Thursday In Testaccio

Testaccio is a neighborhood in Rome that short-term visitors do not often visit.  (I did go once before, but that was on my third trip to Rome.)  I don't think it'd be considered to have any of the major "must-see" sites.  It does get a lot of foodie traffic, however.  There are several food destinations (old and new) in this traditionally working-class neighborhood.

I spent Thursday doing an excursion to Testaccio with one of my gracious expat friends who loves the area.  We did lots of walking (I think I might have set a record for my daily "Nike fuel points" and steps taken), saw some awesome classical sights, and took in lots of the vibe of this traditional neighborhood.  A full and overall awesome day.

Our walk started at the Vittoriano, aka the Monument to Victor Emanuelle.  This is the massive huge white "wedding cake" or "typewriter" monument in the middle of Rome.  As I understand it, most Romans do not really love this huge building that was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century.  I think they had to knock down some ancient sites to build it.  And it's in an area that is teeming with truly ancient sites.  So, I think it is not generally loved.  To me though, even if it's only 100 years old, it's incredibly impressive.  Seems to me that, even it were built today as a modern Vegas hotel, you'd be simply in awe of it.

I don't have any good daytime shots of it, but this is the building I'm talking about.  It's hard to capture just how massive the structure is -- but when you're standing next to it (or anywhere in the general vicinity), you'll know:

We then were quickly right over at the Roman Forum, which looked spectacular on this splendid spring day:

After passing through the Circus Maximo, we finished the long walk to Testaccio. It was then time for a well-deserved lunch break at one of my friend's favorite spots:  00100, which looks like a hole in the wall, but is I believe a Testaccio institution.  The house specialty is "trapizzino," which are triangular pockets with a meat and/or cheese and/or rice filling.  With a cold Italian beer, it totally hit the spot.

Circus Maximo

Our lunch spot

Now that we were fueled up, we continued our explorations.  Testaccio is filled with street art.  That is not something that Marc 1.0 necessarily appreciated, but this new improved version stops more often to smell the roses.  Here's a sampling from two of Rome's more prominent street artists:

Of course, by then -- especially in the swelter of this crystal-clear picture-perfect 68-degree day -- it was time for another break.  Porto Fluviale (www.portofluviale.com) is a great looking spot for a casual meal, pastries, or just a quick stop for a caffe.  I am really getting into this caffe thing, BTW.  Totally loving it.

Now that I know you can add a whole packet of sugar into a little cup like this, espresso really is pretty darn good.  

I wouldn't mind owning a place like this someday.  

We then made our way to the ultimate Roma food destination:  the newest Eataly!  As I understand it, last summer's opening of this Eataly caused a bit of a stir.  Some people think that there should be no need for an extravagant emporium like this in the heart of Italy.  But count me in the other camp.  Now, yes, it's true -- nobody in their right mind would care what I had to say on food issues even right smack in downtown Palo Alto or Menlo Park.  So, my views on whether Eataly in Rome is a good thing, bad thing, or in between probably don't count for much.

A new Roman landmark

But it's awesome.  As those who have gone to Manhattan's Eataly might expect, it has everything.  But it's in Rome, so it's 50 times cooler.  It was late afternoon, so this was not the most hopping time to be here, but I will be back soon -- very soon -- to see Eataly when there is more of a buzz.  We bought a few things, and had some incredible gelatto.  And I loved just looking at the produce, the bread, the pasta, the cheese, the fish, the vino, and the neatly packaged cross-section of a dead duck's head.  You name it, they have it.

Pasta

Pane 

Formaggio

Pesce

A dead duck head in cross-section (see brain on left)

I need to come back to Eataly.  But that was just part of it.  This was overall another absolutely pitch perfect day for this hombre's uomo's anno sabatico.