1st - 3rd Oct - Venice, Italy Part 2

Venetian Mask & Murano Glass

Rise and shine, feeling much better, we went downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. Croissants, muffins, cereals, yogurts and coffee are available. The dining area is quite small but we were lucky to get a table quickly. Fully charged, we started our exploration (more like mine since Bel already started hers yesterday).

It is fun walking amongst the alleys of Venice. It is as if walking in a huge maze but then there are plenty to see around. The famous Venetian masks were plentiful here in Venice. Of course, those smaller ones sold on the stalls are relatively cheap if compared to those sophisticated handmade, real-size mask in specialty stores. The Bauta mask covers the whole face, with a stubborn chin line, no mouth, and lots of gliding. A half-mask with gold and silver stripes and jeweled eyes is called a Columbino that you hold up to your face with an attached stick. Other popular shapes include large, hooked noses, black and white checkered diamonds called a Harlequin pattern, and bright red, pursed lips. The masks are painted / designed in gold, silver, royal purple, sunny yellow, and other bright colors. Further decorations include sequins, silk ribbons, exotic bird feathers, faux fur, rhinestones, leather, gold charms, glitter, and any other outlandish gems.



Murano glass, a famous product from the Venetian island of Murano is also another popular souvenir to get from Venice. Many shops on the Venice island are selling rather similar products made of Murano glass; paper-weights, pendants, jewelries, small décors, etc. I was especially attracted to the murano glass concerto band which is rather expansive. They were just so cute. We came across a shop specializing in Murano glass products and there was a glass-maker crafting at a small workbench. The glass-maker motioned us to enter the shop and we got to see how quickly and beautifully he crafted a butterfly out of several glass sticks. I was too engrossed with his craftsmanship that I totally forgot to take a photo of the process. A short boat trip over to Murano Island, you’ll be spoilt with various Murano glass products that are so much more unique and creative. You can find larger art pieces for home décor here too. Some of historical factory of glass in Murano are today the most important brand of glass in the world.

1st - 3rd Oct - Venice, Italy Part 1

Train ride to Venice

We chosen the inter-city train since it is so much cheaper than EuroRail, although taking this cheaper alternative meant that we need to change at 2 train stations (Prato Centrale and Bologna Centrale). The lady ticketing officer was kind enough to gave us a printout of the estimated departure and arrival time at each station making it much easier for us to keep track of our journey. At each change, we have less than 15mins to get to the connecting train. I had been unwell for the past few days so the task of changing trains falls onto Bel. During the 2 changes, we managed to make it on time to locate and board the connecting train at the correct platform. I guess Bel is much more relaxed after the Bologna change as after that the final destination is Venice. Venice is linked to the main land via a bridge linkway, which very much resembles the linkway between Johor and Singapore.

Coming out from the train station, we didn’t have any problem locating our hotel, Alloggi Agli Artisti, which is just around the corner from the station. By far, this is the nearest we had to lug our luggage compared to Rome and Florence. Our room is very huge and clean, with a small balcony attached. The toilet/bathroom is shared among the guests but they are plentiful on each floor. I went out the balcony, there’s this lady staying next door, taking a smoke at her balcony, greeted me and we started chatting. She was extremely chatty although her English is not very fluent. She told us she just got off the cruise and was so sick of the cruise, making her seasick etc. Then she told us where we should visit in Venice. Since she has been staying here for 2 days, we asked her if she knows where the supermarket is so we can go get some water and supplies. She volunteered to bring us there and also show us around venice although we insisted that it wasn’t necessary. She insisted that she wanted to get out of the room and go for a walk. We agreed to meet 10 mins later at the hallway.

Well, during the course of conversation, both Bel and I had a weird feeling regarding that lady as we couldn’t understand why she is so anxious to tag along us. It really made us rather uneasy, but then maybe we just thinking too much. So 10 mins later, we were waiting but the lady didn’t show. We knocked on her door and she asked us to wait a little while. Finally the lady came out with her boy friend. Off we went and the lady kept talking, anxious to show us around, her husband following quietly. We kept our smiles and nods as she speaks. Every so often, she’ll ask her bf to take photos of her and also me to take photos of the places there. I wasn’t interested in taking any photos as the sky was really gloomy and its pretty windy. We got to the supermarket and bought the things we needed. Coming out, the bf suddenly say he need to go to the post office, so Bel and I gladly took the chance to part with them. The lady doesn’t seem happy about the detour her bf wanted to take hence were kind of quarreling with him. It felt so strange and we kept on insisting that we do not mind at all and said we needed to go back to our hotel anyway. Fortunately the lady agreed and we thanked them and parted with them. Phew… what a relief both of us felt.

We went to the tourist information counter at the train station to enquire about the transport day passes. In Venice, the mode of transportation is boat. Lots of gondolas are for hire at quite an expansive rate. Hence we opted for the bigger public boat equivalent to the buses on land. Bel was able to get a Youth pass which covers 3 days ride and also 2 complimentary entrances to the toilet, since she is still under 30. Yes, mind you, Venice charges €1 per entry to the toilet. I had just turned 30 so can only get the normal 3 day pass. Similar to the bus/train system, we need to flash the pass at the sensor before boarding the boat.

I felt really sick afterwards that I asked if we could go back to the hotel for a while. My whole body ached a lot and I felt feverish. End up, I spent the rest of the day in the hotel, resting and recuperating. Poor Bel had to explore Venice on her own and then also packed dinner for me. It’s really annoying falling sick during holiday.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 9

Tuscany Bike Tour

Monday morning, Bel and I prepared ourselves for the bike tour. The assembly point is at Ponte del Grazie. It’s still early so we went to the street behind to have a cup of coffee. We went to the High Bar where and we are the only customer, again the cappuccino is strong and good. I like the bar setting very much. When time is near, we went back to the assembly point, there were some people already waiting there. We waited for a while and one of our guides came to pick us up. There are 2 couples who showed up without registration. Unfortunately the group that day is already full so they could only book for tomorrow. We were given a brief introduction and then we head out to the countryside in 4 vans.

After about 20mins drive, we arrived at Poppiano, a village on a hill. As soon as we got off the van, there’s strong smell of fermented grapes. Yes, our first destination is to visit the wine breweries. After we filled up some forms, we were divided into 2 groups led by Keith and Andy. Bel and I were in Keith’s group. Keith started off with a proper introduction about himself and how he started out this bike tour business, he also briefed us about our itinerary of the day. He told us some background of this brewery which is inside a castle-liked building. Here, they produce olives oil besides red wine (Chianti). Inside, Keith explained the process of producing the Chianti red-wine and showed us where they kept the grapes and wines for fermentation. Then we were led to the top of the castle for amazing view of Tuscany hills. After the photo-taking session, we went down to the courtyard for wine and olive oil tasting. Everybody gets a glass of the Chianti wine and we tasted the olive oil by dipping white bread into them. Bel doesn’t drink so she just took a sip from my glass. We both find that the wine is very good and the olive oil doesn’t taste oily at all. Of course after this tour and tasting session, we were brought to their little shop where you can buy wines and olive oils at a cheaper rate as we were told (as compared to getting them from the high street).



Finally, it’s time to bike. We were led to the bike shed where everybody gets a bike to suit his/her height, a bicycle helmet and a bottle of water. There’s a pouch behind the bike to store important stuff while other bags etc were left at the shed. Bel got a junior bike while I was assigned an adult bike. After everyone gets their bike, Keith briefed us on the rules and precautions while riding. Then we all head out, still in 2 groups, riding in single file. The initial part is pretty easy as we were going down the hill and on flat road. We stopped at certain points to make sure everyone kept up and also to take photos. We rode through the beautiful Tuscany countryside, passing by grape farms, and wonderful sceneries. After about 20-30mins ride, we stopped for lunch at a residential house which doubled as a restaurant. We started with salad while Keith and Andy took orders for our main dish (different types of spaghettis), dessert and coffee/tea. I opted for spicy spaghetti, tiramisu and cappuccino. Very good tiramisu I must say. Over lunch, we chatted with this Taiwanese couple whom are here for holiday as the husband is working in Middle East while the wife in China. We rested for a while and move out again. There were a few gooses at the yard. The Taiwanese guy was trying to pose with the goose but out of sudden the goose flapped his wings and chased that poor fella for quite a distance. All of us laughed our hearts out while he was so embarrassed at that incident.

We started off again on flat road and Bel was constantly left behind on her junior bike. She needs to work double hard to peddle her bike to cover the same distance by adult bike. She told me that Keith asked her a couple of times if she is OK and can she keep up. Then, at a junction turning up a slope, we saw people coming off their bike, and sat into the van. So we too join in the band and gave up cycling up the pretty steep slope. Bel is done with cycling while I didn’t want to strain my knees further. We went pass others mostly pushing their bike up the slope and arrive at a café. We rested while waiting for the others to arrive.

After all had arrived, we cycle back to the castle and ended our bike tour. After returning the bicycles, we were taken back to the assembly point and greet farewell. This is definitely a good expedition on our trip although we would have enjoyed it more if we were allowed more time to cycle slowly, stop more often for photos and enjoy the countryside. Most of the others tourists seemed to be aiming at getting to the next checkpoint as fast as they could hence making the whole trip a little too rush to our liking. And for Bel, she would definitely had enjoyed it more if she’s riding on an adult bike.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 8

Street Arts

From Rome to Florence, I had the perception that there are a lot of Italians who are very artistic and talented. There are so many painters, street performers on the street. Their art works never failed to capture my eyes. The painters just sat and draw / paint their work. It is perfectly alright to just stand and watch, and if you like their work, browse through their ready paintings and ask for the price. Otherwise, they will just concentrate on their painting. I especially liked this guys who is painting at the street next to Duomo. I like the bright colors he used and the cute yellow sunflowers. I watched him paint, he made it seemed so easy to paint such beautiful drawings.

There are several street performers who portray themselves as statues in front of the Uffizi. This particular guy posing as a cupid is very lovable and funny. He would make gestures, acts and sound effects (kissing sound) which attracts the passer-by who would want to pose with him. I think he made himself stand out among the others as he is very lively and makes the crowd very happy.

Duomo

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence. The cathedral complex includes the Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We pass by Duomo several times everyday as we need to go pass it to go to other parts of the town. Above the main door is the colossal clock face with fresco portraits of four Prophets or Evangelists by Paolo Uccello (1443). This one-handed liturgical clock shows the 24 hours of the hora italica (Italian time), a period of time ending with sunset at 24 hours.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 7

Piazzale Michelangelo

Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence. The plaza is a tribute to Michelangelo and contains copies of some of his most famous works such as a bronze David in the middle of the square.

After dropping out of the Uffizi line, we decided to buy a bus day pass since we wanted to go up the piazzale again for the night scene. We scouted around for a tabachi (cigarette/newspaper store) to get our day pass and then waited at a bus stop. While waiting we saw people in red t-shirts running past us, looks like there’s a marathon or some sort. After a while, we saw hordes of people in the same red t-shirts crossing the Ponte alle Grazie (bridge downstream of Ponte Vecchio) and they were actually taking the bus route. This means that the bus we are waiting for is non-operating that morning. So we got no choice but to join in the crowd and walk towards Piazzale Michelangelo. The crowd is very cheerful, singing and talking; most of them are with families and friends making it quite a joyous outing. The red t-shirt they were wearing actually bears the name of Salvatore Ferragamo, most probably the one of the main sponsor of the big walk.

We arrived at the piazzale (it’s not very far away from the town area) and we can get a good overview of Florence from here. The square is actually pretty big and there is an open air café which Bel pointed out it was from the set of the Hong Kong drama ‘冲上云霄’. We didn’t dare to have a cuppa here as we think it’ll surely be expansive. Here, couples and friends sat at the stairs enjoying the view. Later, we went up the pathway leading to a church and cemetery at the side of the piazzale. The view here is equally good with lesser crowd.

The same evening, we went back up to the piazzale for the night scene. There’s still daylight when we arrive but already the square is quite crowded with tourists and lovebirds. In the eyes of the lovebirds, at that moment, there is no one else but his/her lover. Seeing this, I told Bel, too bad she's stuck with me instead of her bf.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 6

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio, a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. These shops were initially occupied by the butchers but now the tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge left undestroyed by Germans during their retreat of August 4, 1944 during World War II, unlike all other bridges in Florence.

The bridge is always very crowded with tourist, not so much of shopping for the gold / jewelries but more to step foot and take a photo on this historic structure. The centre of the bridge is an open space without any shops but a statue of Cellini. The shops are centuries-old and hence the doors remained as wooden panels. I liked taking photos from the riverside so the photo shows the colorful back-shops added in the 17th century. On Sunday morning we were queuing up for the Uffizi and as usual Bel was left waiting in the queue while I went to take the Ponte Vecchio in the morning sun, I was thrilled to find the Arno river so calm and quite, the sky so blue that Ponte Vecchio was reflected flawlessly on the river water. I quickly took many shots and return to the queue so that Bel can go get her share of photo shots.



Uffizi

The Uffizi gallery is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. We finally made it into the gallery on the 3rd attempt of waiting in the very long and slow moving queue. Our 1st attempt is on Saturday afternoon after the Accademia gallery, we were at the very end of the queue and after surveying the situation, we decided to come back next morning. So on Sunday morning we went and again we are still at the very end of the line. As mentioned, we took turns taking photos of the Vecchio on that beautiful morning. When Bel returns, we thought that it’s a shame to waste this perfect fine day indoors and so we decided to go up Piazzale Michelangelo instead. That afternoon, we came back and waited patiently at the line although again we are still at the end of the line.

There’s a Chinese couple in front of us and from their accent we guess they are from the states. Since the queue is moving very slowly, so Bel and I took turns to go get our daily gelato fix. Bel went first and while she was away, I overheard the couple’s conversation (it’s not exact but it’s more or less like this).

Guy: Hmm this is really taking a long time. The queue is not moving at all.
Gal: Yeah, I wonder how long we need to wait further.
Guy: Well, do you wanna wait further or do you want to go somewhere else?
Gal: Erm… I don’t know. Up to you.
Guy: But do you want to wait any longer? I give you the choice.
Gal: What do you mean you give me the choice? Why do I need to decide?
Guy: Well you are the one who wanted to come here. So you decide. What is this gallery about anyway?
Gal: Well its an art gallery lah… I also don’t know why so many people are queuing to go in. Don’t know what its famous for.

So in the end, they dropped out the line and walked away. I told Bel about this when she got back and we had a good laugh over it as we thought we were bad that we haven’t got a lot information about the gallery but at least we knew we surely out beat that couple ;o)

So we finally got into the gallery and again were very impressed about the paintings and sculptures there without having much knowledge about their painters and backgrounds. And again we try to learn more by ‘overhearing’ the explanations from the tour guides there.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 5

And then I meet him

The night before we visited the Palazzo Pitti, Bel and I were taking a stroll along Ponte Vecchio and came to the large front courtyard of the palace. Along the way, we saw people with wine glasses and were rather curious as people will normally be carrying a beer bottle instead of wine glasses. Only when nearing the palace we found out that there’s a wine festival going on. So you just need to buy a wine glass from the organizing committee and you can taste the various red and white wine from the many breweries exhibiting there.

Then a street band came marching into the courtyard and made a horseshoe formation and played various songs. The band was very cheerful and this has certainly liven up the atmosphere. People started gathering around the band, a few young children danced to the music. Bel and I too stood to enjoy the music. I was busy capturing the scene with my camera when I felt someone staring at me. I put down my camera, searching for the stare and then our eyes met. We both paused for a moment. Then he started walking towards me. I couldn't resist his handsome look that I pick up my camera and took a photo of him. He paused when I took his photo and continued on walking towards me. There he stood next to me. I knelt down and showed him his photo. I watched his face as he look at the image, waiting for his response. He lifts his face and smiled at me. Oh, what lovely smile he has.

Yes, this little man just melts my heart with his charming smile. I didn't know what language to speak to him. I tried English but I don't think he understand. He just kept looking at his image on my camera's LCD and smile at me. So I just point at him and then on the LCD screen. After about 5 minutes, his father came and walked him away. As they were leaving, his dad asked him to say bye bye and he did with his sweet voice. Well, only if he is much older... ;p

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 4

Palazzo Pitti

Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace), is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1539 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plate, jewellery and luxurious possessions. Bel was interested in the costume gallery and since it’s free, we did not hesitate to join the short queue into the huge palace :)

We first went past the main palace building into the pathway leading to the amphitheater of the palace’s Boboli Gardens. Going up flights of stairs, we reached the Boboli garden where there’s wonderful view of Florence hills. Taking in the view, I am particularly fond of the trees shaped like elongated ‘spade’ (i.e black spade of deck cards). The Porcelain Museum is also located here with great collection of porcelain from most notable European porcelain factories. Some of the collections are gifts to the Florentine rulers from other European sovereigns.

Later, we visited the costume gallery housing a collection of theatrical costumes dating from the 16th century until the present. It is also the only museum in Italy detailing the history of Italian fashions. Not only they have an impressive collection of costumes, they also have shoes and accessories too. It is definitely intriguing to see how the fashion changes through the era. We also visited the Palatine Gallery contains a large ensemble of over 500 principally Renaissance paintings, which were once part of the Medicis' and their successors' private art collection. The royal apartments, with a suite of 14 rooms, all furnished lavishly with art pieces and gorgeous furniture.

Another thing I noticed here is that if you pay enough attention, you will find quite a number of tortoise statues, big and small laying around the palace. However I’m not sure what the tortoise symbolizes but it's sure is interesting.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 3

Galleria dell’ Accademia

Early Saturday morning, Bel and I head out to the Accademia gallery. At the turn of the corner, we already see a line building up, waiting. We joined in the queue. Similarly, there are 2 queues, one for independent tourists while another for group tourists / those with pre-booked ticket (of course this is unnecessary this weekend). We were released into the gallery in batches and we almost made it to be in the first batch. We were second in line for the next batch, in front of us is an elderly couple who had been to Florence many times before. Then I notice the scribbles on the wall and realized that was written by tourists recording how long they have waited in line, 50 mins, 4 hours… well consider ourselves lucky as our wait was merely 20mins.

Walking into the gallery, immediately David comes into sight, huge and magnificent. I never thought it would be so huge. I stopped in the middle of the hall way. Admiring. There weren’t many tourists yet, hence I can get a perfect view of him. I inched near slowly. I could not resist taking a photo of him although it was forbidden to take photos inside. I surveyed the area and position myself so I would be covered behind the high poles, hidden from the security officer’s vision and quickly took a snap just in time when the officers started asking people not to take photos. I happily put my camera away and continue on admiring David. This is the original David by Michelangelo since 1873. The sculpture was allegedly brought to the Accademia for reasons of conservation, although other factors were involved in its move from its previous outdoor location on Piazza della Signoria.

Next to the statue is a computer displaying David in 3D view. You can use the mouse to rotate the statue in any direction and also add in the element of light from several directions imitating what David would look like at different timing of the day, while he was located outdoors. Also in this gallery are Michelangelo's four unfinished Prisoners, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 2

After Rome, both Bel and I kind of suffered from ‘gallery / museum exhaustion’ (not sure if this is an actual verb). For a change, we thought of either going for a bicycle tour in Tuscany or a bus tour to Pisa and wine tasting in Tuscany. After some discussion, we finally decided to sign up for the Tuscany Bike Tour. Since the bike tour costs €60 per pax and we’re on a budget, we decided to forego the galleries and museums in Florence and each would cost around €10. We were telling ourselves, Gallery Accademia is only to see ‘David’, Uffizi is just for the paintings; we can do without them.

While walking on the streets, I saw a tourist information office so we went in to get some information. We found out that there are several free concerts every night in churches around Florence. While Bel was asking the tourist information counter officer for a list of free concerts that night, I saw a notice on the counter top… it mentioned that on the 27th and 28th September Italy will celebrate the European Heritage day so all the state museums and art galleries open their doors to the public, with free entrance this weekend. I wasn’t quite sure if I understood it correctly so I asked Bel to read it.

Me: Eh Bel, look at this, am I understanding this correctly? The galleries are free tomorrow and Sunday?
Bel: Hmm… what? Let me read ah………
Ehh… yeah wor… looks like it. Wait let me double confirm with her (the officer)
Excuse me, does this notice means that we can enter the galleries / museums for free?
Officer: Oh yes, you can enter for free but you still have to queue up and since it’s free so I think it’ll be quite a long queue.
Bel: Oh great, but which are the galleries and museums include? Do you have a list?
Officer: Sure, here is the list for all the galleries and museums in Florence and those with the ‘*’ markings belonged to state.

We both quickly checked through the lists and were thrilled to find that Accademia, Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti had ‘*’ on them. Both of us came out of the office with big smiles patched to our faces. Hehe, well its our lucky day after all and it showed that its important to visit tourist info office. Who knows, you might strike ‘gold’ like us.

That evening, we attended a piano concerto at the San Lorenzo church. Here, we saved a couple of euros as you need to pay admission fee when you visit during the day. But as a venue for the free concert, we can enter the church for free. Of course, you can’t really walk around the church freely to admire the church interior, but its more than enough for us.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 1

On the morning of 26th, we took an inter-city train from Termini to Firenze (Florence) via Chiusi. Few days prior, we have bought our train ticket from the ticket office after having some fun operating the self-service ticket machines. You can check the trains available after entering the date, the departure and arrival destination. You can also view the type of train available and the price for the journey selected and check if you see the word 'Amica', then it meant there's discount available. But during the course of browsing through the various combination of time, type of train etc (going forward and backwards through the pages), often we had the machine's system 'hang', so we need to find another machine to play with. After confirming the details of our journey, we went to the ticket office to buy the tickets (you can actually buy the tickets from the machine). The ticket costs €15.80 per person, which is very much cheaper than taking the EuroRail. One thing about the train ticket here is that there will not be any time stamped on the ticket itself so you need to validate the ticket (at an orange box on the platform) before you board the train (which we found out on our journey from Florence to Venice) .

After about 3.5 - 4 hours, we arrived at Florence. We weren't quite sure so we asked another Asian lady who is getting ready to go down. She confirmed it and also gave us (first-timers to Florence) advice to look out for the Gypsy woman and their babies. Following the Emerald Field hostel's instruction, we found our way to the hostel reception, but we are only checking in there as our private double room is situated in a private apartment some 5 minutes walk away. The location of the apartment is very good, there are 2 cafe restaurants down stairs, a bus station in front and the Accademia gallery is just round the corner. The apartment is pretty huge with 3 seperate rooms. The whole decor is simple but nice. There are also several guide books about Florence available in the apartment.

After settling down and taking a rest, we went out for a stroll cum exploration. We came to the San Lorenzo market and were quickly attracted to this bustling leather market. The overall market area is quite huge and is crowded with tourists shopping and bargaining with the sellers. Leather jackets, leather gloves, handbags, hats, pashminas, quirky souvenirs, this is definitely a heaven for shoppers. I am not so much into shopping but I still enjoyed it a lot as there's so much colors and objects that kept me clicking away on my D80.

Both Bel and I preferred Florence to Rome, as quite different from Rome, the tourist attractions here are relatively close-by, making it rather compact and dynamic. Hence we did almost all our exploration by foot throughout our stay here. It's one good walking city.

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Vatican City, Italy

St Peter’s Basilica

Vatican City, the smallest sovereign nation in the world, comprising just 1 sq km on the western bank of the Tiber river. We took a bus towards Vatican City on Tuesday afternoon and walked in through Via della Conciliazione. Upon arriving the Piazza di San Pietro, we saw a pretty long queue of tourist waiting to enter St Peter’s Basilica. We quickly join in the queue. I went wandering around taking photos while Bel stayed in the queue. There are rows of chairs arranged at the Piazza in preparation for the public audience by the pope, tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 10am. Lucky for us, we needn’t wait too long as the flow of the queue is rather smooth. Dress code and security are stringently enforced, bags need to be put through the x-ray scanners and no drinks were allowed, just like boarding a plane; no shorts, miniskirts, or sleeveless tops are allowed.

Michelangelo was responsible for the design of the grand dome, soaring 120m above the altar and was completed in 1590. The altar in the centre of the basilica is the reputed site of St Peter’s tomb. There are tours you can take to visit the tombs underneath the basilica where all the popes rest after death. There is a souvenir shops further in selling various religious accessories including holy water. Bernini on the other hand designed the Piazza di San Pietro, laid out in the 17th century. The vast piazza is bound by 2 semicircular colonnades, each comprising 4 rows of Doric columns. The obelisk in its centre was brought from Heliopolis and is framed by 2 fountains. There are many youngsters sitting/lying near the centre, resting and chatting; while most of the other tourists choose to rest around the colonnades.


Upon leaving the basilica, my eyes were attracted to the Swiss guards in their unique traditional uniform in bright orange and blue stripes. Originally they were the Swiss mercenaries hired by the pope as part of an army, which later on also became the personal bodyguard of the Pope. Most of the Swiss guards I seen there were actually pretty young. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland, and is restricted to Catholic male (Swiss) citizens.


Sistine Chapel

We came back to Vatican City again on Thursday morning to visit the Vatican museum and also the Sistine Chapel. It is a different queue at a different location from the queue to enter the basilica. Again, there is a long queue. As usual, Bel waited in the queue while I went towards the head of the queue to find out if we are in the right queue. At the entrance, there are 2 queues, one for normal independent tourists like us, the other for group tourists (or those joining a guided tour). Again, we didn’t wait long before entering the museum. We proceed to the ticket counter and got our tickets and also pick up a floor plan leaflet. We weren’t quite sure where to start so we just kind of followed the crowd. One thing I noticed here is that all the signs here will point towards the Sistine Chapel but in order to get there, you’ll first go through many galleries and halls. We took our time browsing through the amazing collections of art and treasures collected by the popes. Take note to not only see what’s there parallel to your eye-sight but also look up to the beautiful paintings on the ceiling and also sometimes the floor.

As we did not join a guided tour nor did we hire the audio guide, we sometimes ‘overhear’ the explanations by the guides nearby to understand a little background / other interesting stories about the art pieces. This is not easy as most of the guided tours are conducted with the tourists having their own earpiece receiving the explanations from their guide speaking softly into his mic via an electronic device (probably a walkie talkie). So only those groups with smaller number of people or those private guides would actually speak louder to be overheard by us. So both Bel and I would compare notes on what we’ve heard and try to match it up to the facts in our guidebooks.

The Sistine chapel is at the end of the standard route through the Vatican museum and its pretty crowded when we got there. Everybody’s head is tilted upwards to admire the wonderful frescoes Creation and Last Judgement by Michelangelo. It took him 4 years to paint the Creation; and 24 years later he painted the extraordinary Last Judgement. It is not allowed to take photos inside the Sistine Chapel so when there’s an occasional flash, you’ll see the officer in charge rush over to the person and request him not to take photos. Since this is a chapel, one is supposed to remain quiet inside. But most could not resist discussing or explaining what they know or what they have seen making it quite noisy. So every 30 seconds or so, you’ll hear 3 claps followed by ‘Shhhh……’ from one of the officer. Everyone will quiet down for a while before continuing on discussing in hush tones.

From Bel’s guide book, we learn that there’s actually a secret exit going out from the chapel leading towards the St Peter’s Basilica. This is actually catered for guided groups so they could actually skip the queue into the basilica. However, you cannot take this exit if you hired the audio guide because you then will not be able to return them to the counter. Since we didn’t hire the audio guide we went on to explore the exit. The exit is on the right at the very end of the chapel (if you stand looking into the chapel from the chapel’s entrance). Feeling a little anxious as we do not know if this is allowed since we were not with any guided tours, we tried to blend in with a group of Korean tourists exiting at that time. Well, asian face, who can tell? ;p We went down a flight of stairs and voila, we are at the main entrance of the basilica. There are 2 Swiss guards on guard there. Since we are already inside, we went into the basilica again for another round and visited the souvenir shop as Bel wanted to buy some gifts for her friend.

Here are the photos from Rome and Vatican City. Enjoy !
Rome '08
Vatican City '08

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Rome, Italy - Part 5

Italian Pizza and Pasta

Sliced pizza is a good choice if you are on a smaller budget. You just have to choose the pizza flavor and agree on how big-a-slice you want. The pizza will be weigh and you just pay the price and have it on-the-go, and they are served on a piece of paper normally. But if you ordered a pizza in a restaurant, they usually come in quite a big size and thin-crust. There are so many varieties of pizza toppings to choose from and they are yummy.

Pasta here is normally a little too dry to my likings. The sauce is just enough to cover the spaghetti noodle so sometimes I could only taste the noodle and not the sauce after a few chew. It is the same throughout our trip in Italy until I had seafood spaghetti in Venice where the seafood is extremely fresh and there’s a lot of sauce. Then we noticed that the restaurant was operated by Chinese, so I concluded that the foreigners preferred pasta dry while the Chinese like it wet.

I had 2 different servings of lasagna in Italy and I gave up after that because both servings taste the same and they are too salty. The taste reminded me of a type of minced meat can food in Malaysia...


Tiramisu

Belinda found a very good café restaurant while surfing online one night called Pompi, near Re di Roma station in southern Rome, claiming to be the best tiramisu in Rome, so we decided to pay it a visit. I am really glad we did coz the tiramisu are so good that we went back the second day. It is mostly frequented by the young locals. They also have a huge array of desserts other than tiramisu. There are two options for the tiramisu: the traditional one, with chocolate, and the one with strawberry. If you go there around evening time, you could also take up their pasta buffet offer which is quite worth it. You can choose any drink from their drink menu and enjoy the various dishes from the buffet table. I had Whisky coffee while Bel had Rum Coffee and both are really strong. The tiramisu are really yummy and the cream tasted really fresh.

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Rome, Italy - Part 4

The Italian Coffee Culture

Espresso, cappuccino, macchiato, latte, mocha… you’ll be spoiled or confused with the varieties of coffee to choose from when you step into an Italian café, differentiated by the percentage of the coffee and milk or in some cases with chocolate powder. It’s a totally different experience having a cuppa in Italy. While we are used to enjoying our coffee sitting down in a café, slowly sipping the coffee while chatting with friends, reading magazines or just taking a break, be ready to fork out a lot more money to enjoy the privilege of having your coffee while seated here in Italy. If you look at the coffee menu, there'll be 2 price lists for the same coffee; the first would be the price for having the coffee standing at the bar, and the other is the price for having it sitting down at a table, normally it’ll be double the price at the bar. When you walk into a café, the first thing to do is to decide what you want to have, walk over to the cashier and pay for your coffee, get a receipt from the cashier and proceed to the bar counter, get a spot at the counter and hand over your receipt to the barista, and wait to be served. You might need to squeeze or wait to get a spot at the counter should you arrive at the peak period (breakfast and lunch break). It’s amazing to see how quick the barista work behind the counter, serving the plates, putting in the coffee bags into the machine, changing the used coffee bags, heating up the milk etc. This is definitely not an easy job as you have to be on your foot the whole day, twisting and twirling your upper body while preparing and serving the coffee. One of the barista is even wearing a back/waist support.

The coffee price here is relatively cheap; an espresso costs just €0.70, while cappuccino is €1.10 at most cafés; and there are really good. The Italians have cappuccino in the morning to kick start the day, espresso as a booster to keep them going after lunch, and latte at night to wind down. You rarely see them have cappuccino in the afternoon or at night. It’s easy to identify the locals and the tourist in a café as the locals normally would be out of the café within a minute. After their coffee is served, they will add sugar or milk as per liking, pick up their cup, sip…sip, put it down, say ‘gracias’ (thank you) and walk out of the café.

On one of out coffee break one afternoon, I went in to order the coffee while Bel went to grab us a seat, thinking that we still pay for the ‘standing price’ since we are ‘self-servicing’. This café is famous for their special cappuccino (forgot the name) so it costs €2.20. I paid for the coffee and proceed to the counter. There is quite a queue in front. There were 2 barista working at the counter, one in charge of espresso while the other in charge of the cappuccino. As most people ordered cappuccino, the espresso guy is rather free. He placed 2 plates in front of me and I waited patiently. After a while, I thought I was being smart and placed 2 spoons on the plate first so I can take them out as soon as my cappuccinos are served. How wrong was I! Then came my cappuccinos, the barista brought 2 cups over, stopped, look at my plates with the 2 added spoons and walk away grumbling angrily. I was confused but I did see there were already 2 spoons inside the cappuccino cups. This means the 2 cappuccinos are definitely for me but why did he walk away angry? Just because I’ve added 2 spoons there? The espresso guy was pacifying the cappuccino guy asking him to calm down. I don’t understand a word as they are speaking in Italian. After a while, the espresso guy walked towards me with 2 new cappuccinos minus the spoons, I looked at him with a very confused look. In a hushed tone, he asked:

Espresso guy: Do you want to ask your friend to come in and have your coffee here (at the counter)? Because the price is different to have it outside (seated) and it would be very expansive.
Me: Even if I take the coffee out myself?
Espresso guy: yes.
Me: Erm… OK. Can I leave my coffee here while I go and get my friend?
Espresso guy: OK, sure.

So I went to get Bel and had our coffee inside, standing by the counter. What an embarrassing moment I thought, although I still felt kind of innocent. The cappuccino guy could have just told me and not walked away grumbling angrily. Well, then again, maybe by adding the 2 spoons, I have shown disrespect towards his professionalism? I am confused, still. So lesson learn, do not mess with Italian barista but do enjoy their great coffee.