The Amazing Journey...

"You and your partner will travel all around Europe in a grueling journey of 14 days. You will be given a clue to guide you to the next destination. You will only be given minimum amount of money and language will be your main problem. Get ready...! and in three, two, one... GO! Run and get your first clue... destination, ROME!"

With our backpack, and limited amount of money to spend... we headed to Rome... our first destination. So excited, and just can't wait to reach there and start this lonngggg journey... or shall I say holiday? 14 days of traveling seems to be a little bit too long... the longest break ever since I started working 7 years ago! Kept reminding myself that I and Rina totally deserved this break.

Touched down at Leonardo Da Vinci Airport... all smiling and laughing, the soundtrack of Ratatouille inside my head... but at the immigration... the music suddenly ended... Aiman was at the counter first, and I just had this bad feeling... soon enough, all 4 of us were called into "the room". We had our passport cleared but they need to see our accommodation booking. Duhhh... and I stupidly put it in my haversack... did not expect at all that I need to show that to them... after few minutes of broken english and fake smiles... we were off the hook... fewh... and the cute Rat start singing again in my head.

Off to Termini Stazione... by train... whoaaa... besarnye terminal ni... kagum kejap. perut lapar... tgk2 ada mcD... mcm sedap jer... belasah our first Fillet. Then, we need to go and check out the room. It should be near the train station. yup, less than 10 minutes walk and we were in front of the door buzzing the doorbell to ask for them to let us in. Wow! Again, we were impressed with the small little garden... and the friendly reception. "You can only check-in after 3pm..." Well, it's still early, left our haversacks, picked up the pocket city guide, and headed our way back to the Termini. Decided to just walk our way to the Collosseum... all pumped up... semangat habis.

We stayed at TheBeehive, but the rooms at the main hostel were fully booked and we left with an apartment which was about 15 minutes away from there... blessing in disguise as we loved the apartment too... Millefiori. Definitely a value for money... and I am recommending this hostel to all of you... go to their website at www.the-beehive.com.

After 10 minutes of walking, we realized that it was not that close... we already sweating, and our first mineral water which cost us Euro2 had already dried up... whoaa... Rome was so hot! Literally HOT! "This is not Europe! This is hotter than KL! Why are we here again? Didn't we come here to experience the cold weather?" asked our Putri Lilin. It's SUMMER! "Yeah... but cannot be this hot!" There were reports claimed that last year summer in Rome, resulted on some deaths because of heat stroke... it seriously hot here.

We reached Trojan Column... and soon we saw all the rubbles and remaining of the great kingdom... suddenly Ratatouille song changed to The Gladiator sound track... "Imagine where you will be in 3 weeks time! I will be sowing my garden with my son and my wife. If you wake up and found your self on a green field and blue sky, worry no more since you already DEAD!" Maximus Decimus Meridius.

Watching the great Collosseum from the movie created goose bumps at the back of my neck.. but walking for real towards the great building itself... the feeling was just AWESOME! I just felt like one of those gladiators walking their last steps to join the battle of life and death... not sure whether you will live to see another day... part of our plan, we already decided that we would not going to take the inside tour of the Collosseum.. but when you already there... you just need to be inside. The sound of cheers like thunders... the clapping, the cheer, the drumming, and the chanting of "Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!" Whooaaa!

Totally... totally amazing. That's ROME to me...