What first comes into your mind when I mention Rome? Hmmm..
1) A Romcom movie which stars Kristen Bell & Josh Duhamel? ( ah ah ahhh... admit it :P) or..
2) Trevi Fountain ! The highly romantic place where u wish you could throw a coin into it hoping to meet the guy of your dreams
3) Collosseum ! Of great architecture and history, imagining gladiators fighting, battles since the Roman Empire
4) Vatican City ? Home of the Pope, featuring Michelangelo's paintings and world famous sculptures.. or..
5) Hot guys and pastas (lol.. but it's true, I can't deny it ! )
Honestly, it still feels surreal that I've landed in Roma Italia ! Oh my, the city filled with such amazing rich history, magnificent architectures, one of the world's most visited cities, and reminiscing how I used to watch hollywood movies with Trevi Fountain in it, wishing I could go there one fine day, and that one fine day came to pass for me ! #gratefulandblessed
Howeverrrrr, reality check drum roll plssss... Lol. Rome in reality is probably not like what you think it would be in your fairy tale movies / imagination and what not. I absolutely had such a cultural shock in this city, I felt like I wanted to fly back to UK on the first day itself ! No joke lol, I was pretty terrified, but then thankfully my days in Italy just got better and better :)
But don't get me wrong though, Rome definitely is amazing! Beautiful beautiful architecture and so rich in history, I was awestruck! Definitely a place you should visit if you have the chance to, especially if you have interests in the history of Roman Empire, architectures, historical monuments, and arts and paintings.
Okay did I sidetrack again? lol. I'm supposed to explain why I was terrified right? So yeap, here's my story in Rome....
DAY 1
Omg of course I was so excited! First time in Italy, don't know what to expect, just filled with imaginations, excitements & expectations! So the first sight of Rome - Italy for me in the train - the trees, houses, shop lots, it actually reminded me of Asia! But reallyyy, hahaha, my friends agreed with me too! The structure of the houses and buildings, reminded me of some parts of Malaysia or even Thailand. :P The buildings just looked more similar to ours, unlike the UK which has its own British design/structure of buildings.
Okay.. Welcome to the streets of Roma ! The pictures below were taken just outside my hostel! Oh, anyway if I didn't mention, I went to Italy with 9 other friends- 8 girls and 1 guy lol ! Do not know if I would call him lucky or unlucky ... cant depict :P
Picture below is the hostel that we stayed in :)
Just some random antique telephone shot haha..
First stop! Food. We were pretty hungry by then already so it was time for us to check out some restaurants. One thing i sorta regretted is we didn't research good eateries in Rome, most of the time we just randomly went into any restaurant and that was a bad move. Don't assume that just because... you are in Italy.. and all Italian food in Italy tastes decent. You're in Italy right? How wrong could their pastas and pizza get?? Wrong wrong wrong... we were so wrong lol. It could get pretty damn bad hahaha..
But the first restaurant that we dined in was not that bad, it was on trip advisor too! It's a family run restaurant called Antica Taverna Al.Ba.
That was the set menu, but we chose ala-carte dishes haha!
Interior of the restaurant :)
I seriously can't remember what exactly was this, but it was some fish appetizer and I enjoyed it !
And one interesting thing that I found out is that the real, authentic carbonara has NO cream No ham. lolll. Apparently the world has destroyed the classic, authentic carbonara!
The creamy cheesy carbonara that we have here is actually Alfredo, not the authentic Carbonara from Italy!
Here's a picture of the Authentic Carbonara from Italy..
As much as I actually enjoy the "fake" carbonara we have which is creamy and cheesy, I actually grew to love this authentic Carbonara too! The velvety coating on the spaghetti is actually from eggs alone, no cream at all ! Maybe it's my love for anything with eggs, but the mixture of eggs and parmesan cheese coating on the spaghetti was really appetizing :)
you wouldn't feel as "jelak" (heavy) as eating a creamy carbonara if you know what i mean..
And the pasta below is definitely some tomato based fettuccine which was pretty decent, but I guess nothing to shout about because I forgot that I even had this until I saw this picture back again.. haha..
Okay, after our meal, of course time to sight see !!! So that was when the nightmare began lol...
Our first planned designation was to the Trevi Fountain- Spanish Steps area which was a public place.
To get there, we got into the train from the Rome Termini Station that was pretty shabby looking. As we got into the station, we started getting stares from people, mostly immigrants and gypsies. We had to be so cautious, paranoid that we could get pickpocket! I was just pretty surprised by the amount of immigrants, felt like I was in some parts of Asia more than I was in Rome!
Before we knew it, a 12 year old looking girl snatched my friend's shades and another friend of mine nearly got pickpocket, just within minutes! SO SCARY.
All I did was just to held on to my bag as tightly as I could!
Hoping that it would get better when we reached the romantic place of the Fontana di Trevi as I've always imagined..
This was what I saw ...
At the Spanish Steps...
Errr.. yes.. just TONS and TONS of people everywhere! it was so crowded I couldn't even breathe !! (ok over exaggerating, I definitely could breathe lolll) But but but.. If you could understand how I felt, just tooo many different kinds of people , of different status or what not..
Shocking that countless immigrants/ con artists would start approaching you , trying to sell you something or just finding some ways to con your money.. And what about the other sneaky pickpockets trying to target you as well??
So many things going through my mind, heart was pounding, was just trying to concentrate on my belongings, I seriously couldn't even enjoy the place, the architecture which was actually beautiful.. It was such a shame... :(
Look at the picture below -_- If u looked closely.. I was just trying to take a picture lah, and then someone has to show middle finger somemore -_- how la like that???! :'(
Pretty bad start in Italy :( hahaha.. ok now I can laugh because it has passed.. lol
Okay, however frightened I was.. pictures have to be taken nonetheless!! Lol. With my favourite travel buddies :D
At the Spanish Steps..
Oh hi.. at least some friendly uncles/painters on the streets ! haha.. they are everywhereeee in Italy, so talented !!
The view from above after climbing up the Spanish Steps :) Beautiful day isn't it? :)
Picture of us ! :)
From left : myself, Jessica, Ching, Su & WanHong :) Best travel buddies!
Final picture on the spanish steps before we ciao from this place lol. Next stop was to Trevi Fountain !!
Okay the picture below is not the Trevi Fountain okay lolol. It was just some other fountain (forgot the name) while were were walking to Trevi. Honestly there are just way tooo many historical buildings/ attractions in Rome! Can't see them all !!
Yeap we stopped for gelato too :P
This gelato was just so-so as well, same as food, you can't just simply walk into any gelato shops!
The best for me is definitely GROM and San Crispino!
San Crispino is the gelato shop from the book EAT PRAY LOVE ! The honey & hazelnut icecream is just yummmm. <3
Grom on the other hand has many branches all over Italy and oh my, how I miss it now! Too bad I didn't discover it in Rome, but once I landed Florence, I ate its Nougat Gelato every single day, from Florence, to Venice, to Milan lol. Hands down, my favourite ice cream shop :'(
Couldn't find a better one yet!
The signature Italy narrow streets/ walkways. I truly love the surprises you get while walking along the streets where you could find hidden gems / interesting shops tucked along the walkways!
Finally, the Trevi Fountain !! <3
Again... Soooo crowded with people!!
Phew, you have no idea how difficult it is to even get a picture lol!
Okay look at this "friendly" looking "Spartan" *rolls eyes* lol. I've a funny story to tell.. or rather an embarassing one :(
It was just at the Trevi Fountain where my friend & I was strolling along the street when this "Spartan" appeared, performing some stunts -_- and people started taking picture of him, so did we !
Seconds after, he called me to get a picture with him, me being clueless & stupid (I admit sobs :( ) ,
doubting & questioning my friend briefly " Will it be okay? ".. but then I still went to grab some pictures with him lol.
Meantime, I have other friends around who saw what happened and my friend Su shouted " Apa ini?!? Kenapa ambil gambar?! Dia nak duit punya!! Cepat lari , cepat bawa Alicia lari "
LOL. True enough, after the pictures, it seemed like he deliberately changed into another person, scary and fierce, ordering me to hand in 3 euros to him D:
Clueless, my friend actually seized my hand and pulled me away, and I could see that he started following me from behind :(
He even tried to spot my other friends and we quickly dispersed!
But in the end, my friend Ching and I went into this shop and he actually waited outside.
Sigh, finally I just gave in & gave him the money...
Lol.. how stupid of me to take picture with him :/
Seriously, when you are in Europe, especially touristy places... trust no one except your friends.
Lesson learned! Thinking about it is really funny though hahaha..
Moving on, we headed to Colloseum to have a look at its exterior at night!
It was definitely beautiful, and I would recommend you to come here twice, both during the day & night if you have the time, to witness the beautiful lights on the Colloseum at night. It definitely gives a different outlook compared to during the day.
And here's how it looks like during the day ! :) Love this picture of us :D
Yay, I do not know how to express how I felt at that moment I stepped inside Colloseum, but looking at this Ampitheathre, it was so surreallllll..
Such an iconic structure and symbol, and I could proudly say, I've been here!!! :')
And then I could clearly see the difference between public areas in Italy and places which require entrance fees! I definitely felt so much safer in Colloseum, or say Palatine Hill compared to the Trevi Fountain haha..
Jess, Ching & Yours truly :3
It's hard to miss this Arch of Constantine right next to Colloseum! Looks beautiful at night :)
And us posing with it during the day :D
Okay moving on, to the Palatine Hill ! Camwhoring with my girls while queuing to get tickets in :D
ShinYin, Jess & myself :)
Pretty tree with pretty flowers spotted :D
Palatine Hill is one of the most ancient part of Rome & this city has its origin from Palatine!
Many legendary Romans and Emperors have resided here , such as Augustus & Tiberius if you are interested in the Roman History. So this would definitely be an amazing place to visit for history buffs.
My adorable friends, Ching & Su !
My pretty plum that adds vibrance to this beautiful picture :)
Palatine Hill is pretty huge ! If you would really want to take your time to look at all the structures, it could really take you a whole day!
Take a break....... Have a banana! hahaha
It's funny that we had lotsa fruits to save money lol. Healthy and good :D
View of the Roman Forum :)
Yay and finally we are done for the day! So exhausted!
Next day, we visited the Pantheon of Rome, which used to be a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, but since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic Church.
Last but not least, the Vatican City - ruled by the Bishop of Rome!
So much to see, so many cultural sites here, from St Peter's Basilica, to Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums, featuring world's most famous paintings and sculptures.
This is one thing I love about European countries, especially a Christian myself, I love to visit the different cathedrals with different architecture, so rich in history, so beautiful and of its own historical background and story.
Hahaha oh yea, one thing, naked sculptures of historical men everywhere lollll..
Pictures below would be of sculptures and paintings in Vatican City,
They each have their own story behind, meaningful and astonishing.
I really really love the paintings here, I mean, they are by the world's most famous painters i know, but it still amazes me! So stunning, if only pictures could do justice.. And each picture tells so much, no wonder they say a picture tells a thousand words !
So much stories are told from the paintings, so much history from the bible, so meaningful :)
Okay, I won't bombard you with more paintings already, but honestly I actually took 234758273 of them lol. They all looked so uniquely beautiful!
Wait.. okay maybe alil more :P
At the St Peter's Basilica, so hungry after a long day inside!
And another cathedral that we visited but I forgot the name oopss, but still super stunning!
So phew, three nights well spent in Rome and our next stop was Florence, which was very different from Rome, but in a good way. It is so beautiful in Florence, the environment that it sends out, just gives me a really peaceful and tranquil feeling, very romantic city as well!
Maybe because it is not as crowded as Rome that contributes to my impression as well.
I guess maybe if you prefer sceneries than monuments, u would enjoy Florence more than Rome.
Well, let me show you some pictures, just some sneak peek for you :
I know, that is a stunning view !!! I even told my friend I would love to get proposed here, or held my wedding !!! :P
And also Florence is the place where I found my favourite , most amazing gelato ever!!!!! <3
Okie dokie, that's all for now . Will definitely update you with a more expansive blogpost of my trip in Florence and the rest of my days in Italy, from Venice to Milan ! My trip in Italy just gets better !
Toodles for now :D
xx
