Ya Allah, izinkan aku mengunjungi Rumah Mu!

" Dan sempurnakanlah ibadah haji dan umrah kerana Allah." (Al-Baqarah : 196)

By the time everyone reads this post, I am already on my way to the Holy Land. This journey is very different from all the journeys that I've ventured into. This is a journey of a lifetime! Hope everything will go as planned. See u all in 2 weeks time. Bye!

Roman Colosseum

TINGGALAN YG MEMBAWA KETENANGAN

It's been a while since I last post my latest post... Journey to Rome tempoh hari pon dah dekat 5 bulan berlalu tp cerita-ceritinya x  habis2 lagik.... x apalah, i'm holding to the the principal of slow n steady, wins the race...he..he.. So, my next journey was to the Colosseum... To the Coloseo we go! Colosseum is one of  my dream places to visit when I was a kid! Apa yg kita nampak dalam TV or in photos are exactly the same as you experience it live! But the feeling...of course, very different! What did i feel? A mixture of disbelief and amazement.. I couldn't believe i was standing right inside the most historical building on Earth, amaze because the building is still standing strong despite some of the ruins here n there...

Some info about the Roman Colosseum from http://romancolosseum.org/
 The Roman Colosseum is the most famous monument to have survived from the classical world. It was built nearly two thousand years ago for the purpose of hosting violent gladiator games. Thousands of men and animals fought for their lives in the sandy arena. A few gladiators and warriors found glory there. Some even found fame and riches but many more died an anonymous death, providing entertainment for eager Roman spectators.
The powerful associations and images evoked by the Roman Colosseum express both the majesty and might of the Roman empire. It dominates the space it occupies, towering above the surrounding Roman streets and buildings. It is a symbol of the imperial might and architectural ingenuity of the Roman empire that dominated the ancient Mediterranean world for centuries. The story of the amphitheater and its gladiator games from their origins through the zenith of their development and into the decline and eventual fall provides a unique insight into the evolution and fall of the Roman empire itself.

HOW TO BUY TICKETS:
 You can either purchase the tickets online or at the main entrance itself. The price for online tickets is slightly more expensive than the normal tickets. EU citizenship pays 7.50 euro per ticket. Normal price is 12 euro.  The ticket also consists the entrance to the Forum and Palatin Hill which situated just a walking distance from the Colosseum (valid for 2 days).

You can hire a guide once you are there (additional charge) or rent an audio guide (also additional charge).


OPERATION HOURS:

Opening hours (ticket office closes one hour before closing time):
from 8:30 am to one hour before sunset (Good Friday 8:30 am - 2 pm, June 2 1:30 pm - 7:15 pm):
8:30 am - 4:30 pm from January 2 to February 15
8:30 am - 5 pm from February 16 to March 15
8:30 am - 5:30 pm from March 16 to last Saturday of March
8:30 am - 7:15 pm from last Sunday of March to August 31
8:30 am - 7 pm from September 1 to September 30
8:30 am - 6:30 pm from October 1 to last Sunday of October
8:30 am - 4:30 pm from the last Sunday of October to December 31
Closed January 1, December 25

HOW TO GET THERE:
I went there with the help of the HOHO Bus but if u decide to use the public transport:

• "B" line Metro station Colosseo
• "A" line Metro station Manzoni, then two stops of tram no. 3 going southwards
• Bus lines 60, 75, 85, 87, 271, 571, 175, 186, 810, 850, C3, 
• and the electric minibus 117,
• Tramway line no 3.

DURATION OF VISIT:

Varied depending on individuals. I can spend the whole day there, trust me!

LET'S CHECK OUT THE 'OUTSIDE' OF THE MONUMENT...

Ada 2-3 kiosk jual makanan dan jugak souvenir kat kaki2 lima nak ke Colosseum. Kat sini jugaklah ramainya
mat2 Bangla bersidai jual souvenir dan pashmina secara haram... Bila polis datang, mereka lari... after a few minutes,
mereka dtg balik...mcm langau...

On the way to the main entrance

Colosseum  dari celah2 pokok. I could see some workers were doing some constructions works
to preserve the area from collapsing.  

Carriage ni bnyk bersidai2 kat luar

Entrance to the ticket counter. There's another ticket
counter near Palatin Hill which is less crowded but since it was
winter, the q was short.

Q was short and fast. Counter pon ada banyak

Got my ticket!

NOW, LET'S GO INSIDE...

Ada exhibition

Pecahan batu

Kat sinilah kot gladiator berlawan kot...

Amazing! I couldn't imagine how people could stay inside this building

Batu-batan

One of the rooms/cellars. Kecik dan gelap

Penunggu setia di Colosseum 

From the other side

Some info to share

Plenty of people captured their photos here...So, kami pon tumpangla
sekaki. Muka blur ya, yg penting scenery...

Gladiator sesat...

TO BE CONTINUED: PALATIN HILL & THE FORUM

Makan2 di Rome

Nak citer pasal kedai makan pulak...:) Worry not if u're in Rome as there are plenty of halal eating outlet especially near Termini. When I was in Rome, I went to this restaurant a few times.  Restoran ni dekat aja dengan termini, berdepan dngn stesen2 bas HOHO yg pelbagai jenis tu. IMO, rasa makanan kat kedai ni lagik enak dari Luna Capresse dan yang paling penting,  harganya pon lebih murah. Lagipon, we would walk pass this restaurant every time nak menghala ke Termini.  Kalau waktu siang, memang penuh sentiasa kedai ni... Malam pon bukak, sampai 12am rasanya. Nama kedai: Indian Halal Restaurant, Termini Halal Food. Tak commercial langsong nama kedai kan? Next to it, ada pharmacy. Anyway,  the food portion was large, u can even share the meal, kalau jenis yg makan sikit tu.

In front of the resto. Resto ni memang x serve alcohol.

Pamphlet

Inside the resto. Ni waktu dkt tengah malam, so lengang sket. We came for late dinner after coming back from HRC.

Inilah antara makanan yg kami dah try, Nasinya lembut betul... Baru masak kot.. Imagine eating hot cooked rice in a chill weather...superb!

Prawn Briyani (5.50 euro), Chicken with bread (murah ja, tp dah lupa harga).
 kalau x silap sekali dngn air. Menu ayam tu yg paling laku like
hot cake coz antara menu paling murah, Ramai org makan, 

My dream came true. Eating the real Italian Carbonara. 7.50 euro per set
with drink.

Beef Briyani with Tea (5.50 euro)

There are plenty of meal options here. From Italian to Asian cuisines. Apa lagik yg ada? Kebab, tandori, falafel, Burger, pizza, naan...u name it!
_______________________________________________________________________________

While waiting for the bus to get us to Fumi Airport, we stopped by at this kebab pizzeria to pack our lunch. Boleh makan kat airport nanti. We were so full after the heavy breakfast at the hotel, so we just 'tapau' some food for lunch later. Sorry, nama kedai memang x ingat, tp memang opposite Terravision punya bus stand. Tp dekat alley tu memang banyak halal food kiosk, just choose which one that attract your heart the most.  Harga pon semua lebih kurang sama. Tp beriyani kat sini memang sedap... Kami dapat xtra lauk percuma coz tolong bg tau owner kedai tu, kebab die dah terbakar..he..he.. Die sebok kat dalam stor smpai x sedar kebabnya kat luar dah hampir hangus...

The entrance

Plenty of food choices. Rambang mata

Menu: Siap ada tourist menu lagik...(enlarge sikit, so that u can see the price)

The lane where the pizzeria is located.

Conclusively, one will never starve if u go to Rome...:)  TO BE CONTINUED

The Vatican City

The next day, pagi2 lagik lepas breakfast, kami dah menapak ke arah Termini Station, nak tunggu bas hop on hop off to tour Rome..He..he... Untuk pengetahuan semua, inilah kali pertama saya betul2 naik2 bas HoHo ni... Selama ni, asik namPak orang naik aja.. x pernah dapat tour2 naik... Ada banyak syarikat yang kendalikan bas ni.. Kekerapan pon bnyk even though during winter. We didn't have to wait long at each stop coz the bus was always there. Cuma pastikan kita naik bas yg betul coz rupa bas2 ni lebih kurang aja.

Actually, naik transportaion awam pon sngt senang di Rome. It just that, kami sesaja nak try test naik HoHo. Kalau naik Metro, cuma bayar  euro 4 for one day ticket. To me, naik HoHo ni kurang stress kot rasanya. Coz u just follow the route of the bus without having to think of the direction. Sambil2 tu, boleh tngk keliling...  But my main reason of opting for HoHo is lack of time... Nak kejar masa yg sangat singkat di Rome ni...

We bought the Rome Open Tour Bus tickets. Waktu ni tengah tunggu bus.
During winter, bus departs at 9am and last bus departs at 5.30pm.
Price is 20 euro per 24 hours (online price). 48 hours pon ada. 

Our 1st stop was the Vatican City. On the way to Vatican City tu, kami snap2lah gambar2 dari atas bus.

Pillar apa ntah

Santa Maria Maggiore: Basilica rasanya... Tapi ada nmpk mcm change of
guard kat depan tu...

Random photos captured from the bus

Stop for a while at Piazza Venezia. Ramai org suka lepak sini. Planned to come back in the evening to check out the Pantheon, tp x sempat coz hari dah hujan2 renyai dan dah gelap. Itulah satu masalahnya during winter ni, kejap dah malam...kejap dah malam...

Building at Piazza Venezia

Taken from the side.

St Peter's Basilica from afar.

A little info of The Vatican City from Wiki:

The Vatican City is the world's smallest state, being only around 44 hectares (110 acres) with population of just over 800 people making it the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population.  It is the 1st state to become the first carbon neutral state and is governed by the Pope (Bishop of Rome). The territory of Vatican City is part of the Mons Vaticanus, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It is in this territory that St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with various other buildings.

Memang kecik aja area Vatican ni. When u want to enter St Peter's there will be a security check before the entrance. Worry not, they are just doing their job... Scan sikit2, lepas tu jalan la... Cuma problemnya jika orang ramai, it can take hours of long qs. Fortunately, during winter, org x ramai sngt. So, we didn't have to Q that long. Dalam 5 minit mcm tu aja... Tu yg seronok p time winter...:)

St. Peter's Square. Malam2 cantik tmpt ni...

Captured from the square

Kat palang2 besi ni lah kita berator untuk ke security check.
Cuba bayangkan di waktu summer, semua org dok berator berpusing2
keliling besi ni, sampailah ke dalam.

Dah masuk dah...

X sempat tangkap gmbar kat security checkpoint, takot kena
marah sebenarnya...he..he...

Jom tengok kat dalam ada apa...

Masuk St Peter's free tp nak ke muzium kena bayar ye... Itulah yg ada kat dlm, nak terangkan satu2, x berapa nak reti..tp one thing i noticed, memang sangat cantik, esp langit die (bumbung la). Boleh juga naik ke tingkat atas tp kena bayar... Ramai yg naik tp semuanya hajat nak menunaikan ibadah, rasanya...

This way to the Musei...

Lepas jalan2 kat area ni, rasa sejuk dah x berapa nak tahan... so, sambil tunggu bas HoHo, kami singgah minum koko kat kedai ni..sambil tu, p toilet sekalik (itulah tujuan utama sebenarnya...he..he..)

Coffee shop ni bagus, very mother n child friendly. Ada disediakan
tmpat khas yg sangat cantik untuk ibu2 yg menyusukan bayi..:)

~To be Cont~   PLS CLICK HERE FOR PREVIOUS POST