When in Rome…

We hit the Roman cobblestones running as there was a lot to see in only a few days, so after Big Karl braved the local commuters and pushed his way through the busy metropolis of Rome, we set up camp for a few nights near the city and headed off to explore the ancient wonders.

We caught the bus to the door step of the Vittorio, a massive 135m wide, 70m tall monument, which looks very impressive with its grand marble stairways, corinthian columns and statues. It gives an excellent vantage point to cast your eyes over the city of Roma where you could literally see everything from atop. We then weaved our way through the masses of people visiting the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps (FYI the police are in full force if you dare take food near them) and the Piazza Navona, only stopping for refreshments which is impossible not to when they are offering a 3€ spritz.

Day 2 was an early rise for a guided tour of the worlds smallest country, The Vatican City. We met up with our tour group and English speaking guide (they advertised English, but our guide spent most of the day confusing not only us but himself with trying to speak English). The tour included the Vatican gardens, Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica. Although the crowds here were some of the busiest we have ever experienced it was well worth the wait when we arrived at the Sistine Chapel. Here we were given time to sit and admire the famous artwork of Michelangelo, a sight to behold for sure.

After walking around and bumping into people all morning we worked up a rather large appetite, one which could only be fulfilled with more of the local cuisine; a litre of Peroni beer with a side of pizza and lasagne.

Our last morning in Rome was reserved for the Colosseum. To see it from the outside was one thing but when you step inside to one of the oldest arenas in the world was another. We spent a full morning looking around before visiting the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Our next adventure was driving Big Karl through the erratic and narrow streets of Rome, driving in Italy sometimes feels like you may as well be blindfolded! We opted not to head directly south to Naples and the Amalfi Coast to get away from the congestion of tourism and found ourselves on a winery and olive farm near Campomarino (along the Adriatic Coast). We were provided with a free spot to park and offered to taste and purchase their local products; we couldn’t go past the homemade olive oil or 5L box of red wine…

A slow couple of days at the beach was finished with an unexpected day trip to Polignano a Mare which is known for its white pebble beaches and dramatic cliffs joining the town with the crystal blue water below. After some focaccia, smoothies and back flips (Damien) in the town, we retreated back to Karl and found a quiet spot on the cliffs to spend the afternoon. Later that evening we caught the overnight ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik – the journey was perfectly flat however was something of a nightmare for us both as the cabins had an uncanny resemblance to those of a New Zealand frigate. This experienced reassured as that we definitely were not ready to go back to work.