IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Rest day in Rome

Waking up with a sore head is not that alien to us, but when at 9 the suns already generating temperatures of over 20c, it's not good. Dehydration has lived with me since I got here on the 16th June, and copious amounts of booze the night before, doesn't help matters.
We made it to the pool for a swim before buying our bus and train tickets from reception and heading off into one of the most historical, ancient cities on our planet.
€1.5 for 2hrs travel. Amazing. Enough to get us to the city centre which was around 3 miles from camp.
We walked from central Rome, west towards an address I had in my phone where I was to get my tattoo. I wanted to get a tattoo to mark the very trip that brought me there in the first place.
The number of ruins and ancient historical monuments fill Rome wherever you look. Very busy, very big.
We didn't go in any shops as such, just observed as we walked the historic streets towards the tattoo shop.
I brought my Garmin with me which can be altered to navigate you on foot. We found the place, but a sign in Italian, on the shop fronts window suggested they'd be back soon. In feed they were.

The idea behind the tattoo was the bike ride. I wanted ILWD, for Il long way down, and 2012 in Roman numerals to represent the year I did it.
After twenty minutes, the piece was done, but they didn't take card, so a short walk to the cashpoint ensued. As we got there, I began looking at my partially bandaged artwork and made a comment about the number of X's in it. I showed Rob, and he creased up. It said 2022, not 2012. Idiots.
We'd double checked the correct letters on Google both in the shop, and on my phone, but at some point in between then and when the job was done, it was too late.

I decided the best thing to do was to wait til I got back to the Uk to figure out and solution. We joked I could return in 10 years and do the ride again, by which point, there'd be no mistake. I could just leave it and laugh about it, or get it lazered.
Funnily enough, I didn't have to pay them, and we walked to the Colosseum.
Rome is just beautiful with so many things to see and do. I could write page upon page of anecdotes but I haven't got time.
The journey back to camp took forever, but a few beers later we were all ready for bed. A long 80 mile day was due, so sleep took priority that night.

Will definitely go back.

No tattoos though ;-)