Rome is where the heart is

My heart is singing.

Here we are back in Rome. And day one has been a mixture of activity and rest, with a prior late night arrival at Fiumicino, lllooonnnnnggggg wait to get Jim through the non-EU arrivals line, even longer wait for luggage. We eventually find our driver patiently holding a "Mr Lloyd" sign; he's been standing looking out for us for a couple of hours due to delays in leaving Dubai (diagnosed fuel line leak into the rear engine, plane sitting on the tarmac in a 41-degree heat, faulty air-conditioning and can it get any worse). He zips us into Rome past the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, praetor 1st century BC, and gives us a whistlestop commentary via the Piazza Venezia, into the Campo district and onto our apartment in the Center. Jinkie, who I met last year when I stayed a month, meets us and hands over the keys. She is clearly relieved to see us after wondering if we were ever going to arrive. We dump our luggage and head out again for gelati. The Campo is alive with college kids and most of the outdoor cafes tables are filled. And its hot, hot enough for the lightest of summer clothes.

By the time we're walking our gelati around Rome, we've been awake for 24 hours.

Today we wake to the bells of our surrounding churches, the Sant' Andrea pealing closest. We count to eight which means we've had our regulation hours. I ponder the meaning of the various bell peals, as we hear a series of notes before the eight tolls. With the shutters open the sun is blazing overhead and street noises drift on up from the Via dei Chiavari; vespas buzz away and patrons from the bakery shout and laugh . Opposite at eye level we can see the Grotta Pinta curving the ancient line of Pompey's theatre.

Outside, its all ochre and gold and terracotta roofs and sunlight. We have early coffee at a table on the Piazza Farnese, opposite the austerely beautiful Farnese Palace and I sit and soak it all up while Jim goes off into the adjacent Campo to buy some provisions. I'm still sitting, wishing I had a sketchblock and HB, when he returns with peaches, prosciutto and cheese. Which we stow back at our apartment, along with some prosecco and red wine. Lunch is all of these, plus some fresh pesto and olives from the Salumeria on the corner.