Travelog: D3 Rome, Italy

DESTINATION : ROME, ITALY

Travel period : 29.04-01.05.2013

to de capital and de largest city of Italy: ROME.

DAY 3

i) Place to stay: Hotel Viennese Due, Via Milazzo 3 

(please take note that there is another Hotel Viennese existed nearby de area)

# free WiFi but NOT WORKING in de room: thank god connection was accessible with de laptop provided in de room 

# free breakfast: 1 pastry and 1 coffee / tea or juice (voucher given to redeem at de cafe bar located just opposite de hotel. they might just need to rephrase it as express breakfast just enough to get you going)

it was perfect for our stay in Rome, as de hotel was close to de main train station (Roma Termini) and Metro and that was perhaps de only good thing for de hotel.. full stop. de room located on 4th floor was congested on de other hand, and there weren't much extra space to unpack. de elevator was very small too, it could only fit 4 average-sized Asians (without luggage). besides, de tiny bathroom turned to be mouldy after a couple of use. de hotel itself was difficult to search as it did not have a clear sign in front for travellers to identify. we have to ask de locals for its location for a couple of times. 

nevertheless, we managed to leech de restaurant's WiFi located at de ground floor nearby de elevator. it has a good reception there, so erm I guess it wasn't that bad?

spot Hotel Viennese Due.

I'm not joking. it is here.. focus, focus.

AHA!!! de only sign available.

(with de smallest font size when compared to de rest) 

you can only see it when you coincidently reach de destination. 

we purchased de "Metrebus" day ticket priced at €6 (not truly 24 hours as it ended at 12am regardless of your time of purchase) and I guess it was convenient and good enough for us to travel around Rome to most of de main attractions. remember, ticket has to be validated beforehand in de yellow lil machine. in certain famous Metro station, some annoying gypsies and beggars may offer help to purchase ticket at de vending machine (English language is available though). they would stand right beside de vending machine with a disposable cup in hand- for coins. and of course, they would ask you for money in return. if you're travelling in a group, it is safer to split up into two groups whereby one group will approach de vending machine and meanwhile another group to stand behind looking around as "undercover". another thing is that gypsies and beggars don't wake up early (haha!). be extra vigilant and just make sure you keep track of your wallet and purse while visiting de tourists sites in Rome. this is de second time I have been to Rome, sad to say I still don't really like Rome for its unsafe and hectic environment.

ii) The Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna)

at de foot of de Spanish Steps it lies de Spanish Square (Piazza di Spagna). de Spanish Square is connected to a French church on top of de hill via The Spanish Steps, characterized by its butterfly plan- irregular but symmetrical steps. 

climbing de stairway is obviously de must-do in order to capture de nice view of de city from de top. nonetheless, be aware of a group of conman who seem to actively operating at de top (I called it sin in front of de church). besides offering roses to sell, some would immediately take your hand and tie a good luck rope bracelet, which is actually made from colour threads. they would do it so quickly by saying "it's free, it's free". in return they would ask you for money (€10 or so). I have a friend who experienced this before when we first visited Rome. they typically eye-on single travellers (male traveller easily targeted), so just be extra careful (again). best defence is to walk 10 steps away from them when they are one step closer to you!

a Baroque fresh-water fountain called "Fontana della Barcaccia" (Fountain of de Old Boat) located just below The Spanish Steps. 

this place is packed with tourists all de time.

iii) Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)

this is de largest Baroque fountain and also one of de famous tourist spots in Rome. a traditional legend holds that if tourists throw a coin into de fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. some says throwing a second coin leads to a new romance, and a third coin leads to marriage. I threw a coin few years back and guess what? I am back. omg and did I just throw another coin into de fountain? anyway, it is believed that coins thrown into de fountain are collected by local authorities at de end of de day for charity.

hundreds of people gathered around de fountain.

you can hardly take a perfect picture of yourself due to de huge crowds everywhere. and I noticed that police has increased patrols around de area. compared to few years back where I noticed some of de gypsies trying to fish coins out of de Trevi fountain, now has nowhere to be seen.

de gelato break.

gelato store located just beside de Trevi Fountain. you wouldn't mind spending this.

iv) Rome city- PIAZZA VENEZIA

we did not enter de place but some says it offers a nice panoramic view of de city. this building is in de middle of de traffic converging from all angle, just be careful as cars are everywhere. down de street on left will eventually lead you to Colosseum.

ants eye view of de Altare della Patria (Vittorio Emanuel II Monument)- first king of a united Italy.

a stroll on de Imperial Fora and Trajan’s Markets.

casually walk through de place would just be enough for curious people like us, unless you are a person who are serious of history or art de story would be otherwise different. Trajan’s markets were ancient Rome, shopping mall (picture at bottom).

Trajan's Column.

v) Colosseum

in order to get a full picture of de Colosseum, you can take de exit at de second level of de metro station at Colosseo. but beware of man (again) who try to sell you cheap souvenirs as things could get a bit annoying after a while because they just couldn't accept a NO. de man even attempted to spit on us when we repeatedly told him we weren't interested on his items (he was like a bugging bee). he then spoke to de waiter who was standing outside a nearby restaurant and both of them just laughed. hell ya and this is another bad and ugly side of Rome. 

continue with Travelog: D4 Rome, Italy with more pictures on Colosseum.

END