Rome - Florence (Roma - Firenze)

Rome

Touching down in Rome with a heavy heart… matters of the heart is something which I always have problem managing well. I think I must say I suck at it. First time at Rome, there is no choice but to explore the beautiful city. A little rest and off we go. Armed with map and marking out the major landmarks to visit, I must say that days here is not enough. Piazza Navona was our first stop, it's a little square with 2 fountains and an obelisk. We had lunch at the oldest restaurant in the area, with a reputation of 108 years old, the restaurant was set up in 1900. it served very tasty pasta.. one of the better ones that I tasted. After that was passing by the Pantheon enroute to Spanish Steps, otherwise known as Trinita dei Monti. It's a famous shopping district with all the branded goods congregated in a single long stretch of road. Pretty much like in Milan. On the way there. We past by a few more prominent landmarks like Palazzo Chigi, Palazzo Montecitorio and Piazza Colonna. Nobody should miss out on Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). The place is packed with people, tourists and street baskers and wedding couple. It's a beautiful sight and seriously in Rome, the buildings make you wonder how people in the past manage to sculpt and build these architectures. Trevi Fountain is also a very famous wishing fountain which makes people’s wishes come true if they flick a coin into the fountain while back facing the fountain. But as to why back facing, I have no idea to the traditions or reasons behind it, but I myself has got a few wishes to make, of course I couldn't miss out on the chance to make my wishes at this famous Trevi Fountain. I think I shall keep my wishes secret for now until they are fulfilled. That's how it works most of the time isn’t it?

On the way back, we visited Colonna Traiano, Mercati Traianei and the beautiful beautiful Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele. Too bad that my camera ran out of battery, I only managed a few photos of the super beautiful building. There was the beautiful Quirinale that we passed by while we took a wrong turn, but didn't have a chance to take any photos. We shall visit that place again. We had to rush back to catch our bus so there wasn't enough time to visit other beautiful landmarks but it shall be done on the next trip here. We passed by the beautiful Ara Coeli, Campidoglio, which reminded me that I must get the photo from Jolene. And who can miss out on the Colosseum in Rome. Though we were late and missed out on entering the Colosseum, we still manage to take some photos of the place… Beautiful!!! More places to visit on the next trip here… Vatican City is definitely top priority as we are going to travel out to Florence tomorrow and today is Friday, the Vatican City is closed for Pope’s prayers. There is also the unique Isola, the castle on a little island in the middle of the river and Piazzadei Popolo according to one of the Captains… basically there is still a lot of places to visit for the next trip… but its Florence tomorrow with the help of an Italian tour guide, Marco, who is Sheila’s friend. Hope its fun…

Monte Varchi is the first stop of the day, if anyone is wondering what is that place, well… it is the factory outlet for Prada and Miu Miu.. I must say it's a girl’s shopping paradise… the stuff were really cheap there… for the same Miu Miu bag that Claris bought in Milan, its about a third of the price if you get it there, different colour though… But who cares?? Jolene got herself 2 more Prada wallets on top of her Gucci yesterday. Ling got the same exact Miu Miu bag as Claris, brown in colour though. Sheila got a few Prada bags and wallets, though some were on other people’s request. Marco and me stayed well clear, except that I almost fell prey to a pair of Prada shades which was really really nice. After that, we headed to Firenze (the old Italian name for Florence). Being told that Florence is one of the most beautiful city in Italy together with Rome and Venice, I was really excited to get there and see for myself. Actually reaching there… It was slightly disappointing, maybe because we were only in the city centre, there wasn't really that much to see except the typical statues that can be found in different parts of Italy. Until we see the Duomo (or rather Domini), the largest Duomo in Italy, even bigger than that of the famous one in Milan. It is really beautiful, the dome and the colour combination made it stood out like a sore thumb amidst the rest of the dull coloured European buildings. Went in to pray, before taking a walk around, saw a flea market which was not often seen in the rest of Europe, and yes its just like the typical pasar malam that you get in Singapore. After that, we moved on to the famous shopping area on the bridge. It's a really broad bridge and the view and scenery of the river that passes through it is really magnificent. As usual, we took photos of it, non-stop. Then we saw a parade procession where people were decked in olden days costume and swinging the flag of Florence. After that, it was desserts at a cafe which serve fantastic tiramisu (meaning “up your day”). It was hitting the road back to Rome after that… the girls were so tired that they fell asleep on my shoulders… it was that time that I wished you where there together with me, going through the day, seeing the beautiful places and taking photos together… I wish that day will come soon… sitting in the car for 3 hours, how I was wishing that it was you resting your head on my shoulders, just like before… how I miss you…

Must remember to get Marco’s contacts from Sheila and the photos from Jolene, Ling and Sheila… my camera is going, I think its almost time to get a new one soon… sigh…I love my camera…