Our arrival in Rome saw what we have come to call 'first day syndrome'(see travel notes). The hostel appeared pretty ropey, especially the caged 'elevator', the design of which one can only assume was based on the set of some terrifying horror movie! Deciding to go on a little explore of the city we discovered alot of roman ruins that afternoon - God knows what they were but they were everywhere! The first day was topped off by a dinner of frozen based pizza for Matt, which arrived 20 minutes before my two thin slices of chicken and potatos....reserving judgement on Rome at this stage!
After a good night's sleep things always seem better! There are some incredible things to see in Rome. The Pantheon is very impressive from the outside but it's the inside that's really incredible - impossible to describe, probably best to check out the pictures!
The colloseum was far more impressive than either of us imagined, and it's absolutely massive! We had a guided tour which gave us a real feel for everything that had gone on there and, basically, made us want to watch Gladiator again! I also just want to do a special mention to my little sis Nouche at this point because it was just outside the Colloseum that she rang to say she'd got 3 As in her Alevels and a confirmed place at Nottingham to study Vetinary science. Geek! Sooooo proud but Matt isn't speaking to her anymore for getting 100% in one module!
Vatican City is a remarkable place and The Sistine Chapel is spectacular, although the atmosphere is somewhat disturbed by extremely stern looking security guards shouting at people to stop taking photos whilst constantly shhh-ing everybody! One thing I would advise if you ever visit these places is to book tickets in advance - I would not want to be stuck in the queues we saw, only to have pre-bookers like us waltz in straight away!
Our exploring also saw us take in the cafe selling 'the best expressos in the world'. Now I don't drink coffee but, according to Matt, it was the best espresso in the world! I'll leave you to picture the scenes after he'd downed two in a row, with sugar.(Note the lack of exclamation mark)Day four saw us hit Hydromania, a water park on the outskirts of Rome. You will have to read the travel notes to get the full low down on this but, suffice to say, water parks are now off the list of things to do!
Evenings saw us dining in the lovely Piazza Navona. Great atmosphere, great food and drink and some interesting entertainment! Buskers of varying degrees of ability are dotted around but they all share one trait - singing certain english lyrics in quite the strangest accents!
And so it was on to Antibes where, unbeknownst to me, there were a few surprises in store....!
