yes, threw my 10 centimes in the fountain, over the shoulder for luck. While I was down there (standing as close to the edge as possible due to poor hand-eye co-ordination skills and fear of missing fountain)someone else's coin bounced at my feet. A teen girl next to me had tossed it over her shoulder and missed. Go figure. Even I got it in first shot! I gave her her coin back, and she tried again - with a rather large audience second time around, due to the attention her missed attempt garnered. Glad you understand about the bag. RIP your leopard skin flats. It's sad when favourite shoes go to shoe heaven, isn't it?

how I love ice cream! All the gelati here in Italy is wonderful. Tonight,tried Crema di Groma, which was a yummy vanilla kind of base with crunchy biscuits (cookies to you Americans!)mixed through it. Not the same as cookies and cream, let me assure you - much,much better. Yum. And ta for the nice rap, Fedora. If I do pick you, I have some advance copies of Island Heat waiting for me back in Melbourne, so we will see what we can do...

I'm a big David Lee Roth fan myself,and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Jump is all out one of the best film-clips/big hair songs ever. And all because of David. And I like the Monkees. I can still remember watching them when I was a kid. Sigh. As for your deeper, darker secrets...well, we all have those, eh?

I can't wait to be back home where it's easier and cheaper to find something to read. I've done okay, so far, thanks to the Paperback Exchange bookshop here in Florence, but the range is pretty slim. And I've had a few authors added to my "check this out" list lately, so am gagging to get access to a Borders. And yes, my handbag will a great reminder of Rome. I swanned about Florence with it today. I swear every woman I passed was green with envy. Well, in my imagination, anyway...

Seeing all the Catholic iconography over here in Italy is like taking a speed-reading course on guilt. So much pain, sin and suffering, so much repentance. Eating too much chocolate doesn't really hold up against most of the big sins depicted, so I'm feeling kind of reassured on the guilt front, actually. And I'm more than happy to travel more, if only to amuse you all. In fact, it would be my pleasure!!!

Someone fabulous once said "I can resist everything except temptation". Should be my own personal theme song! I also like scented things too, Jibby. Soap is my particular fetish, but I am also very fond of scented sachets to put in with my linen and towels so that they smell all yummy when I go to use them. "Old Lady" smells like gardenia, jasmine, vanilla and rose are my choices in that department.

Hope the purse is beautiful!

Jelly Beans! You know, they used to be the treat of choice when I was a kid. I don't like the purple ones, and I've grown to like the black ones, but the rest are fantastic. You've inspired me - I am going in search of Italian jelly beans today, if such creatures exist. Here's wishing you some in your near future!

You know, there are so many tourists over here now I think the Italian men are a little exhausted on the bum-pinching, street harrassment front. I really haven't seen much of it happening at all, and my friend who visited me over here went out on her own a few times (she's tall and blonde and young) and was very disappointed in the male attention factor. Maybe, like many things, Italian ardour has faded with time? And while I am sure Rome is even busier and noisier than you remember, it was such a great contrast to me coming from Florence, which is very closed in and medieaval. Rome has elegant buildings painted in ochre and rusty orange, and lots of greenery everywhere, and those amazing piazzas and ruins popping up out of the city. It's a bit of a pain to get around, compared to Paris with its wonderful, efficient, cheap metro, but it's got a lot of energy.

And I hear you on the wine front. Chianti is now my new wine of choice. Light, refreshing, very quaffable!

Christy, I think you might be my long lost twin! Add squishy, just-cooked doughnuts with yummy fillings into your list, and we're a perfect match. I am dreaming of getting a massage when we return to Australia. Have not dared attempt one here in Florence. Having had some "interesting" experiences with massage in Bali, I've decided not to tempt fate in that area any more...

you know, I have always wanted to try eyelash curlers. Do they really open the eye up more? And do you use them before or after attacking yourself with the mascara wand? Enquiring minds need to know!

As for the ocular in the Pantheon, it was pretty funny listening to people inside trying to work out if it was open to the elements or not. I mean, it's a pretty big hole, and there's a lot of fancy-pancy marble and gilt and whatnot in the interior. It seems inconcievable that they would leave it all exposed to weather via a big hole in the roof. But when you look up, the sky is so clearly visible, it also seems inconcievable that there could be glass up there. Just keeping it clean from pigeon poop would be a huge feat. We listened (and laughed) to these four Irish guys speculating about whether there was glass there or not. Lots of name calling and ribbing as they decried each other's theories. We had no clue, either, except I was certain that there was no glass - it was just too clear a view of the sky. My vague (and not very practical idea) was that maybe they put a cover over it at night time or if it rained. But on the way out I heard a woman reading a bit from her guide book out loud about the drainage system in the floor etc, and I remembered reading about it in my own guide book. D'oh!

And I am so sick of buying/renting houses that don't have baths! What is it with these modern people who don't believe in soaking with a good book? Heathens, the lot of them.

Sophisticated scented candles. I could handle that. I love Bulgari Blue for men - that would make a very delicious candle. hmmm....

Drakkar is still a fave of mine. I know they have tons of new ones now, but that smells so sexy;)

My whole family laughs over my obsession with soap. Every year for Christmas and Birthday they ask what I want and I think for a while and say "some nice soap would be good." Fruity, creamy, whatever - a good soap is a beautiful thing!

I have discovered mulled wine over here in Europe. Yum. Hot red wine with an orange slice,sugar and spices. Delish!