Review of Silhouette Nov 2016 Transatlantic

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This was exactly the kind of beauty I was hoping to find in Italy:

 

 

 

 

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Our Guide had them fill up a bowl with the a fantastically fresh tomato salad that ended up serving duel purpose.

 

 

The first of which was created when she took the tomato salad to another stall where they had fresh bread for us. We were given a clove of garlic to spread on our bread and the fresh tomato salad to top it off, resulting in one of my favorites of the day...an awesome bruschetta.

 

 

Important note (and reminder to self)...proper pronunciation is bruSKETTA. Not bruSHETTA.

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So the second part of the tomato salad duel purpose was stopping at a cheese stand where there was a husband and wife who had been working together for a gazillion years. We were treated to the freshest bufala (buffalo) mozzarella ever! Went beautifully with the remaining tomato salad.

 

 

Next up was MEAT.

 

 

 

And more meat. Some a bit too fatty for my tastes, but there was always Husband to help.

 

And beer didn't hurt

 

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We loved our guide who had lived in the states for awhile.

 

 

And I do believe the folks in the stands were rather fond of her as well

 

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Onward we went, but before we left the market our guide pulled out some cash because she wanted us all to taste something that wasn't supposed to be on the tour...a pancake made of garbanzo flour. It was good, but very rich and I knew I still needed to pace myself!

 

Next up we passed other food history including what used to be a slaughter house :eek:

 

 

Remember the terra cotta? Well, this giant hill in Testaccio is literally built of terra cotta pieces! Yes, the olive oil would come in in those containers. Then they were not usable again, so they became pieces, which became a hill. You have to look closely to see that that is indeed what it is!

 

 

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We also learned about the tabaccaio which sells not just tobacco, but the prized SALT. Also is a place for locals to pay bills, etc.

 

 

Below the terra cotta hill used to mean wine cellars. Some of which are now restaurants. Of course one of those restaurants was our next stop

 

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Inside this restaurant was a table set in a room just for us, with platters of the three famous Rome pasta dishes, along with red and white wine. This is what I had been saving myself for!

 

Now THIS is cacio e pepe!

 

 

REAL carbonara!

 

 

And Amatriciana

 

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All together now!

 

 

With wine this time!

 

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So of course our food adventure had to be at an end, right? After all we were all so full we sadly wasted way too much of that beautiful pasta! And even some of the nice wine :eek:

 

Sorry Grandma in heaven! Grandma, please know I did ask that they not throw that beautiful food away! Sadly it was out of my control and we ventured on because we were not done. :eek:

 

You guessed it...gelato time!

 

 

It was time for our gelato lesson...how to spot REAL gelato...what goes with what, etc. We were schooled by the experts

 

Edited December 29, 2016 by tweetylori

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Find REAL gelato in Italy and you will be rewarded with the magic. But you must pick TWO, and they must go together! Fruit flavors with fruits, etc. We were warned quite emphatically that pick unwisely and you will be turned down.

 

I was warned into coffee and hazelnut

 

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Our four hour food tour was finally over. We said goodbye to our foodie friends and our guide was kind enough to call a taxi for us. The ride back to our hotel was wayyyyy faster than the earlier ride had been!

 

Back at our hotel and in our sparkly clean room was more food :eek:

 

 

Needless to say, this healthy treat remained unclaimed by us.

 

What we needed to do was WALK and SHOP.

 

 

Husband bought me a couple of these cool guys

 

 

as found in this shop

 

 

Everywhere you go is pinocchio

 

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We realized we hadn't tossed coins over our shoulders yet, so we HAD to go back to Trevi Fountain!

 

 

We managed to work our way through the crowds this time to get close enough to toss those coins. And toss we did!

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We did a bunch of shopping and walking and coin tossing (way more than a few pics worth), and somehow became ready for a drink. So we stopped and I made a drink mistake.

 

 

Note to self: Aperol is not campari! I love a nice bitter campari, but somehow I mixed it up in my head with aperol, so I ordered an aperol spritz. This abnormal orange color should only be found in jello. Or Kool-Aid. :eek: Definitely should not have been in a drink that I consumed.

 

Fortunately it was on sale so at least my pocketbook didn't suffer too much for my error

 

Edited December 29, 2016 by tweetylori

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It was still pretty early, so we had the place to ourselves

 

 

Suddenly it occurred to us that with all the eating we had done all day, we hadn't had PIZZA :eek:

 

So, to go with our drinks (yes I was smart enough to switch to wine), we shared a white anchovy & zucchini blossom pizza

 

 

Nice mural, by the way

 

 

Overall we enjoyed our experience here!

 

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Before we left we also had espresso and they brought over these wonderful amaretti cookies...YUM

 

 

 

Very reasonable prices!

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It was so necessary for a stroll, so off we went and I don't know about you, but we don't often run into the Pantheon at home like we did in Rome!

 

 

 

 

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We did a lot more wandering on this night, including a stop in this music store for quite some time (thanks to Husband). Despite them being a bit unfriendly, Husband still purchased a harmonica here

 

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Wandering around meant piazzas like this

 

 

 

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It could also mean that one has to use the restroom. What to do???

 

Stop in somewhere for a drink, of course! We (I) was incredibly happy to stop here for a bathroom, uh, I mean, wine break.

 

 

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We kept going past fancy shops

 

 

Modern mixed with history

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My apology...I really thought I could finish this tonight, but Photobucket has slowed me down big time (as always :mad:)

 

Am very close to finishing, I promise!

[kayehall]

This all looks amazing? Was there a lot of walking? How long was the tour?

[sippican]

We also did a tour with Eating Italy, Twilight Trastevere. It was nothing short of amazing! In fact, we met two other fellow passengers that evening.

They are planning on expending to Venice in 2017 and we are hoping to experience another tour with them in May.

Glad you enjoyed your tour.

Edited December 29, 2016 by sippican

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This all looks amazing? Was there a lot of walking? How long was the tour?

 

Hi Kaye!

 

I don't know that we even walked a mile. No where near what we should have considering the amount of food involved!

 

It was a four hour tour. Our guide shared all kinds of interesting information, and not just about food, although that was always on the forefront. :D