Hotel Planetroma Rome

... show´,,, CRAZY!! We did a lot more walking around in Rome just looking at random things and then hoped on a hop on hop off bus tour of the city. So we got to see a lot of different things and actually get to know what they were instead of just walking by them and saying ´there´s a fountain´. After we had completed the entire circuit of the bus tour we headed back to the hostel for dinner. Tonight it was Pizza and beer!<br><br ...

... became pretty good friends with by the end. The next morning, my favourite morning, I woke up. Obviously I wasn't feeling too hot from the night before (I am able to drink a lot of wine these days), but it wasn't the hangver that was the problem. As soon as I awoke, it became very obvious to me that my eye was swollen shut. Awesome. Even better though (sorry this is grosse), it was also stuck shut by puss. I jumped off the top bunk ...

... odder is that English is now one of their official languages also, EVEN THOUGH NO ONE SPEAKS IT, at least not outside the tourist areas. I think they just one-upped Thailand in some category of wackness, though I'm not sure which. Sounds like my kind of place. Stay tuned. My inability to master French in my two months in French-speaking countries is a sore spot with me. I did study for two years at the university basic and intermediate levels ...

... own indoor sports stadium (for war-inspired, but less barbaric than the Colosseum sports, like wrestling, discus and shotput - basically Olympic sports). Apparently the Emperor would invite all his mates over, get drunk and watch sport - seems nothing has changed with men in 2000 years! We also checked out the home of Emperor Augustus, an extremely well preserved site that has only been open to the public for two months. Before ...

... and cars. As far as I can tell there are no traffic laws and pedestrians are in a constant fight for survival. When crossing a road using a crosswalk there is really only one way to make it to the other side. You must have a leap of faith and step out in front of oncoming cars hoping that they will stop before hitting you. At most crosswalks there are no traffic lights and vehicles ...

... the street below had been transformed into a market, a flea market. There were covered tables for several blocks around, and people strolling throughout, holding open umbrellas. I'm tempted to use Italian words for umbrellas, and flea markets, but why... it would only sound like I talk - three words of perfect Italian followed by a couple of English words, then some incorrect Italian words, and so forth. In this way I make myself understood: "Good afternoon, I mean, oops I ...

... sassiness, and defeating Shredder at the Technodrome. There are also some awesome piazzas with fountains and sculptures, like Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo. San Pietro in Vincoli has the chains that bound Saint Peter before he was crucified and Michelangelo's tomb of Moses. The Colosseum is smaller and more broken than I thought it would be, but still pretty cool. I felt Russell Crowe-esque (kickass Crowe, not fat "Insider" Crowe) just being there. The Roman ...

... a huge rise. Still, we paid as we were not here for a haircut and we hit it hard. Like before, I never really got excited over this. It still is a huge building site\dump but it is impressive. The underneath section that you can only look at is massive but after running around El Djem a couple of months ago, I still felt a little let down by the whole affair. We left and went out the side door and went into the Roman Forum. Last time, I was pretty ...

... We stopped to check our map, and decided on our route into Rome; around the fringe of the main centre. Even when we missed our way, it was to our advantage. We ran around the northern end of the Vatican instead of the south (the street ran along the base of the Vatican walls), then across the front of the entrance to Villa Borghese, and around toward Stazione Termini where our pensione is located. Traffic was so congested, you really couldn't get in to any trouble. Plenty of ...