Fourth weekend in Rome and I think we have the hang of it so far!
Friday, I must admit, started off with an American breakfast. Yes, we went out and bought bread, eggs, and bacon, which led to a pretty amazing breakfast. I do love cornetto’s but I have been craving a big breakfast to start my day off for a while now. After a great breakfast we hopped on the 23 bus route towards the colosseum and forum for some sight seeing. My Portuguese passport came in handy at the colosseum because it is free to get in if you have european citizenship! Yay for saving 17 euro. Sightseeing was fun, but there were too many tourists and the crowds were overwhelming. We made our way down Via del Corso for some window shopping and ended up in Piazza del Popolo. Siesta time came next, because when in Rome, do as the Romans do . That night we made our way over to our favorite restaurant near Piazza Navona, Pizzeria da Baffetto. The line was a bit long, but so worth the wait. After a long dinner of thin crust pizza and wine we made our way home for some rest because Saturday was another day of exploring!
Saturday morning we woke up and ventured over to the Jewish Ghetto, an island in between the Tiber River with small windy streets and the best homemade Jewish food you can find in Rome. We stumbled upon an ancient art book store with tons of bizarre treasures and old prints. Next to this store, was an antique photo store with thousands of photos in Rome from the 1920’s to present time. We made our way out of the Jewish Ghetto and walked down onto the Tiber River where we sat for a few hours watching boats and runners go by. Anticipating another dinner at Baffetto’s we left the Tiber and headed over for another night of amazing pizza, I’m telling you, it doesn’t get old. As we approached the restaurant we saw a line of at least an hour and a half wait. Baffetto, the owner, then saw us and came over to greet us asking how many people we had. “Otto!” we said, and he immediately pulled us out of line and gave us VIP Baffetto seats upstairs with all the local Italians. We spent the next three hours chowing down on the best pizza in Rome and attempting to speak Italian with the locals who loved that we were upstairs and a part of their group. Full and ready for bed, we caught the 23 bus back home for a good nights rest… Sunday was the flea market.
You must be prompt to attend the flea market, so Sunday morning we woke up at 7:30 am and made our way to Porta Portese. The flea market is never ending. Tents go on for a couple miles where vendors barter with customers and piles of clothes and shoes go for 50 cents. You can find anything and everything at this place. I will definitely be making this a weekly thing. Make sure you get there at 8am promptly because by 10am it is so packed it’s hard to walk through the crowds of people. Mixed with tourists and local Italians, the flea market is the place to find vintage, original and funky items. I spent 7 euro and found some treasures; real leather sandals made in Italy, a South African World Cup Rugby jersey, a bracelet, and a jacket made in Italy.
All and all this weekend was great and I enjoyed learning more about Rome. This city has so much to offer, even after 2 semesters here I know I will still not have discovered everything there is to do. Another weekend is coming up, lets see what Rome brings!