When In Rome - Chasing La Dolce Vita

Spending any time in Italy is clearly a great experience. Having spent time in Italy on various occasions, with family and friends, I was drawn to Green's book. As a fellow Australian, I was particularly fascinated with her experiences especially in Rome. Her descriptions of the city, the architecture and the people, were almost identical to my own. So many of her emotions, experiences and encounters with the Romans were so similar, that I often felt that we were somehow on the same journey. Green was very brave embarking on her new life in Rome. Her account of her life was an enjoyable and at times a heartwarming read. It certainly helps when reading the book to have travelled in Italy and had interactions with Italians. Without that experience, I feel the reader would have missed out on the many subtle descriptions of both people and place that Green provided. And especially as an Australian, the tyranny of distance element of the contrasts in life and styles came through.

From back cover: "With her 30th birthday on the horizon and her safe and comfortable life in Sydney outside her front door, Penelope Green decided it was now or never. Undaunted by the fact she spoke absolutely no Italian, had no job, no friends and nowhere to live - and armed with only an Italian-English dictionary, irresistible optimism and a fair dash of bravery, she was determined to carve out her own slice of 'la dolce vita.' Both frank and funny, Penny tells how she plunged into the deep end of Roman life from her first giddy Vespa ride to daily struggles with the language and culture (not to mention a few lecherous locals), to seeing in her birthday with a kiss from her lover under the floodlit Colosseum."