After such a relaxing time in Croatia we were rearing to go when we touched down in Rome.

After many "graci's" we managed to find our hotel for the night befoe we joined the tour. We were starving and thought "what the hell we are in Rome everywhere must have good pizza". No. This is most defiantly not the case. The pizza was pretty awful actually.

Next morning we met our Topdeck tour group which was much smaller than we expected (only about 20 people). That afternoon we went on a walking tour of Rome with our Italian guide Michela were we saw all the sights like the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and the Colloseum. I must say the city was dirtier than I was expecting (but I guess you cant expect cleanliness from a 2700 year old city!). It was really surreal seeing all these places with my own eyes! We went that night for dinner with the group to a little Italian restaurant right near the Jewish quarter along the RIVER. The food was great (finally some good italian food!). On the way home we walked past the Colloseum again (now nicely lit up). The whole city had a lot more character at night and we would have stayed out longer if we weren't so tiered!

Next morning we woke up bright and early to get the bus to Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. On the way we stopped at the ruins of Pompeii. Our guide wore almost exclusively pink (including a pink umbrella) which made her easier to follow amongst the millions of other tourists. The ruins were incredible. Many of the homes were in a very good condition and it was cool to see how people lived in ancient Rome. It was surprising how soficticated the city was with take away food outlets and pedestrian crossings.

We hopped back on the bus and took the very scenic drive down to Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. The next day we awoke bright and early to get the ferry to the Island of Capri which was about a 30 minute ride. The island was very pretty and different to the other coastal towns we had visited. First up we went on a little cruise around the island on a tiny 6 person boat. We stopped at the Green grotto for a swim (the blue grotto was out of action due to rough seas). The water was nice and cool and was really quite green.

After we had some pasta for lunch and wandered up to the town of Capri (which turned out to be more of a 1.5 hour hike up a pretty steep hill). All along the way we could peek into people's backyards were they grew lots of lemons! The town was very cute and very busy with lots of shops. We found some awsome gelato and just wandered around befor taking the funicular down to the ferry back to Sorrento.

Next morning we headed north through the mountainous center of Italy to the small, mountain perched town of Assisi. We visited the Basilica of St Francis which had 2 churches (the upper and lower). This church, having now finished the tour, defiantly stands out as a favorite. It's setting perched on the mountain in the countryside as well as the frescos inside were breathtaking. Shaun and I walked up though the quiet streets and up to the fortress on the top of the hill - more amazing views. We walked down and stopped in a small little bakery which had the best window display ever! We got a Canolli with chocolate cream and a strudel. Sooo yummy. That night we stayed in a little b&b at the base of the hill which Assisi was on so we had a really nice view up onto it as the sun set. Once the sun set the fortress on the top of the hill was lit up by thousands of little candles! We brought UNO cards so we had some pretty serious games of UNO with the rest of the group that night.

Next day we started driving through the hilly Tuscan countryside and drove through lots of wineries, indicating we had entered the Chianti Valley. We stopped at a winery and had a little tour around and saw how it was made etc etc. Then we headed up to the house were we sat out on this little alfresco eating area and the guy took us through 4 different 'Classico' wines with dinner cooked by his mum to accompany. The food was incredible! She grew everything herself (even made her own olive oil). This was exactly how I imagined Italy from the movies.

After that awesome meal the sun still had not set and we made our way to Florence were we were sleeping that night. Our guide took us to a spot high above Florence just before going to our hotel as the sun was setting over the city. It was quite magical. And so ended the first half of our tour!