While in Rome we visited all the must see sites, joined the queue to get into St Peters Basilica in Vatican City, travelled to Orvieto, experienced a huge concert on "May Day", scoped out the prize winning Italian gelataria, ate at a fancy pasta restaurant and knocked back some rosso vino.

Our accommodation was a very nice hotel with a huge double bed, lounge room and dining space, not to mention an incredible buffet breakfast, fitness room (if you're that way inclined...which we were not) and a free shuttle service. What's the catch? Well it was a little inconvenient. The train ride into the city was about 20 to 30 minutes and the shuttle times were very limited, otherwise we could walk 30 minutes from the train station to the hotel. We're not sure if we would recommend the place but we enjoyed it as a change from the hostel life we've been living for the past month.

The very first thing we did when we arrived in Rome was get out a map that a Canadian, food obsessed couple had given us with directions to the very best gelataria. When you order, they start by putting a dollop of liquid chocolate in the cone, followed by as many flavours as you request and topped with a healthy serving of cream which we, of course, had to decline. While we were there we saw a couple get the works with four flavours each and very quickly they were both covered in ice-cream and had been given tubs for the overflow.

We woke up early on our second morning in Rome to try and beat the crowd queuing up to get into St Peter's Basilica, we then, as usual, shot ourselves in the foot a bit and chose to walk there instead of using public transport. By the time we arrived the line was about three quarters of the way around the huge square but it moved so fast that it only took about half an hour. Having seen it already Sonja was still amazed by the grandeur and size of the interior but her reaction was nothing compared to Jansen's. Completely awed by the whole place Jansen quickly stated that Rome was worth seeing for the Basilica alone.

We also visited a nearby city, Orvieto, famed for its pretty old town and central church. We found it to be more or less the same as other old towns we've visited but with a few more tourists. The town was beautifully situated on top of a hill in the middle of a lovely country side so we enjoyed the walk back to the station more than the actual town itself.

We also happened to be in Rome on their public holiday, May Day, when they host a huge, free concert in the centre of the city. We decided to check it out because…well…when in Rome. At 8pm, when it was supposed to start, it was already completely full of drunken and otherwise intoxicated youths while the square was covered in broken glass and rubbish. We decided to seek shelter in a restaurant on the side of the square where we could feel like we experienced the concert somewhat while still feeling safe and enjoying some Italian cuisine.

Overall Rome was certainly worth the visit.