Blackberry Juice: Roma giorno due

Day two in the eternal city dawned with a glorious blue sky. But the problem with eternal cities is how the heck do you fit in to one day what took millenia to create? The answer is you sign up to Rock's carefully crafted walking tour designed to cram every major site in between frequent pizzeria and gelateria stops.

Stop 1: the mighty colloseum! An early start meant the cauldron was eriely deserted and as the sun rose above the ruins of the east wall one could almost hear the roars of victory and the dying screams of defeat echoing between the crumbling arches. Except these roars seem to have a distinctly yankee twang to them - oh no, it's the first of the day's tour buses disgorging its weighty contents in our direction! Time to move on.

Adjacent to the colloseum lies the ruins of the Roman Forum - an eclectic collection of crumbling ruins and columns jutting skywards. This was once the heart of commercial, political and religious life in the city, going back as far as the 7th century B.C. "...this, this IS history Dr Jones..."

From the Forum, an ancient stone stairway led to the top of Capitol Hill and expansive views of the sprawling city below. Every few blocks the dome of an elaborate basillica punctuates the skyline off to the di Vinci-ish blue haze of the horizon.

A few blocks of winding cobble streets later and the travellers were standing under the gaping circular skylight at the crown of the dome of the mighty Panthenon. The giant columns at the front dwarf the swarms of tourists looking for the perfect camera angle. Luckily the magnetic attraction of the slightly less ancient golden arches sucked in a good portion of the throng.

A stroll through the spacious Piazza Navona followed by a peaceful walk along the statue-dotted banks of the Tiber under the shadow of the imposing Castel Sant'Angelo, led the party back to the magnificent heart of Christianity - St Peter's Basillica. Less magnificent was the length of the queue to get up to the cupola perched on top of the massive dome. Mei's patience for queues is about as long as Russell Crowe's leather and pseudo-steel gladatorial miniskirt. Nonetheless, the persistence paid off with epic views over the city from the lofty vantage point. Inside the church was equally impressive, with the highlight predictably being Michaelangelo's graceful Pieta.

And that folks, is pretty much the wrap from Roma. Except of course a few words are required for Ian's benefit on dinner. Actually just one word: SUPERB! The home made lasagne was succulent and lavishly appointed with a rich butter sauce. The margarita pizza was so crispy and... well... cheesy that Rock had to order a second full pizza - this time a spicy salami. And finally, the lamb cutlets were tender finished with a delicious rosemary and garlic sauce.

Next stop Florence!