There were two things I cherished from the Italian trip. One was the marvellous sight from the hotel balcony, of scores of Catholic priests dressed in black boarding coaches to take them to the Vatican. Then their spectacular return, dressed in Bishop’s deepest purple, as the settling dusk was busy painting the sky a similar hue.
The next day a smaller groups of purple clad Bishops left to return hours later in the most startling scarlet of the Cardinal’s robes. This was a heart stopping sight for our group who were on the terrace taking in the evening aiWe were told that Cardinal red represented the blood of Christ, the Bishop’s purple royalty and the priests black poverty.
The other thing I treasured was the advice of the moustached elderly guide who took us around the city of Rome. Flourishing his furled navy umbrella aloft he advised “Always make eye contact with the man whose car you are about to cross in front of, as he is less likely to run you over that way