We made it to 8pm last night before we passed out in bed. Just past midnight I woke up wide awake but fell back to sleep quickly (Carm says he was awake for hours). It was almost 8am when I finally woke up for good! We showered, had an espresso and half an expensive sandwich that we picked up yesterday and then hit the road - goal, market about 40 minutes away. But first a stop at a coffee shop for another espresso and a typical Italian breakfast treat: maritozzi, which is basically a sweet bun loaded with whipped cream! What is there not to like! Yum!
Everywhere you look there are old buildings with embellishments, statues wherever you turn, and traffic that is unbelievable. I’ll be surprised if we don't end up being hit by a car, bus, or scooter. We are country bumpkins unused to the chaos… With Carm navigating (and my input - he sometimes has us going in the opposite direction!), we made it to the market (Mercato Trionfale), which is a true food market under a roof obviously frequented by locals. It reminded us of the market in Valencia - meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruit, and other sundries lined the aisles. It was impossible not to get turned around but we did find our way out - laden with bread, fruit, cheese, and of course the famous Italian porchetta for sandwiches. Oh, and shampoo - we were stunned yesterday and bought conditioner by accident!
We did leave the pig heads behind!
It was a heavy bag to carry all the way back! When we bought the porchetta, I asked for 4 slices which somehow ended up being a giant container full of meat. Porchetta and olives added up to over 20 euros but should be enough for a few good sized snacks for 4!
We made it back to our apartment just past 11:30am, so a good 2 hours of walking which according to my fitbit was just over 10,000 steps! We are resting with our feet up while we wait for June and Anthony to arrive from the airport :-) Let the fun begin!
Lots of dogs everywhere… very few big ones, but tons of smaller dogs. Low-riders are the majority! People bring them into shops and possibly restaurants, although we haven't been to a proper one yet. There are very few spots of grass in the areas we've walked, but lots of giant trees line the roads once you get out of the main tourist area.
late afternoon: June and Anthony arrived so after a bit of time to get settled we ventured out for lunch and into the crush of tourists. The main tourist spots here are insanely busy which is a bit overwhelming. We walked to the Piazza Navona where there are a billion restaurants - so much to choose from that it's hard to make a decision on where! And of course none were really authentic - they were more tourist trap places… But we did decide and had a nice lunch :-) Carm and I both had a traditional pasta dish which was delicious. The waiter got our order mixed up though so I didn't get my aperol spritz! I'll have to keep trying 😉
Everyone wanted a gelato and since we were near the pantheon, June, Anthony, and Carm went one way and I went the other way… my destination, our favorite coffee shop for a 1.5 euro coffee… they all had giant 18 Euro cones (which makes it a $29 icecream EACH!!!).
We wound our way back to the apartment for a rest, stopping on our way to see the church with the Carivaggio paintings - amazing! Anthony twisted an ankle when he first arrived here and needed to get off it… poor guy is suffering badly and will likely need a few days of rest… I can only guess that he's feeling frustrated and a little annoyed at being laid up!
I have a shopping list of skincare that was recommended by some facebook place so Carm and I took a little walk to check out a few pharmacies - they are everywhere - and after looking in a few finally found one that carries what I was looking for. I stocked up on a few things!
We passed a little gelato shop just around the corner from us - that will be our future destination! I think we'll have some every day - 4 Euros for a proper size cup with 2 flavors! The lovely lady gave us a taste - way better than the high tourist shop!
We've noticed that almost everyone walks around with their phones out, even locals, and I'm sure it's because it's impossible not to get turned around and lost! There is no grid layout and I am positive that if somewhere is east, you have to walk west first!
By the way - we will never move to Italy because I am absolutely pathetic in my pronunciation of even the simplest words. It's embarrassing to be butchering their lovely language…
It's almost 7pm so I'm going to post now - we don't have supper plans but I would be happy with a porchetta sandwich and a glass of Prosecco - which we already have! At some point we'll try the restaurant just below our room but probably not tonight!
Ciao!
Awesome!
“everything everywhere!”
“Tree lined roads”
"18,000 steps today - it is definately a walking city"
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