Rome

Don't arrive in Rome on a Sunday. Nothing is open, and a perfectly nice neighbourhood can look like murderville with graffitied shutters and stray dogs roaming.

Hotel Villa San Lorenzo Maria is a mouthful, but was a diamond in the rough for where we walked into. Beauty and the beast style interior, cute courtyards and full breakfast including chocolate croissants :P my favourite.

Big to do's in Rome has to be the sight seeing. We visited the Colosseum, the Spanish steps, the Pantheon, Vatican City including the Sistine chapel, St.Peter's square and the Basilica, Parliament, the forum, San Giovanni, plaza del Popolo, Basilica San Maria and my all time favourite, Fontana di Trevi. So many Trevi selfless :)

We had a full day of shopping down Via del Corso, everything you need, with the side streets offering more. We took a wondrous walk through the lane ways to find the best gelato ever at Giolitti and stumbled across 'the sacred place' (according to the map), which was really a bunch of old ruins that at second glance, turned out to be a sanctuary for stray cats!

Rome also has the most abundant supply of water, with the aqua ducts running through the city with drinking fountains on most streets constantly running with ice cold fresh water. Simple put your finger over the tap and it turns into a drinking fountain. Word has it there's an app for the location of each one, you'll never be thirsty again.

The free walking tours on offer are fantastic, only take about 2 hours and gives you the chance to catch a few main sites with background information often on the monuments architect and its structure, and the fact that the Italians don't like them; yes, many Italian monuments are hated by the Italians, usually for reasons behind the architects attitude and selfish greed for the biggest eyesore in town.

We are heading down south now to the gorgeous Amalfi coast. Fingers crossed for some celebrity sightings in Positano :) xx 

1: the three of us at the Trevi Fountain 2: Thee Colosseum 3: homemade pephem skirt 4:Nasty gal necklace 5: outfit for the day, industrial setting, with fruit shop on route to the Colosseum 6/7/8: Basilica San Maria 9: Laura and I at Alcot :) wearing my own made skirt, sparkle and fade top, nasty gal necklace, Laura in Nasty gal dress 9: gorgeous garden in the centre of an old building 10: Statue of the Emaculate conseption of Mary 11: fountain in front of the Spanish steps 12: me at the Spanish steps and the statue of the Emaculate conseption of Mary 13/14: the Trevi Fountain including selfies :) 15: the Forum 15/16: The Colosseum 17: Vatican ceilings, insanely gorgeous 18: St Peters square overlooking the Sistine Chapel 18: Vatican and Basilica 19: Sistine chapel 20: Vatican outfit, sandals with Brandy and Melville dress, top shop leotard worn underneath Sussan scarf, India rings 21: post Vatican ice creams, Giolitti's ice cream is by far the best in Rome :)

Many thanks for Laura, the backpackertracker for her photos 5 and 12. Follow her at backpackertracker.wordpress.com.au :)