Ancient ruins and their modern-day inhabitants.

Ancient ruins are in no short supply in Rome! The Colosseum was incredible. Inside they have interesting exhibits explaining the use of the arena as well as the architecture and how it had eventually become unused. It was nice to see so much information available, and in English as well as Italian because a lot of other sites had very little information. The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill was a particularly impressive, and extensive area of ruins. They were very confusing though. We were given a map to follow but here was no signage to help guide people along the map route, and when we found a larger, stationary map along our walk, the numbering and map details actually differed to those on the map given to us at the ticket office. Between the two, it made it virtually impossible to follow the audio guide we had also paid for. This was pretty disappointing as it meant we didn't really know what we were looking at in the ruins - whether the remains of a building were a home or a temple. It was still an interesting and beautiful walk and still worth a visit. I just wouldn't expect an informative visit unless you take a guided tour.

During our visits to the different ruins we noticed that there seemed to be a lot of one particular animal living in ruins. Cats! Except for the Colosseum, every ruins we visited we saw at least one cat which started a bit of a tally for us. Roman Forum: 2, Terme di Caracalla (roman baths): 1, Largo di Torre Argentina: at least 20, and those are just the ruins I can remember the names of!

Something else there seems to be a huge amount of are fountains! Romans love big open piazzas, and what better to put in that space than a fountain! And they're never boring, plain fountains either. They're always different, featuring sea creatures, mermaids and and people. It's always an interesting experience finding yourself in a new piazza.

Unfortunately I still haven't found a new photo transfer device because I took lots of photos of fountains and cats!

When in Rome

Rome is an impressive city. It combines the best bits of European cities. Winding, narrow streets galore, and wide open squares - most featuring fountains, statues or monuments. Romans seem to love fountains. While there is a strong touristy vibe in Rome, it doesn't overpower the feeling of culture and history throughout the city. I also love that there are actually trees and green areas in the city - something that Florence seemed to be lacking. I have come across the less reputable part of Rome - on a crowded bus I had some things stolen out of the bag on my back. Fortunately only some camera memory cards - all of which had already had all their photographs transferred onto my iPad - as well as my picture transfer device. Which sadly means that until I can find somewhere to buy a new one, no more pictures!

Despite this, I am really enjoying the city. A highlight has been our visit to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano. I know we seem rather morbid, having already visited catacombs in Paris but these were much different. The Catacombs of San Sebastiano are from ancient Rome, having been used between 100AD and 400AD! Unlike the catacombs we visited in Paris, these had specific family burial rooms, and no remains were actually in the chambers. They had all been removed in respect of the dead, seeing as the public tour through daily. We were taken down as part of a guided tour which gave us a much clearer picture as to how the catacombs were used and their history. They served as burial grounds for both Christians and Pagans of ancient Rome. Particularly cool was the ancient graffiti along the area that was used as space for funeral banquets. Ancient graffiti seemed to mostly comprise of requests to the dead. The most prominent names, repeated hundreds of times, are those of Saints Peter and Paul. Their remains were once moved here from the Vatican for safekeeping, though they were returned when Constantine legalised Christianity.

The guide also told us that the word 'catacomb' actually originated here. As the Latin words 'cata', meaning near, and 'cumbae', which is the name of the caves that are part of the underground complex. The name was eventually given to other underground burial sites.

This was only one of the interesting things we've seen in Rome. More to come!

Florence

Florence was a nice place, but compared to other cities we've been to it was a bit underwhelming. That's not to say I didn't enjoy myself. I saw some beautiful artworks, including Michelangelo's David - which is a lot bigger than I imagined. We walked interesting streets and ate some great food. One particular street, Ponte (bridge) Vecchio, was originally lined with butcher shops. However, when the Medici family decided to put a tunnel through the bridge they ordered the butchers be replaced with goldsmiths because they did not like the smell. Today, the street is still lined with jewellery shop after jewellery shop.

The Duomo in Florence is one of the largest cathedrals in the world. Not just its sheer size but also the green, red and white marble facade, in an almost geometric design, make it a very impressive cathedral. The outside contrasted strongly with the austere inside which was relevant to the renaissance period it was built in. The church was quite different to ones we have visited in France and England.