Rome Trip

Travel Date: 20th November 2010 - 24th November 2010

After a long time I did not set foot in Europe, I finally got my chance to do so by following my friend flight there. He is working so basically I only had to pay for the flight ticket. The hotel is free since I am sharing room with him.

Day 1

Well the flight departed at 2345hrs (20/11) so basically we arrived around 0540hrs (21/11). Everything is still dark when we arrived at Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino. The temperature was not bad. Thought since the winter is coming it going to be very cold. I was wrong I guess.

Arrived at the hotel, I did not waste my time much. After a quick shower, I headed down to the lobby to catch the free shuttle to the city provided by the hotel. Oh ya, we all staying at Sheraton Roma.

The driver stopped exactly at the city area with all the monuments are located. The street is called Via del Teatro Marcello. It is very easy to move around the area basically. Just walk around and you can cover almost everything. I obviously was amazed with the architecture. It was so cool. I can't stop taking pictures of everything I can fit into my camera. The idea is to walk around the circle. It hard to explain but if you were to go there just do as I said and you'll understand.

What did I saw? Pardon me if I can't cover all the names. It's a lot. Ok. Here were go. Clockwise. Teatro di Marcello, Musei Capitolini, Vittoriano o Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, Colonna Traiana, Colosseo, Arco di Constantino and Circo Massimo. There are a lot more that I missed out in here but I think you can just take a look at the awesome pictures or read up more from the links provided.

  
My friends joined after their nap for lunch. Since we went to the wrong restaurant and the people at that place can't understand a word of English, we all had to settle with Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce only.

Sadly the rain started to pour. It was not heavy so we all just endure it and walked to the High Fashion Street area (Via del Condotti and surround). Unfortunately the shops mostly closed due to weekend. Hence, we just browsed through the ones that open and decided to continue again tomorrow. The rain after all was getting heavier.

   

We stopped by at the Cafe for a drink while waiting for the rain to dies down and also for our shuttle back to hotel arrived. Drink like a true Italian? I don't know. My friends were funny as they both keep teasing the waiter since we were all bored. Well the waiter did get his revenge back.

It was late when we arrived at the hotel. After the dinner, I just go straight to bed as it was tiring day indeed.

Day 2

It was raining when I woke up. No wonder the room felt so cold.  I guess the winter is coming. At first we decided to go with the earliest shuttle but instead we delayed our trip hoping the rain would subside. The idea for today is to visit the Vatican City. Well we heard rumors that it going to be closed due to some event but we went ahead. Took the bus there. The public transport is kind of cheap as any trip is only EUR1. The shortest route or the longest route for that trip will still be on the same fare.

The Vatican City (well again also) was huge. A lot of people were trying to enter for a visit inside and YES it was open. The best way to visit this sort of place actually by guided tour. So they could explain to you more about the place. Oh well, I am here only for pictures and more pictures.

Lunch at Caffe Leonardo near Piazza Mignanelli. I totally forgot the name of the place but they does serve a very nice meal. The service was good, the ambiance was pleasant. Felt so Italian.

Next stop was shopping. At first I did not want to shop but everything was so cheap there. Err.. If you mean by comparing to Malaysia price. I ended up spending few thousands of Ringgit. Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Tiffany & co, Bulgari, Salvatore Feragamo and many more. You named it. They have it all. I didn't shop at all of these shop but at most of these shop. Well you can try and guess if you like but I don't think I should disclosed it here.

We shopped until it was so late and the shop were closing. How funny was that? We were rushing to buy our stuff until we had to split and met again at a spot. Then we were running to catch our shuttle back to the hotel. If not, we had to wait for two hours at the city. Like amazing race.

It was really fun outing.

Day 3

Since it was the last day, I decided to just chilled at the hotel only. Do some packing and went online for while before the pick up shuttle to the airport arrived at around 1000hrs. The flight depart at 1220hrs and with the time spent at the airport, I managed to claim the VAT for all the items purchased. The minimum amount you must spent in a receipt is EUR167 and the refund is 12%. That can be consider a lot. I used that money to buy some chocolates and still I had spare changed in my pocket. [EUR1 = MYR4.31]

I love Rome and if you have the chance to go there please go. You will love it. The city, the building and the architecture - Awesome. The people, well you just have to be like them - Aggressive. Most of them are but don't be scared as I believe it is normal in their culture. Still loving it.