La Cita Eterna!

2nd destination of our loooong vacation was. . .

ROMA!

This city was nothing short of spectacular.

We spent 4 days here and it seemed too short for us! There’s just sooo many things to see here.

Day 1

We met up with Ras and Francis. We went to the Colosseo, but we didn’t go inside.

So here’s an interesting story for you kids. Outside the Colosseo you can find people dressed up in Gladiator costumes. They’ll call you and be nice to you and say that you can take a photo with them. So we did.

Ooooh! Ang saya pa namin o!

Then after they make you believe that you guys are friends and that they are nice, THEY WILL CHARGE YOU 20 EUROS EACH! TENGINE. I mean I know that I’ll pay them somehow but 20 effing Euros EACH! Kala ko mga donation effect lang e. So I haggled and told them that we’re students blah blah. They charged us 10 euros EACH. THE HELL.

WARNING! There are a lot of people like this in Rome and in Italy in general. I’ll tell you more “pandaraya” stories as we go along. So moral of the story is don’t get caught up with Gladiator costumes.

So anyway. . .

After walking around the Colosseo we went to St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican!

Going inside St. Peter’s Basilica

This place was really big and elaborate. Talk about Church of the poor.

La Pieta

Altar at St. Peter’s Basilica. We weren’t allowed to go near. May harang kasi.

Swiss Guards and their colorful and Avant Garde uniforms. Pag may nangyaring krimen, makakatakbo kaya sila sa suot nila?

Sobrang tagal namin nagstay here. We bought sandamukal na Rosaries for our families and we also sent some postcards! After naturally mahilo-hilo na kami sa gutom so we ate dinner.

Then began our search for Fontana di Trevi! In fair we walked up-down-all-around to find this fountain! Thankfully it was worth it. The fountain was really big and majestic. Kung medj batsa na may tubig lang to maiinis ako ng bongga.

There are special wishing chevers when you throw coins in the fountain.

1st coin ensures your return to Rome
2nd coin – you’ll fall in love with an Italian!
3rd – you’ll get married to that person.

Wag kayong mag-alala isang coin lang tinapon ko.

DAY 2 

Woke up bright and early to visit Museo Vaticano!

Garden inside Vatican Museum.

The round thing in the background is actually revolving! See!

We went to the Egyptian exhibit first.

It’s a Scarab!

THE MUMMY

Sobrang daming exhibitions! Kaloka! While walking around I bumped into Ange! Another JTA-er.

Here we are in the Room of Muses. :> Nakablend-in ako sa Chinese-ness nila.

What’s a trip to the Vatican Museum without going to the Sistine Chapel?

This place was unbelievable! The ceilings were so alive. And everything was covered in beautiful frescos. Unfortunately, you can’t take photos inside.

SO HERE ARE SOME SNEAKY PHOTOS I TOOK.

I took a lot of photos of the exhibits inside the museum. It’ll take me ages to finish this entry if were to include everything. So let’s fast forward to our next destination.

St. Peter’s Basilica, I took this picture while we were on our way to CASTEL SAN ANGELO. O! I almost forgot! We also went to the sites in ANGELS AND DEMONS. Castel San Angelo was one of them and so was St. Peter’s Basilica. Pinanood ko yung movie ulit when I got back in Nantes. And ang saya sabihin na “Hey! I’ve been to that place”

Bridge of Castel San Angelo.

Castel San Angelo. Walang Illuminati nung pumunta kami. Chos.

On our way to Piazza Del Poppolo, we saw a street exhibit of sorts. It was random items with witty captions to them.

These were some of my favorites!

Kung hindi mo nagets, sorry ka na lang.

Diba! May english translation din! Daig pa Louvre!

I won’t post pictures from Piazza Del Poppolo na lang. Wala rin naman kaming ginawa dun e haha!

We passed by The Spanish Steps. Hello naman sa super linaw kong picture, care of George my official photographer!

Another “mandurugas” story. May mga guys na umiikot with roses on hand preying on ladies. They’ll offer them to you saying that it’s a gift! DON’T ACCEPT THEM! They’ll ask some sort of payment after. Naganyan ako 2 times here sa Spanish Steps. THE HELL. As in they were really shoving it in my face and I was like: “NIGGA PLEASE, I DO NOT WANT THOSE DAMN ROSES!” It came to a point that sinabit na lang nila sa bag ko e! George, apart from being my official photog, he’s also my bodyguard, was quick enough to toss them back to the guy! Haha!

We were also supposed to meet up with the Rennes girls for dinner. So we went to all the places na kayang mapuntahan on the way to Piazza Navona!

We passed by a huge-ass gelato place! The people working there were Filipinos! Kirk, the guy working there, gave us FREE GELATOOOOOO!!!! Ewan ko kung alam to ng bosses niya. But he was badass that way. Just handing out those gelatos like a boss!

Gelato, is waaaaay better than ice cream. Once you went gelato, you’ll never see frozen treats of any kind the same. EVER. GELATOOOOOOOOO!!!

Enroute to Piazza Navona was The Pantheon!

O no big deal. Just chillin’ eating gelato under the Pantheon.

Ngayon ko lang narealize, wala akong matinong picture from Piazza Navona. Here we are with Natasha and the Rennes Girls! Photo was from Natasha. Ganda lang nung fountain. Kuhang kuha sa picture, no.

After a looong day of walking, DINNER!

We went to Trevi Fountain with everyone again.

THEN AFTER 2 MONTHS OF BEING IN EUROPE I FINALLY SAW KEVS AND ROCKY!!!! YEY!!!! I was running from one end of Roma Termini! Parang movie lang! ) BLOCK P!!!

JTA-ers! Nantes + Rennes + Dijon!

Photo’s from Natasha ulit!

Day well spent and well ended!

DAY 3

Dianne went back to Nantes na. She’s going to London with Iya for the weekend e. So I was left with the boys!

1st agenda of the day, aside from making sure Dianne got to the airport safe, was to meet the POPE! Every wednesday there’s and audience with the Pope. But we weren’t able to go in St. Peter’s Basilica na. Ang dami kasing tao. We just saw the Pope outside on the screen. So close yet so far.

Oh well papel! We still had a long day ahead of us! We still went inside the St. Peter’s Basilica and we went to confession and had all the rosaries we bought blessed.

After lunch we headed out on an Ancient Roman adventure! We took tours inside the Colosseo and Palatine Hill!

This place was huge! Imagine it was filled with bloodthirsty Romans before! INTENSE.

We had another tour guide waiting for us to take us to the Palatine Hill. Dito daw nagsimula yung buong Ancient Roman Rule! I’m not much of a history person but I got goosebumps while we were in this place. I don’t really know how to explain it. But it’s mainly about how time goes by and how past and present connect. Kakilabot how there were people here before and you can’t help but wonder, “pano pag ako naman yung “past” ng isang tao”.

Ruins of a Roman house! The tour guide said that Palatine Hill was where the affluent lived. The higher up in the hill you were, mas importante and powerful ka.

View of the Roman Forum from the Palatine Hill. This view was unbelievable in real life. Do you think the ancient Romans saw the same thing? Or maybe they saw something different, something grander and brighter perhaps.

I’m standing on the exact same stones the ancient romans used to walk on!

All boys!

ROMAN FORUM! Imagine living heeerreee!!!

I really love this picture! Swear, no post processing whatsoever. Just the sheer awesomeness of my Nikon.  If you haven’t noticed wala na akong nilalagay na “watermark” dahil sa sobrang dami ng bago kong pictures! Tinamad na ko! HAHA!

This is one long-ass entry. I absolutely love Roma! It’s the number 1 city in my list. History, culture and food. Super daming magagawa I think you can spend 5 days here and not get bored!

Arrivaderci, Roma!