No longer pilgrims, but just plain tourists along with the many, many more who are in Rome at the moment. Now that the parade of yellow scarves and backpacks have ceased to be the focus of my attention I am aware of what else is going on around me and the tourist numbers are something of a surprise. I am used to Europe in the winter when all sensible tourists are heading for the southern hemisphere and warmer temperatures.

After having been persuaded by the talk of fellow Kirribilli travelers - I wanted to write Loreto there but then realised that there were another 900 or so who were also claiming the right to be called Loreto and had no connection with Kirribilli - we went to visit the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin where the Bocco di Veritas is located. There were the tourists - bus-loads of them - all lined up to have their photo taken with their hands in the mouth of truth. Not being that keen to have my verity put to the test, I just took some happy snaps with the battery in my camera fast fading and then followed Gina into the church. Silly folk outside didn't know what they were missing. It is ancient, with a wooden beamed roof and fading, crumbling frescoes. There is a stone sarcophagus in a niche, high up above the front door and the skull of St Valentine pondering his visitors through the side of a glass box.

Thankfully, Gina didn't make me walk back up the hill to Piazza Venezia. I still have massive blisters on both feet despite a new pair of Dr Scholl clogs and plenty of blister pads. Imagine the oldest granny that you can think of and that is the image you should have of me shambling along in Gina's footsteps.

Being a tourist means one thing to women and that is SHOPPING! Back to the bag shop that we had already visited once this week for a second helping. At this point I want to keep the thought in the front of Alan's mind when he reads this - "Gina made me do it!". From here it is but a short shamble to Campo di Fiori and the market where the fruit and vegetables are so fresh and luscious looking that you feel like taking them all home. It is easy to understand why Italians in Australia make so much effort to go to the markets there.

Gina picked out avocado and tomatoes ... and two new shirts. There is a wonderful bakery just off the market where we had bought the biscuits for Janet's party.Here we bought fresh rolls and more dolce before catching the bus back up the hill to our apartment and lunch. I don't think I will forget the taste of those tomatoes for a while. To begin with they actually DID have flavour which is more than can be said for the force ripened things we get at home.

This afternoon we elbowed our way across the Piazza della Republica, through a demonstration for gay rights to visit the church of Santa Maria degli Angel e dei Martirii. This church was designed by Michelangelo around the ruins of Diocletian's Baths. It is very large and contains a solar clock that was used until 1846 to set all of the clocks in Rome. After the noise, the heat and the bustle outside, the basilica is a quiet and cool haven. The artwork on the walls is quite varied, having been brought here from a number of different places, including the Vatican. The one that I would particularly have liked to see, a San Sebastiano by Domenichino, was roped off over the sanctuary.

Tonight we caught up with Robert and the group of girls on the MLC Classical tour. We all walked to a ristorante area near Termini where the girls scattered to have dinner in various places. We dined with the staff from MLC at a nice place. I had tortellini al limone which was delicious. I will have to get the recipe for the sauce. Maybe Sarah Carbone can fins it for me. It's no good me getting a recipe book here. I would starve before I could sort out the ingredients.