Buongiorno Roma

I managed to get up for breakfast today, not that it's really worth it... Europe doesn't know how to breakfast..!
We jumped on the coach about 8.30am, and it was about 2 hours until our first service stop.
We actually stopped at a contiki campsite on the outskirts of Florence - Jo needed to have a few days rest, so we're leaving him for a couple of days, and have a new driver in the interim, Dave!
Another 20 minutes and we arrived at proper services, a few of us grabbed some pizza, stocked up on lollies and what not, and chilled off the bus for around 45 minutes.
We jumped back on the bus and had some interesting political conversations with some of our American friends, both explaining Australia's system, and talking about both countries impending elections.
After another service stop, I had my first nap in the isles of the contiki bus. I'm surprised it's taken this long, I remember often sleeping in the isles on my US tour in '09!
Arwen put her playlist on again, and I moved toward the front to discuss it with her and Sharnne, and we finally arrived at our hostel at around 4.30pm, which left us an hour to get ready for a walking tour with Tamara and our included dinner.
We jumped on the bus, and got dropped near the Altare della Patria - a massive monument (so huge it looks like an entire building) to celebrate the first King of unified Italy, and was completed in 1925.
Tamara told us some of Rome's history, and we took a group photo, then headed on a small walking tour through the city. We stopped at the Trevi Fountain, threw in our coins (One to return to Rome, one for love, and a third for Roman love... I only threw 2 coins..!) and took some good photos!
We also walked past the Pantheon, then made our way to a fancy Roman restaurant for our included dinner. We had a 5 course meal with bread, vegetables, pasta, a chicken dish and finally tiramisu. Delish, but we were so full at the end!
We jumped on the coach and headed back to the hostel, where we headed to the hostel bar for a few (too many) drinks, and danced the night away with those of us who weren't continuing on with the rest of the tour. Some I forgot to say goodbye to (sorry Ebony! Love and miss you!!!), others I said some highly intoxicated and emotional goodbyes to... Big night!Read more