Only a couple of months since I last posted part 5.. but here is the final installment, Italy! To get there from Croatia we had to take the overnight ferry from Split to Ancona which was tiring to say the least, though Chris was generous when it came to sleeping arrangements as we had agreed to swap half way but he let me have the bed the whole time, like a gentleman! Despite this we were all extremely tired when reaching Ancona, a place that is far from the highlights of our journey, and upon locating our hostel we realised it was in the not so desirable part of town. This was made worse by an error at check in where the receptionist, who spoke no English, refused to acknowledge that I was also booked in for the room. This meant that Chris and I had to traipse around Ancona with little sleep at around 7/8am to find an internet cafe that had a printer so we could prove we were all booked in. Our mission failed but luckily Hannah, Rachael and Katie composed a vague sentence from an Italian handbook to indicate that there was an error with our check in, thankfully it all worked out only for us to be thrown out the hostel at 10am as it is closed pretty much all day! Though Ancona had a fair share of rundown buildings there was a nice side to it too, we went up to a church which did have great coastal views and there was also a market but overall there are plenty of other places I'd visit before returning here! As our InterRail ticket was coming to an end, we decided to make the most of the last evening and take a train inland to Fabriano. To be quite honest I barely remember anything about it, especially as it was dark so we only really found a restaurant to eat in and then had a walk around the streets, was pleasant enough though.
Our train from Ancona to Rome was around 12€, very cheap I thought! However we couldn't get straight into Rome so we spent one night on the outside, in a business hotel which wasn't that bad at all though too far away from the city itself for any kind of sightseeing. Upon arriving in the capital, we left the train station (filled with many who appeared to be prepared to sleep with their luggage outside) and only had a short walk around the corner to Pop Inn Hostel. Much like Hostel Veselova in Ljubljana, the rooms were colour coded and overall I highly recommend it if you are visiting Rome in fact Hannah liked it so much she stayed there on a return journey. As in Paris, we had a big list of attractions to visit and of course the most well known is the Colloseum, the huge structure was incredible and made even better by the special 1€ May day price! This famous landmark surrounded by various Piazzas and of course the Roman Forum, an expanse of architectural ruins that are really worth seeing. Of course there is plenty of other attractions too, such as the Pantheon, the Spanish Stairs, the Trevi Fountain, the Mouth of Truth, the Baths of Caracalla - I saw them all and more! Unfortunately it rained a fair amount of our stay but not during our 'Dark Heart of Rome' tour that informed us of the macabre past of the city, another worthwhile decision. I think it was earlier that day that we technically visited another country, Vatican City. Such sites we explored were St. Peter's Square, the Vatican Museum and of course the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. As you can imagine, the strict religious feel runs deep and there was even no compromise when I lost my friends in the tombs of the Popes and wasn't allowed to find them, still secretly hold a little grudge for that.. Despite the rain, Rome was immensely memorable and a great end to an amazing trip. Of course it couldn't have happened without the friends I went with so many thanks to them and all the little characters we met on the way!
Images by KLV
