The Testaccio market was the highest on my list and here we were, all of a sudden, it’s our last day.  Had to visit!

The walk took us right through the Colosseum so we got a great look at it, stopping for a few minutes to take it in. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was noteworthy was that we were approached no less than 10 times by people offering tours and skip the line tickets, not to mention all the selfie stick sellers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming out, walking around the Arch of Constantine—it’s a real wow!  We continued on, across Circo Massimo, passing the Piazza Albania, to the Aventine and the Testaccio neighborhood.

Here’s a very cool wall on an apartment buiding near the market:

The market itself, on Benjamin Franklin street (no kidding, Beniamino Franklin street!) did not disappoint.  You can buy just about anything there—lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, pasta, meats and fish as well as clothing, hardware, home decor etc.  And then there are the “restaurant” stands.  We walked though the whole market and then came back to the ready to eat area.  First I had to have a suppli, rice ball with ragu all fried.  Didn’t love it so Ken ate it.  He had to have a porchetta sandwhich.  His was delicious but they put it in the microwave which ruined the bread.  We were both kind of “meh” about this lunch until we decided to go back ot the Casa Manco, pizza stall.  They had about 7 or 8 kinds on display but we chose only 3 to try.

They are, from left to right, Roman broccoli, radicchio with gorganzola and walnuts and Tuscan salami with chickory greens.  I could not decide which one I like best.  The crust was amazing and the toppings were warm, super fresh with big bold flavors.  YUM!

Of course, by then, it had started to rain.  My initial thought was to take a long way home and walk along the river but we decided to go back the way we cam but make a stop at Claudio Torcè Gelato.  Torcè is largely responsible for changing gelato in Rome and spear heading the true artisinal gelato movement.  There was a huge selection of flavors and I ended up with chocolate with ginger and lemon and halva with sesame.  Both were delish but I love the halva one!  I also loved this Superman stautue in someone’s yard nearby:

The rain persisted and so we marched home.  Not soaked this time but pretty wet.  We stayed in all afternoon, got organized for tomorrow’s departure and went for a short walk when the rain stopped, just before our 8:00 dinner reservation, right down the street at L’asino d’Oro.  I chose this place because of proximity given the rain; it really wouldn’t have been my first choice if the skies had been clear.  The meal was OK, far from great.  We shared a very rich Amatrician lasagna, boar in chocolate sauce and 2 sides: cabbage with raisins and pine nuts and stewed beans.  I loved the lasagna and the cabbage; Ken preferred the beans but nothing knocked our socks off.  We talked for a while after eating with a young couple sitting at the next table.

So, the last meal in Rome was kind of a bust but we do have super high standards.

The week has really flown by.