Sunday Pleasures

Boy, it's Monday already, time flew... We are currently sitting at Fiumicino Airport in Rome, waiting for boarding. Seems like Alitalia still is in operation ... Had a late start this morning, with packing and breakfast and some more grocery shopping, then walked over to the train station (pic on left), where the Airport buses depart. You never know exactly when, but they only cost six Euro (for a drive of almost an hour) and that's much cheaper than the modern trains to the airport. Departed at 11 am and arrived at noon, check-in was quick and so was security - with the exception that we learned that we aren't allowed to carry a roll of twine in the hand luggage. Don't ask me why...

Yesterday (Sunday) we first headed by tram (passing by the Colosseo - pic on the left) for the large Mercato di Porta Portese, not a real flea market but offering mostly clothing (starting at 50 cent) and shoes and household items. Huge and hot! Bought some cheap throw-away clothing, a cap for Peter and some household stuff (like the twine). In the early afternoon we left the market, all sweaty, but happy with a porchetta panini in hands (cold pork roast on a bun).








Me in my new 3-Euro-dress ... don't have many dresses in my closet and, usually, wouldn't wear dresses like this one. On the left: the market itself, not fancy, but cheap:

EATALY:

Took the tram to Ostiense, where EATALY has opened a large, high-end culinary supermarket on three floors a couple of years ago. We know other EATALY stores in New York, Chicago and Munich, but this one beats them all. Not sure whether it would have been necessary and whether it's useful in a city like Rome, where every mom & pop store carries great cheeses and meats as well as the little farmers' markets everywhere. We had to compare our fav from Munich, the Antipasto plate, here with the one in Munich and, of course, assortment was more varied and quantity larger for the same amount of money. Just drinks are much too expensive, though they have their own brewery on the property and sell wine by the liter from the barrel really cheap.





With a bag of groceries we took the Metro (subway) back to the city center and walked to the hotel to get rid of the heavy stuff and to inspect our newly acquired clothing. Out again after a quick shower in about half an hour, towards the North, Parco Borghese (pics above), the "green livingroom of the Romans", especially on Sundays. We watched the boaters on the little lake, the skaters and arrived on Pincio, another great viewpoint, just in time for the sunset.