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)
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