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We had timed tickets for the Vatican today. We had booked online this time as the last time we were here we queued for about 3 hours before we made it in. We got the Metro from Termini getting off at Ottaviano and then followed the crowds through the maze of people selling tickets and souvenirs to passing tourists. Signs were a little hard to come by but we found the way fairly readily. Arrived to find no queue at all much to our disappointment as everybody seemed to be part of a tour group or pre-booked like us. I was feeling quite warm having worn trousers today having seen the dress code on the Vatican website. As it happened they didn't appear to be enforcing it, but better to be safe than sorry.

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We didn't opt for audio guides this time deciding to wing it instead. We began by following signs for the short itinerary which lasted about 3 hours taking us through a range of Egyptian and Italian exhibits featuring sculptures, tapestries and rooms decorated with incredibly detailed painted ceilings and mosaic floors. It also included amongst other things, a suite of rooms decorated by Raphaelle and his contemporaries. It was all quite breathtaking, culminating in the Sistine chapel. 

After the initial tour we stopped for a break in the pizzeria before heading out to explore the terrace gardens. One of the gardens featured a rotating sphere within a sphere created by the Italian artist Arnoldo Pomodorowho who has similar pieces in many cities worldwide. From here we went to the picture gallery which thankfully had some air-conditioning and amongst other things featured some nice Bellini statues and a picture by Leonardo da Vinci. We stopped off at the bookshop to buy a guide book before calling it a day and heading back to the hotel. Later in the evening we went to the local restaurant Meid in Napols where we had the nicest meal yet. We highly recommend a visit, its not far from Termini, about a 2 minute walk. Arrived back at the hotel feeling stuffed!

We were up a bit later today, but had decided already to go to the botanical gardens. We went to Starbucks on route for some breakfast before getting the Metro across town - the gardens are quite a bit further away than we've been so too far to walk. The botanical gardens are the same stop as the olympic park on the metro so you walk past the stadium on the way in. The gardens as it turned out, are huge. We started off walking through the greenhouses which were much too warm and so we quickly raced through them back to the outside. The gardens are broken into lots of smaller gardens which we walked through intermittently sitting on benches in the shade. 

The gardens were really well organised but the highlight had to be the Japanese and Chinese gardens. On the walk around we did see a bit of wildlife including a chipmunk and a number of different types of birds. Whilst walking through the Japanese garden I saw a large bird of prey fly quite low overhead, and then as we walked between the Japanese and Chinese gardens we could hear the cry of a large bird. As we looked up through the trees we could see a pair of what we later found out to be juvenile Cooper's Hawks. We were able to get some good photos with the big lens on the camera! 

After stopping for a cold drink at the cafe, we a bit more of a walk in the Chinese garden. I think this is perhaps the most impressive of the gardens that we saw, with a number of Chinese style buildings, a small waterfall and lakes. After another long day, we headed back to the hotel for a break before getting some tea at another restaurant nearby. On our first day here we had heard fireworks and after a bit of a search online, Dani had found that it was linked to a fireworks competition with the next and final show on this evening, so at 10pm we headed up to the roof terrace to watch the fireworks, not a bad way to end our time here! Afterwards we packed up ready for the journey to Quebec City, our destination tomorrow!   

Well we've just about finished our time in Tokyo before we head off tomorrow to Hakone (Hak-on-ey). We've had a pretty busy few of days trying to fit in as much as possible. On Saturday we went to the Tsukiji fish market which starts around 5 am if you want to see the fresh fish auction bug continues as markets selling fresh produce into late in the afternoon. There was a lot to see and we had s great time walking around, trying a few bits and bobs. From there we headed to the Royal palace gardens on the metro. You can see the palace surrounded by a sort of most and high on a hill connected by bridges. It looked quite splendid. We saw some of the gardens which were a bit of a walk away from the palace itself and stayed until closing. Feeling quite tired we went to a local Japanese restaurant that was only a few minutes from the hotel. We had to queue outside as there was only seating for about 8 people in doors but we're in soon enough. We both had the special which was a large pork and noodle dish. Very tasty but there was a lot of it and some of it managed to make a few blobs on my tshirt.

On Sunday we went to Asakusa to see the shrine and multi story pagoda that we had seen pictures of. Unfortunately the pagoda was closed for renovation and was completely covered. There was still however a great deal to look at as on the way to the shrine you walk through a corridor of small market stalls selling a variety of toys, clothes and souvenirs.

We spent quite a while there before heading on to Ueno park on the metro. Ueno park was vast again with lots to see including a Jazz band and a baseball match not to mention a number of shrines and a fairly spectacular multi storey pagoda.

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We stopped off at Starbucks in the park for a drink and a bite to eat before heading back via the palace for a few more photos as the sun wad setting and the Shibuya for another look at scramble junction. We finally got back to Shinjuku at about 9 and feeling quite hungry went for tea at a pizza place near the station. It was very nice. Got back to the hotel about 10 feeling very tired after our long day

Today was the last day in Tokyo and we had a big to sort out. The first stop was the station to change our Japan rail voucher into the actual tickets. We then sorted out the Hakone free pass and train tickets for the trip tomorrow. Around midday after dropping off the tickets back at the hotel, we decided to head for the Tokyo port. We went to a park close to the port. The park was really quiet and tranquil. There was a nice sea water lake fed directly from the sea with a number of bridges crossing it. There were also some traditional Japanese tea houses though we didn't go in. At the back of the park we caught a water bus which took us on a 45 minute trip back to Asakusa providing some fantastic views of the Tokyo skyline. Finished off the day with a curry before heading back to do a bit of packing. On to Hakone!