When in Rome…

There are three things that MUST be included in any Italian itinerary – pizza, pasta, and – most importantly in my case – gelati!

Within an hour of arriving at our hotel in Rome we had managed to track down the nearest gelati bar and later visited many more during our three days in Rome. We found old favourites like lemon and bacio plus some newer flavours like nutella, mandarin and coconut as we ate our way around the roman capital.

It was all part of the fun of exploring the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and all the other famous sites of the city.

Ice cream also made coping with the heat and the long queues easier. Someone told me that Rome has the longest queues in the world – and I reckon they're probably right!  You need to queue for everything, whether it is a visit to the cruddy public toilets (which cost as much as 1.50 euro per visit!) to landmarks like Vatican City where we braved the lengthy queue, which often snakes along the streets for kilometres.

We also battled crowds at Rome's largest flea market (where you could buy bling for 1 euro and pairs of sparkly shoes for as little as 3 euro - heaven!) and we even joined the throng of paparrazi who hit the streets to photograph the mayor of Rome on a public outing.