All roads lead to Rome......or so we were lead to believe.
Finally, my second sojourn in my European adventure. We have been planning this since we found out that Tina is going to be posted to Rome for a few weeks - perfect opportunity for a visit, right?
We (Sook, Lisa and I) had it all planned. We were going to take an afternoon flight out of Heathrow, arrive in Rome late afternoon and start off our holiday with a nice dinner and plenty of rest, so that we would be all geared up for the miles and miles of walking we were going to do in Rome. We even got Tina to organise a guided tour of the Vatican City for the first thing on Saturday morning.
Personally, I might not be looking back at this particular holiday with too many fond memories. Now that I think of it, I'm not too sure if throwing 3 coins into the Trevi Fountain was such a good idea (first coin is to wish to return to Rome, second to find love in Rome and the 3rd is to marry that loved one in Rome). If you think you are up for the full blast of Murphy's Law, then read on.
I woke up on Friday morning to a heavy blanket of fog. Our 2pm flight was cancelled because of the bad weather! We waited in queue for more than 2 hours and got on a later flight leaving at 8pm. Right up until 10pm when our flight finally took off, we weren't really sure that we would get to Rome. We finally got into the apartment at 2.30 am and poor Tina had to wait up for us.
All of us trotted out bright and early on Saturday morning as we had booked a guided tour of the Vatican City. When we got to the outside walls of the Vatican City, we were horrified to find a queue going around the block that was 6 - 8 people deep. The hours and hours we spent in Heathrow came flashing through my mind. Once the line started moving, we got in quite swiftly.
The Vatican City was the absolute highlight of the week end. We all endured sore necks, but the frescos on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel was worth it. It boggles my mind to think that men were capable of such feats, with what little they had as resource in that age.
It was totally down-hill after that. I lost my wallet to a pick-pocket (even though I had the warning flashing through my brain a million times - beware of pick-pockets!) on the crowded Metro (train system in Rome). The girls and I spent more than 1 hour in a police station trying to make a report. There were at least 7 other groups who came into the station, similarly affected. The bright side of this fiasco was that they didn't get my passport, which was sitting safely at the apartment. So, there I was penniless and cardless, and having to live off the charity of my friends for the rest of the week end.
Everything else after that was a blur.... I tried to maintain my cool. After all, no point getting too upset and I can't change what has happened. That is why I got travel insurance in the first place. The girls were very good in helping me get all the phone numbers so that I can call to cancel my cards, which I got done whilst sitting in the police station. All the time I thought if I should have shouted and maybe stand a chance to catch the pick-pocket. Or if I had done so, would we have gotten knifed. Well ... cest la vie. Learn and move on, I suppose.
On Sunday, our flight back was delayed as well due to the massive oil depot explosion near Heathrow. I finally got into bed close to mid-night.
I can honestly say, I had experienced everything on this trip .... some good and some not so good.
Now, I just have to wait for all my cards to be replaced... and that is becoming another nightmare on its own. Well, this is one way to ensure that I don't spend any money over Christmas.
