honest. It feels like the city centre where all the branded stores collided into one place. Peeeerfetto for little 'window shopping' :) The whole place was just crowded (beware of pickpocket and crazy stalkers!) and there you could find a lot of shops (no restaurants though) like LV, Prada, Chanel, Disney store, etc... But as I said, because it's the tourist spot, there are a lot of pickpocketers, stalkers and flower sellers who offer you a rose out of nowhere, but pretend like you don't see them. Never receive anything from strangers!
After strolling around the Piazza di Spagna, we casually went into a Chinese restaurant to unleash our craving and happily went back home.
To reach Colosseum, simply take the metro and stop at Colosseo. We did Capitoline Hill - Roman Forum - Colosseum. If you are using the Roma Pass, you can simply go in the lane for Roma Pass holders & group booking (and laugh at those who are queueing for 2 hours out there under the sunshine). To ease your tour inside there, go download the Rick Steves Colosseum & Roman Forum audioguides from the iTunes store. It also came with a map that you can download and print, but we didn't do that and it's still pretty okay for us. I'm not a history heavy person so I'm gonna skip the history part of Colosseum and whatnots... besides you can find them online too.
But to be sure, if ever you're thinking to skip visiting these places, please don't. It feels amazing to walk inside the neighborhood where the ancient Romans (like Julius Caesar!) used to walk on and see the stadium inside. The Colosseum was amazing too... we still couldn't believe it that the ancients built that by their own hands without any machinery at all! It's really well worth all the queue (if you plan to!) and the money to get in.
We spent about 3-4 hours to see all the places and then we walked out to Ciuri Ciuri, a Sicilian cafe to have a light lunch. I had brioche with gelato (!!!!) and my boyfriend had a ball of deep fried rice with some cheese and fish. They both tasted wonderful. I found out this little cafe online.
The reason why we had to have a light lunch was also because we're heading off to Villa Borghese after that. To go to Villa Borghese, simply take the metro down to Spagna station. From the exit, please look out for bus 52, 53, 217 or 920. Don't repeat what we did, we walked! And i think it took us almost more than one hour to reach there. It's super exhausting!
So what is Villa Borghese? What can I see at Villa Borghese? Is it worth visiting Villa Borghese? The answer is: HELL YES. Villa Borghese is a huge (with capital H) compound used to be owner by a rich guy... now inside there what you can find is a luscious greenery parks, gardens, lakes, and of course the Galleria Borghese! That's the main reason we're there.
Galleria Borghese is a gallery that houses some significant part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculpture and antiques. Some of the works you could find inside are such as works by Bernini, Rafael, Canova, etc. You must reserve for tickets before going to Galleria Borghese. If you don't want to use Roma Pass for this, you can simply go to their website and reserve for it. But if you're using Roma Pass like we did, you have to call them and mention on what dates and what times you will be there. And they will give you the confirmation code shortly after. It's about 2-hour long, our slot was from 3pm - 5pm. It's really worth visiting.
After the museum, if you feel like strolling down the parks and gardens with your loved one (or even with family!) please do so outside the gallery. You can rent a bicycle, double bicycle, seigway, etc. to go around the huge park. We rented the double bicycle for 10 euro an hour and we really had fun with it. I think it's also one of the most romantic spots I've ever been to (our friend made a proposal to his girlfriend there.) It's not crowded and you can have your own little spot anywhere because it's that huge. There's also a lake behind where ducks swim... Highly recommended to visit :)
Total time spent was about 3-4 hours then we caught the bus to go back to Spagna to visit the Piazza di Spagna (aka Spanish Steps). I didn't imagine Spanish Steps to be like what we saw before we reached there, to be honest. It feels like the city centre where all the branded stores collided into one place. Peeeerfetto for little 'window shopping' :) The whole place was just crowded (beware of pickpocket and crazy stalkers!) and there you could find a lot of shops (no restaurants though) like LV, Prada, Chanel, Disney store, etc... But as I said, because it's the tourist spot, there are a lot of pickpocketers, stalkers and flower sellers who offer you a rose out of nowhere, but pretend like you don't see them. Never receive anything from strangers!
After strolling around the Piazza di Spagna, we casually went into a Chinese restaurant to unleash our craving and happily went back home.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Day 3 - 1st Aug 2011 - Rome
It's Vatican city day! For us, we only needed to walk because we stayed really close by. Otherwise, it could be reached with metro. You should stop at Ottaviano station then walk out. Our itinerary at the Vatican was:
Vatican Museum (our tickets were at 9.30am) - Sistine Chapel - Scavi tour (2pm) - St. Peter's basilica
You can NOT use your Roma Pass in the Vatican City (because it's not part of Rome). Here is one golden tip for visiting the Vatican Museum: book your tickets online and print it out. Seriously. It will save you at least 2 hours of queue in front of it under the sunshine. It's really easy, just go ahead and click here. Yes it will cost a little bit more, but that's totally nothing compared to the few hours you will have to queue for. And also, for those that would love to join the Scavi tour (the tour underground St. Peter's Basilica to see the old Roman mausoleums and St. Peter's tomb), be sure to reserve for the tickets few weeks earlier. They don't have an online website service but you can send them an email to scavi@fsp.va stating:
1. The exact number of visitors
2. The full names
3. Language
4. The date
5. Contact information
We're quite lucky cos we only emailed them a week before our arrival and the response was very prompt: the next day.
The Vatican Museum was totally amazing... and no, we didn't join the tour. The reason we didn't join the tour at the Vatican Museum was because it's expensive and might not be worth it. Because through the forums and other websites we went through, our time to savour every part of the museum will be very limited. Well, it's up to you but since my partner is very into photography, I bet he wouldn't like to be limited. So, instead, we rented an audio guide at only 7 euro per person. It's in English and we could pause and play anytime we wanted. ;) But please have your ID card ready because they required you to deposit that while you're renting it. And no, credit card or ATM card wouldn't work. Don't even try.
I think we spent about 3 hours or so there and then had lunch at the canteen/cafeteria. They had many types of lunch set (Italian and American, mostly) and inexpensive. It only cost us both 18 euro. :) After lunch, we quickly rushed to the St. Peter to find the Excavation office. But first of all, for you who are bringing lots of carry-ons or backpacks, be sure to deposit them at the Basilica (I'm not sure where it is, sorry!) before getting to the office. And the office is really really really hard to find. I think we asked around 5 times to get there! I can't be sure how to guide you either, but I'll try. First of all, the place is NOT within the St. Peter's compound, to be more precise it's on the east wing of St. Peter's square itself. You will most probably arrive at the west wing (like we did!) but trust me, just keep walking through the square. When you're already at the east wing and if you don't see the Swiss Guard, ask around for "Excavation office or Ufficio Scavi". Show the Swiss Guard your reservation printout and you're good to go to the office. It's really only a very small office with an indescribably rude guy sitting at the desk. The reason why we said he's effin' rude was because we were not aware of the bag deposit thing, but good thing because we didn't carry that much of thing, so we're permitted to go in.
The Scavi tour is a must visit not only for Catholics but for everyone because it's all about the Roman mausoleum history which was very spectacular to see. The tour was about half to an hour long with a friendly tour guide called Laura.
Out from the Scavi tour, we visited the St. Peter's Basilica. I almost broke down in awe when I was in there... it's really really beautiful. We didn't spend that long inside though.
The next destination was the Pantheon, the temple to all gods. It has a beautiful altar and with a rounded hole at the roof. We heard that it got prettier during rainy day because you could see rain pouring down through that hole at the roof. Too bad when we went there it's simply scorching hot.
After snapping some pictures, we went on to go to Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill in English) to capture Rome during sunset and of course, to savour every romantic second together :) It may be a long walk, but be not discouraged because you will come across the Il Gelato di San Crispino along the way (who's said to have the best gelato in Rome!) and then also the Piazza Navona! Piazza Navona let me have the real experience to be in Italy with painters selling their artworks all around, accordion music being played, restaurants/cafes lining up the little road and of course the beautiful fountain in the center where people sit around it. :) It's a nice place to sit down for a while before carrying on the walk.
Walking up the Gianicolo may be dreadful for some (it was for me! And FYI, I'm probably the least active person on earth. I hate exercising :P) but trust me, it's WORTH IT! To forget about all the exhaustion, try to look what's around you.. the flowers... the trees... the people with their dogs enjoying their evening time... they are all so beautiful it's gonna make you forget all your exhaustion and sweat.
And once you reach up there, keep that camera away and just watch the beautiful sunset with your loved on. The sun setting with the yellow-ish ray painting all over Rome... it's truly beautiful and romantic. (And hint hint, for guys who have been preparing for 'the moment', Gianicolo might be one of the best places to do it! There aren't too many people around, and if there are, they are most likely NOT tourists and they will not care because everyone will be too immersed in the romance mood...)
We spent really long time there before heading back to Trastevere for our dinner! We ate at Antica Osteria Rugantino and ordered the set menu again. It cost us both 29 Euro, but really reasonable because we both had white wine along with our food.
And then we took the same bus going home...
Vatican museum:
Open Mon-Sat 9am - 4pm. Museum closes at 6pm
Ticket costs 15 Euro per person (additional of 3 Euro if booked online, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Scavi tour:
Open Mon-Fri 9am - 6pm. Saturday 9am - 5pm.
Tickets costs 12 Euro per person (book online through email)
Il Gelato di San Crispino
Open Mon-Sat 9am - 7pm
Metro: Barberini Fontana di Trevi
Via della Panetteria, 42
066 793924
Antica Osteria Rugantino
Via della Lungaretta 54
065818517 (might need a reservation if on weekends)
Vatican Museum (our tickets were at 9.30am) - Sistine Chapel - Scavi tour (2pm) - St. Peter's basilica
You can NOT use your Roma Pass in the Vatican City (because it's not part of Rome). Here is one golden tip for visiting the Vatican Museum: book your tickets online and print it out. Seriously. It will save you at least 2 hours of queue in front of it under the sunshine. It's really easy, just go ahead and click here. Yes it will cost a little bit more, but that's totally nothing compared to the few hours you will have to queue for. And also, for those that would love to join the Scavi tour (the tour underground St. Peter's Basilica to see the old Roman mausoleums and St. Peter's tomb), be sure to reserve for the tickets few weeks earlier. They don't have an online website service but you can send them an email to scavi@fsp.va stating:
1. The exact number of visitors
2. The full names
3. Language
4. The date
5. Contact information
We're quite lucky cos we only emailed them a week before our arrival and the response was very prompt: the next day.
The Vatican Museum was totally amazing... and no, we didn't join the tour. The reason we didn't join the tour at the Vatican Museum was because it's expensive and might not be worth it. Because through the forums and other websites we went through, our time to savour every part of the museum will be very limited. Well, it's up to you but since my partner is very into photography, I bet he wouldn't like to be limited. So, instead, we rented an audio guide at only 7 euro per person. It's in English and we could pause and play anytime we wanted. ;) But please have your ID card ready because they required you to deposit that while you're renting it. And no, credit card or ATM card wouldn't work. Don't even try.
I think we spent about 3 hours or so there and then had lunch at the canteen/cafeteria. They had many types of lunch set (Italian and American, mostly) and inexpensive. It only cost us both 18 euro. :) After lunch, we quickly rushed to the St. Peter to find the Excavation office. But first of all, for you who are bringing lots of carry-ons or backpacks, be sure to deposit them at the Basilica (I'm not sure where it is, sorry!) before getting to the office. And the office is really really really hard to find. I think we asked around 5 times to get there! I can't be sure how to guide you either, but I'll try. First of all, the place is NOT within the St. Peter's compound, to be more precise it's on the east wing of St. Peter's square itself. You will most probably arrive at the west wing (like we did!) but trust me, just keep walking through the square. When you're already at the east wing and if you don't see the Swiss Guard, ask around for "Excavation office or Ufficio Scavi". Show the Swiss Guard your reservation printout and you're good to go to the office. It's really only a very small office with an indescribably rude guy sitting at the desk. The reason why we said he's effin' rude was because we were not aware of the bag deposit thing, but good thing because we didn't carry that much of thing, so we're permitted to go in.
The Scavi tour is a must visit not only for Catholics but for everyone because it's all about the Roman mausoleum history which was very spectacular to see. The tour was about half to an hour long with a friendly tour guide called Laura.
Out from the Scavi tour, we visited the St. Peter's Basilica. I almost broke down in awe when I was in there... it's really really beautiful. We didn't spend that long inside though.
The next destination was the Pantheon, the temple to all gods. It has a beautiful altar and with a rounded hole at the roof. We heard that it got prettier during rainy day because you could see rain pouring down through that hole at the roof. Too bad when we went there it's simply scorching hot.
After snapping some pictures, we went on to go to Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill in English) to capture Rome during sunset and of course, to savour every romantic second together :) It may be a long walk, but be not discouraged because you will come across the Il Gelato di San Crispino along the way (who's said to have the best gelato in Rome!) and then also the Piazza Navona! Piazza Navona let me have the real experience to be in Italy with painters selling their artworks all around, accordion music being played, restaurants/cafes lining up the little road and of course the beautiful fountain in the center where people sit around it. :) It's a nice place to sit down for a while before carrying on the walk.
Walking up the Gianicolo may be dreadful for some (it was for me! And FYI, I'm probably the least active person on earth. I hate exercising :P) but trust me, it's WORTH IT! To forget about all the exhaustion, try to look what's around you.. the flowers... the trees... the people with their dogs enjoying their evening time... they are all so beautiful it's gonna make you forget all your exhaustion and sweat.
And once you reach up there, keep that camera away and just watch the beautiful sunset with your loved on. The sun setting with the yellow-ish ray painting all over Rome... it's truly beautiful and romantic. (And hint hint, for guys who have been preparing for 'the moment', Gianicolo might be one of the best places to do it! There aren't too many people around, and if there are, they are most likely NOT tourists and they will not care because everyone will be too immersed in the romance mood...)
We spent really long time there before heading back to Trastevere for our dinner! We ate at Antica Osteria Rugantino and ordered the set menu again. It cost us both 29 Euro, but really reasonable because we both had white wine along with our food.
And then we took the same bus going home...
Vatican museum:
Open Mon-Sat 9am - 4pm. Museum closes at 6pm
Ticket costs 15 Euro per person (additional of 3 Euro if booked online, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Scavi tour:
Open Mon-Fri 9am - 6pm. Saturday 9am - 5pm.
Tickets costs 12 Euro per person (book online through email)
Il Gelato di San Crispino
Open Mon-Sat 9am - 7pm
Metro: Barberini Fontana di Trevi
Via della Panetteria, 42
066 793924
Antica Osteria Rugantino
Via della Lungaretta 54
065818517 (might need a reservation if on weekends)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Day 2 - 31st July 2011 - Istanbul-Rome
We woke up very early on the second day because we wanted to savour Istanbul as much as we could before starting our real journey. Woke up and had baklava as our dessert, then we combed through what's around our guesthouse. It's pretty fascinating to see Istanbul in the morning, really. Very quiet, clean and all we could see was really waiter/waitress/chef doing the opening of their cafes/restaurants.
The museum is open everyday, except Monday. And visiting hours are from 9:30 to 16:30.. The entrance fee is 20 TL (~ 9 Euro) including visit to the upper gallery floor. (Before the upper gallery has got an extra fee.)
After that we headed back to our guesthouse and had the breakfast prepared by the host. Then we checked out.
We made sure that we visited the Hagia Sophia before leaving. I really wanted to see what the fusion of two religions look like (Catholic + Moslem). The interior was beautifully decorated with Byzantine mosaics and it was called the "Church of the Holy Apostles" when it was first built in 360 AD. Then in 1453, Sultan Mahmed the conqueror turned this church into a mosque and was used for nearly 500 years. When it was turned into a mosque, all the previous Christian mosaics were plastered over with Moslem-influenced design. Nowadays what you can see is the fusion of both, which was really mind-boggling for me.
The museum is open everyday, except Monday. And visiting hours are from 9:30 to 16:30.. The entrance fee is 20 TL (~ 9 Euro) including visit to the upper gallery floor. (Before the upper gallery has got an extra fee.)
There was actually a basilica we'd love to visit but due to time constraint we had to scratch that off our plan. It was called Basilica Cistern, an underground chamber with the size of 138 metres x 64.6 metres and with medusa pillars inside. So sad that we couldn't visit that one.
In the afternoon, we took the tram and metro back to the airport and prepared to leave for Rome.
ROME
We arrived in Fiumicino Airport in the evening. How do I go to Termini? There was no clear direction as to where we could take a transportation to go to Termini. Of course you could take the Trenitalia but it cost quite a bit. But hold on, thou shalt always remember to break big note (like 100 Euro) before doing anything, or else your money will simply be rejected. Back to Termini, we finally saw an ad while using the flat translator... which is by taking bus! And it only cost 8 Euro per person. I'm not sure if the one we used was called Terravision (sorry but I have really short memory). Go Google it. That bus could be accessed from Terminal 3 and it took no more than one hour to reach Termini.
As it's my first time to be in Europe, I was simply amazed by all the olden buildings and ruins which I could find along the way. And all the cafes and pastticerias which I could only see from movies were now right in front of me. WOW! It's a very lively city. Not necessarily clean, but very cultured and very livable. Green tall trees surrounded and sheltered us, people walking with their dogs in peace, graffiti almost all around the city, very artistic. Very pretty. :)
When we reached Termini, we knew that the "be very very careful" rule would start to apply. Eventhough so, we still got 'mugged' by a gypsy that dressed like a tourist. Shite! Okay here's the tip to avoid that! As you reach Termini, guard all your stuffs really carefully with you while walking down the escalator. When you finally see the ticket machines, go skip that one, and go down further to the other one where it's less crowded. Where the gypsy was located as the one at the upper level. She stood at one crowded corner and leaned towards one of the machine, with such friendliness she asked where we'd like to go (oh she had pretty good English!). We felt thankful 'cos she told us, only until she said "could you give me some tips please? 1 Euro?". Unfortunately the smallest amount of money we had was 2 Euro, so we had no choice but to give in. So lesson #2: always prepare coins too. Either buy something from the small provision shops or ask your moneychanger guy to break it for you.
For those of you who have come into the light about what Roma Pass is, yes it's something you MUST buy. The reason why we didn't buy it at the airport or Termini station was because the offices were already close! So what are some of the benefits of Roma Pass? All only at 25 Euro.
- Free entry to the first 2 visited museums and / or archaeological sites of your choice. Free admission includes the exhibition held in the museum.
- Concessionary ticket to all other museums and / or archaeological sites visited thereafter. The concessionary ticket includes the exhibition held in the museum.
- Free use of the city’s public transport network.
You should buy the Roma Pass if you intend to commute and visit many touristy places a lot during your trip. It's a treasure. BUT the downside is it could be used only for 3 days, starting the date when you activate it at any museums/archeology sites or at the public transports. And I don't think you need to buy them online, because they could be bought pretty much everywhere. The problem with buying online is that, you're not sure where the place to collect is and finding that place will be more troublesome for you. Here is detail of where you can buy it if you don't wanna buy it online:
- All participating Museums and sites
- Tourist Information Sites (Punti Informativi Turistici, PIT) of the City of Rome:
- PIT Castel S. Angelo, Lungotevere Vaticano (Piazza Pia). 9.30am - 7.00pm
- PIT Ciampino, Aeroporto G.B.Pastine - Arrivi Internazionali, area ritiro bagagli. 9.30am - 6.30pm
- PIT Cinque Lune, Piazza delle Cinque Lune (Piazza Navona). 9.30am - 7.00pm
- PIT Fiumicino, Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci - International Arrival area (Terminal 3). 9.00am - 6.30pm
- PIT Minghetti, Via Marco Minghetti (angolo Via del Corso). 9.30am - 7.00pm
- PIT Nazionale, Via Nazionale (Palazzo delle Esposizioni). 9.30am - 7.00pm
- PIT S. Maria Maggiore, Via dell'Olmata. 9.30am - 7.00pm
- PIT Termini, Stazione Termini - Via Giovanni Giolitti, 34. 8.00am - 8.00pm
- PIT Trastevere, Piazza Sidney Sonnino. 9.30am - 7.00pm
- PIT Ostia, Lungomare Paolo Toscanelli, corner with Piazza Anco Marzio. 9.30am - 7.00pm
- Complesso del Vittoriano - Via di San Pietro in Carcere
- I Fori di Roma. La storia, le storie. Centro espositivo/informativo - Via dei Fori Imperiali
- Scuderie del Quirinale, Via XXIV Maggio, 16
- Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Via Nazionale 194
- ATAC - Subway ticket office (Opening time: mon/sat from 7.00am to 8.00pm - sundays and public holydays from 8.00am to 8.00pm):
- Line A: Anagnina, Battistini, Cornelia, Lepanto, Ottaviano, Spagna
- Line B: Laurentina, Eur Fermi, Ponte Mammolo, Termini
So much to say about Roma Pass huh! :P Okayyy... so from Termini we headed to Ottaviano station where our rented apartment was. Dropped our stuffs then quickly headed out to look for dinner!!! It was 9 and we were so starved!! And because we're still blind to get around, we walked. Yes, WALKED, for an hour! But good thing is we got to see the St. Peter's Basilica at night, at its most glorious shape, I must say. Took pictures then kept on walking...
We knew where we wanted to go, but just not sure what's the most efficient way to get there. So the place we wanted to go to was Trastevere. In Bangkok, it's almost similar as Thonglor. In Singapore, it's almost similar as Dempsey. Pretty much like that, except that what we saw at Trastevere was the real deal. The real trattoria, the real osteria, pizzeria... wow. :) It's very lively in that neighborhood. It's my Roman friend who recommended that place to us.. a true gem. I think the next time we go there we'll choose to stay there.
The pizzeria that we stopped at was also recommended by him, called Ai Marmi (Panattoni). It was slightly out of the lively neighborhood, but still very walkable. According to my Roman friend, that's what the real Roman pizza is supposed to be, with very thin crusty base and lots of cheese and hams covering the whole pizza. And, one pizza for one person, my friend :) Amazing. Simply amazing. And it cost us only 25 Euro for everything. Happy happy.
It was late at night by the time we finished dinner. We walked over to the nearest bus stop to catch the night bus. We were drunk without drinking, but because of exhaustion. We almost fell asleep at the bus stop and we just kept laughing and laughing to keep us awake. Laughed till we cried, literally. That's really one memorable moment :)
The bus came to fetch us and we're home...
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Day 1 - 30th July 2011 - Istanbul, Turkey
We reached Istanbul in the evening and straightaway went to get our on-arrival visa. Because we couldn't exchange for any Turkish Lira (TL) while in Thailand, we did exchange it at the airport. The rate might not be all that great but if it's only a small amount (at least enough to sustain you one metro ticket + one meal at the city), I think that should be good enough.
Then we took the metro (station Havalimani) located in the airport that cost 0.75 TL to go to Sultanahmet, where our guesthouse was located at. So: Havalimani metro station - Zeytinburnu metro station - change to tram (cross the street, another 0.75 TL) and stop at Sultanahmet tram station. For clearer Istanbul metro map: click here
Arriving in Sultanahmet, it's already evening time. But thanks to the summer season, it ain't dark yet so we felt pretty safe walking around to find our guesthouse to drop our stuffs.
With starving stomaches, we quickly walked over to Doydoy, a Turkish restaurant that we found online. It's apparently good. If you fancy a rooftop view of the Blue Mosque, be sure to reserve it beforehand. The bill ain't shocking too, recommended to go.
After that we just walked and walked around to several places, to a turkish lamp shop, a quiet nice neighborhood, then finally we visited the Blue Mosque. It is the prettiest mosque I've ever seen, with marvelous design inside. Being a holy place, it's not advisable to go there with thank tops and shorts, even for ladies they required us to cover our heads with a blue veil. But it's really worth visiting. No entrance fee required.
If you are big on desserts, you must try their baklavas and turkish delights. They are to die for! We visited Hafiz Mustafa, one of the oldest Turkish patisseries located on Sultanahmet road, but it's a bit tricky to find cos it's located on a semi basement place. Their baklava is amazing. If you'd like to bring over some turkish delights, they will be happy to pack it for you too. But ensure to have them finished in 4-5 days. And no, they are not expensive at all :)
Due to jetlag and stuffs, we headed to bed early and called it a day.
Addresses:
1. Doydoy (Turkish restaurant)
Then we took the metro (station Havalimani) located in the airport that cost 0.75 TL to go to Sultanahmet, where our guesthouse was located at. So: Havalimani metro station - Zeytinburnu metro station - change to tram (cross the street, another 0.75 TL) and stop at Sultanahmet tram station. For clearer Istanbul metro map: click here
Arriving in Sultanahmet, it's already evening time. But thanks to the summer season, it ain't dark yet so we felt pretty safe walking around to find our guesthouse to drop our stuffs.
With starving stomaches, we quickly walked over to Doydoy, a Turkish restaurant that we found online. It's apparently good. If you fancy a rooftop view of the Blue Mosque, be sure to reserve it beforehand. The bill ain't shocking too, recommended to go.
After that we just walked and walked around to several places, to a turkish lamp shop, a quiet nice neighborhood, then finally we visited the Blue Mosque. It is the prettiest mosque I've ever seen, with marvelous design inside. Being a holy place, it's not advisable to go there with thank tops and shorts, even for ladies they required us to cover our heads with a blue veil. But it's really worth visiting. No entrance fee required.
If you are big on desserts, you must try their baklavas and turkish delights. They are to die for! We visited Hafiz Mustafa, one of the oldest Turkish patisseries located on Sultanahmet road, but it's a bit tricky to find cos it's located on a semi basement place. Their baklava is amazing. If you'd like to bring over some turkish delights, they will be happy to pack it for you too. But ensure to have them finished in 4-5 days. And no, they are not expensive at all :)
Due to jetlag and stuffs, we headed to bed early and called it a day.
Addresses:
1. Doydoy (Turkish restaurant)
- Neighborhood: Küçük Ayasofya
- Sifa Hamami Sokak No. 13, Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey
- 0212-517-1588
2. Hafiz Mustafa
Hamidiye Cad. 84-86 | Eminonu, Istanbul, Turkey
How should I pack to go to Europe?
Pack light, is the safest word we could advise on, especially if you are traveling inter Europe cities, like what we did. Just for a gauge, these are the requirements on carry-on baggage size/weight for certain transportation means that we took/considered to take.
- Turkish Airways: 55cm x 40cm x 23cm - 20 kg
- Thai Airways: 56cm x 45cm x 25cm
- Trenitalia: No restriction
- Thalys: 3 luggages with size smaller than 85cm
- EasyJet: 56cm x 45cm x 25cm
- Ryan Air: 55cm x 40cm x 20cm - 10 kg
Our packing list we could share with you:
- Intimates (bring the paper-made ones only if you're comfortable/used to wearing it. It really saved the hassle of worrying if your intimates would get dry after you washed it. As much environmentally harming it may sound, it saved you a peace of mind. Only during your vacation, don't worry.)
- T-shirts/tanktops (we went during summer time, that explained why t-shirts and tanktops). About 5 pieces.
- Pants (advisable to bring light material with many pockets, especially hidden ones. We had one from the National Geographic store with a hidden money pocket which was marvelous.). About 3 pieces - 1 long and 2 shorts. No jeans please.
- Jackets/Jumpers/Cardigans (though it's summer, some place that we went to was ridiculously cold. This really saved us) - 1 piece is enough. With a shawl if you wish.
- Shoes (sports shoes are more advisable than any others. Or a flat training shoes from Nike or other sports brand would be cool. Why sports shoes? Because you're gonna walk a lot in Europe.)
- Socks - 5 pairs, but then it really goes back to your preference of comfort :)
- 2 pairs of pajamas
- Camera + battery + adaptor/charger
- Handphone + battery + adaptor/charger
- Toiletries (please remember that all liquid products must each be inside a container of not more than 100ml, in total of 1 liter, packed inside a vacuum bag)
- Shades
- Moisturizer
- Lipbalm
- 1 collapsible bag
- Padlocks for the luggages
- Moneybelt
- First aid kit + some important medicines (for diarrhea, flu, cough, fever, allergy, etc.)
It is important to choose high-quality luggages because you'll be carrying them much and also to ensure you a safe trip. Europe is probably the unsafest place I've been to, so we also brought a long an anti-theft wallet (by creating a string to tie to our pants) and NO HANDBAG please.
- Turkish Airways: 55cm x 40cm x 23cm - 20 kg
- Thai Airways: 56cm x 45cm x 25cm
- Trenitalia: No restriction
- Thalys: 3 luggages with size smaller than 85cm
- EasyJet: 56cm x 45cm x 25cm
- Ryan Air: 55cm x 40cm x 20cm - 10 kg
Our packing list we could share with you:
- Intimates (bring the paper-made ones only if you're comfortable/used to wearing it. It really saved the hassle of worrying if your intimates would get dry after you washed it. As much environmentally harming it may sound, it saved you a peace of mind. Only during your vacation, don't worry.)
- T-shirts/tanktops (we went during summer time, that explained why t-shirts and tanktops). About 5 pieces.
- Pants (advisable to bring light material with many pockets, especially hidden ones. We had one from the National Geographic store with a hidden money pocket which was marvelous.). About 3 pieces - 1 long and 2 shorts. No jeans please.
- Jackets/Jumpers/Cardigans (though it's summer, some place that we went to was ridiculously cold. This really saved us) - 1 piece is enough. With a shawl if you wish.
- Shoes (sports shoes are more advisable than any others. Or a flat training shoes from Nike or other sports brand would be cool. Why sports shoes? Because you're gonna walk a lot in Europe.)
- Socks - 5 pairs, but then it really goes back to your preference of comfort :)
- 2 pairs of pajamas
- Camera + battery + adaptor/charger
- Handphone + battery + adaptor/charger
- Toiletries (please remember that all liquid products must each be inside a container of not more than 100ml, in total of 1 liter, packed inside a vacuum bag)
- Shades
- Moisturizer
- Lipbalm
- 1 collapsible bag
- Padlocks for the luggages
- Moneybelt
- First aid kit + some important medicines (for diarrhea, flu, cough, fever, allergy, etc.)
It is important to choose high-quality luggages because you'll be carrying them much and also to ensure you a safe trip. Europe is probably the unsafest place I've been to, so we also brought a long an anti-theft wallet (by creating a string to tie to our pants) and NO HANDBAG please.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Cheap hotels/accommodations in Europe
Cheap accomodation in Europe?
A little psychography on this: we are not backpackers and usually finding a comfortable place to stay at really matters for us. Of course we were not really looking for 4-5 star hotels either, only something decent with a private toilet and aircon please (only in Rome and Venice this would really matter, cos we went during summer).
We tried many websites.
I only trusted those 3 websites 'cos they're most familiar to us. We booked some through those online agencies while some other we tried using www.airbnb.com. The reason we booked through airbnb is only one:
- They are not cheaper than hotels, for sure, but they are double or triple more comfortable. We could have kitchenette, nice toilets, nice bedrooms, livingrooms, what else could we ask for?
Here is a list of hotels and apartments that we rented throughout our trips:
1. Istanbul, Turkey -- Lamp Guesthouse
Location: 4/5 - a bit of a walk from Sultanahmet but not that far. (about 5-10 minutes strolling from Sultanahmet). But don't worry, around the guesthouse itself there are many eateries and shops you could stroll around.
Comfort: 3.5/5 - it's a guesthouse without a lift. I requested for the room at the most top floor so that we could get a nice view of the Blue Mosque (which we did!) but walking up with suitcases was a bit of a headache. It's on the fifth floor, if not mistaken.
Staff friendliness: They were really friendly and warm towards us. The host let us use his wifi connection and had breakfast together with us at the courtyard in front of the guesthouse.
Private toilet: Yes, shower with heater
Aircon: Yes
We booked through booking.com at about 50 euro per night.
Our suggestion though, is to carefully look around for other hotels because when we're already there we came across many other nice hotels. Not sure about the price, though.
2. Rome, Italy - 1 room in an apartment near the St. Peter's Basilica
Location: 3.5/5 - if you like somewhere quieter than the Rome city, this is the place to go for. Located about 20 min walk from the Ottaviano metro station (the station people get out from to go to the Vatican museum & St. Peter). There's actually a bus around there but we only came to know how it worked on our last day there. A bit pity.
Comfort: 5/5 - the whole apartment was IKEA-furnished (my guess) and our room was spacious too. Comfortable bed for two with an aircon, big wardrobe, TV and heater. The host let us use his iMac should we need it, we can also print stuffs with it. The toilet is very spacious and has a washing machine in it. Without dryer though. The kitchen was free for us to use and very well-furnished too. We stayed with an American couple who's also there for the same length of stay as us. Different rooms of course :)
Host friendliness: He came to pick us up and explained what's around us. Pretty decent.
3. Venice - we stayed with some friends in their house.
4. Brussels - a room on a mezzanine in a loft around Stalingraad
Location: 4.5/5 the location is pretty nice, about 10-15 min walk from the Grand Place and located at a quiet neighborhood. Also about 10-15 min walk from Gare du midi train station.
Comfort: 4/5 The loft was very nicely designed and comfortable. It had a mini garden at the balcony and a 130-year old wooden table as the dining plus working desk. Toilet is nothing like what you could have imagined of, made of wooden floor and really spacious. The only downside is that it's on a mezzanine so there's not really a privacy and staying with a stranger (the host) was a little bit strange.
Host friendliness: Luckily the host was really friendly to us. He made us tea (he's into tea) 2 times and we had a good time chatting and exchanging thoughts with him.
Aircon: no, but Brussels was really cold even during summer.
Heater: yes
Internet wifi: yes
5. Brugge: Etap Hotel Brugge Centrum Station
Location: 4.8/5 - next to the train station that we're taking to Paris but a bit of a walk to go to the 'city center'
Comfort: 3.5/5 - it's a very minimalistic hotel with sophisticated design. You're not going to spend much time in the hotel anyway, so this is a good choice for us nonetheless.
Staff friendliness: 3/5 - no particular comment on this.
Aircon: No
Water heater: yes
It costs about 60 euro per night.
Location: 4.8/5 - next to the train station that we're taking to Paris but a bit of a walk to go to the 'city center'
Comfort: 3.5/5 - it's a very minimalistic hotel with sophisticated design. You're not going to spend much time in the hotel anyway, so this is a good choice for us nonetheless.
Staff friendliness: 3/5 - no particular comment on this.
Aircon: No
Water heater: yes
It costs about 60 euro per night.
6. Paris - a 40 sqm design loft near Champs de Elysees
Location: 5/5 literally 10-15 mins walk from the Ave Champs Elysees. There's a Subway store just across the apartment building.
Comfort: 5/5 The design was amazing. Kitchen was clean. Living room was really 'welcoming'. Only that toilet is a bit 'basic'. The toilet bowl was located like in a store room while the shower was in a proper bathroom. Bedroom is big enough for two people.
Host friendliness: The host was really friendly to us and really took time to explain everything into details for us.
Aircon: no, but you don't really need one.
Heater: yes
Internet wifi: yes with a desktop.
You don't need a 4-5 star hotel when you can get a comfortable apartment with good host to rent from at a price of 3-star hotel. Plus, you can make friends too!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
What flight should I take to Europe?
Budget came as one of the major decision makers for us. But of course comfort level was taken into consideration.
Cheap flight to Europe?
For flight, the first and foremost we looked at was the price. To give a little bit overview of our psychography: we are young travelers who prefer to travel by budget airlines on usual basis only because of the budget and hey actually it's not so bad afterall. We very occasionally traveled by a real commercial plane, only if we really needed to, like when we migrated over to Thailand from Singapore because we brought along our dog and luggages were aplenty. But we took budget airlines only for short distance flight, e.g.: Malaysia-Indonesia, Singapore-Indonesia, Thailand-Indonesia, and everything else in between.
Flying intercontinentally to Europe would be challenging if we went by budget airlines, that's why we didn't mind splurging a little bit more on Turkish Airlines. Why Turkish Airlines? Simply because they offered the cheapest rate and the stopover was at Istanbul, one of the loveliest places we'd love to visit. To be honest, first choice was Emirates because we'd been dying to see what Dubai is like, and of course because we've been hearing the rave about Emirates. But again and again, it's budget that all mattered at that time.
Review of Turkish Airlines:
Bangkok - Istanbul (10 hours) - by A330 - 300
It's one of their new aircrafts (from what I read). Twice of meals were served and I must say they really put effort into that, at least their brochure looked really nice and professional. We're distributed a brochure of menu that let you choose which maincourse you'd like to have, which was coupled with an appetizer and dessert of course. A serving of tea and coffee also followed after meal. Entertainment inside the plane was highly up-to-date. I got to continue watching my How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory series :) The only downside though, was room for the feet being a little bit too small, even for an Asian girl like me. To be honest I couldn't really catch a sleep because of this, but that's okay the entertainment made up for it.
Istanbul - Rome (3-4 hours) - by Boeing 737-800
Slightly smaller and without entertainment system. It's okay. Food was still amazing.
Paris - Istanbul (3-4 hours) - by A330-300
Same as Bangkok - Istanbul
Istanbul - Bangkok (10 hours) - by A340-300
Everything is the same as A330-300, only that the room for the feet was slightly more spacious. Nevertheless I still couldn't catch a sleep because people kept on mis-pressing the remote control on the side of their seats, which was pretty funny actually. :)
Cheap flight to Europe?
For flight, the first and foremost we looked at was the price. To give a little bit overview of our psychography: we are young travelers who prefer to travel by budget airlines on usual basis only because of the budget and hey actually it's not so bad afterall. We very occasionally traveled by a real commercial plane, only if we really needed to, like when we migrated over to Thailand from Singapore because we brought along our dog and luggages were aplenty. But we took budget airlines only for short distance flight, e.g.: Malaysia-Indonesia, Singapore-Indonesia, Thailand-Indonesia, and everything else in between.
Flying intercontinentally to Europe would be challenging if we went by budget airlines, that's why we didn't mind splurging a little bit more on Turkish Airlines. Why Turkish Airlines? Simply because they offered the cheapest rate and the stopover was at Istanbul, one of the loveliest places we'd love to visit. To be honest, first choice was Emirates because we'd been dying to see what Dubai is like, and of course because we've been hearing the rave about Emirates. But again and again, it's budget that all mattered at that time.
Review of Turkish Airlines:
Bangkok - Istanbul (10 hours) - by A330 - 300
It's one of their new aircrafts (from what I read). Twice of meals were served and I must say they really put effort into that, at least their brochure looked really nice and professional. We're distributed a brochure of menu that let you choose which maincourse you'd like to have, which was coupled with an appetizer and dessert of course. A serving of tea and coffee also followed after meal. Entertainment inside the plane was highly up-to-date. I got to continue watching my How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory series :) The only downside though, was room for the feet being a little bit too small, even for an Asian girl like me. To be honest I couldn't really catch a sleep because of this, but that's okay the entertainment made up for it.
Istanbul - Rome (3-4 hours) - by Boeing 737-800
Slightly smaller and without entertainment system. It's okay. Food was still amazing.
Paris - Istanbul (3-4 hours) - by A330-300
Same as Bangkok - Istanbul
Istanbul - Bangkok (10 hours) - by A340-300
Everything is the same as A330-300, only that the room for the feet was slightly more spacious. Nevertheless I still couldn't catch a sleep because people kept on mis-pressing the remote control on the side of their seats, which was pretty funny actually. :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Schengen visa 101
Documents Required - again, this requirement varies across all embassies in all countries. Below is based on what we applied at the Italy Embassy in Thailand (both from what the embassy stated and what we experienced after reading from many forums on the net). This visa is for maximum 90 days duration of stay.
1. Application form with one recent photo (application can be downloaded off their website)
2. Passport that is valid at least 90 days after the expiration of visa.
3. Letter of employer (in case of employee) or commercial license (in case of independent worker) specifying the profession, monthly salary, statement that you have been approved annual/holiday leaves and that you are returning to work after your vacation. With company letterhead, of course.
4. Copy of the bank statements showing the bank movements of the past 4 months at least. For the amount of many inside the bank, there's no certain formula really - despite my 4 attempts of calling the embassy to ask for it, but here's some rough guide from the embassy's website:
In case if you are on a sponsored trip, get the sponsor to write a statement letter specifying his name, passport number and the statement that he will be sponsoring you throughout the trip ended with a signature.
5. Flight reservation (no need to pay), and the real ticket (paid) upon collection of your approved visa.
6. Confirmation of hotel booking, or in case of staying in a private house, an invitation letter from the host in Italy.
7. Travel insurance policy (paid) for all countries in the Schengen states for the whole period of stay with minimum liability of Euro 30.000.
And because we are foreigners in Thailand, we were required to present our work permit and re-entry visa too.
For underage children traveling with a single parent, a written consent of the other parent is required.
We were told to wait for 2 weeks to hear the approval, but thank God we got it only in 1 week.
1. Application form with one recent photo (application can be downloaded off their website)
2. Passport that is valid at least 90 days after the expiration of visa.
3. Letter of employer (in case of employee) or commercial license (in case of independent worker) specifying the profession, monthly salary, statement that you have been approved annual/holiday leaves and that you are returning to work after your vacation. With company letterhead, of course.
4. Copy of the bank statements showing the bank movements of the past 4 months at least. For the amount of many inside the bank, there's no certain formula really - despite my 4 attempts of calling the embassy to ask for it, but here's some rough guide from the embassy's website:
| Length of sojourn | One member | Two or more members |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 days: overall fixed amount | € 269,60 | € 212,81 |
| 6-10 days: per persons/day | € 44,93 | € 26,33 |
| 11-20 days: overall fixed amount | € 51,64 | € 25,82 |
| Daily amount per person | € 36,67 | € 22,21 |
| Above 20 days: fixed amount: | € 206,58 | € 118,79 |
| Daily amount per person | € 27,89 | € 17,04 |
In case if you are on a sponsored trip, get the sponsor to write a statement letter specifying his name, passport number and the statement that he will be sponsoring you throughout the trip ended with a signature.
5. Flight reservation (no need to pay), and the real ticket (paid) upon collection of your approved visa.
6. Confirmation of hotel booking, or in case of staying in a private house, an invitation letter from the host in Italy.
7. Travel insurance policy (paid) for all countries in the Schengen states for the whole period of stay with minimum liability of Euro 30.000.
And because we are foreigners in Thailand, we were required to present our work permit and re-entry visa too.
For underage children traveling with a single parent, a written consent of the other parent is required.
We were told to wait for 2 weeks to hear the approval, but thank God we got it only in 1 week.
So we're going to Europe. Now what?
Having received this western europe trip as a gift for my 25th birthday is kind of a blessing. At first our itinerary was only Milan - Ospedaletto - Venice, well, mainly Italy because the Italian friends we know were going back home for summer holiday. But after further thoughts filled with anxieties, pleading, etc., my partner gave up and came up with this final itinerary list.
Istanbul (we took Turkish Airlines so this is a stopover) - Rome - Venice - Brussels - Brugge - Paris
Sounds good to me. Rome --> the mecca. of my religion. Paris --> the mecca of my dream. :)
So next, what? Bought tickets, book hotels and that's it? How I wish.
Being Indonesians we still need to apply for the Schengen visa. For those who are newbies as we were, Schengen is an area in Europe that covers 25 countries. In other words, if you've got yourself a Schengen visa, you're approved to travel within the countries listed in the Schengen without having to apply another visa - unless you get out of it halfway and decide to go back. Those countries are:
1. Austria
2. Belgium
3. Czech Republic
4. Denmark
5. Estonia
6. Finland
7. France
8. Germany
9. Greece
10. Hungary
11. Iceland
12. Italy
13. Latvia
14. Lithuania
15. Luxembourg
16. Malta
17. Netherlands
18. Norway
19. Portugal
20. Poland
21. Slovakia
22. Slovenia
23. Spain
24. Sweden
25. Switzerland
For Schengen visa, you will need to apply it at the country where you'll be spending the most time at. For us, it's Italy. So I made a call to the Italy embassy 2-3 months before my intended departure date. Little did I know that we needed to be on the queuing list for 1 month or so! Good thing I called that time. But this varies across all embassies in every country. For instance, my friend who applied at the Belgium embassy here in Thailand wasn't required to wait at all. Neither for my friend who applied at the Germany embassy in Singapore. For safest bet, do call them and ask for all the requirements needed, in as much detail as possible because some embassies love to give 'surprises'.
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