Trastevere and Porta Portese Market

Pink Vespa and bougainvillea in Trastevere

According to the Lonely Planet and my Let's Go Guide (which has been sacrificed in the name of baggage weight control and chopped up into lightly-sized sections by country) the Porta Portese Market is the place to be in Rome on a Sunday morning. Since it is in Trastevere, the area where I'm staying at the moment, I thought I'd go and have a look. It's a giant flea market (they say it's not for the faint of heart as there is a lot of yelling and heated bargaining), and you are also warned to keep a close hand and eye on your handbag as it's also famous for pickpockets.

It was a little hard to find, but I thought it was fair enough since I didn't use my map. I saw a few locals heading off in a southwards direction with large empty bags, so I decided to follow them. There are stalls with huge piles of clothing, marked with large signs from 1 euro to 10 euro and more. Unfortunately most of the clothes are very unfashionable, with large shoulder pads, or are made from such a man-made material they would probably instantly weld to your body if you went too near a hot oven. There must have been some bargains though as I saw a local girl making off with a lovely cotton skirt - she must've been a pro! There was everything from hamsters and budgies to war regalia, jewellery and what looked like grandma and grandpa's collection of old dial phones. I managed to find Neese an extra special big Roman button and also some great strings of coral and glass beads to make into something later.

View worth the climb

Then I decided to head roughly in a westwards direction to try and find Fonte Acqua Piola, Monumento a Garibaldi and Faro al Giancarlo which are all perched on a hil overlooking Rome. Luckily the uphill climb was not so bad and the only hard bit was the oodles of steep steps to begin with. I bypassed a group of French women with maps and they were arguing ferociously about the steps and I sensed mutiny. I rested in the Botanical Gardens and refreshed myself with more water - the Roman acqueducts must be quite something, I love the fountains here! - and after a bit more meandering found myself with a wedding party taking photos in front of the Fonte Acqua Piola, a pretty spectacular fountain with stunning views over Rome. You can actually see the Vittorio Emanuelle monument (nicknamed the typewriter or the wedding cake) and the dome of the Pantheon and I guess more landmarks for those who are more clever and have eagle eyes, I'm sure.

Fonte Acqua Piola

I conspired through glances with an Italian girl sitting on the fountain next to me and we both quietly dipped our feet in the water... keeping an eye on the carabineri (police) 20m away. Carabineri are all around in Rome, including in little enclosed stands in the Centro Storico which is reassuring, they are seen rounding up people selling fake goods on the street and loiterers. The water was deliciously cool on my hot feet, and a good giggle to share. Wandered downhill gently along tree lined streets and amazing views of Rome, munching on an iceblock bought at an extortionate price but worth every bite. It was fantastic to be walking in the cool and it was mainly tourist-free. Then found myself near the hostel and presented myself at a pizzaria and had a quick education in pizza. The small shop sold slab-shaped pizza from a counter, by the kilo. You pick which pizza you like the look of, indicate how big a slice you want then it gets taken off to be heated up. It's then weighed on the scales, then wrapped up doubled in a napkin so you can eat it like a sandwich on the go! Genius.

Garibaldi Monument
The traditional Italian fare is nothing like that in NZ. So far I've had pizza, where they put less variety of toppings, and the base is crispier, lasagne where the emphasis is on the tomato and the parmesan cheese on the top; and spaghetti bolognese, in which the mince is very finely ground. So delicious! The man who sold the pizza to me was very sweet and had a most gorgeous smile so I'm a bit sad I found his shop on my last day in Rome. (:

Another thing I've definitely noticed in Rome is the traffic. You really have to watch out how you cross roads here, because one moment the street is empty, then it hurtles with cars. I think I almost got run over a few times! Zebra crossings and pedestrian lights count for nought (the green man lights up for about 5 seconds) and it's like Bill Bryson says, the best chance you have of crossing a busy street is to stick to a group of nuns like a sweaty t-shirt.

I'm rooming with a friendly girl from Mexico at the moment, she's gone to St Peter's Basilica for the day, but maybe we'll meet up for dinner later. She is living in Barcelona so we have exchanged travel tips - she is planning on visiting Florence and Venice after Rome.