Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
September 18, 2017

WHEN IN ROME

Writing this at 9.16 PM with my determination to continue this post before I forgot everything. So let's start with my 2nd stop which is Rome!
We landed in Rome around noon and went straight to the Termini (which is the central train station) by...BUS. Yep, you read that correctly, I totally forgot why we take the bus but a quick pro-tip for you to save money is to pre-book your tickets. All kinds of tickets whether it's a museum, park, bus or whatever because the price difference is quite high when you buy it on the spot. Sometimes you can't even buy the tickets on the spot. Watch out for pickpockets as well! I've seen a few attempts of people try to steal something from me, especially since I looked like a tourist. I mean, I cannot help to look like a tourist since I am Asian...the struggle guys...*sigh*

Colloseum
Victor Emmanuel II Monument


I am actually kind of disappointed on how dirty the city was (or probably because I am not staying in the fancy area) dog poop and trash are scattered everywhere. The train smells really bad, the stations are dirty. But on the other hand the buildings was definitely beautiful. My favorite was Fontana di Trevi, obviously. It was beautiful and the best part was we went there just after the fountain got renovated so it looks very clean.

Fontana di Trevi
Food wise, I did not expect how tomato-ey the pasta was. Unlike anything I ate in Jakarta, it still tasted really different but on the other side, my food horizon was also broaden because I've never tasted tiramisu that special except in here. It was so good!

This one is special, we literally booked an hour train ride to Tivoli just to visit Villa D'Este. If you watched Lizzie Mc Guire the Movie then you'll definitely know what exactly I'm talking about. We arrived at noon, and it was already cloudy, so after we went out of the train station, the shortcut to the city was crossing this long scary bridge because 1. It was cloudy, 2. We are afraid of being robbed. So we walked very fast and arrived at the "city". But boy, apparently the location was very far from the train station and the sign was not clear at all. Without any reception nor data plan on our phone, we literally only prayed that we can read maps correctly.

The Fontana Dell'Ovato
The Villa was not that special but the "backyard" is the one I'm talking about. It has around 5 or 6 big water fountain! Not only that but all of the fountains were NOT run by electricity, because the villa was made in a terraced style, so all of the waters that runs through those fountains only done by gravity. One special fountain also features organ where in certain hours, a small door will opened up and play some music on the back of the fountain and the organ runs by water! How cool is that?

Fountain of the Organ
The Fountain of Neptune
As you can see from the picture below, the struggle is when you're done going around and you have to climb those stairs to reach the villa at the top.

Villa D'Este

Bridge in front of Castel Sant'Angelo
Vatican
We've also visited Vatican, but only went on the outside because we don't have much time (and money) but just looking on the outside, the building was majestic. All those statues and the details, makes everything looks beautiful. I also felt both interior and architecture in Rome were not that "colorful" compared to Paris. The colors were a lot softer and subtle.

Vatican
I don't think I have the greatest experience in Rome to be honest, the prices are acceptable but probably because of mostly gloomy weather I cannot really enjoy the city. I truly believe Rome has it's golden era back then and that what makes Rome how it is now. 
January 2, 2017

STARTER PACK - EUROTRIP 2016!


keukenhof - Netherlands

Eiffel Tower - France

Notre Dame - France

Monaco

Fontana di Trevi - Italy

Castel Sant'Angelo - Italy

Somewhere Behind Marienplatz - Germany

Ah, can't believe i'm writing this, and yes, you are reading that title correctly. I went to Europe!

It all began when I have discussion with my mom about what-am-i-going-to-do-with-my-"arisan"-money. Europe was never on my bucket list in my short term vacation plan. I always wanted to go to Japan. Then my mom started this mind-games that makes me consider twice and my sister was also wanting me to go there (Europe), she wanted to go to Greece, and I have always wanted to go there too so a  few weeks later we were skype-ing to plan our trip.

A few tips for those of you planning for a trip to Europe:

1. Do your research, find out about the Visa, how much you need to pay, which country you're applying your Visa to, how much money you need to prepare and all that shit. I would  recommend this page for guidance.
2. Prepare your money. It doesn't have to be unbelievable amount of money transferred to your bank account in a short period of time. They just wanted to know if you are able to live there according to your plan.
3. Do not buy your plane tickets yet! Do it after you got the Visa. I mean, if shit happens, at least you won't lose your airplane ticket (and it's not cheap guys)
4. I would suggest not to take visa services. It's not that hard and you are basically paying extra for nothing. Those visa services cannot replace you for your visa interview.  You still have to attend it yourself so..what's the point?
5. Don't panic! during your visa interview the interviewer might look and sound intimidating but that's their job, all you need to do is be calm and collected, answer their questions straight away without any hesitant. When I got interviewed it probably took 5-10 mins and he only asks when I'll be leaving and be back and what I'm going there for.
6. Airplane tickets can be really expensive and I would suggest to take the fastest route possible. Go check this website so you can get the exact same flight with various prices and make sure all the tax and all that shit is included in the price. Go for the midnight flights because I have proven that this will help you avoid jet lag.
7. Have fun! this is your vacation anyway, enjoy it, you deserve it!

Will post each country experience with no particular order. Stay tuned!
 

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