Legend has it that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, it will ensure your return to Rome. It appears that there may be some truth to the legend as 14 months previously I had done just that and in late 2004 found myself back in Italy!

The hostel in Rome was in an historical Roman building located near the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, near to the Federal Police headquarters. They hold spagetti & sangria parties on the rooftop terrace - not quite the gourmet dining of La Pergola at Cavalieri Hilton (rated Rome's top restaurant) or as impressive as the views from the top of St Peter's in the Vatican but not bad for a freebie & welcome to the city!! Also included in the price is a cappucino & croisant at a local cafe for breakfast. I shared the room with an Israeli, American & Italian-speaking Polish woman.

I enjoyed a couple of days in Rome, picking up from where I left off from my fleeting visit in 2003. The highlights must be the Tour of Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre) - held 450 years of gladitorial combats and wild beast hunts and seated 70,000 people and the view across Rome from the dome of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Another church I visited was the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Cathedral of Rome & technical seat of all that the Pope does as Bishop of Rome). This was notible for the fact that the heads of St Peter & St Paul are apparently housed above the Baldacchino (where the church leader sits) - how nice!

The main challenge here is crossing the road - you literally have to walk out like you own the road and in the same fashion that Moses parted the Red Sea so the traffic parts around you (you hope!).

Intro | Berlin | Prague | Vienna | Munich | Venice | Italy to Monaco 2003 | Swiss | Rome4 | Assisi | Naples