Arrival in Rome

On the day we arrived our driver passed a market on the way to the hotel. We took the tram a few stops down to it after checking in. It was different than I thought it would be. Rather than a food market it ended up being more like a flea market. It was full of clothes and household items, some new and some used. It took us quite a while to walk through it. It was not only large but also bustling and lively.

After walking through the market we decided to head for some lunch. We chose a seafood restaurant but it didn’t open for half an hour so went to a coffee shop to wait. I made the mistake of ordering a latte for Kuah which ended up being a glass of cold milk. He then got a cappuccino and a small sweet treat.

At 12:30 we walked down a few shops to L’officina del Pesce. It was a small restaurant with one front of house person and one chef. Halfway though our lunch another person came in to help in the kitchen. The restaurant wasn’t full but it still seemed a lot of work for such a small staff.

We started with an octopus and potato salad. Then Kuah had cacio e pepe with anchovies. I had a potato crusted fish. We shared a dish of chicory. It was my first time having chicory which I found to be quite bitter. But still, a healthy green vegetable. My fish dish surprised me as it was slices of potato covering the fish that had then been broiled. I was happy it wasn’t deep fried. Overall it was a delicious and healthy meal for me. Kuah enjoyed his dish but said he’d rather have regular cacio e pepe than one with anchovies.

After lunch we went back to hotel to give my foot a rest. I have to admit keeping to 10k steps a day was really driving me crazy. Kuah was super patient with my limitations though. Late afternoon we headed out to dinner. To get to the piazza and restaurant we walked across a bridge with great views of the river. I love all the trees lining the river. A lot of Rome is greener than I remember it being.

When we got to the pizza place we had picked there really wasn’t a place to sit down. So we moved onto another pizza place. This one had nice tables outside where we could enjoy the old buildings and passers by. The food wasn’t quite as enjoyable. Kuah ordered and Amatriciana pizza. They had lots of different inventive combinations of toppings on their pizzas. I had a small slice but decided it wasn’t worth the calories so ended up getting a cup of pineapple and strawberries on the way home, which were sweet and juicy.

After dinner we enjoyed a casual stroll back to our hotel. It was a lovely first day in Rome.

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