When in Rome...

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My wife came up with the idea to visit Rome, and after a brief hesitation, I agreed it would be the ideal vacation. We had visited once before - the day after 9-11 - and although the aftermath of that event was obviously tragic, we liked what we saw of the Italian capital. All the guide books I've read make it clear that you're not likely to get bored in the ''Eternal City'', so I agreed and we set the date for seven days, eight nights, in late September. I figured the weather would be cooler than August, the leaves might be turning (good for photos) and there would be less tourists. I was right on the first count, sort-of-right on the second, and dead wrong on the third! (more on that later)

In the days leading up to our holiday, I obssessed over the weather. I wanted perfect blue days so I could get the best photos possible. This didn't go down well with the other half, as she thought I was concentrating too much on my camera than on spending time with her in a romantic city. She was right, of course, but it didn't stop me going onto the weather sites 10-20 times a day. Weather Underground, BBC, Sky News... I scoured them all, hoping for the best. It didn't look good. uk.weather.com showed that the entire week of our holiday would be infested with showers. The only sunshine symbols appeared on the day we arrived and the day before we left. It was dire!

There were other elements beyond our control. In Germany, Pope Benedict, arguably the most famous resident of Italy, had quoted a 14th century Christian emperor who criticised Islam. The outrage that followed was scary: all sorts of threats were being made against the Pope, creating a turbulent politico-religious atmosphere. The last thing we wanted just before our holiday was the knowledge that the Pope, and thus Rome in general, was the target for Islamic outrage.

But maybe I was worrying too much... what happened if the weather was perfect and the fuss surrounding the Pope had died down? I would have worried for nothing! Indeed, as we flew from London Gatwick airport, the controversy was subsiding and things seemed to be returning to normal. And the forecast for the next day (a Sunday, our first full day in Rome) seemed to be mostly sunny. Our flight was delayed, probably an inevitable consequence of flying a budget airline, so we only got into Rome's Ciampino airport just before midnight. Fortunately our hotel was a 24-hour affair, but we had read that Termini Station, the main transport hub in Rome, was not the best place to find yourself after dark, so were apprehensive about that.

But, as these things usually do, everything worked out just fine. We arrived at Termini and immediately set off for our hotel, which was situated about 15 mins walk from Termini, right next door to the Russian Embassy.

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