Market Day in Lido di Ostia

It’s market day in Catona… Hmmmm, no, wait – that’s the line in “Under the Tuscan Sun”! …but that’s what it feels like… I feel as though I am alternately living the scripts from “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Under the Tuscan Sun”…

Anyway, yes, today (Saturday morning) is market day here in Ostia.

In addition to all the street vendors I mentioned in a previous post selling everything from vegetables to “Prado” wallets (ok, so another movie reference (“Serendipity”)), there are indoor markets such as this one less than a block from where I live.

It is a huge inside food and flower market, selling everything from vegetables to meat, cheese, seafood and more…

The prices of food here is very good – and the price of wine even better! 🙂

For instance, last night I went literally two doors from home to an Indian restaurant – that reviewers have said is the best in all of Rome (and Rome is an hour away!)… and not only was it delicious, but a half-litre carafe of red wine (una caraffa di vino rosso) was a massive four euro! I knew I liked this place for a reason… 🙂

Although, one element that is taking some getting used to is that people eat supper very late here, with many restaurants not even opening until 8:00pm. While I do not mind waiting until 8:30pm or 9:00pm for a formal dinner as is often the case in England, for a regular evening meal where I need to go out to eat – and more importantly come home late – I would really rather eat much earlier.

I arrived here just as they opened so pretty much had the place to myself until just before I left.

Now that I am settled in, I usually go out a couple of times a week to buy groceries and this (below) is a fairly typical meal with enough for left-overs… That and (again with the movie references), the dolce far niente of Julia Roberts in ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, nibbling on some cheese and bread… Perfetto!