Rome - Day 2 - free day

Day 2: 

Booking the underground tour was a pain....
We woke up late.  I called the Colosseum tour again and asked if they could put us in tonight, since the representative said I could only book over the phone and not in person.  After 5 minutes of waiting, an agent finally picked up and said the underground tour cannot be booked on the same day.....ACCCkkkkk I blew up.......I called long distance so many times before and they kept saying the schedule was not out (even the week before)?  After a bunch of crap, I finally was able to book an underground tour on Friday (Sept 21) at 12:40pm....

Our cheap little breakfast from vending machines:
We bought 3 sandwiches from the hotel's vending machines for breakfast (only 2,50 Euro each ~ Tuna salad, Egg salad and Shrimp...nothing too fancy...but quite good).  We also bought mocha and cappuccino from the vending machine too...

We didn't have much plans and we just decided to stroll around Rome.  Weather was quite bad, very cloudy and gloomy.  We walked on Via Nationale and checked out some of the leather shops.  We took some photos of some ruins, Altare della patria & Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio (Piazza Venezia).  That was like the centre of Rome, well for us it is.  Whenever we got lost, we just had to look for the Piazza Venezia.

We walked to the Spanish steps and the shopping district (high end fashion brands like....Prada, Chanel, Gucci......) We walked into this fast food place and had some pasta.  The bottle of white wine was only 3,70 Euro and it was quite good.  

Food court lunch - casual and cheap :)

After lunch, we went to do some shopping and suddenly it was pouring rain...so we went into the McDonald's and had some mcnuggets.  It was packed inside..many tourists went in and waited until the rain stopped, the server got quite rude to other tourists.  The McDonald's was quite trendy though.

Finally, the rain stopped.  The spanish steps....not as many tourists as I expected... It looked nicer at night time though (night shots at another pose) :)

Parking in Europe is quite impressive.....they leave so little space in between the vehicles.....it was quite amazing to see some of the parking jobs.  In Canada, we leave lots of space when we park.

Since our hotel had a very nice terrace, we decided to just relax and chill for the night.  We bought some freshly made sandwiches and opened the complimentary bottle of red wine we got from Florence.  The hotel's roof garden was quite nice.  It was still raining so bad, and it felt very peaceful just chilling at the covered patio :)

Day 1 - First Day in Rome

First day in Roma - part 1

Lasagna, Pizza, Beer and Italian orange soda

After checking in the hotel, we walked out and tried to look for food nearby.  We stopped by the Piazza della Repubblica.... and had our lunch there.... Nothing special, but the orange soda was quite refreshing.  So many birds will come to you when you eat at the outdoor terrace :)

After lunch, we basically just followed the map and walked to the Colosseum.  I researched on the underground tour for the colosseum online and talked to someone over the phone....I never got a proper reply back.  So we were heading there to see if we could book there.

Nope.  We couldn't book at the counter, we had to do it on the phone.  It was the most annoying thing ever to deal with that.  I wanted to book their official underground tour because they were the only tour that allowed their tourists to go to the "prohibited areas and the underground".  Apparently I had to call again to book.

It was about a 20 minutes walk....walking downhill?... We took a lot of photos there..just the outside of the colosseum.

When you thought the cobblestones were from ancient time...nope I just saw some were newly paved.. not sure about these ones

Tah dahhhh....finally arrived to the Colosseo ..... just going to take some photos from the outside for now

lots of ruins everywhere in Rome..

Just a day of exploring rome by following the tourist map :) we walked everywhere...

This auditorium looked like Colosseum

Some fountain in the middle of the road

Random Italian Restaurant in some back alley - Beef Carparcio 

Trevi Fountain finally :):) it looked bigger than I thought.  Night time wasn't crowded

Rome at night was quite peaceful :)

Rome - iQ Hotel Roma

iQ Hotel Roma:
via Firenza, 8 Roma

Termini station to iQ Hotel Roma:

After a comfortable first class ride from Florence to Rome's main train station (Termini), we looked at the map at the station.  It was approximate 10-15 minutes walk from termini to the hotel.  I googled map it the night before, so it wasn't too hard to find (must not repeat the "lost in Venice" incident again).

Lots of drinks to pick from...cheap too :)

General comments about hotel:
- hotel room was quite small

- the two beds were movable

- bathroom was very clean

- very nice terrace upstairs, must spend a night there chilling with snack and wine, play some fuse balls

- vending machines upstairs

- very good location, easy/moderate walk from hotel to Colosseum, Pantheon and Trevi fountain

- we pretty much walked to everywhere from hotel...even to spanish steps...etc....  

  - easy walk to metro

  - highly recommended ! :)

Florence -> Rome & Updates

Some really good pastry from the cafe right next to our hotel in Florence :)

First class train ride to Rome:

We took first class train to Rome.  It worth every penny to upgrade to first class.  Super comfortable ride to Rome.....We'll talk about our Rome hotel later. ...

Cobblestone steps near the Colloseum 

Some updates about myself:

I haven't been updating lately and I'm trying to get myself writing again.....please don't mind me :)  I would like to update that ever since this Euro trip 2012..... I hadn't stopped travelling....I would love to share all my thoughts in this blog..... 

After this Euro trip 2012, I had also travelled to :

Hong Kong 2012

Thailand 2013 - Bangkok

Germany 2013 - Frankfurt, Berlin, Rothenburg, Munich

Poland 2013 - Warsaw, Krakow

Hungary 2013 - Budapest

Austria 2013 - Vienna

Czech Republic 2013 - Prague

Hong Kong 2014

Los Angeles 2014

China 2014 - Shanghai

Australia 2014 - Melbourne, Phillip Island, Halls Gap, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island

Florence - Uffizi Gallery

View from Uffizi Gallery's patio

We pre-booked tickets for the Uffizi Gallery at 12:15pm online.  We arrived early and we went to the ticket office to get tickets with our reservation number, and we got in quickly.

View from window

Uffizi was huge; there were a lot of Roman sculptures and awesome paintings....But it was a little overwhelming (maybe after so many museums)....so eventually we lost interest....

After the Uffizi, we walked around the Duomo and we bought some Belgium waffle with ice cream.  It was so chill...such an awesome day :)

We went back to the hotel to chill and got some free drinks from the Hotel's roof terrace....pretty nice view :)

Very nice weather...can't ask for more... :) We chilled for a while before we go to the Piazzale Michelangelo

Florence - brunch & parade

Brunch
We had a good sleep at the Best Western, we slept until we woke up naturally.  We had a refreshing morning; we first walked to a pizza place for some brunch.  We ordered two slices of pizza, cappuccino and water, quite cheap.  The pizza types in Italy are more simple than the ones we have in North America; it is not common to see "meat deluxe or hawaiian pizza" in Italy.  The italian pizza I saw in Italy usually have only 2 toppings.  I guess they only treat pizza as appetizer or a small meal??

stuff pizza and meat & mushroom pizza

While we were having brunch, we heard it was quite noisy outside the pizzeria.  There were some people with Roman and Medieval costumes that were marching on the street.  Quite interesting.

I booked the tickets for the Uffizi Gallery at 12:15pm.  We arrived early and there was some street artist painting on the ground with chalks.

Travelling in Italy by Train: Tips

Venice -> Florence, Venezia -> Firenze

Trains within Italy:

Travelling in Italy by train is so simple and efficient.  It took me a while to figure out how to buy train tickets online via www.trenitlia.com.  I didn't know how to use their code and to pick the main train station.  But after I figured out how to use it, it's the most hassle free transportation within Europe.  

I booked my tickets about two months ahead via the trenitalia website.  It was only 58 Euro for two people (one way) first class tickets.  First class tickets was only 10 Euro more than the second class.  It so worth the experience and the comfort level was awesome.  You got to book early tho, if you buy the tickets at the train station on that day, the ticket price is almost double.  

Tips for traveling by train within Italy:

Rail pass vs Individual train tickets?

- if you have a well planned schedule, it's better off to buy the tickets online individually instead of buying the rail pass

- a lot of websites will sell you the rail pass/Euro pass, I personally think it might be flexible, but it is more expensive and it is not as flexible as you think.  If the train's first class is full, you might not able to get the seats you want.  I like to book my seats ahead of time

- if you like to do day trips (round trips within Italy), I guess you might prefer a 3-days pass more.  For example, you booked a week of hotel in Rome, and you just want to go to Florence for a day?  Then a rail pass might be better for you

Trenitalia:
I bought my tickets via www.treniatlia.com.  I searched all the cheapest time slot available.  Service between major cities is frequent, and the trains usually arrive on time.  It is super convenient to search and book the tickets online.  You can book the tickets 3 months ahead.

Super Econ Tickets:
I had a fixed schedule, so I just got the super econ tickets as it's the cheapest.  There is no flexibility to refund or exchange the super econ tickets.  Again, First class tickets are only 10 Euro more than the others, why not?  I think it was a decent experience.

For example: (First class train tickets):
Super Econ: 58 Euro (for two).....Econ: 90 Euro (for two)....Base: 125 Euro (for two)

First class: Florence to Rome (Firenze to Roma)

I love taking the trains, very scenic :)

Main Train stations you need to know:

Venice - Venezia (Santa Lucia)

Florence - Firenze (Santa Maria Novella)

Rome - Roma (Stazione Termini)

***seat61 - a very useful website to explore and learn about the train systems around the world

Venice -> Florence

Goodbye Venice:

I booked our train tickets online, and the train was scheduled to leave at 8:40am.  I purposely booked that time because I wanted to have a nice full "included" breakfast at hotel before we leave.  That way we can save money for food later on.  The hotel's breakfast doesn't open until 7:30am.  So we pretty much waited to have breakfast right at 7:30am.  After a nice breakfast buffet, we walked to the boat station to take the #1 Vaporetto Boat to the train station.

Venice's main transportation -  Vaporetto ACTV

It took me a while to figure out how to use the ticket machine, I even went to ask a local how to buy tickets.  The local said it seems like the machine didn't work.  When the boat came, I still couldn't buy the tickets, so I asked the local lady to help translating our situation to the staff.  We got on to the boat anyway, and the staff said he couldn't take the money and he just closed the gate.  The boat started moving, so we got a free ride to the train station: Venezia Santa Lucia

Venice's main train station: Venice Santa Lucia

The train station was only 3 minutes walk from the Line 1 boat station.