意大利罗马（一）。 Rome Italy Part (1)

In the Euro Train, on the way to Rome (overnight train), we had a lot of "First Time" in the journey. That was my first time taking long distant train (KTM was not included). You know, the Euro train broke down in the late of night!


在往罗马奔驰的火车途中(overnight train)，我们遇到了很多人生的第一次。这是我第一次坐长途火车（KTM不算），火车竟然半夜抛锚了！

Damn it, it was bloody hot! 1 cabin had 6 fella (Mr Yap, me, 2 American young ladies, and another 2 Italian Mother-Daughter).

天啊，热死我了。一个车厢睡6个人（叶先生，我，两个美国妞，两个意大利母女）。

Beh tahan, we went to the train restaurant to seek food. Damn, only had celaka salad. What to do? We just went outside the train, because we saw other people also went out. It's cold.

到火车内的餐厅看有什么吃的，结果只有烂鬼salad。没有便咯，我们走下火车，其他人也酱子。落难在异国的火车站，真冷。

We met an Italian old uncle. While chit-chatting with him, we found that he owned a small hotel in Rome. He reminded us that we gotta be careful when we reached Rome because there was a lot of pick pockets.

一个Italian old uncle和我们谈天。他在罗马有一间小旅馆。他警惕我们到罗马要小心扒手。

Thank God! The train was OK and ready to continue the journey. We went back into the cabin. Aiyo, Mr Yap's snoring was so loud and it disturbed other people in the same cabin.

火车修理好了，我们也回到火车内。叶先生的鼻鼾声只能用4个字形容：威震山川。搞到其他人谋嗒猴翻 (广东话）。

When we arrived at Rome, we actually were late for about few hours. Mr Yap went to the Euro Train counter to upgrade our Venice-Viena Overnight-Train ticket to be 1st class, so that only 2 of us in the cabin and Mr Yap's snoring will not disturb the other people.

到达罗马已经迟了几个小时，叶先生就到counter把我们之前买的Venice-Viena的Overnight-Train火车票换成1st class, 酱紫整个车厢就只有我们两个，他的鼻鼾就不会kacau到别人。




What mentioned in the travel guide was true. When Mr Yap was busy at the counter, there was a guy holding a map spoke in Italian to me. I guessed he was asking about the direction. According to the travel guide, there were a lot of pick pockets using this method to steal tourists wallets. Therefore, I just did not give him a damn.

旅游指南所说的，1点也没错。当叶先生正在火车站柜台忙着换票的手续时，有1个男人拿着1张小地图跟我讲意大利话。我猜想他应该是在问路吧。根据旅游指南， 罗马有很多迷魂党和扒手都是用这1招偷旅客的钱包。我故意不理睬那个男人。

Our budget hotel "M&J" is located at Via Solferino, just 2 minutes walk from the main exit of Termini Station. The double room was about Euro90 per night。We stayed there 3 nights. Hey, the same amount of money can get a very good hotel room in Malaysia. Well, the condition of the budget hotel was actually not bad. It was tidy, clean and warm, a lot of backpackers stayed there. Around the budget hotel, there were some laundry shops partnership with M&J, where you can have 1 Euro discount if you do the laundry there.

我们下榻的budget hotel " M&J" 就在Via Solferino (Via的意思应该是路或街道), 从火车站走过去只需要2分钟。双人房一晚欧币90块。我们住房晚。同样的钱换回马币，可以住很好很好的酒店liao。不过，这间budget hotel还不错啦！整齐清洁温暖，很多背包侠都住这里。在附近有几间洗衣店和M&J有partnership, 在那边洗衣可以有1欧元折扣。






Very hungry. We went down to the restaurant (ground floor) to have our lunch. Since we stayed in M&J, therfore the restaurant gave us 1 Euro discount for the meal. Genuine authentic pasta! Yummy! Why it was so tasty huh?

饿到半死，先到旅馆楼下的餐厅吃东西。如果在这旅馆住，餐厅给1欧元折扣。天，道地的意大利面！See Back Ho jiak! 做么酱好吃的。。。？？？

We finished our meal quickly, and started our "Rome Adventure". Before this, we had Sri and Eric as our guide in Paris, now, we gotta depend on our own......

我们“啦啦林”吃了东西，就开始我们的罗马探险记。之前在Paris有Sri & Eric guide我们，现在我们只能吃自己了。




We decided to venture to the Ancient Rome first. Along the route to the Ancient Rome, we would pass by a lot of historical monuments.

既然来到了西方文明的发源地，我们决定先去罗马古城。整个罗马古城的路段，我们都会经过很多历史遗迹和建筑物。




First, we past by Santa Maria Maggiore. This great basilica is unique blend of architectural styles. The nave and its mosaics are original 5th century; the Cosmatesque work, the apse mosaics and the Romanesque bell tower are medieval; the coffered ceiling (of New-World gold) is Renaissance; and the twin domes and front and back facades are Baroque. We did not go into the basilica, however.

我们先经过大圣母玛利亚教堂。教堂的本堂和马赛克建于5世纪；哥斯馬特式（cosmatesque）鑲嵌裝飾; 半圆室的马赛克和罗马式的钟塔建于中世纪； 圆顶和前后面都是巴洛克风。讲酱多，我们并没有进去, 因为我们计划好的行程并没有包括这教堂。






While we were heading to the ancient Rome area, we saw a gang of Gypsy in front of us. There were about 4-5 of them (included 1 baby), all were female. I saw them trying to ask money from anybody around. My Yap asked me to pay extra caution. Very soon, those Gypsy approached us. Their target was Mr Yap. Mr Yap was surrounded by them. He dare not to push them away because they were all female.

当我们正往古罗马地区的方向走去的时 候， 我们看到了1群吉普赛人在前面。她们大概有4至5个人（包括1个被抱在手上的婴儿），全都是女的。她们向周围的人拉拉扯扯地要钱。叶先生警惕我得小心。很 快地，那班吉普赛人已经向我们进攻了。她们的目标是叶先生，她们把他给包围了。叶先生看她们都是女人，所以只能尽量躲，不敢推开她们。




KNNCCB! Guess what I did? I shouted,
在这个时候，巾帼不让须眉的女爵士顶不顺了。我好像楚霸王般大声喝道：




" OOOOOOIIIIIII!" and pushed those fucking Gypsy female creature away.

" OOOOOOIIIIIII!"然后大力地推开那班吉普赛贱人。




We found Mr Yap's pouch outermost layer was unzipped. Luckily we put our valuable in the innermost layer of our pouch. Those fucking Gypsy failed to steal anything from Mr Yap (Actually, what they did were considered as ROB, not STEAL). Then, we did not wear our pouches on the waist level. We wore our pouches on the chest level. Yes, it looked like idiots (photos taken after the incident, all with the pouches on the chest) but it was better than what the DK Travel Guide suggested ," Put your valuable on eye level". We could not wrap our pouches to our eyes. Wuahahahahaha ~

叶先生的腰包最外层的拉链被拉开了。幸好我们都把重要文件和钱放在最里面的暗格。那班吉普赛 贱人并没有成功偷取叶先生的东西（其实，她们根本不是偷，而是抢！）。过后，我们就不把腰包穿在腰围上了。我们把腰包挂在胸前。看起来真的好像笨蛋。这件 事过后，所有的照片都可以看到我的腰包不是在腰上。




I remember when I was in secondary school, I read some people's essays. Those people DREAMED TO BE GYPSY to go roaming. I really do not understand why there are people dream to be beggars and pick pockets？？？Yes I was damn angry with those Gypsy!

我记得以前在中学的时候，读过很多散文。那些散文都在发梦，希望自己能够成为吉普赛人到处流浪。我真的不明白为什么有人的志 愿竟然是想成为乞丐和扒手？？？？对，我很赌火， 不管我酱讲会不会被人骂我种族歧视。如果是你在人生地不熟的情况下被那些死吉普赛人在光天化日下打抢，你也会跟我1样赌火。




We continued our journey. The streets in Rome looks dirty because it seemed has black oil on it. Finally, we saw the Colosseo ( in English, it is Colosseum), the great amphitheater in Rome. We could not believe that a building built in AD 80 was then just beside the street, with heavy traffics around.

我们继续我们的古罗马探险。所经过的街道，看起来都是黑黑脏脏地，地面上好像有黑油。终 于，我们来到了罗马竞技场（讲好听就是竞技场，讲难听1点就是血腥和暴力的斗兽场），这个当年罗马最伟大的圆形剧场。真是难以让人置信， 这建于公元80年的竞技场就在大马路旁, 四周都是繁忙的交通。






Around the Colosseo, there were people selling mini Colosseo souvenirs. I bought a small magnet with Colosseo painting on the clay, Euro3 each. According to the travel guide, the admission fee into the Colosseo was Euro10 per head. However, when we entered there, the people working there said free admission.

在竞技场的四周都有售卖纪念品，包括迷你竞技场。我买了个小磁铁， 磁铁有1片画了竞技场的瓷片， 1个卖3欧元。根据旅游指南，竞技场的入门票应该是10欧元。可是那边的工作人员说入场是免费的。




I was inside the Colosseo. At the middle of the Colosseo, I saw many broken stones. I thought those stones was the broken part of the Colosseo. (You see, my pouch was on the chest).

这是竞技场的内部。我看见很多断成1截截的石块在竞技场的中间， 我想这些断块就是竞技场的断块吧（你看，我的腰包挂在胸前）。






The Colosseo was shining brightly. In the ancient Rome, Colosseo was the place full will blood and violence. Slaughter-as-sports were on going, even gang raping was there. Italy government is smart, such bloody violent place could be the well known tourist hotspot. Why our government does not benchmark Italy to open our Pudu Jail as tourist hotspot?

夕阳的斜晖下，我身后的竞技场感觉上在发光。 有谁会想到，竞技场里面进行的全都是不文明的行为：血腥暴力地斗兽、甚至是集体强暴。意大利也太厉害了，酱血腥的地方也可以成为名胜。做么我们的政府就没有打算效仿意大利， 把Pudu Jail开放变成旅游景点？







This is the Arco di Constatino (in English is Arch of Constanine), just beside the Colosseo. The triumphal arch was built commemorate Constatine's victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. The materials of this arch was taken from some roman old buildings, therefore different styles of relief (sculpture artworks) were observed there. Why I looks slim in the photo?

这是君士坦丁凯旋门，就在竞技场的旁边。凯旋门，顾名思义就是为了庆祝皇帝打了胜战凯旋而归而立的门。这凯旋门的材料是取自1些罗马老建筑物， 所以在同1个门可以看到3个时代的浮雕。做莫我在这张照片看起来比较瘦的？






This is Roman Forum. Could not believe such ruins could be the symbol of civic pride for over 1000 years? For sure, there had a lot of stories. In brief: This is the heart of ancient political, judical and commercial power. Similar to our Putrajaya, we have government office, Alamanda shopping centre and cinema. Even though the admission was free but we did not went into the forum because it was closed. According to DK Eyewitness Travel Guide, it open from 9am to 1 hour before sunset daily.

这就是罗马议事广场的遗址。这零零碎碎的石头背后肯定有1段很长的古。我简短地说：这里，就是当年罗马人从事政治、经济和娱 乐的地方。应该是像Putrajaya那样：有政府办公楼、有Alamanda 购物广场和戏院那样。 虽然入门是免费的可是我们没有进去，因为已经过了开放的时间。根据旅游指南所说的：it open from 9am to 1 hour before sunset daily.





We see there is a column behind Mr Yap. This is Colonna Traianna (Tranjab Column) the first column in Rome, to commemorate the Darcian War of Emperor Trajan. The emperor died in AD 117, his ash was put inside the column.

现在我们看到叶先生后面的那根柱子， 就是图拉真柱 (Colonna Traianna)。不是图拉~真柱，而是图拉真~柱(我知道，很冷。。。。。。）。爵士有古要讲：这是罗马第1根纪念柱， 是为了纪念图拉真皇帝打败来自小亚细亚的敌人所建的。 死于117年的皇帝骨灰就放在柱子里面。






It had been few days I had constipation. We dropped by a fruits stall at the roadside to buy some banana.

因为我已经便秘了几天，所以我们就在路边的水果档买了香蕉来吃。




This is Piazza del Campidoglio, located at the Capitolian Hill. At the top of the Capitoline Hill is where the Kilometer Zero of Italy located. I bet you ever heard about "All roads lead to Rome" right? This phrase best described Capitolian Hill as the center of the Rome. Wow, we are here at the place where all the roads lead to! Capitolian Hill was the center of ancient power and religion.

这里是坎比多怡欧广场 Piazza del Campidoglio， 坐落在坎比多怡欧山丘上。这坎比多怡欧山就巴比了。有没有听过条条大路通罗马这句话？所谓通罗马，就是能够到达罗马的中心点。这里就是罗马的中心点，也就 是我提过的Kilometre Zero。我们就在条条大路的聚集点，哈哈！ 这里也是古罗马的权利和宗教中心。






At the center of the piazza stood the bronze of Marcus Aurelius. However, this is a modern copy of the bronze, the original bronze is kept in the Palazzo dei Conservatori. Around the piazza, there are some other buildings included Palazza Senatorio, Palazzo Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo.

广场正中央有1尊从中世纪保存至今的马可士奥略里欧皇帝 (Marcus Aurelius)骑士像。这是复制品，原件保存在保守宫(Palazza dei Conservatori)里， 广场四周都是从1143年起即罗马市政府所在的元老宫（Palazza Senatorio)和保守宫、新宫( Palazzo Nuovo)等建筑。






Still remember who is Michaelangelo, mentioned in our Form 4 Sejarah text book? He was the one who designed the bronze of Marcus Aurelius and the geometrical star shape on the floor.

还记得以前中四的世界历史课本提到米开朗基罗这个艺术家吗？ 就是他设计了这个以骑士像为中心星型图案






What Eric said is true. Rome itself is like a museum. Along the route that we walked, those historical ruins and buildings were just beside the roads. Monuments are here and there and everywhere in the city of Rome for you to venture.

Eric说得没错。罗马城就是1个大博物馆。 我们1路走进去，路的两旁就是历史遗迹和建筑物。罗马城的每个角落，都有历史建筑物等着你去探索。




It's time for dinner. We had a seat in an Italian restaurant (outdoor). Come to Italy, for sure, pizza is a must! The 2 Italian uncles (waiters) were friendly enough to speak English to us. 1 of them looks like the KFC Uncle. From what we observed, Italian is generally friendly because they are willing to communicate with tourists in English. When Mr Yap saw the food served was a lot, he repeated his words again," Well, next time we will not order food for 2 persons." I bue tahan and said," Every time you said the same thing but still end up order for 2 persons!"

走 着走着，又是晚餐时间了。我们在1家餐厅坐了下来。来意大利， 当然是要叫pizza啦！两个意大利安哥很友善，自动根我们说英语。其中1个看起来还真想KFC叔叔。我们发现意大利人真的都蛮友善的，都会跟游客用英语 沟通。叶先生看了端上来的食物，还 是说同样的话：以后知道了，不需要点两份。爵士忍不住说：“你每次都是酱讲的啦~”





Click here to view the video clip in the restaurant.

要看我们在餐厅拍的短片， 请点击这里。




After dinner, here the "Main Dish" of Rome trip starts.

吃完晚餐，就是重头戏了~～~～




You should know what this is ~ Fontana di Trevi ( Trevi Fountain). Wah ~ ~ ~

这个，不用我说你也知道啦~有看过流行花园第2集的朋友都知道：道明寺是在这里和大杉菜失散的。这里就是许愿池 （Fontana di Trevi) 啦~






The sky turned dark, we had to go back to the hotel. Guess what, we WALK back to the hotel. The metro line coverage in the Rome is not as wide as Paris metro line. The nearest metro station to Fontana Trevi is Barberini metro station which is quite a distant. While we were walking, we did not see any buses past by, therefore we just kept on walking. Those big ancient monuments and the dark surrounding made us feel scare. When we saw a group of people walk past, we held our pouches tight.

夜色已黑，我们也得回酒店了。最厉害的是，我们是走回去的。罗马的metro路线不像巴黎那样广。最靠近许 愿池的Barberini metro station也得走满远的路才能到。我们不见有任何巴士经过，所以就用走的咯。在我们走路回的时候，四周真的很黑。我们也经过了满多的古老建筑物。看到 1群群的不知什么人经过我们的身旁，我们都抱紧着我们的包包。




When we reach the Barberini metro station, we found that the station was closed for renovation. The Piazza Barberini was there, therefore we snapshot some photos. Near the entrance of the piazza, stands a beautiful baroque style feature, the Triton Fountain. Triton is a minor sea god of ancient Grego0Roman legend. The fountain was deigned by Bernini for his patron Maffeo Barberini, who had become pope as Urbano VIII.

来到了 Barberini metro station了， 才发现车站因为装修而暂时被关闭了。巴贝里尼广场 (Piazza Barberini)就在这里， 我们也就顺便在这里拍照。广场的中央就是这个由教宗Urbano VIII委托贝尼尼设计的海神喷泉， 1个有着浓厚巴洛克风格的作品。贝壳上的海神正在吹着海螺， 真有趣。






We tried to walk back hotel follow the route that has more lights. We past by Piazza di Repubblica. The Fountain of Naiads sits in the center of the piazza. Naiads are the nymphs who protect rivers, lakes, oceans and the underground. Although finished in 1900, the fountain was not turned on until a year later because the female statues were considered by many people too provocative for the times.

我们尽量沿着路灯亮的路线回酒店。我们经过共和 广场 （Piazza di Repubblica)，这共和广场就在我们的酒店附近而已。我们每天出去搭车都会经过这个广场。广场的中央有个出名的仙女喷泉。这仙女负责管辖河流、 湖、海洋和地下。 虽然完工于1900年，可是这喷泉在1年后才被开放，因为这裸仙女的雕像被视为太过暴露了。（换句话说，在1901年，罗马人已经可以接受了裸女被公开？）




After shower, we watched TV. When you travel across few different countries in Europe, remember to watch their TV programme. Then you would found out: American stars all speak French in French TV programme and speak Italian in Italy's TV programme. In Malaysia, American movies will not be dubbed into Bahasa Melayu. Haha, interesting ~

洗澡后，我们就看电视。如果你去欧洲几个国家旅行的话，1定要看他们的电视节目。你会发现：美国电影里面的主角在法国电视节目突然讲法语，在意大利电视节目突然讲意大利语。在马来西亚，美国戏是不会被配上马来语的。真是有趣~




Remark:
It is advised to purchase the Eurail Pass and train tickets in advance. We can purchase Eurail Pass and train tickets from the Boustead Travel Service, located at Jln Raja Chulan. For non-european tourists who plan to visit more than 2 European countries and stay for quite some time, it is advised that you purchase Eurail Pass. Even though the Eurail Pass will cost you an amount of money , but you are eligible to purchase the train tickets with the price 80% cheaper. All in all, it is still cheaper.

For example: We planned to visit 3 countries in 2 weeks, therefore we bought the Eurail Pass from the travel agency stated above. With the Eurail Pass, we bought our overnight-train 2nd class tickets (from Paris to Rome) with about Euro25, compared to the original price which is more than Euro200!

With the pass, you can ops to buy the train tickets in Malaysia or buy the tickets when you reach Europe ( I suggest you buy the tickets in Malaysia if you have very confirmed your plan).

If you purchase the Eurail Pass in Europe, the Pass price is higher. However, if you only plan to visit 1 or 2 countries and only stay for very short period, you actually do not need to purchase the Eurail Pass because the Eurail Pass itself will cost you an amount of money.

后记：
奉劝大家最好趁早预购火车票。我们可以在马来西亚透过Boustead Travel Service 旅游社预购Eurail Pass 和火车票。这旅行社就在Raja Chulan， 是马来西亚的Eurail 代理。如果是非欧联国家的游客打算在欧洲的几个国家玩，而且逗留1段时间的话，建议跟这旅行社买Eurail Pass。虽然买这Eurail Pass得花1笔钱， 买火车票就便宜大概80%，算到最后也是划算。

我们打算在欧洲的两个星期内，走3个国家，所以我们就跟旅行社买Eurail Pass。有了这个pass， 从罗马到巴黎的overnight train车票就从200多欧元变成25欧元了！

有了这个pass, 我们可以选择在马来西亚就预购火车票或者去到欧洲那边才买（我建议在马来西亚就先把火车票买下来，如果已经计划好了）。

如果去到欧洲才买Eurail Pass, 就得付更高的价钱才能买到。 不过，如果你只打算到1两个国家，就不需要大费周章买Eurail Pass， 因为Eurail Pass也是得花1笔钱。




To be continued. Rome Italy Part 2: Vatican.

待续 意大利罗马（二） 之梵蒂冈



更多罗马的游记 。 More About Rome

意大利罗马（二） 之梵蒂冈 。Rome Italy Part 2 : Vatican
意大利罗马（三）之许愿池 。 Rome Italy Part 3 : Fontana di Trevi
意大利罗马（四）之万神殿 。 Rome Italy Part 4 : Pantheon
意大利罗马（五）之拉沃纳广场 。 Rome Italy Part 5 : Piazza Navona
意大利罗马（六）之西班牙广场 。 Rome Italy Part 6 : Piazza Spagna
意大利罗马（七）之波波洛广场 。 Rome Italy Part 7 : Piazza Popolo