Day 3 : Capri & Sorrento

28th June 2006 (Wednesday)

Woke up early at 6am after sleeping off the heat of the previous day. Pulled away the curtains and pressed the switch of the automated roller blinds to reveal a wonderful view of the Bay of Naples. We had to check out by 7am, so we scurried down for breakfast in the breakfast room, which was actually part of the grand dining hall we had sat in the night before.

Breakfast was lovely. Typical Continental, but there was a section where the cook made all kinds of eggs. Was grand to be able to have hot scrambled eggs for breakfast in such an English breakfast room.

We then hung out outside the hotel waiting for the bus to pick us up to the jetty. We made friends with this young school-teacher from Sydney, and an elderly couple from Brazil. At the jetty, we were to sit in a hydrofoil (fancy term for a large motorboat in my terms) to the Capri Isles. At the Capri jetty known as the Marina Grande, we were then transferred onto a smaller boat, very well-kept and similar to those you see in the movies - those boats you take for a day out sailing at sea. What I remember most vividly were the highly-polished (or, lacquered) timber floors and benches on the boat. We sat on this boat which brought us to the area outside the Blue Grotto.

Many boats were floating around outside this area. There were the small boats we were on, which had the tourist groups. And there were even smaller boats which brought in groups of people in 3's or 4's into the Grotto Azzura (the Blue Grotto). Our group (KF, JC, Cindy and me) squeezed ourselves into one of these smaller boats. As we neared the entrance to the Blue Grotto, which is actually an opening at the bottom of a cliff, the boatmen made us lie low with our heads against the boat, while he judged the movement of the waves and swiftly pulled us into the cave without anyone hitting the sharp edges of the cave's mouth.

When we were in the cave, it was a surreal experience. For many reasons. First, it was quite dramatic to enter the cave in such a manner. And after that panicky feeling of ensuring your head didn't get smashed against the small cave entrance, you find yourself in an unexpected surrounding - surrounded by indescribably azure water, in a pitch-black cave, rocking gently in a boat, and serenaded by an Italian boatman with a fabulous tenor of a voice. Felt like being in a mini gondola. He was not the only one singing, as the other boatmen were doing the same, which echoed in the cave of magical blue waters.

The experience was a short-lived one. Only lasted at most 5 minutes, before we had to bend our heads again and be brought back out in the bright sunlight, with the boatman clamoring KF for "special tips".

We arrived back at the Marina Grande. We walked the length of the jetty and awed at the houses clasped into the cliff-sides. Hopped onto a bus which winded its way up the narrow roads to Anacapri. There, our tour guide told us we had some spare time. We opted to take the Monte Solaro chair lift (next to Piazza Vittoria) up to the top of Anacapri, which we didn't regret (cost us 6.50 euros per person), for it gave us fabulous 360 degree views of the Bay of Naples. We spent some time roaming and posing for pictures at the top, before taking the chair lift down again. The ride took about 12 minutes each way. I was hesitant at first, because I rather hated heights. But, hey, it's a holiday - I should do what I don't usually get to do. The ride down was a bit scarier than the ride up, though. But, it was nice because we got to see little secret gardens and worry about our sandals falling into oblivion :)

We met up again with the tour guide who brought us to eat a typical Italian lunch - of uncooked macaroni, an okay fish and some cool Coke. The bus took us down to Capri town. We walked around, bought postcards, admired the Blue Grotto handicraft souvenirs, and then got back onto the bus to the Marina Grande to take the hydrofoil back to main land in Sorrento. From there, a bus brought us back to our hotel doorstep, where we switched to a bus to Pompeii, and from Pompeii to Naples to pick up a group of people, and then finally back to Rome by 10pm. We were the last ones off the bus, but were entertained by Fabio the tour guide who taught us basic Italian and showed us the showrooms of various popular Italian race cars, me being typically ignorant of the difference between a Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini.

It was a rather leisurely day actually, but I quite loved it. A perfect 2-day tour which cost us 257 euros, bit steep but quite worth it. And whatever you read about the Carrani tour agency in website reviews aren't quite true, because we had quite good service and couldn't ask for more.

After 2 days of lots of sun, we were quite exhausted and didn't have the energy to go out for food. Thank goodness for Maggi bowls. Our nice hotel guy supplied us with hot water and after dinner and baths, we were ready to flop off, in preparation of another gruelling day of walking tomorrow.

Day 2 : Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento

27th June 2006 (Tuesday)

We booked a tour with Carrani Viaggi via Odyssey Tours. The tour was a 2 days / 1 night trip to Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri - round trip from Rome, inclusive of meals, entrance tickets, accommodation. Cost us 257 euros each. When planning for this Italian trip, I was deliberating between taking this tour to Capri or taking a round tour of Italy. Didn't regret a single moment of this tour :)

We were picked up from our hotel at about 7.15am. The hotel had kindly arranged for breakfast to be served earlier to accommodate our early trip. Even better, the hotel allowed us to store our luggage in their baggage area, and therefore we did not have to pay for the hotel stay that night (since we were not staying anyway).

At Hotel Assisi : (clockwise from top left) At breakfast; dining area; bar counter; sitting area

Our tour guide was this cute little Italian lady called Alessandra (with a double or triple 's', she says). She speaks in this cute sing-song voice and she makes witty jokes at the same time. Her first phrase to us was : "The bus ride will last 3 hours to Naples. We will stop halfway for a break. But meanwhile, do go to the toilet first." She thoroughly entertained us with Roman and Naples history and culture on the bus ride to Napoli. Her favourite phrase was : "Barring all major catastrophes and traffic jams,..." Adorable, I tell you!

Sights enroute along the Sun Route from the Lazio region to Campania region :

Naples is a rather dirty and smelly city. We were let off the bus on a guided walking tour around the city (led by Alessandra with her really cute flower). The bayview was lovely, and the castle where Sancha de Aragon of the infamous Aragon family (who married into the scandalous Borgia family) used to live was shown to us, along with the Naples Opera House and some other monuments. But in the scorching sun, coupled with wee-wee smells lurking in most corners, it wasn't the most fascinating city I've ever visited. Nonetheless, I understand that it was once a very busy and important port town, being the nearest port to Rome.

Sights in the town of Napoli :

Next, on to the bus again (I really liked the bus, a real respite from the heat because of its air-conditioning), got stuck in a jam exiting Naples, and arrived in Pompeii for lunch. Lunch was a typical Italian lunch, served in this quaint little restaurant. We sat under some latticed vines and had a first pasta course, second meat course, some salad and a glass of limoncello. Limoncello is apparently THE drink of southern Italy. It's a thick alcoholic blend of lemon, tasted like sour Yomeishu :P

After lunch, we were brought into this shop selling some souvenirs, I forgot what. Then, we finally proceeded to enter the historic site of Pompeii.

Pompeii used to be a bustling port town. The town of Pompeii was preserved by ash and soot when the nearby Mt Vesuvius (still active) erupted in 79 A.D. We even saw whole bodies that were cowering, covering themselves from impending death. The roofs of most of the buildings were gone, due to the heavy weight of the volcanic ash. It felt surreal to be walking around bakeries, shops, vilas and gardens of rich folk, eateries, all of which were fully functional right until the eruption.

Sights of the Pompeii ruins :
Unfortunately, the weather was excruciatingly hot. Yes, I've been complaining about that alot. I got sunburnt in Pompeii (the marks of which I still bear, and no amount of whitening skincare seems to be able to take those strap-marks away, sigh). So that place doesn't give me good vibes. It would probably be a pretty place to roam during autumn or winter. Definitely not in midsummer. We could see archaeologists still excavating at parts of the site too.

The stoned walkways were also rather slippery and worn, so we had to tread rather carefully, particularly at slopes. But, no mishaps :)

Finished with Pompeii, we hopped back onto the bus for our ride to our hotel in Sorrento. The ride was magnificent! We drove along the Sorrentine Coast and the coastline was truly amazing. Our hotel was even better!

Wonderful Sorrento : The Sorrentine coastline; the pool view from our room; in front of the hotel gates; wonderful seaview from our room

We were put up in the best hotel I've ever stayed in. Truly. The Grand Hotel Royal, which is part of the Manniello Hotels chain. Our room faced the sea AND the pool. The room had 2 single beds and a HUGE luxurious bathroom. I couldn't get enough of the room and had a long leisurely bath, which made us late for dinner at 7pm.

The dinner! Haiyor! No one told us it'd be a Gala Dinner. We walked in late, and were made to walk around every single nicely-dressed American / French in the great big dining hall, to finally settle on one table at the corner. We were dressed for the beach, for goodness sake. I didn't have any proper clothes, so I had to wear Capri pants (no pun intended). Every single course was served with fanfare, lights off, song, applause and all. The waiters were all dressed like they were Navy personnel. It was a very grand dinner, with rather good food. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy it, because I was developing a splitting headache. I rushed (or rather, dragged) myself back to the room immediately after dinner and plonked straight into bed. Couldn't even be bothered to pretend to watch the World Cup with KF that night in the common room.

The highlight of the day was the hotel room. Just too bad we didn't find the time to use the pool or find out the nooks and crannies of the hotel or take a walk down the coastline to Sorrento town. And I just found out the hotel had its own private beach! Ah well. It couldn't be helped, I wasn't prepared to face such hot Italian weather and then suffer such a debilitating headache :P

Day 1 : The Vatican City

26th June 2006 (Monday)

I got up early, about 5am. It was already quite bright out. Then we packed our luggage (didn't really unpack anyway), and trudged two doors away to Hotel Assisi. Beautiful beautiful hotel. Really. Compared to the dump we were in. And, the best thing, we paid the same rate as we did for the dump! The very nice person-in-charge at Hotel Assisi agreed to charge us 120euros per night for a quad-room, with attached bathroom AND buffet continental breakfast! He allowed us to check in early (at 7am in the morning!), so we dumped our luggage in the really spacious room, after we were satisfied that the windows could be opened at night and the ceiling fan provided us more than enough cool air :) [I put up an online review of the hotel]

We trudged across the street to this cafe where we were to have our breakfast (included in our rate for Friendship Place). Had a cappucino and a piece of cake. I thought it wouldn't fill me, but maybe, due to jet lag or the magic in that piece of cake, it kept me filled until noon. The cafe was nice. Too bad we didn't step into it again after we left Friendship Place.

We walked to the Laundromat on our way to Termini. A guy at the laundromat said that the person-in-charge wasn't there yet, so we told him we'd return the keys later, but left a message saying that we weren't staying.

The 4 of us then went to Termini bus terminal, found a bus to Vatican City and got on it. And because we arrived at Vatican City at about 8.45am, there was no queue into St Peter's. Just a security line to check bags and metal detectors and someone ensuring you're wearing appropriate attire. St Peter's Basilica is beautiful, really. And we saw the Swiss Guards in those jester-like outfits. (Italian men are so handsome).

We finished at St Peter's at about 11.30am. We then asked around how to get to the famed Sistine Chapel. Oh boy. I didn't know we had to line up again! And the line! The longest ever line I've ever seen in my 26 years on earth. We were in it for 2 1/2 hours! In the hot hot Italian sun that burned worse than anything I've ever felt in KL. Really, not kidding here. The queue just wound all around the walls. JC and I popped off to some bar to pack sandwiches to eat while queueing, and those were the best sandwiches we ever had. Really. Not because of the queue, but it really is unfortunate that we can't remember the name of the place. I just know it's opposite the line winding towards Sistine Chapel. Apparently this line occurs daily, every single day of the year. Goodness.

We were really exhausted after queueing for so long. It was a real relief to finally enter the Sistine Chapel, with its air-conditioned lobby. But because we had queued so long, of course we had great expectations. Which, of course, is not good. The ceilings were wondrous, really, truly amazing works of art. But, the Sistine Chapel is over-rated. We had to queue for ages, and pay about 12 euros to enter, per person. I'd advise those not-so-appreciative-of-art to skip this. Because the 2.5 hours spent queueing is just not worth it. Maybe 30 minutes, maybe an hour, but 2.5 hours is not fair barter for what's in it. However, here's a glimpse of what's great inside.

We finished rather quickly with Sistine Chapel, got out at about 4.30pm, I think. Back into the hot sun. We then went to the Trevi Fountain and threw coins over our left shoulder with our right hand. Apparently, you'll come back to Rome after doing that. We'll see about that. Then we went to look for the "best gelato in Rome" - San Crispino. Found it! And boy, is it yummy!! Expensive, but yummy.

This was also the same evening that Italy entered the semi-finals for World Cup, so there was ecstasy on the road, with honking motors and waving flags from ecstatic Italians.

We then went back, and had dinner in this Ristorante Regina, near our hotel. Tried the pasta. Again, not too impressed with Italian pasta.

We then found a water source, an eternal water source. The water was ice cold and ran constantly. There are spigots like these all over Rome, and we used it to fill our water bottles throughout our stay in Rome. Yay, free water, no more paying a bomb for clean drinking water. We then walked back to our hotel, happily settling our full tummies in to a comfortable room with a clean bathroom :)

First night in Rome

25th June 2006

So, we were dropped along Via Marsala next to Termini station by the Terravision bus. We got off, took our luggage, and looked around - completely directionless. Because Termini station is a huge huge building with a bus terminal at one end, we really did not know which corner to start our search of our hostel. So, I upped and asked our Terravision bus driver if he knew where "Via Milazzo" was. He shrugged and replied "I don't know!". I was quite taken aback at the rudeness, but we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that he couldn't speak English and therefore couldn't direct us.

We trudged into Termini station - which was hot like crazy, no air-conditioning (something we had to get used to thru-out our Italian stay), full of people, and most of all, we clutched tight to our luggage because of Termini being a notoriously-known petty-crime place. We asked a policeman / security official where was Via Milazzo, and can you believe it, the response was the same as that Terravision bus driver's! All 4 of us were beginning to think "I don't know" is the staple English phrase of all Italians.

So, left with no other options, we walked back out to where the bus left us, and trudged up and down, finally finding the Laundromat, which our hostel is affiliated to. I stepped into the laundromat, someone asked what I wanted, I asked if anyone knew where "Friendship Place" was, and Babu - the one I corresponded my booking with - asked if I was Amy. Good. This is where we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Because we were being cautious, we decided not to pay the whole lump sum of one-week's accommodation to him. Rather, we asked to see the rooms first. A nice girl came and we walked down the block and took a really quaint lift to this flat, which was named "Sun & Moon B&B". The flat had a little living room, which opened out to 2 common bathrooms. There were 4 bedrooms in the flat. We saw air-conditioners as well, but apparently they all don't work. Having trudged around Termini with heavy luggage under the hot Italian weather, we were not very happy with this. Someone from the laundromat brought up stand fans.

But it wasn't enough. You see, because this flat is on the top floor, our windows open up to this concrete flat roof that allows you to walk around outside the windows around the outside of the entire top floor. So, because it was our first night in a foreign country, especially in the "notorious" neighbourhood of Termini, we slept with our windows closed, and woke up practically suffocating. Not a good first night.

But before that. We checked our rooms and thinking that we could live here for one night, we went downstairs to pay at the laundromat. Then we proceeded to look for dinner. Bear in mind that KF and I had travelled all the way from KL without any proper sleep. So, we found an Italian restaurant facing Termini, on Via Marsala, and hopped in. It had a front counter which showed all kinds of pizzas and pastas - the display was similar to the Malaysian version of mixed rice. The four of us ordered one large pizza and a pasta to share - to the astonishment of the Italian waiter. We found out later that one large pizza is usually the first course for a normal adult. Hmm. However, the pizza was good - thin crust, lots of toppings. It's called Pizza Boscaiola, or something like that, lotsa mushrooms, ham, meat, cheese, tomato. Yummy! After that, we went out in search of bottled water, which cost us about 2.50euros each - the water had better be made of gold, I thought.

Then finally, we went back to settle down to a rather uncomfortable first night in Rome. Shower wasn't that great, because of the low pressure and the erratic hot-and-cold water. The grime in the bathroom wasn't appetizing either. I was thankful I had brought pillow covers, and we used those gratefully to lace the pillows. 36 hours after leaving KL, we fell asleep in a hot room in Termini, determined to find a new room the next morning.

Day 0 : From KL to Roma

First time on a Cathay Pacific flight. What struck me most was the Hongkie accent - really. "Mm koi saiii" : with the saiii tone pulled up high. The Cathay stewardesses were so polite to each other, the mm koi saiii's were getting on my nerves. However, I have this to say : they are really nice. And because they couldn't differentiate if KF and I were Hongkies or not (cheh wah), they treated us okay. I didn't feel that indifference I always get when I sit on MAS. (Maybe it's my fault 'cos I like to dress comfy and casual on flights).

So anyway, landed in Hong Kong, with local currency provided by my mum in case we were looking to grab a bite. However, the flight fed us a meal. And our next flight was in an hour's time. So, we roamed the food area (lotsa restaurants serving all kinds of food, so no worry of going hungry) and roamed the transit area (KF got excited taking pictures of Chow Tai Fook, some goldsmith shop featured in some Chow Sing Chi show, but paranoid me chased him off because he was taking-pictures-of-a-goldsmith-shop!) :P

So, next, boarded British Airways flight to London. 14 hours ehh, don't play play. It's been 2 years since I boarded a long-haul flight, so I'm not sure what the culture is with code-shares these days. But the flight had announcements made in both English and Cantonese, throughout, for every single thing. This was good, but it cut alot of time between movie-watching.

No problems with food. No problems with service. I quite liked the steward, actually. He's an Englishman - I presume. Chats with people in the cabin preparation area, while we're getting water or waiting for the loo. So, British Airways is not as pompous or nose-in-the-air as some people told me they were. Not much difference in service levels if compared to MAS. However, I did notice that the in-flight entertainment did not have games to play, because the controller cannot be pulled out from the seat. Small matter though. The movies kept me entertained enough, though I can't remember what I watched. Failure To Launch, I think. Not a very memorable movie, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was better.

I had the misfortune of sitting next to a guy who had smelly feet. Yucks. And he took off his shoes to air them too. Double yucks. Told the air stewardess that the smell was appalling (this was right before take-off). She politely told us the flight was full, she could only offer us a bottle of air freshener, which worked okay. KF was super-nice and offered to switch seats with me, so I got the aisle seat while he cramped in the middle. (Ps. air freshener is a great thing to carry when travelling, because that bottle came in useful throughout the 2 weeks to spray on sweaty shoes, smelly bathrooms, musty rooms, etc.)

Oh, and another thing, British Airways served cup noodles! Yummy ones too, from Nissin. The smell woke me up in the night, and boy, these noodles were a godsend, particularly on the return flight from London to Hong Kong, after 2 whole weeks of bland European food. All in all, I really have nothing to complain about Cathay Pacific or British Airways. Other than the long flight, and the usual cramp-ness in economy class.

So, after 14 hours, we landed in Heathrow Terminal 1 at about 5.30am. I double-checked that I had the necessary university graduation invitation letters, and our flight tickets to Rome, just in case the super-mega-strict immigration officers (who are known to particularly turn away Malaysians and strike crosses on our passports) decided to be grumpy. We passed without any event *phew*, waited for our luggage which transited safely *another phew* and then proceeded to take turns to brush our teeth at one of the airport toilets. Nothing like toothpaste to feel fresher.

Yes, Day Zero lasted more than one day, and it consisted entirely of travelling from one point to another point. So, let me continue.

We took the Piccadilly Line tube from Heathrow to Liverpool station, with a switch at King's Cross station. This cost us 4 pounds each and the trip lasted about an hour. Good thing it was a Sunday, early morning at that, so we didn't have to cope with dirty looks over our luggage space. We walked out of Liverpool Street station, which is a rather nice big modern one, and found the Terravision bus stop. We were a bit early, but since the bus wasn't full, we were allowed on it. And, we met JC here too! So, off we went to Stansted airport to catch our flight to Rome.

At Stansted, we hung out at Pret-a-Manger. Okay, how do you pronounce that? I called it Pret-Er-Mang-ger. JC said it's French, so it's Pret-er-Mon-jhay. Haha, learnt something new. Sandwiches here are fresh and nice, but cost. We had breakfast here and roamed the Stansted airport while waiting to check-in (the Ryanair counter opens only 2 hours before and the board will not tell us which counter to head to until it is exactly 2 hours to go). Stansted airport is quite modern too, clean, with lotsa bookstores, cafes, clothings and shoe shops, etc. And it's crowded.

Finally, we lined up on the super-long-line for Ryanair flight FR3006 to Rome. Backpacks had to be checked in at "Fragile". And, oh, when Ryanair issues tickets, they issue queue numbers. So, when we're waiting at the departure lounge, those with ticket numbers i.e. 1-100 get to board first. Those with 101-200 board second, and so on. Of course, all these are after elderly and families go first. Quite a good system. AirAsia should implement this. However, I think this system is only in Stansted. Because we didn't have the same system when returning from Rome to Luton.

Ryanair is similar to AirAsia inside. Seats can't recline. But, KF was smart enough to book the emergency exit seats for us. These seats have very large leg space, much more spacious than our long-haul flights. So, although KF and I were rather tired by now, it was still comfortable enough. The stewardesses were kept busy servicing the food trolley, which miraculously had very good response, particularly from families with kids. We didn't get anything, being typical Malaysians who can't stand the conversion rate.

But finally, finally, less than 3 hours later, we arrive in Rome Ciampino airport. Yippee! Bad thing about sitting in the emergency exit seats, we practically exit last, because we're in the middle and the exits are at the front and rear. Ah well. We crowded into the buses that took us to the main airport terminal, lined up in the air-cond-less area to clear immigration, and waited for about an hour for our luggage to finally arrive on the belt.

Final leg of the race - we walked out of the airport to look for the Terravision bus which would drop us at Termini station in Rome, very near to our hotel. But because this entry has gone on too long, and I know you're as tired of reading as we were of commuting, I shall stop here. Continue later, because the stories really don't stop here ;)

The itinerary

24th June - 10th July 2006

Day 0 :
Travel from Kuala Lumpur International Airport - London Heathrow (transit in Hong Kong International Airport) - London Stansted - Rome Ciampino.

Day 1 :
Vatican City and the infamous Sistine Chapel line

Day 2 :
Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento - the day I got sunburnt

Day 3 :
Capri and the unforgettable serenade in the Blue Grotto

Day 4 :
Ancient Rome - old stones and more old stones

Day 5 :
Venice - the shopping haven

Day 6 :
The rest of Rome

Day 7 :
Ostia Antica

Day 8 :
Window shopping in Rome

Day 9 :
Fly from Rome Ciampino - London Luton. Roam Kensington Park.

Day 10 :
London on a rainy day

Day 11 :
Graduation day in Reading

Day 12 :
Hampton Court, the most beautiful palace in England

Day 13 :
Stones & Bones in Salisbury, Amesbury, Stonehenge & Avebury - the historical, mythical England

Day 14 (Day 15) :
Return from London Heathrow - Kuala Lumpur International Airport (via Hong Kong International Airport)