Markets, Museums and McDonalds

This weekend was my first weekend in Rome since school began. I wasn’t get setting off to any other country, so it was nice to enjoy my new home. Yesterday, the last Sunday of the month, was “free museum day” in Rome. Excitedly, my roommates and I woke up super early to be able to do and see as much as possible. Early in the morning- I’m talking 9am on a Sunday!- we went to Porta Portese, which was a huge outdoor market. They sold clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses and just about anything you could imagine. It was fun to do some bargaining and I went home with some really nice things for a cheap price. After a quick stop back at home to unload, we headed out to the center to check out some museums. We quickly learned a number of things. First, free museum day really means “discounted museum day.” The first museum (One of the national museums of Rome) was free; however the second one we wanted to go to was selling admission tickets at a reduced price. We didn’t wind up going there. But we did visit another free museum close to the Roman forum that highlighted the unification of Italy. Our last stop was at another National Museum of Rome in Piazza Novana- again, a discounted museum, but we paid the 1.50 E to see this one. It was a great experience. Each of the museums had something new and interesting to look at. Even though I’m not a huge “museum person” I still enjoyed what I saw. I really enjoy walking around Rome and seeing all the ruins so it was really interesting to read about the ones that were displayed in the museums. “free/discounted” museum day occurs every last Sunday of the month. I guess it’s sort of similar to First Friday in Philadelphia, only on a different day of the week.
In between the unification of Italy museum and our walk to Piazza Novana, we stopped for a visit to the Pantheon. (which we didn’t even realize was so close to us!) It was an interesting area. Touristy, of course, but a lot of the structure was under construction so I couldn’t really see the beauty in the place of worship. It was also packed, and we were getting shoved around just trying to walk in. Inside however, was quite peaceful. They had signs reminding people to be silent, but everyone was talking at normal volume anyway. They had candles lit and pews to sit, but mostly everyone was just trying to snap pictures and get out.
After the Pantheon, we decided to get a bite to eat. Where did we stop? McDonalds! I haven’t eaten McDonalds since high school, but I figured I should try fast food in Italy just once. It was quite the experience. The place was packed, the menu was completely different (although they did have the McChicken sandwich that I used to love so much), and you had to pay extra for ketchup packets. We ordered, but there was no place to sit. For being in a country that loves its food, I was shocked to see that McDonalds did not conform to the culture of the country it was in at all. It was expensive, crowded and honestly, not as good as I remembered it. The only “Italian” thing about that meal was that the portion sizes were smaller too. The employees weren’t that friendly either. One employee chased me out of the establishment after I accidently dropped a try as I was trying to throw my food away. I guess that’s Italy for you, though. Needless to say, I’ll stick to my pasta and Panini next time I get hungry!