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!

But what catches my eyes more are of these :

This is the Befana. She’s an old woman with a shawl, and goes down the chimney on the eve of Epiphany to fill the socks and deliver presents to good children and coal to the bad. Kind of like Santa Claus. She also flies around on a broom, but Cart is adamant in telling me that she’s not a witch.

I find her quite cute and I always get amused when I see Befana figurines for sale. Her laughter is infectious!

Well, Befana or not, we got for ourselves some chocolate and I’m gonna eat it now … OM NOM NOM NOM! 

Our first stop was in Anguillara Sabazia.

This is another little town facing Lake Bracciano. We’ve already been to Martignano, a little town facing the lake, in the middle of this year, as well as Bracciano itself. And here in Port of Molo, like the other towns, is very tranquil and beautiful.

I like seeing families chilling out with their kids, taking in the view and listening to the waves.

Oh, and of course the ducks and the seagulls … waiting patiently for crumbs of bread … Greedy little bastards

Somehow the picture below reminds me of a picture I snapped while on my way to go to Kota Tinggi, Malaysia back in 2008. Just that the colour is different because of the humidity and altitude.

Anyway, as we were both ravenously hungry, we stopped at a restaurant called Nonna Carolina. What an odd name! So very un-Italian right? Nevertheless, it was a charming little restaurant where you could dine and admire the view outside.

I said the view outside, not me

The restaurant specialises in fish caught from the lake. I love seafood! And I had a difficult time in choosing between fish pasta or the secondo piatto, (or maybe even both!) But eventually, knowing how bloated I’d feel if I ate too much, I chose the mixed fried fish platter, so I could try almost everything.

And here is my meal! At the bottom, the roundish shaped one is Anguilla – Eel. The orangey fillets are Luccio – Pike fish and the small ones on the right is Latterino.

Don’t be deceived by the simplicity of the dish. It was wonderful! I love the eel! It was wonderfully succulent and meaty.

This here below, the latterino is basically babyfish. And I really liked eating this. It was slightly crunchy, a little chewy and salty. Not the same, but still not too dissimilar with anchovies I suppose.

Om nom nom nom!

The only fish that I didn’t really like unfortunately was the Luccio though. While it wasn’t bad, I thought that the fish would taste much better if it were baked of grilled.

Oh, by the way, an interesting thing is that all these fishes were Freshwater fishes. And freshwater is called “Aqua dolce” in Italian which literally means sweet water which is a little ironic because my dish was a little salty

Anyway, Cart had bruschetta with eggplant.

And he also had an interesting pasta with Radicchio – the red vegetable that you see below. Cart loves it.  Not one of my favourite vegetables though as it tends to be bitter, so I didn’t try it.

Oh, by the way, I was admiring the tablecloth at the restaurant and casually commented to Cart.

Me : This tablecloth reminds me of a baju kurong design.

Cart : So Malays wear tablecloths?

Another interesting thing that I noticed was this sign in the bathroom. The original word was in red ink … someone corrected BOTTOM to BUTTON. English lesson 101! Hahaha! So whose bottom do you want me to push?

After we had our lunch, we then headed to the Sagra della Castagna, the Chestnut festival which was held in Manziana.

Unfortunately, it was just a small festival, probably because of the strange weather that we’ve been having in Italy affecting the crops.

I was looking online, that there was a bigger one up North, but it was a little too far for us. Nevertheless, there were still a number of interesting things to see. Like foodstalls which uses chestnuts in their dishes.

Jams and preserves made of chestnuts.

As other non chestnut related stands.

So many amazing foods here! Doughnuts … oh and this twisted dough of tomato and basil. Yum!

Wow, pumpkins for only 60 cents euro. How come we didn’t get one for the upcoming halloween?

There were a lot of street performers too.

The air definitely felt festive, as like the feeling that I had during the maratona di Roma, earlier this year.

These was also a group of soldiers performing. Look at their hats all covered with feathers. Cart told me that this was an official outfit.

But I think the most wonderful performer was this one that we came across. He’s amazing! How does he whistle like that? Just take a listen!

I only knew later that his name is Claudio Montuori, more commonly known as Birdman and he’s famous! Just take a look in youtube and you’d see his other amazing performances.

Eventually we reached the end of the piazza and came across this delectable looking stand. One of my very favourite roasted ones is Corn. But we didn’t stop here.

Instead we queued up behind this large group of people to get roasted Chestnuts. After all, how can anyone go to a chestnut festival without eating some chestnuts?

So while Cart was queuing up, I stood in front of the fire. Mainly to keep myself warm but it was also interesting to see how the chestnuts were made. There were at least 4 men around a big tripod with a huge roasting pan attached below it.

First, sticks and kindlings are thrown into the fire

Then the first man will pour the chestnuts in the pan and he’ll let the fire singe the shell. See how the shell looks dark here?

Eventually the chestnuts will expand inside and the shell will mostly pop away to reveal the yellow flesh. And then the pan will be rotated around and around.

And passed to another person, taking turns. The pan must be very heavy.

Eventually, one of the men picks a chestnut to see if it’s ready and when they’ve agreed, the chestnuts are thrown into an already waiting sack.

And these will be quickly served to the impatient queue.

Yum!

One of the nicest feeling is to have a warm chestnut in your hand during the cold season. I felt like a squirrel somewhat after that, sitting in a corner peeling away the shells and nibbling every chestnut till it was all finished!

There was also the boiled chestnut version. Not a lot of queue here, but I think I’ll try that the next time I come across one

If you like this post, you might enjoy :

• Artichoke Festival in Ladispoli

Anyway, last weekend was cultural week in Italy, which means that entry to many museums and monuments are free! Cart and I took the opportunity to visit Villa Adriana.

Villa Adriana is about 45 minutes drive out of central Rome. When you think that Adriana, you’d think of a girl’s name right? But Cart told me that translated, Villa Adriana means something like “Hadrian’s House.”

In any case, the Emperor Hadrian constructed the area as a respite from the palatine palace in Rome to an area which  reflected to his own taste.

By the way, even though entry was free on the day, the strange thing is, you’d still need to have a ticket to enter. Same thing as our last visit to the museums here and here.

In any case, it’s rather confusing for the first timer going around Villa Adriana though. Even with the map, I was clueless at where to go and see first. It was a really large area. And in the end, I thought that it was best to just go with the flow.

One thing that you’ll notice as you enter the area was that there are loads of olive trees. I’m not sure if it was the right season for them but nevertheless, there were both green as well as olives which was starting to turn purple.

They looked so charming, being all in a row like that. There were interesting holes in the tree, making it seem enchanted and for me, it felt as if I was in a fairy tale come to life. The only thing missing is probably a food basket and a red cape. Cart can be the nice wolf

Camwhore time!

As you can see, I’m wearing my really sexeh jeans! 

Ok, let’s explore the Villa proper!

Gosh, I feel like Lara Croft (she’s an archaeologist by the way ) walking around the area. All that I’m missing is brown shorts and a blue top … (and maybe some guns too)

This is the area called “Teatro Greco”. The emperor was influenced by a lot of Grecian as well as Egyptian architecture. And this was the open theater that he had.

Just imagine how it would have looked like when it was pristine!

Next, we walked towards the heart of the villa where the pool were. See this wall here? It’s amazing isn’t it? That it still stands after so many many many years.

In any case, the walls looked interesting to me. It sticked out like a hedgehog spikes somehow. But this was an example of laying of the bricks as how ancient Romans did it.

Could you just imagine walking around this pool? The orange fences are ruining the picture though, but nevertheless, it’s so peaceful and tranquil here. Man, the emperor really knew how to live it up!

I’m not sure what the rest of the monuments are, so … ehm … I’ll just leave the rest of these pictures uncaptioned 

Oh! And by the way, there are some modern pieces every now and then, decorating the area. Like this grandma statue, chilling out by the trees.

Oh, and this tripping pegasus figure with some beheaded greek statues and a chopped hand … the artist was probably high! (on creativity)

AAA! Medusa! However does she shampoo?

We walked deeper in towards another large pool. This was the area where Emperor used to have his lunch at.

Can you just imagine if your dining area looked like this? I’d be working up a nice appetite just before I get to the table!

And right in the middle here was where he’d lie down on his side while having his lunch. It was the fashionable thing to do for rich to do. Commoners like us would have to eat sitting down.

We continued walking and stumbled upon this area. Cart was telling me that there was a thermal bath around there. This was possibly one of the areas where you changed outfits I suppose. It looked pretty spacious. I wonder if there were doors or they had to suffer as I did

The area was amazingly large. The roof of this building for example, you could stack at least 8 people on their heads before they touch the roof.

So much energy and work dedicated into building these.

Cart was telling me about this particular area which he liked. He was here before with a group of friends and they were able to enter this place below.

Today it is closed because of the danger of falling rocks. But Cart told me that this was a good place to be during the warm days as it was constructed specifically for keeping cool.

Nope, can’t explore in there

And then we walked to yet another area. By this time, I’ve totally given up on looking at the map to know where we were.

This is quite cool. I imagine that the area were houses for the servants to the emperor. See the brick formation? And we were free to walk inside the space! And I tried to visualise how it would have looked like then.

And before you knew it, 2 hours has passed by  and we were approaching closing time. One of the last monuments that we managed to see was Piazza D’Oro. (Gold Piazza)

I think if you are ever in Villa Adriana, you shouldn’t miss this. This place really feels very tranquil and peaceful. It was really relaxing to see the hill and the rolling clouds in the background.

And now visualise white marble pillars in front of you. And people walking around with toga.

But before we knew it, it was time to go. And we had to say goodbye to this amazing place.

To end this post, I’m also going to put up this picture which I spotted on our way to Villa Adriana

Look! It’s an Italian Pentagon!

—

It was our last day in Capri and as always, we woke up to another beautiful morning. I was already feeling a little sad at the thought of leaving this beautiful place, but there was still quite an adventure in store for us for the day.

After having our breakfast and on our way out, there was a huge basket of freshly plucked tomatoes in the vegetable garden in our villa. Wow, look at how ripe they are! I was very tempted to take some and eat it like that. However the caretaker was looking at me funny and I had to bashfully back away

To get to our destination, the center of Anacapri, we had to walk back towards the Greece looking area. Unlike yesterday, this time round there were many shops which are already opened. Like this shoe shop here. There’s a pair of shoe here for less than 10 euro!

I didn’t get any because I have too many shoes

Cart and I also stumbled upon a little alimentari that looked a lot like a mama shop. It’s been over 20 years, but it reminds me of my grandparent’s shop somewhat when they still lived in Tekong before the government took over it.

And that’s Cart buying a bottle of water. It’s always useful to have a bottle of water with you 

And there were plentiful of other shops opened. Like food shops :

I noticed this sign … CRT now doesn’t mean Cathode Ray Tube anymore. And instead it’s Cappucino, Real English, Tea.

If you are in Capri, you’ll see a lot of these shops around – Here you can make your own customised sandals! Just choose the type of strap you want and tell your shoe size and the cobbler will make your sandal right in front of you!

And this is so old school. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone shaving (or be shaved) with these type of knives. It takes a really steady hand to be able to do that!

And there were also ceramic shops. It was so interesting to see all the colourful and cheeful items all made from ceramics. I suppose the owner thought I was interesting too, seeing how he’s staring straight at me

As Mount Vesuvius (I’d love to visit one day) is quite near, you could also find these decorated volcanic rocks easily. These can also made into beautiful jewellery. They are black because of the rapid cooling of the lava.

Oh, I forgot to mention about this in the previous post, but we also walked past a mini museum which we visited last night. This was done by a talented lady, Tiziana Ferraro. I really liked her artwork – it was colourful and cheerful!

I asked if she had a website or anywhere to show off her portfolio, unfortunately she didn’t have one. Ah well

And this is a toilet. It costs 50 cents to release yourself here

What’s interesting about it, you ask?  This is probably the cleanest toilet that I’ve ever seen in my life. There’s only one lady looking after the stations and once you’re done with your business, she’d immediately clean up.

She’s a little fierce though, not letting anyone get through when she’s not done cleaning, like Gandalf when blocking a Balroc, “Thou shall not pass!”

And here is a random kitten

The first place that we visited was the Villa San Michele. This is an interesting place, originally built by the Swedish physican, Dr Axel Munthe, reconstructed to make it look like as when he was living there.

It costs 6 euro to enter. (Gosh, my nails look so chipped by this point of time)

And here are the opening times depending on the month you are there. Just to be sure, get there around 9am

When you first enter the area, you’ll be first greeted by this skeleton mosaic – The skeleton is holding a food basket and a caraffe on the other hand to represent that we should enjoy life before we die. Something that Dr Munthe was already aware of.

We walked through each of the rooms, looking at the different relics and works of art. From the dining room …

The kitchen … (It was interesting to read that Dr Munthe had two house assistants who were very loyal to him. He didn’t pay them, but he gave them everything they asked for)

The Atrium …

The bedroom …

Here is Claudio and Beatrice laughing at a private joke. I’m adding this picture just because it looks like a cool shot

Oh, and this one too!

This is where Dr Munthe entertains his guests … Looks like my aunt’s room somewhat with the ornate and heavy furniture

He entertained all sorts of people here, even kings and queens. But they all got to eat very simple and rustic food as Dr Munthe doesn’t believe in feeding the body overly rich food. He doesn’t even recommend meat for those over a certain age!

By the way, while living here, Dr Munthe wrote “The story of San Michele” mainly about the experiences that revolved around his life. This book has been a bestseller since published and translated in over 40 languages.

I’d like to read it. Wonder if there are any libraries in Rome that I can go to, to read it in English

After touring the house, it was time to explore the courtyard. Oh my gosh, it was such a dream here. Like I was on the set of the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” but only better!

It wasn’t the statues that did it.

(The sign says “laughing girl” but she looks more creepy than anything)

(This is a statue of Hermes (er-mez). Say, by the way, did anyone watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians?)

It wasn’t so much the architecture …

It was seeing the magnificent and glorious view from there. Oh gosh, it’s so peaceful and so beautiful. My heart (figuratively) just broke at the immense beauty

Le sigh!

And there is a curious Sphinx statue at the end of the courtyard, looking out at the sea.

If like them, I had the chance to look at the blue sea all day, I wouldn’t mind it at all!

Seriously this place is like a dream. With the lush greenery and the beatiful garden here, it made me feel like wearing a toga and go dancing barefooted on the grass.

Oh. You can’t do that here. How about sitting down here, and be fed grapes and drink (hypothetical) honeyed wine?

Drat you can’t do that here either -_-

(Wait wait … You just can’t eat a BURGER anything else, you can consume right?! )

Anyhow, not wasting such a beautiful scenery, I took the chance to do a quick camwhore!

And had to suck it up and pretend to be glamourous, despite that the weather was really warm then. Poor Cartcart!

It was understandable why Dr Munthe would fall in love with this place. I do too!

In fact, when Axel Munthe died, he had a ticket to Capri in his pocket. Isn’t that the saddest thing? Like, unrequited love

Being random, here is an interesting sign I saw at the toilet here.

Yes. I’m proud to say that I am somewhat civilized.

After leaving the Villa San Michele, the second place that we visited was the Monte Solaro. This is the highest peak in Capri, 589m above sea level and I think that this is another must place to visit.

To get up there, you could hike up there or take a seggiovia. Seggiovia means chairlift by the way.

And there are two type of tickets here. Two way which is 10 euro, while the one way is 7 euro. Although to be honest, I’m not sure how often they check your tickets, so you could get away with going  with the cheaper one

When you enter the area, the way you ride the chairlift, is to stand on the green square and as soon as the seat arrives, quickly sit down and let the attendant close the safety clamp on you … and off you go!

It can get a little nerve wrecking. Especially for me who’s taking it for the first time. I mean take a look at the height between the chair and the ground. You’ve only a metal wire to keep you up. It’s a little scary! It’s as scary as taking a cable car in Sentosa.

But what’s that on the pole?!

No rocking. Ehm. I wouldn’t dream of it.

Cart, Beatrice and Giovanni behind me looked extremely comfortable though. Cart especially looked as cool as a cat. He’s done this a lot of times since he used to go skiing.

Nevertheless, despite it all, the ride was completely worth it. Because once you’ve reached the top, the view is so so so spectacular!

From this …

To this …

And this …

And to me, this picture below is like the caramel on the creme brulee. LOOK AT IT! Isn’t it so beautiful that it makes you feel emotional?

I feel so blessed to be able to see such beauty. I really felt like crying.

That’s the arch and the stack by the way, seen up close the day we went boating.

I could just stay here forever. But we were on a time schedule, before the ferry leaves and reluctantly, we had to go. Although my heart was screaming no.

ANYWAY! I saw this interesting bottle as we took the chair lift down.

On our trip down, I saw something rather interesting. Not only does the chair lift carry people, it also carries bottle of water! I wonder if each had to pay 7 euro each

Of course, I had to do a bit of camwhoring too since I doubt there will be such a chance for me so soon. HAHA! Gosh, me and my paperbag and my handbag … I’m so auntie!

And we walked back towards our villa for the last time. Just for being random again … Woah, check this out while on our way there … A half bear, half baby!

After packing up, we said goodbye to our beautiful villa and reluctantly left and headed towards Marina Grande, the main port.

And I enviously looked upon the other people who were frolicking around.

We stopped for a bit of a bite, while waiting for the ferry.

And soon after, we boarded our ferry to go back to the main port Napoli.

And then took the tram to head back to the Napoli Centrale train station

(By the way, I spotted out a very interesting young lady on the tram who looked just like a Malay Minah with her shaved eyebrows and dyed hair but I dare not take a picture of her … would be rude I think. Also, I can’t understand anything she said. The dialect was just too thick)

And back on the train again for our 2 and a half hour train ride  …

And then finally back home in Rome!

Le sigh. After 4 days having such a wonderful time, in the most gorgeous place, it’s so unkind to be back! I really felt like this lady in this commercial and needed a few days to get my feet back on the ground.

Anyway, that’s it! That’s the last of the instalments. I hope you enjoyed my blog posts. If you like, come and read the entire series here :-)

• Our trip to Napoli! (Day 1)
• A wedding in Capri (Day 2)
• A beautiful day boating in Capri (Day 3)

• A wedding in Capri

—

The day after the wedding, Alessandra and Fabrizio arranged for all of us to go boating around the island. I was very excited at the thought. Even though Cart and I already have done this, but the day was extra special as we’d be surrounded by friends.

We woke up to a beautiful morning in Capri and after a quick breakfast, we were chauffeured by the villa’s driver and we were off!

In my opinion, I think probably the best drivers in Italy is probably in this region because the drivers here are really impressive! Their two way road is the size of one lane but the drivers are not fazed and carries on at their normal speed. Check it out! There is less than 10 cm space in between this bus and our taxi.

I looked around at the lush greenery around me and in no time, we reached the main harbour – Marina Grande. It was a bustling of activity, full of beautiful people walking around. It felt so festive just to be there.

Like I was a celebrity or part of the royal family, just going for my daily boating session

After waiting for the rest of the gang to reach and be ready, I was already feeling extremely enthusiastic. I love being on a boat (by the way, I got a ‘I’m on a boat badge’ on fourquare hehe!) and of course admiring the beautiful scenery around.

And when everyone’s ready on the boat, off we go!

To me, going around the island of Capri is like looking at a geography book coming to life – There are so many interesting rock formation and landscapes around formed by terrestrial, atmospheric, and marine processes for thousands of years.

For example, most of the coasts in Capri are made up of granite rocks which is more impervious to weathering, and thus creates jagged cliffs such as this one.

And here is a classic example of an arch and a stack – formed by the abrasion, pounding and hydraulic action of the waves.

Another amazing thing about Capri is how very clear the water is, and how blue … You can almost see the floor! And in certain areas that we went to, where the sun hits the floor at the right spot, it looked as it was glowing!

Regardless if you love geography or not, Capri is undeniably beautiful. Really a heaven on earth. In my opinion, every shot that you take here is postcard picture perfect.

Yeah, even if you’re just lying down doing nothing

Of course, not wasting a beautiful scene like this, I took the chance to camwhore!

So cute!

After a while, the boatman stopped to let us go swimming for a bit. Oh my! Be still my heart … I’ve been waiting for four years (since I’ve last been here) to jump out of the boat and into the sea! And I finally get the chance! At last!

The water is so inviting!

Wahh … shiok ah!

But one thing to remember is that, regardless of how clear the water looks like, it’s still the sea and so it’s salty! No matter how excited you are, always close your mouth when you jump out (personal experience) Hm, I wonder how it’ll be like to jump into the dead sea, which has more salt content.

Check out how happy Flavia and Beatrice looks!

It was a little difficult for me to swim though because of the very strong waves going on, despite that I’ve been going to aquagym for a while. I felt so weak and jealous of the rest of the group being able to swim to the shore.

And also this little seagull here, just chilling out, no stress at all.

A few got a little rambunctious and decided get a little silly by making their swimming costumes as a hat … and then things progressed interestingly from there … but ehm … I’m not going to show you what happened next because Marina’s Bloggariffic is a family friendly blog … LOL!

After our relaxing dip, we continued on our round-about the island. And with the sun shining, I air dried pretty quickly. But check out the amount of salt that formed on my skin. That’s how salty the water here is.

As we went on further, the boatman started to explain that this very cliff in the picture below was where the Emperor Tiberius (that’s why there is the Tyrrhenian sea … geddit?) had his condemmed prisoners to be thrown down. Believe me, the cliff is very high and with the shallow sea and the rocks below, I doubt anyone will survive the fall

I also spotted this cute statue … What is it doing there anyway? And when I asked around, they answered me, “Remember the little mermaid? Well, this is the little merboy” (With a seagull next to it)

And at length, our boat ride ended, and after a beautiful scenic route, reluctantly, we got back to Marina Grande.

And we headed up for a walk to Piazzetta where the funicular reaches to, to see the breathtakingly beautiful sights in front of us.

Le sigh! Beautiful isn’t it?

Anyway, if it was crowded in June, the last that I was here, in July it was even more crowded and Flavia told me that it’ll get even more so in August when the temperature is hotter and most Italians go for their annual vacation. Yikes!

As the day was warm, Cart got a glass of one of this lemon+orange slushie and that was enough to rouse an appetite in me!

And so we went for lunch at Fabrizio’s hotel where I had a nice plate of calamari.

While Cart had Gnocchi alla Sorrentina and mixed vegetables

And Fabrizio had a plate of swordfish. I gave it a taste, and this was interesting to me because while it tasted fresh, it didn’t taste baked, or boiled but when asked if it was a sort of carpaccio, Fabrizio said no. It’s possibly a marinated fish.

But how is it cooked?! I need to know! Ah … I’ll know the secret next time!

After our sumptuous lunch, we walked back to our villa. At first I was a little nervous as I thought that it could be far, but luckily it was within walking distance or at least, there were plentiful of things to see to distract us!

Walking around, reminds me so much of Greece. Just look at the buildings, they look totally Mediterranean! (Even though I’ve never been to Greece and my knowledge is probably limited to what I’ve seen through Mamma Mia! )

An interesting thing that I observed is how 99.99% of the residents here has a ceramic tile of various designs at their door with their family name or house number. I think it’s a very classy thing to do, moreover it’s a wonderful artisan craft.

I’m also adding in this picture below as a reminded to myself of how much it’ll change the next time I go to Capri again (probably in another 4 years) Looks reasonable for now, but I hope it doesn’t go crazy high in a couple of years

And just for fun, I’m adding in a picture of this tricoloured cat too, which seems a little perturbed by me taking a picture of it

It was such a restful walk that before we knew it, we finally reached the hotel!  Cart and I rested for a bit, I changed out of my dirty clothes and showered. As much as I loved the trip, I felt really grimy after that!

Ahh … much better! And with everyone all ready and refreshed, we went out to have dinner in a restaurant called Il Saracevo 

And Cart and I spotted something interesting … That’s Cart’s real name! Hehehe!

Too bad we couldn’t eat this because it contained lard inside … :\

Anyway, let me show you a couple of the food that we had that night :

1. Caprese

2. Fried battered calamari and prawns. This was such a dream!

3. Spaghetti con le vongole

4. Penne alla parmiggiana (?!) This is like a hybrid of Melanzana Parmigiana and penne alla sorrentina together. An interesting mix.

5. Baked swordfish. I like fish, but this was sadly a little too salty for me.

6. An assortment of pizza

7. Babà cake (Furryphoto‘s favourite)

8. Torta al limone which I loved the creaminess and the tartness.

9. Torta Caprese which Cart had and I didn’t order because I thought it would be cloying but it wasn’t at all!

And there were other foods, but I didn’t feel like walking all the way to the other end of the table and bothering people too much

It was a really lovely evening, seeing close friends together, chatting and having a good time. If only I can teleport all my beloved friends together with me, that would be so nice … But it’s just a matter of time when I will find good friends to bond with in Italy too 

(Freaking heck, each time I think like that, one particular scene with the final season of Sex and the city where Carrie goes to France and sees 4 French girls laughing in a cafè always comes to mind!)

Anyway! Before I end this post, check this out! While we were walking back to our hotel after the dinner, I noticed this charming looking restaurant.

And a board full of pictures next to it and upon looking closer …

It’s the pope! I mean no disrespect, but doesn’t he look so similar to a character in Star Wars?

Next : Our last day in Capri

• Our trip to Napoli!

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In the morning, we woke up to a warm day. It has been an uncomfortably, piercingly hot week for us in Rome, but here in Napoli, it was about a degree or two hotter.

We quickly got ready for the day. And after checking out of our hotel, we went around looking for some breakfast. I read that if you are in Napoli, one of the things that you must not miss is Sfogliatelle. This is a type of flaky pastry which contains sweet ricotta cheese inside.

Unfortunately, virtually all of the pastries at all of the bars that we passed by contains lard inside. So we had to give it a pass. Instead, I had Caffe Shakerato. This is an interesting type of coffee where espresso, sugar and ice (I think mine contains cream too) are shaken together in a machine and served with some chocolate.

So yummy!

In Rome, you’d have something called Creme Caffe. However, instead of it being shaken, it’s in a machine that turns it around like a slushie. The taste is very similar though. But they are both very caloriffically sinful and shouldn’t be consumed too regularly.

We then went into a tabaccheria to get ourselves a bus ticket. And just like our trip in Milan, the services were run by another company. Nevertheless, travelled around easily enough. And soon we were walking to the Porto di Napoli

Looks like the ferry to go to Sentosa right? Hehehehe! (Sidenote : I didn’t know that ferry service terminal in Sentosa was demolised?! What a shame)

Anyway, by this time, the situation was quite chatic. I was stunned looking at the crowds at the ticketing counter. It was approaching noon and the crowds were not dissipating and the heat was making everyone feeling angry till the point when anyone tries to cut in to just ask a question at the counter will be glared and shouted at by the masses.

By right, I think that service should have been smoother because we made reservations and have already printed out the receipt. That’s should be valid no? Instead we’d have to bear queuing up again to get yet another ticket. What’s the point of paying additional money? At least make another queue for those who had already made reservations.

So angry.

I suggest that visitors just skip trying to make a booking with aliscafi.it and just go directly to the ticketing counter and save your 16+ euro.

By the way, did you notice something interesting in the above picture?

I understand that it’s forbidden to bring a gun here, but … I didn’t realise that you could get a gun here!

But anyway in due time, we finally got our tickets and it was just a matter of time for waiting for the ferry. Do you like my nailpolish by the way? It looks exactly the same colour as a chocolate bar!

It was such a pretty day, looking at all the ferries over the sea. With islands and mountains in the background.

By this time, Beatrice and Giovanni, both friends of Alessandra, the bride, arrived and joined us. And as we boarded the ferry, I noticed someone running against the direction and thought that he looked familliar …

It was Fausto! He wasn’t allowed on the boat, and he had to rush off to his ticket validated at the ticketing counter. You see, he made a reservation too.

In fact, all five of us made reservations and did not know that we all had to check in at the ticketing counter! What a waste of time! And obviously we were all disgruntled at this point of time.

Nevertheless, we all chilled out after that, and I looked out of the window, watching the water splashing around and the view beyond that.

And in about two hours or so, we finally reached Capri! I’ve already been here before, but seeing Marina Grande, the beautiful blue sea, the picturesque hills and mountains and being here again brought about happy feelings and memories inside me.

By the way, it seems that Capri is so pretty that even celebrities like to go there, with people like Naomi Campbell and Leonardo Di Caprio visiting there often. Nope, I didn’t spot them, but to be honest, I’m quite content looking at the beautiful scenery of the island :-)

We took a shuttle cab to go further inside the island to Anacapri and headed towards our hotel, Villa Ceselle. It was so charming! The first thing that you’d see when you arrive is the little vegetable garden to the left.

You might not spot them at first glance but once you looked carefully, you could see that there were so many types of tomatoes.

There was a basket full of freshly plucked tomatoes and I was so very tempted to steal some of them and bite them raw. But I don’t think that the hotel staff would appreciate me doing that :p

Here is a pumpkin hiding underneath some leaves.

And here are just a fraction of the colourful flowers seen there.

And here are some olives. I was told several times that people in this region are very proud of their crops as plants thrive very well here and consider them top quality.

By this time, our little group started to get bigger with us being 8 at the entrance. It was getting crowded, so I waited outside while Cart finished is done with checking in. Doesn’t the place already look so dreamy?

After a while, we walked past the reception area …

Up the stairs …

And into our room … It is so very pretty! Everything was done tastefully and elegantly, the furniture, the decorations.

There was even an electric shutter that we could roll up and down *country bumpkin* where we could sit in our little area outside to admire the vegetable garden.

But if I had a small issue, was that the bedsheet was strangely thick considering that it was summer. Cart and I had to kick the grey comforter away because it was quite uncomfortable.

There are also free wifi here. But their arrangement was a little strange because the hotel limits users to one ticket, valid for an hour at a time, for one computer. And you’d have to request for a new one once you are done.

It was such a pain trying to finish our daily surfing rituals for us internet obsessed couple, having to share internet this way. I thought that maybe I could just save time and tether from my 3G phone, unfortunately I didn’t have any signal there at all!

Nevertheless, it was a small issue. And by this time it was close to two pm, we were quite hungry, especially that we did not have breakfast. Beatrice wanted to go suntanning but Cart and I wanted to eat, hence we went to Da Gelsomina, a restaurant and pool area which are run by the hotel owners.

My gosh. What a lovely view. In the distance, beyond the blue mist is the Island of Ischia. Which I imagine would be as beautiful in it’s own right!

Here are Andrea, Dario and Beatrice who are already getting in the groove by sunbathing before going to the wedding. A funny thing that I was told was that Italians love to sunbathe. To them, this ritual was how they recharge themselves. Like rechargable batteries!

But for those who doesn’t like to swim, there is a small area where you could play some games at.

But what Cart and I were more interested in was food! We were hungry! And we quickly approached the food kiosk. With the glass counter, this looks like a Nasi Padang stall doesn’t it? Hehehe!

Since we were quite tardy, there were not that much food left, but nevertheless, we still had a good meal.

We had grilled mixed vegetables, which might not look very impressive, but they are deceptively very tasty.

And here is Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. This is a fantastic dish made of Gnocchi with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of basil leaves. Unlike gnocchi which is just boiled and then served with sauce, this is further baked in the oven, like a lasagna.

And it’s very very very good! If you are ever in this part of Italy, you MUST give this dish a try. In fact, I think I’d like to try making this tomorrow (since it’s Thursday tomorrow … Giovedi Gnocchi Day!)

Anyhoo, after our lunch, we returned back to the hotel to change for the wedding! I was feeling rather nervous that I was wearing too much … because I didn’t want to upstage the bride. Guess what I was wearing?! Prior to this, I was looking around in shops for suitable and nice clothes. But either I wasn’t feeling it or the clothe’s didn’t fit me well.

So in the end, I resigned myself and wore what any Malay girl would wear to a wedding. A baju kurong! Which I’ll show you later

Just look at Francesco, Flavia and Alessandra’s mom while in the shuttle car, smiling, being all excited for the wedding.

And here we are at the Municipio where the nuptials will be conducted. Isn’t it gorgeous? Something about it reminds me of the community center back in Pulau Tekong before the island got taken over by the government.

There was a table all set up and ready for the wedding already. And guests of the wedding started to arrive. It was a small, cozy affair with close friends and family of about thirty people. So very different from our wedding!

Here is a more relaxed Fausto posing with the wedding rings. As one of Alessandra’s good friend, he’ll be one of the witness for the wedding.

An interesting thing I noticed was that the rings was that they were tied together on the pillow. I’m not sure if this is an Italian culture, as I didn’t see Cart’s parent’s wedding pictures being similar, but it seems very symbolic.

I’m not sure who that was with the Italian sash. Normally, these are usually worn by an important political figure. I asked Cart if she was the mayor but he said no … so from  this point onwards, I’ll just call her fake mayor.

And here is the fake mayor starting the ceremony with the bride and groom seated and their witnesses next to them. That’s Cart! He’s a witness as Fabrizio considers him as a brother.

It was very interesting to hear fake mayor talking as she conducts the ceremony. I couldn’t really understand like 50% of what she said, but I imagine that it is similar to what most weddings are like.

I should have taken a video. I forgot. It would have been nice to replay the moment again. Anyway, see? Here they are untying the rings and putting them on each other’s ring finger. So cool!

And at the end of it, very similar  to our wedding, the newly married and then the witnesses sign the documents. What a super huge book.

Here is one of Alessandra’s and Fabrizio’s friend, Stefania who was also the wedding planner reading a speech for them. Which was very sweet.

And then the wedding was over! Wow, that’s really efficient! Anyway, here are what the documents looks like.

And here is an obligatory wedding picture with the newly married couple. See what’s that I was wearing? Was it a bit much? But a baju kurong is what I’d normally wear when going to a wedding in Singapore. Be it a Chinese wedding or an Indian wedding not to mention a Malay wedding …

Anyway check out the footwear of all the men in the picture. All of them were wearing canvas shoes! So slack!

And here is a picture of me and Cart. I know it’s not us getting married but hey, we looked good and the scenery looked good. Might as well just tumpang sekaki and join in the ride. Don’t Cart look smashing? I wish that he would dress up more rather than being slack most of the times cos he does look handsome like this!

After the wedding, we headed back to Da Gelsomina again where the eating area has been transformed to a charming dinner area, decorated with vines and candles.

We had an aperitif first. One of the funny things that I noticed was this warning sign close to the pool. No shoes in the pool, no radio … Oh, I can’t draw animals here? Drat! *puts away colouring pencils*

With a nice glass of crodino in my hand, it’s so relaxing, chilling out on the deck chairs, while seeing the sunset going down in the horizon.

Going … Going …

Gone …

I love seeing sunsets.

Soon after it was time for dinner! Our appetizer was buffet style. And Cart was so anxious telling me to queue up quickly before the food runs out. I think he’s too used to his working environment where monster-people hybrids snatch up food quickly.

But since we were among friends, I was confident that there were enough to go around

Wow, check out the spread of food!

And I had this mix. Wow, I think that the food was really wonderful. The crocette di patate was so soft and creamy and the cheeses were so fresh. But I think one of my favourite was the seafood carpaccio.

Carpaccio is raw fish or meat, thinly sliced or pounded sort of like sashimi, but I think this one contained a sort of vinigrette like vinegar or lemon juice because of the slightly sour taste.

It was probably the first time I had anything like it but it was so good that I’m sorry that I wasn’t auntie enough to pack a plastic bag to take back the leftovers. Yes, yes, I know it’s an unclassy thing to do, but why waste food? And like how I expected, there were quite an amount of food left on the the buffet table.

By this time, I was starting to feel quite full and in my head I was remembering this scene from the movie Che bella giornata (try to catch the movie if you can, it’s really cute!) where Farah, being invited to a wedding had to eat so much food til it got uncomfortable for her and she complained to her brother.

“Do you know Ramadan? These people don’t!”

Anyway, it wasn’t like that for Alessandra and Fabrizio’s wedding thankfully! Instead, we had a very relaxed and laidback time, focusing more on chatting with each other and just having a good time.

For our table, we are Francesco, his wife Flavia, Cart and me. And I decided to ask how they met. And what I heard really tickled me.

Basically they met while on vacation. It was such a coincidence that  two Italians would meet overseas. They got along very well but when as things progressed, Flavia thought that they might not be such a good match and they broke up. But eventually they missed each other and were very sad.

They  re-enacting to us a really funny story about how he and Flavia met. Before they got married, she thought that they might not be good together and so they broke up.

Here is Francesco making a sad face :

I was so amused. There were real tears even from having laughed so much! But in the end, they’ve been married for about ten years now. And from what I see, is a very close couple.

After our appetizer, I was a little surprised to see more food. Nevertheless, this is what I had for first course. Calamarata with mussels. This is kind of like aglio oglio. The pasta looks cook yeah? Like it’s namesake really does look like a squid.

As Cart being a vegetarian, he had a plate of creamy pasta with zucchini. This was very good.

And to end the entire dinner, we had one of my very favourite food of the moment. CAKE! Le sigh. I love cake. I’d be happy to eat it every day. It was such a lovely night.

And thus, since I’m pushing almost 2700 words, and I really want to shower, here I end this post very abruptly.

Next : A beautiful day boating in Capri