28 November - a final pizza and fishcakes

We just had time for a trip across the river to explore the narrow streets of Trastevere this morning. We really needed to be on the train for the airport by 2pm, so went for an early lunch at Dar Poeta, another recommendation, this time for pizza. I don't generally eat pizza, but gave it a try anyway. I have to say, I wasn't converted, but Tris managed to get through his quite happily even though we were looking at our watches and had to cut our last Roman lunch rather short.

We got back to Bristol early evening and stopped off at Waitrose on the way back to grab some easy fishcakes for dinner. Not quite up to the weekend's culinary excellence, but with a big pile of fresh peas and leeks, not bad for a simple, pasta-free supper.

27 November - icecream and lamb alla romana

After a morning at the Roman Forum, we headed for another recommended restaurant nearby for lunch. Unfortunately, it was all booked up and I was desperate for a sit-down, so we just plumped for a tourist joint round the corner. The food was actually perfectly passable, but it did highlight just how good all the hotel's recommendations had been in steering us away from dull tourist fare.

In the afternoon, back on message, we headed to Giolitti's, an icecream parlour and apparently a bit of a Rome institution. It's down a little alley, but not difficult to find with the buzz of the crowd outside. I don't much like icecream, but Tris ventured in to brave the crowd. He came straight back out describing the five-deep scrum at the counter rather like a city pub on a Friday night! I assured him I was happy to wait and sent him back in. He finally emerged some time later with what I have to admit, even to non-icecream lover, was a great icecream, well worth the effort.

For our final evening in Rome, we went to Grappolo d'oro Zampano, more traditional Roman food, but with a bit of a younger, funkier feel. I went for lamb alla romana, really slow-cooked lamb on the bone which just fell apart, served on a pile of greens with some crunchy cubes of roast potato on the side - great again! Finishing off with tiramisu and a couple of glasses of grappa, we needed the walk back through the city to walk it off.

26 November - Armando's and slow-cooked veal

After a morning's sightseeing, we headed for Armando's, a small trattoria recommended by both the hotel and various websites. It's an unassuming little doorway, just a stone's throw from the Pantheon, and is apparently popular with politicians. We weren't too hopeful about our chances of getting a table on a Saturday lunchtime, but we seemed to arrive at just the right time and bagged the last unreserved table. It lived up to its billing, with a great atmosphere and people-watching and amongst the best pasta I've ever eaten. I had ravioli filled with ricotta in a creamy mushroom sauce, which sounds simple, but was just delicious.

By the end of the day, with aching feet, we opted for dinner right next door to where we were staying at Colline Emiliane, which does traditional Bolognese food. After antipasti of salami and a caprese salad, Tris went for the tagliatelle alla bolognese - well, you've got to give it a try! - which was good, but not remarkably different from mine, to be honest. I had slow-cooked veal with mashed potato, which was great, real melt-in-the-mouth stuff.

25 November - saltimbocca in Rome

Today, we arrived in Rome for a long weekend and started our culinary tourism with some traditional Roman fare at Hostaria Romana, a restaurant recommended and booked by the super-helpful staff at our hotel. It initially looked a bit like a conventional tourist haunt, but the food was great and as the queue, of both locals and tourists, grew outside the door, you could see why it was popular.

We started with a mixed antipasti del casa - a massive plate of cold meats, grilled vegetables, mozzarella and seafood. I then went for saltimbocca; veal escalopes with prosciutto and sage and a lovely sharp sauce. All washed down with a bottle of house white, it was a great start to the weekend.