My Roman Weekend

I've been staying in Rome for the past 2 weeks to learn a little Italian... Last weekend though, I set school aside and did touristy things!

From school, Friday was spent with my friend Alane exploring streets leading to the popular Piazza del Popolo. We take this route almost everyday, but that particular Friday, we took time to take pictures of interesting finds. My biggest find?! A M.A.C. store!!!!! And not only that, it was a M.A.C. store that sold M.A.C. pro products!!!! hell yeah.. unfortunately for me, Rome will only be my home for the next 2 weeks. But for the others who are interested to know where it is, you can indulge yourselves at Via del Babuini, 124. No shopping that day though. There were way too many people! (In Rome, there are always a lot of people.)

Goofing around with Alane

Since I left the Philippines, I promised myself I was going to sacrifice and not have my nails done until I go home for the holidays. But I decided, twice a month wouldn't be as bad. So, I researched and found the ONLY ENGLISH SPEAKING nail salon in the city. Some nail salons would probably have technicians who speak english, but this salon is the only one where EVERYONE speaks both english and italian. This is important because I had to make sure they'd understand my instructions on how I wanted my nails to be done.. otherwise I'd get into trouble. haha Anyway as soon as I found a salon, I booked a Saturday morning appointment right away. I went to Ari's Nails for a manicure and some proper R&R. It was just what I needed. You can read more about my trip to Ari's in the review I wrote.

The rest of my Saturday was spent exploring the rest of the city.

Piazza del Popolo was chaotic that Saturday. (Hot) Policemen surrounded the plaza in fear of a riot. There was a big demonstration against.... animal testing, I think. Music was blasting from elf trucks and people screaming "gawd - knows - what" walked around the piazza and did there thing. And this was the first time I've ever seen a lime green flare upclose! hihi Me and my shallowness...

Piazza del Popolo surrounded by riot police

On the same day, I heard anticipated mass in a church called Santa Sussana in Via 20 Settembre. I wanted to go there because I found out that all their masses are in English. It was an hour's walk from my apartment, but it was well worth - it. It was a small (relative to the other churches in Rome) but beautiful church. And the sermon felt like Sunday school-- although I never really attended Sunday school *laughing at self*. After the gospel, the priest called the children up to the altar, and he gave them a short class/homily about the gospel. Cute. It was a nice touch. Apparently, it was Sunday school-- except that this particular one was held on Saturday nights. Pffft. Go figure.

Sunday was my touristy day! I planned a whole day with a friend of mine from back home-- well, more like ex - grade school substitute teacher, Tinggay. We started off in Piazza del Popolo to take a taxi to Catacombs of St. Callixtus. Taxis are easily found in this particular piazza thanks to the taxi stand across the obelisk. For future visits, cabs would probably be the best way to go if you were more than 2 people since it saves more time and you're a lot more comfortable in your own car versus commuting. Riding the metro, the bus or the trams require a lot of transfers and a longer walk. Although, I doubt you'd mind a walk with a view. The fee was €14,00 which isn't really that bad.

The catacombs are passageways containing chapels, and burials rooms found underground. I'm not sure if the whole complex structure was intentionally made into a labyrinth, but I suggest never to separate from the group while on the tour. I was told that there was an incident where one man got lost and never found his way out. Of course, it freaked me out a bit, but then stories like these are made up every minute by parents who want to scare their children so they'd stay put and behave.

The catacombs were free that day, but normally you'd have to pay €6,00. It is a must that you go inside the catacombs with a guide and a tour group. During normal days, there are times set for a certain group to be toured. You join according to time and language spoken. That day, i joined the Spanish - speaking group. Thank god for my then functioning brain. The tour was short. I expected more from it, but the guide was funny and he told a lot of jokes which made everything more interesting. There's a small chapel where groups can hear mass by special arrangements. Catacombs of St. Sebastian is also close to the one I visited, but we had a schedule to keep.

Lunch was supposed to be at 1 after our supposed visit to the Mercato di Testaccio. This market is open  normally open from 7AM - 1PM everyday except Sundays, but for some weird reason, only s few flower shops were open that day. But Mercato di Testaccio is a good place to find food, flowers, and (Italian made) SHOES! One thing you can try, is have lunch in the market or buy lunch from any of the market stalls and eat along the sidewalks. This is the best way to save money and you'll enjoy people - watching as well.

Anyway, since the closed market crushed my dreams of market shopping, we headed straight for our lunch date at the Trattoria da Bucatino (Via Luca Della Robbia, 84. You can call them at +39 06 574 6886 ). This place is well - known for their homemade pastas. It was a good thing we arrived a few minutes after 12. We were seated at a pretty comfortable table, and we didn't have to wait for one. At around 1 in the afternoon, they were already turning customers down despite having tables outside the restaurant, in their main dining hall and in their basement!


The place wasn't fancy - shmansy. Typical family restaurant with old pictures hanging on the wall and  wine bottles displayed all around. A table that caught my eye though was the one with all their appetizers  - of the day. The choices overwhelmed me... I got too scared to order a plate! One plate cost about €5 - €8 depending on the kind you order.

Appetizers

As I mentioned, the trattoria is known for their pastas, but then every chance I get of eating something else other than pasta, I certainly jump at. Hence, I ordered me some lamb and potatoes! My lamb was perfect. It had just the right amount of seasoning and herbs. To ad to that, it was probably the most tender lamb I've eaten in my entire life. The potatoes were steamed to perfection.  Tinggay, the - normally - unadventurous - eater ordered herself some cream based seafood risotto. I'm not a fan of cream, but this was good! Reminds me of a risotto milanese with seafood taste. There wasn't any actual seafood meat (I'm guessing it was pureed or something), but it was tasty. I give this meal an 8!

Seafood Risotto (cream)

My tender lamb

To digest the meal, we walked back to the metro and headed for the Jewish Ghetto to visit their synagogue. The Jewish People have a very interesting culture, I must say-- a visit to this place is a must if you're staying in Rome for 3 days or more. The synagogue cost me €4,00 since I'm just a student, but otherwise they charge €6,00. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed at all. Security is tight and it has been this way since 1992.

The Jewish Ghetto was a 50 - minute walk to our next destination, Galleria Borghese, so we decided to be pretty signorinas and take a cab. When we arrived at the Villa Borghese, a feeling of home sickness came over me. I missed my brothers instantly... because I was reminded of our trip to Versailles in France a couple of years back. But don't get me wrong, it was a happy feeling of home sickness. hihi
Although the Villa B. is not as big and grand as the palace and gardens at Versailles.. this was one hell of a view! The Galleria Borghese is a sure MUST for visitors.

The galleria is in a compound called the Villa Borghese, which is actually a park. You can rent bicycles, segways, and other ways of transportation to tour yourself around the big garden. I was happy just sitting and, again, people - watching. I strongly suggest you stay and sit in one of the benches. This is probably also a nice spot for photo ops!

In the galleria/museum, do not miss out on:
- any of the Bernini sculptures (especially Pluto and Proserpina and Apollo and Daphne)
- the sculpture of Pauline Bonaparte byAntonio Canova
- the painting of Jacopo Zucci entitled Amor (Cupid) and Psyche
and
- Titian's Sacred and Profane Love
... they were my favorites!

And before heading home, we stumbled upon a flea market! During Saturdays, Rome has tons of these. Just research about which ones are open near your area. I hope you enjoyed!

gallery of My Roman Weekend.