Today I finally visited Rome. I've visited Italy twice beforehand but never actually seen the capital. This is my second time to Italy with Nicki as we previously visited Pisa and Florence, something that may become typical with us and other destinations is, despite being to Italy twice in her life, nicki still is yet to spend a night here.

Our flight in with Air Italia felt quick, I think most likely because of how little I slept last night. But now that I'm sat on the plane, already to leave to Rio, while the plane is being boarded, I'm so glad we chose Air Italia. Just quickly, before I talk about Rome and because I'm excited about it now this plane is class! USB chargers to charge all of our devices, quality films, the standard tv in the back of the chair, and decent leg room. Suppose it is a 12 hour flight..

Anyway, Rome. Our main aims were the colosseum and the Vatican City, purely because we weren't sure of how much time we were going to have. But as it went we managed our time relatively well. From the airport we bought tickets for a return shuttle for €8 each with the same company we used in Pisa. The bus took a little while but the journey wasn't too bad and it was actually nice to watch the scenery change as you went from countryside into the city. My first impressions were that the city looked very wild. With Ruins dotted all over the place and random plants and shrubs allowed to grow on them at will. Endless amounts of ancient arches, with drapes of green and even small trees; it looked like a tomb raider scene. As soon as we left the bus I asked the lady the best way to the colosseum, the metro was her answer. At only €6 each for a day pass we decided to go for it and see how much we can visit. As I expected the enormous colosseum had its own tube station so we managed to walk straight out with a number of tourists to the immediate 'wow' factor. We were dragged in by these English speaking tour guides. One girl was Italian but spoke great English the other was like American/Italian. I think we were being ripped off but there good English held our attention. After getting cash out and going to pay I was so glad we didn't get enough cash out. I thought they had said €26 but they meant each. But I think that was fate as we ended up going into the colosseum for €24 between us and managed to listen into other people's tour guides anyway. God it really was the most amazing man made thing I have ever seen. The impact of the view when your inside is immense. Really think that'll take some beating. After that we had a leisurely stroll the long way back to the metro looking at some other roman ruins before we got our passes out and caught the metro to Ottaviano. This was only a short walk until we were at the Vatican. There was a lot of building work going on but there's no denying the beauty of this place. I'm not particularly religious, but I absolutely loved seeing it all. After a quick pizza we were back on the move and back underground. We were in search of the Spanish steps quickly before we had to be back at our coach as we were on a time limit as our bus tickets needed to be validated half an hour before departure. We walked on the parallel road to the correct road which knocked us of the scent a little, but eventually we found them. It's less of a view of steps and more a view of the sheer mass of people that choose to sit on them. Me and Nicki climbed up about midway and found a perfect spot to sit. We stayed and watched out on this part of the city. A fountain at the foot of the steps and the sun falling almost perfectly between the blocks of roads and buildings adjacent. By the time we left I was really thirsty and the small bottle of lemonade we had bought at the coliseum for 4 euro was now empty so I refilled the bottle and drank from the fountain. We caught the train back to the main station and got knocked about by a moody man stressing about everyone being in his way, but he got apprehended by the police. We decided to grab a quick McDonald's that we could eat waiting for the bus. I tried to sleep on the bus journey back to the airport but spent most the time staring out at the Italian countryside.

Anyway I have landed in Rio now the 11 hour flight literally flew by and I didn't watch anywhere near as much films as I wanted but at least I'm well up to date on my sleep to tackle the carnival capital! Sure I will write more when I have another long journey when we leave this beautiful but crazy looking place.

-Josh-