Testaccio Sunny Day

Oh, we're leaving in not too long! We have in fact only 5 days remaining in Rome, and what should we do with our precious time? What are our favorite memories in Rome, that we cannot bear to give up? It's wonderful that the weather has turned beautiful, and we can picture again some of our favorite places.

If we come back to Rome, we agree: we will live in Testaccio neighborhood. Here are just a few photos to remember. These are not our only favorite spots in Testaccio, but where we went today.

Piazza, market, lunch place, coffee bar, organic center, Tiber River. That was our walk today.

Carousel in the Piazza of S. Maria della Liberatrice.
Powered by bicycle. the horses cut from tires. So amusing!
The park was very full today, as I take it lots of kids are out of school.

Now isn't that just too darling?

Testaccio Market from outside. Many entrances.
The old market was replaced, to the sorrow of many,
a few years ago, but the new market is doing fine.

Antonio, Fuori di Zucca produce stall in Testaccio Market.
He's been to the US and has pretty good English, helping me a lot.
Do the oranges have seeds? OK, they have seeds. Is he out of asparagus?
OK, take broccoli. Are the onions small? So what? The squash is big, as you can see.

Enzo and Lina, best deli meats and cheese.
They recognize us and teach us Italian.
Etto. Salsicce. Va bene!

Enzo and Lina's stall in Testaccio Market.
The ceiling of the market is pierced, letting light in.

Julianne in the Testaccio Market cafe with Kalek Abdul, our garlic seller.
Kalek is from Bangladesh, along with thousands of others.
He has a little English, we have absolutely no Bangla. But we manage.
He supports a wife and 5 children, the oldest starting college.
Amazing, to do that selling garlic in the daytime, and
cut roses at night, for pennies!

Trattoria da Oio, a couple blocks north of the market.
Our go-to place for lunch.

Trattoria da Oio, inside wall. It's a neighborhood place, jammed at lunch.
Soon after this picture, eight 20-somethings came in, sitting at the tables
barely visible here. Oio focuses on Roma football and sponsors some team.

Cacio e pepe, oh, heaven!
Will we ever be able to manage after we leave Rome?
Tonnarelli, cooked al dente, pecorino cheese from Lazio, and pepper.
Tutto, fini, perfetto.
The logo on the plate shows two oio, which are the olive oil jars
that ancient Rome imported from Spain, tossing the broken pieces
into a pile that grew after 500 years of tossing into Testaccio Mountain,
right across the street from Oio.

Oio waitress, sadly we don't have her name.
We've watched the progress of her pregnancy,
it won't be long now.

Cafe Boario, an organic coffee bar in the former slaughterhouse.
How's that for reuse? The huge complex now has a music school,
an architectural school, a modern art museum, organic gardens,
a conference center, and this coffee bar. Also Sunday food market
and in the winter, ice skating.
Boario means cattle market.

More Cafe Boario, showing how big the grounds are.
Set this picture to the left of the picture above.
The Tiber River is behind the arches in the distance.

I'm liking my panarama feature, though it distorts somewhat.
You can see how this picture links to the last one, if you know that the arches on
the right are the arches in the distance in the picture above. Cafe Boario is back on the left side in this picture.
I've walked over to the exit, you see, and turned around the make this picture.
Citta del'Altra Economia (alternative economy) is the overall name  
From here, the Tiber River is behind me.

Bank of the Tiber, Testaccio side. The river is high and running fast.
Testaccio Bridge in the distance leads to Trastevere and our apartment.

Here's the view from Testaccio Bridge, looking south. The frame of the gasometro.
The shadows of the trees. The flooded banks. Train tracks cross that bridge.

Well, that's it for today. Words and pictures by Nancy.