This morning was a pleasant one! Slept in (somehow past the church bells that ring at 7am on the daily) and made some tea with a light breakfast at home because I had a food tour at 11am. I gifted myself some individually wrapped travel PG tips from my London hotel room and I 100% did not regret that decision.

After breakfast I got ready and left pretty early for the food tour–I wanted to have time to stop and explore things on the way since it was in a part of the city I hadn’t seen before. That was a great idea on my part. It was a beautiful walk along the river! Side note: seagulls are universally annoying. Side note par duex : Rome is full of parrots! Second pic is one I saw.

Next I arrived in Testaccio which historically over 2k years was connected to food here. A major port was located here where mainly food and drink was shipped/received for the city of Rome. I met Rish my tour guide and about 6 other people that were gonna be eating alongside me for the next 4 hours.

I’m not going to drag you through every single eatery and fact I learned over that four hour period–but doing this food tour was the best decision! It’s so interesting to learn about a city through that lens. I would have never tracked over to Testaccio without this tour and I ended up having some of the best food in my entire trip there! Apparently because Testaccio is a working class neighborhood–tourists only go there if they are foodies that have done a lot of good research. I will simply list out some of the places I enjoyed there.

Panificio– a local bakery that had phenomenal Roman pizza and breads/pastas, pastries. *Roman pizza has a super thin crust. Romans get fresh bread daily because day old bread is only used for Bruchetta. Lol This bakery goes through 200lbs of flour every single day feeding this neighborhood.

Masto: This adorable little eatery has amazing lasagna, and the charcuterie/wine situation there was phenomenal. It’s tiny, they only have like 4 or 5 small tables–so make a reso if you are planning to get dinner. The staff there were so knowledgeable and super friendly to answering all my questions.

While walking between eateries we learned a lot of parks in Rome double as herb gardens and tend to have rosemary and lavender all over the place that local people sometimes use in cooking.

Flavio al Velavevodetto: Which translates to “Flavio at Told you so”. The owner told people for a long time he would open a restaurant and no one really believed him. So the restaurant name is a clap back and I love it. 😂 If you want some amazing quality Roman pasta staples–eat here.

*The restaurant is built into the side of a man made mountain going back centuries from discarded terracotta pots that were used to transport food here into the port. You can see them through a glass wall on the first level of the restaurant. It’s pretty cool. They also regulate the temperature–so the restaurant doesn’t need AC.

Bar Giolitti: It’s true, it’s a small bar that has amazing Gelatto. They have a special certification pictured below that is only awarded on strict guidelines for quality of the gelato product. A couple things to note–if the pistachio gelato is bright green or if the gelato is piled high above the containers, it’s not authentic gelato. Pistachio should be more like brownish green, and real gelato melts quickly if it is stored above the metal container in the fridge. Just because it’s not authentic doesn’t mean it won’t taste good–but if you are looking for the “real” stuff, let those hints help make your decision. 😉

Gelato not pictured because it was amazing and I ate it too fast. Haha but last thing I will note is they have a Panna (whip cream) machine that they have been using here since early 1900’s and they still use it everyday.

Then the food tour was over. I met some lovely people on it for sure. Feel free to use the coupon code below that Rish gave me if you book one through this company!

I’m gonna miss this view. It’s my last day in this adorable apartment.

On my last night in Roma I took myself out for a pizza and wine at a restaurant in the square and watched a Manchester v France soccer game. I hope I made my husband proud. 🙂

Special Note:

If you don’t like your pasta al dente, you will not like Roma pasta–or pasta throughout Italy for that matter. Took a little getting used to for me, but now I really enjoy it. Also apparently the nutrients/fiber in the pasta are more maintained when it’s al dente. #CarbLife