from now on - tim reader's blog

Today was a mooching day and it began with a quest for a fried breakfast – there’s only so much tepid scrambled egg and cold frankfurter a Brit can take before the insatiable desire for Full English takes hold.

We had been directed to the caffeteria of the Museo D’Arte but when we finally found it, pleasing as the notion of dining in the courtyard of a Roman forum was, both the €25 euro brunch and the noise pollution were prohibitive so we moved to a more modest cafe and ate croissants and sub-standard tea (for €3.50 = £3). Not going to miss this side of things hugely!

We then meandered around Piazza Navona whilst Em and Ian browsed for gifts and overpriced fashion accessories. For the first and only time I found free wifi which enabled me to get on and see what a mess these iPhone apps have made of my blog! Oh well, to be fixed on return.

I wandered off and found my way to the same restaurant we ate at on Weds, next to the hotel, and ordered myself a tea (only €2 – who knew!) and watched the parade to and from piazza del popolo. It was a rousing and fun spectacle, though as Ian later commented — hell is being sandwiched between two brass bands playing different music simultaneously.

With some time to myself, I finally managed to read a bit of Oracle Night, by my new find, Paul Auster. The others joined me soon after I started reading and we ordered a welcome snack of cappricioso pizza and mixed salad. De-lish!

Emily brazenly resolved to ask the hotel if we could jam on their piano. To my surprise they said yes and that we’d be welcome to play as the warm-up that evening. They hadn’t even heard us yet!

So we had an enjoyable time playing through our shared repertoire of popular standards… Our memories weren’t as good as perhaps we had hoped but ploughed on – keeping the hotel bar empty for as long as we possibly could.

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Later into the evening we dressed to impress in downtown Rome for a last night on the tiles – ian and I in 80s style ties to blend in with the natives, Emily as peerlessly glam as every other night.

We ate at Othello and were specially prepared some delicious, but very filling, starters. My main course was the first meal in 5 days I had that wasn’t dough or wheat laden — a comforting tomato and mozzarella moussaka. The others had veal – also very tasty.

And then – more jazz!! We went back to find the club which we\’d passed on the wild goose chase for fried breakfast. This was a total result! Free entry and thoroughly entertaining jazz quartet playing a bunch of recognisable classics, notably Autumn Leaves (one of my personal favourited) and that bassy Miles Davis one (temporarily forget the name).

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We had some interesting drinks (pictured), my two covering the imaginable range of dimensions for drinking receptacles…

And finally home for to enjoy the dying minutes our last night in Italy. Last for a while, hopefully not for too long.