After a bit of a rocky crossing from Split to Ancona, getting woken up by the bang and the cabin shaking every time the boat crashed into a wave, we drove across the spine of Italy to Rome. Very much enjoyed the mountain scenery on route especially as my virtually non-existent knowledge of the geography of Italy meant that I didn't have a clue what to expect.

Rome itself took a little while to capture my imagination, much though I tried to see the amazing city that Abi had raved about through the pouring rain and soaked from head to foot! The rain would persist for almost our entire stay in Italy but on the second day we were a little more prepared and I began to see what Abi had been talking about. I loved the Collosseum, Trevi Fountains and the ancient architecture which litters the city centre. Not so keen on the terrible roads, rubbish on the streets and mentalist drivers in Italy in general. The tractor game had to be replaced with 'spot the car that doesn't have a dent in it'......Abi won when she eventually found one! It somehow seems that Italians have not quite made the connection between the fact that they drive like mentalists and they have a lot of accidents!