So, our last day arrived, whether we liked it or not and we didn't have much of a plan which made for a pretty uneventful yet long day.
We headed off in the direction of Trastevere, the old part of the city (I think) as we knew there was a market from 5am to 2pm, but we didn't end up finding it once we got there (having directions or a street name would have helped and we didn't want to wander too far in the area as we didn't have a good map). The most notable difference between Trastevere and the other areas of Rome we have seen has to be the foliage - there is more green in this area. That walk took most of our morning.
Then we headed off to find a pizza place, even though knowing it would be closed on Sunday, in hopes of finding another one. Along the way we stopped at a small organic market where various items were being sold (fruits and veggies, pottery, clothes, olive oils, pastas, etc.) and a few minutes into it we nearly witnessed another brawl. Now, because everything was happening in Italian we didn't understand what was going on, but we did see a man smash his arm purposefully into a woman's pottery stall, breaking some items. There were screams and shouting back and forth; Jeff and I got out of their pronto!
We found the busy square, Campo di Fiori, where we hoped to find cheap and delicious pizza but couldn't find the place and were not interested in sitting down for lunch. We picked up some olive oil for dipping bread and some spice mixes to play with when we get home and then we left. On our way out of the area Jeff noticed a small panini shop where we picked up homemade, made-to-order sandwiches that were delightful. I also picked up a piece of homemade chocolate pie (that is awaiting its fate in the fridge right now, probably a bedtime snack, lol). We enjoyed our fresh sandwiches on a ledge of some old ruins currently inhabited by 16+ cats (at least that's how many we could see).
We went looking for the other recommended gelato place we had read about and found it after another hunt. The line was out the door and they had so many flavours we couldn't even see them all. I had cinnamon and coconut (the cinnamon was incredible) and Jeff had strawberry and banana (he said the strawberry was excellent). We thoroughly enjoyed our treat at the base of some statue in a square somewhere, lol.
We headed off to some gardens in hope to see a little greenery but found ourselves amongst hundreds of people on a busy main road first. There were more people on the road than on the sidewalk and with Jeff and my patience wavering with slow-walkers, city-gawkers, stand-right-in-the-middle-people, etc., we found it rather congested and frustrating.
We arrived to a square, Piazza di Popolo, where relay races for teens was taking place. We watched a race then continued up into the garden area. By the time we got there though our patience was waning. We were tired, sore, irritable, and just ready to go back to the hostel, so that's what we did. It took awhile but we made it and were happy to be home.
I had a shower (my next one will be at home!!) and then we had a small snack before skyping with Jeff's family.
Around 7:45pm we headed out to find pizza and decided to try somewhere different than last night. We found a place, sat down, looked at the menu, were not impressed with their pizza selection and then left (that's twice now we've done that and seeing as this would be our last dinner out, I didn't want a lousy place). We walked back to the hostel and asked the receptionist to make a recommendation and she gave us direcfions to a place around the corner, the same name, look and menu (practically) as last night! They must own both.
We got ushered into the back at a table for two at the busiest spot in the restaurant. We were between the kitchen, wine cooler, washroom and server prep area... It was loud and busy the whole time, but we just laughed it off. We shared a half litre of the house wine (which was good), some mineral water, appetizer bread and each a whole pizza. They were good and we enjoyed them but I think we still prefer our place down the street at home. Maybe we just didn't have the best stuff. Doesn't matter! We were practically ushered out, which was really unusual as we usually have to wait ages for the bill, so it must have been a busy place. We laughed at the whole situation.
Now we're back in our room with bags nearly all packed and reminicing about the last two months. There are stories and adventures that will last a lifetime and we are both sad to be heading home (although definitely looking forward to our shower [the one here provides less pressure the hotter you want it, which means it barely drizzles unless you want to cool off!] and seeing our kitty, Clyde who we have missed).
A big huge thank you and love you to Jeffrey, my traveling companion, friend, encourager, comedian and master navigator. I couldn't have done it without you and I can't wait to see where our next adventure takes us. Huge hugs and kisses.
And to our families and friends who have been nothing but encouraging and supportive through the planning, preparation and craziness that led up to our departure. We are looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day with three hours to kill after we check-out before heading to the airport by bus and then three hours before our flight and then a 9.5 hour flight... Then a shuttle home. It'll be late and we'll be exhausted by the time we get there but we're both looking forward to our bed.
I'll most likely post about our journey home and will eventually add pictures to this blog for you to enjoy (no guarantee when it will be done though!).
Until we meet again,
Thanks for reading,
Ciao,
Amanda
No comments:
Post a Comment