It’s snowing in Rome!

Ehm, it’s been a while. That even my friend Hisham asked why I haven’t been posting.

But don’t worry. You’re not forgotten! I’ve also not forgotten about the caption this contest! It’s just that I’ve been really really busy these several weeks and then I’ve been sick … Maybe as a compromise, I could have done more short ala posterous posts instead?

Anyway, to make it up to you, I’d like to share with you a beautiful thing that happened in Rome this weekend.

It snowed!

It probably isn’t a big deal to a lot of European countries, but for Rome, it’s very rare for her to have snow, so when there is one, it’s a big deal. It snowed a little, back in 2010 but this time round, the snow was predicted to be much stronger that the mayor of Rome declared schools and public offices to be closed on Friday and Saturday.

Coincidentally, I had Fridays off from work, so I stayed at home and rested and spent time on the computer and slowly saw friends updating their facebook with pictures of how they’ve already had snow. I was feeling rather jealous because at my side, it didn’t snow at all! But the sky looked depressingly dark and it was just raining very badly.

And it kept on that way till Cart came back from work. Thus we both had a rather uneventful day, and got tired of waiting … but rousing up at 2am, this was what I saw :

How beautiful! And with the snow being white, it illuminated the neighbourhood and it didn’t look like night time at all! I went to bed all excited, and when I woke up properly at 7 am, I was greeted with this :

Wow, how magical! And with the snow thicker than the last time, it really looked like a winter wonderland … I didn’t feel like I was in Rome at all! 

Everything was blanketed with a coat of soft, cold, white dust. As if a giant sprinkled the whole neighbourhood with icing sugar.

I was so excited that despite the fact that I was still recovering from my flu, I decided to take a walk and explore the area by myself. Cart’s fast asleep and I really didn’t want to wait.

Gosh, my scooter’s all covered with snow. It looks pretty, but I’m kind of worried if it’ll be damaged and will be fine for travelling next week. It’ll be such a hassle if I had to take public transportation. I’ve never experienced having a scooter in cold countries before.

Cart’s car on the other hand seems to be better equipped for this, with the snow tires and all.

Anyway, I went ahead and took my first few steps in the snow …

Walk … walk … walk …

Now that I think back, what a missed opportunity! Why didn’t I think of putting on some syrup on top and make ais kacang? Look at all the snow! I could have fed the whole of Singapore with this!

Nevertheless, thank goodness that this time round, I had proper snow boots to use! The last time I used my ugg boots, but the snow seeped in and melted, making it very uncomfortably cold and squishy!

My purple snow boots on the other hand, were very comfortable for me!

First I explored the park which was near the house …

Everything looked so magical and romantic … and of course rather cold … that I had to put my hands in my pockets ever so often … if not, it was easy to get frost bites.

I don’t know a bout you, but the entire scene just reminds me completely of a snow-sim in Secondlife. The only difference is that I cannot hit on page up to fly or teleport

So much snow that you can’t even read what’s on the signs!

To let you know how deep the snow was, it reached aproximately around my knuckle. It was really deep!

And here I am completamente naturale, no mekap at all! Not even bb cream nor brow powder. I really couldn’t wait to be out of the house to explore.

I just realised that I’m wearing exactly the same thing I wore the last time it snowed … LOL, maybe I’ve accidentally started a sort of tradition!

At this point of time, I thought to myself, why just explore the neighbourhood? Since it rarely snows in Rome, why not explore a little bit more.

And so  I decided to walk to EUR, as how I normally would do when I used to go for my driving lessons.

But on thing that I didn’t realise about walking in snow was how tiring it was. With each step, you had to dig deep to make sure you had a grip and it took more effort than walking normally. Before I even left the main street, I was already feeling tired … LOL!

Here’s an idea of how it’s like, walking in the snow :

Nevertheless, I trudged on and enjoyed the beauty in front of me.

I really find the white snow on the trees, extremely, extremely charming.

And at length, and probably about 40 minutes later, I eventually reached EUR and walked to the little lake.

Poor ducks! They are probably really cold and hungry and was begging and quacking about when I approached them.

The sad thing was that there was a little toddler boy who started to throw a snowball at them. He was scolded by his mother BUT THEN an adult man comes up and threw snowballs at the ducks. Why?!

I continued walking … My gosh, how breathtaking this is! Is this really Rome? Doesn’t look like it at all! By the way, even in Napoli (which is warmer than Rome) had snow too!

But one of the dangers about snow is that when it accumulates, it gets heavier and I saw loads of branches and trees broken under the heavy weight. Thank goodness there isn’t prickly fruits like durians growing in Europe. What an unpleasant way to expire …

At this point of time, I was really taken by the magic and the beauty and the charm … that I really wished that I could make out like this couple below too.

Too bad someone was still asleep … bah! But that’s the trouble with a couple with different different sleep timings. I’m a morning person, while he’s a night owl!

Anyway, while halfway to the middle of the path, there was a locked gate not letting us pass through, so I had to retrace my steps back.

I really liked this shot, hand imprints probably made by a mother and her son (or daughter) … it was so heartwarming

And here I am, about 3/4 on the way back home … by this time, my butt was feeling really sore from crunching in the snow all these while. I’m really working parts of the body that I’ve never worked before!

And eventually, I reached home at about half past 10 and by this time, there were loads of people outside, playing in the snow, throwing snowballs and building snowmen … It’s such a heartwarming and delightful scene seeing so many people, with their loved ones having fun together.

It’s all so freaking charming!