Day 22 - 13th August - Leaving Rome

Today we decided that we would leave Rome and start making our way back north. This technically meant that we were starting on our way home which was a bit depressing but hey.

Rachel had decided to get up early and head to Rome to see a few last bit but I stayed in bed so was in charge with packing up and checking out. That done I sat and waited for Rachel to return.

We were on the road about 11ish and aimed to head back toward Florence and see how far we got. By early afternoon we seemed to be making pretty decent time so we decided to continue on as far as possible.

At around 3pm we got stuck in a horrible traffic jam which is not good for the van as being aircooled it relies on the air flowing over the engine when driving to cool it, No airflow means no colling. This means that if you are sat stationary for too long with the engine running in it may overheat. Add to the fact that it was 30c and this was not a good combo. With this in mind we decided to pull over at a service station for 45min to see if the traffic died down and to let the engine cool.

The traffic did not seem to be getting any better so after 45min we got back on the road and hoped for the best. After the best part of an hour and a half we got through the traffic and started making some progress. At around 6pm we stopped for some dinner . We somehow managed t pick the worst service station to do so but we were hungry and so just made do. We worked out that we were only about 220km from Venice and we decided that we should try push on and make it there tonight.

At around 10ish we finally made it to Venice after numerous stops for petrol and to let the van cool. It had taking us 11 hours with stops but we had made it. 520km in total. It was an absolute mission but we had made it and this meant we had a full day in Venice tomorrow.

Was not the best day of the trip but unfortunately due to the delays with breaking down we simply needed to cover a lot of miles.

Obviously arriving late at the campsite it was dark and we were told to “find a spot anywhere” which was easier said than done when nobody seemed to be in pitches, they just seemed to set up wherever they could. We did the same and had showers and then hit the sack.  

Rome - Day 21 - 12th of August - The Evening

After returning to the camp site to chill in the afternoon we decide to head back into Rome in the early evening to see a few more sites and then have a nice meal to celebrate our six year anniversary.

Was alot nicer to be wondering round in the evening as it was not only a lot cooler but there was alot less people about which was nice.

We saw a few of the sites that were left on the list and then decided to go for a drink as it was still early and we did not want to eat too early. We ended up going to a nice little bar/cafe for a drink before dinner. It was nice but a bit costly. It was 7.50 for a pint which was a bit much if you ask me, although we did get a nice spread of snacks which was pretty comprehensive.

After the drinks we tried to find one of the restaurants which recommended in the Lonely Planet book after about 10 min of walking up and down the correct street we realised that it was closed as we found a really small sign saying so.

About 15 minutes later we had found somewhere which looked nice and were at a table. The food was nice but the service was poor. Rachel's main course came a full 15 min before mine which meant she was pretty much finished before I had even started. Not ideal when you trying to have a romantic evening and one person it just watching the other eat.

Meal done we left, without leaving a tip, and went for a little stroll back to the tube station.

The tube turned out to be closed for work so there was a replacement bus service which never arrived so we ended having to get a cab back which was not ideal as it had been an expensive few days and payng 20 euro's to get back to the site was not ideal but we did not really have any other option.

Another very busy so we were both exhausted once back at the site. Bed was calling. Night Night!

Rome - Day 21 - 12th of August

Today was mine and Rachel 6th year anniversary which was exciting.  

We had decided to head to the Vatican today and then come home early to chill before heading out for a nice meal.

The day did not start well when we rushed to get up shower and get the shuttle bus only to be turned away as the 10am bus was full so we returned to our site to kill time till the 11am shuttle.
We returned at 10:35am to get the 11am shuttle to find this one too was already full as a group of 10 people had booked tickets so we ended up having to get the public bus and hope it dropped us somewhere near the Vatican.
The bus ride was not to bad to be honest and only cost a euro.

At the Vatican there was a pretty big queue but it did not take long to get in. I was really excited to be in the Vatican but to be honest it was a bit of a let down due to the amount of people who were there. It was fucking rammed with people. You could hardly move. We saw a few things but after about an hour an a half I was ready to kill someone so we decided to just head to the Sistine Chapel which was very nice but again ruined by the hundreds if people chatting and generally making a noise. Despite this is was worth the trip just to say I had been.

Once we had seen the Chapel we got a quick bite to eat which was pizza. The one I had was a bit wierd as there was no tomato sauce on it which was strange.
Both Rachel and myself did not realise that we when had to leave the Vatican to see St Peters square, if we had we probably would have gone somewhere a bit cheaper for lunch as it was almost 15 euro's for two pieces of Pizza and 2 drinks.

We left the Vatican both a bit disappointing with the crowds and not being able to take out time to view everything. If you plan to visit Rome I would suggest going in the winter for sure.
We briefly walked round to St Peter's Square to get a few photo's before heading back to the campsite to chill before heading out for dinner.

Rome - Day 20 - 11th of August

Same routine in the morning of getting up, having some breakfast and then having showers.

The plan for today was to head to Rome and see all the sites of the city and then tomorrow we would go to see The Vatican.

After making some lunch to take with us we went an got the shuttle bus some the hostel to the Vatican from where we planned to walk into Rome. This was a bit of a mistake on our part as it was pretty far to get to the sites we wanted to see. It was easily a 30min walk from the drop off point to the first site we wanted to see.

We started off by seeing a few of the fountains and piazza’s and getting and ice cream from a place that only seemed to do off the wall flavours. There was no chocolate or vanilla but there was vanilla with whisky and many other odd flavours. After the ice cream we headed to the Colosseum, which we wondered around for a while before going to see the forum. The ticket which we purchased for here included entry to the Colosseum so once we were done there we head to take a look inside. It’s crazy to think how long ago it was built and is still standing. I wonder if any of the stadiums from our time will be standing in thousands of year’s time. I’m pretty sue they won’t. Let’s hope Anfield falls first! : )

I could go into more detail on the sites we saw and things we did but to be honest I have forgotten most of the name of things. I will add a few photo’s of the things we saw at the end of this post

Once we were done in town we started the long walk back to the pick up point. I swear we must have walked what seemed like 10 miles this day. Once back at the site we chilled as we both exhausted and had another full day planned tomorrow. A few ice-cold beers were sunk and we drank our bottle of wine which we had purchased in Umbria. It was very nice although not as lively as a wet spaniel, which is how it was described in one guidebook.

As a side note I should add that Rome is home to more smart cars than I have ever seen in my life. Honestly they must consist of 50% of all cars in Rome. I could not believe how many there were. Crazy. I always wondered how Smart stayed in business and now I know.