We wandered the streets of La Speiza, trying to find somewhere to watch NZ play Argentina but no luck. We took a train to Pisa and visited the Leaning Tower. Pretty amazing piece of architecture, we were quite impressed and glad we made the effort to see it. We had an hour to wait for a train to Rome. While waiting we stumbled upon a betting shop playing a replay of the rugby. Sure, it was one of four tvs with a bunch of Italians yelling at the horse races but we managed to see the first half. Unfortunately someone changed the channel, on the flip side it was time to catch our train to Rome. A nice trip along the coast before veering inland was a nice end to the day. 

On Monday we explored central Rome. We began at the Colosseum (just looked from the outside) and saw some cool ruins as well. We walked on the roof of a famous white marble building and by accident entered an amazing church. Then we decided it was time for coffee and found an authentic little place in an alley where they spoke no English. Brenda ordered a latte and Sam ordered a kafe (coffee). In Italy this meant that Brenda got a hot glass of milk and Sam got a shot of super-strong coffee!  After this authentic experience, we found a food market where we got some mixed herbs for pasta. Then we saw Plaza Navona and Fontana Di Trevi before a visit to the Pantheon - an amazing domed church with a hole in the middle for the rain to fall through!  The Spanish steps were a let down. We were expecting big marble steps but they looked pretty ordinary to us. Then it was time for a visit to Piazza Del Popolo and a sit in the park before heading back to the camping ground. 

Up early Tuesday to try and beat the crowds to the Vatican. Still ended up waiting in line for nearly two hours but was worth it. Really good Egyptian section and lots of nice art, pottery and statues. Parts were really crowded but for the most part not too many people. The apartments and the Sistine chapel were amazing and beautiful, full of intricate artworks by Michaelango and Rafael. Afterwards we headed to St Peters basilica but unfortunately there was a huge line and it was stinking hot, so we just looked outside. We wanted to get tickets for Naples which meant we had to catch a hot over-crowded bus to the train station. Then on the way back, traffic was terrible and ended up taking an hour and a half to get back to the camping ground. Not fun!