We decide to try to fit all of our luggage and ourselves into the Corey's car to make the trip from one hotel to the other, about a 15 min drive. The good news is that we each have packed for this one night in just a single bag so that's all that we have to bring into the hotel and the rest can stay in the car overnight where its parked. Its very tight in the back seat!
The STOP signs in Italy say STOP...I asked our food tour guide later why this is and she said "Stop is Stop in Italian"..who knew?
After a bit of a turn around - with both Jay and I navigating from the backseat, we found the hotel, dropped our bags, checked in and then turned around immediately and went to move the car to the new parking lot a few blocks away and head to meet Francesca at the Campo di Fiori at 1pm. I booked the tour through a company called With Locals I found on Trip Advisor. They do private tours at a reasonable price (some of the tours I was quoted were very expensive).
Jay again with the ceilings. lol.
When we met Francesca at the Campo, about a 4 minute walk from the car park, she took us through the market first for us to sample at some of the booths. Every neighbourhood in Rome has a market that is open from Monday to Saturday. The one at Campo di Fiori is the oldest market in Rome.
Sarah's first purchase was a hat.
We tried the cheese at this market stall but she said the price was too high.
Next we went to a truffle stand. The first thing we tried was just truffle in oil. This is a summer truffle which is more mild than the winter truffle.
Next we tried truffle butter. lol, Jay and Anthony sent Jeff Acorn a picture of them eating truffle butter.
Next week had pesto with truffle.
Then cherry tomato with semi dried ricotta and truffle.
Artichoke with truffle.
And honey infused with truffle.
I think my favourite was the first one, just the stand alone truffle in oil.
We did hit another cheese stand and bought some cheese. I bought what would probably be $70 in cheese at home for 21Eu. A 1 year old and 3 year old pecorino.
We walked from here to a bakery that has been open since 1824, it sells Roman style thin crust pizza, which is crispy because the crust is thin and basted with oil before its baked. It has the best roso pizza (no cheese) in Rome.
This little bakery is in the Jewish Ghetto and has been open for 300 years, its tiny! Here we tried ricotta pie with sour cherry preserves, it was delicious and light. The pastry was thick but not hard. Ricotta is not considered a cheese, its considered a dairy product, like yogurt.
In 1555 the Pope segregated the Jews, they couldn't own property and he moved them to an area of the city that was constantly flooding because there were no walls to stop the river when it rose. 315 years later, in 1870, when Rome was conquered by the Kingdom of Italy the Jewish Ghetto was deemed too run down and 90% of the area was demolished and rebuilt in the new style. On this street you can see the older buildings on the right and the newer buildings on the left. On the bottom is a map depicting the original Jewish Ghetto and the rebuilt area.
From here we went to try suppli, a Roman version of the aranchini. Rice with mozzarella and a tomato sauce, breaded and fried.
As we were walking we deeked into this courtyard to see the church.
We stopped next for Pasta and a little wine, not included on the tour but at Sarah's request. So far we aren't super impressed with Francesca, our guide. She's very quiet, very slow and doesn't seem to really want to be here today. All the information that I've got from her on any of the sights is because I'm asking questions. She knows all the dates and all the answers, but doesn't really talk too much.
The pasta is made just with pecorino cheese and the water from the pasta to make a sauce, very simple. She said this pasta is what shephards would make if they were out with the herd, its a very traditional pasta served in Italy.
From here we went for a coffee adjacent to the Pantheon, which is near where we are staying.
After coffee we went for gelato. We weren't really hungry anymore so Jay and I shared a small gelato, I chose the Madagascar Chocolate and it was SO SO SO good.
She recommends this place for gelato because they use organic and natural ingredients. The gelato is dense and the colours are natural. She said that you can tell if a gelato is not good if its too 'fluffy' or the colours are too vibrant.
After this we go for another pastry. The Corey's got a cannoli, Jay got an éclair and I just got a little cookie that wasn't sweet at all.
From here she took us to a little hole in the wall place for a charcuterie board, which we think is weird. Why did we just have gelato and dessert? Jay figures it was near her apartment. She said as soon as we sat down that she had to leave, she had a lot to do this evening, I asked if she just left us here or if she stays until we're finished. And she said again "No, I have to go". Ok, so you're looking to get paid then is what you're saying. So we paid her, didn't tip well (I only had enough cash for the tour and a 12Eu tip which I felt kind of bad for but then didn't because her heart wasn't in it) and she left. Maybe she was having an off day..she said she's been doing this for 12 years and some people she keeps in touch with for a long time...it wasn't a bad tour, but it wasn't a good tour - we didn't get a lot of information even on the food itself. Anyway, the food was good and we got to walk around and got a little bit of information, but next time I would do more research on the actual guide we pick for the tour with With Locals, I think I had my choice of 3 when I booked it - and Francesca said she was a foodie and was born in Rome.
We went back to the hotel and chilled out for an hour and a half and then wandered over to an area the concierge had recommended for restaurants.
Sarah chose the restaurant tonight, we sat just inside the door but with the double door open so we have a view of the street but no smoking. In Siena you weren’t allowed to smoke on the patio, but in Rome you are.
Sarah chose the restaurant tonight, we sat just inside the door but with the double door open so we have a view of the street but no smoking. In Siena you weren’t allowed to smoke on the patio, but in Rome you are.
We wanted to slow this meal down to ordered a cocktail first and then some apps.
And, of course, wine!
After the apps were done we ordered another bottle of wine and our main course.
Jay got meatballs with fettuccini. Anthony got a tortellini with lamb ragu (he was the winner again).
Sarah got eggplant parmigiana. I got porchetta, which was thinly sliced and crispy on the outside. Delicious.
We had dessert as well but didn’t take a photo. We were asked to move tables so the live singer could start.
We really liked the restaurant but the staff made it a great night. Our server was named Amjad from Bangladesh but he has worked at the restaurant 9 years. We thought originally his name was Angel and then we thought he was saying “I’m John” and we were like “No, but what’s your real name?” Finally he pulled out his name tag from his pocket and we told him that would have been helpful earlier! We were going to give John a really good review. And Sarah when she gets a little wine in her just calls everyone Giuseppe. Lol.
We had an amazing vacation which we will remember forever!
