I’m on a long planned vaca in Rome but will use this opportunity to stay in touch with my readers with industry related comments. I stopped at a little off premise shop that was featuring absinthes. Saw a pretty good selection including Grune Fee, the Hapsburg array (good job Dale!), La Fee and a few European brands I didn’t recognize. Didn’t have my camera, but I’ll bring it today and try and find the shop again…it was a pretty interesting window display.

We had Negroni’s at the rooftop bar of the Hotel Minerva overlooking the Pantheon and with a view across Rome. Very impressive vista, but at 15 Euros per drink it was a pretty pricey premium. Good potato chips though. Then dinner in Trastavere where we sampled the house Prosecco (fabulous) and the house Chianti (thin and expensive. We’re staying at the Marriott at Villa Borghese which is just across the road from Harry’s Bar Rome outpost. Plan to introduce my wife to Bellini’s tonight.

Oh, and one idle thought…is the coffee really better in Rome…or is it that in Rome, everything is better? Ciao till tomorrow.