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.

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.

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...