When in Rome...

Bonjourno from Italia. Been here for almost a week now so I thought it was time I gave an update.

I started off in Rome, which is a pretty crazy place. Where else could you find ancient ruins, amazing Rennaisance art and the best ice cream in the world? Apart from Essex of course? The thing about Rome is that there's just too much history. It's literally burting at the seams. You can't turn a corner without bumping into some unbelievable monument or building. Things that would be the centrepiece to a lot of cities are just passed over in Rome completely because there's probably something older and bigger round the corner. There's a whole load of imperal Roman stuff right next to the Colosseum, but how much interest are you going to take in that when you have the awesome Colosseum in front of you? Rome is a naturally dirty city, and if you travel through the non-touristy outskirts it looks like a lot of dirty European cities. Although the centre is pretty well maintained, because there are just so many historical things it means that you see things like graffiti on ancient monuments that no-one in their right mind would graffiti in England. The sight of an ancient bust of Dante with moustache drawn on in felt-tip, and his name crossed out and replaced with 'Silvio' or whatever the local chav's name was, was both amusing but crazy.

I've been staying in a kind of hostel campsite on the outskirts of town, which is pretty much full of Australians and Germans. And unlike in Australia, the two groups seem to keep themselves to themselves. Mainly because they're on different tour buses. Italians for the most part stay well away from any of the foreigners. I've found most Romans rude and unhelpful, but maybe that's just Rome as most capital cities are a bit like that. One strange thing I've found in Italy so far is that not many people seem to speak English. They do in the hotels and tourist attractions, but most of the bus drivers, station workers, shop owners and other workers, even in the middle of the tourist areas, don't speak English. I wouldn't mind them being so snobby about their language like the French are, if it was spoken by anyone else outside of Italy. If you go to Germany or Holland, everyone seems to speak English, whoever they are.

So having spent 4 days walking, eating, and photographing Rome, I finally got on the big blue bus that will take me around Europe, and headed for Forence. I've been here since yesterday afternoon and although I thought it would be a lot like Rome, it has a much nicer vibe about it. You can't walk anywhere in Rome without having to cross a busy road fully of crazy Italian drivers. Florence is much more picturesque and peaceful. There aren't really any ancient ruins, so the city is just full of beautiful rennaisance-era buildings and piazzas. Today I've been wandering around the city and all the markets scattered around, and it's just a nice place to hang out. I'm here for a couple more nights then a place called Cinque Terre up the coast (via Pisa), then Nice and the French Riviera, Avignon in rural France, and finish up in Barcelona on the Spanish coast. I'm quickly getting back into the backpacking habit because I'm getting brown and I'm not sure if it's a suntan or just dirt.

Have a good weekend, I'll speak to you soon!

Jamie