The first book in a much loved Italian travel memoir trilogy which also includes the delightful See Naples and Die and Girl by Sea.

Winner of the Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.

We've all dreamed of a new exotic life in a European city, but who actually goes? When in Rome shows what can happen when you are courageous - and perhaps crazy - enough to chase this dream.

With her thirtieth 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 only with 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.