Day-1 (Delhi & Kiev)
My most awaited trip was supposed to begin, i was sitting on the IGI T3's waiting area and waiting for UIA to begin with luggage check ins. I checked in my accurately weighed luggage followed by immigrations. After boarding the airplane i made 2 friends with my fellow passengers who were traveling to Canada for studies. After couple hours we reached Ukraine and got off the plane. Although it was biggest challenge to spend 14 hours of layover alone, i didn't feel how 12 hours had passed with my new friends with some expensive water bottles and Glenfiddich miniatures LOL. I had 2 more hours to survive after my new friends went to board their flight for Canada. Finally, i boarded my next flight to Vilnius (Lithuanian) from where my vacation was about to begin. Within 4 next hours i was at my friend's place and after a delicious hot meal and a drink, i slept real sound.
Day-2 (Vilnius)
I got up late but fresh in one of the most beautiful city of the Europe - Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and it is as joyful as it is also known as the G-spot of the Europe because they say Lithuania has the most beautiful women in Europe. However, i made an anglo-indian breakfast for me, some potato pancakes, an omelette and coffee. After breakfast my friend and I went to her village where her parents live to help them with apple pies and Christmas preparations. So we hit the road and my body took few hours to adjust with the sudden cold temperature in the surroundings. Nevertheless, i was fully covered and i was also waiting for snow to come. We reached village in 40 minutes of drive. PS- I've had met my friend's parents earlier also so i took some christmas presents for them from India, a pashmina for her Mom and indeed a bottle of Old monk for her dad. After reaching there we shared our Christmas presents and i received a cozy soft woollen scarf and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
We spent the day making rolling wheat dough and putting mashed apples in them before deep frying them. In the evening we went for a walk around and i could feel the fresh air away from pollution and noisy cities. At our see off, i had the best cheese cake made my my friend's mom, trust me German bakery's cheese cake is nothing in comparative to that one. i was a little tired after coming back from village so my friend fixed me a drink with some chicken wings which became my dinner eventually. After dinner we spend a great time watching movie- Sully: Miracle on the Hudson starred by Tom Hanks who presently is a COVID-19 patient. I had no idea then after 3 months he would be suffering from a deadly virus. However, after that fantastic movie i slept sound again because next day i had a task to do which my friend had assigned to me.
Day-3 (Vilnius City Center)
My assignment was to assemble and decorate the Christmas tree. After a MTR Poha brunch i embarked to decorate it with some decorative items bought by my friend. After 1.5 hours of struggle i managed to finish my task. I wanted to see the city, so we decided to go to city center and see the most beautiful Christmas tree of Europe. Once we reached the city center, we parked the car and walked to the center. It was really cold but i was enjoying to see the smiling and happy faces around me. There was a carnival going on in the center, so went to the carnival. I bought 2 cups of hot wine because of cold and a small bucket of sugar coated cookie balls since i was hungry again. After taking come pictures there we went for a walk around and started to walk to the car to come back home. On the way we were supposed to buy some food for us, so we went to a store and bought some milk, meat & vegetables. Once we reached back home, we again watched a movie of Tom Hanks- The Terminal before i hit the bed.
After relaxing 2 days, it was time to embark on my travel to Rome. I took a flight from Vilius on 25th December morning at 11:30Am and reached Warsaw airport within 1 hour. After spending couple hours at the airport walking around and clicking pictures, i boarded another flight to Rome. After reaching Rome (leonardo the vinci airport), at the airport both metro train and bus facilities are available to take you to Rome city center. So i decided to go wit bus. Fare was 14 EUR from airport until Roma Termini (railway and metro station). On the way, i saw the countryside of Italy and i noticed old buildings right outside the main city. Yes, i also saw the colosseum from the bus which was on my list for next day to visit. After 1 hour of bus journey, i reached to Roma Termini and walked to my hotel which was merely 300 Meters from Terminal. I checked in my hotel room in Hotel Dei Mille at 5PM (was little expensive but good place to crash near by main market) and i went for a hot shower followed by a power nap because i was feeling little tired because of all day travel. For dinner i needed something good, so i started to walk back to Roma termini and i found many Bangladeshi restaurants and staff was comfortable with me by speaking in Hindi as well. I ordered a mini pizza and a beer which i finished in 2 minutes. However, i was not satisfied so i went to McDonalds which is right outside the Roma Termini and ordered a chicken burger with some fries. After coming back to hotel i slept early since next day i was going to see the city of Rome.
Day-5 ( Colosseum and Roman Forum trip)
I woke up real hungry, I quickly had a hot shower and ran to the Hotel's restaurant for breakfast since i was late for that. Fortunately i finished my quick breakfast before 10:30 AM and i was fit for another 3 hours to walk. So i packed my bag with some water and cookies and started my walking day trip. First thing i saw across the Roma termini was Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore , it's an amazing and must visit Cathedral to see and it has a beautiful fountain just outside it. After Cathedral and a lot walking- i was hungry again (my breakfast worked for exactly 3 hours lol...). Right around the corner i saw a bakery shop named Antico Caffe Santamaria, where i ordered a hot coffee which was served in a cold coffee tall glass and a sweet snack which looked small but not easy to finish it all. Anyways after finishing it i started moving towards the Colosseum. As i was getting closer to it, i was getting even excited to see it because i saw it all my life only in Hollywood movies and TV.
I was going to do something which is still a dream for many people. Finally i could see some part of it after walking 20 minutes. I was flabbergasted to see the massive structure of the building which is still standing strong from several thousand years. I literally spent 15-20 minutes to evaluate and make a context inside my mind while looking at it from different angles and how this was build and how many hands build this huge Colosseum. Later i got to the gates for entry but i was saddened to know that i have to wait for 3 hours in the line just to get normal tickets worth 15 EUR to get inside the Colosseum. Nonetheless, those clever agents are always there at popular places who have access to the back door. I had no time to wait there for a normal entry ticket so i bought my 50EUR(4400 INR) to enter the Colosseum from back door which proved to be a great deal after my earphone guided tour and also access to restricted to normal ticket entries, Roman Forum tour with another guide. So i joined a group of 10 including a guide. Our guide was an Australian middle aged man with great sense of humour who took us inside the Colosseum from the door from which wounded or dead Gladiators were taken out of the arena (he also said that it's a good omen to enter Colosseum from that door rather than going out of that door because only dead or wounded gladiators used that to GO OUT of the arena.) Standing right at the center of arena where gladiators used to fight filled me with a terror thought and i thought how much blood was spilled where i was standing. Moving further our guide took our group to another level where he told us that there Romans used to burn prisoners alive and use them a source of light and warmth in winters since wax and oil was a scarce then. He also showed us the sections which was under the arena where we were standing and then animals like Tigers and Lions were kept who were sedated by herbs and weed before going into fighting arena. All together it was just an entertainment source for Roman then. Next stop was a gate where you can see a graffiti of a Penis in the wall which used to be one stop point for Prostitutes to sell their body and earn their livelihood after serving their young lives in brothels of the city. Final stage was the top floor which was also accessible to 15EUR ticket holders, hence it was loaded with people. There were many marble pieces from different sculptures from Roman's era and small model of the Colosseum.
After finished Colosseum tour I came out from another gate and i was supposed to join another group of 10 with a Canadian lady guide. After relaxing 30 minutes, we started to walk the Roman Forum ruins and meanwhile our guide kept telling us the story of the twin sons of the Wolf- Romulus and Remus who founded the city of Rome. After a detailed tour of 40 minutes walk over a small hill through ruins from Roman era i was tired and wanted to sit down. So i somehow finished my excursions of the day and moved out of Roman Forums and looking for an exit was not easy, so be careful while looking for exit sign since many exit points are kept closed. Outside Roman forum i saw a man playing a lovely melody with an electric guitar and people walking around smiling with happy faces. I found a place to eat my lunch-cum-dinner named Ciardi Bar Ristorante around the corner with free wifi and i wanted to eat chicken, i ordered a chicken dish with Italian Pasta and both were fantabulous for 15EUR meal followed by the most awaited Italian Gelato for just 4 EUR. Finally i took a metro from Fori Imperiali/Campidoglio which is just 330 meters away from Roman forum and reached back to Roma Termini since i had no power to walk back to Roma termini on foot. After reaching hotel, i took a hot shower and slept.
