TexasAggie

We arrive in Rome late on a Saturday evening after the groceries have closed for the weekend and our apartment rental owners have kindly offered to stock our apartment (near the Pantheon on Via del Seminario) with groceries to tide us over if we provide a list. I'm admittedly unfamiliar with grocery stores in Rome and do not want to ask for something difficult to find or ambiguous. We are 4 adults and one 1-yr-old. We can eat out of course, but with a toddler adjusting to the time difference, it would be helpful to have the makings for at least one meal on hand.

Below is my first stab at a basic list... please feel free to correct, make suggestions, help me clarify, etc .

1 large loaf rustic bread
1/2 kilo deli ham, sliced thinly
1/2 kilo genoa salami or similar, sliced thinly
1/2 kilo mild provalone cheese, sliced thinly
1 jar applesauce, unsweetened if available
1 liter milk
5 bananas
5 apples or pears
1 carton fruit-flavored yogurt

Many thanks, and again, please feel free to point out if I am requesting something not commonly available!

flanneruk

I don't know what "deli ham" is, or at least how it differs from any other kind of ham. I suspect you want prosciutto cotto: the plain Anglo-Saxon style boiled stuff, as distinct from crudo (Parma-like) which is usually expensive and she'd feel sort of morally obliged to offer without further qualification.

I assume you want about half a litre of yoghurt. Usually fruit-flavoured comes in individual 150 g tubs, clustered in multipacks of 4 or 6. You probably want 4 small pots, or equivalent. "1 carton" probably would be taken differently (though plain yoghurt routinely comes in 0.5 or 1 litre packs

adrienne

No wine????

Juice
Coffee/tea
Sugar
Salt/pepper
Olive oil
Mustard
Eggs

Just suggestions (some of these things may already be in the apartment). I stayed in a apt near Campo dei Fiori and there was a small grocery around the corner that was amazingly stocked.

Will the owner know what "deli ham" is? Perhaps you should specify the type of ham (Parma perhaps).

nytraveler

No makings for coffee or tea? No cereals for breakfast? No eggs (breakfst or omelet for lunch of kids dinner)?

capxxx

I'm skeptical about applesauce (salsa de mela?) being available in a jar.

At least, I was unable to find it in 2 cities in northern Italy 12 years ago while travelling with small boys-- I resorted to cooking it myself from fresh apples, which wasn't really a bad thing.

Re cereal: probably ok to ask for Cheerios (the toddler's staple). And a head's up: the milk will likely taste funny to an American child's palate.

TexasAggie

Thank you all for the suggestions and information. In my post-tax-day haze (I moonlight as a CPA after watching my son all day), I forgot about coffee! Great other suggestions too.
Interesting about the possible unavailability of applesauce. It is widely available here from WalMart to Whole Foods, so I did not think finding it could be problematic. I make much of my son's food but have never tried making applesauce. I'll do a trial run before we depart.

pookymimi

"We arrive in Rome late on a Saturday evening after the groceries have closed for the weekend"

We stayed between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona and both little groceries stores were open during the day including weekends, they closed at 8pm I believe. You will find at least one groceries store open.

TexasAggie

Hi pooky, for some reason, I thought most of the grocery stores were closed on Sundays. We won't arrive at our apartment before 8pm on Saturday night.

Ackislander

Supermarkets will be closed, and likely all day Sunday as well.

michele_d

Hi adrienne,
Sorry for hijacking. We are staying in an apt near Campo Di Fiori in a couple weeks. Can you please give me a ballpark location of the grocery store, as this is something we will need to do upon our arrival.
Thank you,
Michele

daveesl

The bakery/deli in Piazza Rotonda, to the right side facing the Pantheon, is pretty much open every day except maybe Christmas. There is a reasonable sized grocery market just a few steps from the Piazza next to the BNL which is also open every day. There are several wine shops, pizza places and bakeries in the Seminario area.

dave

adrienne

Michele - I'll get you that info tonight. There was also a restaurant with take out pizza next to the grocery store. It was very convenient to where I stayed but I have to look up the name of the street.

TDudette

TexasAggie, can you stow a 6-pack (or so!) of applesauce in your carryon?

Agree about

1/2 kilo deli ham, sliced thinly
1/2 kilo genoa salami or similar, sliced thinly

I googled Italian meats (http://garrubbo.com/salumi-italian-cured-meats/) and there is a long list! You are likely to get proscuitto which is like our country ham. See Flanneruk above or discuss with your very kind landlords!

Good luck and please report back!

Pepper_von_snoot

How are you arriving in Rome?

There is a supermarket--Conad--in the basement of Termini.

I don't remember it ever being closed when Salt and I were in Rome for two weeks, staying at the St. Regis Grand in Piazza Repubblica.

Pepper--of Salt and Pepper fame

annhig

what you call deli-ham = prosciutto cotto. [parma ham is a type of prosciutto crudo ie uncooked, as opposed to cotto which is cooked]

salami = salami.

for "applesauce" ask her to buy you 1/2 kg of apples and stew them yourself [apple chopped small, cook gently in a small amount of water, mash with fork add sugar to taste - you probably won't need any]

i honestly don't think that they have the sort of cheese you are after, and if they do, i don't
know the name of it.

we had this trouble arriving in Rome on Easter sunday - I was worried that it would be quite a while til we got anything for the apartment but we found a little supermarket round the corner. if you go to google maps, and put in the address of your apartment, and then put "supermarkets" in the search box, you will see where they are, and they should give you opening hours too or your apartment owner should know them.

good luck!

jent103

<i>TexasAggie, can you stow a 6-pack (or so!) of applesauce in your carryon?</i>

Wouldn't it be treated as a liquid? Checked baggage would be fine, though.

Last May, at least, the Carrefour Express on Via del Governo Vecchio was open on Sunday - we arrived that morning and got groceries there. So even if you do forget something or don't want to ask for a lot, you have at least one option.

adrienne

Michele - the grocery store is on via di Monserrato where it meets via del Pellegrino. There's a small square there with telephones in the middle of it and the restaurant on the corner.

If you walk from Campo dei Fiori you'll pass a good restaurant - Pierluigi in Piazza de Ricci.

michele_d

Thank you adrienne. I found it on my map. It is just a couple blocks from our apt. Thanks for the restaurant rec also. Thanks again.
Michele

pookymimi

"Carrefour Express on Via del Governo Vecchio was open on Sunday"

I remember buying there. I didn't know the groceries stores were closed on Sundays, I never had any problems buying when we were there.

laurie_ann

If you have a 1 year old, and you are leaving from the USA, the TSA rules do permit baby food above the normal 3-1-1 limits.

From TSA website:"Medically necessary liquids and gels, including medications, baby formula and food, breast milk, and juice, are allowed in reasonable quantities exceeding 3.4 ounces (100ml) and are not required to be in a zip-top bag. Officers may ask travelers to open these items to conduct additional screening and passengers should declare them for inspection at the checkpoint."

You could bring yogurt and/or applesauce from home at least understanding it is possible they might make a big deal of it. Then you can decide to ask for a supervisor or just ditch it.