Well, here we are on our last night in Rome and it certainly has been a busy few days...
our hotel, and then it was definitely time to start exploring. Our first day incorporated a circuit which took in the Spanish Steps, the designer street of the Via Condotti (with roasted chestnuts to keep up one's strength of course), the Trevi Fountain (with a stop at Zara on the way - Nancy was VERY excited), the Vittorio Emmanuele Monument, the Forum and the Colosseum. Previous travellers will of course appreciate that our first lunch took place at Pizza Planet, but sadly my broccoli and sausage meat pizza wasn't available. Luckily, however, I managed to fit in a coffee or three to alleviate my disappointment. After our orientation 'stroll', it was soon time to check in to our hotel and have a rest before an early dinner and a very early night.
The next morning we were all up bright and early to catch our Freccia Bianca train to Napoli. Some people were excited about these stylish, very fast trains (nothing like Salisbury trains!), while others were overjoyed to discover that wifi was available and their attention was soon absorbed in their various devices. Once again, Nancy was quite animated by the discovery of the Napoli FC official merchandise store at the Naples train station but our group was soon diverted to the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei. After a slight detour at the entrance gate because of our school group status (=free entry to Pompei so it was worth the extra walk), we began our tour of this amazing archeological site. It soon became clear that the taking of' 'selfies' would be the new competition for the most photos taken by an individual on any given day, with Claudia battling it out with Nancy. The body casts were a sobering site, but since the top of Vesuvius was shrouded in low cloud, it didn't seem quite as menacing this time. 
The train journey back to Naples gave everyone an opportunity to mingle with the locals, especially some ragazzi who were trying to impress our girls with their knowledge of Australia - ah canguri! - and then there was some confusion about the fact that we have very dangerous jellyfish at home. Luckily Nancy stepped in and gave them the evil eye and they soon desisted from their invitations to become new Facebook friends. We managed to get tickets on another fast train back to Rome, then after dinner it was time for a relatively early night after our busy day.
Today of course is Easter Sunday - Buona Pasqua a tutti! We started off with a visit to the Papal church of Santa Maria Maggiore, just as mass was going to start. It was very impressive to smell the incense and watch the procession begin, accompanied by a choir. Our next stop was the Quirinale Palace, the home of Italy's government - or at least it will be when they get it sorted after their latest election. Then it was on towards the Vatican, following the hordes to see Pope Francesco's first Easter address - and indeed we did see the white dot in the window of St Peter's, and cheered along with the crowd 
when he prayed for a world filled with peace and hope. Piazza Navona then beckoned, after a perusal of the markets outside the Castel Sant'Angelo, followed by lunch in a little square nearby. More shopping followed, then it was off to the Pantheon with its impressive dome (the oldest in 
Rome) via a visit to the supermarket and the chemist for blister supplies. Yes, we do a LOT of walking on this trip! After this, we made a detour to Miss Moyle's favourite church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, where Julianne was heard to say that she 'even liked this one.' I have it recorded just in case she denies it at a later date when she is afflicted with 'church fatigue'. Finally, another stop back at the Trevi Fountain finished our third day here, before some pottering about in the train station's shops.Tomorrow we are off to Perugia - our new home for the next month. No doubt more adventures will await us then...
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