Topo Gigio went back to his beloved Rome in the autumn of 2010. He visited all of his favourite buildings, had wonderful wine and coffee and ate his way through the markets and restaurants of Rome. 

Topo and his friend Jamie Oliver

Topo Gigio loves to eat and he loves to cook.When in London, Topo visits some of Jamie Oliver's restaurants.

Fifteen is a very good restaurant that provides wonderful food and an important training experience for young people who have had trouble finding their place.

Jamie's Italian is a chain that sells very well-prepared Italian food at a reasonable price (for London). Excellent home-made pasta and risotto and a good selection of antipasti -all of which Topo likes very much. He often goes to eat there with a friend.

If you like the napkins, buy them don't just stuff them in your pocket. Apparently many thousands are stolen every year which is quite tacky.

On his last trip he attended a cooking class at Recipease and learned how to make stuffed pasta just like his mama and nona made.

Topo loves the theatre

Topo loves to visit the theatre, where ever he travels. His most memorable recent experience was "Macbeth" at the Globe Theatre. 

It was a very unique production which had a black cloth covering the entire ground floor area. This is the space where the "groundlings' stood during Shakespeare time (basically the cheap seats). The cloth was cut for heads to pop through.

  
Topo is very broad in his tastes and doesn't just see the classics. He also enjoyed Priscilla Queen of the Desert, especially the full-size bus on the stage.

 The Children's Hour with Keira Knightley and Elizabeth Moss was an excellent production. Topo is a big fan of Mad Men so he was thrilled to see Elizabeth Moss on stage. 

Keira Knightley gave a good performance in the Lillian Hellman play.

Topo in Edinburgh Scotland 2010

Topo enjoyed his trip to Edinburgh, which he reached by train from London.

Topo discovered that the "flat white" coffee has made its' way to Edinburgh.

He is a big fan of the Fringe Theatre Festival in his hometown so he was excited to visited the Fringe Store in Edinburgh.

He rode the bus all around the city and saw many neighbourhoods that visitors don't normally visit. The buses are very gaily decorated with tartan seats.

Flat white - London

A flat white is a wonderful coffee, similar to a  cappucino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam. On visits to London Topo Gigio likes to visit the small independent cafes that specialise in this beverage. There is an excellent blog, written by Rob, that discovers new spots (http://londonrobstuff.blogspot.com/). 

The search for the perfect flat white leads Topo to explore a wide variety of London neighbourhoods that he might not otherwise visit.

Coffee in New York City

Topo has a fondness for good coffee and good design. On trips to New York he visits Zibrtto Coffee which is located on 6th at 56th. A new branch just opened in the Financial District but Topo has not yet visited it (http://www.zibettoespresso.com/).

Visiting Kew Gardens, London 2010

Topo loves gardens and gardening. It is a strong element of his heritage. He made a little journey to Kew Gardens to see some of the new architecture which included the walk through the treetops and the new Davies Alpine House.

The new Davies Alpine House, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, houses a lovely variety of Alpine plants. Many of them are quite close to the ground, which suits Topo.

He ran into an old friend and they had a nice visit.

A sign of spring in London is always the blooming of the primulas. 

New York City 2010

Topo Gigio loves New York. He visited there often when he was on the Ed Sullivan show (50 appearances). Topo visited the theatre once more when he attended the David Letterman Show.

He also went to visit Martha Stewart at her show. The set is very large and quite lovely but it should be noted that no snacks were offered.

Topo also went to the Daily Show. He is a big fan of John Stewart and enjoyed the experience even though he had to walk through a metal detector.

While waiting in these various lines, Topo spotted a few well-know people.

Dalai Lama

Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush 

Johnny Depp

This time it snowed quite a bit so the city was very quiet for a few days - and very beautiful.

Topo decided to try skating at Rockefeller Centre.

 Topo decided to visit the Transit Museum in Brooklyn and so was able to see the Brooklyn Bridge up close.

                                         

 No trip to New York is complete without a visit to H&H Bagels, so he invited a few friends along to have a party.

Coronation Street set , Manchester, England May 2010

In May 2010 Topo Gigio visited Manchester and the set of Coronation Street to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. It is the long-running television show in the world.

At the heart of Coronation Street is the Rover's Return which is the local pub. 

Here is the Prima Doner shop (formerly known as the Kebab Shop) which is owned by Dev.

Streetcars is the local mini-cab company. Topo used their services to travel to the Coronation Street Party.

Andy Whyment plays "Kirk Sutherland", a very kind-hearted but somewhat dim-witted character. Andy is an excellent singer and provided lots of good tunes at the party (it was also his dad's 60th birthday).

Special "fairy cakes" to celebrate the anniversary.

Topo seemed to enjoy the party a little too much.