Adventure Accounting

From Rome, most tours would pass by Milan, Nice or Switzerland before heading to Paris. I could have spent a night or two in Switzerland or Milan, but I felt that Paris would be an interesting city that I needed to spend a lot of time there. I decided that I would spend 5 nights in Paris – the longest time I stayed in any city. I booked a 3:15pm flight with Easyjet which arrives in Paris Orly airport at 5:15 pm. The ticket cost me €60: €45 for the basic fare plus an extra luggage (20kg) for €15. Easyjet operates in Rome’s Ciampino airport. Terravision offers shuttle services going to Ciampino airport. I already bought a one-way   ticket in their ticketing booth in front of Rome Termini for €6 (I think it is cheaper if you buy online) the day before my departure. However, I cannot find the ticket on the day I needed it. It was just one piece of paper. I guess it must have fallen off somewhere OR I included it in the box I shipped back to the Philippines . I resorted to ...

So I said I’ll compile a table of expenses on a per-city basis. Still workin’ on it. Rome is a huge city. Unlike the other cities in Italy, the tourist attractions are relatively more  spread out compared to other cities like Florence or Venice . If there is a transportation strike/rally, prepare to walk if you have to.    The metro can get very crowded. Be mindful of your belongings.I didn't try to take a picture of the metro because I was wary of those pickpockets.   Water is potable in the public water fountains. It is free and cool. The locals drink them. A public water fountain in front of the Colosseum

Papaya Female Hostel is located a couple of blocks away from Termini Station. Is near Termini Station but it is not THAT near. You’ll have to spend 15 minutes walking. I almost got lost trying to find the hostel but having Pinoys all over the place, I wasn’t shy to ask for directions.  I was quite hesitant at first to book the hostel because they do not have their own website to book the hostels. You have to book via hostelbookers and pay a 10% deposit fee upon booking. I wanted to book with the hostel directly. However, not a lot of hostels can meet my criteria , so I just trusted to book using hostelbookers. Good thing everything worked out pretty well.  When I arrived in Rome past 3pm, there was no one in the reception when I arrived.  I had to go to the hotel across the street to look for a receptionist to show me around.  At €27 a night, I got a pretty good deal. Similar to Florence, Rome also had this tourist ta, which is paid in cash upon arri...

I already paid extra baggage fees amounting to a painful €70 when I flew from Frankfurt-Hahn to Venice. I was lugging a heavier backpack everytime I left a city (I enjoy moderate shopping, okay?). I didn’t want to pay more fees when I fly to Paris, and when I fly home to back to Manila. I started researching how I can ship some things back home before I fly out of Rome. My heavy baggage is also killing my back and shoulders. Although I was already using a wheeled luggage, it still takes effort to haul it off the trains. I still have to carry them sometimes.I found out that LBC has a branch in Rome . LBC Rome Address: Via Calatafimi 20, 00185 Rome, Italy My box with "Europe" in it. HA.

Rome has a lot to offer. I have a lot to share. My posts are scattered. I don’t know if I should blog on based on the day, the type of attraction or place. Nevertheless, I enjoy back-blogging because it allows me to always reminisce about my Europe trip.  Coming from the Vatican , I wanted to spend some time in the ruins before meeting up with a former colleague of my dad, who now works in Rome. Understandably, my parents need someone to check up on me, since I was traveling alone . Hahahaha. It would be good to converse in Filipino again.  When I got back to Termini station, the exhaustion got me. I’ll just visit the rest of the Roman Ruins next time. I walked back to my hostel to rest for a bit. No roommates, so I had a peaceful hour of rest. I headed out to the Colosseum (our set meeting place).  At day: At Dusk:

The Vatican Museums is just one metro stop away from St. Peter's Basilica ( Basilica Sancti Petri). St. Peter's Basilica is regarded as one of the iconic Catholic site.  I almost didn’t go to St. Peter's Basilica because: I wasn’t really up to the challenge of climbing another tower The Italian sun was so unforgiving. It was very tiring to walk. I felt that I lacked time to pack – I was flying out the next day and I haven’t done any shopping. I had to find LBC in Rome. I planned to ship some stuff back home before I fly out to Paris. Else, I am in grave risk of paying the painful extra baggage fees, again. I had an empty stomach and I wasn’t ready to conquer the rest of Vatican I wanted to use my ticket to visit the Palantine Hill and enter the Roman Forum again before I meet someone for dinner But what is a trip to the Vatican City if I wouldn’t see where the Papal Event is being held? I was almost ready to get a table at the nearest restaurant outside the...

Vatican is a city within the city. You can step foot on a different country without leaving Rome. Vatican has its own flag and its own coat of arms.  I woke up with slightly aching legs from all the walking I did the day before . Good thing the metro was in full operation. I had no plans of walking to the Vatican City. How to go to Vatican City: I took the metro line A and got off Cipro stop (closer to the Vatican museums) – €1. If you plan to head off to St. Peter’s Basilica first, your stop is Ottaviano – which is closer. I initially planned to ride a bus going there but I was warned by my roommate in Florence about the pickpockets in the buses. After losing my Ipod , I was not gonna take a chance this time. I read how the queue can be extremely and excruciatingly long so I booked my ticket online (via this website ). Vatican museum tickets cost €15 plus a “pre-sales”/online booking fee of €4 = a total of €19 . Before booking, note that the tickets are non-re...

I took hundreds of photos of all these ruins in Rome. It is difficult to choose which photos to share.  After my roaming in the morning , I decided to explore the big 3 ancient ruins in Rome: The Colosseum, The Palantine Hill and The Roman Forum. From Piazza Venezia, I walked along the street overlooking the Roman Forum (Foro Romano).  I found it quite amusing that there are all these ancient ruins in this busy city, and people just walk past them. I guess the magnificence gets old if you live there.

My second day in Rome started out early. I was the first one to get up and I prepared for the day ahead. Breakfast started at 7am in a nearby cafe. I plotted out my itinerary for the day. There's a heart in my coffee. I cannot get lost. I cannot make mistakes.  I do not have the time to get lost or to make mistakes. I headed off to Termini Station to ride the metro. I still wanted to use the metro instead of the bus system as my primary mode of transportation. Luck wasn’t on my side. There was a rally that day and the metro was closed. Phoooey. A lot of tourists were also disappointed.  My next option, was to walk, walk and walk to get to those spots. Under the sun. For one whole day. I briefly considered to sign up for a tour or a hop-on hop-off bus but I immediately dismissed the idea. I didn’t like the idea of having a stone-set itinerary, even though I had limited time in Rome.  Rallies. Boooo.

Most of my roommates are traveling Europe in a counter clockwise direction, while I was traveling clockwise. They’ve all been to Paris and Rome so I got loads of tips for these cities. In my itinerary, I put these cities at the last leg to “save the best for last”. I’ve heard oooh and aaah stories about the magnificence of Rome but it always ended with a word of caution: “Beware of pickpockets in Rome”. I’ve read a fair share of warning about this ancient city crowded with pickpockets. Leaving Santa Maria Novella of Florence