Ciao Bella! Come Stai? - Dream Trip ~part 3

roma roma!
our fav city! who would hav tot so?

18 May 2013 (Rome)

the whole city smokes like crazy here.

i tot i was abt to die inhaling all those smoke.

n boy oh boy, this is certainly a city of opportunities.

i am putting it v nicely liao.

touting started as soon as we got off the train, waiting for taxi at the stand.

loud n fierce, on driver quoted me 45 euros to get to our B&B, another one tried to cheat us into his cab.

both got dismissed (u got to b v fierce) by me n baby.

hopped onto a cab (driven by a lady!!!), drove thru vatican (w lots of ppl in a parade), jam.....n when we reach our B&B, it was 15 euros.

yes, the bastard quoted 45.

c the diff?

 

there was a mob "marching" on the streets, blocking all the cars.....we wonder y......

 B&B is clean n spacious. n finally got tv n wifi!!!!

 the host at the B&B gave us a tutorial on where to go, where to eat in rome. haha. v informative. we went to this trattoria nearby for late lunch. one thing to note. it is normal for shops to "rest" at 2pm n return at abt 4pm. baby n i reached this place at abt 2.45pm. when we enter, the lady boss stared at us, looked at the clock, n gave us the wtf-u-duno-i-am-tired-get-the-hell-out-of-here look.

but one of her server (v nice n friendly) saw us n showed us in. yes, this is wine,again.

 fried artichoke. crispy n sweet. tasted like chips. we cant get enuff of this. keep eating for the rest of our days in rome.

 seafood "salad". as u can c, there r more seafood than salad here. v tender octopus legs.

 the server suggested seafood pasta when i ordered vongole. wise choice. again, seafood is more than pasta. n the spaghetti is awesome. the seafood sauce coated every strain of the pasta. the pasta is perfectly cooked, smooth n silky.....v nice!

 did i mention that the food portion here is huge as well? 

 chocolate moouse. yummy.

ok, there's the thing. e oni sour coffee i've tasted in italy came from here. too acidic.

 started our "dolce vita walk" in late afternoon. juz walk around n enjoy the city.

 this is a POLICE CAR. i oso wan to b police. can drive ferrari.

 we went into a cathedral during our walk. i think all cathedral in italy look like an art museum.

 ladies n gentlemen, the trevi fountain.

 it ws flooded w tourists lor. cant even get down! n nobody is throwing coin lor. wat we can c is ALOT of pickpockets, touters. really. v scary.

 finally managed to get near. suddenly i am relieved that i didnt propose to baby here. (rem the top propose destination? me = trevi fountain, MQ = chatuchak, YX = HK 女人街, WK = taj mahal).hahahaha.

this is ridculous. we went to this restaurant (1 star michelin) for dinner. it was "hidden" in one of the streets near spanish steps. it was frequent by the locals. when we went, they r full. sorry, no place to eat. fine, i made my reservations for next week instead (they rest on sunday n monday). 

 we've decided to go bk to the trattoria near our place for dinner. this was when the nitemare started. rem the "mob" i mentioned previously? this is wat we saw in the metro station. as we tried to walk out of the station, we were "countered" by a HUGE mob from outside. we were v v v v v lucky that we managed to SQUEEZE our way out behind a baby pram. bcos the person behind us was completely swallowed by the crowd. yes, we were the last persons to get out of the station. alive.

after squeezing our way out (took us like 20 mins) we walked to the trattoria near our place to have dinner. it was full house (we suspect was bcos of the mob), so we had a seat outside. nt bad though. v romantic to eat outside. thing is, the lady boss (the one whom rolled her eyes at us this afternoon) was like panting her lungs out, running here n there, machiam v busy.....we tot she will pass out in the kitchen. she is such a lousy lousy restaurantuer (too nice name for her?). baby n i have decided to call this restaurant "the droopy (breast)". y? cos the ladý boss's breast threatened to drop out every single time she step out.

baby v happy to come out w the name.

it was 10pm, n we didnt get our food YET. in fact, nobody outside got their food. the mob was crazy. they march EVERYWHERE. on the streets. v chaotic.

food finally arrived. we tried the suppli (deep fried risotto). v nice!

baby had the pizza w zucchni flowers n anchovies. i muz say the anchovies here tasted better. more flavors. but pizza wise, giorgo's is still better!

i had the veal cooked in some wine. its really good. but pls note. here, they dun serve u side dishes. u have order them separately (yes, extra $$$). i forgot. so, no side dish.

tiramisu was good!

baby was crying happy tears after we had our food.

this is the time when we got the dessert. look. n the mob was still active. ltr we did found out that there was an event in vatican city earlier that day (papa came n met the ppl). that explains the chaos. yes, the pros n cons of staying juz outside vatican. wat an experience.

 

 

19 May 2013 (Rome)

 

went to san pietro in vincoli early in the morning.

 the chain that held st peter during his captive

 michelangelo's moses. supposed to b one of the 47 free standing monument for the funeral of pope julius II, ended up being the centre piece of his tomb. awesome, isnt it? awesome awesome.

 

tok abt Q-ing.

dun think it gets any worse than this.

we went to e legendary colosseum early in the morning.

guess wat?

the Q was nuts. it went one round outside n snake into the colosseum. we Q for 2 hrs before we can get in. touters went around n "promote"their express Q w a guide (lousy one) for exorbitant prices. i muz admit, halfway thru the Q, i was so tempted to take the offer. it was sunny n hot. super tiring!

 camwhore outside 1st

 very hot lor. need umbrella.





finally got in, but the Q is like snake lor.....i cant even c the start or end of the Q.

 



 finally got in. this is where they kept the animals b4 the fight.

 

 the stage. a stage of warp violence.

 

 

 

 the materials (stones) used here r special. they r used bcos they can soak up all the blood caused by the fights. tsk tsk tsk.

 

 

 

 

 

 baby reading up seriously.

 

 an animal infront of an animal cage????? erm, need to fight pigs meh huh? 

 

 its huge n epic. i have been wanting to come here since N years ago after watching 冲上云霄. in fact, my italy fanatasy was casued by that show. n finally after like 10 yrs, i've fulfiled my dream.

v touristy. too many ppl liao. drove me nuts.

the tix included a day in palatine hills. but baby n i decided to give it a miss. enuff tourists already.

 went to the other pizzaria recommended by the B&B host. food......

 

 steak w freid eggplant. the steak was fantastic. melt in ur mouth texture.

 cacio e pepe. we have been wanting to try this as well. rich (from the cheese) n full of punch(from the pepper). v nice, but v filling.

 purple cabbage w anchovy sauce. this is lovely! the cabbage was sweet (bitter after taste. i like!), salty anchovy added the extra lift (seafood) to the salad. its good!

 nv bluff u. look at the perfectly rare beef.

took the bus after lunch to start our heart of rome walk. juz to let u noe, it can b a real challenge to take their buses. but its fun! no need to scan card de hor. but u need to validate ur "ticket" b4 u board the bus. if u fail to do that, u will need to paya hefty penalty.

 started our heart of rome walk in the evening. went to this pizzaria (recommended by the stupid guide book) for early dinner (after the lesson from the previous day). choosing this place is the 2nd biggest mistake i've made for this trip. total crap food n service. the server was flirting w another ang mo customer beside us.....made us wait like 15 mins b4 he took our order. hw's dat for a start.

 total pissed off.

 muz order wine.

 pasta too soft, clams too small. w sand.

 mediocre calzone (closed pizza). w zucchini n smth else. i dun rem. it was really burnt underneath.

bleh max.

nice fountain on our way.

 

 

 everywhere u turn in rome, there will b art.

 can u c the moon on the left hand side?

 even the parliment building looks like a museum. 

 

 ladies n gentlemen, the pantheon. this greek temple was built by marcus agrippa during 27 BC (yes, THAT LONG). its, again, epic. i simply love it. this was my ultimate fav temple/cathedral/ruins in italy. best. the words "M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT"  means "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time".

 look at hw huge this is.

 

the temple was closed for the day. so we will go back for a visit tmr.

 

 we walked to the spanish steps. night view of the streets really got alot of "feel".

 

 the ever crowded spanish steps. i wonder y they like to sit here n do nothing. juz nua away their time. y ah? nth better to do ah?

 

 the view on top of the steps. those branded shops surrounded the area. yup, ur prada, gucci, LV......we wanted to shop around, but alas, the shops close at 8pm. gua gua.

 

 we can c the st peter's from here.

 

 awesome view.

 a touter approached us when we were taking this pix. we simply pushed him away. ta ma de.

 

ok. u got me. i went to this chinese restaurant downstairs n da bao fried rice n tofu soup for supper (dinner too early. n food sux). it turned out to b good.

 

 

20 May 2013 (Rome)

 

 went to this famous cafe for special coffee near pantheon. if u still duno, italians drink their coffee at the bar, standing. oni tourists sit. n the price for standing n sitting is different. it could b doubled if u sit.

 my maroccino. espresso w loop of milk on top, w cinnamon n abit of chocolate. taste so good! perfect for a cold day like this!

 baby's espresso w a huge chunk of cream. this tasted heavenly man. the freshly whipped cream was smooth n slightly sweet n cold, drank w the bitter, strong, rich hot coffee......diff extremes of taste (bitter vs sweet), temperature (hot vs cold), mouthfeel (liquid vs cream)......wat can b more exciting?

the coffee here was good. i bought 1 bag of beans back.

 went into the pantheon after coffee. this is the oculus at the tip of the dome of pantheon. this is the source of light for the temple.

 everyone was pointing n looking at the oculus. the dome of the panteon is 43.3 meters in diameter. imagine hw huge it is. n given the technology they had in 27 BC, i wonder hw this was built. imagine a ball in a basket. it fits perfectly to the roof.

 the church is still active. they conduct mass frequently.

 u can c the clouds move

 they claimed that the rain will nt get beyong this circle.i wonder how true.

 however, this place was used as a tomb since renaissance. it holds the tomb of raffaello and 2 kings and 1 queen of italy.

tomb of raffaello.

 tomb of king vittorio emanuele.

 hv u ever really wonder wat was behind?

 baby: this way this way!!!!

 told u i wan to b police here. c wat they drive.

we made our way to the flea mkt

 bought a ceramic knife, 2 moka pots n a cup of fruit juice (4 euros. mad).

realise the change in my hairstyle? haha.

 aha! u r right! we went for chinese food for lunch! hehe.

 u noe hw much i miss tang hoon???

the beansprouts were so sweet lor. the cooking was so so. baby n i concluded that the quality of ingredients r really better here.

 went strolling after lunch.

 if u've watched angels n demons (or read), u will noe abt the bridge leading to vatican. there r sculptures of angels on both sides of the bridge as u walk thru. baby wanted to c it. so we walked ( v long lor) from our B&B to the bridge.

 found this castle on our way. high fashion pix.

 try to b high fashion.

 bridge of the angels.

 st peter's

 u muz b here urself to feel n c it. i cant tell u hw beautiful it was from the pix.

 the sculptures at both sides of the bridge

 si beh high fashion

 i think i make a better model. no?

i muz take this. this mini car is a single seat car. super small. n it was apparently the "in" car in italy. so many ppl driving this.

 we wanted to go to another restaurant for dinner, but it will oni b opened at 8pm!!! (wtf) i was damn hungry, so we went to "droopy".

 ordered white wine. end up they served me prosseco. better still!!! n they charge me 3.50 euros. who wants to complain?

 proscioutto w mozzarella cheese. yums. 

 this spaghetti alla vongole is simply awesome. pasta smooth n silky, flavorful (clams n wine!), clams sweet n plump. nth to complain abt. i gobbled this up within 5 mins. so good.

 this pork chop was so tender n juicy. super nice.

 fried artichoke!!!!

 side dish chicory.

 panna cotta w caramel. v soft n creamy. v v v nice. they nv fail to disappoint us. 

with this kind of price n quality, i am announcing that i will nv go bk to valentino again. super overpriced.hahahaha. i've became a food snob.

 

 

21 May 2013 (Rome)

 

woke up early (super) to go to vatican. all worth.

the Q was like super long (nth new i supposed). lucky for us, we booked the tix in advance this time.

went to the museum 1st.

my main purpose is to go sistine chapel.

but we cant take pix in sistine.

sigh.

 even e stairway is so artistic.

 i took off my scarf. baby was complaining dat i anyhow add burden to her bag.

 baby: u walk so slow.....

me: lets go lets go!

 there was so much to c. the ceiling (up), the floor (down), the paintings (left), the sculptures(right), the inside, the outside......u hav to really open ur eyes n clear ur mind to register all the stuff ur eyes c to the brain to decipher all the art. i wun say so much. let the pix do the toking.

 these r carpets.

 i call this the "golden pathway". this was the path before we reach sistine chapel. the whole place is GOLD.

 raffaello painted michelangelo into his painting. hahaha. he was so pissed then.

 思考中

 

reached sistine chapel after this. i was totally blown away by it. michelangelo was such a GENIUS. the last judgement is the best pc of art i've ever seen. how in the world can any human being finish this by himself (one person, no helper). n he nearly went blind after painting the ceiling.

below r some pix of e chapel. i got all the pix of sistine chapel from the internet.

 

sistine chapel.

 the ceiling. middle section of the ceiling were 9 scenes from the book of genesis, showing creation, downfall and fate of humanity. the 9 scenes r:

• The Separation of Light and Darkness
• The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Earth
• The Separation of Land and Water
• The Creation of Adam (below)

 

• The Creation of Eve
• The Temptation and Expulsion
• The Sacrifice of Noah
• The Great Flood
• The Drunkenness of Noah

 the last judgement. i simply love this. go read online abt the story behind this masterpiece. the best part of this is michelangelo included himself into this masterpiece (the piece of flayed skin held by st bartholomew). michelangelo was in his late sixties when he completed this piece. 

SIMPLY GENIUS. this is my ultimate fav piece of painting.

 n yes, we were at the exit stairway again.

bye bye sistine chapel :(



 was too hungry to continue to other places. so went to have some food 1st. we've decided to go bk to the chinese restaurant for some light food. BIG MISTAKE. my 3rd mistake in italy.

the restaurant was juz opened, so the staff were like buay gam wan. n they were clearing up the mess left from the previous nite (soiled dishes, table cloth.....) n they took our orders reluctantly. one of the server was busy clearing her phelgm from her throat.....omg. disaster.

we suspected they sabotaged our dishes. baby n i had serious diarrhea ltr that day. total crap.

sorry for the blur pix. i think i forgot to share hw interesting the lift to our B&B was.

 it was the "old type" of lift whereby u hav to open a metal gate, followed by the door.

 n it can oni hold max 4 pax.

super old school

 st peter's basilica!!!!!

 imagine this place being filled up when they were waiting for the chosen one (pope).

 pieta by michelangelo. another masterpiece. (i think by nw, most of u r sick of e arty explainations. so i am going to keep it simple.....NOT.hahahahaha)

the body of jesus on the lap of his mother, mary, after cruxification. it was said to have a balance between renaissance ideas of classic beauty n naturalism.

 angels n demons fans? this was the place (in the show) where the carmerlengo committed suicide.

 

 we went underground to c the tomb of the pope(s). no pix allowed.

 sculpture of st peter. ppl were Q-ing to touch/kiss his toe.

 bernini's canopy.

 there was a private mass going on in the evening. we had goosebumps during the proceedings. they sang their way in.....n we were shoo-ed out of the chapel.hahhahaaha.

 go out ma go out lor......

 the oni puzzling thing is, y did michelangelo make the swiss guards look like clowns?

 ignore the uncle behind.

can u c the smoke chimney (release white smoke if new pope is selected)?

 went to this "undergraound" trattoria for lunch at 3pm. i tell u, it was the worse meal ever. 3pm = siestra. close shop sleep liao. the server was like si beh buay gam wan. n 80% of the food is nt available liao. best rite.

 baby: u c ah, if in singapore, sure die la like this....simi ma bo.....

 spaghetti w smoked mozzeralla n artichoke sauce. i didnt finish this. nt for the faint hearted. highly aquired taste. bleh to me.

 baby's bacalao. nt worth mentioning. total waste of my time n calories. n $$$$. v ex lor. damn it.

 to compensate our utterly hurt feelings (chey....), we reward ourselves to some pastries at a coffeeshop near our B&B. the canoli n cream puff were awesome!

 happy liao la.

wash down the dessert w a good cup of coffee. sui!

baby hooked on the crime shows. hahaha.

dun scold us la, after walking everyday for like 2 weeks, we were really v v v tired le.....rest is impt.

 yes! finally, we got the chance to enjoy good food! our reservation (made 2 days ago) was at 7.30pm.

 it was raining, n look at the Q. u noe immediately this is definitely a good place to eat.

 5 more mins.

 really so good ma.....

 our 1st course. a simple dish of prosciutto w rock melon. my oh my. this was the BEST prosciutto i've tasted for the entire italy trip. nt too salty, abit sweet even. n the melon, sweet like sugar.

 tortellini stuffed w minced meat in broth. OMG. this dish is awesome. the meat stuffing was so fragrant. the pasta was thin, n the broth tasted heavenly. but wait till u add the grated parmaggiano. ma ma mia! the cheese released the omph from the broth, n it became ALIVE. imagine a cold wet day, drinking this soup......after one spoonful, we stopped the server immediately. no, not to tell him hw good the soup is. we imeediately made reservations for dinner for the next 2 nights. it was this good. serious.

 braised beef served w potato. the beef melts in ur mouth. potato creamy, soft, silky.......

 i was madly in love with this dessert. zabaglione. i can die for this. super tasty. u can literally taste the prosecco in the creamy, rich, dense mousse. can i hav more??????

 thier signature dessert, lemon meringue pie. this was really good! crispy meingue w zesty custrad n an awesome pie crust. my god. this was so good, that the lady at the next table was staring at us when we ate this. when she saw our expression (we nodded n told her to order....hahaha), she forced her hubby to share one portion w her. she loved it too! n she told baby "it's all ur fault.....but i love it!!!" so funny. good food really brings ppl together eh?

everybody was looking at other ppl's dishes, toking to each other, telling each other which is good......the cosy little restaurant had become a little place for ppl to get together. magic.

wat is a meal wout espresso? :)

did i mention that baby n i went shopping b4 dinner n i bought a wallet to reward myself????hehe.
 

 

22 May 2013 (Rome)



woke up super early to go to the borghese gallery.

n we were v lucky to get some advice from our host (she advice us to go by another route).

damn it.

on the end, we hav to walk thru a villa (super big!!!!) to find e gallery.

yes, it was like hiking early in the morning. it was cold.

hiking in the woods.

yes. we walked for abt 1 hr b4 we found e place.

i insisted to go, cos i wanted to c bernini's sculptures.

 walk like mad, finally reach lor. good experience though.

 they oni allow ppl who made reservations to go in. no booking, no entry. still, there is a long Q when we reached. n it was nt even 8.30am yet. they oni allow 360 ppl in each time. n the time limit is oni 2 hrs. yes, u oni havc 2 hrs to c everything inside. when we were there, tix were booked out for the whole week. crazy.

baby: y still need to Q?????

as usual, they dun allow ppl to take pix inside. this pix was taken from the internet. this is bernini's version of david. it was said to b a self portrait of bernini. handsome hor. baby n i loved this. the expression on his face is exquisite. we both tot that bernini is hell of a genius sculptor. he can turn a pc of stone into smth so real, so alive. u really hav to come c it urself.

the tix to the gallery. nice hor?

 

 we wanted to walk to the nearby animal park (in the villa), but it was super far (in the villa, but muz take bus one lor. go imagine hw BIG the villa is. stretches between 2 metro stns. n we r toking abt italy). so i suggested to hav an early lunch.

 e sky was turning dark at this moment. we wanted to sit inside, but the restaurant was full house (the MOB was out again. papa audience in the morning.....), so we were like forced to sit outside.

 i still think that drinking water here i an utter waste of $$$$. but muz make it worth. so i poured baby's glass TO-THE-BRIM. as if it helps. hahahaha.

 me: nope, it wun rain.

baby: sure ma.....sky v dark.

me: sure. 半日仙said so.

after like 20 mins, it started to pour. 半日仙 became 半日闲. crap.

 they re-located us in the crampy restaurant. cant even walk. we ordered the artichoke, seafood pasta (yum) n this. i've always wanted to try. although we've done this in tuscany, we hav to try this in rome. classic. beef tripe. soft, tender, melt in mouth. sauce was nice. v v good. nt so gamey too! baby like this too. :)

i told u le. its good.

 rem we've made reservations for the nxt 2 nites at CM?

 from the bread basket. sesame bread. v nice.

 veg soup. sweetness from the veg. the cabbage tasted so good. i love it.

 this was the best best best best handmade pasta i've tasted in my life (at the moment la). it may look like a simple tagliatelle w ragu to u. but i tell u, i can eat this everyday. the pasta is so smooth n silky, the wonderful meaty sauce sticks to the pasta like no tomorrow. the balance between the tomato, the meat, the pasta was 100% spot on. i ate one mouthful n i wanted to cry man. a simple dish, yet can b so so so so delicious. i slowly savour every bite, letting the flavors stay in my mouth for the longest time ever. no need to eat expensive, chi-chi atas food. this is italian food at its best.

 rome = innards. of cos we muz try the veal liver! cooked to tender, the sweetness from the onion adds additional lift to the v rich dish. nice!

 asparaghus w good quality olive oil n lemon. good enuff.

 rem i told u we had massive diarrhea dat day due to the bloody crap chinese food. my metal stomach had recovered by afternoon. but baby still suffered from discomfort (thus, no appetite for dessert. wat a shame!!!)

baby:  我肚子痛！

 baby: i cant eat anymore le.....pain pain

me: ok lor, i eat dessert myself....hehehe

baby: TMD (killer eyes)

dessert was pear tart w egg gelato. probably the best pear tart i've eaten. super nice pastry w soft stewed pear......yummy max.

 

23 May 2013 (Rome)



 bought this handmade leather bag for baby as bday present. wan to buy prada for her, but she chose this instead. now u noe y i love her so much.hahahaha.

 baby: i think u bought too much food stuff

me: ya lor, no place to put

baby: dun bring all back. eat here.

me: xiao ah. i wish i can bring the whole italy back!!!!!

 we've purposely free today to visit the places we like. went to my beloved pantheon n nua at the fountain.

 the birds here r ATROCIOUS!!!! they r nt scared of ppl one lor. super near. one "directionless" pigeon crashed itself ONTO my head while i was sitting at the fountain. na beh. messed up my hair.

 me: si jiao (死鸟)....^%$&^%&^&

 this was a highly recommended place by the locals too. u can c it when there was a Q outside in the afternoon. lucky the bird flew to my head, cos after dat, i dun wan to sit at the fountain anymore. went to Q for this. if nt, we wun hav a place to sit. yes, the place is small. filled up almost immediately.

 grilled veg. but it was the specialty. when u c such a simply dish as a specialty, it means u shd order it. this was SO GOOD!!!! the combination of sweet veg lightly grilled, drizzled w good olive oil n some cheese.......simple yet so flavorful.

 bruchetta w pork lard (yes,cured lard) n truffles. raw lard? tasted so sweet!!!! wah seh....rich n robust, bringing out the sweetness of the bread. omg.

 this was the BEST spaghetti bolognese (note, its spaghetti. its NOT supposed to b handmade.) i've tasted. the sauce is awesome. n surprisingly, the pasta is NOT al dente. yet, it tasted so good! morale of story = spaghetti nd not b al dente to b good. this is really good.

 the lamb chop is HUMONGOUS. tender n juicy. grilled to perfect pink.i like it.

we declare that this is one of our top restaurant we love in italy. the food is good. n u can c the chef cooking w love in the kitchen. essence of italian food = simple, good quality ingredients + love/passion for cooking.

 went for my fav maroccino after meal!

 baby wanted to visit the st peter's again (we kena chased out that day), n maybe climb up to the top of the dome (攻顶).

 now this is v weird. look at the Q. yes, u cant even c the starting point.look hw it snakes aroung the building. i rem it wasnt so crowded dat day......dun tell me the mob is here again?????

 me: wah biang eh!!!! y so many ppl ah......still need to check bag today?????Y?????

 baby: i smell smth fishy.

 there was a private (massive) mass inside. we were being chased out once again. tsk. then close the area la. n the dome was closed. cant go anywhere man. sigh.

 baby + angels of st peter's.

 there r 3 diff "police" in that area. the vatican police, the swiss guards and the roman police. v confusing.

so happy for wat?

 by today, the servers all noe me by name. they noe our preferences (still water to start, espresso to end, all food r split into two portions for sharing). :)

 prosecco.

 the prosciutto here is really good!

baby:  yeay 我好了,可以吃了！

 tagliatelle w porcini. wat can i say? their handmade tagliatelle is out of this world. n anything w porcini cant go wrong. super tasty dish.

 add some cheese to the silky pasta......wah....i am drooling now.

 plates were cleared in seconds.

 太好吃了！

 orange duck. we tot it will b dry n hard. nope. its tender n soft n juicy. v nice. the sauce is fruity n caramelised. goes well w the slightly gamey duck. nice. the french couple behind us kept asking the server wat we had.hahaha.

 pumkin ravioli. we've decided to order this after finishing the duck (we realised that we r nt full!!!) raviaoli = 1st course, so when we ordered later, the boss smiled n teased us " oh!!!! u r going backwards!!!" haha. this is good. thin pasta w sweet pumkin filling w a tinge of nutmeg. nutty n sweet.

 来咯，来咯。lemon tart, 我来咯!

 still so good.

 my ultimate fav dessert, zabaglione

look at the tart. moist n zesty.

the server came to me after dessert n asked "espresso, rite?". yeah. good service! n the boss called out my name, bid me goodbye after i paid. thank you! i will come bk again everytime i am in rome. this is a promise.

 

take home msg from this trip:

1) Enjoy your life

2) Love yourself

3) Don't be afraid to make changes and take risks

4) Life is for enjoyment

5) Be accountable to the person you see in the mirror everyday

6) Authentic Italian food is relaly good!

7) Think of Luciano (cutie pie) everyday

8) I love my wife

 

well, this more or less sums up my italian trip.

i've truly enjoyed myself. this is all that i've expected.

i will b back again.

I LOVE ITALY!!!!!