[Chris O'Carroll]

Thanks for spotting (Gail) and correcting (Brian) my silly typo. (Or was it just an innocent typo? Was it really a sly attempt to nobble the competition? Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?) I hope that anybody who's had trouble sending a submission will try again now that the problem has been fixed.

[Gail White]

Many thanks, Brian!

[Gail White]

And here's my entry. It's all true, too, except the bit about the Trevi fountain.

Hey friends: You were all wrong about driving in Italy. It's a piece of cake if you have GPS. True, Ms. Garmin tried to send me down a staircase in Siena, and I crossed the Apennines on a series of hairpin curves that beat the most sickening roller coaster ride of my life. I also had to back 300 feet down a one-way street that ended in a cliff in Ancona. But the most fun was in Rome, where I mastered the art of driving on one-lane alleys with cars parked on both sides. Roman drivers are a bunch of wacky cut-ups, but they had to respect me after my dramatic moonlight crash into the Trevi fountain. Fortunately I had collision insurance - don't leave home without it.

[Marion Shore]

The excitement of staying at a historic castle more than makes up for its inconvenience. The view of the mountains is spectacular and I rather like the idea that the nearest village is reachable only by horse-drawn cart. I don't dislike spiders, and as for the rats, they tend to scurry away at the sound of human footsteps. Nor do I mind the occasional bat – speaking of which, one seems to have just flown in through the open window! Our host, an old world gentlemen of indeterminate age, has promised to bring us a bottle from the cellar – although, as he charmingly puts it, he does not drink vine! Here he is! More later…