A Little Act of Kindness in... Rome!

Whenever I heard people talking about Rome, they often complained about the prevalence of pickpockets at crowded and touristy areas. I even read from a travel book that a man almost lost his wallet as two Gypsy girls approached him and one of them lifted her shirt to show her bare breasts, but the man was conscious enough not to stare at the pair for too long and managed to keep his belonging intact. True story or not, I am not sure but I definitely read this from a book. The author might have exaggerated quite a bit (?)

Most importantly, on my train from Pisa to Rome, I even overheard some other locals (I presume) telling the tourists to be careful as Rome is a "City of Robbers". I was like..."what the hell?"... I then approached some other Italians in the same train cabin and they were smiling and telling me that it's not that bad. Oh well, that was quite assuring? x.X

After hearing such stories, I did what I could to make sure that my things won't get stolen. Placing a lock on my bag, putting my cash in the deepest pocket inside my bag, and distributing my cash at different places... (p/s: i didn't place my cash in my bra or in my socks, if you are desperate, you could do that. Or if you like having something touching your stomach as you move, you can get those traveller belt which I think is useless and uncomfortable)

Fast forward the story a little...

My boyfriend and I went to this famous Italian pizza place (can't remember the name, maybe is Buffeto?) and there was already a queue. As I joined the queue, I started talking to a guy in front of me. (My boyfriend went to have a look at the pizzeria. )

The conversation was something like this...:

Me: Hello, do you speak English? (Because quite a few of them don't!)

Italian guy: Yes...? (He wore a pair of glasses and he definitely looked very educated!)

Me: Oh great! Is it your first time here?

Italian guy: No.

Me: I see. Do you have any recommendation?

Italian guy: Probably the most basic pizza? Margarita?

Me: I often heard people saying about a type of pizza which has an egg within. Have you heard about it?

Italian guy: Huh? Probably it is best to have the most original one...

(And my boyfriend got back at this time, and they introduced themselves to each other)

... ...

Alright, so his name starts with M, and I would use "M" from now onward since to me it would be more respectful...

M then asked us about the life in Singapore since he considered doing an MBA in SMU, Singapore. And he told us that he had an interesting Italian friend who worked in China as someone who just has to be chauffeured to go to clubs and parties (show his face). And that is his JOB!!!!!

After some interesting talk, it was finally our turn to be seated! Eventually we had dinner together as it was always nice to talk to new people and I like the idea of talking to a local as he is definitely more familiar about the place than us! 

While we were having our delicious pizzas, we found out that his girlfriend is in US. Being in a long distance relationship is definitely something in common between us and M! We even recommended him to use FaceTime instead of Skype because Skype video calling is so crappy. :P

When the bill came, we wanted to pay the bill for all of us but he was quicker than us!!! He was really kind and bought us dinner, because he said that we are his guests. We wanted to get him some desserts or drinks after that but we just parted ways. Nevertheless, we added each other on Facebook and we are still in contact! He is coming to London with his girlfriend and I definitely look forward to seeing them both.

Thank you M, for being such a nice and friendly host. You definitely make our trip in Rome a very very memorable one. And... I shall look forward to seeing you guys soon in August!!

What to do in Rome?

Rome has so much to offer and probably you could spend a week here and not get bored with the offering she has got. We had only 2 full days here in Rome and we merely got to visit the major attractions of Rome.

1. Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palentine Hill

"Colloseum is the largest amphitheater in the world and it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. "

Colosseum has been around for 1900 years as the constructions completed in 96AD. It was really a mind-blowing piece, considering the size and amount of labour that had to be devoted into building this iconic building. It is not difficult to picture the scene where gladiator fights for his life with the beast in there.

Tips: Do try to get the Roma Pass if you are planning to spend a long time in Rome. Or try pre-booking your tickets or getting tickets from Palentine Hill or Roman Forum entrance which both sell tickets covering the three sites: Roman Forum, Palantine Hill and Colosseum. Also, if possible go for an underground because many other travellers have said that the underground tour was indeed eye opening and apparently the excavation for the area underground has just been completed recently and it would be great to make it for the tour. We wanted to have the tour but our time was really limited so we had to forgo the tour.

View of the Roman Forum

2. The Vatican City

We took a cab from Colosseum to the Vatican City and in less than 10 minutes we just got to another country (From Italy to Vatican City!)

Saint Peter's square

 On our way to the Vatican Museum, we could see people lining up to get into the museum from probably more than 1km away. Seriously it is really a must to pre-book your ticket if you want to get into the museum.

In the Vatican Museum, at the gallery leading to Sistine Chapel. The entire museum was severely congested. With people taking picture of every single thing and it made the entire experience a really bad one.

The interior of the Saint Peter's Basilica

As it was the Holy Saturday, we read from the news that the Pope would baptize two persons in the evening.

Tips: Try getting into St Peter's Basilica from the exit at the Sistine Chapel so that you don't have to join another insanely long queue.

3. Trevi Fountain

This world-renowned fountain has been featured numerous times in various dramas and most of us have heard about it. It is said that if you throw a coin over your left shoulder you would get back to Rome. The fountain was really much larger than what I expected and the sheer scale was really breathtaking. However the crowd can be a huge turn-off and you have to really put your politeness aside and find your way into the heart of the fountain to get the best view.

4. Campo de Fiori

5. Pantheon

And enjoy the Italian hospitality:)

How We Met the Pope in Rome

We arrived in Rome during the Holy Week, and both of us not being Christians, we did not know about this before coming. 

We just happened to realize that when the entire street that is next to the Colosseum was flooded with people. You can't walk through the crowd at all. It was massively packed. And only then we realized that the Pope was having a ceremony at the Colosseum, called "Way of the Cross". He was sitting under a tent at the Palentine Hill, which is right opposite the Colosseum and yeah we merely caught a glimpse of the tents that he was sitting under and also the cross that was lighted up by candles. More about the ceremony is here. 

When it was impossible to walk cross to crowd to get to the hotel. We headed back and found another route. 

Pilgrims from all over the world to attend the ceremony, where screens were set up and broadcasting vans were around to record the very sacred moment.

Indeed, it was an honour to be at the event at that time. And we feel really blessed with all the coincidence that happened during our trip in Rome. Thank you.