ROME, the cradle of civilisation and coincidently the location for a lovely weekend away for me. In order to prepare for my trip I bought a book: Rome.

It’s a popular history book about how Rome came to be. The book starts with the formation of Rome, the founders and the principles of rule and law. What I find fascinating is how those in power wanted to provide for the city, and infrastructure seems to be the key to that. Public forums, temples and aqueducts to provide clean water. It’s hard to imagine how long ago this was and it was a revolutionary infrastructure in its time.

Which neatly brings me to the streets.

Prior to my trip, my friend who lives in Rome expressed some concern about the cobbles and access issues in Rome. As regular readers will know I travel quite a lot, especially around Europe, and I was convinced that an international city such as Rome must be do-able as a wheelchair user. My words were basically ‘Fear not, it can’t be that bad, it’s Rome’. One of the great things about Rome, in a similar way to Oxford, is the preservation of the city as was. I have never seen a city where the cobble is quite so ubiquitous. Even in the centre where within a square mile you can see all the famous bits was a sea of cobbles, potholes and huge marble kerbs. It looks fantastic but for the first time in one my trips abroad I was fully reliant on my friend to assist me 24/7. Every single street had uneven cobbles and the ride was not just bumpy but difficult as I have to look down and steer to avoid to the traps.

Living and working in a historic city, as I do, I have become accustomed to compromise, especially regarding aesthetics and cobbles, but in Oxford I live independently and navigate the streets with relative ease. I often think about moving to Europe. I like the lifestyle, the food, the weather and the cultural differences. It’s exciting and a possibility by being part of the EU and, with a bit of work, a language under my belt. My mum said to me before I left ‘I’m sure you will come back wanting to move to Rome’. On this occasion, I couldn’t if I wanted to – unless I had a carer, which is not a lifestyle I want.

Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing trip and I opened myself up for this adventure. I guess it’s just a reminder that I have to make life choices with this kind of infrastructure in mind. I’ll go back to Rome for sure, not alone I hasten to add, and it will remain a place to visit and never a place to live. The founders of Rome wanted to make the city the place to be, with a society to lure the masses and offer a lifestyle that can’t be found elsewhere. I guess they succeeded for most, given the success of the Empire, but thankfully the work they did on the foundation of law means at least in the UK we have managed to interpret the law to combine historical preservation with accessible streets and independent living. Veni, vide, vice (albeit with a push and a shove).