When in Rome, Do whats da Romans do

Turns out my mini van booking from last night in the bar didn't work out. Marooned, I start contemplating a 1hr train journey into town in 40c heat and jump at the chance to haggle an alternative from the dock. Only $50 more than I'd planned to spend and we get a return trip!

Patrizio shoehorned us into his van and serenaded us all the way to Rome, DJing from his custom CDs covering the Dean Martin Italian classics, Pavaroti through to Italian Hip-Hop - he seemed to really spark up when we all joined in. Dad & Ed were in their element crooning ratpack tracks.

Firstly Civitavecchia is pronounced Chivita-vekia, took me the whole trip to get it right. Secondly - Roman freeways have prostitutes. 40c heat, standing on the edge of the freeway! Patrizio drops us around the corner from the fountain, we've decided it's all we want to see today. We toss out coins, Gab says right over left into the fountain, one coin if you're happy and want to come back, a second coin to find new romance, and a third if you want to put a ring on it - I had to stop both Emerson and Gab at the second coin.

Gab was trying to get us to Piazza Navona, a place we once watched fantastic breakdancers and ate tourista pizza, we wandered back and forth trying to interpret Google's directions before we gave up and just went looking for somewhere pleasant looking to eat. I remembered a few Italian cooking trips to Rome, some Bourdain and some Steves all mentioned Caccio e Pepe as the quintessential Roman pasta dish, the first place I found that displayed it proudly had me won. Just around the corner from the first place we ever ate in Rome, it was kind of cool to be back together so close to our famuly memories and drenched in the depth of history you can't find many other places on earth.

The pasta was magnificent, the Zucchini flowers weren't my thing but I'm glad I tried it, the Bruschetta delish, plus a great Grande glass of Menabrea, perfecto! This is what I came to Rome for, taste it, live it - love it!

Gab found a Disney store a few blocks away, how can we not? I insist we get the Pizza Chef Mickey which somehow turned into Gab's license to buy all the Disney kitchenware she could find. It's tricky to rock around with a girl like this.

Back to the piazza fontina, I have the second best Amerrena gelato of my life as we stroll to the van. It is F**king hot - a record day for the year, back in Patrizio's van the car temp says 40c, nuts! We melt on the way back to the shore, the most magnificent lunch, the heat, Patrizio's music and I'm nodding off all the way back to port.Read more