Long story, but I was now on my way back to Italy to meet up with my dear friend Melanie for a whirlwind tour of Northern Italy since she only had ten days to travel. My flight from Edinburgh didn't start off well as either something about me alerted security or I was just randomly selected to endure a very personal and thorough body search in front of my fellow passengers. At the gate, we were held up by a sweet Italian teenage boy on his knees with his flute ca...

Met Lizzy in Rome on May 22. The timing was great as our flights arrived only four hours apart. It was so good to see her. Checked into our beautiful hostel near (but not too near) Termini Station. It was five flights up in the ancient, pint-sized, rickety, elevator or the "dreaded stairs" (which we ended up taking frequently due to elevator problems). The floors were marble and the shutters opened over a beautiful garden. Our roommate was a sweet Italian woman w...