Europe 2013 Day 1 & 2: Rome, Italy

DAY 1: 13 MAY 2013

Rome was our first city in our three weeks itinerary in Europe. 

After a flight delay of an hour,
Amanda and I finally met Michelle around 2.30pm at Flumicino Airport in Rome.
We were so excited to see each other,
considering the fact that the last time I saw her was three months back.

Anyways, we booked a SIT shuttle online that costs 5 euros per person,
which takes you to the stop of your choice.
The ride to central Rome was around 40 minutes, with Michelle chatting away about her pickpocket experience in Spain.
Upon alighting, we took a 20 minutes walk to our airbnb, Salvador's B&B,
located 6 minutes away from the Vatican city.
To me, I found the walking a tad tedious since we had to drag our luggage, especially Michelle's,
and furry particles from the trees kept irritating my eyes and throat.
Nevertheless, we arrived at our home for the next 4 nights and left to get dinner after putting our luggage down in the apartment.

Initially we didn't have any dinner places in mind.
However, Amanda mentioned that her friend recommended a pizza place called Pizzarium,
and we decided to give it a try.
Most of the pizza shops in Italy sell their pizzas by weight, and we paid an average of 3 euros per person.
Also, Italian pizzas are usually cut in the shape of a square or rectangle, unlike those I have eaten in America during exchange.
Anyways, we bought three different pizzas to share: mushroom, potato and vegetarian.
Although they were a little oily for my liking, I thought the mushroom pizza tasted really good!

After our quick dinner, we headed off to St Peter's Square to get a feel of how it looks like when the lights were all switched on.

The Obelisk from the Circus of Nero

St Peter's Basilica

The sky is not entirely pitch black, since sunset only starts at around 9pm and we were there at 7pm.
Either way, the piazza was really serene, with no tour groups at sight. We were able to appreciate the architecture and its majestic aura.

After roaming around the streets aimlessly, we arrived at a bridge which oversees Castel Sant'Angelo and Ponte Sant'Angelo.

Sunset view of Castel Sant'Angelo and Ponte Sant'Angelo

As we were tired from our flights, especially Amanda and I, we decided to head back to our apartment.

Night view of St Peter's Square

By luck, we chanced upon the famous gelato shop in Rome which Amanda patronised when she was in Rome a few years back.
Old Bridge Gelateria!
My first gelato in Rome and it was so awesome.
The gelato staffs were really nice too especially since we had trouble choosing our flavours.
For 3 euros, we had huge scoops of three different flavours.
The flavours we chose that night were all fruity: lemon, strawberry and pineapple.
I liked the lemon best as it was refreshing even though it was a quite sour.
Ever since that day, we patronised this shop every single day in Rome,
and refused to try other gelato shops!
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DAY 2: 14 MAY 2013
Our second day in Rome was my birthday, twenty-second to be specific.
I was really blessed to have spent my birthday with these two girls,
since both of them are one of the nicest people I have met.

As requested, we assigned this day for the touristy attractions.
We started off with a visit to the Colosseo.

Exterior view of the Colosseum 

Inside the Colosseum
We skipped the line at the Colosseum as we wanted a guided tour around the Colosseum. 
Our ticket costs 17 euros, 
which includes entrances to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
The guided tour was not that bad, 
given the fact that we learnt some history about Rome and the Colosseum, 
especially the period where gladiators were popular.

After spending about two hours inside the Colosseum, 
we proceeded to get lunch and headed off to the next tourist attraction: Roman forum. 
Michelle, being clutsy as always, lost her ticket in the Colosseum. 
Thus, Amanda and I did a quick visit to the Roman forum, 
while Michelle went around taking photos!

The Roman forum was huge. 
An hour was definitely insufficient to cover the whole area.
 Initially we wanted to have a look at the stadium situated far north on the map. 
However, after thirty minutes, we weren't even close to it!
 And so, we gave up and decided to focus on the areas situated nearby.

Basilica of Constantine

Garden inside the Roman Forum

We were out of the Roman forum after an hour, even though I wished we had more time to explore.
Nevertheless, I was definitely contented with the time spent in the Roman forum.
We met up with Michelle again, and we headed off to find the Pantheon.
On our way there, we managed to snag three one-litre bottles of coca-cola for free.
Who would say no to free coke?

Thereafter, we spotted a few famous places or monuments along our route to the Pantheon.

Piazza Venezia

Church near Piazza Venezia

Interior of a different church

A model of different religious sites around the globe

After an hour or so, we finally arrived at the Pantheon.
The crowd was massive as usual, and we had to queue to get into the Pantheon.

Exterior view of the Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

Ancient way of telling the time

During our visit to the Pantheon, a church choir rehearsal was going on.
Being a buddhist, I feel privileged to visit these churches and learn about their practices and beliefs.
I definitely learnt a lot from visiting the numerous churches in Italy during this trip.

After the Pantheon, we made our way to Trevi fountain.

The famous Trevi fountain

Side-view of the Trevi fountain

There is a legend about coin throwing in the Trevi fountain.
If you make a wish by throwing the coin over your shoulder, you will return to Rome one day.
I wasn't aware of this legend before visiting the Trevi fountain, and hence, I did not throw the coin over my shoulder, boohoo. Nevertheless, I hope my throw is enough to grant my wish!

After Trevi fountain, we headed off to see the Spanish steps.

Spanish Steps

View of the Streets of Rome up the Spanish Steps

After walking so much throughout the whole day, we decided to have dinner.
Initially Amanda prepared a list of restaurants for me to choose, since it was my birthday.
However, upon reaching the restaurant I chose, the restaurant was a reservations-only place.
Hence, after wandering around for another 30 minutes, we decided to settle for another restaurant down the street called La Taverna.

Ravioli with Tangostine cream
My ravioli was the best I have ever eaten, and it looks really good too! 
Although the wait was long, all of us enjoyed our dinner very much. 
However, the waiter did not inform us that the appetizers were extra charges and so we had to pay an extra 4 euros each for salad and potatoes...
That was the only disappointment I had in the restaurant. 
Other than that, everything else was perfect.

After dinner, Amanda suggested going back to Trevi fountain to see how it looks like at night. 
It was around 10pm when we finished our dinner, due to the long wait for our main courses. 
Initially I was kind of reluctant, since I hate to go out in the dark at night. 
Nevertheless, I agreed to go since we were 15 minutes away from the fountain.

Trevi fountain at night

It was close to 10.30pm when we arrived at Trevi fountain, and the crowd was still there.
I would definitely regret not seeing the fountain at night,
as it was really gorgeously lit up.
We hung around for about 15 minutes, and returned to the Vatican to get
gelato for Amanda and Michelle.

And that sums up our fulfilling day 1 and 2 in Rome.