NALEIALOHA I ITALIA: Virtual motorino & market

Aloha kakou e ku'u mau hoa heluhelu,Bongiorno!

Well nothing major to report today so I thought I'd take you on a virtual tour of the Trastevere markets we visited today. So lets begin with the crazy motorino ride.

These first four pictures are a truncated version of the crazy ride we took this morning on the busy highway. We were taking Cristoforo's school bag to him in school. Notice the speed by which drivers move inches from us, along with the obstacles and other motorinos vying for the same speed and space. Weeeeee!

It's all about food today as our main excursion was to forage for lunch at the many markets and shops of Trastevere. We then headed towards Travestere to shop for fresh vegetables, cheese, prosciutto & bread from the markets. We decided that we'd have lunch in one of the lovely jogging parks in Rome.

When you arrive at the market, your senses are assaulted by the many aromas of known and unknown vegetables and fruits. Imagine this, every color you see in the photos equal the various fragrances and scents wafting from the choice edibles.

We make our way to the next market and find bags of grains, nuts, rice and beans of every kind imagined. Sacks of pine nuts, hazel nuts, almonds and others unknown to me are stacked. Bottles, tin cans, jars and containers of all kinds of things are neatly stacked on shelves and counter tops. TheThe colors are as pleasing to the eye as the aromas are pleasing to the nose. The din of church bells in the distance, motorinos buzzing by, truck reverse alarms beeping and people boisterously laughing or arguing sums up the experience of the Trastevere market. We walk over to the deli where pastas are hung from the ceiling, cheeses are on display and huge jars of red wine vinegar invite you to take them home. The people in the deli are charming and eager to fulfill our every wish. Laughter roles easily off their tongues as do stories of the farmers selling their wares in their tents. These folks are also honest as they gesture towards another market where we can find the smaller bottles of the prized Balsamic vinegar and local olive oil. The

place smells of herbs and oil. Mmmmmmm. Again the businessmen great us with a vigorous "Bonjiorno." We buy our oil and vinegar

and then quickly cross the street towards another market that has meat, bread and cheese. The fire oven bread looks sooooooo delicious. The puffed hollowed buns are what we get with a nodding approval from the older woman sitting behind the register with aging prosciutto hanging over her head. She's clearly the matriarch of the place. Italians love food like they love life. Everything is done with a sense of pride.

We get back on to the motorino and up we go on a steep hill to a lovely park that lawyers, doctors and accountants exercise in. The park was once someone's estate turn

ed over to the government for some reason or other. There are 100 year old pines, endemic palms, and remnant fountains of a luxurious time gone by. The walls and stairs we see are larger than life. We get to a bench and break open our collected wares. Yummy cheese soft like sour cream but smooth like butter. Salty sweet prosciutto sliced so think you can see through the paper it's wrapped in. Fresh pop bread, water from the famous aqua ducts (aqueducts) cherry tomatoes and real Roman green olives.... Ahhh.. I think I'm spoiled for life. Nothing in the cans or jars at home come close.