When in Rome ….

Rob and I have just had four amazing days in Rome. Without the kids. Again. Seriously, my Mum deserves a million bucks for all the child-minding she does so Rob and I can jet off for long weekends together, making the most of our last weeks in London.

I hadn’t been since 1997 when I went with my boyfriend at the time and my brother. We were on a two-week Contiki bus tour of Europe (for the non-Australians, it’s an under 25’s tailored holiday where all you do is drink and try to pick up, pretty much). The tour started in Amsterdam so after spending a couple of days in Amsterdam’s cafes the rest of the holiday was a complete blur as we drove around Europe in a haze …. so needless to say I hardly have any memory of Rome.

So really it was like going for the first time.

I absolutely love Italy, we’ve spent quite a bit of time there over the years but I particularly love Rome. Its chaos appeals to me in a disturbing sort of way. I am a pretty organised person and I hate mess and disorder so the fact that a city that thrives on bedlam could appeal to me is unusual, but Rome – simply put – is perfect.

The first thing that happened when we got there is that I ditched my gluten and sugar-free diet. I really don’t know what Coeliacs do in Rome because I didn’t find anywhere that serves gluten-free pasta – you can’t even get low-fat milk – so there was no point continuing and I dove head first into heavenly gluten and sugar licentiousness.

Obviously we did all the sights – The Colosseum, The Pantheon, Vatican City, etc. and they were all marvelous but not surprisingly one of the highlights for me was the shopping. Clothes, shoes, handbags .. OH MY WORD the handbags! Rob didn’t even complain when I dragged him along the Via del Corso for hours on end. I married a good’un I tell you! … So our little mini trip was a complete indulgence in food, shopping, sights and time spent with Rob.

Who hates shopping with a passion.

We probably walked over 50km in the four days we were there, in fact my feet are still sore and swollen and I can’t even fit them into the lovely shoes I bought (or maybe it was all the tiramisu?). So by the end of the day we’d crash into bed after stuffing ourselves with all sorts of amazing pasta and risotto before finishing with tiramisu, my all time favourite dessert.

So it was fabulous. Absolutely fabulous and as we flew back into Gatwick, it dawned on me that it would be the last time I do so in a very long time. All the dozens of trips we’ve done since we arrived way back in 2007 have come to an end.

But what a way to end it.