Anne: Up and packed before 7am and were lucky that the rain overnight and then predicted for around 8am managed to hold off giving us enough time to walk the ten minutes to Ottaviano metro. While we are organised and our bags compact the rain would have been a bit of a nuisance. The ticket machine at the Metro station refused to accept either of our 10E notes and we didn't have 3E in change so had to line up at the ticket office which was about to open. Fortunat...

Our final full day in Rome was spent in the Colosseum and it was wonderful. Mick had booked tour tickets including entry to the underground area (opened since our last visit) only two days ago but once again we came upon an absolutely fantastic tour guide for our three hour tour of the Roman forum and the incredible edifice that is the Colosseum. Our tour guide was James, an American who has lived in Rome for 16 years. He didn't tell us much about himself but...

A: Christmas Day was an R and R opportunity. It started with a number of phone calls and messages re Christmas and my birthday. All were greatly appreciated by us. As the Bezzina family is wandering the globe we had to take into account the various time zones which was fun. The morning was relaxing and then we enjoyed a very nice baked dinner with a small piece of smoked turkey and vegetables and the Italian Christmas cake that Nives had given us- similar to Pan...

Anne at the keyboard today: Today Mick had another intensive Italian speaking opportunity in the morning and then we were off to Christmas Eve Mass in St Peters with Pope Francis. Sounds like a short program, but it was a rich experience. The mother of another of Mick's Italian teachers in Australia (Francesca- teacher, Luciana - her mum) knew from Francesca that we were in Rome and asked to meet us. She drove the 50 km from her place in the hills outside Rome ...

Mick here - reporting on a quiet day in Rome. Took the opportunity to get a shot of Anne on our balcony. It graces today's blog. We had a few domestic matters to attend to. First was to be sure we had all the necessary shopping done to see us over Sunday, Christmas and St Stephen's Day - Boxing Day to you pagans. The Mercato Trionfale across the road was heaving. It would seem everyone had the same idea as us. With a "Scuzi" here and a "Permesso" there, and a "...