All roads lead to Rome.

Today saw the end of our week in beautiful Tuscany and the start of our week in Rome - my favourite city. Last night we had a drink with our fellow La Maesta guests to say goodbye and this morning were farewelled by Rosalinda, Stefano, Lilla and Virginia. A beautiful family who have become special friends. Stefano drove us to the train station and we were on our way.

Shannon and Alan

Shannon and Billy the cat

Me with the lovely Lilla

We've become quite familiar with travelling on trains and the quirks that are involved. Purchasing tickets...validating tickets...finding the right platform...train...coach...seat. We had purchased first class tickets for today's trip - it was a 2 and a half hour journey and usually first class provides more comfortable seats and air conditioning. We were annoyed to find there was no first class coach!

The trip was entertaining however. We had a couple sitting across the aisle from us. The gentleman had on a rather large pair of headphones and was clearly enjoying his music, because he decided the rest of us on the coach needed to hear it too. He was singing along so passionately we couldn't help but laugh. We couldn't sing along with him because he wasn't singing in English or Italian, but Chinese! Every now and then he'd pass a headphone to his wife who would then start to clap and dance along to the music. It was pretty funny and made a boring train trip go a little bit quicker.

We arrived in Roma Termini station - a shock to the system after a quiet week away from the crowds. We were swept up in the bustle of people coming and going, like ants on a mission to find the nest. We blew out of the station and began the journey to find our accommodation. Like most city's in Europe, Rome's Metro is user friendly, so we were able to buy tickets and get on the underground train quite easily. We had decided this time in Rome to book an apartment, to get a feel for what it's like to live in the hustle and bustle of the big city. We are literally around the corner from the Trevi Fountain (which is covered in scaffolding at the moment while under restoration) and are surrounded by restaurants and souvenir shops selling everything under the sun. The apartment is so quirky. It's a tiny little place on the fourth floor of an old building. The lift is that small that only two people can fit in it at a time. Or, as we discovered, one person and two suitcases! Photos to come of the strange angles on the roof and poky little bathroom! We had a relaxing afternoon reading and a little planning. We ventured out to the local supermarket to get breakfast supplies and some snacks and decided to do some washing.

First walk through Rome this afternoon.

Even though the apartment owner provided a step by step guide in a booklet with pictures on how to use the washer/dryer, we're still not sure how our clothes are going to come out in the end. They have literally been in the machine now for 4 hours...yes you read correctly! First we got it going but then the water wasn't flowing. Then the wash cycle took forever...we thought we had it on the dry cycle...but...well it's still cranking away. At this rate it might be done before we go to bed...watch this space!

We decided we needed a break from restaurants and were both craving a burger...so Burger King it was! We then enjoyed a gelati and a beautiful sunset.

Tomorrow - The Colosseum - third time's a charm.