KOKKOLA - ROME
Transportation
Kokkola - Istanbul
We started on February 29th at 3AM. We got out of our apartment at 4:30AM to get the train which left at 5:30AM for Helsinki Airport. It is a pity that we live so far from Helsinki (400km) and it took us around 4 hours to get there. It was my second time being at Helsinki Airport, well, because this was the first time I traveled somewhere outside of Finland :) The airport is small, but really clean. I think there is not a lot of international airports which are clean like Helsinki Airport.
Istanbul - Rome
The flight took off at 1:20PM and we arrived at Istanbul International Airport at around 5:20PM. It was supposed to be 4:55PM but the airport is so shitty that the pilot had to fly around to kill time in order to land. I guess the organization of the airport is not so efficient :/
However, Turkish Airlines was good for service. We were given this Turkish candy at the beginning of the flight.
It tastes a little bit like "mè xửng", a Vietnamese traditional candy. It is soft, chewy and has sugar sprinkled outside. It was really nice. We loved it and we were so excited for it on the way back :)). The meal was not so bad, we had cucumber and yogurt for starter (it's a Turkish food which Yagiz and Ozge did for us before they came back to Turkey), ratatouille with rice for main course and mousse for dessert. Of course we had fresh bread with butter and cream cheese spread, which was really Turkish too ^^.
Istanbul International Airport is bigger than Helsinki and also dirtier :/ the toilets were awfully smelly and the restaurant service was disappointing. There was no free wifi and electric outlets like in Finland, a big minus!!! However, we spent 4 hours there because of the transition and it was not a good time. But we were able to buy cheap cigarettes at Duty Free shops so overall it was not so upset. Our flight was supposed to leave at 9PM from Instanbul but there was a 45-minute delay and we weren't informed beforehand at all. Another minus! Not just that, we had to do an extremely long taxi because the plan had to queue to take off since there were so many airplanes taking off at the same time. The airport absolutely sucks at organizing!
As a result of the delay, we arrived at Fiumicino Airport at 00:30 instead of 10:45PM as planned. The last train from the airport to the center left at 00:30 so we were fucked up. We tried contacting the host before coming to Rome to ask her to pick us up at the airport but she didn't come because she misunderstood that we would come the next day. Sooooo, we waited for maybe a fucking hour at the airport for nothing because she didn't answer the phone. Luckily, there was an Italian guy who also wanted to go to Tuscolana so we share the taxi fee with him. It was 20 fucking euros :/ but still better than nothing. When we were on the taxi, Manuela, the host, called us back and she explained that it was a misunderstanding between her and Airbnb and we could stay at her friend's house since she was out of town that night. So we waited for maybe around 1 hour more at Tuscolana for Achille. her friend, to take us to his place. He has an apartment for rent too and it was lovely. At that point, we just needed a place to sleep and it was beyond that. We were so exhausted that we fell as sleep immediately after lying on the bed and we slept until 10AM the next day.
BEFORE THE ADVENTURE
Manuela's house
We walked and took the Metro to her place at around 3PM after a meal at Mc Donald's. The Metro ticket for 3-day travel was 18 euros but we couldn't pay by card so Arnaud had to withdraw cash, which was annoying. In Italy, there are places where they do not accept card payment and we didn't have much cash. The Metro, just like every other Metro, was dirty and full of robbers.
Manuela's house was pretty and cozy, just like what she describes on Airbnb. Our room was clean and fully equipped. We had a real big bed, which we don't have in Finland so we were happy for that. We rested for about an hour before going around the city to check on map the directions and transportations. We left the apartment at 4PM. It was 18 degrees, we almost melted :))
Transportation in Rome
We took Metro to go the center and it was fast. We were advised by Manuela that we should keep our valuable papers at home at just take copies of them. We did and we also put our belongings in our inside pockets because there have been so many robberies in the Metro. The Metro is surprisingly punctual. At first I thought Italians are not used to being on time but no. Every 3 minute, there is a Metro.
ROME - A GORGEOUS CITY
The first day
We started our "journey" at 4PM and we visited Colosseo first. Unfortunately, it was closed because its opening hour is from 8AM till 4PM. So we decided to walk along the street to see the outside of Colosseo and the Forum. They were so beautiful and majestic.
After that, we went to a church nearby. There were so many tourists, especially French! People were wearing scarfs and thick jackets and we were like one thin pullover with the sleeves up ^^ The result of living in Finland and having suffer the extremely tough winter. The church was beautiful, even the way to it was nice too. It doesn't look luxury or anything but it was Italian!
The most breath-taking part of the church was undoubtedly the inside decoration. Everyone knows Italian are cut out for church decoration but we still got surprised anyway
This is the ceiling. I was so in love with it because of it detailed decoration and its gorgeous appearance.
After the church, we went back down to visit the outside of The Forum. We didn't have the ticket so we just saw some basic things but they were beautiful enough ^^
We walked like 20km the first day and we visited Piazza di Spagna, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Piazza Venezia in the evening. Belows are photos respectively
We were starving after visiting many places so we decided that we would head for a really delicious pizza dinner meal. We came to this restaurant and ordered 2 pizzas, capricciosa and beoseola (if I remember it correctly). The dinner was my boyfriend's late Valentine gift for me and it was perfect. The service was good, the pizzas were true Italian and definitely delicious!
This one was Beoseola with basic base with Parma harm, mozzarella cheese, olive and artichoke
This one was capricciosa with basic base, rucola, harm and Parmesan cheese
Totally, the dinner costed us only 27 euros including the drinks. It was 9 - 10 euros for a pizza, which is quite cheap for their quality. We were so tired that we took the bus to go back to The Forum and walked there for awhile before coming back home. In the evening, the lights were on and they make everything even much more glamorous! I felt so relaxed and enjoyable while walking along the street with Arnaud and looking at those beauties :) We walked until Colosseo because we wanted to witness its beauty with the lights at night and it was worthy!
We took the Metro to go back home and conclude our first day like that :)
