23rd Sept (Thurs) - Rome
It's only my 3rd day in Rome and I'm bored already. My first day in Rome (Monday) didn't count as I'd reached Rome only in the evening (p.s: the airport here isn't really efficient). Perhaps I just didn't know how to appreciate Rome enough.
So maybe I should just ramble on the parts that I DISLIKED about Rome first:
1) Expensive transport from Airport to Termini/ central Rome.
If you reached the Roma airport, go to T3 for the bus that would take you to the city center. It would cost 8€. At first, I thought that was expensive and speculated that maybe the rail would be cheaper. But I was terribly wrong. The rail costed me 17€ and the ride lasted for 30mins. Heart pain siah. But what to do? I didn't want to walk back to the airport terminal with my now 14.5kg backpack and heavy slingbag. :(
2) Lost in Rome
Apart from some of the impressive attractions like the Colosseo, all other buildings in general, the lanes/ streets and restaurants looked the same to me. Seriously, it's the first time in my travelling experience that I kept getting lost in the streets or at almost every turn. Local and google maps were of limited help as there were too many small lanes and interjunctions that would threw you off your sense of direction if you make even just one wrong turn.
In addition, the directional signs to the tourist attractions weren't clear either. And it didn't help that most tourist maps here were over simplified and not drawn to scale. So it's super easy to have the wrong impression that the attractions were very close to one another when in fact, they could be more than 30mins apart by walking - assuming you didn't lose your way, whilst walking over.
3) Sibei crowded siah
There's just so many people everywhere, especially around the touristy areas. Just one look at the crowd gave me an headache. Almost everytime. But of course, if you go off the beaten track and focus on non-touristy spots, you wouldn't have this problem at all. In fact, you would be able to stroll along quite leisurely but there's nothing much then to look at apart from the restaurants that lined up the walkway (which looked similar altogether) and some local shops and offices.
4) Sick of food
Oh dear, it's only my 4th day in Italy and I'm already getting sick of pizzas and pastas. I still have another 10 days or so in Italy. What shall I do? Can someone please ship over some of my favourite Korean spicy instant noodle or the Maggie curry instant noodle? And oh! There's no Aglio Olio here. Damn!!!
Now, for the bits that I found interesting or LIKED about Rome:
1) You mean I can cross here?
In most places, the zebra crossing markings (i.e.: those white stripes on the floor) have already faded and you could hardly make them out. So an eye for details would help. And unlike Singapore, if you were just standing at the head of the zebra crossing, the cars would not stop and wait for you to cross first. They would just continue to drive by. So you would have to go ahead and cross the road, with caution of course, and the cars would then stop accordingly. Well, you know what they say - do what the locals do.
2) Friendly locals
Most of the locals whom I had approached or bumped into to date have been very friendly and helpful - and that really helped to lift my impression about Rome. Most of them could speak some English so asking around for directions was usually okay. Even if they seemed a bit apprehensive when you first approached them, they would still point you the way courteously. Of course, I was courteous in the first place. Hehehehe.
3) Doing laundry at a local laundry shop
Hehhehee... It's my first time bringing my clothes over to a laundry shop so I found that personally interesting. But it's rather ex loh. Paid 7€ (equivalent to SGD 14) for washing and drying. Self-service some more. The only up side was that the detergent was included in this fee.
4) Nice Gelato!
So far I only had one (strawberry flavoured). The serving's rather big and it costed only 2€. (^_^) I shall try more gelato flavours as I move around Italy.
5) The nice graffiti art near the Termini central station.
The train was travelling too fast so I wasn't in time to take any pix of them. But you would definitely be able to see them if you came into Rome from the aiport to Termini Station via the rail.
6) Bumped into city tour promo - paid 18€ for a 2-day pass
There were numerous city tour companies to choose from and they all offered about the same routes. So do look around before getting on one. Usually, a one-day pass would cost 20€ and a 2-day pass probably about 25€. One thing that I liked about this city tour though, was that I got to pass by (but not stop at) the non-touristy bits as well, which gave me a glimpse of the local lifestyle. And of course, a slightly less cluttered view of the city from the top :)
7) Discovery of new pasta flavour! Yummy!
Although I'd a few pastas and pizzas here, the Linguine Allo Scoglio was still my favourite! The sauce was just different from the usual tomato-based or cream-based ones and it was simply yummy! Not to mention with lots of clamps, mussels and scampi!
8) New found friend
Clicked with one of my bunk mates over here (with her mom as well). And it was really funny when both of them called out to me from a distance within the Vatican grounds. But since we didn't introduce ourselves to one another formally before, they didn't know my name and they were just shouting "Hey! Hey!". But as I was concentrated in taking photos of St. Peter's Square just some distance from them, it took me a few seconds to realise that someone was calling out to me. One of the passer-bys even smiled and said "Hey!" back to them. Hahahaha.
Okay... now for the places that I'd visited so far:
1) Colosseo
Very impressive monument indeed. There was always a long queue to get in. But fortunately, there were quite a few counters so the queue moved pretty fast. My take? Don't waste your money buying express pass or the ROMA pass, just join the queue. You should be able to get in within 15 to 20 mins.
And from the Colosseo, I could also see the Areo do Tito, Palatino and Arco di Constantino. The pass for Colosseo also encompassed the entry to these spots but good luck to finding the way in. I got lost (as per usual in Rome) and gave up. But honestly speaking, you should just head over to Piazza del Campidoglio and over to the backyard where you would get a even better view of the ruins.
2) Piazza del Campidoglio where the famous Michelangelo monumental wide ramped stair could be found. But I didn't go inside the museums though as I wasn't really interested in sculptures and statues.
3) Santa Maria in Aracoeli (just right beside Piazza del Campiodoglio, up a super long flight of stairs)
I didn't go up the stairs nor enter the catedral as it was closed for service when I was there. :( But I heard and seen from the pictures from the internet that the interior was beautiful. Go have a look for yourself if you have the chance.
4) Mercati Di Traiano (or Mercati Traianei in some tourist maps)
I could only look from the outside as there weren't any clear directional signs on-site to tell you how you could get into the ruins. As per wikipedia, "thought to be the world's oldest shopping mall, the arcades in Trajan's Market [were] now believed by many to be administrative offices for Emperor Trajan. The shops and apartments were built in a multi-level structure and you [could] visit several of the levels... The upper levels of the market were used for offices while the lower part, in front of Trajan's Forum, had shops selling oil, wines, seafood, groceries, vegetables and fruit."
5) Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II
Just viewed from the outside.
6) The church of Gesu
7) Piazza Navona
8) Pantheon
I had thought this was the Pantheon that housed the statues of the Greek gods and goddess but it was not. It was actally dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs instead. So I was kinda disappointed. Oh well, I guess I could only see the Pantheon of my mind in Greece.
9) Fontana di Trevi
Freaking crowded!!! All fanatsies of a romantic atmosphere (as portrayed in the movies) just vanished in an instant once I reached the fountain. But it nevertheless, impressive.
10) Fontana del Tritone
11) Santa Maria Maggiore
12) Piazza del Popolo
13) Vatican
You MUST definitely book your admission ticket OR the guided tour online before you even go there. The queue was madness and if you were unlucky, it might be an hour or more before you even get to the ticketing counter! Luckily for me, I'd booked the guided tour online for 31€ (inclusive of the admission to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel) before I even left for this trip - go check out the official Vatican site for booking info. But do note that if you applied for the guided tour, you would need to get behind the Vatican to the Museum directly, and not enter from St. Peter's Basilica. I made the mistake of entering via St. Peter's Basilica and had to run like 10 minutes round the fortress to get to the meeting point at the Vatican Museums. Managed to reach in time in the end for the tour.
The tapestry and wall paintings inside the Vatican were simply amazing. I was like "Wtf... the painters and artists would have had to spend a decade long just to get one room done!" and the next thought that came into my mind was that if the Vatican was to even sell one of the rooms, the proceeds could perhaps be more than enough to save a quarter of the starving African children population!!! Yah. I'm evil. I know.
Anywayz, sadly, photography was not allowed in the Sistine chapel where the famous Michelangelo wall paintings were - especially The Creation of Adam, which portrayed God giving life to Adam. You know, the famous finger reaching out to finger?? So, at the end of the tour, I went to the Vatican post office to get myself a postcard of that painting and mailed it to myself. This way, I not only get the picture of the painting as a momento, I could also collect the Vactican stamp and unique franking. *Smiles*
And it was really interesting to learn during the tour explanation on how Michelangelo was "forced" by the Pope to learn painting and to then paint the Sistine chapel, what each of the paintings meant or portrayed & etc. And also the facts about Constantine in which he wasn't as good looking as all the statues had portrayed him to be, how his famous quote came about and how he ended up being baptised only a week before his death. Interesting.
So my verdict for this trip was that if you would like to go slow, 3 days in ROME would be enough to visit all the attractions and monuments. But if you were the kind that liked to go fast just as I did, 2 days' just nice. Just don't expect it to be as romantic as the movies portrayed it to be and you should be able to enjoy it just fine.
Misc:
So maybe I should just ramble on the parts that I DISLIKED about Rome first:
1) Expensive transport from Airport to Termini/ central Rome.
If you reached the Roma airport, go to T3 for the bus that would take you to the city center. It would cost 8€. At first, I thought that was expensive and speculated that maybe the rail would be cheaper. But I was terribly wrong. The rail costed me 17€ and the ride lasted for 30mins. Heart pain siah. But what to do? I didn't want to walk back to the airport terminal with my now 14.5kg backpack and heavy slingbag. :(
2) Lost in Rome
Apart from some of the impressive attractions like the Colosseo, all other buildings in general, the lanes/ streets and restaurants looked the same to me. Seriously, it's the first time in my travelling experience that I kept getting lost in the streets or at almost every turn. Local and google maps were of limited help as there were too many small lanes and interjunctions that would threw you off your sense of direction if you make even just one wrong turn.
In addition, the directional signs to the tourist attractions weren't clear either. And it didn't help that most tourist maps here were over simplified and not drawn to scale. So it's super easy to have the wrong impression that the attractions were very close to one another when in fact, they could be more than 30mins apart by walking - assuming you didn't lose your way, whilst walking over.
3) Sibei crowded siah
There's just so many people everywhere, especially around the touristy areas. Just one look at the crowd gave me an headache. Almost everytime. But of course, if you go off the beaten track and focus on non-touristy spots, you wouldn't have this problem at all. In fact, you would be able to stroll along quite leisurely but there's nothing much then to look at apart from the restaurants that lined up the walkway (which looked similar altogether) and some local shops and offices.
4) Sick of food
Oh dear, it's only my 4th day in Italy and I'm already getting sick of pizzas and pastas. I still have another 10 days or so in Italy. What shall I do? Can someone please ship over some of my favourite Korean spicy instant noodle or the Maggie curry instant noodle? And oh! There's no Aglio Olio here. Damn!!!
Now, for the bits that I found interesting or LIKED about Rome:
1) You mean I can cross here?
In most places, the zebra crossing markings (i.e.: those white stripes on the floor) have already faded and you could hardly make them out. So an eye for details would help. And unlike Singapore, if you were just standing at the head of the zebra crossing, the cars would not stop and wait for you to cross first. They would just continue to drive by. So you would have to go ahead and cross the road, with caution of course, and the cars would then stop accordingly. Well, you know what they say - do what the locals do.
2) Friendly locals
Most of the locals whom I had approached or bumped into to date have been very friendly and helpful - and that really helped to lift my impression about Rome. Most of them could speak some English so asking around for directions was usually okay. Even if they seemed a bit apprehensive when you first approached them, they would still point you the way courteously. Of course, I was courteous in the first place. Hehehehe.
3) Doing laundry at a local laundry shop
Hehhehee... It's my first time bringing my clothes over to a laundry shop so I found that personally interesting. But it's rather ex loh. Paid 7€ (equivalent to SGD 14) for washing and drying. Self-service some more. The only up side was that the detergent was included in this fee.
4) Nice Gelato!
So far I only had one (strawberry flavoured). The serving's rather big and it costed only 2€. (^_^) I shall try more gelato flavours as I move around Italy.
5) The nice graffiti art near the Termini central station.
The train was travelling too fast so I wasn't in time to take any pix of them. But you would definitely be able to see them if you came into Rome from the aiport to Termini Station via the rail.
6) Bumped into city tour promo - paid 18€ for a 2-day pass
There were numerous city tour companies to choose from and they all offered about the same routes. So do look around before getting on one. Usually, a one-day pass would cost 20€ and a 2-day pass probably about 25€. One thing that I liked about this city tour though, was that I got to pass by (but not stop at) the non-touristy bits as well, which gave me a glimpse of the local lifestyle. And of course, a slightly less cluttered view of the city from the top :)
7) Discovery of new pasta flavour! Yummy!
Although I'd a few pastas and pizzas here, the Linguine Allo Scoglio was still my favourite! The sauce was just different from the usual tomato-based or cream-based ones and it was simply yummy! Not to mention with lots of clamps, mussels and scampi!
8) New found friend
Clicked with one of my bunk mates over here (with her mom as well). And it was really funny when both of them called out to me from a distance within the Vatican grounds. But since we didn't introduce ourselves to one another formally before, they didn't know my name and they were just shouting "Hey! Hey!". But as I was concentrated in taking photos of St. Peter's Square just some distance from them, it took me a few seconds to realise that someone was calling out to me. One of the passer-bys even smiled and said "Hey!" back to them. Hahahaha.
Okay... now for the places that I'd visited so far:
1) Colosseo
Very impressive monument indeed. There was always a long queue to get in. But fortunately, there were quite a few counters so the queue moved pretty fast. My take? Don't waste your money buying express pass or the ROMA pass, just join the queue. You should be able to get in within 15 to 20 mins.
And from the Colosseo, I could also see the Areo do Tito, Palatino and Arco di Constantino. The pass for Colosseo also encompassed the entry to these spots but good luck to finding the way in. I got lost (as per usual in Rome) and gave up. But honestly speaking, you should just head over to Piazza del Campidoglio and over to the backyard where you would get a even better view of the ruins.
2) Piazza del Campidoglio where the famous Michelangelo monumental wide ramped stair could be found. But I didn't go inside the museums though as I wasn't really interested in sculptures and statues.
3) Santa Maria in Aracoeli (just right beside Piazza del Campiodoglio, up a super long flight of stairs)
I didn't go up the stairs nor enter the catedral as it was closed for service when I was there. :( But I heard and seen from the pictures from the internet that the interior was beautiful. Go have a look for yourself if you have the chance.
4) Mercati Di Traiano (or Mercati Traianei in some tourist maps)
I could only look from the outside as there weren't any clear directional signs on-site to tell you how you could get into the ruins. As per wikipedia, "thought to be the world's oldest shopping mall, the arcades in Trajan's Market [were] now believed by many to be administrative offices for Emperor Trajan. The shops and apartments were built in a multi-level structure and you [could] visit several of the levels... The upper levels of the market were used for offices while the lower part, in front of Trajan's Forum, had shops selling oil, wines, seafood, groceries, vegetables and fruit."
5) Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II
Just viewed from the outside.
6) The church of Gesu
7) Piazza Navona
8) Pantheon
I had thought this was the Pantheon that housed the statues of the Greek gods and goddess but it was not. It was actally dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs instead. So I was kinda disappointed. Oh well, I guess I could only see the Pantheon of my mind in Greece.
9) Fontana di Trevi
Freaking crowded!!! All fanatsies of a romantic atmosphere (as portrayed in the movies) just vanished in an instant once I reached the fountain. But it nevertheless, impressive.
10) Fontana del Tritone
11) Santa Maria Maggiore
12) Piazza del Popolo
13) Vatican
You MUST definitely book your admission ticket OR the guided tour online before you even go there. The queue was madness and if you were unlucky, it might be an hour or more before you even get to the ticketing counter! Luckily for me, I'd booked the guided tour online for 31€ (inclusive of the admission to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel) before I even left for this trip - go check out the official Vatican site for booking info. But do note that if you applied for the guided tour, you would need to get behind the Vatican to the Museum directly, and not enter from St. Peter's Basilica. I made the mistake of entering via St. Peter's Basilica and had to run like 10 minutes round the fortress to get to the meeting point at the Vatican Museums. Managed to reach in time in the end for the tour.
The tapestry and wall paintings inside the Vatican were simply amazing. I was like "Wtf... the painters and artists would have had to spend a decade long just to get one room done!" and the next thought that came into my mind was that if the Vatican was to even sell one of the rooms, the proceeds could perhaps be more than enough to save a quarter of the starving African children population!!! Yah. I'm evil. I know.
Anywayz, sadly, photography was not allowed in the Sistine chapel where the famous Michelangelo wall paintings were - especially The Creation of Adam, which portrayed God giving life to Adam. You know, the famous finger reaching out to finger?? So, at the end of the tour, I went to the Vatican post office to get myself a postcard of that painting and mailed it to myself. This way, I not only get the picture of the painting as a momento, I could also collect the Vactican stamp and unique franking. *Smiles*
And it was really interesting to learn during the tour explanation on how Michelangelo was "forced" by the Pope to learn painting and to then paint the Sistine chapel, what each of the paintings meant or portrayed & etc. And also the facts about Constantine in which he wasn't as good looking as all the statues had portrayed him to be, how his famous quote came about and how he ended up being baptised only a week before his death. Interesting.
So my verdict for this trip was that if you would like to go slow, 3 days in ROME would be enough to visit all the attractions and monuments. But if you were the kind that liked to go fast just as I did, 2 days' just nice. Just don't expect it to be as romantic as the movies portrayed it to be and you should be able to enjoy it just fine.
Misc:
Labels: Rome - 2010
posted by ikan bilis at 1:16 AM
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