Who’s that cute little girl, sitting confidently in St Peter’s square in Rome – why, roll back the years, that’s me! As a child my parents loved to travel, but my father being a university lecturer had long holidays but a small budget, so every summer we’d pack up the Morris Minor, bundle into the car in the middle of the night and head for Calais and the promise of adventures in Europe
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I recently dug out this photo to illustrate a video interview talking about childhood memories that inspired me to travel, my favourite travel destination and tips for parents struggling to balance their travel aspirations and family life.
I can’t say that I remember much of Rome from my childhood visit although we took in all the usual suspects – the Colosseum, the Trevi fountain and St Peter’s Square. Most of what I know is from the stories my mother has told me since.
About the friends they arranged to meet in the square but never found although they all swore blind they’d been there at the appointed place and hour; about the first visit to St Peter’s Basilica that had to be abandoned because my Mother was wearing a mini skirt, and about how I loved to tag on to guided tours in museums and churches. I went on to study history at University and I’m still a sucker for beautifully decorated churches.
The one thing I do remember from those European holidays is that we were allowed one ice cream a day – what treat! and we’d start angling for it as early in the day as possible in the hope that there might always be a second one later. Funny what kids remember – It’s not always what you expect. When I asked my son what he liked about our trip to Rome, he said it was the cool shower in our hotel room.
Other Rome Posts to enjoy
Five Family friendly hotels in Rome
This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com
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Barbara at Hole in the Donut Travels
Friday 9th of April 2010
You are braver than me! As a child I had terrible permed hair, coke bottle lenses in my glasses, and awful crooked teeth. No way I'd post a picture of me back then.
Donna Hull
Wednesday 7th of April 2010
You are lucky to have such wonderful childhood travel memories. The ones from my youth are based upon car rides into the mountains to see the fall foliage or trips to a Florida beach in the summer. Perhaps that's why I now have such itchy travel feet and seek exotic or off-the-beaten-path destinations.
marta
Wednesday 7th of April 2010
now we know where 'n when you caught then travel bug :-)
Johnny Vagabond
Wednesday 7th of April 2010
Awww... lovely photo!
Mark H
Wednesday 7th of April 2010
Similar to Sherry, I first saw Rome when I was 26 and adored the whole history and buzz around the city. And also enjoyed a superb ice-cream every afternoon. It's great to see older photos.