purpleshadow still @Rome

hey all,

11.30am in Rome's Freedom Travellers' hostel. waiting for 3pm Eurostar train ride to Milan, whiling time here. It is too hot now to go out and see Roman Forum which I didnt cover on day one. Not tired today, cuz dun have to do any sightseeing and slept for 9 straight hours! ;)
let me recount some special encounters i had so far:

*silly encounter

This Monday, from Spain-Girona airport, i should have taken airport bus to Barcelona city which is 80 km away, but i took the one that headed to Girona town instead, which is just 10km away. it was a night flight... so i panicked a little when i realised i took the wrong bus n ended up at a ulu-town's bus terminal at 11+ pm! i prayed and prayed n decided to take a €20 cab back to Girona airport to catch the last midnight airport bus to Barcelona town. Thanks to the help of a Roman-looking young lad who called the cab for me....and i did it!! *blessed* and poor Eugene, there he was waiting for me from 11 plus pm to 1.15am.... dat night, no shower when i reached the 6-beder hostel as there is a shower curfew from 11pm to 7.30am, how silly! Heng, wet tissues came in useful.
(p/s: the last night I was in spain, we went back to the same hostel, and we didnt get to bathe too though we reach hostel at 11:05pm, you must be thinking I stink, yea, prob U r right :P this sticky feeling contribute to my grumpiness :( )

*stupid encounter
ok, this is a real small thing but quite a fright when I can't find my handphone on day 2 of Spain-Barcelona.I had misplaced it in the 6-beder hostel and moved on to another hostel on Tuesday. I distinctively remembered tt morning I woke up and read Noelle's sms before putting the hp somewhere back on bed or into bag. Luckily, the hostel owner found it lying in the gap between verge of bed n wall. Phew!

*Italian man encounter
Carlyn warned me about Italian men.......and I had a taste of their friendliness myself yesterday. I went to St. Pietro's Basilica (St. Peter's Temple/Church) and chanced upon their special exhibition area.... i asked the security who is a 50+ yrs old man with beard and blonde hair, how much is the ticket? He took a look at me, smiled and said: "For you...... free." and he opened the gantry for me, and got me the audio guide. haha....anyway the place is called The Treasury of the church where they display gems and rock crystals ornaments, and Pope's monstrane, tiara and precious biblical canon.

*sad encounter
i try not to think too much abt it-- my CF card was spoilt, and it contained my London pix of St. Paul's Cathedral, Stonehenge+Bath+lacock...... Gosh. I pray it can be salvaged miraculously. Also, the security at Stansted airport is very, very tight. silly me forgot to take out the lipbalm, Mopiko and lip gloss in my handcarry bag and had to discard them! and i was lucky i checked in my backpack with Ryan air last minute and the lady at the counter didn't charge me £5 fee. *blessed*

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Journey
A little peep into where I have been in the last 11 days. Yes, I have seen what I should have seen in these cities, yet some are not so-enjoyable cuz I was too tired. The good thing is I like to eat bread tho it is not the healthiest food, so i have been eating bread all day n night *yummy*. The not so good thing is I am not a person who will miss home or Singapore, so I don't have the blues :P

1.London
I had a very hectic schedule, went 4 places each day to maximise my stay there! Thanks to Van and Raine who lent me their apartment to stay :) it was cooling weather in the 18 deg range, and i was glad i can put on autumn clothings to take pix!

In 4 and a half days, I went National Art Gallery (best!), Greenwich, saw the Big Ben (skipped Westminster Abbey), British Museum, Oxford Circus, St. Paul's, Tate Modern art museum, Stonehenge+Bath, Harrods, Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, Burkingham Palace and watched the musical Chicago @ £25 on a Friday night. bought tonnes of postcards and cannot afford shopping there, then again I dun like Topshop kinda fashion. Enjoyed figuring London out on my own, and HG and I accompanied each other for the Stonehenge day trip. Impressed by the driver was driving the mini-van at 120km/h and giving guide talk at the same time. of cuz, i liked all the sights too :)

2.Barcelona
Land of the Catalans. I declare Spainard men are the cutest! More so than the blonde Britons n big-sized Italians. I like the Roman look in them, haha...not tt I got to know any of them, but I think Spainard guys and Italian babes are the best:P

Actually, I was tired out when I reached Spain, and we kept shifting hostels. I was overwhelmed by fatigue and my 12 or 13-kg turtle shell that I don't feel much excitement by what I saw.

Weather is normal like summer Singapore but we don't sweat. Me and Eugene went Gothic cathedral walk, Port Olympic, La Ramblas (I found a cafe called Cafe de Opera with an authentic waitering style which I liked so much that I went there 3 days in a row), shopped at H & M and Zara, visited Parc Guell and La Sagrande Familia and Casa Milla for Antoni Gaudi architecture, Picasso & Henry Moore art museums, saw National Art Museum with a gothic-muslim inspired facade and the Olympic village area behind it (the Espanya metro stop). Also, the FCBarcelona stadium. I love Spanish sauteed mushrooms in olive, can still remember the taste :) Tried parella (rice) too.

3.Rome
We had 2 nights here, still tired when I arrived, I feel I need 12 hrs zzzzz to recover. Day 1 was a visit to Colosseum, Palatino (Palatine Hills) and Trevi Fountain. Day 2 was full day at Musei Vatican (1 hr queue) and St. Peter's and the dunno-why-it-is-so-celebrated Piazza di Spagna (Spanish steps) dotted with branded shops...... St. Paul is much grander and i like it more than St. Peter's. And it is freaking sunny in Rome, like 25-30deg, same weather as Singapore... the sun is oh so scorching n glaring... i just feel like hiding in the indoor museums and not go out into the sun (fear freckles). The last place we went to was the Rome Pantheon, it was quite a disappointment, nothing much to see, perhaps the Greek one would be good.

It helps to get the ISIC youth card or bring ur old matriculation card, cuz I got a couple of discounts for the sights thus far, very useful!

yippey, 9 more days to go, half the journey accomplised, left Milan and Paris!