Once we'd arrived into Rome we dumped our bags at the hostel and headed out to explore in the sun! We walked towards the centre as our hostel was a little further out and stopped for a late lunch on the way. We mainly wandered around in the afternoon just working out where everything was and enjoying the warm weather. After dinner we made the long walk back to our hostel to do our laundry! While we were waiting we sat in the hostel bar which was quite lively and chatted to some other travellers.

Our first full day in Rome started with a nice breakfast from a restaurant next door and we headed for the Colosseum. The whole surrounding area was packed with tourists and people selling souvenirs and tours. We eventually found a good deal which gave us a quick entry into the Colosseum with a guided tour and then a tour of the Palatine area in the afternoon. The Colosseum was amazing and the tour guide was very informative so it helped to get a really picture of what it was like.

Once we'd been all around it we went for a quick drink and a slice of pizza before the second part. It was such a hot day so nice to sit in some cool shade for a while. The Palatine & Roman Forum tour was only about 45 minutes but long enough to get enough information and it was really interesting.

After a lot of walking around we went for an ice-cream, well, gelato! And relaxed there for a bit before heading to an area on the other side of the river (via a few shops and stalls) called Trastevere. It was a busy area full of little shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. We found a really nice place for dinner where we sat outside and enjoyed the lively atmosphere and our food. From there we walked to the Colosseum again to see it lit up which did look great, as did the big monument in Piazza Venezia. Then we made our way back to our hostel and after a long day and lots of walking we were both pretty shattered so headed to bed.

Day 2 we were woke up a bit later but had already booked our tickets to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel for 12.30 so caught the metro there after breakfast. We bought audio guides for this which were really good and definitely helped you understand what you were looking at. We walked around the huge museum for about 2 hours before sitting in the pinecone courtyard for a break. We went round some of the other exhibitions on our way to the Sistine Chapel. The artwork in the Sistine Chapel was incredible and so detailed, hard to imagine someone spending 10 years doing it. After we'd taken in Michelangelo's amazing work we enjoyed an apple tart and ice cream in a cafe round the corner.

Next we went to St Peters Square which quite busy with people, mainly waiting to get into the basilica which we decided we couldn't face 4 hours to queue for. Maybe another time! We walked along the river past the Castle Saint Angelo and towards Piazza Navona. They had lots of artist and bands playing in the square so we sat near a big fountain and enjoyed the music. We then made our way to the Pantheon, another amazing building! Rome definitely has lots of great things to see! From there we found a nice little restaurant for dinner. As there was a big tennis competition on in Rome while we were they we tried to go and watch it at a place similar in Henman Hill in Wimbledon. However, by the time we'd got to where the bus was going from we realised that the last train back had already been so caught a bus back to our hostel. It was quite late by the time we got back so after a quick chat with our room mates about our days we went straight to sleep.

We woke early to check out, eat breakfast and catch our train to Pisa!

I really enjoyed visiting Rome as there was just so much to see and it was always very lively. The weather also helped although it was very hot at times especially to walking around a city!