invited the close family to come to Rome in mid September for her party. Suzanne, who lives in Normandy, couldn’t make it but my son Robin and his daughter Léonie 
were there. We all stayed for four nights in Catherine’s fourth (top) floor flat which meant warm nights because summer was still very present with maxima well over 30°C and minima, I guess, well above 20°C. A couple of years ago after a trip to Italy by car, I vowed never to drive there again as the Italians have not joined in the calmer and safer style of driving which has become the rule in more northerly Europe. Public transport in Rome is quite good, when not on strike, and I was hoping to rely on it. However, Germaine’s osteoarthritis has been getting more disabling lately and she prevailed upon me to hire a car at Fiumicino to save a lot of walking, which was, however, unavoidable at both Brussels airport and Fiumicino. This was hard on Germaine, particularly when a couple of upwards escalators at Fiumicino proved to be broken down
. With hindsight, I’m glad that I did hire a car because it added to our mobility during our short stay. However, during the first trip into Rome from the airport I had doubts. Signposting into Rome uses road names, via Magliana, via Laurentina, via Aurelia and via Cristoforo Colombo, to indicate the city entry point and, though I had studied the map, I felt doubt at times as Cristoforo Colombo, which was what we wanted, appeared on the signs only at a late stage. Searching for the road signs, whilst being harassed by hooting Roman drivers travelling at 20kph+ above the speed limit and by Germaine telling me that I was taking the wrong road, was not stress free
. We did, however, arrive safely without taking a wrong turning.Examples of the benefits of increased mobility were fetching Robin and Léonie from a Friday morning arrival at Fiumico leaving plenty of the rest of the day to enjoy together and taking Léonie to the beach at Ostia on Saturday morning and returning in good time for the party in the afternoon. Nevertheless I had to listen to a lot of complaints from ecologically sensitive Robin about my selfishness of polluting the atmosphere when “clean” public transport is available
.I never fail to be moved by the way in which Rome is impregnated with history
while enjoying the vibrant modern life style there. In Northern Europe we have many visible signs of history going back to the Middle Ages and a few relics from further back but I can’t help feeling little in common with, say, the builders of Stonehenge and even of the gothic cathedrals. On the other hand, the civilization that created the Colosseum, Circus Maximus and the Pantheon 
and marked the whole of Europe and part of Asia and Africa seems much closer, even though its pleasure in cruel spectacles is abhorrent nowadays.Wine exploration was not the purpose of the trip but naturally we did drink some. On the way back from fetching Robin and Léonie, we popped into a local enoteca to buy a wine for luncheon. I was delighted to find in the impressive stock a Rosso di Montefalco 2007 from Adanti, whose 04 and 06 I had purchased at the estate and found to be models of affordable Sangiovese dominated wine for quaffing with food; this 2007 was perhaps a bit fuller than the two previous but had a delicious acid tang which made it still balanced and refreshing in spite of its temperature being several degrees about ideal; here is a pic of the bottles behind the cat
.The same evening I treated the family to a meal at Guida Ballerino in the Cinecitta area near where Catherine works. It was still so warm at 8.30 in the evening that we opted to eat outside although the management told us that the food served in the ristorante inside was more refined. The food outside was perfectly acceptable without being outstanding and some interesting wines were available.Etna Bianco di Casselle 2010 - Benanti, made from Caricante, - pic with Catherine in the background -
was crisply dry with interestingly original mineral flavours apart from a slightly gluey note in mid palate which I didn’t care for, but nobody else complained about it. To follow I chose a Nebbiolo d’Alba 2005 - Alario, I think, which was not a wine for me but the others finished the bottle with enjoyment; I felt that the producer was trying make an important statement with “wow” effect and its somewhat jammy fruit, notes of timber and rather harsh tannins fell flat for me.Catherine’s party was a buffet spread. She took me to the local Carrefour to choose the accompanying wines with the stipulation that the bottle prices should not exceed €5. A difficult task when all the producer names were unfamiliar. We chose some Nero d’Avola, Dolcetto d’Alba, Roero d’Arneis and a Sicilian white whose name I have forgotten. I guess that some of the producer names were Carrefour’s own brands but I tasted them all except the Nero d’Avola and they were acceptable for the purpose and the Dolcetto d'Alba was sufficiently fresh to cope with the ambient heat; I also liked the mineral Roero Arneis whilst the Sicilian white was not as heavy as I feared.
Sunday was devoted to visiting the Centro Storico. This, being a limited traffic zone forced us to walk everywhere on uneven cobbles which was hard on Germaine but ideal for seeing things. Although both spots are very touristic, I never miss Piazza Navona
and the Pantheon. The former boasts a café with some of the best, if most expensive, ice creams in Europe, much appreciated by Léonie who promptly declared that she wanted to come and live in Rome. It is a real pleasure to sit there and soak up the beauty and atmosphere of the place. Every corner in the surrounding area seems to reveal a palazzo or church worth exploring and one could spend weeks here without exhausting its possibilities. The evening meal was at a local pizzeria where the food and Chianti Rufina were unmemorable but Léonie kept us entertained 
.On Monday morning we went to the local market and were impressed by the range of stuff on sale at friendly prices, particularly the salami and vegetables, a small quantity of which we brought home because not available here. Travelling by air, it was not possible to bring back 50+ bottles of wine and 20 litres of olive plus other goodies as we used to do when travelling by car, but I relied on finding something at Fiumicino’s Terminal 1 shops. On getting there, we were disappointed by the lack of range in all articles available in these shops and thought that there was a much better choice in Brussels airport's Schengen terminal. For wine and spirits, there were lots of big producer offerings, like Nipozzano and Antinori, but I did manage to find three interesting bottles
–- Greco di Tufo Cutizzi 2010 – Feudi San Gregorio, which is an old friend, and some wonderfully crisp minerality for a wine from so far South as well as some attractive mainly citrus fruit; 16/20++.
- Campi Taurasini Irpinia 2009 – Struzziero, made from Aglianico and of special offer at €10, which was vigorous with firm tannic structure and enough dark fruit to be approachable now; 15.5/20.
- Grappa Nonino Cuvée 2009, made from Monovitigno, Malvasia, Moscato and Friuliano grapes, is a dangerously moreish spirit with generous aromatics and spiciness and a much more caressing mouth-feel than is frequent with grappa; 16.5/20.