Family fun in Rome

MAKING children excited about history can be as tricky as getting them to
finish a plateful of broccoli. The group of eight-year-olds I took to The 02
Dome to see the Tutankhamun exhibition were semi-delirious with boredom
after 15 minutes of looking at golden artefacts.

Since museums were a big yawn, I thought the best way to get my daughter,
Holly, 8, excited about her next big school project was a family trip to
Rome to show her the sights - with, perhaps the odd detour for me to those
other classic Italian landmarks, Prada, Gucci and Max Mara, and gelati
pitstops to keep her five-year-old brother, Rory, sweet.

I had it all sorted. To get us in the mood, the first stop would be a
multi-sensory film show near the Piazza Venezia, the Time Elevator: a %26ldquo;half
hour of entertainment and adventure%26rdquo; that would take us back 3,000 years
from the days of Romulus and Remus, through the Republic to the last days of
the Caesars - Et tu, Brute? and all that.

Sadly, it was not to be. %26ldquo;Ancient Rome is shut, due to a technical fault. Can
you come back on Tuesday?%26rdquo; the woman in the kiosk said.