Monday 2nd November Arrived in Cittavechia at about 6.30 & left after breakfast to queue for a shuttle bus to the port gate for 20 minutes. At the gate there were a horde of touts trying to sell day tours to Rome so we chose one for €25 & hopped in the minibus. Here again we waited for about another 20 minutes before acquiring a bunch of Italians to fill the bus. Cittavechia must be at least 40 km north of Rome & it took about an hour & a ...

Wednesday 22nd May Another grey day today. It was the day we had been working up to, a visit to the Vatican Museum. This should only be undertaken if (a) You have a strong constitution & (b) you can cope with crowds pushing & shoving. d*** finds both a bit too much. We arrived at the Vatican at about 10.45 & after fending off the tour guide touts, of which there appeared to be an endless supply, we found an Information Office where we were told w...

Monday 20th May Off reasonably early to see the Colosseum as our tickets from yesterday were valid for it as well as the Forum & we could go straight in rather than queue for a ticket. We skipped the audio guide after yesterday's fiasco & were glad we did as, in contrast to the Forum, the signage & explanations are really great. The place was built for 75,000 spectators & even in its runed form is still huge by any standards, with a very complex ...

Tuesday 14th May After breakfast had a short walk & then were off to the station to catch the fast train to Rome. Fast it certainly was & smooth & quiet also reaching 296kph at one stage & so it was a very pleasant if expensive ride. As it didn't pass through any stations I think that it must run on a separate track from the rest of the network most of the time. Joanne & Gian Carlo met us at the station & then drove us around a few of th...