The ferry ride to Rome was so funny - full of Italians that danced to the weirdest traditional music, i stayed outside for ages watching Croatia slowly disappear into a blur of tiny lights in the distance and explored the ship trying to delay curling up on the floor for more sleep.. I stunk so bad haha and hadn't showered in 2 or 3 days by this point so i took my body wash an all my toiletries and gave myself a sponge bath in the toilet sink - i smelt like roses again and felt heaps more refreshed! Then finally curled up under some deck seats for a nap...

The boat arrived at Ancona around 7am and after another quick bath in the sink i dragged my bag through this ugly town to a cafe where i sat for the next 6 hours until my 'Busabout' bus turned up. Sitting on busabout again felt like home, i was back in my old familiar back seat surrounded by mostly aussies all doing the same travels as me an it was nice :)

Rome was close and after being dropped off by the bus i had to make my way onto another bus, train and then a kilometre walk up a hill through the city but when i arrived at my hotel it was worth it all! I had somehow managed to book a nice hotel room for 2 people, by mistake, but it worked out so good because i got a big plush room to myself with all the hotel perks like towels and shampoo and a massive comfy bed! I was so tired but headed out for a wander and some much needed food.. I only walked for half an hour before this little kid came up an tried to stick his ice cream in my face telling me to eat some - i was so distracted i had no idea that there were 2 other kids behind me going in my bag. Lucky i stopped walking when i did, these 2 girls were about 14 yrs old and pregnant and had just pick pocketed me! All they got was a packet of smokes but right next to my smokes was my phone and wallet so i was soooooo relieved they didn't get them! I went straight back to the hotel showered and went to bed - it wasn't the best start to my Rome adventure but tomorrow would be better!

I had my tourist map all marked out an a big plan for the day to see all the sights - First stop was the colosseum, then everything else like the Pantheon and Spanish Steps and heaps of other massive building, ruins and castles - This place was the oldest place id ever seen, there were ruins of the old roman city everywhere you looked, tour groups everywhere, snapping cameras, crowded restaurants, information boards on every corner giving history lessons, gelato and pizza shops inbetween a mass of souvenir stalls. It was hectic an chaotic and interesting and unbelievable all at the same time. I met up with some people from busabout that night for a Roman pub crawl dressed in toga's, it was so funny, on entry they dressed you in a toga and the free drinks began, it started at one bar then continued on a boat docked in the river - there were about 50 of us running the streets of rome dressed as romans haha it was great! I taxi'd it home at some time and passed out on my big comfy bed for ages...

The next day i explored more sights, mainly just the Vatican which was the biggest grandest thing i'd ever seen, it was a huge palace thing with 2 huge curved walkways around the sides - it was the gate to the Vatican city which was a completely independent city in the centre of Rome. It has it's own laws and government plus theres border control at the gates - so bizarre but a beautiful building to look at!

ORVEITO..

I wasn't game to go out at night by myself after being pickpocketed so had an early night ready for another big day - I decided to escape the hectic tourist flooded city for the day and check out the Italian countryside in a town called 'Orvito'. It was beautiful! A long few hour train ride into the country and i was at the foot of a huge mountain. The only way up without a car was on this weird train lift thing that sat on tracks and a pulley, it went up the mountain pretty much vertically with about 20 people at a time. Then i got on a tiny shuttle bus that went the rest of the way to the top. When i stepped off the bus i couldnt believe what i saw, it was a massive stripy mosaique church that no words could describe. The detail, patterns and colours were a masterpeice and so interesting and beautiful to study. The inside was just as impressive and the ceilings were painted with golden pictures of Jesus and angels and all sorts. It was the centre of town and what bought hoards of tourists there. The rest of the town was cute, petite and beautiful. The streets were full of shops selling pottery and local wine, vines ran over every building and flowers hung from windowsills. The views all around were stunning, vast and green, this was what the real italy was to me. I went into a pottery shop to look at all the handmade sculptures , out the back was a restaurant and i started chatting to the man who made everything, interested in his work, i got a big free lunch of pasta, cheese, bread and fruit plus a taste of the local wine an he didn't charge me! That was pretty sweet. I spent the arvo exploring the tiny cobblestone streets on top of this mountain and then i came across a ruined fortress that hung off the edge of the mountain. It was a real life castle and was once used as the gate to the city, heavily guarded, so cool to explore and the views were unbelievable!

I checked out of Rome the next morning and after missing a bus and a train to Florence i finally got on my way ...