Day 2 Evening in Prati, Rome on the food tour!

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For our last evening we decided to try a food tour while in Rome.   It involved  authentic Italian food and wine... right up our alley!

This is when we had the only unfun part of our trip so far.   Even the fender bender was no big deal.   Oh no!  Don't be silly.   I'm not talking about the food tour!  That was awesome!  I'm talking about the uber ride there. That was a major Charlie Foxtrot. 

At first we considered walking the 45 minutes to get there.. but part of the map made it look like we would have to walk down a major freeway so we were excited to see that uber is available in Rome!  An unusual thing is that their uber app also reaches out to the local taxi companies which are half the prices.  AND.... not available.   Damn Bruce and his concert tonight.

So we called up an Uber... put in the address... it tracked the same path we had considered walking..€17. Perfect!

Driver spoke not a lick of English... he had a cool translator on his phone but the more agitated he got with us, the less inclined he was to use it. Agitated with us!?? , you say. Oh yeah.   He was c.r.a.n.k.y.   Apparently his side of the app showed we not only listed the wrong address...41 not 4L... but also included a second stop?   Ok... maybe I did something wrong with the incredibly complicated uber app (sarcasm) but my app still showed the one address and route on my phone.    It also showed my credit card had already been charged and I had already tipped as the trip started so nicely.    And then chaos.   He stops not once, but twice at the wrong places.  When we showed on the paper with the address he was furious and did some middle of the road car turnarounds... risking our lives for sure. 

I was playing with my phone and I hit the safety button not sure what that meant.  I think that may have agitated him further because I understand (later) that I was worried for my safety.  My bad.

When he got us there 15 minutes late... he started arguing with us about the price.    We tried to explain we had already been charged on my credit card.. no! He says.   Jan finally gave him 20 which seemed to make him happy.   She uses the word "tossed" the money at him, I used the word "threw".  Lol.  He was yelling at us?   Then they charged my credit card 60.   Hmmm...€97 when you add it all up.   We should have walked. But we made it and it was awesome!

Found out that when buying Made in Italy food, olive oil etc.. look for DOP. That is controlled by the government... it means it is authentic.

We started off at the meeting place- La Nicchia Cafe - with our first charcuterie tray... lots of truffle... lots of joy.    I had never had truffle honey...amazing.  You can buy their stuff online.   I shall.

Our hostess/food tour guide Celesta was so fun and taught us so much... she is immersing herself in Italy and is actually from The Netherlands , but is doing a bang up job at being Italian.  She says we can call her anything from the Big C to what her family calls her which is Lesta.   I called her Cel because I already have a name friend named Cel and that just seemed the easiest for this paying customer.  

After our first snack we wandered off to Bonci... pizza that this chef allows the dough to rise for seventy two hours so it does not rise in your tummy, lays it out flat and cuts it by the meter. He decides every day what to do on the pizza and let's just say it's not traditional.  We had some pizza with scrambled eggs and we had some pizza with potatoes and rosemary.  Whatever he desires is what you get.  However it was fascinating and very good and you can watch an episode about him on Netflix on Chef's Table.

So appetizer and pizza down we head off for our main course.  We end up at Il Secreto and lo and behold,  we get a second charcuterie tray.    Lots and lots of joy. They educate us on the things they are going to share and then share ridiculously good wine with us like Barolo.  We met some incredibly fun people, a great family from around New Orleans,  and they are traveling all over Europe with some really great stories.  None of them are wine drinkers and I thought it would be unclassy of me to drink theirs but it was painful to watch  them leave their glasses full when we left.  I'm exaggerating,  not full, but not empty either.   Painful.   Vicki was chatting with another mother/son and come to find out she is a pediatrician from Connecticut.  They are coming this way so we may send up running into them for a meal or so.

We were given a choice of 3 different pastas and ode to Brad and Kori, I decided to try the carbonara.  They scoff at using bacon but they use the cheeks or the jowels of the pig for their pork in this dish.  With the egg mixed in it was incredibly rich and creamy and delicious. It's in second place behind cacio y pepe.  

Yeah you are hearing that right we had two charcuterie trays,  pizza, pasta and we are full.

Oh but we are not done.  We have dessert still.  But of course.  So we learned the difference between fake gelato and the real stuff.  Came down to color and how much fluff exists.   We were each allowed to pick two kinds to try at a lovely place called Lemongrass.  I tried the coconut and the pistachio. It was my second time only I've had gelato but when in rome.... I am so glad I did.

It was time to go home and deal with the  dreaded transportation issue.  But no problem,  Cel had us covered and she's very nimble. She saw a taxi go by and she streaked after it and stopped him and got us a ride. It was an amazingly short 10 minute ride back to our place, right along the path we thought and cost us hardly anything.  Eternally  grateful. 

A couple of notes, to be heard here. First,  this is not the same tour that Toni Capaul suggested we go on. She went through the one through Trastevere and thought it was fantastic and recommends.  We did the Sunset at Prati because it was what was available when we were there. Prati is a very bouchy neighborhood and has very expensive stores and food and wine.  It is the foodie part of Rome according to Cel.   Regardless of which one you choose, I think this company does a  great job and you should try to book the next time you are in Rome,  even if tours aren't your thing.   It's so casual you can't help to have fun!!!

Update: Oh now I get it.   So because of the glitch in the Uber software that led us to hell him back the driver was trying to tell us that we would not be charged the €17 but that it would recalculate our charge, oops. Yes we ended up getting charged €50, credited for the €17 ,  for the ride and we ended up tipping in €25.

Why do people yell when they think you can't understand them? Oh well you live and learn.  :)

Voted Best Food Tours in Rome Italy – The Roman Food Tour

https://foodtourrome.com/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d20806328-Reviews-La_Nicchia_Cafe-Rome_Lazio.html

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