Saturday

As I do in all cities we visit, I was looking into free walking tours. I found one that only runs a couple of times a week, but it was free and in English, so I booked us for the Saturday morning tour. I was very surprised to see 25 people in our group. Our leader Giuseppe was very personable and the tour was fine. Mostly walking around the old city and a little of the Murat section (where we live). There wasn’t much new information but a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a chilly and windy Saturday. At the end, our guide does what I think every walking tour should do, offered a comprehensive list of places to eat, drink, see, and things to do in the city. The tour ends in a section that we have passed through, but now we can look around for a place to grab a beer and some lunch before making our way back home for the afternoon. Around 1pm almost everything is shut down (except eateries), so unless you are out to eat, there really isn’t much to do in the mid-afternoon- on any day, not just Saturday. We start at Bar Piccolo which means “small bar” and definitely lives up to its name. With just ten customers inside, it feels a little cramped. We grab a Peroni beer and map out our next stop for lunch. Around the corner we arrive to be told lunch is fully booked. We head to our plan B and we ask if they have room for two without a reservation. The waiter says “let me look” and goes off to inquire, presumably. A couple arrives behind us and we step aside to let them in. A different waiter comes to them and they ask if he has room for two without a reservation to which he says “follow me” and seats them. Our waiter shows back up and tells us that they have no room! It is so frustrating, but I know that my protesting in English will fall on deaf ears so we just leave. We meet a group of three Germans from our walking tour on the street and pick their brains about places they recommend, one being across the street, a bakery called El Focacciaro. The line of eight people standing on the sidewalk waiting to get in is a very good sign. We take our number and wait the 10 minutes to get in and buy a selection of breads and snacks to bring home. While El is inside doing the buying, I am looking for another lunch place on the way home. I find a place called Mattarello Street Food. It is more of a fast food kind of place. We each get a salad and split a pizza. It is a little pricey but fills us for lunch and we won’t need a large meal for the rest of the day. We walk home and have a quiet afternoon before heading back out for drinks and snacks around 7pm. I do a little online checking for local spots and most are booked for the night. We had passed a beer bar near us and thought we could go check them out to see if they could take two without a reservation. We walk into an absolutely empty room- not one customer inside and ask- half jokingly, if they have room for two without a reservation and to our surprise the waitress actually takes a pause as if to seriously consider saying no, but the owner tells her it is OK. I don’t know if they are fully booked later tonight, but we will surely be out of here before a crowd arrives. The beer selection on the menu looks decent enough- though 8 Euros for a can of beer is a bit steep. They are out of the beer I ordered and offer me an upsell that is not nearly as good as what I wanted. El got her selection and we ordered a bowl of olives. I don’t think we will order another and we call it a night.