Day 6 Venice to Rome Friday 27th December 2013:

This morning after a good night sleep feeling rested from exploring Venice the day before.

We made our way to the dining room at 6:45 am for our included breakfast in the hotel.

After we finished breakfast we checked out of our hotel rooms.

Before taking our bags to the coach at 7:15 am.

As we departed Venice at 7:30 am,

Our Trip Manager Rebecca gave us a history lesson on Rome (The city I was most looking forward to visiting!)

As we made our way towards our first services stop of the day, Rebecca gave us some important information as this was our first 2 night stop of the trip, including paying for our optional excursions for the remainder of the trip.

Rebecca also gave us information about the laundry service the hotel provided to wash and dry clothes before we departed Rome in 2 days.

We arrived at our first services stop at 10 am which had cafes and restaurants with the opportunity to try Italian coffee which has a lot stronger flavour than coffee in Australia.

After having a break at the service stop we boarded the coach and made our way closer to Rome.

On the way to our next service stop Rebecca explained our itinerary for our first night in Rome which included:

A walking tour to see Piazza Venezia,Piazza Navona, The Pantheon,Trevi Fountain, and The Colosseum, before showing us where to find the best Gelato in Rome and our included dinner at an authentic local Roman restaurant before making our way to out hotel in Rome for the next 2 nights.

We travelled for a couple of hours before we arrived at our next service stop for lunch at 12 pm.

This service stop was the biggest services stop we had visited so far! This service stop had so many cafes, restaurants and little delis selling fresh pasta , pizza and antipasto dishes as well as coffee and fresh juices!

When we had finished lunch we boarded the coach filled with excitement that we would be arriving in Rome in 2 hours!

As we were nearing arrival in Rome Rebecca explained our itinerary for our second day in Rome and Vatican City which included:

Making our way from our hotel into Rome on the Metro, an optional Vatican Tour through the Vatican Museum, St Peters Basilica and The Sistine Chapel, an optional Roman Imperial Tour visiting the Roman Forum, before having the rest of the day to explore Rome before catching the Metro back to our hotel at 6pm.

Once Rebecca had finished explaining our itinerary for the next 2 days in Rome, she walked up the coach asking if we had any questions or queries about Rome for the next 2 days.

We arrived in Rome at 4pm and got dropped in the centre of Rome where we followed Rebecca as she guided us through the city.

As we followed Rebecca exploring our way through Rome we made it to the Pantheon where Rebecca gave a history lesson before having time to take some photos and explore inside as well.

When we had finished exploring the Pantheon we made our way towards the Trevi Fountain where Rebecca gave us a history lesson before having time to take some photos in front of the Trevi Fountain.

When we had finished seeing The Trevi Fountain we made our towards our included dinner at our local Roman restaurant on the way we saw Piazza Navona,Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum illuminated by light which was such an incredible sight!

We arrived at our local Roman restaurant which had an incredible view of the Colosseum outside!

We started with entrees of sour dough bread, bruschetta, and pan fried capsicum and zucchini and various cheeses.

For mains we had a selection of pastas, including Four Cheese Gnocci in Napolian sauce, Mushroom Risotto and Carbonara Pasta which was so delicious trying authentic pasta in Rome!

For dessert we had the most amazing tiramisu I have ever had the which was the most amazing way to end a long day of travelling and exploring Rome.

Once we finished our first authentic Roman meal we departed the restaurant and made our way back to the coach which was waiting for us outside and made our way towards our hotel for the next 2 nights.

We arrived at Park Roma Cassia Hotel Rome at 8:30 pm

When we arrived Rebecca checked us into our hotel rooms.

After checking into our rooms some of the group went down and had a few drinks at the hotel bar while most of the group decided to have an early night to be rested and energised for a big day of exploring Rome and Vatican City tomorrow!

Safe Travels!

Campbell 🙂