Finally got to update my blog about the rest of our Euro trip :) There are too many pictures to choose from, I tried to put the nicest ones.. It's a pretty text long so prepare yourself lol. I had 2 exams this week so I have actually been studying here, Marketing strategy and International economics. I think both went pretty good so they should be a pass! Well, about the journey then...
Rome
Jätimme kauniin Prahan taaksemme ja otimme lennon Roomaan. Saavuimme to päivällä, jätimme kamat hotellille ja suuntasimme pizzalle. Lämpötila oli mukavat 18 astetta, mutta pilvistä. Hotelli sijaitsi Terminin juna-aseman vieressä ja oli kämänen, haiseva ja likainen, mutta siitä on nyt maksettu. Lähdimme kävelemään lähiympäristöön ja päädyimme Colosseumille, joka oli upea iltavalaistuksessa. Vieressä sijaitsi antiikin Rooma, Forum Romanum mutta pimeällä oli vaikea nähdä kunnolla. Näimme myös Pantheonin ulkopuolelta, Tuntemattoman sotilaan monumentin sekä heitimme onnen kolikot Trevin lähteeseen (joka oli pimeällä upea!). Menimme aikaisin nukkumaan, jotta heräisimme pe aamuna aikaisin Vaticaaniin.
We left the beautiful Prague behind us and took a flight to Rome. We arrived Thursday afternoon, left luggage at the hotel and headed for a pizza. Temperature was nice +18 celcius degrees but cloudy. The hotel was located next to Termini train station and was dodgy, stinky and dirty but cheap. We walked nearby and ended up at Colosseum which was beautiful with the lights in the dark. Next to it was the Antique Rome, Forum Romano but it was hard to see properly in the dark. We passed the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele (some vistory monument) and threw coins to the Trevi Fountain (which is gorgeous at night!). We went sleeping early so we could wake up early to visit Vatican.
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| Sotamonumentti |
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| Fontana di Trevi |
Hotellin aamiainen oli aivan yhtä kämänen kuin huoneetkin, yksi leipä + keksi + kahvi muovimukista. Suuntasimme nälkäisinä kohti Vaticania ja Pietarin kirkkoa. Jonossa kesti onneksi vain puoli tuntia. Kirkko oli valtava (2200 rukoilijaa mahtuu sisään samanaikaisesti?) ja hieno valtavine patsaineen. Laskeuduimme alakertaan, jonne oli haudattu paaveja , kuninkaita ja kuningattaria sekä kiipesimme ylös kupolin huipulle (500 askelmaa), mistä oli upeat maisemat Vaticanin ja Rooman ylle. Emme päässeet vierailemaan Sikstuksen kappelissa, koska Paavi on juuri eronnut ja kardinaalit ovat sulkeutuneet kappelin sisälle äänestämään. Vaticanin jälkeen kurkkasimme Saint Angelon linnan joen varrella ja kävimme vetämässä toiset pizzat. Kävelimme Espanjalaisille portaille ja niiden takana sijaitsevaan upeaan puistoon. Kävelimme ostoskatua Piazza Navonille ja koittaen löytää tiemme Pantheonille. Söimme jäätelöt ja uuvuttavan kävelyn ja eksymisen jälkeen palasimme hotellille ja syömään. Torstain ja perjantain teemana oli pitää kiroilulakko, jokaisesta kirosanasta joutui pulittamaan 10 senttiä yhteiseen perjantai-pullo kassaan. Loppusummaksi kahdelta päivältä saimme 5 euroa!
Hotels breakfast was as hidious as the rooms, a bread + a cookie + coffee from a plastic cup. We left hungry for the Vatican and St. Peter's basilica, the line took only 30 minutes. The church was huge (apparently 2200 prayers can go in at the same time or how was it?) with it's nice statues. We went downstairs where there were buried Popes, Kings and Queens and climbed up to the very top (500 steps) where was a beautidul view over Vatican and Rome. We couldn't visit the Sistine Chapel since the Pope resigned and the Cardinal people were locked inside to select a new one. Well after Vatican we checked the Saint Angelo's castle by the river and ate some more pizza. We walked to the Spanish stairs and a gorgeous park uphill behind them. Then we walked some more to Piaza Navona, trying to find to Patheon with no success and ate freaking expencive gelato (8euros!). Thursdays and Fridays theme was a swearing strike, for every swearword you had to pay 10 cents to common Friday-bottle fund. Total amount in 2 days was 5 euros!
La aamuna heräsimme aikaisin Colosseum ja Forum Romanum kierrokselle. Maksoimme opastetun kierroksen, joka sisälti sisäänpääsyn Colosseumille ja Forum Romanum:lle. Oppaat olivat todella hyvät ja mukavat ja kierroksesta sai paljon enemmän irti, kun kuuli historia pläjäyksen samalla. Forum Romanum on Colosseumin vieressä sijaitseva antiikin Rooman keskus, jossa oli mm. temppeleitä ja entinen kauppa paikka. Kukkulan päällä (jonka nimeä en muista) on aikanaan keisarit pitäneet palatsia puutarhoineen, ja olikin upean näköinen! Neljän tunnin kierroksen jälkeen koitimme tuloksetta onkia appelsiinejä puista, kunnes suuntasimme syömään Trasteveren alueelle joen toisella puolella, joka oli kuulemma hieman halvempi alue syödä (välttääksemme nääntymisen otimme vain ekan ravintolan mikä tuli vastaan, ei ollut yhtään halvempi kuin muuallakaan). Söimme jälleen gelatot ja palasimme hotellille. Illalla lähdimme ulos Terminin aseman viereisseen baariin, joka oli yhtä epäilyttävä kuin juna-aseman vieressä sijaitsevasta baarista voi odottaa. Ihanan aurinkoisen sään ja +20 asteen vuoksi nenu paloi, mutta sehän ei menoa haittaa.
Saturday morning we woke up early to take a tour in Colosseum and Forum Romano. The quides were really good, lovely and funny and we got a lot more out of those places with a proper history recap. Forum Romanum was the center of Antique Rome right next to Colosseum with it's temples and umm buildings. On the top of "one of the seven hills" the great empirors used to have their palace with it's garden and it was really beautiful indeed. After the 4 hour tour we tried to pick up some oranges from the garden trees with no success, so we desiced to head to Trastevere area to hae some pizza since it was supposed to be a little bit cheaper for eating (same prices I think). More gelato, back to the hotel again...In the night we went out to a small bar next to Termini station, which was as suspicious as what you can imagine of a bar next to a train station. We all burned our faces with +20 sun shine but that was alright :)
Sunnuntaina lähdimme katsomaan viimeiset nähtävyydet Roomasta. Kävelimme pitkin Via Panisperna:a Tibertinan saaren vieressä sijaitsevalle Piazza della Bocca della Veritalle, jossa on mahtava totuuden "patsas" johon turistit tuppaavat työntää tassunsa (tarun mukaan patsas sulkee suunsa, jos sinne kätensä laittava on valehtelija). Valtavan jonon takia emme kuitenkaan jäänyt ottamaan totuudesta selvää. Kävelimme viereisissä puistoissa, bongaten muita suomalaisia ja nauttien auringonpaisteesta. Väsyneet jalat johdattivat tiemme takaisin hotellille, josta lähdimme syömään pizzat ja pastat ennen iltalentoa Venetsiaan.
On sunday we did the last sigtseeing tour in Rome. Walking on Via Panisperna to Tibertina island we ended up at the Piazza della Bocca della Verita, where is the mighty statue where tourist stuck their hands in, and if they are liers the statue will bite you! But because of the huge line (ofc) we couldn't find out the truth. We did a tour in the nice parks right next to the Piazza, Markus always found the other finnish people (quicly - act swedish!!!) and enjoying the sunshine. Tired legs took us back to the hotel where we had our last pizzas and pastas before the evening flight to Venice.
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| Bocca della Verita |
Venice
Arriving to Venice in the rain, yes how nice. Hotel was ok clean, but no Wifi! Even better. Well we got a good night sleep and the next day went walking around like rats in a mace :) Venice was hard to get around with all the water but very beautiful. Markus wanted ofcourse to the St. Markus square which is one of the main attractions. The place was also filled with small stands to buy masks and souvenirs. Ricki joined our happy fellowship again and we had dinner together and ended up playing Irish Roulette (as Kurt calls it) at our hotel room. Buuut because we noticed that Venice (and Rome) aren't really places for clubbing, more for like sightseeing, we just stayed in the hotel room all night.
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| Dead end! |
The next day, Tuesday, I stayed at the hotel bacause I had to write my letter of motivation ready for Wednesday's Forum Entreprise, an event at school where you can find work or an internship in France. Me and Irmeli took the bus around 2 p.m. to the airport and luckily to see that our flight was cancelled! The nice little snow storm was around France, specially Normandy so we couldn't fly back home. After waiting 3 hours in line we got to the info counter and the woman told us that there would be no more available seats on flights before Thursday. So we stayed in Venice for 2 more days.. sounds like a dream but no, we were more than an hour busride away from the center, and I would miss my doctors appointement and the Forum. But the hotel was really nice 4 star hotel with a spa. Thursday morning me and Irmeli woke up at 4 a.m. to take a taxi to train station with 2 our lovely eastern neighbours, 2 ladyes from Russia! They had the same flight, actually from Bologne not from Venice, so they decided we were a good travel company. Since it was a very lucky trip from the beginning, our train was late for 20 minutes, which meant we were about to miss our flight back home. But we arrived at Ryanair terminal on time and even had some good luck, they didn't weight my over weight bag or see that it was too big for a hand luggage, ha haa.
Note to self: it's a disaster coming from Paris Beauvais airport to Rouen. You have to take the bus for 1,5 hours, 2 metros and the train from St. Lazare. Took us forever...but we were so happy to finally arrive home from 2 weeks trip of sightseeing, eating fat food, drinking, walking, laughing like crazy, arguing, walking a little bit more, eating icecream, playind cards and enjoying our time together :) Special thanks to Markus, Irmeli, Linda and ofcourse Grumpy Cat lol.
