Rome

You can't go to Rome and not visit the Pope, can you now? Today, with the weather unfortunately still grey, and with nothing more pressing on my itinerary, I went and visited the Vatican. The Vatican is a ridiculously crowded attraction — it's clear that everyone, without fail everyone, who visits Rome pops in to it — but it is nevertheless very moving and very imposing. Didn't see the old man himself, but apparently he came out for a public appearance yesterday — pity I missed that, although apparently the crowds yesterday were even worse.

I wasn't planning to do any sightseeing today — as the weather was lousy here in Rome, and as I had other things that needed doing — but on my way back from Porto Portese this afternoon, I ended up wandering by the Roman forum and senate. this is the north-western part of the "Palatino", the archaeological site in central Rome, that's actually the preserved remains of what was the main street of the ancient city. I never before realised that the absolute key, central area of ancient Rome is actually still here (albeit in crumbling form), and not all built-over, 2,000 years on. Quite a cool introduction to this most historic of all cities in the world.

For those of you that haven't yet heard, I think it's time to announce it officially: next week, I plan to travel down to Sicily, and to go around the entire island on a bicycle! However, I have no bike here in Italy at the moment — so to prepare for the Great Sicilian Ride, I need to do some shopping. Today, for my first rainy day in Rome, I began window shopping around, and looking at what's on offer. I'm hoping to find something second-hand, nice and cheap, but good and durable enough to last me for my journey. And it seems that Rome is a promising place, if it's a decent second-hand bike that you're after.

Gulliver's House is a small but very friendly affair, right in the heart of Rome's backpacker area. With only three dorm rooms, it's little more than a large apartment tucked into a building; but both the staff and the people are very friendly, and the lounge/TV room is a great place to hang out and shmooze (or to just watch The Simpsons all night). Sadly, as with all good places in Europe, you do need to book this place ahead — but if you're able to plan exactly when you'll be staying there, it's well worth the effort.

That's it for England: this evening, I flew out of the country, and now I'm in Rome! As with the US, England has been nice and easy: no language barrier; everything home-like and familiar; and really, nothing that took me radically by surprise. But then again, England's also boring, it's expensive, and the weather is foul. It's quite funny: although this is the first time I've been to England, I feel like I may as well have been here a thousand times before, as it's so socially and culturally similar to Australia, and as I've learned and heard so much about it for my entire life. Anyway, now I'm in Italy, and that should be far from boring: new language; new cuisine; and new craziness.