Travel inspires the writer. I'm sharing passages from my notebook written while on the road. The first is from my most recent trip to Rome.

Ancient Romans left a mark so deep, they defied the ages to erase it. Thick city walls of brick remain impenetrable. The Latin Romans still make their presence known to today's Italian Romans. Once the most populous city in the western world, it returned to its life as a small rural town while power and culture shifted to great cities of the peninsula like Florence and Milan.

But The Church was the power not to abandon Rome. The Vatican stood watch over the banks of the Tiber since Christianity was young. The Renaissance made it the masterpiece it is today.

When Italy became a country of its own and not a series of principalities changing ownership from one European ruler to the next, Rome was made the capital and the restoration of greatness began with new styles that, at first glance, one now recognizes as Italian.

Our apartment is in Trastevere near the river, the old cobblestone streets filled with restaurants and bars, a hot spot for Romans. The windows are open as I write and I enjoy the cool spring air and the lively noise of the pedestrians and scooters below.