7am-11am Sat 17th Feb (Aus)

Ohmigod! I slept in, on today of all days! With only one hour left I race around my room and the house. A big brekky since I reckon I'll be starving on the plane & want to spend as little as possible in the airports.

Right. I'm packed, ready to go (even though I would really like an extra hour or 2 or even a day would be nice to try & figure out some way to bring more with me. However, a sad fact I've discovered is that a bag will only hold so much - I want Mary Poppin's magic carpet bag! It may not be pretty, but you could sure stuff it!), and whoops! I forgot to zip my bag's harness away, which is silly because it's one of the features of travel packs which make them so good -> turns into a suitcase-type bag so buckles and straps don't get destroyed in airport baggage carosels before I even get to Europe. Anyway, this should be simple enough, just whip the cover on and away we go! Nah!!!

Jeez, a word of advice people: always, always, always zip the harness away first, then stuff the bag. At first it seemed like nothing was going to happen. Both my mum & me sitting on the bag, pulling the flaps together, hauling on the zip. Puffing & panting and then suddenly -> did it...could it have been...it was!! The zip moved. Only an inch but now we had success in our sights & we weren't backing down. That...zip...was...going...to...close! Aha! We did it! High-fives all round. But now it was time, really time, to go.

So I pick up my bags and head downstairs to the car. Picture this: me, teetering down the stairs with a massive 75L backpack hanging off one shoulder, a more normal sized backpack (my hand-luggage) off the other, my handbag in one hand and my big coat draped over that. And all of them stuffed jampacked full with all my worldly possessions (minus the 5 or 6 boxes sitting in my wardrobe, as well as the 3 large black rubbish-bags and large suitcase on the landing for mum to go through & salvage or throw cause I didn't get around to it). Anyway, I made it to the car, hugged dad goodbye, scratched behind Chanel's ear (my dog for those of you who don't know) one last time, & hopped in the car. As we drove away I took one long last look at my house and my street.

So. Now we're at Brisbane International Airport. I check in &...what an anticlimax! Bags gone, but still 2 hours to wait before leaving Australia. My mum and brothers hung around for a while, we took photos, but we had to say goodbye some time so finally I decided I should go down. Gosh, it's scary going down that escalator into the customs area! It's the final frontier: a oneway escalator, so once you're on it there's no changing your mind. You just sink down (my stomach sank too) and wave a final farewell.

Anyway, through customs, meandered around the duty-free shops for a while, then headed to my gate. Then...panic! 10 minutes before boarding and the lock on my bag won't open! I try this way, that way, upsidedown and with my eyes shut. No luck. My fingers raw, I go to the stewardess and ask if, by any chance, she might have some boltcutters on her? She directs me back to the customs area. Now I'm glad that Brisbane airport is small compared to many international airports. I zoom through the terminal back to customs (not running because all I need right now is to be stopped by security when my bag won't open!). At customs, explain the situation. The customs officer insists on trying the lock himself whilst I try not to tap my toe or look at my watch. Then, giving up, he goes off and returns with blessed boltcutters. I snap off the lock (apparently he's not allowed to do this) and off I go back to the gate. Board the plane, fall into my seat...relief! I made it.

Now, most flights are pretty much the same, so all I'll say about this one is that it was really empty so I had my window seat and the aisle seat, as well as all four in the middle to stretch out in.

And with that, I was outta there! ByeBye Australia!

Anyway, I arrived in Rome around 12am on Wed 9th May. I just want everyone to know that Rome may be one of the safest cities to walk around at night. I've walked around the train station late at night, seen the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain all lit up, and had dinner at some great trattorias hidden away up little side streets away from the tourist areas.

The first day I kind of meandered around, getting lost and then finding my way eventually to Piazza degli Spagna and the Spanish Steps (pics). The thing about all of Rome's tourist attractions is that unless you go really early (like dawn) or really late (like 3am) you are sharing them with thousands (so it seems!) of tourists, touts and tour groups. From the Steps I went to the Trevi Fountain which, if you can find a good seated vantage point, is a great place to relax and enjoy a cooling gelato. One thing I've not mentioned yet is the amazing weather so far. Blue, clear skies and HOT!