Le voyage vers l'Italie

Finally i finished writing on my trip, have been very busy struggling to learn german with tonnes of homework from my sadistic nazi teacher...*in my Intermediate Deutsch kurs ( for which i have zero prior german lessons, and i cant even pronounce A B C..).

Here it goes....

14 March 2007

It was an especially early moring as i watched Lakehouse till 3 am before waking up at 5Plus to catch the train/bus to Hamburg airport.


Arrivee a Leonardo Da Vinci Aeroport a Fiumicino, Roma.





Mick, the owner of our 1st hostel in Rome, Villa Anna, fetch us to his apparent 'Hostel. Like the name suggest, its not really a hostel, its a Villa, a beauty. It has 2 rooms, with a spacious living room, a fire place, and a large kitchen. Not forgetting a 5 star toilet that has a jacuzzi and so big n clean that you can sleep in it. For her outdoors, there's a small pool, BBQ pit and a VINEYARD!!! This place is unbelieving out of the world and you will flip when i tell you it only cost 15 euros per night.


villa anna

* I want to own one of these hostels and sell gelato ice cream in rome when i'm 45*.

Day @

With limited day light we manage to catch some sights at Vatican city's St Peter's Square, Castel St Angelo. Walking thru the Street lights of Trastevere, Al fresco dinner at a mid range resturant. Walked to the nearest metro with Prosecco, with a heavy load and tiring steps, Circo Massimo Station -->Rome termini --> Campoleone --> villa. day 2.








Day @@

We planned to get to Florence with the first train from rome, but we missed it. After a long 3-4 hrs ride up north, i arrive at the bustling lively renaissance city ,Firenze (Florence, home of the football club florentina). Greeted by blue skies and cheerful wide shinning sun. I'm sun-kissed.
Packs off at Hotel Ester and Seafood Pizza + White wine for lunch *yummy* -taste buds and Stomach satisfied.



With the fuel in my 'packs', we head to Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge not destroyed by WW II bombardments. The Bridge filled with shops, buskers, tourists, painting copies and kayakers beneath. Thru the Ponte Vecchio, its Pitti Palace, a renaissance palace for the Pitti family. Its a enormous palace, with showcase on the fashoin of the royal family,tho i prefer the ceiling paintings. At the backyard, there was a large garden and a hill, with fountains,ponds and statues strewn around. Yet another heavy load and tired steps to the top of the hill, The view of Florence and its serendity took my breath away, or issit the steps...


Florence travel spots for the day includes Galleria degli uffizzi, where the replica of Michangelo David was displayed in the square, Basilica di santa Croce, popular place for clubs and bars, similar to Hkg's soho.

At the Uffizzi, amazingly melodic guitar tunes caught my ears and brought me to another world, the romantic tingling music amidst the renaissance art pieces. Like in the films.
http://good-times.webshots.com/video/3037836420100408545WNohjh?vhost=good-times


Night time: Popped a Prosecco in macdonalds, and to the club, Space.Recommended by one of the hippy clothing store assistant is 'No go' man...., filled with high schol kids from sch excursion tours. 1 out of 10 for the crowd but 8/10 for the RnB. Can't hang around long , so heads back for the rest.

Day @@@


Daylight of Day 3 is to be devoted to Pisa, port town west of Florence. An hour of train ride will bring you to this small town strewn with up beat trendy fashion stores and plenty of tourist who flock here to see the leaning tower.


Here, my wallet bled for a zara jacket and an adidas pull over. With 15 euros, you can climb up all the way to the roof Pisa tower and get a scenic view of this acient roman marine fortress. The hot sunny day coupled with the european spring climate allowed me to enrich my skin with vitamin D from the sun, relax awhile and back to florence.


With the last bit of sunlight, we rushed down to the flea market, which was an ultimate dissapointment, with less than 30 shops selling antiques, paintings and articles from yesterday. Sights at Doumo then Dinner at Lonely's Planet recommendation- Angie's Pub. Wash up and took a short break at the hostel before i head to club for my last nite of florence.

Locals recommended the clubbing district, Santa Croce. About 20 mins walk from where i stay. As i walk down the streets, it was a pretty much alive at 11pm. Tourist and locals crowd the bars and pubs, many of them so packed that even the roads are jammed with people drinking and chatting, occasionally they have to make way for passing vehicles to squeeze pass.
I asked" Is there any big and good disco or club i can go to?" Answer: Go to Ex Ex. So i went several rounds looking for it and finally foud it but i was told that it will only open at 1 am. When i returned at 1 am, it was pretty much empty with the guest DJ spinning for afew stray cats.

At 2 am, hippies, cool locals and good looking people start to flood the club and a long queue at the entrance. Some partying with the local frens and i returned for a short rest before i head back to Rome in the morning.

Day @@@@

Morning Shopping at the San Lorenzo's open market (Sort of HKG's Ladies St) and missed the train, another 2 hrs wait and a 3hr++ ride back to Rome. With limited daylight, we checked in and off to sights of the Acient roman empire. Orange skies and evening sights incl. //colloseum, Arch of Constantine,Palatine hill, Roman forum...Bad dinner at a mafia outlet.


Fortunately, a bottle of Prosecco at the square of Capitoline hill saved the day. It was St Pats day and all the Irish are out celebrating. Piazza Navona ( Boat quay of rome) flooded in green and orange, and the lively atmosphere brought my weary spirits up. Club Anima was recommended, and there, it was playing RnB, cozy but not too happening. Made frens, had a couple of drinks and stroll pass pantheon and trevi fountain before reaching my hostel, Relax.



Day @@@@@

Sunday 0900Hrs, start time of Rome marathon. Pity i couldnt run, but nevermind, i registered for Prague marathon with terry, shall make up for it.
Being a spectator isnt that bad after all, its a different kind of experience. I was lucky enough to reach there on time and manage to catch the start of the race. With 2 hrs to spare, i visit the colloseum. This is the ground where acient romans fed prisoners to the exotic beast they collected around their empire and'Live' shows features gladiators showdown with the beast with different weapons.



Exhibits on Eros, the primordial god responsible for lust, love, and sex. It was a enlightening experience to learn on the roman philosophy of Love, sex, sociology in acient times.

Time check: 11am, 2 hrs after the start of the marathon.

I search for a good spot on colloseum to see the 1st runner cross the finish line. Watching sports always fire up my heart from within and gets me itch to do some as well. After some cheering for the brave runners, who conquered 42km, i headed back for food on the go.



The Last day of my Italy trip includes the unfinished Vatican City, Eastern sector of Rome, which includes the Spanish steps and some shopping.



Wrapped up my gelato Italian trip with a splendid dinner by the Pantheon complete with Live music from a talented street performer. Tired legs, Busted wallet, drained camera,loaded memory stick and a chunk of beautiful memories my trip is done. Back to sleepy town, kiel.