When in Rome...

This has been a lovely weekend. Last night, Jaimi, Camilla, and I wandered down to Trastevere for dinner and a Saturday evening out, and ended up having a night full of funny little surprises. The three of us descended our mountain (as I am now calling it) through a series of downhill slopes and gut clenchingly steep stairs (dreading, of course, the way home...). We didn't bring a map as Jaimi and I had a miscommunication about who had it, so we were free to wander without aim. We had eaten a late lunch and we weren't too hungry, so there was really no rush anyway, and we decided to get a drink first. We stumbled upon a small little bar with an outdoor patio (outdoor is a MUST in this weather, since most places to seem to have air conditioning...), which was cleverly called "Bar." A large beer was only 2.5 euros! So we split one of those and settled outside with what seemed to be a mix of locals and tourists. The atmosphere was lively and everyone was mingling and chatting. One girl was sketching a guy across the patio, and every generation seemed to be represented. After being hit on a bit by some old Italian men ("are you below or above 18?"), we thought we would use their stereotypical Italian-ness to our advantage-- surely they would know a good place to eat! The man, who's name was Gino, gave us three names of good, cheap restaurants in the area, and we headed off confident of a good dinner to come.

And it was! The little hole in the wall trattoria, Mario's, was a little overly warm, but we managed to get a place by the window. The waitress was eager to take our order, but being massive foodies, we took forever deciding what we wanted, and she had to come back several times. We split a liter of red wine (only 6 euros!) and a delicious antipasti of roman artichokes, which were my favorite part of the meal- they literally melted in my mouth like butter. The hearts were served whole, with the stem, and all of it was edible. The artichoke and the sauce it came with melted into one another, and it was impossible to distinguish between the two. Never bitter, never stringy, they were really magnificent. Artichokes (carciofo) are a big deal in Rome, and I hope to be able to make them at least half as well when I leave here. Jaimi ordered a lovely and simple pasta dish and Camilla ordered beans with pieces of pork fat, which was flavorful but a bit runny and heavy. I ordered saltimbocca alla Romana, which was amazingly tasty. Saltimbocca, which means "jump in the mouth," consists in Rome of veal cutlets with proscuitto and sage, cooked in Marsala wine and butter. Needless to say, we were stuffed, and (gasp!) I didn't even consider dessert.

Unfortunately, Camilla then realized she no longer had her wallet. This sad turn of events led us back to the bar we had been in previously After asking everyone she could, we hoped it was possibly back at the apartment and that we would find it upon arriving home (we didn't and poor Camilla had to call her bank at 3 in the morning when we returned to cancel her card). The lining upon the cloud was that the bar was even livelier that earlier in the night, and we ended up staying there for the next several hours. We met a politcal journalist, a middle aged couple from Ohio, a young guy who worked for the World Food Organization, an elderly (like 80 year old) artist who drew us little pictures on napkins and tried to make us sing along with him to Italian songs... It was a very gay night full of chatting and round after round of cheap but not quite cold enough beer in a beautiful Roman piazza, and we left delighted. It took us a loooot of wandering to find our way back home, but we were in high spirits and enjoyed the exploring process.

This morning, we met Mona at the Academy to go to the flea market with her. The market is gigantic, and sells everything and anything, used and new, from established stands to blankets on the floor. We could have spent hours and hours there, even after Mona headed home, but the heat and the hunger really started getting to us, so we left in search of...shade and food, of course. We ended up walking along the river and through the Jewish ghetto, where Jaimi bought some refreshing pear gelato and Camilla some succulent Tiramisu gelato. We eventually made it to the Pantheon, with some postcard and bathroom stops along the way, and had a quiet but mediocre lunch in a side alley. We took the bus home, and on the way to the bus stop, I savored some peach gelato, which more than hit the spot in the heat. It was so hard to pick a flavor! I'm always torn by my classic favorites, like limone or nocciolo, but equally pulled to the unknown flavors... Good thing I'm here for three months!

at the bar called Bar, pre-dinner

same bar, post-dinner, with an old artist man

the tree lined flea market
(the picture does not do justice to the crowds or the heat...)

the entrance to the flea market

We lounged around for the rest of the afternoon, and I took my first Roman nap. As it is Sunday, we weren't sure what we were going to do for dinner- everything is closed, and our apartment kitchen is not yet stocked! All we had was a tin can of sardine in olive oil I brought from Paris and some homemade plum and apricot jam Mona had given us from the pantry. Luckily, I ran into Mona outside, and she gave me some pasta, pecorino, an onion, and a big slice of watermelon. Even more wonderfully, she gave me a basket and reminded me of the garden outside! I walked out and picked a dozen tomatoes of all different sizes (they are so varied and so delicious), a few plums, some basil, chili pepper, and a fig for the walk back to my apartment. I tossed the pasta with some pan fried onions, tomatoes, chilis, basil, sardines, and olive oil, showered it with pecorino, and was more than satisfied! I've already fallen head over heels for this magic garden, just minutes from us, and I look more and more forward to working in it. I promise to post pictures of it soon!