Time has come to leave Rome. Roberto was good to his word and kept Flavio safe n sound while we were in Rome. Truth is, I don't think he realised the same car had been parked there for a few days..

Our 4 days here has given us a taste of life as a Roman citizen 2000 years ago, while also enjoying modern Rome. I was left wondering why it all ended ? How does a city of 1.5 million people, an organised economy, the river Tiber and Ostia (the largest port in the world in its day) under its control and a military larger than the world had ever seen, degenerate into a small town, only to be eventually forgotten?

The Roman Forum was used as a cow paddock for 3 centuries! Ostia was abandoned and eventually consumed when the Tiber changed course.. Things that make you go Hmmm..

Speaking of Ostia, we planned to go to Ostia (the port city 25km from Rome), as they have exhumed much of the harbour. Due to it being preserved in mud for centuries, it is remarkably well preserved. Heading out from Rome about 8.30am, Ostia is about 30 minutes by road. An hour and ten minutes later…, we were at the gates to Ostia Antica. We should have known, but we had forgotten, all Italian government owned museums and land marks are closed on Monday… Rats !

Back tracking about 15km (45 minutes in our travel time), we headed South to Naples. The plan was to bid farewell to Flavio at the airport and catch a taxi into town. All went well with the car, drop off was a breeze and we lugged our baggage across the carpark to the taxi stand full of newish looking minivans and people movers. Like a scene from a comedy, this very large, 6'5''/140kg man wearing a somewhat sweaty stained singlet, long shorts, damaged fedora and a 3 day growth, appeared from between the vehicles and beckoned us to his taxi. Lo and behold, we had found the holy grail of s*** heap taxi's! This guy had the most beaten up Fiat Multipla on the planet. For those of you that don't know what a Fiat Multipla looks like, I have clipped a picture of one from the internet and put it in our photos from Naples. I didn't dare try and take one of the actual car! It was dented and scratched on every panel, even the bonnet was dented (there's the first clue). Once in the taxi, I noticed the horn in the steering wheel was smashed to bits (second clue..) From the moment we left the parking area, it was the joy ride from hell ! How we managed to miss the other cars, bikes and trucks on the road as we hurtled at breakneck speed through back alleyways in Naples is beyond me…

Arriving at our apartment in 20 minutes for a trip that should have taken 30 minutes, it was time for a nice cold beer… And maybe a Valium..

Our apartment is conveniently located just a street back from the waterfront on the Bay of Naples. We don't have a view, but the shower is hot and the internet connection is fast !