Let’s pretend I wasn’t super tired last night and this post was not posted a day late. Here’s a blog covering the last two days, May 25th and May 26th.
Tuesday was a very low-key day. The morning had a rough start, but we ended up beginning Fabio’s lecture on markets and supermarkets around 10 a.m. He explained to us the differences between all the markets in Rome and what we could find at each store, and then we toured the Campo di Fiori market. Here are a few tidbits that I learned:
- Most vendors buy their goods from wholesalers. Some of the outdoor stands sell the same exact goods, but they are sold at various prices due to the vendor’s discretion.
- Since the foods at the market are also purchased from wholesalers, the fruits and veggies are rarely organic. Your best bet to find organic foods in Italy is in a supermarket.
- Many outdoor markets are for the tourists, since most tourists view outdoor markets as an authentic shopping experience. Real Romans now congregate at indoor markets.
- Italy has Costco! Well, it’s not a real Costco, but the principle is the same. This very well could have been a determining factor if I’m staying here or not. Mom and Dad, no need to book my plane ticket home.
After touring the outdoor markets, we crossed the street into the Roman Jewish Ghetto. The streets were a lot less crowded and more serene. In fact, only a few cars and people passed us. Since these shops had to/chose to follow Kosher tradition, some Italian recipes were modified, saying “Kosher style” on the menu. Before we knew it, class was dismissed.
Little did we know, Tuesday would be our last day with Fabio. Of course, he didn’t tell us that he would be traveling to Florence with an NYU group until after our group had dispersed at the end of his lesson. He will be greatly missed for at least the next 2.5 weeks.
During our lecture, Fabio pointed out a few restaurants that we should try. As starving as Americans are in Italy, we made our way back to a pizza shop, Roscioli. Just as we were walking in, the chef (or a cook? the pizza man?) pulled a tomato and mozzarella pizza out of the oven. Naturally, I ordered a slice and indulged in yet again, another amazing pizza. I know I keep saying that the food is amazingly delicious, but that’s because it is. There’s no other way to describe it. This pizza was steaming hot for a change, which made it even more delectable.
After taking a short break after lunch as the apartment, we were back on the road to explore the unknown. We took a bus to the area near the Coliseum and took a walk through Circus Maximus. They weren’t kidding when they said it would only take five minutes. After a walk through the rubble, we found a huge pristine building. Making our way inside, we discovered it was a war museum. Everything was in Italian (even the U.S. part of the exhibit) so we don’t quite know what we saw. We basically just roamed the streets with no end in sight. We stumbled upon a great chocolate store, where I bought two bite-sized treats. I don’t know what the first one was, but it wasn’t too special. My brownie, however, was amazing. Becky also ordered a chocolately mousse concoction and we concurred that we will be revisiting that establishment.
After taking a few wrong busses out of the Coliseum area, we made our way to Campo di Fiori to meet up with another group and indulge in a restaurant infamous (according to Fabio) for its fried cod. The fish seemed to be fried with a tempura batter, and once again, I was no longer the starving tourist. On the way back home we stopped to sit in a piazza and just take a breather for the day. It was quite refreshing just sitting back and relaxing at the square. We sort of befriended this old man who claimed to have once been a tightrope walker. Surprisingly, he was the most fluent in English person I have seen this entire trip. When I got back, all my roomies were asleep (it wasn’t even late) so I called it a night.
Moving on to Wednesday. What did I do today? Great question. I finally got a good night’s rest. When I awoke, I saw that my roomies were all going to the Trevi fountain. Not wanting to bum around the apartment for the rest of the morning, I got dressed and we headed out.
On the way to the fountain we stopped to have a traditional Italian breakfast, so I ordered a chocolate croissant. As you’ve probably figured out by now, it’s was good. I think it may have been filled with Nutella, but I’m not too sure. We made our way over to the Trevi for a few more pictures. I actually look decent in these, so I’m posting a picture.
Part of our group decided to hit up the nearby shops, so Laura, Eileen and I decided to visit the only green spot on our map—Villa Borghese. What a trip that was. It was a nice break from the hustle and bustle in Trastevere. We figured out that this area was the business district. No pizzarias here. Upscale restaurants and fancy-schmancy hotels lined the streets and the occasional man in a black suit walked by us. Just a little bit up the road, we found the U.S. Embassy. I took a picture of the gorgeous building and then crossed the street. As I tried to zoom in on the gold plate stating that the building was the embassy we’ve talked about so much the past few days, a guard ran up to the gate and said we absolutely could not take pictures. Oh well…at least I got the one from a distance!
The rest of the early afternoon we just walked around random streets and through the park, enjoying the nice scenery change. At one point, we passed an international horse show. We sort of got lost for a few minutes, but eventually made our way down a street. At the end of the road, I looked to my left and there were the Spanish Steps. Score! It’s as if I know where I am without consciously knowing that I know where I am, if that makes any sense.
We hurried back to Gustolab in Piazza Navone for a lecture on Italian food terminology. While I still don’t know anything off the top of my head, I at least have a few worksheets to bring with me when we go out to eat. We had a short gelato break (and a run back to the Spanish Steps to look for Eileen’s still-lost camera) then returned to learn how to cook some Italian dishes and eat a traditional dinner.
Chef Alex Battisti (I think that’s his name) showed us how to make suppli (which I will make upon my return to the U.S.), risotto and stuffed pumpkin flowers. We worked our way down to the kitchen and a few classmates prepared our green beans for dinner.
Just as 9 p.m. rolled around, dinner was served. Like before, we had multiple dishes. Although delicious, none of us were too hungry. We were starving for real food, not plates of deep fried or tempura fried starches. The theme for dinner could have been “starch.” By midnight, we finally were back in our apartment, closing in on a long day.
Since this is summer school, I did write a blog for our course’s website. I’m technology illiterate, so I couldn’t figure out how to post it. If you’re still reading this (obviously very bored) and are looking for something else to read, you can see what the entire class is up to at http://will.illinois.edu/rome2010. (My part will be up there…eventually.)
Tomorrow we’re off to visit Bir & Fud, a pizza shop known for yeast exploratory techniques, and to take a trek through Rome while learning how to take good photographs and work with media for the class. I think my pictures don’t look too shabby, but my incompetency at modern media skills is lacking.
Before I forget: I will no longer be visiting the kiwi farm I talked about in my first blog. Bummer, I know. Apparently they sprayed the farm for pesticides and it is unsafe for us. Guess we’re going to another fruit farm instead. Buona notte for now!
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