Exciting news

I'm delighted to announce that the good people at Forbes Travel Guide have made me one of their London correspondents. I'll be writing lots of wee pieces about the best things to see and do in the Big Smoke, as well as telling you about lovely bars and restaurants, cool shops, romantic places, art galleries, kids' activities....you get the idea. 

You can find my profile here (including a picture of me taken on a very early morning walk during a trip to the Tasman Peninsula last year) and my first story for the website here. It's about London's best attractions, but I won't say anymore than that – you'll just have to click on the link. 

Oh okay, I'll give you one teeny tiny picture clue...

Long time no post (and the Affordable Art Fair)

When I started this blog I said I'd try to post once a week. You may have noticed that it's been a little longer than seven days since my last post (it's been seven months), but I'm going to be better from now on. I almost finished that sentence with 'I promise', but given my previous record, I think that's unwise. Let's just say I'll do my best.

So, what to write about in this monumental comeback post? In the last couple of months I've visited Margate, Oslo, Cornwall, Johannesburg and the Loire Valley, so it's tempting to start straight in on one of those exciting places, but I'm going to resist and write about the Affordable Art Fair instead because it's only on for a few days and Margate, Oslo, Cornwall, Johannesburg and the Loire Valley aren't going anywhere. (That said, though, there are incarnations of the Affordable Art Fair all over the world – if you miss this one in Hampstead, which finishes on 4 November, you could always catch the next one, which takes place in Seattle next week.)

The Affordable Art Fair has been running since 1999, but Wednesday evening was my first ever visit. I think I've unconsciously avoided it in the past because I knew I'd just feel bad about being surrounded by lots of lovely art that I could nearly, but not quite, afford. And it turns out I was right – that's exactly how I felt on Wednesday. 

That's not to say I didn't enjoy myself however. There's masses of fantastic stuff to see, including of course plenty that's genuinely affordable, my own personal lack of resources notwithstanding (prices range from £40 to £4,000 and while there's not too much on offer right at the bottom of that scale, if you're in the market for a small framed print or photograph and are willing to spend up to a couple of hundred quid, there's lots to tempt you). 

It would foolish of me to try to draw any conclusions about the state of the affordable art market from a couple of hours spent in the company of 100 exhibiting contemporary galleries, but I did notice a couple of themes appearing as I wandered. 

The first is maps. There are loads of them, some straight up prints, some paintings and some more ambitious pieces, like this one in porcelain, which I love. 

  Lost Rivers: London 2/20 by Loraine Rutt (Byard Art, Cambridge)

It seemed to me that London was more featured than anywhere else, but I suspect that's just because lots of the galleries exhibiting assume that London art collectors are more interested in their own surroundings than other places. If so, they're probably right – typical bloody Londoners, eh?

Also well represented were paintings of birds, cut-outs of butterflies and life-size sculptures of dogs, like this one (please forgive the fact that the photograph is slightly out of focus – a woman with a glass of red wine was hoving into me as I was taking it).  

Seated Hound by Clare Trenchard (Will's Art Warehouse, London)

In fact, there were so many sculptures of dogs that I felt like I spent the entire evening doing double takes. The point at which I strolled past the stall where an actual dog lay curled up its basket, oblivious to the action around it – and not for sale presumably – was when things got really confusing.

This is just a guess, but I'd put the popularity of these motifs at this particular level of the art market down to the fact that they're comprehensible enough not to be threatening to amateur collectors. Not everyone spending relatively modest sums at this sort of fair will be new to the art collecting game of course, but I'd hazard that lots of them are. The art world can be an intimidating place – I'd suggest that figurative pieces on familiar themes such as these may embolden people to begin collecting. And good for them, because once you've started down this path, there's no knowing where it may take you.

Wild ponies couldn't drag me away

Last summer I spent a few days in north Devon. It's a wonderful place, and this is what I did there...

Children and dogs are splashing in the clear waters of the pool at Watersmeet as I cross the bridge over the two rivers that join at this tranquil north Devon spot. It's taken me over an hour of hard walking in the hot August sun to get down into the wooded Lyn Valley from my campsite perched on the hill above Lynton and Lynmouth and I'm glad of the opportunity to fill my water bottle at the National Trust tearoom at Watersmeet House. Families are already lunching in the garden outside the 19th-century property, but I resist the delicious-looking cream teas and push onwards, following the East Lyn upstream.

After only a few minutes, silence reigns, the sociable chatter of Watersmeet a distant memory. The water here moves slowly and the handful of walkers I meet coming in the opposite direction speak in hushed tones suitable to their surroundings. I make good progress on the well maintained riverside path.

The East Lyn River

Another hour of walking through the densely wooded valley brings me to the scattering of whitewashed houses that make up the tiny village of Brendon, whose ancient pub, The Rockford Inn, is a favourite with walkers. I eat my sandwiches on a bench overlooking a small tumbling waterfall, but do not linger in this peaceful, isolated spot. It may be a warm day, but down in the valley the air is damp and cool and it's not long before the sweat on my back turns cold in this sunless place.

My decision to make north Devon the destination for this late summer break was a largely pragmatic one. Only an hour's drive from the Wiltshire town where some friends were getting married last weekend, Exmoor National Park boasts an enviable diversity of landscape for walking. Between rolling heather moorland, rich woodland and the park's extraordinary coastline, there are enough options to keep even the most fickle walker occupied. It's also a place where no one will judge you for eating a cream tea every day.

I am still short of breath from the fiendishly steep hike up out of the Brendon Valley when I am stopped in my tracks by the sight of a herd of Exmoor ponies. I caught a glimpse of these punky-maned, semi-feral horses on the drive in, but seeing them close up – so close I can smell them in fact – is a thrilling, visceral experience. This unique breed has lived on Exmoor longer than people have, and although the animals you see here are all either privately owned or the property of the National Park Authority, they roam free as they have always done.

As I take the path across the fields, walking straight towards the iridescent blue of the late summer sea, the ponies keep their deep black eyes on me. The herd is calm and still and several foals are sprawled lazily on the tightly cropped grass, but I get the sense that were I to step off the path towards them, the whole lot would be away in a thunder of tiny hooves.

Gorse and heather on Exmoor

Further on – I'm walking across the moor proper now – the heather and gorse are in flower, their nectar attracting what seems like hundreds of thousands of black flying insects. Their buzzing is loud in my ears and I have to cover my face with my sleeve to stop them flying into my mouth and nose. Exmoor's many bird species don't share my pickiness and feast on this insect bounty, swooping and diving low over the flowers.

A vertiginous, zig-zagging descent on a narrow paved road through the moorland brings me to Foreland Point, Devon's most northerly point. Lynmouth Foreland Lighthouse has been automated since 1994, but the turn of the century lighthouse keepers' cottage which perches perilously on the cliffside next to it is a working holiday home (run by the National Trust). The sun is shining in a cloudless sky as I clamber up onto the coastal path above the lighthouse, but this remote spot must feel brutally exposed in winter.

The walk up to this point has been tiring in places, but never particularly challenging. Here is where that changes, as for the next quarter of an hour I pick my way along the treacherously narrow footpath that runs around Foreland Point. Loose scree bounces down towards the Bristol Channel with each step and the wind buffets me as I go, the rich scent of the heather rising through the air. It is completely exhilarating and when I regain the safety of the main route of the South West Coast Path I find my legs are shaking and my heart pumping hard.

Walking the other direction around Foreland Point, I only
saw this sign after having done the tricky bit

The remainder of the walk is a fairly gentle 4km ramble around Lynmouth Bay and down into the pretty village of Lynmouth. This patch of coastline is so ruggedly beautiful – reminiscent of the cliffs of Sardinia – that it's hard not to dawdle through the heather and gorse, especially when I spot another herd of ponies cropping the grass on a worryingly steep bit of bluff. I could stay here and gaze all day, but it's late afternoon and the call of the cream tea is too much to resist.

Lynmouth Bay, with Lynmouth in the distance (spot the ponies)

I drag my weary frame into Lynmouth, gorge myself on scones and fall asleep in the sunshine on the village's tiny grey-pebbled beach. 

Travel details

North Devon & Exmoor official visitor information: www.northdevon.com

Where to stay

Channel View Camping and Caravan Park (Manor Farm, Lynton; 01598 753349) is a 20-minute walk up a steep hill from Lynton, but the views of the bay and the peace and quiet are worth the climb. 

Where to eat

The Oak Room (Lee Road, Lynton; 01598 753838) serves classy Spanish-inspired food, including some excellent fish dishes and original desserts, in an elegant setting. 

Where to drink

The Rising Sun (Harbourside, Lynmouth; 01598 753223) dates back to the 14^th century and has a good range of ales and ciders on tap. 

Digging a hole to the other side of the world

Australia has always been one of those places that I thought I'd probably get to one day, but have never been in any particular hurry to visit. Various of my friends have spent time there and, like most Londoners, I've collected a small squad of Australian buddies over the years who've extended kind invitations to stay with them Down Under, but it always felt not quite exotic enough to merit the immensely long journey.

Until now that is, because at the end of February my half-Australian boyfriend and I will be setting off for five weeks on the world's smallest continent. Tempted by the idea of visiting family S hasn't seen in over a decade, scuba diving somewhere new, taking in the comedy and theatre at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Adelaide Fringe, and eating lots of massive prawns, we decided that now was the moment. 

I'll be writing about the trip while we're away so won't ruin the surprise and bore you senseless by listing all the things I'm looking forward to. What I hope might be useful at this stage, however, are a few tips for finding cheap flights to faraway places, all of which we made good use of last week:

1. Check the ticket prices of your preferred airlines and/or relevant national carriers via their websites before you do anything else, as this will give you a benchmark for prices when you start looking elsewhere.
   
   
2. Use a travel search site such as Skyscanner to compare the ticket prices offered by lots of different travel agents for the various airlines that fly the route. In all likelihood there will be much cheaper deals available than those available when booking directly with the airline.
   
   
3. The more flexible your travel plans are the better, as there are often big differences in price depending on what day of the week you travel or which airports you fly into and out of.
   
   
4. Start researching flights well in advance of your trip so you can get an idea of how prices fluctuate as your dates of travel approach. Tickets aren't necessarily cheaper the further in advance you book, but they often are, particularly on long-haul routes.
   
   
5. Once you've found the flights you want, do some research into the travel agent the search site suggests as it seems there are a lot of disreputable operations out there. Google the name of the company + review and you'll find plenty of threads on online travel forums. It's a good idea to take anything said in a forum with a pinch of salt as it's not unheard of for companies to log in anonymously to leave positive feedback for themselves or negative feedback for their competitors. If in doubt though, look elsewhere, bearing in mind that travel search sites won't give you information for every travel agent available. Having found the tickets we wanted on Skyscanner, but unhappy with the agents listed by the site, we searched with Lastminute, ultimately finding the same tickets (with the rather illustrious-sounding Royal Brunei Airlines) for just £20 more than the lowest price quoted on the first search site. 
   
   
6. Research the airline too. This is more relevant to short-haul flights, but very often you get what you pay for. Does your ticket price include meals, drinks and inflight entertainment? Are you able to choose a seat in advance? What's the airline's record when it comes to safety and delays?
   
   
7. Remember that flying 'direct' and 'non-stop' are not the same thing. A 'non-stop' flight is what it sounds like: one that goes from A to B without stopping along the way. A 'direct' flight might involve scheduled stops, either where you stay on the plane or have to change aircraft. 'Non-stop' will almost always be more expensive.
   
   
8. Remember to factor in the cost of taxes, surcharges and fees.
   
   
9. Always book travel arrangements with a credit card as your credit card issuer should refund any losses in the event of trouble.
   
   
10. If you're concerned about a booking made through a third party, call the airline as soon as possible to check that they have your details.

A stroll along Regent's Canal – Angel Islington to Broadway Market

London's Regent's Canal may not have the obvious, picturesque charms of the famous European waterways – take a stroll along the canal, particularly the section in the East End, and you're unlikely to mistake your surroundings for Venice, Amsterdam or Bruges. But historic architecture, romantic photo opportunities and flocks of swans are not the be all and end all. Look beyond the gritty exterior (and the tourist traps of Camden Lock and Little Venice) and you'll find that London's canal has plenty going for it.

I've lived within walking distance of the canal all my life, first in Islington, then in Hoxton, now in Dalston, and have seen it evolve from a rubbish-filled, super scary, never-go-there-at-night sort of place, to a destination its own right, complete with cafes, restaurants and bicycle maintenance shacks. Go on a sunny Saturday and you won't be able to see the ducks for all the trendy young folk hanging out in their moustaches and onesies. Make no mistake: it's still pretty grubby and I wouldn't be thrilled to walk along the towpath after dark on my own, but it can be a real joy, for either a leisurely visit or as a means of getting from A to B by bike or on foot. 

Narrow boats moored at the mouth of the Islington Tunnel

A natural place to start this little introduction is where the canal emerges from the 886-metre Islington Tunnel (access from Colebrooke Row, a few minutes' walk from Angel tube station), which was completed in 1818. There's short-term mooring available along the waterway between this pleasant, quiet spot and City Road Basin to the east, so there are always plenty of boats around, the smoke from their wood-burning stoves perfuming the air.

Just after City Road Lock and Basin you'll come across The Narrow Boat, one of very few London boozers on the canal this side of town. It's a jovial place serving reasonable food and a few real ales on tap. In cold weather the fun is mainly indoors, but in the summertime drinkers spread out towards the lock and beyond. In terms of real ale though, this area's mecca is not The Narrow Boat, but multiple-CAMRA-Pub-of-the-Year-winning The Wenlock Arms, just around the corner. This is a proper old man pub – none of your east London trendiness here. Just a fantastic range of ales, lively live jazz on Friday and Saturday nights and a selection of booze-soaked regulars who've been in situ since it re-opened in 1994.

The artistically-minded ale fans among you (not that this blog is special interest you understand) might want to stop off at Victoria Miro Gallery or Parasol Unit on the way. Both galleries, which you'll walk past coming from the canal to The Wenlock, host changing exhibitions of the work of contemporary British and international artists.

Alex Hartley's I'm tired of travelling (2011), from 'Alex Hartley:
The world is still big', running at the Victoria Miro Gallery
until 21 January © Alex Hartley

Back on the canal, continuing east, we pass Holborn Studios, where all manner of famous photography, film and musician types have worked over the years, from David Bailey to Bjork. A little further on is Gainsborough Studios, a massive, swanky housing development built on the site of the cinema studios that produced Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes and a whole host of 1940s melodramas.

From here on in the landscape begins to get a bit grittier, with graffiti becoming more prevalent and increased numbers of algae-covered shopping trollies visible in the murky depths of the canal. Badly bombed during the Blitz, this part of Hackney is home to sprawling estates of postwar housing, the gardens of which back onto the towpath in various places. There's a huge amount of cash sloshing around in Shoreditch and Hoxton, but there's still plenty of deprivation too, which makes for a really interesting mix here, demographically-speaking. Every six months work starts on another new private canal-side housing development – the area's changing fast.

Detail of i am here, a site-specific photography installation by 
Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Lasse Johansson and Tristan Fennell 
addressing gentrification in Hackney 

Just past Whitmore Road Bridge you'll find Towpath, a fantastic, if pricey, canal-side cafe open from March to November. They serve delicious breakfasts, Italian-inspired lunches and excellent coffee from a tiny kitchen that gives directly onto the towpath. The petite seating area is more or less open to the elements, so Towpath isn't the best option for wet weather dining, but there are heaters to keep out the chill and on fine days there's nothing nicer than locking your bike up and stopping for a snack in the sunshine.

Towpath. Image courtesy of D1V1d on Flickr

Across the canal (accessible from Orsman Road) is Water House, an eco-restaurant serving modern European dishes. The modest portion sizes may disappoint those with big appetites, and the service can be hit and miss, but the food is of a very high standard and the canal-side terrace is a civilised spot. Deserts change regularly, so I can't guarantee they'll have home-made ice-cream, but if they do, you should definitely order it.

Me eating home-made ice-cream on the
terrace at Water House © Steve Pretty 

The next section heading eastward is barer of diversions, but keep your eyes peeled for street art, including various examples by Banksy and King Robbo, as well as Bob & Roberta Smith's Shop Local: Ron's Eel and Shellfish Van, a large-scale mural across from Denne Terrace. It's also worth having a peek into Kingsland Basin (opposite Water House), where a community of boaters grow their own vegetables in a specially adapted garden barge. And if you're in the area on a weekend, pop into The Pattern Market, just past off Kingsland Road, for crazy vintage clothing, bric-a-brac and furniture. 

CHUG boaters' community 

A little further on, past the lock, and you reach Broadway Market and a whole world of tasty food and shopping opportunities. My personal highlights include Lock 7, the friendly cycle cafe on the bridge; The Dove, a pleasantly ramshackle freehouse serving excellent food; Black Truffle, an expensive but lovely clothes shop; Off Broadway, which serves tempting cocktails in a room lit so low you can barely see what you're drinking; the Argentinian steak heaven, Buen Ayre; and La Bella Vita, a very decent, permanently busy pizzeria. 

Visit Broadway Market on a Saturday (until 2 o'clockish) and you'll find the market in action, with dozens of stalls selling vintage clothing, crafts, gifts, and food and drink. And if you're there on a Sunday, check out the farmers' market held in the playground of London Fields Primary School, which you get to by turning right at the top of the road.

Broadway Market stalls © Aidan Brooks

In the next instalment I'll continue the journey eastwards to introduce you to the delights of Victoria Park, Mile End and Hackney Wick. If you think I've missed something in this section, be it a pub, restaurant, shop or interesting local fact, please tell me about it, either in a comment below this blog or via Twitter.

The joys of Rome: part 2 – food

By my rough estimation, I've spent approximately two years in Italy over the past decade and a half. Not two years straight, but cumulatively, over the course of about a dozen separate visits, including a few months in Rome when I was 19, a year studying in Bologna as part of my degree and a winter house-sitting in Puglia a couple of years ago. Assuming that about a third of those two years was spent asleep, that leaves 16 months of waking hours in Italy. Out of which time, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say, I must have spent about six months thinking about, discussing and, of course, consuming food. The conversations I've had about buffalo mozzarella alone must stretch into weeks (while the British do small talk, for Italians, food is the default topic of conversation; such is people's passion for their subject that very often debates get quite heated).

Whenever I visit Italy therefore, eating well is my number one priority (although I have to admit that it's pretty important wherever I am). You can, of course, find fantastic Italian food all over London (a topic for another blog perhaps), and I cook plenty of it at home, so it's not that my usual diet is lacking in Italian fare, but there's something about eating Italian food in Italy that makes all the difference. Never underestimate the importance of context.

The holy trinity of Italian food, as far as I'm concerned, comprises pizza, ice cream and spaghetti alle vongole (tiny clams to you and me). Given that in Italy it's considered woefully naïve to order a seafood dish in a restaurant anywhere further than about 20km from the coast (modern systems of haulage are not to be trusted apparently), spaghetti alle vongole was not on the menu on my recent trip to Rome. Pizza and ice cream however were very much in my thoughts from the moment I touched down at Fiumicino.

Gelato

My first port of call when it comes to ice cream in Rome has traditionally been San Crispino, the deservedly famous gelateria hidden away in a side street round the corner from the Trevi Fountain. While at the numerous other gelaterias in the immediate vicinity you'll see freezers crammed with mounds of brightly coloured ice creams and sorbets, at San Crispino it's all a bit more subtle. There are plenty of flavours available but the lack of artificial colourings means these ice creams whisper rather than shout. And no added chemical emulsifiers means that the product here doesn't have the cheap, gummy texture of lesser ice creams.

The only trouble with San Crispino is its location. The Trevi Fountain is a magnificent sight, but the tourists drawn to the tiny piazza make the whole area a nightmare to get around. Having visited the fountain before, I wasn't ready to brave the chaos again on this recent trip, even for the sake of the delicious pink grapefruit sorbet I so adore. Fortunately my friend Anna, who lives in Rome, had some insider information: it was time for a visit to Checco er Carettiere in Trastevere.

Bakery, coffee bar and gelateria combined, this place has a smaller range of flavours than that available at San Crispino, but all are made on the premises and sold from a little walk-up window. A useful benchmark of the quality of an outfit's product is its pistachio: this classic flavour should be very nutty and not too sweet, and crucially, a pale shade of green. It's not a failsafe method, but if the pistachio is good, then the other flavours available will probably be good too. And Checco er Carettiere's pistachio was excellent, as was its crema di amarene.

Pizza

When it came to pizza on this trip, my cravings were satisfied but neither of the pizzerias I visited are particularly worth recommending. I should really have returned to either Da Baffetto or its sister restaurant, Da Baffetto II, both of which serve outstanding thin crust, Roman-style pizza in decidedly inelegant surroundings. 

A place I must mention however is one I was taken to during my stopover in Milan on my way home. I Capitosta (Alzaia Naviglio Grande, 56; 0039 02 8941 5910), on Milan's canal, serves fantastic doughy-crusted Neopolitan pizza with all of the usual and some of the less usual toppings. My friend's cima di rape (a bitter leaf related to the turnip and known in Naples as friarielli) and salsiccia pizza was unlike anything I'd tried before, and my choice, a margherita with courgette and onion, managed to be healthy-tasting and deliciously rich all at once. Rumour has it that the owner is the boss of a big Calabrese 'Ndrangheta clan, so if you make a visit, be sure to mind your Ps and Qs. €15 a head for pizza, wine and water.

More new discoveries

Back in Rome, the lack of superlative pizza didn't ruin the weekend, with plenty of other gastronomic delights presenting themselves. Dai Due Ciccioni (Viccolo del Cedro 3; 0039 06 581 2652) is a restaurant in a converted garage in an out of the way Trastevere side street. Sat at one of the five tables in the spartan, echoey space, you pay €25 a head for a three-course dinner of simple Roman fare, including unlimited wine. A starter of bruschetta, beans in a tomato sauce, and spicy mashed potato with tomato warmed us up for the pasta course, with its choice of carbonara, amatriciana or cacio e pepe. My carbonara was perfect: just sticky egg yolk, parmesan and masses of spicy black pepper. For the secondo, I went for pork braised in a spicy, oily tomato sauce, while my friends both opted for roast chicken on a bed of lettuce. Dessert was biscuits and chocolates and all the limoncello and grappa we could drink.

There's nothing fancy about any of this food – and vegetarians would have a hard time of it at Dai Due Ciccioni – but if you're looking for a great value and completely original dinner out in Rome, I can't fault it. Just don't be offended when the portly proprietor decides he's had enough of serenading his customers with rude Roman folk songs and tells you to finish up your drinks and hit the road.

On the other side of the city, in the area just north of Termini, Ke Nako is a more elegant option. Its surroundings may be insalubrious, but this restaurant, bar, gallery and music venue is a great find. Six artisan Italian and international beers on tap, an extensive wine list and a concise menu of reasonably priced Roman favourites made me glad I made the trek over from where I was staying near St Peter's. The radicchio risotto my friend and I shared (minimum two people) had real bite, and the desserts – peppered pumpkin pudding bites served with home made nutty chocolate cookies, and pear, cinnamon and amaretti biscuit tart – showed an inventiveness I've rarely seen in Italian dolci. It was late by the time the band we'd gone there to hear had finished playing, so there was no time to check out some of the interesting looking bars and restaurants in the area, but I'll definitely be back soon to do just that. €20 a head for two courses, wine and water.

My final meal in Rome, a plate of beef cannelloni scoffed and a coffee knocked back before catching my train north to Milan, took place at Antica Birreria Peroni. Recommended to me by the guy in the ticket booth at Roma Del Cielo ('Rome from the Sky'), the glass lift that takes you up to the viewing terrace on top of Il Vittoriano (which is well worth the €7 ticket price), this busy eatery is two minutes' walk from Piazza Venezia yet not in the slightest bit touristy. The staff are friendly but have no time to waste on chit chat as they race from table to table in the tightly packed dining room. A menu of no nonsense Roman and Italian staples is augmented by German-style sausages, there to complement the four types of beer on offer at the birreria (which include, surprisingly, Fuller's London Pride). Given the difficulty of finding good quality, reasonably priced food in the touristy centre of Rome, this is definitely somewhere that warrants a return visit. €10 for one course, coffee and water.

Well, that's another couple of hours added to the tally of time spent thinking about Italian food. They won't be the last. 

The joys of Rome: part 1

I spent the final weekend of November in Rome, visiting a friend who's working out there. I've been lots of times, including a three-month stint learning Italian when I was 19, so my recent trips have been less about major tourist attractions and more about finding delicious things to eat and drink, catching temporary art exhibitions and wandering around in a hungover haze gazing up at all the beautiful architecture.

This week's blog will focus on art, and next week I'll make myself wish I was back there by describing some of the fantastic food we ate too much of. 

My first stop after arriving (by plane rather than train - it was going to cost £500 to go by rail - FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS), before even dropping my bag at my friend's flat was Georgia O'Keeffe: A Retrospective, at the Fondazione Roma Museo, right in the centre of town. This is the first ever European travelling show of works by the American modernist painter and it's well overdue. Running until 22 January, the exhibition includes paintings, drawing and sculptures from throughout O'Keeffe's long career, as well as many photographs of the artist taken by her husband, Alfred Stieglitz. The show contains fewer of the famous large-scale flower paintings than I was expecting (see below), but more than makes up for it with the breadth of other work that is included. In particular, the abstract paintings she produced in her later years are really striking.

Georgia O'Keeffe, Purple Petunias, 1925
© Georgia O'Keeffe Museum/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2011

After getting back to London, I interviewed the show's curator, Barbara Buhler Lynes, director of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in New Mexico, for a piece for the February/March issue of European CEO (after it closes in Rome, the show travels to Munich and Helsinki), so look out for that if you're interested in reading more about the show and about O'Keeffe generally.

Later that evening, my friend took me to an art space I'd never heard of before, the extraordinary Complesso Monumentale Santo Spirito in Saxia, a three-minute walk from St Peter's. The American artist Ian Tweedy was installed in the massive deconsecrated church for a painting performance called Retracing my steps. Wielding a paint brush on a 4m pole, he picked out details of photographs from his personal archive that were being projected as a slide show onto an enormous canvas at the end of a cavernous dark space. I found it difficult to engage with initially, but ultimately became almost hypnotised by his making process. Certainly an artist I'll look out for in the future. 

The venue's website hasn't been updated in terms of upcoming events, but if you're planning a visit to Rome, it's worth contacting the team to see if anything's happening there during your trip, as it's a fantastic context in which to view contemporary art.

The following day found us at the Scuderie del Quirinale for Filippino Lippi e Sandro Botticelli nella Firenze del '400, which runs until 15 January. Although rather light on Botticellis, it's a charming, manageably-sized show for anyone interested in Renaissance painting, and also includes some intricately worked wooden doors from the period. Less well known than his father, Fra Filippo Lippi, or his teacher, Botticelli, Filippino certainly warrants a couple of hours of your time. 

On your way up to the exhibition galleries, stop and look at the wonderful ramp-like spiral staircase, a reminder of the building's original use as the stables of the Quirinale Palace. Best to avoid, however, the overpriced and badly designed gallery café, which you reach by walking through the rather grand restaurant.

The final art experience of the weekend was a visit to MACRO to see Carston Höller's Double Carousel with Zöllner Stripes, winner of the international jury prize at this year's Venice Biennale (running until 26 February). The crazily striped walls and flashing lights of the slowly rotating swing carousels make the museum's enormous temporary exhibition gallery into a psychedelic space. This new installation is slower burn than the slides Höller set up in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in 2006/07, but there's something at once soothing and discombobulating about sitting in a swinging seat, being slowly revolved past stripes and stripes and stripes.

My friend Anna enjoying the installation

We didn't have time for a proper perusal of the rest of MACRO's collection, so I'll definitely be returning on my next visit to Rome. And I'll make sure I'm there at lunchtime, to tuck into the delicious-looking buffet in the museum's gorgeous, light-filled Ristorante MACRO 138. We missed out this time, but the tables loaded with salads, vegetables, antipasti and pastas were pretty tempting. Located on the top floor, with tables spilling out onto the sun trap roof terrace, it looks like the ideal place for a classy couple of hours of wining and dining (all-you-can-eat, including mineral water, €20 per person). 

Not bad for two and a half days I don't think, and I haven't even mentioned the five churches we popped into on Sunday afternoon. Check back next week to read about the weekend's food and drink adventures, including a funky bar in Ostiense, an osteria in a converted garage in Trastevere, and a restaurant full of police chiefs near Piazza Venezia.