Day 9 - 7th August 2011 - Venice - Brussels

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... :)

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)

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.

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...