So much still to do.....

It is our last day in Rome and we have intended to pack as much in as possible. 7.00am sees us in Piazza Navona - just us and dog walkers plus those who use the piazza as an outdoor exercise area. It is particularly satisfying to see the latter as Domitian's stadium,on which the piazza was built, was used for athletic displays.


Back to Er Baretto for coffee and cornetti then out once more. We walk down Via Baccina, one of my favourite spots in the city, not least because you glimpse columns from the Forum of Augustus at the end of the street.


Basilica San Marco is first on the list where we search out the funerary inscription to Vannozza Cattanei, mistress of the Borgia Pope, Alexander VI, and mother of his children who are all mentioned in it.


We catch the number 70 bus to Piazza Cavour for wine shopping at Constantini. We buy bottles from  Villa Simone, their own vineyard.



The 70 bus drops us back at Rinascimento from where we walk to Palazzo Cancelleria for a peek in to the sublime courtyard.


On to the ghetto where lunch beckons but not before buying chocolate cookies with Himalayan salt at Mondo di Laura and drooling over the gorgeous china & glassware piled high in Limentani.
Lunch today is at Beppe where we order a sampler plate of cheeses & a Piedmont white wine to compliment them.



Who should arrive at the next table but Gina with an American  couple whom she is doing a tour for. We greet each other like long lost friends and agree to keep in touch. We choose three of the cheeses to take home with us, along with Beppe's butter, all of which are vacuum packed for convenience.
Back on the tram to Piazza Venezia and a well earned rest on the terrace.
Our aperitivo spot tonight are the Borghese Gardens.



From here we walk to Piazza Fiume to see a copy of the small statue to Sulpicius Maximus. He died (from hard work!) aged 11 but in his short life he had taken part in a  poetry competition - he holds a poetry scroll in his hand. The memorial was erected by his grieving parents. The original is in the Capitoline Museums.


From here it is a short walk to Marzpane where we have a dinner reservation.
The chef here, Alba Esteve Ruiz, is from Spain. The white tiled dining room overlooks the open kitchen. The staff are extremely friendly & knowledgeable
We opt for the tasting menu - it is amazing!
An Amuse bouche of squid ink bread, fois gras, blueberry & raspberry.

Tuna

Roulade with rabbit (my 'star' dish)


Pasta stuffed with pork belly in a herb broth


Meatball with Savoy cabbage & spicy bbq sauce


Chimichurri lamb ribs


We drink a Sicilian red with the above but order a glass of sweet red wine to go with dessert ,which is a cheeky take on a Ferrer Roche chocolate! A palate cleansing sorbet precedes this.



This was a stunning end to our eating our way around Rome and considering the tasting menu was only €35, staggeringly good value.
We walk back along the Via Veneto, imagining what it would have been like in the Dolce Vita era.


We end the evening with an 'Old Fashioned' at 2 Periodico back in Monti. It is good.......but not a patch on 'Zot!' at CoSo.


Thus ends our eighth sojourn in Rome. The 'still to do list' is already taking shape for our next visit. After all, we did throw those coins in the fountain!!