Today we got the train from Venice to Rome, which took quite a while – there are pictures of me working on the puzzle book below. When we arrived we got the bus that the hostel people said to get, but saw no sign of it. We finally found it – the only signage was their name on the door buzzer thing! We checked in, and went for a walk. 5 minutes later, we were at Colosseo, which looked great in the setting sun. We walked around Colosseo and found a tour bus to get on tomorrow to get an overview of the city. After that we had dinner and drinks, then planned out the things we want to see in Rome.

August 7 – Day 26

We got on the city tour bus and did a full loop of Rome, which is a good way to see where everything is (and decide what to go back to). After we had done a loop, we got off at the Colosseo and skipped a very long line with our Roma Passes (well worth the 20 Euro). It was really interesting, and amazing to be in something so old. While we were there we also looked at the Arc di Constantino. After Colosseo we got back on the bus, then got off at Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, which is very impressive. Another few minutes on the bus got us to Fontana di Trevi, where we both did the coin over the shoulder thing, to ensure we return to Rome :) We got back on the bus to start heading back to the hostel, and got off when it ended its loop at Santa Maria Maggiore. It is a very impressive church, with a beautifully decorated ceiling. Had we realised how close we were, we could have walked back to the hostel in about 5 minutes. Instead we got on the bus again, went back to the Colosseo, and walked from there.

August 8 – Day 27

We used our last half hour of the bus ticket getting to Campo di Fiori. On the way from the bus stop, we saw a Da Vinci ‘Machines’ exhibition, which was really interesting. It was amazing to see some of the machines he had designed that had been built for display. We had a look around Campo di Fiori before continuing walking to Piazza Navona. We walked around the Piazza and went inside the church there – we like the churches, they all seem to have history, and are almost always free. We went to Basilica San Andrea Della Vale on the way to the Pantheon, which was one of my favourite churches so far. Then we kept walked to the Pantheon, which was really incredible. The rays of light shining through the roof are an amazing effect. As there is a huge hole in the roof, it gets wet inside when it rains. Luckily, the original drainage system still works :) After lunch, we were looking for drinks, and walked to Colonna Traiana, where our map said the Forum Pub Crawl started. Turns out, they must do a lot of crawling before they see any pubs, as it looked pretty dry to me! Without our drinks, we went to San Pietro in Vincoli, which was interesting, but not as impressive as the other churches we saw today :) We finally found a pub and cooled down, then went over to a water fountain to see what all the fuss was about. The water coming out was icy cold! Everyone was drinking it, so I did too. Hopefully I don’t end up hugging the bowl tonight. On the way home, we walked past Domus Aurea, which is old ruins with no explanation. We found nice cheap dinner, then headed back for cold showers. We have both been really surprised by the Gypsies – or lack of them. I felt more threatened in Paris than I do here. We only ever see one or two of them together, and they aren’t exactly intimidating – they mainly just lie on the footpath. Maybe it is too hot for them.

August 9 – Day 28

In the morning, we got the bus to Via Appia Antica, an ancient Roman street a little bit out of Rome. When we got there, we went into the Catacombe San Callisto. This is a network of tunnels 20km long, that Christians used to bury half a million deceased in. It was very interesting, definitely one of my highlights of Rome. We went down to the second level on the tour (there are four levels) which was 12 m underground. The bottom level is about 35m down I think. Also, it was 15 degrees C, which was a lovely break from the 32-33 deg C in the sun! On our way back on the bus, we got off at San Giovanni Basilica, which is absolutely massive, and one of my favourite churches so far. Simone was feeling sick for the afternoon, so we relaxed for a few hours, then headed out to the Spanish Steps (and surrounding streets) for a few hours when she was better. There is a sign at the Spanish steps that is absolutely priceless. Included in the list of thigs you cannot do are dirty the steps with meal or drinks (reasonable), make camp (a bit strange), and my personal favourite, “Using the area for defecating is prohibited”. I got a photo :)

August 10 – Day 29

We were told that we needed a day for The Vatican, so we booked a tour and went. The tour really isn’t a tour, it is paying to skip the line. I couldn’t believe that when our tour started, there was one guide, and about 250 people. We walked past the line, were let in to the Vatican museums, and that was it for the tour. We walked through the museums in a sea of people, which made it hard to enjoy. You cannot stop walking, as there is not room for the people behind you to get past. The last stop of the museums is the Sistine Chapel, which was impressive, but it was hard to enjoy. After that, we had to leave Vatican city, then wait for our tour of St Peter’s Basilica to start. This tour was also a skip the line tour. St Peter’s was incredible. It is huge. I thought it was very impressive, but the audioguide was a bit lacking. I would expect a religious slant when being guided through a church, but this one went a bit overboard. I didn’t learn much about the Basilica, and felt like they were trying to convert me. I guess I should have expected it. The reason you need a day for the Vatican is because of how disorganised they are. I enjoyed it, but there is a lot of waiting around, even when you skip the line. I was worried about the dress code before we went – I heard that shorts were not allowed. I think because of the number of people, they end up being less strict than other places. No one even looked at me, and I saw plenty of short shorts and bare shoulders. Afterwards, we went out for a few much needed drinks (after a long hot day), before heading back to the hotel to pack and get ready for Athens.

Today was a transit day. We left Cinque Terre at 9am on train from Riomaggiore to Pisa, then got another train from Pisa to Florence, and finally a train from Florence to Venice. The first two trains were regional trains, and the scenery wasn’t anything too special. From Florence to Venice, we were on a really nice fast train though, going through some beautiful scenery. When we arrived in Venice, we caught the water bus to our hotel. It is a huge ripoff – 6.50 Euro for a single, one way ticket. After unpacking, we walked the main streets back to the middle of town, and shopped. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped for dinner. The heavens opened, and it poured with rain for the half hour jog back to the hotel. We were drenched but happy :)

August 4 – Day 23

From our hotel, it was a quick ferry across to Murano to see the glass blowers in action, and do some more souvenir shopping. It was impressive watching them make a vase from scratch. Apparently it is passed through the family, and it takes over a decade of training to become a ‘master’. We had a long walk through Murano before stopping for lunch (pizza), then heading back to the ferry to the main island. Next we got lost a few times walking to Piazza San Marco, which was fun. It is a nice place to get lost in. After many dead ends, we found Piazza San Marco, and had a look at the basilica and other sights in the area. It was too late in the day to line up for anything, so we kept walking to Rialto Bridge. After that we kept on walking back to our hotel, and made changes to our itinerary:

• One night in Bucharest instead of 4
• Train to Brasov – stay 3 nights
• Train to Budapest (unchanged stay)
• Train direct to Split, stay for 2 nights
• Ferry to Hvar, stay 2 nights
• Ferry and Bus to Dubrovnik, stay 4 nights (unchanged)

We are shortening our stay in Bucharest and dropping four nights in Zagreb (we still have one night there at the end).

August 5 – Day 24

After breakfast, we headed back to Piazza San Marco, and went inside the Basilica this time. It was quite different to the others we have seen so far, with a lot of intricate mosaic work. It was free to get in but once you were inside, they charge to see anything. We went into the museum and the second level, but skipped the other parts. The audio guides were not available, which was annoying, as we didn’t really get to learn much about it. Simone had worn shorts, forgetting the dress code, and had to buy a dashing orange sheet to wear. I took photos :) After the Basilica, we climbed the bell tower, which is near by. It gave us a great view, and an overview of the history of Venice, and it’s most important sites. We had forgotten to bring our Eurail passes to book our train to Rome, so we got the water bus back to the hotel, and got some nice views from the canals. We had delicious pizza near our hotel (much cheaper there), before walking back to the train station to reserve out seats. We walked and shopped and had drinks for a while, before having a really nice dinner near the hotel. I had my first calzone of Italy, it was huge and delicious :)

I was still sick for a day of transport by train, which was unpleasant. When we arrived in Riomaggiore  (~4:30pm) we went to check in to our hostel, and were lead to one of the highest streets in the city, where we are staying in the house that the hostel owners used to live in. It is great to be in a house, but it takes a while to hike up from the main street. After a lie down and a shower, we went our to explore the town. It is beautiful – there is one main street, with houses up the valley on each side. The main street takes about 5 minutes to explore, and after that, it is little winding walkways. Later when we were back in the house, we met Ash and Ben, two fellow Aussie travellers. They gave us a few pointers on places not to go, so we have a few changes to our itinerary to make when we get internet access. I cannot believe how many Aussies there are travelling. We are everywhere :)

August 1 – Day 20

Today we had a huge sleep in. Turns out our room is quite dark. We got up at around 9:45, and got on the train to Monterosso, which is at the other end of the Cinque Terre. The beach there is beautiful – much nicer than the one at Riomaggiore. After walking around Monterosso, we got back on the train, and went one stop, to Vernazza, the next town along. We had another look around here – it is another very pretty little town. We had planned to visit all the towns from the train, but were ready to get in the water, so we headed back to our hostel to get changed. This is a major event – it takes us ages to get up and down the hill! We finally got to the ‘beach’, dripping wet, to find that the sand here is far worse than it was in Nice. These are rocks and boulders. The smallest ones are about the size of my head. Getting in and out requires a dance that only some Europeans can do. Tourists have no chance. If you are me, you hop across the small, burning hot rocks (which your towel is on). Then you get to the water, which is nice and warm. After about a meter of goodness, you get to the rocks that have no waves on them, so are covered in slippery goo. You fall over, and half dive forward to try to get deeper. Once you get there, you get stung by something you can’t see, get out, and go and buy a 660ml beer for 5 euro to get over the ordeal. Next we went to have more drinks at a little place outside the main area, which was expensive. On the way back for another shower and change of clothes (I am dripping wet again) we found the public lift, which takes some of the steps out of our hike up the hill. We had good pizza for dinner (my first big meal after being sick), and Simone found a wine she liked (for a little while at least)! It is a local Cinque Terre white wine, but that is all I know about it. We were planning to do the walk between the five towns, which is 9km, and takes 5 hours. I think we will get a day pass for the ferry instead, and alternate between that and walking.

August 2 – Day 21

We decided to just do the easy bit of the walk, after seeing the state of people after they completed it. If you want to do it, you need to get up at the crack of dawn to beat the the heat, and even then it is pretty strenuous. We walked around to Manarola and had a quick walk around, before getting on the ferry to Monterosso. We explored the main side of Monterosso, which we did not visit the previous time, and liked it a lot. afterwards we went to the beach, which was private, and cost us 15 euro (for a day). You get beds and an umbrella, but it is definitely not worth it. We had a little swim, but the rubbish in the water put us off. We have had bad luck swimming in Italy :) After lunch and some shopping, we got back on the Ferry and went to Vernazza, the next town around. We had drinks on the water there, then got the train back to Riomaggiore. We bought some dinner and took it down to the marina. Afterwards, we went up to the castle on the top of the hill to watch the sun set over the water. I really enjoyed Cinque Terre, but for me, three nights was enough.