Our train to Rome left Florence at around 5 in the evening and took about 3 hours. We could have got an express train in about half the time, but our inter-rail tickets didn't cover this and we would have had to pay 25 pounds so we put up with the longer journey.

My friend Terry from Halifax had arranged to come over and visit us whilst we were in Rome, and he had managed to get in the same room as us, let alone the same hostel. The hostel was really close to the main train station so we agreed to meet Terry at the station entrance, but when we got there we realised how big the place was and couldn't find him at any of the numerous exits. We headed to the hostel without him to dump our bags and he followed us back about half an hour later.

Once we had settled in to the room we decided to head out for some drinks. Terry had already been in Rome for one night, so he walked us to the Colloseum, which was only about 15 minutes away. It looked really nice all lit up at night, but we only got a couple of drinks at a bar close by before heading back to the hostel. Amy got an early night, whilst Terry and I stayed up chatting to a hippy Dutch couple who were really funny.

The next morning we got up early to have the free breakfast at the hostel. It was nothing special but it did the trick. Afterwards we headed to see the Colloseum by day. It was quite expensive to get in, but Amy got in on the reduced fare as she is under 24. I decided to chance it and say I was too, and even after looking at my ID showing I was 2 years too late, the woman let me in reduced. We had a wander around a temporary exibit before walking around the main areas which were really impressive.

Afterwards we headed towards the Pantheon, passing god knows how many amazing ruins, monuments and buildings along the way. It seems you can't walk 200m without seeing something of cultrual significance around here. The Pantheon is really impressive. It's huge, and comes out of nowhere as it has buildings all around it now.

Taking in a few more sights, we headed to the Trevi fountain and threw coins in. We also stopped in a local cafe for pizza and some amazing chocolate ice cream. We continued on to the Spanish steps, which were heaving with tourists, so we didn't really get a good look at them, before heading back to the hostel. On the way we met a total mental case that shouted and sang at us (see photo). Terry and I thought he was great, but Amy was scared of him.

In the evening we had the free pasta at the hostel, before getting some wine in and playing poker for the evening. Amy won, but only because Terry and I got bored after an hour or two and started making huge bets. After the cards we hung around in our hostel and got chatting to a guy called Chris from Milton Keynes, who was also in our room. Terry and Amy went to bed, but Chris and I stayed up chatting and drinking until about 4am.

The next morning we didn't leave the hostel until after midday, as we all needed a little extra sleep to recover from the night before. Chris joined us for the day, as we went to McDonalds for breakfast, before heading to a local park which had a zoo at the far end. We decided to go in as there wasn't much else to do in the area, and Chris had never been to a zoo before (It's the 3rd we've been to one on this trip!). The best parts were the various monkey houses that had upto 50 of the blighters running around as they pleased. It was mental!

On the way home we popped in to the supermarket and bought ingredients for a spag boll, which Chris, Amy and I cooked up. Later on Amy and Terry went to bed whilst Chris and I stayed up until about 2 again.

On Sunday we had planned to get up really early and go to the Vatican, as the museum is always free on the last Sunday of the month. Instead we didn't get up until about midday. Chris decided not to come with us as he was going to go later in the week, so the three of us set off, but when we got there the museum had shut early, which it always does on the free days apparently. That was a bit dissapointing, but we still managed to see most of the Vatican complex, including St. Peter's Basilica and the tomb of former popes (including JPII). On the way home we stopped in a cafe for an ice cream and they charged us 10 euros each! We though about kicking off, but it was our fault for not checking the price before hand I guess. That's the first time we have been duped on our travells and hopefully the last.

In the evening we met up with Chris again and went over the Tiber to a cheap little restaurant that the receptionist had recommended. It was a bit of a journey to get there, but the food was reasonably priced and really nice. We went straight back to the hostel afterwards as Terry was leaving the next day.

Amy and I got up at about 8 o'clock when Terry was leaving and got an early train for a day trip to Naples, which took about 2 hours. I thought Naples was quite nice, but Amy wasn't that impressed. To be fair there is litter and dog mess everywhere, but I thought it was pretty cool.

We had a walk around the port area when we got there and went inside an old seafort. We had pizza from a small stall that had ham and chips as a topping. Very traditional! Afterwards I decided we should trek up through Naples to a castle on top of the hill, which Amy wasn't too happy with. It took an hour or so and was pretty steep, but we got an ice cream at the summit as a reward. We could't afford to go inside the castle, but the views from the top of the hill looking over the town were spectacular. We had a slow wander down iinto some really stereotypical narrow market streets, before getting the train back to Rome. We made pasta and pesto with Chris in the hostel, then packed up for the flight back to London the next day.