On a bus again. Despite the bus being 1/2 hour late and the trip only approx 3 hours long there was still a 20min "rest" stop along the way. More like a smoke stop . Public smoking is everywhere in Italy (not on the bus though) and not something we are used to at all. Our noses are very sensitive to it. Anyway we arrived at a chaotic bus station and quickly found the metro system to get to Stazione Termini - the central transport hub of Rome. From there it was a 20min walk to our appartment in the San Lorenzo district. This was my 2nd airbnb booking and it worked out fine.The host was there to hand over. Once again we were in a big building.This time it was 5 floors of appartments around a central open area with clothes lines tied from side to side. Thank goodness there was an elevator for the trip up to the 4th floor with a heavy bag.After a quick chat with our host he pointed us in the right direction to buy tickets for a soccer match the next evening - Lazio vs Pescara. Not my cup of tea but Gary had to have company.After wending our way through the busy streets in peak hour on a friday to get the tickets it was time for a quick meal and early bed,as next morning it was up bright and early to get to the Colosseum.Even though we were inside the Colosseum by 9.15am (no ticket queue) there were already plenty of people inside vying for the best view/spot.It is certainly impressive but you really get that from the outside view.Unfortunately we didn't go back at night to see it lit up.Anyway our ticket to the Colosseum also included the ruins of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. So many ruins and history around you just inside this comples let alone the rest of Rome.After about 4.5 hours here we headed back to the appt for food and rest before heading out to the soccer. What an experience. Unknown to us we had tickets with the hardcore Lazio fans. After about an hour to get there and 3 passport checks to get in we found ourselves amongst the fans. Mostly men who spent the game singing shouting with some smoking and drinking.At one stage ourselves and 4 other tourists around us were told off by a fan for not standing up to cheer. In Italian of course but we got it by the gesturing.Thank goodnes it was a Lazio win.The next day,Sunday,we joined a free walking tour which started at the Spanish steps - all marble and nice and white as they have justed finished restoring them.Then we continued on to the Marco Aurelio column,Pantheon,Piazza Novona with a huge fountain,over Ponte San Angelo past Castel Sant'Angelo to finish in front of the Vatican.Along the way the guide pointed the many buildings of different eras -Romanesque,Medieval,Renassiance,Baroque and more modern. You could several different styles in one small piazza. As the tour finished in front of the Vatican City we took the opportunity to go and see St Peter's. It is free entry to it,but we just had to wait until the crowds from the papal appearance at 11am cleared. We had our picnic lunch but before we could enter I had to divest myself of the knife I had in my pack ( to cut up a tomato).So we found a garden bed and hid it in there. It was still there when we came out 1.5 hrs later. We only had to queue for 25mins to get in but once inside it was impressive .Many frescoes,paintings and marble sculptures. The churches in Rome are the place to see art in many forms. And we did go into quite a few and found it all beyond words. We are not art connoisseurs so this means of seeing art for free was enough for us.The rest of time in rest saw us of course visit many other highlights - Trevi fountain (not flowing due to cleaning),Vittoriano(monument of Italian unification),Campdoglio ( Michangelo designed piazza) and everywhere you were,there were roman ruins nearby. We also walked around various neighbourhoods such as the Jewish area,Travestre . Rome does have a lot of graffiti ( esp where our appt was) and there is rubbish around ,but we did enjoy it even though we did do a lot of walking.In Fact I enjoyed Italy - the food,wine,scenery and the history that we don't have. Rome was our last stop in Italy and after 4 full days there we left early on 21st to catch a bus shuttle from Stazione Termini to the airport for a flight to Athens.
