Rome : Pizzeria da Baffetto

Again, the lovely Diane had heard of this amazing pizza restaurant called Pizzeria da Baffetto, just near Piazza Navona, so we headed over there on Saturday night to see what all the excitement was about.

Let me just say, this place was positively groaning with people and it's NOT posh.  There was a line up of people trying to get in that was stretching down the street.  For my Adelaide people, this is like Ying Chow used to be; cheap, basic and yummy (it's still yummy now, but it's not cheap anymore!).

We joined the line and, after about 20 minutes, they found us a table for 8 by wedging in an extra table and pushing out the canvas sides of the outdoor eating area, so we were jutting out into a canvas bump in the street next door!  We didn't care, we were in and sitting, and that's the most important bit.

We ordered 8 different pizzas, 2 bottles of red wine, a few bottles of water and some cans of soft drink from the happy waiter and, almost before the drinks could arrive, the pizzas arrived.  They were fresh, hot and scrumptious.  Very thin with minimal topping, but absolutely great.

It's not a place to sit around and spend the night, it's definitely "get in, get fed, get a drink, and let the next lot in", and that's what we did.  Our bill for the 8 of us came to €115.  Yes, that's all!  Considering we were drinking €8 cups of coffee earlier in the day, I think dinner was a pretty big bargain.

Pizzeria da Baffetto

Via del Governo Vecchio 114

Rome 00186

Phone:- 06 686 1617

Rome : Ciao Roma Bus Tour

Most of our group headed off on Saturday morning to watch Scotland be beaten into submission by Italy at the Rugby, but Diane and I decided that a relaxing tour around Rome on a hop-on hop-off bus in the sun seemed like a much better use of our time.

We asked the concierge at our hotel (Hotel Eden) where was the closest stop for one of these tours and he pointed it out, about 100 metres up the street - easy peasy!

There was a Ciao Roma bus ready to go, and they offered us discounted tickets as we didn't want to hop-off, we just wanted to stay on and do the whole circuit and get back off at our original starting point.  We only paid €13 per person and the loop took nearly 2 hours.

You know my love of the hop-on hop-off bus from one of my earlier blog posts, and this one was no different.  It was a beautiful sunny day, so we headed to the open top-deck and, after about 2 stops, snagged the front seats when someone got off.  We spent the next 2 hours cruising about in the sun, looking at amazing things like the Santa Maria Maggiore, Arch of Constantine, Circus Maximus and the Colosseum.  It's such a great way to see a town if you're pushed for time.

You can book tickets online here, or just lob up at one of their bus stops and buy them on the spot.

Rome : Caffe Greco

Caffe Greco, Rome

We were all staying in the area of the Spanish Steps, and Diane had heard about the amazing Caffe Greco (sorry, the official web page is ONLY in Italian).  Caffe Greco (this is the Wiki link in English) is the second oldest cafe in all of Italy, opening in 1760.

Historic figures including Stendhal, Goethe, Thorvaldsen, Fortuny, Byron, Liszt, Keats, Ibsen, H C Andersen, Mendelssohn and Zambrano have all had coffee in the Greco.  Of course, they'll now have to add me to that astonishing list!

It's a narrow but deep cafe, a sugar lumps throw from the Fontana della Barrcaccia at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, and we all trundled in there on Saturday morning.  Paintings and photos of their amazing customers line the walls, behind the small marble topped tables and banquettes.  I know I should be impressed by Ibsen and Goethe, but let's face it, Buffalo Bill had coffee here and that's much more interesting!

Anyway, it's famous, it's located right in the tourist heart of Rome and it's EXPENSIVE.  I ordered a cappucino and it was €8!  That said, it was a very lovely coffee, and I really enjoyed it.  Considering for only €2 more we got a ham and cheese toasted sandwich in the same place, I think the coffee might be slightly over priced.  But, hey, when in Rome ...

Me and the €8 cappuccino - yes, it was a good coffee!

Oh, and just so you know, real Italians wouldn't dream of having a cappuccino after 11am - it's considered a morning drink only.  Whew, lucky I got my Greco cappuccinos in before the deadline!

Caffe Greco

Via Condotti 86

Rome 00187

ITALY

http://www.anticocaffegreco.eu/

Rome : Happy Travel Vatican Tour

The Vatican

We didn't have long in Rome and wanted to see a few different things, so after checking into our hotel, we headed into a taxi and over to the Vatican.  As we exited the taxi in front of the Vatican, we were besieged by tour group organisers, trying to get us to join their tour.  Hubby chose at random, a guy from Happy Travel, and he hustled us over to an office to sign us up, get our audio tour radios and walk us over to the guide, who had just started his informative spiel.

We ended up with a group of 29 over the half hour or so Simon spent with us in sunny St Peters Square.  He gave us a bunch of information on Rome and the Vatican, and then we wandered off to pay at their ticket office, before hustling us all inside the Vatican (avoiding all the lines, it's worth paying extra just for that!).

We were with him for nearly 3 hours, with lots of information sinking in as he walked (mostly backwards so he could address us all) through the amazing buildings which are absolutely groaning with fabulous artwork.

You can book online in advance here, or try your luck with the organisers on the ground when you arrive.  We ended up paying E49/person, but it was well worth it for 3 hours of information and missing those famous lines.

The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - absolutely breath-taking.

Chocolate, Fig & Almond Cake Recipe

I'm still on my baking jag and I've just put this amazing cake in the oven.  The house smells glorious and I managed to scrape the mixing bowls and lick the beaters, so at least I know that the mixture is fabulous!

I did make a few changes though, I didn't have any Amaretto so I used Malibu, and I used a bunch of milk chocolate that I had in the pantry instead of the 60% cocoa solid chocolate that they recommended.  Fingers crossed it all turns out okay!

Oh, and this is another of those "use all the bowls in the house" recipes.  Make sure your dishwasher is ready!

CHOCOLATE, FIG AND ALMOND CAKE

This cake is light and moist and the flavour of the chocolate and the almonds together with the texture and taste of the figs combine to make it truly unforgettable. Rachael Vingoe sent us this recipe, inspired by a cake that she bakes each Christmas.

Preparation time:	20 minutes
Baking time:	50 minutes
Use:	23cm (9in) springform cake tin

• 150g (5oz) dried ready-to-eat figs
• 3 tablespoons Amaretto
• 250g (9oz) unsalted butter
• 250g (9oz) caster sugar
• 75g (3oz) ground almonds
• 100g (3½oz) plain flour
• 4 large eggs
• 200g (7oz) dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa solids, chopped
• 3 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder
• 100g (3½oz) whole peeled almonds

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Butter and line the cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Remove the hard stalks from the figs and chop the figs in a food-processor into very small pieces. Place in a small bowl and pour the Amaretto over them. Set aside.

Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Mix the ground almonds with the flour in a separate bowl. Beat the eggs and add a little at a time to the creamed mixture, beating gently between each addition. (If you are using an electric mixer it should be on its slowest speed.) Then add the almonds and flour a third at a time, continuing to beat gently.

Carefully fold in the chopped chocolate, the figs and Amaretto to the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and smooth over the top using a palette knife. Dust the top evenly with 2 heaped tablespoons of the cocoa. Arrange the whole almonds on top and then bake the cake for 40 - 50 minutes or until it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool and then use a fine sieve to sprinkle the remaining cocoa over the top before serving.

HINT: Serve with freshly chopped coconut stirred into whipped cream.

Rome : Hotel Eden

Just back from a lovely long weekend in Rome, where we stayed at the gorgeous Hotel Eden which is located at the top of the Spanish Steps in a quieter portion of town, yet still in the middle of the city.

The friendly and helpful staff showed us to our lovely King sized room looking out onto the street.  The room had large opening windows, which I always love to see in a hotel - great to get some fresh air.  The room had all that you would expect from a 5* hotel, including gorgeous Penhaligons Quercus bathroom products.  They also provide lovely dark coloured monogramed slippers to slide into after your day sightseeing around Rome (which, of course, came home with me!).

There was wifi for a charge in the room, but free wifi in the luxurious lobby - great to sit on the plush sofas and check your email.  There was a seriously gorgeous roof terrace on the 6th floor, with amazing views out to all of Rome.  Nothing is allowed to be built higher than the cross on the Vatican, so there are no sky-scrapers to spoil the view.  We splurged on a cocktail on the roof terrace and were provided with silver dishes of chips, olives and nibbles - very nice.

If I'm looking for a negative it would only be minor, the marble bathroom has the obligatory huge shower head, but no real water pressure - it took a while to wash the shampoo out of my hair.  And, just for laughs, they have the most expensive breakfast I've ever seen in a hotel anywhere in the world, E53 for a basic hot breakfast for one person!  Of course, we didn't order it!

Hotel Eden

via Ludovisi 49

Rome 00187

Italy

Phone:- 06 478 121

http://www.edenroma.com/

Things I Like ...

Horses

I love horses.  Always have.  I've never owned my own horse, but have been lucky enough to be able to ride lots of horses owned by other people.  As a little girl, my dear friend, Danielle, had the lovely Cindy, who she kindly let me ride whenever she had her home in the back yard for the weekend (a horse in the back yard is my idea of heaven).  Danielle, her parents, and Cindy taught me a lot about horses and the value of a bomb-proof pony.

My parents certainly couldn't afford to buy and keep a horse for me, but they managed to get me a ride on any horse they could, and I appreciate it so much.

Anyway, in the vain attempt to understand more about how a horses brain and body works, I read several horse blogs on a regular basis.  I'm always interested to know more about different styles of riding, bits, bridles and saddles.  The following three blogs are the ones I read regularly.  Sometimes the posts on these blogs get very heated, and the comments fields are actually as interesting as the blogs they're attached to - these people are passionate!

• http://mugwumpchronicles.blogspot.com/
• http://snarkyrider.com/
• http://fuglyblog.com/

So, if you're a horse lover like me, check out the blogs above and see what you think.