Der Pallaro, and Castel San'Angelo

Right outside our apartment, on the Via dei Chiavari, the lane deviates into a tiny piazza called the Largo Pallaro. The square is always packed with scooters and cars but on the edge is a restaurant called Der Pallaro. It has a reputation as a good, cheap eat and there's no menu - the italian cook decides on what you'll have for dinner.

Last night we have drinks in, as we have a good selection of wine and bar-snacks on hand. With the tall windows open in both the sitting room and bedroom, the usual babble of voices, scooter engines and snatches of music drift on up. About 8-ish, which is considered early for dinner by italian-standards, we wander on over to find a table. The place is absolutely packed, with no tables free outside. We obviously look a little crestfallen, as the cook appears, grabs us by the hand and literally tugs us past the open kitchen and through a series of rooms to the one remaining table in the furtherest corner of the restaurant. We're squeezed in beside an american tour group, who are debating on getting taxis back to their lodgings rather than walk the hour or so. In hindsight this is not surprising, as by the time we've struggled through the four-course menu we can hardly move ourselves.

First, a jug of red wine and a bottle of mineral water appears. Then antipasti. Then two types of pasta. Next roast veal, potatoes, mixed salad. Finally, homemade torta. We eat perhaps half of everything. The bill is 50 euros, all up (about $75). Amazing value for Rome.

Late breakfast today as a result, standing at the bar on the Via dei Gubbionari, located 400 metres or so down our street. I've been finding the cafe 'normale' to be incredibly strong, so try for a caffe lungo ("long" coffee, ie more water). I think perhaps 15 ml of water is added to the usual expresso. Oh well, the caffeine will keep me going. Somewhere between an Italian coffee and an Australian one would be perfect.

We're doing our last shop today at the Campo. Tonight we plan to have tagliatelle with fresh porcini mushrooms and we buy some perfect specimens from one of the many market stalls; the owner tucks in some fresh parsley so they'll be perfect cooked in butter, tossed with the pasta with some oil and parmesan. Yum yum.

A quick stop to drop off these goodies and we head along the Via Guilia, which is where I want my Rome apartment. We peer in at the back of the Villa Farnese at the most perfect italianate garden; raked gravel paths, immaculate lawns, orange trees in tubs. All the way along the Via Guilia, which runs parallel to the Tiber, there are glimpses into beautiful leafy courtyards and they are such oases on hot days like this one.

Our last Rome historic site this trip is the Castel San'Angelo, designed as Hadrian's mausoleum and used in the middle ages as a castle, prison and papal hideout. Archangel Michael sheaths his sword at the top, signifying the end of the plague. The climb up winds us through courtyards, frescoed rooms and maze-like passages. Up at the top, we can look out over Rome and see the Vatican, our neighbourhood church of San'Andrea delle Valle, and far away, the hills surrounding Rome. It's all shimmering in the heat, another perfect day in Rome.