Or sister? In Rome, for the first part of our Italian adventure, we were walking around the old Roman ruins area close to the coliseum. At one point, we were high up on a lookout point, I started thinking about my father.

Fact:

1. My dad was in the First Special Service Force (Devil’s Brigade), which helped liberate Rome in 1944.
2. He went AWOL for 2 weeks. When he returned, they took away his sergeant’s stripes.
3. There were very few Italian men in Rome, but lots of wine.
4. Every time Rome came up in conversations with my dad, he got all glassy-eyed.

Possible fact:

1. He shacked up with a woman for a couple of weeks. (Certainly worth losing the sergeant’s stripes).
2. If I have a half-brother, he would be tall, good looking and have a very sexy Italian accent.

After doing the compulsory Vatican and Coliseum tourist trap area’s, with their thousands of tourists and line-ups, we discovered the Trastevere neighbourhood, which we kept going back to, and easily became our favourite place. Tourists there, yes, but not like those other places. I think that this is the real Rome, where you can relax, eat and drink and of course, people watch. So, many of the photos are in this area.

Rome is one of the most famous cities in the world, so everyone knows what it looks like. I’m hoping that my photos will give you an idea of what Rome “feels” like.

Next stop… cycling in the Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy.

[click on any photo for slideshow]

This is the view when I was thinking about my dad.

Lots of tourists at the Trevi Fountain.

I love you Valentina!