By Lesley Frederikson
Arriving in Rome with only a few days to visit, my husband and I realized we could only scratch the surface of what was to be seen, and although we had scheduled guides to take us through the Vatican, Colosseum and Forum, after a nine-hour flight, we just wanted to wander. His only request had been that we make unscheduled time to savor, and that made for some of our best memories.
That first afternoon we used a map to explore around our quaint Hotel Ponte Sisto. Just a few blocks away our narrow cobblestone street spilled into a colorful fresh market selling flowers, vegetables, herbs and fruits in one of Rome’s smaller piazzas. Samples were available for oils and spices, but I was lured by a man demonstrating a small tool for making zucchini noodles. Sold! I walked away with my first Italian souvenir. And while I had been captivated in the vegetable stall, my husband surprised me with a bouquet of fresh sunflowers and roses. This square was called, after all, Campo de’Fiore, which means “field of flowers,” a nod to the flower meadow that grew here during the Middle Ages….