As with most things, our dumb luck parking spot wouldn't last forever, so we searched for parking stations close to home. Luckily, there was one only 15 minutes driving away, but only 4 minutes by foot to get back home through pedestrian only lanes. Off we went at about 8.ooam, I could see another car take our bay before we got to the first corner. It went down hill from there… We circled around the area we were trying to get to for about 45 minutes, low fuel light on and Dads bladder not standing up to the 5 or so cups of tea before breakfast. Finally, we came across the garage, more a process of elimination than accurate directions, only to find the rate was an extortionate 40 euro per day…. Umm, no, the car only cost 36 euro per day… Now busting for a pee, we headed back towards home. Double parking out the front and leaving a frazzled Lauren in the car, I bolted up the stairs like an Olympian!

With the pressure off, so to speak, the friendly pizzeria next door, once again came to our aid suggesting we just park across the road… But that is for residents only…. Isn't it ?? With a simultaneous shrug of the shoulders, tilting of the head to one side and perching of the lips while pulling the chin towards the chest, the answer was "So"…

We squeezed Flavio into a nice little spot across the road from home..

Having arranged a Vesper scooter tour around the outer sights of Rome with Bici and Baci tours, which happens to be next door, Roberto (the charismatic, ever so Italian owner) suggested we could just park Flavio in his parking area. Not sure if he realises it's for 4 days, be we accepted his generous offer..

Scooters are a fun way to get around Rome, our group of 4 (8 people) weaved our way through traffic like pro's. Lauren, as my passenger was in charge of photos, leaning off the scooter like paparazzi, while I concentrated on keeping us out of the gutter and not becoming a bonnet emblem for some open top bus..

Next morning we were stomping the cobblestone streets (they are amazingly hard on the ankles..) at around 8.30am. Heading to our meeting point for a Segway tour of Rome and some it's famous landmarks. Managing to stop for a quick croissant fix (segways can get tiring you know), we met Flavio (not the car, but our German/Italian tour guide) and the rest of the group. As we were now Segway experts, we had a few giggles at the newbies expense, before heading off in our group of eight. We traversed the city streets, taking in the Circus Maximus, The Orange Garden, The Mouth of Truth, Capitol Hill, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum

Finishing on a Segway high, we were hesitant to return our trusty steeds, Lauren even suggesting we should "get one for home"…

The temperature is really heating up in Rome and we are well advised to stay in the air con throughout the heat of the day. As always, I am following advice to the letter ! We arrange things to do in the morning, stopping for lunch at a Trattoria with under cover outdoor seating to soak up the essence of modern Rome. This usually includes a pint or two of beer that I have never heard of. From there we head home for an afternoon siesta (just to be sun safe), finally venturing out again around 7.00pm to wander to the next interesting location. It's a tough existence the two of us seem to be adapting to rather well, maybe a little too well at times…

This evening it was a trip to Trevi Fountain. Arriving at about 8.00pm, we could hardy get to the top of the steps, let alone down to the side of the fountain. Anyone that knows me, will also know how much I love crowds of people pushing and shoving each other for the chance of getting to the front of the queue a minute sooner… Deciding I wasn't in the best mood to deal with this, we ventured on to the Pantheon. Unfortunately it was closed, but there was a really good Pink Floyd tribute playing in the piazza outside, which made for an interesting conversation with Lauren… Pink who ??