Rainy day

Ryota-san warned me in Florence that vino brulé tastes bad but when I was alone in Venice, I bought myself a cup and yuck!

Hot red wine

I do regret that I didn’t try any gelato or macaroons though. I thought since we have them in Singapore, why not save that money for other things instead. My friends gave me a trashing when I got home claiming I’ve missed out big time and that they taste a million times better in Europe.

“Argh! Leonardo’s Last Supper is closed on Mondays! Milan is boring…” – Dec 15th, 2008 from Twittelator

Many seem to disagree with my statement and claim I should be there during Fashion Week.

I couldn’t remember the name of the church I visited; Nick told me minor details like that don’t matter because it’s about my experience and how I felt, the kinda stuff that I’d wanna remember when I’m older.

I like being at the top

Well, I dug out my map and it was the Duomo di Milano. I watched The Da Vinci Code before I visited Europe and Angels & Demons after and it was nice to recognise the places I’d visited in the film.

It was weird how I made friends with the Japanese instead of the locals in Europe, the fourth one being Junya-san who’s editor of a Japanese design magazine. We were both staying at Hotel Florida and Junya-san seemed to be following me to the subway from the moment I left the hotel. I stopped to ask if he needed help (with my very poor Japanese) and he asked me where I was going. I thought his question was awkwardly funny. I told him I was going to Duomo and he said he wanted to go there too and asked if I knew how to get there. It’s my first time in Milan and I haven’t got a clue so I told him that I’m just gonna follow the signs and he tagged along. Like Yukari-san, we became friends on the train and visited the church together.

McCafe

It was nice that Junya-san took a photo of me because I’m not a fan of taking self portraits and have very few photos of me in Europe. The coffee at McCafe was cheaper than the ones we have in Singapore, I think it’s the only thing that’s cheaper compared to Singapore. We had lunch in a nice restaurant on his company’s tab before Junya-san went for his interview while I continued wandering.

There’s not much to see or do in Milan but shop. I blew €135 on a Comptoir des Cotonniers jacket that didn’t even keep me warm. I’ve never seen or heard of that brand either but it’s very well made and fits me peeerfectly. I never regretted buying it.

I met Junya-san for dinner that evening before leaving for Venice the next day. Junya-san likes green.

Beautiful Verona

Just for kicks, I booked a night at the Casa Padri Stimmatini del Santuario di Nostra Signora di Lourdes monastery via Monastery Stays. I thought it’d be a good idea since it’s pretty cheap (17.50 EUR a night) and sounded interesting. Well, it would’ve been if I weren’t a noob.

I took a cab to the monastery because according to Google Maps, it’d take me a day to walk there. It was located on top of a hill. I didn’t meet anybody there except a man who shouted out of his window because I was at the wrong block, and another man who checked me in. No nuns, no cafes, no restaurants, nothing.

It was early afternoon but crazy thoughts were already beginning to flood my mind. I called my sister in Singapore and she said, “Jie, I think you better get out of there. Forget about the money (paid for the lodging), just leave!” I packed my stuff and attempted to sneak out quietly but I bumped into the man who checked me in. I froze and my heart stopped. He asked me where I was going and I told him that I was going out to get some food, complete with my backpack and handcarry on the trolley thingy I bought in Rome. He didn’t probe and so I quickly took my leave.

There were no cabs, hardly any cars. I waited and waited for the bus that never came and panicked when I realise I didn’t have a ticket. I decided to walk and so I went downhill, dragging the bag behind me and going ‘ke-bump! ke-bump! ke-bump!’ down the steps and took a photo of Verona. I didn’t have a map, I didn’t know where I was going and there were no strangers to help me. I was lost. I trudged on in the rain till dark and I felt like crying but my head disagreed so I sucked it in and kept going. I finally found civilisation after walking for about 3 hours (not that long now that I’ve verified the time with the train tickets) and took 2 buses and a train back to Florence.

P/S: I was pretty upset about Verona for awhile after that incident and swore not to go there again, but that’s just me being silly. If given another chance, I’d return to the monastery and visit Juliet’s balcony.

Hotel Domus Florentiae

Lovely way to start the day

Bed and breakfast cost me 113.28 EUR for 2 nights. Apart from a very dark corridor that smelled a little funky and a slightly mouldy mirror, this is a very quaint hotel with clean sheets, decent breakfast and free wifi. There was a vintage wardrobe that came with an antique key that I really liked, and a balcony. I have a thing for balconies because I don’t have one at home (and also because you can smoke there).

Spizzico and Chinese takeout

I couldn’t resist getting some Chinese takeout after 5 days of cold cuts, croissants, pizzas and pasta. If you’re wondering – yes, Spizzico is good and I haven’t had a pizza in Italy that’s not delicious, and no, I didn’t finish everything for dinner. I probably reached the hotel around 7pm, twittered and checked my mail on my trusty iPod Touch, polished off the Chinese takeout and half a pizza, watched some MTV and news in Italian, went to bed, woke up in the wee hours and finished the other half of the pizza. Yes, it was cold. No, I didn’t have a microwave or oven to heat it up. Went back to sleep.

Morning. Hopped on the Eurail again, Firenze SMN to Pisa Centrale. Leaning tower, checked.

Leaning tower of Pisa

Things got more interesting from there on. There was a strike or something on my way back to the Pisa Centrale. I think some of the locals felt irritated when our bus got caught in the traffic but I thought it was rather exciting because we don’t have strikes or riots in Singapore.

Strike in Pisa

While waiting for the train back to Florence, Yukari approached me to help take a photo of her and we became friends on the train. She thought I was Japanese which was quite funny that she couldn’t tell that I’m not. We communicated with what little Japanese I spoke and with the help of her translator. Yukari was on a working holiday in Paris and came to Italy for a short holiday. She was living in a hostel where she got to know Ryota and Kojima. Ryota was a fugu chef who came to learn Tuscan cuisine and Kojima was on his grad trip.

Yukari and Ryota at Michelangelo

Carousel

We walked around till late and I had my first good meal at a restaurant with my new friends. Not sure if it was a Christmas market but there were people dining at this carousel-like structure and there were booths selling wooden toys, fresh herbs and candies. It was about midnight when they walked me back to my hotel and I realised it wasn’t so scary to walk about at night after all.

The Colosseum

Cobbled pavement

Famished, I took the Metropolitana from Colosseo to Termini to return to Yes Hotel for breakfast. The Rome metro system is straightforward and convenient. What’s interesting is that you could also buy tickets from newsstands and tabacchis (places that sell cigarettes) other than from the vending machines.

Bigletto

Lots of graffiti at the stations and even on the trains but I felt they were more art than vandalism and gave lots of character.

Colosseo

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re1kUWeubLE]

Something I learnt: breakfast is usually cheaper and better outside than in hotels unless it comes free with your stay, which in that case, stuff yourself silly so you can last longer and spend less money on food. I also nicked some crackers just in case I get stuck on a train again.

Breakfast at Yes Hotel

Next stop, Vatican City!

Musei Vaticani

Forget about the audio guide unless you’re an Art major or gonna stay the entire day there because that place is HUUUGE and you’re not gonna cover much if you take your time to smell the roses. Shortcut: do some homework on the art before going so you know what to look for and what you’re looking at. I walked into this room full of people staring up, my eyes swept across the ceiling and found the infamous Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.

Sistine Chapel

I recorded a bunch of short video clips (which I’m not going to upload) on my way up the St. Peter’s Basilica. I never really watched them until now and it’s funny to hear what I said:

“Hello, I’m at the St. Peter’s Basilica and there’s no one else except me climbing the stairs up [sic] 124meters. See you up there!”

“I’m still climbing!”

“Are we there yet?”

“Looks like different steps. [sic] Guess I must be reaching…” Nope.

“Here we go again…”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnoyJZxddQs]

Tiny, winding steps

It gets narrower and narrower as you climb and it starts to curve at the dome. It was tiring and you could probably hear me breathing heavily in the background but the view at the top was priceless. I always prefer stairs to lifts when visiting places.

Mr. Sun knocks off early in winter and it was dark by the time I walked to and arrived at the Spanish Steps.

Atop the Spanish Steps

I remember reading in Frommer’s or somewhere: “Legend says that if you toss a coin into the fountain over your shoulder, you will one day return to the eternal city,” and felt really disappointed when I realised I’d forgotten to do so. I know it’s really from the 1954 film, Three Coins in the Fountain, but it’s still a nice thought and I like to indulge in a bit of fantasy and make-believe stuff every now and again, like visiting the Juliet’s balcony in Verona.

I really wanted to visit the Pantheon after watching a documentary on the history and architectural finesse but ended up walking in the wrong direction to the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II instead. By then, my legs could barely carry me and my poor rain-soaked feet were crying. Took a bus back to the hotel and ended my adventures in Rome with wrinkled toes.

Useful links:

http://www.rome.info/

http://www.vatican.va/

Roma Termini

I was so relieved when I saw the sign Roma Termini. Didn’t matter if it was slightly wet that morning, I followed the directions and found myself at Yes Hotel. The lift was broken so we had to use another one located at the back of the hotel which turned out to be a vintage elevator, I like! Here’s a really bad video of  the machina in action (Mr Tatonka and I, tugging a foldable trolley thingy I bought in Rome to help me with my hand carry):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsvGDIyro_I]

My first meal was at Trattoria I Leoni d’Abruzzo. The staff at Yes Hotel gave me a name card to this trattoria because I was absolutely famished but most places weren’t ready to serve lunch as I arrived 10-ish (I think). They probably have some referral thing going on and you get a discount if you turn up with the name card that has Yes Hotel and -10% Discount stamped on it. I lost the receipt and can’t recall how much my meal cost but I vaguely remember that the food was average.

Trattoria I Leoni d'Abruzzo

Sitting in a restaurant and swaying side to side in my head after 20 hours of train. – Me, via iPod Touch

I booked Yes Hotel through their website and it had the best directions to guide me from Termini Station to their hotel. I wasn’t really on a rough-it-out, stay-in-guesthouses kinda backpacking trip previously and spent 125.90 EUR for two nights. Will definitely recommend this hotel if you’re not on a backpacker’s budget for the excellent location, friendly staff and cozy rooms.

Can’t exactly recall what I did on my first day in Rome but thanks to digitally dated photos, I reckon I must have visited the supermarket.

Supermercato

Meat section

After exploring the area near my hotel, fatigue and first-timer’s-jitters of travelling alone when night falls (awfully early) ushered me to a nearby internet cafe where I e-mailed my friends and checked what time Mr Sun’s getting up the next day so I could catch him at the Colosseum.