The next day we were off to Rome via Trenitalia. It cost
41.30 euros for 2 persons and took 3 and a half hours of travel. Our hotel was
near the Vatican City so we still had to take the subway from Roma Termini to
Ottaviano S. Pietro. From the moment we stepped into the subway, I already got
chills along my spine, a sign of imminent danger. All around masses of people
composed of commuters, tourists and thieves pretending to be locals were
cramped into the space. My reflexes as a commuter in Manila took over and I became
super aware of my surroundings. We were buying our train tickets and this
filthy gypsy woman kept insisting to help us maneuver the vending machine. I
told my friend to be the one to purchase as I boxed her out in protection and
snarled the toughest “No!” I could muster towards the gypsy. She almost spat at
me, cursing in whatever language that was, her eyes fierce with fury. I
steadied my gaze at her, ready to pounce if the situation called for it. She
cowered towards the side and waited for other victims.
My companion, far less
experienced in commuting, was not able to pick up the coins from the change
slots of the vending machine fast enough before another gypsy took them and ran
off. It was just a few coins so we let it go. I tried to dismiss the fact that
their change would have been about a hundred pesos here already. We headed
towards the platform clutching our bags to ourselves. My messenger bag was too
thick and complicated for any snatcher, but my companion’s sling bag was not.
As we entered the train, me going in first, and my companion right behind me,
this kid swiftly unzipped my companion’s bag, took her purse, and slipped out
of the train right before the doors closed. The locals and some Filipinos aboard
the train were saying “Attenzione!” motioning to check our bags. It was then
that my companion discovered her lost coin purse. Fortunately, it only
contained coins, and again, we tried to dismiss the fact that it would have
been about three hundred pesos here already.
The Filipinos, recognizing we were
kababayans, advised us to be careful as Rome was filled with snatchers and
hawkers. How ironic that the seat of the Catholic Church would be teeming with
this kind of criminal activity. It reminded me of Quiapo, but in a
larger-scale.
We finally reached Salvador Bed & breakfast, where
Salvador, the owner, is this burly old man who didn’t speak English and looked
like Santa Claus in the movie The Guardians. He was so gruff, my companion was
completely miffed by him. Needless to say, I was the one who dealt with him,
struggling to understand his directions in Italian.
Apparently, the room we
were staying at was at the other side of the street, not in this main building.
We got the Standard Double Bed Private Ensuite Room which cost us P1,771 per
person per night. It was actually good that we got this room, since it was
newly-furnished, and Santa Claus was out of our hair. He said he was only going
to check up on us the next day. He gave us maps of Rome and we discovered that
we were literally just a few blocks away from the Vatican. And so we decided to
start our tour of Rome there.
It was already 4PM when we got there so the Vatican museum
was already closed. We could not see the Sistine Chapel anymore since the next
day was a Sunday and the museum was closed. We were thoroughly saddened by this
but we decided to just go back the next day and hear mass at St. Peter’s
Basilica.
From the Vatican we walked all around the area passing Castel Sant’
Angelo, Ponte Margherita to get to Piazza del Popolo.
We also visited the Spanish steps,
which was literally just a flight of stairs with hundreds of people seated on
it.
We then went to Fontana di Trevi, which surprised me how huge it was and yet the swarm
of tourists were spilling over the piazza. After excusing my way into the crowd, I was finally able to get closer to the fountain, enough to make a wish and throw my coin.
We walked some more and reached the Pantheon. The structure looked so scary
at night.
It was absolutely dark by the time we got to our last stop - Piazza Navona. The Fountain of Four Rivers
looked magical, illuminated at night.
We were famished by the time we finished our tour and
decided to treat ourselves to a full-course meal at Osteria dell’ Angelo, which
claimed to be one of the “last real osterias in Rome”. It cost us 25 euros
each, which had a choice of pasta, salad, a choice of meat, and dessert of
cookies and red sweet wine. It wasn’t as tasty as I’d expected, especially
compared to the Italian fare we had in Milan. I’ve learned it’s always better
to trust local neighborhood shops.
The next day we walked over to St. Peter’s Basilica once
again, knowing there was a 7:30 AM mass. It was however, reserved for special
groups only. We asked what time the public mass was and it was still at 6PM. So
we just prayed a bit at one of the open altars and continued on with our tour
of Rome.
This time, we rode the metro to Colosseo and circled the
area of Palatino. We decided not to
enter the Palatine Hill and Colosseum anymore and just took photos from the outside.
We went to the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument and witnessed the changingof the guards.
We walked along the other side of Palatino and rested at the
Circo Massimo, before heading back to Colosseo to take the metro.
We got lost
trying to look for this highly-acclaimed restaurant but luckily stumbled upon a
neighborhood gelato shop that gave us two whopping scoops of gelato for only
three euros, plus free waffle biscuits. All the other gelato we’ve eaten thus
far was 3.50 each so this was a great deal, not to mention, the flavors were
delicious! It was the best gelato I’ve ever tasted!
We reached the Vatican with minutes to spare before the
mass. There were a lot of tourists however and the guards were filtering those
who were attending the mass and those who were just going to take pictures.
Tourists were not allowed inside the basilica during mass hours. Despite our
very touristy vibe, the security let us in easily when we said we were
Filipinos. Obviously, the Filipino community had already made their name as the
mass-attending type. We passed through the checks and finally experienced celebrating
the Eucharist in the Holy Seat of the Church. I was overcome with such joy and
relief that this was finally happening after all the misfortune we encountered
in Rome. I cried a bit after taking communion, the perfect harmony of the choir
and excellent acoustics in the basilica masking my quiet sobs further.
We had a simple dinner at one of the restaurants near our
hotel, where I ordered zucchini and mozzarella gratin and wine for a total of 5
euros. The next day, we said goodbye to Rome and took the local train from Roma
Termini to Venezia S. Lucia, which was 73.20 euros for two persons, as opposed
to the express train which was almost double the cost. The trip took most of
our day, being nine hours and all, so we weren’t really able to maximize our stay
in Venice. Had we booked the tickets earlier, this would not have been the case
at all.
We arrived in Venice at 3:17 PM, proceeded right away to buy
our tickets to Munich for the next day. We were able to buy at one of the tourist
kiosks in the station for 175 euros for two persons. This was more expensive
than the 50 euros I searched online. Again, had we booked the tickets in
advance, this would not behave been the case.
We walked across the bridge to get to Venice proper and walked
about 15 minutes towards Antico Capon. We got the Double Bed Private Ensuite
Room for P2,409 each person. The hostel was a charming little apartment with no
lifts and a café/bar downstairs. It was shabby chic and matched the whole vibe
of Venice, most especially Campo Santa Margherita, the artsy plaza near the
university, where it is housed. This was perfect for me as I was looking
forward to some cocktails at one of the bars in the area.
We had dinner first
at a restaurant we passed by while roaming around the streets and canals of
Venice. We splurged on a bottle of premium Italian wine; I had lasagna while my
companion who is vegetarian had a salad. It was one of the most expensive meals
we’ve had so far, and I was glad it was worth it. The serving was large enough
and the wine was indeed as good as promised by the waiter.
After dinner, we
walked around, soaking up the distinctive look of this Italian city. Then I
decided to cap off the night by joining the students at the bar across our
hostel.
The next day, we vowed that we would ride the gondola else
our trip to Venice would have been for naught. We walked first towards Piazza
San Marco to see St. Mark’s Basilica, Torre dell' Orologio and Palazzo Ducale
to take some photos. Venice is exactly as it is in the pictures.
From our walk we passed by gondoliers. So we traced our
steps back to them and negotiated for a one-hour ride, inclusive of the Grand
Canal which cost us 50 euros in total. There were only two of us to share in
the expense, but it was worth it with the gondolier talking us through the
famous landmarks of the city and serenading us.
Though we weren’t able to watch
an opera there, the experience of the gondola ride and the cute little souvenir
masks we bought at the multitude of stores in the area, gave me a fine
impression of Venice, so much so that I would definitely go back in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment