Arriving at Rome airport I was delighted to see my sister Phyllis Hoffman wearing a wide brimmed hat covered with her colourful handmade felt flowers. Who could miss her sitting on her suitcase waiting patiently for my arrival.
And so began our Italian Inspiration 3 weeks of fun and laughter, sharing Hotel rooms just like the sisters we were in our childhood when we shared a room. Phyllis neat and organised and me spread out all over every empty space and chair. Nothing had changed, only I kept her awake with my snoring, not like when we were kids and she kept me awake with her chatter about the children in her class. I would listen for hours, fall asleep and wake up and she was still talking.
Rome is a beautiful city to explore on foot. From the hotel Centro , close to the Termini Railway station we wandered around marvelling at everything from the delicious pasta that we ate to Churches we visited and the plentiful colourful scarves we saw flapping in the wind for sale.
It was raining on the first day so we wisely carried our umbrellas and portable plastic macks. They proved to be very useful the next day.
Italian hotel breakfasts are short and sweet. Cheese slices, processed meat slices , bread, muesli and plenty of sweet cookies .
Our second day we were collected from the Hotel for our pre booked tour of the Vatican. My school years spent at a convent had not prepared me for the vast splendour of the Vatican. Apparently it was not a busy day as it was raining, however there were about 30,000 people there that day. . It was worth the slow shuffle through the Sistine Chapel gazing up at the great works of art, architecture and sculpture,
