Travestere neighborhood
We took the “treacherous high speed train” (that’s what it sounded like on the announcement. It’s actually freccia.) from Florence to Rome. Fast, nice scenery, good espresso, comfy seats.
We took a cab to our hotel, this time in a different area, a neighborhood called Trastevere, which means “across the Tiber.” It’s old and gritty, very different from the touristy area near the Vatican where we stayed before. This is a community of little mom-and-pop shops, one selling meat, another cheeses, others are tiny restaurants. We are enjoying hearing more Italian than English and looking forward to exploring it more.
We met the group for the next part of our trip, southern Italy, and did a walking tour of the area and learned about its history. We walked to a nearby restaurant for our welcome feast—three pastas, a main dish and two desserts. Mama mia! It was all really good. We are eating very well.