HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2024! ROME!

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Port of Civitavecchia, Italy for Rome

Aboard the Enchanted Princess

Room Aloha 212

Sunny, 69F—another gorgeous day

 

TK and I wish all of our family and friends a most Happy Thanksgiving. We are grateful for you—we do miss you, Brian, Denise, B1, A, Randy, Coleen, B2, my brother Bill, Marge, Bill III, Bob, Katie, F and E, TK’s sister Mary Lou, Scorchy, sister in law Carol and all of their families—all precious to us, and our friends who peruse this blog—we are grateful for you too—writers are not writers without readers!

 

Today was a very busy day for the Enchanted Princess since about 2000 guests were leaving, another 2000 were boarding, and the 1500 guests remaining, like us, were busy boarding buses to visit Rome. All basically at the same time.  Rome is about an hour and a half away from this port.

The Basilica at St. Peter's Square/Vatican City

When we arrived in Rome right by St. Peter’s Square at 9:45 a.m., Lucca was ready to take our group of 16 to several of Rome’s favorite food venues.  One of his comments I especially liked as we crossed a busy street, “Let’s try to survive.”  I will say I think the streets of Rome were safer for pedestrians than Naples’ streets!

 

First Stop: Sorpasso Vin Café Cucina (https://sorpasso.info/home-page/ ) for our choice of coffee. For the first time, I learned that the very very strong coffee I have been drinking (Caffe Americana) does not have as much caffeine as ours back home. The process of making European coffee takes the oil out. I don’t think Lucca is a food scientist and my explanation/ interpretation of what he said could be way out there, but all I know is that it tastes very strong. TK opted for cappuccino again. I like it black, he likes cream and sugar.  A “cookie” was included, “chambalino,” or little donut. Trust me, it was a cookie, not a donut—and who knows how it is really spelled?  Others ordered macchiato, mocaccino (with chocolate), and even barley coffee.

Sorpasso

Caffe Americano

Sort of look like donuts, really a cookie

Second Stop: Mercato Rionale (https://www.facebook.com/mercatorionalemontiroma/ ) for prosciutta and fresh buffalo mozzarella.  We walked through the market past lots of fruits and vegetables, to the meat shop. A very sweet, older Italian gentleman was so proud of the dish he presented to each of us. Right next to his shop was a baker and I spotted sfogliatella—I quickly ordered two to go, I jumped on that!

Mercato Rionale

Butcher

 

Third Stop: Panificio Lintozzi (on Instagram) for Margharita Pizza and Pesto Pizza. This “walk up” place was very busy and customers had to take a number. Lucca had phoned ahead, and our pizza slices were ready—sold by the gram!!!! I loved the Margharita pizza, but only tried a little taste of the pesto pizza—lots of garlic and chili pepper, but the pesto was good. TK enjoyed both.

 

Panificio Lintozzi

Margharita Pizza

Pesto pizza on  Lucca's right

Spreading the pizza dough

Lotsa dough!

Fourth Stop: BE.RE. (https://www.facebook.com/berebirreriaroma ) for a “Hunter-style Chicken sandwich” and beverage. Since this is what I would call a brewerie, there were many choices of beers, most made in-house, like IPA, ale, pilsener (Italian, German, and Belgian versions), stout, and more. TK and I had Coke Zero, but others liked the beer.  I was full by this time, but the focaccia bread was stuffed with chicken that had been cooked with white wine, like stewed and chunked. I admit it was tasty.

BE.RE.

Bar

Blurry, sandwich is triangle shaped with chicken stew-like stuffed in focaccio bread

Fifth Stop:  Gelateria Del Monte (gelateriadelmonte.com) for 2 small choices of gelato. This gelato was another terrific WOW. I had strawberry gelato and fruits of the forest, while TK had strawberry and chocolate.

TK takes a break

Choices

Inside Gelateria

Lucca walked with us back to the Vatican, passing barber shops, tailors, a hardware store, butcher shops, flower shops, and restaurants.  We had enough time for a little shopping before it was time to leave Rome.  On previous trips we visited the Sistine Chapel, the Basilica, the Colosseum, the Forum, the Catacombs, early Christian sites, and more, so the food tour was different, and we felt a little closer to knowing why and where Romans enjoy eating!

 

Street vendor roasting chestnuts

Iconography along the way

Hardware shop

Carbinieri

St. Peter's Square-- I told TK that we needed to

take photos of us in famous places

so people believe we were there

St. Peter? My camera is amazing--this was quite a distance

Another view

I'm in St. Peter's Square, really!

Back on board the ship, it was time for dinner—turkey, apple and bread dressing, and pumpkin pie (macadamia and chocolate pie for TK.) 

 

TK’s Takes: The hunter style chicken sandwich was one of the best meals he’s had. Both kinds of pizza were good. Gas is 1.76 euros/liter, which makes it $7.30/gallon. No wonder the cars are so small, and there are  hardly any pickup trucks. He did spot a firetruck.

 

 

Janie: almost 14,000 steps--TK: about 12,500. He rested in the Square while I zigzagged along the area in and out of shops

Note to Brother: I found a little something for Little F. Zoom Zoom!