M:

I'm sitting down writing this on our last day in Rome. It is hard to believe the month has already gone! We have two days (Sunday and Monday) in Riomaggiore in the Cinqueterre with no wifi in the flat, so it will be a few days before we get back to this.

Yesterday we set ourselves an easier pace. No early morning trains to catch, no new maps to get accustomed to. Having risen late we set off to do the shopping for tonight's dinner with Nives. The menu was to be minestrone (in the freezer having been made last week), tomatoes and mushrooms stuffed with pesto (hand made by Anne with a mortar and pestle) and topped with soft mozzarella, all cooked on top of the stove for lack of an oven, with cous cous, followed by the strudel from the Chocolate fair and washed down with a Sardenian wine and limoncino. This meant we had to buy basil, tomatoes and mushrooms. We bought a couple of fresh porcini - now there are some mushrooms with substance! There are a couple of pictures in the album. (A: I asked at the Campo di Fiori for "basilica" and Mick said- "You want the herb not St Peters!" So "basilico" it was!)

Having dropped the shopping back home, we headed for the Vatican to get another, more leisurely look at the basilica. Of course this took us past Caffe Vecchi Banchi for a coffee. They know our order now!

The queue at the Vatican took about 15 minutes - nothing really by Vatican standards! The day was overcast, so the light inside was much less appealing than the last visit. It just shows how much you are at the mercy of the elements as a tourist, with changes like this from one day to the next. The impact of the Pieta and the church as a whole was still powerful, but neither of us is really convinced about that Baldacchino over the main altar. (A: I would go so far as to say it really detracts from the feel of the place, sorry Bernini.)

Having looked at all the presepi in the display last week, and on sale in the Navona Christmas markets, we had decided to buy a rather modern metal interpretation at the Vatican gift shop, part of a numbered edition. We were served quite ably but impersonally by a gum chewing commessa, and were on our way back to the flat.

Odds and ends occupied the afternoon, including the organisation of the first step of a visa for Vietnam (you get a letter through one of a number of agencies that do this as a business, which you then bring with you along with two passport pictures when you arrive in Vietnam). This took us to time for an afternoon stroll to see a couple of nearby churches with the odd Caravaggio and Raphael - both within ten minutes walk and not yet visited. Thus are we spoiled for choice in Rome! The Caravaggio was the Calling of Matthew - one of his that I really like. Less blood and guts than pieces like the beheading of John the Baptist, and really quite subtle while retaining the powerful use of light and dark. You can see it from the link. Matthew is the one in the middle with one hand on the money and one pointing half heartedly at himself. A fairly typical response, I think!

We got a bit off track on the way home trying to find a particular cafe - with no luck - so made do with an ice cream near the Piazza Navona. (A: Mine was "torrone" ie nougat and it tasted just like it. I have had two that are date and also delicious.) Home and into kitchen duties. When Nives' arrived it was clear that her cold was worse since last week, and despite both that and the makeshift cooking arrangements, she seemed to enjoy the meal very much. She was also very taken with the Roman marble we had had made with the name of her school written on it. As I said, now she only needs all the other stones! The "cover picture" for today's blog has the three of us in post-prandial mode. The meal was conducted in Italian, and we managed to get along fine. As we said to Nives in an email to thank her for her kindness during our stay, it will be our lessons with her, our visit to her home, and sharing this meal that will stay in our minds long after the Colosseum and the Vatican fade into the recesses of memory.

Washing up made us realise that we had probably used 80 per cent of the crockery and cutlery in the place! A great evening - and off to bed. Two more sleeps.

Saturday morning was devoted to final arrangements - checking train schedules, tidying up, starting to pack, getting procedures for leaving from Massimo by phone, booking a taxi - oh, and buying some lovely fresh bread to eat with our remaining eggs for breakfast. Anne also continued to negotiate our cooking class for Verona by email - the Bezzinas will be doing this part. Elias will amuse himself otherwise.

A:

We had to make one more pilgrimage to our favourite cafe, via Campo de' Fiori. We did this just before lunch and Mick had a "cornetto" ie croissant with custard or cream inside, and I had a tortina ie small torta or pie, this time with chocolate and ricotta. Delicious.

Then it was one last trip on the bus using our remaining bus passes to see Mamma Mia the Musical. (M: I'm tempted to quip: Performed in the original Italian with a title like this!) Yes, you heard right- we both enjoyed this and had great seats although they were second row from the back and the really cheap ones at 25 Euros each ( approx $ 36.) I could follow the basic story as I have seen the movie and Mick enjoyed hearing the Italian as well. At the end the main character, Donna, asked us all to stand up and dance so you can imagine how much I enjoyed that! All the songs were in Italian but I did hear the words "dancing queen!" The actress who played Donna is Chiara Noschese and she got a great welcome when she appeared. (M: As one does in Rome, the walk to the bus stop took us past the Colosseum for a last look - a much more pleasant last look after the afternoon rains than some of the sporting participants had in the early years!)

Our special and final dinner was three minutes walk away at a restaurant we booked a few days ago- Roscioli- the same owners as the bakery - Antico Forno Roscioli- which is even closer to our unit. We splurged and had three courses Italian style including a bottle of Frascati Superiore Poggio Verde 2010 DOC which we both enjoyed very much and will look for in restaurants again. Check the link.

So ends our wonderful four week stay in Roma.