When in Rome.......

Another trip to the beautiful city, but this time it was slightly different and much more like home - it rained constantly for four days - thunder, lightening and the most water I have seen running down cobbled streets in a long time!

But less like home was the great food available, as always in Italy. I arrived on Friday and was told that we would be having dinner that night with friends at around 10pm, with 'Happy Hour' aperitifs starting at around 9pm - a little later than we would normally start at home, but when in Rome...

After a large dinner another surprise - would I like to go for cornetti? Having just learnt in my Italian class that cornetti was croissant I was a little confused but agreed anyway as it seemed the thing to do. So, at around 12.30am we drive for around twenty minutes to the Africa District to a little cafe that is positively bulging with people eating croissants!! They are coming straight out of the oven and served hot, filled with custard or topped with icing sugar, some with chocolate and others filled with cheese. Even though my stomach was fighting against the idea, I could not resist - they were divine. And obviously the whole point is that you buy some for breakfast so the next morning began with a treat too!

After that the weekend was a whirl of driving to different areas outside of Rome, starting with attending Mama's birthday party in Bracciano where more great food was served, including panzanella, a wonderful country summer bread and tomato salad which includes the simplest of ingredients but as is typically Italian, those ingredients are the best that can be found; country style bread with a great crust, fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil leaves, virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and olives.

The recipe is simple - just soak the bread in a little cold water then mix with all the remaining ingredients, season and mix well. Do not attempt this with pappy supermarket bread and unripe tomatoes - you will be missing the point!

Driving around Italy is amazing - not more than forty-five minutes out of Rome are some of the most beautiful villages, some built on cliff-tops, others surrounded by olive groves, or the another alternative is to head for the beach. Either way wherever you stop you are likely to find great food, even in the smallest towns and villages where there is one lonesome cafe - a plate of pasta with a rocket and Parmesan salad, or a beautifully thin pizza topped with tomato sauce and artichokes - I found it impossible to have a bad meal!