We are now in the city of the Romans - Rome. Upon leaving Spain, we must say that the rain in Spain does really fall on the plane. We sat on the tarmac for over 1.5 hours waiting for the storm to abate so we could all get off. SPOTD went to the guy who, once we took off, raced to the bathrooms to light up his cigarettes. He denied it, of course, but he was betrayed by the fact he stunk of fresh cigarette smoke. No consequences though. Personally, we think he should have been chucked off the moving plane…

Checked out the Colosseum from the outside, the Vatican from the inside, the multiple fountains from the dry side, and the city on the dodgy side. Okay, so it’s been pretty good so far, but there was a gang of young children who tried to take my wallet. Too bad for them that I had a safety pin on the zipper of the pocket. Still, they respond well to threats and left quickly once they realised I was prepared to smack their heads together a little.

We’re actually living the high life at the moment, with air conditioning even (and of course, it’s nowhere near as bloody hot as it was in Spain!). Basically the hostals are all really full and we’ve ended up with a 3-star hotel for about $10 per night more as a last minute deal. TV. Private bathroom. Air conditioning. Much better than the plebs down in the crappy youth hostels…*grin*

We are in walking distance to everything we want to see, but our feet hurt a bit from the uneven cobblestones. Drivers in Rome are pretty mad, but once you get used to the road rules (ie: He Who Has The Motor Vehicle Makes The Rules!), it’s quite easy.

Been eating gelati every day while here since we found a locals-only shop which costs AUD$2.50 for 3 giant flavours of gelati as opposed to AUD$7.00 for one miserably small cup from the gelati shops nearer the tourist traps.

On to the UK tomorrow, and perhaps even get back into a vroom vroom of my very own once more. To hell with this walking rubbish - I want a car!

Categories: Travel, Odyssey 2001