To market, to market.

After the past few days in Rome visiting palaces, galleries and museums, we needed a little break and as always try to see normal Roman life at least once.

A great way to do this is catching bus #83 to the Testaccio region just south of Circus Maximus.

Before this journey into suburbia, it was time for a final holiday laundering session.

 

We discovered this area on a food tour on a previous trip and were able to revisit some of the places.

The first was Trapizzino, a place that cuts square bread, rolls diagonally and then props them upon one end and fills the cut end like a pocket.  The filling is normally a saucy type, we had a meatball and tomato sauce.  They also make the best arancini balls in town.

Sorry for no photos, but when we're in a place like this we often just dive in and forget until we're out the door.

Next, we passed through the neighbourhood to the Testaccio Market which has been recently (about 5 or 10 years ago) moved here.  It is a new, fresh and vibrant place to sample some local roman foods.

 

 

After some lunch at the market, we headed back on bus #83 and spent a little time relaxing in our hotel along with packing our bags in preparation for tomorrows departure.

After a restful afternoon we then went for a passeggiata, a walk many Italians do before the evening meal. We walked up Via del Due Macelli toward the Spanish Steps and then continued along Via Del Babuino admiring some of Italy's finest creations. 

We then made it to Piazza del Popolo where we found a seat and watched the people passing through the square. 

Then it was a return via Via del Corso to one of our favourite Roman restaurants Piccolo Arancio, where we experienced amazing food as we have done on four previous visits over the years.

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Have you got the tickets?

Halfway to the bus stop from our hotel a little voice from behind asks me "have you got the tickets?" I stopped and turned to Katie and said, "no, you normally carry them".

Thankfully the bus stop is close and we didn't need to track back far however it does make me think of the unofficial roles each of us has assigned ourselves on this trip.

I would be the logistics person, have google maps in hand and a clear path planned out with also a backup plan in case of road closures or buses just not appearing. I also try to have contingencies for the contingency plans that don't work.  For instance this afternoon I planned after the Vatican we would leisurely stroll through Rome back to our hotel, or if we were tired catch a bus.  We were tired after the Vatican Museum, but we didn't know what bus or where to find one. Normally I get out the phone, find free WiFi and then Google tells us the bus and where to board. Today, however, in the area of the Vatican, I couldn't get free WiFi (apart from the hospital WiFi but I needed a patient ID to log in).  So our backup to the backup plan kicked in, get a TAXI.  From where we were it only cost 11euro and was well worth resting our little feet.

Katie's unassigned and unlisted role would be to make sure our pre-purchased tickets are on hand each day, to be on the lookout for a toilet or a cafe that would be a nice place to stop and to know the location of our passports at all times.

We both also have the role of security, which is more important in the large cities like Florence and Rome.  I don't mean carrying weapons and wearing a flack jacket, but looking out for each other.  These cities are rife with pickpockets and opportunists and when one of us is taken in by the scene presented to us, for example, a magnificent building or the bend in the river with the ancient Roman bridge, the other is on the lookout for gipsies, African scammers, Romanians or other opportunists.

Anyway, for the first time, Katie forgot to get the ticket from out suitcase this morning. It was ok, we went back to the hotel and collected them, not bad for someone who has been sleeping in someone else's bed for almost 4 weeks!

Today we caught bus 492 toward the Vatican, it was hot inside and crowded, to the point we almost got off early.

Thankfully we were able to hang in and made it to the Vatican where we had to pass the gauntlet of 'Tourist Info' officers.  These are fake helpers that blanket the streets near the Museum entrance and try to get your attention and sell tickets to the museum along with tours.

It is difficult to be rude and ignore these fake 'Tourist Info' officers, but there is no way to get through otherwise.

As we had been to the Vatican in 2012 on a tour, we had a specific path and list of items we wanted to see, for Katie it was the Egyptian section and me it was the Gallery of Maps.  We both wanted to see the Sistine Chapel and then, of course, St Peters Basilica. 

Arezzo, Lucignano and Cortona

Lake Trasimeno

Thankfully we were able to get in to see what we wanted.

I would like to note however, how disrespectful some tourists can be.  One should never, ever, touch a piece in a museum, be it a painting or a stone.  Numerous times both Katie and I saw visitors to the museums touching items. A museum is one of those places where one can look, but not touch.

The Nativity scene was still on show in St Peters

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It's raining culture and immigration is not all bad

This morning started being a little wet underfoot and continued thanks to occasional showers.  Thankfully we didn't throw our umbrellas out as we were going to back in Florence. We left after a filling breakfast and passed by the Fountain of the Bees (Fontana delle Api) on Piazza Barberini.

 

Today was a return visit to one of our favourite galleries, the Borghese Gallery.

When we visited in Summer it was hot and there were huge crowds. Thankfully this time it was heated inside and the crowds were less.

We had pre-purchased tickets, and when I collected them from reception did hear two ladies ask for tickets, they had not prepurchased like us.  To my astonishment, they still had some available but personally, I wouldn't take this risk, it is a long way to come, then miss out on entry.

Katie tried to drop her bag at the cloakroom and was told it is too small to be checked, we then joined the queue at our allocated entry time and when we presented our tickets Katie was told she would have to go to the cloakroom and check her bag. No point arguing, she went and checked the bag where they said it is too small for checking, she explained the ticket checker and thankfully with a sigh they took her bag.

 We toured the gallery and were once again astounded by the skill and craftsmanship.  These statues are just amazing.

After the gallery, we walked the park

and made our way back to the centre via the Spanish steps where once at the bottom we treated ourselves to tea with scones jam and cream at Babington's Tea Room.

The tea was an afternoon blend and the scones were just lovely, in fact so lovely we forgot to photograph them for you.

We then walked to Piazza del Popolo via the little back street of Via Margutta.  This little back street provided us with the opportunity to view many different artists.

This was created by thousands of paper butterflies being pinned to the board 

Then not to take it easy, as there are not enough hours in the day to see all of Rome, we walked back the long way to our accommodation along Via di Ripetta and then stopped by Fontana di Trevi for some freshly roasted chestnuts.

There is one point I would like to make before I close today's blog.

Italy is in the grip of immigration and boom, particularly with refugees from Africa.  It is a very sad state for these people who often have to cross seas, often on very risky boats with many losing their lives.  Katie and I have noticed since we have been visiting Italy (2012, 2014, 2016 and now 2018) an increase of African immigrants, particularly in country areas.

We have discussed this with local Italians and overall most aren't happy with the situation. Apparently, the refugees are provided with clothing, mobile phones, money, accommodation and many other perks. I can't say if this is true or false and as a guest in this country I am by no means an expert in the situation.

Ourselves we have been approached by these refugees many times some just holding a cup and asking for money, others trying to sell LED lights that shoot up to the sky at night and others selling folding wooden bowls. These sellers are all very annoying and really do make our experience and the locals daily life frustrating.

There is one happy end to this story and it was today, as we were walking from the Borghese Gardens to the Spanish steps.  We passed an African man who was sweeping up leaves and cleaning the path from rubbish.  At first, I thought he was a council employee but realised he wasn't when he had no uniform.  Council employees working on roads and streets in Rome are always wearing HiVis clothing.  This man had taken it upon himself to try and help the community. He was cleaning the streets without being asked and all he asked for by the way of a sign next to a tin, was the opportunity to integrate into the community by cleaning the streets. 

This was the first and only African man we have seen doing work of his own choice, it was this man who I provided my donation to, only a small gesture of 2 euro but I am happy to help those who help themselves.

His sign said,
"CERCO DI INTEGRAMI NELLA VOSTRA SOCIETA PULENDO LE VOSTRE STRADE"

with a loose translation to English;

"I look for integration into your community by cleaning your streets"

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