Rome – Things to do for cheap & on a budget continues! (Page 2)

Rome- Things to do for cheap - Site Seeing ! (Page 1)

Rome – Things to do for cheap and on a budget continues!

The best restaurants are located by the Piazza Navona. Piazza Navona is city square in Rome. Located in the center of the Piazza Navona is a fountain of the four Rivers with Egyptain obelisk, although there are many city squares in Rome, this is my favorite. When you enter the square, you would immediately feel the excitement yet peacefulness at the same time. Even though there’s usually a horde of people there, the crowd doesn’t allow for the overwhelming feeling rather it felt like a gentle kind of crowd. There were painters painting, musicians singing and dancers dancing, and the crowd just sitting alongside the square eating their gelatos and sipping their cappuccinos observing and enjoying themselves.

Lunch – where to eat? What to eat?

Lunch, just like the states, a lot of the restaurants in the areas have their daily specials, the special usually include a pasta dish/pizza and a drink for about 6 or 7 Euros. Tips: if a restaurant has a menu with multiple languages, DO NOT eat there, the food will be horrific. I read these tips so many times before going and yet when I got there, I actually ate at one of those restaurants with 7 languages...it was HORRIFIC..don't do it! the pizza was bad (yes even in Italy), the grilled monkfish was worst and the pasta semi edible, the folks sitting next to us ate it (maybe they were starving like us and probably said to themselves, never again).


Amazing dishes in ROME: Some dishes that I thought was ridiculously yummy in Rome, Spaghetti Carbonara, Linguine Arrabiata and Linguine Frutti Di Mare. I have had Carbonara in the States and was quite good but not comparable to an authentic Carbonara in Rome, it was so Good, its not just a cheese sauce like you find in the states, it was this yummy eggy cheesy sauce with thick pieces of crispy pancetta, add a touch of pepporicino (hot pepper flakes) and it was heavenly.  Here is a link on how you can prepare it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonara Definitely try this dish. Another favorite was Linguine Arrabiata, Arrabiata is the italian word for angry, with that said, the sauce is tomato-based with red chilli, is a bit spicy but not too spicy (mildly spicy for those spicy eaters), delightful.  And yet another favorite was Linguine Fruitti di Mare (seafood pasta with a tomato-based sauce). At lunch these dishes typically cost 7-8 Euros with a drink.

Cost of Cappuccinos, Café Latte or Café, Cannolis

If you decide to sit down outside at a nearby restaurant, prepare to pay 2x the price as oppose to standing at the bar or getting it to go. Pricing is 1.5 euros or 2 euros for standing or taking it to go and 3 euros or 4 euros for sitting down. Note: Some restaurants do not even have the pricing for standing at the bar, you will see a regular menu with pricing but rest assure they will not charge you that price (you can always ask ahead of time).

There are many places to eat for cheap, Tavola Caldas(known as hot tables) are all over Rome, it is like a fast food place you would see in the mall, similarly to Sbarro.  Dishes they would have range from pizzas, pasta dishes, salads, sandwiches to a variety of other antipasti, and even desserts, starting from 3 – 10 Euros. You get a big portion or a small portion (per uno – for one, per due for two). They will typically ask if you want it heated (Scalda?), if you like it hot, then reply with "Si" (yes).

You can also go into cafes or bars and just get a decent sandwich that would run you 2-5 Euros.

Or if you want to save even more money, go to a grocery store, they are everywhere, looking nothing like ours, the entrance is a hole in the wall then as you walk through, it gets bigger. You can spend as little as 5 Euros for two people, get some Salame, cheeses, grilled vegetables, bread and even a bottle of Chianti for 3 Euros to share. One night, after spending a day doing an expensive tour costing more than 4 days worth of activities/foods, we had 11 Euros left, we went into a local grocer and bought ourselves two loaves of Ciabatta bread, Salame, prosciutto, pecorino, aged parmesan, pickled anchovies (really weird but delicious, I saw a local woman ordered a pound so I asked her how she would eat it, she said, she puts it on bread with a slice of cheese and some grilled vegetables), so I order ¼ pound, got some grilled vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, artichoke, onions), and a bottle of Chianti, all this cost us 11 Euros and some change. I am attaching a picture of this below.


can also reference by Rome - Food for less than 30 euros a day!