Rome - what a place. Got here Sunday afternoon and took a quick (too quick) cab ride from the station to our hotel with a driver who thought he was in a F1 race. If in doubt, he accelerated. Traffic lights were taken as a general guide only, and pedestrians used as targets. Everything they say about driving in Rome (don't) is true. This place is alive though. More alive than any city we've been - people everywhere, all going somewhere, all talking, all waving their arms - we love Rome. We're sorry we only had two and a half days, but we packed a lot in and will definitely return. There is so much to see and do. Maybe we'll buy a Vespa and drop out.

The Spanish Steps are touristy, but hey! On Sunday afternoon you can't see the steps for the tourists, but ........

...... come Monday morning before work its a different story - its much better with the people however, all chatting, eating icecreams and still waving their arms.

Rome is full of fountains - nearly all of them marble masterpieces. Like all visitors to Rome we threw some coins for luck in the magnificent Trevi Fountain. Our hotel was nearby so we walked past many times, day and night. It never ceased to amaze us with its extravagance and the way it was tucked away in a tiny little square only accessed through narrow little lanes.

The Pantheon is the same. You come upon it by surprise having wandered down a narrow lane and there it is - magnificent. Built in 27 BC and still in use. The enormous dome has a nine metre hole in the roof to let in light and the floor has drain holes to let out the rain that comes with the light. Pretty neat! This building is beautifully proportioned and one of the reasons why it is so admired.

The Colosseum though is simply spectacular. Better designed than many stadiums (and I should know). Not a good place to be though in the past if you were not a friend of the Romans. Historians estimate that over one million people (mainly prisioners of war and criminals) were killed here as "entertainment" during the several hundred years of the Roman empire. We walked throughout the Colosseum, to where the animals and gladiators entered the arena, where the spectators sat, and walked up the very same stairs as people two thousand years ago. A very thought provoking place.

What can you say about the Vatican with its museum, Sistene Chapel, and St Peters that hasn't been said a thousand times before. This place has the best of the best - statues, paintings, tapesteries, you name it. This photo is the "map room", one of the hundreds of galleries in the museum you walk through one your way to the Sistene chapel, which of course is on everyones itinery. I think you could spend a lifetime here but to the uninitiated like us it was very overwhelming. Take the Sistene Chapel for example. This was Michaelangelo's first painting commission - my God! - imagine what it would be like if he had learnt to paint beforehand. This man was definitely an overachiever. We had a fantastic guide who was able to offer some insight and interpretation into all of the panels which greatly assisted our understanding and appreciation.

St Peters Church is aweinspiring as you would expect the largest church in the world to be. It does lack a certain human scale however. But I guess this is head office for the Catholic Church and like all head offices it needs to be big and flashy.

St Peters Square in front of the church is a magnificent space being enclosed by curving sides which seem to contain this very large space and make it somehow more personal. I can only imagine how electrifying it must be to be here when the Pope is addressing the crowd - and I'm not Catholic.

Rome is definitely a place to return to - it is so rich in history and culture and is so vital - we're coming back!