Rome was not built in a day - but it was seen in one

We arrived in Rome about 9:30 pm Thursday. Finding a hotel was not so easy. An indian restaurant man offered us accomodation for 80 Euro but also wanted 12 >Euro to store our luggage for half a day. All other cheap hotels were full he said. An Aussie who was staying there told us he was a good guy but almost fell over at the price. We decided to look elsewhere and found a very good hotel for the same price. And no storage charge. Next day was Rome in a day. I decided to do the Vatican first. The queues looked huge but Kitty said it would only take 30 minutes. 40 mins. later I got her to walk to the start of the queue. She returned 10 minutes later - the queue went around 3 more streets - so we gave up. We found a free guided tour of Saint Peters which was excellent. Apparently every 25 years the Pope knocks on a bricked up door and his guards smash it down. Anyone who then walks through the door skips his time at purgatory and has his sins forgiven. The next opning is in abouut 10 years I think - so if I can last that long I can sin like Dorian Gray and then go through the doors and all is forgiven - not even an indulgence to pay. God the catholic religion is great !

After St Peters we saw the Trevi fountain, Victor Emmanual monument, Roman forum, a castello or two, some baths, the colosseum, the Pantheon, and a few other sites, sights, or cites.

Then back to Roma Terminii to met the others. All of out communication was in disarray. We had altered times and places to meet Sue and the Sheards but had not heard from Sue and discovered Judy was delayed due to a lost bag. We all found each other and eventually headed off to the Anmalfi coast near Naples. Judy is still without luggage. More later. This internet costs as Kitty was banned from the cheap place !!!