Dating Update ... but don't get excited!

Well, it’s been a bit of a quiet weekend, so nothing worth reporting really, therefore, I thought I’d give you a bit of an update on the mails I’m still receiving from the dating website.  I must admit that I haven’t really done much in the way of replying to any of the few that actually look promising, but Mehreen’s been on my case this morning so I I’d better get on with it … she’s scary when she wants to be (it's in my own best interest though!)

Remember that these mails are copied and pasted exactly as I receive them.  This time I’ve added some of my immediate thoughts about them … Hope you find them as entertaining as we have!

·         Email 1

Subject: Hello

Hi have you been awaythis year yet (Creative type! Jx)

·         Email 2

Subject: Ooooooh

Ooooooh yes please you sound gorgeous; im fun, chatty and well hung, look forward to hearing from you x  (I kid you not!!! … me and Mehreen were in shock for a good 5 minutes after reading that!)

·         Email 3

Subject: Bloomin eck

How can I ask for a refund now I have you and your profile!

·         Email 4

Subject: Human Resources

well, had Maslow ever seen you, you would have been amongst the primary needs, in the hierarchy …… (This is one of my favourites … funny and a little clever … shame he was in his late 60s! Jx)

·         Email 5

Subject: hi

Let Me Introduce Myself, and then its upto you .(BUT DONT JUDGE ME ON JUST MY APPEARANCE,) (that gives you some idea about his looks … the words ‘hit’ and ‘ugly  stick’ come to mind! Jx)

Looking for genuine lady who enjoys laughter (always make a woman laugh. Extremely passionate and love romance and tenderness.  (Tenderness!  That’s nice isn’t it? Jx)

I’m lively and energetic, with a bright, bubbly personality and a very cheeky, mischievous sense of humour.

Professional, Articulate, Intelligent and Handsome. (Amazing how many men class themselves as handsome … he was intimating that he thought the opposite earlier! Jx)

HONESTY, TRUST & LOYALTY Is All I Ask For.! , Nothing Gained, Nothing Ventured.!!!

Live alone in ***** (I’m not flamin surprised! Jx)

Surprise me and even if it’s a polite NO. but you will surprised on how much I have to offer that one special lad …. No harm in finding out…and im even better looking in real life (Did his mum tell him that?! Jx) as i am not photogenic

·         Email 6

hiiiiii (A man of few words! Jx)

·         Email 7

Subject: hello

are you looking to have some discreet fun? (OMG ... speechless! Jx)

I promise that I’ll return the mails of some of the better ones this week and will keep you informed.  In the meantime, my ‘Champagne Saturday’ friend, Justine has asked if I wanted to go Speed Dating with her.  I think that’s a definitely yes … if nothing else, it should produce a good post or two!  Will keep you informed of that too.

Oh and I haven’t forgotten either that I promised some more info from when I saw the psychic … I’ll do that later in the week.

Until then, have a wonderful week and be fabulous lovely people!

Love

Jx

Roma Parte Quattro - Rata finale (Rome Part 4 – Final Instalment)

Before I launch into the final part of my Roman Saga, I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who's been reading my blog.  I've now reached over the 500 hits mark and I couldn't be more thrilled!  I've now got readers from the UK, US, Spain, Germany, UAE, Russia, Ireland, Netherlands Singapore and Australia ... so Thank You, Thank You, Thank You ... your support means so much!

I left you at the huge marble bench with the magnificent view of the Capitoline Museum and you’ll be glad to know that this is the final installment of my Rome visit.

So there I sat ... for about 2 hours.  Reading, watching the world go by, people watching and being chatted up by an amazing array of Italian men ... it was unbelievable!  After I’d been there an hour, this guy came up to me (they all thought I was Italian by the way ... something to do with how I was dressed I believe ... go figure!) he said “I notice you have 5 men come and talk to you ... I am the sixth!”  He was right ... there had been 5 ... he must’ve been watching since I got there ... a bit creepy I thought. 

Anyway, by this point, I’d learned exactly how to get rid of unwanted admirers (never thought I’d hear myself saying that ... but “Safety First” when you’re in a foreign country and on your own!) and I found that swapping my rings around and flashing a nice diamond band at them got them moving quicker that if you’d said “free pizza”!  It became a bit of a game actually.  I’d talk to them for a little while until they spotted the ring, presume I was married ... and leg it!

It was hysterical!  I had such a good time!  I sat there for about another hour ... and various men later, I hobbled back to the hotel, had a shower and headed out again for something to eat.  I was determined that I wasn’t going to go to the same place again for my evening meal, so walked very tentatively (both because of my sore feet and because I didn’t know the area) up a side street where I could see a nice looking restaurant with tables all set out in a little square/piazza.

I ordered some vino bianco (of course) which arrived in a little jug which was far bigger than the thimbles I’d been used to ... it was nice, but rough ... Oh my goodness, it was rough ... I now suspect it was homebrew (due to the horrendous thirst and headache I had later than night) which I believe is quite common in smaller, family run restaurants.  I ordered mussels and bread again and lobster tagliatelle for my main ... yum yum yum is all I can say.  YUM. I enjoyed every mouthful and was quite getting used to eating on my own and really wasn’t a bit bothered whether people were looking at me or not!  The waiter asked if I wanted more wine, but strangely enough (I mean, reallllllllllly strangely), I didn’t.  I paid the bill and went back to my room.  It was about 9.30 pm and I was pooped and felt strangely drunk (considering I’d only had one drink that evening). 

I fell asleep pretty much straight away, but had a really fitful night.  I must have drunk 1.5 litres of water during the night and felt like I had the worst hangover ever ... “That’ll be the homebrew” I remember thinking.  I’ve always felt like that on the extremely odd occasion when I’ve had homebrew (I think that was back in my late teens/early 20s!) ... not nice.  My mouth was like the floor of a parrots cage and my head was banging.

It was even worse when my alarm went off at 6.30.  I had to pack, check out and get to the airport to check in for 8.40 for my flight at 10.40 am ... and as we already know, I can’t be late.  So I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower, got dressed, packed (no breakfast ... I was too early), settled the bill at reception, grabbed a cab and was at the airport for 7.40 am!   7.40 for goodness sake! Three hours before my flight and check in didn’t open until 8.40.  Bummer ... I curse my need to be early! lol

So I just kinda hung around ... had some breakfast, got my plane on time, had some Glaswegian kid prattle on down my ear the whole flight, landed safely, picked up my car without any event and was home by 11.30 am.  Done.  Knackered, but done.

It took me nearly a week to get over that weekend.  I still can’t walk properly ... my hips are a bit sore and clicky and my feet are really scarred!  But now I look back on it ... I really did enjoy it.  At the time I said that I wouldn’t do anything like that again, but I so would!  It was an adventure and I’m really proud of myself for doing it ... yay!  Go me!

I also feel it pertinent to point out that at no point during my trip did anyone attempt to steal anything from me.  I felt totally safe.  Also, I only saw 2 Romanians, they aren’t hard to miss,

the whole time I was there and no Romanian children at all.  Nor did I hear of anyone having their bags, purses, wallets being half inched ... nothing, nada, niente – so if someone comes up to you spouting that stuff, now you can put em right ... just like I’m going to do with that nasty woman in the hairdressers I mentioned in Part 1.  She’s got it coming from both barrels!

I obviously took the Monday off work and had quite a busy week.  Friday, I had dinner at my lovely friend, Michelle’s house.  Although I’ve known her for years, I’ve never met her lovely family.  She cooked a spectacular meal (home cooking ... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yum) and we had a really pleasant evening ... her girls are adorable!

Saturday, I was up early to have my nails done and then it was off to Manchester (on public transport no more no less) to meet my friend Justine for “Champagne Saturday”.  Can you believe the last one was April!!!!  That’s ridiculous.

We had a lovely time – although quite uneventful ... sometimes that’s not a bad thing ... and weren’t nearly as drunk as usual.  In fact, I was home and watching Camelot (how gorgeous is Joseph Fiennes?!!!!) by 9.00 pm.  Sunday, I finally got to the cinema to watch the last Harry Potter *sob*, made even better by a huge hot dog, bucket of coke and peanut M&Ms ... you can’t beat it ... sod the diet!

This week’s been quite mundane really, in comparison to last week ... nothing very exciting has happened at all, but it is Friday and we’ve got the whole weekend ahead of us so who knows what’ll happen!  I hope you’ve all had a fabulous week full of adventure and fab friends.

See you soon lovely people ... be fabulous and have wonderful weekend.

Love Jx

Roma Terza Parte (Rome Part 3)

Before I launch into more of my Roman adventures, I just wanted to tell you about this.  After I’d put yesterdays post up and added the ‘PS’ bit, I got a text from Vivien and this is what she said:

“I can even top the guy with the stockings ... One of my matches is a transvestite it even shows him/her dressed as a woman ... wtf”!!!!!!

I have to concede that she’s definitely won in the weirdy dating stakes!  Sorry Viv!

Anyway, back to Rome ...

I woke up on Sunday morning like I was awakening from the dead.  I could barely move.  In fact I can’t ever remember being so tired ... it was more than tired though (at the risk of being dramatic ... and one could never mistake me for that! Lol) I was totally exhausted!

I remember thinking, “OMG, I can’t move!  I need to get up ... I can’t get up ... I can’t move ... OMG!”.  Slowly, after about 45 minutes, I managed to come round a bit and turned on the TV to hear the sad news about Amy Winehouse and the multiple killings in Sweden.  So sad on both counts.  I them staggered ... literally staggered (still finding it really hard to walk) into the shower, then flung a bit of makeup on, got dressed and went to breakfast.

I don’t usually do breakfasts, but “When in Rome!” (there it is again folks!).  Breakfast consisted of 2 Danish pastries and 2 cups of coffee (very good coffee I might add.  I have the give the Italians that ... they do absolutely the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life ever ... and I’ve had a lot of coffee!) ... then I was off.  By the way, it was only 8.30 am by this point but I wanted to get an early start so that I could cram as much in as possible and I’d had about 11 hours sleep, so I shouldn’t have been tired.

I set off, wearing different flip floppy type sandals from the day before (the others just caused too much pain when I tried to put them on) ... yes, that’s right ... flip flops ... they were designer flip floppy type sandals I might add ... well what did you expect me to wear?  Trainers?  With a dress?  Are you havin’ a laugh!?  I wouldn’t be seen dead in trainers outside the gym ... and I wasn’t going to wear anything remotely sensible like ‘walking sandals’ as suggested by my hairdresser *shudder* (you’d think she’d know me better by now, I’ve known her for about 10 years) ...  so designer flip flops it was (at least I was in flats!) ... and I was in Rome for goodness sake, a girl’s gotta keep her style intact no matter where she is!

So I ambled (or rather flip flopped) in the general direction of the Vatican.  Knowing that it would take me about an hour to walk there, I decided to drop off at the Pantheon on the way.  That was the best idea of the trip ... I got there when it opened and it was totally empty.  I think there were about half a dozen people there besides me ... it was amazing and extremely peaceful at that time of day ... it was quite idyllic.  I didn’t hang around too long though.  I took some pics, said a few prayers (for those of you who don’t know, the Pantheon, as well as being a huge tourist attraction, it’s a fully functioning Catholic church) and then I was off again on my jaunt to the Vatican.

The Pantheon early in the morning ... before the crowds - bliss!

I’m not going to talk too much about my visit to the Vatican.  I’m Catholic and that’s our spiritual home, so I want to keep that private.  But what I will say is that I was surprised that nuns had to queue with everyone else to get into St Peters.  That shocked the hell out of me actually!  What’s the point of being a nun ... giving up your whole life to God and the Catholic Church and you have to queue to get into St Peters?  It didn’t seem right.  Anyway ...

St Peters ... Look at the queue!

I was at the Vatican for about 3 hours and actually managed to catch High Mass – that’s where the mass is sung and is entirely in Latin – which is incredibly rare these days and was at the main alter of St Peters, which is also rare.  After my visit to St Peters (I was ready for a sit down as the only sit down I’d had all morning since I left the hotel was during mass and it was 1.00 pm by this point, so I decided to grab something to eat and drink at one of the cafes on the main road up to St Peters.  Big mistake, HUGE!  I had seafood risotto, 2 (very small) glasses of wine (what is the matter with the Italians?  They give you an egg cup as a wine glass ... it’s simply not on ... I’d heard they love their wine and it’s plentiful!  Not from my experience ... very disappointing!), small water and a cup of coffee – 45 Euros! WTF ... I nearly fell off my chair!  Now, I must point out here, that I’m far from stingy and don’t usually balk at large restaurant bills, however, the quality and the amount of food and drink I was getting for these crazy sums of money was, well, crazy!

I’d heard that it was a rip off for food and drink in Rome ... well folks, it definitely is.  You see, the advice most people give is to go off the beaten track and it’s much cheaper ... but I didn’t really want to do that, what with being on my own an all ... so got stung.  Maybe if I went again, I’d do things differently ... in fact I know I would!

After I’d been fed and watered (I must point out here, that my feet and legs were hurting so badly by this point that it really was painful to walk), I decided to walk (read *limp*) to the other side of Rome and visit the Trevi Fountain, via the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon (it was on the way).

When I finally reached the Piazza was crowded and full of crazy people.  You know those people you get who dress oddly and pretend that they are statues ... there was a gunslinger, a Egyptian Pharaoh (pictured below) and a few other oddities.  All very strange ... and lots of people painting.  I didn’t stay long, I sat and watched the world go by for a bit, but it was too mad for me and I kinda couldn’t be bothered with it.  When I felt that my feet could take the strain again, I stumbled back on towards the Pantheon. 

Egyptian Pharaoh?????!!

It couldn’t have been more different that it was in the morning.  It was mental!  So many people, you couldn’t move.  I stopped for a little while to rest my weary appendages and just watched the world go by for a bit.  I love people watching and it was extremely interesting in Rome ... youngsters (and not so youngsters) just love to stop in the street and snog!  It’s bizarre ... one minute they’re walking lazily down the street hand in hand, the next minute they’re sucking the face off one another!  All very odd, but there was a good vibe going on.

After a while, I got up and I carried on wandering and came to the Trivi Fountain.  Now I’m really gonna sound like I’m moaning here ... but I really couldn’t see what all the fuss is about.  I thought it was a lovely fountain in a large Piazza.  Not so.  It’s a huge, no, massive fountain, stuck on the side of a building (it doesn’t look at all in keeping), surrounded by other huge buildings.  Disappointed does not describe how I felt.  Plus the tiny, tiny square it was on was so jam packed with tourists that you couldn’t get anywhere near it.  I managed to chuck my 3 coins over someone’s head, stayed for about 2 minutes and then went to a local bar and got ripped off again for another thimble full of wine. 

On reading this back it sounds like I had a horrible time ... I didn’t, I actually loved it, honest ... it was just that it was quite a bit different to what I’d expected ... it was certainly more emotional, busier, ram jam packed full of tourists and more tiring anyway!  Ho Hum.

It must have been about 4.30 pm at this time ... too early for dinner and I knew I couldn’t walk much further because of my sore legs and feet, so I found a fab place to plonk myself and read – well it was a stunning day/early evening and I’d taken a book with me for just such an occasion.  I sat on a beautiful, huge marble bench set quite high up some steps with a magnificent view of the Capitoline Museum (about 5 minutes from my hotel ... if I was walking properly ... and right where I met Angelo the day before). 

I did my 'people watching' from a bench over the road on the left of this building.

Not a bad view if I say so myself!

My two hour ‘rest’ took people watching to a whole different level!  I’ve never experienced anything like it ... I’ll tell you about it and my numerous encounters with the opposite sex in my next post.

I’ve gotta rush again folks (I will get to tell you all of this story ... promise!)

Until then, be fabulous lovely people and have fun.

Love  Jx

A Bit More Dating Malarkey

Well I thought I’d give you a break from my Rome trip and give you a little glimpse into the types of mails I’ve been getting from the dating website I'm on.  I'm afraid I haven't got much further on the dating front since my last post about it (well, I've been busy!) and it feels like such hard work ... but sometimes gives me and my colleagues a giggle!  FYI I've copied and pasted these exactly as I've received them ... no editing at all except where I've removed names or contact details.  Enjoy!

Email 1

Hi!

I'm not sure if you would like to be in a relationship with an Indian man. But I just thought I'd write you a short note to tell you how much I enjoyed glancing through your profile. I can't recall when I had a more pleasant time. Everything felt so natural, and you are so beautiful. It's hard for me to identify what it is about you that attract me so. I suppose it might be the combination of your beautiful brown eyes, your blonde hairs, your charming smile, your gorgeous tanned white skin, and your good-looks. Whatever it is, I can sense its presence. You could call it chemistry :-)

I'm experienced and date only woman older than me (who are young at heart! and keeps themselves fit!) as I find them intellectually sexy! In Germany it is really difficult to find a woman older than me; that's why I am looking for someone on Internet willing to relocate to Germany. Having said all this, I'm not looking for a mama to wash my underwear or cook me food though.

Well, if you are open for interracial relationship with an Indian man, I really hope that my first e-mail is not the last because I felt very special when writing to you. I truly want to know you and give our friendship a chance to grow. Well, I guess I've said enough for the time being. Have a wonderful day and, hopefully, I'll hear from you soon.
Until I hear from you, take care of yourself :-)

Cheers,

Email 2

Subject: GRUMPEEEEEE KNICKERS!!!

I pay you a lovely compliment and you don't even bother to say thanks!!!

Now I know there are probably some mingers and low-lifes on here but as I am a male version of you, I would have thought a polite thanks but no thanks would have been in order!!!!

Maybe I am too well travelled and you felt under pressure to beat my Butler??????? ;-)

Email 3

Hello,

Hope you are well, just came across your profile and you look and sound a really nice lady. As you can see, i am a bit past my best before date for you, but nothing ventured as the saying goes.

It would be good to learn more about you, so if you dont mind chatting to a geriatric ( with own home and zimmer ) it would be nice to hear from you. Must dash now as meals on wheels has just arrived !

Take care (he’s 64!)

Email 4

Amazing babe xxx  (he’s 26!)

Email 5

come to Norway kiss from a sea captain:)

Email 6

Top drawer..what is your name please

Email 6

hey pretty lady, I am 25, and a p.e. teacher, and recently completed my masters, if you want to talk more and get to know me more catch me on m s n or email me or f/b me, because id love to get to know you more (took his info out here!) txt me if you want - and this is if you cant answer on here!

... Ahhhhhhh I know I keep saying it, but you can't make this stuff up and this is only a tiny selection of the emails I’ve received ... some are just not suitable for printing!  Oh and some of the descriptions people give themselves are hilarious ... whenever did black hair actually mean grey (and why lie about it and then post a pic of yourself?!)  Mehreen reckons it could mean "pale black"!  Another fab comment from her when I showed a picture of a guy who'd mailed me was, "You'd think he'd stick to head shots" lmao!

More from my Rome visit tomorrow ... with pictures ... oh how I'm spoiling you! ha ha

Have fun lovely people and be fabulous!

Jx

PS I've just been having a catch up with my lovely friend, Vivien, who has also been trying her hand at the online dating game.  I think she's totally trumped me on the crazy emails.  She told me about one guy who described himself as a Spaniel who'd had his tail docked and he was in need of some love so that it would grow back and he could start wagging it again!  She told him that she's already got one dog, thank you very much and she doesn't need another!

The second one asked her what she would think if he were to wear suspenders and stockings!  She told him that whatever he likes to do is up to him, but it's not for her!  So, it's not just me who attracts crazies ... it's a scary world out there folks ...

Roma - Seconda Parte (Rome Part Two)

… Don’t get all excited and think I’m getting better at Italian.  Despite 3 weeks worth of listening to language CDs, I Googled the translation for the title.  We can’t all be good at everything and at least I’m trying! … yeah yeah … “very trying”, my dad tells me all the time!

I left off after being asked to dinner by Angelo … I continued walking back towards the Colosseum and by this time I could have eaten a scabby cavallo (that’s horse in Italian … yeah, I’m good at Googling!), so I plucked up the courage to sit and eat at a little restaurant on the pavement that happened to be outside my hotel.  I’ve never been very good at eating in restaurants on my own (I’m OK in the pictures – or movies for my American friends) but always feel really self conscious in restaurants.  Well I thought “When in Rome!” … see what I did there? … and plonked myself down in a chair.

I’ve been reading ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ were this woman (Julia Roberts in the film) goes travelling and stays for a few months in Italy.  She seems to have no problem finding fab ‘cheap’ restaurants and wonderful food, however, my first Roman restaurant experience left a bit to be desired.  The good thing is, I love Italian food, second only to Chinese, so don’t have much problem is understanding the menu … lasagna is lasagna weather your in Manchester or Rome … however, my first meal was, well, disappointing. 

I did what everyone says you should do and ask for their best dish or a dish recommended by the waiter … I did … I didn’t do it again.  I got pasta with tomato sauce and a tiny bit of bacon … cheap cheap cheap ingredients … I make a better sauce myself (and I don’t cook!).  The pasta was so ‘el dente’ that it was almost raw.  Heinz spaghetti hoops taste better.  I also had two glasses of wine … I had to have two, as together they only just made one normal sized glass (and I don’t mean a ‘Jo’ size glass here!) and a small bottle of water.  That little lot cost 35 Euros!  I was robbed (as they say) and not for the last time.

My First Meal in Roma!

I finished with about 20 minutes spare before my Colosseum rendezvous time.  I stood up and realised that my feet were killing me and I was only 2 hours into my weekend with a whole load of walking yet to do.  You’ve got to remember here that I only really wear heels at home, with the exception of going from my car to the offices where I’m working at the moment (I’d ruined a couple of pairs of really nice shoes hobbling across the flattened building site that is the car park) or at the gym and I only walk if I absolutely have to.  I remember thinking, “This is gonna be a long 3 hours”.

So I hobbled off to meet the tour guide and got their 10 minutes early (no surprise there then) and she turned up 30 minutes later!  I really hate my need to be early … drives me mad sometimes.  Anyway, turns out that I’d done exactly the right thing by pre-booking my ticket for the Colosseum.  Apparently you usually have to queue (get in line) for up to an hour and a half to get in and then you can only go on the ground and first floors.  With the ticket I’d booked, there was no waiting (if you don’t count the time spent waiting for the guide) and we got to see the dungeons and go up to the highest floors which was fascinating ... really, it was ... I loved it!

The Famous Colosseum!

After 2 hours at the Colosseum, we walked over to the Forum (which was actually opposite my hotel) well I say ‘walked’ I couldn’t really call it that as my feet and legs were on fire … not to mention filthy, black in fact … and spent an hour wandering around there.  It was amazing … I loved it ... see I can be a bit cultured when I want!

I won’t go into detail about what I saw … you can get any travel guide or Google it if you want a history lesson, but I did find it totally amazing and well worth the money … 33 Euro if you’re wondering, booked through http://www.tickitaly.com/.

After the tour guide left us at around 6 pm, we were left to wander round on our own.  I had a little walk up Palatine Hill, but then remembered I had to come back down and I could hardly walk as it was.  It took me nearly an hour to walk back down the hill and back to the hotel (what would usually have been about a 10 minute walk) each step was agony ... especially going down hill in thonged sandals ... ouch!  I went back to my room, had a quick shower, took 2 paracetamol for the pain and headed back to the same restaurant I’d had lunch at, for dinner.

I know I should have tried somewhere else, but my feet and legs were killing me and I was totally pooped … let’s not forget here that I had been up since 2.15 am!  So I ordered mozzarella and beef tomatoes followed by mussels and other assorted seafood in garlic and white wine with chunky bread to mop up the liquor.  Oh and Prosecco … 3 glasses of Prosecco (well they were tiny glasses!).  The food was good … I mean REALLY good and I can’t actually remember enjoying a meal so much for a long time, it was totally yummy. 

The Famous Mussels!

After my food, I stumbled the few steps to my hotel, got the lift up to my first floor room (What? I couldn’t walk, OK!) and literally fell into bed.  It was 9.00 pm and I was fast asleep by 9.02.  So all in all, not a bad day.  Very tiring and just a bit emotional, but looking back on it … I really did enjoy it!

Well lovely people, I’m sorry, but time has gotten the better of me … more tomorrow and hopefully I'll add some photos!

Be fabulous.

Jx

Oh Visitato Roma!

Look at me writing Italian … it means “I visited Rome!”  I know, I know … not hard is it.  The thing is, I only learned a few phrases before I went including “I decorated the cake” and “You made the coffee” … they didn’t really get me very far on my whirlwind visit to Rome.  Well at least I can now officially use “Oh visitato Roma” or “I visited Rome” in the right context, so I’m quite chuffed with myself actually! I’ve been back from Rome for a week now … and looking back, it seems like I enjoyed it more than I felt I was at the time … that doesn’t make sense, but I don’t think much of what I say makes sense anyway!

I nearly didn’t go, by the way … two days before I was due to go, I visited the hairdressers where a quite awful women talked non stop for at least 20 minutes about how I was bound to get my bag stolen by some Albanian children.  She told me in graphic detail how these less than well looked after children come up begging you for money and touch you whilst pleading with doleful doe eyes and while you’re feeling all sorry for them and a bit overwhelmed, they rob you blind. 

She told me about a woman she’d seen pretending to be carrying a baby in a pouch across her chest very late at night and how concerned she was that this woman was begging in the dead of night with a baby slung over her chest.  Later she realised (when the police came and arrested the women) that the pouch was actually full of wallets and purses that her or her wayward children had stolen.  She said how unsafe she felt and she was with her husband … great!  What a stupid, insensitive woman! 

By the end of her little display (can’t really think of a better word) I was speechless and actually close to tears.  FYI it’s hard enough going away on your own without someone spouting that s**t two days before you’re due to go … and I told her so!  She said “Oh I feel awful now” and I said, “So you flamin’ should!”  She then went on to do some serious backtracking and telling me what a great time I’d have!  Stupid woman.  So the next day was spent with me dreading going, conjuring up ideas of me being mobbed at the airport and all my belongings being stolen … I was petrified!  I’ve travelled all over the world and never been nervous, but I’d got myself to the point of really not wanting to go.  I told the girls in work the next day and they just said to ignore her and I’d have a great time … it didn’t stop me worrying though!

All in all, it turned out to be quite a weirdy weekend.  It started off by me getting up on the Saturday at 2.15 am … yep folks, that’s 2.15 am!  As usual, I just had to be early … I can’t help myself … I can’t bear being late for anything, preferring to be an hour early than 5 minutes late … I actually detest lateness in others too … I think it’s hugely disrespectful and I hate it with a passion!  Anyway, enough of that … I was a bit nervous about getting to the airport, parking in the right car park (I’d paid extra for the one right opposite the airport doors … we are talking Speke Airport here … I’ve got an aunty and uncle who live in Speke and therefore I’ve know from a very early age that it’s not a place you wanna be walking around in the dead of night … it can be a bit like Beirut on a good day).

So I left ultra early … my flight was at 6.40, I needed to be at the airport for 4.40, so I got there at 4.00!  Go figure.  I nearly ended up in the wrong car park too … that would have been a disaster as I’d already paid an inflated price for not having to walk.  It resulted in me having to turn around and come back down a one way street.  Nightmare.  All the way on the flight back home I was expecting a ticket or someone to confront me, disgusted at my illegal driving, when I picked up my car … I’m glad to say that that didn’t happen … phew!

Anyway, I checked in fine and had a rather uneventful wait for my flight departure time.  I’d booked one of those cheap flights with Ryanair (well not that cheap actually after you add check in baggage £40 and pay the £10 debit card fee … I haven’t done any European flights for years … what a shocker!)  You don’t even get a drink and we were crammed in like sardines … ewwwwww.  On the plus side, it was shorter than I expected (you’ve got to remember her that I usually do a number of long haul flights each year, so this was like getting the train to London in terms of timing) and we landed in good old Roma at 10.10 am.  Nice!  However, it was persisting down … it was raining so much that I didn’t want to get off the plane, plus my pessimism from the day before was still hanging around … so I wasn’t feeling great! In fact, with the weather all grey and nasty and me being all on my lonesome … I wanted to go home.  I trudged through the airport and got a taxi pretty much straight away (30 Euros which I didn’t think was too bad) and arrive at my hotel about 11.00.

Well, what can I say … I must add this to my Holiday Top Tip List … Read TripAdvisor Reviews before you Book a Hotel.  The room they put me in was disgusting … it was smelly, the wallpaper was peeling off and the tiny, tiny bathroom stank.  I stormed straight down reception, declared that I wasn’t staying in the room for a second and was promptly (well as promptly as you can expect in Italy) got moved to a nic-er one.  Well, newly renovated anyway … everything was new … so new that they hadn’t connected the lights in the bathroom and all of this super luxury came at an additional 15 euro per night.  Cheeky buggers … robbed I was, robbed!  But being on my own and already feeling a bit out of sorts, I decided to just get on with it and I didn’t even argue at the additional cost.  I know, I know, those of you who know me well will be screaming at your laptop, phone, computer now … but I just couldn’t be bothered.

My hotel is over on the left somewhere in the pic ... look how grey it is!

So I dumped my stuff and headed off.  I was staying a 2 minute walk away from the Colosseum and as I had tickets for a guided tour (highly recommended, I might add) at 3.00 pm I decided to walk in the opposite direction for a bit and see where it took me.  (I must point out here that usually, I don’t walk anywhere if I can possibly help it … could never understand why you’d walk somewhere when you’ve got a perfectly lovely car to travel in!)  So I walked for about 40 minutes then realised how far I’d gone and remembered that I’d have walk 40 minutes back and I needed to get some lunch and get to the meeting place for 3.00.  In case I forget … I got stopped on the way back by a man called “Angelo” who told me that he was from Florence (his English was bad) but I gleaned that he was on holiday.  He asked me if I was on my own and would I have dinner with him!  Well, shocked isn’t in it … men in the UK that you’re dating don’t seem to be able to ask you out for dinner, let alone a complete stranger on the street.

Taken on my little walk ... still grey!





I met Angelo here ... it's getting sunnier too!

Anyway, as you probably guessed, I declined his offer.  I’m such a wimp and told him that I was meeting my friends for dinner.  Little did I know that that wasn’t going to be the last time I got chatted up … I’ll tell you about that later!

More next time guys … sorry I’ve gotta rush, but I didn’t realise there was so much to tell!

Be fabulous!

Love Jx