My son has just returned from a wonderful holiday in Rome, Naples and Pompeii – but mostly Rome. My dad was there during the war so I’ve many black and white photos from that time. I’ve only been to Italy twice – one was a day trip from where we were camping in Menton in south-east France to San Remo, but I remember very little, it was a very long time ago! A couple of years I went with the same friends, into Italy and across the southern Alps, through Milan and Verona to Venice,, then back west via Florence and Genoa, and back to Menton.
What do I remember? I know there were three of us, M, JC and me and possibly JB as well, and we travelled in a small Austin Mini van – I can’t imagine how, with all that camping equipment and luggage for six weeks! I remeber when we crossed the Alps I was so excited to be in actual mountains (coming from the low lands of East England) and there being snow in July, and then to Venice. We camped somewhere outside the city and though I was very excited at the prospect of visiting, when I actually did it was not what I expected, and I found it sinister and threatening (and this was before the film “Don’t Look Now”) We must have traversed the country again to end up in Florence, which I absolutely loved – to me it had a completely different vibe from Venice. I felt comfortable, easy, at home, and I was filled with wonder.
It was a wonderful holiday, I had a great time, and I also read the whole of “Lord of the Rings!
Lois Elsden 