14 November 2024: Food Tour in Rome—This evening, we joined a small group of people in Rome for a food tour! The aim was to learn about and sample some of the Roman specialties from authentic family-owned venues who have been serving the public for many years (as in since the 1800s even). We walked and paused to sample something for 3.5 hours, and time went quickly. The Locals say that this is the first day of winter for them, a chillly 48 Fahrenheit. However, they rarely get any snow, and our taxi driver said that they tend to get about 10 days of winter per year, generally in January/February. So, today was a little bit early. Additionally, it appears as if this is about as cold as it gets here. But, with a light jacket and some good walking, it did not feel so bad. Dad and I arrived in Trastevere (a lively neighborhood of Rome) a little.bit early iin order to take an opportunity to tour it a little bit. Trastevere is a charming little section, with lots of greenery, graffiti and street art everywhere, shops, bars, cafes, gelaterias, restaurants, a Basilica, at least one other Church, and stores. Our cab driver claims that it is the best place for food. We wandered into the Basilica of Santa Maria di Trastevere, and it is gorgeous! It is so ornate and “gold” that it reminded me a little bit of Greek Orthodox Church decor. Our food tour would begin in the Campo di Fiore, though, another neighborhood of Rome, across the Tiber River from Trastevere. Thus, we walked across the Ponte Sesto, after crossing a “cordon” laden with love locks. The Campo di Fiore s where we met our group and tour guide, Cleia. We walked to an antipasto establishment. There, we had a variety of cheeses, including Pecorino Romano and Buffalo mozzarella among others, bread, and some local lunchmeats, including prosciutto, salami, and porchetta (a roast pork fillled with herbs and spices for flavoring). We washed it down with water and some white wine. The second stop was Roman pizza. Roman pizza is thin and crispy. We sampled margarita pizza and potato and rosemary pizza. We entered what used to be a gate bounding the Jewish Ghetto in the early 1900s. The gate is no longer there, but there is an entry point with a metal access. There are others in the area, so it is not specific to the Jewish Ghetto. The people here recall and honor October 16 every year. On that day, they recall the fateful October 16, 1943 when 1000+ Jewish residents were arrested by the Nazis, with only a handful ever having returned. Stumble stones mark the site where each of the missing/killed last resided/worked, and one of the 94-year-old survivors, Manuele, who lives in the town and others put flowers in front of each of their houses/workplaces. We stopped at a place where Stanley Tucci filmed one of his Italian food segments to taste fried artichokes and fried rice balls. The artichoke was quite interesting to see and to taste, and the rice ball, filled with white rice and perhaps some cheese and spices, was delicious. We tasted some local red wine. We walked past Old Rome (as in, very, very old, ruin-type Rome), the Portico d’Ottavia, which used to be temples to Roman gods. This complex was erected right by the Circus Fllaminius, where some horse races took place. We crossed the Isola Tiberina via the Ponte Fabricio toTrastevere. There, we had two Roman pasta specialties: Pasta Amatriciana and Cascio e Pepe tonnelloni. The Pasta Amatriciana is dressed with a red sauce and topped with guanciale, i..e.., pig jowls (pig cheeks). I had pasta al pomodoro e basilica (tomato and basil). Cacio e Pepe tonnelloni are thick spaghetti-like pasta noodles topped with oil, cheese, and pepper. We shared locally sourced white and/or red wine with this meal. The final stop was an award-winning gelateria. We could select two different flavors as part of this food tour. John chose chocolate and coffee gelato, and I had pomegranate and mandarin orange flavors in a cone. This was a beautiful way to experience this small part of Rome, and we appreciated the miniature city tour that Cleia was able to provide along the way.
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