Italy

In Rome the women were most flamboyant, chic outfits, short dresses- the polka-dot evidently still very much iconic attire, and plunging neck-lines being the order of the day. Olive skinned men and their well-toned bodies slipped into Italian suits with matching designer shirts, shoes and stubble all proved to be a welcome and almost over-whelming sight for Sarah. Mopeds driven by strong-armed and heavily-tattooed young men to which blonde-haired olive-skinned girls clung sped through graffiti-riddled cobble-stoned streets, the noise reverberating between the five and six story buildings that have overlooked these narrow roads for centuries. Everyone ate ice-cream, no matter what the time of day, and the varieties on offer were amazing, heap after heap after heap on display behind never-ending glass-fronted freezers. Small bakers cooked huge pizzas and sold generous potions by the slice. Panini’s filled with salami, wafer thin Parma-ham, thick mozzarella cheese and the thickest, juiciest, ripest red tomatoes seemed to be stacked everywhere, waiting to be warmed for a much-appreciative customer. Beyond all this were the tourist attractions that most people had come here to see, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, Pantheon and Arco di Tito to name but a few.