A: This is our second attempt to do our entry for Nov 10th and 11th after it disappeared on my watch last night as I was posting it - 2 or 2.5 hours work, enjoyable as it is, down the drain! This time we are doing it in a word document and will then transfer it to the blog. We used our wonderful Roma passes to gain entry into the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum on Thursday morning, and then for entry to the Museum of Rome that afternoon. We walked the...

Until a couple of minutes ago we were up to date. Somehow 2 hours of work on the blog have disappeared! No energy to repeat it today. Maybe tomorrow!

M: Big plans for today: Vatican area (not inside), Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto. But first we needed to stock up on bread, fresh vegies and fruit from the market. Mmmmm. Not sure whether it is going to be better to go there hungry and then eat the produce on return, or have breakfast first (on the assumption that you won't be tempted to eat on return) then eat anyway. Today we opted for the latter. Armed with maps and accompanied by Rick we set off for the...

M: First- the picture...... Anne after a successful foray into the markest at the Campo dei Fiori. But more of that later. Back to the departure from Catania first. A: Our departure from the Catania flat was relatively simple as it was Sunday morning and hardly anyone about. This meant we could wheel our luggage along the road as opposed to the very narrow and unpredictable weekday route avoiding dog turds and the ever present cigarette stubs and other imp...

M: My turn to get things started. After our night at the theatre last night, what could have been more appropriate than getting back to the origins of things by visiting Taormina, renowned for its Greek and Roman theatres and spectacular views. The weather looked like a good each way bet, so we wandered down to the bus terminal (note the singular) and bought our tickets for the ETNA bus, andate e ritorno (return) for E7.70 to Taormina. We had left time for brea...