Hi everyone! Hope that your first day of 2012 has been going great.
Normally I’d spend New Year’s eve sleeping in bed and then waking up to a new year. Yes, I’m very dull. But of course this time round , for the first time since we’re not in Singapore, we did things a little differently this year.
In the morning, we were in Circo Massimo to support my friend Claire who was doing the inaugural Nike We run Rome 10km run that day.
I’ve always wanted to run a 10k event but I was really worried that I couldn’t cope in the coldness of winter. The first time I tried to run back in January, I literally couldn’t breathe after 5 minutes which really frightened me. But I think I’ve acclimatised myself and on the day itself, while was still cold in the beginning, it turned out to actually be a lovely sunny day.
There were so many people crowing around the start point and the feeling was extremely festive. I was extremely jealous and wishing that I participated too! Claire on the other hand, was nervous for her first 10k run. Said that she didn’t sleep much the night before and before this, had to pee 8 times. Hahaha!
But I knew she’ll do fine. She’s been training for a while, so it’s going to be a piece of cake for her 
Anyway, while she’s running, Cart and I decided to go walk around the area. We remembered seeing a pastry shop while on our way to the farmer’s market (which was closed on that day) and thought of trying out some cakes.
The place is called Cristalli di Zucchero by the way, and oh gosh, all the cakes there looked so orgasmic. The pastries were divided into macaroons, cakes and mignons and I had a hard time trying to choose which one to try.
In the end, Cart chose Mont-Blanc for himself which is a type of cream cake that has chestnut purèe on top.
While I had Rosa Del Libano which is a sponge cake with almonds, raspberry, white chocolate and rose tea mousse. Cart’s not too fond of this because it reminds him of Bandung. But I love it!
Oh so good! A little expensive at 3.50 euro each, but it’s worth to try at least once.
Since we had a bit more time to kill after that, I suggested that we go to La Bocca della Verità. Which is basically a white circular marble with a hole where you could put your hand in and it was supposed to be a lie detector. You’d get your hand chopped off if you’re guilty.
But gosh, it was super crowded with lines and lines of tourists and we gave up. So we went exploring the Santa Marina in Cosmedin church instead. The church looks so antique … I could totally imagine Thief the dark project in here.
Something interesting we found there :
Believe it or not, on the white sign there, says “Relics of Saint Valentine” Woah, really? I bet this church will be filled with flowers on the 14th of February.
We then headed back slowly to the finish area and were in time to see Claire running past the finishing line. Bloody hell she’s fast! She ran in an hour, 13 minutes! Faster than my timing! Haha!
She looked tired but exhilarated and pumped up. See, all that feeling of nervousness was for nothing! And I’m sure it will not be her last long distance run! 
After we said our goodbyes, Cart and I headed to the supermarket to get some groceries as well as some food to prepare for the dinner later that night. We’ll be spending the evening with some friends.
Most importantly we grabbed loads of these :
In Italy there is a tradition of eating lenticchie (lentils) which is supposed to bring you fortune (on account of how it’s round and looks like coins) when you eat it during right during the new year’s day.
After the lentils are cooked, we then headed to Francesco’s house who was hosting tonight. And because it seemed like a special occasion to look hot, so I did just that 
I’m absolutely hot right? *coughs* I’m shameless, I know
By the time we arrived, there were loads of food all ready on the table.
This is a lovely quiche like spinach and ricotta bundle.
And roasted prawns! So yummy! This was over in just a few minutes.
Squid ink pasta with mussels. This was nice, but by this time I was feeling very full.
And I could hardly take a bite out of the parmigiana melanzana which was just wonderful. Le sigh!
At about 11.30pm we walked to Gianicolo, to watch the fireworks.
To me, it really felt like the second world war was going on here. It was night time and there were so many people all walking briskly and rushing and the sounds of the crackling of fireworks which reminds of me gun shots and the smoke in the air.
It was a little bit alarming for me. But at the same time, there were loads of people, children and adults alike playing with fireworks and sparklers and those were lovely to see.
If I imagined it well enough, it even felt a little like Chinese New year during the early 80’s when fireworks were still not banned in Singapore yet. It was still a little dangerous nevertheless, because if you’re not careful you could step into a firework thrown by a someone. In fact, the next day, there were reports of an increase in accidents by fireworks this year.
Anyhow, it was getting close to midnight and by this time, the amount of fireworks increased and people started to get more energetic. I wasn’t wearing a watch, so I’ve no idea if the countdown was accurate, because there will be someone popping their bottle of wine and then a few minutes later, someone else will be counting down. Hahaha!
Nevertheless, when we thought it was right, Cart and I kissed 
We then headed back to Francesco’s house and we were feeling very lucky that we didn’t take the car because it was such a cacophony and confusion going on there with all the vehicles trying to escape the bottleneck. It’s kind of like a traffic jam times 10! So you could imagine all the horns blaring!
It was much faster to walk.
Anyway, when we reached his place, we ate our lentils! (among other desserts and sweet foods)
Here’s to love, peace, happiness and richness! Now that I’ve eaten my lentils. Gimme money
To end, here’s a video of our time in Gianicolo :