Marina's Bloggariffic

I enjoy attending conferences and listening to different ideas. Some months back, I attended a barcamp in Rome but I thought that it had a long way to go in the organization. Coupled with the fact that there was a TEDx in KL as well as in Singapore, I was feeling quite jealous.

Luckily, I found that there was a TEDx in Italy! It was all the way in Como though, and that’s about 700 km from Rome so I persuaded Cart to join me. Jerrick decided to join us too when I told him that I would be heading to Milan. And we were all excited about our trip.

November finally arrived and the day before the event, we departed after breakfast and started on our road-trip.

As it was autumn, Cart and I both were enjoying the scenery and colours of the tree leaves – gold, red, green. It was really lovely. And slowly, after some hours, we saw the landscape start to change.

Since we were heading towards to north, where it is colder, it became foggier and foggier. I was fascinated by how misty it was.

And finally at length, after about 6 hours, we finally reached the motorway exit and paid the toll. It was about 33.70 euro.

From this point onwards, we had to rely on Cart’s GPS function on his E72 since we are both not too familiar with the area. It was quite challenging because for some reason as the GPS did not recognize some of the streets that we wanted to go to. And many times, it wasn’t clear at which road to turn to because it didn’t show us that there were multiple lanes. That frustrated the both of us.

It took some tries to get to the right path. Nevertheless, we finally got to central Milan and I observed that there were several nuances in the architecture which gave it a different feel compared to Rome.

For example the roads looked quite different. I’ve yet to see a brick formation like this one below here anywhere in Rome.

As well as the bus stop, because they were run by different services. In Rome, the public transportation is run by ATAC while in Milan it is run by ATM instead. I used to assume that it would be the same throughout the country.

At long last, we reached the City Residence Milano Bed and breakfast where we’ll be putting up during the weekend. I really liked how cozy and inviting and clean it was.

The first thing that you see when you enter, is a table with a basket of condiments and food ready to be used. And right beside it is a fully usable kitchen with cutleries and cooking utensils all ready in the cupboard.  And there was a fridge stocked with the basics, like milk, a large bottle of water and juice ready.

These additional food was not listed in the website, but I thought that it was a thoughtful gesture.

And walking through, the room actually didn’t feel as cramped as it looked like in the website. And it was surprisingly roomy, with loads of places to store our things.

On every bed, there were towels and slippers each. The beds used foam mattresses instead of spring which could take a little getting used to, but nevertheless it was comfortable.

Walking up the stairs was the loft where Cart and I slept in. It was surprisingly warmer than the room below considering that the heater wasn’t turned on. It wasn’t bad for us since it was autumn and the temperatures were cooler, but I cannot imagine how it would be like for guests coming in during the summer.

My small qualm about the bnb was that the bathroom was a tad bit too small. Poor Cartcart couldn’t move about much while showering.

And the bnb can get a tad bit noisy since it was right next to the road and very close to the railway tracks. I didn’t hear it much though because Cart and I were dead tired from the road trip and practically comatose the entire night.

Another thing is that there was no wifi! The only way we could connect to the internet was to use the ethernet cable provided. It was tough with all 4 of us being social media addicts but nevertheless, it was a cozy place and hopefully we’d  definitely stay here again the next time we were in Milano.

After dumping our baggage, we headed out to the metro to meet some of the Singaporeans in Milan. I was keen to meet them and hear what they think about living there.

Unfortunately, we were quite late. It didn’t help that it took us a while to get used to the metro lines because we were unfamiliar with the place.

Nevertheless, we got to the bar where the meeting was safely, and I managed to meet the group. It was really lovely to get to know them.

Like Patricia! I finally got to meet Patricia! She’s right there at the left end. We’ve been talking to each other in the facebook group and so far is the Singaporean that I know of that has been living in Milan the longest. I enjoyed listening to her point of view about getting a job in Milan and of her life there.

The rest were mostly students studying in the Milano university and I met a lovely young lady. She was recounting about how tough it was finding a long term job, and many companies prefer to recruit interns for a short term basis.

And there was one guy below here who is taking a course on designing cars. He reminds me so much of my blogger friend Herry.

Not too long after, Jerrick and his friends Joey and Marta arrived. And after a quick chat, we said our goodbyes to the rest of the Singaporean group and headed back to the bnb.

I was already stoned at this point of time and fainted on the bed in exhaustion.

The next day, Cart and I got up early to head to Como where the Italian TEDx was hosted. Como was about an hour drive from central Milan and again, we had to rely on the GPS to take us there.

It was such a chilly but pretty day, and I could not help but to see the beautiful landscape and the autumn  colours all around. But we were both nervous as we were starting to be late, and the GPS didn’t give us a clear indicator to go to. We missed the right roads for at least 3 times.

At long last, we finally reached the Politecnico di Milano with just 5 minutes to the start of the talk. Phew! We made it! We quickly got our passes and picked our seats and not too long after, the talks started.

Picture credit:  Luca Mascaro

The conference was a very interesting experience. All in all there were about 15 speakers in total each ranging in different topics with most of them in Italian. I’ve still got a long way to go to becoming more fluent in Italian and while I could understand 50% of the words that they said, it was still like a jigsaw puzzle to me.

Nevertheless, for the ones that I could understand, I thought it was very fascinating. Like the talk from Tan Le with a device that can read our brainwaves.

During our break time, Cart and I had time to explore around the area for a bit. There was a silk and design school nearby and I thought that the students here are so lucky to be able to go to school with such a lovely view of the hill.

Being more up north, and bound to be colder, even scooters have their own mittens. This is definitely useful.

And then we went back to the conference for the rest of the speakers. The TEDx conference ended at about 5.30pm. And all in all, I enjoyed the talk although I do hope that the location will be rotated to move around different parts of Italy. The past two years its been held in Como and I’m definitely looking forward to TEDx Roma or somewhere closer 🙂

We then headed off towards Lake Como to meet up with the rest of the group. Unfortunately, because it was autumn, night falls at about 5 pm and it was already dark when we left the polytechnic.

Nevertheless, I fell in love with Como immediately upon reaching there. I can see why George Clooney loves this place too. It’s so charming there! There was a large lake, with shimmering lights across it. And though it was a little like Bracciano, you can tell that the inhabitants take pride in the area – it looked very well taken cared of.

I just wished that it didn’t get dark so soon as I take better pictures in daylight.

I see a building with A VOLTA on top of it. This was probably a monument for Alessandro Volta, the developer of the electric cells. He was born in Como.  This building reminds me of a silly joke that Cart told me some while back.

Once upon a time a father asked his son, “How did your test go?”

And the son replied, It went fine, but I couldn’t get the right answer for “What is the first name of the inventor of the electric cell, last name volta”

And upon hearing this, the dad looked incredulous and angry. He stormed, “How many times do I have to tell you, its JONTRA!”

Jontra Volta. Geddit?

We then had a quick walk around the square and I saw a number of men in green alpine hats carrying musical instruments and I got curious to know what was going on. There were more of them as we walked towards the duomo.

Cart told me that these men were helpers to the duomo, much like the Swiss guards for the the Saint Peter’s square in Rome. We didn’t spend too much time in there though as there was a mass going on.

As the four of us were quite peckish, we adjoured to find a restaurant. Somehow the area gave me the Clark Quay feel with the rows of restaurants next to the river.

We chose a random restaurant for our dinner. It was a nice looking place with a lovely decor.

Unfortunately the food to me was bland and forgettable, but the most unfortunate part was that we found an unwanted denizen in one of our food.

I didn’t really have a good impression of the food in Como but nevertheless, the beautiful view of the lake made up for it and we spent the rest of the evening taking a stroll and enjoying our gelato before heading back to the bnb.

I think I am enamoured with Como. Even the touts were milder here, and they go away when you shake your head at them unlike their more persistent Roman counterparts.

The next day.  It was already our last day there. Woah, time passed by really fast and we only had half a day left in Milan.

I felt a bit unsatisfied that I didn’t even get to see the major monuments in Milan. At least the Duomo. Who goes to Milan without seeing the Duomo?! Joey and Jerrick had already seen it while Cart and I were at TEDx and they both wanted to go shopping.

I was feeling a bit torn. But al right then. Shopping it is. And we said our goodbyes to the bnb and to Milano.

I was sad to leave Milan and all its charms. Milan must have been sad to see us leave too.

Drizzles started to turn into rain and it was super misty outside. I asked Joey and Jerrick if it was the same for them back in UK, and they replied no, it never got this thick.

We headed towards this place called Serravalle, which is about an hour drive from central Milan. Its a designer outlet like Castel Romano, only bigger in size and housed with more brands.

I saw brands like Prada, Ferragamo, Bulgari, Ferrari and more.

We went into many different high end stores. I wasn’t feeling it till we went into Dolce and Gabbana. I didn’t care much for their clothes but when I laid my eyes on this, my heart just melted.

This was the limited edition 2009 Fall/Winter collection. And this was the most beautiful shoe I have ever seen in my whole life. that It’s so gorgeous!

Only thing was that it was bloody 700 euro even after a 50% discount. I can’t afford it

Cart must have seen how upset I felt, so he went off to buy a bag for me in another store, “It might not be the same thing, but I hope you’ll like it” And I do! So sweet of him 

Not before too long, we had to rush to send Jerrick and Joey back to Malpensa. Cart was very worried that they both would miss their flight since it was getting close to 2 hours before their flight so he drove them there directly and we said our goodbyes.

And then it was our time to back to Rome. Seven antagonising hours from Malpensa to head back home. I had to continuously shift around to avoid back aches and kept looking at Cart to make sure that he didn’t fall asleep on the road. It was midnight when we finally reached home and by then I think we both fainted even before reaching the bed after the long journey.

This is probably the most tiring one that I’ve ever taken so far, even more than the vespa club road trip to Malacca, even more than our flight from Dubai to Singapore. Nevertheless, I had a lovely time and would love to go again, longer the next time so we could finally see the different sights of Milan.

Lately, I’ve quite a number of emails asking me about travelling to Italy. Its wierd, because I’m not such an expert at travelling, but I’ll try my best to help and answer these frequently asked questions

Now that you’ve decided to visit Italy, Rome in specific …

When are the best times to visit Rome?

Italy, as well as the rest of Europe, has its own charms in each seasons. Because Singapore is of an equatorial climate where the temperature is usually consistent the whole year round, winter could be interesting for those who’s never experienced it before. Or summer could be great because the temperatures then would be quite similar to Singapore, moreover it could be an experience to hang out with the Italians at the beach.

But personally for me, I think the best times would be April-May for Spring or September-October for Autumn. During these months, the temperatures are not too hot, not too cold. A comfortable 22-25 degrees and it does not rain too much during these times. Moreover the colours and vibrancy are very interesting to see.

Which airline do I book with?

The best times to book for airline tickets would be to book about 6 months in advance. The earlier the better because it will be a higher chance that ticket prices could be cheaper.

So far the best rates that I got from Singapore to Rome two ways is 1.3k SGD including taxes via KLM and Emirates. But sometimes it is helpful to wait till when there are airline promotions like the SIA’s yearly promo because prices fluctuates depending on the day and month that you book so its a gamble. So don’t feel too bad if you find that the prices go down the next day. But you could also try to do a search through Zuji to see what the average rate is like.

If not, you might want to try to wait till the last moments while booking or try lastminute.com. This is because there could be a chance that someone could cancel their booking and you could get a flight ticket for way cheaper although there will be a big risk that you wont get the dates that you want. Thus only use this option if you’re not on a schedule.

What hotels do you recommend to stay?

That’s a hard question because I don’t really have experience in this department since I live with Cart in our apartment … In fact, when Cart first came to Singapore, I was clueless at what hotel to recommend him.

But in any case, you might want to take a look at tripadvisor for tips on where to stay. In fact, I used this website to give me some hints on where to stay for our trip to Milan. What’s nice about this website is that the lodgings are rated by real people who has personally visited these places and most of them give their unbiased review.

For instance, I was considering on doing a short vacation in Cameron Highlands and while doing my research, I stumbled upon an online advertisement and looking through the site, I thought that this could be a nice place to stay. From the pictures, it looked so lush and charming

Unfortunately, there were so many bad reviews about it online, now I’m thinking twice about visiting it. Thus appearances can be deceiving! It is also useful to do an in depth search online through blog searches for other personal experiences.

On the other hand, you could support my friend Eu Chai. He’s travelled around Italy extensively made a website with a list of lodgings.

By the way, one thing to take note of, is that the average rate for a night in a hotel is at least 80 euro a night. So if you are on a budget, I’d suggest that you try a bed and breakfast. I like bed and breakfasts because its a flat rate and you could divide the cost by how many people are in your group.

Lets say a bed and breakfast room costs 120 euro a night, and there are 4 people in your group, you only pay 30 euro per person. I think that’s a good value if you’re not too fussy about your accommodations. Personally for me, I prefer B&Bs as its a better value since I’ll be spending my time exploring rather than just staying in all the time. Just make sure to keep your valuables safe and close with you as there are risks of pickpockets and gypsies in Central Rome.

OR if you’re in a serious serious budget, you might want to try youth hostels or even couch surfing. Couch surfing basically means that you can stay at someone’s house and sleep on whatever spare space they have available like the sofa or the floor. It’s not glamorous, and you would have no privacy, but on the other hand, its a good way to have an in depth view of a local’s way of life.

Although, by doing this method, it is very important that you need to do this with the utmost discrepancy. Check the person and see if this person has a high rating and experience doing this. You wouldn’t want to risk staying with a psycho.

How do I get around in Rome?

Now that you’re already landed in Rome, and you are ready to move around. What do you do?

The easiest way is to take the taxi. Its very convenient, although I don’t really recommend it so much because it can be quite pricey. Even with a legit taxi, one way trip alone from the airport to your lodgings alone can cost at least 50 euro. Moreover there are too many horror stories where unlicensed taxis totally cheat off unsuspecting tourists.

On the other hand, while public transportation takes longer, its more affordable. The train connecting from the airport to the city centre costs about 5 euro. And when you’re in the city centre you are free to travel with unlimited public buses for 90 minutes as well as underground train tickets going for 1.50 euro one way.

These tickets can be bought from the subway station itself, as well as tabbacchi shops or newspaper kiosks around Rome,

There are also tourists tickets that you could purchase for unlimited rides. Just always remember to validate your ticket just before boarding.

By the way, Ron in Rome has made an exceptional post of riding busses in Rome.

However, do be aware that there are chances that there are frequent public transportation strikes in Rome. And if that happens and you need someone to drive you around, contact me if you are travelling 3 people and below.

Another way that I really like is by taking the open bus. With this bus, you could have an overview of all the monuments in Rome for about 15 euro and when something catches your fancy, you stop and explore. This ticket is valid for 2 days which is more or less enough to explore the main monuments.

What should I visit in Rome?

There are heaps to things to see here in Rome. I advice you to plan your route and schedule in advance because it can get quite tiring to try to visit all in one go.

If not, here are some places that you must not miss when you are visiting Rome.

1. Saint Peter’s Square

San Pietro is a monumental building where the pope lives. Its so large and tall that you could stack up at least 50 humans to reach the top. And if you are lucky enough to head there on Sunday morning, it would be fantastic as you could see the Pope in action during a mass. Click here to read my blog post on Saint Peter’s Square

2. Castel Sant Angelo

Castel Sant Angelo is a fortress which has a long pathway which is connected directly to the Saint Peter’s Square. If you are here during August, the caretakers has interesting night activities. Click here to read my blog post on Castel Sant Angelo.

3. Piazza Navona

If you’ve watched Angels and Demons, you might remember the scene where the assassin tries to drown one of he cardinals in one of the fountain in Piazza Navona. In real life, it would be impossible though because the fountain is so shallow all he needs to do is to stand up.

Nevertheless, there is a vibrancy here, with the place full of artists, drawing as well as performance, there is always something to see. It’s most lovely to be here in December for Christmas and the Befana festival.

And while you are in the area, the Pantheon isn’t too far away and you could have a slow while eating gelato on your way there. Click here to read my blog post on Piazza Navona.

4. Vittorio Emanuele

The Vittorio Emanuele monument, also lovingly called the typewriter by the locals here is a building to honour the first king as well as the unknown soldiers from the first world war. It is also the location used in the amazing race season 1, episode 6.

When you are there, its just a straight walk towards other interesting sights such as the Colosseum and the Fontana di trevi. Don’t forget to throw a coin there so that you’d come back to Rome!

Click here to read my post about the Vittorio Emanuele monument.

5. Basilica di San Clemente

Apart from San Paolo, San Clemente is probably the oldest church in Rome. To me, this place is interesting, as below this church is another church and below that church is a house built in the 4th century. Many layers like a lasagna.

Anyway, there are so many monuments in Rome that its not possible to write them all in one go. So you might also want to check out my Italy tagged post to read about my thoughts on the different places in Rome and Italy that I’ve explored 🙂

If you are up to it, why not hang out with a local for a drink or dinner with the Singaporeans in Italy and Malaysians in Italy (or any other group where you come from) We are a very friendly and outgoing bunch and you’d get another perspective of Italy which is beyond the touristic manuals.

I want to go shopping! Where can I get the best deals in Rome?

The best times to go shopping in Italy is during January and July for the sale season.  During these times, items can go from 30 – 50% off. While most of the items are old stocks, quite a number of them are of the newer items.

These are a couple of clothes I got from the summer sale.

You could save even more if you visit an outlet. One of the most famous one is Castel Romano.

I got some Italian lipsticks for under 5 euro each during the sale season and I think its such a steal!

I think its not really that accessible since its kind of out of Rome so I didn’t see any connecting public transportation so far but if you’re looking for deals on branded items, this is the place to go.

Again, if you need someone to drive you and your group is 3 people and below, just contact me.

What are some of the food that I should try here in Rome?

This is a tough one because of my religious belief, there are some food that I cannot consume and have to be prepare by myself.

But nevertheless, while in Rome, there are some food that you MUST try like pizza margherita, pasta cacio pepe, gelato and Italian coffee.

And here are a few of the places that I absolutely love :

The great thing about pizze in Italy is that most of them uses  wood oven which really affects the taste of a pizza. While there are many pizzeria out there, for whole pizzas, I really love Rosso Pomodoro. In the picture above, that’s a size for one by the way.

And for pizza al taglio, where you can choose your pizza by weight, my very favourite would be Eligio (Viale Villa Pamphili 46) as well as Il Secchio e L’olivaro. Everything is freshly made, and you can taste how flavourful each slice is.

There are many gelaterie in Rome, but I think the place that you must try would be Tony Gelateria on account that while the place looks modest, the gelato is divine. Every friend that we’ve introduced to here absolutely adores it, once they’ve given it a try.

I also love La Fraschetta di Mastro Giorgio for their luxurious and very Roman style pasta.

There are a lot of wonderful food establishments, but do be aware that there is an increasing amount of tourist traps such as this 20 euro alfredo.

If you are are keen on trying Italian coffee, Illy and Lavazza are the top brand coffee here and you cant go wrong with any bar using that. And there are also many types that you might want to try. One of my favourite coffee so far is the Marocchino.

This is made of one part espresso, one part steamed milk and a bit of cocoa powder or chocolate syrup on top of it. And its really really good.

Feel free to go trough my food fascinations tags for the latest updates of the food that I’ve  eaten here.

Any other advice you could give me?

Like any other experiences when travelling overseas be it in Italy or any other parts of the world, always keep yourself as well as your valuables safe and close to you. Most part of Rome are nice, but there are a number of touts in the city centre. So you need to be vigilant.

To avoid being cheated, sometimes you need to be fierce and stand your ground. But in the worst case scenario, find out about your country’s embassy contact. This is the contact for the Singapore consulate in Rome.

You might also want to learn a bit of basic Italian phrases. While many areas in the city centre knows English, generally people are warmer when you speak their native language. This bbc website is pretty good.

And wear comfortable shoes. Rome’s city centre is full of cobble stones and it just doesn’t make sense to be wearing high heels.

But the most important tip is to have fun! Take your time exploring and absorbing the area and take loads of pictures for memory.

So there are some of my tips. It is probably not complete, as I still continue to explore and live in Rome. But if there are anyone who needs more help, or have any suggestions, please feel free to comment in the comment box below or contact me.

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