Explore!

Location | Little Town Budget Hotel – Prague

So ends our trip to Europe. This morning began with breakfast with Maria then off to the stationary shop Ngoc and I visited on the 2nd day. We wanted to buy a few more gifts. We took the bus from Termini and headed over there. Unfortunately the store didn’t open until 10:30am, so we decided to go for gelato first. We walked up toward the Pantheon where we made a quick stop at the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.

Ngoc got a little outta control

We sat on the front steps for a few minutes before we decided to just go get gelato. Who cares if we’re eating gelato at 10am? So we went to Gelateria Della Palma, and needless to say, we were the first customers. In fact, they were still putting the gelato into the display case.

Ngoc really likes gelato!

I left with what I had been dreaming of – red guava and green apple. Ngoc went for chocolate and pistachio.

It totally hit the spot.

Afterwards we went to the stationary shop, got what we needed, then headed back to the bed & breakfast. We got our stuff, presented Maria with a small gift, then went off to catch the train to the airport.

Unfortunately our flight time was changed AND it was also delayed an hour.

We finally got to Prague, hopped on the bus, headed back to the same hostel from the first night in Prague. After checking in, we went to the Charles Bridge to take a peek… and there were fireworks! (YAY!). Afterward we just ate at one of those touristy restaurants near the bridge. We had Czech-style Goulash and a salad (green and red peppers w/ tomatoes and balsamic w/ olive oil).

Then it was back to the hostel where we took goofy pictures, packed our things and then got into bed.

Goodbye Beautiful Europe!

Location | Malu Bed & Breakfast – Rome

After a tiring day 2, Ngoc and I decided to take day 3 easy. We woke up later than usual (around 9:30) and headed out around 10. We made our way down some streets to do a little shopping, first to Repubblica, a big plaza with a beautiful fountain in the center, then we made our way up to Barberini where we were looking for a restaurant to have lunch in. Unfortunately both of the restaurants we were looking for were a) non-existent and b) closed until later that day. So then we were in search of another place. We found a restaurant around Barberini and went inside the deserted place. I think it was early, because soon after some other people came in.

I ordered a mushroom ravioli and Ngoc ordered a mushroom pasta. Although we were a little apprehensive at first, both were very good and we were pleasantly surprised.

Then it was off to do some shopping. I wanted to find a cafe to get a coffee, so we walked up Via Vittoria Veneto, which must’ve been one of the lushest streets in Rome. Filled with expensive high-scaled restaurants and well dressed people, it felt much different from the tourist-side of Rome I had seen the past 2 days. We stopped at Café de Paris, so famous it even has it’s own Wikipedia article. There I had a €6.50 iced latte. Needless to say, that’s about US$10. Ngoc had a tiny iced coffee (which was very sweet) which was about €4. That’s probably the last time I’ll try to indulge in La Dolce Vita in a belief that I’d fit into that environment.

Ngoc with iced coffee at Café de Paris

We left and walked through the streets until we found the Spanish Steps (the top of the Spanish Steps). We took more pictures and walked down into the streets below where we started to shop.

Posing on the Spanish Steps

Then HORROR… my stomach started to ache. I’m not sure if it was the coffee or the food, but something was not right. The good thing was, I was able to keep it together for most of the day. We went to a few stores, included a stationary store called, Vertecchi, as well as the adorable kitchen store C.U.C.I.N.A. right near the Spanish Steps. Next was shopping at Via Del Corso, a street filled with mid-range shops.

We walked around with no aim, but one aim was gelato. We found more gelato at Giolitti, which has now become one of my favorite gelato places.

We left and ate in a piazza nearby. Sitting on some benches in front of a hotel. It was nice just to relax in Rome. We then decided we’d take the bus back to Rome’s Chinatown.

Never have I felt more out of place.

Yes, I, surrounded by countless Asians, felt completely out of place.

Oh well.

We couldn’t find any of the stores I wanted to go into, so that was another failure. We headed back toward our B&B, but not before stopping at a grocery store where I stocked up on 6 jars of nutella, 2 packages of cakes, 6 bottles of pear juice, 1 jar of artichokes, 1 jar of olives, and various other misc items.

If only I could bring gelato back.

After resting up in our B&B room, we left for dinner near Piazza Navona. We went to this adorable (and… romantic) restaurant right in one of the small winding streets. It is called Antica Taverna. According to my guide, it says that they get the goat’s milk ricotta and rabbit from their hometown in the Sabine Hills. It’s located at Via Monte Giordano 12. We sat outdoors (which was a little dizzy-fying unfortunately due to the fans running in front of a light, giving the tables a strobe-light effect). Anyway, I ordered mussels and pasta carbanara. Ngoc ordered bruschetta and a spaghetti-type pasta.

Rigatoni Carbanara from Antica Taverna

This restaurant was amazing. I definitely recommend it.

Afterwards we walked around and then got on a bus to head back home.

Overall, an exciting and beautiful day in Rome.

Location | Malu Bed & Breakfast – Rome

The morning began with the usual breakfast at Maria’s aptly named “Cafe Nobel” in the main lobby of the bed & breakfast. She gave us croissants filled with fresh custard w/ a subtle orange zest flavour & ample powdered sugar. Then there was the banana with Nutkao (another non-Nutella brand of hazelnut spread), strawberry yogurt, & a fresh cup of foamy cappuccino w/ chocolate powder on top.

Then it was time to head out. We walked around the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore toward Via Nazionale to do a little bit of shopping. I had it in my mind that I’d buy myself some Italian tennis shoes, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to find ones that I like. We made our way to Campo de’Fiori, an outdoor market south of Piazza Navona. There we sampled cheeses, looked at fresh fruits and vegetables and purchased some €5 Italia t-shirts. Then was a delicious fruit-cup for €3 that contained 2 types of melons, pineapple, nectarines, and yellow watermelon.

Produce at Campo De'Fiori

After that we walked toward Corso Vittoria Emmanuelle II (a major street) and stopped at a stationary store where Ngoc and I promptly purchased more notebooks than we probably should’ve even thought to purchase… especially since we would have to carry them for the rest of the day.

Finally we bought a bus ticket, but not before playing a game of “how do you say bus ticket in Italian?” charades with an old Italian woman in a tabacchi.

A side note, there are 4 types of bus tickets in Rome and they are as follows (info from Rome.info):

• Biglietto semplice B.I.T. (time integrated ticket)
  Price: 1,00 Euro
  B.I.T. tickets can be used on any means of transport in Rome; they are valid for 75 minutes and the visitor can take any transport mean to reach the preferred destination during the 75 minutes time. Tickets needs to be stamped when starting the travel; if the visitor takes the metro, then the ticket needs to be stamped a second time.
• Biglietto giornaliero B.I.G. (one-day ticket)
  Price: 4,00 Euro
  Valid 24 hours on any means of transport, it must be stamped only one time (when starting the travel); in case the visitor use the metro, the ticket must be exhibited to the controller at the entrance of the metro line.
  !WARNING: this ticket is valid untill the midnight (of the day it had been stamped)
• Biglietto per 3 giorni B.T.I. ( 3-days tourist integrated ticket)
  Price: 11,00 Euro
  It is valid for 3 days in a row on any public means. It has to be stamped just once when starting the travel and exhibited to the controller at the entrance of the metro line.
• Biglietto settimanale C.I.S. (tourist one-week integrated ticket)
  Price: 16,00 Euro
  It is valid for 7 days in a row and it has the same terms of use like the B.T.I., only the owner must write on the card his/her own name.

If I had known clearly about these bus tickets, I might not have walked across the whole city. In day 1 we walked at least 8 miles (I mapped it out with the running mapper).

Anyway, that was just a side note. After we received the correct bus ticket (at €1 per ride) we went to the Vatican. Across the city and over the Tiber River. We arrived just outside of Piazza San Pietro, also known as St. Peter’s Square. Well, St. Peter’s Square is not a square at all, by the way. It’s a big rounded circle with columns all around. At one end you have the post office & gift shop, and at one the security entrance to the basilica.

We went around 11pm and the line through security wasn’t too bad. Then we had to go through the “clothing inspection.” Remember, the Vatican has rules where you have to keep your shoulders covered and your skirt cannot be too short (or you can’t wear short-shorts). I had a shoulder covering, but I had assumed my dress, which ended a little above my knees would pass. Total fail. Except, this girl with an exceptionally short skirt in front of me goes through. I on the other hand… pulled my leggings out of my bag and pulled them on right in front of a ton of tourists.

Then finally we were let through and we got into some sort of line… which we did not know what it was for. Also, no one in line spoke English when I was saying “Hey!? What is this line for!? Does anyone speak English? What’s this line for?” Fortunately we found out only a few minutes later that it was the line to enter the dome above St. Peter’s Basilica.

Finally we got through to go to Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano, also known as St. Peter’s Basilica. Needless to say, the basilica is an amazing and very impressive looking building. Inside was even better. The dome rises 448ft from the ground. Intricately decorated with beautiful paintings, priceless sculptures, it is a simple breathtaking basilica.

The dome in St. Peter's Basilica

The lighting is dark inside, so the pictures I have are quite blurry (I have shaky hands, not good for a slow shutter that needs a lot of light).

After exiting St. Peter’s Basilica we entered back into St. Peter’s Square where we were able to get a view of the Swiss Guard. Despite their “clown-like appearance,” their uniforms make them look quaint.

We found that because the Vatican is it’s own sovereign state, they have their own post office. Ngoc and I bought a few postcards and stamps (but not before I spazzed out and accidentally made my money go everywhere in front of the Vatican postal worker). He jokingly told me I was too dangerous with money.

Mailing some postcards

Then it was time to go see the Sistine Chapel. The entrance to the Vatican museums is located 800m from exiting St. Peter’s Square – therefore if exit from St. Peter’s Basilica, walk through the square, around the Vatican walls to the entrance to the museums… it’s probably a km overall.

We walked about halfway when we spotted gelato at Old Bridge Gelateria. Of course we stopped for some.

We finally made it to the Vatican Museum entrance where we had to go through security once again… and we found a bag check. At the bag check the guys were completely flirting with us. Guys are not shy in Italy. We even got asked out for the evening, but promptly ignored them. Guys in Italy must go on dates all the time… especially with female tourists ha.

Don’t forget your student ID folks, you save €6 (which is about US$9).

So then began our trek through the Vatican museums. I hadn’t realized how extensive their collections on display were. It was corridor after corridor, room after room of amazing treasures the Vatican had collected or conquered and placed on display. Overall it probably took us about 3 hours to make it through the museum. Keep in mind that the museum closes at 6pm.

Posing inside the Vatican

We finished at the Sistine Chapel at 5:30pm. We sat for a little bit. They shut the doors right after we entered. The ceiling was just beautiful! I can’t imagine how much had gone into creating the intricate colours, lines, etc that Michaelangelo brought to life. Oh and you’re not allowed to take any pictures inside, but I got off a few shots. One of which is not completely blurry. Shhh.

Stolen Sistine Chapel Picture

When we exited, we realized we had to go get our stuff… but we were back at St. Peter’s Basilica! In a dazed rush we ran around asking employees how to get back to the front of the museum, but we were informed to “Go out of St. Peter’s Square, go 800km around the wall… the museum closes in 15 minutes… RUN!”

HOLY POOP.

We booked it. Past the Korean tourist group we had already passed TWICE… running out of the front of St. Peter’s Basilica, down the steps, running through the Square, around the corner, running down the streets next to the Vatican wall until the point I was about to collapse. Ngoc was the hero of the day, she managed to run the entire way. I walked about 200m before running again.

Ngoc made it just in time. Bags secured, but hunger ensued.

We took the bus back (and to our dismay the bus stopped and the driver got out for about 10 minutes… apparently that was the “starting point” of the bus, so they get out for a little break). We watched a great view on the bus featuring a little boy trying to toss a cat into a fountain. Cat jumps onto fountain ledge, little boy falls into fountain.

We made it back to the main part of Rome and got off the bus to go eat at Pizzeria Montecarlo. Let me tell you – GREAT PIZZA! I ordered the Montecarlo pizza which featured a sunny side up egg, olives, onion and tomato. Ngoc ordered a pesto pasta – which was delicious. We were very happy campers.

MonteCarlo Pizza

Afterwards we went to Il Gelato di San Crispino for a delicious concoction of gelato. We sat near the fountain in front of the Pantheon and just took in the atmosphere. After finishing we decided we wanted more gelato… so off we went to Gelateria Della Palma, another famous gelateria in Rome. We went back to the Pantheon to finish our second gelato in 20 minutes. Then we decided that we’d walk back to our bed & breakfast.

Overall, it was a beautiful day and I can’t wait to put my pictures up!

Location | Malu Bed & Breakfast – Rome

Today has probably been the best and fullest day we’ve had thusfar. It started out at 9am. We had breakfast made by our lovely hostess Maria. I really want an Italian grandmother – she’s amazing! Super nice and so gracious about making sure we had a good breakfast before we left the B&B.

Started with a croissant filled with custard, also a strawberry yogurt and homemade cappuccino! We also made some new friends who we might go to Pompeii with… but not sure yet of the plans.

Well we started the day by hiking out to the Colosseum & the Palatine. We entered the Palatine first to look at all the ruins and the Roman Forum. It was a very sunny (and cloud-less) day, which meant that it was also very hot. There was a breeze, which was excellent in the shade.

The Colosseum

Ngoc decided to play tour guide and make stuff up about some of the ruins. We also climbed into some parts of the ruins that were probably off-limits, but no one was watching… so it’s not “illegal” until someone says you can’t do it right?

The Roman Forum

After the Palatine we went to the Colosseum. I was surprised at how unimpressed I was with the interior. Perhaps I was expecting something much grander? I guess it was impressive – size, history, etc etc, but I think that because I was hungry I was a little cranky.

We walked toward the Pantheon after the Colosseum, but stopped in at a random cafe to eat. This was around 3pm, so the cafe was empty. Many locals stopped in and they all seemed to know one another. We both ordered salads which were HUGE!

Also, one of the regulars took it upon himself to take our orders. Then when we were taking pictures, he decided he wanted to pose with Ngoc and even give her a kiss!

Ngoc's New Friend at Cafe di Angeli

After lunch, it was off to the Pantheon. I was really impressed with this building — the large hole in the dome left me with my greatest question: “What happens when it rains?” Luckily my tour book cleared it up when it said that there were drains right under the hole in the dome in the marble floor.

The Imposing Pantheon!

The most exciting part was our first trip to the gelateria! We went to one recommended in the tour book – Cremeria Monteforte. I ordered melon & strawberry. Ngoc got pistachio and another flavour I can’t remember at the moment – I’ll change this later. Can I say — WOW!? New York gelati just can’t compare.

Ngoc is super excited about gelato!

Afterwards we made our way toward Piazza Navona. There is a beautiful fountain there as well as the Sant’Agnese in Agone church. The church was amazingly intricate inside, but no pictures allowed, so I don’t have anything to show for it.

After the Piazza, we walked toward Trevi fountain, but as we walked by we saw another famous gelataria  – Giolitti. Yes, we did go in and get another HUGE serving of gelati – I got pear and mango. Ngoc got coconut and chocolate. The server also put a huge pile of whipped cream on top.

I am in love. I must learn how to make gelato!

We then walked to Trevi Fountain where we made our wishes. Ngoc made 4  with coins from Hungary & Czech and the Euro & a US Penny. I made 2 with a 20 cent Euro & a Czech Koruna. We sat for awhile before deciding that we’d also do the Spanish Steps.

Making a wish at Trevi Fountain!

So then we strolled to the Spanish Steps which were crowded with people. The whole city is currently filled with tourists, but no matter how many tourists, it’s still a lovely city to be in.

We sat at the steps for awhile before walking the mile or two back to our b&b (but not before picking up some doner kebab).

Ending a great day at the Spanish Steps!

Now I’m uploading Rome Day 1 – A Selection on Flickr.

Current Location | New York City

The first entry should always lead off as an introduction. Well, this is my little introduction into why I am creating this blog. Although I’ve had my fair share of travel in the past 24 years, I hope to diversify and see all that I could possibly see while I am still young, able and have a disposable income. I decided to create this blog as the beginnings of my travels – aptly naming it “Explore!” although I am sure I could come up with a more creative name with some time and a little thought.

The first trip on my itinerary will be my late July 2009-early August 2009 Europe trip. Although I won’t be bringing my computer with me, my friend (and travel buddy) will be bringing hers along. The itinerary is as follows:

July 31st – Arrive in Prague from NYC

August 2 – Arrive in Budapest via overnight train

August 4 – Arrive in Rome via air

August 8 – Return to Prague via air

August 9 – Return to NY

It’s not the longest trip, but we should be able to thoroughly enjoy what Prague, Budapest and Rome have to offer! I will update with more info and also links to my new Flickr account once I get it set up!

More to come!