The Romans are here!

In 750bc, a brother was murdered and another took his place.

"Hello my brother, are you from Africa?"

In 45bc, an emperor was murdered and another took his place.

"Ah, no worries my friend, we are all from Africa."

In 79ad, Vesuvius erupted and killed thousands.

"Here my friend, take this bracelet, I give this to you."

In 450ad, a gladiator was killed and another took his place.

"Please, I ask you, just a coin for my daughter."

Now, in 2019, you can still see the affect of all of these events in human history.
If you are nice enough, the African salesmen standing around monuments in Rome will just give you a nice bracelet and wish you 'peace and love'. Some said they were from Kenya, others from Sudan.

We walked away with four bracelets, we were happy to spread their words of peace and love.

Our Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Naples was seamless. We were a little concerned their carry on policy of 'one small personal bag' would mean our entire lives back packs would require an extra cost. But no. So for only $20 euro each, we took the flight with ease.

Our visit to Naples was predominantly for two reasons, Pompeii and Pizza. Both were incredible. Jamie's first time to Pompeii was emotional to see, such a well constructed civilisation brought to desolution so swiftly.

A moment of delight in Naples, our first morning we walked into a Caffe for some breakfast. We joined the locals, leaning against a high counter. We ordered two espresso's and a croissant each. We stood there enjoying the most important meal of the day amongst locals deep in conversation. We gave our thanks and paid.

A train journey carried us from Naples up to Rome, there we had five days to explore a few key areas. We stayed in accommodation South East of the centre. A share house with a mixture of other travelling soul's. We had Russian, Georgian, Mexican and American. It didn't take two Australian's long to figure out we should keep a few of those separated.

Fortunately enough, when you are far from home, people learn they have a lot in common.

We explored the Vatican and St Peter's on our first day. Colosseum, Forum and Altar to our Fatherland on our second. Then Trevi, Pantheon, Navona and Spanish Steps on our third day.

A whirlwind visit, but a stand out favourite for us both, The Pantheon. Astonishing in its grandeur, simplicity and history. We continued to knock off our favourite eats. In our six days so far in Italy, we had only eaten pizza and pasta every night. An accomplishment we were both very proud of.

We enjoyed our crash course in Etruscan and Roman history and this followed us on our path up to Siena. A delightful Tuscan town, rich in history and preservation. We stayed in a historic villa with a charismatic Tuscan.

While the weather kept drizzling, we found time to venture out and explore. Tight cobbled streets beneath steep shuttered windows guided us through the centre. del Campo and Duomo capturing our wonder. We felt a little out of place in our seven month old travel clothing. Amidst black Gucci get ups of the locals.

We all had stories to tell.

Finally, we bid another farewell and caught a local train further North to Florence. Our resting spot for another four days. We were moving swiftly, but with so much to see, we had a schedule to keep.

Tiles and Tarts

Six tarts in four days could be considered a modest introduction to Lisbon. By george they know how to make them tarts.

We both agreed the best was from Sintra, crunchy outer layer of pastry, warm gooey custard in the middle with a nice toasty brown roof that with one bite explodes a fountain of love inside your mouth.

With Jamie's prior experience of the area, she led the way with favourite sight's and sound's. At Sintra we visited the National Palace and Castle Mouros, we covered a good 20km walking through the gardens and town, Ian in constant amazement of the beauty before him... Jamie leading the way.

Lisbon itself was a stunning city after our four months in Southern America. We were gobsmacked at how clean and well presented the place was. We had to keep pinching ourselves for where we had come from was such a different world.

We spoiled ourselves with delicious meals and treats when we could and enjoyed the group house we stayed in. Meeting fellow travellers and students from Mexico, Turkey and Germany.

Our introduction back into Europe could not have been more seemless or delightful. If it were not for our three month limitation for our Euro travel visa, we woud have spent another month roaming around Portugal and then into Spain.
Maybe that will be a holiday for another day.