Rome, Italy

I'm struggling to use the keyboard at the hostel's computer desktop because the punctuation signs are assigned to different buttons compared to the ones I'm familiar with so please be forgiving with the typos should there be any! It's the wee hours in Rome now but I have to stay awake to catch a flight to Norway, Oslo at 7am. I'll be boarding the airport bus shuttle in about an hour so this entry will have to be rather short.

Rome's by far the most beautiful city I've visited so far. It's true whatever people say about Italy being the most romantic country. There are couples holding hands everwhere--strolling down the sidewalks, having alfresco candlelight dinners while clumsily feeding each other pizza, with classical violins, trumpets and accordions in the background serenading the throngs of tourists and locals. The buildings are collosal, and deals a big slap in the face when you compare Singapore's history with Rome's. Our men obviously have never been decked in robes and we certainly do not have grand political forums as major tourist attractions. All we have is the pathetic Hong Lim Speakers' Corner which I'm sure most tourists would ridicule if they've even heard about it. Sadly, we had to squeeze our itinerary within 2 full days because we arrived on a Sunday when the shops and attractions are all closed. At least we managed to pay a visit to the major attractions like the Colosseum, Pantheon and Vatican Museum. The churches here are sized XXXXL too. Totally breathtaking to the point that pictures really don't do them justice.

Alas, the food here has been very disappointing. We were all looking forward to authentic Italian pizzas and pastas after having to put up with Spanish cuisine which we weren't well accustomed to. On the contrary, the pastas we've tried so far have been either soggy, or not well cooked. Whatever happened to al dente? The gelato hasn't been that fantastic either--melting within a minute and dripping off the rims of our cones. Yuck. I guess you only get good food when you can afford it. For now, I'll have to make do with whatever I can afford! I'm missing the lobster noodles from the Chinese restaurant in London's Queens Way already.