Rome, etc.

on the Via Appia Antica, the ancient road heading out of the city walls, now an interesting park full of old monuments, churches and necropoli to visit.

the Foro Romano, the old centre of Rome

 at the Collosseo

Caprese!

at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli with it's famous water features and fountains, about an hours drive out of Rome

at the Villa Adriana, Hadrian's villa, just below Tivoli

Orvieto, about an hour and a quarter from Rome, is a really old place on top of a huge bluff of sandstone, underneath the medieval town there are etruscan caves and necropolis, as the site was inhabited then....

Etruscan necropolis just below the city walls in Orvieto

the old gate into the city

deep well underneath the city at Pozzo della Cava

the famous Duomo

on the Orvieto underground tour, the caves were used to breed pidgeons

very Bee Thousand ;)

at the Faina museum

back in Rome, at the back of the Piazza Venezia

evening tour of the Vatican museums

St Peters square under the full moon!

food tour of the Testaccio area, highly recommended! this is outside one of the oldest bakeries in this area

our knowledgeable guide outside the famous Volpetti food store

Keats grave in Testacchio's non catholic graveyard

at the new market in Testacchio

cannoli!

the massive old slaughterhouse in Testacchio, now housing a modern art gallery, though you can still see the old rails on which the meathooks travelled...

ok, so Rome, again. We hadn't been for a while and I'm not always sure I want to travel to other big cities when I've got some time off as you're faced with similar levels of congestion and big city stuff.... it's still worth doing! We did spend quite some time outside the centre though and I would have liked to explore the cooler neighbourhoods a bit more.... Trastevere still seems to be where the youngsters go after midnight... but I think there are other places that you need to know about, well, we never made it there.... very cool to revisit Villa Adriana, one of the most entrancing places ever, even though the public transport situation is a little challenging. loved going to Orvieto where I hadn't been before, could have easily stayed a bit longer and hoping to go back into Umbria to explore a bit more, etc.