Problem routing with Laravel

Hello

I 'think' I have successfully installed Laravel using 2 different internet guides. Here is one one of them

http://phpraxis.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/getting-started-with-laravel-4-on-ubuntu-installation-and-configuration/

I have managed to get the include laravel test page "You have arrived"

I am now unable to add an additional route. This is what i did in the routes.php file

Route::get('/', function()
{
        return View::make('hello');
});


Route::any('foo', function()
{
    return 'Hello Andrea';
});

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If i add a page foo or foo.php I get the error

Not Found

The requested URL /foo was not found on this server.

I can alter the code in the default view

However if i do something like this

Route::get('/', function()
{
        return 'Hello Andrea';
});
everything is fine

I'm confused. I dont think I get Laravel views. how would i fix this to work as a first step on my jourmey

Route::any('foo', function()
{
    return 'Hello Andrea';
});

Some guides also suggested putting Laravel in the home folder e.g. /home/username/laravel and whan i tried this I couldnt even get the 'you have arrived page'

I thought Laravel had a shallow learning curve? It must be me.

Thanks for any help