Everybody's advice for "cheap" snacks, meals, and picnics were perfect. Our harbour/piazza-window spot in Vernazza afforded us a gorgeous view for 3 dinners from the local alimentari and enoteca! Somebody had said a "well-placed gelato can stave off those hunger pangs" and we practiced that alot. We shared many anti-pastas and then had our own pasta dish.
All the RS's recommendations for restaurants were GREAT! Some were VERY tough to find - probably because the streets are exactly straight anywhere - but one place for lunch we stopped at didn't get our order right, BUT we ended up with 2 glasses each of their homeade strawberry wine for FREE after showing them RS's book-yum! Our last night in Rome, we found the Trattoria der Pallaro, which has the slogan "Here, you'll eat what we want to feed you". We were treated to a rousing recognition of RS's name and 5-course, set price feast. I just can't say enough
about the delicious food we ate everywhere we went.
Prices were surprisingly lower than we had expected all
around - even when you're careful how you order at the restaurants. What DOES become pricey is just having to eat out for 3 weeks.
Thanks to the person who suggested taking a small scarf, etc. to put picnic items on - great! Rick's podcasts to download on our mp3 player
were perfect for all the galleries, Sistine,
basilicas and Ostia Antica as well. This has been
too long, so I'll sign off til another time. We just
really wanted to thank those of you who "helped"
along the way and maybe even be a help to those
still in the planning stages for their very own
"magical" journey.....