Saturday, 28 December 2019 we wanted to venture to Trastevere to visit the local market there and have a meander around this historical and very fascinating area in Rome.
On route to the metro, Johan filled up our water bottles with sparkling water from the free water dispenser (left is still water and the right is sparkling water) …..
We had to buy new 7 day transport passes and had €50 saved and put aside for this purchase (7 day transport passes unlimited travel on the metros, buses and trams is €24 per person and was a worthwhile purchase). Unfortunately, the ticket machine decided to swallow our €50 and NOT dispense the tickets and the station personnel could not help us besides giving us a refund request form to complete….. so we had to detour, draw another €50 from the ATM (equivalent of almost R1100), go and buy an el-cheapo pen (sod’s law it was the day I left my pen at home), and find a place to sit and complete the form … we treated ourselves to cappuccinos at Bar Angelo (very cheap) as we needed the sustain and fortification to our shattered nerves and very badly bruised cash flow (this whole exercise cost us approximately R2k L); completed the form and took a photo of it and handed it in at the Metro …. With bated breathe we purchased another 2 x 7 day transport passes and fought ATAC for our refund for almost a year but eventually gave up as Covid-19 intervened and ATAC suspended all refunds during lockdown and the pandemic.
Tribute to a Trastevere resident who was killed in Auschwitz; these brass plaques are placed outside the houses where the victims had lived at the time they were deported to Auschwitz – very evocative and humbling.
A cheese shop window display in Trastevere
The weekly market in Trastevere is situated in Piazzi di S. Cosimato – fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and cheese are sold there …. By the time we eventually got there, the market was winding down and we were somehow shy to take photos so these pictures are courtesy of google images!
The market is in the piazza and there is a lovely children’s playground which was very popular and busy on this Saturday – I had read that when families in the area have children who have outgrown tricycles, plastic motorbikes, small bikes and the like, they take them to the playground and leave them there for the enjoyment of all children frequenting the playground ….. A brilliant concept!
There were children playing hopscotch in the piazza, catch, having fun on rollerblades, families shopping at the market as it wound down, dogs having a good sniff and scratch around ….
Lunch for us was 2 x Suppli for a total of €2.00 – from Suppli where we joined the long queue of locals waiting for various food items from this amazing gem (https://www.suppliroma.it/)
From Trastevere we went to St Peter’s Square at Vatican City as we were keen to explore the 100 Presepi Exhibition.
We walked up and down looking for the exhibition, eventually asking for assistance from a shop owner and were red faced with embarrassment when we realised we had walked past the sign posts for the 100 Presepi Exhibition about a dozen times!
100 Presepi Vaticano are a 100 Presepi from all over the world, constructed from materials ranging from wool, buttons, shells, wood, pasta, polystyrene, EPS foam, vinyl records – a number of the Presepi were animated and they were all simply incredibly beautiful, creative and memorable.
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