A Roman Getaway
story and photos by Ann Wallace

My mother is in her nineties and can no longer make the journey alone from her home in England to visit me here in Canada. But she hasn't lost the travelling bug! "When I next come to visit you, let's go on a little trip," I said to her last year, 'Where would you like to go?" She didn't hesitate. "Rome," she declared firmly, "I've never been, I've always wanted to and I'd better go soon." So Rome it was!

I made hotel reservations from Canada and arranged to fly to Gatwick with Zoom Airlines. I then arranged for a car service to collect my mother from her Surrey home and bring her to Gatwick to meet me at the appropriate time for our British Airways flight on to Italy. All went smoothly and by noon on a day in October we were in the Eternal City and in a taxi on our way to our hotel. The website had promised that the Forum Hotel was close to - yes - the Forum. <more>